Harry Potter & the Shipgirls

Harry Leferts

Above Kure, the Moon was barely a sliver and thus the night was dark upon the base. And with eyes looking outward, it was dark enough that many people missed the form making it's way through the base. Eventually, it reached the point near a boat launch area that was unused by the base itself. Then the figure pulled down her hood to reveal the form of Aso who glanced around. Not seeing anyone, she calmed down some and nodded. 'Good, no one suspects a thing.'

Despite everything, the Carrier did not feel like smirking. Nor did she feel like performing any of the actions that she might have back before. Instead, she checked her watch quickly and frowned. Her sisters were out on patrol as was Kaylee, and Houshou was with her husband out on a date. Hence, for the first time in weeks, she was able to slip out. And she was taking the chance handed to her.

Thus, summoning her rigging, Aso stepped out onto the surface of the water and made her way out of the waters around the base. Unnoticed to her, a small head rose up and Maruyu frowned some. Not saying a word though, Maruyu followed Aso as the Carrier made her way along. Part of her mind went back to the debrief she had when she had first returned to Kure. Admiral Shimada had explained things and what had happened to Aso in more complete information then the little Submarine had known.

What she had not expected though was for Admiral Shimada to give her an order. Said order being to follow Aso and keep a eye on her. It did not help matters that those watching Aso reported that she had gone out and bought various items. And it being an almost moonless night, it was the best time for Aso to make a move.

All of this was unknown by Aso as she moved through the night. The Carrier did not turn on any of her lights at all, using all the skill she had to move unobserved. Behind her, Maruyu followed as they crossed the Inland Sea. Less then two hours later the Submarine watched as Aso reached what looked like a small, abandoned village. However, after reaching the shore, she just stood there for several moments.

Maruyu then heard the sounds of footsteps and could see candles in the night before her eyes widened. In the flickering candlelight she could see the nearly demonic faces of various Kijo. And then she realized that some of them were not adults, but children. Children that as soon as they saw Aso rushed over and practically tackled her with cries. "ASO-SAMA!"

On Aso's face was a soft expression as she crouched down and gave hugs to the various children before smiling a bit. Her smile being a lot less brittle then it had been for the previous weeks. "Well, hello little ones. And how have things been for you?"

Looking up at her with happy smiles, they just giggled before one of the older ones spoke up. "Things are really, really good, Aso-Sama! We get to play all the time and Kaa-San and our Oba-Sans are happy too! Because all the bad men are gone and can't hurt us!"

Simply nodding, Aso reached over and stroked the young Kijo's head. "I see, well, that is good then."

When she looked up at the older ones, the one who stepped forward nodded her head. "As Mitsune said, things have been going much better. We're all doing much better now, Aso-Sama." Her smile then widened a bit. "Especially with how you have gone out of your way to bring us supplies..." Placing a hand on the shoulder of her obvious daughter. "Or items for the children."

Lips curling, Aso blinked away some wetness at the looks being given to her. "I... I'm happy to hear that." Noticing one of the girls shiver, Aso pulled off her hoodie and then gave it to the little girl who seemed to be swamped in it. But the bright smile that she was given warmed her more then the hoodie ever did. With a shaky breath, she let it out. "Now, I brought some more items to help you all..."

As they watched, Aso pulled out various trunks of different sizes and placed them down. A smile on her face, she opened one of them and pulled out various large bags which the adult Kijo blinked at and examined. "What are these now?"

Patting one, the Carrier smiled at them. "These are bags of garden soil and manure, so that you can start growing your own food here." Once more reaching into the trunk, she pulled out several garden tools as well. "These can also help with that. I also brought several seed packets as well for vegetables."

Various other Kijo murmured as they examined the tools before their leader nodded some before hugging Aso. "These will all help us greatly, Aso-Sama. Thank you."

For a few seconds, Aso froze in place before she relaxed and then hugged her back. "You are very welcome." Pulling back, she gave them all smiles. "Now, I have several other items. One of these trunks has fishing gear as well as a small, steel boat. And others have lumber to repair some of the homes here while I will leave some of my crew behind who have experience in building and construction..."

Out in the water, Maruyu had a smile of her own as she watched silently.

It was not until the early morning that Aso left, though not before getting hugs from all the children as well as promises to come back as soon as she could. And as she moved out of sight of the place where the Kijo had settled, the Carrier felt a little bit more of the weight she had fall away leaving lightness. Yes, most of her comrades still had issues with her. But they she could deal with. Especially as she now had something that she could keep close and would keep her head above the water.

And when she got back and slipped into bed, she slept easy and with happy dreams.
_____________________________________________________________________

Sitting across from his friends at the Gryffindor Table, Harry had a grin on his face. Confused, Neville gave him a look. "Uh, what are you grinning about, Harry? I mean... you haven't stopped."

Hermione didn't glance up from her book. "Mainly due to Ron getting a visitor." At Neville's look of interest, the Light Cruiser rolled her eyes. "Apparently Duke of York is going to be coming and staying over for the weekend. Partially so that she can watch the game tomorrow. The rest?" She shrugged. "To spend some time here."

It took a few moments before Neville raised an eyebrow and looked at Harry. "Ah, I see. Pot meet kettle?"

Even as Hermione snickered and nodded her head, Harry blinked with his grin falling away for the first time in a bit. "Uh, what?"

Neither giving him an answer, they just shared a look and shook their heads. About to ask again, Harry's attention was instead grabbed when the doors to the Great Hall opened and Hoppou came bouncing in. Looking around, the Abyssal spotted him and ran towards the Gryffindors. "Big Brother! Big Brother! Hoppou is here!"

Laughing, Harry held out his arms and caught Hoppou as she cleared the table in a single jump. "And I'm glad to see you, Little Sis." Unnoticed by either of the two, various girls smiled at him while some of the boys rolled their eyes. Harry then looked back to the door and smiled as Nagato walked through. "Mum!"

A small smile on her face, Nagato just gave a nod. "Harry, I told you that we would be here." She then glanced behind her. "You can all come in now."

Much to Harry's surprise, Aeroprin walked through and then looked around in awe. Several people did freeze at the sight of the unknown Abyssal. Within seconds though, she spotted Harry and rushed over. Pulling him into a hug, she smiled. "Uncle Harry! We all came to watch you play! To watch you play!"

Surprised, Harry hugged her back with a smile. At the same time though a large number of people were looking between Harry and Aeroprin in shock. Up at the staff table, Snape was coughing while a piece of meat fell from Lockharts fork as even Royal Sovereign boggled at what just happened. Meanwhile, Harry pulled back from his hug and smiled. "So you're coming to see me play as well, Blackie Smokie?"

With a shy smile, Aeroprin nodded. "That's right, Uncle Harry. We all came to see you play."

It was then that Harry spotted the human avatars of Aeroprin's Destroyers. However, their real bodies were nowhere to be seen though each one had a large backpack where the cords that extended from their necks went. Before Harry could ask though, they also rushed him and glomped him with hugs and identical cries. "UNCLE HARRY!"

Alicia blinked as she looked at her teammate and then sniffed her drink. Frowning, she turned to Angelina beside her. "The Twins didn't slip me something, did they?"

For her part, Angelina shook her head slowly. "Not that I know of..."

Glancing at them Katie cleared her throat and caught Harry's attention as well as those of the Abyssals. Briefly, she flinched a bit at their glowing eyes turning to her. But then she rallied her courage and took a deep breath. "Uh, Harry? Why are they calling you uncle?"

That caused Harry to blink before he shrugged, but it was Aeroprin who answered as she pointed at Hoppou. "Mommy made me, she made me. I became strong and a Princess after being a Destroyer. Mommy says that Uncle Harry is her big brother, that means that Uncle Harry is my Uncle."

Much to Harry's amusement, nearly everyone looked from Hoppou then back to Aeroprin. They did this several times before Dean slowly nodded. "Ah, that... makes sense?"

If anything, Harry only became more amused before shaking his head. Then he grinned and waved over the others who had come with them, mainly Ryuuhou and Taigei who were watching the free entertainment of various wizards and witches having their brains broken. "Taigei-Chan! Ryuuhou-Chan! And you brought along Shimushu-Chan and Kunashiri-Chan!"

Saluting, Shimushu grinned nearly as wide as Harry was. "That's right, Su! We're here to watch you play!"

Chuckles rose upwards and Harry's expression brightened still further as Ooi and Kitakami walked in. The brown haired Torpedo Cruiser giving Harry a wink. "Don't forget about me or Kitakami-Sama. We're here to see it as well."

Head tilted somewhat, Kitakami nodded a bit. "That's right, and I can't wait to see it in person." Looking around though, her attention was caught by the ceiling and she let her jaw drop a bit. "Oh wow..."

Nodding, Ooi looked up as well. "I know, this is pretty amazing." Then she grabbed Kitakami's hand and began to pull her to the Gryffindor table where people were already making room for them. "Anyways, we should grab something to eat. And trust me, you'll love the beds here."

All Kitakami did was nod at that as she let herself be pulled along. It did look like a very interesting time when all was told. Besides... she knew that Ooi was even more excited then she was to see her "Otouto" play. Though Kitakami would be lying if she said that she was not interested herself...

 

Harry Leferts

The first thing that Ooi heard was the morning chorus outside the castle as she woke up. At the same time, the Cruiser could feel a warm body that she was spooning against and smiled as she cracked open one eye to see that it was still pre-dawn. More then that, it allowed for her to look down upon Kitakami's sleeping face. Her fellow shipgirl breathed in and out slowly as they laid there, Ooi's arms around her midriff and holding her close.

Closing her eye, Ooi felt her smile grow just a touch. It did not help that she could remember the look that Kitakami had on her face the night before as they walked around Hogwarts. And more then that, the expression that her best friend had when they had gotten to the bed and laid down for the night. As it turns out, Kitakami found the bed as comfortable as she did.

Several moments later though, Ooi's mind drifted to earlier memories. Of the times before she had become a shipgirl. Ooi could clearly remember such things as her and a younger Kitakami walking to middle school shortly before Blood Week. She could also remember various other memories from even earlier. Various ones, some of which made her blush and her boilers work a bit harder.

All of a sudden, Ooi was snapped out of her thoughts by a hand clasping hers and entwining both sets of fingers. Then Kitakami spoke up with a small chuckle in her voice. "Now what are you thinking about, Yuuko-Chan? Hmm?"

Lips twitching, Ooi snorted some. "Not too much, just your reactions to the bed last night. I told you that they were comfy, Rika-Chan."

Twisting around in Ooi's hug, Kitakami hummed as she snuggled into Ooi. "Very comfy... Might have to steal one of these and take it back home." At the light laughter from Ooi, she cracked one eye open though there was amusement there. "And what, exactly, is so funny?"

Unable to help herself, Ooi grinned down at her. "Oh, not too much... Just that when I experienced these beds for the first time I had the same thought more then once. And said it out loud several times."

Snorting, Kitakami shook her head. "Hai, I can see that Yuuko-Chan." Then her lips curled into a smirk as she knew what was going to happen with her next words, especially with the tone of voice they were delivered in. "Of course, being so comfortable means that we might need to... try them out."

It went without saying that Ooi's face went bright red and steam leaked out from her ears at the images. 'D-did Rika-Chan just...' Glancing down at the other Light Cruiser, Ooi could see the twinkle in her friend's eyes and tried to scowl at her. Key word being try. "That's not funny, Rika-Chan."

With a hum, Kitakami tapped her chin. "Funny? Whatever do you mean, Yuuko-Chan?"

Ooi just gave her a look at that. "You know what I mean, Rika-Chan. And you also know all the stories and rumors about us." However, Kitakami was utterly unrepentant in regards to that which made her fellow Natural Born snort. Both of them laid there like that before Ooi smirked. "You know... I just had an idea."

Eyebrow raising, Kitakami looked at her, "An idea? Frightening." Getting another eye roll for her troubles, she smiled a bit. "So what sort of idea?"

Humming, Ooi frowned some. "Well... Perhaps I should ask one of the House Elves if it would be possible to get one of these beds. Or at least find out where to get one of our own because they really are comfortable. And its not like we don't have the money for it."

Now thoughtful herself, Kitakami tapped her chin for several seconds. "There is just one thing to remember though..." Getting a look from Ooi, she continued. "We need to make sure that Kako never, ever, lays down on it. We'd never get her out of it."

That got a laugh from Ooi and she shook her head. "Yes, I suppose that is true enough after all. That lazy bones would be impossible to get out of a bed like this."

Several moments passed before Kitakami sighed. "So, how was your talk with Harry-Chan last night?"

For her point, Ooi was silent for some time before answering. "It went... well. We talking about what happened to him." One of her fists clinched and shook in rage and her expression took on what many called "Yandere Mode" when she had it. "I almost wish that they had left Peeves around. So that I could deal with him myself for what he did to my Otouto."

Slowly, Kitakami nodded some. "So he's gone then after what he did to Harry-Chan?" At the nod, she sighed. "A shame, I agree with you." Thinking back to the night before, she remembered what happened. How a tearful Ooi had grabbed hold of Harry once they were out of sight of anyone but other shipgirls and Abyssals and simply cried at the fact that she nearly lost the person she considered a little brother. In fact, Kitakami could remember Ooi's reaction to the news through the Light Cruiser Network when they were in the US waiting on a convoy to head back to Japan.

It was very few times that Kitakami had ever seen her best friend that... broken emotionally. At least, not since her parents had disowned her. Thankfully, as soon as she had heard that Harry had survived and was okay, Ooi picked herself back together. That memory was offset by just how happy Ooi was to hug Harry and know that he was alright. Needless to say, Kitakami understood just how important Harry was to her, how much Ooi loved her "Little Brother".

But unlike what most would think, it did not make Kitakami jealous, quite the opposite because it warmed her that Ooi had someone.

Part of her mind did go back before they became shipgirls though, before Blood Week and everything changing. Kitakami could remember the number of times when Ooi, just Yuuki back then, had complained to her. How her friend had wanted a little brother but her parents always dismissed it. And how finally, they told her that they did not want to have any more children as it took up too much of their busy lives as it was. Needless to say, Kitakami was not surprised at all with the choice they gave her best friend.

Her attention though came back to the present as Ooi sighed with a small smile on her face. "But Harry-Chan's alright, my Otouto is alright. And in the end, that is all that is important though if I ever come across this Tom Riddle..." Shaking that off, she changed the subject. "Anyways, what did you think of Hogwarts so far, Rika-Chan?"

Tapping her chin, Kitakami thought it over before sliding away from Ooi and sitting up. "Well, so far it's been interesting at least the amount that I have seen. Ghosts, moving pictures and armor..." She then chuckled and rubbed her stomach some in thought. "Dinner was good though, heavy, but good."

Unable to help herself, Ooi gave her a grin back. "But dessert had to have been your favorite part though, right?" Moments later, she got a pillow to the face which fell away to show her still with a grin on her face. Stretching some, she got out of bed alongside with Kitakami. "Just you wait though until you see what's next though. The baths in this place are amazing! Like... right out of a five star hotel for some of them!"

Eyebrow raising, Kitakami hummed a bit. "I see... Well, I'll believe it when I see it, Ooichi." Not even a minute later, Kitakami nearly dropped her bathing supplies at the sight of the bath. ".."

Clapping her on the shoulder, Ooi grinned. "Well? What did I tell you? Five star accommodations!" She pointed at the shower booth. "You can have that running as hot as you want and for as long, no need to worry about it running out. And the bath? Each faucet will give you something different, hot water, cold, bubbles, bathing salts... You name it, it has it."

Quietly, Kitakami turned and grabbed Ooi before looking her in the eyes with a serious expression on her face. "Do you think that we can steal it?"

Lips twitching, Ooi shook her head and chuckled. "Unfortunately not, Rika-Chan. But who knows? Once the Statute comes down, want to bet that we might not be able to get one of our own?"

Now looking at the bath in thought, Kitakami slowly nodded. "That... would be nice if it is possible." Giggling, she began to pull the lightly laughing Ooi further in. "I can't wait! It's been so long since I was last able to just relax in the bath and not have to worry about being kicked out!"

All Ooi did was grin as she was pulled in.

 

Harry Leferts

Looking up from his breakfast, Harry smiled and waved at Ooi who was walking in. "Morning, Ooi-Nee! Kitakami-Nee!" Spotting the pout on Kitakami's face, he snickered some. "I thought that it would take longer."

With a theatrical sigh as she sat down, Ooi gave him a look. "I know, we both were up early this morning but as soon as Kitakami-Sama saw the bath... Well, you can guess what happened." Ignoring the narrowed eyed look from Kitakami, Ooi shook her head. "Took all this time to get her out of the bath."

Moments later though, her fellow Cruiser poked her in the side. "Stop that." Turning back to Harry and ignoring the grin on Ooi's face, Kitakami snorted. "And you're not much better, Harry-Chan."

However, Harry was utterly unrepentant and just grinned at her. "And? You do enjoy your baths."

Kitakami just rolled her eyes at that. "And can you blame me? We share the dormitory back at the Naval District with how many Light Cruisers? Sure, we each got a bathroom in our apartments, but that is only a shower at most. The baths though... someone is always using them."

Snickering, Harry just shrugged some before giving her a raised eyebrow. "So? What do you think of the baths here?"

Needless to say, he was greatly amused when the expression on Kitakami's face brightened. Before she could say anything though, Nagato dryly commented on it. "Considering that she spent most of the morning thus far in it? I would assume that it meets with her approval."

Despite the small blush on her face, Kitakami just smirked. "Well, what can I say? I like taking baths when given the chance. And I am not going to turn down a chance to have a nice, long soak." Grabbing some waffles, she hummed. "But as to the question? I did enjoy the bath, it really does have everything. From the fact that the water stays hot and doesn't cool down, to the bubbles, the scented water, and bath salts! It was perfect!"

Amused, Ooi shook her head and sighed before looking at Harry. "It got worse when she discovered that there was a Jacuzzi function to it as well. That made it even harder to get her out of it."

With a huff, Kitakami began to place various toppings onto her waffles. Then she chuckled. "You know... if you ever want to get me a present, Harry-Chan? Especially one that I would love? Then find a way to get a future home of mine such a bath."

Even as Ooi shook her head while facepalming in amusement, the black haired boy grinned. "Sure, I don't mind. Besides, from what I heard some of the baths that's going to in it when they rebuild my family's traditional home will be like that. So it shouldn't be too hard to swing."

Ooi was just about to bite into a sausage when she heard that blinked. "Really? You're going to have at least one of those when they rebuild your family's home?" At his nod, she frowned thoughtfully. "Huh..."

Looking towards an interested Kitakami, Harry nodded. "And you and Ooi-Nee would be invited to use it whenever you want. You're family after all."

Much to his confusion, Ooi brightly smiled at that as Kitakami blinked. Then said Cruiser also smiled and gave him a nod. "And we consider you family as well, Harry-Chan. As to the offer? We'd take you up on that."

As Kitakami turned fully back to her food, Ooi continued to eat her own breakfast. Meanwhile, Ryuuhou sat down with her twin and then looked over at Harry before giggling. Pausing in his actions, Harry blinked. "What?"

Shaking her head, Ryuuhou smiled some before coughing into one hand as Taigei also began to giggle. "What are you doing, Harry-Chan?"

With a blink, Harry shrugged some before looking at the piece of toast with eggs on it before shrugging. Then he placed some bacon onto it followed by sausage. "Making myself a breakfast sandwich, that's all."

From where she was eating some oatmeal, Kunashiri looked up. "A breakfast sandwich?" Head tilted to the side, she frowned. "Really?"

Just shrugging, Harry glanced to where Shimushu had taken the honey and was putting it into her own oatmeal as Regina watched between chewing honey covered toast. "Yeah, it's actually pretty good. Besides, I can't really eat too much." At their looks, he smiled some. "I am going to be flying around and don't want to have something sit too heavily in my stomach."

Looking down at her own food, Taigei shook her head. "Well, some of this is quite heavy for food. But that does make some sense, Harry-Chan." With a look down the table, she spotted Ron and Duke watching as the three Gryffindor Chasers were nearly vibrating. "Hmm? I wonder why they seem so excited?"

Also looking down the table, Harry smiled a bit before shaking his head as Ron and Duke were quietly talking. "The Chasers?" At the nod, he chuckled. "Because if we win this, we win the Quidditch Cup."

Moments later, Wood walked over and slapped him on the back. "You got it in one, Harry! We could win this for the first time since Charlie Weasley left Hogwarts! You just grab the Snitch and we'll be in the clear!"

With that, he walked off not noticing Ooi narrow her eyes at him. However, Harry just reached over and tapped her arm. "Don't worry about it, Yuuko-Nee-San. Wood is just excited because he wants to win the Cup as Captain and this is his second to last chance. So leave it be, besides we're all excited."

Letting out a huff, Ooi shook her head even though she had a smile on her face from what Harry had called her. "Sure, I'll drop it..." Her voice then dropped to a mutter. "For now anyways."

Extremely amused, Kitakami wiped at her mouth and gave Ooi a look before turning to Harry. "I take it that if you win, then you'll be showing me around tomorrow? Because it sounds like something to celebrate."

Now grinning, the black haired boy nodded. "Hai. As a matter of fact, if we win there's going to be a big party going on in Gryffindor. You'll probably enjoy yourselves there..."

Swallowing some eggs, Aeroprin looked over with wide eyes. "There would be a big party, Uncle Harry? Because you won a game?" At his nod, she shared a look with her Destroyers before turning back to Harry. "That sounds really good, Uncle Harry. Really good."

Just reaching over, Harry ruffled her hair much to her enjoyment, not noticing the various looks they got. "Yup! I heard that some of the Gryffindors stated that it would be huge." There was a far off look on his face as he smiled. "I want to win it though because then my name would be there with my Dad's since he won the Cup."

Her eyes wide, Nighty Moon stared at Harry. "Your Daddy won it, Uncle Harry? And if you win, your name would be there as well?"

When Harry nodded, Bright Eyes turned to her fellow Abyssal Destroyers. "That would be so cool! And since Uncle Harry's name would be there for winning, everyone will know that he's the best! Just like we already know."

As the other Abyssal Destroyers and Aeroprin made their own agreements, Harry blushed some and scratched his cheek. "Thanks girls..."

Nighty Moon gave him a big smile before getting up and walking over. Once she reached him, she gave him a hug. "You don't need to thank us, Uncle Harry. We're just telling the truth after all, you're great!"

For her part, Nagato gave a smile before snapping a quick picture for the ever growing album she had. Then she looked up to find McGonagall there with a raised eyebrow as the Professor looked over the Abyssals. "Is something wrong, Professor?"

Sighing, she shook her head with a bemused look on her face. "No, nothing is wrong, Nagato. Though I do wish that they wore somewhat more... appropriate... clothing." McGonagall shot various teenaged boys, and a few girls, a narrowed eyed glare as they were all staring at the Abyssal Destroyers. Ignoring their confusion, she allowed herself to smile a bit. "As well... Mister Potter, could you do a small favor for me?"

Head tilted to the side, Harry gave a short nod. "Sure, Professor McGonagall."

Lips curling upwards some, the Head of Gryffindor leaned down. "If you should happen to win, please advise Misters Weasley to use a different route to sneak their alcohol into the school. I myself used that same route when I was younger and on the team in my Third Year. As well, it would not do for them to be caught out in the open due to using the same route more then once in a row. Certainly not three times."

Eyes wide, Harry just nodded. "Um, sure, Professor. I'll let them know."

Just nodding, McGonagall had a twinkle in her eye not unlike a certain Headmaster as she pretended not to see Nagato shake her head. " Very good, Mister Potter. And try your best out there and I am certain that I will see the Cup in my office next year." She then frowned as she looked at one burly student who was whispering to another. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I do need to warn Mister McLaggen that if he brings that disgusting swill he claims is Scotch, I would be most disappointed in him as a fellow Scot."

With that, the Deputy Headmistress walked off with her eyes narrowed. Feeling a tap, Harry turned to find Ooi staring at him in surprise. "Harry-Chan, did that actually happen? I mean... is she..."

Amused, Harry raised an eyebrow. "Really like that? Hai, she claims that its tradition after all. Professor McGonagall is an awesome teacher..."

Slowly nodding, Ooi thought it over before giving him two thumbs up. "That she is, Harry-Chan! The very best!"

Meanwhile, Nagato just rolled her eyes and shook her head.

 

NotHimAgain

I thought the Nemo snip would not happen for a while longer. Then I had an emotion. I need another way to deal with emotions.
Daydreams

-----

As the sun set, slowly, dropping beneath the horizon, Ku-Tan looked around. There were her sisters, dancing and frolicking in the grass. There was Renata, lounging in a tree and dreaming of speeds she planned someday to reach. Ruri sat under the tree, making an effort to watch all that was going on, but nodding off slightly herself. Nemo was farther away but still visible, sitting on a knoll alone with her boyfriend. Her children were becoming tired, it was time to go home…

But what if She was still out there? Waiting, ready to take them all in a single harsh blow? Ku-Tan looked around, worried. A hand cupped her cheek, gently turning her head to face Shi-Chi. Her counterpart spoke to her in half-heard words, saying that they would be fine and no trouble would come to them. Was she certain, though?

And yet, her children playing and enjoying themselves, playing themselves to rest…

Ku-Tan suddenly becomes aware that she is not sitting in a park under the setting sun. Instead, she is lying down with her eyes closed, a soft red glow coming through her eyelids to tell her she is facing towards the opening of the cave and morning is already there. Slowly, as her senses come awake and the fires deep inside her to life, she opens her eyes.

Her head, she realizes, is lying in Shi-Chi’s lap. She turns her face upward, and sees the White Princess smiling down on her as she gently strokes her hair.

“Welcome back to the land of the living,” she says in a voice filled with forced humor. Ku-Tan can’t make out what it really is—some degree of relief, perhaps? It’s not like she would have gone anywhere, is it? “How was your sleep?”

“It was…” Ku-Tan grimaces, but it must look more like a pout to Shi-Chi because she holds her hand up to her mouth to hide her giggling. “Restful.” That seems good enough. Though… was there something missing maybe?

“That’s good to hear,” Shi-Chi says warmly. She lowers her hand again to rest against Ku-Tan’s hair. “The Admiral asked to negotiate only with me in the time to come,” she admits. “Considering how troubled you have been, we thought it best to take the load from your shoulders as best we could.” That probably meant that they were scared she would become terrified again and cause some sort of incident. Though didn’t she say she didn’t want to be doing this?

It still hurt a tiny bit, though. Having to accept their worries and live with their concerns. “Huh,” she closes her eyes, and nestles into Shi-Chi’s lap a little more comfortably. “Didn’t I say I wasn’t good for this?” Something brushes against her leg and she ignores it.

“I’m sorry,” Shi-Chi whispers. “I knew how hurt you were, but I kept on pushing you farther and farther, all I chose to see of you was your strength…” The something brushes a little harder now.

“You were being the rational needs-of-the-fleet one like always,” Ku-Tan replies, reaching up and running her fingers through Shi-Chi’s own hair. “I just couldn’t keep up—okay, what the heck?” She tries to struggle into a sitting position and finds herself greeted by the sight of Renata slumped against the wall of the cave, her tail stretched out and resting against Ku-Tan’s leg. At her side, Neko is curled against her older sister.

“They were worried about you,” Shi-Chi points out, helping Ku-Tan to sit more properly. “All of them. Your daughters were upset that you had been hurting so long.”

All of them, huh? They had been in her dream, hadn’t they? Ku-Tan grasped for the fleeting memory of her sleeping visions but found to her chagrin that they had all but faded, except for an impression of everyone together, smiling and laughing and playing.

Oh, that’s what was different.

For once, no one she loved had died screaming.
-----

It was fairly clear to Takumi that, as he arrived at school, the cat was well and truly out of the bag.

It definitely made a certain amount of sense. After all, Yakumo had discovered his secret by merely checking the internet. Why wouldn’t others of his school have done so? Of course he would end up in the spotlight.

The sole problem lay in the fact that Takumi rather disliked being in the spotlight. By the time lunch period rolled around, he highly doubted that he would be able to break away from the crowd and eat in peace and solitude as he preferred. This was his fifteen minutes of fame, wasn’t it? He’d checked the clock repeatedly, fifteen minutes had passed. Everyone go away, please!

No one heard his mental pleas. As the history teacher—understanding as he seemed to be, hadn’t touched on the elephant in the room—left, classmates rounded on him. As everyone began speaking at once, Takumi closed his eyes and pressed his thumbs to his ears. Maybe, just maybe, everyone would leave him alone if he pretended they didn’t exist?

Father had once told him that if he was in a situation that he felt uncomfortable in, that he should pretend that he was a melon and that nobody cared about him. Takumi found his words to be a bit suspect, especially now that, were he to be a melon, he would be the most fascinating and interest grabbing melon in the room. Maybe he’s supposed to pretend that everyone else was a melon?

It’s too noisy here. I want to go see Nemo.

Suddenly, the chatter that he has been cutting out faded away. He opens his eyes to see that everyone is reluctantly filing to their seats, the new teacher having taken her place at the blackboard. He looks around the room—was that Uzukawa? She’s come back?

The girl is hunched over her desk, looking only at her notebook. She writes with jagged slashing movements that, even though he can’t see for sure what was happening, Takumi is certain are tearing through her pages like a weapon. He had thought that maybe, just maybe, her behavior would improve once the truth came out. Apparently, he thought wrong. Maybe she’s upset at having been made to lie?

Takumi isn’t certain, but he hopes that things improve for her somehow or other.
-----

The point is somewhat moot, considering Harry is currently in Hogwarts, but I wonder if Goto would actually be willing to tell him about the ~trauma~...

Well what do you think, sirs?

 

Harry Leferts

Practically bouncing up the stairs, Hoppou came to a stop and then gestured at the seats. "Over here! Hoppou found a spot for us! Come on, Blackie Smokie!"

Also hurrying up the stairs, Aeroprin nodded. "I'm coming, Mommy!" Once she reached Hoppou, she looked around the stands and let her jaw drop a little. "Uncle Harry is going to be playing here? Playing here?"

Just nodding, Hoppou pointed down at the field below and then the sky above. "Big Brother will be flying through the air! Whoosh! And trying to catch a little golden ball called a snitch!" She then wagged a hand. "It's very hard to catch, Hoppou see it before go all over the place really quick! And is very small so hard to see too!"

Eyes wide, Aeroprin looked at Hoppou in surprise. "Really?" When the smaller Abyssal nodded, her eyebrows raised. "Uncle Harry must be really good then!"

Puffing out her chest, Hoppou smiled. "Of course Big Brother is! He's really good at it!" Grabbing Aeroprin's hand, she began to pull her along before coming to a stop partway and then patting the seat. "Okay, Hoppou wants you to sit here."

Not quite sure what was going on, Aeroprin did as asked and then gave Hoppou a look. "Like this, Mommy?"

All Hoppou did was nod before jumping into Aeroprin's lap and giving her a thumbs up. "Okay! Now we're all ready!"

Moments later, Aeroprin blushed as she wrapped Hoppou in her arms. Off to one side, Nagato shook her head as Hoppou handed her "Daughter" a little Gryffindor flag, holding up one of her own. Then in a flash, the Battleship took a picture before gesturing to the Abyssal Destroyers, all wearing backpacks with expanded insides to hold their true bodies. "Okay, now scoot on in there."

Quickly, the Destroyers did so with one of them scooting around until she was on the other side of Aeroprin. Once she was seated, Aeroprin gave her a flag of her own. "Here you go, Sunny Honey. Here you go."

Taking the flag, she examined it before brightly smiling and waving it in the air. "Go Uncle Harry, go!"

For her part, Nagato only pinched her nose and shook her head. There was a smile on her face as she did so though. Chuckling, she sat down herself with a smile before raising an eyebrow as Ooi took a seat waving a large banner and a giant grin. "Oh yeah! This is so cool!"

Shoulders shaking from suppressed laughter, Kitakami hung her head to hide her own smile. 'You're really getting into this, aren't you, Yuuko-Chan?' With a quick look around, she tilted her head to the side. 'Then again, it is a bit infectious I suppose.' But when the Light Cruiser looked back at Ooi, she had to facepalm. "Really, Ooichi? You got all your signal flags out?"

Unrepentant, Ooi give a sniff. "Of course I do! I'm showing support for Otouto!" She then grinned and clenched a fist. "I just know that he's going to murder them on the field."

Giving her a sideways look, Kitakami sighed and then poked her in the side which made the other Cruiser squeak. "Stop that."

Meanwhile, Duke of York only raised an eyebrow at the antics as Ron helped her to her seat with one arm. "Thank you, Ron." Sitting down, she placed her hands in her lap and smiled some. "I will admit, I am rather excited about to see this game. Warspite did have quite a bit to say about it after all."

From where she was seated in the front of the group, Taigei nodded as she observed the happenings. "You're not the only one, I am as well. Iku-Chan and the others all had nothing but good to say about the games that they have been to."

With a glance to her twin, Ryuuhou frowned in thought. "Kaga-San and Akagi-San did mention it as well and that they found it enjoyable. Though that could be due to it being in the air... And I think that their pilots are fans as well."

Amused, Ron only shook his head some. "Well, I can't blame them then..." He then leaned forward a bit. "You bunch take video to show back at Yokosuka right?"

Leaning back, Ryuuhou nodded. "We do, but it's not quite the same. Everyone enjoys watching the games though."

Duke hummed in thought before looking toward Nagato. "Any suggestions?"

Briefly, Nagato ordered her thoughts before turning towards her. "Well... there is one thing that I found helps some." At the nod, she smiled a bit. "I like to think of it as two games going on at the same time."

Eyebrow raising, the English Battleship just glanced at Hermione who sat down as Hagrid sat one row over. "Two games you say? Now why would you consider it in that manner?"

Lips curling, Nagato gestured at the goals. "For one thing, you can separate it. From maybe twenty feet above the goals to the ground you have the Chasers and the Beaters playing back and forth. But the Seekers, which Harry is, are all over the place and more often then not can be a hundred feet above the rest of the game. Both parts can be considered separate in some ways."

Chin supported on her hands, Hermione frowned before slowly giving a nod. "Looking at it in that way, I can see how it could work. It makes it somewhat easier as it is in three dimensions which can be confusing."

Rather amused, Taigei shook her head. "I don't think that I will have much trouble after the last match between my girls." Seeing the confused and interested looks, she snickered. "They came across a sport in a game and have been working to try and make it work in real life. Not all the kinks have been worked out as it's done underwater."

Opening her mouth, Nagato began her question. "What sort of three dimensional sport happens..." Then she paused and considered before pinching her nose. "Don't tell me..."

All Taigei did was giggle as she shared a look with Ryuuhou and then turned back to Nagato. "Well, blame Naka-San. She did have them play Final Fantasy X after all, which inspired them..." Her smile then became a frown. "I think that they have been working with some of the American Submarines though to make it work. Or at least I've seen Harder-Chan, Archie-Chan, and Albacore-Chan playing with them."

Facepalming, Nagato let out a loud sigh. "I know that I should not be too surprised, I really, really shouldn't. But the fact that I am is surprising."

Snorting, Hermione rolled her eyes. "Better then jousting on Hippocampus. Honestly... what was going through Upholder's and the others' minds to do that..."

Tone dry, Duke shook her head. "That is a question that may never be answered. Though the Uboats did find it amusing to say the least. As did many of us, though the Admiral had a different thought on the matter."

Eyebrow raising, Ron looked at Duke with an amused look. "Tell me that they got video, please."

Her expression carefully blank, Duke hummed some. "I will neither confirm nor deny that I have a recording of said incident. Nor will I confirm nor deny that a certain Cruiser was there in a princess outfit."

Blushing, Hermione gave the Battleship a glare before hissing. "That was because of a bet! A bet!" Huffing, she crossed her arms. "And it was all Warspite's fault anyways."

Ron just gave her a smirk. "If that's to make me less interested..."

At that, Hermione shot him a glare while down beside Taigei, Shimushu was vibrating in excitement. "I can't wait. Su! We get to see it in real life, Kunashiri-Chan! So cool, Su!"

Only nodding, Kunashiri leaned forward in her seat. "I know, Nee-San!"

Suddenly, Ooi shouted some and pointed forward. "Hey! They're coming out!" As the game started, her eyes widened. "Oh wow! Look at them all go!"

Tracking the various players, Duke only nodded. "It is impressive." As the Gryffindors all cheered at the first goal on their side, she smiled. "And easy to see how one can get swept up in it."

Aeroprin meanwhile was keeping an eye on Harry with her jaw dropped some. She wasn't the only one as the various Abyssal Destroyers were also watching as the Seeker weaved in and out of the other players, sometimes followed by Hufflepuff's own Seeker. "Uncle Harry is really good at this! Really good!"

From her position on Aerorprin's lap, Hoppou gave a serious nod. "Hoppou knows this. Big Brother is the best and super good!"

Moments later though, hers and everyone else's attention was grabbed by Ooi as said Cruiser stood up and shook her fist at the game. "COME ON, HARRY-CHAN! KNOCK THAT GUY'S SOCKS OFF AND WIN! BEAT THEM INTO THE GROUND AND GRIND THEM UNDER YOUR FOOT! WHOOO-HOO! YOU CAN DO IT, OTOUTO!"

Beside her, Kitakami only shook her head as she facepalmed. 'I should have expected that Yuuko-Chan would act like this...' Then she smirked a bit. 'But I can't help but agree with her.'

Several seconds passed before Hoppou pulled out her spray bottle and began to use it on Ooi. "Stop that, it's silly!"

However, between sputters, Ooi just continued her "Cheering" for Harry. "GO *Cough!* HARRY-CHAN! YOU*Sputter* CAN DO IT! MURDER THEM! GAH! STOP SPRAYING ME!"

Unable to help herself, Kitakami looked away with her shoulders shaking as Hoppou answered back. "No. Hoppou won't stop until you stop being silly! Now stop being silly!"

For her part, Regina only smiled as she continued to watch the game, though her tail was interested in the goings on. But she was one of those who cheered the loudest alongside Ooi when in a dive, Harry caught the Snitch. Ooi though was louder as she pumped her fist. "OH YEAH! THAT'S MY OTOUTO! HAH! BLAGH! STOP SPRAYING ME, HOPPOU!"

 

RCNAnon

It's a bit late and it's going to be a multi part to fit all three days I think but here's Ron and Duke's first outing.

Ron and Warspite: Ron and Duke part 1.
----------

After some thought, a good deal of persuasion and just a little bit of trading on his reputation as a good student, Ron had been granted permission to meet and escort Duke to Hogwarts. He’d pushed the narrative that she didn’t know any wizards besides Hermione or him and was unfamiliar with Portkey travel. Since he was the one she was coming to see, it only made sense that he would go. It had been touch and go for a bit, between Professor McGonagall and the Headmaster given his status as a second year but in the end they’d agreed.

Ron had been appropriately grateful to both of them as he’d left the Headmaster’s office, even as he fought with other emotions inside his mind. Duke was coming to see him alone, which while not unpleasant or unwelcome was… something he was still working on. It wasn’t like when Warspite visited. He’d known Warspite for a long time, longer than he’d known most of the people at Hogwarts he considered his best friends. She simply fit into his life like a piece in a puzzle and any changes had felt natural.

Duke was… Duke. A tall, beautiful woman whom he got along with well and enjoyed spending time with. She seemed to reciprocate the feelings and while he also liked that fact, it left him in somewhat of a quandary. It hadn’t helped that when he’d written some of his thoughts to Warspite she’d merely told him to “Treat her like you want to,” which he wasn’t sure how to take. Ron had a sneaking suspicion that it meant more than what he thought it might but he was also sure that Warspite wouldn’t tell him more than that even if he did ask.

All of that and more crossed his mind as he stood waiting for Duke to arrive at one of the often unused storage buildings of HMNB Portsmouth with a used pack of crisps in his hand. It was admittedly a good disguise for a Portkey given where he was but he still felt a bit silly just leaning against the wall. Checking his watch, he noted that it was almost time to go, only a few minutes before the Portkey was supposed to go off.

Looking around he finally saw Duke approaching, a smile gracing her face as she saw him waiting.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said as she approached, her long strides eating ground at a quick pace, “I got held up at the guard post.”

“You’re not late,” he said, as she finally stopped in front of him, “Just in time actually.”

Duke smiled in relief and in the moment Ron made up his mind. He’d be as relaxed and casual with Duke as he could, this was supposed to be a break for her after all and he’d made sure to get his homework done in advance to clear time for her.

“It’s good to see you again,” he said, stepping forward to give her a hug. He still had to be careful with his head but Duke immediately reciprocated.

“It’s good to see you too,” she said, warmth clear in her voice as they mutually separated.

Taking another look at his watch, Ron’s eyes widened.

“One minute left,” he said, holding out the crisps packet, “Grab onto the other end of this and hold on, Portkey travel is… trying.”

Duke nodded, grabbing the other side of the crisp packet. Ron had just enough time to contemplate that her hand was almost grabbing his and then he felt the strange sensation of the Portkey hit him. The indescribable whorl of sensation washed over his body, then suddenly he was standing in the same clearing he’d met Warspite.

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

For Duke the sensation of traveling by Portkey was even more distinctly unpleasant because she’d never felt anything like it before. She’d never flown and as a rule, ship girls didn’t get seasick unless they were natural-born or in weather that was absolutely terrible. So the swirling mess of motion she suddenly found herself in made her freeze and then suddenly stagger as it stopped.

She caught herself before she fell only because she ran into something, her hands grasping for purchase. It was only as she felt hands grabbing her sides in turn that she realized she’d run into Ron. Still spinning somewhat she remained with her head down, pressed against what she realized was his shoulder. Once she was steadied of his hands came off of her waist and began to softly stroke her back, which did more to calm her nerves than her stomach… but that was probably the point.

“Are you ok?” Ron asked after a few seconds.

“That… was unpleasant,” she said.

“Yeah, Portkey isn’t the best way to travel. Most people try to avoid it if they can but it’s really the only way to get here.”

“I’ve… never felt anything like that before.”

“Well… hopefully next time isn’t as bad.” There was a pause and a dry chuckle. “Sometimes it is though.”

Feeling well enough to finally try and stand upright, Duke raised her head to find herself face to face with Ron. She stared, struck by the moment and the way his eyes caught hers.

It was a face in change, the baby fat of youth starting to fall off and developing into the man he would be. Yet it wasn’t the simple structure of his face that mattered. At that moment it wasn’t the face of a young boy, it was the face of officer. The look in his eyes showed his concern, an underlying maturity in the moment that was what mattered to her and Warspite, not his physical age.

“Feeling better?” he asked her.

She blinked, then realized she’d been staring and stood with a cough.

“Yes,” she said, “Thank you.”

Ron smiled then, the officer disappearing and the boy returning now that possible crisis had passed.

“Good. I… well I hope you don’t mind but I actually borrowed Fred’s broom to get over here. Thought you might want to fly.”

Duke felt a bit of instant trepidation at the thought of flying. She’d never done anything of the sort and the thought of flying for the first time on a magical broomstick… Still, Warspite had clearly enjoyed her time in the air.

“That will be fine,” she said, feeling her stomach flip a bit, “But perhaps you could stay low? My stomach is still a bit unsettled.”

“Sure,” he said, “Lets go then, the castle is pretty big and I want to show you around.”

Duke nodded.

“I look forward to it.”

Duke wondered as she followed Ron towards the edge of the clearing and then climbed onto the suddenly floating broom he’d leaned up against a tree, if Warspite ever felt her boilers flutter like hers were.

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

Flying just ten feet off the water and at a relatively slow speed, Ron took a chance to glance back at Duke. She was looking at the water passing below them in wonder, just like she had at the castle as it had come into view. With her long blonde hair fluttering behind her in the wind, it was almost like some of the fairy tales that got passed around.

Duke noticed his look and smiled at him, causing him to flush a bit and turn back forward. Of course he was already a little bit red, Duke was pressed up against him just like Warspite had and her chest was even more impressive. He hadn’t been consciously thinking about that when he decided to fly but if he was being honest it felt rather nice.

Making it all the way across the lake, Ron landed on the front lawn of Hogwarts, letting Duke hop off and then climbing down himself.

“That was enjoyable,” said Duke with a smile, “Perhaps next time we can go a bit higher.”

“If we have time I’d be happy to take you on another flight,” he said, hefting the broom over his shoulder.

“I’ll look forward to it then,” Duke said, following him up the lawn.

They drew looks of course, Ron had only had Warspite over once despite how close they were and Duke was a complete newcomer in comparison. A tall, attractive, female newcomer at that. Whispers followed, which Ron was more accustomed to Harry getting than himself.

Duke of course didn’t seem to notice, her calm composure never dropping as she walked the halls like the queen of the sea she was. Ron drew confidence from that, letting the whispers wash off of him like the proverbial wave off the bow.

Stepping into the main entrance Duke looked around, her eyes going wide at the inside height.

“This is quite impressive,” she said.

Ron looked up and nodded. “It is, even after you get used to it.”

“I’m not sure I ever could,” Duke said.

Ron just smiled, there was plenty in Hogwarts that was even more impressive in its own way than just the entrance.

“There’s a lot more to see,” he said, “I’m sure you’ll find even more that’s eye catching.”

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

Hogwarts was, in a word, fantastic. There was nothing else that quite encompassed all the strange yet impressive things inside of the castle. Duke found herself surprised more than once by things that Ron was clearly expecting, like the moving stairs. Judging by Ron’s grumbling he hadn’t been expecting a number of them either.

They’d made good time for the rest of the tour, Ron stopping down in the Great Hall with her so they could have a proper lunch. She’d again been amazed, this time by the sheer amount of food that appeared from seemingly nowhere. Ron had explained to her how such quantity appeared regularly and in such variety.

After a nice large meal, he’d finally guided her up towards the Griffindor common room, where he roomed and where she would be staying. The talking painting letting them in was interesting but nowhere near as strange as some of the other things they’d seen.

As they stepped in Duke found that a number of people had stopped to look at them.

“Bloody hell I thought they were kidding,” came a voice from a corner.

Duke looked over to see Fred and George Weasley along with another dark skinned boy.

“Told ya Lee,” said one, Duke being unable to tell them apart.

“It’s like Ron’s got a tree that grows attractive blonde women or something,” said the other.

Ron paused, looking like he was going to say something, then just shook his head.

“Come on Duke, I want to show you something,” he said, turning to head up one of the many flights of stairs around the edge of the room. Duke followed him up the stairs, a few more whispers coming from down in the common room before the sound disappeared.

Up in the room Ron shared with several other boys, Duke found herself looking around. It was nothing special compared to the other places she’d seen but it was a finely appointed room.

Ron moved over to a specific bed, pulling some items out of the trunk placed at its side. As he took a seat on the bed Duke joined him, looking as he carefully flipped through what she quickly realized was a professional folio.

“Here,” Ron said, pulling out a few pieces of parchment with some minor sketches and a number of calculations on them.

Duke took them, looking over the numbers and putting them together with the sketches.

“This is… your work for my turrets?” she asked, the numbers being loads and firing calculations along with some other items he was still working on.

“Yeah,” he said, leaning in close to her, “I was hoping you could look them over for me. There’s some references in books and on the internet but I thought it’d be best if I just asked you.”

Duke looked over the numbers, passing them down to her engineers and gunners. After a few quick calculations of their own Duke nodded.

“This is good, very good Ron,” she said.

He smiled at that, then seemed to realize something and flushed.

“Thanks,” he said to her, looking down at the ground before turning back to her.

“Uhm… Harry’s guests sleep in the Head Boy and Girls room. Most of the time anyway. So… I was wondering if you wanted me to ah… ask them if you could join or...”

Duke found herself warming a little bit as she figured out what Ron was asking her. It was of course somewhat of an issue… but not as much as one as he might be thinking. She knew he wasn’t being forward with her and in truth she enjoyed the “cuddle piles” as much as anyone. If she was invited.

For her answer Duke simply leaned down and kissed Ron on the cheek, causing him to flush.

“I’ll just stay here with you,” she said, feeling her boilers warm once more.

“In fact...” Duke said, laying back onto the soft bed, “I wouldn’t mind seeing how it works right now. Just to see, the bed is a bit small.”

She made no move to pull Ron down with her but he nodded and lay down next to her, curling close. With how small the bed was he had no choice but to press against her and there was a tenseness in his body.

“I don’t mind Ron,” she said softly, “In fact… I’d prefer if you weren’t so worried about it. Not many people relax around me.”

Ron seemed to think for a few seconds, then nodded. His head nestled to her chest lightly and the tenseness ran out of his body.

“I just… don’t want to mess up,” he said, “You’re a good friend.”

“You’re a good friend of mine Ron,” Duke said, “So don’t worry about messing things up. I’ll let you know if you do.”

Ron nodded, then leaned up to press his lips against her cheek, making her flush.

“Thanks Duke,” he said, snuggling back in.

“No… thank you Ron,” she said softly.

They lay like that for some time before getting up and heading back down to the common room with the others. All Duke could think of was how much she enjoyed it… and how glad she was that Warspite had talked her into spending three nights.

 

Harry Leferts

Her tankard clinking with Harry's and Kitakami's, Ooi laughed alongside Harry with both of them shouting. "KAMPAI!"

As the Light Cruiser then drained her tankard of the beer, Kitakami shook her head with a small smile before looking around. Taking a sip of her own and nodding, she chuckled. "I must admit, Harry-Chan, this is a pretty good party."

Throwing an arm around Kitakami, Ooi gasped some as she caught her breath. "I know, right? This has to be one of the best parties we've been to!" She then threw her arm around Harry and pulled him into a one armed hug. "And it's made all the better for the reason! Because my awesome otouto here went and kicked some major ass!"

Lightly scratching his cheek as he sipped his butterbeer, Harry smiled at her. "Thanks, Yuuko-Nee-San."

Once more there was a nearly blinding smile on Ooi's face as she looked down at him. "You're very welcome, Harry-Chan." Going to take another long drag of her tankard, she paused and looked inside. "Huh... the beer is all gone."

Her tone dry, Kitakami winked at Harry who snickered at her next words. "I wonder why that might be now."

Softly snorting, Ooi shrugged her shoulders. "What can I say? This is pretty good beer after all." A frown on her face, she let go of the two and wagged a finger at Harry. "Now, I'm going to head off and get some more, okay? You keep a watch on Rika-Chan, Harry-Chan?"

All Harry did was throw her a salute. "Will do, Yuuko-Nee-San! Harry-Chan will do his best!"

Ruffling his hair, Ooi grinned before walking off in search of more beer. Once she was gone, Kitakami shook her head and smiled some as she took another sip. "She's right you know." When Harry looked at her, she continued. "This is a pretty good party and the beer is good."

Just grinning, Harry shrugged some. "Well, Gryffindors do know how to party after all. And as to the beer? It's magical British beer after all, not American piss water." He ignored how Kitakami snorted and nearly had some of her beer come out her nose as he continued. "Or at least that's what I've been told after all."

Kitakami coughed as she wiped at her nose and gave him a playful glare. "Harry-Chan!" Then she looked around quickly before leaning in. "So have you ever taken a drink before of alcohol? And don't mean stuff like butterbeer."
Blinking, Harry shook his head. "Not really? I think that butterbeer is about as close as I've gone to actual alcohol."

Now frowning, Kitakami looked around in thought before leaning down. "Well... I have looked up the drinking laws here in Britain. From what I read you could have at least a sip as long as it is under supervision."

Suddenly, Nagato's voice spoke up and made Kitakami freeze. "That may be true in all honesty." Turning, the Light Cruiser gulped at the sight of Nagato giving her a raised eyebrow as the Battleship sipped her own drink. Then, Harry's adoptive mother gave a smile. "Hence why I don't see an issue with him having a small sip as long as it is appropriate. And considering that they have won the Quidditch Cup thanks in no small part to him, as well as the House Cup? I will allow it this time."

Weakly grinning, Kitakami held out her own beer and let Harry take a sip. As he made a thoughtful sound, she took it back. "Well? What do you think?"

Harry then shrugged some and sipped his butterbeer. "It's okay, I guess. I think that I prefer Butterbeer for right now though."

A small smirk on her face, Nagato ruffled his hair. "That's good to hear, you got plenty of time before you can drink more."

Giving a nod to Kitakami, the Battleship then wandered off into the rest of the party. For several moments, the Cruiser stared in her direction before slowly blinking. Turning towards Harry, she gestured to where Nagato went. "How does she do that?"

Only shrugging, Harry grabbed some chocolate from a plate was floating by. "She's a Mum?"

Needless to say, Kitakami gave him a look before shaking her head. "I would ask normally, but... That makes an odd amount of sense."

Quickly performing a detection spell on the chocolate, Harry gave a nod as he took a bite. "I know, right. But she's still a cool Mum, Kitakami-Nee." Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he turned and frowned at the somewhat pensive look on the Cruiser's face. "Something wrong?"

Shaking her head, Kitakami leaned in so that she could be heard as she dropped the volume of her voice. "Not really? But since you call Yuuko-Chan by her name, could you call me the same? I mean, Rika-Nee-San does have a nice sound to it after all."

After a moment, Harry gave her a bright smile. "Sure thing, Rika-Nee-San." When she brightly smiled back at him, he internally shrugged. 'Huh, just like Yuuko-Nee-San.'

Like they said, speak of the Devil and he shall appear, no sooner had Harry even thought that then Ooi reappeared with a tankard in either hand. A grin on her face, she looked between the two of them. "So what are the two of you talking about?"

Becoming mischievous, Harry smirked a bit. "I was just talking about stuff to Rika-Nee-San, Yuuko-Nee-San." Much to his amusement, Ooi paused in her drinking for a moment as that filtered through her mind. Joy and surprise warred on her face before she turned to Kitakami who raised an eyebrow in amusement. To Harry, there seemed to be a silent conversation going on there between them. Not even a quick glance with his special sight, which he still had yet to name, gave him a hint. "Something wrong?"

With a hum and a slow pull of the tankard she was drinking from, Ooi shook her head. "Not really, just a bit of surprise." Then her grin was back and she whipped out an arm. With a squeal from Harry, she easily picked him up and slid him onto her shoulder. "Anyways, this is a celebration! One brought on by my totally awesome Otouto!"

Eyes narrowed in a playful grin, Harry pretended not to see Kitakami giggling. When Ooi waggled her eyebrows though, Kitakami shook her head. "Really, Yuuko-Chan? And why did you get two tankards?"

Ooi simply shrugged in reply before taking a sip. "Why else? So I don't run out as quickly this time." At the look from Kitakami, she snorted. "Oh come on, Rika-Chan. Not like we're easy to get drunk after all."

Even as Kitakami shook her head and replied, Harry looked around the Common Room from where he was. At one of the couches, he could see Duke of York with one arm around Ron's shoulders as she sipped what he was sure was firewhiskey. Helped by how said Battleship had streams of smoke coming from her ears and nose.

Oddly, the way she was with Ron somehow reminded him of a dragon with a hoard.

Still looking around, Harry spotted other things of interest. Such as Minagato in what looked like a drinking contest with several fairies. One of them he recognized as being Yamamoto himself. Around them, various Gryffindors were placing bets and the like. On a makeshift stage, he could see Bright Eyes, Nighty Moon, and Sunny Honey singing and dancing as they were cheered on.

In a small circle of students, he could see an laughing Hoppou dancing with Aerorprin. The two of them just enjoying what they were doing even though it was not really all that coordinated. Much to his amusement though, he could see a somewhat drunk Oliver Wood in an arm wrestling contest with Kunashiri who was grinning. And he was not surprised in the least that the Sixth Year was losing said contest and badly. 'That cannot help his pride... especially with how she's making it look so easy by drinking doing it...' Moments later, he was snatched by Taigei and Ryuuhou. Both sisters carried him off with laughter even as Ooi gave chase while Kitakami followed with her shoulders shaking.

Eventually, the party did wind down... about three in the morning.
______________________________________________________________________________

Just outside the doors to the library, Harry looked back with a sheepish look as Kitakami yawned some. "Sorry about waking you up. It's just if I'm going to show you around the school..."

Kitakami just waved him off before stretching some. "It's not your problem, Harry-Chan. And at least it's not as annoying like it can be with some of the Destroyers." Sighing, she blinked. "Just blame the party last night."

A frown on her face, Taigei considered what happened. "Do parties here always last that long?"

With a shrug, Harry shook his head. "In Gryffindor? Pretty much, we're sort of known for it after all."

Lightly smirking, Kitakami gave Ooi a look. "Hmm, yes, the party was enjoyable. Wasn't it, Ooichi?"

Blushing some as she remembered one incident, Ooi weakly laughed. "Y-yeah, it was... Really enjoyable."

Her blush only increased as Shimushu asked her sister why the two Cruisers ended up in a broom closet and got a shrug in return. Even Kitakami blushed some though her eyes widened as Harry pushed open the doors. "Right, so this is the library for the school."

Slowly, Kitakami walked in and looked around in awe at all the books. "This place is amazing... Just look at all these, you could spend days here reading!"

Poking her friend in the side, Ooi grinned a bit. "You know, considering how you were in school? I can see that. Thankfully though, I don't think that they got a lot of manga here."

With a small bit of redness in her cheeks, Kitakami lightly shoved her away before walking further in and looking around in interest. "Still, this place is pretty amazing. What sort of subjects do they have?"

The black haired wizard hummed a bit before beginning to point. "Well, from here you can see the sections on History, Charms, and Transfiguration. Right past there is the section for magical beasts and such. They have some good books there on various creatures, like dragons."

As Harry continued to explain, Kitakami nodded in interest. Part of her mind did go back to when her and Ooi were in middle school. Ooi was only joking somewhat about the manga because Kitakami did like reading it. More then that, she often liked imagining herself in said manga, especially the ones dealing with fantasy. Slowly, a smile bloomed on her face at that as she gave another look around. 'I suppose that in a way, I'm living that dream now...'

Later, when they were outside, Shimushu pointed at the tentacle rising out of the lake. "W-what is that!?"

Just glancing at it, Harry shrugged some. "That would be the giant squid that lives in the lake actually. It's really cool."

Beside him, Regina nodded some. "And it's really friendly as well, and kind of ticklish." At the looks from the Japanese shipgirls, she tilted her head to the side. "Um... did I say something wrong?"

Facepalming, and patting her on the shoulder with his free hand even as he grinned, Harry chuckled. "No, you didn't say anything wrong." Still chuckling, Harry shook his head, "The giant squid likes to play with various students. When it gets warm enough for swimming, it likes to pick up students who want it and toss them into the air so they can splash down. Or grabs anyone who is drowning in the lake and places them on the shore."

Confused, Nighty Moon raised her hand and waited until she got a nod to continue. "What about the ticklish part, Uncle Harry?"

There was a smile on Harry's face as he gestured at the giant squid. "It's ticklish itself actually. I swear that if it could, it would giggle when you wiggle your finger in certain places."

Needless to say, that got him odd looks from those who didn't really know before. Then they shook their heads and continued on. When they came across the Unicorns though, Kitakami let out a soft squeal of joy. "Unicorns! Actual Unicorns!"

When she turned to him with a hopeful look, Harry gave a nod. "You can go and see them, Rika-Nee-San. Just don't do anything to scare them and..." As he explained, Kitakami listened closely and nodded. The whole time she was vibrating in excitement more and more. It nearly burst out when Harry gave her a bag of apple slices and winked at her. "Here, they like these."

Stunned, she looked at the bag and then at Harry. "You mean... I can go and feed them? N-not just get close, but feed them?"

From nowhere, Harry pulled out a brush. "They also like getting brushed. But yeah, if you want to do that you can." Moments later though, he stumbled back some as the Light Cruiser grabbed him in a hug. Confused, the wizard reached up and patted her on the back. "Rika-Nee-San?"

Pulling back, she gave him a teary look and wiped at her eyes. "Thank you, Otouto. This... ever since I was a little girl, I wished that I could do this." Gently, she took the brush and then kissed the top of his head. "Thank you."

With that, she grabbed Ooi's hand and began to pull her towards the Unicorns. Still confused, Harry looked over at Nagato who gave him a smile and patted him on the shoulder. "That was a good thing you did, Harry. I think that Kitakami-San will be flying pretty high for some time yet."

Head tilted to the side, Harry passed some food to Taigei and Ryuuhou before they also made their way towards the Unicorns with their escorts. "Um, if it makes her that happy." With a shrug, he glanced to where Aeroprin and the others sat down to watch the Unicorns with happy and awestruck looks on their faces. And in the distance, he could also see Duke of York there before he sat down on a stone to watch Kitakami and the others feed and brush the unicorns in the herd.

 

K9Thefirst1

Well, now that Reivana is canon to the story, it’s only proper that we see how she and Hermione met. Also, we get an idea on where my stuff is in the timeline:

Portsmouth Naval Base

Hermione entered the Fleet’s study, her arms full of her textbooks and notebooks for Hogwarts, and her holds containing the rest of her materials that wouldn’t fit in her arms. For months she was frozen, and if she was going to get caught up, she would need to use her time wisely with this extended break. The submarines were all out of patrol and would not be back for a few days, and the Admiral permitted a temporary reassignment to shore duties to give her the time she needed. She was not the only shipgirl of Her Majesty’s Navy to take advantage of the small library put to the ships’ personal use. Every last one of the score or so recliner chairs and the half-dozen tables were all full of other members of the fleet – foreign and domestic – taking the time to read a book or brush up on one topic or interest or another. All of them, except for a small table for two by the window that Hermione had long since unofficially claimed as hers. It took a moment to get her things in order, but in time she had everything just so for her studies (without being so rude as to leave no room for anyone else that needed the table), and began. Befittingly, she started with Fantastic Beasts, And Where to Find Them. But in time, she was interrupted by a small cough and a soft whisper – always a good sign, it showed the other person had respect for the severity of a Library’s sacred silence.

“Excuse me, is this seat taken?”

Hermione’s radio staff thought the voice sounded… Odd, but she was so distracted that it was brushed aside as the magical cruiser waved to the chair in front of her without looking.

“By all means, help yourself.”

“Thank you.”

With the best effort, the other patron pulled back the other chair -much farther back than Hermione expected – and placed down a selection of books before setting down herself. Hermione looked up from her reading at the thump. Before her was a stack of books so tall that it could only have been a shipgirl to carry it, for the cruiser witch couldn’t see the other girl that had sat down.

Hermione looked at the titles with curiosity, which grew more noted at how… Random it was. There were books on Law, Culture of the UK and Europe, The Children of Húrin, and Naval History. Hermione was about to comment when the individual behind the stack took the Naval History off from the top with an unnaturally pale hand, and shoved the rest of the books to the side – to show a Re-Class battleship sitting literally inches away from her.

Going to Full Brown Alert, Hermione and her fairies rapidly took stock of her surroundings. For one thing, no one was panicking, and there were no sirens blaring, nor any signs of radio comms being jammed. Secondly, she noted there was a “Diplomatic Corps VIP” tag and lanyard around her neck. Looking one way and the other for anything else she may have missed, Hermione sent a radio message to one of her sisters.

[Cleopatra? There is a Re-Class right in front of me. Sitting in the library.]

[Huh? …OH! That’s Reivana. She’s an envoy for a Princess in the Atlantic.]

[Wait, I thought she was at Scapa Flow?]

[OH! No, different Princess. She’s… Well, she’s been kinda tight-lipped over that. She’s kind of our guest until the PM and NATO can get their act together on how to handle her.]

[…And why am I only learning about her now, by her sitting down right in front of me in the library?]

[Huh… Must’ve slipped our minds.]

[THAT’S NOT A REASON!]

[Ooh! You’ll like her Hermione, she likes books like you do! Have to go, ta!]

The bushy-haired cruiser felt her eye twitch several times at the dead dial tone in her radio room before she took in a soothing breath and closed her book, her studious mood well and truly dead.

“Excuse me,” she whispered, “I don’t believe we have been introduced.”

The Re-Class on the other side of her continued reading as if nothing happened. After a moment Hermione cleared her throat.

Still nothing.

Now quite irritated, the Cruiser looked around the room before coughing a second time, louder.

“Yeah, that’s not going to work.”

Hermione turned to the voice, originating just over the Re-Class’ right shoulder… And stared, slack-jawed, at the Abyssal’s tail-head. With an actual expression on it’s face, lightbulbs blinking and electricity arcing between two miniature transformer antennae grafted to the top of its skull.

“Hi! I’m Stab, and I’m an Abomination of Science!”

“H-Her Majesties Ship Hermione,” the cruiser replied, “and I am very, very unnerved right now.”

“Yeah, I’m not surprised. Hold on – Hey! Social Retard!”

At once the Re-Class jerked to attention before glaring at her tail.

“You’re being rude.” Stab said, jerking his chin at Hermione. The Re-Class turned to Hermione, genuine surprise on her features.

“Oh! Ahem, sorry,” she said bashfully, “I’m Reivana, of the fleet of Her Royal Highness the Ancient Atlantic Gateway Princess, and Diplomatic Envoy to the United Kingdom.”

Hermione looked at the hand the battleship offered her before tentatively taking it. Neither noticed Stab tilt his head, not unlike a dog hearing a far-off sound.

“Hermione, HMS Hermione. Royal Navy. So… That’s quite the stack there.”

“Oh! Is it?”

“Well, compared to most of the others at least.”

“Maybe, but I have so much to catch up on! So many new books to read! Do you have any idea how quickly such precious treasures degrade in the ocean?”

“I can only imagine. Especially if it’s deep, the pressure likely forces the water into the material rather that the book absorbing it. Is that right?”

“Oh you can only imagine. I have at best an hour or so before either the ink fades from the page or the book disintegrates in my hands! It breaks my heart every time.”

“You poor thing! Have you been able to find any of those books you lost here? I can always request the librarian to order specific ones for you.”

The conversation faded into silence, with Reivana staring at Hermione like the proverbial deer in front of a car. As the seconds ticked by, tears began to fall from her eyes. She hiccupped, then reached across the table to clasp Hermione’s hand in her own.

“Oh you do understand!”

The light cruiser was a little surprised at the genuine emotion from her fellow bibliophile, but a warm smile of understanding graced her lips as she gently patted Reivana’s hand with her own free one.

“Not to worry my friend, I promise you that I know fully well how important and precious knowledge is.”

Then the tail made a gagging noise.

“Look, I hate to break up this nerdfest… Well, okay that’s a lie, but something important came in from the Princess.”

Stab then motioned right next to Reivana’s ear and whispered something. An ordinary human wouldn’t have heard it, but Hermione’s radio intercepted the transmission. It was choppy, but not enough to miss the reference to the mythical Ferryman of the River Styx, and a request to prepare his landing site. Across the table, Reivana’s face set itself in pensive resignation, then audibly gulped.

“Miss Hermione,” she said, voice deathly serious, but calm, “I’m afraid I need to cut this conversation short. I need to speak with the Sea Lord about something very important. …But, no matter what happens after this meeting, do you think we can still be friends?”

Hermione blinked in mild surprise at the change in tone, but she nodded nonetheless.

“Yes, you seem like a pleasant enough… Er, Abyssal, I’d be happy to talk to you more.”

The Re-Class nodded with a smile and a shaky breath.

“Right. Thank you, Hermione. I’ll talk with you later. Hopefully.”

And with that, the battleship moved her stack of books on a nearby cart and left the Library, leaving a surprised and somewhat confused Light Cruiser in her wake.
------

Half-Hour Later, Office of the First Sea Lord

Given the partially political nature of the position, the primary office of the First Sea Lord of the Admiralty was traditionally kept in London. However, Lord Fairbank was a career seaman, and preferred to see with his own eyes the comings and goings of the fleet if he could help it. Therefore, in the four years of his appointment, he made a habit of rotating between the various naval bases across the UK. Parliament and The Queen permitted this eccentricity for two reasons. One) Compared to eccentricities those of the Aristocracy were popularly expected to have, changing the address of his office every few months was rather tame, and Two) After two Sea Lords in succession were killed by Abyssal Air raids in the opening months of the war, the notion of the Sea Lord not being in the same place all of the time was rather attractive. But, with a diplomatic envoy residing in Portsmouth, no less a personage than Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, told him in no uncertain terms that he was to remain there until either permitted otherwise, or a treaty was signed.

So it was that Reivana made for the Administrative buildings and requested an audience with Lord Admiral Fairbank. Alas, according to Dreadnought his secretary, he was out. When Reivana pressed for the importance of her meeting – regrettable lack of appointment aside – Dreadnought merely apologized and asked the Re-Class to either leave a message or schedule a meeting like a civilized person. Reivana refusing to leave any message unless Dreadnought leaned an ear for her to whisper it to her should have been the first sign that this was not something that could wait.

Then Reivana told her, as quiet as possible while still being heard.

“…Did I hear that properly young lady?” the Mother of Battleships asked, eyes wide, before summarizing what she thought she heard. At the Re-Class’ nod, Dreadnought nodded and moved for the telephone.

“Do take a seat Reivana. You are correct – this sort of matter does require protocol to give it leave. Just a moment.”

There was an awkward silence as Dreadnought pounded the Sea Lord’s number into the pad and the room echoed with the sound of the ringing over the speaker. After the third ring a voice that was not the First Sea Lord’s, but of a young woman, came from the voice.

“Hullo? Mum is that you?”

“Bellerophon? Is your f- The First Sea Lord there?”

“Pa? Or, he’s indisposed at the moment. I think the kebab at the Pub didn’t agree with him. …Um, I mean-!”

“Lord Fairbank’s defiance of his doctor-ordered diet can wait Bell. When he is up for it, tell him that he must hurry to the office at best speed. He is needed in here most desperately.”

There was a long, pregnant pause over the line. There was the sound of a breeze and rushing cars coming from the speaker as though the person moved their phone away from their ear for a moment to see if it was working properly. In time, the first Post-Dreadnought ship’s voice was heard again.

“…Aren’t you two a little old for Booty Calls?”

”BELLEROPHON!”

“He’scomingrightoveryesmum!”

At that, the phone droned with the sound of a discontinued call. Dreadnought stood in place looking down at the desk and a hand over her eyes, in hopes of hiding the red on her face.

Reivana, unfortunately, was a curious sort.

“Hmmm… I’ve heard of ‘butt-calls,’ but this is the first I’ve heard of a ‘Booty Call.’ Are they related?”

Dreadnought groaned.
------

“Now then, Madam Diplomat, what is it that you need to bring to my attention today?”

Reivana fidgeted in her seat, before turning to Stab. The tail, in a rare show of comradery and empathy for his literally other half, gently nuzzled her cheek and gave a smile. The battleship took in a small breath and stood up.

“Sir, it concerns a matter that my Princess understands will no doubt be a very delicate matter for the Surface nations.”

“And what matter would that be?”

“Well,” she continued, beginning to pace in a manner not unlike a professor giving a lecture, having clearly long practiced for this conversation, “it concerns with our need for metal. Given that we live far away from easily accessible deposits of iron and other industrial metals to feed our fleet’s unique needs, we have needed to… take advantage of what sources we have available to us.”

“By any chance,” Fairbank interjected, looked for all the world as if butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth, “would this have to do with reports of increased vulcanism to the west of the Azores?”

Reivana froze in place, save for her eyes, which grew wide as she looked between the Sea Lord and his secretary ship and back. She turned to Stab, who only shock his head slightly. Reivana coughed diplomatically before pointedly avoiding making eye-contact with the pair.

“I… Do not have liberty to confirm or deny any such speculation, sir. However, if I understand what you are alluding to, I am afraid that, if we were involved in such actions, it would be only recently. What I have asked to meet with you to discuss is regarding… Salvage operations.”

Fairbank nodded and leaned back in his chair.

“I am not surprised, all told. In fact, when you told me about the size of your Princess’ fleet, I figured that you lot would have need for an awful lot of steel, and only so many places to get it.”

Reivana and her tail shared a look before the battleship responded.

“Then you know why my Princess has asked me to refrain from mentioning it. At least, until talks progress.”

“…I can guess. The sea has seen many battles. Especially in recent years. A lot of ships have gone down… With many good men and women aboard. Madam Diplomat, I am a practical man at heart. But I cannot fault others for being upset when they hear that your Princess has been dismantling what are under several International Laws and Treaties as War Graves. The fact that you and your government presently have no treaties with any state may give you some wiggle room, but not much.

“Which beggars the question, Miss Reivana… Why mention this now? Or at all? If your Princess upholds her end of what she promises, I scarcely imagine any government willing to mention the issue or make a fuss to the point of serious action.”

Reivana nodded in agreement even as she produced a handful of Imps, armed with a tiny old-fashioned film projector, a miniature screen, and tins of reels. She placed the Imps on his desk, where they then began to clear an area for their equipment.

“For starters sir, the Princess wanted to bring it up in her own time so as to avoid an international incident in the future. If she can frame it properly and completely, any outcry would not be so loud as if it were revealed incompletely, or at a politically inconveniently moment.

“The second reason is because she wanted me to wait for when these were completed.”

As she finished, the Imps finished their preparations, and one of them leaped over to the windows to close the blinds as another turned off the lights. That done, the projector was activated, and the screen was illuminated with the draft lines of a cargo freighter of Mid-Twentieth Century design. Reivana pulled out a pointer stick and began to gesture at important bits of what was on the little screen.

“This, sir, is a Wok-Class cargo transport. She has a modest cruise speed, the capacity of ten-thousand tons, and is armed with a dense anti-air capability, plus an emergency torpedo launcher. I was informed just today that the construction of the first of the class has been completed, with her sisters to begin production in the upcoming days. With these, my Princess can finally be free to dismantle the Wa-Class transports we have in our fleet. With your government’s permission sir, my Princess can send the lead ship of the class here with her first cargo – largely trade items our fleet can provide the world… Along with these.”

The screen shifted to a large room, and the contents of it caused Dreadnought to gasp and Fairbank to lean forward, eyes wide.

For lining the walls, and filling almost every available space in between, were dozens, hundreds, of Union Jack flags, clearly tucked around bodies. The scene then changed to video of what appeared to be a team of Abyssal cruisers under the direction of what Reivana knew to be Ocean Liner Demon as they cut apart wreckage of a ship, only to stop what they were doing when they entered what appeared to be the engine room, where a body was floating over a command consol.

The team put away their tools and pulled back as Ocean Liner Demon and two cruisers carrying body bags came up to the corpse. Ocean pulled out a clipboard and pen, and at her direction the other two gingerly moved the drowned man this way and that, taking careful note of any distinguishing marks to be found on him, along with the name and rank on his uniform and dog tag. Then the two assisting cruisers put the body in the body bag, and Demon copied down the information on a tag pinned to it, then took a wax pencil and drew a 22 on the bag as the assistants took the bag and its gruesome contents away. Then the Abyssal team combed the rest of the room, looking for any and all personal items they could find in the room. It was only after they were satisfied that they had everything to be found that they picked up their tools and resumed their work.

All the while Reivana narrated the scene.

“This is footage from the salvage operations to recycle the wreck of HMS Ocean, lost in the first month of the war, where she single-handedly fended off Ancient Atlantic Gateway Princess’ sister Central Atlantic Princess defending an ocean liner. In order to avoid disturbing any especially sacred ground, the Princess has permitted only wrecks from after January 1st, 1990 to be salvaged. Any from before that date are to be left in peace.

“As seen here, for many of the wrecks we have been salvaging, there are usually a body or two still inside. The Princess has ordered that all bodies are to be treated with the utmost respect. Her exact order in fact is that there are to be regarded as if they were her own body. To help with this, she commissioned her second in command, Ocean Liner Demon, seen here to devise a system to categorize and identify each body found. As you can see, as soon as a body or evidence there of is found, all work stops, and if the body is in good enough condition is checked for identifying features, birthmarks, tattoos, that sort of thing. Then the body is noted of any rank markings or name if present on the clothing, and the contents of the pockets are collected and identified in a separate bag. Then the body and all associated items are given a number in the order it was found in the wreck, as well as its location. Then the room is scanned for any other items that could possibly be used to identify the individual. Only after all of this is done is work permitted to resume.

“Then the body is moved into a special room set aside for this purpose, organized by ship or plane it was found in.”

With that, the screen went white as the film ended, and the Imps turned the lights back on. Reivana put away her pointer, then stood up straight before the First Sea Lord, hands behind her back as she finished her presentation.

“It is the Princess’ intention to return the bodies of the deceased to their motherlands for proper identification and burial. At present, we have the remains of crews from seventy-three ships and two-hundred aircraft, both civilian and military, from approximately thirteen countries. The bulk of which being from the period you humans call Blood Week. The first delivery of the first Wok-Class transport, in addition to the goods I mentioned, will also bring all of the remains we found in HMS Ocean, as a show of respect, good will, and proof of a desire to make amends, and provide closure for the actions of our people upon your own.”

Dreadnought and Fairbank looked to each other, stunned silent. It was a long while before Fairbank found his voice for a visibly nervous Reivana.

“Miss Reivana… I shall make some calls to the PM. However, I hardly expect we shall have to wait long for an answer. And if what your Princess offers in genuine… I suspect very much that things will begin to happen. And rapidly. Now. If I were to request that Princess Gateway send us that transport today, how long would it take?”

Given a question with nice, concrete numbers, Reivana smiled in relief. “Given the need to pack the cargo and accommodate the remains, plus the speed of the transport, I would give an estimate of perhaps six or seven days. One or two for loading, and five in transit. If the weather is fair of course. Rough seas may necessitate an extra day or more.”

Dreadnought rapidly jotted down that information without being asked as Fairbank nodded.

“Thank you very much Madam Diplomat. You are free to go, I’ll contact you when I hear things from my end.”

Reivana nodded, gave a curtsey, and left, Fairbank not even waiting for the door to close before grabbing his phone to call 10 Downing Street.

The next day, the Government sent its first missive to the Ancient Atlantic Gateway Princess via her envoy: Woken was to make for the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, and dock at a specific pier under the cover of night to meet with representatives from the Royal Navy and Her Majesty’s Government. The bodies would be taken in secret to the nearest military hospital for the identification process to begin.

In the event that the bodies were indeed the crew of HMS Ocean, only then would Her Majesty the Queen, her Parliament, and the Prime Minister publicly announce the presence of Gateway Princess, her intentions for peace with Humanity, and the precious cargo her transport delivered unto the bereaved families of Britain.
------

The method Ocean Liner Demon uses to categorize the dead to help ID them is the same one developed by an undertaker in Halifax to help identify the dead Mackay-Bennet was sent to collect after the Titanic disaster. And again 5 Years later after the Halifax Explosion.

 

Harry Leferts

Closing the box, Ooi was whistling as she taped it shut before handing it to Kitakami. Said Light Cruiser then took the package and put it into her pocket, feeling her crew place it into her holds. Hearing a sound though, Kitakami looked up and smiled as she found Harry there. "Hello, Harry-Chan."

At a similar greeting from Ooi, Harry walked in with a small smile on his face. "Hey, Rika-Nee-San, Yuuko-Nee-San." Looking at the boxes, he gained an amused expression. "Should I ask how much shopping you got done in Hogsmeade?"

With a shared look, Ooi grinned some. "We got plenty done actually, there was a lot of things down in Hogsmeade after all." She then held up what looked like a orb with unicorns inside of it. "Like this, it's something called a memory orb..." The image inside then showed the unicorn nuzzling Kitakami who was giggling. "Worthy every bit."

Blushing slightly, Kitakami shook her head though she looked pleased. "Apparently they can take a memory and place it inside to show it. According to the shop owner they're like pensieves, but cheaper..." A slight frown on her face she shook her head and glanced at Ooi. "Though considering that it still cost a lot, I would hate to see what a Pensieve costs."

Once more, Ooi gave a shrug. "Still, worth every bit of money." Looking at it, she tapped the sphere and smiled. "Definitely going to need to find a place for this and maybe the others."

Eyebrows raising, Harry gave her an expression of surprise. "How many did you two buy?"

However, Kitakami only shrugged. "A couple." Shrugging at the look, the shipgirl shook her head. "They're apparently pretty new and not many were buying them. I know that Ryuuhou-San as well as Taigei-San bought some and I think that Hoppou did as well." Twinkle entering her eyes, she smirked. "Want to bet that a bunch of the other girls will want to buy some?"

Softly snorting, Harry shook his head. "No bet there. It sounds like the sort of thing that the others will." Glancing at one of the boxes though, he raised an eyebrow. "So... how much is left in Honeydukes?"

Also glancing at the box, Kitakami shot an amused look at an unrepentant Ooi. "Hopefully enough considering how much Yuuko-Chan here bought. To say nothing of what Duke of York bought."

Just crossing her arms, Ooi gave a small sniff. "What? Their chocolate is really, really good." She then poked Kitakami in the side and made her squirm as she also smirked. "And it's not like you didn't enjoy the free samples they gave us. Or complain about getting so much there."

Lips curling upwards as she poked Ooi back, Kitakami snorted. "Their chocolate is good. Besides, rationing back home might have been lightened, but its still there. And I know that Kaa-San and Tou-San will enjoy what I can send them." Ooi briefly had a saddened look on her face before Kitakami grasped her hand. "Hey, Yuuko-Chan. You know that they see you as their daughter as well."

Before Ooi could say anything though, she felt the bed depress a bit and turned as Harry gave her a hug. Expression softening, the Natural Born reached over and placed an arm around the boy. "Yeah, but still hurts."

Looking up at her, Harry chewed his lip some before tilting his head. "I... know how you feel." Both shipgirls gave a nod as they remembered what they knew of his past, but then Harry continued. "And, well... I don't see them as worth even thinking about. If they don't want to have you as a daughter, Yuuko-Nee-San, then I think that they're complete and utterly baka wankers."

Even as she could feel some wetness in her eyes, Ooi gave a snort. "Don't let your Kaa-San hear you say that, Harry-Chan. But yeah... you're right. And besides, I got an awesome Otouto right here!"

On Harry's face was a smile before he turned thoughtful. Not saying anything, Ooi watched as Harry thought over whatever was on his mind for almost a minute. "You see me as your Otouto, right?"

Confused, Ooi looked over at Kitakami who gave her a look that told her that said girl didn't know where this was going either. Turning back, she gave a nod of the head. "Sure do, Harry-Chan. And like I told you, I always wanted an Otouto. The fact that you accepted it? Let me tell you, it makes me so very happy, Harry-Chan."

With a deep breath, Harry nodded some and let it out. "How much would you like for that to be true?"

Breath caught in her chest, Ooi stared down at him before remembering that she needed oxygen. The question and what it could mean... Part of her daren't hope while the other did. "To be true? Are you suggesting..."

After a moment, Harry gave slight bob of his head. "Well, yes? I mean..." With a deep breath, he placed his hands in his lap nervously. "Mum mentioned that while she did adopt me, she wanted me to have a family register of my own. I can't add to it until I'm an adult, not really. But... because of some laws in magical Britain, old laws..."

Kitakami glanced at her friend and could see the sheer hope there before she turned to Harry. Unknown to her, she had a similar hope in her own eyes. "Harry-Chan, what sort of laws?"

Licking his dry lips, Harry tilted his head some. "Well, it was in a book I was reading about. It was about rituals and stuff, you know? And there was one there that caught my interest."

Interested, Ooi blinked some and furrowed her eyebrows. "Rituals?"

Slowly, the black haired boy nodded. "I was looking it up and it's a really, really old one. And I mean, back to before the Romans came to Britain and it's been around since then." Needless to say, both girls' eyebrows shot up at that bit of information. "Anyways, it was used between warriors and stuff. People who trusted each other to have each others' backs and who might not have had family of their own. It's sort of wierd because there's a version still used in the non-magical world."

Gasping, Kitakami remembered something and leaned in. "Do you mean that blood brothers thing that I once read about?"

Now smiling, Harry gave a small nod. "Um, yes? And blood sisters as well." Rubbing the back of his head, he took a deep breath. "There's more to it then just cutting thumbs and pressing them together though. Unlike what some might think though, it doesn't make you actual blood siblings, but... family magic will accept you as kin at least. And the Ministry accepts it if it's done by a head of a family."

About to hang her head in disappointment, Ooi then blinked as something occurred to her. "And... you're the heir to your family here. A whatchamacallit?"

While chuckling, Harry gave a nod. "A scion?"

Pointing at him, Ooi grinned. "That's it!"

Beside her, Kitakami frowned some in thought. "What is involved in this, Harry-Chan?"

Harry scratched his head for a moment before shaking his head. "Well... first the two cleanse their hands in a shield filled with rainwater. The cut itself needs to be done with a knife of silver, though meteoric iron can be used. And instead of just a small cut on the thumb, it's a slash across the palms with them grasping them together over the shield. There's a small oath between the two as well, which acknowledges the other as family and accepts it. Each bit has it's own symbolism involved. The knife represents that each is willing to fight for the family, the cuts show that both will shed blood for the other, and the shield represents that they will act in defense of each other and their family. The oath ties it all together with them accepting each other as kin... After that, I just send a letter to an office in the Ministry and they write it down with us both signing it in blood. When I asked, Professor Dumbledore stated that said office is staffed by a very old wizard who swore an oath to secrecy regarding families as there's a lot of secrets."

Grimacing, Kitakami shook her head. "The fact that it involves blood is... a little disturbing, Harry."

Meanwhile, Ooi had a thoughtful look on her face as she rolled it around in her head. 'Potter Yuuko? That would not be too bad.' Then she reached over and gave him a tight hug. "I appreciate the offer, Otouto. But I'm going to think it over first as this is a big decision. Even if I don't go for it though, I would not mind being added to your family register when it comes time."

All Harry did was nod and smile as he hugged her back while pretending not to see the tears in her eyes. "Sure thing, Yuuko-Nee-San. I don't mind it at all." Then he blinked as Kitakami got up and sat down on his other side before hugging him as well. Needless to say, the three of them spent some time like that.

 

Harry Leferts

Hair whipping around in the mid-May breeze, Claire took a deep breath as Eagle's bow cut through the waves. In the air, she could feel both excitement and nervousness as one of the cadets pointed. "There's Fishers Island! We're almost home!"

Laughter made them all turn as Eagle herself made an appearance and leaned over the railing as she nodded. "Ja, we're nearly home. Just a bit further and we'll hit the Thames before heading up it to New London." Clapping her hands, she gave a look to each of them and the Instructors. "But that does not mean that we can rest yet! Make ready!"

Almost as one, the crew headed off to their various duties with Claire watching. She was one of those whose duties would not be done until it was time to tie up. Which, of course, meant that she could look around. Despite the months since they escaped from that odd island enshrouded with fog, she still had issues believing what she had heard and seen. Even now, around Eagle she could see various shipgirls moving around making sure that the Tall Ship was safe. And not too far off, the cadet could see Big Mamie herself keeping watch over them.

It was all so surreal.

Taking a deep breath as the seagulls cried above, she closed her eyes and thought back. Not even a day upon reaching port after their narrow escape found all of them being debriefed and asked question after question regarding what had happened. Not just that, but there was a lengthy period in which they were examined and the like. All to make sure that they were who they said that they were. It was weeks before they finally decided that, yes, they were exactly the crew of the Eagle when she had disappeared.

Which lead to yet another long time as they went over each event that had occurred. Their stories regarding the island was met with both surprise, and oddly enough, acceptance. Something that they only realized was odd well after the fact.

After that came bringing them all up to speed which took yet more time. Each and every one of them was stunned that it was not 2005 anymore, but instead was 2012. Seven years they had been gone while the world went on without them.

Seven years!

Needless to say, all of them felt lost in the strange place that the world had become while they were somewhere else. It was not just the technology either, or the fact that they were in a world war the scale of which none of them had even considered would happen. They were all shocked to learn that what had attacked them were what was considered to be the grudges born on the sea from naval warfare. More then that, they were only effectively fought using the spirits of warships past. All of whom had returned as young girls and women, but with all the strength and power of their steel hulls. Despite Eagle herself, that was still a hurdle for all of them.

Yet the hits kept coming when they were also told that they had all been considered lost at sea during what was Blood Week. There was even empty graves with their names on them, just a handful compared to the sheer number that were in graveyards in the US alone from that time. Each of their families had believed that they were all dead and long gone, but here they were. For some of them, it was especially hard. Younger siblings who were once children were now close to their age.

Some of said siblings didn't even remember their older brothers and sisters it had been so long and they had been so young. And that hurt, that hurt a lot. More then one of them had broken down crying when they found that out, or that their relatives were dead, dying in the intervening years. The only real support that they had being their fellow cadets, which brought them all the closer then they had been before.

Besides that, there were other things as well. All of them had been given awards and medals "posthumously" for acts of heroism and valor which were now needed to be sorted out. They were also, each of them, made full members of the United States Coast Guard with ranks given to them. And now that they were found to be alive, they were to be given them. Heck, Claire had been shocked to find out that her old High School had created a memorial dedicated to her and her best friend Angie.

Just the fact that they were considered heroes to such an extent that such things happened all due to them trying to save people as was their duty during Blood Week...

Claire could still remember slumping on a couch when she saw on that movie network a film about her and the others that had come out three years before. A film that played up their heroism during that dark day and ended with them being defiant even as their ship sank with all hands. She was not ashamed to say that she was in tears by the end, especially as it was dedicated to all of them. And she was not the only one either.

When all was said and done, it was January by the time that everything was sorted out. Thankfully, the United States Government flew their families all the way to Britain to meet them for the holidays. That meant that Claire had to confront Angie's parents and brother. Much to her surprise though, her best friend's family had gathered up in a tight hug with tears in their eyes. And she sobbed as they told her that they were thankful that she was alive at least and did not blame her for Angie dying saving her from bullets.

A hand on her shoulder made Claire open her eyes and turn to see the translucent figure of her best friend and sister in all but blood. After a moment, the ghostly Angie raised an eyebrow. "You seemed rather deep in thought there."

Sadly smiling, Claire looked to see that they had entered the Thames and were now surrounded by boats and ships, all of them guiding the Eagle towards her berth. United States Navy ships fired their guns in salute as they passed as did various Coast Guard Cutters with their crews manning the rails and saluting them as they passed. "Just thinking, you know? About everything that's happened and... well, yeah." Focusing her attention on her friend, she felt tears come to her eyes. "You know."

Her friend also had tears in her eyes as she laughed lightly. "Yeah, I think that I do." Placing the other hand on Claire's shoulders, she gave her a small smile. "We're nearly home. That's something wonderful."

Blinking away the wetness, Claire hugged her friend tightly, afraid that she would disappear. Out of everything, she had never thought that she would see her again. "Not all of us."

Simply returning the hug, Angie sighed. "Yes, all of us. Even if I'm... gone, I'm still here Claire. We're both still here in some way and so are the others. We're all members of the crew after all." Closing her eyes, the ghost sighed softly. "For example, you and the others still stayed on so that you could see the journey home through. All of you were given the choice to be flown home."

Only shaking her head, Claire sniffled some. She did not care if any of the others saw her, she knew that they were all going through the same thing. "It wouldn't have felt right to do so. We were going to come home together or not at all. All of us." Unable to help herself, the cadet felt tears slip down her cheeks. "I-I'm just going to miss you so much, Angie. You're my best friend in the whole world and my sister... and because you followed me-"

Angie gave a weak chuckle at that. "Because nothing, Claire. Like you said, we're sisters in every way but blood. And you did not force me to follow you, I did so of my own free will. Besides, I might have still died one way or the other. But at least we can still meet up and you can visit me whenever you want and we got a chance." Lips twitching, she felt her own tears drip down her cheeks. "You'll be out there doing great, I just know it. And I'll continue here and help train more people."

There was a watery smile on Claire's face as she nodded. "I know, and you're going to be unbelievable at that."

Nodding, the ghostly figure hummed. "And besides, you would not believe some of the people I met. I swear to God that I met Walt Disney himself a while ago. The man, the legend. And he was everything that they said he was."

A laugh burst from Claire though it was also filled with a sob. "So you said, Angie. So you said." Both of them lapsed into silence for several moments before she whispered. "I'm still going to miss you no matter what though."

Slowly, Angie nodded back as she let out a sob. "And so am I, Claire. Every damn day. But look on the bright side... one day we'll both be back together. And I will be showing you everything that I can't tell you about. Because the Eagle? She's still here, and we'll be with her all the way."

Just smiling, Claire wiped at her eyes some before a shout made her look. "OH WOW! LOOK AT THE BRIDGE!"

Both her and Angie looked over at the Gold Star Bridge and their jaws dropped. Hundreds if not thousands lined it. All of them waving American flags or holding banners welcoming them back. Every member of the Eagle's crew spent a moment just soaking it in as they could hear the cheers and shouts of welcome home. Tears trickled down cheeks as they felt their hearts swell with emotion as they passed under the bridge.

Not long after, they came within sight of the pier where Eagle would tie up. It took them several moments to realize what they were seeing there waiting for them. USCG personnel lined said pier, retired or otherwise. All of them watching as the ship came in closer. The Cadets and Instructors all stared with one of them whispering as they caught sight of some of the people there even as the band on the pier began to play. "Is... holy shit, that's the President! And... and I think that's SecNav with the Commandant!"

Seconds passed as they stared at the pier and then each other. Then they scrambled to the rails and lined up only for one final surprise to happen before they could salute.

The President and the others instead saluted them.

They were finally home.

 

NotHimAgain

Finally! I have finally written! AHAHAHAHAHAAAA!

Ahem.
Transitional Period

-----

Yae sat down with a groan, slumping backwards against the wall. “Could we just take five?” she pleaded, rubbing the back of her neck. “Just for a minute?” Bewildered, Ushio glanced down at her pregnant friend’s stomach—it might be a little bigger than the last time they saw each other, but she wasn’t quite to the stage of pregnancy where she would be completely dependent on others (though now that she thought about it, at least part of that was probably Hime-neesan wanting to be spoiled).

On the other hand, Yae probably hadn’t been quite as active as she usually was as of late out of depression, pregnancy, and what have you. “S-sure,” Ushio agreed on that thought, sitting down beside her. “I, ah, I’m guessing you haven’t b-been out much?”

“You have no idea,” Yae huffed, crossing her arms defiantly. “I mean, I get Mamiya trying to take care of me, I wasn’t…” a dark look flashed through her eyes for a moment, gone just as quickly. Ushio felt a pang run from her heart down to her feet. “Well, you know. But I’m doing better now, and Mom and Dad? God, it’s like I’m ten again. I’m a grown woman, I can handle things now!”

Ushio considered this. From what she remembered of Yae, she was the type who preferred to put her feet up and watch Toku, not the one who was up and working at chores. On the other hand, the same Toku tended to influence her interactions with others—when Yae wasn’t watching her shows she was almost enthusiastically active, and she strove to act in a manner befitting her heroes. Oftentimes, this meant that she wasn’t all that good for advice (Ushio recalled such an incident herself), but…

“You want to pull your weight,” Ushio mused. Yae nodded firmly.

“Exactly,” she agreed. “And they won’t let me.” Planting her hands against the ground, she struggled to her feet. “Well, fixing that. Come on, let’s get going. I’ve still got to do this interview, right?”
-----

“I’m back!” Yoko shouted, kicking her shoes off and running through the door. “Who wants mochi!”

“Me,” Reiko called out in response. She was slouched over on the couch, thumbing idly through television channels looking for something—anything—worth watching. There were more advanced models than the 70-inch plasma screen television on the market, with all sorts of silly little gimmicks and internet links and things, but the television was a point of pride for their mother—one of the first things she had purchased to furnish a home upon her accidental departure/escape from the Reserve, and even if it didn’t endure the years, it would probably still be sitting there to the day Reiko and her sisters died surrounded by grandchildren.

Children…

“Are… you the only one here?” Yoko asked, hesitantly. Maybe it was just Reiko, but she thought there might have been a note of bitterness in her voice. After all, Yoko getting caught up in the recurring arguments between her and their mother had been one of the deciding factors in her decision to run away.

“I’m pretty much the only one here who’s not in a school club anyhow,” Reiko admitted. She paused, muting the television as the news came on. On second thought… “Actually, Ako came home early, not sure why. She just went upstairs and hasn’t come down since. Think she’s angry with me for some reason? I’m not sure what’s going on here.”

“Uh no, she’s got all those photographs of that fighter pilot hidden in her sock drawer,” Yoko replied, walking over to Reiko and handing her the box of confections. “Kobayashi, I think it was?” Reiko balked. “You didn’t know?”

An inhuman shriek resounded through the house.

“I think,” Reiko said dryly, “that you weren’t supposed to know.” Turning to look at the stairs, she raised her voice. “Stalking is a crime!” she shouted.

“I’m not a stalker!” Ako called back.

Reiko thought briefly about saying something sarcastic about ‘young love,’ but she wasn’t in any place to talk about it. Accepting the mochi, she perused her choices and wondered if maybe, just maybe, Tatsuya was thinking about her.
-----

Tatsuya jumped, sending himself into an awkward cartwheel as he tried to maintain his balance. A split second later, the ground where he had been standing was torn apart, shredded by tiny blades wielded by enemies too fast to be seen.

“Well,” he said, panting breathlessly, “at least it’s not spiders this time.”

The note of positivity was, unfortunately, mitigated by the fact that kamaitachi were so small and insanely fast that they were almost impossible to fight on equal footing. Tatsuya scrambled to his feet, trying to slow his breathing. The whoosh of air in and out of his lungs was making it harder for him to hear anything coming. This sort of thing was much less a problem if it was a solo creature. Kamaitachi, unfortunately, came in sets of three.

“Tatsuya!” Benio shouted, running down the hall of the storage center. The doors to the various compartments had been sliced apart in the weasels’ rampage, and the contents lay strewn across the floor, forcing her to hop over and sidestep lamps and furnishings. In each hand, she was dragging a baseball bat.

“Wait!” Tatusya shouted, and she spun, almost on instinct. There was a smacking sound of wood against animal, and a small brown creature slammed into a wall, flopping and falling to the floor. Without missing a beat, Benio threw the other bat to Tatsuya. “Okay then. How’d you see that one coming?”

“Didn’t,” Benio admitted, turning to face back the way she’d come. “You startled me.”

“Don’t make something so impressive sound so accidental,” Tatsuya grumbled, raising the bat. “You okay?”

“A little cooler,” she said, trying to rub sweat from her brow with the heel of her palm. “It’s shadier in here, at least.”

“Keep an eye on that weasel,” he commanded. “Hopefully we can call that one down—ohshi—”

In a flurry of white, a large bird suddenly crashed into the blur that had been inches away from Tatsuya’s face. They tumbled to the floor, revealing a snowy owl gouging at the smaller yokai. Tatsuya turned to look over his shoulder and saw Haru standing there. In her right arm, she cradled a wooden box. In her left hand, she was holding the last of his and Benios’ assailants by the neck.

“You three,” she said icily to her captive, “have very nearly made me late for a very important meeting.” The kamaitachi slowed it’s struggles, going rigid in her hand and beginning to tremble like a frightened child. Haru regarded it coolly, as if contemplating how easily she could end it all simply by squeezing a little bit harder. Then she threw it over her shoulder casually.

“Good afternoon, Haneda-san,” she said blasely. Tatsuya noted grudgingly that it wasn’t that odd an attitude to have in such a chaotic environment, not when he and Benio were there. “I believe you were supposed to be at the shrine an hour ago to pick up your order?”

“Tatsuya,” Benio said, looking down at the owl (standing triumphant and preening over it’s victim), “I like that bird.”
-----

Yes, Reiko thought, leaning back in her chair, he must be thinking of her. After all, it was because of her that he was involved in something more now. Then again, he could be thinking of Benio, and she could respect that--as her rival, Benio would not be far from Tatsuya-sama's thoughts.

Really, what else was there to think about?
-----

Well what do you think, sirs?

 

Lord K

yukicrewger2 said:
Speaking of Yu Yu Hakusho

JSDF Kurama
Hull number DDH-144 of the Shirane-class Japanese Destroyer
one of two ships that succeeded the Haruna-class destroyers until their successors, the Hyūga-class Helicopter Destroyer

Has Haruna toured her daughters yet? wait, that's DDH-141 Haruna.... Granddaughter?

EDIT: ah! here we go! IJN Kurama of the Ibuki-class Battlecruiser! Has she been summoned yet? There's Chuuni to be had!
Harry Leferts said:
No, she has not been summoned yet... though now I can't help but imagine her as being a Natural Born via a kitsune...
yukicrewger2 said:
IJN Kurama. Kitsune Naturalborn... somehow has an instinctual frienemy with IJN Hiei... and everyone jokes about it the same way they joke about the cafeteria lady's relationship with her "food rival"​

*-*-*-*-*
Ai looks at the shipgirl all the human staff have simply brushed off as having a very kemonomimi style outfit and rigging, that she has been paired with for the SDF's latest joint PR gig.

Kurama stares back at what only her experience as a kitsune allows her to realize is a tengu so very well disguised, she's pretty sure even some older kitsune might have been fooled.

Suddenly Kurama feels rather conscious and embarrassed about her current choice of cosplay and the bags of fan paraphernalia she has been collecting during her shot break away from the SDF convention booth.

Ai's face is impassive and blank, yet perfectly communicates how much she does not want to be dressed up in her current uniform, after Gyaru raided her hotel room the previous night and told her she needed join in since everyone else was doing it, and to not be a sourpuss for once.

The JGSDF soldier, who everyone else accused of cheating and having the shittiest cosplay after simply swapping out his insignias for Lt bars and replacing all his name tags to say "Itami", looks between the shipgirl and the pilot curiously.

"So...... Shameimaru Aya and Naruko. You guys fans, or just going for the low hanging fruit like me?"

AI gives a pained sigh, while Kurama begins happily going off on a tangent about how she has every single volume and episode to date, and only just did a re-read of the manga last year.
*-*-*-*-*-

yukicrewger2 said:
Kohaku?​

I'll admit, there's a little bit of inspiration from his coloration there, though Jin also looks a bit more wild and monstrous, along with being the size of a small commuter train and looking like she had an accident with an industrial wood chipper.

 

WickedestCard

I would like to preface this as being rough and uncut WAFF and shipping (aka it probably needs some more editing) but after reading the party snippet I just had to write this. Also this probably doesn't fit all that well into the normal timeline but what the heck. Have the first true appearance of our Otaku Fangirl Fairy in:

The Amazing Adventures of MiniGato Part 3!
---


It was a well known fact that shipgirls will take any opportunity to celebrate and through a party and that all shipgirl parties were well worth attending, even the supposedly “low-key” ones. So it came as little surprise that a fairy battleshipgirl was just as enthusiastic as her full sized counterpart in partying.


The scene of a miniature bar on one of the larger tables in the Gryffindor Common Room was also not the oddest thing even at this particular party either but that did little to curtail the cheering as Minigato downed yet another shot of firewhiskey. The smol was currently surrounded by her fallen rivals as IJN, Royal Navy and Pirategirl fairies dropped one by one from the drinking contest.


Among the last few remaining were Yamamoto, another of the full-sized Nagato’s fairies, a engineer from (the still secret) HMS Hermione and a couple of pirate fairies. However the odds were looking bleak for them as Minigato lowered her shot glass with a smug smile. Cheers and groans from the betting students could be heard as a pirate fairy fell over and was carted away by the others. Another round was brought over by one of the cocktail server fairies, this one oddly enough had a tiny head band with the words “GO NAGATO!” emblazoned on the front. It even sparkled and changed colors thanks to her magic.


The bartender and several of the workers and regulars at the bar easily recognized her as the young fairy that Minigato saved during the Cornish Pixie attack. Ever since then the other fairies, ship and others alike, had noticed that she had taken a liking to the Smol battleship. For a while she would shoot the Smol shy glances and would have a nearly constant hint of red on her cheeks whenever Minigato would appear at the bar. When the news that a party was going to held in the Common Room, she was particularly enthusiastic in volunteering to help cater the party. After delivering the latest round of shots for the drinking contest, she went to pick up new orders when the bartender shook his head.


“Oi, oi oi oi” he stated, gesturing to the other servers he had on hand before motioning with his hand to her and Minigato.


“Pip?” she confusedly asked, a musical trill hinting her voice. The bartender merely nodded and she nearly shook with excitement and anxiety. Still, she handed over her tiny tray and apron before flying off and grabbing her own small shot of firewhiskey, the apron with a even smaller name-tag on it that simply said Alli. The bartender simply chuckled and shook his head as he folded it up.


A few minutes later Minigato stood triumphant as both Yamamoto and the engineer fairy finally bowed out from the contest, leaving her as the winner as the students and fairies collected their winnings. Stil this did little to the party as now the fairies started to go towards their own dance floor and the alcohol kept flowing. Just as Minigato was about to go and join up with the rest of the shipgirls she felt a light tap on her arm. Alli was floating there, wearing a dress that resembled being made of fresh spring leaves with a bright red blush on her face. Minigato turned around fully, giving her a nod to continue.


“Pip...pip pip pip?” the fairy asked the Smol nervously as she motioned to the dance floor, her question obvious to anyone watching. Now it was Minigato’s turn to blush as she realized she was being asked to dance. However, she was able to quickly snap out of her surprise as she noticed Alli was starting lose her nerve, her liquid courage starting to dry up.


“Gato? Gato Na.” she agreed and took the lead by grabbing Alli’s hand and guiding her to the dance floor. Over at the bar, the bartender, several of Hermione’s fairies and several of Alli’s co-workers cheered as they saw the fairy’s happy expression for getting the dance. Even as Minigato had to get past the awkward first dance phase, something which Alli also shared. As it turned out, trying to dance with a Smol while you could fly as a fairy was a bit tricky. Still after a few moment and ironing out the kinks, anyone paying attention could easily tell the two were enjoying themselves.


Later, when the party finally started to die down in the early morning hours, anyone may have witness the scene of Minigato carrying a awfully giddy fairy to her quarters. When Alli came to work the next day, she seemed to be on cloud nine and all her co-workers shared knowing grins, even as Alli asserted that nothing more happened. Minigato also seemed quite a bit more chipper than normal, though Harry was quite happy to learn that she enjoyed her time at the party. Why the Smol smelled of spring flowers and a fresh water though was something he didn’t quite figure out.

---


Again, hopefully this was enjoyable and presentable enough for you all. As a note, Alli when she speaks has the 'Pip's sound a bit musical, though not as much as say a proper 'muse' fairy or such. Something close to what one might think of as the audio equivalent of a sunny afternoon after a light rainshower visual. I will admit this was pure shippiness and fluff going into it.

And no, nothing happened between the two when they got to Alli's quarters besides Alli suing some magic to clean up Minigato and lower the affects of the morning after's hangover...okay maybe the two...held hands but Minigato is a perfect example of a Smol Lady! She asked and made sure Alli was comfortable with it all. Nothing more.

 

Harry Leferts

Softly whistling, Ryuujou glanced around before blinking as Natsumi spoke up. "Hmm? Ya'll got a question, Natsumi-Chan?"

From where she was beside the Carrier, Natsumi frowned a bit. "Um, yes? I mean, Oba-Chan told us to head out with you somewhere in the mountains but..." She then gestured with her thumb. "The train station is over there."

Much to her confusion though, that got a laugh from Ryuujou before she shook her head. "Well, that may be true enough, Natsumi-Chan, we're not taking the train to the mountains." Holding up her hand to reveal some keys, she smirked. "We're takin' mah car up there."

It went without saying that Natsumi stared at her for several moments. "Wait, you got a car?"

Now frowning, the Carrier raised an eyebrow. "Hai, Ah got a car. And what exactly is that tone supposed ta mean? It's not that unbelievable after all."

Gently whacking Natsumi in the head with her tail, Shiromizu coughed. "What Natsumi-Chan means is that we didn't know that you even had a car. Or at least not until now." Shrugging at the look, she shook her head. "It's not like most shipgirls have one."

Frowning still, Ryuujou just sighed. "True enough, Ah suppose. But unlike the others, Ah need a car ta get around. Especially when Ah need ta get offroad to get somewhere out in the wilderness."

Unknown to the Carrier, Natsumi tilted her head to the side as she had the strange image of Ryuujou in a Hummer. It did not help that the shipgirl in her daydream was cackling madly. "Um... You go off road often?"

Lips twitching almost as if she knew what Natsumi was thinking, Ryuujoi chuckled. "Hai, sometimes Ah have ta. After all, Ah have to gather herbs and the like up in the mountains. And Takaru-Kun has needed to get to remote communities and we go tagether like."

Eyebrow raising, Natsumi stared at her for a moment. "You two go together? Seriously?" At Ryuujou's nod, she shook her head. "Now that's a weird type of date."

To her surprise, Ryuuhou gave a laugh. "Maybe, but we like it. And it let's us spend some time tagether after all, so neither of us complains." Entering the small underground parking lot, and Shiromizu transforming back into her normal snake form, the three enter the elevator and descend downwards to the section given over to the shipgirls. Once they exit though, it does not take them long until Ryuujou waves a hand. "And there she is!"

Blinking, Natsumi stared at the vehicle before turning towards Ryuujou. "Wait? That's your car?"

Ryuujou smirked a bit and puffed out her chest. "Eyup! Quite the distinctive little silhouette, ain't it?"

Eyebrows raised, Natsumi frowned a bit and scratched her head. "Um, yes? I mean, it's one of those tiny SUVs after all, right?" At the look she got, she frowned. "What?"

Sighing, Ryuujou shook her head. "Well, Ah guess that Ah can' expect ya to understand." Still shaking her head, she patted the vehicle. "There here is a Suzuki Jimny, Natsumi-Chan. And trust me, she'll get us to where we want ta go even though its well off the beaten path."

With an amused look on her face, Natsumi walked around said car to the passenger side. "Huh. So how did you get it?"

Just opening her door, Ryuujou got inside and glanced over at her. "A few years back, a couple of us got in this deal. We would promote some cars and in exchange we could keep the cars we drove for free. Ah chose this one and have not regretted it in the least."

Buckling in, Natsumi gave a small nod as she looked around the vehicle. "That's kind of neat actually. Did any of the others keep theirs?"

As she chuckled, Ryuujou nodded. "Hai, some of them did. Ooyodo-San kept hers as it was an hybrid. One of those that can rely only on the battery if needed, not that she uses it often. Naka-San got a sportscar out of the deal, and Akashi-San got a pickup."

Head tilted to the side as they began to drive through the parking lot, Natsumi considered what she had been told. "Lucky you."

That got a laugh from Ryuujou before the Carrier shot her a grin. "Hai, lucky us! It all worked out though and we got new cars with bells and whistles." Her expression then fell a bit. "Of course, the companies donated money to charities taking care of families of JSDF personnel who died among others."

Several moments passed before Natsumi took a deep breath. "So, um... where are we going exactly? I mean... you never told us."

With a hum, Ryuujou gave a nod. "That's right." Finger tapping against the wheel, she glanced over at Natsumi. "As ta where? It was a placed owned by one of the Onmyouji who worked on mah hull. His personal home up in the mountains with a small library of material. There might be somethin' there that we can use, especially for Harry-Chan."

Natsumi winced at the reminder of what was in her friend before she perked up some not. "So wait, there might be something there in the library there that might help Harry-Chan?"

Eyebrows furrowing, Ryuujou frowned in thought for several moments. Then she looked up at the mirror to see that both Natsumi and Shiromizu were looking at her and awaiting her answer. Now, she could lie but... "Well... Ah don't know, Natsumi-Chan. He was from a minor family of Onmyouji after all and they just weren't that important." Seeing the Kitsune hang her head, she cleared her throat. "But, what his library does have is a lot of reference material."

Her expression shifting from dismayed to curious, Natsumi tilted her head. "Reference material? What sort of reference material?"

Reaching the gate to the underground parking, Ryuujou swiped her pass and drove out. "Mostly things like old stories, rumors, and the like. Nothing that would be important at first glance, but could be useful. But something like the history of the various Onmyouji families could help. If we're looking for one that might have access to the Taizan Fukun no Sai, then our best bet would be one of the Clans descended from the Abe and Kamo."

A grimace on her face, Natsumi shook her head. "But a lot of Onmyouji clans like to claim descent from the Abe and Kamo. I mean, from what Oba-Chan taught Shiromizu-Chan and I, many did it to gain importance."

That made Ryuujou snort before she gave a nod. "And she would be right, a lot of those clans did it for that purpose. Having blood from the Abe or the Kamo was, and is, considered extremely highly regarded. The stronger the blood ties, the better. But many of them were not that close. For example, some of them claimed the ties had married someone who was the second cousin to the main branch of the Abe Clan and declared that they had strong Abe blood in them. It was the ones who didn't advertise though that we're looking for. Most of them are old clans to say the least."

Finger against her chin, Natsumi frowned in thought. "And... this library would help to track them down? Really?"

Glancing at her, Ryuujou let out a sigh. "Maybe. From what Ah know, a good chunk of the records in the library were snuck out of the Onmyōryō before the ICW really started to crack down in the 1860s and lead to it being shut down and replaced. Mainly genealogy records for the most part are what we're looking for. Ah just hope that they're still there after all this time, that's all."

Now grimacing herself at the thought, Natsumi shook her head. "Hopefully, especially if it can help Harry-Chan." Then she gave Ryuujou a look. "But if you've known about this for years, why never go there before now?"

Ryuujou simply shrugged as they approached the base gate. "There was never any real reason to do so. Like Ah said, it's mostly reference material regarding stories and the like, not actual spell knowledge. It's always been low on mah list of priorities to do, but what we found out has bumped that much higher." She then smirked some. "Though Ah am going to have Takaru-Kun help me sort through it. Ah just know that he's going to like that and considering how there would be a lot of folklore, it might get him a bit hot under the collar."

Leaning away, Natsumi gave her a look. "Hentai."

However, the Carrier's smirk only grew. "Yes, and? Ah got a boyfriend, that's the sort of thing that happens. If ya'll ever get with Harry-Chan, Ah got no doubt that ya'll be aiming for the same thing at times." Getting a blush and a whine from Natsumi, she just laughed.

 

Snippet 7: mikelima777

With the Blessing of Lord K, A sneak peak to the less serious side of Ai:

****

Few had seen inside the quarter of Lt Kobayashi Aina, known by her peers as Tengu. The long disguised kotengu had tried to keep her personal and professional life separate, even as she waded in high-stakes politics that none of her colleagues knew of. As such, her quarters were rather spartan, with few decorations, and fewer still of mementoes from her past, which she would claim were heirlooms passed down from her Aunt Airi. However, the first thing anyone would see in her quarters would not have been a surprise. Despite her denials or attempts to avoid the topic, it was an open secret that the talented pilot was a fan of one of the biggest science fiction franchises in the world.

STAR TREK



Over two decades after World War II ended, Ai happened upon a dubbed version of a show made in America, one that would have an impact of her next two "lives".
Spoiler: Sci Fi

Seeing women, black, asian, and even russian characters as important members of the ship was something special at the time. While the show ended after just 3 seasons and life resumed, it still left an impression on Ai. She also had a slight crush on Lt. Hikaru Sulu, not that she would ever admit it.

During the 80s a few years before her next identity, she attended the premiere of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. To this day, she would strongly deny that the family name she had assumed as Airi and Aini, Kobayashi, had nothing to do with the infamous Kobayashi Maru scenario.

Yet her favorite series of the Star Trek Franchise was not the classic one featuring Kirk, but the one most well-regarded long after the series concluded. Ai found herself admiring the Captain of the USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-D, the "French" Captain Jean-Luc Picard, and over the 7 seasons of the show, she found herself inspired by his eloquent speeches. Along with her time spent corresponding with Samuel, it led to her decision to enter Law. Indeed, she would come see "Measures of a Man" and "Drumhead" to be among her favorite episodes. After the obligatory Best of Both Worlds two parter, of course.

Now, as a JASDF ace pilot and a secret advocate for the rights of her fellow yokai and others under the yoke of the Statue of Secrecy, she still regularly watched her collection of Blu-Rays with Star Trek: The Next Generation remastered, for entertainment and a source of inspiration in her day to day life.

 

Lord K

Harry Leferts said:
And... speaking of Waifu, I am now imagining a game in this universe similar to Kantai Collection except with planegirls. And the one for the F-15J(S) looks suspiciously a lot like Ai...​

*-*-*-*
Ai stares, her expression unreadable yet stony, upon the screen displaying the latest thing for Gyaru to eagerly bring to their attention after one of her adoring online fans had brought it to her notice. Crowded at the table around her are Gyaru and the rest of the pilots of Umiu and Mozu Flights as well, the dark skinned pilot in particular, pouting and looking rather put out upon.

"Mou, why did they go for you? You're the wholesome one!"

On screen, the anime style mecha-musume that bears a startling resemblance to a caricatured version of the much more deadpan pilot in their midst, proudly strikes a pose as she salutes, showing off the numerous bits of kanmusu-esque additions hanging off her outfit, that bears a marked similarity to parts of the Strike Operations modified variants of their squadron's F-15J(S) Strike Fighters. A similarity born even down to the Abyss Diver camouflage patterns and highlight painted on the normally hidden parts of the extended flaps and dive surfaces it seems.

"I am Strike Fighter F-15J(S), latest in the F-15 Eagle development line, pleased to meet you! Air or ground, it matters not. Leave the enemy to me!"

Finally, Ai deigns to speak her thoughts.

"What on earth is she wearing?"

"Very little?" offers Taikomachi, who is then promptly Gibbs-slapped by Boke.

Gyaru lets out a groan of anguish. "Why couldn't they have picked me! Then at least they could have gotten the personality right with who they're trying to copy!"

"You do have to admit though," says Kudzu "Whoever they got for the VA, they did manage to get the voice down right.... or sort of."

Ai fails to hide her grimace as she moves the mouse pointer to select a menu, only to inadvertently click on the character instead.

"Oh? Is there something you require?"

Seeing how the character spins around in surprise, before then turning around again and leaning over as if searching the on-screen briefing room in the background to help find something, the lanky pilot makes a face.

".... on second thought, in the span of thirty seconds, this girl has been more expressive than Tengu has sometimes been in an entire day. I'm sorry, but as your wingman, I just gotta put that out there."

All Ai can do is grimace. "Personally, I think she's showing more skin than I do in a week, too."

Meanwhile feeling curious, Gyaru claims control of the mouse, and clicks on the on screen doppelganger a second time.

"Th-That is improper!"

Watching as the mecha-musume does her best to cover her "conformal tanks", only to instead highlight their "capacity" even more, Boke automatically Gibbs-slaps Taikomachi before he can even finish opening his mouth.

"I need an adul-" and then he does the same to Kero for good measure. Unfortunately, he only has two hands.

"Wow Tengu..." Gyaru stares at the screen appreciatively "Is it just the face and body type they copied for a neat reference, or are you actually that stacked as well?"

The pilot in question pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs.

"Please tell me she gets some proper clothes in her Kai upgrade."

"That's not a denial Tengu!

Already on his phone, Kudzu googles the wikia for the game in question, then looks up the characters added in the latest update. Clicking on a link, the steady flicking of his thumb indicates scrolling until he finally pauses. Then his eyebrows disappear up to somewhere in his hairline. The female pilot restrains a groan, ignoring the grinning Okinawan still going on beside her.

"Please tell me that it is only the Damaged artwork you are looking at that has elicited that reaction."

"What has your "my mom's off to work wardrobe" been hiding all this time!?"

Kudzu looks up from his phone, the light of the "Clear Browser History" page reflected in his unreadable eyes, before responding dead pan.

"It is only the Damaged artwork I am looking at that has elicited that reaction."

Giving up, Ai buries her face in her hand out of exasperation, knocking the mouse in the process.

"Tell me your secrets woman!"

"Born to fit the needs of long range JASDF joint operations in the wake of Blood Week, I am the newest variant in the long lived F-15 series!"

Grandly gesturing at herself in the process, the character continues as Ai watches between her fingers.

"Upon finding themselves requiring more Strike Aircraft with larger payloads, loiter times and the survivability to better support JMSDF ASW patrols and ASM sorties over extended periods and target heavy areas, the JASDF then built upon the successes of the F-15e and the knowledge of Israeli F-15c Air Superiority Fighters utilized as improvised ground attackers to create me! The F-15J(S) model!"

Doing a victorious little jump and then pirouetting in place to show off her control surfaces, engines and weapons, her mechanical capabilities end up being not the only thing she puts on display as well. Hand falling away away from her face, Ai gives an aborted gesture as her mouth works soundlessly for a few moments, before she gives a scandalized splutter in response to Gyaru's cackles.

"I am not that big."

"While I may not dogfight as well as F-15J or F-15c, the march of modern technology and Japanese ingenuity makes me just as good of a ground attacker as F-15e for only a few trade offs, even if I lack the frontal stealth of F-15se."

"Ohhhh, so that's why they made copy-cat Quiet flat."

All eyes immediately flick to Boke, who then glances around awkwardly.

"As part of the special service air frame upgrade when being modified to F-15J(S) specifications, I loose some minimum take off speed, high speed maneuverability, top speed and acceleration, due to the added weight of a different radar, more advanced computers, new sensors, additional targeting equipment, reinforced hard points to carry Anti-Ship Missiles, and many of my other changes. Equally positive and more noticeable ones such as dive brakes and larger flaps for greater low speed maneuverability and control, conformal fuel tanks to support longer missions, a greater payload capacity, and larger engines to carry it all without sacrificing too much of the F-15 family's famed top speed and thrust power! I also have anti-shrapnel kevlar linings around the cockpit, in case you didn't notice."

Watching as her doppleganger gestures at her lightly made up face and blinks playfully, after only just rolling the word "thrust" seductively, Ai does the one thing she can do.

A patented Picard style double-facepalm of inarticulate silence.

Everyone else can only blink for a few seconds, before finally Gyaru howls with laughter. At this point, Kudzu has simply given up, and found a really fascinating pattern in the cheap 80's deco ceiling tiles to study.

"Okay! Move over! I have to play this game now! By hook or crook, I'm getting' this girl to her Kai form! Somebody jump on the wikia for me, I need to figure this thing out and what level I gotta aim for!"

Holding up an interjecting finger, Boke replies automatically.

"Well, I think I read on the forums that she hits Kai around 30?"

Realizing what he's done, Boke slaps a mortified hand over his own mouth. Looking at the guilty pilot, Kero and Taikomachi then glance at each other.

Then they both gibbs slap Boke in tandem.

 

Harry Leferts

Sneezing a bit, Natsumi grimaced as she walked around the small, hidden room. While she rubbed at her nose, she glanced at where Shiromizu was watching an inkstone that had shapes performing a naval battle in it. Turning away, Natsumi frowned at Ryuujou. "Why are these workshops always hidden?"

Only tapping her chin in thought, Ryuujou shrugged. "Tradition, Ah suppose."

Eyebrow twitching, Natsumi gave her a look. "Tradition. That is what you're going with?" When Ryuujou nodded and hummed, she felt annoyance. "Seriously?"

A grin on her face, Ryuujou nodded. "Hai."

Finally turning away from the eternal battle in the inkstone, Shiromizu snorted. "Well of course it's tradition, Natsumi-Chan. Think about it for a moment..." She then waved a hand at their surroundings. "You can't expect a Onmyouji to perform their work out in the open, right?"

Pinching her nose, Natsumi shook her head. "Oh for... I'm not even going to bother." As she pretended not to see the grins on Ryuujou's and Shiromizu's faces, the Kitsune frowned. "But I don't think that we found anything that could help us."

With a soft snort, Ryuujou held open a scroll. "Not quite." Seeing their looks of curiosity, she unrolled it and gestured at it. "Have a look here."

The other two walked over and looked it over before Shiromizu raised her eyebrows. "Um, these are just names, aren't they?"

Just smirking, the Carrier shook her head. "Names? Hai, but not just any names." Running her finger down the scroll, she shook her head. "This here is a clan register of Onmyouji families of the old sort. And it cross references with several scrolls that detail their histories which are over there." Ryuujou pointed at a shelf unit. "Said scrolls also detail where their families are based at."

Her eyebrows raising, Natsumi blinked at the shipgirl in surprise. "So it lets us track down which families are the most likely to have something to help Harry-Chan? Really?"

Nodding, Ryuujou began looking at each name. "Hai, that's the long and short of it." Frowning slightly, she walked over to the various scrolls and looked at them thoughtfully. "This will take a lot of time, but these ones we can at least put aside ta look at later. They'll be highly informative, even if some of these here families died out or changed their names since the fall of the Onmyōryō. It gives us a place to start though."

Wry amusement on her features, Shiromizu patted some dust from her clothes. "There is one good thing from this trip though." Seeing their looks, she continued with a grin. "We certainly will deserve a nice, hot bath once we get the dust off."

Ryuujou gave a small snort at that. "Tell ya what, Shiromizu-Chan. When we leave Ah'll treat both you and Natsumi-Chan to a hot spring that Ah know of nearby. It's out of the way, but that just means that it's all the better."

Moments later, the Onmyoudo using Carrier laughed as Natsumi perked up and pumped one fist into the air. "Good! Guess that we should get a move on!"

Also amused at actions of her friend, Shiromizu shook her head. "Heh, then we can actually talk about some stuff." Her expression then became intrigued. "Such as about how things are going with your boyfriend."

Lightly laughing, Ryuujou only grinned and shook her head. "Takaru-Kun? Ya would only need to ask. As to how things are going..." Her expression changed to one that would make any male's blood boil. "It is going very, very well. Takaru-Kun is very much into learning things in a hands on manner and does not mind learning more, especially regarding my distinctive silhouette~"

Despite the blush on her face, Shiromizu wanted to know more. But she also decided that could wait until later and so she looked around for something to change the conversation. 'Who know that Natsumi could go that red just from an expression and tone of voice...' It was then that she noticed an old Japanese book that caught her eye and pulled it out. "What's this now?"

Curious, Ryuujou walked over and looked over her shoulder. Suddenly, she smiled and chuckled. "Well, Ah'll be. Good catch, Shiromizu-Chan. Now this is something else that can help us and Ah'll be having Harry-Chan be looking through it."

Looking from the old book to Ryuujou, the white snake furrowed her eyebrows. "This? How will this help us?"

While her lips twitched in amusement, Ryuujou gently took the book and opened it. Slowly, her eyes trailed along the characters written there and nodded to herself. "This here book is an important one in Onmyoudo. There's actually several versions, including ones on the non-magical market which have been altered. But this one is of the closest to the original... the Senji Ryakketsu. Several hundred divination techniques are written within it along with a chapter that was originally put down by Abe no Seimei himself."

Eyes widening, Shiromizu looked from the book to Ryuujou in disbelief. Then she turned back to the book and slowly gulped. "W-well, I suppose that would help out quite a bit..."

Humming as she flipped a page, Ryuujou nodded. "More then ya would think, especially for Harry-Chan." Gently, she tapped the book and closed it. "It's used as a primer to help an Onmyouji learn more about Onmyoudo. From mah memory, there's a few other books like it in this here library as some feared that the ICW might try and confiscate them."

A frown on her face, Natsumi shook her head. "From what I remember, it turned out to be well founded. Some members of the ICW did confiscate some of the old books on magic. Especially magic that they found to be... disreputable. And more then a few wanted some of the older magical knowledge for themselves as well."

Only nodding, Ryuujou sighed. "Such things are not exactly uncommon."

With a glance around, Natsumi turned and gave her a look. "Just a question, Ryuujou-San, but... Can you actually take these books and scrolls? I mean, they don't technically belong to you..."

Slightly frowning, Ryuujou considered the question before shaking her head. "Fortunately, Ah can take these. Genma's spirit is manifested in mah hull as a fairy after all and helped give me the abilities of an Onmyouji. Ah know that similar things happened with some of the others, like Junyou."

Now curious, Shiromizu turned to her. "Wait, so why does that give you the ability to take these?"

Briefly, Ryuujou was silent as she put her thoughts together. "Well, Ah'm sort of his heir. He had no other family when he died and it was just a minor clan at that. Due to that, his fairy named me his heir. And not even being a spirit prevents that."

Natsumi and Shiromizu shared a look at that before the kitsune looked back at Ryuujou. "Huh... Didn't think that it could work like that."

In reply, Ryuujou only shrugged. "It does and that is all that matters. Besides, better this all get used then just left ta rot away... though Ah am sure that someone would have come by within a few years, or would have by now if not for the war. "Glancing up at the bookcase, the Carrier reached up at something that caught her eye. After a moment she handed Natsumi another scroll. "Ah'd like for you to look through this though. It might be something else that we can use."

Confused, Natsumi picked a spot in the cramped area and unrolled the scroll gently. After several moments though, she felt shock come over her features before sharply looking at Ryuujou. "This is... Do you know what is in this scroll?"

With a serious expression, Ryuujou nodded. "I do as a matter of fact. What you hold there is one of the biggest kept secrets of the Onmyōryō. And it was grabbed and hidden here before the ICW could get a hold of it due to the danger inside..." Eyes falling upon the scroll, she she took a deep breath. "And they would certainly want to know the locations for every known piece of the Sesshō seki. Those pieces can be used for great power after all, and to boost spells as needed. Even a small piece could be dangerous in the wrong hands."

Gulping, Natsumi looked down at the scroll and felt... something. Almost a stirring in her blood as a matter of fact, or perhaps even deeper then that. "But I thought that they were all lost. Yet there has to be at least thirty pieces on this listed."

Slowly, Ryuujou nodded as she looked down at it. "Hai. Some of them were lost over the years. One of the largest went missing in the 1700s, stolen by a wizard who wanted to become far more then human. He believed that eventually, he could discover a way to absorb a Yokai's power into himself. But he was chased out into the wilderness, only returning to steal the piece and run. Never to be seen again."

Hands trembling, Natsumi slowly rolled up the scroll. "And... this could help Harry-Chan, you think?"

For several seconds, Ryuujou flickered her eyes to the kitsune and then back to the scroll. "Its not impossible for it to do so, no. Pieces of the Sesshō seki can in fact boost spells and rituals greatly."

Placing the scroll down, Natsumi swallowed some. "I see..." Briefly, she closed her eyes and then shook her head. "Hopefully we don't need to use such to do so." Yet again, the Kitsune felt something instinctual inside her stir at the knowledge she now had. Later, after they had taken all the scrolls and books, Natsumi still was thoughtful over it and resolved to speak with her Aunt regarding it.

 

Harry Leferts

Hands in his pockets, Harry closed his eyes as the breeze ruffled his hair as he softly smiled and waited as he had been allowed to leave Hogwarts for the day to do this. A sound though made him turn and smile at what met him. "Natsumi-Chan!" Blinking, he tilted his head to the side in thought. "Um..."

Rubbing at the side of her head, Natsumi shook her head and sighed. "They wanted to come along and Ayaka would not stop until I agreed to let them. As annoying as a barking dog."

With a glare shot at Natsumi, Ayaka gave Harry a small smile. "Hello, Harry-San, it's good to see you again."

Just raising an eyebrow, Harry gave a small nod. "Yeah, okay?" He shared a silent conversation with Natsumi who only shook her head a the end of it. Then the black haired boy shrugged. "Anyways, you're all here to pick some elderflowers with us then?"

Hands behind his head, Kaku smiled some. "That's what Natsumi-Chan said anyways." Tilting his head in her direction, he chuckled. "You know about the school festival we're having?"

Giving a nod, Harry rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, she did." With a raised eyebrow directed at Natsumi, he hummed. "She wanted to have elderflower cordial for your class as something different."

Arms crossed, Natsumi gave a snort. "More then that, Harry-Chan. I wanted something that would represent you as you're not there. And you are listed as part of the class even if you're not in the school." Then she gave him a grin. "Besides, it would be different."

Meanwhile, Usagi was looking around in pure awe. "Wow... this place is amazing!" When they looked at her, she gestured at the fields around them. "Just look at this place! Back home, this would be a huge property!"

Eyes wide, Rika gave a nod. "Hai... And look at those trees!"

Lips curling upwards, Harry chuckled some. "Well, that's the main orchard for the property. Apples, plums, and pears mostly." At the looks, he shook his head. "One of the things that my family did was make alcoholic drinks for a source of income. Sure, they're not a vineyard, but cidres and such still brought in money... And some of them could be sold in the nearby village."

Holding his hand over his eyes, Kaku frowned some and pointed at one building where there was skeletal looking roof on it. From where he was, he could see something working on it. "What's there?"

With a look in that direction, Harry nodded. "That's the old millhouse where they used to grind crops and such. It's being rebuilt as somewhere that people could live and stay since it's the easiest repaired."

Slowly, Kaku gave a nod and glanced at his friends who were now looking around in shock outside of Natsumi herself who smirked. Eventually shaking it off, he took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Um, right then. So where are these flowers that we're getting?"

With a blink, Harry remembered what they were there for and pointed to a stand of trees. "Right there, it's a group of elderberry trees. They were planted because they could be used for potions ingredients. But they can also have their flowers collected for elderflower cordial and other things." Shifting his shoulders, he then looked at Natsumi. "So you have all the items?"

In reply, Natsumi held up a group of baskets. "Did you even have to ask, Harry-Chan?" She then gestured at the disguised Neko. "Rika-Chan here has the pails that we'll be using to wash the blossoms before we make the syrup."

A number of minutes later found them looking up at the trees which Harry gestured at. "Okay, so what we're looking for is blossoms that have just opened up. Those are the best for making the syrup for the cordial. They're pretty flavorful really."

Walking forward, Usagi leaned towards the flowers and closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. Somewhat to her friend's amusement, her nose wiggled some before she smiled and opened her eyes before reaching for some of them. Moments later, she was munching on a few and nodding. "They actually do taste pretty good."

Just sighing, Ayaka facepalmed. "Do you have to do that, Usagi-San?"

Still chewing, Usagi smirked some even as Natsumi snickered. "Never change, Usagi-Chan. Never change."

Only shrugging, Usagi grinned in reply before the group began to get down to work. About a week later, the disguised Yokai had made the cordial and various other items as well. Much to their surprise, they became busy as people came in and out of their classroom.

Reaching the table where the food and drink was, Natsumi had an apron on her and raised a finger. "Okay, three cups of cordial and four elderflower fritters."

With a nod, Ayaka filled up three cups with the drink from a pitcher and then put them onto a tray. This was followed by several what looked like the blossoms in fried batter, the green stems sticking out. "Here you go." Looking at the tables, she shook her head in stunned disbelief. "I'm surprised that it's so popular!"

Natsumi though wiped a bit at her forehead. "I'm not." Seeing the confusion, she continued. "Like I said, it's pretty different. Which makes it really interesting to people." And with that, she picked up the tray and made her way over to a nearby table with some girls she recognized. In fact, the same group had gone with her and Harry to elementary school. Setting down the tray, the disguised Kitsune smiled some. "And here we go, three cups of elderflower cordial and four elderflower fritters."

One of the girls had an odd look on her face as she picked up one of the fritters and examined it. "These are really made with flowers? Seriously?"

Chuckling, Natsumi gave them a smile. "Hai, they're made with tempura batter and drizzled with sugar and honey. They're pretty popular."

Bemused, another one of the girls took a sip of the drink and blinked some. Then she took another sip and looked at her friends. "This is actually pretty good."

Humming, Natsumi nodded with another chuckle. "I actually tried some when I went to Britain with Harry-Chan last year." Unnoticed by her, the girls all turned to her with surprise. "It's really popular over there."

Their eyes wide as they all share looks, the third girl adjusted her glasses. "This is stuff that they make in Britain? Really?"

Still not noticing their looks, the kitsune glanced to where Usagi was talking with another customer. "Hmm? Yeah, I thought that it would be a nice nod to Harry-Chan as he is still part of our school through the outwork program though he's at that school in the Scottish Highlands."

With a blink, the first girl nibbled some at the fritters before gesturing at them. "Wait, did you get them from Britain then?"

Much to their shock, Natsumi shook her head and gave them an answer that they did not expect. "Actually, we got them from the property that Harry-Chan's family owns over in England. The elderberry trees are separate from the rest of the orchards there..." Hearing the gasp, she looked up and blinked as she realized that the various girls were now looking at each other. "Er..."

Eyes wide, the glasses wearing girl stared at her before adjusting her glasses. "Harry-San's family owns a big property over in England? And an entire orchard!?"

Now unsure, Natsumi clutched the tray to her chest. "Um, hai? It's been in his family for a few hundred years and..." Realizing that she had said the wrong thing, she winced as the girls began to furiously whisper among themselves. She did feel her eyebrow twitch at some of the words before taking a deep breath and walking away. 'No, Natsumi, don't kill them. Harry-Chan doesn't care about people like that... And you shouldn't either. No matter how much it would make you feel better to prank them.'
______________________________________________________________________

Awakening from her afternoon nap, Willie looked out the window across from the couch. 'Hmm?' Lips turned down into a frown, she sat up before furrowing her eyebrows. 'What the heck woke me up?' Being home from another deployment, Willie had been looking forward to several days of rest and relaxation. But something had interrupted her nap, which turned out to be knocking which sounded again. "Coming!"

Upon opening the door though, she just stared as Iowa gave a shaky smile and a wave. "Um, hey there, Willie. Is... Davie home?"

Eyebrow raised, Willie leaned against the doorframe and gave Iowa an even look. "Davie? No, he's still in school at the moment and won't be home for another hour."

Laughing nervously, Iowa could spot the danger signs and began backing away. "R-right... I'll wait for a bit."

Her eyes narrowing for a moment, Willie finally sighed and gestured at the interior of the home. "Want to come in and wait for him? Rather then you wait outside?" Briefly, Iowa looked unsure before the Destroyer coughed. "I promise not to do anything to you if you do."

Still not quite sure, Iowa walked into the home and glanced around. As with every other time, she could see the hallway with various pictures. Some of them were of Willie and Davie before Willie had become a shipgirl. Pictures of her winning various swimming competitions and the like. There were others of her younger siblings as well.

After the point when the Destroyer had become a shipgirl though, there were other pictures. Her family with various Fletchers. Davie in his uniform as a member of the local JROTC which he had joined as soon as he could. Much to her surprise, there were even some photos of herself and Willie. Though to the Battleship's embarrassment, some of them were not flattering in the slightest... such as Willie suplexing her after teasing her brother at one of Harry's birthdays.

Feeling a tap on her shoulder though, she turned to find Willie there with a mug filled with coffee. "Here, I thought that you might want some."

With a sip, Iowa relaxed some as she felt a bit of her stress ebb away. "Thanks, Willie." At the raised eyebrow, she blinked some. "Um..."

Only shaking her head, Willie gestured at the table and sat down. When Iowa had taken a seat, she leaned forward. "So... Why the heck are you here for my brother? And out of nowhere?"

Scratching at her cheek, Iowa weakly laughed. "Well..." A glance at Willie told her that the other Natural Born would not take any bullshit and she sighed before leaning back in her chair. "I heard that his prom was coming up and wanted to ask him if he could take me as his date."

Willie had to fight herself for a moment not to react badly to that and instead took a sip of cola she had gotten. "Let me get this straight, Iowa. You want to take my brother to his prom." At the nod though, she frowned. "You're serious. This isn't you being your usual teasing self, but you actually want to take him." Now frowning, Willie became thoughtful. "Why?"

There were many possible meanings to that word, and Iowa knew it. But instead of answering right away, the Battleship sipped her coffee and ordered her thoughts before shrugging. "I'll be honest with you, Willie about this. You of all people deserve that much." Leaning forward with the chair creaking under her, she gave her friend and long time escort a serious expression. "You brother? I'm not going to beat around the bush about it, I like the guy. He's grown into someone who I would not mind calling my boyfriend and... maybe more if that works out."

Many things could be said about Willie D, one of which was the protectiveness she had towards her twin brother. More then one shipgirl in the USN had first hand experience with that. So when Willie set down the cola, Iowa held back a flinch. "You want to try and date my brother, Iowa?"

Slowly, Iowa took a deep breath and let it out. "I do."

It went without saying that those two, simple words made Willie search her face. "Hmm... Why?"

Confused a bit as she expected something more, Iowa blinked. "Why?" When her fellow shipgirl nodded, she leaned back. "Well, for one thing he treats me like a normal woman. Not as a pair of giant breasts on a giant frame like some of the guys have. When we talk, it's just that, talking. Even when it's about stuff that others might consider boring. Not once has he judged me besides blushing at my teasing."

Frowning, Willie gave her a raised eyebrow. "And it's not became of his looks?"

Now blushing slightly, Iowa gave a weak chuckle. "Well... I will admit that all the swimming he's done and other exercises as part of the JROTC really did him some good. But that's not that big of a thing." Her expression fell some. "I know what it's like after all."

Her finger tapping the table, Willie only nodded at that. After all, more then once she had encountered a drunk and annoyed Iowa coming back onto the base after a 'Date' that went sour. Everyone knew not to speak of the one where the guy in question had taken her to Hooters, the last one to do so saw Iowa growling and twisting rebar. After several moments, Willie gave Iowa a look. "You're way older then him. He's eighteen, Iowa, you're what... thirty?"

Fighting down a twitch of her eyebrow, Iowa sighed. "Thirty two as a matter of fact. And that's not old and besides..." She gestured at her body. "I still physically look much the same way that I did when I was twenty four. And you only look fifteen, Willie."

A grimace crossed Willie's face at that. If there was one thing that bugged her, it was her apparent age as a shipgirl. Especially as now her own twin brother looked several years older then her. Not to mention it always brought a twinge to her heart as she knew what it might meant for her and her brother in the future. Quickly, Willie shook her head. "Okay, so we haven't really changed much, I'll give you that."

Voice soft, Iowa looked down into her coffee before closing her eyes. "Willie? I promise, I will never hurt him. I swear it on my honor, all I want to do is take him to his prom and at least have that much."

Not getting an answer, she looked up to find Willie looking at one of the pictures there on the wall. One which made Iowa turn to it and become confused about why Willie was staring at the picture so seriously. However, it was then that the Destroyer spoke up. "Do you remember when Miss Gale was attacked? By those wizards and what happened after?"

Iowa frowned at that and thought back to it. After all, none of them were happy at the time and all the Natural Borns and those with significant others who were not shipgirls had them guarded. "Yes? We all got together and kept and eye on friends and family. Why?"

Just pointing at the picture, which was of Iowa sleeping on the couch with her limbs akimbo due to it being too small for her frame. Said Battleship had a bit of drool slipping from one corner of her wide open mouth. "That picture was taken then, when you showed up to guard my family as I was out on sortie. Despite everything, you stayed here and kept an eye on them."

Sipping her coffee as she tried to figure out where this was going, Iowa gave a nod. "Well, yeah? I mean, they're your family, Willie. Besides, they made me feel welcome and my own parents were being watched over by Mo and Whisky. Sure, you had other Fletchers in and out of the house but..."

As she trailed off, Willie simply nodded. "I know." Closing her eyes in thought, she picked up her cola again and took a sip before setting it down. Her eyes opening, she fixed Iowa a look. "I'm not going to say yes or no to you taking my brother to his prom as his date, Iowa. All I'll do is stand aside and let him chose to accept or not."

Eyes wide from surprise, Iowa slowly nodded and then relaxed. "Thanks, Willie. I appreciate this."

Just waving her off, Willie went back to her thoughts, whatever they were, as she stared at the picture.

 

Harry Leferts

Eyebrows furrowed, Harry continued to stare at the scroll in front of him in confusion. Across from him, Hermione raised an eyebrow before clearing her throat. "Is there something wrong with the scroll that you're reading, Harry?"

Glancing at her, Harry turned his attention back to the scroll in thought. "Not really? But... okay, you know how I got this, right?"

Slowly, Hermione nodded with a thoughtful look on her face. "Yes?" She turned to where Regina was looking through a book of her own quietly. The fact that said book detailed the most brutal Quidditch games ever did make the Light Cruiser somewhat concerned, but she could shrug that off. "You mentioned that it was left behind after the Ao bōzu that Regina was wrestling with disappeared, right?"

The Abyssal in question perked up some at hearing her name while Harry nodded and removed his reading glasses. Grimacing, he shook his head while running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, it left behind a scroll. Haru-San confirmed it was safe and everything, but there was this bit at the end which is bothering me."

Curious, Hermione got up and walked behind Harry to look. But despite all her knowledge, the characters there were unable to be read by her. "Okay? So what's bothering you about it?"

Placing his finger, Harry began to trail it along the characters on the scroll. Much to Hermione's surprise, as he did so and spoke what they said, they lit up one after the other. "To find that which you have dreamed of, the way of the Phantasm. Search behind the King of Serpents in the place that is Forbidden. There in the shadows, behind the wall of falseness, you shall find the path to that which you seek hidden by the riddle with the tongue of serpents."

Now frowning herself, Hermione muttered each word as the light on the scroll slowly faded away. Eventually, she shook her head and sighed. "I'm not too sure if I could help you with this, Harry. That doesn't make much sense." Then she considered it a bit longer and turned to him. "What about the Chamber of Secrets? I thought that you checked that area out entirely."

Unable to help himself, Harry slumped in his chair and tapped the side of his cheek. "That's the thing, we went over the Chamber with everything. But nothing else has turned up and it's the same with the outside sections of the Chamber." Lips turned downwards, he shook his head. "Maybe it has something to do with Basilisks as a whole? Wish that there was a book here that could help with that."

Hermione was looking at the scroll as if it would give up it's secrets that way. "Nothing in the main library goes into details about Basilisks because of how dangerous they are." Slumping further, Harry was about to say more when she continued. "Probably in the Restricted Section though if anywhere." Feeling Harry freeze, the Light Cruiser blinked and turned to him. "Harry?"

Slowly, Harry turned to her and sat up straight. "Hermione, say that again?"

Eyebrows furrowing, she shook her head before raising an eyebrow. "What? That any books about Basilisks would be in the Restricted Section?"

Moments later, Harry shot to his feet and grinned. "Think about it! The Restricted Section, the place that is forbidden to students without permission! Where there are books about Basilisks!" Turning, he looked towards Regina. "Want to come with me, Regina? I might have need of you since I still got the permission from Professor Lockhart to make use of the Restricted Section."

As he began to walk towards it, Hermione followed behind him. "Wait, you still have permission? But I thought that ran out before the Christmas holidays!?"

Not looking at her, Harry continued to speedily make his way to where the Restricted Section was. "Actually, the permission was for the full year. I just never bothered to get it corrected in case we needed to make use of it."
Her eyebrow twitching, Hermione growled. "And you never thought to tell me this!?"

Blinking, Harry looked over his shoulder and then frowned. "Um, I thought that you knew about that?" At her follow up growl, he chuckled weakly. "Well... you can make use of it for the rest of the year?"

Yet again, Hermione's eyebrow twitched. "Harry, we got less then two weeks left! That's not nearly enough time to be able to make use of it!"

In reply, Harry rubbed his neck before they entered the Restricted section. Looking around though, he began to frown some as he felt the magic touch his skin. Besides the usual tingles, there was something else coming from some of the books, something that felt almost oily. Then Harry shook his head and looked around some more as they walked. "Now, where are the section on magical creatures?"

Rolling her eyes, Hermione grabbed his hand and dragged him along as Regina followed along. Eventually, they reached the end of the section with a wall that was covered in books. "Right here, Harry, this is where the various books on magical beings, beasts, and the like are which are in the Restricted Section."

Slowly, Harry craned his neck back and groaned. "Great... this might take a while..."

However, he felt his pocket shift and looked down to find that Minagato was looking up at him. After a moment, she pointed at the shelves. "Gato. Gato gato gato gato!"

Only blinking, Harry then nodded whipped out his wand. With a quick levitation charm, Minagato reached the upper shelves and began to run along them, checking the books. Meanwhile, Harry and the others checked the bottoms shelves for various things. Even Regina's tail was helping by scanning the books on the mid-level shelves. Which was where they found a section on Basilisks and she tapped Harry on the shoulder. "Um, Harry? I think that I found what we're looking for."

Looking up to where her tail was pointing, Harry frowned. "Great, that's about twenty feet up. But how do we get to..." He trailed off as Regina's tail lowered itself and then gestured at him. "You want me to get on?"

Quickly, the tail nodded and when Harry looked at Regina, she smiled. "I don't mind either. And it would help you get there..."

Eyebrow raising, Harry stepped onto her tail's head. He did need to balance a bit as it lifted him up until he was level with the shelf unit in question. Slowly, the wizard scanned the various titles. "Hmm... Wait, there's a section on Inferi right beside here and... Icha Icha Inferi: They keep lovin' until they fall apart... Nope!" Ignoring the sound of Hermione making disgusted sounds, he went in the opposite direction. "Basilisks and you: A Owner's Guide... How to care for your King... The King of Serpents!"

Moving the giant book, which seemed to be a rather informative guide to Basilisks, Harry paused for a moment. From down below, Hermione called out. "Harry? Did you find something?"

Harry just snapped his fingers and a ghostly flame formed above his thumb as he set the book aside. Eyes glowing, he muttered an Onmyouji spell to ask the spirits of the air for help, and the dust behind the book blew out and away from his face. It was then that his eyebrows raised as he spotted the rough snake carved into a stone of the wall behind the bookcase. "Yeah, I think that I found something." Sounds made him look up as Minagato clambered down onto the shelf. "Give me a moment."

When he looked at the Smol, she nodded and gave him a thumbs up. "Gato."

Giving his own nod, he turned back and leaned in. "{Open...}" With a grinding sound, the stone moved inwards and then to the side revealing a cavity. Minagato then walked inside and disappeared. After a few seconds though, she reappeared with an old book in her hand. "Let's see what this is..."

At the same time, Minagato jumped onto his shoulder and also looked while Regina's tail lowered them down. When they reached the ground though, Hermione took note of the shock in Harry's face and frowned. "Harry? What did you find?"

Slowly, Harry grinned more and more before he turned to her. "What did I find, Hermione? I found something utterly awesome! I mean, I'll have to have the Headmaster check it since Tom wrote it. But if there's nothing wrong? I am definitely keeping this."

Just raising her eyebrow, Hermione grimaced. "Suddenly, that poem makes a lot more sense. But if it's from Riddle, do you really want to be messing around with it? If he was looking into dark magic even as a student here..."
To her surprise, Harry chuckled some and then began to laugh manically before Minagato jumped up and smacked him on the cheek. Snapping out of it, he looked at the Smol and nodded. "Thanks for that."

All Minagato did was give him a thumbs up. "Gato."

With a nod, Harry held it up some. "Do you know what one of my favorite game series is, Hermione?" When she shook her head, he continued. "Touhou Project. Before I knew about Hogwarts and stuff, I always dreamed of being in a Touhou game of sorts. I mean, would be so awesome... But I was disappointed when I came to the Wizarding World because I found out that flight like in the games was impossible and only stuff like brooms and other objects worked... or rather, it was."

Eyes widening, Hermione stared at the book. "Wait, are you telling me that book contains how to fly? Really?"

Frowning, Harry looked at the book himself. "Um, well it looks like he was working on it. And that some notes were added later then the rest. But... yeah, from looking through it quickly I think that he was. It's incomplete of course, but if I work at it? Then I might one day be able to pull off stunts like in Touhou." Tilting his head back, he smiled some. "And if that happens then I'll make sure to make some great offerings to the Shrine."

Hermione only shook her head before they began to leave the section behind with the book in hand.
___________________________________________________
From where he sat across from Harry on the train ride home, Ron was looking through the book. "So Dumbledore is letting you keep this, Harry? Really?"

Slowly, Harry nodded some though everyone could see the excitement there. "Well, only after he used every spell possible to make sure that it was safe. And he also made a copy for himself to go through, but he had no issue with me taking it home." Grinning so wide it almost hurt, the black haired boy rubbed his hands together. "I can't wait to get started on it."

As he began to cackle, Neville turned to Hermione with a small frown. "Is anyone else worried about how he is laughing?" Getting nods, he sighed. "Right, because Harry."

Reaching over, Hermione flicked his ear. "Stop that, Harry." While he rubbed his ear, the shipgirl turned to the others. "Something about some sort of Japanese game. All I got from him was flying, floating, and cackling about unleashing bullet hell for real without someone named Yukari messing with him."

Needless to say, the others looked from Hermione to Harry and then back before the two boys spoke as one. "Right, Japanese game. That explains a lot."

Grumbling as Hermione nodded, Harry glared at them. "Bah! The bunch of you." Looking down at the book, he frowned thoughtfully. "I wonder if I can get Natsumi-Chan to help me? Because then she really would be a verified Reimu clone once we get it to work."

That only got him more stares and mutters before the others turned to different topics. In particular, Hermione was interested in one. "So from what I heard you're heading to Saint Brendan's this summer for a bit, Ron?"

With a nod, the red head smiled. "I am as a matter of fact. Dad is going there as a representative of the Ministry to try and get them agree not to reveal magic or use anything that could be construed as such where anyone who isn't magical could see. Dad just said that he sees the whole thing as simply making an effort even though he knows nothing will come of it. But while he's doing that, I'm going to be learning some stuff from the mechanists on the island."

Interested, Hermione leaned forward. "Really? Are they that good though?"

Leaning back, Ron thought it over and nodded. "Pretty good actually. Remember, they had Thunderchild as their flagship for more then a century. Then you have their other ships, Bremen, and their trains. They're pretty good at mixing magic and engineering, so that's what I want to look at. Especially as it might help Warspite and Duke."

Now looking up himself, Harry smirked. "Ah, yes, Duke. And how are things going there?"

Ron looked at him and frowned. "And how are things going with Regina now that she's headed back to Wanko?"

All Harry did was shrug with a small frown. "Going to be a bit before I see her again, but things are doing pretty good. She's a great friend after all." At the sighs from the others, he blinked. 'Wonder what's with them...' Then the wizard grinned. "And you never answered the question, Ron."

Noticing that the others were now looking at him, Ron slumped in his seat. "Er..."

 

Snippet 59: RBomber

Bacle said:
Does this mean Ari might have a in Elvis fairy, but doesn't tell anyone?​

*-*-*-*-*

The fairy pub was silent, with only a string of melodic, bass guitar and deep humming that somehow coukd keep its tune despite it's contralto. More than a few fairies goes starry eyed. Including some of the male ones. There was also some house elf in backstage, hearing with rapt attention.


The song ended with with applause. The fairy took the time to drink a glass (fairy sized) of water and a peanut butter and bacon sandwich (human sized) (no, don't ask how) (okay, that was house elf). Then he gestures.

"Pip pip!"

"Oi!"

"Miiinaaa!"

"Zooona!"

Everyone looks at Mini-Zona.

"Zona?"

"Pip pip!"

"Oi!"

"Desu!"

"Zoonaa...."

MiniZona slumped. The next song had been decided.


****

"Dess! Dess! Dess!"

Everyone gave ChibiKongou a look. Including The King.

"Dess!"

She remain unrepetant.

The King look at the others, who gave their resigned approval. Oh well.

 

Second Summer Holidays - Summer TWO

START

 

Harry Leferts

Above the clouds covered the Moon as below, in the dead of the night, an old woman walked along the darkened streets muttering to herself. Pausing for a moment, she looked in one of the dark windows of a shop and grimaced at the old face that looked back at her. One that Nagato would recognize as the face of the old woman at the lottery booth. "You've done well enough, I suppose... but I need something... different." Suddenly, she grinned and began to walk again. "Hehehehe..."

Just a few more minutes later, the shadowy figure behind her grabbed her and pulled her into a side alley. Snarling, the young woman pressed the knife against the older one's throat. "Should have known better then to wander the streets at this time of night, you hag. Now..." She pressed the knife in a bit more. "Give me your money, all of it!"

However, much to her disquiet, the old woman just stared at her with an odd look on her face. Almost as if sizing up a piece of meat at a butcher's shop. "Hmm... Interesting."

Deep inside the young woman she could feel her instincts screaming at her, telling her to run and not to stop. But she ignored all that and shoved it aside though she did take a look around. "Are you deaf, you hag! I said to give me all of your money now!"

The old woman though only looked more amused. "You're her, aren't you? The one attacking poor, defenseless Baa-Sans like myself. Who has sent a number to the hospital." Something about the tone only increased the warnings in the young woman's mind even as the voice made her feel unclean. "Yes, you'll do nicely."

Now unsure, the woman went to press the knife harder, only for a hand to grab her wrist and squeeze it. "AH! What the hell!?"

Grinning and showing far too many teeth, the old woman cackled. "Yes, you'll do nicely as a costume. Can't have those shipgirls realize what I really am when they come. Not until it's too late."

Eyes widening, the younger woman tried to get free from the grip on her wrist as the knife dropped from it. "The fuck are you talking about!? Let go of me right now! Let go-Mmph!"

Before she could do anything else, the old women pulled her into a kiss and the younger one's struggles increased. However, the older woman had both wrists gripped and flipped her against the wall. Now even the kicks did anything nor did the tears of pure terror coming down the younger woman's cheeks. Slowly, but surely though, the struggles began to lessen even as the young woman's body trembled as if trying to fight something. Then the old woman's body crumpled bonelessly to the floor and the younger one stood there even as two long things pulled themselves into her mouth.

Two long things that looked oddly like spider legs.

A minute after they disappeared, the young woman gave one last shudder before straightening and patting herself down. "Hmm... Not bad, not bad at all." Reaching into the old woman's bag, she pulled out a mirror and looked at herself. "I suppose that nothing a bath and some makeup won't help. Heh... a young innkeeper trying to support herself..." Hearing a wheeze, she looked down at the nearly lifeless body at her feet and smiled. "I suppose that I need to do something about you, now don't I?"

Moments later, she licked her lips and chuckled as she crouched down while above, the Moon was fully covered in clouds as if it did not want to see what happened next.
_____________________________________________________________________

Cell phone against her ear, Nagato sipped her steaming tea as she hummed. "Thank you again, for taking Shiromizu, Haru-San. Harry was somewhat worried about her being left all alone in the house. Yes, Blackie Smokie would be here, but..."

On the other end of the line, chuckles could be heard. "Yes, but she's still something of a child and might not understand certain things. As to having her? There's no need to thank me for that, Natsumi-Chan loves spending time with her."

Glancing at her son's room, Nagato frowned some. "Yes, well... from what Albus-San and Hermione-San told me I should wonder. When do you think that she will tell Harry?"

There was a hum before Haru answered. "I do not know to be truthful. However, when I did a divination, it stated that she would do so at the same time that Natsumi-Chan would also reveal what she really is. So it will be quite interesting." After another chuckle, the Miko continued. "But I would not worry about it too much, I have set up something for the two of them to do."

Eyes narrowing, Nagato frowned some and looked at phone. "You set something up for them? Should I ask what?"

Lightly laughing, Haru answered a moment later though Nagato furrowed her eyebrows. "Oh, just getting a little something for me, not much more. Now then, you're leaving at mid morning to reach the inn before it gets too late...?"

All the Battleship did was raise an eyebrow at the answer she got before sighing. "Yes, well, it is in an isolated part of the mountains after all..."

Elsewhere, Natsumi in her fox form fell from a hole in an old ceiling and hit the ground with a thud. "Ow..." Slowly getting up, she adjusted the box on her back with a wince. "Dammit, Oba-Chan, this better be worth it..."

From her position around Natsumi's neck though, Shiromizu tasted the air before looking in one direction down the corridor. Said corridor looking like something from the Feudal era though much more decayed. "{I think that they just found the stink bomb you set, Natsumi.}" At the screeches, both of them winced. "{Yeah, they found them.}"

Beginning to run, Natsumi took off. "That much is obvious, but it serves as a distraction to let us get away after all! Especially since we have what must be everyone in the castle after us!"

A frown on her face, Shiromizu looked around in confusion. "{What the heck is a castle even doing here? I'm surprised that it still exists!}"

Simply shrugging her shoulders the best that she could with the small, wooden box strapped to her body, Natsumi frowned. "No clue. I think that it's one of the various small, magical castles that dot Japan though. All of them are hidden from non-magicals and the like with powerful magics." Hearing another scream as yet another pranking trap went off, the kitsune flicked an ear. "How angry do you expect them to be with us right now?"

Moments later, she yelped as a arrow nearly hit her ear while Shiromizu looked at her with the best deadpan expression that a snake could have. "{How angry? I'm thinking very angry actually.}"

At that, an Oni came rushing around a corner with a club being raised. Natsumi though dove between his legs as well as those behind him. Cringing at the cursing she could hear as they all tripped and fell, Natsumi nodded. "Sounds about right. Thankfully, we're nearly in the clear. Just a bit further and we reach out escape route."

Looking at her, Shiromizu frowned. "{Speaking of, you still have not explained what that is.}" At the sheepish grin as they ran down some stairs, the snake gave her a glare. "{Why am I thinking that I won't like this...?}"

Weakly chuckling, Natsumi tilted her head. "Um, because you won't?" Entering part of the dungeon, she sped up. "And there we are..." Leaping into the air, she came down on a piece of metal that skidded across the ground and then into a hole. "Here we go!"

From inside the hole, Shiromizu could be heard screeching at her friend. "{YOU DAMN FOX! THIS IS WHERE THEY LITERALLY DUMP THEIR CRAP!}"

Less then a minute later, the two shot out of the pipe at the bottom of the castle and hit the ground with disgusted looks from the smell. Still skidding along, Natsumi gave a snort as she looked at Shiromizu. "Okay, that was gross. But at least we managed to escape from the castle, right?"

Expression deadpan, Shiromizu coughed and pointed ahead of them. "{Except for that cliff.}"

Blinking, Natsumi began to turn around with a sinking feeling. "Cliff? What cliff-" It was at that moment that the two, and their makeshift sled, went over the edge of said cliff and Natsumi could see the steep slope below. One made slick from mud produced by a recent storm. "Oh... that cliff... This is going to really suuuuuuuuccccccaaaaaaaa!"

It was early in the morning when an exhausted Natsumi and Shiromizu stumbled into Haru's home. The former took the box off her back and then placed it onto the floor and gave Haru a look before collapsing. Shiromizu, currently in her hybrid form, just groaned some. "Here's... whatever it was that you wanted. Hopefully it was worth it."

With a hum, Haru walked over and nodded. "Oh yes, it certainly is worth it at that." Deftly, she unlatched the lock and opened it with both Shiromizu and Natsumi staring in disbelief as Nyoi staff hopped out. It hopped around for a moment until it sighted Haru who turned her back. Moments later, it started scratching said back as the kitsune gave a groan. "Oh yes... so worth it."

Utter silence filled the room before Natsumi's eyebrow twitched. "We went through all that... Just to retrieve a Nyoijizai for your use!?"

Haru blinked and looked over her shoulder with a small grin. "Hai? It was mine after all and I missed it so much... Ahhh, that's the spot."

As Natsumi gave a sound that was a mix between a whine and a growl of anger, Shiromizu facepalmed. Then the white snake grabbed her friend and began dragging her off to the bath. "We're going to go and get washed up now. And then just go to sleep before we make ourselves a fur coat."

Not answering, Haru made happy sounds before waiting until they were in the bath. Then she picked up the phone and dialed a number. Back at the castle that Natsumi and Shiromizu had escaped from, a hand belonging to a Ao nyōbō grabbed the ringing phone. At a glance at the number, she growled and answered. "Haru-San. How... nice to hear from you."

Only humming under the work of the backscratcher, Haru smirked. "You sound angry for some odd reason. I told you that I would be getting back what you borrowed from me."

There was a snort before the Ao nyōbō answered right back. "And you couldn't come yourself?"

Laughing, Haru shook her head some. "Now where would be the fun in that, old friend? This way Natsumi-Chan and my other student, Shiromizu learn a lesson regarding stealth and trickery. And at the same time, your security gets humiliated due to overconfidence. I believe that the Americans call it a 'Win-win' situation."

Just sighing, the Ao nyōbō shook her head. "Well then, you would be happy to know that even though they weren't going to harm her besides roughing her up... well, outside of one baka. And him I've taken care of personally as I gave orders that they were not to be harmed. But it did come across some glaring holes in my security, just don't have her come around for a decade or two."

All that did was make Haru give a barking laugh. "I'll see what I can do. Just next time when I ask for something that you borrowed back, give it back."

 

Harry Leferts

Relaxing back, Shiromizu had her lower body coiled up beneath her as she sipped her tea within Haru's sitting room. Meanwhile, she carefully turned the massive fang around in her hands as she shook her head as the white snake had found the Basilisk fang where Haru had been keeping it. "'King of Serpents', huh? A thousand years didn't help you when you met your own Susanoo, now did it?"

A chuckle caused her to blink and she turned to see a fox leap through the window and then shift into Natsumi who sat down. "Heh, you know that I never expected that comparison. Though it has been going around."

Softly snorting, Shiromizu just shook her head. "Really? A man who is skilled in magic leaps into battle against an ancient and powerful serpent monster in order to save a young maiden. And then he slays it, a creature that most would think was impossible to slay, and gains a magical, legendary blade in the process?"

Pausing from where she was about to pour her own tea, Natsumi blinked and then gave a nod. "That... makes more sense then I thought when it is put that way." Her lips turned upwards in amusement. "I suppose that that whoever writes Harry-Chan's threads of fate has an odd sense of humor."

Just rolling her eyes, Shiromizu held her forefinger and thumb apart a small amount with a smirk on her face. "Perhaps just a little odd."

The two shared a look and then burst into giggles. Over the past two years, the two had become good friends from their shared training and it showed. Now holding her cup in her hands, Natsumi chuckled. "Not to mention giant, back stabbing spider monsters."

Shivering, Shiromizu shook her head. "Don't remind me. Normal spiders, I can deal with... giant talking ones, no thank you. I would love to just burn them all."

With a frown on her face, Natsumi raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. One of the things that the kitsune had learned was that the serpent woman across from her absolutely hated spiders with a passion for some odd reason. Shaking it off, she decided to change the subject. "By the way... I am surprised that you didn't want to head up to that inn with Harry-Chan. He could have snuck you in you know."

Once more, Shiromizu rolled her eyes. "Not really all that interested. Though I am surprised that Nagato won that lottery contest."

Now turning thoughtful, Natsumi shrugged. "Yeah, especially as she didn't enter any contest. They just motioned her from off the street after all."

That caused Shiromizu to blink. "I thought..."

All the fox-girl across from her did was shake her head. "Nope! It was one of those lottery booths that pop up from time to time and Nagato did have it checked out after she won to make sure that it was for real. But everything cleared out for it, so..."

Something tickled at Shiromizu's mind and she couldn't tell what. "Huh..."

Natsumi's next words caused the snake to freeze. "Probably a publicity stunt considering that the theme park nearby is pretty much abandoned now. Can't see many people being attracted to the area."

Feeling as if her heart was frozen in her chest, Shiromizu looked at her directly. "Theme park...?"

Unsure about the tone in her friend's voice, Natsumi set down her tea and nodded. "Practically right next door on the mountain, there's a theme park that closed down more then a decade ago from what I read. Why?"

Her heart pounding in her chest, and her skin taking on a paleness it had never had, Shiromizu stared directly at Natsumi with her red eyes nearly glowing. "Natsumi... where is this inn?" Truly unnerved, Natsumi did and Shiromizu felt her heart stop for a few moments in her chest before she did something that Natsumi had never seen before. "FUCK!"

Jumping back as Shiromizu began to rush around, Natsumi barely followed the panicking woman. "Shiromizu! SHIROMIZU! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG?!"

Needless to say, Natsumi was surprised as Shiromizu paused in the middle of throwing on some protective clothing before shoving the fang into a pouch on her belt without paying it much mind and turned to her with unmasked fear in her eyes. "Harry is in danger, Natsumi..." Tears began to drip from her eyes as she sobbed some. "He's walking right into a trap because of me. The one who's been hunting me is now after him."

The kitsune didn't need to be told anymore and began to head for the window, her body already transforming back into a fox as she spoke. "I'll get Haru-Oba then to get us there and give us a hand."

And then she was gone with Shiromizu giving a nod. "Hurry... and I hope that we are not too late."
____________________________________________________________

The car skidded to a halt of what looked like an inn, but one that was seemingly destroyed as if something forced it's out of it. Shiromizu was the first out of the car, practically throwing herself out of the window, followed by Natsumi and Haru. The Miko looked around and her pupils narrowed to slits. "This whole place just reeks of corruption... and spiders."

Her tongue flicking out, Shiromizu shuddered some. "I can smell rotting human flesh as well."

Natsumi for her part gripped her dagger's hilt tightly as her she kept glancing around. "Uh... I hear cannon fire somewhere nearby..."

It was at that moment that they heard the sound of something falling and looked up in time to see something impact the road several meters in front of them, cratering it. After a few moments, there was a massive boom as something fired inside the dust cloud, which cleared to revealed a highly pissed off Nagato. There were some tears in her clothing, but she fired again. "DIE!"

Eyes wide, Natsumi took a step forward. "Nagato!"

Head whipping around, Nagato's eyes widened some. "Natsumi... Haru... Shiromizu...?" Then she opened her mouth. "GET OUT OF HERE!"

For her part, Haru seemed somewhat amused. "Mah, that's not how one should treat the Calvary." Before Nagato could reply, she whipped her head around and then punched a boulder bigger then she was that was flying through the air. Said boulder just shattered as soon her fist impacted. "I take it that Harry-Chan has already been taken then?"

Growling, Nagato nodded. "Yes, that fucking bitch grabbed him and took off, I was following when-"

Haru finished her sentence. "When you got ambushed." Eyes narrowed, she glanced around. "Where is Hoppou-" There was a blast and just up the road she could see said enraged Abyssal fighting at least two Ushioni before a third jumped her onto her back. "Ah, I see where she is now." Wincing a bit as she saw two of said Yokai slammed into each other, Haru glanced around as Nagato fired again before pausing. She seemed to be looking at something only she could see in the darkness and then looked behind Natsumi. "My, my... it seems that our attackers have arrived."

Whipping around, Shiromizu's eyes widened at the sight of the giant spiders that had snuck up on them before one stopped and looked at them. The moment stretched onwards for what seemed like a minute as they stared each other down. And then the spider lifted itself up some and screeched.

Then it breathed a stream of fire at the group.

Before the flames could reach them though, Haru was right there in front of her niece and Shiromizu, a ofuda in midair that her claws touched. The blast of fire impacted where the ofuda was, only to splash against a shield that blocked it with ease. Once the attack was finished, Haru glanced over her shoulder even as her form shifted to something more like a giant fox standing on two legs, five tails splayed behind her. Her paw flickered and the spider that shot the attack keeled over, a knife embedded in it's head to the hilt. "Do you know where Harry-Chan is?"

Swallowing, Shiromizu nodded. "Y-yes, if he's anywhere then the old village headman's home would be it. It's right by the well!"

With a hum, the kitsune nodded before a naginata formed in her paws as further blasts splashed against the shield, the ofuda now glowing brightly as it held them back. "Very well then. Natsumi? You get her there as soon as you can... use your fox state. It will be quicker and more stealthy. I shall hold the line here with Nagato."

Nodding, Natsumi swallowed before transforming into a fox. "H-hai, Oba-Chan..."

Beside her, Shiromizu became her normal snake form and wrapped her body around Natsumi's neck. Then both of them took off as Haru chuckled. "Well now, time to deal with you bunch."

Her form flickering, Haru was suddenly to one side, the weapon piercing through one spider, then she was gone yet again with some of the spiders killing others due to illusions. Meanwhile, Natsumi raced through the woods following the scent of her friend before she stopped and paused as explosions nearby nearly blew out her ears. "What the heck!?"

Shiromizu just glanced around as the smell of rotting flesh grew stronger. "{Whatever Nagato is fighting must be close... by...}"

A frown on her face, Natsumi was about to ask when she realized that the moon was now shadowed by something as the sound of rattling could be heard...

Something that was not a cloud.

Slowly, she looked up and under her fur, her skin went pale as the smell of corpses reached her. The massive thing ignored her as it fixed it's the two malevolently glowing pits that were where it's eyes should be on where Nagato was just as another group of shells slammed into it's chest and knocked it back several steps. An unholy screech as if all the skeletons that made it up ripped from it's mouth as it continued it's walk. Only one word, barely a whisper, escaped from Natsumi's mouth as she stared in pure horror at something that had climbed out of the depths of the darkest of stories. "Gashadokuro..."

Hissing in her ear brought her back to where she was and why they were there. "{Come on, move! Harry needs us, Natsumi!}"

After shaking off her shock, Natsumi nodded. "Y-yeah,,, Harry-Chan needs us." Then she was off again, though not without offering a prayer to whoever might be listening. 'Please let Oba-Chan be okay...' It didn't take the young kitsune long to reach the old village where she had to stop and blink for several moments. "I... cannot be seeing what I think that I am..."

Rather amused by reaction, Shiromizu chuckled. There was nothing humorous in her tone though. "{Oh, I assure you that you are, indeed, seeing what you are.}"

Giving her a look, Natsumi turned toward the battle as she shifted to a more humanoid form as did Shiromizu. Mainly because there was an army of geckos currently fighting with giant spiders. And the geckos were slowly winning as each time one fell, it would soon be replaced. Meanwhile the spiders were getting turned into pin cushions via arrows from the geckos or just sliced apart by tiny katana. Elsewhere, Natsumi could see tsukumogami also fighting the spiders, including a Kasa-Obake that was leaping into the air and then coming down on spiders, crushing them.

But what had Shiromizu's main attention was the being in the middle of those fighting the spiders. She looked like an eel that was wearing a kimono as she slithered around, killing spiders with spears that flashed with each move. "Misa-Onee-Sama!"

That caused Natsumi to blink. "Your Onee-Sama is a Unagi-hime?"

All the serpent did was give her a look. "Yes?" Then Shiromizu shook it off and launched herself forward. "Enough of that, though! We need to go and save Harry!"

Without any further words, she launched herself toward the fight as Natsumi groaned. "You or Harry-Chan are going to be the death of me.... Oh well."

Also throwing herself into the fight, Natsumi soon caught up to Shiromizu who had reached the eel yokai. Misa meanwhile looked at Shiromizu with surprise on her face. "Shiro-Chan..." Then her expression became stern. "You shouldn't have come back."

Scowling, Shiromizu bisected a spider that launched itself at her. "Like hell I was going to let her kill Harry! He's as much my Otouto as you are my Onee-Sama!"

Misa seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding with a small smile. "I see... then the best that I can do is get you there..." Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Natsumi. "Kitsune... I am entrusting her safety to you. Now... if you would both transform then I can get you over them." Not quite sure what she meant, Natsumi and Shiromizu did as asked and then blinked as she held out her spear to a level where Natsumi could jump onto it. "Well, what are you waiting for... get on."

Eyes wide, Shiromizu coiled herself around Natsumi before the kitsune hopped onto the spear's end. "Now what?"

Grinning, Misa laughed. "Hang on." Both the snake's and fox only had a moment before Misa spun around and flung them over the battle. Shiromizu only had moments to look before the ground on the other side rushed up to greet them, only for Natsumi to land lightly on her feet. They took off as the spiders began to turn toward them, but reached the old village headman's house before they could catch up.

And then they were through the doors which slammed shut behind them.

 

Lord K

A.N./ lol, invalidated by author post.

Oh well, it's a surge of inspiration out of insomnia at midnight, so I'm not sure if it would have fit in anyway.

Neighbourhood Watch

To the outside observer, it looks like the kind of thing that's so expectedly out of the ordinary, it actually is ordinary. An image so perceived as stereotypical, few bother with more than a passing glance. Pulled up in the small car park, and congregating like imposing fish in an asphalt pond, the leather clad youths laugh and heckle one another and their motorcycles, with the kind of uncouth and intimidating roughness that puts off most normal passersby.

To a more intuitive observer who knows what they're looking for however, the congregation of bikers are much too uniform and organised to be bosozoku. Few of their bikes are modified beyond what obvious performance improvements have been implemented, and maybe the odd cosmetic paint job or vinyl. Many of the riders themselves, actually share a surprisingly similar garb of proper riding equipement, sporting full leathers or armored jackets, protected boots, greaves and pads, all in an almost uniform trend of blacks, greys, navy, and other dark colors. The only real chaos, is a false one imposed by the additional smatterings of patches and customised emblems. For such an intimidating and dissuasive presence, they are actually surprisingly subtle and easily overlooked if one isn't paying attention or directly crossing their path.

Which is exactly why as Tokyo Metropolitan Police Detective Oshiya Kazama pulls his unmarked car in the parking lot, it is only that he knows to look for it, that he spots the two most imposing gang members subtly straightening up near the door they are supposed to be covering. The instant he gets out of the car however, the tension building in the air drains away, with many of the bikers actually looking more than a little relieved.

"Hey guys! It's Blank!"

Weaving through the scattering of high powered Hondas, Kawasakis, Suzukis, Yamahas, and even the odd Ducati and Harley, Oshiya receives more than a few respectful nods and words of greeting. Passing one biker in particular, the youth thumbs in the direction of Nerima ward casually. "Hey bro, ya still coming around for dinner again? Ma made that fancy European pumpkin drink again."

"I dunno man," the detective responds, walking backwards to keep answering. "I'm only riding shotgun on this case. I gotta go back to the office and play dumb muggle after this."

"Well, be seeing ya then!" The biker shrugs and gives a jaunty wave.

"Tell mom I'll be around if I can." Glancing around the carpark as if to look for somebody, he then gives one last look back to the wizard biker. "And where's Kali?"

"She's off dealing with some J.N.H.R.O. thing. Shit hit the fan a few days back or sumthin', an' she's been workin' her poor scaly tail off eva' since." The magical motorcyclist then thumbs upwards at the apartment block casting their gathering in shadow. "Ya'd already think sumthin' crawled up old dragonbutt's asshole and set a fire, an' then this shit had ta' happen too."

"Fucking lovely."

Finally reaching the back door of the building, he glances upward at the apartment block questioningly, then looks at one of the two pig-like lieutenants. The man nods in return and opens the door to lead him inside, in the process revealing the snarling dragon at the center of the gang's patch in all it's cloth and thread captured glory. "Fourth floor, apartment 444."

Kazama stares as they turn into the stairwell and begin ascending. "You're fucking kidding me?"

"Nope," the man who looks more hog-like than his steel-hog grunts as he waddles up ahead of the detective. "Somebody's apparently decidedly unsubtle. That wasn't even the victims actual apartment. Bunch of them all just ended up open plan if you catch my drift."

"Crap, and there we were all were downtown thinking this was all just random, normal shit." Oshiya runs a hand over his face. "Who else is here?"

"Sekigara was apparently the only one who was free" the piggy looking man responds as they finally reach their floor. "Which is kinda great actually. Kid's the kind tha' don't give a fuck about working with us, even if they weren't understaffed to hell an' back."

"Ooof, well that's a relief." Following the biker off of the landing and out into a corridor filled with painfully 70s decor if the faded and musty smelling carpet that's even on the ceiling is any indication, the detective grimaces. "It's a pain the ass trying to go under the table and be all subtle and shit whenever there's assholes that don't like yokai or squibs attached to whoever were trying to work with."

"Yeah!" Shouts a voice from down the hall. "But it makes the job on my end that much fucking harder and slower."

Ambling down the hall, the detective and the biker come across two new presences. The first, and somehow managing to stick out like a sore thumb in their current gathering even more so than the employee of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police department, is Sekihara. Despite being in full Auror uniform and with a complete crime scene kit slowly packing itself away, the man looks totally at ease in the presence of the bikers and the "muggle" officer. It's only his familiarity with the man, that tells him the anxiety and weight in his eyes is related not to his company, but the case at hand.

"Detective Oshiya! It's been a while!"

"Yes it has Investigator Sekihara." Accepting the man's offered hand, Kazama nods in agreement. "If only it were under better circumstances. At least luck's on our side, with everyone being able to collaborate all of our evidence uninterrupted. For now at least."

"That's true," the auror grimaces, taking a moment to flick his wand and direct the last of his crime scene kit and evidence recording equipment to start packing itself into his briefcase, now that it has completed removing itself from the apartment door they are standing before. A doorway currently filled by the second person he specifically came here to meet, whom Sekihara is also waiting for, to complete their own study. "I just finished removing all of my gear from the crime scene and logging everything I needed to. Nothing's been touched or effected to any degree that should effect either her's or your forensics department's own work."

Looking into the room and seeing the scene within, Kazama gives a frustrated snort. "Yeah, about that. If this is what I think it is after reviewing the evidence under a magical bent, for just the crime scenes that turned up on our radars, then I don't think anything forensics could turn up would be useful or much help. Jin could probably transform in this place and wreck it going full sniffer-dragon for all the good we might do anyway. Speaking of which. Hi Jin...."

Pausing for a moment, the detective then glances inside the room awkwardly. "....and my condolences for your friend."

Glancing down at the water-dragon in question, the currently humanoid figure finally takes a moment to look up from what she's doing. Keeping her hands still pressed against the floor on the very edge of the apartment threshold, the green-haired biker looks up with eyes shining with unnatural vibrance and inner jade-tinged light. And then she speaks, not in the voice of a girl trapped on the edge of her late teens, but with a voice of churning water and gravel carving away from embankments.

"Jesus Christ, I'm trying to concentrate here." Her shimmering gaze pulses, only just highlighting the barely restrained anger, before then turning her attention back to the room, and apparently something only she can see. "Hello, nice to meet you, yadda-yadda, she'll at least live. Not like the rest of those assholes you told me about. Now kindly shut your trap, I'm busy."

Kazama grimaces. "Nice to see you again too Jin."

Looking back to the auror, the detective then decides to make use of what time they have, rather than fruitlessly weighting. "So, what's the story on you guys' end? Originally all we had was a chain of missing persons cases slowly migrating their way into the city, generally indistinguishable from all the rest until somebody just happened to cross-reference a lot of these cases to try and figure out any particular reason for the recent uptick. Then it turned out that suspects matching two of our victims were seen in the vicinity of two of our other missing persons cases, shortly before their disappearances. A colleague of mine was initially thrown the cases trying to figure out the link, but then he really went down the rabbit hole with this thing. He went over all the different records for missing persons in the last few months where they had "weird" shit going on."

Sekihara immediately facepalms. "Oh god. Don't fucking tell me. We've got a face-stealer that doesn't understand modern security and muggle electronic record keeping."

"Yeah, it looks like," groans Kazama tiredly. Pulling out his bag, the squib detective then begins rifling through it for all the copies of printouts he smuggled out of the office for the auror and dragon's benefits. "While he wasn't able to conclusively place all of the suspected victims of what I'm guessing is a shapeshifter or possessor in contact with one another, there was a pretty good argument for the proximities he lined up. Along with the four victims definitively known to have come in contact with one another, Homicide now thinks that they have three more people who may have been connected in their disappearances."

Gratefully accepting the print outs, Sekihara begins leafing through them with a critical eye. "Wait, so this is being treated as a serial homicide on your end now?"

"Urgh, yeah, but that's not the worst part. Maybe."

The auror raises an eyebrow at the detective. "What do you mean maybe?"

"Wooo, oh boy, you might want to brace your ass for this one." At a loss for how to say it easily, Kazama just decides to break it bluntly. "They're talking of bringing the Public Security Intelligence Agency in on this."

"They're fucking what?!"

While Sekihara looks helpless and understandably at a loss considering how short staffed the aurors are, never mind the obliviators, Jin loudly announces her disbelief, though her shining eyes and now glowing hands still continue scan the room from beyond the edge of the doorframe.

"Well," says Kazama, "you've got at least seven different people, all of whom have just vanished into thin air, each after last being seen in of traveling the general area of, and sometimes even with the next victims in the sequence. There's no bodies, not motives, and no evidence other than sudden, strangely out of character travel movements tying thing this whole thing together, in a trail that leads halfway across the country. These people could have turned up with their faces bitten off and left in ditches outside of each town, and it still would have caught less interest. Then you'd just have a relatively bog-standard violent serial killer, albeit with absolutely no fucking immediately determinable links between their victims or what makes them kill."

Sekihara gives a frustrated groan. "This is so fucking typical of these kinds of nutjobs in the last few years. They think that destroying all evidence and traces of what's happened, while moving low key among the muggles is going to deflect the few aurors still around. And instead they shine out like the biggest fucking beacons to you guys, because they either don't understand how interconnected and recorded everything is, or how absence of what should be there can be a flag in and of itself."

"Yeah. One of the big things that grabbed PSIA's attention was the completely lack of connection between any of the victims and how much what they've done, doesn't actually fit the mental profiles we built for many of them after interviewing people that knew them. So far some of the more glaring examples we've had are a little old lady from the inner city, who would never have left her dog at home alone, a girl from the suburbs who should have had no reason to travel into Tokyo seeing as she left her wallet and ID at home when she left to go to the corner store the previous day, but was last seen in the company of a guy we later determined to be an otaku from the suburbs, who was actually a borderline hikikiomori. The one that's really thrown all the muggles for a loop is the guy who wasn't even from Tokyo. Dude was built like body builder and should have been almost impossible to overpower or force anything upon, even if he did like running in the woods. They found his car in the public parking area for the track that he told his friends he was going to run, but then we have a train card usage and security footage of him catching a train to Tokyo from a station on the complete opposite side of the National Park that's well over a day and a pair of small mountains away in the opposite direction."

"Well that's fucking great." Growls Jin from the doorway. "We have some asshole face-trekking across the Kanto region." If Kazama strains his ears, he is almost certain he can hear the sound of boiling water. "What I want to know is why if this Hannibal Lecter hack has no discernible motive, and only attacks muggles, then why the fuck did this guy come here?"

Helplessly, Kazama shrugs. "I honestly don't know. Maybe it was just bad luck? Maybe they didn't know who lived here?" The growl that comes back in return, more than announces what Jin thinks of that answer.

"The suburb might not exist. I might be dead and made flesh. But this is still Aoijinkawa." Whether from rage or emotion, the patch adorned shoulders of the grudge-corrupted water kami tremble. "Ever since I returned here, I have made in know that the lands upon the old Aoijinkawa are sanctuary for those sickened or displaced from their homes like I once was. I refuse to believe that this sick fuck just happened to stumble upon the home of a weakened serpent by chance, and then took advantage of her vulnerability to attack her out of the blue for shits and giggles."

Uncertainly, Sekihara offers his two cents. "Maybe they really did? Maybe they didn't know about your protection of the yokai living around your old spring."

"Yeah, and under water rock would they have been living?" Counters Kazama. "Even those not involved in yokai matters, know that you don't fuck around with people, human or yokai, in the area between Hisakawa Apartment Block and the Arakawa River. Or the Tanuki's Balls bar in Nerima either really. Everyone in town's known that for decades."

"Yes, but that's just it!" strikes back Sekihara. "This suspect likely isn't from in town. Your own cases definitively tie this chain of murders to someone or something from outside the city."

The detective frowns. "You don't think this is just somebody migrating through a list of haunts and getting sloppy."

"No," counters Sekihara. "At first I might have but not now."

Kazama still looks unconvinced. "Yokai rarely stray from their home stomping grounds though. Even fewer would have the stones to attack a snake under a dragon's protection, no matter how weakened Jin is. And she was "just" a stream."

"I can hear you."

Ignoring the ex-mizuchi's growled interruption, Kazama shakes his head. "They'd have to be really brazen, really fucking dumb, or have some real power to not worry about the ensuing beef."

At that, the auror grimaces. "What if I told you we may be looking at a possible suspect who covers all three?"

Kazama straightens up, eyes narrowing. "By how much do you mean "all three?"

"Well, this is partly why I wanted to meet with you in particular. You see.... Muggles aren't the only people who have been going missing."

"What do you-? Shit, I'm not going to like this am I?"

Cringing in obvious disappointment and shame for the faltering organisation he belongs to, it is now Sekihara's turn to produce a set of thick notes. Ink stained pages of recently and hastily transcribed parchment, obviously from his own, supposedly secure records. Even as Kazama takes the stack, and begins leafing through it with mounting horror at the dots being being finally connected once the evidence of two different worlds is at last combined, the auror gives a somber nod to the detective.

"It was hard to put things together. It doesn't help that yokai drop off the grid all the time, and with increasing regularity as these last few years have gone by. The fact that some of the other aurors in the department are still the kind of people that don't give to shits about non-humans also only made things worse. And I'd bet my bottom yen that I'm missing victims who were never on the grid, or had paper trails or people that would flag them as missing to begin with as well. But the other day when Jin mentioned some of the murders you'd been working on, it made me realise something about a number of different cases I've seen some of my colleagues work on over the past few years as well."

"Holy shit...." mutters Kazama as he looks at some of the more disturbing and worrisome some notes. "You guys thought these were all isolated crimes and incidents?"

"Yeah." Sighs the auror in disappointment. "There's too few of us to manage all this anymore. There's too many fires and not enough hands now. Not with the Statute of Secrecy still needing to be enforced. We never had anybody sit down and comprehensively look at the overall image for anything to tie it all together. It was all just written off as one big trouble spot, and now to make it worse, it's an inter-jurisdictional matter. Not that it matters, cause I mean, what the hell?! I had to do scene investigation, and containment, and obliviation all on my own! I'm actually really fucking lucky Jin and her gang turned up when they did!"

Still engrossed in the notes Sekihara has given him, "Fucking hell," is all the detective finds himself able to say. Turning the page, only to find the next image rather unpalatable to even look at, finally Kazama flips the stack of parchment shut again. Tiredly he then runs a hand over his face. "Oh sweet shit.... urgh....right, so- Obviously this thing is pretty fucking powerful, or at least knows how to efficiently do it's shit if it's likely murdered it's way across the countryside so effectively until now, and regardless of whether it cared about Jin or not, it took on a snake in it's own home and won. What the hell are we looking at here?"

"That's a good question," replies the auror. "And honestly? For all the fucked up whit it's already done and left behind, I still have no fucking idea."

"No."

They are then interrupted by a sound that makes them pause. Straining her head into the room, while keeping her hands and feet outside the threshold, Jin sniffs angrily at the air. Not like a bloodhound however, or even a snake seeking it's prey. It is the slowly growing alertness of a beast, seeking the traces of some unidentified presence that has raised it's hackles and makes it bare it's fangs.

"Jeez Jin." Kazama blinks at the dragon. "Sniff any harder, and you might as well start tasting the air and doing that tongue thing."

His reflexive joke however, is met by a rumbling growl, one that escalates into a barely restrained snarl of simmering hate. It is an unexpected and terrifying sound, something that momentarily reminds him of the stories that sometimes circulate around the office thanks to witnesses or veterans who have occasionally been lucky enough to see the infamously contained rage hidden just below the ex water-kami's surface, directed at a target. Even Sekihara and Jin's biker lieutenant take an uncertain step back, the auror in particular, watching nervously as a rippling pattern of white scales slowly materialises their way up her now clawed, scarred hands. At the same time, her horns elongate into being, just as the water-dragon turns around to face them.

Through already sharpened teeth, the reborn-mizuchi snarls, scale slowly creeping over her scarred face.

"A spider. There is a spider killing, in my town."

 

Harry Leferts

The interior of the Headsman's home was dark with various cobwebs around it as the two slowly moved across the lobby cautiously. Neither wanted to be caught after all and their senses were stretched as far as they could. Suddenly, Shiromizu noticed a bundle against the wall and her eyes widened as she hissed. "Harry!"

Natsumi also turned and could see Harry struggling against the webs that bound him as he tried to say something. However, his mouth was covered by some webs. Both the kitsune and the white snake were about to rush over when they heard a chuckle and looked up to the staircase to see a woman with the lower parts replaced by a spider. "My, my, just like a moth to the flame. As fully expected, Shiromizu-Dono." The last bit was given with a mocking tone before she gave Harry a look, the boy giving her a glare back. This only seemed to amuse her. "I must admit though, your human friend here gave me some trouble. Somehow my venom doesn't seem to affect him much."

Clutching her blades tightly, Shiromizu snarled as she looked at the spider Yokai. From her nose small wisps of steam issued. "You bitch! Harry had nothing to do with this!"

All the Jorōgumo did though was chuckle. "Ah, but that is not my fault, now is it? You were the one who ran after all. Running right to him..."

Every part of Shiromizu's body was tense while beside her, Natsumi glanced around with a frown. 'Something about this...' Turning back to the Jorōgumo though, she narrowed her eyes. "And here I was thinking that you were clever."

It was then that she noticed the smirk which was the only warning she got before something set off hers and Shiromizu's instincts and they dodged a strike followed by silk. When they turned though, their eyes widened at the sight of the Jorōgumo where they had been. Looking between the two spider Yokai, Shiromizu scowled a bit. "What is going on here..."

Beside her through, Natsumi furrowed her eyebrows for a moment. "That's... that is not possible, that's a kitsune illusion. But she's a Jorōgumo..."

Darkly laughing, the Jorōgumo shifted a bit before holding up a hand where some foxfire gathered. "Yes, isn't it just so very odd. Let me tell you a story since I am going to kill you both, my delectable little morsels." Eyes glowing, she grinned. "Many decades ago, there was an Onmyouji who was powerful in the ways of dark magic. But he was not happy with just that, he wanted more. He wanted to live as long as a Yokai, to have their power. Thus he created a ritual. Within this ritual, he would kill and eat a Yokai, their power and life being added to his own. But a clever little Jorōgumo spied on him and eventually tricked him, instead devouring him." Shuddering, the Spider Yokai trailed a finger down her chest. "It was so delicious the power I got. Since I have devoured kitsune, tanuki, itachi, other human Onmyouji and Yokai."

Stomachs churning, Shiromizu and Natsumi had the same thoughts in their head. 'Oh Kami...'

Meanwhile, the Jorōgumo continued. "All their power taken in by me. But there was always one thing that escaped me. Until... you were born."

At the finger pointed at her, Shiromizu steeled herself. "Until I was born? What are you talking about? I'm just a snake Yokai."

Pausing, the Jorōgumo stared at her. "Don't you know..." Then she began to laugh. "You don't! No one ever told you what you truly are?" Narrowing her eyes, she scoffed. "My dear, you are a Mizuchi, a young Kami. That spring you were found by is the one that you are the Kami of!"

Mouth working, Shiromizu tried to make a sound but was unable to. From where he was, Harry paused in his struggles before blinking. 'Shiromizu... is a Kami? A Mizuchi?' Then he began to focus on her hand as they heated up, trying to light a flame as taught. 'No, she's Shiromizu!'

Slowly moving, the Jorōgumo hummed. "Of course, that makes you oh so valuable, my dear. I have wanted to feast on your succulent flesh and power for some time. With it, I will finally become a Kijin." Then she grinned. "Of course, there are two more Kami here as well which I will devour with a nice Onmyouji and two Kitsune for dessert." Out of nowhere though, she hissed and grabbed at the left human-like eye on her face. 'Damn that kitsune bastard... No matter, I'll finish them first!'
_______________________________________________________________________

Watching as the Gashadokuro fell back with a screech and smoke pouring from its left eye socket, Haru hummed while dispatching another spider. "A somewhat problematic situation we're in, Nagato-San."

Just snorting, Nagato narrowed her eye. "If I did not know that you were Japanese, I would ask if you were a British born Kitsune, Haru-San." With a glance to where Hoppou had torn the head of the last Ushioni off, the Battleship scowled. "This is taking far too long!"

As Nagato fired her cannons again, Haru grimaced. "I would agree as it happens." Launching herself forward, she sped along until she jumped onto the giant skeleton's knee, then off it's hip before slashing at it several times. But then the kitsune dodged a swipe from it's claws. "However, this is a bit much."

Suddenly a white blur shot out and resolved into Hoppou before she punched the Gashadokuro in the face, snapping back the head from the blow. It also sent the giant skidding a few hundred feet as well. "GO HOME!"

Glancing at Haru who landed beside her, Nagato frowned as she took several breaths while watching Hoppou slugging it again. "I am open any suggestions that you might have in regards to this."

Head tilted to the side as the giant crashed into what was left of the inn, demolishing it, the Kitsune frowned. "A Gashadokuro is made up of the collective grudges of hundreds of the dead. Now, each bit of damage done to one drains it of a small amount of the grudge that makes it up. But back when I was a kit, one could not damage it fast enough before it would kill you... Unless you were another high level Yokai such as a Kyuubi."

Lips becoming a thin line, Nagato's rigging peppered the skeleton with her secondary's. "But now our weapons do a lot more damage. So it becomes a question of how long it would last compared to how much we got left then?" At Haru's nod, she grimaced. "That may not turn out well."

Much to her surprise though, the Kitsune chuckled some. "I did send a note to Goto-San about this. He mentioned that considering our position we might have some air support..."

Just as she said that, Nagato picked up a signal and frowned as she fired again. 'This is JSG Nagato, who is this?"

Her eyes widened some a few moments later as she got a signal back. 'Nagato, the Abyss Divers got word that you might have need of some air support and we were on our way through here anyways.'

Grinning, Nagato chuckled. 'Hopefully you got plenty of ammunition, Over...'
_________________________________________________________________
With a wince as Shiromizu hit the floor and dodged another stream of something that melted the floor, Harry redoubled his efforts to escape using the conjured flame on one finger. His attention was caught by something that skidded along the floor from where his friend had landed, coming to a stop close to him. 'No way... where did that come from?!'

Meanwhile, Natsumi leapt from above in her fox form and bit down on the Jorōgumo's overextended arm making it scream. Before said Yokai could grab her, the Kitsune had let go and dropped beneath her body, transforming and slashing at her abdomen. Dodging several legs, she skidded to a halt not far from Shiromizu who was breathing hard and has several cuts on her. "So... any ideas?"

Glancing at her as they began to circle around, the white snake shook her head. "Off the top of my head? No. How about you?"

Just tilting her head to the side as she panted and tried to ignore the burning in her side, Natsumi shrugged and winced. "Nope, though I am open to suggestions." Her voice dropping to a whisper, she shook her head. "She's healing really quickly from her injuries and we're becoming more and more exhausted."

There was a grimace on Shiromizu's face but she nodded before whispering just as softly. "Agreed. Unless something changes, we'll run out of energy before that point..." Taking a deep breath, she shook her head. "In which case... Grab Harry and run. I'll hold her off and give you some time."

Eyes wide, Natsumi hissed at her. "Like Hell I'll let you do that, Shiromizu-Chan!"

Laughter made them both turn to find the grinning Jorōgumo watching them. "Especially as I won't allow it." At their glares, her grin widened. "But you are welcome to try."

Shiromizu was about to reply when Harry's voice made itself known. "NATSUMI-CHAN! SHIROMIZU! CLOSE YOUR EYES NOW!"

Not having expected that, the Jorōgumo turned in Harry's direction and noticed him hold up his wand. After all, she had not realized that he had it strapped to his leg. "You-"

However, she was not able to finish as Harry shouted his spell and she felt like daggers were stabbed into her eyes. "LUMOS MAXIMA!"

Screaming, the spider Yokai stumbled back as she clutched at her face as she was blinded painfully. "My eyes! My eyes!" Then she felt a weight on her spider thorax before something stabbed her in the back, right where she could not reach. "GAH! YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

Claws whipping out, she grabbed Harry from where he was and threw him. Fortunately for him, Shiromizu caught him and absorbed his momentum. "Dammit, Harry! What the Hell was that!?"

With a wince from the pain of his injuries, Harry gave a weak chuckle as the Jorōgumo tried to grab whatever was stuck in her back. "Um, it seemed like a good idea? And it should help."
Several miles away and a few hundred feet above the tree tops, the F-15J(S) of the Abyss Divers screamed by. Most of them were asking where and what the target was, even as they could see plumes of dust and debris kicked up by something. It did not help matters that they could see Nagato's shells hit and detonate, but not against what.

All of them, except for Ai.

The Tengu in question was nearly frozen by what she was seeing. Something right out from myth and legend. For a brief moment she was transported back to when she was a child and listening to older Yokai tell about times long past and the dangers that were around then. 'That... that can't possibly be...'

Just seconds later, she was snapped out of it as a childish voice came over the radio with a flange to it. "Hoppou will help! Give Hoppou a minute to toss oil over Big Meanie Skeleton and then to use special lights!"

From where she sat, Ai could just feel the stares directed at the mountain side. In fact, she was staring herself in utter confusion which broke the terror from knowing what they were facing. Of course, that was when they saw the arcing shells lit brightly and one of her wingmen commented. "Uh, is that white phosphorus shells? Because I am pretty sure using those against something constitutes a war-WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING!?"

Having hit the oil covering the Gashadokuro, the white phosphorus ignited them catching the whole thing aflame. And also making it visible to the pilots in the fighters. Swallowing, Ai took a deep breath before reply. "A terror from the past which we're about to end."

Then she hit the deck along with the others before firing the first of their missiles.

Down below, Nagato looked away as the first anti-ship missiles struck home to the cringing Haru. "You're certain that this will work?"

Only nodding as her ears were deafened, Haru grit her teeth. "Yes, tying or somehow attaching Ofuda onto a weapon can enhance it when fighting spiritual beings. Including things composed of grudges... I have a number of ones I made with the unicorn brushes that Harry-Chan gave me. If you put those on your shells before firing with them activated, they should do enough damage that it might injure it enough to kill it with a few more hits, if not dissipate the grudges powering it entirely."

Grunting, Nagato glared at the monster as tracer fire tore into it while a F-15J(S) screamed past. Thankfully, whoever was in it somehow pulled a stunt that should have torn the plane apart from the stresses it was under, as the Gashadokuro swiped at it which allowed them to avoid it. "Then that's what we're going to do..."

Back at the Headman's house though, things were not going so well. Slamming into a cabinet and scattering the contents, Natsumi collapsed to the ground exhausted and with a groan. Yes, whatever Harry did was affecting the Jorōgumo with her movements becoming slower. And her attacks were weakening as it looked like she was in a lot of pain.

None of that mattered though as they were barely staying alive as it was.

Running on empty, Natsumi continued to claw at the reserves she barely knew that she had. But even those were running down more and more. The Jorōgumo screaming though made her look up to see Harry clutched by the neck in the yokai's clawed hand as it pulled back the other hand. "I have had enough of you! You'll die first and I'll suck the marrow from your bones!"

Off to the side, Natsumi could see the stunned Shiromizu trying, and failing, to get up. As the hand began to move forward though, time inched to a crawl as death approached the black haired wizard. Between her own heartbeats Natsumi could see all the times she had shared with Harry. 'No...' The laughs and the smiles between them. 'No!' And her own feelings for the wizard, which made her metaphorically hit that barrier that stopped her from pulling more energy out. "HARRY-CHAN!"

Unnoticed by the Kitsune, one of the items that fell out was a stone which let out a glowing mist that was absorbed by her. And then she felt as if her whole body was dipped in fire as well as a tearing along her back. But at the same time she felt a rush of energy which she used to push back the pain and throw what she could in Harry's direction. His eyes closed, Harry waited for death only to hear a thud and opened his eye to see that the clawed hand was embedded in the wood inches from his head. Blinking, the Jorōgumo boggled at it. "What? But that was through your head, how are you..."

Then she screamed as the hand holding Harry was separated from the rest of her body by Natsumi's dagger. Stumbling back, she was about to move when she clutched at her chest and was driven to her knees. Unknown to the others, at the same time Ai was climbing in the sky as the bomb she dropped plunged through past the Gashadokuro's collarbone and into it's chest cavity before detonating. The explosion from it was contained and channeled by the cage of ribs around it, driving the monstrous Yokai to it's knees.

Before the staggered Jorōgumo could recover, Harry had gotten to his feet and stabbed it in the chest with his own knife. Natsumi followed moments later with her dagger practically disembowelling it. Clutching at her stomach, the Jorōgumo snarled at them. "You-" A sound though made her turn to see Shiromizu's enraged face near to hers as she swung her sword. There was a brief moment of pain and the Jorōgumo found herself hitting the floor and unable to move.

Seconds later she blinked as her vision darkened in disbelief as she looked towards the ceiling and saw something that she was confused by. 'What... is that my body...'

Heavily breathing, Harry just watched as the now headless body stood there for a minute. Then it collapsed first to it's knees and then fell over completely as the head stared sightlessly upwards. Falling back, Harry blinked and stared before swallowing, "Uh... is it dead?"

Not willing to get too close, Shiromizu poked it with her sword and jumped back when it twitched. When it didn't do anything else though, she let out a breath and flicked the blood from her weapon. "Y-yeah... I think that it is."
A bright light shone through the windows and there was the sound like thunder that made all three of them look. Bliking, Natsumi stared as the light began to fade. "What was that?!"

Nagato blinked away spots from the light that reminded her far too much of Crossroads. Once her sight was back though, it was met by the Gashadokuro collapsing into pieces as the F-15J(S) FIghters circled. Slowly, she turned to a stunned Haru. "Just enhancing it?"

Slowly, the five tailed Kitsune gave a shrug in answer.

 

Lord K

Harry Leferts said:
Grunting, Nagato glared at the monster as tracer fire tore into it while a F-15J(S) screamed past. Thankfully, whoever was in it somehow pulled a stunt that should have torn the plane apart from the stresses it was under, as the Gashadokuro swiped at it which allowed them to avoid it. "Then that's what we're going to do..."​

*-*-*-*-*
Normally, Ai was one to always enforce an at least professional level of radio discipline on her pilots. While she allowed goofing off and joking on longer patrols for the sake of everyone's sanity, she always maintained that combat must be approached with a strictly no nonsense and unbroken standard of communication.

Today however, she couldn't exactly blame her flight for the nose dive professionalism, and it's supposed answers for every scenario, just performed out the window. Especially not when she's been on her 'other' phone for half the time these last few minutes as well.

"What actually the fuck!" screams Taikomachi over the radio, rather thoroughly announcing everyone's general thoughts after their latest pass.

Pulling out from his own latest dive bombing run, the strain is audible in Kudzu's voice as well. "Is this thing a damn kaiju or something?! We've hit it with almost everything we have!!!"

'No' thinks Ai silently. 'This is a Gashadokuro'. Looking down at her weapons screen, the seed of an idea forms in her head. One she's not sure she'll be able to get away with. For a moment, she glances back at the phone she shouldn't actually be carrying on these flights. The one nobody is ever supposed to call her on unless it's an absolute emergency.

Down below, something explodes, steeling her resolve.

If this isn't an absolute emergency, then she doesn't know what is.

"No, not everything 2-2. Umiu 2-1 to Flight, set up for another pass. East-by-West. We'll blindfire our missile at it's feet. No locks, that will only make them home in on it's center mass. Kudzu, you have the lead this time. I'll bring up the rear."

"Any particular reason for the direction 2- oh Fuck!" comes Kudzu's aborted question, before only quick reflexes honed by an aerial career specializing in dodging danger thrown up from the ground, save the lanky pilot's plane from being pasted by a thrown boulder.

Easily avoiding her own projectile, Ai sharply begins to bank back around to the towering skeleton, forming up with the rest of the Abyss Divers. "I want to see if we can knock it into that stream behind it."

"And what the hell is swapping the attack order supposed to do?" queries Boke incredulously. "Yeah, we can get spikes and IR signatures on this thing thanks to all the shit they're radiating and shooting it with on the ground, but the fucker's not just survived our Paveways and most of our AShMs. It's fast!"

"Which is why we are going to knock it into the stream." Elaborates the yokai pilot. "And then I shall switch to guns."

"Tengu, that explains nothing!" cries Kudzu in confusion, causing a rare bit of emotion to slip through Ai's normally infamous unflappably cool and professional combat voice.

"Please you three, trust me with this plan."

There is a momentary silence before Kudzu clicks his mic. "Okay. Umiu Flight, form up on me. I have the lead."

As the four planes line up for what could be their last run before needing to return to base to re-arm, Ai takes one last look at the pocket now holding her phone once more.

'Well' she thinks nervously. 'It's not like you can ever go wrong having the favor of a water dragon.'

'....although, it's not like Jin already owes me a dozen she has yet to actually fulfill.'
----------

Caught in the latest hail of 16-inch shellfire, the Gashadokuro reels.

Already off balance and staggered by the concussive force, even if it is not all that wounded, the giant skeleton is still left a slave to the whims of physics to some degree. It is for that reason, that as the ripple fired missiles of Umiu flight strike and chew up the ground around it, the Gashadokuro is subject to a slight stumble and slips backwards.

To a monster of it's towering stature, the drop from the embankment one of it's legs was previously standing on then breaking up and slipping away, is relatively inconsequential. It is little more than a clod of dirt giving way, and getting one's foot dropped into a puddle or a pothole if it were a normal sized yokai. Being a collective amalgamation of suffering and ravenous, hateful, lingering emotion, the Gashadokuro regards the small brook it's foot is barely even covered by, as completely inconsequential.

The tiny watercourse, normally crisp and pristine, fed by the purest runoff strained and cleaned by hundreds of meters of volcanic stone and aquatic plant life as it descends from the mountains, does not find the Gashadokuro anywhere near inconsequential. While nowhere near a kami in development or power, the spirit of the stream then turns to the much more developed visitor in it's waters. Something once-divine, that moves like water under concrete and courses with an inner pollution only rivaled by the outer corruption the skeletal giant exudes. Furious at the filth in it's waters, the spirit now fully acquiesces to the polite requests of the defiled-kami that at least contains it's foulness.

Standing in the waters of the brook almost almost half a kilometer downstream, a viciously hateful grin crosses over Jin's already half-draconic face as the waters now slowly begins to envelop her patch adorned form.

"Now, let's see who's grudge is greater." As the rivulets finally reach her face, the loaned waters of the brook consuming her then glow with an inner light of hateful green, matching the color in her eyes as they finally disappear below the surface, never leaving their focus on the Gashadokuro. "Your's. Or MINE?"

For a moment, the human shaped pillar of water slumps, collapsing and dispersing into nothingness as the brook returns to it's usual, ankle deep flow.

Then the brook surges, rising up and rolling as if a great train were suddenly snaking and writhing its way upstream under the cover of the water.
----------

"This is JDS Nagato to Strike Package Umiu 2, requesting another run like that last one if possible?! We're working on something and need some time!"

Watching the activity down below, as the other three pilots pull out of their runs, Ai grits her teeth with mounting worry that she may have just wasted their chance if she got the timing wrong.

'Damnit all Jin, where are you?'

"Copy that JDS Nagato! Umiu Flight! Status check!"

"Fucking damnit!" Cries Boke in frustration at what he sees and knows will be everyone else's responses as well. "I'm all out 2-1! That was the last of it all! Getting close to Joker Fuel too!"

"2-4 here," comes Taikomachi's uncertain voice. "I think I ingested some debris from the target with that last run. I'm good for now, but even if I did want to stick around, I got nothing."

"2-2 here, all I have left is about ten seconds worth of cannon roun-" Kudzu then pauses as he realizes Ai still has yet to go in for her own attack run. "Tengu, what the hell are you doing?"

"Waiting," is the terse reply as she furiously scans the ground.

"For what?!" comes her nominal wingman's incredulous reply.

Spotting movement in the stream, Ai immediately jerks the stick over, rolling into a sharp, almost 90 degree position as she throws both throttles open, and hurtles her aircraft towards the Gashadokuro, while sideways to the ground.

"For that."

"2-1? 2-1! Tengu, what are you doing?! You won't be able to pull up with that roll!"

"I won't need to." Flicking her HOTAS to guns, Ai ignores the follow up cry that she's going to miss the Gashadokuro with the direction she's aiming in as well. Taking a moment to slap the magic concealing offuda in her cockpit for both luck and good measure, Ai then opens the com, completely undisturbed but the fact that the ground is now slowly getting ever closer as the F-15J(S) continues it's aerodynamically unstable sideways flight.

"This is Umiu Flight to all ground forces. I am Danger Close. I am coming in for a gun run."

"The hell kind of gun run has the CAS be danger closer?!"

Moments before they can get their answers, suddenly the rising upstream flood surges into view. And then what is inside it reveals itself, roaring as it breaches the surface, and explodes upwards from the inflated stream like a snake striking it's prey from beneath the water.

"Is that a fucking dragon?!?"

Green mane flying wild, and still carrying the waters upon which the beast is propelling itself, the white dragon's eyes roll back like a shark's in it's scar-crossed face, as it launches itself at the giant skeleton's midsection. With the thunderous impact of two great monsters of legend colliding, the battle-scarred mizuchi slams into the Gashadokuro's lower body, latching onto it's spine above the pelvis with it's fang filled maw, and tearing up great chunks of earth as the skeletal monster is pushed backwards, but remains standing.

"It's turning into a fucking kaiju fight down there!!!"

Even as the Gashadokuro reels from the sudden ambush, the water dragon gives it no time to react. Water and scale surge forward, up and out of the river, wrapping and intertwining around the giant's legs like a great, white anaconda, one so long that much of it's length is actually still in the river. Anchoring it to it's element, and a source for the waters it now sends now creeping across ithe skeleton's upper body, like the binding roots of some sort of choking aquatic plant. Furiously, the Gashadokuro does it's best to pound the scarred, scaled coils binding it in place, but the Mizuchi remains not only latched on, but then manages to grab and restrain one of the skeleton's bone-white hands with it's own stone-white ones.

And it is down upon this titanic struggle, with the Gashadokuro now restrained and locked in place, that Ai bores in.

With reflexes comparable to typhoon winds, Ai almost simultaneously slams the throttle into full afterburner, while also deploying full dive-brakes and pulling the stick into her gut. Defying logic and physics that would suggest such counter-intuitive actions should destabilize the already aerodynamically compromised jet in it's 90 degree position, and then send it hurtling into the ground, something else happens.

Still standing on it's wing tip, the F-15J(S) begins to pivot, rolling upwards, except upwards is now to the everyone else's left, above her canopy. Rather than stalling and hitting the ground, the Strike Fighter's engines scream, driving the aircraft through the air in a defiance of physics that pushes the plane into a bastardized cross between a Kulbit Maneuver and a Pugachev's Cobra, turned on it's side and while only 100 meters above the ground. And then, at the height of the Cobra-esque "pitch up", Ai's sights drift over the monstrous skull of the Gashadokuro, and the gun port at her right wing root glows with power.

Grabbing her oxygen mask, Ai then tears it off, face now fully kotengu as her illusions begin to falter from the strain and distribution of the magics she is trying to balance and maintain.

"Guns! Guns! GUNS!"


Orbiting the Gashadokuro and somehow keeping her cannon pointed at the monster the entire time, Ai pours magically enhanced 20mm cannon fire into the head and chest of the skeletal giant, with ruthless, pin-point accuracy, all while somehow never managing to hit the battle-scarred Mizuchi struggling with it's lower body, and barely losing any altitude.

One loop.

Two loops.

Three loops

On the fourth, Ai smells smoke in the cockpit.

A warning tone chimes, signalling that not only is her cannon out of ammo, but now there are much more worrisome issues to deal with as well.

Throwing her aircraft back into proper, aerodynamically stable flight, the plane screams in agony as it claws for altitude, flexing, shaking and rattling far more than it should have, and sounded just over a minute ago. In the back of her mind, Ai knows she probably just wrote off another plane. Looking down as she reapplies her illusions and transformations in order to put her oxygen mask back onto her now human and un-beaked face, Ai then spots the source of the smoke. Her offuda, first given to her by Kiba so long ago, hangs limply from it's spot where she tapped it to the leg well. The spell to conceal any evidence of wind manipulation and magics cast upon her aircraft is ruined, literally burned out as evidenced by the small charred mark in the middle of the paper tag.

Glancing back, Ai then watches as Jin, her job completed, finally releases the Gashadokuro's spine from her jaws. Uncoiling from her crushing hold with lightning speed, and rapidly slithering from it's grasp before it can recover or restrain her, the Mizuchi then pours herself and her borrowed waters back into the brook, but not before giving the giant yokai one last strike across the face with her tail, as she makes her escape to begin setting up for another ambush. Furiously, the Gashadokuro makes one last grab for the retreating Mizuchi's scar studded tail, however it's efforts are interrupted as a new and much smaller form rockets into it, and practically up cuts it out of the stream.

With Jin now clear, Ai then punches opens the comm.

"Umiu 2-1 to all! I am clear from the fire zone!"

Unsaid is her hopeful prayer that she and Jin's efforts brought enough time. As impressive as it was, direct wind magic had little effect against such yokai without some sort of blessing or effect, and one grudge-born being fighting another was a bit like trying to fight fire with fire, especially when the mizuchi was rilled up as she was.

"Copy that!" Comes the familiar voice of the battleship on the ground "Hoppou, get clear! All main cannons, full salvo! Fiiiii- HOLY-!!!"

Even in the air, Ai has to pull down her visor to avoid being completely blinded by the ensuing blast of heat and force from reaction of the Gashadokuro to whatever they just hit it with. Riding things out, the cacophony of alarms in her cockpit only worsens. Down below, Ai hears a muted, draconian roar from the brook, and knows that even if she wasn't the intended target and is physically bound upon the world by her flesh rather than via spirit or grudge, Jin is probably going to have a fun tan for the next few days. Finally stabilizing her limping and over-abused aircraft, Ai then notices another F-15J(S) pulling up a safe distance off her left wing.

For a moment, AI fears the questions that might abound of her latest, now officially beyond luck or skill, but truly inexplicable combat action.

Then Kudzu's worried voice chimes over the radio. "Tengu! Tengu! What's you're status!? Damnit Ai, are you alright!?!?"

"I'm fine!" Ai returns, appraising her aircraft screens and control panels with an increasingly nervous gaze. "I am unhurt. My aircraft is a different matter." Even as she speaks, something inside the radome loudly sparks, and she can see a growing crack in the screen of her weapons system display. "Almost everything is gone in here. How do I look from outside?"

"Your left engine is dead, and the covering for most your right wing root and cannon exploded off in a burst of light somewhere in the third turn. Some of your dive brakes aren't retracting either."

Cautiously, Ai plays at the stick and pedals to get a feel for her range of control and motion. "I think I may have damaged a lot more than that."

"I wouldn't be surprised. I mean, holy shit. Do you want to try and put down somewhere?"

Giving a few tentative plays at raising her fighter's nose and teasing power out of her surviving engine's throttle. The likely-not-disguised-for-much-longer tengu sighs at the thought, before steeling her gaze and coming to a decision.

"I have not failed to RTB yet. I'm not about to start now. Let's go home."

Rather than be worried or try to persuade her otherwise, Kudzu seems to laugh in relief at the return of her resolve and unflappable attitude towards decisions to defy what most would consider long odds.

"Home we go then. You have the lead 2-1"

Finally relaxing at the familiar bit of dialogue as the rush and stress of combat finally begins to fade, Ai sags into her seat and sighs in seemingly similar relief.

"Copy that 2-2. I have the lead."

 

Harry Leferts

Staring at the dead Yokai, Natsumi panted with a cringe as each breath hurt her ribs. ‘Yeah... that is going to leave a bruise...’ With a shake of her head, she cleaned her dagger of blood and other things before sheathing it. Turning, the Kitsune took in Harry staring ahead. “We did it, Harry-Chan.”

From where she was leaning against a wall, Shiromizu nodded some. “Hai, we did...” She began to giggle almost insanely for a few seconds before stopping. “We beat her.... she’s finally dead after all this time.”

Her voice trailed off as Harry looked at first her and then Natsumi. To their confusion and shock, tears gathered in his eyes before they began to run down his cheeks. With a glance at Shiromizu, Natsumi took a step forward. “Harry-Chan? Are you alright?” Moments later, she found Harry latched onto her. “Harry-Chan?”

As he began to sob though, her confusion was replaced by panic. Before either of the two girls could say something, Harry spoke up. “Please... please don’t leave me...”

Utterly lost, Natsumi looked up as Shiromizu made her way to where they were. The white snake winced with every movement of what she knew were bad bruises at best. Placing her hand on his shoulders as he continued to ask them not to leave him, she frowned. “Harry? What are you talking about? We came all this way for you.”

Just shuddering, Harry swallowed. “I... I know the stories, Natsumi-Chan, Shiromizu. Now that I’ve seen your true forms, y-you’ll leave and... and... I don’t want you to leave.”

The last bit was said in a near whisper, but both Natsumi and Shiromizu heard it and were shocked into silence. When Harry tightened the hug, Natsumi swallowed back a hiss of pain as she realized what the black haired boy thought that the silence meant. Instead, she hugged him just as tightly while her expression softened and her own eyes became wet. “Oh, Harry-Chan...” Taking a deep breath, the Kitsune continued with a small smile. “Maybe a few centuries ago, that was the rule. But not anymore.”

Looking up, Harry blinked at her as he stared her in the eyes. The hope that was in those emerald orbs was almost painful to Natsumi. “I... it’s not?”

Shaking her head, the Kitsune chuckled. “No, it’s not you Baka. It hasn’t been the rule for at least three hundred years. Just because you found out now that I’m a Kitsune doesn’t mean that I’m going to leave...” Noticing him chew his lip, she blinked. “Harry-Chan?”

Silent up until now, Shiromizu furrowed her eyebrows before her eyes widened. “You knew before now, didn’t you?”

At his nod, Natsumi’s jaw dropped before she went over everything. Various small clues and the like now fell into place. “H-how long have you...?”

Once more, Harry chewed his lip before shrugging. “Um... more then a year now? And I kind of guessed that Shiromizu wasn’t a normal snake either before now too.”

Closing her eyes, Natsumi felt as if someone had grabbed her heart and was squeezing it as hard as possible due to realization striking. ‘He knew... Harry-Chan knew all this time and said nothing. Just because he felt like I would leave him if he did.’ Sniffling, she tightened the hug as much as she could. “You baka.”

His voice muffled as he buried his face in her neck, Harry sniffled some. “Sorry.”

Natsumi shook her head though at this even as she internally cursed at herself. “You got nothing to be sorry about, Harry-Chan. I’m the one who should be sorry, I should have told you before now.” Swallowing the lump in her throat, she shut her eyes tight. “I should have shown how much I trust you before now. And... and I do trust you, Harry-Chan. More then anything, I would trust you with my life and more.”

Chuckling weakly even as he felt himself slump in relief, him and Natsumi sinking to their knees. “More?”

With a hum, Natsumi nodded some. “Hai, Harry-Chan, more. If I had a Hoshi no Tama of my own, I would give it to you and entrust you to take care of it.” Unnoticed by her, Harry’s eyes widened. “That is how much I trust you. But I’m the bigger Baka because I kept putting off telling you the truth.” Pulling away, the twelve year old gave him a watery smile. “Forgive me?”

Lips curling upwards, Harry gave her a small nod as he whispered hoarsely. “Always, Natsumi-Chan. So you’re not going to leave?”

Unable to help herself, Natsumi let out a barking laugh. “No, Harry-Chan. Sorry to say that you’re stuck with me for a very long time.” Closing her eyes, she leaned her forehead against his. “And since I’m a Kitsune and you’re a wizard? That’s going to be a real long time.”

A smile on his face, Harry closed his own eyes. “That’s... that’s great, Natsumi-Chan.”

Behind them, Shiromizu looked at them with watery eyes of her own before placing her hands upon her hips. “And you’re going to be just as stuck with me, Otouto.”

Surprised, Harry looked over his shoulder at her. “Otouto?”

Just humming, Shiromizu smiled. “That’s right, I declare that you’re my Otouto and if I’m a Kami, you got to listen if I do that sort of thing. Which means that I’m going to be around you for a long time as well.” When he nodded, she rolled her eyes and looked to the ceiling. “What am I going to do with you... ah, screw it! Group hug!”

Moments later, she hugged Harry and Natsumi as well as she could. Then she wrapped the coils of her body around them with made Natsumi sputter. “Ack! What are you doing you crazy snake?! You’re ruining the mood!”

Grinning, Shiromizu shook her head some. “No, that’s your job. Now just shut up and enjoy it, Foxy.”

Unable to help himself, Harry just laughed as he reached out and hugged Shiromizu as well. Two of those he was close to were not going to leave him, all was right with the world. After a few moments the two girls returned the hug fully as they rocked back and forth. All three of them laughing and crying as their emotions spilled forth. They were alive and they were not going to leave each other. Eventually though they heard a bang and turned to the door. And just in time as it smashed open to reveal the Unagi Hime as well as several tsukumogami. At the front of the group, one of the geckos in extremely ornate armour rode upon a rat. Upon seeing Shiromizu, the Unagi Hime nearly collapsed with relief against the doorframe. “You’re alright... you’re alright...”

Making her way inside though, she caught sight of the dead jorōgumo and froze. Slowly, her head turned to Shiromizu who gave a small nod. “She’s dead, and never going to harm anyone else.”

With a look between the white snake and the corpse, Misa made her way towards it before stabbing the spider Yokai in the chest with her spear and jumping back. But other then a wobble from the momentum of the strike, there was nothing else. Little blood oozed out from the new wound. Misa blinked away tears as her spear clattered to the ground. “She’s dead... She’s dead!”

Raising his tiny Katana, the gecko laughed. “Lady Shiromizu did it! She slew Kuroshi!”

Just blinking, Harry turned to Shiromizu with disbelief on his face. “Black... Death. That was her actual name? Are you kidding me?!”

All Shiromizu did was shrug as they could hear cheers. “That was what she called herself.” Rolling her eyes, she gave a short. “Always thought that it was stupid myself.” Now turning to regard the group of Yokai, she placed a hand on Harry’s and Natsumi’s shoulders. “I did not do it alone! If not for my friends here, I would have lost. Only together did we defeat her!"

Beside her, Natsumi muttered out the side of her mouth. "Laying it on a little thick there, aren't you?"

Shrugging, Shiromizu gave her a smirk before muttering back. "Perhaps I am, but maybe I'm not. It's still true though in any case and I could not have done it without either of you." Louder though, she continued. "Let me introduce my friends, everyone. The kitsune here is Ono Natsumi-Chan and has been my partner in training. Her Oba-San is the one who has helped me become strong. And this young Onmyouji is Potter Harry, and he's my Otouto in every way but blood. He has been taking care of me since I left."

For several moments the various Yokai watched a somewhat nervous Harry before Misa walked forward and then hugged him gently. "If Lady Shiromizu sees you as such, then you are. Welcome to our home young man and thank you for all you have done for her."

A small blush on his face, Harry gave a sheepish smile as he scratched his cheek. "Um, you don't need to thank me. Besides, Shiromizu is a friend."

Her arm around his shoulders, Shiromizu nodded before the gecko raised his Katana again. "In honor of Lady Shiromizu, Lady Natsumi, and Lord Harry! Banzai! BANZAI!"

While the other geckos did the same, Misa shook her head in amusement. "Oh, Shinji-San. What are we going to do with you?" Moments later though, the Unagi Hime blinked as Shiromizu gently pushed her to the side with one tail. "Hmm? What-"

She did not get much further as a white object flew through the door and impacted Harry. "Big Brother! Big Brother! Hoppou is so happy that you're safe!"

Just wincing from his injuries, Harry gave a small smile as he patted Hoppou. "Yeah, I'm safe, Hoppou. Thanks to Natsumi-Chan and Shiromizu."

Hoppou blinked and looked at the two who were looking at her in bemusement. Then to their confusion, she raised one hand and made a motion. "Hoppou approves!"

There was the sound of a sigh from the door and everyone turned to see a roughed up Nagato shaking her head. "Hoppou..." Looking at Harry, she made several strides over before examining him. "Are you okay, Harry? You're not badly hurt, are you?"

Only shaking his head, Harry grimaced a bit. "Not really? I mean, I'm a bit roughed up from everything... and she kind of bit me, but I'm not in a whole lot of pain."

Also appearing, Haru walked through the doorway quickly. "She bit you!? Hold still for a moment, Harry-Chan so that I can check you." Pulling out an Ofuda, she slapped it on him and frowned as she ran one hand down his chest, but not actually touching him. "Hmm... It seems that we might have to thank that Basilisk that bit you. Somehow your body is resistant to poison..." It was then that the Kitsune looked at Natsumi and froze for several moments. "Natsumi-Chan... what happened to you!?"

Eyebrow raising, Natsumi snorted some. "What do you think? Got tossed around like a ragdoll." However, she was then grabbed by Haru who was looking down her back in shock. "Uh, Oba-Chan? What the heck are you doing!?"

Slowly, some amusement came back to Haru's expression before she gave her niece a raised eyebrow. "Oh? So you didn't notice your second tail?"

Blinking, Natsumi looked over her shoulder and boggled as she saw two tails coming from her body. "I-what!? Where did that come from?!"

Rather intrigued, Haru frowned some before glancing at Shiromizu. "That is what I am wondering myself."

The only thing that the Mizuchi did though was shrug and shake her head. "Happened almost at the end of the fight when the spider was about to kill Harry." That got said boy a look from his mother and Hoppou that he cringed at, not that Shiromizu noticed as she was pointing. "She was over there and suddenly she shouted Harry's name and a tail tore from her body. Figured that it was some sort of Kitsune thing."

With a snort, Haru gave her a look. "It is not some sort of Kitsune thing, trust me on that. Natsumi should not have gained her tail until she reached two centuries."

Frowning as he looked from Haru to Natsumi's tail, and blushing a bit as he noticed what it had done to her pants somewhat, Harry blinked. "Wait, she could only get a new tail through age alone?"

Now thoughtful, Haru glanced in the direction that Shiromizu gestured in and shook her head. "No, there are other methods of gaining a new tail besides age. But managing it... now that is something different." At their looks, she ran her hand through her hair. "One way is through spiritual and physical training. The type that even Daitengu sages will call you crazy about. A dying Kitsune can donate a tail to a relative, but..." Her eyes then noticed a dark grey stone and she froze. Moments later though, Haru narrowed her eyes. "I will have to speak with some people first though in regards to my suspicions..."

 

NotHimAgain

Had this thought last night, starting writing it before the new snip came out. Following that, this seems a little out of place.
Continuing Life

-----

“Yeah, you get those from time to time,” Tatsuya said into his phone, pressing one finger to the map he and Benio had laid out on the floor of his room. He dragged it from one point to another, tapping it agitatedly. “Big bad yokai with a special trick who don’t realize how much things have changed. Remind me to tell you about this kitsune that I ran over with a semi.”

Benio stepped into the room, pulling the door shut behind her. Kneeling beside the map, she procured a pencil and circled the points he had just been examining.

“Sorry, I’m… I’m honestly one of the worst people to ask that question. This, this is basically my life, I don’t really ‘deal with it.’” Tatsuya looked at the map again. Three circles within their ward, three deaths that they knew about so far. He glanced over at the laptop, the screen open and mocking them. The police had to be investigating this, whatever they were dealing with wasn’t exactly subtle with its MO. Kind of like two years ago.

“Huh? I said that out loud?” Tatsuya shrugged. “German priest came to a local parish. Cool guy, had this life-long war with a vampire that we got dragged into. One of our more memorable incidents.” Father Steiner had died a year after the end of that conflict. It was too bad, Harry probably would have gotten along with him like a house on fire.

Huh. When Tatsuya thought about it, it felt like he actually didn’t have a life outside of the insanity that was his nights. Maybe that was why he didn’t have much trouble living with what he did.

He glanced over at Benio, who was giving him a cheeky smirk. He raised an eyebrow and she waved him off. “Oh, nothing, it’s just something we’re working on now. I—actually, maybe there is something. That school of yours ever teach you anything about curse tablets?”

“It’s… it’s part of something we’re working on. There’s a revenge website that’s been popping up recently designed to evoke the imagery. Enter a person’s name, bad things happen to them, you know. Except… Yeah. Something takes the victims, beats them half to death, then drags them halfway across the ward, nails them to a wall and tears them to shreds. Given my, uh… less than informed understanding of these things, I’m not sure if that’s the way it’s meant to work or not.”

“Three that we know of. Maybe more, but I think the police are trying to keep things on the down low to prevent a panic. There might be a pattern, but we don’t have anything to work off of… yeah? Don’t worry about it, we’ll survive. It’s kind of our thing, you know?” Tatsuya tipped the phone away from his head, tapping his cheek. “Uh, I appreciate the offer, really I do, but I don’t think you’d want to be dealing with crazy stuff so close together. It can be pretty exhausting, take it from me.”

“Yeah, I know. See you around,” Tatsuya ended the call and shoved the phone back into his pocket.

“Think he’s gonna listen?” Benio asked, tracing lines between the three points and creating a lopsided triangle. Tatsuya shrugged, cocking his head to the side and examining the map at an angle.

“Hopefully,” he replied. “I think Nagato-kun has a bit of a white knight complex.” Benio snickered.

“Like we’re strangers to that sort of thing,” she grinned. Tatsuya nodded, thinking back to how their involvement in the case began—general investigation for the sake of not being dead at the hands of whatever was killing people. Then they had found one of their classmates, hysterical and weeping at how she had unknowingly sentenced her crush’s girlfriend to death.

That had lit just a bit more of a fire in the two.

“Let’s get a map that covers some more ground,” he suggested, setting the thought aside. Given their track record, it was going to come for him or Benio some time in the near future. The difference was that for once they were hoping for it.
-----

“I am a whale,” Yae said mournfully, looking down at her stomach. “I am Jum-bowhale. I combine with Toriptor and Jetras to become Seikuu-Oh.” Umi turned to look at Ushio with a somewhat puzzled look.

“She’s fine,” Ushio reassured her. “It’s just something that comes with the pregnancy. Trust me, I helped Hime-nee around the house when she was pregnant with Mai.” Though she didn't complain about being a giant robot, she added silently. It was left unspoken that Himeyuki had benefitted from Ichiro’s presence. Ushio pushed the bitterness down. It still felt unfair that that man had left such a specter in her friend’s life. She felt Umi’s eyes on her.

“So,” Umi said, “how’s Saki been doing? She alright?” Ushio groaned.

“Umi, it’s been a month. She’s fine, it’s not like she’s made of glass or something.” Ushio paused. “Just out of curiosity, why are you so concerned with her? You’ve never really concerned yourself with her to this level before.”

Umi shrugged. “Back when she first got sick, I was getting into kind of a tailspin. Houshou talked me around, and I’m feeling better now, so I wanted to see if she could help with the whole ‘no place for me’ thing Saki’s got going on.” Ushio felt a little startled. It actually made sense when she thought about it. Something else stood out, though.

“What kind of tailspin?” she asked.

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Umi said flippantly. “It was the fleeting weakness of a single moment.”

“That was strangely poetic for you.”

“Hey, what’s weird about it?”

“Hey,” Yae whined. “I called you two over to complain to you. Stop ignoring me!”

“You've been complaining in terms of at least seven different toku series,” Umi replied. “I haven’t understood half of the references that you’ve made. Also, we’re gonna have to get back to base soon.”

"I'm the pregnant lady here! You're not allowed to ignore me!"

"Don't worry, you're making that pretty difficult."

"Umi!"

"Sorry."
-----

Well what do you think, sirs?

 

Snippet 149: S0ngD0g13

Virginia, Monitor, Azuma, and Alabama were sailing their latest patrol under cloudless skies. The patrol itself had been uneventful, and Kaylee was introducing 'Bama to modern music. The casemate ironclad's voice rang out over the Inland Sea, clear and bell-toned.

Well it was up in the Bluestack Mountains
Darcy kept a bit of a still;
We were sneakin' home a bottle
When the Guards came up the hill.
"Lose the booze!" cried Darcy,
An' before we could reply,
He dumped it in the nose-bag
Of his donkey standing by.

The donkey had a gankey leg,
And only one good eye,
But when he got a lick o' the whiskey,
You'd swear that he could fly;
He rocketed through the roundabout,
And down by Jamesie's Bar,
Then he vaulted,
Through the hedges,
At the track at Ballentra!

Azuma and Monitor, along with several sailors on the Polly, sang the chorus with her.

Here's to you,
To me and one and all;
To the Garda,
And the Gargle,
And the trophy on the wall;
Here's to you,
To me and one and all,
The day that Darcy's Drunken Donkey
Won the race at Donegal!

Alabama chuckled and listened as the others sang how they got to the track in time to place their bets before the Guards (and the sozzled onager they were chasing) reached the starting line.

The flag was up,
The race was on,
The donkey looked behind;
He saw the Guards were after him,
But sure he didn't mind;
The donkey took another sip,
And a second one as well,
Then he bucked and kicked
And knocked the competition
All to Hell!

The donkey crossed the finish
Bout a lap or two ahead,
Finished off the whiskey,
And toppled over dead;
We went to check our bets and found
When everything was done,
The Garda came in Second,
And paid Thirty-Five-to-One!

We dragged the donkey's carcass
Down to Jamesie's for a pint,
To drink up all our winnings
And to celebrate the night;
We missed the poor old donkey,
But sure we had to laugh,
When Jamesie made a trophy
Of the donkey's better half!

Alabama almost keeled over laughing when everyone hoisted canteens and bottles and flasks as they belted out the next lyrics.

So raise a beer in the air
To the famous derriere;
Everybody raise a glass
To Darcy's Ass!
DARCY'S ASS!

Here's to you,
To me and one and all;
To the Garda,
And the Gargle,
And the trophy on the wall;
Here's to you,
To me and one and all,
The day that Darcy's Drunken Donkey
Won the race at Donegal!

The day that Darcy's Drunken Donkey
Won the race at Donegal!

One of the sailors, Donaghey, waited until the laughter had died down and then lifted his own voice in song...

Fresh from the sea,
My pockets full of money;
Me and my mateys,
We headed for the bar;
No sooner had we 'rived,
Than one pint turned to five,
An' a lass she grabbed me by the belt
And dragged me toward the stairs!

Oh Mother don't wake me;
Don't jostle nor shake me;
I spent all night drinkin'
With the ladies by the shore!
And if I never wake,
Don't cry and don't shriek,
Just sing the glorious tale of
My last night in Baltimore!

Kaylee and Monitor sang the next verse, trading lines,

We drank fifteen kegs of beer;

Whiskeys from far and near;

We ate up all their venison;

We choked down all their stew;

And when we were run dry,

We would not just stand by;

Both Ironclads belted out the final line of the verse in sync, wild-eyed with joy,

A raiding-party went next-door to liberate more brew!

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

By the time the patrol returned to Kure, Alabama had joined in the singing, and her voice was loudest as she sang,

Be they lambecs or lagers
Or bitters or bocks,
Pilsners or porters
Or mead sweet and clear,
Stouts of all fizons
Or ales brown or pale;
It's the same to our tankards,
Just bring us more beer!

 

K9Thefirst1

Due to my area having lost internet for the foreseeable future (long story) I'm lucky to just be a little behind, as I only have access on the way to/from work and during lunch. If I didn't have to come in today I wouldn't be posting now. Anyway, Barricade is right that the Spies of the world would try to piggyback a gift to find out where Gateway lives.

However, the concept of using a radio signal to hone in on a target is at least as old as WWII (in fact, it is my understanding that the pilots attacking Pearl Harbor used a local radio station to guide them in), and that it wouldn't be impossible to imagine developing tech to do that specifically. So her not expecting such a thing isn't quite that simple. Even if it were, it still forgets that Gateway is rather paranoid about Man finding where she lives before she's ready.

Still, I was inspired, for better or worse.
*-*-*-*-*

Portsmouth Naval Base

Reivana was a happy little Rei-Class. Just the day before, she received word that Woken had left port and was due to arrive on the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea by the end of the week, sometime around midnight. Already preparations were being made to receive the transport and her precious cargo under the cover of Night Training. But while this momentous step was worthy of excitement, the Abyssal battleship had another, more personal, reason to be excited: She had just been informed that Her Majesty’s Government had a gift for the Princess! It would appear that her complaints to Hermione about how long books didn’t last back home reached sympathetic ears, and arrangements had been made for an old Bathysphere to be reconfigured into a library! Sure it would be cramped, with room for only a small selection – but it was a dry library! From the schematics she had been given, it would have an air lock to ensure it wouldn’t flood each time someone entered or left, a dehumidifier to help keep moisture down, and a heater to prevent condensation! And a tethered float for solar cells and a small wind turbine for power! Such generosity was sure to be a sign of friendship! She just had to tell the Princess!

For some odd reason, Stab had to lay down due to motion sickness.

In but a few minutes her internal radio made the connection and Gateway Princess responded. To anyone listening in to the transmission, after the first few sentences their conversation would descend into incomprehensible babble and vague metaphors. The importance of using code at work.

“Reivana, this is unexpected. Is everything all right?”

“Oh! Yes Princess, things are just fine. In fact, things are looking promising! I’ve just been informed about a gift the British government wants to send with Woken!”

“Ah yes,” Gateway replied, her tone implying that she was humoring the notion, “the alleged ‘basilisk’ meat.”

“Oh, no, not that. Well, not only that. You know how none of the books I find last very long in the archives? Well, apparently Hermione – she’s the light cruiser I told you about, she says she wants to show me to some of the museums in the area. Museums Princess! Plural!”

“Reivana?”

“Places of learning anyone can visit whenever they want! I really hope we can find a way to do something like that.”

“Reiiiivaaa~aanaa.”

“Do you think anyone else in the fleet would be interesting in helping me build such a thing? For when humans start coming to visit that is-”

“Reivana!”

At once, the battleship was silent and still, eyes wide in shame at being caught babbling before the metaphorical eyes of her beloved Princess. The line was quiet for a moment. When she was certain that she had her envoy’s full attention, Gateway spoke.

“I believe that you stray from the matter.”

Reivana coughed in embarrassment before continuing.

“Right. Well, someone either overheard or she told someone about it, because apparently the Government wants to give us the equipment to set up a library in the palace. One that will keep the books dry!”

The Princess hummed in suspicion. Suspicion Reivana didn’t pick up on.

“And how, pray-tell, do they propose to do such a thing?”

“They have a Bathysphere from an old deep-sea submersible that they can salvage! It will have an airlock, to keep it from flooding, plus to keep moisture at bay it will have a dehumidifier and a heater!”

“But no way to power it.”

“Oh no! That’s the most fascinating part! You see, it will be hooked up to a tether that attaches to a float. On that float will be a series of solar panels and a small wind turbine. I’m told that it will produce more than enough power to the library! Isn’t that exciting Princess? Think of all that we could learn just from this generous display of technology!”

“Please tell me you haven’t accepted that gift.”

Reivana was struck dumb. While the Princess didn’t seem angry, her words were sign enough of great disapproval.

“Uh, y-yes? Wh-why? Do you… Disapprove?”

There was a sigh over the line, and Reivana could easily see in her mind’s eye the Princess slumping in her seat and rubbing her brow.

“Child,” she said, in a tone often used to guide a slow student towards an answer, “think a moment. In all the time you have been over there, the one thing about us you have been silent about, is our location. Until we can be certain we will not be attacked by the humans, that is our one best card to play. Naturally, no government in talks with another wishes to do so with a state with no address. Thus, they desire to seek us out in the event that we are plotting against them. Which I cannot blame them for, because that’s prudent.

“Now, the equipment you describe. It stands to reason that the only way it could be prepared so rapidly is due to it already being available on the civilian market. To the point where it could conceivably become standard issue for sea-based search and rescue emergency equipment. Now, think carefully Reivana: What could be standard features for sea-based electric generator equipment that produces more power than the thing it is powering would use?”

Reivana fidgeted in place as her sovereign spoke, clearly beginning to realize – far to late – just what an error she had made. Tapping her fingers in shame, the battleship answered.

“W-well, it would need to be bright orange. Because it isn’t a natural color it would stand out during the day. And it would have highly reflective patches and a pulsing light for nocturnal observation. Both would make it visible for miles around.”

“Mmm good. Now, one more thing…”

“More? More…” Reivana took a moment to ponder that. Search and Rescue equipment, logically, was meant to first preserve lives in the event of a disaster. After that, ideally, it would also try to direct the attention of rescue personnel. So then, a float powering an underwater structure that was also trying to direct the attention of those looking for… And like a switch being flipped it all came together. “A radio beacon! Or- Or perhaps a signal that announces its exact Latitude and Longitude via GPS? Oh Princess I am so sorry! I-I’ll go and reject the gift right now-“

“Now now child,” the Princess chided soothingly, “there is no need. You have already accepted this gift, and it would be rude and impolitic to return a gift that one has already accepted. Besides. I have a plan.”

“You do?”

“Of course! The burden of my position is that one must have a certain amount of paranoia, to ask ‘what could possibly go wrong,’ and then expect an answer, while at the same time anticipate that said worst won’t actually come to pass. The Overlord that fails to maintain this balanced mindset inevitably becomes the former Overlord. In a few days Woken will be making port. Her cargo will be proof enough of how beneficial it would be for the humans if I am kept as a peacetime ally, between the wealth of the sea, and the state of honor and respect that the Dead are returned in. With what Britain’s spies have tried to do, I suspect it is time to also show that it is not wise to underestimate me.”

“Oh… Well, that is all on my end. How are things at home, Princess?”

“Oh, well enough. Well, we did have a scare. Goda attacked us.”

“WHAT?! Is everyone all right?”

“Mm? Oh, yes, we’re all fine. Well… Except for Goda and her fleet. But that is neither here nor there. Though when you return, there is someone new amidst our ranks.”

“New, your Highness?”

“Yes, a day or so after the battle, an old Battleship Demon came, desiring to pledge fealty to me. From my guess she is one of the Old Stock, a direct creation of my sister Nordic Horde Princess”

“An Old Stock Battleship Demon? My, that’s quite a strong individual! Did you accept?”

“I made her swear a host of oaths that ran her principals through the ringer first. Last thing I need is an insubordinate, blood-lusting sociopath in the ranks, lest I have to do some fast talking for why someone in my fleet decided to attack humans after running out of enemy Abyssals to murder. And though she is very skilled, skills that I will gladly see her teach to the rest of the fleet – that means you as well – after taking a few days to think on it… I admit that I am concerned about whether or not her past actions, either in the service of Nordic, or as a Rogue Abyssal, may come back to bite me in the ass regarding the Humans due to having her in my fleet…”

“What sort of actions Princess?”

There was silence over the channel, and soon enough Gateway replied.

“It is nothing for you to worry over Reivana. Besides, if you are asked, it would be better if you did not have to lie. Now then, one final thing since we are already talking. Before we can show the wealth Our realm has to offer, it would be wise to go ahead and remove the bodies first. While Woken is doing that, I want you to give a small presentation of HMS Ocean’s last battle, given that the humans likely don’t know what happened other than what passengers and crew saw from the Queen Mary 2, and the ship herself went down with all hands. Central Atlantic may have been a short-sighted imbecile and a blood-chugging psychotic, but that same blood lust at least meant she knew how to record worthy opponents.

“Along with the bodies will not only be a complete time table and footage of the salvage operations, for the Humans to cross check our claims, there will also be the ship’s stern name plate and bell. After you read the After-Action Report of that battle, the bodies will be removed one-by-one in the order that they were recovered. I want you to list out those names as they come and ring the bell once for each name. The honored dead are precious across cultures. It never hurts to give them more than their due.

“Now, grab a pen and paper Reivana, I am about to read the report.”
------

Ministry of Intelligence

Week pass. Woken delivers her precious cargo, and the Ministry of Defense independently verifies that the bodies are indeed the crew of HMS Ocean, through both comparing their own records as well as DNA testing. Taken with the tempting promise of an ally in the central Atlantic in the War, plus promises of trade in peacetime and cooperation of returning at least some of the dead, Her Majesty’s Government, along with the governments of the United States, the Commonwealth and Europe agree to send representatives to meet with the Princess at an undisclosed location to hammer out a military agreement, plan future campaigns, and lay the groundwork for a proper treaty.

While the world goes on, the men of the Ministry of Intelligence puzzle over a host of mysteries. One of which being the secret location of Atlantic Gateway Princess’ territory, codenamed “Gondolin.”

In one small office, three analysts worked at their terminals, all three assigned to the task of cracking the enigma. Which largely translated to waiting for the GPS beacon to start pinging. It was taking longer than anticipated. Much longer. The Package, as the salvaged Bathysphere and equipment had been dubbed, ought to have been received at the target area weeks ago, and still no sign of it being powered on. So it comes as no surprise that the three men were growing bored, complacent, and inattentive. And so when the signal did come in, they almost didn’t notice it.

One of them, a Geoffrey Hamilton, cursed as he tossed his sandwich aside and read the data coming in, while his co-workers busied with their own stations.

“Right lads, coordinates coming in. Longitude, Zero Degrees, Latitude… Latitude also Zero Degrees…”

“No wonder it took so long mates,” the second, Zachariah Powers, commented, “that’s all the way to the south of Africa’s bulge.”

While Zach began to analyze the radio beacon’s signal, Geoffrey scratched at the stubble at his chin before turning to the third man of their team.

“Jackson, pull up all the data we have on file on that location. Scan the internet too, just in case we’re missing something.”

Geoffrey scanned his screen in thought while his team went over the data. Something… Something didn’t sit right. Something with how… specific the coordinates were.

“Oi! Geoff look! It’s your mum!”

“What? That’s impossib- …Huh. That’s her all right. From her holiday to Sweden last year”

Indeed, among the images of maps and hydrological data was an image of his mother with his father in Stockholm, one of the photos they posted to Facebook. And looking at the other images being brought up by the search program, it would seem that the coordinates also intersected with New York City, London, Timbuktu, the Himalayas, and Toon Town, along with a host of other patently impossible locations. The two analysts puzzled over what they were seeing for a moment… When Geoffrey smacked his head in exasperation.

“Null Island.”

“What mate?”

“Null Island. Some sites catalog the location a photograph was taken at. And if there aren’t coordinates designated to it they are listed as ‘null,’ or nothing. But if the site is poorly coded it just auto-assigns the photo as being at 0’ N, 0’ S and…”

“…Well, that’s going to be a load of bollocks to sort through.”

“Yeah…”

“Hey guys?”

The pair turned to Zach, who had donned a pair of headphones in the interim and was fiddling with the settings on his computer terminal.

“The radio beacon… I- I think there’s another signal coming through, just a few tenths of a hertz out of phase with the main frequency. Geoffrey can I send it to your terminal, see if you can isolate it?”

Geoffrey rushed back to his computer in lieu of answering and started to run the signal through the proper program. After the better part of an hour the work was done, and the signal was played for the analysts.

“Is… Is that dial-up?”

Geoffrey was right to presume such, as to any who had to endure internet in the nineties could recognize that sound. But on a second listen as the signal looped, something about it didn’t seem right either.

“Send it back to me would you Geoff? I have an idea.”

The file was dutifully sent back to Zach’s terminal, who began to run a program neither of the other two analysts was familiar with.

“What’s that there Zach?” Jackson asked.

“That sound reminded me of something I saw in a documentary as a kid, about how the space probes in the sixties and seventies worked. They had to send back all these images, right? But the equipment just couldn’t handle what was somewhere around megabytes of data per second. So what they did, they had the probes convert the image data into a sound file, and send that back to earth. Then they’d have a computer take that sound file and restructure it into a picture.”

“And… What,” Geoffrey asked incredulously, “you think this Abyssal broad somehow figured out how to do that? Be serious.”

“It’s worth a shot all right? Better the check and be wrong.”

“Also,” Jackson interjected, “never underestimate the power of BAEB.”

“’BAEB?’” his Co-workers asked in tandem.

“Blasphemous. Abyssal. Eldritch. Bullshite.”

“…”

“He’s right you know.”

Geoffrey shrugged and nodded.

And so the trio waited for the audio to be run through the program, and within a few minutes it was done. As it turned out, it wasn’t an image being sent. But four. The first was of a pale woman that their Intel suggested to be the Princess herself. Her expression was one of smug humor as she crossed her arms…. Under her bust.

“Can you send that to my terminal?” Jackson asked, which caused his co-workers to look at him. “Er, it’s for… Science, you see…”

The other two men looked at him with expressions of bemusement.

“Oi! Boobs is boobs ‘kay? Sod off!”

After a shared look, Zach rolled his eyes in annoyance.

“…This had better not wind up on the internet.”

The second image was off the Princess, but now she was holding up a white placard, with writing on in: ”I have spent the better part of a decade staying hidden. With plenty of time to imagine how I could be found out.”

The third image was the same as the second, but the Princess was now “wagging” her finger in disapproval while holding a new sign: “I have been playing this game of Intrigue since before most of your analysts were born. A juvenile ploy like this is an insult to my intelligence.”

“It’s a fair cop.”

The final image was the most audacious. The Princess had donned a pair of sunglasses, a black baseball cap worn backwards, and was flipping a bird in each hand while she held up the last sign up with her forearms: ”GIT GUD SCRUBS.”

The three men stared, boggling at what they were seeing….
------

Weeks ago…

Ocean Liner Demon turned to Gateway as they saw Woken off with the bathysphere and the equipment they had tampered with, off for “Point Zero” far to the southeast.

“Is it wise to taunt them like this Princess?”

“Probably not. But they insulted my intelligence Demon,” she replied, looking quite proud of herself, “such a thing cannot go unchallenged.”

“Still,” Demon said, cracking her knuckles as she spoke, “Reivana has a lot to answer for when she gets back.”

“She is young and naïve, Demon. All things considered this is a minor stumble, one that she will take great care to learn from. Besides, the time is coming when our secrecy will no longer be a benefit…”
------

The three men were loath to report the failure of this operation to uncover Gondolin. But the Director had been looking over their backs after the first two weeks without any sign, and they couldn’t find a reason to justify putting it off. And thus At the end of their shift, the team reported to the Director of their department, preliminary report in hand.

Their theory was that the Ancient Atlantic Gateway Princess suspected foul play with The Package. She then turned The Package into an elaborate prank by tampering with the broadcasting equipment to send out an audio file signal containing taunting messages, and also placing The Package at or near to Longitude and Latitude Zero degrees rather than her actual territory to waste their time on a wild goose chase.

The Director was stoic through the whole presentation… Until he saw the images the Princess sent through the beacon. Then he started shuddering, which soon enough turned to a mighty belly laugh as he applauded an absent actor.

“Well played Madam! Well played!” When he calmed down enough to hold proper conversation, the Director addressed the baffled analysts.

“Don’t be too hard on yourselves lads. We underestimated our quarry and thought she had no concept of how technology has advanced. What I see in these pictures though, is that she has had access to the Internet for much longer than we anticipated. This last one for instance? My son used to send me enough funny pictures online to recognize an older meme when I see one.

“The envoy Reivana has on record said she was only given permission to tap the Atlantic cables as late as last autumn. But if her Princess’ proficiency in technology, and her familiarity with internet culture is anything to go off of, I would bet serious quid that the Princess only allowed her to do that because she had already done so herself, and knew that it could be done without alerting anyone landside.”

The analysts were silent for a moment before two of them turned to Geoffrey, who spoke for the group.

“But, what about The Package, sir? That equipment was supposed-“

“Bah, humbug,” the Director said, waving off the question, “Five thousand pounds down the drain is a speck of a drop in the bucket in our budget. Besides, it’s not like it was anything vital to National Security. What’s more, it’s nothing compared to the millions the Americans spent on the Acoustic Kitty in the Cold War. In any case, it was meant as a good will present from the PM, and it was accepted in that spirit to begin with. You’re dismissed for the day Gentlemen. We'll start cracking this again first thing Monday morning.”

In the end, the whole exercise was rendered moot. Because the next week was the first face-to-face meeting between the Princess herself and the Allied militaries and diplomats - During which she told everyone where she lived. With maps and diagrams even.
------

I have no further plans for The Director or the Analyst Trip. Anyway, those things mentioned are real: