Harry Potter & the Shipgirls

RCNAnon

Ron, Duke and Warspite 10
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Molly Weasley walked next to Dreadnought as the pair let the four others get ahead of them by a good distance. Enough that they were still following along but each group had their own bit of privacy. It certainly helped that Summer, the dear, had placed herself behind the other three. The large abyssal was very attached to Ron and she was glad they’d already had plans to purchase the manor, as she wouldn’t have fit in the Burrow.

As her thoughts wandered she turned to look at her companion, who was also sizing her up. Molly couldn’t help but notice the similarities between them, such as their height and general build (short and plump, she could be honest with herself) but also the differences. Whatever Arthur might have said, she’d never had skin quite as perfect as the battleships. Yet the most important thing about her was that Molly felt a similar soul, that of a mother doing her best for her children.

It seemed that Dreadnought at least had thoughts along a similar line and the mother of all battleships let a small grin pass by her face before turning back to look at the four in front of them.

“I’ve been wanting to meet you for a long time Mrs. Weasley.” Dreadnought’s voice was smooth as a calm sea, worthy of any Edwardian Matron.

“My feelings are much the same Lady Dreadnought.” Molly matched the other woman, with both of them gliding along behind their brood in a manner that wouldn’t have been out of place in a period play. Provided of course that the period play involved giants and restoring destitute properties.

“I think we can dispense with the formalities.” Dreadnought let that smile come back onto her face for a split second. “If I’m not mistaken we’ll be related at some point and I don’t believe in standing on ceremony when it’s unnecessary. So if you would, please just call me Dreadnought.”

“Then I’d ask you to just call me Molly.” Mrs. Weasley let a bit more of her natural good humor into her face. “I agree with you, especially since you’re the only in law I’ll be getting. That I know of.”

Dreadnought nodded. “You’re speaking of your other son… Percy? I believe it is. The one involved with Ms. Ooyodo from Japan and Supply Princess.”

“And Amisi, yes.” Molly nodded. “None of them have parents in the same manner that Warspite and Duke tend to treat you.”

“I suppose not. Most ships don’t have a direct mother, just a number of sisters.” Dreadnought’s eyes looked on ahead, as if searching something out. “Which puts me in a rather unique position of watching over them when most others think they perhaps don’t need it. I’m sure you understand.”

Molly held back a snort, her mind on her oldest two.

“Bill and Charlie are the last people anyone would think need looking after if you put aside their jobs. I’m still their mother and they both know it.”

They could both smile at that, a mutual understanding of women who still cared and watched over those who were more than capable in their own right. As they passed the gatehouse, the quartet in front would stop as Ron briefly pointed his wand at the door, fixing what appeared to be a broken lock on the door. Though it was a small change, sitting in the frame properly instead of dangling slightly made the building look much more like it merely needed cleaning than it did a full renovation. Not that either would be out of the question.

“But I would be remiss if I didn’t get to what was actually on my mind.” Dreadnought’s feet began to move again once the group in front of them did, Molly matching her pace.

“My son and not one but two of your daughters.” Molly had of course known this was coming and she’d even meant to bring it up herself if for some reason Dreadnought hadn’t.

“Yes. Your young son and two of my daughters.” Dreadnought’s wording had been deliberate and she looked over to see Molly’s reaction.

Molly merely let the ghost of a smile cross over her face and nod in agreement. “Yes, that is true. You’ll forgive me for thinking that Ron is much more mature than he might otherwise be.”

“There’s no doubt that he is mature for his age.” Dreadnought’s voice held no tone to begrudge that statement. “It is simply his age in general that still has me holding some concerns. Fewer than I had to start with mind but...” Dreadnought’s sentence trailed off. It wasn’t that she couldn’t enunciate. It was that it was simply easier for Molly to understand they were natural worries for any mother than to try and list them out like a briefing.

Molly nodded, her mind drifting back a few years. In it there was an undoubtedly much younger Ron, coming home for the first time with a big smile on his face and a trophy in hand.

“I understand where you’re coming from Dreadnought. I would be lying if I said I hadn’t had some concerns of my own about the age difference when this all started. Even now I nourish one or two, simply because it’s natural as a mother to do so but overall I’m not worried.”

Dreadnought’s eyebrow quirked upward. “Oh? Would you share why?”

Molly nodded. “Four years ago my son was for lack of a better term, at a loss. His brothers all set high bars to clear and Ginny is the youngest as well as being the only girl.” Her face went melancholy for a split second. “I regret I didn’t notice at the time, even with Arthur’s work picking up we were still in rough straits.” She smiled. “Warspite changed all that. Whatever she saw during their chess matches she nurtured and now Ron is blooming because of it.”

Molly went silent for a few moments, with Dreadnought letting her catch her thoughts.

“My lack of worry isn’t simply from his maturity. Nor is it from the way that he absolutely adores both of your daughters. No it’s the fact that he’s determined to be worthy of both of them.”

“Worthy of them?” Dreadnought interjected, causing Molly to look over to her and smile briefly once more.

“Yes. He knows they both love him and he loves them as well. At the same time he can see all the effort they put in. All the time they’re away fighting the Abyssals. Never doing less than the best they can for everyone. It’s a hard example to live up to but Weasleys have never been quitters. So he’s putting in the same amount of effort to be worthy of them because he’s stubborn like that. So he reads up on naval architecture after he works on his normal studies and memorizes blueprints after doing the same with spells. He’s even starting to exercise now, to get himself in proper shape. I think that one is because of his friend Harry.” Molly felt herself smiling, even though she hadn’t meant to. “He’s pushed himself so much farther than I thought he’d ever go four years ago and he’s only reaching higher with time. Even if something terrible were to happen, he couldn’t stop because it’s part of who he is now.”

“I see.” Dreadnought’s voice wasn’t as easy going as Molly’s but she wasn’t disapproving. If anything her face seemed somewhat lighter than before.

They’d reached the front door of the manor house proper by that point and the pair paused as Ron turned the key in the lock of the door. It was a bit of work given the age of the mechanism but it turned and they all entered. The interior was, frankly put, a mess. Dust was very evident and there was almost no furniture inside, at least visible from the entrance. What there was looked ancient and was equally dust covered.

Molly immediately pulled at her wand, with Ron doing the same.

“Scourgify!”

Waves of magic flowed outwards, caked on dust being blasted away to reveal aged wood and plaster beneath. Of course that was only the entrance and it required several spells from both of them before it was even comfortable to breathe in. Dust was still hanging in the air, light from the windows somewhat dirty from the age but illuminating an aged but worthy structure.

“Ron, why don’t you go to the right and we’ll go to the left.” Molly pointed with her wand and he nodded.

“Sounds good Mum. Meet back here?”

Molly nodded and the two groups separated back out.

The rooms were all in a similar condition, dust layered over everything and mostly lacking in any sort of ornamentation. Molly continued to cast cleaning spells, getting rid of the worst of the dust. A thorough cleaning would need to be done later to get everything.

“Do you mind if I continue our conversation?” Dreadnought walked behind Molly now, looking around at the manor house as it was slowly cleaned.

“Feel free. Just don’t mind the cleaning.” Dreadnought nodded when Molly glanced back at her.

“You spoke earlier of how your son had changed. My daughters have done the same.”

“I’d seen some of that.” Molly spoke between cleaning spells, letting Dreadnought lead the conversation.

“I’m sure you have, they both have met you more than I’ve seen your son. I don’t think you know the full extent of it though. Warspite is happy, truly happy, when she’s with him. Even before he repaired her she smiled more. Now? I can’t truly speak of how much it lightens my heart to see her be free of pain we all thought she’d never lose.”

Molly could hear subdued emotion in Dreadnought’s voice, hidden behind proper decorum and the still growing relationship between them.

“Duke is more self confidant than she’s ever been, in a good way. She’s speaking with her peers more and she’s branching out from only her sister and Warspite being close.”

Dreadnought’s voice carried only approval in that.

“It is all thanks to your son and I’d approve of him in a second if only he were of age. I can’t help but think of all that might happen between then and now. Then my daughters spring the plan to buy this house on all of us and...” Dreadnought’s head shook. “I don’t disapprove necessarily. It’s all just very quick.”

Molly was quiet for a moment as she finished up with the last bit of dusting in the room, revealing a sagging sofa with a faded red color and mahogany accents from under ages of dust.

“I think it’s the war.” She gestured outwards, towards the ocean that surrounded Britain. “Everyone knows anything could happen. Even with the abyssals held at bay there’s so much going on elsewhere that every moment is precious. Otherwise I think they might be content to wait.”

Dreadnought couldn’t help but let out the tiniest snort.

“I suppose you’re right. I can still remember my boys pining after loves left behind, even though we were merely out to sea. It’s simply different when it’s your family involved.”

Molly smiled. “Everything is.”

Dreadnought allowed herself a small grin as well. “That’s true enough.”

There was a pause and then Dreadnought spoke once more.

“I do hope I haven’t come across as overbearing Molly. As I said I don’t disapprove but...”

“But you’re worried about your daughters.” Molly nodded to Dreadnought. “I understand Dreadnought. I think we’ll both be watching over them for a while more. I’m not quite ready to have grand-babies from Ron after all.”

Dreadnought allowed another small smile and nodded.

“Thank you for understanding. I look forward to the day when we can both want and be happy for that.”

Molly smiled in turn and nodded.

“I think this will be the start of a wonderful relationship.”

“I do too.”

Dreadnought then tilted her head as she remembered something.

“Do you happen to have a cousin of some sort named Donald Weasley?”

Molly paused, thinking for a moment.

“Why I believe I do, on my Grandmother’s side. Why?”

“Well he served on me during the war and now he’s reminding me to tell you about some jam...”

The two matrons continued on, oblivious to the concealed set of eyes and ears that had tracked them since their entrance. As well as the thoughts slowly churning behind them.
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Hope you all enjoy my latest contribution. Comments very welcome as always.

 

Harry Leferts

Gently easing himself into the heated waters of the bath, Harry let out a soft sigh of relaxation. Hearing a chuckle, he opened one eye to find Tsubaki not far from him and smiling as she leaned against the side of the bath, “You seem to be enjoying yourself, Harry-Kun.”

Just shrugging with an embarrassed chuckle, the wizard nodded, “Hai. This is a nice bath after all.” Shifting a bit so that the waters now reached his neck, Harry gave her a smile, “And it is nice to relax a bit.”

From nearby, another of the Arashi, Keiko’s daughter Kikyo, laughed, “Oh, we know it, Harry-Kun. And trust you me, this bath? It gets a lot of use.” Stretching, she gave a sigh, “Nothing like a nice, hot soak after a full day working on the farm. Especially when mucking out the barns or what have you!”

Another laugh could be heard and Harry could see Koyuki give her Hone-Onna cousin a snort from where she was in a different bath, “Says you!”

Still grinning, Kikyo shot right back at her, “Yes, says me! Not like you know the joys and pleasure of a hot bath!”

Lips curled into a smile, the Yuki-Onna shrugged, “Yes? And? You can keep them!”

Head tilted to the side, Harry blinked some and frowned as he noticed that there was no steam coming from the bath that Koyuki as well as the other Yuki and Tsurara-Onna were in, “Wait, the water in that bath isn’t warm?”

Amused, Keiko shook her head, “No, quite the opposite, Harry-Kun, which is why we told you to get into this one. Look for yourself as it should become apparent why in a few seconds.”

Confused, Harry turned and watched. Sure enough, several seconds later there was a noise and he watched ice cubes drop down into a chute that entered the water, what looked like a whole bag’s worth. Eyes wide, he boggled, “What the...”

From where she was washing herself, Yukina lightly laughed, “There’s an ice machine, Harry-Kun, which takes water from the pool and freezes it before returning the water as ice. Unlike the bath that you are in now, the waters for that one are also chilled through a machine. While we can take warm and hot baths, we prefer icy cold ones. So we modified one of the baths here in the bathhouse to have water as cold as we like.”

Thoughtful, his adoptive mother nodded, “That does make sense. I remember the legend of that Yuki-Onna... though sometimes it was a Tsurara-Onna. The one where her husband practically forces her into a hot bath and when he enters the room, finds melting chips of ice are all that remain.”

Softly snorting, Fuyumi, a Tsurara-Onna, shook her head, “That old story? Despite what it says, none of us would actually melt in hot water. It is uncomfortable for us after a time, sure. Really uncomfortable depending on the temperature... but a visit to a hot spring wouldn’t make us melt away. I mean, I could have a bath with you guys right now and it would not bother me in the slightest at all to do so. But we just like cold waters more.”

Yukina slowly nodded with a hum, “Always thought that the Yokai in that story just up and left while faking her death. Makes sense really as she would be unable to make an excuse about why she was not in the bath. Best to leave her husband wondering and also act as a warning.”

Eyebrow raised, Nagato considered that for a few moments before nodding, “I suppose that makes sense considering the story itself.” Glancing around the bath, she tilted her head some, “Though I am surprised that you have a hot spring here.”

Dumping water over her head, Yukina laughed, “Not that surprising when one thinks about it, there are hot springs all over Japan and even a couple here in the area of Kushiro. This one is just one that was buried until we dug it up over a century ago.” At seeing the interest, she continued, “Ian-Kun used dowsing to find it back in 1880. Then he used a drilling spell to reach it since it was about forty feet down with us building the bathhouse around it so that we could all enjoy it without needing to worry about the weather outside. We have an outside one as well, though that one is for pure relaxation.”

As his mother nodded, the black haired wizard looked around the bathhouse. Here and there he could see some of his male cousins, though there were few. One of them, Fuyuyoshi, a son of one of the Yuki-Onna, was bathing beside his Hone-Onna wife, Maya. Said man gave Harry a nod and he could remember the short introduction about how they got married just two years ago.

Besides the male cousins though, there were a few other males there as well, husbands of the various female Yokai that made up the Arashi Clan. All of them had come to the bathhouse after a meal of roast duck and the like. But one thing that Harry noted was how natural everyone was when bathing together. There was no real shyness or anything of the such. As well, there was a closeness there. Seeing the thoughtful look, Chiho leaned towards him, "Something wrong, Harry-Kun?"

Glancing at her, Harry shook his head, "Not really? Just wondering about..."

There was an understanding look on the Hone-Onna's face, "About how close we all seem?" At his nod, she smiled some, "There's reasons for that actually, and one is that we're... very communal, I suppose the best word would be. We're not like some Yokai clans where everything is pomp and such. All of us work together and help each other out, which dates back to when Ian-Kun was alive and lived here as a matter of fact."

Head tilted to the side, Nagato raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

With a nod, Tsubaki hummed some, "It actually dates back further than that. Remember, we were prostitutes who stuck together. We had to, and to work together as well as support one another if we were going to survive the time that we were in before and after meeting Ian-Kun. And when we came together officially to form our clan, we continued that."

Keiko smiled a bit and chuckled, "Remember how I stated that we were practically other mothers to Henry-Kun? I did mention that I nursed him alongside my own child at the time when needed. That was not a joke, as sometimes I did nurse him when he was an infant, as did some of the others such as Tsubaki-Chan, Yukina-Chan, Mifuyu-Chan, and others. And Lyra-Chan nursed some of our children as well after giving birth. We honestly didn't differentiate between them. We continued that even after Ian-Kun was gone."

Cocking his head to the side, Harry's eyes widened a bit, "Wait, so you actually did nurse my Great-Grandfather? Really?"

Lightly laughing, the Hone-Onna nodded, "We did as a matter of fact." Her lips curling into a smile, Keiko shook her head, "Henry-Kun sometimes got hungry and Lyra-Chan was not around. So one of us who could nurse and was around would simply pick him up and feed him. Neither Ian-Kun or Lyra-Chan, as I said, had much of an issue with it. And to be quite honest, I remember Kikyo-Chan here being nursed by Lyra at times when I was not around but she was."

For several moments, Harry and the others considered that. Than, Shiromizu tapped a finger against her chin from where she was bathing, "And this works for you? Really?"

Various Yokai listening gave nods at that. Yukina, meanwhile, leaned against the bath's edge, "Hai, it does. Even before we formed the clan, our children were raised as siblings even with different Kaa-Sans. Keiko-Chan's and Mifuyu-Chan's children were just as much mine as they were theirs. And this continued with our grandchildren, and great grandchildren, who have all basically been raised among each other. We are more than just a clan, we're a close family. So, yes, as he was growing up, Henry-Kun considered us all his Kaa-Sans with Lyra-Chan being the Kaa-San who gave birth to him."

One of the other Yuki-Onna spoke up with a nod, "We even teach each other stuff we learned in school. I mean, the Tsurara-Onna in the family are not around during the warmer months, so they can't really have the same schooling as the rest of us. Henry-Nii-San helped by getting us some time turners when he sat on the Wizangamot, which we use for lessons for them when homeschooling. All of us that go to school helping tutor them."

Chiho shrugged slightly and shook her head as she spoke, "Some might think it odd or strange... but we found that it worked and still does."

As she nodded, Nagato glanced towards Harry with a thoughtful look on her face. Then, she looked around at the various Yokai, 'Well... not a bad example to live up to, I suppose.'

Beside her, the British born wizard was also considering things. Part of him wondered, briefly, what it would have been like to grow up with the Arashi Clan. With many mothers, aunts, sisters, and the like. A small smile appeared on his face as he shook his head, 'It might have been nice, I guess... but I'm happy as it is.' Dismissing it for later thought, he tilted his head some, "Um, by the way... what happens tomorrow? And do you want me to do any chores?"

Her lips curling into a smile, Kieko shook her head, "No, Harry-Kun, you don't need to do any real chores. And in regards to farm work, we would need to train you for anything first before we did so, which we do not have time. If you ever do though, we would not mind an extra hand or two around when you visit once we do teach you what to do."

While Harry nodded, Tsubaki cleared her throat, "As for tomorrow... it was Ian-Kun's birthday when he was alive, and also the day we enshrined him. For the most part, it is a private festival I suppose that you could say. It is led by the two of us who double as Miko at the Shrine. One is myself, since as a Hone-Onna I look towards Izanami-Sama being the Kami of my species, and as the first Hone-Onna in a way. Thus, I am the Miko for Izanami-Sama at the Shrine. Before becoming a Hone-Onna, I was a Miko as a matter of fact. The other is Fuyuse-Chan."

The Tsurara-Onna, who was one of Ian's Yokai lovers, waved at Harry with a smile, "Hai, as Kuraokami created us Tsurara-Onna and Yuki-Onna, I am her Miko at the Shrine. And various members rotate in and out as the Miko for the other Kami such as Ian-Kun." With a small shrug, Fuyuse shook her head, "Generally, the festival is a way to give thanks to Ian-Kun in regards to him having rescued us from the situation that we were in. The celebration is in the honor of both his life, and his deeds as well as the founding of the Arashi Clan. We also honor those who have passed on in the clan at the same time, such as Lyra-Chan, Henry-Kun, Koyomi-Chan, and the like."

Slowly, Harry nodded at that while considering what the next day would bring.

 

NotHimAgain

Rise

She drifted, timeless, weightless, weeping.


Talon was gone.


Talon had been gone. Probably before she had found her there in that laboratory. Her sister, her protector, her savior… she’d never even had a chance to bring her back. All that she had found was a mad dog, which strung her along as if playing a cruel game.


It was too much.


For all the world she wished that she could just drift away until grief vanished and left her weightless, to float to beyond whatever it was that was still keeping her chained to the things that hurt and ached so. Was it too great a mercy to ask, that this despair might be taken from her? Or that she could just… leave it all behind?


For that moment, or however long it was, the void seemed a thing of such beauty.


But no.


There was a light left—just one—flickering, guttering, but still lit. It was so dear to her, unexpectedly. It had gotten into her somehow, warmed its way under skin and through steel down to her boiler—or maybe her heart? Something inside her, a center that meant she was alive as long it as it was there, that flame was burning there as best it could.


And as long as that flame remained, she would not leave it.
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“Oooh,” they exclaimed, hopping back and forth. “Rocky island, tree island? Two for the price of one! Amazing! They should patent it. We could patent it! Who cares, can’t eat it. Maybe some birds somewhere?”

They blinked. “Ooh right, there are birds! Birds that just can’t fly away. Like Dodos! Heheh. Dodos. Follow the trail of wreckage!” And so they walked along, kicking at branches and inspecting the spots where the big, clipped-wing bird had plowed through bits of tree trunk trying to ferry its too small too young to fly cargo back to the nest.

And what a nest! Big and twisty, and pointy in all the right places! Whoever it was that lived here had wonderful taste! Maybe they tasted good, too? They’d have to find them later.

“Hmm now… we need clues to find the birdies. What clues?” They looked down. “Ooh, that’s a lot of blood. Is that a clue? Of course it’s a clue! Blood’s always a clue. And it tastes good! Shh, we can’t eat it yet. It can be dessert.”

Looking along the trail that the big bird had left, they followed it to a smaller house. Or a shed? The walls looked thin, and it smelled, so it was probably a shed. “Well then. Nab the culprits? LET’S!”

Then the wall was gone! Like magic. And inside were the birdies!

There was something wrong with the big bird.

They walked in, noting the way it was hunched over. On top of the little food? Did the big food not want her to eat the little food? But food was meant to be eaten! That’s just the way that it was! They knelt down beside it, poking.

“Aw, it’s spoiled,” they complained. Then they crouched lower, listening to the quiet sobbing and smelling the oh stinky stinky stinky! Well, that’s why food was washed, wasn’t it?

“Don’t cry about not eating,” they said soothingly, poking through the gaps. “you don’t need to! Little things eat big things! Unless they’re both big, then they eat each other. Unless they don’t. That’s what happened last time. With…” They frowned, sucking on their fingertip. “Tialilatialila?”

That one had been loud, too. Very loud—almost ruined the meal. But almost was not all the way, and that one had turned out to be tastier than most other things they’d eaten. And now this one was being loud as well! How annoying.

They’d have to make it be quiet, they decided, reaching down to flip the bigger one off like a turtle (mmm… turtle).

Then the bigger one exploded, ripping itself open and bursting from its own skin. There was a hand at their throat, gripping so tight it could snap them easy as snap. They found themselves staring into a face twisted by rage, snarling as it pushed them away, away from food, forming words as it did something so rude.

“Get away from him, you bitch.”
-----

Alternative title: The One Where Tsubaki Evolves Like a Freaking Pokémon to Better Solve Her Problems Through Violence!

Well, what do you think sirs?

 

Harry Leferts

Having gotten up as the sky was lightening, Harry was not too surprised at the fact that already, the clan's complex was coming to life. After all, they lived on a farm, so early days were to be expected. Much to his amusement though, they seemed surprised to see him so early alongside his mother, Hoppou, and Shiromizu. Hedwig was already there watching as they went on about their day. Blinking, Kikyo smiled a bit at him while nodding at the others, "Good morning, Harry-Kun. You're up a bit early, we were expecting you to get up later."

Simply shrugging, Harry smiled back at her, "Well, I get up early anyways." At the questioning look, he chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, "I... got used to it years ago and it is something of a habit. Kind of hard for me to actually sleep in when it comes down to it."

Lightly laughing, Koyuki shook her head at that, "Well, you would fit in well among us then. All of us here get up early for the most part because the farm work doesn't wait for anyone." After he nodded though, she gained a considering look, "Speaking of... I do have a question for you, Itoko."

Cocking his head to the side, the thirteen year old gave a shrug, "Um, sure? What's the question?"

Koyuki's lips curled up some, "You mentioned wanting to help out on the farm yesterday during the bath. Now, we're not going to give you any work, but there are a few chores we need to get done before the festival." Turning to Nagato, she nodded some, "If you want, we can take you out to watch as we do some of them."

Eyes widening, Harry turned and looked at his adoptive mother, "Mum? Can I?"

Taking an offered cup of coffee, the Battleship sipped it before humming a bit and looking towards Koyuki, "It wouldn't be too much of an issue, would it?"

Only shaking her head, the Yuki-Onna laughed some, "Not at all to be honest. And I know that I am not the only one who would have no issue with it." Getting several shakes of the head from the others, Koyuki smiled a bit at Harry, "So... want to come watch."

Practically bouncing on the balls of his feet, Harry laughed, "Would I? That sounds rather neat!"

Several minutes later, after a quick bite to eat and a hot drink, Harry caught a helmet tossed to him by Haruka, one of his Hone-Onna cousins, "Here, you're going to need this before we go anywhere."

Even though he was rather confused about why he would need a helmet, he put it on anyways. Following Haruka who had a helmet of her own under her arm, he walked outside into the barely lit morning and towards one of the barns. Upon reaching it, Harry's eyes widened some as he spotted Koyuki and some of his other cousins bringing out snowmobiles. A grin crossed his face at that, "We're taking snowmobiles? Really?"

Laughing, Haruka nodded some as she put on her own helmet, which had a skull on the faceplate, "Hai, the farm is pretty big after all and we need to get around it easily. According to Kaa-San and Obaa-San, they used to use horse drawn sleighs to get around in winter." Pausing for a moment, she gave a shrug, "Well, we still do for some loads and such. Or when we're doing rides along the property out towards the woodlands. A lot easier to do so in that case."

From where she was hooking up a trailer to one of the snowmobiles, Kikyo grinned, "And in summer? Besides the trucks and such, we often use ATVs and dirt bikes to get around some areas of the farm." She then jerked her thumb at one of the vehicles, "Granted, for the festival we got sleighrides and the like. So that will be fun."

Unable to help himself, Harry grinned, "Wicked."

Once she checked one of the trailers with some bags of feed on it, Koyuki nodded before getting on her own snowmobile, which had no attached trailer. Patting the seat behind her, she grinned, "Come and have a seat, Itoko! We're going for a real ride!"

At the groans and complaints from the others who wanted him to go for a ride with them, the wizard snickered before getting on the snowmobile, "This is going to be fun!"

Looking over her shoulder, Koyuki laughed, "Trust me, that is putting it mildly. Now just hang on tight, okay? And don't worry too much about where your arms and hands will be, because I won't. Better that than you go flying and falling off."

With a nod, Harry wrapped his arms around her middle as she started up the snowmobile, "Ready!"

Just nodding, the Yuki-Onna revved the motor as did some of her other cousins, sisters, and the like. One of the male cousins gave a whoop, "Hang on tight!"

And with that, the snowmobile exploded into motion as it practically leapt forward as she gunned it. Koyuki was not the only one either as various others also shot forwards into action, though the ones with the trailers were a bit slower. Behind her, Harry had a massive grin as the surroundings around them flew past. As she hit one snowbank and leapt over it, the treads digging deep into snow as it landed, the teenager let out a whoop of joy and his cousin laughed. From where she was watching, Nagato only shook her head with a small smile of amusement on her face as she watched them head out. Sipping her coffee, she glanced to Yukina who was beside her, "It seems that they are having fun."

Chuckling, the female Yokai shook her head with a small smile, "And why shouldn't they? Chores can be many, many things after all, but that does not mean that they cannot have fun doing them."

Briefly considering it, Nagato gave a nod before turning and heading back inside.

Out on the fields, Koyuki's snowmobile bounced around at high speed as it made its way. At one point, she gunned it before they hit a snowbank and leapt over a small ditch, the snowmobile coming down hard and nearly fishtailing as she twisted the handlebars hard, "Having fun, Itoko?"

Tightening the embrace a small amount, Harry nodded, "Hai! This is so awesome!"

As an answer, he got laughter from the Yuki-Onna driving the vehicle before she put even more speed on.

It was not for an hour and a half when a somewhat cold, though grinning widely, Harry returned. Upon seeing him, Hoppou did a flying tackle and knocked him back some to laughter from those watching, "PO! Hoppou hope that Big Brother had a good time! But Hoppou not happy that Big Brother left Hoppou behind to have lotsa fun!"

Hugging her back, Harry chuckled some, "Sorry, Hoppou. But..."

When he looked at her, Koyuki nodded with a grin of her own, "Maybe next time. Besides, we're going to be having some fun with them later anyways. We always have rides with the snowmobiles for the festival." Looking towards her grandmother, Yukina, she grinned a little before jerking her thumb where one of the snowmobile pulled trailers had metal cans, "Anyways, we picked up the milk from the barn that Hikaru-Kun's been getting since four this morning. Put them in the usual spot?"

Yukina gave a small smile at that and chuckled, "Yes, that would be fine, Koyuki-Chan." As the younger Yuki-Onna headed off to help, she turned to Harry, "Well, with that done for the day, we should all get ready for the festival. They've been setting up since before the Sun even came up."

Nodding, Nagato looked towards Harry who nodded and she smiled, "Sounds fine to us."

Gently placing a hand on her shoulder, Tsubaki smiled a bit, "In the meantime, you, Harry-Kun, and Hoppou-Chan as well as Shiromizu-Sama can come and have some breakfast."

Amused, Nagato glanced at Harry who turned a bit sheepish, "Yes, I think that would be a good idea." Motioning for her adoptive children to follow, the Battleship gave them nods.
____________________________________________________

Breakfast done, Harry and the others had gotten dressed. For the teenaged wizard, this included placing Tsukiakari at his waist alongside Juuchi. Much to his amusement, and he thought Juuchi's as well, the Kyu Gunto had gotten the most attention of the two blades the day before. Something that, it seemed, embarrassed said blade to some extent.

Now walking along the cleared pathway heading to the shrine, Hoppou was frowning some in thought before tapping her chin, "Hoppou is confused."

Looking at her, Keiko smiled a bit, "And what has you confused, Hoppou-Chan?"

Eyebrows furrowing, the Abyssal waved around them, "Hoppou is confused because it is too warm! Hoppou thought that it was really cold out, with the wind and everything. But there is no wind and it is not as cold as Hoppou thought."

She was not the only one to notice either, as Nagato had as well, "I had been wondering that myself..."

Her eyebrow raised some at the giggles and such from some of those around her. It was an amused Shiromizu who answered her though, "Actually, it would be the Yuki-Onna who is doing that."

When she looked at Yukina, the smirking Yokai nodded, "Hai, that would be us." Making a motion with a hand, a gust came from nowhere and blew past, "One of the things us Yuki-Onna are known for is the ability to create blizzards and extremely cold temperatures. But it can go somewhat in the other way. We can calm the winds to a standstill in our immediate area, especially when we are talking about times like now when we are in large groups. And we can raise the temperature by manipulating it as long as it is cold enough to freeze water. Which means right at zero degrees."

For several moments, the Battleship considered that before nodding, "That is a rather useful ability, I will admit. And I can see how it could be used for farming."

One of the Tsurara-Onna laughed at that, "You have no idea, Nagato-San. After Blood Week, when you had all those plummeting temperatures, we managed to keep them mostly stable for our farm, though it took everyone working together like we had back when Krakatoa erupted and dropped temperatures." Her face fell some as well, "In fact, it was the only reason why Kushiro didn't suffer more as temperatures were going to plummet even more than they did if not for us stabilizing the temperatures around our farm. And it was not just us, but from what we have gathered, Yuki-Onna and Tsurara-Onna throughout Hokkaido pooled their powers to keep temperatures at a higher amount during those first few years. There were early and late frosts that had been expected that never materialized after all, that was mainly all of us working to prevent it."

A small shiver went down Nagato's back as she thought back to those early days. From what some of what she knew, the agriculture in Hokkaido had been a major reason why starvation was not the issue that it should have been. And everyone had been worried during those early days about frosts destroying massive amounts of crops leading to starvation, but while there were close calls, it never materialized to a large extent.

Now she knew why.

Giving the Yuki-Onna a nod, she turned back to the path and blinked a bit at the sight of a large hill with what looked like a Shrine on top, "Is that the Arashi family shrine?"

Proudly looking on herself, Yukina nodded, "Hai, that would be the family shrine." Bringing up her hand, she began gesturing at it, "When we settled here, we noted the hillside there. It was too small for a clan complex or home to be built on it at the time. But... we decided it could be used to build a shrine on. Ian-Kun added the soil that we excavated from elsewhere such as the Clan Compound onto it. And around it, we added water which in the summer is filled with lilies and Koi fish."

With a glance, Nagato could see said area, a stone bridge crossing over the water where it met the stairs leading upwards. On both sides of the bridge, and either end, she could also see a few tōrō. Reaching the stairs, the group climbed up them like the others were as well. Along the sides of the stairs, they could see various ice sculptures, glinting in the morning sunlight. And there, at the top, were two in particular. Both were Europeans, a man and a woman. The man had a calm, lopsided smirk with his messy hair perfectly formed out of ice. At his side was a sword and in one hand he had a wand.

On the other side of the path, the woman was slender, but her face had a smirk on it, while in one hand there was a quill and a pad of paper. Behind them, Harry could see another European man formed from ice, "Is that..."

Beside her, Keiko nodded while wiping her eyes free of some tears, "Hai, the ones in front are Ian-Kun and Lyra-Chan. And the one behind them is Henry-Kun. Like those of our clan, he was enshrined here though..."

Gently, Harry placed his hand on her arm, which caused her to look at him, "He was as much a son of yours as he was to Great-great-grandma. Grandpa might not be enshrined here, but I am certain that he would not mind at all."

Softly smiling, Keiko patted his hand, "Thank you, Harry-Kun."

And with that, they crossed through the first Torii and the teen had to blink. Because right there was Tsubaki in her Miko robes as was Fuyuse in her own. Both Miko then bowed to the group as they spoke as one, "Welcome to the Festival in honor of the Arashi Clan's founding, held upon the birth date of our founder, Potter Ian-Kun..."

The two of them moved aside to show that there was various booths set up, as well as the pathway forward. With the group of Elders, Harry walked with them and went through the normal rituals for visiting a shrine. Reaching the shrine itself, he placed a bottle of Perry on the steps as an offering before ringing the bell and clapping his hands in prayer.

Oddly, he could have sworn that he felt three pairs of arms gently embrace him for a few seconds before fading away...

 

Harry Leferts

Sipping some hot apple juice as he was too young for the cider, Harry glanced around at the various things set up. Outside the Shrine itself, on the open field, Harry could see various Yuki-Onna fashioning sculptures made entirely of snow just with their powers. Apparently, it was something of a contest and whoever won would get a prize. Even the human members of the clan helped out. Nearby, ice sculptures also appeared as the Tsurara-Onna used their abilities to make them. From what he had been told, once they were made, they would stand until they melted in the spring.

Down on the small pond that encircled the hill, one could see various members of the clan skating back and forth. And not far away, a massive hill was made entirely of snow and ice, with people skiing, sledding, and the like down it. Lips twitching, Harry shook his head some as he drained his drink, 'That looks like fun.'

The sound of music made him turn though and he could see Fuyuse performing a Kagura dance in regards to Kuraokami. Unlike most though, he could see the magic being performed in it. Ice streamed from her hand, like streamers, as it sparkled and glittered in the light. As she danced, around her feet various things of ice rose and fell with the beat. To say it was magical to watch and see was putting it mildly.

A voice full of amusement made him jump a bit, "Enjoying yourself, Harry-Kun?"

With a glance to make sure that he had not spilled anything still in the cup, Harry turned to find Tsubaki there, "Um, hai, I am."

Lips twitching, Tsubaki nodded with a slight bow, "Ah, that is good to hear."

Finding a bit of humour in the situation, he chuckled some before shaking his head. As Harry once more looked around, his eyes caught sight of a small stage. On it, small figures and such made of ice could be seen as the Tsurara-Onna used them to tell the tale of how their clan was born. Meanwhile, the Yuki-Onna would change the landscape as needed as it was made out of snow, "There is so much to see."

Unable to help herself, Tsubaki laughed a bit, "That is true enough."

Both of them were silent before Harry spoke up, "Um... can I ask you something? About one of the things that you said, Tsubaki-Obaa-San?"

Tsubaki took a sip of her own hot drink and nodded, "Of course, Harry-Kun. Ask away, none of us would mind much."

As she took a sip, Harry frowned a bit, "Well... you mentioned that Hone-Onna were created by Izanami-Sama? But how? And why? I mean... last I heard, she hated humans because of Izanagi-Sama."

Considering that, the Hone-Onna hummed a bit, "That is true, and she does hate him. Though from what we can tell, she has cooled some in regards to humanity." A far off expression crossed her face for several moments, "The reason that she created us, was for much the same reason that she hates Izanagi-Sama."

If anything, that confused Harry all the more, "Really?"

With a hum, Tsubaki nodded, "Hai... love. Despite hating him, she also loves him and was willing to come back from death for him. Much like us Hone-Onna come back from the dead for those that we love, only to be usually rejected by them, as she was by him. We are... the tale of Izanami-Sama and Izanagi-Sama told and retold in miniature. Even when we are not rejected by our loves, we must still be careful with ourselves. While unlike the tales, we do not drain the lives of those who we sleep with, we instead can drain them of their vitality if we are not careful. Most of us who are not taught by older Hone-Onna, can discover how to get around this, by draining a small portion of energy, which is replaced easily."

Frowning, Harry gave a nod, "But not all do so."

Only shaking her head, the Hone-Onna sighed, "No, unfortunately not. There are those among us who would reject what they are now and make themselves believe that they are not undead. For them, they often drain too much attempting to make themselves live once more which is impossible." Sighing, Tsubaki shrugged, "Which has given us all the reputation that we have gotten." With a few seconds of thought, she shook it off, "In regards to Izanami-Sama? It is believed among us Hone-Onna that we were created by a part of her. Of that part which still loves Izanagi-Sama and wishes to be with him. It is that part that hears of our wishes to be with our loves and, if our love is strong enough, returns us to the world of the living though... in many cases we wish for it to have been otherwise shortly after."

Eyebrows furrowing, Harry had a thoughtful look on his face, "I see..."

The Hone-Onna Miko looked at him for several moments before smiling sadly, "Let me tell you a tale, Harry-Kun. Of how both I and Chiho-Chan became Hone-Onna." Seeing him look at her, she took a sip of her drink and let out a sigh, "We met in 1842 in what is now Miyako. I was a Miko in training at a Shrine there, and she was the daughter of a low ranked Samurai. She... was so beautiful. While I was attracted to men, I was also attracted to women, and so was she. Many, many nights did we meet together, her and I. We made love to each other, whispered promises under the stars to never be apart as much as we could... it was not to last. Two years later, our relationship was discovered by a man who wished to marry her. I... will not go into details, but I was dragged from the Shrine and beaten to death. As I lay there, dying, all I could think of was of her, of our love and whispered promises. They must have buried me in a shallow grave, as I remember digging myself out of the dirt and going to search for her."

His expression becoming sad, Harry sighed, "She was already dead, wasn't she?"

Slowly, Tsubaki nodded, "Hai. Her father forced her to commit suicide to restore his honour, and she died without knowing that I was dead, thus came back as a Hone-Onna on the same night. The two of us met in front of the gates to her home for she had been buried in the garden there to hide what was done, neither knowing that the other was dead. The guards, upon seeing us were terrified by it and her father rushed out. Upon seeing him, the two of us glared at him, and he started crawling back as we stalked forwards... and he suddenly clutched his chest and died. I think that he was so scared that he had a heart attack. Both of us left and went to the Shrine where I had worked. We were barely up the steps when the old Priest that lived there, that I had trained under appeared. But rather then hate us or attack, he looked upon us with sadness. He explained that we were now Hone-Onna, and used some minor magic to prove it to us... Both of us were horrified by what we were and broke down."

Neither of the two spoke for several seconds, but the young wizard looked at her, "What happened next?"

With a deep breath, Tsubaki let it out, "We explained to him what had happened. If anything, he became even more sad, and enraged. Because it seemed that the man who ordered my death was a friend of his son's. And that said son had been at least lusting for me, but when his father had asked about where I was? He claimed that I ran off in the night. He must have been involved as he had asked me to be performing some maintenance in the area. I... never did find out what happened to the old priest, but I heard that his son died a few months later on a road in poverty. Of the man who ordered me killed... he died too, though I will not get into that."

Harry frowned some and sighed, "And that was how you eventually found yourself... in Hakodate?"

Grimacing, Tsubaki nodded, "Hai, for we needed to make a living somehow as hard as it was. But both Chiho-Chan and I were together..." Her grimace then melted into a smile, "Which was when we met Ian-Kun. I do not think that it would be exaggerating when I state that he saved us. From ourselves and the world, and for which we will never be able to pay him back."

Suddenly, a British accented voice spoke up, "Well, I don't rightly know about that. What about you, Lyra-Chan?"

Eyes widening, both Harry and Tsubaki whipped around to find Ian and Lyra there, and another Yuki-Onna who Harry recognized as being Koyomi. Ian could not be much more than in his twenties, but he had the same lopsided smile on his face as people sometimes saw on Harry's. Almost immediately, the entire area went quiet and dead still. Slowly, Tsubaki brought up a hand to touch him before pausing. A flick of the hand had several ofuda hovering and they crackled as a wave of energy passed over them. But nothing changed and Tsubaki held her hand to her mouth, "I-Ian-Kun? L-Lyra-Chan and Koyomi-Chan? I... how?"

Lips curling upwards, Ian took her hands in his with a shrug, "Well, you can thank that young Mizuchi that Harry brought with him, Shiromizu."

Almost as one, everyone turned to Shiromizu who was blinking with some food in her mouth. Quickly snapping it up, she pointed at herself, "M-me?"

Now grinning, Ian laughed some, "Yes, after all you are a fellow Kami as is Miss Nagato. And the rules state that I am able to appear before you... it just so happens that means that I can do so with others here as well. Perhaps bending the rules, but still-"

Before he got any further, Tsubaki practically threw herself at him, "I-IAN-KUN!"

Gently, he stroked her hair and chuckled as she was joined by the others. Soon, more and more of his wives appeared and launched themselves at him, which made him shake his head, "There, there... it is okay..."

 

Yellowhammer

A.N.-HPL was a real piece of work who did not have issues so much as subscriptions.

Little Italy, New York City
August 1925

Howard fastidiously moved his hand away from the swarthy newsboy offering to sell him a paper. The street he walked down was awash with people of every race and color, a bustling part of America's greatest city overlooked by the Statue of Liberty.

Howard dearly wished that they would go somewhere else. Such degeneracy! He wished that he was somewhere else. But opportunities like what he was pursuing did not come every day and his landlord was becoming insistent about the rent that was in arrears.

At last he reached his destination through the teeming, unwashed masses of the dregs of humanity. He sniffed approvingly at the sign by the door reading "Proper Attire Required" and straightened his well maintained but a touch threadbare black suit coat before entering Garguilio's.

Inside the Italian restaurant, he looked approvingly at the nattily dressed maitre'd in starched shirt and bow tie. The view past him of proper white tablecloths, elegant glasses, and fine silverware made him realize that at least these immigrants were aspiring to better themselves as opposed to the common rabble.

"Mr. Howard Phillips Lovecraft, I believe that a reservation has been made in my name?" He spoke in his proper nasal New England accent to the impassive Italian in front of him.

"Si, Signore. This way please." The waiter bowed with passable manners, especially considering the source, and chivvied him to a private dining room. "Signora de Breuil, your guest has arrived."

A young woman with red-brown hair in a fashionable bun and curls clad in a elegant but not gauche emerald-green dress with a gold necklace smiled, her leaf-green eyes twinkling. She set aside the pencil that she had been scribbling mathematical formulas onto a sheet of paper with next to her purse and waved him inside like a queen greeting a supplicant.

"Please come in and have a seat, Mr. Lovecraft. As your publishing agent should have told you, I am Delilah de Breuil."

Iä! Iä! Delilah fhtagn! (A ButterDaughter Omake)

Howard sat across from her and took the menu automatically. "A pleasure Mrs. De Breuil. He spoke that you wished to meet me?"
Spoiler: A Mysterious Admirer...

"Oh quite anxious, Mr. Lovecraft, ever since I had the rare delight of reading your works. You see, I have interests of a similar antiquarian bent, for my family moved to New York before the Revolution. You may say that we have steeped ourselves in the best of the Old World brought to the New. Oh and it is Miss de Breuil. I have been unable to pursue matrimony since I am taking care of my poor reclusive mother. Father abandoned her and the shock you see...." Delilah's voice was quite melodic as she teared up slightly.

"I see. I was under the impression that you were married with the ring you were wearing." Howard gestured to her hand.

"Ahh, I see the confusion. I received this ring as a mark of my graduating with distinction from a private college that specialized in the natural arts and sciences." Delilah's voice was pleasant and soothing, but her smile was oddly enough, not reaching her cool green eyes which seemed to be measuring him.

Delilah glanced at their waiter, "Well we should order something to eat. Please, I must insist on picking up the tab, since if us women have just gotten the right to vote, we should also be allowed to show our appreciation for an artist of genius whose works we admire even if the larger literary corpus has not discovered them yet. I shall have a Lambrusco red wine."

Howard twitched a bit at the remark about the fairer sex getting the right. Nothing good could come of that since they were so weak-willed and prey to hysterics, "No wine, I have a bit of a sensitive stomach. Soda water please."

"Order what you want, Mr. Lovecraft, I shall have Calamari ripieni all’Amalfitana for dinner, sir."

Howard focused on the menu, "Well, Spaghetti then."

The waiter bowed and took their menus before departing.

Delilah picked up her pencil, and Howard twitched as it almost seemed to expand and darken in her hand - a trick of the light surely - before scribbling another set of numbers on the paper. Numbers which seemed to swim and dance as he blinked before returning to normal.

"I must inquire, though, where do you find your inspiration? Your tales of the fantastical and occult call to me and I was inclined to assist with my patronage now that I have come into a modest inheritance." Her voice was still pleasant, but her eyes were measuring him with a certain coldness flickering in their depths.

Howard wiped sweat away from his forehead, "Sleep, Miss De Breuil, is a gateway to the most phantastical wonders. When I pass the silver gates and dream, why then my mind is transported through the aether to such cyclopean vistas I can scarce recount in the dull tedium of waking existence."

"Ahh, I see," Another scribble with that odd pencil - or was it a pencil truly? - as she stared into his eyes, "Fascinating. Most in our modern era would think of tales of the magical and supernatural to be superstitions that we have long outgrown."

"Piffle!" He took a hasty drink of the soda water that the waiter placed before him. "Those fools do not have the proper sensitivity of spirit, for they think that all knowledge is knowable with their science and thought! Yet there is a vast ocean of Other that is unknown and unknowable beyond their little lighted island. Only visible in the light of the gibbous moon as the truly enlightened man slumbers and his spirit roams through the abyss that their science can never and shall never illumine."

As he finished the candlelight shifted, to glitter from the carving of an eye inside a pyramid surmounted by an oddly carven shifting glyph on her necklace's pendant. Another shift and it was back to a blank golden medallion.

"I see, and such sensitivity should be nurtured." Her voice was cool and calm as the waiter set plates in front of them both. Her fork speared down to pick up the still writhing squamous mass of a stuffed squid and brought it to her pearly white too-even teeth.

As her teeth closed on the rugose tentacles and the lidless black eye that mocked him with understanding, for the briefest instant, he saw with horrified, shrieking comprehension what, not who, sat across from him.

The numbers scribbled on the paper by her gnarled wand glowed with the witchfire that danced from the midnight-darkened stygian tombs of accursed Arkham where wizards bones were gnawed by worms who grew fat with the obscene forbidden knowledge contained within their mouldering remains. Her locket glistened with the lidless eye of her cultic order that was old when Providence was young showing her high rank in their blasphemous number. Still that was preferable to what he saw inside her eyes. A spirit old and powerful, ancient beyond the capability of his mind and the product of miscegenation between a line of witches and warlocks and something inhuman steeped in the ancient eldritch lores of the Far East.

Thankfully his mind whirled in denial and abject horror from that insight as she removed the fork from her mouth and smiled pleasantly. "I'm glad that we could come to an understanding, Mr. Lovecraft."

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

MACUSA AUROR REPORT #789,241

SUBJ: POTENTIAL STATUTE OF SECRECY BREAK (LOVECRAFT, HOWARD PHILLIPS)
INVESTIGATING AGENT: AUROR CAPTAIN DE BREUIL
RECOMMENDATION: NO ACTION NEEDED AT THIS TIME, SUBJECT IS JUST HYPERSENSITIVE TO MAGICAL EMISSIONS. MONITOR, AND IF HE GAINS A WIDER AUDIENCE THAN PULP MAGAZINES, REEVALUATE.

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

Howard was not sure how he got back to his flat in Brooklyn, what he had said to that thing to prevent her from devouring him like it had devoured the squid. He dry retched a bit (the spaghetti dinner long gone when his gorge rose while he walked home across the Brooklyn Bridge), and the cheque for a large sum of monies 'to pursue his writings into the unknown' seemed to burn with cold fire in his pocket.

Bolting the door behind him, pushing a chair to block it in a futile attempt to be safe from THAT, then locking his windows and drawing the blinds, he finally turned to his typewriter.

With shaking fingers, he typed the first words of what would be perceived after his death in 1937 as one of the masterpieces of horror.

"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far."


(And now you know why Del called HPL 'a batty twitchy nutbag'. Man had issues with women, interracial marriage, non WASP cultures, math, scientific understanding, and seafood. Dear God, he had issues with seafood.)

 

Harry Leferts

Eventually, the women around Ian parted some and the Kami turned towards the thirteen year old Wizard with a gentle smile on his face, “Hello, Harry.” Seeing his expression, the older wizard shook his head, “No need to be nervous.”

Just swallowing, Harry searches his ancestor’s expression, “Are... are you really my Great-great grandfather?”

Walking forward, Ian crouched down some to meet Harry’s eyes, “Aye, I am.” For his part, he smiled slightly as he made a gesture with his hand, “Yup, definitely a Potter with that hair. And there’s some other bits and pieces. Though those cheekbones... that would be the Black Family Blood on you.” Turning, he face a cheeky smile to Lyra, “He gets that from you, I think.”

Simply laughing, the witch nodded, “He does, thankfully. Though he does get some other things besides looks from you, Ian.”

Only shrugging, Ian smirked a bit as a confused Harry scratched his head, ‘Wonder what she means.’ Shaking that off, he turned to Lyra, “And you’re my Great-great grandmother?”

Bemused, Lyra nodded before doing an odd hopping dance, “The writer who writes what men and women dream and wish for most! Who brings forth fantasy from the depths of the psyche! And whose pen has enflamed passions on six continents and recorded it! Whose works have gotten acclaim in both this world and the next!” Finishing her dance, she went into a pose as Koyomi clapped a pair of Hyoshigi, “That is I! The Great Authoress Lyra Potter, Nee Black!” The Witch then swept her arm in a grand gesture as she bowed while grinning like a loon and winking, “And your Great-Great grandmother!”

Utter silence met her for several moments before the other older members of the Arashi nodded and sighed, though with fond smiles, “That’s Lyra-Chan/Kaa-San.”

Giggles made them turn to where Hoppou had appeared from where she had been hiding behind a food cart, “Funny.”

Amused, Ian laughed and gestured at her, “And here is the third reason why I can visit.”

Furrowing her eyes, the Battleship frowned, “You didn’t mention her before.”

In reply, Ian just shrugged, “Because she was not out in the open. I would not point her out unless she was visible after all.” He then grinned a bit, “Hopefully she is enjoying the festival.”

Licking her ice cream, despite how cold it was, Hoppou nodded, “Hoppou is, though Hoppou is not happy with how Hoppou was pushed inside Shrine.”

Completely unrepentant, Lyra shrugged, “If that was not done, then you would have never come in.” All Hoppou did was cross her arms and huff, though there was still a twinkle of amusement in her eyes. Meanwhile, Lyra stretched a bit, “Ah! But it is good to be able to talk with you all for now.”

Yukina, who was beside her, raised one eyebrow in amusement before giving the woman next to her a look, “Lyra-Chan, your hand?”

Blinking as if she was confused, the witch looked down at her hand which was positioned behind the Yuki-Onna. In one place in particular. Giving that spot a squeeze, and getting a flush from Yukina as well as a small jump, she shrugged, “What? It is in one of the places it belongs.”

Just chuckling as some of the other female Yokai giggled and some smirked, Ian sighed, “Your incorrigible, Lyra.”

Still unrepentant, Lyra shrugged with a grin and a wink, “And you love me for it.”

Rather than say anything, Ian shook his head at her behavior with a slight smile. After all, he was long used to it happening, "True enough." His attention was drawn as Kikyo as well as a number of the second generation of the clan stepped forward. A warm smile on his face, Ian opened his arms, "Hey, have a hug for your old man?"

Tears in her eyes, the Hone-Onna nodded before rushing him and wrapping her arms around his mid-section, "Hai, I always have a hug for you, Tou-San." Sniffling a bit, she reached up and pecked him on the cheek even as they were joined by other daughters, and one or two old men who were his remaining sons, "Always."

Gently kissing her on the head, he pulled back some, "I'm sorry that we couldn't show up before, but... there are rules." Chuckling, Ian grinned some before glancing at Shiromizu, followed by Nagato and then Hoppou, "Though right now, we are able to be sort of bending them."

One finger raised, Lyra smirked, "Exactly, bending them over like they should be and going through the loophole."

Shaking her head, Koyomi flicked her fellow wife in the ear which got her a grumble. Her gaze then travelled to something else as various hugs and pecks to the cheek were given to her husband, "Though I think that there is someone else who would want to speak with you after so long."

Ian gave a nod at that before moving in front of Harry, "I know that this is a bit much to ask, but..."

Already understanding, the thirteen year old removed Tsukiakari from his waist and held her out, "Here, though..."

Chuckling, Ian shook his head, "Don't worry, I'll return her. Perhaps one day in the far future, I'll reclaim her, but that is not today. Because she is needed to protect our family." Harry bowed at that and stepped back. Within his hands, Tsukiakari shivered, as if trying not to explode. Smiling at that, Ian cleared his throat, "Come on out, Tsukiakari, I wish to see my most beloved blade."

Briefly, the sword unsheathed itself some before in a swirl of magic, Tsukiakari's avatar appeared. As always, she wore a version of an uniform not unlike Akitsu Maru's own, over which she had a wizard's cloak and a witch's hat perched upon her head. Those there could see similarities between her and Ian, as well as some aspects in her avatar's appearance from Lyra with some of the other Arashi elders mixed in. Tears falling down her cheeks, she stared at the man she considered to be her first, true master. Lips pressed thinly together, her shoulders shook from the sheer emotion she was trying to hold in, "M-Master Ian..."

Gently, Ian smiled and placed her blade at his hip as it had been for so long before his death, "Tsukiakari, you're as beautiful as I expected... my loyal sword. My friend... my companion... and my daughter."

That broke the last barriers and Tsukiakari wailed as she rushed forward and grabbed Ian into an embrace, crying, "M-Master Ian... Otou-San! I... I..." Sniffling, she closed her eyes, "I missed you so much..."

Placing his hand on her head, the Kami moved her hat some and kissed her brow, a small tear dripping down his own face, "And I have missed you, Tsukiakari. You have no idea how much." Ian pulled away some and brushed her hair from her forehead, "Tsukiakari, I am so proud of you. Know that no matter what happens, that will be true, my child."

Shocked, Tsukiakari looked up at her, "Y-you are...?"

Very slowly, Ian nodded, "I am, and so very much. You may not realize this, but I have been watching as you have taken care of our family, Tsukiakari. How you did your best when wielded by Lyra to protect her, as I asked of you. How when James brought you out, you cut down all before you or shielded them. Juuchi Yosamu, Masamune no Honjo, and Muramasa no Norimune... yes, they are legendary blades. But none of them can equal you in the end."

Gobsmacked, the sword looked up at him, "B-but-"

Placing a finger on her lips, Ian shook his head, "No, Tsukiakari. Each of them are powerful, yes. But they were forged by swordmasters, and thus made from the start to be legends. But you... you, Tsukiakari. You may have started out as a Kyu Gunto, yes. However, you did not let that stop you from being the best sword that you could be. All those years ago, you saved my life from that assassin. And you continued to save my life in my journeys. If those are not the actions of a blade of legend, than I do not know what is." Cupping her cheek, he continued, "You are not a legend because you were made to be such. No, you are a legend because you worked to be one."

When he pulled her close into an embrace, Tsukiakari sobbed, "Thank you... but I am only such because of you. My first True Master, I owe it all to you..."

Lips curling into a small smile, he kissed her cheek, "Then we shall have to agree to disagree, my loyal blade."

Feeling someone embrace her from the side, the sword looked and blinked as Lyra winked at her, "Ian's right, you know. Heck, did you know that both Muramasa and Masamune both talked Ian's ear off about you? About their 'Cute little granddaughter'?"

Cheeks flushing, Tsukiakari looked between them in disbelief, "They... they what?"

Tone dry, Ian gave her a raised eyebrow, "Those two keep fighting with each other over whose granddaughter you are. Both of them."

If anything that made Tsukiakari blush even more, "O-oh, um..."

A short distance away, Juuchi's own avatar was watching with a soft, though slightly smug smile on her face as she watched Tsukiakari be reunited with her original Master. Seeing Ian glance at her, the Muramasa nodded some and moved behind a stall with a sigh as she looked up at the sky. Closing her eyes, she sighed some as her smile softened, 'Yes... one always remembers their first true master. And all the others...'
__________________________________________________________

Biting into a hot scone with clotted cream on it, Harry glanced at the young woman next to him. Part of him still had trouble believing who she was, "So... this is what you really look like?"

With a hum as she chewed and swallowed her own scone, Tsukiakari smiled a bit bashfully, "Hai, Master Harry. This is how my avatar appears." Lightly blushing, she picked at the threads of her sleeve, "I... suppose that it is modeled on Master Ian because..."

Harry chuckled a bit, "Because he was your first, true Master, right?"

A light blush on her face, she nodded, "Mm-hm." Finishing off her scone, she swallowed some, "Hai, that's right." Tsukiakari turned and smiled at where Ian was speaking with some of his wives and children, "He is the one that I see as such, because he saved me from the scrap heap, and made me what I am."

Lips curling some, Harry shook his head, "No, I think that I agree with him." At her puzzled look, he continued, "You made you what you are today. He just gave you the tools to do so."

Even though she wanted to say something, the sword spirit merely looked pleased with the compliment. However, spotting Ian walking over, she bowed some, "Master Ian."

Nodding, he gave her hair a ruffle as she had removed her hat, "Tsukiakari." With a glance to Harry, he gave her a smile, "Would it be okay if..."

Just smiling, Tsukiakari nodded, "That's fine, I need to speak with Mistress Lyra anyways."

And with that, she moved off to where Lyra was whispering something to various Arashi Elders, all of them with grins and blushes. Seeing that, Ian sighed some and shook his head, "Ah, me poor hips. Incorrigible, Lyra is."

Head tilted to the side though he didn't quite understand why he said what he had, Harry did have his suspicions. Rather than think on that anymore though, the thirteen year old turned to his ancestor, "Um, Great-Great-Grandfather? You wished to speak with me?"

Ian waved his hand and the sounds around them became muffled. At the look, he chuckled, "Just a minor spell to make it harder for anyone to listen in, though I doubt that there would be too many of those here." As Harry nodded though, he sighed some, "I... wish to apologize."

Confused, the black haired boy frowned some, "Apologize? For what?"

Rubbing the back of his neck, Ian grimaced, "For your life. None of us were there when you needed us, and-"

He was cut off though as Harry hugged him, "None of you have anything to apologize for. Because none of you did anything wrong."

For several moments, the older man turned Kami looked down at him before smiling and chuckling. Gently ruffling Harry's hair, Ian shook his head, "If I was not sure that you were a Potter before now, I am now. Still, all of us on the other side are sorry for not being there, though know that we were watching over you." Sighing, Ian glanced towards Lyra, "That night... all of us watched in horror and terror at what was unfolding. And, to be quite honest, I have never seen Lyra cry as much as she did that night except for when I died and when Henry did. Those were the only two times that I could remember that."

Chewing his lip, Harry had a question on his mind, "I..."

When he trailed off, Ian smiled at him, "You're wondering about what we think of you?" At Harry's nod, he smiled, "I will tell you truthfully, Harry. All of us could not be prouder of not just you right now, but of the man that you are growing into. You have a long road ahead of you, but know that we will be right there at your side, even when you cannot see us. When you cry, we cry alongside you. And when you laugh, we laugh as well."

His heart aching some, Harry turned and looked at Ian, "R-really? They're proud of me?"

In reply, his Great-great grandfather crouched down, "We are, Harry. We are so proud of you that we could explode with it." Voice becoming soft, Ian hugged him, "And we all love you so very much, never think differently."

Just hugging him back, Harry sniffled a bit as he felt tears prickling at the corners of his eyes, "Thank you."

Rubbing the younger Potter's back, Ian shook his head, "You don't need to thank me for that, Harry. You never need to thank me for that, or anyone else. Because we're not the only ones who love you." Seeing him look away, he reached up and turned Harry's face towards him, "I'm not lying, Harry. There are many out there who love you. Nagato, Hoppou, Mutsu, Jane and her father, the rest of the Richardson Household... Goto, Kongou, her sisters, and all your big sisters and aunts. They all love you... and there are ones who hold a special place in their hearts. Like Natsumi, Shinano, the Submarines, Regina, and others. They love you as well."

Cheeks flushed, Harry looked away, "I... I don't know if-"

Only shaking his head, the Older Potter raised an eyebrow, "There is nothing wrong about what you feel, Harry. Nor what they feel, because if there is anyone who deserves it, it would be you, my child." A thoughtful look came over his face and he glanced around before turning back to Harry, "Speaking of those who love you... Do you remember about those Twins on that island?"

Blinking, Harry frowned, "Sakura-Chan and Ume-Chan? What about them?"

Lips curling into a smile, Ian chuckled, "Well, you see..."

Some distance away, Yukina turned away from Lyra and frowned some, "I wonder what they are talking about?" Seeing Harry's surprised expression become thoughtful, she furrowed her eyebrows, "I am really curious..."

Lyra smirked a bit at that, "Oh, just some things, nothing too important." She ignored the raised eyebrows and the looks that told her just how convincing she had been. Instead though, the former member of the Black family smirked and turned to Tsubaki, "Now then, did you send for the expanded tent?"

Now grinning, Tsubaki snickered, "Yes, I have as a matter of fact~"

From where she stood, Tsukiakari smiled happily. This was something that she truly missed, though her expression turned considering as she looked around, 'I wonder why more families are not like this?'

It was a question that she had asked herself many a time since a few days after Ian had first brought her here...

 

Savato93

Apologies for the wait. On top of having to get ready for finals, I was bitten by the NSFW bug again…

Side note, been almost exactly a year since my first snippet post!

XXXXXXXXXX

Sunny stared at the alien creature in front of her—looking almost like a life preserver ring possessed by a little devil—with a furrowed eyebrow, at a loss for words.

The entities Abyssals could manifest were without a doubt outlandish—as the puppetmaster of a fifteen-foot-tall, two-headed musclebound behemoth, Sunny was all too aware of that fact. But this… this thing was practically mundane.

Not to mention small.

“I don’t know where it came from,” Fluffy said, holding the squirming critter at arms’ length with both hands as it babbled incoherently. “I just woke up one morning, and it was there, making a mess of Renita’s art room. Since then, it’s been nothing but a nuisance—rummaging through our stuff, trying to paint on Renita’s face while she’s sleeping, and attempting to mess with her art. It’s wearing me out trying to keep it under control…”

Sunny didn’t know what to say. It was a rare case of “what you see is what you get”—the creature had no hull, no weapons, no crew. It was literally just a life ring… that happened to be mobile, sentient, and kinda annoying. “Just when I was getting used to how strange you are, Fluffy…” she began. She reached out and poked a finger through the center of the ring that was its body; the creature responded in a somewhat annoyed manner, swatting at the Demon’s extended digit with its little limbs. “You’re certain this thing came from you?” She asked the young Princess.

In response, Fluffy gestured to the inanimate life ring strapped to her hip. “Not concrete proof, but it’s a fairly solid indicator.”

“And you’ve tried dismissing it?”

Fluffy shook her head. “I can’t. I don’t feel this… thing the same way I can feel my rigging.”

“Hmm…” Sunny brought a finger to her lips, thinking. “...perhaps we can forcibly dismiss it by separating the two of you. Abyssal manifestations usually can’t hold themselves together if they get more than a hundred or so feet away from their host. If I may?” Fluffy looked a little uncertain, but nevertheless she didn’t pull away as the Demon took hold of the thing in her hands.

And as soon as Fluffy let go, Sunny pivoted and flung the creature with all her might.

Fluffy’s jaw dropped as she watched the life ring go careening into the distance, flailing its limbs and squeaking its protests quite loudly… all the way until it passed over the tree line of the forest and out of sight.

“Well, shit… this may be an issue.” Scratching her scalp awkwardly, Sunny began to walk towards the trees. “We should probably go get it.”

XXXXXXXXXX

“Is that a pig?”

It was the size of a small dog, with black spots dotting the white hair slowly growing out on its skin. Having sailed on this ferry for the past few days without much to do besides watch the seas and talk to their Abyssal escorts, the hybrid children’s attentions were easily drawn to the random pig trotting around on the deck of the ferry without a care in the world. It paused to sniff at one girl’s set of transplanted Ne-class legs, before backing away looking confused. “What’s wrong, little guy?” The girl asked, kneeling down to try and pet the animal, only for it to shy away.

Overhearing the children on the ship beside her, Tanith rubbed her temple, slightly bemused. “Nero, your pet is roaming the deck. Perhaps you should give him a bell, make it easier to keep tabs on him...” she spoke into the radio.

A few seconds later, the Ne-class could be seen emerging from belowdecks with an alarmed expression on her face. “Oh, come on, Grunt! Where’d you run off to now!?” She groaned.

Tanith chuckled. “No need to get all worked up, Nero. I can see him mingling with the children.”

Nero deflated with a relieved sigh. “Oh, thank goodness.” She turned and made for the aft deck, now slightly more relaxed. “Be careful with that pig, kids. He’s a feisty one, and he is not on the menu…”

Shaking her head in exasperation, the Princess turned her focus back to the sea before them. Even after making a good first impression with them, Tanith wanted to make certain that the children would be comfortable living with Abyssals—she wanted them to be able to trust the Fleet of Laughter to take care of them, and not try to mutilate them even further. To that end, she’d volunteered a handful of them to provide a guide and escort to their hidden island, while also bringing in Nero to help cook food for the kids during the trip; she wanted to introduce them to more friendly Abyssals, show them that they truly cared about their wellbeing.

She’d like to think it was working: the children were starting to generally approach them with less hesitation, becoming more willing to ask them questions about their new home. But they’d only know for certain if it was having a positive effect when they arrived at Avrora… and the children saw just how many Abyssals they’d be living with.

Tanith glanced behind her, to where Regalia was… or rather, where she should have been drifting. To Tanith’s immediate distress, her daughter was nowhere in sight. “Regalia?” she spoke into her radio once more, a small hint of panic in her voice. “Regalia, where are you?”

Almost as if on cue, the water beside the ferry exploded upwards, revealing a young Re-class soaring high out of the water and whooping in glee. “This is awesome!” Regalia cheered before reaching the apex of her flight, and dropping back underneath the water with a great splash. Several of the children started to glance over the deck, watching her silhouette undulating beneath the waves with great interest. Every few seconds Regalia would bob out of the sea to take a breath before ducking back in, eliciting some ooh’s and ahh’s as her tail, over two-thirds of her full length, crested out of the water behind her.

Tanith let out a deep sigh of relief. “Hey, looks like Regalia finally remembered she’s semi-submersible...” she heard Rivet chuckling as she pulled up next to her. “And she’s already dipping and weaving like a natural.”

{Don’t worry, Mom!} Regalia piped up on the radio. {I’ve got an eye on my surroundings, and I’m not seeing anything that might be dangerous to our group. No need to worry about m-}

There was a loud *thump* audible over the channel.

{...ow.}

The pair couldn’t help but share a light chuckle at that. “Guessing you hit a shallow reef?” Rivet asked.

Regalia breached the water’s surface once more—this time, landing on her feet and resuming her normal course, rubbing her forehead. “Yeah…” she mumbled sheepishly.

The Ri-class hummed thoughtfully. “We must be close, then.” Adjusting course to pull up beside the ferry, she rapped her knuckles against the hull. “Hey, everyone, we should be coming up on our destination soon. It may not seem like that’s the case, given there’s no land in sight, but… well, there’s a reason we’ve been able to live out here without being found for so long. I just want to warn you ahead of time, because that reason may surprise you. Just keep an eye ahead of us.”

The children briefly looked among each other, murmuring in confusion and curiosity.

And then murmurs turned to cries of surprise and shock when, as if a switch was flipped, the island of Avrora popped up into existence before them. No rising over the horizon—it just abruptly appeared a few miles away, where there had once been nothing but sea.

“If you’ve ever heard of the weird stuff that goes down in the Bermuda Triangle,” Rivet continued, “this is kinda like that. Normal humans can’t find this island on a map, and getting near it gives them the heebie-jeebies, so they veer away before they find it. We Abyssals can see it just fine, however, so it’s made a great refuge for the past few years. How the island is hidden like this, you might be wondering…?” The Ri-class shrugged. “Actual magic. But that’s beside the point. What matters most, is that you’ll all be safe here.”

The children stared at the island of Avrora with wonder as they approached the shore. A couple of them noticed the cruise vessel anchored a short distance away, and were awestruck by its size. The others, though, spotted the Abyssals awaiting them at the shore, and started to get a bit nervous.

Eventually, the ferry came to a stop… about a hundred feet from the shore. Before the kids had a chance to wonder why, one of the larger Abyssals—looking like a girl with a turtle for her lower half—waddled forward into the water and swam out to the side of the boat. “Hi, Mama!” She greeted Tanith brightly, rushing over to give her a hug. “We were wondering when you would get back!”

The Princess chuckled lightly, stroking her daughter’s hair. “We tried to keep our best pace, Marble. But we’re here, now.” Pulling away, she pulled out a chocolate bar and offered it to the transport. “Would you be willing to let some of the kids ride on your back to land? We can’t bring the boat any closer.”

“Okay!”

Marble waded around to the rear of the ferry, where a ramp was descending. Together with Tanith and Regalia, the three met the children at the back. “Okay, children,” Tanith began, “Between me and my daughters, we should be able to carry you all to shore in a few trips.” She extended her rigging’s arms. “We won’t let any of you fall into the water, I promise.”

Slowly, the boys and girls stepped up and were helped onto their prospective rides—a few piggybacking on Regalia’s tail, two sitting on Tanith’s rigging, and four hanging on to a rope tied to Mable’s waist to help remain on her smooth shell. It took them maybe a minute to reach dry land, where they were carefully set down.

“Hello, children,” Ruadri greeted the boys and girls as they took in their surroundings. “I’m Ruadri. You all probably met our mother Hoppou. Having heard from her, you boys and girls have certainly been through a lot up to now… and I just want you all to know, you are all welcome here. This island, our home, it’s a place of second chances. Ours, and yours… that is, if you’re willing to accept us.”

The kids glanced around, at the Abyssals looking to them with hopeful expressions. In the distance, they could see others holding up a welcome sign, including all the flagships...

Except for Sunny, who suddenly came into view flailing her arms and screaming, something looking almost like an inner tube situated on her head.

“OH GOD SOMEONE GET THIS DAMN THING OFF MY HEAD IT’S YANKING OUT MY HAIR!!!”

Tanith could only sigh and pinch the bridge of her nose as the children giggled and Regalia rushed ahead to aid her aunt.

 

Harry Leferts

With her head cocked to the side, Hedwig frowned as she chewed the meat on the plate that she was currently eating. It was somewhat different from what she was used to, though that was true with most foods nowadays. Let it not be said that she did not enjoy the fact that so many tastes were now open to her that had not been before. Currently though, she was looking down at the meat in question, "What exactly is this?"

Taking a sip of her drink, Kikyo blinked and smiled a bit, "Serow, as a matter of fact."

From where she was, Nagato paused and looked towards the Hone-Onna, "Serow? But you can't hunt those..."

Shaking her head, the Yokai smiled a bit, "We didn't hunt these actually. They're from a Yokai run farm up in the mountains that raises domesticated serow."

Nagato blinked and stared a bit, "Domesticated serow?"

Just humming, Kikyo took another bite of the meat on her own plate, "Hai." Motioning with her fork, she shrugged some, "Us Yokai can live for hundreds of years, which means that things that would not pay off for humans due to taking too long is not the same for us. A few Yokai several centuries back decided to try and domesticate serow because that way they could continue to eat them in the mountain regions. From what I heard, it was Oni who did so... anyways, after a few centuries, they came up with a breed of them suitable for farming. They're not quite the normal serow, but close enough."

That only made the shipgirl shake her head in some surprise, "Sometimes, I forget what it means when one lives so long."

Expression softening as she noted that Nagato was looking towards Harry, Kikyo sighed, "And none know it more than us. I... miss my husband, every day." At the inquiring look, she smiled sadly, "He passed away four years ago of old age, we met in 1906 after all and were married since 1907. But... I do not regret it. Our life together was happy and we had quite a few children. And the memories of that, I think, are the greatest memorial that I can have for him." She then gestured at Harry, "Harry-Kun will one day pass, that is true. But... we will remember him. And there is no greater memorial or immortality in this world than there is to be remembered by those of us who remain."

A hum made them turn to find Shiromizu there who cocked her head to the side, "Though... considering things? Perhaps, you might well see him eventually."

Her eyebrows furrowing, Kikyo frowned. But then she noticed that Shiromizu was looking towards Ian, and she remembered that after his death, her husband was also enshrined here. Softly smiling, the Hone-Onna nodded, "Hai, that is true enough..."

Several moments passed as they all had their own thoughts, before Nagato shook her head and turned as she walked towards where Hedwig had gotten her meat from, 'I remember my crew eating Serow... I wonder what it does taste like?'

Nearby, and his hands in his pockets, Harry smiled up at the stars above the Shrine and the Arashi property. Around the Shrine itself, in various places, bonfires burned to ward off the night's cold, though the Yuki-Onna and Tsurara-Onna made sure that the temperatures did not dip beneath zero degrees. Something that not just Harry was thankful for. Staring at the twinkling lights shining down, he could just see the sliver of the Moon as it was nearly gone. Footsteps behind him was making him turn when a voice spoke up, "It's going to be a New Moon soon."

Bowing slightly, Harry nodded, "It is, Great-great grandfather."

Lightly chuckling, Ian shook his head, "Call my Grandpa Ian if you must. A lot shorter and not quite the mouthful."

Only snickering, the thirteen year nodded, "Sure... Grandpa Ian." Turning back to the night sky, he smiled a bit, "And yeah, it is going to be a New Moon soon. Though the stars tonight are beautiful."

His own head tilted back, Ian nodded, "Aye, that was something that I loved to do. Simply stargaze and see the vista above." Suddenly, he snapped his fingers, "Right, before I forget..." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out Harry's time turner and passed it back to him, "Thanks for lending it to me, I appreciate it and I am not the only one."

Examining it, Harry placed it around his neck and slipped it under his sweater with a smirk, "I am sure that you are and the rest is true as well."

That got him a smirk back from the seemingly older man. "Got it in one, Harry my boy." His smile softened some as he glanced back to the women he considered his wives with a sigh, "And I am thankful for it."

Just nodding, Harry did not say anything more for several moments as the two stood there. Finally, he let out a breath, "I am still sure that I don't deserve it. What you said about..."

Head tilted to the side, Ian hummed, "You may think that, but do they?" Not getting an answer, he let out a sigh, "I'll be honest with you, Harry. Man to man... for everything that some people might think me? There are three things that I have always been sure of. And want to know what those three things are?"

Glancing at him, the teen nodded, "Um, sure?"

Lips twitching, Ian held up his hand as he started to tick off on his fingers, "One is that Lyra and the others love me. Two, is that I am likely the luckiest man in the world for that reason. And third... that I have always been sure that I have never done anything to deserve such." Seeing Harry open his mouth, the older Potter shook his head, "No, lad, listen to me for a moment." When the other wizard nodded and closed his mouth, Ian let out a sigh, "I am not joking about that last one. I am certain that I am undeserving of their affections, always have been, always will be. When I met Keiko and the others? I did what I did when I laid with them because I was raised as a gentleman. Afterwards, all this? Because I cared for them and their children, because I loved them. And I was going to do right by them."

Slowly, Harry nodded, "Um, okay..."

Ian just shook his head, "It will come with time, Harry. But do remember one fact, hmm? You may well not see yourself as worthy, or having done anything to deserve it, and that is... while not okay, because of why that is, but it is fine for now. Because they do. They believe that you, of all they know, deserve it. And in the end, that is really what matters, that they believe it. Women, I find, can be far wiser than us men in such matters. Listen to your heart and theirs, and that will guide you all forward. That is really the best piece of advice that I can give you. Well, along with do not fear to open your heart to them, because they will guard it fiercely. But that you already know, I think."

Nodding, the thirteen year old wizard smiled a bit, "Yeah, I do."

All of a sudden, Ian perked up some as he looked down at the field, "Ah! They're about to set off the fireworks." Turning to Harry, he gave a wink, "Always did enjoy watching them from the other realm, you know."

His lips curling, the younger of the two nodded, "I can understand why."

Moments later, the first fireworks went off. None of them were very big or loud, though Harry suspected that the Yuki-Onna were using control over the cold air to prevent too much sound from escaping. But it was still a sight to see nonetheless. The two Potters stood there for some time just watching the bursts of colors. And when it faded, Ian nodded, "Ah, and there we go."

Turning to him, Harry frowned some, "It is time for you to go, isn't it?"

Gently smiling, Ian nodded, "Aye, it is time for me to go. But..." Placing his hand on Harry's head, he shook his head, "Even though you cannot see me or the others, Harry, does not mean that we are not there and watching. Remember what I told you about that, we will help you carry your burdens in what ways we can, until the day comes for you to lay them down. We will smile alongside you, cry, laugh... we will do all that as you do." The elder Potter hugged Harry who did so back just as hard and tight, "You take care of yourself."

Only nodding, Harry smiled, "I will, I promise."

When he pulled back, the older wizard smiled before giving him a nod. Ian than began to walk back to the Arashis before he paused for a moment, "Ah! Right, one last thing." Turning, he smirked a bit at the puzzled look on Harry's face, "From what I know, you wanted to help out some, right?"

Confused, Harry frowned, "Yes? But... I don't know enough about farm chores or anything like that."

If anything though, that seemed to amuse Ian, "That is true, but you are a strapping young lad. Kikyo-Chan and Koyuki-Chan will both be making a few deliveries tomorrow. They could use some help with that."

Lost, Harry nodded despite being even more confused than he had been before. Meanwhile, Ian's smirk grew a touch and he walked over to the Arashi Elders and said goodbyes of his own to them, though everyone but them shook their heads at how Lyra said goodbye before she, Ian, and Koyomi all faded away into sparkles of light.

 

Harry Leferts

Yawning, Harry smacked his lips a bit as he entered the dining hall before bowing to the group of Arashi that was there already, "Good morning."

A smile on her face, Koyuki chuckled and waved to the seat beside her, "And a good morning to you as well, Itoko. Now come and have a seat so that you can have something to eat before we head out. We'll be working most of the morning."

Simply doing as she asked, the wizard glanced around a bit, "I don't mind a bit of work."

Grinning, Kikyo poked him, "You say that now, Harry-Kun. But will it hold out?"

Just shrugging, Harry shook his head, "Harry will do his best!" Ignoring the amused looks, he glanced around before noticing what Kikyo was eating, "Is that a breakfast roll?"

In reply, she held up a finger as she chewed. Swallowing, Kikyo gave him a nod as well as a smile, "Hai, it is." Looking at it, she gave him a knowing smile as she opened her mouth for another bite, "You're wondering why I'm having it, I take it?"

Bemused, Harry nodded at that, "Well... it is a bit odd to see. I mean, that's something from Ireland." Seeing the looks, he shrugged, "Seamus, one of my dormmates back at Hogwarts swears by them for breakfast. Complains if one is not on the table actually."

Chuckling after she swallowed, the Hone-Onna smiled, "Well... Kaa-San actually brought it back when Tou-San took her to Ireland on one of his trips back."

Eyes widening, Harry boggled a bit, "Wait, you meant that Grandpa Ian took her back to Britain? Seriously?"

Across from him, Koyuki snorted a bit, "Is that really that much of a surprise." At his blink, she shook her head, "Ian-Jiji actually often brought members of our clan with him on trips back to Britain via the Kazehana. Mostly during the first twenty years actually..." Frowning thoughtfully, she shook her head, "Anyways, it was mainly so that they could learn skills back in Britain and Europe. While Jeffery-Jiji was able to teach us a lot, Ian-jiji wanted those of us alive to have other skills that he couldn't teach us."

Head cocked to the side, Harry furrowed his eyebrows, "Wouldn't that take a while though? Especially since you were sailing?"

The two female Yokai shared a look that stated how many times they had been asked these questions. But it also stated that neither of them minded all that much, after all, it was family history. Having finished her breakfast, Kikyo turned to him, "Ah, but that was the brilliance of it. The British Ministry of Magic didn't really check vessels heading in and out. After all, most magicals would use either the world wide floo network, or apparation and Portkeys to enter the country, not sailing ships. As for the Kazehana... You did not think that the shrinking that she was put under was something that we did, did you?"

Seeing the thirteen year old's shocked and surprised look, both of them giggled. A grin on her face, Koyuki shook her head, "You see, there were two ways which were similar. One way was to sail across the Indian Ocean and up the Red Sea. Once there, they would take everyone off the ship onto a flying carpet, shrink the ship, and carry it across the land to the Mediterranean, where they would enlarge it and continue on. The other way, was to sail across the Pacific to Central America, and do much the same, except dropping the ship in the Caribbean before continuing on to Britain. In either case, it would cut off days and weeks from the journey. Once in Britain, Ian-Jiji would sell whatever goods were onboard and pick up whoever was returning. Then they would do the same in reverse, just switching up the route. And it worked pretty well."

With a hum, Kikyo sipped her tea, "That was actually how Lyra-Kaa-San was brought to Japan. The Potters had a time turner though which they used to help out some..." Pausing, she grimaced a bit, "It sort of broke in 1899 for some reason. Though Tekeli-Chan complained about people making mistakes."

For a few moments, Harry stared at her before he turned to the green haired maid only to see her turn part of her hair into a slime-like tentacle which she used to lift several plates as she hummed something that made it feel like his brain was itching, "Wait, she's been around since then?"

Kikyo shrugged some, "Hai, she's been working for the Potters since... 1859, I think? I asked Tou-San once and all he did was grumble about idiot goblins on stupid expeditions to stupid ice covered places. His Tou-San had found her, though she's happy serving us or the Potters." Frowning, she furrowed her eyebrows, "Something about her previous Masters working her for a very long time without any breaks... Anyways..." With a wave of her hand, the Hone-Onna shook her head, "She arrived here via an Owl Box in the old Potter Manor before it was destroyed. Your Kaa-San sent her because they were going to hide in a cottage and didn't want her getting hurt if the manor was attacked."

His own eyebrows furrowing, Harry considered asking more about the Maid, but something told him that he was better off not knowing. Deciding to listen, he took one of the breakfast rolls and began to eat, though he raised an eyebrow at the sight of Koyuki eating some muesli, "By the way, can I ask you something?"

Swallowing, the Yuki-Onna nodded, "Of course, what is it, Itoko?"

A frown on his face, Harry pointed at her breakfast, "I've noticed that you all eat a lot of dairy. From what I know... shouldn't you be lactose intolerant?" At their looks of amusement, he flushed a bit, "I mean, I know that doesn't mean that you can't eat or drink dairy, but... it does mean that you can't consume a lot."

Only chuckling, Kikyo shook her head while ruffling his hair, "That is because of Tou-San." At the confusion, her smile widened, "There is a potion that Tou-San came across in the Potter archives. Apparently, many centuries ago, a clan was lactose intolerant. So they created the ritual so that someone could pass onto them the ability to not be affected. And said ritual made it so that not being lactose intolerant bred true as it were... Tou-San used it on our Kaa-Sans and on those of us that had issues. We use it when we induct new members via marriage on our spouses, though our children would not need it."

Blinking, the teen stared for a moment before shaking his head, "Useful."

That got him giggles and more hair ruffles before the conversation turned to other things. Soon enough, he was in the small building that the Arashi used for a loading bay helping Koyuki lift various products into a small cube van that they used for deliveries. Glancing at her, he internally shook his head at the fact that she was wearing a shirt with the sleeves rolled up, completely unaffected by the cold in the warehouse which did made him slightly jealous. That said, he could also see the toned muscles in said arms which had come about through hard work on the farm. Finally, she nodded before closing the truck's door, "And there we go, Itoko."

Leaning out the window, Kikyo smiled a bit, "All done?"

Simply shaking her head, the Yuki-Onna walked over to where she had set down a clipboard and looked at it, "Hai, that's everything." Walking to the other side, she hopped off the loading dock and helped Harry down, "Give us a minute and we'll be inside."

A laugh answered them before they reached the door and Koyuki waited until Harry was inside the truck's cab before getting in herself. It was a bit of a squeeze, but the teen didn't mind much as he buckled himself in before grinning in excitement, "So where to first?"

Unable to help herself, Koyuki ruffled his hair before turning her attention to the clipboard, "Hmm... actually, the first delivery is to the base itself."

Nodding, Kikyo began to drive out of the small warehouse, waving to the Arashi in the office there who opened the door and closed it once they were through. Driving along the road, she glanced at Harry, "You can listen to something on the radio while we drive if you want. Neither of us mind whatever you chose to listen to."

The thirteen year old shrugged some, "Whatever you might listen to? I don't mind."

Expression brightening, Koyuki reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a CD, "Great! That means that I can put on the new Three Wolf Knights album!" Waving it around, both Harry and Kikyo could see that the title was 'This is Love, War, Nightmares and Dreams' with drawn picture of a bar on the cover, "I've been wanting to listen to it for a while now."

Mock sighing, the Hone-Onna looked at Harry who snickered at her next words, "Oh boy, here we go again."

A mock outraged look on her face, Koyuki shook a fist at her fellow Yokai, "You are just jealous of them! They got real talent!"

Soon enough, the two women began an argument about each other's musical tastes even as J-rock filled the cab. The whole time, Harry was grinning and snickering at their bickering. Upon arriving at the Kushiro Base, Akebono was surprised to see Harry when the truck stopped and they got out, "Harry-Chan? What are you doing here?"

With a shrug, Harry shook his head, "Helping out family with some stuff. Mum's back at the Arashi farm with Hoppou, but you know me."

Poking him in the forehead, the Destroyer sighed, "Yes, I do. So I should not be too surprised." Once the door was up, she hopped up inside with a single jump while Koyuki climbed up in alongside Harry. The two worked together to bring out the needed pallets of dairy product for Akebono to examine, while Kasumi took said pallets from the back and carried them over her head as if they weighed nothing.

Which, to be honest, to her they likely didn't weigh much if anything.

After everything that the base had ordered was offloaded, Akebono jumped out with Harry while Koyuki closed the door. Clapping her hands, the Yuki-Onna nodded, "That should be about everything for the next two weeks, I think, Akebono-San."

Checking her own clipboard, the Destroyer nodded, "It is as a matter of fact." Holding out her hand, she smiled when Koyuki shook it, "Thank you, Koyuki-San. Your farm really is an important supplier." With a nod to Harry and then to the Youkai after signing the paperwork and handing it over, she backed up some, "Both of you have a nice day... now to go and find my Shitty Admiral..."

Koyuki only shook her head but said nothing as they headed back to the truck's cab. After closing the door, she gave the other Arashi a shrug, "I will never understand that girl and how she is."

With a glance towards her, Harry buckled himself in before Kikyo started the truck and headed off, "Akebono-Nee? She's tsundere, like really tsundere." He grinned a bit, "She also really likes Tanaka-San and so does Kasumi-Nee."

For several moments the two Arashi stared at him. Then, Koyuki looked out the window, "Wait, she likes the guy? And calls him 'Shitty Admiral' all the time?"

All Harry did was shrug at that, "She's tsundere and that's practically her pet name for him."

Yet again, the two Yokai stared at him before sharing a look, the same thought going through their minds, 'Shipgirls are weird...'

The rest of the morning passed by well enough with the three making deliveries. Not just to normal human stores and such, but to a few Yokai operated businesses. Much to Harry's amusement, said Yokai only glanced at him and didn't bother to comment about it beyond a shrug when either Koyuki or Kikyo stated that he was a cousin. Finally, they came to the last stop of the day and Harry blinked a bit some at the slightly run down large home. It was rather big, but had a few issues that he could pick out. Once more hopping out, Koyuki waited for Harry's feet to hit the ground and she began walking up to the door and knocked. When the door opened though, Harry's eyes widened and he tilted his head back to stare up at the massive woman who stood in the doorframe who had to be eight feet tall. 'Wow...' It was obvious that she was not a shipgirl, though Harry thought for a moment that she was an Abyssal due to the black hair and pale skin as well as slightly glowing eyes. His own glowed for a moment before he dismissed it as he could not see a hull or anything. Then his eyes widened some as he realized what she was, 'Hachishakusama...'

Upon seeing who it was though, her expression brightened, "Oh good! You arrived!" Looking over her shoulder, she cleared her throat, "Children, the milk delivery is here."

From behind her Harry could hear rushing feet and blinked as several young Yokai appeared. Each of them stared at him in curiosity before another female voice spoke up, "Oi! Move aside for your Nee-San! We got to offload it so that you can all have food, after all."

The Hachishakusama raised one eyebrow as a young wolfess stepped into view, "Now, now, Karen-Chan. You know how excitable they get. Especially when they're getting treats delivered."

Sighing, the now identified Karen nodded, "Hai, Oba-Chan. Sorry." Arms crossed, she glanced at them, "But as their Nee-San, they should listen to me."

However, the much taller Yokai just patted her head some, "Yes, dear." Ignoring the flush on the wolfess' cheeks, she turned back to the house, "Mami-Chan! Megumi-Chan! Kokoro-Chan! Izumi-Chan! We need your assistance!"

Moments later, a voice called out, "Hai, Oba-Chan!" A grinning Neko came out followed by a second, slightly younger one as well as another wolfess, obviously related to the first. And then a teenaged human girl also came out. The grinning Neko turned to the others, "Okay, you heard Oba-Chan! Izumi-Chan, you levitate them into the house as we bring them out!'

The witch nodded some as she pulled her cloak tighter, "Hai."

Once the door to the truck was open, Harry started to help them get the various items out. He learned that the other wolfess was Mami and the other Neko was Kokoro. As they worked, Harry decided to chat with them, "Um, so is this an orphanage?"

Karen tilted her head back and forth, "Not an official one, but... more a foster home of sorts for orphaned Yokai children." She grimaced a bit, "Let me just say that the system for us in regards to the Magical Diet is not the best."

Also wincing, the thirteen year old could only nod, "Hai, I can understand that."

Head cocked to the side, Momo frowned some as her wolf ears twitched, "Can I ask you something?" At his nod, she continued, "I know that your name is Harry, but... are you related to the Arashi Clan?"

With a chuckle, Harry nodded, "We share the same Great-Great Grandfather as a matter of fact. How about you? I assume that you and Karen-San are related?"

Brightly smiling, the wolfess nodded, "We are, she's my Onee-San, though... Izumi-Chan is too in a way."

Seeing his confusion, the witch smiled a bit, "Our parents before they died in Blood Week were friends, so we grew up together. And, well... we're practically sisters."

Megumi jerked her thumb to the younger Neko, grinning, "And that is my Imouto there, before you ask. I've been helping to take care of her for the past three years."

As he nodded, Harry overheard the giant Yokai thanking Kikyo for the massive discount which made him frown. Even though he didn't say anything, Karen sighed. Catching him glance at her, she shook her head, "We... don't have a lot of money. So the Arashi Clan donates to us food and the like." Ears drooping a bit in shame, she looked down, "For the kids, it helps makes things better." After a few moments, Karen let out a huff, "Anyways, now that we're old enough, we're going to be trying to find jobs to get. Then, we'll bring in money and help the kids as true Nee-Sans should!"

Lips curling as the others nodded in agreement, the wizard patted her shoulder, "I'm sure that you will." Even as he did so, there was a odd feeling around them. One that felt familiar... Furrowing his eyebrows, his frowned before looking around with his eyes glowing, only to freeze when they fell on the Yokai he was working with, 'What the...'

Having noticed, Mami stared a bit, "Um, why are your eyes glowing?"

Rapidly blinking, Harry shut off the flow of energy to his eyes before shaking his head. He than grinned and held his fingers in front of his face in a pose, "Sorry, had an odd feeling so I was using my Eyes of Mystic Disillusion to see beyond the veil!'

For several moments, the five other teens stared at him before Karen sighed and rolled her eyes, "Oh boy... a magical Chunni."

Just frowning, Kokoro tilted her head to the side, "Is it really chunni if it is an actual power?"

Izumi raised her hand and shook her head, "That was just an Onmyoudo trick. It's supposed to see hidden spirits and stuff, not really that big of a deal."

While the female teens argued, the only male simply became thoughtful even as he continued to work. Soon enough, they were done and Koyuki closed up the now empty truck's loading door. Turning towards the female Yokai, Harry bowed to them, "Thank you for the help."

Lightly laughing, Megumi shook her head, "Don't worry about it, we do this sort of thing anyways and it was great to meet you, Harry-San. Not often that we see a foreigner after all or meet one." She then winked, "Especially cute boys like you~"

Rolling her eyes, Karen flicked her ear, "Stop."

In reply, the Neko only laughed more. Shaking his head, Harry considered a few things and glanced around, "Um, you are all looking for a job, right?" When they nodded, he chewed his lip, "If... I make a suggestion?"

Eyebrow raised, Izumi made a motion with her hand, "Sure, go ahead?"

With another glance around, the thirteen year old took a deep breath, "Maybe go down to the Naval base and talk with them. Not only are they looking around for civilian contractors and stuff but, I... think that there is something that they need to check out if you would help them."

Confused, the various female Yokai nodded before they turned to head back to the house. As they did so, Harry once more activated his eyes and stared at the ghostly hulls around them. The two wolf Yokai and the witch had a Heavy Cruiser that really looked like Maya before she got her Anti-Air Refit. Meanwhile, the two Neko Yokai had a Battleship that sort of resembled a Yamato, but slightly smaller with two double turrets aft and two forward for four in total. Shaking his head, it was a thoughtful Harry who got up into the cab with Koyuki and Kikyo...

 

NotHimAgain

Well, this may be satisfying... or it might not. You never do know with these things.

Baptism By--

-----

No sooner had the words left her mouth than Tsubaki took off at a dead run, holding the Talon-thing in front of her. Through the wall, into the trees that were beginning to sprout up through the estate, through the wall of the manor house—she didn’t have any real destination in mind other than away from Pascal.

Then the Talon-thing got its feet under it, swinging back and pushing against her charge. Tsubaki raised a hand to punch her away—oh, wait a second. She was still missing her left arm. Before she could figure out how to compensate, the Talon-thing’s fist was planted in the crook of her neck, slamming her down through the floor and the shelves of bottles under it. She tried to struggle to her feet, but a foot came down between her shoulder blades, pressing her face into the broken glass and strange-tasting liquid.

“Oh, not spoiled!” the Talon-thing cheered, grinding its heel against Tsubaki’s skin. “Just ripened! That’s good, that’s good! Even tastier now!”

Tsubaki imagined it smiling as it said it, grinning manically as if it was tasting every word.

It made her… rather angry.

Her arm, planted against the floor, shifted so that she could place her palm flush against the wet ground. Then she pushed, and she was crashing through the house again—but upwards this time, shattering floor after floor until she burst out the ceiling and into the air.

… Huh.

How was she supposed to land?

Tsubaki hit the roof before she could find an answer to this and bounced, flipping through the air and falling even further, landing flat on her back in the middle of the yard.

“Okay,” she said, wincing, “I can do that.”

Suddenly, she was flying backwards, fingers at her throat. The Talon-thing was grinning in her face—ah. The same attack that Tsubaki had opened with. She grimaced, bracing herself for the crash-crash-crash of trees shattering for the charge—then, as her body was rocked by the repeated impacts, she brought her hand up to grip the Talon-thing’s wrist, pulled her body up and in, and kicked it in the face.

The two of them hit the ground in a tangle of limbs and came up struggling free of each other, Tsubaki swinging wildly at her enemy and catching her square in the face. Lean away from the counter—set her stance, then swing into another cross. The Talon-thing caught her attack, and Tsubaki pulled, swinging her leg up again. This time she caught it full on the ear, and it flipped through the air, grip on her releasing as it did. The Talon-thing twisted gracefully in midair, coming down to land, and Tsubaki charged forward again—

Right into an unholy fusion of metal and flesh that spat a deadly payload at her. Tsubaki threw herself to the side as hard as she could, rolling and coming up panting.

“Oh, would you stop that?” the Talon-thing complained. “We’re hungry! And a little unripe you was so good! Let’s eat all of ripe you, let’s!”

Tsubaki distracted herself by noting how, rather than a gun mounted on some sort of fleshy growth, the Talon-thing’s rigging more resembled a coral polyp of some sort mounted on a large mechanical base. Then she was dodging to the side again. Why hadn’t it done this already?

The answer came to her almost as quickly, and Tsubaki had to bite back a sickened laugh. Of course the Talon-thing hadn’t used its rigging around Pascal—one stray shell, and it didn’t get the full meal that it so desired. Which meant—dodge a shot—No! She wasn’t between the two anymore! One arm, no weapons—she needed to get control of the situation somehow!

Somewhere between rage and fear, her eyes fell on the polyps that sat mirroring each other on either of the patchwork beast’s sides.

No rational person would have considered those a viable option, but Tsubaki was a little bit past rational at this particular moment.

She charged, leaning to the side to let a shot pass her head, and tackled the Talon-thing. Digging her fingers into the polyp on its right, she planted her feet against it and pushed. With a shriek of metal and an agonized screech, the rigging came free and Tsubaki tumbled away. Desperately, she tried to heft herself back to her feet, but the Talon-thing rounded on her and the newly freed weapon came up as a makeshift shield.

Blinded by smoke, Tsubaki reeled back and threw the turret. A heavy crunch came through the suffocating clouds and a loud curse followed it. Turning towards it, she charged, ignoring the pain as something scraped past her eye, grabbing the new polyp, planting free, and just like before—

The Talon-thing screamed in pain and rage, bounding back to its feet. “We’ll kill you!” it roared, “You bitch, we’ll kill you bitch, bitch, we’ll kill y—”

With a savage cry of her own, Tsubaki brought the second polyp down metal-side first on its head. It stumbled backwards and she kicked out, knocking its legs from under it.

“I heard you the first time,” she hissed, planting her foot against what she thought might be its sternum.

Then she hit it again and again until all that was left of the Talon-thing’s head was a fine paste beaten into the dirt.

For a moment, Tsubaki looked down at it, panting and blinking blood away from her eye.

She dropped her weapon and ran for Pascal.
-----

Well what do you think, sirs?

 

Yellowhammer

A Dove and Her Poignard (Part I)

February 7th, 2013, Castle Moulbaix, Belgium
Spoiler: A Piano Watches...

The clash of blade on blade echoed through the ballroom. Muramasa steel swung at a vulnerable leg only for the target to vanish and reappear with his fist buried in the rapier's gut.

Colombe grunted and skidded backward from the force of the blow, assisted by a flash-step that left her against the back wall. She smiled smugly as she raised her point to the eye level of her opponent as he advanced.

"Nice try. Now it is my turn. En garde!"

With that she blurred forward, her blade flickering in a series of feints as she lunged, then committed to a flèche attack in quarte with her blade high and to her target's left. As she did, Kasuyu moved in too, his left hand closing on her wrist as her blade nicked his ear. His axe body swung in to stop a hairsbreadth from her temple as he stared into her eyes.

"Point to me." He rumbled, grinning at her.

Colombe's smug smirk grew a hair.

"Look down," she said, her eyes dancing in glee.

He glanced down and his eyes widened as he saw a razor sharp dagger in her left hand barely parting the skin over his ribs. A single drop of blood slid down the blade, pooling in the acid etched inscription 'Meine Ehre Heisst Treue'.

"Mutual kill then."

"Agreed. That's three for me, three for you, and one mutual kill."

The axe released her wrist and stepped back, casting a healing spell to cause the bloody nick on his torso to close. Meanwhile Colombe sheathed her true form, and then pulled out a silk handkerchief to carefully clean off her dagger. The last bit of blood was carefully removed, leaving the dagger's blade shimmering with the intricate charmwork that Colombe had placed on it as a test bed for improvements to her own enchanted rapier body.

"I didn't know that you brought your dagger along to today's match."

Colombe shrugged and then began to mop sweat from her face with the bloody handkerchief. "You didn't ask. I'm trying to branch out a little so I decided to bring the dagger out today to work on it as a backup and in close weapon. I'm not quite happy with my spada e pugnale bladework. I'm rusty with it since I spent two centuries just using my longsword primarily after I lost my favorite bodkin fighting pirates in the Aegean in 1745. Got it wedged in a throat and the Moors swarmed me and knocked me overboard before I could retrieve it."

The axe nodded. "Makes sense." He then turned to the third person in the room and smiled as he lowered the barrier spell protecting her, "Enjoy the show, Claire?"

The piano tsukumogami nodded as the spell dropped, letting the others see her sitting on the bench of her piano as she played a fast-paced melody from her position in the corner. "Yes. It was scary but also fun, Uncle Kasuyu. When you and Mother were practice fighting, it was...almost like music in motion." As she played, the notes appeared on a nearby folio of blank staff paper thanks to a magic charm that Colombe had cast on her.

Colombe walked over and kissed Claire on the forehead, causing a small giggle from the piano. "Sometimes yes. Sometimes it is like that. I can lose myself in the play of steel on steel then. Not often though, especially over the last hundred years, real combat is... uglier."

Claire continued to play reminiscently. "So you and Uncle Kasuyu have said to me. But I understand a little more now why a lot of music came from the battlefield. Either songs played while people fight, or to celebrate victories or defeats."

Kasuyu spoke up, "Speaking of celebrating victories, I should begin to cook dinner."

Colombe nodded, "Go ahead, please. I'll take a long hot bath and then head down to the kitchen to relieve you as a chef if you need me to so you can freshen up. Claire's going to be useless until she gets the composing mood out of her system."

Claire smiled shyly and nodded, then began to play one-handed, allowing her to hug her mother around the waist. Colombe stiffened slightly then leaned into the hug before disengaging.

"Claire, I'm all sweaty and bloody. If you have to hug a blade, I'll leave you my dagger to keep you company now that it is cleaned up." Colombe matched action to word as she rolled up her sleeve to expose the wrist sheath containing the SS Honor Dagger she had used. "I suppose it is tradition for me to do this."

The rapier grinned and placed the sheathed dagger on the piano's case. "There, now you are protected."

Claire smiled warmly at Colombe before resuming her piano composition. "Thank you, Mother."

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

The door closed behind Colombe. For the next quarter-hour the only sounds were those of a young musician working out her thoughts on her keyboard.

Claire turned to her keyboard, tapping at her keys toward a natural climax for the score that she was writing, then frowning as she debated between F sharp and C flat for the next chord. She closed her eyes as she alternated between the two chords.
Spoiler: Entrance of a Valkyrie

"I like that one better. The second one." The voice was cool and precise.

Her eyes popped open to to be greeted by a girl her apparent age dressed in a black and silver uniform that she vaguely remembered from some books about the 1940s. Blue-gray eyes a shade darker than Mother's were framed by hair a shade paler than Mother's rich gold. A very familiar dagger hung at her hip.

Claire smiled shyly. "I think that you're right. C flat it is. Oh hello there... um...." She thought back to the night she first manifested and her smile gained more confidence, "I'm Claire du Chasteler, what's your name?"

The dagger spirit straightened up and clicked her heels together with the slap of leather on leather. "Ich heiße Ehren."

Claire's smile warmed as she shifted to German in turn. While she had learned English and Italian to study music, and French was the lingua franca of the du Chasteler estate, the man who had designed her and assembled her in accordance with Mother's wishes was from Vienna.

"Ehren then. Honor, like your inscription." Claire mused thoughtfully. "It fits you well, Ehren."

A crisp nod as the other girl relaxed minutely.

"And my name means Moonlight. Mother gave it to me when she found me." Claire's fingers automatically coaxed a brief movement from Claire de Lune out of her heart.

Another sharp nod. "Yes, I was there when you were named. Not...what I am yet, but I listened. Thought as you played for me. Something worth protecting with every ounce of Will in my spirit."

Claire blushed slightly, then patted the bench by her. "Do you know how to play piano, Ehren?"

Ehren sat down hesitantly and then shook her head. "Nein. I do not. My parents played, both. But I only get... flashes. Images. It is... frustrating."

Claire grinned. "Want to learn?"

Ehren gave a small, tentative smile in turn as she nodded sharply. "Ja. I do wish to learn."

Ehren froze and then relaxed as Claire took her hand to gently place it on Claire's keyboard, and she spoke in a hushed whisper. "Claire." The steel blue eyes softened and grew luminous as Ehren's fingers touched the keys tentatively. "Vielen Dank mein Freund."

As Ehren called forth a shaky C, A, and then E note from her depths for the first time, Claire smiled back and whispered. "I always wanted little sisters like Mother has. I know that the man who made me made many other pianos, but I never met them."

Claire mused as she slowly played treble counterpoint to Ehren's hesitant bass notes as the dagger gradually relaxed, "Will you be my younger sister, Ehren?"

Ehren's eyes widened as she turned to stare at Claire. Ehren's fingers trembled on the keys as the note that she had called forth lingered in the air between them. Then Claire caressed her keys with a beckoning motion, calling forth a wave of sound as she smiled in invitation.

The next moment the impromptu piano duet was interrupted by a blat of disharmonious sound as Ehren's crushing hug of Claire caused the piano's hand to slip, flattening a half-dozen of her keys with her palm accidentally.

Claire treasured the memory of that sound all throughout her life.

 

Yellowhammer

SkyeFire said:
...oh, crap. Colombe's going to wander in, see SS UNIFORM OMGWTFBBQ (within arm's reach of Claire, no less!) and go straight to Muramasa Default Response: MAXIMUM ATTACK OPTION.

That won't have any negative effects on Ehren's insecurities, oh no....

And I wouldn't be surprised if Claire tries to come between them. Cue mutual Mother/Little Sister guilt trip....​

I guess Darth Vader is a telepath.

You pretty much read my mind for part II of the Ehren Introduction story.

Also for obvious reasons, Ehren is not quite aware of what the SS did. She only witnessed (for a given value of 'witnessed', she was not getting much more than very disjointed flashes when she was that young) some field POW executions in Poland/France during the fighting and then of course was around for some of the 'police work' in the Netherlands and then France vs the intelligentsia and Resistance movements before Colombe 'acquired her' and kept her on ice 1942-45. But she does not know about the really ugly stuff like the Final Solution.

Yet.

Incidentally, Claire is also pretty sheltered so did not immediately make the badthink conclusion when Ehren showed. She's academically aware of WWII but mainly through music, and some disjointed history, and for obvious reasons of temperament and lack of interest in the subjects around it has not looked up the Holocaust. Although if a famous composer that she likes had been gassed, then she would have been aware.

SkyeFire said:
Yep, that's our Ehren -- hiding some serious fear of rejection behind that cool, calm, Teutonic facade.
I doubt it's chance that she didn't manifest until she was alone with Claire. Fortunately, Best Piano Elder Sister reacted in just about the best way possible.​

Not really chance, no. She's been fully aware/awake for a while, and may have manifested once or twice at like 3 AM in the study. But this is her first chance to be alone with Claire in semi-privacy and introduce her. Mother was...too great a leap for poor Ehren to beard the dragon first off. Kasuyu's not particularly close to Ehren emotionally either. So Claire it was.

EDIT-Changed my Doylist justification for the genesis of this scene

Actually it was chance, or more accurately, Colombe's Noriluck firing max negative because Colombe has not gotten into any serious fights after Blood Week.

So instead of manifesting when everyone else was present and her existence could be semi-peacefully resolved, Ehren instead manifests 20 minutes later when Claire is alone in the room with her and Mother is up in her private bathroom with the door locked behind her.

So Ehren spends the next hour or two getting to know Best Big Sister with a side of music lessons. Meanwhile Colombe cleans up and heads down to relieve Kasuyu and get kicked out of the kitchen. Which sets up our current scenario....

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

A Dove and Her Poignard (Part II)

February 7th, 2013, Castle Moulbaix, Belgium

The shadows of the oak trees in the lawn outside were steadily lengthening when the piano lesson and impromptu sisterly duet ended.

Ehren's attempt at a major chord turned out badly and pulled her fingers back from Claire's keyboard. "I'm sorry. I'm not very good."

Claire patted her new sister on the black SS uniform jacket with silver highlights that she had manifested with. "No one is to start. It took Mother over a century to play as well as she did. Uncle Kasuyu's even worse than you are now. And between you and me, Mother's first times were at least as bad as your first time, if not worse. One second."

The piano spirit lifted her fingers from her keys and concentrated. Suddenly a struggling rendition of Chopsticks began with the unseen player desperately struggling to keep proper rhythm and time. Some of the note were extremely sloppy even to Ehren's relatively inexperienced ears.

Claire giggled. "That was Mother's first lesson right after she got me in 1873. But in 1894 she did this..."

Chopsticks ended and a beautiful amateur rendition of Claire de Lune began. While the piece did have its minor flaws to the piano's discerning ear, particularly when Colombe's right thumb had been a eighth-measure too slow to play a G sharp three minutes in as she swapped hands playing that part of the piece, it was reasonably well played. Claire understood full well why her Mother had finished it with an exhausted but happy and proud look on her face as she played Debussy from memory for the first time.
Spoiler: Friends and Sisters

Ehren listened with a small smile breaking free on her severe Teutonic face and the heel of her jackboot tapping along to the time like a metronome.

When it finished, the dagger turned to her new 'big sister' and spoke softly, with a certain undertone of passion and desire in her cool, crisp voice. "Do you think that I can be as good as her, Claire?"

Claire nodded and responded in a equally soft voice. "I think that you can Ehren. It will take a lot of hard work, Mother took hours and hours, week on week to get that good after she heard it back in 1890."

Ehren nodded decisively as her jaw firmed up. "Sehr gut. Hard work is its own reward, and nothing of worth is accomplished without struggle for mastery."

Claire gave an encouraging smile. "So, since you completed your first lesson and we don't want to overdo it before dinner...who is your favorite composer, Ehren?"

The dagger's face lit up with her smile. "Wagner, aber natürlich!"

Claire grinned and began to start to play the Valhalla leitmotif from the Ring of the Niebelungs. Ehren listened intently, her normal severe, frosty expression melting and her lips parting in a gasp of awe as the piano's avatar spoke idly while Claire's true voice sounded rich, triumphant, majestic notes across the ballroom.

"I don't know why Mother does not like Wagner, he did some amazing things with leitmotifs and tonality."

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

Meanwhile upstairs, the mother in question was just getting out of her private bathtub.

Colombe grinned and carefully slid a bookmark into her prized author-signed hardcover volume of Lady Chastity and the Sultana of the Sands (Lady Chastity's Thrilling Adventures #17) to mark her place. She then giggled to herself as she toweled off.

While Lyra was a genius at the writing of exciting stories, she knew that in that particular adventure, contrary to what the book had described in loving detail, 'Lady Chastity' had been involuntarily celibate between leaving Potter manor and waking up there again with her everything hurting. Delilah was the one who had rescued the Ifrit 'sultana' Zamarad and got the heroine's reward instead of 'Lady Chastity '. Judging from the blushes on both participant's faces when she had teased them after waking from her coma, it was quite a reward too.

Not surprising, really, when you considered how close to death she had come and the importance of the mission. According to Lyra, she had nearly exhausted the Potter Manor's stock of Blood Replenishment Potions on hand.
Spoiler: Dove and Wolff

Considering the last thing she saw before her vision pinpointed out and faded to black was the rage and pain filled blue-gray eyes of SS Obersturmführer Helmer Wolff as the grip that her one remaining hand had on his wrist driving a sword point at her throat slipped, she was still a little surprised that she had woken up at all. That did not even count the Death Potion filling up the room at the time.

She paused in her toweling, closed her eyes and permitted herself to sob in a moment of weakness at the memory of the brave, doomed young man who she had - perhaps, please let it be perhaps - loved once before she betrayed him and turned his love to hate. It was his hands that had inflicted that terrible damage that had nearly killed her. If his SS honor dagger had not wedged in her pelvis in such a way to act as a plug for her nicked iliac artery, she would have bled out before Delilah could have possibly rescued her. If Delilah had not managed to cram her true self into the owl box and send it back to England just before he cut her throat or the death potion had reached her avatar or true body....

If, if, if.

But the terrible 'if' that was making her tear up was her cowardice in not trying harder to sway Wolff from his Nazi beliefs. Then channeling the feelings for him that she was denying, that she couldn't express to him because it was too dangerous - no she was too weak and too stupid to find a way through the tangle that she had been in to save him and accomplish her mission - into breaking up with him in the most cruel way possible. She could have just knocked him out to take his clothes and his face to infiltrate Gestapo headquarters. Give him the false illusion that she had been a matching victim of a Resistance attack and was floating in the river.

But no.

Instead she had humiliated him. One thing that Colombe knew down to her steel core was that Helmar Wolff would not take humiliation well. He was an ardent Nazi, obsessed with the superiority of the Aryan SS over Germans over 'lesser races'. So her putting him at her mercy then was not just humiliating, but struck to his very foundations of belief.

Angrily Colombe wiped her eyes with her towel and sighed. Reading that book in the tub was a bit of a mistake, because it awakened the ghosts of the past. Her ghosts were always restless even three quarters of a century later. But considering that the alternative would have subjected her gentle daughter Claire to the most cruel slavery imaginable....

It was a price that she would pay a thousand times over to prevent the alternative. She would do what she saw as right when called upon and when her time came to face her Judge, well she would give a full accounting of her sins and virtues to his face and accept the Judgement meted out to her.

A du Chasteler could do nothing less.

With that thought, she pulled on her dark pink bathrobe and put her hair in a towel turban before stepping into her favorite bunny slippers. Time to be domestic and relieve Kasuyu in the kitchen.

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

Colombe stepped out of the kitchen with a sigh.

It seems that her effort to relieve her oldest friend cum butler was in vain, for the African axe had made it quite clear that he had matters well under control. So it was time to collect Claire for dinner, and then find out how the composing had gone.

With a smug smile on her face, she followed the familiar piano music down the hall as it began to soar with a throbbing, wild melody...
Spoiler: Claire plays Walkurenritt

...opened the door, and stopped dead, her brain trying to process the scene.

Claire, as expected, was on piano, her eyes closed as she played a rather passionate version of "The Ride of the Valkyries" with her eyes closed and a blissful expression on her face as her body swayed.

This was the expected norm, although she was no fan of Wagner. Not after Wolff. Not after the Nazis.

The blonde girl in the full SS uniform just to Claire's right, well within blade range of her baby girl, and drumming time on her dagger hilt was totally unexpected.

Colombe's mind whirled as an unwanted window into her past opened in her mind's eye.

SS-Sammellager Mecheln-April 13th, 1943

She would say that the smell of the cattle cars as they were opened rivaled the worst cattle farm that she had smelled. Farmers and ranchers, at least, had an interest in their cattle's well being for every cow, calf, or bull was valuable.

Not so the Nazis. To them the Jews deported from Antwerp, Brussels, and now Holland to this corner of Hell placed in northern Belgium were 'racial impurities' in the body of the Third Reich.

According to the rumors in the Resistance and among SOE, something terrible was happening to them. It was a known fact that no one 'resettled to the East' was ever heard from again.

Colombe clutched the medical kit containing her true body and Delilah's revolver inside the size-expanded contents under the illusion spell a little harder as she approached the main gate. With luck, her nurse uniform would get her access to the camp and then...

Suddenly her eyes widened as she got a view of the area the transport was being disembarked. A SS NCO with a whip was lashing the starving figures staggering out of the cattle car as a phonograph played Wagner in counterpoint to the macabre and cruel scene.

"Tanz, Judensau! Tanz!!" A visibly exhausted and weak middle-aged woman - Lyra's apparent age - shuffled in a vain attempt to dance as commanded while the guard leveled his pistol at her head. The NCO's finger slowly closed on the trigger....

Colombe's blind reaching hand found the hilt of a kirpan dagger from the Punjab that she had acquired fighting the Sikhs in 1774 that she had mounted as a trophy in her family's house in 1814. With steel filling her hand, she flash-stepped forward to confront the SS soldier threatening her beloved daughter Claire.
Spoiler: Colombe's Kirpan


"Get. Away. From. My. Daughter. Now."

 

Harry Leferts

A soft smile on his face, Harry bowed towards the Arashi gathered before him, “Thank you for having us over.”

Chuckling, Yukina shook her head before bowing back, “It was no trouble for us, Harry-Kun. And we enjoyed having you visit and getting to know you, though...” Sighing, she shrugged some as she continued to shake her head, “Three days does not seem enough to do so as well as we should to be quite honest.”

Unsure, Harry rubbed the back of his neck in a way that reminded those there of Ian, “Well, um... maybe I can visit in the future? Or you can visit me? Not like this has to be the only time”

Simply walking forward, he was surprised when Tsubaki hugged him, “I speak for all of us when I say that either would be fine with us. More than that, we would love it.” Getting a hug in return, she smiled at him, "And know that, no matter what, you are always welcome here. You need only ask and we would love to have you stay for a time.

When she pulled back after a few more moments of the two hugging, he could see the others nodding and smiling in agreement. Lightly blushing as he was somewhat overwhelmed by it, Harry bowed again in thanks. Then he was surprised when Koyuki walked out with a box that she handed him, “Here, this is from all of us.”

Looking at her, Harry opened the box and his eyes widened some at the expanded inside. From what he could see, there was various containers of cream as well as different cheeses. Awed, he looked up at her, “I...”

In reply, she winked a bit, “You need all the calcium that you can get to grow nice and big.” With one hand, Koyuki ruffled his hair playfully, "So you should enjoy that." Giggling, she hugged him, which he returned, before pulling back, “Now, you take good care of yourself, Itoko. Same with your family."

Eyes wet, Harry only nodded with a bright smile before glancing at Nagato and the others. Turning back, he smiled, "Hai, you can count on me."

The next few minutes was of several other hugs and the like as the Arashis said their own goodbyes. Once that was done, Harry gave a final wave as he got back into Nagato's car and it drove off. Watching as the car disappeared down the road, Yukina let out a sigh which made Tsubaki giggle a bit. At seeing the look directed at her, the Hone-Onna shrugged, "You miss him already, don't you?"

One eyebrow raised, Yukina snorted some, "Of course, after all we are in a way his Obaa-Sans. Though he will be back, and that is a day that I am looking forward to."

Hands behind her head, Koyuki smiled and shook her head, "Same here, because if he comes during the summer then we can go off road and everything."

Giggles though made her turn to where Chiho was who only grinned, "I am looking forward to seeing the girls that he's gathering like Ian-Kun did ourselves according to what Nagato-San told us. After all, as his Obaa-Sans, we need to make sure that they are good for him."

Clapping a hand to her forehead, Tsubaki let out a laugh of her own, "Oh yes! He is most definitely Ian-Kun's and Lyra-Chan's descendant!"

With one final look, the clan turned back towards the compound as their conversations went in various directions.

Meanwhile, in the car, Hoppou held out a Kleenex with a frown, "Here you go, Big Brother! So that you don't sneeze all over Hoppou!"

Frowning, Harry took it before blowing his nose, "Ugh, hope that I am not coming down with a cold or anything."

Nagato glanced at him in the rear-view mirror, "You are not the only one, Harry. Especially with Operation Witching Hour within a day or so."

Still frowning, the wizard shrugged a bit, "Hopefully." He then perked up a bit, "By the way, Mum? Did you talk with Teitoku about what I found out? I mean, those were Natural Borns..."

As she drove, Nagato nodded, "I did, we decided to leave it be for now and see if they decide to take you up on your offer. If they do, then we will cross that bridge when we get to it, and not any sooner." Finger tapping on the wheel, she hummed, "In regards to the Heavy Cruisers, we know who they are already as they were based on the Takao Kai designs which had better underwater and bomb protection, though slightly slower. From what I know, Takao wants to meet her sisters if they do decide to join up."

Head tilted to the side, Shiromizu frowned from where she was in the front passenger seat, "And the Battleships?"

That made the Battleship shake her head a little, "You were right when you described them as looking like Yamatos. They were based on the 140A2 variant, four double turrets with two each aft and forward, eighteen inch guns. Katsura-San stated that construction was started in 1940, though they never managed to complete them before the war was over due to shortages and needing to replace smaller ships so there was a lack of magicals available to enchant what was needed. Four of them were being built at two hidden shipyards here in Hokkaido as they were easier to get the iron ore to them. Apparently, near the end they were going to be converted to Aviation Battleships."

Only shaking his head, Harry internally snorted before considering what Hyuuga's likely reaction would have been.

Rather than continue down that line of thought though, he turned to Tsukiakari who was seated in the back along with him. To some amusement, her hat was off her head revealing her somewhat messy hair tied back in a pigtail. Softly smiling, he tilted his head some to the side, "I will admit, it is good to be able to talk with you like this, Tsukiakari."

Lightly blushing, the swordspirit nodded, "And it is good to be able to talk to you like this as well, Master. Very nice as a matter of fact." She glanced back the way that they came and sighed, "And it was good seeing the Arashi Clan once more."

Even as Harry nodded, Hoppou frowned in thought. Crossing her arm, she looked over the back of the seat where Juuchi was, "Hoppou wants to know why Juuchi doesn't come out though? Because Hoppou wants to meet her."

Smug came from said sword for several seconds before it stopped as Tsukiakari shook her head, "Senpai is being a little bit silly right now about that sort of thing." Looking at Harry, she made a motion with her finger, "Senpai wants you to catch her out and about."

One eyebrow raised, Harry hummed, "I see."

From where she was, Juuchi rattled some as if to reply that she is not being silly. Tsukiakari though shook her head, "You are being silly, Senpai. After all, I've appeared to Master now."

Bemused at the byplay as Juuchi "Replied" to her Kohai, Harry tapped his chin in thought, "Why did you hide for so long?"

That made the Kyu Gunto blink before she flushed some, "Ah, um... mainly because Senpai was playing and I didn't want to be left out." She then gave an slightly smug grin, "And also because it was sort of fun."

All Harry did though was shake his head in amusement even as he felt more smug from Juuchu. Glancing at his mother, he reached into his backpack and held out a blood orange. Suddenly feeling the Muramasa's attention on him, he waved it just above where Juuchi would be visible with a smug grin of his own, "Come on, Juuchi... do you want the orange? All you got to do is manifest..."

Unable to help herself, Tsukiakari giggled at the angry annoyance that was coming from the sword.
_________________________________________________________________

Sitting in a makeshift meeting room aboard the JDS Asuka were various personnel from both the American and Japanese military. Bandana covering his face, one of the Americans raised an eyebrow at what he had just heard, "Sir? Did you just say that we're here to test... magic?"

One of the Marine Force Recon guys leaned forward some, "What? Did they figure out how to use that MSSB shit for us normal guys? Because I can tell you right now..." His lips split apart into a wide grin, "I would not mind having me one of those sixteen inch guns myself."

As various murmurs of agreement could be heard, the Japanese Captain at the front of the room shared an amused look with his American counterpart. Some of those noted that there was also anticipation there as well, as if they were looking forward to their reactions. Shaking his head, the Japanese Captain cleared his throat, "Not quite. Magic bullshit, as it can be called, but nothing to do with shipgirls or Abyssals. That said, we will be having a number of shipgirls and Allied Abyssals including a Re-Class in the area."

Needless to say, that got him blinks of confusion. And that confusion only increased as the American Captain turned to the door as it was opened and muttered to the JMSDF Non-Com. Said Non-Com also seemed amused as he replied in a near whisper which made the American chuckle before he turned back to the room, "Now then, we have a special operative that is experienced in what we are going to test today for Operation Witching Hour. You will show him respect, boys and girls, because he could dump your collective asses in the drink to be fished out."

Hearing that, each of the Operatives there sat up a bit straighter only to stare as a thirteen year old in a cloak walked in. Said boy saluted both Captains with motions that spoke of experience in doing so, "Captain Hiro, Captain Johnson, Special Magic Operative Potter reporting."

Smirks on both their faces, the two Officers saluted back and greeted him. When all three turned to the room, both Captains had grins on their faces at the pure and utter silence that met them. Pulling out a pin, Captain Hiro dropped it and nodded as he could easily hear it, "Never thought that would actually happen."

Very slowly, one of the SEALs raised his hand, eyes showing disbelief, "Uh, Sir? Permission to speak freely?" Getting a nod, he glanced at Harry, "What the fuck? Is this some sort of joke?"

To their confusion, Captain Johnston chuckled, "No, it is not Operative." His smile was wiped from his face and it turned blank, "We are testing out magic and possibilities for it's use in regards to insertions and extractions of special forces. Especially in regards to possible Abyssal held areas or even those held by Abyssal cults among others."

Eyebrow raised, one of the Japanese operatives raised his hand and got a nod, "Magic, Sir?" At the nod, he leaned forward, "I do not mean to be disrespectful, but can we have an example?"

Harry just waited until the two Captains turned to him and nodded. Clearing his throat and trying not to show his nervousness, the thirteen year old nodded, "Of course." Pulling out his wand, he pointed it at the desk, "Serpensortia!"

From his wand, a large snake shot forward and landed on the desk before turning to the special forces and hissing. At seeing what snake it was, one of the Force Recon guys jerked back, "FUCKING HELL! THAT'S A FUCKING COTTONMOUTH!"

Walking towards it, Harry hissed at it and the snake looked at him before hissing back. He then held out a hand and the highly venomous snake slithered up his arm. After that, he cast a spell that covered part of the metal desk in ice, followed by a fire spell melting the ice, and finally, levitated the desk. Dismissing the snake, he turned back to the group who were looking wide eyed at what happened, though there were some calculating looks as well. One eyebrow cocked upwards, the Japanese Captain turned to the Operative that had asked for proof, "Satisfied?"

Only nodding as he was one of those with a calculating look, he chuckled, "Very."

Glancing at his fellow Americans, Captain Johnston nodded, "Now then, with that out of the way, let us give you all some background and some explanation..."

 

Harry Leferts

Leaning forward, the SEAL Operative frowned as he examined the video playing in front of them in interest. With a hum, he turned to Harry and tilted his head some, "So flying on broomsticks is a thing then? Seriously?"

Hands behind his back, Harry gave a nod, "It is as a matter of fact. I actually play a sport which is entirely done on broomsticks." At the looks, he shrugged, "My job is to catch a flying ball about the size of a golfball that is flying around something the size of a college football field. Other balls that are carried and thrown through goals that are about the size of footballs... soccer balls for the Americans." That got him a few snorts, though they quietened some, "And then there are balls made of iron and covered in a leather skin that are about the same size that fly around and are batted at various people on opposing teams to knock people from brooms."

Just whistling, one of the Marines leaned back with a grin on his face, "Now that is a hardcore sport."

Shrugging, Harry shook his head, "Us wizards are... a bit more physically tough, than normal humans are. I've personally hit the ground at speeds that would break bones and only gotten sprains at worst, which are healed up within a few hours due to magic."

Only shaking his head, one of the Japanese Operatives shook his head, "Don't I wish for something like that."

Behind Harry, Captain Hiro smirked, "Depending on how things go in the next few years, you may well get your wish." Various Operatives perked up at that and he nodded, "It is years away, but we are examining some interesting possibilities just the same."

Captain Johnston snorted a bit, "One of the potions that they have? You know that potion in Alice in Wonderland when she shrinks down to the size of a mouse? That exists, for example." He grimaced a bit, "But it is also a security nightmare, to say the least."

Not one of the Operatives did not also grimace at that, understanding just how much of a nightmare such a thing is.

Tone dry, Captain Hiro glanced at the video playing and brought up another. This one showed Goto drinking something and transforming into Kongou, "There are other such potions that are both useful and nightmares in and of themselves." Ignoring how various Operatives were staring at the video in both deep thought and consideration, he continued, "Operation Witching Hour also has a secondary aim. Besides the transport, you will be given some magical items and give your own opinions of them while on Mikura-Jima."

Beside him, Captain Johnston nodded, "As well, you will be given some potions to test. All are perfectly safe and from records have been used for several hundred years each, both for magicals and non-magicals. That is on a volunteer basis. Some help senses and others will do things like boost physical attributes. There will be a medic on site as well who has... magical abilities. As usual, all this is to be classified for at least a few years."

Glancing at Harry, one of the Marines shrugged, "I would ask about Operative Potter, but at the same time? He's been keeping a pretty big secret as it is." He tilted his head as he looked at the papers in front of him, "It also says here that we're testing another form of transportation?"

With a nod, Captain Johnston frowned, "Flying carpets." He then gave a stink eye to the Americans there who were already grinning, "And the first one of you fuckers who start singing 'I will show you the World' will find out just how bad latrines can be when cleaning them with a Q-tip."

Hand raising into the air, one of the SEALs snorted, "Don't you mean a toothbrush?"

Only giving him a look, Johnston frowned, "No. I will personally give you a box of Q-tips." Despite that warning, he noted that more than a few of the Americans were giving it serious consideration, which made him internally sigh, 'Fuckers are going to do it anyway.'

Harry, meanwhile, shrugged, "Carpets can be a bit of a trade off. On the one hand, they are more comfortable and can seat more, as we're using a fourteen seater. But on the other hand, they are slower speed than brooms."

Now intrigued, one of the female Japanese Operative raised her hand, "Speed you say? How fast can these go?"

For a few moments, Harry frowned a bit before nodding, "A flying carpet can travel at about a hundred to a hundred and twenty kilometres an hour, or sixty two to about seventy five miles per hour. A broom can go much faster, I own a racing broom that nearly hits two hundred and forty five kilometres per hour, or a hundred and fifty miles."

Whistling, one of the SEALs shook his head, "Now that is an impressive ride."

Lips curling, the thirteen year old shrugged, "Well, actually one thing that is true is that some people have enchanted cars to fly and that sort of thing. Even adding invisibility."

Already spotting the raised hand, Captain Johnston rolled his eyes and sighed, "No, we do not have any flying cars that can be invisible. Though I am certain that the eggheads are already salivating at the idea of what they can do. Besides which, I am not sure that I would trust any of you nutcases behind the wheel of one."

Smirks met him and he threw his hands up in the air already making predictions of the shit that the guys in front of him might get into. Another hour passed for the briefing and they all walked out onto the helicopter deck of the Asuka. One of them noted that Harry was talking with a Re-Class, with said Abyssal nodding, "Huh, look at that. Wonder what that is about?"

Glancing over, a Marine shrugged, "That one? Seen her following the Kid around Yokosuka at times. Pretty sure that she likes him."

Eyebrow raised, one of the SEALs chuckled after giving Regina a once over, "Well, can't say that the Kid doesn't have good taste." He then frowned a bit, "So... what do you think, Sir?"

The leader of the SEALs there frowned a bit and rubbed his chin, "What do I think? That things will be interesting in the next couple of years. All sorts of neat shit for us to get our grubby paws on. But also stuff that we're going to need to deal with." Eyes narrowing, he scowled a bit before relaxing and shrugging, "So in other words, different shit is much the same shit."

A cackle made them look at one of the Marines who had a pouch, "Look at this shit!" Taking his rifle, he slipped it inside the pouch and then pulled it back out, "What the fuck? A real goddamn bag of holding!" Putting his gun back into it, he clipped it to his belt, "Bullshit, that is what this is, just fucking bullshit."

One of his buddies clapped him on the shoulder, "And just think? You know that the Brass is going to use this as an excuse to have us carry even more shit with us when we go out."

Yet another Marine adjusted his glasses some and frowned in thought, "Hey, the Kid mentioned that there were trunks with an expanded inside, right? And they can be shrunk and stuff?" Getting nods, he slowly grinned, "I wonder if you can fit an artillery piece inside or a vehicle..."

For several moments, there was nothing and then wide grins. The type that promised that someone, somewhere, was going to be getting a lot of pain at some point. It was then that a Sergeant scowled, "And? We don't have a monopoly on this, so if you figured it out then some bastard with a shell that has your name on it could do so as well." But then he grinned, "Though I will admit, the thought of pulling a Tank from one is a goddamn beautiful one."

Dark chuckles echoed from the Operatives there before one of them noticed that Harry was walking over with a giant broom. Raising his eyebrow, he gave it a look over, "Is what we're going to use?"

Holding it out for a few moments, Harry let go of it and it hovered in place, "Yup." Finger tapping it, the thirteen year old smiled, "A Station-Master 05, named for the year, seats seven adults easily, eight if you want to be cramped. Top speed of about... a hundred miles per hour."

Just walking over to it, the SEAL examined it along with the Marine Sargent. Both of them turning thoughtful before glancing at each other and shrugging. Turning back to Harry, the SEAL nodded, "Let's see how it works then, I guess."

Several minutes later found him and a few other SEALs on the broom as it lifted off from the ship and headed for the nearby island. Glancing down, he nodded as their feet was about a foot above the wave tips. Low enough that even if radar could pick them up, he doubted that it would.

Already, it was giving him a few ideas.

Thoughtful, he tapped Harry on the shoulder, "How high can this go?"

One eyebrow raised as he answered back over the radio, the teen snorted, "How high do you want it? I've given it a shot and reached about ten thousand feet easy. Once looked up the record and one guy reached about thirty thousand feet before he started running into issues."

It went without saying that the SEALs shared looks at that. A small target capable of a decent speed and able to carry them to several dozen thousand feet up? Oh, they really needed some. If only for the jumps that could be done. Within fifteen minutes, they reached the island and rose to just above the canopy with one of them pointing, "Can you set us down there?"

Looking at the spot in question, one where one would need a helicopter with rope to normally get through the branches, Harry nodded, "Sure, give me just a moment." With some careful maneuvering, he brought his broom down through the branches with the Operatives pushing the branches aside as needed. Soon enough, he was at ground level and they nodded and they hopped down, "And there we go."

One of the SEALs brought up his rifle and looked around before nodding, "Very nice."

What happened was something that he also did with the Marines, but in their case, he took them further by flying between the trees. Behind him, the Sergeant nodded with a slight frown on his face. Not because he was displeased, but because he was pleased, After getting off, he brought out one of the omniculars and snorted some, "So... this can record, slow down, and everything?"

Pointing at one of the knobs, Harry nodded, "Yeah, that one right there can record, and the one behind it replay, while the one beside it slows down the replay. That button is low light as with the one beside being autofocus that will zoom in on anything human sized moving automatically. Also, the zoom function is good enough that you could read a novel from four football fields away easily."

That got some intrigued looks from the Marines.

Four hours later, after they started testing the carpets found Captain Johnston growling into his headset, "Forget the fucking Q-tips! I am going to have them use toothpicks or, missing that, their own damn tongues!"

Beside him, Captain Hiro smiled a bit as he cocked his head to the side, "I will admit, they have nice singing voices... especially the one they call 'Tiny', I believe is his callsign." He ignored the cursing and held out one hand. Moments later, a wad of bills was slapped into it and he nodded, "Thank you, this shall pay for my sake when we get back to port."

Scowling, Johnston shook his head before stalking over to the radar station followed by Hiro. Once there, he looked down at the young man looking over what was coming through, "What have you figured out?"

With one final reading as the flying carpet passed close to the ship, Marines singing a certain Disney song as Harry cackled, the Radar Tech frowned, "Good and bad things. As expected, the small size of the... vehicles, means that at a distance, they are hard to pick up as it is. Pretty sure that stealth helicopter of you Americans could be picked up at less then ten miles out. These? Thousand feet and it becomes hard. Worse, the fact that the size as well as lack of metal and the exposed human bodies? It tricks the computers, especially at low speed."

Now leaning in, the Japanese Captain frowned, "Tricks the computers? How?"

Pointing at the screen, the Radar Tech shook his head, "See here? To the computer, they look like a grouping of large birds. So it actually ignores them under most circumstances. We could make some fixes to catch them easier, but... at low speeds, we'd be getting a lot of false flags. But that's a good thing for incidents when we need boarding or just landing them somewhere as I have no doubt that normal land based radar would see the same thing."

Eyes narrowing, Captain Johnston bit his thumb, "Shit."

Arms crossed, Captain Hiro only nodded with a frown of his own, "Indeed, that is problematic. Because as good as it can be used by us, that also means that our enemies could use the same trick."

Softly snorting, the American shook his head, "Leave it to DARPA, they'll come up with something. Still, this is a hell of a lot more data then I expected to get."

Chuckling, his Japanese counterpart shook his head, "Undoubtable they're going to be spending months and years looking at everything. At least we're getting it now though and not down the road in a worse situation."

Both of them shared a look at that with a shared nod of agreement.

Fifteen minutes later found Harry on the carpet with a group of the Japanese Special Forces. The young woman with them tapped him on the back and made him look over his shoulder, "Yes?"

Eyes crinkling some behind her mask, she shook her head, "Is there any sort of test that can show how safe this is? You mentioned before that it is impossible to fall off?"

All Harry did was nod, "Hai, that is true. There's a spell that once you're seated, will not let you fall off until either the carpet is destroyed, or at a standstill. If you want..." Getting a motion to go on, he twisted until they were all upside down... and still sitting on the carpet as if it was right-side up, "See?"

Blinking, one of the other Japanese Operatives tilted his head back to look "Up" at the water, "Hmm... useful."

When they passed over the LCS upside down, one of the sailors looked up and shook his head, "Bullshit."

 

Yellowhammer

A Dove and Her Poignard (Part III)

February 7th, 2013, Castle Moulbaix, Belgium
Spoiler: Ehren and Colombe

Ehren smiled happily as Claire's dancing fingers spiraled toward the climax of the magnificent Walkürenritt. She adored Wagner, and especially enjoyed the Ring cycle operas. Father had shared his love of the majesty and myth of Wagner with Ehren, and some of her happiest times with him were listening to the tides of swelling music calling to something deep inside her soul.

Her cheeks flushed slightly as she remembered Father laughingly carrying Mother across the threshold of a Paris hotel room after a premiere of Die Walküre. Mother mock threatening him with a swing from the slightly oversized purse that she always carried before starting to strip out of the dress that she had worn to the opera when he asked her if she would be his Sieglinde and she smiled and nodded.

Now that I'm a girl like Big Sister Claire, I can find out what happened to Father during the War!

With that in mind, she half-closed her eyes and smiled happily, her fingers drumming her hilt in time with the thundering hoofbeats of the Valkyries' horses in her memories and imagination.

"Get. Away. From. My. Daughter. Now."

Ehren's eyes popped open at Mother's harsh voice. A crescent of steel was in her hand as she charged from the open door across the length of the ballroom toward her and Claire with murder in her eyes.
Spoiler: Colombe's Kirpan


"Get to safety Claire!" Ehren snapped out as her eyes hardened and she shoved Claire away from the keyboard with one hand while vaulting over the piano flat-footed to land in a crouch to block Mother's path to her sister. Unbidden, words that she knew by heart formed in her mind as she focused on the deadly threat coming her way.

Those who want to live, let them fight, and those who do not want to fight in this world of eternal struggle do not deserve to live.

Her hand found her hilt and twenty two centimeters of razor-edged Krupp steel sparkled in the sunlight as she shifted into a fighting stance and stared into Colombe's eyes as the rapier halted just outside her range to size her up. Crystal blue eyes filled with pain, hatred, fear, and other things that cut the young dagger to the core stared into cool steel-blue eyes filled with determination and resolve. Another memory of words of wisdom spoken from her past to her Father and herself filled her mind.

I know there are some people in Germany who become sick when they see these black uniforms, we understand the reason for this, and do not expect we shall be loved by all that number of people; those who come to fear us in any way or at any time must have a bad conscience towards the Fuhrer and the nation. For these persons we have established an organization called the Security Service.

She moved in time with the rapier as the two began to circle and hissed through clenched teeth. "I won't let you hurt her, Mother. I'll protect her no matter what."

Colombe snarled and cut toward her forearm with the kirpan she had grabbed. Automatically Ehren's left hand flashed out, the knife-edge of her palm deflecting the strike. Her lips thinned as she measured her foe's movements like she remembered how Father and Mother taught her to do.

I had to cut Mother once; I will have to do it again. Claire is relying on me to stop her and I swore to protect Claire from all threats. No matter what it took, such is my Duty. And my Duty is clear.

She choked down the twinge of guilt at the thought of attacking the only mother that she had ever known and moved to the attack. Her own blade flashed toward Colombe's leading leg.only to be intercepted by the rapier's own parry and counter-strike.

--------------------------------
Spoiler: Overture on a du Chasteler Dumpster Fire

"Ow. My head."

Claire blinked away spots from her eyes and rubbed a forming knot on the back of her head as she woke up.

What happened?

Oh.

Ehren interrupted her playing by suddenly pushing her avatar off her stool to the ground. She remembered falling than sparks filling her vision as her head hit the hardwood floor right before the lights went out.

Why?

Why tell her to run?

Claire turned and shook in horror at the sight.

Mother and Ehren were moving in a deadly duet on the blood-stained hardwood, eyes full of murderous frenzy and diamond-hard resolve locked on each other. Mother's pink bathrobe was gushing crimson just above one hip where it had been slashed open and her right arm had a nasty cut from elbow to wrist. Meanwhile Ehren was blinking blood out of her eyes as it gushed from a cut from her right temple across the bridge of her nose to lay her left cheek open in a ghastly smile. More blood dripped in a trickle from Ehren's black dress uniform from some wound that the dark fabric over her torso was hiding.

The circling motion caused Ehren to see the dazed Piano spirit appear in her vision and her steel blue eyes widened in horror.

"RUN CLAIRE!"

The dagger shouted before moving to the attack. Colombe's parrying arm was just an instant too low as the dagger buried herself in Colombe's left thigh to the hilt and blood began to flow in a steady stream. The rapier's teeth grinned in a smug smirk and her hand flashed down to trap Ehren's wrist as her leg began to buckle.

"Vous êtes à moi, racaille Nazie!" Colombe's voice was hate-filled.

Ehren grunted as the curved dagger slammed into the right side of her chest and her own hand locked it in place as the bloody point emerged from her back. She coughed up blood and yelled at the frozen piano spirit in a weakening voice.

"Schnell rennen! Lauf! Ich werde Sie halten!"

Claire staggered to her piano and slammed both forearms down on her keyboard with her true body's voice turned up as high as she could.

"STOP PLEASE!!!"

The musical hammer blow cracked every windowpane in the ballroom with the volume of Claire's cry and staggered the combatants and Kasuyu as he opened to door to announce that dinner was served.

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

Dinner was delayed... and rather tense.

Fortunately, Kasuyu had broken up the fight with a paralysis spell on Colombe as Ehren collapsed to the floor in a pool of her own blood.

The enforced 'time out' allowed Colombe to calm down enough to listen to Claire's tear-filled explanation of Ehren's origin while the axe began to cut away the uniform of the dreadfully injured dagger to get access to her wounds.

Colombe was noisily and guiltily sick when she realized that she had nearly killed an innocent who was fighting in the defense of her older daughter. Worse yet, said older daughter spent most of the next two hours crying in Mom's arms and begging her to reassure Claire that Uncle Kasuyu could save Ehren.

Fortunately, Uncle Kasuyu was no stranger to combat injuries, and managed to stabilize Ehren with his poultices, healing potions, and the content of the first aid kit that every room in the castle held. While she would be out for the count for a while, she would recover fully, and with no scars.

Colombe looked over at the couch that had been moved into the dining room where Ehren lay. Now dressed in sweat pants and a slightly too big for her T-shirt from Claire's closet showing the melody of the Ode to Joy, she looked... like a teenage girl who had a big day and had fallen asleep from the excitement. If you discounted the SS dagger resting on her slowly rising and falling on her chest like a knight's weapon and the potion-soaked bandages covering three-quarters of her face to heal the wound Colombe had put there when she tried to blind her.
Spoiler: Claire's T-shirt


Colombe looked down at her plate and sighed. She was conflicted and feeling very guilty about how big a mistake she had nearly made. The pain of her healing wounds was nothing compared to the pain in her heart. Not just for what she had nearly dome to Ehren, but for what she represented. A link to one of her greatest failures of her past, one of her greatest mistakes.

"Mother?"

Colombe looked over to Claire where the Piano was picking at the barely touched food on her plate.

"What is it, dear?"

Claire took a deep breath and visibly mustered her courage.

"I promised Ehren that I would be her Big Sister, please can you be her Mother too?" The words came out in a rush as the piano's mahogany brown eyes shimmered with the beginnings of tears.

Colombe bit back the instinctive "Hell no, I won't have anything to do with those monsters in the SS!", and took a deep breath. She looked over at the face of the comatose girl on her couch.

The incredibly brave and dutiful girl who had stood in her way despite being outmatched by someone with three centuries of life compared to someone with not even a single day.

The girl who had only drawn steel to defend Claire from what she thought was a berserk Muramasa looking to kill her.

The girl whose final words before collapsing from blood loss were a command for Claire to run while she held Colombe as long as she lived to ensure her 'sister' got to safety.

A girl that at one time seventy years ago she had daydreamed of having a certain man perhaps conceive with her. No. That... was never to be. She would never be a good parent, there is no way she could measure up to Papa.

But this girl....

Colombe nodded slowly. "Oui. After dinner, we will clean out the room next to yours for Ehren. For your sister Ehren. For... my daughter Ehren."

On the couch, a single unseen tear trickled from the un-bandaged eye of a dagger's spirit as even in her unconsciousness and pain, part of her heard those words.

 

jmcdavid Omake: A Muramasa what now?!

Yellowhammer said:
Claire is a Muramasa yes., She has the steel they all do deep down.​

*-*-*-*
"Bwahahahaha!"

Masamune gave an annoyed glance at his rival. "What has you so pleased, Muramasa-dono?"

Grinning, Muramasa said, "Truly, my own genius surpasses logic itself! I have just learned that there is now a Muramasa piano!"

Masamune fought to keep his composure, but quickly lost the battle. "Wait, what?"

"Behold! My Norimune had multiple daughters, right? Well, apparently one of those daughters has a piano that, due to having been played by the musician Debussy, was able to manifest a Tsukumogami! Said Tsukumogame views Norimune's daughter as her mother! Therefore, there is such a thing as a Muramasa piano!"

Masamune's jaw hit the floor as he realized that Muramasa was actually right.

 

Harry Leferts

As the day went on, the various Special forces tested various things given to them. One item that they became fond of very quickly was an alchemical substance in a vial that when thrown, created an organic webbing that held its target in place. Acromantula as well as Jurogumo silk ropes were also highly popular due to being light, but extremely strong for the thickness. Harry had snickered a bit at the sight of thirteen of them hanging from a Jurogumo ripe that was as thick as his finger as they tried to break it. Another was an acid-like potion that ate through a mock steel door that normally would have needed explosives to get through. More than a few eyebrows had raised when the thick steel ran like melting wax to the point where the door was easily opened.

It must also be said that the Marine Force Recon adored the Alchemist Fire since it was able to burn or melt anything.

Now though, they were all gathered once more on the helicopter deck of the Asuka. One major difference though was that a thick, metal sheet had been set up. Jumping on it, one of the SEALs frowned, “Okay, what’s with this now?”

Captain Hiro looked up with a slight smile, “It is for when we test the potions.”

Several of those there gave him questioning looks, but did not receive any responses. A cough though made them look towards Harry who nodded at them with a smile, “Well, now we come to the next phase which is... testing potions that you can drink.”

His arms crossed, the Force Recon Sergeant frowned, “Right. And this stuff is safe, you say?”

Simply shrugging, Harry gave a nod, “Pretty safe, some have been used for hundreds of years without too much trouble. Heck, some of them I’ve used myself at school. None of them are too complicated, so we’re not going to be magically removing bones and regrowing them.” He grimaced a bit, “Trust me, that sucks.”

Utter silence met him at that before one of the Japanese special forces cleared his throat, “You’re speaking from personal experience, I take it?”

Once more, Harry gave a nod, “I am.” Then he gestured at his arm, “Last year due to an accident, I had all the bones removed from my arm. Made it into a fleshy rubber glove for all I could do with it. So I had to spend the night in the hospital wing getting them regrown after drinking a potion known as Skelegrow.” The teen’s expression took on a look of distaste, “Couldn’t sleep due to the bone splinters forming and shifting in my arm while fusing together as the bones were regrown from scratch.”

Needless to say, the Operatives were silent at that for a few moments. Finally, the Japanese one who had asked the question exchanged a look with the others, “I... can see how that would be uncomfortable.”

Just snorting, Harry shook his head, “Somewhat.”

A number of those who had worked alongside British special forces snorted as well. Rolling his eyes, Captain Johnston sighed, “Better or worse than being bitten by a basilisk?” Seeing the look form Harry, he shrugged, “Read the report, that venom sounds nasty.”

Rolling up his sleeve as people chuckled, Harry revealed the dime sized scar which was obviously a puncture wound in his arm. And then he raised his arm to show that it continued to the other side and they went quiet, “A little bit better than being bitten, yes.”

Each of them shared a look at that, though some began to plan to see if there was any reports on it as the Captain knew. Especially as said man winced some, “Right, moving along... Doctors Malcom and Nakamura will be monitoring you as you test the potions.”

The American doctor nodded some as he checked a tablet he held, “We will be monitoring your vitals before, during, and after the effects wear off. As well, we will be taking blood samples as well at those times and in the days ahead. Just so that we have an idea of some of the effects.”

Katsura then stepped forward and cleared her throat before bowing, “I am the second of the Yuubari class ships, Katsura. Originally, I was built for Magical Japan.” Holding put her hand, she revealed a fairy there in a white robe. One that reminded some of them of what “White Mages” wore in video games, “This is one of my Medi-Wizards, Ito. He’ll be here just in case. Think of him as a magical doctor.”

When the Operatives nodded, Nakamura tapped his clipboard, “Okay, we shall start then with the... Pepper-Up Potion.”

Listing off names, he watched as a nurse drew blood from each volunteer and they got a baseline. Rubbing where the syringe had been, one of the Marines glanced at Harry, “So what does this Pepper up stuff do? Sort of want to know before I drink it.”

Simply nodding, Harry held up a vial, “It’s actually pretty simple, it just boosts one’s energy. Think a super powerful energy drink.” After a moment, he shrugged, “Oh, and it cures the common cold.” At the silence that got, he blinked and looked around as everyone stared at him, “What?”

With a deep breath, Doctor Malcom let it out, “This potion... cures the common cold? Really?”

In reply, Harry gave a shrug, “Yes? I mean... that is what it is used for and it works. Can also warm a person up.”

Only throwing his hands into the air, the doctor shook his head, “Whatever, energy drink, sure. But curing the common cold? What the hell happened to normal!?”

Smirking, the thirteen year old snickered, “Normal is overrated.”

Just shaking his head again, Doctor Malcom took the vials and walked over before handing each of the group in front of him one, “Right then, just take it and let us know how you feel... you mentioned that you have been up for a time, Operative Ripper?”

The big SEAL nodded, “Yeah, Doc. Been up since o’three hundred, so about fifteen hours.”

Humming, the Doctor gestured at the vial, “Well, go ahead and try it.”

The SEAL shrugged and popped the top before drinking the whole thing. Licking his lips, he frowned, “A bit peppery-“ Suddenly, his eyes widened and steam hissed from his ears and nose, “WHOA!”

Leaning back, one of his fellow SEALs boggled, “What the hell? That is some Looney Tunes shit, you okay there Ripper?”

Rapidly blinking, Ripper was practically bouncing and vibrating, “Sure am! Never better! Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I feel like I just chugged an entire carton of that Red Bull shit! I am wired as fuck!”

Quickly checking his tablet, Nakamura frowned, “Heart rate and blood pressure are both up. Not dangerously so, but still. Brain activity is also up. Nurse?”

As the nurse prepared to take a blood sample, Ripper kept tapping his feet, “Come on, I got to do something. Run or some shit!” Once the sample was take, he glanced at his CO who nodded and began to run and do various things to burn off the energy, “Boo-fuck-Yeah!”

Watching as the Special Forces operative ran around, Doctor Malcom glanced at Harry, “Normal reaction?"

Harry just nodded, “Normal reaction, you’re always a bit hyper after taking some unless you're sick, then it gets you back to normal.” Considering he, he frowned, “Maybe fifteen minutes before he calms down and burns some of it off?”

In reality, it took twenty minutes for him to burn off the excess energy, same with the others. Part of Harry wondered if it was because he was magical and they weren’t, that meant that some of his energy was taken up magically. Forty minutes after, Doctor Malcom checked his clipboard as he looked at Ripper, “So how are you feeling?”

Shaking his head, the SEAL’s eyes scrunched up at the corners showing he was grinning, “Pretty damn good still. Don’t need to burn off any energy, but I’m not feeling any tiredness.”

That got him an interested look from the doctor, “No crash?” At the shake of the head, he hummed, “Hmm, we’ll have to see. But if there is only a small crash, or not at all, this could see some uses...” Shaking his head, he called up some other Special Forces, but had to blink and turn to Harry, “Re’em Blood?”

One of the Marines, who Harry remembered was nicknamed Reverend, perked up, “Wait? Re’em? As in the beast from the Bible? It actually exists?!”

A smile on his face, Harry held up a vial with a couple of drips of blood in it, “It does, and drinking it gives the user super strength.” That got him disbelieving looks and he shrugged, “It does.”

Rather than say anything, Nakamura waited until the checks were done and blood sample drawn, “Operative Suzaku? Step forward.”

The Japanese Special Forces Operative who stepped forward internally made Harry blink. She, and she was one of the few females there, was short, but lithe at the same time. Oddly, he felt like she was one of the more dangerous ones there, and Harry was someone who listened to his instincts in such cases. Taking the vial, Suzaku frowned for a few moments before shrugging and drinking it. A look of distaste in her face, she smacked her lips for a few moments. Everyone watched and after a minute, she shrugged, “My body is tingling a bit, but nothing more.”

Eyebrow raised, Nakamura looked at his tablet and nodded, “Vitals haven’t really changed. Maybe a bit stronger, but that seems to be the limit.”

After another blood sample was taken from her, Doctor Malcom gesture to a MRAP that was on the deck, “Now, we need you to go over there and lift that.”

For several seconds, there was silence before the Japanese Operative cleared her throat, “I am sorry but did you just say...”

Slight smile on his face, the Doctor nodded, “I did.”

Glancing from him to the vehicle in disbelief, Suzaku frowned, “You do realize that weighs several tons, right?” Amused, the Doctor nodded and she glanced at Captain Hiro who also nodded. Shaking her head, she walked over to the MRAP and slid underneath it and place her hands on the bottom before lifting.

Much to her shock, the MRAP actually did lift upwards at her push. Slowly, she got into a sitting position and then stood up with it above her head. After a few moments, she lowered one hand so that she was supporting it with just a single hand, the metal under her feet groaning. Making a mark on his clipboard, Doctor Malcom called over, “How does it feel? Any strain?”

Still disbelieving what she was doing, Suzaku shook her head, “Uh, no. I mean, it is heavy, but... not that heavy.”

As he nodded, one of the SEALs turned to his Japanese counterpart, “At least that explains the metal sheets.”

Getting a nod, the two turned back as Suzaku set the MRAP down and walked over when the Doctor called her. Said medical official gestured at an steep I-beam, “I want you to try and bend this, and then punch that steel wall.”

With a glance at said steel, Suzaku frowned, “How thick?”

Only frowning as she picked up the steel I-beam as if it weighed nothing, Doctor Malcom looked at his notes, “It is two inch thick armoured steel from a safe that was scrapped. So it should give us a good idea what a hit from you could do.”

Blinking, Suzaku looked at it before shaking her head. Rather than say anything, she bent the I-beam easily before walking over to the steel slab. Catching the modified boxing glove thrown at her, which had a plate of steel melded to the front, she got into a stance, “HA!”

Everyone sort of stared at her hand easily punched through the steel like it was made of wet cardboard. Under his breath, the Marine Sergeant swore, “Holy shit...”

Minutes later though, he was giving an unimpressed look at one of his Marines who went into a pose with his arms flexed after doing his own tests with Re'em blood, “Look at these mighty guns!” Kissing each bicep, he grinned, “More powerful than an Iowa’s!” Thrusting each one put, his grin widened, “Boom! Boom! Firepower!”

That only got him chuckles from the others.

When the effects wore off, Doctor Nakamura frowned at Suzaku, “No strain?”

Slowly, she shook her head, “None at all, not any aches either. At worst, it feels like I did a bit of curls with weight and that is it.”

Making a note, Doctor Nakamura shook his head, “Incredible... simply incredible. It must also strengthen the bone to superhuman levels besides the muscles. Otherwise, the strength shown would have shattered them.”

Not long after, the next group was trying out Strengthening potions. Lifting a massive barbell that normally would be used by powerlifters under strain with only one arm for himself, one of the SEALs shook his head, “Okay, this? This is awesome.” Already seeing the question, he shrugged, “It isn’t easy to do before you ask, Doc. But I’ve lifted... weights that felt more straining.” Thinking it over, be shook his head, “I mean, normal weights, not this.”

Once more, the doctor made notes, which later included that pepper up potions don’t have a “Crash” when they run down, just tapering off. It would not be until midnight that a somewhat tired Harry returned to Yokosuka, his part in Operation Witching Hour done. The whole thing going off without a hitch, which he was glad for. And he even got complimented and shown respect by various Special Forces operatives.

It was, to say the least, a good day in his book...

 

Yellowhammer

A Dove and Her Poignard (Part IV)

February 8th, 2013, Castle Moulbaix, Belgium

Ehren slowly clawed her way toward consciousness through an ocean of pain. Her face had a slash of fire from temple to cheek and every breath she took spread fire through her chest.

The worst pain of all was her worry over Claire.

She had been given a Duty to protect Claire.

And She had failed in her Du---

Wait.

Faintly through the pain she heard a piano playing, the notes clear and pure like the sun shining through a forest of silver birch in fall as the leaves turned gold. She remembered that sight from Father visiting his ancestral home in Prussia after Poland had fallen.
Spoiler: Claire Watches Over Ehren

The Overture from Tannhäuser.

She would know that piece anywhere.

Even more so, she knew the heart and soul of the pianist who was serenading her.

Claire.

Ehren relaxed minutely and a small, invisible smile flickered across her lips under the bandages covering her face.

She had kept faith with her big sister after all.

She had not failed to protect her from Mother.

But why had Mother attacked?

Why... why had Mother looked at her that way?

What had she done wrong, what had changed Mother so?

A darker thought whispered at her and she did not have the strength to fight it off as her hold on consciousness faltered.

Father had...changed, become darker, harsher, more bloodthirsty right before he left her.

Now Mother had been out for her blood and then Claire's.

And she was their child.

Their daughter.

What if...what if?

Ehren let exhaustion and weakness take her back into the abyss of sleep.

But one final string of thoughts followed her down to oblivion.

What if she followed the path that both her parents had?

What if she hurt Claire when that happened?

What if she lost control over that part of herself?

What kind of a monster would she become then?

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

February 9th, 2013, Castle Moulbaix, Belgium

Ehren blinked gummy eyes half open and winced as the morning sunlight stabbed her. She hurt, yes, but less than she remembered vaguely from earlier.

She only felt that she had been run over by a staff car as opposed to the Panzerkampfwagen II that had done that to her yesterday.

With that thought she opened her eyes fully and looked around.
Spoiler: Ehren's Bed


The bed she was in was massive carved hardwood. To her right a matching carved side table had her carefully cleaned and polished dagger resting on the black walnut stand that she remembered from mother's desk. Below it was the empty scabbard from her uniform.

Ehren relaxed and a small smile turned up the corners of her lips.

Alles in Ordnung.

With a quiet hiss of pain she turned her head to look the other way.

The dresser, bookcase, and chairs had been pushed to the walls to make room for a piano.

A very familiar concert grand piano with her lid closed.

An equally familiar pianist was asleep on the piano's bench, her head resting on her pillowed arms which lay on her lid.

A small ribbon of drool oozed from her mouth as Claire mumbled in her dream.

"Rock me Amadeus... oh yeah, Rondo Alla Turca me you naughty composer you..."
Spoiler: Does Claire's Piano Dream of This?

Ehren's smile broadened as she watched her sister dream of Austrian genius musicians tickling her ivories.

With that she relaxed and began to stretch a bit. It hurt, true, but pain was nothing to her Will.

The door beside Claire opened and Colombe stepped inside.

Ehren froze and tensed slightly, one hand creeping toward her hilt just in case it was necessary. Her smile vanished in an instant as she watched Colombe with a cool measuring stare.

The rapier's lips curled in a fond smile directed at Claire and she shook her head and whispered gently and lovingly, "Ma petite fille, comme c'est bête parfois."

Then Colombe turned her head and her eyes met Ehren's. Pain and guilt filled the rapier's crystal blue orbs, along with something else that Ehren could not place as Colombe's face froze. For long moments mother and daughter looked at each other in silence then Colombe spoke.

"Ehren, ja?"

Ehren nodded, still watching her mother like a hawk just in case it became necessary to act to protect Claire.

Colombe took a deep breath and forced a smile on her face. "I regret not getting your name when we first met. Thank you for protecting my daughter."

Ehren spoke coolly. "I am pleased to see that she is unharmed."

Colombe nodded. "The concussion she got when her head hit the floor has cleared up now. She asked me to adopt you into the family and I agreed to her request."

Ehren's face froze in turn as the words did something to her heart that she did not have words to describe. Under the covers, her hand clenched and relaxed unseen by Colombe.

Automatically her voice spoke, sounding in her ears if it was produced by a stranger. "Thank you, I shall endeavor to live up to your expectations, Mother."

Colombe's smile flickered, looking almost...wistful? An echo of that pain from when she first saw Ehren lurked in her eyes.

Colombe nodded. "I came up to let Claire know that breakfast was ready. You are welcome to attend and meet Kasuyu."

"I look forward to that." Instinctively Ehren called upon her true self and her uniform formed on a nearby chair.

Colombe's eyes shadowed.

"Ehren, please don't wear that to breakfast. I'll get you something from Claire's closet."

Colombe's voice was sharper than she wished for it to be and filled with pain and guilt.

Ehren buried the spike of agony that hit her heart with her mother's dismissal of what she was before it could pierce her cool facade. Still discipline and obedience to orders were paramount in her upbringing.

"zu Befehl, Mutter."

The dagger's voice was cool, crisp, and professional.

Colombe winced slightly before she turned to go raid Claire's wardrobe. Ehren's matching wince was unseen, but equally painful.

"I'll be right back. I may need your help in waking Claire up, the poor dear has been camped out here for the last two days."

Ehren nodded and as the door closed behind Mother, gave Claire a soft, unguarded smile.

I wish that I had a tenth the loyalty that you do in your heart, my sister.

 

Harry Leferts

Even though it was cold out and her breath was fogging, Siusan had a small smile on her face as she watched the hustle and bustle around her. The past few days had been... enlightening in many ways. For the very first time, she found other fox spirits who accepted her in the form of the Onos as well as Hoshi herself.

It was something that she never quite knew she needed until it happened.

Centuries ago, in fact a millennium ago, she had met other Irish fox spirits. But their relationship was strained as they found her odd, strange to them. She was too human, they told her, tried to get her to give up the name that Brigid had given her so long ago. And had reacted badly when she would not. She, herself, found them off putting in a number of ways. That had caused her to cling all the more tightly to her descendants.

Something that she had unconsciously done and only realized as Chiyo, Naoki, and Hoshi had spoken with her as they slowly got her story from her. Her eyes had widened as they pointed out what she had done in response to the rejection from her own kind, as it were. But there was no judgment there, just a calm acceptance. Part of Siusan was gratified that they did not react negatively to what she had done to Brigid's husband. Rather, they had grinned and nodded, stating that what she had done to the man was well deserving for one such as he.

Over the past three days, they had helped her greatly, putting things into perspective. Now, she could look back on certain things that she had done wrongly and, more importantly, understand where she had gone wrong. They were gentle, but they did not shy away from such things. It was something that she much appreciated.

Granted, she had blushed heavily when they complimented on her still loving and being loyal to her Brigid after all these centuries and taking care of their family. It was something Kitsune such as they held in very high regard apparently. Love and loyalty to loved ones were held up as among the biggest things in the community. While sometimes they could be somewhat silly, when speaking of such things they were utterly serious.

And, in return for her telling them about her past, they told her about theirs. Siusan had been shocked to learn about Hoshi's mother and how evil she was. But much to the slight surprise of said Kyuubi, she had waved it off as not being something important. As Siusan had told her, she was not her mother. They had also told her stories about Kitsune, which fascinated the foreign fox spirit. Already, she could feel wounds on her heart, slowly healing from Harry's own acceptance of her, heal a bit faster from their acceptance and guidance.

For the first time, in a very long time, Siusan had found someone that she could both look up and speak freely to for guidance.

Which, for her, was something out of left field.

Now though, on the streets of their hometown, she was looking in the various storefront windows and vendors as her, Hoshi, and Chiyo walked along. There was so much to see, though she glanced back at the two Kitsune with an embarrassed expression on her face, "I... am sorry for this, you do not need to spend money on me."

Chiyo just grinned and waved her off, "It is no issue, Siusan. You want to get something nice for your grandson, yes?" Getting a nod, she continued, "Then that is exactly what we shall do. And that is all there is to it."

Looking down, Siusan wrung her hands, "I... thank you."

A gentle hand on her shoulder made her turn to find Natsumi's grandmother smiling at her, "You don't need to thank me, dear." Pulling her into a hug, the Kitsune shook her head, "After all you have been through, you deserve this."

Suddenly, Hoshi pointed at a nearby café, "How about we get something warm to drink due to the weather?"

Practically bouncing in place, Chiyo grinned, "And maybe a little something sweet to eat~" Rubbing her belly, she licked her lips, "They usually have something good."

Only sighing and shaking her head, the other Kitsune gave Siusan an amused look which got her snickers. The three foxes all entered into the café and Hoshi hummed before looking at her Irish friend, "What would you like?"

Frowning, Siusan cocked her head to the side in curiosity before chewing her lip, "Perhaps... some hot chocolate?"

Just nodding, the Kyuubi walked off towards the counter to order as Siusan stood there. While waiting, she heard the door open some and turned in time to nearly get knocked off her feet as someone came in and slipped on some ice on the floor, "Whoa!"

Moving quickly, Siusan caught the smaller female, "Careful now." Shaking her head, she smiled, "Are ye alright..."

Her voice trailed off as she caught the features of the other woman, very familiar ones that made her heart ache though they had a slightly Japanese bent to them. And none more so than the pair of lively green eyes looking at her. The other woman also seemed frozen staring at her in realization and shock. For several moments, the two stood there with Siusan holding her up as the woman opened and closed her mouth. Finally, she managed to say something, "A-ah, hello S... um..."

Throat dry, Siusan took a deep breath, "Y-yes, hello?"

With a deep breath, the other woman stood up with an unsure smile, "Haruka, Hayashi Haruka and..." She chewed her lip for a few moments, "Yuri?"

Blinking in confusion, Siusan frowned and furrowed her eyebrows, "Yuri?"

Haruka swallowed some, "Yes, Yuri... it means Lily, and you look like one." Lips twitching, she tilted her head some, "Or, at least I think so."

Jaw dropping, the Irish fox was unable to say anything for several moments. Her eyes widened though as she realized that Haruka for the last few sentences, outside of saying "Yuri", was not really speaking Japanese.

Rather, she was speaking a variant of Irish that Siusan had not heard spoken in over a thousand years, which begged the question of how this person who looked so much like Brigid knew it...

Before either of them could say anything else, a voice made them both jump, "Haruka-San?" Turning, the two noted Hoshi there with a curious Chiyo behind her, "Hmm?"

Letting go of Siusan, Haruka shook her head and turned to the door, "I, um... I have to go-"

However, she did not get far before a hand, palm rough, grasped her wrist, "Brigid, wait!" Siusan froze as those words escaped her mouth, while Haruka's own body did much the same. Tears in her eyes, the Irish fox spirit shook a bit as she could now feel the soul in the other body, "I... please... don't leave me again..." Her voice broke and the tears spilled out, "Please..."

Slowly, Haruka turned to reveal tears also spilling from her eyes, "Siusan..."

Glancing between the two, Hoshi turned to Chiyo who nodded. Together, they guided the two to a booth and sat them next to each other. Mainly due to the hold on the other's hand that they had. Once they had sat down, the two Kyuubi wove magic around the booth to hide what was going on and released their own disguises. Turning from one to the other, Hoshi waited as Siusan stared at Haruka almost with need in her eyes. Finally, the Irish fox spoke, her voice filled with emotion, "How...? You..."

With a swallow, Haruka nodded, "Died? Yes..." Looking at Siusan, she squeezed her hand, "I remember being unable to breath, and my stomach burning. No matter what, I... I was unable to breathe. And there you were, trying to save me..."

Hand shaking as it gripped Haruka's, the Irish fox's voice shook, "It was your husband, he poisoned you and... and tried to poison the children." Meeting her eyes, Siusan continued, "I stopped that."

Gently, Haruka squeezed her hand back, "Thank you." With a deep breath, she let it out, "Do you remember when my Father left to meet with one of the local chieftains? I had just became a woman and the two of us were out in the woods. And I stated that I did not want to marry as my Father suggested? And that day, you wove for me a crown of flowers and we married, under Old Man Oak's branches? Just you and I stating such."

Drops of tears coming from her eyes, Siusan nodded, "Aye, I remember that, Brigid..." Lips curling, her eyes lit up, "It is you..."

Nodding, she sniffled, "It is, Siusan." Then she shook her head, "As to how I am here, I..."

It was than that Hoshi spoke up, "Ah, that explains some things." When they turned to her, the Kyuubi cocked her head to the side, "You were born to two Japanese Kitsunes, and yet, you had European features when you took on your human form."

Lightly blushing when Siusan looked at her questioningly, Haruka let her own disguise fall and ears as well as a tail popped out. Her head looking at the table, as the Irish fox stared at her in shock, she nodded, "I'm... a Kitsune now."

Reaching across the table, Chiyo placed a hand on Siusan's shoulder, "She was the victim of some very evil men, Siusan-San." When she nodded at the Kyuubi beside her, Siusan looked up, "But I will let Hoshi-Chan explain as she was involved in saving her."

When the foreign fox looked at her, the Kyuubi grimaced, "There was a magical group who were trying to win the war against the Americans in the Second World War. I am sure that you know that the government of our nation was evil and most of the military could be cruel?"

A frown on her face, Siusan nodded, "I remember overhearing some British troops in... I believe it was 1947, yes."

Just nodding, Hoshi continued, "Here in Japan and most of Asia, there is a belief in something called 'Reincarnation'. How a soul can, in time, be reborn in a new life?" Getting a nod, she continued, "This group was attempting to force it, so that they could bring back great men, and women, and use them in the war. Haruka-San here... was one of those born due to the experiments that they were running. They attempted to force a reincarnation of a soul they grabbed from the afterlife... her parents did not live through the liquidation that they attempted at the end, and I was just able to save her and others with my Nee-San, Tsuki."

Moments passed as Siusan rolled that around in her head, before her expression became enraged, "They took Brigid from the Afterlife... from her rest!?" A hand on hers made her turn and all anger drained from her at seeing the familiar features, 'Brigid...'

With a sigh, the reincarnated woman shook her head, "They did, I remember being born from a new mother, with a new father. We were kept in cells beneath Yokosuka. Somehow, I could remember when I was Brigid, I could remember everything. My first words were not Japanese, but..." Shaking her head, she swallowed, "At the time, I was scared."

Very slowly, the rest spilled out and Siusan listened with a non-judgmental look on her face. At times, she looked angry, dismayed, and the like, but never, it seemed, in regards to Haruka. Finally, the story came to an end and she was quiet and staring at her hands. Shuddering as she took a deep breath, she asked the question that kept coming up, "Why... why did you never look for me?"

Haruka looked stricken at the question and then closed her eyes, "Because... I am a coward."

Not having expected those words, Siusan's head whipped around, "A coward?" Mouth moving, no sound came out for a few seconds before she shook her head, "You are many things, Brigid, a coward though? You are not."

Surprised, the Kitsune looked at her and found nothing but truth in those eyes, eyes that she had loved in her previous life and were once more falling in love with in the present. Chewing her lip though, Haruka shook her head before speaking in Old Irish, "I am a coward. When... when I found out how much time had passed, I wanted at first to go and find you. But it had been over a thousand years, Siusan. I... I was scared about what I might find. That I would find that you had passed in the time since, and that I was alone." Tears once more coming to her eyes, she sobbed, "That you were long since gone and I would never even know if I looked. O-or that you were not gone, but that you would no longer love me as I am." Letting go of Siusan's hand, she wrapped her arms around her, "And then there was all the issues of getting to Ireland, with the Americans and the like keeping an eye out for anyone trying to flee Japan..."

Two hands grabbed her and forced her to turn. Rather then see anger, she only saw sympathy and love on the face that met her. One hand came up and cupped her cheek, "Brigid..." Pausing, Siusan took a deep breath and let it out, "Haruka..." That made the Kitsune's breath hitch, "I love you, and have never stopped loving you. Not for all the years since have I loved another as I did you. And you, of all people, do not need to fear otherwise." Gently, Siusan kissed her brow, "And I will never stop."

Even as Haruka held on Siusan closely, who held onto her just as tight, the two Kyuubi smiled at that. Chiyo cleared her throat and brought their attention to her, "So you believe her?"

Just blinking, Siusan nodded, "I do." Turning back to Haruka, she stared into her eyes, "Us foxes of Ireland... we have the Sight. It means that we can foresee the deaths of those close to us, yes. But it lets us also see the soul. And right now, I can see that her soul is that of Brigid. For I saw it's beauty for so long that I cannot forget it."

That made Haruka flush deeply, though she also brightly smiled. Meanwhile, Hoshi had a thoughtful look on her face, "But this begs the question of what you will do now?"

About to say something, the Irish fox paused and thought it over. A chuckle though made her turn to Haruka who smiled, "It has been a long time, so we should get to know each other again. But I think... perhaps we could perform a courtship, Siusan? This time? Like we should have been able to? And then..."

Clapping her hands together, Chiyo's next words made both of them blush, "Come to me and I shall help set up the wedding! With how things are changing after Haruna-Sama's and Rose-San's wedding, we should be able to. Besides which, it is not illegal on the magical side."

Hoshi, meanwhile, hid her snort of amusement by looking into her tea.

 

Harry Leferts

Walking up towards the door, Harry glanced at Hedwig who was perched on his shoulder, "You okay there, Hedwig?"

The owl puffed herself up some while nodding, "Of course, Harry-Wizard." Hopping off him, she transformed in mid-air and when her feet touched the ground, it was in her human form, "Why wouldn't I be?"

Head tilted to the side, Harry raised his eyebrow some, "You've been a bit quiet recently, that is all."

Lips twitching, Hedwig shook her head, "I am... still getting used to everything." Holding up one hand, she flexed one finger after the other, "This is still strange to me. But..."

The owl gave him a smile, "I would not trade it for anything, Harry-Wizard."

Chuckling, the teen patted her arm, "Nor would I, Hedwig." Upon reaching the porch, he stepped up it and rung the doorbell. When the door opened to reveal Natsumi there, his smile widened, "Natsumi-Chan."

A smile bloomed on her own face and she nodded, "Harry-Chan." Hugging him, she sighed, "Did you have a good time with the Arashi?"

Part of Harry was amused that Natsumi didn't ask about what happened the day before. However, he also understood that she knew better for some time about that sort of thing. Moving aside so that Hedwig could get inside, the teenaged wizard hugged her back, "I did, as a matter of fact." Raising one eyebrow, he quirked his lips to show his amusement, "Though you already knew that as I told you last night when I got home."

Softly giggling, the Kitsune shook her head as her now revealed tails wagged some, "You did, but I wanted to hear it from you."

Unzippering his coat, Harry waited until she pulled back and placed it on a hook, "Well, it was great and I met a lot of cousins and such." Pausing, he tapped his chin in thought, "Never really knew that I had that many relatives here in Japan."

Natsumi watched as he finished taking off his coat and hung it up before she sighed some with a slightly sad smile, "You wondered how your life would have been if you were raised by them, right?"

Just pausing, Harry considered what that said in regards to how well Natsumi knew him, inside and out. But, in the end, he just nodded, "Hai, I did. Is that wrong?"

Only shaking her head, the Kitsune hummed, "Not at all, Harry-Chan. I would have been surprised if you had not thought about it. But..." Sighing, her expression became slightly sad, "In that case, we would not have met each other."

Turning, Harry looked at his friend, who he had known since elementary school. Briefly, he could see the eight year old Natsumi in front of him again looking sad. And then it vanished to show the thirteen year old one. Before she could react though, Harry had already pulled her into a tight hug, "Maybe, but I'm glad that we did meet."

Eyes glistening a bit, Natsumi brought up her own arms and hugged him back, "So am I, Harry-Chan. So am I..." She then pressed her lips to his cheeks for a few seconds, "So am I."

Both of them stood like that for a few seconds, just hugging each other with Natsumi's arms around Harry's neck while her tails had also come up to wrap themselves around the thirteen year old boy's body. A chuckle though made them both turn to find Siusan there with a smile, looking happier than Harry had seen when he had told her that he accepted her, "See, Brigid? Just like us."

At her side, a smaller Kitsune nodded and giggled some, "Yes, just like us."

Confused, Harry looked between them with his eyebrows furrowing, "Um, Grandmother? Who is this and why are you calling her Brigid? I thought..."

Nodding, Siusan gave the Kitsune a smile and said Yokai bowed some, "I am Hayashi Haruka... reincarnation of Brigid." At his widening eyes, she gave him an unsure smile, "And in a sense, your other Grandmother."

Somewhat to their amusement, Harry turned to Natsumi who shrugged, "Something about Sub Unit-942, Harry-Chan. Hoshi-San won't say much to me, but according to her they tried to reincarnate people with their memories."

Eyes widening, he turned to Siusan who nodded and looked at Haruka with a loving look, "We... spoke quite a bit, Harry-Child. She knows many things that the only other one who could know would be Brigid, so it is her." One hand coming up to her chest, the Irish fox's eyes glistened with pure joy and love, "Even though they took her from her rest..."

Gently, Haruka took her own hand and placed it over Siusan's, "For all the evil they did, I can give thanks for this. That Siusan and myself can once more be together." Looking at her tail, she giggled some, "Though we're both foxes now and will live for a long time together."

With a chuckle, the thirteen year old boy let go of Natsumi as he faced them. He did, however, place his arm around Natsumi's waist, "I see." He bowed some to the Kitsune, "Hello then, Grandmother..."

Haruka smiled a bit, "You can call me Haruka-Obaa-San, if you wish. Or Grandmother Brigid." Looking at Siusan who blushed lightly, she shook her head, "I will answer to both."

A grin crossed Harry's face at that, "How about I call you Obaa-San, and Grandmother... Grandmother." That got him a brighter smile from the two and nods. Turning, he considered Siusan, "So what are you going to do now, Grandmother?"

Blinking at that, Siusan tilted her head to the side in the same manner that Harry often did when confused about something or curious. It was something rather vulpine in behavior and made Natsumi giggle as she realized where her friend had gotten it from, "What do you mean, Harry-Child?"

Looking between them, the reincarnated Kitsune frowned before she realized what he meant. She then took Siusan's hand and lead her towards the dining area, "Perhaps we should speak of this over tea. Rather than talking about it here."

It was then that she noticed Hedwig and blinked a bit. The Owl, meanwhile, smiled at her and bowed, "I am Hedwig, Lady Brigid. Familiar to Wizard Harry."

That made Natsumi blink some and look at Hedwig, "Well, um, I did not expect for you to be that respectful of her...?"

Lips curling into a smile, Hedwig's tone turned dry, "How could I not be respectful of her. For I know the tales of her and will thus be respectful of her.'

Considering her, Haruka frowned a bit, "That accent... It is not Irish, nor British. But it does sound familiar..." Furrowing her eyebrows, she hummed, "I think that Father once met a trader with something similar. He was from Gwynned, I believe." Hedwig perked up at that and spoke something in Welsh that made Haruka nod, "Yes! He spoke a similar language to that."

Only nodding, the owl smiled softly, "Yes, Gwynned was a Kingdom in Wales, where I was born and raised."

Eyes widening a touch, Harry snapped his fingers, "So that is why you have a Welsh accent!"

Looking at him, Hedwig smirked a bit, "Well, why ever else would I have such an accent, Harry-Wizard?"

Softly giggling, Natsumi shook her head and soon the group entered the kitchen where Hoshi and the others were. Upon entering, Harry was accosted by Natsumi's younger sisters, "Harry-Nii-San! Harry-Nii-San! Did you bring anything for us from Hokkaido?!"

Her eyebrow raised, Natsumi flicked them in the ears and got scowls, "Calm down, I am sure that Harry-Chan brought you back some things."

Chuckling, the teenaged wizard reached into his backpack and pulled out a box, "Here you go, Shiroi Black Thunder." Eyes wide, the two Kits took the box and ran off cheering which made him chuckle, "Well, they're energetic..."

Just facepalming, Natsumi groaned, "They're going to eat all that and be hyper..."

With a chuckle of his own, Kensuke got up and shook his head, "I'll go and handle it."

As he was walking out of the room, he flushed a bit at his wife calling out to him, "Just make sure that you are going to give them one each and not take one for yourself." Stage whispering to the others, she grinned, "He likes them just as much as anyone."

Giggles escaped from the female Kitsune as Kensuke got out of the line of fire. A grin on his face, Harry shook his head, "Which reminds me, I brought back a bunch of stuff..."

Soon enough, each of the Kitsune were given various gifts and were rather happy with them. Haru, for example, was placing some of the cheese she was given into the fridge for later use. Minutes later, Harry was seated at the table with a cup of tea in front of him as everyone took Marusei Butter Cookies. Head tilted to the side, he considered Siusan, "Um, Grandmother? Obaa-San? About my question..."

Blinking, Siusan nibbled the cookie that she was given and glanced at Haruka. Both of them had a conversation in a language that, to Harry's ear, sounded like what Seamus sometimes spoke in. At the same time though, it was also obviously different. Nodding, Siusan turned back to him, "Sorry, Harry-Child, I... did not quite know what you meant."

A smile on his face, Harry reached over and patted her hand, "That's okay, Grandmother."

With a sigh, she smiled at him, "As to your question..." She glanced at Haruka who nodded some, "Both I and Brigid... Haruka, have decided that it has been quite some time. So the two of us will begin to court one another so that we can get to know each other all over again."

Giggling, Haruka shook her head, "You could call it dating, Siusan."

That brought a blush to the Irish fox's face. Meanwhile, Harry's face lit up some, "That sounds great, Grandmother! I'm happy for you both!"

If anything, that caused Siusan's blush to deepen. Just the same though, she smiled and bowed a bit, "Thank you, Harry-Child."

Kissing Siusan on the cheek made the Irish fox look away from Haruka who smiled. Turning to Harry, she gave a slight bow, "Yes, thank you, Harry." Her smile growing, she nodded slightly, "For right now, I am going to be staying with Hoshi-Sama and her family. Mainly because I wish to spend New Year's with Siusan."

Her own expression brightening, Natsumi nodded, "That's right! It's only one night away!" Turning to Harry, she grinned as her tails wagged, "And I can't wait for the New Year's party at the base."

All Harry did was nod in comply as he could not wait for the party either, though he did wonder about the odd smile on Taichi's face...

 

NotHimAgain

Something Something Ever Onwards
Tsubaki looked around the entrance of the house, trying to make sense of the metal-tasting sensation she was getting from somewhere inside the house. After the excitement of killing the Talon-thing and the franticness of ensuring Pascal’s safety, she had noticed it, and now that she had gotten her rigging to work—she swatted at the enigmatic creature that had clamped itself to her arm, she’d have to figure out a way to make it stop headbutting her—first priority was tracking it down and figuring out what it was.

Pascal tugged on her hand, and pointed at the stairs. Tsubaki let him guide her up. Couldn’t lose sight of the kid.

Okay, very close second priority was tracking it down and figuring out what it was.

Which was going to take a while, because this was a really big house. Big enough that if you stood outside at the North-east-ish corner and took a good look, it would be hard to tell that the latest damage came from a brawl between an Abyssal and a… Not-An-Abyssal. Even if Tsubaki were able to follow her general sense of whatever-it-was—the arm thing headbutted her chin and she pushed it away again—it might take her a while.

Pascal looked up at her, apparently having noticed that she was glancing at something in a certain direction every so often. He followed her line of sight, decided that whatever it was that Tsubaki was interested in interested him, and tugged again. Tsubaki followed dutifully along.

They found a room full of food along the way, but Pascal’s reaction to the bulk of it left Tsubaki wondering if it was inedible or if he just didn’t like it. Days like this, she wished they spoke the same language.
-----

Eventually, Pascal slowed, drooping, and Tsubaki knelt down to pick him up. Whatever frantic energy he had been running on after the desperate terror of the evening had run out, it seemed, and now he was about ready to doze off. She nestled him in the crook of her arm, and set out following the feeling again.

She slowed and stopped outside an unassuming little door, looking it up and down in confusion. This was where the feeling was coming from, so where…

Tsubaki attempted to shuffle Pascal to rest against her other shoulder, almost halfway through the familiar motion before she recalled the obvious problem. Before she could react, her arm-thing curled up and around, allowing the child to fall gently into the resting place it formed against her body. The arm thing purred, and Tsubaki gave it an impressed look. Apparently it could actually be helpful sometimes.

Putting the thought aside, she reached down and grasped the doorknob, twisting it, and… the door did not move. Tsubaki frowned, twisting it again, then turning it the other way. Still nothing. Twist, turn, twist, turn, twist, slide—wait, slide?

Tsubaki repeated the motion. The doorknob slid smoothly to the right, leaving no opening to mark the pathway that the motion was guided along. She tried to slide it back into place, and it glided past to the left of its original position. With a grimace, the Abyssal began to jerk it back and forth, up and down, twist, turn, back and forth, back and forth, before finally getting fed up and punching the door in.

Pascal whimpered in his sleep. Tsubaki glanced down at him, raising her hand to brush over his forehead. Was he having a nightmare? Or maybe he was ill? Just eating fish over and over again—even charred over a fire as a nod to human foibles—couldn’t be healthy for humans, could it? This place—she thought it might have been made by humans. The human food—even if it wasn’t good, it could give her an idea of what… she could…

She trailed off as she looked up, into the room, and her eyes fell on what she had been feeling.

Stepping into the room, she walked past the racks, and the weapons that lay scattered across the floor. They were… different, she could tell, swords and spears and axes with stories and histories and meaning behind them, but not like the one against the far wall.

She stopped in front of it and reached out, running her hand along the wooden haft of the spear. It seemed ordinary, a leaf-shaped metal blade mounted on wood, but her fingers tingled at the contact and she pulled away, twitching involuntarily. It… didn’t seem to like her? As if Tsubaki wielding it was not right, and shouldn’t be allowed. It was powerful, that much more she could tell.

Almost involuntarily, her mind flickered to what lay outside the house.

Finding food for Pascal could wait.

First, she had to make absolutely certain that he was safe.

“I’m sorry for this,” she said quietly to the spear as she reached out and grasped it, “but I need you to help me.” The spear, of course, said nothing, but the tingle had a little bit less of a belligerent feeling to it as she lifted it from its place and turned to leave the room.
-----

The moment that the spear went through the Talon-thing’s chest, the headless corpse began to writhe and scream, an unnatural treble-sort of sound that set foliage shaking, birds flying in panic, and Pascal crying in fear as he awoke. Terror flooded Tsubaki’s heart, and she set her teeth, strengthened her grip, and pushed deeper.

The scream kept going full blast for three minutes, then continued through five, and Tsubaki did her best to cut it out, cut everything out, push it out the back. The corpse redoubled its cries, flailing wildly, and she leaned to the side to make sure Pascal was out of its reach. Four minutes later, the scream cut off as abruptly as it had started. Tsubaki’s grip on the spear was so white-knuckle tight that she might have snapped it by accident, and Pascal was whimpering again, clutching his head.

Food be damned. They were getting as far away from this… this thing as they could.

Tsubaki ripped the spear from corpse, going into a dead run. In the house, up the stairs, through the halls—she dropped it back into place, and ran again, raising her newly-freed hand to hold Pascal safer to her chest.

They were in the Atlantic—getting close to the north. East or west, you could find humans. And there was a Princess here, she had heard, that was at least benign towards humans, though she wasn’t sure where exactly. The Talon-thing’s body was towards the west of the island, so east it was—she hit the water, skipping across it momentarily as her rigging fully activated, and opened the throttle.
-----

Tsubaki didn’t slow down until the disguised island had vanished behind horizon. It didn’t feel safe until then. Even as she slowed to a more sedate speed, opening her arms so that she could look down and check on Pascal, unease still hung heavy on her heart.

Then wide, fearful eyes looked back up at her, and she breathed deeply, trying to push her worries down somewhere that they couldn’t climb back up at her. She smiled gently and raised a hand to brush his hair. As soon as she made contact, Pascal was clambering up to thrown his arms around her neck and hold on tight. Tsubaki moved her hand to his back to support him, and the arm thing followed suit, purring again.

Looking forward, the sky was beginning to go a little lighter at the edges.

Holding Pascal tightly, Tsubaki sailed towards a distant morning.
-----

So those were the Tsubaki snippets. I can't say they were my best work, but they were different and fun to work on so that's good. I think next I'll look around the different characters I have lying around before moving on to my... unfinished work.

Also, turn the doorknob right for "A" and left for "B." I'm sure you can figure out the rest from there.

Well what do you think, sirs?

 

Yellowhammer

A.N.-Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to build a firm foundation. Warning, this one is not a pleasant snippet.

A Dove and Her Poignard (Part V)

February 23rd, 2013, Castle Moulbaix, Belgium

Two weeks had passed since her manifestation and arrival at the Castle and Ehren had gotten into a bit of a familiar routine.
Spoiler: It Was The Best Of Times...

Piano lessons with Big Sister Claire were a delight and a treasure. Claire was patient, forgiving of her many, many errors and missteps, and encouraged her as she dutifully labored to correct them. Her improvements were pointed out and highlighted and at the end she was always treated to Claire serenading her with a solo performance of some kind.

Ehren's heart thundered to Wagner's magnificence, soared with Debussy, Beethoven, and Mozart's brilliance, and was moved to tears that she would never show by Chopin's delicate expressiveness. Claire shed tears enough for them both when she introduced Ehren to Chopin's Nocturne in E Flat Major, after all.

Kasuyu was a rock. While Ehren had to struggle more than a bit internally considering he was African and black as coal, his frightening competence both in the kitchen and in the salle d'armes sparring with her gained her respect. While he was a servant and her inferior - as should be proper for a non-Aryan - he was a skilled and valued servant. She could respect that.

Then there was Mother.
Spoiler: ...It Was The Worst Of Times

Starting with their first conversation, Mother had been...distant. Every time Ehren saw her, she had pain, guilt and fear in her eyes when she looked at Ehren. Her speech was...formal, cool, with something in it.

Never the words Ehren wished to hear from her.

Ehren silently wished with all her heart that Mother would speak to her, call her daughter, as she did to Claire. But she could see no pathway to that objective, no means of storming the walls in her path to gain the prize within.

Mother had also strictly forbade her to wear the uniform in her presence. Which was her right as her superior after all, but...

Fortunately, Ehren's wardrobe had been replenished with a shopping trip that filled her dresser and closet with almost-acceptable substitutes. Starched and pressed white blouses and black skirts, ties neatly folded and arrayed, black leather ankle boots in precisely linear rows, and stockings of pure creamy white stood in the same geometric precision and place as she had stood in 1938 at the Party Rally, each part of a greater, more perfect whole.

Claire, bless her heart, did not care if Ehren allowed herself to manifest in her proper silver and black dress uniform with her siegrunen, Adler und Hakenkreuz, and SS-Totenkopf fillign her with quiet pride for her place as the elite pinnacle of a greater Germany. Kasuyu said it was not his place to deny her that part of herself.

Which left Mother's reaction to it.

Why?

She had asked Claire, who did not know, not surprising since it did not involve music. Kasuyu said that it had to do with something that happened in The War, but he did not know what for the Mistress had not confided in him.

Which left asking Mother.

And she did not know how to approach her, how to get the answers she so desperately desired. How to get the love and acceptance that were denied to her.

After all, was it Mother's own wish that she was adopted as Ehren du Chasteler, or thanks to Claire's pleas that caused Mother to give her a family?

Was she really part of Mother's family, or not?

She firmed her jaw as she stared proudly at the girl in the black and silver in her mirror.

She would confront mother about these questions and bridge the gap...soon.

First she needed information to plan her attack, establish objectives to be stormed for jumping off points to launch a shock attack upon the citadel of Mother's heart to gain access within. All by the corpus of military wisdom that Father had excelled at studying.

And now was the time to gain that information.

Ehren and Kasuyu were out to buy groceries and some sheet music to assist in her studies (not that Claire needed the excuse to terrorize the local music stores, all of whom knew her by face and name!).

Mother had gone through the Vanishing Cabinet to speak to Aunt Delilah - a momentary disjointed flash of a tomb carved of stone with a bier in the center, a tall brunette looking at her and Father with leaf-green eyes as Father pointed to Mother appeared and faded in an instant - and would be gone for a while.

Which left her alone in the house to do her information gathering.

She marched out of her room and down the hall to Mother's study. Entering, she surveyed the familiar decor of African masks, bookshelves, and the desk where she had rested for decades. Ignoring for the moment the bookshelf glimmering with the faint shimmer of an alarm ward over Mother's private books and papers, she sat down in the desk chair.

The computer was locked, of course. But then she had spent years sitting next to it and knew Mother's password.

Her fingers found the keyboard and typed in "Search: Schutzstaffel in World War II".

One slender finger clicked the mouse to send her request for truth into the ether.

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

"Hi Del. I need to talk to you about my daughter. No, not Claire, my favorite dagger manifested two weeks ago. DEL! This isn't funny, stop laughing!"

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

I have issued the command, and I'll have anybody who utters but one word of criticism executed by a firing squad, that our war aim does not consist in reaching certain lines, but in the physical destruction of the enemy. Accordingly, I have placed my death's-head formation in readiness, for the present only in the East, with orders to them to send to death mercilessly and without compassion, men, women, and children of Polish derivation and language. Only thus shall we gain the living space which we need. Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?

Words she had heard but not understood from her position on Father's hip at a staff conference in August 1939 from Der Führer's own lips whirled through her mind as steel blue eyes widened in shock and horror at the photograph of laughing soldiers standing over a half-filled mass grave as another line of civilians were led forward to the edge....

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

"No seriously, Del. It's just... Every time I see her I see him, and remember how that ended. And I worry about making the same mistakes I made with him that will send her down that same dark path. Please, another shot of bourbon, I'll need it for this."

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

As for the Jews, I am just carrying on with the same policy which the Catholic Church has adopted for fifteen hundred years, when it has regarded the Jews as dangerous and pushed them into ghettos etc., because it knew what the Jews were like. I don't put race above religion, but I do see the danger in the representatives of this race for Church and State, and perhaps I am doing Christianity a great service.

Words that Father had read in Mein Kampf whirled through her mind at another photograph of a squalid ghetto with starving men, women, and children wearing the yellow Star of David and surrounded by barbed wire. Black clad shoulders shook with barely controlled sobs of shame.

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

"I mean, Ehren really believes in what she was taught. What he was taught. And if I challenge her on it, it will only drive her away from me. Away from what we believe in. I know you are better than I am at this, Del. Stop smirking at me, this is tough enough without you rubbing it in."

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

To attain our aim we should stop at nothing even if we must join forces with the devil.

Another image from her search for the truth seared into her soul.

The Reichsführer-SS, a man that she and father knew and respected stared back at her as he conducted a tour of a Konzentrationslager and watched a convoy of Jews get sent to the gas chambers with interest from the newsreel for internal SS use that had been captured after the War.

Salt tears splashed down on Colombe's desk to to join the vomited contents of Ehren's stomach as a blonde head shook in futile desperate denial of what she knew in her heart now was true.

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

"I'll try to do that Del. Take it slow and gentle with her, and support her. She was as much a victim as Kasuyu was with the cannibal tribe that bound him to serve their shaman after all. I don't know how, but... I'll try. It's just... it hurts me to see her, Del. A lot."

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

If positive Christianity means love of one's neighbour, i.e. the tending of the sick, the clothing of the poor, the feeding of the hungry, the giving of drink to those who are thirsty, then it is we who are the more positive Christians. For in these spheres the community of the people of National Socialist Germany has accomplished a prodigious work.

"This is Dachau..."
Spoiler: Liberation of Dachau Concentration Camp-VERY GRAPHIC IMAGES

Words spoken by a US Army officer sent by the victorious Allies to make a newsreel to remind humanity what they fought for...and fought against sounded through the study. Ehren slid from the chair to huddle in a miserable ball, weeping uncontrollably.

She pulled her true body from its sheath, not caring how the razor edges of her blade cut into her hand as she glared with naked hatred through her tears on the Adler und Hakenkreuz set in platinum silver under the matching siegrunen on her hilt.

On her heart.

On her soul.

Staining her for all time with all they represented.

Lies.

Hatred.

Torture.

Murder.

Man's inhumanity to man.

nein...

Nein...

NEIN!!!

Never Again...

Never Again!!!

 

Yellowhammer

A.N.-Since it is Mother's Day, here's something trending positive after last snippet.

A Dove and Her Poignard (Part VI)

February 23rd, 2013, Castle Moulbaix, Belgium

Colombe stepped out of her Vanishing Cabinet with a smug smirk on her face.

Thankfully, Delilah had some advice for her on the Ehren Situation, and her sister's taste in fine liquors was not bad either.

She would have to see about getting a few bottle from that distillery for her birthday. Later.

Right, attack plan in place.

Her blade sharpened and honed.

Time to make the needed thrust to break down her daughter's guarded reserve and get to know her.

Then the slow work of weaning her away from those evil Nazi beliefs that she had been indoctrinated in literally from birth could start.
Spoiler: Ehren's Distress

She had failed Wolff.

But she would not fail Ehren.

"Ehren!"

No answer.

She strode down the hall and stuck her head in her youngest daughter's room. It was laid out as if for inspection by a particularly demanding sergeant, with everything in its proper place and a bed made so tightly that you could bounce a coin on it.

No Ehren.

With that she turned and strode down the hall, her eyes narrowing at the sight of her study door wide open.

"Ehr---"

Colombe's voice died in her throat as she saw the inside.

Her desk chair was knocked over next to a discarded extremely familiar black and silver SS hat. Vomit stained her desk and her computer screen.

A screen that was showing archived film footage taken from the Holocaust.

The blood drained from Colombe's face, and she shook her head in mute denial as her brain reached the unpleasant conclusion.

Ehren knew.

What she would do with that soul-shattering knowledge....

The possibilities filled Colombe's veins with ice.

Her daughter might....

Colombe dashed to find Ehren, praying desperately that she would be in time as she cast a haste spell upon herself.

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

Colombe's frantic search finally took her to the garage for the family car in what had been the stables in her youth. As she approached, she could hear the scream of one of the power tools stored there for heavy maintenance work and her heart sank even further.

"EHREN!!!"

Colombe's spell-assisted kick blew the inch-thick bolted metal door open and halfway off its hinges as she charged in.

Inside the room was an absolute shambles.

Discarded tools littered the floor, many with blood spattering them.

More blood was everywhere, especially on the slender girl in the ripped, torn, and burned SS uniform as she staggered on her feet, blood flowing from the damage that she had done to her avatar with her efforts.

Blood and tears oozed from the remains of her eyes as Ehren grasped the blade of her dagger body with hands long since cut to the bone. She staggered to the roaring industrial grinder and slammed the hilt of her dagger, glimmering with the self-protection and repair spells that Colombe herself had cast over decades, on the spinning wheel once more with all her strength.

Sparks flew as she pressed the still intact Nazi insignia that she had been crafted with against the cutting edge in a desperate attempt to deface it and screamed through a throat raw with agony as more gashes formed in her avatar.

"Warum wird es nicht zerstört?"
Spoiler: Mother and Daughter

Colombe dashed to her daughter's aid and cradled her gently as the younger spirit's dagger body slipped from her weakening grasp.

"Sssh, Ehren, sssh... Mutti ist da. Es wird alles gut."

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

February 24th, 2013, Castle Moulbaix, Belgium

Ehren stirred in her bed, just like before in mortal agony in her spirit and numbed body. Faint piano music sounded in her semi-consciousness.

Gasping in pain, she reached up to try to touch the potion-soaked bandages covering her face with equally bandaged hands.

Only her left hand moved obedient to her will.

Her right hand was captured, and now she could dimly sense through the pain suppression spells and haziness someone using her legs as a pillow.

A hand in hers.

Not Claire's.

Callouses made by centuries of warfare covering the fingers she could feel holding her own callouses in a unbreakable grip.

Colombe's hand.

Mother was here asleep as she refused to abandon her child.

Mother was here for her.

Mother would be here.

Mother would always be here.

Deep inside her innermost spirit, a little bit of the pain from her heritage left her and a small blossom of hope and love appeared in its place.

A blossom that would continue to grow despite everything else life would throw at her .

Mother loved her daughter Ehren du Chasteler.

Despite everything.

She tried to have her hand squeeze back, but she wasn't sure if it did.

It didn't matter.

Her left hand fell back to the sheets as she accepted the embrace of healing sleep.

Mother loved her.

 

K9Thefirst1

So after some back and forth and discussion over PM, Harry convinced me to post a scene of what has become of Isley.
------

December 29th, 2013, Portsmouth

The First Sea Lord Robert Fairbank and Admiral Witcomb stood in a sea of organized chaos, aides and technicians rushing about here and there and everywhere, relaying information being taken in via the small squad of recon drones. The nimble VTOL ROVs took full advantage of the North Sea weather to hide from the eyes of the Abyssal fleet discovered months ago. Typical doctrine would have been to send a fleet out to face the Abyssals, especially when intel revealed that they were lead by a Princess-type. With the rock they inhabited so close to shipping lanes and the UK in particular, it was unconscionable to do anything else... Normally.

With the Abyssinian Accords, the equations were altered. This was the very reason why having the Princess Atlantia was required to serve as an intermediary if circumstances required: Any Abyssal they were able to discourage from fighting, was one less that they needed to fight. With the much needed man- and naval power thus freed to be used elsewhere. And if they turned out to be hostile? It meant that the Abyssals were shooting each other, sparing Humanity's shipgirls from the risk of attacking themselves.

Thus, while the Canadians were waking up Halifax, Her Majesty's Navy had invited the Princess to go over the blips on radar that had been confirmed for enemy activity. Several times since then, she and her second and bodyguard made many such covert visits, gathering data, and examining satellite and recon images. And now it was time. Time to investigate the Abyssal fleet that was perfectly positioned to raid British ports... But hadn't. The drones would provide a visual record of the meeting, and their remote pilots were to do as best they could to get a clear line of sight of the lips for the Spooks in the MI for lip-reading analysis. And unknown to the Princess, one of Her Majesty's submarines was close by with special audio equipment, to corroborate the Princess's report on the conversation.

All that was left was the waiting.

"...What is your wager, Whitcomb?"

"Sir?"

"On this meeting," the older man replied plainly, "if you were a betting man, what would you wager your money on?"

Whitcomb looked at the older admiral, looking for some sign that he was serious, or jesting, or trying to corner him. But, finding none, he shrugged and gave the question some thought.

"Well... In the months since we've known about this group, they've never moved from their base. And yet they have a rather easy path to raid some sensitive coastline up and down the Eastern Coast. And there's no telling how long they have been there. And we know that they haven't been in any known attack, because thanks to Atlantia's IFF charts we have no prior record of these individuals. So, I would put some serious quid on them being peaceful and Her Highness convincing them to make it official."

Fairbank considered the younger officer, looking for any sign of doubt or subterfuge. So Whitcomb stared back, trying to make his resolution clear. Apparently he was successful, because Lord Admiral Fairbank smiled and nodded.

"Indeed. I agree. If these Abyssals were hostile, it is likely that we would have seen some sign by now..."
------

The sky was overcast, and the seas choppy. Not entirely unusual for the North Sea, but there was a noticeable tang in the air, the hum of the unnatural. For those along the coast, the sensation was well known: Abyssals were afoot. Powerful ones. On her tiny island, Isley made no effort to disguise her nervous gulp, nor the unease in her hand as it rubbed her growing belly. This was a day she had long dreaded – An Elder Princess had found her. A small part of her was eternally grateful that it was not Mother. She would not hesitate to slay her in cold blood for her failure, but her Aunts, ironically enough, cared for her too little to likely care overly much. If she played her cards right, then her and Sirius’ child, if not herself or her fleet, would live to see the spring, whatever that would look like.

Isley flinched at the flash and crack of lightning and thunder, which oversaturated the environs in light and blinded everyone of the sight of the landing party in detail. Instead the two figures making landfall were exaggerated in darkness. And the eyes of the shorter and curvier of the two glowed out in Hellfire Red from the silhouette. Isley stealed her expression of cool observation, praying that Aunt Ancient Gateway could not smell her terror. Her fleet, bless them, made a great show of strength in their stances and how they had all weapons trained on her and the Ocean Liner Demon. But Ancient Gateway made a mockery of the display without effort, in how she permitted her Power to radiate from her like oil from a stricken tanker, not even granting them the dignity of acknowledgement.

In time, the Elder Princess and her Demon came to a stop, the latter mounting her fists on her hips, the former crossing her arms under her bust as she took in the sight of Isley. Isley took a breath, and bowed as deeply as her shifting center of gravity would permit to the shorter, but superior, Princess.

“All Hail the Ancient Atlantic Gateway Princess, Elder to the Abyss.”

Her aunt cocked an eyebrow, for once looking apathetically towards the surrounding members of her fleet before addressing Isley.

“It is ‘Atlantia’ now, Isolated Island. So. You have survived.”

“Indeed, Your Highness.”

“Curious. We do believe this is not the island you had been assigned. And given that you did not report back, it was assumed by Central Atlantic that your operation was a total loss. And yet…?”

Isley bowed her head, and averted eye contact.

“The defenders were… More formidable than expected. We… We lost many, and the survivors were so badly damaged that we could not RTB, so we landed on the first available island we could find. Once we recovered enough to brave a return, we could not hail on any of the frequencies. Without orders w-we chose to wait.”

“In other words, you failed to conduct recon sufficient to plan your attack, or at the least determine if attack was wise, paid the price, and rather than own up to your mistakes like an adult and proper military leader, governor, and potential Sovereign, you ran and hid like a child.”

Isley jerked her head up to glare at her aunt. How dare she dismiss the hardships of her fleet as if they were nothing! But… When she looked this short Princess in the eye, and took in the utter disappointment in her eyes, suddenly the years melted away and she was once again a newbuild who performed underwhelmingly in her training exercises. The Petty Princess recalled that of all the Elder Princesses, including her mother, it was Ancient Gateway that cared the least about things like Glory or Status or Aggression, but instead promoted Results and Preparations. And even in her moments of deepest longing for Mother’s Approval, it had always been Aunt Gateway whose critique, without fail, that motivated her quest for betterment, and approval and encouragement in the face of failure soothed the sting of it the most. And just like in those halcyon days, her harsh words were nonetheless absolutely correct. But Isley still grit her teeth.

“I most strongly disagree Your Highness. Nothing could prepare any fleet for those..." to the younger Princess' shame, she shuddered at the memories of shrieking cloaks, flying like forlorn flags of the damned, "Things."

Aunt Gateway's expression shifted to something more calculating and thoughtful, stroking her chin in the pause of their conversation, taking in what Isley said... Then she started taking a real look at the remnants of the fleet Isley left home with, all those years ago.

"Hmmm... How many were lost in battle? And how many succumbed to injury or time?"

At that... Isley lowered her head.

"I... neglected to apply your council against Over-Aggression, we over-extended, and those in my charge suffered the consequences. Mother would not have forgiven me. Nor given us a chance at redemption.”

She didn’t see it, but Isley knew that Aunt Gateway nodded in agreement. After a moment, the Elder Princess began to circle Isley. The sensation of a shark circling prey came unbidden to Isley’s mind. Especially at the sight of the black blade at Aunt Gateway’s thigh from the corner of her eye.

“Indeed. Central Atlantic was not one for such things. So it stands as no surprise that she died without need.”

“Mother is… Dead?” Isley interjected, genuine shock in her voice. Mother had always seemed so… Mighty! It seemed that only Divine Intervention could possibly hinder her, let alone kill her!

“As dead as We are living,” Gateway proclaimed, with more than proper joy in her voice, “along with all of the others of our sisterhood.”

Isley turned to her Aunt, shock clearly written in her features. Aunt Gateway made no effort to hide her sense of smug superiority. Nor should she have. It was little secret that the Ancient Gateway did not agree with the plan for war as the other Sovereigns did. And how she only went along with the plan with monumental and loud reluctance. Mockeries and jeers abound among Isley’s sisters and cousins amongst their fleets, all calling the youngest Elder Princess a coward, or a civilian, or a glorified merchant port, fit only for… For things unspeakable in polite discourse. And yet of all the Heirs of the Abyss, it was the one that wanted War the least that had survived all these years, while those lusting for it died by the sword. So did that mean…?

“And so… The war, Revered Elder?”

Did that mean that she and Sirius could raise their child in peace?

Aunt Gateway came to a stop before her niece, and sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping just enough to hint on the weariness within her heart.

“It proceeds. It has been a stalemate for nigh on a decade, and We would not balk in the slightest at a flare up within the next few years, but it proceeds. To avoid the wroth of the Humans in the early years We too went into hiding, but even if We had not, none of the fleets descendant of our sisters would have sworn fealty to Us. Nor did We have the numbers to humble the Abyss and force the issue.”

The field was silent, save for the rumbling of thunder, and the whispering amongst Isley’s fleet, no doubt they were all pondering what it might mean. Isley herself was curious as well. Specifically, why would Aunt Gateway come all the way out here with such risks to her safety from Abyssal and Human alike?

“So… What has, changed. Your Highness?”

“Eagerness.”

Isley rose her head to look at her aunt. She suspected her confusion was more evident than she desired, given how Aunt Gateway answered her unasked question.

“The Humans have grown weary of War, Islolated Island. The years since what they call Blood Week have cooled their tempers, and so calls for ceasefire and treaty are accepted and negotiated with almost no questions asked. In fact, We have also of late made a pact with the Humans. In exchange for Military assistance and intelligence sharing, and favorable trade and permitting Foreign Investments, We and Our Realm shall be spared genocide, and We are permitted first claim to any Phantom Islands Our forces find. Provided they are not already within Human jurisdiction of course. Now rise.”

At the command, Isley stood up to her full height, and looked down on her Aunt, naked curiosity in her eyes. Her Aunt look in her niece from her head to her feet, cold calculation in her eyes. The Ancient Atlantic Gateway Princess was measuring Isolated Island Princess’ worth. And the consequences of being found wanting made Isley instinctively cover her belly protectively. ‘Sirius…’

“In accordance with that treaty,” Aunt Gateway continued, loud enough for all to hear, “We... I, was asked by the Humans to meet with you. To assess your threat to Human vessels, your willingness to surrender. And how you are to be… Dealt with, if required.”

Isley felt her breath catch in her throat, and the life in her stomach felt exceedingly real. Aunt Gateway may have always been the most magnanimous of the Elder Princesses… But she was still an Elder Princess of the Abyss, with all the Power, and Wrath, and Cruelty that implied.

“Tell Us niece… If you are required to make nice with the Humans, to the point of being surrounded by them at all hours of the year, would that be cause for umbrage?”

“Nay. I have not a personal quarrel with them. In fact, I find their company… Pleasurable.”

A snicker or two escaped from the surrounding fleet, and despite the gravity of the situation Isley was pleased at the expression she managed to get out of her Aunt: a slightly raised eyebrow, and a twitch at the corner of her mouth.

“Which explains something different about you.” Her aunt replied as she once more circled Isley, taking greater interest in her swollen stomach.

“Is the father present?”

“N-no. He… Had duties elsewhere, long overdue.”

“Hmmm… Tell Us. Was he… Willing? Or was he a hostage under threat?”

“Wh-what?!”

Gateway stopped in front of Isley, her glowing gaze glaring at her dead in the eye and brooking not even to notion of an argument.

“Did. You. Rape. Him. The humans will be keenly interested in your answer.”

“NO!” Isley bellowed, and against her better judgement her vision turned red and she raised her voice, “Sirius loves me! And I him, and damn you to Hell for suggesting I would ever abuse someone in- in THAT way!”

The island was quiet again as the Petty Princess and the Elder Princess stared each other down. Isley was taking deep breaths to calm herself, while Aunt Gateway, curse her, looked utterly unimpressed at the display. Isley, damn the consequences, was sorely tempted to slug her full in the mouth. And she might have, had Ocean Liner Demon not been present. Despite being only a Demon, and of a merchant class at that, there was always a sense that there was something… ‘off’ about the Feral Abyssal. Something not right, as if she were a rabid animal on Gateway’s leash, and best left unmolested.

Regardless, the two Princesses stood still… Until Aunt Gateway smirked.

“’Sirius’ was it?”

Isley gulped, but otherwise maintained her composure. In her fury, she gave away her lover’s name, likely putting him at risk of arrest by the Ministry. Which was likely the purpose from the beginning. Too late, she recalled another lesson from her Aunt’s assessments: ‘Passion is a weakness to exploit, or to have exploited,’ and she fell for it. Aunt Gateway rubbed her chin, once more looking Isley over appraisingly.

“Tell me… Would you chafe under the rule of another? Under my rule?”

The shift in discussion threw Isley off, and she once again recalled another lesson: An unbalanced opponent is weak. Despite being years out of practice, Isley swiftly found herself slipping into the mindset from her Aunt’s lessons. This whole meeting was a test. The fallout regarding revealing Sirius’ identity could wait. She was being tested, and it was for keeps. Taking a stoic expression, Isley crossed her arms under her own bust, matching her Aunt’s posture, recalling a lesson regarding how mirroring someone’s posture made them unconsciously more amiable towards you.

“Depends. Will me, my fleet, or my child suffer punishment for crimes we didn’t commit? If so, I see no reason why I should do anything other than what we have done.”

To Isley’s internal satisfaction, Aunt Gateway permitted a small twitch at the corners of her mouth.

“As the majority of the humans do not recognize the government your target belonged to, only the most belligerent, least popular, and least political in Government would make issue with your singular act in the war. As to your relationship with Central, do not worry. Humans’ most expressed religion has this to say: ‘The soul who sins shall die. But if a man is just, he shall surely live.’ A sentiment I generally agree with.”

Isley narrowed her eyes at her Aunt, considering her offer of amnesty… But Aunt Gateway was not one to indulge in charity if there was nothing to get out of it.

“And so, in exchange for this pardon, we will fight in your war against the rest of the Abyss?”

Aunt Gateway cocked an eyebrow at that, but there was approval in her eye at her deduction at her long-term goals.

“You do not desire to fight for your liege.”

It ought to have been a question, but Aunt Gateway’s tone made it anything but. ’Dangerous waters here, best to be clear.'

“If attacked or threatened,” she said, conspicuously rubbing her belly, “all of us will open fire on anyone. But it has been many years since we did so. Our equipment is no doubt out of date, and we are all out of practice. Front line service would not be suitable for us.”

“Naturally. However… Perhaps escort duties? With the recent pacts with the Humans, I have need of a proper embassy. And my present envoy would be greatly pleased at any assistance she can gain. Does that seem agreeable?”

Isley gave the offer some thought. Indeed, with the implied job offer as Embassy security, her fleet would only need to be intimidating except in the rare emergency situation. To be frank, none of those that had stayed with her through the years, rather than leave for other fleets, were at all interested in going into battle ever again, not after the horrors they suffered in their one and only battle. And Ambassador? It certainly made sense. As her niece, Isley was a historically natural choice for the role, as Family could honestly speak in the best interests of Family. While Isley wasn’t sure she had the best qualifications to be a Dignitary, the mention of a pre-existing envoy meant she would have someone to get her up to speed… And cynically, it meant that Aunt Gateway could keep a very public eye on her, to ensure she wasn’t plotting anything. And, finally, it meant that they could get off this rock. And her child would be able to be born and grow in more… Comfortable environs.

“It is. In fact… I think I recall hearing about a place that you might find useful as an Embassy. If you do not mind my boldness.”

Aunt Gateway smiled warmly and nodded.

“Then kneel, niece, and repeat after Us.”

Taking care of her belly, Isley kneeled and bowed her head. Behind her, Isley heard the rest of her fleet following her lead. And with Aunt Gatew- Aunt Atlantia guiding her, she swore her loyalty, her industry, and her life, along with those of her fleet, to Her Highness Porta Abysseum Atlantia, Elder Princess of the Abyss, Regent of Abyssinia. Whatever that meant.
------

The pair sailed from the island to rejoin the fleet in silence. When they were far enough from shore to speak freely, Porta addressed Ocean Liner Demon.

“The last I spoke with that girl, it was still a decade before Blood Week. I had expected her to be just as bloodthirsty as the others and just as worthy of eradication.”

“Yes. I had hoped to rip and tear some before the offensives begin.”

“Still… Her amiability is a boon that I am eager to turn into an asset.”

“So. What will you tell the Humans?”

“The truth. She has sworn loyalty to me, and her fleet – after being properly cleared of course, up to and including demilitarization if required – will serve as my Embassy guards, as well as augment the Convoy Divisions.”

“And her Baby Daddy?”

“My instincts tell me that there is a story to this ‘Sirius’ fellow, but in what manner I cannot tell. Either way, I will pass the name onto Reivana to be fished among her contacts among the Mundane and Magical British Governments for clues about this man.”

“Feeling protective?” The Demon quipped, voice amused.

“Once things calm down and I can draft the charter of Abyssinia, I will decide one way or the other if Isley will be officially regarded part of either the Imperial Family, an aristocracy, or anything at all, niece or not. How she conducts herself will play a major role in deciding that. The alliance she has unwittingly forged will play an almost as important part.”

“’Almost as important?’ As in, you might permit a peasant as a noble if she performs well enough?”

Porta tutted in amusement, once more eager to preen in her own cleverness.

“Do not forget Demon, eight-hundred years ago, the Hapsburg family was an insignificant minor noble family in the Alps. Eight-hundred years before that and they were… Pig farmers or something. Blood is vital to Authority Demon, but sometimes there comes need to bestow Authority into blood in the first place.”

Liner turned to her princess, and Porta had a real sense that she was being evaluated for sincerity, or some other factor known only to the Demon.

“Huh. That’s a change in tone for you. And Angband?”

The Princess looked to the Demon for a time before turning her gaze back out front, and was silent for some time, and when she answered, it was with a quiet voice almost above a whisper, an expression of trepidation on her face.

“I have always seen myself as pragmatic Demon, adaptable. The fact that I live and thrive while my sisters and their fleets are dead, dying, and in decline is proof of that. And Angband… I have been thinking a great deal on her Demon. The daughter I neglected in favor for the one with the Divine Right, and yet she is everything I had hoped for in an heir… This past year or so, I have been beginning to look on my actions and I think I may have been… Wrong, to dismiss her so.”

Ocean Liner Demon turned to look at her princess with a jerk, her body language blatantly describing her shock and surprise at what she was hearing.

“So… What will you do, Your Highness?”

Porta was quiet, alternating between biting her lip and biting her thumbnail.

“I don’t know. And I hate that the most…”

Just below them, HMS Venturer nodded in satisfaction as her crew stowed away the equipment and left for the nearest station.

 

Harry Leferts

Softly smiling, Harry watched as Haruka taught Siusan how a modern slow dance. The Irish fox looked somewhat nervous and kept glancing at her feet in concern. Only for Haruka to gently lift her chin so that they could look at each other in the eye and smile before kissing her nose much to the embarrassment of the Irish fox. What made it funnier was that Haruka was actually a head shorter than Siusan.

Granted, that caused the teen to snicker as he remembered how his Grandmother had reacted to seeing Haruka in a dress. Said dress was a rather plain blue one, but it also showed her legs and some of her cleavage. Upon seeing that, Siusan had gone bright red, though Haruka had also flushed a little from the reaction even as she smiled. It did not help matters that Siusan was unable to keep her eyes in one place.

Thus far though, Harry to grin a bit and be even more happy for the Irish fox.

Only shaking his head, the young wizard turned away from the dance floor where the two were dancing and looked towards the door. Mainly because he was waiting for Natsumi to arrive. When she did, Harry rapidly made his way over and gave her a hug, one that was returned, "Hey, Natsumi-Chan."

Hugging him back, Natsumi smiled, "Harry-Chan." When she pulled away, the Kitsune gave him a nod after looking him over, "You're looking nice, Harry-Chan."

Lightly blushing, Harry scratched his cheek and grinned, "Well, I got to match up to you and the others, right? Though..." Now looking away, his next words caused his long time friend to go red herself, "Pretty sure that I failed."

It was now her turn to look away, "Dammit, Harry-Chan... saying such things."

Bemused, Harry smirked a bit at that, "How tsundere~"

All he did was laugh though as Natsumi flicked him in the forehead at that with a huff. But, she was also smiling as she did so, "I am not a tsundere." Shaking her head, she grabbed his arm, "You have to make it up to me by giving me a dance!"

That time, Harry did laugh, "Sure thing, Natsumi-Chan. But maybe first you'd like something to eat?"

Nodding, the Kitsune smiled some, "Well... I am a bit hungry." Natsumi reached up and poked him in the forehead, "After that, a dance."

Harry made a sound of agreement as they made their way over to the refreshment table, though he did raise his eyebrow at the teenaged looking boy there. The wizard had never seen him before, though his clothes were slightly out of date. More than that, Tsukiakari was next to him talking, though he was unable to hear what was being said. Seconds later, the boy looked at him and nodded before walking off himself.

Once they had a few snacks and a drink each, Natsumi pulled him out onto the dancefloor, "Now for that dance!"

Grinning, he nodded down at her as his arms went to her waist, "Well, I did promise you, Natsumi-Chan." When he glanced to the side, he snickered some, "Akagi-Oba and Kaga-Oba seem to be enjoying tonight."

With a blink, Natsumi looked into the same direction and her eyebrows rose as she spotted her brother dancing with Kaga, switching off to dance with Akagi and then back, "Huh..."

Still grinning, Harry leaned towards her ear, "From the rumours around the base, your Nii-San is now dating both of them. And has been for some time though they made it official at Christmas."

A frown on her face, she hummed, "Since Christmas?" When Harry nodded, she grinned, "So does that mean that we won the betting pool? Because I did go with what you suggested."

Unable to help himself, Harry laughed as he nodded, "Hai! Since it happened on Christmas and they have been dating for a time before that... we won it." Both their faces lit up with glee at that, "Which means that we got most of the betting pool!"

Like with Christmas, as the night dragged on, Harry ended up dancing with various shipgirls as well as Natsumi and Regina. At the same time though, he rolled around what Ian had told him in his head. Even if they were interested in that sort of thing... what about him? He cared for them, that much was obvious. But...

Was he even the slightest bit worthy of it was the question that weighed most on his mind, and one that he did not have an answer for...

Or, maybe, that was not true. There was a part of Harry who kept whispering that he was not worthy of affections. That he did not deserve it, or his dream of a family of his own. It was a voice whispering venom in his ear, into his heart and making it ache. What was worse was that he knew that it was venom, that it was pure poison of the worst sort.

So why was he unable to stop it?

Leaving the mess hall, Harry waved off any questions with that he needed to get some air. Several eyes did follow him as their owners had noticed that Harry had seemed deep in thought quite a bit throughout the night, though he had still paid attention to them. Once outside, he walked a short distance away from the doors and sat down on a cold bench while looking out into the sky. Out on the harbour, he could just see various shipgirls getting ready for the fireworks display.

There was one group of lights that he spotted which made him smile. It was a steel hull ship, the JS Fubuki as well as her shipgirl namesake, Yuudachi, Mutsuki, and Kana. All of them clustered together as the steel hull had returned to Yokosuka with her sea trials done successfully. Part of his mind went to how Fubuki had told him that she was going to spend the first New Year's of her namesake with her. Yuudachi and the others had joined in stating that they were going to be there with Fubuki as well, which had made him smile.

Granted, he wondered about the rumour of a crow nesting on said steel hull out at sea, which was very odd indeed...

Shaking his head free of such thoughts though, Harry focused on what was bothering him the whole night. Yes, Ian had obviously been trying to help him, and Harry was thankful for it. At the same time? The thirteen year old had... had issues believing it. Not for his great-great grandfather, no. But... rather in regards to him. The bit where Ian admitted that he did not believe that he had been worthy of the affection and love of his wives stuck with Harry.

In an odd way, it was a stab into the heart of Harry's feelings. What Ian had told him punched through a wall when the elder Potter had told him that he was not the only one who felt that they were unworthy. The fact that the older man had thought such, that he believed that he, too, was unworthy was something that had stuck to Harry. But what had stuck more... what kept rolling around in Harry's head, was what else he had said...

"They believe that you, of all they know, deserve it. And in the end, that is really what matters, that they believe it."

Was it really that simple? That as long as they believed in it... that was what actually mattered? Nothing else, just... that they believed he deserved it? It was a strange concept to say the least and that nasty little voice in his head deep down didn't have an answer except to claim that they didn't see him as worthy, that they were playing with him. That one day they would abandon him, and he would be alone.

Yet, oddly enough? Those words were unable to reach his heart unlike the others much to his surprise. Because he knew that there was nothing false about how they cared for him. That for some reason, they saw him as worthy of their affections. And that was a truth that the nasty little voice was unable to destroy.
So...

Why did he still concern himself about if he thought otherwise?

Harry was so deep in thought that he did not hear the footsteps, but jumped at the small hand that placed itself on his shoulder, "Harry-Chan? Are you okay?"

Twisting around, he noticed RO looking at him in concern, "RO-Chan? What are you doing here?"

Just frowning, the Uboat narrowed her eyes some, "I came out here to look for you, because it is about thirty minutes to Midnight. Almost time for the New Year." Her expression softened a bit, "And I was worried about you being out here for so long thinking."

About to answer, Harry froze as another voice spoke up, "She was not the only one, Harry-Chan." His eyes widened as he realized that Hachi and the others were behind him as well. Tilting his head, the blonde Submarine frowned as she took up a spot on Harry's other side, "Harry-Chan? Talk with us."

Going to tell them it was nothing, the teen paused for a moment. It was the looks in their eyes, something about them froze the words in his throat and he found himself unable to lie. Natsumi took a step forward and placed her hand on his shoulders, bringing her eyes down to his level, "Harry-Chan, please tell us what is wrong? That English saying... a burden shared is a burden halved? We can help you."

Unable to help himself, tears came from his eyes and Harry shuddered some. Swallowing, he took a deep breath, "I... I am not worthy of this and..."

Slowly, it came out. First in a trickle, and then pouring out. The whole time, Natsumi and the others didn't say anything, they simply held him. Verniy came around the front and hugged him there, with the other Submarines as well as Akizuki, Teruzuki, and Hatsuzuki taking up position around him. Finally, Shinano, Louisiana, and Regina as well as Taigei and her sister stood on the outside, the five making sure that no one could listen to what was going on, even as they gave their silent support. While he used the words "Affection", "Kindness", and "Friendship", the group caught the underlying meaning. Though they did not say anything, just silently listening even as they wanted nothing more than to hold him and interrupt him.

Eventually, Harry trailed off, "... And..."

Going silent and unable to say anything else, he finally looked up. He had not known what their expressions would be. What he saw was sadness and sympathy. What anger there was in them was buried, and deep, but most importantly it was not for him. Gently, Verniy reached into her clothes and pulled out a cloth handkerchief. One that she used to gently dab at his cheeks, cleaning the tears away. Then, she wiped his nose and had him blow into it, the cloth vanishing right after. Her hand came up and cupped his cheek softly, "Harry-Chan, look at me."

When he did meet her eyes, he took a deep breath, "Hibiki-Chan?"

For several moments, Verniy looked him in the eye before leaning forward and gently kissing him for a second or two. Then, she pulled back, "Harry-Chan, you have no reason to feel that way. None."

Opening his mouth, Harry shook his head, "But Hibiki-Chan..."

It was then that he felt Hachi's grip on his arm tighten and looked at her. Warm, blue eyes met green at that moment, "Harry-Chan, you say that you believe that you are unworthy. But..." Taking a breath, she let it out, "But there are times when I feel as such."

Part of her wanted to snort at the surprised look on his face at that, but kept it in. Eyebrows furrowing, he shook his head, "Hachi-Chan? But... you are..."

Slowly, she shook her head, "I understand that, Harry-Chan. Up here." Her free hand came up and tapped her head, "Not here all the time." Hachi's hand came down and tapped where her heart would be as a human, "What my crew had done when I was a steel hull, the terrible crimes they committed? I sometimes feel like they make me worthless and unworthy of things such as friendship or love. But... that voice has slowly been going away."

RO gave a nod and chimed in, "And she is not the only one, Harry-Chan." Seeing that he was looking at her, she kissed him and pulled back, "I, too, sometimes feel that way, Ja. Like I am not worth it. Like Hacchan, I am stained by my past as a steel hull and that causes me to feel that way. But... that too, is slowly passing."

Tightening her embrace from behind him, Maruyu shook her head, "Hai, and I too feel that way, Harry-Chan. I was a member of the IJA, and we were far worse than the Navy ever was. And that is a burden that I will carry for my existence. Does that make me unworthy?"

Quickly, Harry shook his head, "N-no, it doesn't..."

With a look around, Shinano crouched down and stroked his head, "Harry-Chan, my first mission in my previous life, though it was unofficial, was a dark one. My cargo was... things that were going to be used for killing, with the pilots using them dying. And for what? Nothing. I am happy that Archerfish sunk me, rather than see my mission completed. But while I do feel happy, I also failed, and sometimes I think that I am a horrible person, unworthy of Kaa-San's love, or that of my Nee-Sans... or any of you."

One by one, the others spoke up with the Akizukis, Taigei and her sister, and the other Submarines making similar comments. Shioi, for example, speaking of how she felt like a failure as she was unable to even perform a mission before the war ended, and also feeling horrible because of feeling like that. Finally, it came to Regina, who brought one cool hand up to Harry's cheek before biting her lip. Before he could say anything, she gently kissed him and pulled back with a soft look on her face, even as her tail nuzzled Harry, "Harry, I am an Abyssal. And while I don't talk about it... I have done bad things, horrible things." Looking from him to Shinano, she sighed, "Yet, I have you, I have Shinano... and others. But I sometimes feel like I do not deserve them, deserve you. However, I can see that you feel otherwise."

As he nodded, Louisiana looked down some, "Mon chéri, I was never built, because my nation, the United States did not feel like I was worth it. And... when I was stuck in that coffin... " Shudders ran through her before Natsumi reached over and took her hand, "There were times when I thought that I was there because I was worthless, unworthy. But... you, mon chéri, and ma chérie, you keep showing me that I am. That I am worth something."

Finally, it came to Natsumi who bit her lip and looked at each of the others before her honey colored eyes met Harry's and she let out a breath, "You probably already guessed my family history, Harry-Chan. The shadow over me... after all, considering how I look..." Seeing his widening eyes, she teared up some, "It was not hard for me to guess, and I am not stupid, Harry-Chan. When I realized that, what that secret was... I felt horrible, like I was not worth... anything. But you also know, and I realize that. You believe that I am worthy." She looked at each of the others and gave them a nod, "That no matter what, we are worthy."

Gently, she kissed him for a few seconds, Verniy moving out of the way so that she could do so, throwing her arms around his neck.

Pulling back, she gave him a soft look as she placed her hands on either cheek and pressed her forehead against his, "Believe me when I say that while you may think that you are not worthy of such things as affection, friendship... love, that you really are. And we will remind you of that whenever that is needed, Harry-Chan. Because that is who you are to us."

Unable to help himself, Harry teared up again and looked around, "You guys... thank you."

Tears in their own eyes, they simply embraced him for several minutes. They only broke away a bit as everyone started to come out and they could hear people chanting the countdown. Looking at each of them, Harry felt like something cracked around his heart. Like the hold of an anchor chain was breaking slowly and he smiled, "Thank you."

Each of the girls smiled at him before kissing him on the cheek as the countdown continued. As the first fireworks went off, Iku nuzzled him, "You are welcome, Harry-Chan."

Placing her hand on his shoulder, Taigei smiled at him, "And know that even if you think otherwise, we believe that you are worth it, Harry-Chan. Also... that we will always listen to you, and will take on your burdens. Because you have taken on ours, so we can do the same back."

Harry only nodded before tilting his head some and giving her a kiss on the lips, the Submarine Tender flushing at that. Though when he pulled back, she had a smile on her face. Nothing more needed to be said, so they just turned to the fireworks, each of them unknowingly having the same wish in their heart.

'Let this year be as good as the last, and allow for us to heal the hurts of the past for those we care for and love...'

 

Yellowhammer

A Dove and Her Poignard (Part VII)

March 7th, 2013, Castle Moulbaix, Belgium

Ehren opened her eyes and looked around her room as she yawned the last sleep from her eyes.
Spoiler: Ehren Awakes

Everything was in place, neat and spotless just as it should be.

Even the Allgemeine-SS black dress uniform neatly arranged and mocking her with its presence on one of her chairs.

That last got a scowl and a hateful stare directed at it.

She sighed in the privacy of her own room as she focused her anger and loathing on her personal Nemesis as it waited silently for her.

Her memories ran back to 'Uncle' Kasuyu explaining what was happening with her uniform.

"You are a Mmụọ nke ihe as am I, your sister Claire, and the Mistress. When we form the shape of a man or woman, we retain a link to that which we truly are. For some it is below the surface, this is how your sister was born with the ability to create music on her true form, for such is her very essence. For others...it is more visible as the smith that made them or the shaman who spoke them into life has his face stamped upon their spirits to show kinship as a son resembles his father."

Her scowl darkened as she glared at the mocking presence of the SS uniform.

Of her shame.

Of her past.

Of part of herself that she wished with all her heart to cut out like a doctor would a tumor.

Another thought rose and she began to nod as her jaw firmed.

'Obstacles do not exist to be surrendered to, but only to be broken.'

Exactly.

I will break this obstacle, this part of myself, and not let it define me.

I will not surrender to it, not give in to this dark part of myself.

I will----

Wait.

I remember those words.

I remember Father reading those words.

In Mein Kampf as he studied those words in SS-Junkerschule.

Hitler's words.

No.

NO!!

They can't be right!

Hitler can't be right!!

Can he?!?

Ehren shook her head in denial as her fists clenched and unclenched and tears trickled down her cheeks and finally raised her eyes to stare at the uniform once more with determination in her steely gaze.

I don't know what to believe anymore.

I don't know what to think about what I am, what I will become since I was lied to and tricked like Father was.

Save I know that I shall never become what I was before I saw under the mask you fooled Father with.

What you represent.

What you did to people like Claire.

I will find a way to overcome you. Somehow. Some day.

I swear that I shall.

The uniform gave no reply.

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

Ehren looked at herself in the mirror as she dressed for breakfast, smiling slightly at the girl she saw. White long-sleeved blouse with a minimum of frills and a black tie, calf length black skirt with white stockings and polished black ankle boots. She liked this appearance and it did suit her Teutonic features.

With that in mind she gathered her shoulder length wheat-blonde hair and pulled it through a keyboard-patterned 'scrunchy' that Claire had picked out for her to place it into a ponytail.

Alles in Ordnung.

She turned to look at her room, eyes flickering in automatic inspection. Even the uniform waiting for her got no more than a hate-filled scowl.

She walked over to the stand holding her dagger body on her bedside table, and checked it automatically. For a moment one thumb slowly traced the inscription on her blade.

'Meine Ehre Heisst Treue'

"My Honor is Loyalty."

Hitler's words to the SS.

Not blind loyalty, never blind loyalty to march in lockstep down into the Abyss.

My Honor is Faithfulness then.

Faithfulness to what?

What could she find for herself that was worthy to pledge her faithfulness to?

Her Big Sister Claire's love and acceptance?

Kasuyu's quiet support?

Mother's feelings for her?

Perhaps the family members she would meet today for the first time?

Did she dare open her heart to them to be wounded like Mother had accidentally wounded her when she thought that Ehren was a threat to Claire?

Did she dare trust them to guide her correctly rather than lie to her like Hitler had tricked Father and her?

But if not them, if not family, then who could she find to trust and support?

Ehren slowly slid her true body into her sheath and buckled it to her wrist, testing its action. It would be ready; she would be ready if called upon to act to defend her sister.

She could wait and watch and observe. Probe them and determine for herself what judgements to make. Mother had lived for three centuries and Kasuyu for over five.

She had time. She could be patient.

She would not be fooled again. Not when the price of that failure was...

She took a deep breath and forced bile down at the memory of some of the photographs from the Third Reich that she had seen when she researched the SS. Images that haunted the nightmares that she stoically endured night after night as part of her penance for the blood on her soul.

I will do my best, always, in all matters great and small.

I swore to Claire that I would be her little sister.

I swore to Mother while my eyes regrew and my body healed that I would not cause her pain by trying to destroy myself. Mother told me that she did not view me as irrevocably tainted by the crimes others committed and that she fought against.

I swore to myself that I would find a way to remove that stain from my soul that was not self-destructive. That would not cause pain for Mother and Claire and Kasuyu.

That I would never give in to that part of myself that I struggle with constantly.

The Grendel to my Beowulf. The Fafnir to my Siegfried. The Jörmungandr to my Thor.

I keep my word and oath.

Meine Ehre Heisst Treue.

I can believe this.

I can build upon this.

I can build something good and true to be proud of upon this.

I shall build something good and true that shall make Ehren du Chasteler proud of her accomplishment. That shall make Claire and Mother and Kasuyu proud of me.

I swear that I shall make it so.

Nodding to herself as she made that promise, she then squared her shoulders and stiffened her spine before opening her door to go forward and meet her aunts for the first time.