Harry Potter & the Shipgirls

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

I had been planning on adding another segment or two to this snippet, but I was distracted by... a few different things. I'll try to have the rest written some time later today.
Message Girl

-----

"Maeda-San?"

Chisaki looked up at her name being called. Across from her, the young lady manning the desk smiled beatifically at her. "The mayor is ready to see you now." Chisaki continued to stare, perturbed. She would be a bit more willing to trust her at her word, if she hadn't had the girl for her first senior class—and if she hadn't had a pair of furry, rounded ears. Standing slowly, she walked past the desk, pausing beside her. The girl continued to smile, the clear face of a former student who could no longer be threatened with detention.

Sighing, Chisaki looked at the door in annoyance. Raising her hand, she prepared to knock—

"It's open," an old woman's voice called out. Chisaki twitched, glancing back at the secretary girl. Gripping the handle, she slid the door open.

The room was only dimly lit, she found as she stepped in. That was surprising—but then, maybe the mayor preferred natural lighting? Stepping in and pulling the door shut behind her, she looked at the woman sitting behind the desk, and up and to the right—

"Yarizakura-Sempai?" she asked, stepping forward. The slightly larger man nodded respectfully. "Why are you here?"

"Who knows?" he replied with a shrug that twisted into half a stretch. The mayor slowly, slowly, raised an eyebrow at the laidback display. "I was going to spend the evening with my daughter, but our guest over there was rather insistent that I come to Mother's office this evening."

"Guest?" Yarizakura nodded to the side, and Chisaki looked to see… Oh my. The wall was covered with a bookshelf, and leaning against it was a woman clad in a ratty old haori over a hakama. Her hair might have looked beautiful if it were brushed and cleaned, and maybe tied up—as it was, it hung down to the backs of her knees. At her waist hung a drinking gourd—for once not in her hand, both were occupied leafing through one of the mayor's books. This was one of the odder inhabitants of Sakura-shinmachi. No one could remember a time that she hadn't been there, living with the caretakers of the local shrine, yet she was mischievously secretive about her identity.

By Chisaki's understanding, the leading theories were related to lengthy rumored vacations in the fall.

"Maeda-kun," the mayor piped up. For a woman who had kept her age as well as her, her voice was still the gentle croak that one expected of a grandmother. "What reason could you have for keeping me here so late? Is it related to the Kumogai girl?"

Chisaki winced. Reiko's arrival home had proven slightly disastrous. By all accounts, she and her mother had raised the roof again, and one of the neighbors had even called the police to complain about the noise. With her blatant crush on Haneda Tatsuya, Chisaki had hoped that the jorogumo girl would adjust her behavior at least a little bit. Instead, she seemed to have returned to business as usual.

That, however, was not important at the moment. And what was…

"Peripherally, yes," she nodded. Although the Yarizakura Clan leaned toward the good-natured end of the social spectrum, it was not exactly a secret that there was a dragon somewhere in the bloodline. Given the esoteric nature of the populace, that shouldn't have bothered Chisaki so much, but at a young age, she had discovered a slightly prophetic western movie about dragons causing the apocalypse that left her slightly traumatized. She wasn't willing to risk getting her head bitten off with informality. "While I was in the area of Yokosuka, Kumogai-san was discovered by a pair of high school students. Circumstances… required that I explain our plight to them, and they set up a meeting with a local miko."

"And why on earth," the mayor replied, "would they do that?" Chisaki steeled herself. This was the moment that she knew might not go through.

"Because although I did not know it at the time," she explained, inhaling deeply and offering up a brief prayer, "the miko is a member of the Ono clan."

The name was punctuated by the Woman at the bookcase snapping her reading material closed with a flick of the wrist. As the eyes of the others in the room fell upon her, she gave them a cheeky smirk.

"You are certain?" Mayor Yarizakura asked, voice low, as if worried that if she spoke louder her words would escape her. Chisaki swallowed, and nodded.

"I am," she confirmed. The Mayor turned to look up at her son.

"We can take Maeda-kun at her word," he confirmed. "She's trustworthy and does good work."

"What did she say?"

The schoolteacher grimaced. This next part was the bit that began to sound almost too good to be true. "She claimed that the nonmagical government is aware of the magical side," she explained, straightening her back. "And that it is preparing for the fall of the Statute." The room was silent with the exception of the Woman, who snorted derisively. "If we are willing to cooperate, she says that she can help us make contact and negotiate for protection."

The room was truly silent then.

Yarizakura broke it, turning and looking out the window. "For real, huh?"

"I assure you—"

"No, no, I believe you," he waved off Chisaki's attempted protest. "But wouldn't that be a pleasant surprise for the old farts?" He grinned. His mother considered his words for a second, and briefly shared it.

"As I understand it, the Ryuusei are pushing for a crackdown on rogue yokai," she agreed. "But that… I can see why you came here," she trailed off, glancing over at the Woman who while not observed, had begun drinking from her gourd. "Might I ask your advice?"

The Woman lowered her gourd, gnawing on her bottom lip. She looked over at Chisaki and her fellow schoolteacher. "Don't need you two at the moment," she said simply, before glancing at her. "Gonna need some more answers later, though."

Chisaki nodded, turning on her heel and walking out. She was followed closely by Yarizakura. Her role in this was not finished completely, but the most important task had been carried out.

Also, the mayor did not seem horribly, horribly put out that she had blown the town secret twice over after going to visit a pregnant friend. That was nice.
-----

Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Walking towards the water, Harry smiled at the Twins who were to either side of him. "Thanks for spending the time with me. Hopefully it wasn't too boring when I, um... spent some time with the shipgirls."

However, Ume only shook her head with a small smile on her face. "It wasn't boring at all, Harry-Chan. And you spent plenty of time with us as it was, even then." Her smile widened a touch with her next words. "Besides which, they deserve some attention as well."

Only nodding, Harry considered her reply. "I guess that they do. They can't leave their hulls, right? And that's why you brought me there."

With a small giggle, Sakura nodded. "That's correct, Harry-Chan. While they have tried, they cannot leave where their hulls currently rest. We do keep them company though when we can since they became manifested in the way that they have. After all, we know much about how it's like."

Reaching over, Harry took her cool hand in his and gave it a squeeze while doing the same with Ume. "Which you shouldn't, neither of you."

All the two spirits did was smile and give his hands a squeeze back. Meanwhile, Shioi had her hands behind her head with a thoughtful expression. "Didn't expect for them to come right out and ask to be in your future fleet though, Harry-Chan. Now that came out of nowhere."

Slowly shaking her head, Ume gave her a look. "But is it really a surprise? You know how they were all built. And then they were left here to rot and rust in place for many decades." She then nodded towards Harry. "Yet one day, Harry-Chan came here and despite the danger, performed actions that freed them of their darkness. And made it so one day they can be summoned."

Tapping her chin, Shioi gave a nod. "When you put it that way... Yeah, I suppose that it is not a real surprise about their actions." She then gave Harry a wink. "Though Miitake was hilarious when she glomped you."

Beside Shioi, RO giggled at Harry's small blush. "Ja, that was amusing..." Clearing her throat, she spoke in a passable imitation of Miitake's voice. "He just looks so cuddly that I want to hold him close and hug him!"

Just the memory of said glomp. and how his face had been shoved somewhere that could have caused him to suffocate if she was solid, Harry felt himself blush. It did not help matters that it kept popping up in his head. "Sure, sure, RO-Chan, laugh it up."

Still grinning, RO nodded. "Will do, Harry-Chan."

Grumbling good naturedly, the black haired boy sighed and shook his head as they reached the water's edge. With a sigh, he turned and then gave both Ume and Sakura a hug, which they returned after a moment of hesitation. "Anyways, thanks for spending some time with me and I'll make sure to send letters, okay? Whenever one of the girls come by, they'll drop them off and pick up any letters that you might have as well."

Eyes closed, the Twins enjoyed the feeling of warmth from Harry as they nodded. "Hai, we'll write back to you when we can." Opening them, they gave him a soft smile. "We'll see you in the summer when you get out of school."

A smile on his own face, Harry gave them a nod. "Sure! And I'm looking forward to that."

Before he could do anything though, both girls gave him a kiss on the cheek and pulled out of the hug. "Goodbye, Harry-Chan. And once more thank you, you have made our time here much better with your company and friendship."

While the stunned wizard stood there, the two giggled and faded out of view. Hands still behind her head, Shioi only shook her head and snorted. "Well, we should get going, Harry-Chan. We don't want to be late for the party tonight after all. And we also got DesDiv6 waiting for us as well."

Quickly shaking off his shock, Harry gave a nod. "Um, right... Right!"

Roughly five minutes later found them leaving the caldera and out of the tear in the protections there to find a surprise waiting for them. While DesDiv6 was there, Verniy's hull was not too much a shock to them. What was a shock though was the somewhat larger hull that was also there. It took Harry a few seconds to realize who's hull it was, which was helped by the fact that said shipgirl was standing at the bow. "Tenryuu-Oba? Is that really you?"

Grinning, Tenryuu struck a pose with her sword over her shoulder and laughed. "Yup! You betcha it's me, Kiddo." Leaning against her railing, Tenryuu's smirk grew at the stunned looks on the Submarines. "So what do you think?"

Simply examining the hull in front of him, Harry only shook his head before grinning himself. "Awesome, Tenryuu-Oba! That is so Poi, Dess!"

With a snort, the Light Cruiser gave him a wink. "Thanks Kiddo." Stretching some, she sighed with a smile. "Took a lot of practice and work once Hibiki-Chan here managed it. But I figured it out." Scratching her chin, Tenryuu frowned briefly. "A bit odd though, sort of like being in two places at once."

Head tilted to the side, Harry blinked. "Really?"

Only shrugging, Tenryuu gave a shake of her head. "LIke I said, kind of. But not that bad and it is rather neat to manage." After a moment of thought, she shook it off and waved at him. "Anyways, come on aboard and we'll head back to Yokosuka. I want to get some practice in for this sort of thing."

Below on the water, Ikazuchi huffed some. "Yeah, yeah, Kaa-San. One day soon, we'll manage this too you know!"

Inazuma meanwhile sheepishly smiled. "Aki-Chan, calm down."

The next words from Aki though caused Tenryuu to stumble a bit from where she was going to meet Harry who was setting himself as well as the two Submarines down. "Oh come on, Ami-Chan. You know why Kaa-San wants to 'Practice' having her hull out. It's so that when we go to England tomorrow she can have Tou-San onboard since we're meeting him and Obaa-San. And so that she can show him all around inside it."

Scandalized, Akatsuki hissed at her sister. "Ikazuchi-Chan! It's not lady-like to say such things! Especially about Kaa-San!"

Opening one eye, Tatsuta hummed a bit. "Ara, ara~ Oh, I don't know, Akatsuki-Chan. It seems about right to me~"

Just giving her a look, Tenryuu sighed. "Et tu, Tatsuta?" Rolling her eyes, she turned to Harry who was looking around curiously. "Anyways, we should get going. And for all of your information, it does not have to do with showing Drake around my hull. I'm practicing so that I can show off to Kiso next time I see her and watch her turn green with envy."

Tatsuta oncce more hummed. "My, my, how Tsundere of you Nee-San."

In reply to that, Tenryuu gave her a look over her shoulder.
__________________________________________________________________

Sipping her drink, Iku looked down at Harry thoughtfully as the small party went on around them. "So you ready to go back to Hogwarts tomorrow, Harry-Chan?"

There was a frown on Harry's face before he gave a small shrug. "I guess? I mean, I liked the long break we got and kind of miss being here already."

All Iku did was set aside her drink and give him a hug. "And we already miss you as well, Harry-Chan. But look on the bright side, it's only for about two more months or so. And you'll be back before you know it!"

Giving that some thought, Harry just nodded. "That's true enough. And I'll be busy enough that I guess time will fly pretty quickly."

It was then that Taigei walked up having caught the last bit of conversation. "Exactly, Harry-Chan! And it's not like we'll be out of contact with you. Something that we're all thankful for... along with it being much safer now."

Quickly finishing his drink, Harry gave her a hug and then Iku one as well. Then he pulled back and smiled. "And then there's the Quidditch game, there's one left so I might see one of you there. That would be nice, Dess."

Humming, Iku slowly nodded. "I think that it's Taigei-Nee-Chan's and Ryuuhou-Nee-Chan's turn to head to one of your games." With a slow nod, she turned to Taigei. "I think that you'll enjoy it actually."

Now thoughtful, Taigei went over what she had been told before and chuckled. "I am sure that I will enjoy it actually. And I'm looking forward to it as is Ryuuhou-Chan."

With a nod, Harry smiled. "By the way, I'll make sure to send the treats from the train tomorrow. So you might as well be..." Trailing off, he blinked. "Um..."

Confused at the pause, Iku raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong, Harry-Chan?"

Slowly, Harry brought up his finger and pointed. "It's just... Well, look at Rose and Haruna-Oba."

Both of them blinking, the two shipgirls did so and stared for a moment. Mainly because the tea set was rather flushed while practically draping herself over an red faced Haruna. But it was not just because of that the Battleship was flustered.

No, that might well have been because of the song that Rose was singing.

A bright smile on her face, Rose swayed to music that only she could hear while various people watched. "Haruna Matata! What a wonderful phrase! Haruna Matata, ain't passing phase!" Twirling around Haruna, she continued. "It's my problem free, philosophy, Haruna Matata!"

While she continued to sing and Haruna became more and more flustered, Harry blinked. "Since when did Rose see the Lion King? And why is she acting like that?"

Just blinking, Taigei sighed some. "As to the first, Rose-San and Haruna-San both went to the Lion King play that was on stage recently for a date. I think that they were on a double date with Kongou-San and Teitoku..." Thinking it over, she shook her head. "And, um, to the second? I think that someone might have brought some adult drinks."

Eyebrows raising, Harry nodded. "Oh." Sniffing his drink, he ignored the giggles from Iku and shook his head. "Well, Rose seems to be enjoying herself. And she is pretty good at singing."

Iku only grinned at that. "Hai, true enough." All three then went back to watching Haruna and Rose with amusement. Especially with how flustered the Battleship was becoming.

 

[darthcourt10]

Year Two - Secrets and Shipgirls Part 5

START

I've decided to split the last bits before Summer Two starts

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Walking towards the entrance to where Platform 9 3/4 was, Harry let out a breath as he pushed the trolley his trunk was on. A glance around showed him that there were various other students also walking towards the same destination. Oddly enough, he did spot Draco who had a somewhat lost look on his face for some reason, but then was swallowed up by the crowd. Shaking that off, Harry looked to the side and smiled. "You look really good in that, Hibiki-Chan."

The white haired Destroyer softly blushed as she smiled back. "Thank you, Harry-Chan."

Looking her over, Harry chuckled some, though internally he thought that she looked more then just really good. The Destroyer was wearing a white blouse with one of those black string ties at the neck. Meanwhile, there was a black skirt that went down to halfway between her knees and ankles while the white beret and black Mary Janes completed the look "You're welcome, Hibiki-Chan. It's just the truth after all."

Needless to say, that brought another blush to Verniy's face as her smile widened a touch. Beside her, Ikazuchi who was in a similar outfit except without the beret shrugged. "I have to admit, we look pretty good. Hopefully Obaa... I mean, Grandma Drake approves." Rolling her eyes, she snorted. "Kaa-San is pretty nervous."

Eyebrow raised, Harry looked back to where Tenryuu was talking with Tatsuta. For once, the normally sweater wearing Light Cruiser was wearing clothes that would not look out of place at somewhere semi-formal. If it was not for the fact that he had known her for years, Harry would have missed the fact that she was actually somewhat nervous. "Huh..."

On Harry's other side, Inazuma wagged a finger at her twin sister with a frown. "Stop that, Aki-Chan. Kaa-San has a very good reason to be nervous as this is the first time that we've met Grandma on Tou... Dad's side of the family, Nanodesu. We need to make a good first impression after all."

Sighing, Ikazuchi rolled her eyes some. "Yeah, I know that. Besides, Kaa-San should be able to rely on us more."

Akatsuki for her part had a large smile on her face as she adjusted her beret, something that only her and Verniy wore. "I'm just happy that we get to wear these! And I hope that we get to wear them more often! They're so lady-like and elephant!"

Without missing a beat, Ikazuchi sighed. "Elegant, not elephant."

Lips twitching as the two bickered lightly, Harry looked towards Verniy who shrugged with a small smile on her face. From her body language, the black haired boy could tell that she was happy with what they were wearing as well. It was then that Harry had an odd image go through his mind. Said image was of him and Verniy out somewhere with him dressed just as nicely and her in her current outfit. Then she turned towards him and leaned in...

Unknown to him, he had a small blush on his face which Verniy caught. Internally, she blinked in confusion and looked around to try and see what might have happened. 'I wonder why Harry-Chan is blushing?' Shaking it off, she reached over and took his hand in hers. "I am just happy that we get to see you off before heading to Babushka's. It was very Khorosho of Kaa-San to let us."

Squeezing her hand, Harry gave her a bright smile back. "Yeah, that was a nice surprise." Moments later, the two walked through the entrance to 9 3/4 with the Hogwarts Express there. Neither of them spoke as they continued to walk along, just enjoying the presence of the other. Of course, that was when Harry noticed something and raised an eyebrow. "Huh... there's Ron. And he's got Warspite with him as well as... Is that Duke of York with them?"

Also raising an eyebrow, Verniy frowned in thought as she noticed that the three were talking. "Da, that is Duke of York with Warspite and Ron. I wonder why she came to see them off..."

Head tilted to the side, Harry hummed before shrugging. "Well, Duke of York is one of Warspite's best friends I think? Or that's what I heard." With a shake of his head, he frowned. "Maybe they're going somewhere after this?"

Glancing at him, Verniy considered that before tapping a finger to her chin. "Perhaps, that makes sense." What made her raise her eyebrow higher internally though was how the three had drifted over to a spot where soon they might not be seen by anyone, especially with how Duke of York was moving to block off any sight of Ron and Warspite by those who could see it. 'Hmm...'

Within moments though, they were out of sight of the three and heading towards the train. Upon reaching the door, Harry pulled Verniy into a tight hug. "I'll be missing you, Hibiki-Chan. Let me know how your visit to your grandmother goes, okay?"

Just hugging him back, Verniy nodded. "Da, I'll make sure of it." A quick glance around made her blink. Especially with how her sisters had moved to block off the view with Ikazuchi giving her a wink. Something that made her smile. 'Thanks, Ikazuchi-Chan.' Unseen by her, Tenryuu, Tatsuta, and Nagato had also moved into place and no one could see them. Especially with how thin the crowds were at the moment. Quickly, Verniy gave the black haired boy in front of her a peck on the lips and moved back with a blush on both their cheeks. "I'll see you in a few months, okay?"

Slowly, Harry nodded even as he fought down his own blush. "Okay, Hibiki-Chan. See you all then." With that, the Akatsuki sisters moved off to where their mother was while Harry turned to Nagato and gave her a hug, the Battleship returning it. "I'll see you at the next Quidditch game, okay Mum?"

Nagato gave him a smile back and then nodded. "Hai, Harry. I wouldn't miss it for anything so I will be there." Gently patting him on the shoulder, she gave him a raised eyebrow. "And please do not get into any more adventures before the end of the school year. I don't know if my boilers could take it."

All Harry did was give her a grin back and rub his neck. "It's not like I actually go looking for them..."

The Battleship simply sighed and shook her head. "That is true enough, I suppose..." With a check of her internal clock, she nodded. "You should get going then."

With some final goodbyes, Harry boarded the train and made his way down to one of the empty compartments. Not long after, a somewhat flushed looking Ron also entered and sat down. Looking up at him, Harry blinked. "Ron? Something wrong?"

Quickly, Ron shook his head as the flush on his cheeks deepened. "Um, no, nothing's wrong Mate. Just, uh..." He glanced to the side where he could see a somewhat blushing Warspite talking with Duke of York who had a smirk on her face. Then he caught sight of his mother who was facing the Twins and huffing. "Just hoping that Mum doesn't figure out that I moved the clock forward a bit last night so we could be here early."

Knowing from Ron about his family, Harry winced a bit. "Seriously, Ron? You moved the time forward on the clock?" At his nod, the wizard sighed. "You better hope that she doesn't find out it was you."

Simply shrugging, Ron chuckled weakly. "She thinks it was the Twins or maybe Percy, not me. So I'm pretty sure that I'm in the clear..." Coughing, he changed the subject. "Anyways, I was wondering something." At Harry's motion to continue, the red head did so. "You know a bit about enchanting, right?"

For a second, Harry blinked at the odd question and then nodded. "I know some stuff, sure. Why?"

Leaning forward, Ron frowned some in thought. "I was wondering if you knew how to fix enchantments to fabric? I mean, if the person is not really all that experienced with it."

Just frowning himself, Harry thought it over and furrowed his eyebrows. "There's a few ways I guess. Not that I'm an expert or anything, but I have done some reading since I want to make my own enchanted objects." After Ron nodded, he continued. "But... generally put you want something magically conductive in the fabric. Acromantula silk is one of those things, though you can also use thread made from silver or gold, they'll hold an enchantment according to the book that I read."

Eyebrows raised, Ron leaned back. "Thread made from silver or gold? Really, Mate?"

Harry just shrugged at that. "That's what the book said anyways. It also said that the best such thread that one could get comes from threads that dwarves weave though house elves can also make it. It's literal thread made from the metals, unlike what you find in the non-magical world."

Now really interested, Ron became more thoughtful. "Huh..."

Roughly an hour later, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville were all waving at their friends and family as the train pulled out to head back to Hogwarts. All of them looking forward to the next two months and then heading home.
_____________________________________________________

Slowly entering the room, an exhausted looking old man sighed some before he came to a stop before a low table. Sinking to his knees, he bowed to it with his eyes closed. "Good evening, Onee-Sama, Onee-Sama." Opening his eyes, they fell upon the aged picture there with two ever burning candles on either side. In the picture was a young boy sitting and on either side were two older twin girls, their hands on his shoulders as all three smiled for the camera. The frame itself was of two different kinds of wood somehow blended together.

If Harry was ever shown the black and white photo, he would have been shocked to recognize Ume and Sakura.

At the moment the old man stared at the picture before gaining a bitter sweet smile as memories of happier days went through his mind with a small tear at the corner of his eyes. "I am sorry that I was not able to be around before the Butsudan was closed, though I suppose that this place is much more suitable." Swallowing, he took a deep breath. "It is much more like the two of you that you would rather something like this, I suppose."

However, the picture didn't say anything but the old man chuckled. "Oh yes, I do believe that you would rather this." With a shake his head, he let out a sigh. "While it may not be an excuse, I have been hard at work. As I have said before, the government in Tokyo has been falling apart slowly but surely. I myself have been hard at work here in Kyoto, Onee-Samas, organizing things. The world is changing around us and while I am frightened, scared... I have not felt the hope that I have before."

Frowning, he kept his eyes on the picture as the light from the candles flickered. "We're working on making a new government, a better one. One that will be for all magical beings here in Japan. Whether they are human or Yokai, despite what those fools in Tokyo may think of us. Every day, our movement is becoming stronger and while it is exhausting, I will persevere."

Expression brightening, he chuckled. "As a matter of fact, we have had a recent stroke of luck. Do you remember how I stated that myself and some of the other old families have been helping the Yokai? Helping them escape from the government or the reserves? Hiding them where they could be safe until they could leave without fear? I have come from a meeting of those of us of the new government here in Kyoto and bring great news! We have managed to sneak a large number of our supporters into the guards of the various reserves. Not many, that may be true. But even the ones we have managed are bringing aid to them and sneaking out those that cannot stay."

Lips curling upwards and making the laugh lines around his eyes crinkle, he shook his head. "And more then that, we received a letter recently. No one seems to know who brought it, but I did see a fox nearby. While the others did not recognize him, I remember the messenger of the Ono clan quite well. Last I saw him was before the second crackdown after the war. It does my heart good to know that he was not caught. But more important was who the letter was from..."

Pausing, he waited for a moment before speaking in a soft, awed voice. "It was a message from the Imperial Emperor! Somehow, Tennō has heard of what we have been doing... He has asked of us not to create conflict with the government with Tokyo, something that we do agree with Him on. While I am unsure if the magical government in Tokyo would obey such orders, we will. But it made those of us there quite happy and hopeful. If the Statute should fall, then we have hope that things will become good."

Eyes softening, he sighed some. "I wish... I wish that you were here, Onee-Samas. You would be so happy with how things are going I would think. All the work that has been done, and is yet to be done. One day, one day I promise you that we will have a Japan that will be something that you would be proud of. One where it does not matter what one may be, they will be accepted. Where.." Voice breaking, he let out a small sob. "Where even if one is born without the gift of magic to a family of such, they will not be tossed aside or mistreated. Where they will be cherished as they should be!"

Bowing low, he touched his forehead against the floor. "I swore to change our family's ways that dark day I returned from school to find you gone. My beloved Onee-Samas... To make it so that if there was ever children like you, they would still be considered beloved. While I know that it can never be changed for you, as even though I know that you may be dead and gone though not how, I have made it better. Now, now no one would suffer in our family as you had! However, now is for when I must work to change things so that others in our nation like you will not need fear being tossed away. I only hope that when we meet once more, you can look down upon me with pride and happiness for what I have done. That is my fondest wish..."

Sometime later, he left the room though before being fully through the door, he clapped his hands and bowed once more to the photograph. As he stood up, he took note of the room itself, which was seemingly frozen in time. The room itself looked exactly as it had when his older sisters were alive, which was his goal when he had done it after becoming head of the family. It served to him as a reminder of what he was working towards and why.

For a moment, he was taken back in time to when he was a young boy coming back from another meeting with his father and the other elders. To be greeted by the smiling, comforting faces of his older sisters. Both of them were kind and would comfort him when he needed it, especially as his own father was harsh and his mother followed her husband. It was a kindness he missed once they disappeared while he was off at school learning magic. And while he was never told what had happened to them by his father, only that they were bringing honor to the family in one of the few ways they could, he knew. He knew that they were dead somewhere.

And he had never hated his father and the elders, or his mother for following their lead, as much as he had at that instance before.

Then the moment was gone and the image of his sisters faded away and he closed the door. Standing there, he let his head hang while he fought back the pain, fresh after all these years. It was a scar on his heart that he felt would never heal. With a shuddering breath, he straightened and turned to find two women waiting for him. One of them, looking his age was his wife. He could still remember when they first met, an arranged marriage that still blossomed into love.

Beside her was a seemingly younger woman in her twenties, though they all knew she was older then that. In her hair was crane feathers that helped it hold it's style, the one sign of what she truly was. Her, the elderly man could remember finding injured, trying to escape from ICW wizards. Both him and his wife hid her, with her giving them her most treasured item to hide so that it would not be found by those hunting her. They had sheltered her for several years before she could leave and gave back her treasure... Only for her to smile and ask if there was a place for her there.

One that both him and his wife had happily allowed.

Stepping forward, his wife cupped his cheek and smiled softly. They knew what he had been doing after all. "It's getting late, Dear. And you need your rest as you need to be up early with the Sun. Our bed is cold without you."

His hand over hers, he nodded some. "Hai, my love. Let us go and retire for the night."

With that, the three walked away from the room towards their own.

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

That's a fun song. Not a great one, but I enjoy it well enough.

Also, here's the other portion of that snippet from yesterday.
Communication Woes

-----

Hoshikawa Umi took a sip of her glass of vodka. Usually, she was a beer woman, but on days when she wasn't feeling up to her usual standards, she mixed it up a little. Bracing her forehead against the back of her wrist, she sighed and allowed her body to loosen.

So, vodka. Hadn't there been a meme or something a little while back? Umi straightened back up. Yeah, about a year back. Some American prankster on the internet had typed out a note that said "every time you drink vodka, Gangut recruits another lemming to her communist army." It had enjoyed its popularity (culminating when Gangut decided to actually try and create a lemming army), and faded into obscurity as was the fashion. In all of history, little better than a split second. Kind of like Umi's attention span.

"By the way," Houshou said, and Umi turned to glance at the bartender, "I've found in the past that when you ask for something other than the usual, you need a listening ear." Umi leaned over to look over her shoulder. It looked like everything was under control, the personnel and Shipgirls ministered to and enjoying themselves. Houshou must have decided to seize the moment while it presented itself.

"It's just a," she took another sip of vodka, since why should she ignore perfectly good alcohol? "sort of a realization I had recently. About me and Namiko."

"Really?" The door dinged open and an officer walked in, making a beeline for the counter. Houshou slid the rag she had been wiping the surface down with into her pocket, and reached up for a bottle. "Is there some kind of trouble between you?" Sip of vodka.

"Yes… and no. There is, but at the same time there kind of isn't." Umi twisted her lip. "I just said that twice."

"Ushio?" Houshou prompted.

"Yeah, yeah. You know how one of our friends from school needed some help a few days ago? She was pregnant, and her boyfriend ran out on her. Namiko was able to track him down, and went to confront him. What she found was…" Umi shrugged helplessly.

"Not the monster that she'd been expecting," Houshou completed the thought. "And seeing that upset Ushio at how petty people can be at the worst of times." Umi gaped up at her. Had Namiko talked to her about her troubles, too? Houshou placed a tumbler on the wooden surface and opened the bottle of whiskey. "I've been doing this for a while, Lieutenant. There are certain… patterns, shall we say, that show through from time to time."

Umi thought on this, and decided that it made sense. "Yeah, pretty much," she admitted. "Namiko was upset, and so… she went to Saki." She exhaled, pushing the air from her lungs and allowing her arms to fall limp at her side. "Because I, am an emotional freight train, and would have just breezed past her problems." Because her own problems shouted inside her head, and drowned everything else out. "I... She didn't think that she could come to me with her problems, because I wouldn't have spent the time to relate to them. I'm not… She doesn't think she can communicate with me, which means I'm not good for her."

"How patently ridiculous," Houshou dismissed her concerns, having served the officer. She pulled out her rag again, and gave her attention to another stain. "How long have you two been together?"

"We've been friends since middle school," Umi admitted.

"And the years have brought you even closer," Houshou nodded. "Love, in all it's forms, ignores flaws." She frowned. "No, that's not right. It doesn't care about flaws. Lieutenant," she gave Umi a pointed look, "I seem to recall you having a hand in some of the problems when Ushio first awakened." As much as she disliked remembering it, Umi thought ruefully. "If she did not care for you, do you think she would have maintained your relationship this long?"

Umi took another sip of her vodka. When the carrier put it that way, she could see the point in what she was saying. Ushio had never stopped writing to her, sought her out, and stayed by her side over the years. It made a logical sort of sense, though some part of her didn't seem to have heard it yet over the red hot emotional cries inside.

"Come to think of it," Houshou added thoughtfully, "How is Tohda-san? Last you told me, she was feeling ill."

"Not really feeling any better," Umi replied. Maybe that wasn't quite true. Saki wasn't exactly bedridden, she could get up and move around. She preferred not to if at all possible, however, feeling more comfortable swathed in warm, cozy blankets with her eyes closed to try and cut out the throbbing headache. "Namiko thinks that she should see another doctor, because the medicine she has right now isn't really making things better." Wait a second, she was talking to Houshou. "You know, maybe you should go talk to Saki."

Houshou paused, looking up from where she'd been tending to a particularly stubborn scuff mark. "What makes you say that?"

"She's got this whole…" Umi bit down on the nail of her thumb, trying to think of how to explain it. "… thing going on, about how she's a third wheel and her relationship me and Ushio isn't very strong, so it's meaningless, or something. It's stupid. Not like, not like some communication problem, like she isn't as good a friend as me and that makes her worth less or something."

"… I think I might see what you are talking about," Houshou took a moment, looking like she was trying to muddle through a conversation in a foreign language. "Maybe you should invite her by once she recovers, if you think I could help."

Umi nodded and threw down the last of the vodka. It wasn't bad, but she still preferred beer.
-----

Akebono glared down at the computer in front of her. On the one hand, she really, really didn't want to be writing out this report. On the other, she kind of had to. And even if she could light the thing on fire with her angry glare, it was still expensive equipment.

She groaned, leaning away from the monitor and turned a lazy eye on her calendar (paper, Dad liked to give them as presents on Christmas). Idly, she flicked through the pages, before stopping on July. For a second, she glanced down at the twenty-second, then let go and turned back—

"Who's Mai, and why is her birthday marked on your calendar?"

--to the submarine who was hadn't been in here a second ago!

"GET OOOOOUUUUT!"
-----

Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

RCNAnon

Hello all. I bring you another snip of Ron and Warspite.

Ron and Warspite: Duty and Love
--------------------------------------------

The thunder of eight 15" guns rang out once again as Warspite fired another salvo at the Ta class abyssal she'd been fighting for much too long. Answering shell fire came seconds later, the salvo just missing, water droplets pattering down on her and sending shivers up her legs as she fought for every scrap of power. She didn't remember how many salvos they'd exchanged already as the rest of her patrol engaged the Ta's escorts but she needed to end it soon, the dying evening light leaving more and more chance for the abyssal to slip away.

Her guns reloaded painful seconds later and took aim once more, the coordinated salvo finally penetrating the Ta's armor. The abyssal seemed to stumble in the water, surprise on her face before something inside exploded, leaving only an oily smear and a few pieces of her rig on the surface. Warspite felt a shiver of relief run through her body as the main threat was dealt with but she couldn't rest on her laurels yet, turrets swiveling to engage one of the remaining cruisers.

Fifteen minutes later and the rest of the abyssal were sunk, none of them even trying to retreat as the battle had gone on. That meant this group was very likely feral or desperate, trying to push towards the coast to raid for supplies. Giving herself a moment, Warspite fought to keep pain off her face. A running battle and several near misses by her aft section had sent shockwaves up her always troublesome machinery spaces and she knew that she would be screaming in pain if she wasn't rigged up.

Leander sailed up to her as the rest of the patrol group gathered itself. The light cruiser girl appeared uninjured while the rest were moving slower or supporting each other.

"Ma'am", Leander said with a quick salute, "We have an issue."

"What's wrong?" asked Warspite, keeping her tone steady despite her legs.

"Norfolk took a hit to her machinery spaces, a bad one," said Leander, "And while I could tow her, it wouldn't be very fast. Comet, Crescent and Cygnet are ok but they've all taken some hits. Given where we are on patrol… I thought it might be best if you took Norfolk under tow."

Warspite felt the bottom drop out of her stomach at Leander's words. They'd found the abyssal patrol at the extreme end of their outbound leg and the fighting had only taken them further as they pushed roughly north-east into the North Sea. Not that there was any choice in the matter. Leander was right and as much as she wished one of the ambulances was nearby, almost all of them were on patrol in the western approaches, their group wasn't the only one which had encountered enemies tonight. It'd be just as fast under tow to get Norfolk to a repair berth as to wait for a transport.

"Thank you Leander," Warspite said with a nod, "Go see to the destroyers and I'll get Norfolk under tow."

Leander nodded, sailing back towards the destroyers.

Warspite took a deep breath as she sailed over to Norfolk. This was going to hurt.

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

She'd been wrong about her legs. They didn't just hurt, the burning agony shot through her calves with every wave and knives jabbed deep into her thighs with every additional push. Luckily they were finally back at base and the docks were right in front of her. Several off duty girls and one of the repair ships were waiting to take Norfolk off her hands.

She managed to make it up to the dock and then they were swarming, the tow line parting as Norfolk was helped onto a reinforced stretcher and wheeled off to the repair baths in a hurry. The rest of the girls gave Warspite a nod, knowing that she always left last. It was a silly thing, they'd all seen her in her chair but she had a limit to how much her pride could take and the pain after de-rigging, especially now, wasn't one of the things she liked to show.

Finally she was alone, except as she looked around she saw she wasn't. Ron was there, waiting with her wheelchair. Why was he…? Oh, right. He'd been coming over to visit her again since he was leaving for school soon. He must've been waiting due to the tow and the battle.

She wanted to say something but she was biting her lip too hard. Ron noticed and simply brought the wheelchair closer. She managed to nod in thanks, turning around as she prepared to de-summon her rig. Steeling herself as best she could, she let her rig disappear.

The pain almost immediately doubled, even her battleship toughness not preventing her from letting out a grunt of pain. She collapsed downward, directly into the padded seat as Ron caught her with it. The weight off of her legs helped a little but it wasn't enough and she knew it was showing on her face.

"Should I take you to the baths?" Ron asked from behind her.

"No…" she managed to say as her legs trembled visibly, muscles twitching and clenching with some of the worst cramps she'd ever had, "Won't help the cramps." She sucked in air through her nose, the reinforced chair creaking under her grip.

"To bed then," said Ron, already pushing her chair towards the dorms. Warspite put up no protest as he did so, nor did the guards near the building. Not with her forcing her face smooth once more and Ron hurrying like he was.

By the time they'd taken the elevator up to the proper floor and Ron pushed her to her room, the very worst of the cramps had worn off but she was still in pain and fighting not to show it. She didn't stop until the door to her room shut behind them and then she let out a cry of pain as her leg trembled once again.

Ron rolled her up to the bed and assisted her as she put weight on her feet just long enough to stand and shift her weight forward so she could collapse onto the bed. It was soft enough for her upper body but every movement was still torture to her legs. She let out a whimper as she finally managed to get her legs onto the bed with Ron's help, muscles still quivering in pain. Right now all she wanted was for them to stop hurting.

Ron knew that Warspite was hurting badly. Badly enough that she was trying not to move her legs despite the way they were already spasming. He also knew that she wasn't going to the docks, even if it would help. That left him to help her out. He first removed her shoes, more soft whimpers coming from Warspite's mouth before he finished.

"Warspite," he said as he reached into one of his pockets, "I'm going to touch your legs ok?"

Warspite didn't want anything touching her legs at the moment, the lightest feather would be another pin of pain. Yet she also knew that Ron wouldn't hurt her on purpose, not after all he'd done.

"Okay..." she whispered, trying to make her legs stay still enough for Ron to do whatever he was planning to do.

Ron felt a stab of pain in his heart from the way Warspite sounded but he still climbed up on the bed so he could reach her legs properly. Taking the bottle he'd removed from his pocket and popping the top, he poured a stream of liquid on Warspite's leg.

Warspite felt the coolness of the liquid on her leg, sending a brief shiver from the temperature alone but then she felt Ron's hands gently caress her calf and she let out a moan of pain. It hurt but there was something else going on as he spread the liquid all over her skin. After only a few light strokes she let out another moan, this one of relief. Whatever it was, whatever Ron was doing it was calming her muscles.

"How does it feel?" Ron asked as he focused on Warspite's leg. He'd planned on this to be a nice surprise for Warspite, not something needed for intense pain but it seemed the massage oil he'd infused with the same minerals as the repair baths was helping at least a little bit.

"Better..." Warspite managed. It didn't feel good, she was still in pain but it was certainly helping the sharp stabbing. Slowly Ron's grip grew firmer on her calf, the soft strokes translating to pressure that tried to smooth out her muscles and spread the relief through the rest of her body.

Better was enough for Ron, several minutes spent massaging the whole leg before he focused his thumbs on the rock hard knots that had developed in Warspite's legs. Each one felt like steel but he worked on them anyway, adding more of the oil in careful dabs as he only had so much. They each broke up slowly, Warspite's moans of mixed pain and relief slowly quieting towards relief. Finally he found no more knots in her calf, slowly stroking to let the muscle recover from the rough treatment it had been going through.

That only left Warspite's other calf and both of her thighs, with Ron's arms and hands already starting to get tired. Not that there was any choice in his mind. Warspite was still in pain, so he went to work.

Warspite felt every bit of relief that Ron finally filled her calf with, the shooting pain dulling to a merciful general soreness. She was about to say something to Ron, only to feel more liquid dulling the pain in her other calf. She let out another groan, this one of pain as knives once more shot through her muscles, though she knew it would quickly start feeling better.

Ron continued to stroke Warspite's other calf, doing what he knew of massage therapy for her. It wasn't much but it did seem to be helping her. Her second calf was no less troublesome than her first to finish and by the time he got the last of the knots out, his hands were definitely getting tired. Leaning back after he finished he flexed them slowly he let out a sigh.

Though her thighs were still in pain, Warspite felt much better than she had, enough to be aware of Ron's sigh.

"Are you ok Ron?" she asked.

Ron snorted, even as he continued to flex his hands.

"I'm fine," he said, "Hand's are just a little sore. How are you feeling?"

"I..." a spasm went through her leg at that, "Still hurt but I'm feeling better."

Ron looked down at the bottle of oil, then clenched his hands again.

"I can massage your thighs some," he said to her, "I know it's not much but it could help."

Warspite turned her head back to look at Ron, seeing the look on his face before he noticed her looking and met her eyes.

"I… if you would," she said, seeing the determination in them. He knew her too well and to be truthful she was still in quite a bit of pain.

Ron nodded, even as Warspite lay her head back down.

There was a pause, then Ron spoke up once more.

"Uhm… could you lift your skirt a little?" he asked, feeling more than just a bit sheepish.

Warspite couldn't help but giggle a little bit despite the pain. She and Ron were close, very close but she hadn't expected Ron to ask her to do something like this so soon. Even if it was for a good cause. Instead of replying she simply reached down and began to tug, her longer skirt scooting upwards.

Ron couldn't help but gulp a little bit as more of Warspite's shapely legs were revealed to him but he quickly marshaled his thoughts towards more important things. Even if they'd calmed a little bit the thigh muscles were still stronger than the calf and that meant more massaging to do. Still, he wouldn't stop, his hands didn't hurt that much.

Warspite let out a soft whimper as the first cooling waves began to run through her thigh, mixed with pain from how sore she was. Soon enough though it became more cool, as Ron slowly worked his way up and around the thick muscles. By now she was feeling almost normal, the dull throb merely like she'd worked her legs all day instead of being stabbed.

Ron's hands were close to cramping by the time he was mostly finished with Warspite's leg. Still he didn't stop, using up the last of his oil and going to work on the last of Warspite's wounded area's. His hands and lower arms hurt from how much he'd been stroking and rubbing Warspite's legs.

Warspite was aware enough of how Ron had been rubbing earlier to notice that his grip wasn't as hard anymore but she didn't say anything. They were both stubborn in their own ways and Ron's biggest was taking care of her. He was almost done one way or the other and her engineers were even reporting that the wear on her engines was much less than it should've been given her exertions.

Finally Ron worked away the last of the knots, a few final strokes to relax her muscles and he could let his own relax. Letting out a sigh as he climbed from between Warspite's legs to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Do you feel better now?" he asked, willing his hands to stretch open. He'd been working on her for over an hour and he was definitely feeling it.

"I can't begin to tell you how much better I feel Ron," Warspite said in a soft voice, the sharp memories still lingering but the active pain gone.

Ron felt a since of relief at that. As long as Warspite was feeling better his own pain was worth it.

"Good," he said, making to stand since it was late and he should probably have been home already.

"Ron," said Warspite, reaching out to grasp his shirt, "One more thing."

"What?" he said, turning towards her, seeing her body half lifted from the bed as she tugged at him again.

"Stay, please," she said, "Hold me tonight."

Ron felt himself blush at that, not having the experience that Harry did with casually sleeping with shipgirls. Yet, Warspite was… she was Warspite. It didn't matter if she was his girlfriend or whatever they'd eventually decide to call it but he wouldn't, couldn't and didn't even want to say no to her.

"Okay," he said, managing not to choke on the words. Kicking off his shoes he crawled into the bed with her, unsure on how she wanted to be held.

Warspite moved her arms out to him, wrapping him up as much as he did her. When his face came near to hers she leaned up to kiss him, the soft warmth of his lips another balm as he kissed her back. When they finished she buried her head in his shoulder, his arms gently wrapping around her shoulder and cradling her head as he leaned his face into her hair.

"Thank you Ron," she said, feeling wetness at the corners of her eyes, "Thank you."

Ron didn't say anything to that, he didn't need to. Instead he simply cradled her, the warmth of her body pressing against his going unnoticed from the emotions running through him.

That was how Duke found them an hour later as she came to check on Warspite. Warspite's blond hair spread across the bed behind her as Ron cradled her head and both of them fast asleep. She said nothing, nor did she take any pictures. She simply turned off the light and let them rest until morning.

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

Comments very welcome as always.

 

[darthcourt10]

smthng

This turned out to be very different from what I imagined.

* * *

Rear Admiral Nathan Drake of the Royal Navy took a sip of his tea and leaned back on his chair. A glance at the wall clock revealed it to be quarter past four in the afternoon, and for once, he had a mostly free moment. Soon, he'd have to start worrying about the upcoming reorganization of the fleet and how his steel hulls could best coordinate contribute to the new ship girl complement. But that was a problem for future – for now he could enjoy his tea.

Then there was a knock on the door to his quarters. Drake contemplated on blowing a raspberry at life in general, but quickly decided against it, just in case HMS Diligent would one day decide to come back as a ship girl. He was subject to quite enough female teasing without giving free blackmail material. Thus, he just let out a long sigh, before gathering himself and barking, "come in!"

A shudder went through Drake when he saw the Diligent's captain, Jeremy Coghlan, downright sauntering into the room with a very amused look on his face. The captain handed a folded note to Drake. "A message for you, sir."

"And you brought it to me yourself instead of sending a runner, or just forwarding it because…?"

"I felt it best to deliver this personally, sir," Coghlan replied, a smirk growing on his face.

Drake rolled his eyes and unfolded the note.

Captain Matsuda invites R. Adm. Nathan Drake to inspect the Japanese cruiser Tenryuu at his earliest convenience.

Nathan looked at the message. Then he looked at Captain Coghlan's smiling face. Then back to the message. Then he, very calmly, refolded the note, put it on his desk, and crossed his hands.

"Explain, please."

"There's an early 20th century cruiser of Japanese design in the harbor near us. She appeared a few minutes ago, and immediately sent that via signal lamp."

There was a pause as the two men stared at each other. "I suspect we're dealing with new type of sparkly BS here, sir." Coghlan then continued, amusement still clear in his voice.

Drake quickly downed the rest of his tea, and stood up. "Lead the way, captain, for this I believe I need to see."

* * *

A minute later the two men arrived at Diligent's bridge and Drake could almost taste the excitement in the air. He noticed that a few members of the bridge staff were still on their posts, but most had gathered on the starboard board of the ship and were nearly fighting for a position to look out to that side. A quick glance to the forward deck showed that the hubbub wasn't limited to the ships bridge, but the rest of the crew were also crowding the starboard side. Drake glanced Coghlan, who shrugged his shoulders, the smirk firmly in place.

Drake shook his head. "Attention!" The sudden cry literally made the nearest crew members jump. "Make way!" Quickly, a route opened for Drake to the bridge's starboard wing. He immediately took it, snatching a pair of binoculars from a sailor.


Sure enough in the harbor, a few hundred yards off to the Diligent's starboard side, there was a ship that looked quite out of place among the numerous modern steel hulls that populated the HMNB Portsmouth. Even with a naked eye Drake could easily see three smokestacks and a honest-to-god old style conning tower.

The binoculars allowed for closer look at the ship and, sure enough, at the very prow of the vessel Drake spotted a very familiar figure. Who, a mere moment later, raised her arm – and sword – in salute.

And was replied by whoops and cheers from the men gathered on Diligent's front deck. Quick glance revealed the deck to be even more full than before, as the majority of the ship's crew apparently tried to fit in there.

Drake could do nothing but scratch his chin, as the general merrymaking quickly turned into an organized hurrah among the crew outside. The shouts were quite distinct to the bridge, and quickly caused the sailors there to join in. "Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray!!"

A moment later Drake spotted a set of signal flags rising into the old cruiser's mast.

"Well, I doubt this is the first time anyone has used signal flags to spell out 'fuck yeah', or 'you're awesome'. But I'm pretty sure this is the first time for 'fuck yeah Diligent, you're awesome'," Coghlan dryly commented.

Drake let out an equally dry chuckle, and handed his binoculars away. "Well, if anything that proves it's really her and not some kind of very elaborate joke."

Coghlan nodded. "Your orders, sir?"

"Signal Tenryuu that I'm on my way, and get me a boat." Drake then glanced down at the ship's prow. "And send somebody to calm them down before anyone falls overboard. Or jumps for that matter, since I can immediately think of at least five people who wouldn't think twice about swimming over."

Coghlan raised an eyebrow. "Graduates from the Albion, I presume?"

Drake nodded and started making his way down to the ship's lower decks. "I stopped counting the times desdiv 6 had saved Albion after the first dozen or so times we fought together. I'll really have to talk with Tenryuu about showing off like that. She should have realized how gaga that makes people go."

"If those people includes you, sir, I must complement you on your composure," Coghlan commented, as he followed Drake down the ship's narrow hallways.

"I'm the admiral, I need to keep the composure. Even when the ship has five holes below the waterline, third of complement are casualties, there's a fresh wave of Abyssal bombers inbound and allied birds will arrive twenty minutes late. Or when a ship girl suddenly decides to magic herself into a full ship."

* * *

Twenty minutes later Drake climbed up to Tenryuu's main deck. Ryoko was there waiting for him, with the same utterly shit-eating grin on her face that he had just been able to distinguish though the binoculars.

At the sight, a small smile found its way to Drake's face. "Captain Matsuda I presume?"

Ryoko chuckled and spread her hands. "The one and only, sir."

"So, Tenryuu Captain of Tenryuu?"

"Sure as hell!" Ryoko grinned and waggled her finger. "But if you make a stupid American joke now, I'm not going to give permission to board me."

"Oh, my!" Drake answered with fake outrage.

Ryoko rolled her eyes and slapped Drake in the arm. "What did I say about stupid American jokes just now?"

Drake lifted his hands in surrender. "My deepest apologies, love. And putting that aside, permission to come aboard?"

"Granted! Want a tour?"

For a moment, Drake made a show of examining his surroundings. "Only if it starts with an explanation, because I have to admit I'm bloody confused right about now."

Ryoko whirled around, throwing one last grin over her shoulder before she climbed through a hatch to the interior of the ship. "Turns out ship girls can learn to summon their hulls. Sometimes. I learned to summon mine, so I thought I'd show it to you and the guys." She then whirled around and continued to walk backwards deeper into the ship. "Surprise!"

"I guess this is a situation where it's appropriate to say 'bloody hell'," Drake commented, as he ducked to follow Ryoko deeper into the vessel. "So this is how you were like back in your previous life?"

Ryoko nodded, and started climbing up to the next deck, still moving backwards. "The Japanese Tenryuu-class cruiser Tenryuu in her full awesomeness!"

"Looks a bit empty to me," Drake commented, while making a show of following Ryoko's ascent with his eyes. "Where's the crew?" He then immediately jumped as the bulkhead he had just gone through suddenly slammed shut. A glance at the door showed that it was now closed, and wheel on it was turning to locked position.

"I am the crew!" Ryoko's triumphant voice drifted down from the deck above.

Drake rushed up the stairs after her. "Whatever you say, boatswain Matsuda!"

"That's captain Matsuda!" Ryoko hollered, climbing the next set stairs. Still walking backwards.

"My apologies, navigator Matsuda!" Drake laughed and as he rushed after Ryoko, again making a show of focusing on her climbing form. "And is that white I spy?"

Ryoko let out a laugh, as the door she was just about to reach opened by itself. "Well duh! Wouldn't match my shirt otherwise!"

A moment laterDrake stepped into the Tenryuu's bridge, and looked around. His first impression was how it was so very antiquated. And empty.

Like the rest of the ship, he hadn't seen anyone except Ryoko, nor anything that hadn't been bolted in place. It was like the ship was bereft of any any effects that weren't permanent fixtures, even here on the bridge. All the surfaces were clean, all panels closed, and there were nobody there but him and Ryoko. The smile that had been on Drake's face since he had seen her faded. "It really looks empty," he commented, his voice sombre for the first time since he had stepped aboard the ship.

Ryoko nodded, and she, too, grew serious. "Well that's to be expected. This is just the ship, not the stuff on the ship." She then made a grabbing motion at the top of the helmsman's station, and was suddenly holding a pair of aged binoculars. "Though there is some stuff laying around, even if they can be a bit hard to see." She then glanced at the binoculars before throwing them over her shoulder. The device disappeared a mere moment after leaving her hand. "Not that I need most of the stuff I have here, really. I'm the ship, you know, I don't need binoculars."

Drake nodded, and for a few moments the pair were quiet. Then he made a show of looking around, and clapped his hands. "So, what can you do now when you have your hull?"

"Well, surprise you for one," Ryoko replied with a smirk. "And show my true awesomeness to the whole world by summoning the ship-me at the most dramatic moment to do something really cool, like run over the enemy!"

"Uh, I don't think going all Thunder Child on the Abyssals is a good tactic, honey," Drake hesitated. "Especially if damage to the ship-you hurts you-you."

"Thunder Child?" Ryoko blinked.

"A ship in the War of the Worlds. Rams Martian tripods."

"Sounds awesome! Did she succeed?"

Drake shrugged. "Killed three tripods and got blown up."

Briefly, Ryoko flashed her tongue. "Bla! Lame! I would have taken at least a dozen with me! And wasn't that the story where the bad guys catch a cold and die?"

"Yup, that's the one."

"Even Macross is at least twenty times better, and that's the one where they defeat the aliens with J-pop! Anyway! I think we're getting off-topic here. Tenryuu!"

Drake nodded. "Yes, thank you for inviting me here on cruiser Tenryuu, deckhand Matsuda." He then continued in a more serious voice. "And seriously, this is pretty damn awesome. I don't know if we can come up with combat applications for your hull, but since there's no supplies here, it can at least give us emergency transport capacity on demand. Can Tatsuta or the girls do the same?"

"Just Hibiki for now," Ryoko replied. "And I don't know how much we can transport here, really. I wasn't designed for cargo hauling. Though I guess the rat runs during the last war showed that it can be done in a pinch."

"I was thinking about transporting people more than cargo. Though I guess we'd have had more use for something like this back in when the war started and we had to try and evacuate everybody everywhere."

Ryoko nodded. "Yeah, it'd have been helpful back then. Would have taken some pressure off the Albion."

"Would have allowed us to save more people, you mean?"

Ryoko nodded, and again the pair lapsed into silence. Then Ryoko shook her head violently. "Anyway! I sure as hell didn't invite you in to dwell on past shit! We, you and the Albion more than I and the girls, saved literal shiploads of people from the Abyssals! And now we're helping them go back, island by island. Right?"

"Right."

"And, more importantly, you admitted that I'm awesome, right?"

Drake nodded and gave Ryoko a smile. "You're always awesome, love."

"Fuck yeah!" Ryoko grinned at Drake. "And you ain't too bad yourself, every now and then. Even if you're hampered by having been kicked upstairs and off the Albion, these days."

Drake's smile dropped at the mention of his previous command, causing Ryoko to frown. "They still haven't decided what to do with Albion, have they?"

Drake shrugged. "Actually the decision to not overhaul her landed on my desk a few weeks ago. Turns out the years she spent in east Asia wore so far beyond her limits that fixing her back to fighting strength isn't worth the effort."

Ryoko snorted. "The decided what!? That's bullshit! We're at war and you're going to a ship just float unrepaired? I didn't realize this was Yokosuka in 1945!"

"It'd take less resources to build a new ship than to repair Albion, Ryoko. At that point it's just not cost-effective." Drake explained.

Ryoko made a disgusted noise. "So what then? She's going to be scrapped?"

Drake spread his hands and shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. But that's after the war, if she still floats by then. Now, every place that could scrap her is better used for building new ships and repairing the existing ones. So for now she'll continue to be moored here at Portsmouth." He sighed and leaned against the Tenryuu's bridge windows. "I hope that after the war she could be turned into a museum. She's more than earned the right."

"You got that right. Though for that I'd like her to be placed somewhere in South-East Asia. That's where you two did your heroics."

Thoughtfully, Drake nodded.

"The Philippines, maybe?" Ryoko continued. "The feats you did there during the blood week alone should be enough for them give you your own island or something! No, wait, now I know! Brunei! We basically saved the whole fucking kingdom, right? We can call the sultan and ask him to buy the Albion and make it a national monument!" Now grinning again, Ryoko started waving her hands in excitement. "It could have a statue of me and the girls on the deck, explain our heroic defense of the whole fucking country!"

"And the carrier task force that helped us?" Drake asked, amusement clear in his voice.

Ryoko grinned and made a swept her hand to the side. "I guess they could get a memory plate or something! I mean, they weren't there, really!"

"No, they were eighty klicks out, well out of range of the Abyss task force, as carriers should be."

"Right! So clearly they were a side show in the fight, right?"

Drake shook his head and straightened back up. "Naturally, love. Now, shall we continue the tour before we get sidetracked again?"

"Sure, come on! I'll show you the guns and torps next!"

Drake shook his head and grinned, as he followed the ship girl out of her bridge. "Right, the guns and torps."

* * *

It was already dark by the time Ryoko had finished showing Drake the whole ship and the pair returned to the bridge. "Thank you for the tour, Ryoko. It was very… informative."

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "Sorry you didn't get to see an authentic oxygen torpedo launcher, Nate. If it's that important to you, you can always ask Hibiki. The girls carried oxytorps as standard equipment."

Drake shook his head. "It's okay. I'm just a bit confused since in battle you lob those around like they're going out of style. But and still have the older launchers bolted to your hull!"

"That's the power of sparklies, Nate. Don't think too hard about it. And besides, I know you've gotten to examine both the launchers and the torps plenty of times before!"

"A ship girl version just isn't the same thing!"

Ryoko leaned against the bridge windows and rolled her eyes. "And now you're just whining again."

Drake shrugged. "Maybe I am. What of it?"

"Oh, you big baby. Come here!" Grinning Ryoko made her way to Drake and gently embraced him. "There, there, let Ryoko make it all bet-." Suddenly realizing something, Ryoko glanced down. And then back up to Drake, who was grinning. And then adjusted his hand a bit to use Ryoko's necktie to draw her in for a kiss.

"I thought that was supposed to go the other way around," Ryoko commented after the pair parted enough to speak. "It's the girl's job to use the guy's tie to reel HIM in."

"Well, I though that since I was already in the neighborhood..."

Ryoko nodded. "Apology accepted. But now that you've gotten me here, put your hand back down where it was."

Drake raised an eyebrow. "Back before I drew you in for a kiss?"

"Naturally."

It took a few seconds for Drake to adjust his hand. "Better," Ryoko commented, and then leaned in for another kiss.

A few minutes later the pair separated enough for both of them to adjust their clothing. "I dunno if I remembered to tell you this before, but I fucking missed you so much, Nate!"

"I think we exchanged pleasantries to that effect yesterday," Drake commented, causing Ryoko to let out a bark of laughter.

"That was in the presence of your mother, Nate. I had to act all appropriate and shit, so it doesn't count!"

Drake raised an eyebrow. "You have something against my mother?"

The question brought out another bark of laughter. "Of course not! She's fucking cool! But there's stuff you do when family is present, and then there's stuff you do alone. And I really, really needed you all to myself to show just how much I'd missed you!"

Drake made a show of looking around the deserted bridge. "Ooooh! Is that what you brought me here for, then?"

Ryoko leaned back in to give a short peck. "Maaaybe. Remember that time you got really drunk and explained how you wanted to throw ME down on the Albion's bridge? And then complained how I could do it since I punched you down? And how unfair it is that public fighting is ok and you couldn't just order everyone off the bridge?" Ryoko drew back enough to gesture around her. "Well, here we are now. It's not the Albion, but it's still a warship bridge. And just the two of us here. Excited?"

"Oh, myyy~!"

Ryoko blinked. "Did you just fucking go Tatsuta on me, Nate!?"

* * *

Some time later Ryoko finished adjusting her sweater, and then threw a white bundle to Drake, who curiously unfolded the cloth.

And then gave Ryoko a very dubious look.

"A memento for your conquest of a Japanese cruiser. While inside a Japanese cruiser. I'm pretty sure that's a first for a Royal Navy officer."

For a minute Drake just stared at Ryoko. And the cloth. And Ryoko. Then he spread the bundle and looked at it against the lights of the port coming in from the bridge window.

"Well, this brings back memories."

Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "Memories?"

"You gave me a similar gift back when we first reconciled, I think."

Ryoko chuckled and thrust out her hand. "Yeah, I did. And I also took a memento from you, remember?"

For a moment Drake stared at the hand. Then he shrugged and pulled off his necktie. "If you insist, love."

Ryoko rolled up the tie and stuffed it inside her sleeve. "It's only fair this way."

"Except everyone can see that I've misplaced something."

"I'm pretty sure your crew would have guessed what happened anyway. They cheered you to 'go get her, Admiral' when you came here, remember?"

Drake chuckled and checked his watch. "Speaking of the crew, I believe we both need to go back to our duties, soon. The war's not over yet."

Ryoko nodded. "I'll signal the Diligent to send a boat."

"Thanks."

Ryoko leaned in for a small kiss. "You're welcome, love."

"Nate?" Ryoko asked a minute later.

"Hmm?"

"A signal from the Diligent. Ten minutes." Ryoko then nodded her head towards the door. "Come, I'll walk you to the boat."

As she led Drake down from the bridge, Ryoko asked in a hesitant voice. "Nate, did you hear about the recent summoning at Yokosuka? The one last week?"

"You mean the fifth Yamato? Congratulations!"

Slowly, Ryoko climbed down the steep stairs. "Yeah, that one. Did you hear all that we got?"

"A battleship, some carriers and seaplane tenders, and a few cruisers, I think?" Drake tried to recall the briefing he'd seen a few days back.

"Yeah, they got a bunch of Sendais out of it." Ryoko replied and stepped out to the ship's main deck. "All of them never built in the first place."

"Well, that's good, right? From what I've understood, you and the Yanks are going to focus more on the open ocean soon, right? Now that the situation in South-East Asia is starting to be under control, I mean."

Ryoko nodded. "Yeah, it's going to be all cruisers next, trying to take all that fuckhuge area back. And carriers too, I guess."

"So, is there a problem, then?"

Ryoko leaned against the ship's side, and sighed. "Not a problem, not really. It's just…" She glanced at Drake. "There were supposed to be eight Tenryuus originally. In the end just me and Tatsuta were made, and the rest were abandoned in favor of the Kumas. Now… now that unbuilt ships are popping up left and right, I might soon find myself tending to new little sisters."

Ryoko turned around to fully face Drake. "And honestly, that thought scares the shit outta me."

Drake raised an eyebrow. "Scares? You?"

Ryoko swept her arm to the side. "If it were six new girls, I'd be all for it! I've managed to raise four daughters, I'd do just fine with ten! But new sisters! The fuck am I going to do if I'm suddenly saddled with six more Tatsutas? Six! More! Tatsutas! The fuck I'll do!?"

Drake couldn't help it. He burst out laughing.

* * *

"Don't worry, love. You'll do fine. Even if they all are carbon copies of Tatsuta."

"You sure?"

"As sure as betting on you against a single abyssal destroyer. You're the best mom a child can hope for and an awesome sister already. Believe in yourself!"

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

In the area of Hidaka, Japan, the Sun slowly rose beginning a new day. As it did so, it's early light entered one room in one household to reveal it's occupant in the futon. Chest rising and falling, Kiyohime slept while spending her dreams with Haku. But not long after, her own internal clock slowly awoke her to greet the day. Two amber eyes opened slowly to stare at the ceiling before she smiled some and simply luxuriated in her bed. Ever since Hanami, she had been riding high on her emotions.

And she had every reason to do so.

Throwing the blankets aside, she stretched with a soft sigh as her various joints popped. Most would have been bothered by the early morning chill, but she was a being of fire. Thus, the temperature was barely of note even as her own body heat warmed the room. Getting up, she continued her stretches. A part of her did wonder though how Haku would have reacted to seeing her stretch. Especially with how she had gone to bed once more in his clothing. While stretching, the shirt she wore rode upwards revealing more of her legs to the air.

Once her early morning stretches were done and her blood was circulating, she looked around her room with a small smile. Yes, the room was small, that was true. On the windowsill sat a plant while her dresser had a cloth upon it. Shelves along the walls had small items on them and pictures. There was even a book case of all things. But pride of place in her room was an upright mirror with a wooden frame. Yes, most would have considered it a small, somewhat plain room.

But compared to what she had when she was human a thousand years ago? It was the sort of room that a daughter of a village headman would never have dreamed of having. When she had been given it, she had been stunned and asked Haku if he was rich or some sort of noble Lord to give one such as her such a room. To this day, the memory of Haku's expression when she had told him that made Kiyohime giggle.

Currently though, she was looking into the mirror with a smile on her face. Tilting her head to the side, Kiyohime took in her sleep mussed hair through which her horns poked out. Both her amber eyes took in her appearance. Smile growing, she nodded at her reflection, having come to peace with it since her and Haku confessed to each other. "Good morning."

Humming, she threw on a robe and closed it before making her way through the house. As Kiyohime went by her boyfriend's room, and those words made her heart soar, she peeked in. For his part, Haku was still splayed out on his own futon asleep, chest rising and falling with each breath he took. One minute passed and then another did with Kiyohime standing there in the doorway watching. Not doing anything else, just watching the sixteen year old who held her heart as he slept with a soft smile on her face. There was something relaxing about moments like this.

Granted, it did not stop her imagination from imagining herself there beside him, their bodies under the covers.

Lips curled upwards, her gaze turned to Haku's own dresser and she felt her cheeks heat up. There were several pictures there in their frames. One of them was taken shortly after she had rescued Haku and showed a confused version of her being hugged by the ten year old, not quite sure what was going on. Also there were other photos, including ones of him, her, and his grandmother.

But in the pride of place was a more recent photo which made Kiyohime's heart race. It was a picture he had taken of the two of them among the cherry blossoms. Her hoodie down, she had her head against his chest along with one hand while he held her close. Even now, the demoness could feel happiness bubble up inside her even as her eyes became wet.

Then, shaking her head, she left the room behind while gently closing the door. After all, it was still early and her Haku needed his rest. Meanwhile, she would perform the chores for the morning. Which is what found her carrying a large, white bucket out to the backyard with a basket in the other hand. Coming to a stop in front of what looked like a rabbit hutch, she lifted the top to look down at the quail that was inside. "Good morning, I brought you some food."

Placing the basket to the side, she took off the lid and slid out a ladle filled with millet before filling the feeding trough. Also taking a bottle from her robe's pocket, she filled the water dish before looking around. "Hmm..." Her eyes lighting up, she picked up the basket as the small birds began to eat and picked up the eggs that were there. "I think that Haku-Kun might like some fresh eggs, yes." One by one, she put them into the basket until she was done and gave a nod. "And there we go. Have a good day and a nice meal."

With that done, she closed the hatch and locked it. After all, it would not do for something to get inside and kill the quail. That had happened once before... and only once as when the perpetrator returned for a second time, it found an angry Kiyohime there behind it.

It never came back after that.

Softly humming, Kiyohime walked into the household before entering the kitchen. Finger against her chin, she gave a bit of thought as to breakfast before grimacing. While Haku had teased her before about it, she was not the greatest at cooking. Many of the more modern things had confused her after all and the food was so different. Which is not to say that she could not make food, just... it was from her own time. Just shaking her head though, she went to the cupboard and pulled out some rice and walked over to the rice maker. "Let's see..."

Once the rice was in the cooker, Kiyohime turned to the rest of what she could make. And soon enough, there was some miso being cooked while she reached over and placed some eggs into a pot filled with water. Sticking her finger into the water, Kiyohime nodded as the water began to boil from the heat. 'Should not be long I think...' While the rest was being done, she used her free hand to place slices of bread into the toaster.

Less then a half hour later, she looked up at the sound of footsteps to find Haku walking into the room. At seeing her, he blinked and looked from her to the food with a slight smile on his face. "So you made breakfast this morning?"

Blushing lightly, Kiyohime nodded some. "Hai, I did Haku-Kun." Just chewing her lip, she looked at the food there. "I... know that it's not much, but-"

Much to her surprise, Haku walked over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "That doesn't matter, Kiyohime. You made it and that is what is important."

Flustered, the demoness gave a nod. However, there was also a very pleased expression on her face as they sat down to eat breakfast. While they ate, the two made conversation with each other. And when the food was gone, and the two were cleaning the dishes, Kiyohime turned to her boyfriend with a curious expression on her face. "Ah, are you going to be late coming home again?"

Sighing and running a hand through his hair, Haku nodded. "Unfortunately. I mean, I wish that I did not have to go to cram school and could come straight home to enjoy more time with you." His lips twitched at the blush that rose in Kiyohime's cheeks at that. "But I need to go to cram school if I'm to get a good job and support us. Obaa-San's money she left us would only last us so long. And I know that eventually my parents will stop paying as well."

Eyebrows furrowing, Kiyohime placed some of the dishes into the rack. "I wish so as well..." Her frown deepened a bit as she shook her head. "But doesn't what I do help?"

With a nod, Haku hummed. "Hai, it does. If not for you drying out herbs or gathering vegetables which I can sell at the local market, we wouldn't have the spending money that we do. And I know that the tsukemono that you make is a pretty good hit." Putting some of the dried dishes away, he frowned. "It helps out a lot and without it I wouldn't have been able to get the moped we have. Nor would I have been able to take you out on dates... as little as they are."

If anything, that made the blush on Kiyohime's cheeks to deepen. Yes, for the most part it was stuff like going down to the park to walk around in the twilight hours, or the waterfront. But to her? They were amazing and far more when it came to courting then she had ever thought that she might get. With a smile on her face, she tapped him on the nose and left some suds there. "The dates you take me on are perfect, Haku-Kun. Because they are with you... even the ones we have at home."

Remembering the ones where they simply curled up and watched something, Haku had to smile at that and nod. The happiness on her face as they watched movies made him fall even more for her. Once, he had asked her to transform and sat there for the whole time within her coils, just to show her he didn't care about it. Oddly, the sixteen year old had found it pretty comfortable and even now wondered if he could convince her to do it again. Frowning, he glanced at the calendar. "Hmm... I still think that we should maybe go out somewhere more."

Curious, Kiyohime looked at him. "Oh? Like where?"

Finger tapping on the countertop, Haku frowned some. "I don't really know. Is there any place that you might know of for the summer though? Like... a swimming hole or something?"

On her face was a thoughtful look as she considered the question. "A swimming hole? Such things were not really all that done back in my day. Too much danger from Yokai such as Kappa or Suiko. But I suppose in the modern day... I just do not know if any place that I may think of would be around. It has been a thousand years after all."

Placing the last of the dishes into the cupboard, Haku shrugged. "Just a thought. I mean, in August it does get hot around here and we could use a place out of the way to cool off. Especially as I know you don't want to be seen."

In reply to that, Kiyohime shook her head and chewed her lip. "Well... I'm afraid what might happen if I was to be found out. I... do not have the best reputation nowadays."

With a scowl, Haku shook his head and leaned against the counter. "Which is, as the Americans say, a bunch of bullshit! Especially with how you saved everyone here during Blood Week and after! Heck, if not for you there not might even be a town. And those Onmyouji who were attacking you after you helped were the worst!"

Sighing, Kiyohime shook her head. "I do not regret helping, but them attacking does prove that there would be problems. One of them even went after you and knocked you out!" What was unsaid was what she did to said man and how it was unpleasant to put it mildly. "No, best not to be out in the open..."

Only shaking his head, Haku frowned and changed the subject. "Anyways, if you can think of a place where we could go swimming that's not too far, then we could go there. Just the two of us."

A smile on her face, Kiyohime giggled some. "Oh? Just to beat the heat?" She then leaned in close. "Or perhaps you wish to see me in one of those swimsuits that women in the modern era wear?"

However, Haku merely hummed at that. "Well, I will admit that seeing you in a bikini might be nice. Really, really nice." At her blush, he grinned. "You're so cute, you know that right?"

Just huffing, she looked away. "I'm not that cute, you baka." Glancing back at him, she closed her eyes and pulled the plug for the sink. "Speaking of, you realize that in my day one did not wear swimsuits? We simply shed our clothes if we bathed somewhere."

Opening one eye, she internally giggled as Haku paused with a stunned look on his face. It was not very hard for Kiyohime to understand what he was thinking of after all. Granted, she had thought about it in regards to him more recently, not that she would tell him. Licking his suddenly dry lips, Haku cleared his throat. "I-I see... you would have considered it bathing?"

Eyes twinkling, Kiyohime nodded. "Hai, that is correct. As I said, swimming was not really something done in my day for fun. But bathing while on a journey? That was something else though one would need to be on the lookout. More then one spot might be home to a hostile Yokai after all..."

Haku gave a nod at that. "I suppose so. But I wouldn't be too worried about it." At her confused look, he continued. "After all, you would be there to protect me."

Unable to help herself, she flushed a bit. But then Kiyohime nodded. "That is true, any Yokai attempting to harm you would need to deal with me first. Still... I think that I might look forward to you and I going swimming somewhere."

Nodding, Haku glanced at the clock sighed. "I got to get ready to head to school, Kiyohime."

Also looking at the clock, Kiyohime frowned but nodded. "I understand..." Internally, she continued. 'Even if I don't like to.'

The two of them soon got ready for the day and Haku was standing at the door in his school uniform tying his shoes. Once that was done, he straightened and looked at Kiyohime. "Are you going to be okay, Kiyohime?"

Smiling, she gave a small nod. "I have several things to do around the household, Haku-Kun. There is some cleaning to be done and I need to tend to the vegetable garden. The spring lettuce does need to be gathered after all. And some of the herbs we have growing in the house also need to be harvested and drying begun." Head tilted to the side, she smiled. "I have plenty to be done and keep myself busy. Perhaps I'll even have the time to run myself a bath before you return home. Modern baths are far nicer then they were in my time."

Just shaking his head, Haku brought his arms around her waist and pulled her close. "As long as you don't get bored. I'd hate for that to happen to you after all."

Kiyohime just nodded as she leaned into him. "Hai, though there is always something to do. I was raised to be a proper wife after all, with such things among the duties I would have had."

Unsaid was how she hoped that perhaps one day they would be her duties, along with the title of being a wife. Haku also had the same hope and they stared into each others eyes for a second or two before he pulled her into a kiss, her arms going around his neck. Eventually, Haku pulled away with a smile. "I'll see you when I get home, Kiyohime."

Head tilted to the side, Kiyohme only nodded. "Hai, Haku-Kun, I will see you then. I will await you after all." With that, he left as she continued to wave to him until the door closed. Slowly, she brought her hand up to her chest and let out a sigh. "After all... I know that you'll return to me. You keep your promises after all..."

 

[darthcourt10]

smthng

Harry Leferts said:
This was a great piece of work and also outlines their relationship pretty well. Sort of surprised that she did not have him sign into her ship's log though in a way.​

*-*-*-*

Most of the time Tatsuta would have been extremely amused by the expressions – and colors – cycling through Tenryuu's face. But as an answer to a very simple question that reaction was so unexpected that it just made her bewildered. Finally Tenryuu stood up and slammed her hands on the table, her face red as a tomato.

"Ta-ta-ta-Tats! What did you just ask!!?"

Tatsuta tilted her head to the side. "It was 'Did you ask Nathan to sign in your crew list when you had him on board?'"

"Of-of-of course I fucking didn't, why the fuck did you ask something like that!?" the older cruiser screamed.

"Why?"

The simple, one-word question asked in completely level voice stopped Tenryuu cold. From pure habit Tatsuta started counting the seconds her sister was frozen. When it got closer to a minute and Tenryuu hadn't even stirred, she started to get worried. Again, in most circumstances Tatsuta would have been extremely proud of managing to provoke Tenryuu to the point where she was not just speechless but also had lost all steam pressure. But this was not normal circumstances as Tatsuta honestly hadn't been trying to tease her sister at all.

Thus, she raised a hesitant hand. And poked Tenryuu. The touch made the older cruiser blink, at least. And a second later she slumped back down to her seat and lay there, sagged like a punctured balloon.

"You didn't try to tease me at all just now, did you sis?" Tenryuu eventually managed to slur, causing Tatsuta to nod.

"Not a bit."

Tatsuta quirked an eyebrow as her answer caused Tenryuu to let out a long groan and bury her face in her hands. Tatsuta let her sister gather her wits for a few minutes before clearing her throat. "Mind telling me what, exactly, just happened? Was this again a weird human thing?"

"I… guess you could call it that," Tenryuu muttered, before taking a deep breath. "It's… kinda… umm… This is difficult to explain, really…"

"Obviously," Tatsuta commented. "Though for the life of me I cannot understand WHY. What's so embarrassing about adding Nathan to your crew?"

Tenryuu made vague, circling motions with her hands. "It's like, uh… Kinda… Like reverse incest, or something..."

"Reverse… incest?"

"Yeah! Like, incest is when you have sex with a blood relative, right? And that's awful and disgusting, right? So this is like suddenly turning your boyfriend into a crew member. And that's also wrong and disgusting, since boyfriend is somebody you have sex with, right? Totally eww and gross!"

Tatsuta blinked. And tried to parse what Tenryuu had just babbled. And came up with just nonsense.
"Does this mean you don't approve of Hibiki and Harry, then?" she finally asked, causing Tenryuu to freeze again.

"That's… That's, completely different!" The older cruiser finally managed to blurt out. "They're just kids! They aren't dating or anything!"

"But you've pointed it out several times how they one day might be. And how among all the ship girls who have expressed interest in Harry, Hibiki is the most suitable for him."

Again, Tenryuu's face went through a number of expressions and colors, before she settled to screeching and tearing her hair. "Tatsuta! Please don't SAY that! Now I've got the idea in my mind and I can't stop thinking about it and it HAS to be completely different with Hibiki and Harry, and maybe he should totally marry that Natsumi girl instead and I'm sure there are other very good boys we could point out to Hibiki and did I mention that they're just kids!"

Tatsuta again tilted her head. And, while she was still very curious about her sister's completely silly thought processes, she felt confident enough in her handle of the situation to really take charge of the conversation. Not that it was particularly difficult with how beside herself Tenryuu just now was. "But you never before had any problems with Harry being part of Hibiki's crew."

"THAT WAS BEFORE YOU ASKED ABOUT NATE!!! WHY THE FUCK DID YOU HAVE TO DO THAT!!!??"

Tatsuta sighed. On the second thought, this wasn't an appropriate moment to tease Tenryuu. She was much too upset for it to be fun. "Tenryuu-chan, I swear to you I didn't mean to upset you! It was a perfectly honest and innocent question, and I have no idea why you reacted the way you did. I, at least, don't see anything wrong with Harry being part of Hibiki's crew. Or Nathan being part of yours, for that matter."

Tenryuu slapped her hands over her ears. "NOT HEARING YOU ANYMORE! La-la-la-la-la!!"

Tatsuta let out another long sigh. This was going to take a while.

* * *

"Sis?" Tenryuu asked, her arm over the wet cloth Tatsuta had put over her sister's eyes and forehead.

"Yes, sister?"

"Sorry about this. I dunno what came over me. I… I'll try to, you know… Think about Harry and Hibiki the way I did before. And not, you know. Just… promise me you won't mention Nate and me anymore, okay? Like, ever."

For a long time Tatsuta stared at her sister, who was prone on the sofa, her episode having drained her totally. She weighted the pros and cons of actually making the promise instead of misleading Tenryuu a bit. It wouldn't be hard with how out of it the older cruiser now was.

In the end Tatsuta nodded to herself. "I promise to never speak of this again, Tenryuu-chan."

A/N: Tenryuu has issues. Sometimes.

Balagor said:
Never gonna happen. What other country has a stable of surgically enhanced speciallists (read : Porn Stars) on hand for such an event.​

Japan makes much porn. But you must remember Japanese penis, so small. American penis so big. Easily wins dick waving contest.
You must bomb Pearl Harbor.

 

[darthcourt10]

Lord K

A.N./ Now that I'm finally back home and have put out (most of) the fires that erupted while I was away, I figured I'd flesh out this other idea I knocked about while traveling.

Lies, Illusions, Memories, Truth

Somewhere she once read, Ai came across the quote "War is forty percent preparation and training, ten percent combat, and fifty percent boredom and waiting." It is a quote that is more than applicable today Ai reflects, while lazily nested in the embrace of one of the well worn armchairs in 7th Squadron's off duty rec-room.


Across the other side of the low table her armchair faces, Kudzu searches through a box for the third time. A fruitless quest for the likely now lost final piece, of a thoroughly well used and battered 1000 Piece Puzzle.

In another armchair, Gyaru taps away at her phone, likely maintaining her carefully cultivated social media presence, born as a PR supported off-shoot of her piloting acclaim. The stream of selfies and the occasional progress shot of Kudzu's search or Ai reading however, suggests boredom, more than any actual impulse to show off.

Stretched out on a nearby couch, Boke's head nods in time with some unheard tune playing over his headphones as he types away at the laptop perched on one knee. Upon the other, rest a precariously balanced course book he periodically references against something on the screen.

Meanwhile, the floor in front of the tv and it's various rats nests of gaming consoles and cables is dominated by a small crowd of pilots. An excited throng placing wagers and shouting their support for the ongoing faux tournament between Taikomachi and Kero as they vie for victory over each other via some sort of fighting game involving kanmusu.

Ai herself, finds it best to wile away her time by curling up in a nest of blankets with a nice book. A rather fascinating essay on the conflicts of dispositions that can arise to create deadlocked juries due to cultural or societal factors, as seen in cases such as the Menendez Murders, or more recently the case of Blueford v. Arkansas.

It's about as close to a lazy day as you can get on a military base filled by a mix of young and rowdy, and slightly less young and rowdy pilots. Even with only a single focal point of noise and hubbub in the room, everyone (including Ai), is so absorbed in their various tasks (or distracted by the activities of others), that it is only at the last moment anybody notices Major Ugeki walking into the room.

"GOOD MORNING PILOTS!"

Immediately there is a flurry of activity as everyone jumps to their feet to salute the major, along with the requisite greetings of "Sir" and "good morning". Ugkei nods happily at the rare display of ground bound discipline, if one pointedly ignores the opportunity Kero takes to mash some sort of button combo that results in his character violently pile driving Taikomachi's into the waters of a fjord with a Tall Boy Bomb, while a steel hull Tirpitz explodes and rolls over in the background.

"I FIND MYSELF IN NEED OF EIGHT PILOTS WILLING TO SACRIFICE THEIR PRECIOUS FREE TIME! WHO'D LIKE TO VOLUNTEER?!"

Uncertain eyes glance around the room at flight leads and team members, with multiple hurried silent votes and considerations. All this is rendered moot however, as the distracted Taikomachi looks up from the attention grabbing cheap shot that Kero got in.

"Volunteer for what sir?"

Ugeki grins, even as everyone else in Flights 2 and 3 begins to groan. "Umiu Flight, Mozu Flight, thank you for volunteering! Now fall in!" Ai restrains herself from being entertained by the train of Boke, along with Aoi and Dajare from Mozu 3, each dope slapping Taikomachi and Kero as they pass by to join Ai and the others in forming a line in front of Ugeki.

Looking over them for a moment, the Major nods.

"Firstly, I wish to apologise to you all for this infringement on your break, and secondly, I'd like to thank you for being willing to help with this little community endeavour I've had cross my desk thanks to a few hiccups." Reaching into his pocket, Ugkei then pulls out a bunch of train and bus tickets, along with a few wads of cash. "A few weeks ago O-Washi 1 volunteered, along with a bunch of pilots from the 202nd Tactical Fighter Squadron and a couple of Air Rescue Wing guys, to pile into a pair of vans with some pukes from Yokota, and then do a bunch of community stuff to help out where many of these guys grew up. PR thought this was a great idea, but in the grand tradition of bureaucracy, they ballsed it up by only checking when the Yokota boys and girls were free. Unfortunately, what this means is that O-Washi Flight and most of the 202nd TFS are out at the moment on patrols and we need eight people to fill in for them so we don't disappoint all the kiddies who wanted to meet the Abyss Divers. So, before I continue, is there anyone here who is legitimately allergic to small children, community service, or proper hard work? Because if so, I really would prefer to send off people actually happy to perform and help out at these little shindigs. Any bow outs?"

Ugeki allows a long pause, but none take him up on his offer. Ai herself, continues starring ahead diligently, internally already contemplating the opportunity presented to her. A chance for more acclaim and to get her name out there is definitely not something to be passed over or squandered. Besides which, she never would have turned this sort of thing anyway.

The major's smile is a proud one as he continues. "All right then, now that that's been made clear and you're all willingly on board, it's time to dispense duties. We've got two different groups you're all going to be going around with. The first will be visiting a bunch of schools and such, along with maybe a sort-of-hospital. The second won't be running around as much, but will be helping out set up for a festival at a local park and a shrine." Looking over the group, his gaze locks on four of them in particular.

"Kobayashi, Uehara, Naagusuku, Sato -" Together Ai, Kudzu, Gyaru and Aoi step forward. "-You lot are the next four with the highest kill counts and the largest numbers of sorties outside of O-Washi Flight. Therefore, you will be the ones tasked with visiting the kiddies. If we can't give them the original veterans, at the very least the big numbers should dazzle them."
------------

"I can't believe they still get my name wrong!"

Looking up at Gyaru from her map as she ticks off the last of the locations they were supposed to visit today, Ai does her best to console her fellow Abyss Diver.

"Well, to look upon the positive side of things, it only happened once today."

"Yeah," chips in SNAFU, one of the Yokota pilots as they off-load merchandise to donate from the back of the van. "And it's not like it was intentional. The poor old lady looked pretty embarrassed by her mistake. You can't really expect everyone to know who we are, no matter how famous PR tries to make everyone over Double Ace."

The dark skinned Okinawan still can't help but grumble to herself. "Yeah, but you guys aren't the ones who have to deal with getting called the wrong name all the time. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and tell whoever first thought just letting everyone from the mainland change or misread "Naagusuku" as "Miyagi" to have a little more spine and pride."

Ai refrains from going on a tangent that "Aina" would have no real reason to go down, beyond the level of commiseration with an annoyed friend. While the adoption/allowance of usage of "Saburo" as a clan name had been an immensely great honor and reward for some distant ancestor's services to the Daitengu of Mount Iizuna, Ai knew more than a few Yokai who had taken or were legally listed under given names and family names other than the ones they were born with, often thanks to far more petty or lazy reasons than the understandable limitations of human speech or evolving legends and linguistics. Distracted as she is by her thoughts, Ai almost misses when Gyaru then glances to the side and barely hides a pitying look.

"Then again, I suppose complaining about my family name is stupidly small peanuts when there are some who don't even have their own anymore."

Turning her gaze in the direction Gyaru is looking, Ai spies a young girl, barely looking over fourteen and sitting at a nearby picnic table. In her hands, she looks despondently upon a well worn calligraphy brush she has yet to actually apply to her paper or ink. It is a look Ai knows she herself has borne on occasion in her childhood. Loss and longing over what precious scattered, unburned mementos could be salvaged from a compound scoured by the hand of war.

It also serves to remind Ai of where they are. Apparently the "sort-of-hospital" the original group had planned to go to was more than just a place of convalescence and healing. It was an orphanage, hidden away in the safety of the mountainous, semi-rural western Kanto countryside.

Something must show on her face however, because Gyaru then looks ashamed.

"Oh, jeez- I'm sorry. I forgot that you- well-"

Ai just shakes her head. "Do not worry about it. I, at least, was lucky. I still kept my name-" Truth. "-And there was still my Aunt to take me in." A lie.

The real cause of her expressive slip, is that Ai can't help but feel like the location of the government subsidised orphanage is also a case of out-of-sight and out-of-mind. While things were definitely far better than the post-war world she had been forced to go it alone in with her human disguise, she still carried a lingering awareness of a system most people had a bad tendency to either only see through the glorified lens of storytelling, ignore the deficiencies of, or outright preferred not to think about. Japan had never been a good place to be an orphan or a ward of the State, and for all the bureaucratic and social improvements to the system that the aftermath of Blood Week had practically made undeniable lest the ageing model break down, the awareness and attitudes of the average person was still something hard to sway.

Which, Ai supposed, was probably part of why PR was happy enough to let Ugeki send them in place of O-washi 1. While she, Kudzu, Gyaru and Aoi might not have been as famous as the veterans of the squadron, the disguised tengu had a sneaking suspicion that someone was happy with how their synergy worked out anyway. She was an orphan, both in truth and her falsehood as Aina. Gyaru was a social media butterfly, and her constant streams of selfies, tweets and snaps had only increased in rate upon arriving at the final and particularly heartstring-tugging location of their trip.

"I feel so bad for her." Turning her attention back to the aforementioned dark-skinned pilot, Ai then notices that Gyaru's gaze is still on the mournful calligraphy girl. "I was taking with some of the teachers earlier. Apparently she doesn't get along well with the other kids. They all think she tries too hard to be grown up and stuffy, and some make fun of her for being like that during the day, while also still crying at night. It all sounds so horrible."

"I know how that can be." Ai mutters with a grimace. "Such an attitude will likely do her no favors with getting adopted either. People rarely take in older or more headstrong children. Nor with those with the kind of so called "baggage" lingering trauma and emotional harm is sometimes treated as. At least, that is the way it was when I was young. Maybe with all that has happened, the perceptions and attitudes towards orphans who have suffered so, is somewhat better now?"

Gyaru gives her a consoling look and tries to lighten the mood as she lays a comforting hand on Ai's shoulder. "Just because you speak like my grandma, doesn't you're that old Tengu."

The disguised kotengu curses her momentary slip, but is thankfully then saved by SNAFU's reappearance with the next box of JASDF branded stationary and scholastic equipment they're dropping off as part of the visit. "Well it's making me feel old and like shit. It's hard enough hearing how bad kids have it on the news, without meeting the awesome little brats, and then almost immediately hearing how shitty it is from the grown up horse's mouth."

"SNAFU!" Gyaru looks affronted at the bluntness of their fellow pilot, while Ai simply shrugs.

"T'is but the truth."

"It's also maybe something you guys might want to shelve," announces Kudzu as he rounds the side of the van and makes himself known, the sound of children on his heels and an expression on his face somewhere between entertainment and exasperation. "It seems that we have one more game to play with the kids before we can go."

The three pilots look at each other in confusion, the sound of excited voices only growing closer as SNAFU gives voice to the question. "Wait, what exactly are we playing now? I don't want to sound like an ass, but all I brought is this dress uniform, and I am not getting this dirty or covered in grass stains."

The lanky pilot simply shakes his head. "Don't worry about it. We're just going to have ourselves a treasure hunt with the help of the kids."

"A treasure hunt?" Gyaru quirks an eyebrow. "A treasure hunt for what?"

At that moment, their answer chooses to appear. Sheepishly rounding the corner comes Yamajijii, another of the pilots from Yokota, surrounded by an excitable gaggle of boys and girls that immediately spread out and begin searching up and down the bushes lining the driveway, the path up to the orphanage, and even the lawns and flower beds. Apparently immediately recognising what ails his comrade and the treasure they are searching for, SNAFU groans.

The fellow pilot from Yokosuka can only grin in embarrassment, rubbing at one of his fingers as if desperately double checking for something that should be there. "Please don't tell my wife I lost my ring again."

The arrival of Aoi with yet more volunteer searchers only adds to the noise in the front yard, even as he breaks off to see what everyone is gathered beside the van for. Supposedly more familiar with the guys from Yokota than everyone else from Iruma, Aoi recognizes the situation with equal speed and proceeds to facepalm.

"Really man? Again? You really need to get that damn thing resized."

Yamajijii just grimaces. "I know I should, but they were my parents' rings. My dad never seemed to have any issues with his."

"Well no offence, but your dad must have had some whopping great hands and fingers," retorts SNAFU. "If that ring is anything to go on, it's no wonder you have so many sisters."

Gyaru has the misfortune to be drinking from a bottle of water at that moment, and rapidly descends into a mix of pained sniffles and giggles after accidentally snorting it through her nose mid-drink. Ai merely makes a face, while Kudzu looks around in horror, making sure there weren't any kids nearby. Aoi just looks confused.

"How crude."

"Yeah man, there are kids nearby!"

"You have sisters?"

SNAFU at least manages to look apologetic. "Okay, okay, my bad. So how are we going to look for this thing? Are we all just going to pair up and split off, or do we each want to go solo, riding herd for a bunch of kids?" Everyone contemplates the ideas for a few seconds, before Yamajijii looks to Aoi.

"Hey man, you want to team up or let the kids monopolise us all a little more."

Aoi just stares at his recently married friend for a long moment, mind apparently else where, before finally shaking his head. "I'm sorry dude, I really am, but no matter how hard I try, I cannot imagine a bunch of somehow feminine versions of you. Your sisters have my condolences."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!?"

Ai sighs, recognising that they're gonna be here for a while. At least she thinks, looking around at all the kids eagerly enraptured by the search for the missing wedding ring, the children are having fun.
------------

Thirty minutes later, Yamajijii is rapidly becoming thankful that this is the last stop on their trip, and that everyone just planned to overnight at a local hotel before heading back to Iruma and Yokota in the morning. Many of the searchers have now headed inside, having quickly exhausted the more obvious and exciting places to hunt outside. Ai herself, is one of the few with the patience to continue fruitlessly scouring the lawns with well honed eyes, following the meandering path they took earlier in the day when one of the orphanage's caretakers was showing them around.

Ai's phone buzzes, no doubt another text from Gyaru, updating her on the progress of the treasure hunt inside. Or more accurately, the hilarities resulting from it. Apparently #DontTellMyWife, #FellowshipOfTheRing and #TresureHunt are rapidly gaining popularity on her Twitter feed. The caretakers don't really mind, since it means an ample oppotunity to get the eager kids to help clean up or sort things out as they turn the place upside down in search of the wayward wedding band.

With her hawk-like vision and avian stillness however, Ai has elected herself as one of the few "treasure hunters" more suited for remaining with the downsized search effort outside. It's also a polite excuse to get away from the excitable, shouting masses. Ai doesn't mind kids, but there's only a certain point to which she can hold her reserved demeanour when surrounded by so much ear-ringing noise and exhaustingly boundless energy, especially in such large numbers.

They're good kids though. Both the young ones, and the older teens. Ai can't help but feel for them all, their misfortune resonating with the disguised kotengu's memories of her own.

Rounding a corner of the building and finding herself in one of the more secluded groves separating the building's wings and their lawns from one another, a glint of something catches the sun in the corner of her vision. Immediately swivelling her head to focus on it, Ai's gaze narrows. For her focus is not on something lost upon the grass like everyone expected, but up in the branches of a tree. Starring back at her, like a deer in the headlights, is a crow with something shiny and metallic in it's beak.

The crow blinks at Ai.

The karasu-tengu glares.

With an alarmed "Caw!", the crow relinquishes it's stolen trinket and then takes to the sky, leaving it's ill-gotten shiny for the disguised humanoid yokai that is it's greater.

Unfortunately, that leaves Ai with a new problem. Falling and bouncing through the leaves and branches of the gnarled tree's canopy, the abandoned wedding band finally comes to an annoyingly secure halt on the upward pointing twig of a lower branch. Looking up at the frustratingly solid and immovable position the ring has found itself in as the twig bobs about in the breeze, Ai gives a half-hearted kick at the equally unfortunately rigid trunk. Like the mountain and Muhammad, the ring refuses to come to Ai.

Spurned by the foliage, Ai gazes upward at the conundrum she has found herself confronted with. While she isn't adverse to simply climbing up the tree for it, the twig the ring has found itself on is out on a rather precariously thin limb. Ai would rather not risk falling should the limb give way, and snapping the further reaches of the branch on purpose strikes her as a rather boorish action, liable just to upset her hosts. A child could possibly shimmy all the way along the branch with out as much risk of it breaking, but she doubts it's a risk their caretakers would be happy in indulging the children in either. For a moment she considers the possibility of getting one or two of the other taller pilots to stand on Kudzu's lofty shoulders, before then remembering that no one else present has the kind of supernatural balance and strength she does.

The thought makes her pause for a second, considering the less subtle possibilities.

Glancing around, Ai comes to a decision. While there is no one in sight she can directly see, and there are barely any windows or doors in this out of the way corner of the building, Ai is still uncomfortable with the idea of sudden bystanders out of the blue. Simply flying up to the misplaced ring or blasting it off of the tree with a gust of air on such a lazily calm day as this is not a risk she's willing to take. Something less obvious or disguised under mundane luck or skill however.....

Searching the ground for a moment, Ai then spies a suitable tool for the task at hand. Picking up the reasonable straight and knife sized twig, the yokai pilot takes a moment to test it's balance in her hand before doing another check to make certain she is alone and unseen. With nobody around, Ai then awkwardly does her best to fall into a half remembered knife-throwing stance.

To a passerby, or even magical layperson, she probably looks a little ridiculous, bearing a butter-knife sized twig as if to flick it into the canopy. To a human or yokai more familiar with or intuitively attuned to the arts of the winds however, the twig in her hand now shimmers with the slight tremble of magically shaped air flow.

It isn't actually that flashy or dangerous of a technique. More of a child's game, and a training aid in the form of an entertaining stepping stone to the real methods of enhancing or enchanting objects with the powers and fury of the wind. For a moment, Ai remembers a halcyon afternoon of bouncing underpowered sticks off of an old plank of wood, along with older cousins and siblings who found much fun in their greater familiarity and prowess that allowed them to turn the upper half of the plank into a pincushion.

Turning her focus back to reality, Ai focuses on her target, rolls back her hand, and then deftly flicks the twig through the air.

There's something to be said about the irony about being able to perfectly place a bomb down a Abyssal-sized destroyer's smoke stack, while weaving through Anti-Air Fire at 200 Km/h and pulling out of a dive at 9Gs, only to somehow miss a twig with another stick thrown from a standing position only four meters below. Instead it soars up through the canopy with the sound of wind through the leaves, and makes Ai thankful that there is nothing but government owned land and more trees in that direction. The kotengu quietly blames being out of practice and refrains from grumbling about being rusty. This sort of thing was never exactly her forte to begin with.

Her next throw makes her facepalm. She hopes nobody looks closely at the tree anytime soon, and notices that there is a dead twig halfway embedded into the branch rather than actually growing out of it.

Exhaling in exasperation, Ai finds another stick and takes a stance for her third try. Slowing her breathing and trying to line up her throw, Ai does her best to try and recall how to get her aim beyond just "reasonably top percentile", and down to supernaturally pinpoint accurate.

A new memory surfaces in the back of her mind. Words of a voice she's long since forgotten the sound of, and the ghostly remembered touch of hands guiding her's. Hands that her own have long since out grown, and will only ever remain bigger in her memories, never with the chance to catch up. Her stance corrects itself in time with the recollection of gentle prods and pushes to shift and turn, instructions to fix a her form in a different place and time. As she closes her eyes and stretches out her awareness of the wind to draw the envisioned line between herself and her target, Ai can almost imagine the smell of girly perfumes she was too young to understand the appeal of. The scent of dango and green tea hangs in the air, but it is forgotten under the umbrella as the familiar dissonant aura of both a modern teenage Taisho maiden, and wings with an affinity for the southern winds and the zephyrs of summer, stands like an instructor behind her.

At the remembered command, Ai throws. With Hollywood accuracy, the dango skewer lands dead center in the bullsey painted onto the hay bale.

Back in reality, the twig the ring was stuck on leans over sadly for only a moment, the base where it was connected to the branch mostly shorn away by the passing of her wind-bound implement. Then finally it gives, both twig and ring falling away and tumbling through the air, separating with a small application of wind, before just happening to land cleanly in Ai's out stretched hand. For a moment, Ai allows herself a small smile, a far more muted and reserved thing than the remembered exuberance and shout that she quietly whispers to herself in time with.

"Thank you oneesan....."

Ai lingers for a moment, absently turning the ring in her hand as her thoughts drift elsewhere. Treasuring the memory that remains, after time and childhood forgetfulness have stripped so many of the finer details from her mind, like water through her fingers till only what she carefully cups her hands around and holds onto remains.

It is this pause that means she is still standing beneath the tree when she hears the sound of running feet. Broken from her reverie, Ai looks up just in time to catch a glimpse of a form rounding the corner of the building. It is the dark haired, calligraphy brush girl that captured Gyaru's attention earlier.

At first she thinks the girl has come from one of the search parties inside. Maybe they have finally found something or the ring?

Then Ai's focus snaps back to reality as the gears in her mind shake off the cobwebs of memory and re-engage. She herself, just found Yamajijii's wayward wedding band. And if anybody wanted Ai, Gyaru probably would have texted the disguised pilot from her ever present phone. The final clue that something is afoot, is the way the girl gazes at her, shock writ large across her expression and mixed with something equally powerful.

Quizzically, Ai stares back, uncertain what to make of this development or what the girl wants. Ai knows there wasn't anybody around to see her, and even then, her efforts were surreptitious enough to escape the notice of all but the most experienced or naturally wind aligned magic users.

Finally, Ai decides to break the tension filled silence, settling for a simple questioning "Yes?", in an attempt to get the girl to explain her abrupt and apparently stunned bearing. It just so happens however, that at the same moment, the girl simultaneously finds her own tongue too, a hurried question spilling out and overlapping with Ai's at the same time.

"A-Areyouatengutoo?!?"


The disguised kotengu freezes as she unpackages the words in her mind, and the implication of the question sets in. The girl however, takes Ai's own simultaneous question as an affirmative, and sudden looks on the verge of joyous tears, the expression vying with shock upon her face now undoubtedly revealed to be that of hope and joy.

"Y-You are? You are! It's been so long! I- I thought-" Sniffling and rubbing at her eyes, Ai suddenly has the impression that the girl before her may actually be as mentally old as the form she wears. A form Ai is rapidly cluing in may be an illusion, now that she knows what to look for. "I th-thought I'd never find anybody again!"

Seeing the girl's shoulders tremble, Ai awkwardly places her hands on them in an effort to lend comfort and still the girls movements. Off guard and at a loss, Ai has no idea how to proceed, reflexively blurting out the first question that comes to her mind. "You've been here the entire time?"

The girl nods, grief crossing her expression. "M-Mama and Papa, we- we lived on Izu-Oshima." Ai feels her stomach take a drop at the mention of one of many helpless and catastrophically hit island communities of Blood Week. "They- They said we weren't supposed to be on the island- and that only some of our neighbors could know what we were- but then everyone who knew died, and I didn't know who to tell, or where to go, so I let them bring me here and-"

The girl's tale trails off into sobs, leaving Ai helplessly resorting to drawing her into her arms in a awkwardly comforting hug. It isn't hard for Ai to join the dots and fill in the all to common story for herself. Obviously the girl's parents were illegals, living in hiding outside the reservations in some form of underground yokai community, most of which likely perished or fled during Blood Week and never returned to the island like so many of their non-magical neighbors. From somewhere inside the increasingly tear-stained collar of her uniform, Ai feels the girl attempting to get a reign on her tumultuous emotions.

"I-I'm sorry- This isn't- You introduced yourself to everyone earlier, b-but you don't know me, and I'm all l-like this and-"

Her voice cut off by a choking sob, Ai takes the opportunity to interject. It is an impulse, but one she doesn't really regret as she uncertainly moves her hands in circles upon the girl's back as she vaguely remembers her mother and sister doing for her on the rare occasions she was inconsolable as a child.

"Saburo no Ai. I have used multiple aliases over the past few decades, with Kobayashi Aina being the latest. Saburo no Ai is my real name. Hatamoto, Saburo no Ai of Yotsuya."

"A-Asuka. Miku Asuka," is the shaky response from the girl as she does her best to deliver it with a wobbly, tear stained smile.

"Asuka with the kanji for "to fly" and bird?" A sniffle and a nod is response. "And I would suppose Miku would use the kanji for "beautiful" and "sky"?"

The tears threaten to burst forth as her gaze waters once more.

"I always used to tell mama it was s-silly and obvious written like that, and that I was g-going to change it when I got older, b-but- but she- I n-never g-got to tell her I wasn't- I w-wasn't r-really-." Seeing the girl unable to resist the tears any longer, Ai gently pulls the teen back into her embrace and allows her to sob into the collar of her shirt once more. Lamenting her current form's lack of wings to wrap around them as she remembers her own mother sometimes doing, all the older tengu can do is whisper comforts and platitudes that Ai knows from experience, do little to mend the ache of still raw grief.

She is thankful for the relative seclusion of where they have found themselves in on this side of the orphanage. There is little Ai feels capable of doing, but simply comforting the girl until she releases the tumultuous maelstrom of relief, tied with long bottled up grief, loneliness and sorrow she has likely suppressed and hidden for all the time she has been at the orphanage. Unable to properly connect with the other children or her caretakers, now it seems that even with just their shared heritage tying them together, it is enough for the girl's walls to momentarily lower, and in doing so, finally burst.

And as loath as Ai is to admit to something so unrefined or childish, she knows from experience that sometimes a good, heartfelt outpouring in the presence of the right company, is the best way to confront and surmount one's grief.

Finally, after a lengthy enough passage of time and watershed that Ai is almost certain her shirt will be ruined, the disguised pilot feels the wracking shudders of the girl's form begin to tail off and subside. Her breath still trembles however, and at some point, the weight of her grief has brought the two of them to the ground. Ai remains as she is however allowing the younger yokai the time and comfort to rebuild her composure, accepting the sacrifice the rest of her uniform is likely also now making. Kneeling on the damp ground, and leaning against the mossy base of the tree she was trying to knock Yamajijii's wedding ring out of only minutes earlier, will probably do little good for her uniform.

Eventually seeming to regain most of the control over her breathing and emotions, Ai senses the change in the air that portends the girl's slow recovery. Muffled by the pilot's uniform collar and lapels, the younger yokai's voice is tinged with embarrassment, shame, and more than a hint of her still lingering grief.

"I-I'm sorry. I really shouldn't d-done that. I'm a mess and that was-"

Ai puts a halt to that train of thought with a gentle touch.

"You have nought to be apologetic for Miku-san...." Pausing, Ai closes her eyes for a moment to consider her words, opening them once more to find the younger girl looking up at her with red-rimmed eyes tinged by curiosity at the elder yokai's hesitance. "Though it may ring empty, I.... Know, far more truly and deeply than most what it feels like.... What you feel, I once felt too...."

Cursing formality and tossing aside the distance she normally holds the world at, it takes a surprising amount of her own bravery to bare the scars on her own heart. "I lost my own parents in the last war." Ai forges on lest she stop, even as she notes the small gasp the girl beside her gives "All of my immediate family. My home. All of it gone."

Shaking her head to bat away the not-there scent of heat and ashes, Ai blinks heavily and fixates her focus on the here and now of the young, tragic mirror beside her. "I was probably only a few decades older than you are now. I.... My family lied about how human we truly looked. We had long been uncommonly proficient in illusions and blending in, as it helped with our duties to the Shogunate. I refused to let myself be noticed and stuck in a Reserve so instead I.... I hid in the non-magical world. Among the nomaj humans. As one really. I lived as a war orphan for a few decades until I was old enough and happy to hold down a single identity."

The younger yokai looks at her with something new in her still red eye'd gaze. "I thought.... I thought you said being Kobayashi-san was fake...."

"No, not quite." Ai gives a sad, mirthless smile. "The easiest disguises and lies to maintain, are often the ones with a grain of truth to them. I really am an orphan too. And I do indeed pilot as well, something I take great pride and responsibility in. Service and the duties of our ancestors might be denied to us yokai by the ICW, but I find myself determined to prove them wrong. And if it helps the SDF without breaking the Statute?" Ai shrugs, causing a spark of wonder to light up in the younger girl's eyes, even as she rubs at the lingering traces of tears.

"W-Wait, so then- that means- you really are a hatamoto too?"

"Yes, although it is to all intents just an empty title." Ai refrains from letting the long ago ingrained disappointment show. "There is no true power or legitimate value behind it now, nor were we all that notable to begin with. I doubt any of the surviving members of the Iizuna daitengu realise the Saburo branch of the Iizuna kotengu clans continues through me, if they even remember our family at all. The lands we oversaw are now parts of a non-magical neighbourhood and a park in Shinjuku. What little material wealth we had was lost in the last war with the compound. Our last lord perished during the unrest of the Bakumatsu, taking most of the influence we had with him before my birth. And my own foray into the political landscape using what little weight the title had left was... rather ill-timed to say the least. The Abyssals put an end to that path, at least for the time being. I have never bothered to make mention or consideration for in my human identities. Most especially in this modern era, it would be impossible to reasonably explain or include in a fabricated background."

"That's so cool." Despite her detailed explanation of why her title actually isn't anything worth talking about, the younger tengu looks up at Ai with wide eyes. "You at least have all that." Awkwardly she then looks down and runs a hand through the dirt despondently. "M-Mama and Papa.... I think Papa might have been important once, but he.... I think he gave it up to be with M-Mama.... And then they left the Reserve to have me so.... all we had was our patch of d-dirt, our f-farm back h-home."

Seeing her eyes water again, Ai rests a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder, though thankfully it seems enough for her to maintain some semblance of composure this time. "Miku-san...." The younger tengu looks up at her as Ai does her best to impress upon her one of the values she has come to hold closely over the decades. "Listen to me. Never think less of where you come from, or let others tell you so, when it is in comparison to someone or someplace else. Treasure those memories that are most precious to you, for they are precious with good reason, and none should ever feel enabled to take that away from you."

"I..." Looking at the disguised pilot with wide eyes for a second, the girl then buries her face in Ai's collar again, voice muffled as she finally replies through heavy sobs. "Oh- I'm so sorry, it's- Thank you, but- I'm s-sorry! That sounds like something P-Papa would say! You even sp-speak like him."

"He sounds like a very wise man then."

Ai receives a muted sob in agreement. "H-He was the best."

Allowing the girl to linger and shed her tears at her own pace once more, finally after a couple of minutes she feels the teenage tengu leaning against her flag with the beginnings of emotionally exhausted tiredness. Almost imperceptible, she then catches the girl's mumbled, wishful words, said more to herself than to Ai or her collar.

"I miss them.... I wish I could feel them again.... the real them.... I miss Papa's wing-hugs...."

Looking down at the illusion bound image of a tearful human fourteen year old seeking relief and security in her collar, Ai then contemplates her own fake form as her hand traces a comforting track upon the back of the younger yokai's head. Her thoughts drift to her own lamentation on the limitations of her disguise only a few minutes ago. Her memories then recall her own forlorn, tearful wishes on more than one heart-achingly lonely occasion throughout the late 40s and 50s.

Logic and reason say it's a stupid and unnecessary risk. Ai's heart and compassion say screw it.

Not entirely subservient to impulse however, she at least takes the precaution of extending her awareness of the surrounding winds as far out as she can manage. It's rather distracting keeping track of so many shifts and movements in the airflow over such a decent sized area. But at the end of the day, it's the most sure-fire method she can immediately improvise to get advanced warning, should anyone approach any of the doors, windows or corners within view of herself and young Asuka.

It is with no small amount of shock, that the aforementioned youth then looks up, feeling the barest whispers of dispersing magic in the air as Ai releases the spells that maintaining has long since become absent minded and nigh instinctual second nature to her. Looking at her elder counterpart with surprise and hopeful awe, the teary-eye'd girl actually takes a moment to pinch herself, before then haltingly removing an old necklace of seashells and twine from her neck. Ai doubts it is the only source of her illusions and enchantments. More likely it is just an aid or guide, along the lines of which Ai also remembers using in her youth before her parents deemed her skills instinctual and reflexively adept enough to maintain her disguises, no matter the issue of her physical or mental state. Without her aid, the effects of the afternoon's tumultuous emotional rollercoaster immediately makes itself known on the stability of the younger tengu's illusion, especially when compared to Ai's slower and much more controlled release.

Ai doesn't need to look down and check the return to her natural state is happening correctly, to know her skin tone is shifting to a blue-ish grey. Her hands ripple, turning to bird-like scale from the wrist down while carefully maintained nails are replaced by raptor-like talons. Practically everywhere else, Ai feels the discomforting feeling of midnight black feathers being entrapped under the confines of her military cut-uniform. The momentary shimmer of her vision alerts her to the change in her eyes, brown being replaced by the corvid yellow that is the eye color she was born with. The comes the slight deadening of feeling from her mouth and nose as she feels her false face fade away, replaced by her true, much more avian visage. As a kotengu, of karasu-tengu decent, there is no red face or pointed nose for her. Only a disconcerting, black-skinned middle ground that is somewhere between eternally displeased frown, and wickedly sharp beak, signifying the far more inhuman and ancient decent of her ancestors.

Finally, Ai comes to the last portions of her true form to be revealed. Shedding her uniform's jacket and shoes to avoid further damage, before simply allowing the back of her dress shirt to ride up, Ai feels her feet take upon a more crow-like form, while from between her shoulder blades, a great pair of wings emerge. Massive umbral feathers on limbs almost the same span as their bearer is high when spread, now puff up and flutter as Ai stretches and shakes out the kinks in normally hidden apendages that feel like they've been crammed into an annoyingly small space for too long. Slowly folding them back down, Ai then carefully extends them to fold protectively around the younger yokai leaning into her.

Looking down at the suddenly much more at peace teen in her embrace, Ai considers the surprisingly similar but different form of the now revealed tengu youth. "Miku-san, you.... would not happen to have some daitengu ancestry in your family line would you? You have the face and nose of one, and your form is more human-like than my own."

The younger yokai simply hums with youthful lack of care, more concerned with nestling into the comforting encirclement of Ai's wings as she buries her face in the collar of her elder and hugs herself in the embrace of her own wings as well. "Is that good? Mama always seemed happy I looked more like Papa..."

Most daitengu are descended from somebody of great renown or at least a respectable measure of notability and importance. It occurs to Ai that the orphan in her arms could easily be the bearer of a legacy more prestigious than her's, and yet have even less than Ai to her identity. Whether from the disillusionment of her parents with the past or the society that turned against them, or simply because nobody ever got the chance to properly explain to her the scope of value of her ancestry before they died, the thought fills Ai with a profound sense of sadness.

The girl yawns quietly, revealing a much more human jawline as well. "You're so pretty."

Ai just chuckles. "I would not say that really. For a kotengu, I am honestly rather plain. You on the other hand, I can already tell will be a true image of beauty when grown."

"Mama used to say that too." Thankfully there is no emotional upheaval or hitch to her voice at the mention of her parents this time, though the hugging arms arounds her ribs and the hands balled in her shirt do tighten. "She wasn't quite as wordy as you when she said it...."

Ai reigns in the automatic impulse to let slip that "wordy is not a word." The thought reminds her another orphan she now counts closely among her friends, while the young tengu under her wings trembles with mournful longing and runs her hands over Ai's feathers.

"I wish I didn't have to hide.... It's so.... hard..... I can't remember the last time I was the real me like this..... I just... I just want to be a yokai again...."

Her mind still upon thoughts of a familiar okuri-inu, an idea then occurs to Ai.

"I may know some people who could help make that happen." Seeing the younger tengu look up at her in confusion and surprise, Ai elaborates. "I.... can not take you from here. It is not something I can carry out or that would align with my current identity." The girl's gaze drops in heartbroken disappointment, however, Ai stops her as she locks her eyes with Asuka's.

"But I know some fellow yokai who can. They're like us. Living among the humans and maintaining non-magical lives to support themselves. While we live in our disguises and illusions more than most, many of the others are easily without of their false-forms when in our own company. They more than myself, have the non-magical wealth and credentials that the government and your caretakers would be happy with supporting a child. If you wish, I can contact them. They can take you away from this place."

The younger tengu's gaze water's with tears of joy, mixed with the raw emotions of disbelief at her luck, and hope of an obviously long held dream being fulfilled. "R-Really? They could d-do that?"

"Yes indeed."

"Th-They- They could take me in. O-Other yokai?"

"If that is your wish."

"Yes!" Ai is thankful that age and physical fitness generally increase a tengu's durability, as the pressure from the embracing hands around her ribs exponentially rises, and the tears of happiness start to flow once more. "Yes! Yes! YES! A thousand times, yes! I don't care if you make me live with an Onibaba or Kijo! I just want to stop hiding!"

"Hey-" Ai half-heartedly admonishes with faux-chastisement. "You should not say such things. I known a Kijo. I count her among one of my closest friends."

"R-Really?"

"Mhmm.... She is a lawyer, albeit a magical one, like I once was under another identity."

The younger tengu stares at Ai through bleary, reddened, tear-stained eyes, obviously trying to make sense of the mental image of a classic oni-stereotype as a lawyer. Finally she giggles, something Ai can't help but join in with a small chuckle of her own. Then the girl's mirth grows, turning in a helpless mix of emotions as laughter and tears both run together.

"Th-This is really happening?"

"I believe it is so."

Asuka laughs and rubs at her tears.
------------

It was inevitable really. Especially after over half an hour of being tossed up and down upon the high and lows of the emotional spectrum, like a fledging caught powerless by the storm of revelations and unbottled feelings. After finally calming once more, Asuka slowly drifts off into an emotionally exhausted slumber, under the protectively folded wings of the older tengu. Ai does not begrudge the younger yokai this small moment of comfort in her vulnerability.

Unfortunately this leaves her in a bit of a conundrum.

She still has the wedding ring in her pocket, and after over an hour of searching, Yamajijii is probably starting to get more than a little panicked, no matter how enthusiastic the younger treasure hunters still sound if the noise and audible activity from inside is anything to go on. They also really ought to check into their hotel at some point. But in spite of the slumbering youth still resting against her chest and with fists balled into Ai's shirt in the shade of the tree, the avian pilot is loath to risk waking the emotionally spent and finally peaceful teen.

Her choice to send a text is reasonable on it's own

- SMS Chat; Lt Naagusuku
-- Located and acquired ring.
-- Request aid however.

However, it only occurs to her that maybe texting Gyaru wasn't the optimal choice after sending it.

Even after carefully returning Auska's enchanted guide and illusionary aid of twine and shell to her neck, while also reapplying her own disguise, Ai knows she isn't exactly her usual image of unflappable poise. Asuka retains her hold on her, as if the once more "human" pilot were an oversized teddy bear that might comfort her in her still obviously lingering tear-stained grief. Asuka has also gained Ai's jacket, the heavy garment draped over her like a blanket to maintain the presence of a familiar weight upon her back. This in turn, makes it incredibly obvious that her shirt is now well beyond any attempt at being presentable anymore, thanks to the damp tracks of unrestrained tears and more than a little mucus. Her pants are also stained from alternately kneeling and sitting on the damp ground for so long.

Vehemently however, Ai refuses to acknowledge that her own gaze is maybe more than a little red and puffy as well, nor that there is any sign of a weakness in the strength of her restraint and composure.

It is for this reason, Ai stares down Gyaru defiantly when she finally discovers them, non-verbally daring the owlishly blinking Okinawan to say anything about this unusual and unexpected break in Aina's normally distant, reserved and implacably formal character. For a few moments, all her fellow pilot can do is stare in confusion, brain attempting to processes the sight she is seeing.

Then with a smile, the phone comes up.

Ai's expression is somehow both resolute and unreadable, yet non-verbally communicates just what kind of wrath she stands to unleash. For a long moment the stare down is drawn out. Then the kotengu blinks first.

Carefully, Ai shakes her head, continuing her attempts to communicate with eye contact what she thinks of the photo opportunity.

Lacking context, Gyaru grins at the crack in the mask and nods like any good friend presented with an amazingly rare unicorn of a photo oppotunity.

A finger taps the touch screen.

Ai sighs and rolls her eyes in resignation as she processes the noise of the artificial shutter click.
------------

"One Ring Found! But Who Cares, Ice Queen's Heart Found As Well!" is the rather dubious blurb Gyaru bestows upon her supposed photographic master piece upon uploading it for consumption by her adoring online entourage. The one consolation Ai has in being immortalised in the defiantly glaring aftermath of her and Asuka's heart-to-heart, is that apparently JASDF Public Relations think it's a photographic master piece as well.

The irony is that supposedly people like the rare glimpse of the "humanity" behind the tightly wound mask and emotional walls she normally wears.
------------

Sitting on the steps of the orphanage in rapt anticipation, Asuka feels her stomach to do loop-de-loops even worse than the first time she tried to fly, even as she does her best not to vibrate with nervous energy. No where near as high strung as her, but no less curious, a number of the other kids from the orphanage gather on the steps as well, looking out towards the driveway and the country road back down the mountainside towards town.

With the acoustics of the valley and the surrounding hillsides, it isn't uncommon to hear vehicles long before they come into view. Many of the more automotive inclined kids almost make a game of it, trying to guess the kinds of cars and engines making the climb out of town, up past the orphanage, and then further up into the back roads and passes of the neighbouring mountains. Some are even pretty good at it. But today, the throaty rumble of some new or rarer mechanical beast seems to stymie them as it makes the ascent this morning.

"It almost sounds like a truck?"

"Nah man, it's definitely a car. You can hear how it accelerates after the corners."

"It could be a really light load?"

"Dude, I think that's a carburettor."

"There's no way that's a carbureted engine. Who'd bring something old and fuel hungry, but still able to hit that kind of acceleration, all the way out here?"

As the debate continues, Asuka does her best resist the urge to pace, the mounting tension and excitement increasingly doing aerobatics with the butterflies in her stomach. By the time the gearheads' discussion has reached fever pitch at the realisation the the mystery vehicle has taken the turn off and is now coming up the orphanage's driveway, it is only the possibility that it might not be the friends of Lt Kobayashi (her name is Lady Saburo, Asuka internally shouts) that the caretakers said were coming today, that restrains the young tengu from rushing towards the sidewalk in excitement and joy. Finally, as the tension both within her heart, and the crowd surrounding her reaches it's climax, the mystery vehicle rounds the last corner and accelerates up the penultimate incline.

Asuka doesn't know very much about cars. Few people had anything really fancy back on Izu-Oshima. Her Mama had owned an valiantly battered and venerable little pick up truck capable of traversing the countryside dirt trails beyond the main roads to get into town, that Asuka had only ever known as a "Toyota" and as some form of "Hilux". Papa probably trusted and drove the ancient tractor that was almost as old as her, more than he did the truck.

She has absolutely no clue what the gleaming white and black trimmed vehicle rolling into the orphanage parking lot right now is. But she does know enough that it makes her think three things. "Classic", "Muscle Car", and "Expensive". The only truly identifying marking visible from the front is a badge on the left side of the powerful looking grill. A black "GT", sitting atop a red "R".

The appearance of the vehicle and the mark is lost on Asuka. It is not however, on the more vintage adoring petrol heads behind her.

"Wait a minute..."

"Is that-"

"- there is no fucking way-"

"A Kenmeri?!"

"It can't be a KGC110...."

"Not just that-"

"What the hell is a Skyline 2000GT-R doing all the way out here?!"


As the crowd grows thanks to kids normally not fans of cars now beginning to gather around the entrance and chatter about the obviously special vehicle, the unmodified classic automobile grumbles and gurgles like a throaty beast as it slowly coasts to a stop. Finally able to take in the full profile of the aggressively sharp and yet simultaneously smooth lines that emanate power and speed, more than a few in the crowd immediately break out their phones.

The halt of the car's travel also allows Asuka a glimpse of something. For some reason a tiny air freshener shaped like a sandal captures her attentions. A miniature wooden geta, like a smaller mirror of the kind her parents used to wear on formal occasions, hangs from the rear view mirror. Then the doors open, revealing a man and woman who much like the car, practically radiate the word "Money".

The man is a dichotomy of carefully blended style and body language, somehow striking a simultaneous aura of dashing, rebellious rogue, and young, modern self-made businessman. The lazily unbuttoned jacket he wears looks like it could be equally at home on a street-smart vagrant, or on someone reasonably up-and-coming off to a night on the town with the upper crust. A set of real Ray Bans hang lopsided from his shirt's neck, while his shoes could look equally in place on the feet of a yakuza or a CEO. Above it all however, his smile is one of both measured mischief, easy lackadaisical confidence, and a sharp but friendly intelligence, capable of disarming even the most frigid crowds.

Something the man puts to good use as he confidently strides up to the sidewalk, and one of the caretakers that had been awaiting his arrival. Their voices drowned out by the crowd of kids more fascinated by the sight of the car than the adults, Ai strains her ears to listen to the conversation over the chatter. "Good morning! You would be Doctor Kanno, I presume?"

"Yes, that would be me." As the two shake hands, the doctor looks him up and down and seems satisfied with what he sees. "I assume that makes you the Mr Nakano, with whom I spoke to over the phone the other day?"

Grinning wolfishly, the well dressed man shakes his head politely. "Please, Mr Nakano always makes me think of my dad. Call me Kiba. Besides, I'd rather not come off as too stuffy and formal in front of the kids now."

"Hah, that's true." The doctor chuckles in a tone of voice that Asuka rarely hears, furthering her suspicion that this face to face meeting is only cementing the good impression the younger man must have made of the older doctor in their earlier phone call. "They get enough of that already, with this being a mostly government run operation."

"Oh the woes of bureaucracy," commiserates Nakano. "I feel my fair share it trying run a business, and it only gets worse when you start contributing to charities."

"Ack, try living it. The amount of hoops and paperwork to jump through each year just to look after this many kids, and the government still scratches it's head and sounds so damn gormless when they ask why we have so much overcrowding after all the money they just aimlessly toss at everyone thinking that if they lob enough of it, all the problem will just disappear."

Nakano snorts deridingly "You'd think the government would be happy when other people start throwing money at things that need it too, and where they know even more accurately where it's needed as well, but apparently you need a lawyer just to ask how to play Twenty-Questions with them. And that's before you can even get to the real questions about asking how you can help look after a ward-" Asuka feels her heart jump, while the butterflies in her stomach all abruptly do a coordinated backflip. "-speaking of which, I just realise how rude I've been.

Gesturing to the lithe, sharply dressed woman who has only just retrieved some sort of briefcase from the car, Nakano then introduces her and the doctor. "I apologise if it's a bit presumptuous of me, but to help smooth things along and keep the ball rolling, I thought I'd bring along my solicitor."

"No, no, no, Kiba-san, it's not presumptuous at all. Actually, it's a rather wise and insightful decision I wish some people would make more often...."

Behind Asuka, a number of the more fashion inclined girls in the group gasp with envy. "That's one of the coats they had kanmusu modelling for Mitsukoshi last autumn!"

"Dr Kanno, this is Himura Tsukino. Tsukino, this is Dr Kanno, the director of the orphanage I was telling you about."

Bowing politely in greeting as Nakano introduces her, the smaller woman gives a radiant smile. "Good morning Doctor. It is my pleasure to meet you."

"A fine morning to you as well. But nay, I must say the pleasure is mine. It is gladdening to meet and know that there are fine people such as the two of you, willing not just to help, but to come all the way out here, and research in detail how the system works."

As the doctor and the lawyer spiral off into a discussion of legal terms and gritty details, Nakano looks up and casually casts his gaze around. For a moment, Asuka can almost imagines him not just casting his gaze about, but taking in the scent of the air as well as taking in the sights.

Then his gaze pauses, hovering over in her direction as an imperceptible shift runs through his body language. A momentary freeze, like a dog that has located it's mark, hidden among the clutter of the underbrush and betrayed by it's own camouflage.

Turning back to the other two adults, Nakano seems unconcerned by the fact that they are still heavily involved in their discussion, and have practically forgotten about his presence in the conversation. Giving a canid grin however, the man instead proceeds to simply wander off, strolling up the path and towards the orphanage with a lazy lollop, practically radiating an aura of coolness and confidence. The avid chatter about his car and the stylishness of his lawyer among the boys and girls then slowly dies away at the realisation of Nakano's slow, easy approach of the crowd. Finally he stands before them, some still whispering, but more than a few of the boys in particular, hushed by awe. Teeth practically shining and showing off some surprisingly sizeable canines, Nakano gives them all a winning grin.

"Hi, I'm Kiba. Nakano Kiba."

Somehow, despite casually addressing the entire group at once and not really looking at anyone in particular, Asuka knows that the true focus of Nakano's attention is really on her. Hesitating for a moment, something encouraging seems to slip into his million dollar smile. Realising more than a few of the kids in the crowd have also noticed where his attention is, Asuka puts on her bravest face steps forwards.

"Hello. I'm Miku Asuka." Beneath the mask of emotions Nakano seems to project, Asuka almost feels the undercurrent of something victorious, and yet at the same time softening in empathy.

"Well hello then Asuka-chan." For a second something in the man's eyes seems to twinkle as she makes momentarily makes eye contact with him-

And suddenly in that moment, it is only the two of them on the steps, Ai somehow bereft of her disguise and in her natural form, while before her stands a great black dog. A massive canid beast of the night, and a stalker of the back roads and shadows beyond the fearful traveller's light in the darkness, sporting a fierce expression on it's face that thankfully seems to project it's preference for helping rather than hunting those that cross it's path

- and like that the moment is gone, a brief glimpse of less than a second that leaves Asuka still putting together what she just saw, before suddenly Nakano's next words hit her. "You must be the Miku Asuka I heard so much about recently from a friend of mine."

Hope and joy well up within her, as she tentatively makes eye contact with the man once more. "You know Ai-na?"

Asuka almost curses herself for the near slip and awkward correction of the name of the tengu pilot she has quickly become a fan of to the surprise of many of her fellow orphans. Her train of thought however, is derailed by awe and joy at the image that briefly overlays her vision once more however. The illusion of the canid Okuri-inu only she can see fades, back to the disguise presented back to everyone else present with the toothy grin and Oscar level skill in projecting and masking emotions to select memebers of his audience. Auska however, also sees something else. A mix of emotions, she only just saw the other day in the gaze of Suburo no Ai.

Not pity or sorrow, or so many of the other things behind the empty looks and words that people, and even the other human orphans have tried to give her. But something that actually resonates.

Understanding and empathy. Real, true understanding and empathy that can only be given from someone once upon a time in all but identical shoes. Identical right down to the lies they have lived under.

"Oh, I know Ai-chan. She's probably one of my oldest and closest friends." The dog yokai smiles, for once an expression backed entirely by truthful emotion.

With Nakano's identity all but confirmed, Asuka almost feels like she could fly to the moon and back. Elation grips her that she can barely contain.

She's not just leaving the orphanage! She's going with people like her! She's going to live with people like her! She doesn't have to hide, and lie, and live in fear of discovery anymore!

She can be a yokai again!

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Adjusting the clothes she wore, Kiyohime tilted her head before tightening the cloth on her head. In the mirror, her reflection copied her motions and the demoness shifted until she was side long to the mirror. "Hmm..." Finger against her chin, she looked herself over before nodding. "Okay, Kiyohime... you look like a proper home keeper."

For several moments she continued to look in the mirror before reaching over and taking a piece of paper from her dresser and looking at it. "Right... first things first is laundry." Walking out, she grabbed the clothes bin and then easily lifted it as she walked downstairs. Instead of heading into the laundry room though, she stopped by the kitchen and worked at the stereo for several moments until a melody drifted through the house. Closing her eyes, she let out a sigh as the notes for Etenraku tickled her ears.

Lips curling upwards, she hummed snitches of music as she grabbed the washbasket and walked into the laundry room. Setting it down, she began to sort out the various clothes there and checking pockets. After all, she could still remember the first few times she had done laundry and forgot to check. Mainly the times in which there were items in the pockets such as coins and the like. Plucking out a coin, she shook her head before setting it aside and starting the load.

With a nod, she walked towards a sink and soon filled up a bucket with warm, soapy water. And not a small bucket either as she did not need to worry about weight with her strength, something that she was thankful for many times. Giving the area a once over, she dipped one finger into the water and moments later it began to boil which made her nod before dunking a mop into the scalding waters. The next hour and a half was mostly Kiyohime cleaning the floors. Every once in a while she went and dumped out the water and refilled the bucket.

Once that was done, she went back into the laundry room as the first load was done and pulled out the clothes. Reaching up to the ceiling, Kiyohime pulled down the clothes drying hanger and put the clothing onto it. Gently putting it back into place, she hummed a bit before taking a deep breath and then blowing onto the clothes which caused them to sway. There was no flame coming from her throat, but the temperature shot upwards in the small room. Not enough to cause damage to anything, but fifteen minutes later, Kiyohime nodded to herself as she lowered the rack down and took the now dried clothes off it and folded them. "There! Much quicker then just waiting for them to dry on their own."

Putting on the next load of wash, she left the laundry room. Dropping off the now dried clothes, she went into the living room and put down a small box with various cleaning items such as furniture polish. For the rest of the morning, that was how things went. Between loads of laundry, and drying them, Kiyohime cleaned the house from top to bottom. As she brought up the last basket full of clean, dry clothes, Kiyohime heard her stomach growl and chuckled some. "Guess that I should eat something..."

Just smiling, she made her way to the kitchen and opened the fridge and smiled. There, on one of the shelves was a made lunch with a note which she picked up. "'Dear Kiyohime, made some lunch for you last night as it would be less work for you. Hopefully you'll enjoy it. Love, Haku.'"

Hand against her chest, Kiyohime felt her heart swell as she giggled some. "I'm sure that I will enjoy it, Haku-Kun. I've always enjoyed the food that you made." Bringing the food out, she warmed up what she had to and sat down at the table with a bottle of juice as she ate it. Once it was finished, the demoness cleaned what she had to and then shed the apron and the cloth that covered her hair. Instead, she exchanged it for knee pads and gloves for her hands as she walked out into the backyard. For several seconds, she just stood there in the Spring sunlight as she examined the backyard.

As she did so, her mind drifted back several years to when she had woken up and been brought to this house by Haku. Back then, the backyard had looked quite a bit different. Over the next few weeks though, things had changed due to the blockade that Japan found itself under. It suddenly became extremely important that every family tried to produce some food for itself. Thankfully, there was only really three mouths to be fed in their household. And Kiyohime herself knew more then a bit about growing food, though some of the foods were rather strange.

There was also community gardens that sprung up everywhere in the country. She could remember the bombardment of the campaign in regards to them. According to Haku's grandmother, said gardens seemed to sprout up like weeds. Often, the younger kids were used to take care of them and gather vegetables. More then once, Haku would come home rather dirty and with a basket full of fresh food which both Kiyohime and his grandmother would work to make sure it lasted as long as possible...

Glancing inside, Kiyohime could see the upside down hanging tomato and pepper plants. As well, she could see the dwarf citus plants like those that had become extremely common throughout Japan. All to help out with the situation that had developed.

With a hum, she pulled her gloves tighter and walked over to a locked box. Quickly putting in the combination to the lock, Kiyohime opened it and looked over the contents. "Hmm... which first, which first... Ah! Right!" Pulling out the pitchfork, she walked over to the compost pile that was in one corner and laid it against the wall before going back into the house. Moments later though, Kiyohime retured with a bin in one hand. From it's bottom was a spigot and she walked over to the compost pile. Opening it, she dumped the contents of the bokashi bin onto the pile and, once said bin was empty, set it aside before picking up the pitchfork to mix it in with the rest at the top.
Eventually, she set aside the pitchfork with a small nod. "Okay, that's done. Now to do some weeding..."

Just sighing as she walked over to the first section of the garden, Kiyohime got down onto her knees before humming. Her eyes scanned around the vegetables growing before narrowing her eyes as she spotted a weed. Reaching out, the demoness pulled said weed out and put it to the side. One by one, she did the same for any others that she found. But, eventually, Kiyohime came across one stubborn weed that would not come out.
Growling, she glanced around before bringing one finger up and touching it. Almost immediately, the weed began to smoke and sizzle as it shrivelled up and died. Within a few seconds, all that was left was ashes and Kiyohime nodded. "Good, that's one down..."

It turned out not to be the last one that she had to burn up. But that was not that common really. Most of the weeds easily came out and she added them to the compost bin. One never knew when they would need fresh compost after all for the gardens. Weeding done, she frowned before heading back inside. Several minutes later, she came out with a small basket in her hands. "Now for some fresh food..."

Slowly moving through the gardens, Kiyohime hummed happily as she plucked one vegetable after the other. Even though it was still early in the year, there was still a lot that could be gathered. Such as early lettuce being one of those. As well, Kiyohime plucked out some radishes and peas that had reached the right size. Sure, in the case of the radishes, she would need to plant more, but that was no issue as within a month she could harvest those as well.

All in all though, the garden, though not huge, did provide her and Haku with plenty to eat throughout the year.

Walking back into the house, Kiyohime took off her gloves and pads before walking to the sink. Quickly washing her hands, she pulled out a strainer and went through the process of washing the various vegetables and rinsing them. Once she was done with that, she placed most of them into various containers. Some though she placed into a paper bag and back into the basket they went along with small jars with dried herbs and tiny citrus fruits from the dwarf plants they had. Pulling on the hoodie Haku had gotten her, Kiyohime left the house and locked it beside her.

Fifteen minutes later found her knocking on the door of another house. This one seemed rather run down and she waited there on the steps before the door opened to reveal what some might mistake for a young boy... though some might have wondered at how his skin had a purple tinge to it. Upon seeing who was there though, his eyes widened. "Kiyohime-Sama? What are you doing here?"

There was a small smile on Kiyohime's face as she held up the basket. "I brought some items from mine and Haku-Kun's garden. As per our agreement..."

Simply nodding, the Yokai looked over what was in the basket. "Ah! Thank you, this will do quite well. Just give me a moment, Kiyohime-Sama. I will be right back!" When the door closed, Kiyohime stood there for a few minutes before the Tōfu kozō came back with a container and a bag. "Here you go, some fresh tofu! And I also got some Azuki beans as well..." Looking around, he leaned in. "One of my cousins works for an Azuki arai up in the mountains. He's able to slip me some and I know that his boss loves citrus fruits."

Now grinning, Kiyohime chuckled. "Well then, perhaps I know where he could get some if he sends me some azuki beans." Looking into the bag, she smiled. "Yes, I think that Haku-Kun might well like some Shiruko with our dinner. Thank you."

Tipping his hat, the smaller Yokai only chuckled. "You are very welcome, Kiyohime-Sama. It is the least that I could do and I do enjoy what you trade with me. Please, pass on my regards to Haku-San."

With a hum and a nod, Kiyohime gave a small bow. "I shall do as you ask, my friend." A half hour later found her placing the tofu and azuki beans where they were supposed to go though she clicked her tongue. "He gave me more tofu then he should have again..." Making her way over to the various pots containing herbs, she gathered some and then tied them together. Hanging them from the ceiling, Kiyohime gave a nod before making herself some tea and placing a pad of paper down.

Finally, she grabbed a chocolate bar from the drawer where they were stored and sat down with a pen in one hand. Her other hand moved in slow circles under the herbs, heat rising up from it. Meanwhile, she took a bite of her chocolate bar with a sigh of happiness. One of the things she had come to love about the future was the wonderful, wonderful thing that was chocolate. It was divine.

Placing the chocolate to the side, she picked up the pen and began to copy down kanji from a magazine. Over and over she did that while she dried out the herbs with her free hand. Three hours later, she set down the pen and looked over her practice notes and nodded. After all, slowly but sure they were coming easier and easier to her. Then Kiyohime brought down the now dried herbs and cut them up before putting them into new jars to hold. They gave her a source for cooking after all.

As she sighed, Kiyohime got up and stretched before smiling brightly as she took note of the time. Everything that she set out to do for the day was done and so she turned for the stairs and began to walk up them. After all, the bath was calling her and that was something else that she enjoyed about the modern day. Back when she was still human, hot baths were a luxury. Hence her using them whenever she could, same with the soaps and shampoos that Haku got her.

In her mind, she deserved a reward for her hard work after all as she waited for Haku to get home for another date.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Walking over to the table in Hogwarts' library, Harry sat down and raised an eyebrow at Ron who was flipping through a book. Clearing his throat, he waited until Ron actually looked up to place a book in front of him. "Here's the book that I was talking about."

Eyebrow raised, Ron took it and read over the cover before frowning. "'Enchanting Fabrics: The Beginner's Guide to weaving spellwork into cloth.'" With a quick look through it, he nodded. "This is the one that Hermione read back in our first year?"

Slowly, Harry nodded some as he opened a book of his own. "Yeah, that's the one where she got the spell to make the paint on that fabric flash different colors." Reaching out, he tapped another book. "This is the second in the series, though the stuff is more Fourth Year level and includes things like enchanting animal hats to make animal sounds."

Glancing at a third book, Ron frowned before taking that one. "And this..." Now reading the book, Ron felt his cheeks burn at the title. "Uh, Mate? This is about..."

His own eyebrow raised, Harry frowned. "Spells for female clothing? Yeah, I figured that you might want to look at it since I am assuming that you've been thinking about enchanting clothes for Warspite." At Ron's look, he snorted. "You suddenly gained interest in putting magic into clothing, who else would you do it for?"

For a moment, Ron's ears brightened to a red color before he shook his head. "Er, right, who else?" Seeing Harry about to ask him something, the red head coughed. "Right, but still, Mate. You really looked for this one?"

All Harry did though was shrug and shake his head. "Yes? I mean, it's not that big of a deal." However, at the look he got he sighed and rolled his eyes. "Ron? That stuff does not bother me in the slightest. Blistering blue barnicles, I've grown up around girls and stuff and done the laundry."

Blushing even deeper, Ron looked away as he was unable to look his friend in his face. "Er... right, I suppose that is true enough."

Simply shrugging it off, Harry turned his attention to other matters, mainly what Ron had been reading at the time when he arrived at the table. "So what book caught your interest now? Because you didn't notice me when I arrived..."

With a blink, Ron perked up some. "It's a book on helping with muscle aches and pains. There's all sorts of stuff in it such as lotions that help relax muscles and such." He then smiled a bit and made a note. "It even has a chapter on magical massage."

Opening his own book, one on magical cooking, Harry hummed some in interest. "Magical massage? How different is it from normal massage?"

Just frowning, Ron thought it over before shrugging. "Not that different really. Mostly it's stuff that helps when doing it. But there a section on spells that help when you do it. Such as one spell that creates heat coming from your hands to help you work."

Now looking up in interest, Harry frowned for a few moments before giving a nod. "Let me know when you're done, okay? Sounds like something that might interest me as well."

A sly smirk on his face, Ron looked over the lip of his book. "Want to try it out on some shipgirls back home, huh?"

To his somewhat annoyance, Harry didn't blush nor try to deny it. "Yeah, it might help out some. I know that Mum sometimes like a shoulder rub after a long day and so do the others... And Regina also really likes stuff like that as well."

When Ron rolled his eyes and sighed, Harry blinked. However, the red head just waved him off. "Never mind, Mate. Never mind."

Before Harry could ask, Hermione arrived and sat down along with Neville. Glancing first at Harry and then at Ron, the shipgirl frowned some. "You both finished your homework?"

Making a note, Ron nodded as Harry snorted. When his female friend turned to him, the black haired boy shook his head. "Hermione. I got my homework done pretty quickly after it was assigned, as always. It's nothing like I had to deal with back in Japan."

Hermione grimaced a bit at that before shaking her head. "I remember you telling me that and I still have trouble believing it, Harry. Because with the amount of work the teachers shove on us already..."

Tone dry, Harry snorted. "Well, believe it, Hermione. What they give us would be considered light amounts back home."

Needless to say that caused all three of the others there to just stare at him before they shook their heads. While Hermione and Ron turned their attention to other matters, Neville turned to Harry with a frown. "Um, by the way, Harry? I got a letter from Rose and..."

Eyebrow raising, Harry chuckled. "So you've been invited to the wedding between her and Haruna-Oba, right? And you're wondering about it?"

Scratching his head, Neville nodded some with a frown. "Yeah, I mean... I've been invited to weddings before you know? But those are wizarding weddings, and nothing outside of Britain, so I've been wondering if there's anything that I should do..."

Harry considered the question for several moments before shaking his head. "Not really? Just look nice when you show up I suppose..."

For her part, Hermione was frowning in regards to it. "Wait, I got an invitation as well. I thought that Japan didn't do same sex marriage? Or that's what my research said."

Lips twitching, Harry nodded some. "Not really? Or it's not recognized as such... But Haruna-Oba said that the Emperor has stated that if someone has an issue, they're to go and speak with the Head Priestess at Ise as it is a matter for the Kami. So... I don't think that it will be that big of an issue."

Utterly shocked, Hermione stared at him for several moments. "Did he..." At the nod she got, she slumped a bit. "Oh... that's... Oh."

Confused, Ron looked from one to the other and frowned. "Uh, I'm missing something here. What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

With a deep breath, Hermione ran a hand through her hair as she dragged up all the research she had done on Japanese culture. After all, with one friend having been raised there, she did not want to do something to insult him and had gone on trips there before. "Um, well... Ise is pretty much the biggest place in the Shinto religion I think, Ron. And the Head Priestess is the Emperor's sister... It's basically him stating that if anyone has a problem recognizing it, they can go and pound sand in an extremely round about and polite manner."

Shrugging, Harry shook his head. "Haruna-Oba is basically a Kami of her ship, and Rose? She's a Tsukumogami, a Kami of an object, in this case a tea set. Them getting married is not an issue for us mortals to be concerned about, but the Kami. And unless they do something, which Haru-San said they won't... Well, no one can argue against it."

Despite being confused about what he was hearing, Neville nodded and looked between them. "Huh..." Shaking it off, he let out a breath. "Right, so it's just like a normal wedding then? Nothing too big?"

Only shaking his head, Harry snorted. "The wedding is going to be big, Nev. I mean... All the Kongous are going to be there as are a bunch of other shipgirls. You're probably going to be having important guests like with Mutsu-Oba's wedding as well." Chewing his lip, he furrowed his eyebrows. "Might be a bit more... I mean, Haruna-Oba did have Prince Takamatsu as one of her crew way back before the war, though I don't know if he's returned... And she was the Emperor's Ship as well, so... who knows?"

A banging sound made them turn to find Hermione hitting her head on the table while muttering to herself. Sharing a shrug with Ron and Harry, Neville turned back to Harry. "Well, I meant bringing a gift to them."

Perking up, Harry gave a nod at that. "Oh! Well, not much to worry about there, Neville. Both of them will like any gifts that they might get for their wedding."

Ron frowned some as he made a mental note as he had gotten the same invite and was reasonably sure that the rest of his family had as well. "Right... so who else from here is going?"

For a moment, Harry leaned back and thought. "Who else?" At the nod, he hummed for a moment. "Hagrid will be coming to the wedding, Rose already asked for him to provide some rock cakes for the reception. Pretty sure that they're also inviting Professor Dumbledore, maybe Snape? Not sure about that... I know that they want to invite Aunt Myrtle if it's possible though. Other then them? Um... I think that they're inviting Daphne, her sister, and Tracy? Because of the help they gave us recently, though they might want two more invites for people outside their family from what Rose said."

Briefly frowning, Neville looked down at the table before shaking his head. "You might want to invite Susan Bones and maybe Hannah Abbott as well." At the looks of confusion, he ran a hand through his hair. "Well, Susan did stand up for you after all. Politically, it would help as Susan's Aunt is the head of the DMLE, which could help her even if most of the details don't get out."

Arms crossed over his chest, Harry thought it over before shrugging. "Not really my decision, but I can pass it on to Rose and Haruna-Oba..."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

"Master Armando Dippet, Sir?"

Having been dozing on the most comfortable of his armchairs, former Headmaster of Hogwarts, Armando Dippet, stirred away. "Ah, yes Daisy? Is something wrong?"

The little House Elf wrung her hands for several moments. "Ah, Mistress Kathleen is here to pays a visit. And I's be having your medicine."

Gently nodding, Armando took a deep breath and let it out as he felt his aches and pains. "Ah, thank you. Please have her escorted in while I take my medicine." With a nod, the elf vanished while leaving behind several potions which the elderly wizard began to take. Before he finished though, the door opened and a young, brown haired woman walked in. "Ah, Kathleen... How are you doing?"

Narrowing her eyes, the witch frowned. "I am doing well enough, Grandfather." It was then that Kathleen noticed the potions and strode across the room. Before Armando could do anything, she grabbed one of them and closely examined it. Within moments, she had a scowl on her face. "Grandfather..."

Despite the fury, Dippet smiled softly and placed his hands in his lap. "Yes, Kathleen? What seems to be the issue."

With her scowl deepening, Kathleen took in the rest of the potions before glaring at her many great-grandfather. "I recognize these potions. Ones for mental clarity, wit sharpening, focus..." One of them caught her eye and she sucked in a breath. "Energy booster... What in the name of God are you doing!? Just one of these at your age would be hard on your body, but all of them!? Are you trying to kill yourself!?"

All Dippet did was close his eyes and shake his head. "Ah, a bit too late for that, I am afraid." Before his descendant could say anything, he rose to his feet and clasped her shoulder for support. "Please, walk with me for a while Kathleen."

Still frowning, Kathleen let out a sigh. "Of course, Grandfather. As long as you explain yourself and why you have called me here."

Just nodding, Dippet hummed. "Of course, of course." After a few moments, the elderly wizard began to explain what was going on. While he did so, Dippet pretended not to see the horror dawning on his descendant's face. Finally, he slowly shook his head. "... As you can see, I have need of some assistance. I do not have much time left I'm afraid and you are one of the few who I can trust."

Blinking away some tears, Kathleen shook her head. "There's nothing that I can do to convince you not to follow through on this fool's errand then?"

Lips curled upwards, Dippet chuckled. "It is much too late for that. The process has been going on for some months now after all. From my calculations, I won't last much beyond July I think."

Only snorting, Kathleen shook her head as she followed her grandfather down the stairs into the cellar. Once, there was many different wines here since Dippet's own mother was an Italian Pureblood. But over the recent decades, Dippet found that he had less need or want to drink and so there were areas that had nothing but dust in them.

Or at least they had until fairly recently.

Upon entering one of these empty areas, Kathleen's eyes widened. Before her was a group of coffin-like objects. Ignoring her grandfather, she walked forwards and laid one hand onto one of them. "Are... are these them?"
Leaning against the wall of the cellar, Dippet nodding. "Yes... Four Battleships I believe the Muggles call 'N3s' and seven Aircraft Carriers."

Eyebrows furrowing, Kathleen turned and looked to see several more. "But... there are more then that..."

With a hum, Dippet walked forward and nodded. "Yes, well... they are the Dutch ships. My wife was from the Netherlands after all and... I cannot see a better monument to her then to give her home country it's own defense."

Mouth working, Kathleen looked from him to the objects and back. "Just how much power do you think that you have, Grandfather!? All of this... If what you say is true, you would not be able to work this!"

Chuckling weakly, which became a coughing fit, he shook his head. At his descendant stepping forward, he raised a hand as he wheezed. "Just... one moment." With a deep breath, he swallowed. "I have plenty left in me. For example, it seems that you have not noticed the blood stones in the walls?" Not really noticing the shocked look from Kathleen as she looked, he continued. "Through my years, I have made a large number. I wanted them just in case I have ever needed and now I do. The magic within them is being drained as is my own. As well... that is part of the reason that I have asked for you."

Kathleen looked at him and frowned. "But why? I can understand me taking care of you, but..."

A far off look in his eyes, Dippet sighed. "I wish to perform a ritual upon the Solstice. One that will give me enough power to complete this. But the ritual itself needs a second, though nothing will happen to you my dear."

Frowning, Kathleen narrowed her eyes. "Which ritual...?"

Silence met her for almost a minute before he answered. "The Opening of the Way."

Eyes widening, Kathleen took a step forward. "Grandfather! Are you insane!? That ritual outright kills anyone using it by removing any and all limits on their magic! It literally burns them alive from the inside out! The only reason it was even created was to create a wizard or witch of such power that they could face armies! You cannot be serious!"

Lips twitching, Dippet nodded. "Deadly serious." With a frown, he stroked his beard in thought. "There is another ritual, one that trades magic for lifespan. The two together will give me enough to complete this. With the strengthening potions, it will also allow my body to last just long enough."

Taking another step forward, Kathleen scowled. "Yes, just long enough. The whole time of which you will be in agony, Grandfather. You will feel your own magic burning you alive! Your body ripping itself apart! Is whatever you want to do worth that!?"

Dippet opened his eyes and matched her gaze evenly. "Yes, it is worth it. The pain and this shall be my penance for the evil I allowed to grow under my watch, the one that killed your aunt. As it was, I would not have lasted much longer, Kathleen. And this way, I should leave the world better then it was when I was born."

Her scowl disappearing into a soft frown, Kathleen walked the last few steps and placed her hand on Dippet's shoulder. "Riddle was not your fault, Grandfather. No matter what some other unkind souls may think, he was not. You have been a good man in your life, sometimes stern, but out of love."

Reaching up, Dippet took her hand in his wrinkly own. "Perhaps. But Tom is still one of my burdens, Kathleen." Looking into her eyes, he frowned. "Please... there are so few that I can trust."

With a sigh, Kathleen slowly nodded. "Very well, Grandfather, I'll help." There were some tears in her eyes as she shook her head. "At least that way you will have someone who loves you at your side when you pass."

There was a smile on Dippet's face as he gave a small nod. "Thank you, my dear. Now... let us retire for some tea. Daisy is quite good at that I will have you know. And she will need to get used to you as it is."

Even though she was confused at the last words, Kathleen only nodded and walked out alongside her many great grandfather. Supporting him the whole way as they did so.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Frowning, Regina tilted her head some as her and Harry stood just outside of the Hogwarts doors in the early May sunshine. Part of her was enjoying the weather currently as it was sunny, and yet not very hot. In fact, it was quite far from the weather she experienced back in the Timor Sea. Weather that Revina had joked could be called hot and hotter as well as freaking hot on some days. The cool breeze brushed against her and ruffled her poncho.

Of course, the coolness of the day did made her rub her arms a bit.

Which was something that Harry noticed right away. "Regina?" Getting a hum, he frowned. "You cold?"

Blushing a bit, Regina shook her head. "Um, not really? I mean... it's sort of cool is all. But not that cold."

Slowly, Harry nodded at that. "I see..." Fingers tapping against the stone, he considered that. 'Hmm... I wonder, when did Big Sis say her launching day was...' After a few more moments he shook it off and glanced around. Even from where he was, Harry could see various other students out and about just enjoying the spring day. He then gave her a grin. "I'm pretty happy that you're sticking around for some time longer, though I am surprised that Big Sis decided on letting you stay."

Just shrugging, Regina shook her head though she had a small smile on her face. "Lady Wanko wished for you to be guarded until you go home for the Summer. And, um..." She flushed as she played with her fingers. "I don't really mind..."

Head tilted to the side, Harry patted her on the arm. "Neither do I, Regina. Heck, I like spending time with you." Moments later, he reached over and wrapped an arm around her the best that he could considering the large difference between their heights. When she leaned into him, Harry only smiled a bit. 'This is pretty nice.'

Unknown to him, Regina had much the same thought in her own head.

It was then that the door to Hogwarts opened up and Dumbledore stepped out. At seeing Harry and Regina there, he gave them both a smile while internally chuckling. The Headmaster was outright amazed at how so many of his students had gotten used to the Re-Class wandering around the grounds with Harry. Oddly, many also seemed to forget that she was even there most of the time. Mentally shaking his head, he gave a nod to Regina and Harry. "A good day, Harry, Miss Regina. Quite lovely out is it not?"

With a nod, Harry chuckled as he stood up straight, not noticing the small pout on Regina's face as his arm fell away from her. "Yeah, it's a great day out. Then again, May seems to be pretty nice, fewer bugs and yet it's warm."

Humming, Dumbledore nodded. "Hmm, quite." Looking out over the grounds for a few moments, he turned and gave Harry a chuckle. "Now then, I received the letter you sent to me about asking for some advice?"

Now straightening his back some, Harry nodded. "That's right, I was hoping for some advice, though..." Eyebrows furrowing, he looked around. "I'm not sure why you wanted to meet us out here though? Wouldn't your office have been good enough?"

There was a frown in Dumbledore's face before he stroked his beard. "Perhaps you might have been right, Harry. But... the walls do have ears after all."

Frowning himself, Harry took apart that sentence and blinked. "The portraits? But in Hogwarts: A History it said that they are loyal to the Headmaster or Headmistress. Why would you be worried about them?"

A chuckle escaped from Dumbledore and he shook his head. "Ah, I am not too worried about them spilling my secrets, Harry my dear boy. But some of them do get... chatty, as it were, with their fellow portraits. And some of them may not approve of certain things. Not that I blame them as I myself have my own biases and beliefs. But in regards to the conversation that you wished to have? I believe that it would be best to keep it between us for now."

Still frowning, Harry slowly nodded. "Um, okay?"

Eyes twinkling, Dumbledore gestured for Harry to walk beside them as they made their way from the castle and out over the grounds. "I have seen much in my day, Harry. And Hogwarts has seen far more, though I doubt that what she is seeing now is something that has ever happened. The world is changing before us, pushed along. And from what I am to understand you wish to help that change along?"

Considering his words before he spoke them, Harry gave a nod. "That's right, Professor. Though I like to think of it more as helping people." Once he got a nod, he continued. "It's something that I thought of after hearing some things during the Break."

Just frowning, Dumbledore sighed. "Ah, yes, the situation of the Yokai in Japan. Terrible what they have gone through all in the name of the Statute. Personally, as long as they would respect it, I would have rather them be left to live out their lives as they would. But... I became the Supreme Mugwump two decades after the Second World War and by then the damage had been done and nothing I could do would reverse it."

As he grimaced, Harry grumbled. "Because you had to pick and choose your fights, right?" Seeing the raised eyebrow, he shrugged. "Mum made sure that I knew about stuff like that once I told her that I wanted to be an Admiral. Yamamoto-Ojii also spoke to me about that, though mostly about within the military that you serve in."

Even though he was not quite sure, Dumbledore made a thoughtful sound. Granted, he made a note to ask Victory about it. "Quite. Politics is one of those things, my boy, which can be tough to deal with. And yes, I had to pick and choose my fights carefully. With the damage to Europe from Gellert as well as Tom's own rise... I am ashamed to say that I did not spare much thought to such things as the Yokai in Japan besides not being in favour of it."

Despite understanding, it still caused Harry to internally grumble. Externally, he shrugged though. "I want to change it though, make things better for them at least until the Statute breaks."

Hands behind his back, Dumbledore continued to look out on the grounds as they walked, Regina just behind them. "A noble goal, Harry. As well as a very ambitious one, quite Slytherin some might say."

Shrugging, Harry snorted. "The Hat did want to put me into Slytherin after all, said I would do well there."

Lightly laughing, Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, I suppose that you would have done quite well there indeed. Though perhaps it would have been akin to setting a Basilisk among pit vipers considering certain things. Or perhaps a serpentine dragon." For several moments, his eyes twinkled before it dimmed some. "I will admit that I am not quite as informed to recent issues in Japan, but may I ask what exactly pushed you to this decision first?"

For several seconds, Harry furrowed his thoughts some. "You know all about Blood Week, right? And the months after... I mean, I read some books about what happened on the magical side."

Now thinking back, Dumbledore sighed. "Yes, I remember vividly what happened, Harry. It was a dark time, one of the darkest that I have gone through. The world seemed to have gone mad..." Head tilted to the side, he frowned. "Did something happen in Japan? Remember, while I may be head of the ICW, I only hear what is considered important enough for me to do so."

Lips turning downwards at that, Harry gave a nod. "Well... a lot of Yokai from outside the reserves went out to fight the Abyssals in those days I guess. And a number died. But they eventually sent a letter to the magical government and asked to be allowed to create forces to help the wizards and witches fight the Abyssals. Or at least be allowed to defend themselves."

Closing his eyes, Dumbledore sighed. "Ah, I can imagine what the reply to that was. I would guess that the Japanese government was very much not in favor."

There was a scowl on Harry's face as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "No, they told them that they were so animalistic that they could not be trusted. Heck! Apparently they fined and went after any that showed themselves!"

Expression becoming pinched, the elderly wizard softly cursed. "Those bloody foolish..." Opening his eyes, he shook his head. "I can see the issue that you might have there, Harry. After all, we were all in need of support and to turn them away... Foolish."

Quickly nodding, Harry brightened some. "Which is why I want to change things! I got my fame and can use that to get change to happen."

Silent, Dumbledore continued to walk as he rolled his thoughts around in his head before speaking. "I am afraid that it would not be quite that simple, Harry my boy." Seeing him about to speak, he raised a hand. "Allow me to finish, please. It is a noble goal that you are putting in front of you, I will not deny that. But it will be far harder then what you performed when you made your comments regarding my being dismissed from my post. While there may be those who agree with you, there would also be a lot of pushback. In fact, in trying to help the Yokai you may make things much worse in the end for them."

Now frowning, Harry scratched his head. "So you're trying to tell me not to help? That I would make things worse? And so I shouldn't try?"

Chuckling, Dumbledore shook his head. "No, I am not, Harry. What I am saying is that one cannot rush into this. And that focusing on the Yokai, while it might seem to be a good idea, is not. Rather... try and throw your net a bit wider in this case. Don't seem to be focusing on one specific group's issue."

Head tilting to the side, Harry blinked before glancing at Regina just behind him. For her part, the Abyssal shrugged as she was not really sure herself. When he turned back, Harry raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

Eyes twinkling, Dumbledore made a thoughtful noise. "There are many out there who wish to help in this war. Not just the Yokai, Harry. The merfolk would love to help and reclaim what was their homes for example. There are tribes of trolls in Norway who fought Abyssals invading the fjords, throwing great rocks down upon them. But have been forbidden from doing much more then that even though with their strength they could help out a lot. You have vampires and werewolves both wishing to help by joining militias. As well, you have normal witches and wizards who want to help their muggle neighbours, but would be skirting with fines and jails if they do."

Confused, Harry frowned and furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm not really following..."

With a hum, Dumbledore glanced at him. "Instead of focusing on the Yokai in just Japan, you may instead consider attacking the problem from a different angle. Speak out in favor of laws being relaxed so that those who wish to help in defense can, no matter whether they are human or not. Where if a group of werewolves or Veela want to set up a militia to help defend the coastlines, they can do so. Not just those beings in Japan or Europe, but worldwide. Speak about how those who help should not be penalized for doing so. If a wizard was to increase the amount of food by magic, they should not need to worry about being fined or thrown into jail."

For almost a minute, Harry was silent before looking down at the ground. "You mean by generalizing things, hide my actual goal in it? While doing a lot of good?"

Hands behind his back, Dumbledore nodded. "Exactly. By doing things in that way, you make it more likely for it to be accepted. If, for example, people accepted Merfolk scouting and passing information along, then it becomes easier for them to accept the Yokai helping out as well where they can." His expression then became serious. "However, I will give a note of caution not to push too far or too fast. You may not even reach your goal before the Statute falls, my boy. In fact, I doubt it very much. Your fame, great as it is here in Europe, can only help so far. Many will see you as just a child trying to act like an adult..."

Just as Harry was about to say something, Dumbledore held up a hand which made the black haired boy frown. 'I wonder what he's about to say?'

Dumbledore then let out a breath. "But. for every three people that might dismiss you, there will be one who will listen. One who might consider what you are saying. And that is among adults." He then gestured around them at the various students. "But those like your fellow students? Those of your age? They may be the ones who listen most. While I know that you do not like the fame that you gained from your parents' deaths, it does give you a voice among them. Wizards, witches, and others of your age? They will see you as a leader. Through them, their parents may also pay attention and listen. And in the world to come, ones your age? They will be the ones who truly matter, Harry. Them and the generations after, not those like me. Future leaders of us magicals, and if they listen, then the future could be quite bright. For myself and those of my age? Our time is over and passing, swept away by the changes overcoming the world. The time belonging to you and those of your age group is coming and will soon begin."

All three were silent as Harry thought over those words and then looked out onto the grounds. When he spoke, it was almost a whisper. "A lot bigger then what I thought..."

Chuckling, Dumbledore smiled. "Perhaps. But I have the upmost faith that you will be one of those to change the world, Harry. While I can guide you, and give advice... That is all I can really do now. But you will have my help where I can give it, Harry." Leaning down, his smile grew some. "Now then... tell me about some of your ideas and I will give you some advice where I can."

Only nodding, Harry started to do so, Dumbledore listening as he did so. Internally, the elderly wizard was quite happy with what he was seeing and hearing. It made him all the more hopeful for the future.

 

[darthcourt10]

RCNAnon

Hello again all. Another snip for Ron and Warspite, this is a few days before they're leaving for Hogwarts.

Comments welcome as always.

Ron and Warspite: Meeting the Admiral
----------------------------

As he stood in front of the desk of Admiral Whitcomb, commander of HMNB Portsmouth, Ron found he had discovered that there were indeed things in the world which were as scary as his mother when she was angry. It wasn't scarier than his mother than she was angry, he hoped there wasn't anything like that in the world but it was about equal. Said Admiral was looking over a number of files, pointedly ignoring Ron as he tried not to squirm from the rough approximation of attention he'd stood in.

Ron desperately wished he could turn around to see Warspite or Duke of York. They were both positioned behind him somewhere but he wasn't sure where and since he'd been brought to the admiral's office under official business by a pair of exceedingly polite marines he didn't think it was a good idea to turn around. Ron wasn't sure what exactly was going on but between the mutterings he'd heard at breakfast and how Warspite had been brought in before him, he was pretty sure it dealt with how he'd spent the night without informing anyone.

There was another ship girl behind the admiral's desk, HMS Resource. She'd been at the docks when Warspite arrived, waiting for the wounded cruiser that she'd towed in. They'd spoken only a little and he hadn't had time to get a good judge of her personality. Unfortunately that meant that he couldn't gather anything from the rather smooth and neutral look she had on at the moment.

It seemed like forever but it was probably only a minute more before Admiral Whitcomb placed the folders down on his desk and looked up to Ron, his slightly weathered face looking rather serious.

"Do you know why you're here Ronald?" he asked, Ron hiding a wince at the use of his full name.

"Uhm, not for certain Sir," Ron said, "I gathered some from the rumors but nothing I would say was solid."

"What did you gather?" asked Admiral Whitcomb, remaining serious.

"I… I gathered that my staying over had been noticed by someone and that it might've been somewhat of a security issue since I only signed in as a temporary guest." Ron fought back a gulp, not having realized that it would be an issue last night. Not that he'd been thinking about much of anything aside from helping Warspite.

"Might have been noticed by someone is a rather… major understatement," said the Admiral, pulling out a piece of paper which appeared to be rather official. "Seeing as the commander of the morning guard filed an official report of your status."

Ron gulped, uncertain as to where this was going but knowing that wherever it was it didn't seem good.

"Do you know the penalties for an unauthorized person in a naval base at a time of war are Ronald? The ones that apply to an outside party who might see sensitive materials or overhear plans that they shouldn't?"

Ron had heard of those rules or at least similar ones from Harry. Words like "Life in Prison", "Treason" and "Death" were floating around in his mind. He managed to nod to the Admiral.

Whitcomb remained looking at him for another few seconds, before he glanced back at Resource. Ron's eyes darted to Resource briefly and he noticed… that she seemed to be attempting to hide a smile.

"What do you think Resource?" asked Whitcomb, his voice containing a surprising amount of levity given what they'd just been discussing, "Has he passed?"

"I think so sir," said the ship girl, the smile on her face unmistakable now even as she tried to fight it, "I've seen Lieutenants quivering in their boots in front of their Admiral, I think he's got the good steel in him."

Ron blinked in surprise as Whitcomb turned back to him, his face much lighter if not quite smiling like Resource now was.

"Relax Ron," he said, "Consider what just happened a test, which you passed. Warspite, Duke, if you'd bring up some chairs we can continue."

Ron turned around to see Duke and Warspite both pulling up large plush chairs that had been in the corner. Duke seemed to be smiling while Warspite wavered between happiness and exasperation. Then he blinked, noticing that there were only two chairs.

That little conundrum was solved when Warspite pulled her chair up to the desk, grabbed Ron and pulled him in between her legs, arms wrapped around his waist.

"I told you there was no need for all this," she said in the tone of someone who'd long argued a point and finally found it proven.

Ron thought of speaking up but his position and general relief at apparently not being in trouble made him decide against it, instead just resting his head against Warspite's chest.

Admiral Whitcomb shook his head and raised his hands in surrender to Warspite's statement.

"I know you have Warspite and I was on your side. There are still plenty of conservative officers in the navy which is why we had to do this."

"Trust me I know," Warspite said dryly before looking down at Ron and giving him a smile.

"You did well," she said, just refraining from giving him a kiss on the forehead or cheek and instead keeping her arms around him protectively.

"He did," Whitcomb said, "Which is why I have absolutely no qualms about handing this over."

The Admiral put a small plastic rectangle on his desk and slid it to the edge, just inside Ron's reach. Taking it Ron saw a picture of his own face on it, taken from a muggle camera sometime.

"That's your new ID badge," said Admiral Whitcomb, leaning back into his chair, "Which allows you on base and into all areas involving ship girls at any time."

Ron's eyes widened, looking between the Admiral, Warspite and Duke.

"That's great!" he said, "But uhm… can I ask why now after I've been visiting for so long?"

"One of the reasons you're getting it now is because you have been visiting for so long Ron." Whitcomb said, even as he reached into one of his drawers and pulled out a bottle Ron recognized. "The other one is this or rather, what was inside it."

"The massage oil?"

"Yes the massage oil," said Resource, who pulled out a well worn pipe and stuck it in the corner of her mouth, "The infused massage oil which according to my fairies took hours of wear off of Warspite's engines and from what she said, saved her from hours of pain."

Ron looked up at Warspite, who just smiled down at him.

"It's a remarkable achievement Ron," said Duke, "Especially given Warspite's condition."

"I just wanted to help her," he said, "Is it that important?"

"We're not sure," said Whitcomb, "But the fact that it did help and that you made it is important enough. Can you make more?"

"Yeah, I could. It's not that hard if you have the time."

Whitcomb looked at Resource, who just smiled back.

"Resource has informed me that she would be very appreciative if I managed to purchase some of the oil from you Ron. She'd like to try using it on some of our girls with less invasive injuries."

Ron's eyes widened.

"You want to buy it from me? I only made it for Warspite because I'd rub her ankles sometimes and I thought it might help..."

"Ron, mate," said Resource as she pulled out her pipe to pat it in her hand, then return it to her mouth, "It helps a bunch. If I was the type to get peeved at a fellow wrench wrangler for doing something right I'd be well and truly peeved I hadn't thought of this first. Instead I'm just glad someone thought of it cause the other repair girls and I have had bugger all luck in helping the Lady with her cramps and engines. Not to mention what it might do for some of the other girls who are just plain sore."

Ron blinked at the plainspoken nature of Resources words but she just smiled at him.

"And I'll also be peeved if you try and pass this off as a gift when it's going to be for more than just between you and your lady friend."

Ron felt a blush at that but as Warspite shifted a bit he gave a smile.

"Alright, you can pay me for it then. When I make some more of course."

Whitcomb and Resource both smiled at that, Resource leaning back up against the wall.

"Thank you Ron. We won't but any demands on your time that you can't meet but if you could get some too us relatively soon, Resource would like to try it out and some different girls before we distribute it out. I think the other bases and perhaps even some other navies might be interested in buying it as well."

Ron felt himself getting even more out of his depth with that. Harry was the one who went on crazy adventures and did things across the world, not him.

"You'll do fine Ron," said Duke, once again drawing his attention to the smiling battleship. "Like they said there is no rush."

"OK. I haven't tried to make a bigger batch yet but I'll try once school gets settled."

"Thank you Ron," said Whitcomb. "I think that's it for now. I don't expect any issues but since you'll be a Royal Navy contractor at this point remember we expect a certain amount of public decorum and discretion. The rules we talked about earlier do exist."

Ron nodded once more, then Whitcomb smiled and nodded once more.

"You all are dismissed then."

Ron stood as Warspite's arms released him, his back feeling cooler as Warspite and Duke stood.

Turning to head out and helping Warspite into her chair, Ron stopped as Whitcomb called out.

"Oh, Ron, your mother called. I did my best but you should probably call her back."

Ron shivered, wondering if he could somehow convince her that getting a job was worth him spending the night unannounced… somehow he didn't think so.

"Do you think she'd get less upset if we waited an hour?" he asked the two battleships as they left the Admiral's office.

"Based on Warspite's descriptions of your mother… I think that would be a bad idea," said Duke with a frown.

Warspite just laughed.

"That's what I thought too," said Ron with a sigh. "We should find a phone."

"Lets," said Warspite, the three of them heading down the hall together, Ron's new badge clipped to his chest for anyone to see.

 

[darthcourt10]

Barricade

=== WINTER BREAK, 4TH YEAR AT HOGWARTS ===

When Ron had made a visit to the small town of Dunbar, and their not quite so abandoned East Barns as the non-magical population thought, to pick up some winter herbs for several of the medicinal rubs he'd developed, along with a minor side-trip to see his Bagehot cousins, he thought it would be a boring trip. The Bagehots were a near-squib branch of the family with the sole exception of being incredibly gifted with plant and water based spells. Considering the nearby brewery, it was a foregone conclusion that they would gravitate towards the same industry. In fact, several of the actual squibs worked in the publicly known Belhaven Brewery, while the rest worked in the magical East Lothian distillery, working on a unique blend of Firewhiskey.

Which, as Ron quickly found out, sounded all nice and good, but still meant '1 Galleon, 3 Sickles a shot, and another two years of age or I'll kick yer arse clean out of my distillery for trying some too soon' even between cousins. To be fair, he only asked once. Ron was more interested in collecting some of the excess herbs they used for their 'Winter Reserve Blend' as several could find double use in salves or potions. To his surprise, they were being quite generous with his order in part due to that the youngest Bagehot was celebrating her first Christmas. Not that the five month old knew what the fuss was about, other than it seemed to center around her, which made her happy. Or at least, that's what Ron figured her gurgling sounded like.

It was getting on into the late afternoon evening as the family and several workers were swapping stories over shared shot-glasses and mugs of barley tea that several low thumps were felt in the floorboards throughout the pub that stood next to the distillery. Considering the antique age of some of the equipment, no one thought much of it, until the thumps started settling into a slow rhythmic pattern that caused several to walk over and see if something was wrong, Ron included due to being curious.

Opening the noisy pub's doors briefly de-activated it's sound muffling wards, and the thumps were immediately brought into full clarity as a series of massive blasts went off to the west of town. Everyone who'd walked out, or those close to the doors who could hear things the best, stood silent in shock for a few precious moments. It was the silence that saved the few, and the motionlessness that damned the rest, as Ron, and a few elderly wizards well into their 90s snapped their heads around to face the bay as a staccato of bright flashes lit up the water just before a low, but growing whistle filled the air above them.

The next few moments were chaos on a scale that Ron never quite remembered, and needed a Pensieve to actually recall with any detail as an errant high-explosive shell struck home through the thin mortar and brick walls, directly into the base of the main firewhiskey storage tanks. Of the thirty-eight people who were present before hand, exactly seven survived the next ten seconds, and only three would manage to crawl their way out of the rumble in the following minutes and hours ahead. A fourth, terrifyingly silent, yet still breathing, was cradled within the one working arm of the young man who'd managed to shield both himself and her crib in the moments before the firestorm consumed everything around them.

With a wand barely held in a bloodied and trembling fingers, and only that through sheer will, Ron slumped against a pile of debris near him, turning the unconscious infant's face away from the horrific carnage around them even as Ron would carry those memories for life. No one needed to see that. He might have stayed there in stunned silence, except something at the corner of his eye made him look up just in time to see the tail of an Abyssal destroyer move around a gutting building two blocks away.

Harry had shown Ron his Mystic Eyes of Disillusion - although that still sounded like a stupid name - the previous year, and with Hermione, all three of them had worked to develop a 'British' version of the ability. Considering that it could see through virtually any minor illusionary spell or ward, cleared up your vision in bad conditions, plus could easily pick out the differences between an Abyssal in the dark and a shipgirl running with her lights off, it would prove very useful to the duo over the next few minutes as Ron worked frantically to get the words out needed to active it. In fact, it saved their lives almost immediately as otherwise Ron never would have spotted the approaching Tsu-class coming from the other direction until it was too late. Gritting teeth to hold back a cry of pain, he shifted back to lie down over the sharp and shattered remains of the building, and further needing to hold back from screaming in pain as he moved the warm bundle to his broken arm while slipping his wand into his good hand. He barely had enough time to whisper out a spell that transfigured some of the debris around him to cover them both before the Tsu turned to look in his direction.

How long he laid there, only meters distant from the Abyssal, wand clutched in a white-knuckled grip even as he bit his own thumb to muffle the sounds of his breathing, he would never be able to say. What he could, and did, recall, in perfect detail, was the look on her face the entire time, through a gap in the wood and brick. Nothing but a sneer of contempt towards the remains before her. For some reason that look, that smug, contemptuous look, made Ron feel utterly cold inside, even as all he wanted was to permanently wipe it off her face, along with wiping her off the face of the planet. Only the faint stirrings coming from the small blanket, slowly turning pink from his arm's injuries, kept him from moving. In years to come, some would find cause to sneer at a Gryffindor showing 'cowardice'. It wasn't until he joined the Naval Academy and talked to some of his instructors there that he gained a sense of peace about it, having been told by those who had fought and bled themselves, that sometimes it takes greater courage to hide, than to stand and fight. Because you're needed to protect and hide those that can't, and you'd risk both your own life and theirs, if you did rise to challenge your enemy.

The spell hadn't worn off yet when the Tsu moved away, back towards the shoreline, and Ron keep his eyes locked onto her until she stepped off the mangled beach onto the water, along with a small pack of Destroyers, only to rapidly move off-shore. Coughing hard at holding his breath in for so long, he turned to check on the small form nestled up to him. And froze. Completely.

Ron had been around dozens of shipgirls and Abyssals since he'd learned the ability, and even without their rigging active, they shined like silvery beacons as ghostly images of their hulls seemed to wrap around their bodies. Though it was faint, his nose was less then a meter from the infant's own, as tiny arms flexed towards his warmth, even as miniature searchlights swung blindly around the equally tiny hull that hovered over and around her form. Ever so carefully, he wrapped himself around the blanket covered form, while raising his wand to point out to sea. They might be be back, they would be back, they always would be back. And he'd be damned, injuries or not, if he would let the Abyss take her. It was in that same position that his terrified family, plus a frantic Warspite, found him in hours later, after getting worried about him being late, and then hearing of the raid in progress.

No Aurors had shown, as they were needed to deal with the relatively 'light' damages starting from Dunbar in the east, all the way to the far heavier damages at Edinburgh itself at the westernmost end of the raid. In the end, the Ministry of Magic ruled that the losses at Dunbar were 'tragic, but minor in comparison to the potential catastrophe of Edinburgh burning'. Minor that is, except for one boy's final loss of his childhood, and a sleeping child, innocent of her legacy, who was the last surviving member of her family.


=== NINE YEARS LATER ===


It is a common experience for most Royal Navy shipgirls to be called upon by the various flag officers within Admiralty House to explain various issues and concerns regarding their unique existences. It wasn't quite so common however for a newly minted Lieutenant Commander to be personally ordered by name, to directly report to the 1st Sea Lord themselves. It was virtually unheard of for a married shipgirl and her junior officer husband to both be called to report before the Sea Lord together. And it was quite possibly unique in all of existence that the topic of that report, was currently downstairs, in a white and blue sundress, as she kicked her heels back and forth waiting on a bench, as her head swiveled - much like a turret if one were pressed - to take in everything around her with child-like curiosity.

"Lady Devenport-Weasley, Commander Weasley, considering these reports here, and the tests down at the summoning pool, I'm afraid I have to ask you to explain to me just how your adopted daughter managed to not be discovered as a naturalborn until just last week, even though you've had her for almost ten years now. Warspite?"

"Well, I wasn't sure, really. We've never come across an unawakened at so young an age. And giving hope, only to be dashed with a false positive, is something I was trying to avoid. It didn't start getting really 'clear' that she was an unawakened until she reached 8 or 9."

"'Clear' hmm? And false positives, Warspite?"

"Yes, 'Clear'. And yes, as I said,I didn't want to dash hopes within both the Nay and the general public if I was wrong, Admiral. As we all know, due to the various reports on naturalborns, such as HMS Hermione as a quick and on-hand example, that as they age, plus specific training measures, the association with their spiritual 'hull' becomes stronger. This allows us summoned or already fully awakened naturalborns, to easier see a 'ghost imprint' of their hull in a kind of overlay on top of their physical body. And, well, due to Beatrice not being given that training, along with avoiding using my rigging when at home and around her, I never really had an opportunity to verify it with the reduced senses that comes from not having my rigging active."

Silence stretched out as the 1st Sea Lord, plus HMS Dreadnought at his shoulder - who was looking at Warspite with a distinctively cool gaze, and one highly expressive, primly arched eyebrow - ponders once again at just how good Warspite is at playing her cards close. After all, there was the fact that Warspite herself was the one that spotted one Hermione Granger with extreme ease, well before the young lady's tenth birthday, without Warspite's rigging being active, and yet didn't spot this in her own adopted daughter?

However the mother of all modern Battleships had, due to being so locked in on the the parental couple under her guns, completely missed that the 1st Sea Lord at his desk had also given her a brief side-long look. He knew full well that Dreadnought, to say nothing of Warspite's sisters, half-sisters, and various 'cousins', utterly doted on the young girl this discussion was centered around. He fully recalled a private discussion over tea with her a little over two months ago where Dreadnought had laughed about her most recent visit with the girl. And each and every one of them would have picked upon Beatrice, now Jervis, was a naturalborn, almost immediately.

'This is an interesting little conundrum. Dreadnought revealed nothing about this to me, and considering how discrete she is even now about our relationship, its startling that she didn't. Now I wonder wh...wait. Jervis wasn't even a year old when Ronald adopted her in the aftermath of the Dunbar Christmas Eve Raid. So what was going on....ah. Oh bugger it all, that explains it. This was originally likely planned back when those bloody warhawks were still harping about sending young Hermione out immediately after being found. Blasted idiots, no wonder even now we have summons that don't entirely trust Admiralty House, and several of the more recently discovered naturalborns are so skitterish as well. May God damn their short-sightedness, the lot of them.

Considering how Dreadnought is acting, or that no one at Portsmouth has so much as hinted anything about Beatrice until Z2 Georg Thiele had innocently revealed everything in the presence of numerous officers. I was wondering why the report said the poor girl was near frantic in trying to apologize to Warspite afterwards after Barham had a private chat with her. Adding all that up, and it looks like Warspite and Ronald here both offered to be thrown under the dorry to hide the fact that all the rest of the girls were hiding this as well, depending on how the political winds were blowing whenever she finally started showing signs. How do those Americans quaintly put it? An in-house political shitstorm? Vulgar, but concise. That would definitely happen if this was pushed harder, due to just how many of the girls are obviously in on this, as there would be no possible way that the Admiralty could handle what has to be nearly our entire North Atlantic fleet being accomplices, coming to light if things turned sour. So the two had to have pushed, and hard, to have them all stay silent as they have been the last two weeks, even as we possibly threw the couple to the wolves. Well planned my dears.'

"Hmm, quite so. Well then. Lieutenant Commander Weasley? Anything you might want to add to this? Anything...at all? Especially as you're on record in sharing that rather extraordinary eyesight with a certain JMSDF officer of your acquaintance."

"No sir. I have to admit that I am not as efficient in using the optical enhancement spell as Commander Potter-Nagato is, as my variation of it gives me a migraine, so I try to only use it in an official capacity. Even then I try to only use it sparringly. Thus I saw no reason to use it while at home with her while off-duty", the young officer replied with an aplomb and nerve that Fairbank would normally be happy to see in an up and coming officer. If that is, he hadn't already figured out the young man was pulling off a rather well done 'plausible deniability' stunt.

"And what about the days leading up to your adoption of Ms. Beatrice Gardner-Weasley, now confirmed to be HMS Jervis?"

"I was...busy with other details, sir. Still thinking about my schooling at Hogwarts, the still lingering problems of the Death Eaters and Voldemort, along with the various nonsensical bits of being a teenager, and recovering from the injuries I received in the raid. That and coming to realize how serious the responsibilities were I'd just assumed by adopting Beatrice as I'd screwed up the formal adoption in that instead of adopting her 'into' the family as effectively a new little sister, I used the phrases meant to imply I was adopting Beatrice personally as my own daughter. I mean, HMS Jervis, sir."

"Hmm. Dreadnought, remind me to send a memo to Mr. Weasley's commanding officer. In that it would be inadvisable for him to play cards against the Lieutenant Commander, as he seems to have a rather knack for it. Additionally, I believe that the 3rd Combined Shipgirl Battle Squadron is due for rotation shortly, and we've had some reports of increased Abyssal sightings in the off-shore oil fields up north. Please officially notify him that we require them to make a brief foray there until at least the 27th, before we can adjust the patrol schedules. As Mr. Weasley here is rather, ahem, intimately acquainted with the core members, I expect he can break the news to them personally before it becomes official. However, Warspite? You're relieved from this, as I expect you'll both need to and want to be on-hand for helping with the initial training of your daughter."

Both Ronald and Warspite had to hide their shared wince, knowing how that was going to cut into their 'alone' time together, as Temairie, Duke, Nemue, and Bepres were normally available to rotate through in watching Beatrice while the two had prior plans for a weekend's leave for themselves. Except now they were going to be stuck at home, alone, with an overly rambunctious ten year old who was going to be bouncing off the walls for days on end at learning she really was a shipgirl 'just like my moms!!'. Or that the other four were not going to be happy at the two, considering the North Sea was experiencing horrible weather, forecasted to last more than a week before even partially clearing. To say nothing of how they both knew that Nubian, Kelly, and Ron's friend Hermione, who all were escorts for the flotilla, were going to be grumbling for weeks after this. On the other foot, both of them were well aware from his words that he'd figured out what was going on, and didn't show signs of making an issue of it. For that, both were thankful beyond measure and said nothing beyond the required formal replies to their head of service.

Spotting the telltale signs that were just as much present in adults, as misbehaving children, in the slight fidgeting in their seats that his off the books punishment had hit home, Fairbank dismissed the two as if nothing had happened at all beyond a relatively simple chat with two worried junior officer parents. Or at least he kept his mask up until Dreadnought had shown them out.

"Dreadnought, would you kindly let Mr. Hadley know that I'll need about twenty minutes free after this?"

"Of course Robert."

"Oh and, Mother? Lock the door behind you, we're going to have a bit of a chat."

While the prospect of verbally ripping his love a new one wasn't one he was looking forwards to, the faint look of surprise that crossed her face, coupled with a slight flush from being caught out, did briefly make him smile.


-


Notes:
Spoiler
The raid was there mostly just to cripple expansion work being done at the Edinburgh/Leith waterfront, where the marina - which had been gutted during Blood Week - had been taken over by the Royal Navy for use in building small costal defense boats/corvettes along with damaging the facilities for the small, relatively light/weak shipgirl detachment stationed there (with the Abyssals hoping/desiring to sink a few of them as well). Luckily, most of the shipgirls were already deployed, and those there were prior graduates of Akitsu Maru & Maruyu's CQC training course, and stopped the Abyssal amphibious attack in its tracks before it even had made it 1/3 a kilometer in from the shore. They flattened a few buildings shooting back from over-pressure, but had bought enough time to evacuate those same buildings too.

You'll notice that in one spot I use 'Lady Devenport-Weasley' as Warspite's married name. Considering that, within this story, most of the shipgirls have either taken their designer's name, or the name of the shipyard that built them, as their family name, this would make her 'Warspite Devenport' as her maiden name, as she was constructed at the Devonport Royal Dockyard. I used the title of Lady as, by that point in the timeline, its all but a certainty that'd she'd have been knighted by then. Fairbank doesn't use it more than once, as Warspite prefers the simple 'Warspite' beyond any initial formalities, and he knows her enough to not bother with it.

The use of 'Mother' in the final lines to refer to Dreadnought, is a call back to K9Thefirst1's post, where she and Lord Admiral Robert Fairbank, 1st Sea Lord, first make their appearance. Outside of possibly Fairbank's closest aide(s) and/or Dreadnought's own escorts, no one knows they're lovers, and merely assume she's much in the same role as Nagato or Ooyodo is, for Goto, but for Fairbank.

Picture taken by Lt Cdr Ronald Bilius Weasley, DSO, DSC (rank and post-nominals at time photograph taken)
Image is of Lady Warspite Devenport-Weasley, Queen Elizabeth class Shipgirl Battleship HMS Warspite, holding her daughter, Beatrice Gardner Bagehot-Weasley, J-class Shipgirl Destroyer HMS Jervis.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

The bottom of his running shoes hitting the stone floor, Harry sucked in deep breaths as he performed his morning run. A grin stretched along his face as he felt his blood pumping with each step. Of course, part of his mood had to do directly with his company which is why he was not looking at Myrtle. "So... Aunt Myrtle..." As usual, Harry could see Myrtle's expression light up at being referred to such. "How have... you been... feeling recently... with everything?"

Giggling a bit, Myrtle twirled in place happily. "I've never felt better, Harry. Since the Basilisk has been killed, I've felt... lighter."

Just blinking at that, Harry raised an eyebrow. "You've been... feeling lighter?" At her nod, he frowned thoughtfully. "Huh... Does that... mean that... you might... be passing... on soon?"

Myrtle caught the small undertone of his question and shook her head. "No, I don't think that I will be passing on soon if at all, Harry. Even with the Basilisk having been killed, and helping to defeat Tom... I don't think that is enough." Thoughtful, she sighed. "I don't know if even once he's actually dead permanently that will be enough."

Frowning, Harry gave a nod. "I... see..."

The ghost then gave him an closed eyed smile and giggle. "Besides, even if I could move on, I wouldn't at the moment. For the first time in a long time I am having fun! I have plenty of friends to talk and spend time with after all." Opening her eyes, she wagged a finger at him. "So don't be worrying too much about it."

Lips curling upwards, Harry gave a shrug. "I wasn't... too worried... anyways. Just... wondering... is all."

Slowly, Myrtle gave a nod to that. "I suppose that I can understand why you might be worried. Though..." Glancing around, she chewed her lip some before leaning towards Harry. "Something odd has been happening to me since you killed the basilisk."

Now frowning, Harry glanced at her. "Oh? What... has been... happening?"

Once more, the eternal teenager looked around before shaking her head. "Well... you know of Miss Hoshi, I believe? And Miss Haru?" At his nod, she continued. "When they were here to deal with Peeves, they decided to talk with me. I will admit, I was a bit confused at the time. But it was what they said that was interesting."

Even though he wanted her to hurry up, Harry simply nodded as he continued to breath heavily. At the same time, he reached up and wiped some sweat from his brow before looking back to where Regina was following, easily keeping up. "So what... did they tell... you?"

Her answer though caused Harry's head to whip around and stare at her. "They told me that with the death of one of the reasons for my own demise, I had some freedom."

Confused, Harry cocked his head to the side. "Freedom? What... do you... mean?"

A frown on her face, Myrtle looked up at the ceiling. "They stated that I was less bound to my washroom now. To the school." Turning her attention back to Harry, she smiled. "I tested it out by trying to leave the school grounds. It wasn't far, but I was able to get off them. The second time it was even further and I felt less of a pull."

With his eyes widening, Harry sucked in a breath though this time it was due to surprise. "You're free of the bonds to Hogwarts? But... how? I mean... you told me... that they... bound you here."

Humming, Myrtle gave a nod. "That is true enough, Harry. The Ministry did bind me here to the school. But, apparently me helping to defeat Riddle and seeing the Basilisk dead was enough to loosen them. Though I don't understand how I am slowly overpowering them." Thoughtful, she shook her head. "I'm not that powerful of a spirit after all."

Eyebrow raised, Harry snorted. "You are... powerful... enough, Aunt... Myrtle." He then grinned. "After all... you kicked... Riddle's arse."

That made the ghost burst out into giggles. "Maybe. Calming down, she sighed a bit. "Maybe, but it's still something that will bother me. Just like how I've been able to affect things." After a moment, Myrtle grinned herself. "But unless I'm wrong, I might be able to actually leave Hogwarts for periods of time before being pulled back. And there is somewhere that I want to go."

On Harry's face was a matching grin. "Wait, you... mean Haruna-Oba's... and Rose's Wedding?" At her nod, his grin widened still further. "That would... be great... Aunt Myrtle! I know... that... they would... love that!"

Blushing, Myrtle gave a small nod. "That is my impression, Harry. And I would be quite happy to be able to go if it was possible." For a brief moment, she had an image of an older version of herself in a wedding dress before she sighed. 'I only wish...'

After Harry was finished with his run and performing his cool down, he raised an eyebrow as Myrtle asked him if he could explain something. "Sure, Aunt Myrtle. What is it?"

More then a little curious, Myrtle frowned some. "It was something that I overheard Miss Haru mention to Natsumi. Something about a 'Go-Ryo' I believe? And they mentioned my name as well..."

With a blink, Harry looked at her. "A Goryō? Was that what they said?"

Surprised, the ghost gave a nod. "Yes! That was the word that they used!" A frown replacing her surprise, she leaned in towards Harry. "You know what that is?"

Thinking it over, Harry slowly nodded. "Um, yes? Goryō translates as 'Honored Ghost'. It was thought that those who died horrible deaths, usually warriors and nobles, could come back as onryō, spirits of vengeance. Since you can't really kill a ghost, the only way to deal with them was to turn them from vengeance into guardians. You need a priest and Onmyouji involved in goryō shinkō, the religion of ghosts, to do so."

Eyebrows raising, Myrtle boggled at him. "There's a religion based around ghosts? Really?"

Just humming as he stretched, Harry chuckled. "Yeah, and it's a pretty old one. It's not really that odd to be honest. Heck, the Kami that most students ask to grant them luck for tests, Tenjin, was originally the vengeful ghost of Sugawara no Michizane."

More then a little interested, Myrtle gave him her full attention. "Tenjin? Sugaware no Michizane?"

With a small smile on his face, Harry gave a nod. "Sugawara no Michizane was a scholar and poet who lived more then a thousand years ago in Japan. He was of non-noble birth but despite that, rose up through the ranks of the Imperial Court. In fact, he was favoured of the Emperor at the time. But... there were a lot of people who disliked him, especially the Fujiwara clan. And when the Emperor abdicated and was replaced, they struck. Sugawara no Michizane was demoted and exiled from the Capital in Kyoto. He still worked hard, but eventually died. Soon after, his spirit, full of vengence struck with disaster after disaster in the Capital. The heir to the Emperor who exiled him died along with the Emperor himself, the Fujiwara who masterminded his demotion and exile was also killed. Lightning struck where the court was gathered and killed many of those also involved. Thus, they knew that his ghost was now out to get them."

Jaw dropping, Myrtle blinked. "I... Ghosts are that powerful in Japan? Or said to be?"

Harry just gave her a look. "Trust me, Aunt Myrtle, I've seen what angry ghosts can do. I have no trouble believing that they can be that powerful." Clearing his throat, he shook his head. "Anyways... in order to placate Sugawara no Michizane's spirit, the new Emperor ordered all his stations and titles to be restored and his exile and demotion to be struck from the record. But when the disasters continued, they went further and enshrined him as a Kami and eventually gave him the name Tenjin and made him a State Kami, the Patron of scholarship. To this day students and others pray to him for good luck with their studies."

Leaning back, Myrtle considered what she had heard. 'A ghost somehow became a god? All to settle their vengeance? Wow...' It was then that she realized something. "But wait, why would they mention me in regards to that? I'm not a vengeful ghost like that."

Slowly, Harry raised an eyebrow as he gave her an even look. "Hmm..."

Now flushing, Myrtle realized what he was getting at and looked away. Chuckling weakly, she glanced at him. "Okay, perhaps I am a little vengeful."

In reply, Harry held his finger and thumb a short distance apart. "Maybe just a little. A tiny bit."

Only snorting, Myrtle shook her head. "Oh, shut up." Becoming thoughtful, she frowned. "Still... me a guardian? Or a Kami? I... how would that work?"

With a shrug, Harry shook his head. "Who knows? I can kind of see you becoming a guardian spirit of sorts though. I mean, look at what you did with the First Years when they were in danger." At her surprise, he continued. "Or with me? Heh, maybe they would suggest you become one of the patron Kami of my family, Aunt Myrtle."

Eyebrows raising, Myrtle blinked at that before frowning. 'Huh...'

However, eventually their conversation changed to other matters as Harry got up and walked back to the Gryffindor Dorms with the ghost beside him. After all, he had the full day ahead of him. Later that night though found Myrtle sitting on her toilet in her washroom just thinking. And one could not blame her much as that really was all that she could do in the dead of night. 'A guardian, huh...'

Suddenly, a voice drifted past Myrtle's ear which made her blink. "Myrtle..."

Looking around, the ghost frowned. "Is someone there? Hello?"

Yet again, the voice drifted into her ear. "Myrtle..."

It was then that she spotted the mirror in her bathroom somehow shift. Floating closer, she could almost make out something within it. "Odd..."

The voice then spoke out again. "Myrtle!" Much to Myrtle's surprise, the mirror changed to another bathroom where there was a girl with her eyes shut tight. Then the girl waited for a few moments and turned to the door that was there. "There! I did what you said, so let me out!"

Laughter came through the door before another girl's voice was heard. "Bullshit, you geek! Use a real name, not something from that wierdass Japanese crap you read! Now call out for Blood Mary or something and we might let you out!"

Unnoticed by the girl as she was turned away, Myrtle appeared in the mirror with narrowed eyes as the bullies continued to laugh. In Hogwarts, the ghost reached out and touched the mirror, with ripples spreading outwards as her hand sunk into it. Then, slowly, she entered the mirror and came out the other side, more solid then before. Sniffing, the girl shook her head. "This isn't funny! Now let me out!"

Once more, the bullies just laughed. "Not until you do what we tell you! Now call out a real name three times!"

Just as the girl was about to say something, she noticed Myrtle and froze. For her part, Myrtle looked from her to the door and narrowed her eyes into a glare before whispering. "Let me guess, bullies?" Slowly, the frightened girl nodded as she stared with wide eyes. Then, Myrtle gained a grin that was not nice in the least. "I'm not going to do anything to you, them on the other hand..."

Meanwhile, the group of girls outside the bathroom were listening and some of them began to frown at the silence. Their leader though banged on the door and spoke through the door. "What the heck are you doing in there, come on!"

Swallowing, one of them looked around as she felt goosebumps on her skin. "Uh, maybe we should let her out. I mean... what if the Matron comes on us? We could get in trouble!"

With a snort, their leader crossed her arms. "She won't do anything at all. And that's if she catches us anyways. As to the geek, who will listen to her." Unseen by her, something began forming on the outside of the door and the others began to pale and back up. It did not take her long to see their expressions become that of terror and she blinked. "What?"

Confused as her breath began to mist, she turned and found herself staring into Myrtle's eyes and transparent face as the ghost stuck halfway through the door and grinned. "Hello, I'm Myrtle and I really do not like bullies." At the high pitched sound from said bully, she leaned in until she was inches away. "Boo."

A hallway away, the Matron blinked as she heard a chorus of screams and began rushing towards the area in time to catch the group as they ran through the halls. Several seconds passed as she made sense of their babble and her eyes widened before scowling, "You bunch, I will deal with later! Oh, trust me on that!" Hurrying along, she shook her head. "I do hope that she's okay..."

Inside the bathroom, Myrtle winked at the girl. "Well, I'm not sure how I got here, but I need to get back home. Hopefully that takes care of that bunch, I hate bullies after all." Grinning, she gave one last wink and a wave before entering the mirror as the doorknob began to shake. "After all, I died because of some bullies." Thus, with that, she disappeared through the mirror and ended back at Hogwarts and stretched. "Well, that was interesting. And pretty nice as well..."

 

[darthcourt10]

mikelima777

Anyone want some Salt?

****

(Summer Before First Year)

Dr. Granger, father of young Hermione, enjoyed playing online games on occasion after a good long day at work. Of course, part of it was stress relief, having become a father to over a dozen new (or old? sisters) to his biological child. One of those games was World of Tanks.

He prided himself on his eccentricities as a British Dentist, but also as someone who enjoyed taking the piss on try-hard or incompetent players.

He along with a couple of former classmates from Dental College were playing a platoon of one of the most notorious tanks in the game. He was grinning like a mad loon as he noticed the enemy composition on the loading screen. A bunch of KV-1S drivers, as well a few other heavy tanks.

He smirked as the enemy team trash talked his platoons' tank of choice. Unlike them, he and his buddies had practiced quite a bit on their tank, and optimized their tactics.

******

A grouchy Cyrus Greengrass had decided to take a short break from World of Warships, after dealing with more asshats using THAT three letter word. Thus he went to the other game he played, and decided to use his brand new KV-1S. Of course, he scoffed as he noted the three big tanks on the other team. What idiots would use that bucket of bolts? Little armor, slower than a tortoise, and a punt cannon for a heavy tank. It's
practically a Pinata for XP. Well time to put them out of their misery....

******

Dr. Granger grinned as his chosen prey came out to play. Sure his TOG 2* was a lumbering, poorly armored tank, but he had 1400 health and a QF 17 pounder. And in a platoon of three that knew what they were doing, it was practically a 5200 health tank with 3 lethal cannons that collectively had a rate of fire matching autoloaders. While the KV-1S fired once, managing to bounce off the TOG's pathetic armor, soon a half dozen QF 17-pounder rounds turned the KV-1S into a burning wreck. The good natured Dentist laughed like a maniac as the player started to rage on chat.

******

In the study of the Greengrass residence, Mrs. Greengrass chuckled as she heard her husband's rage. Their house elf's lips twitched in resignation. The master of the house had better not cause a mess like last time.

 

[darthcourt10]

NotHimAgain

So, I wanted to work on the Nemo story tonight, and hopefully I will be able to finish that up within the next month or so. This is not the Nemo story, and if you want to blame someone for that, it can probably be Barricade.

... I don't really know how to do the whole 'mentioning' thing.
-----

The school campus is quiet, which is a little odd considering how the last few hours have gone. Inside the storage shed, two students are checking their supplies hurriedly before whatever comes next does so. There is so little light they may as well be blind.

They've had to do this enough times that it doesn't even matter.

"I think that ammo cache ran dry," the girl drops her pistol with a groan. She is ethereally pale and slender and could be a classic Japanese beauty if she were not in the habit of hacking her hair up to the nape of her neck. "It's too bad, that professor is a real piece of work. We should have restocked."

"Spider Miko and Fox Miko Jr. were supposed to have been here by now," her companion points out. He looks a bit more of a mess than her, ragged as he is, with dull, rust-colored hair that he's years since stopped dyeing black—this, like semi-regular haircuts, is something that he hasn't had the time for in years. "He must have had some kind of contingency plan on that front." His hand drops down to the sheath at the small of his back, where a combat knife rests. "He seems to hate me a little bit more than he does you. If he's still in that chemistry room, I'll sneak in the front and draw his attention. You come in from behind, try to get the drop on him."

The girl sticks out her lip petulantly. "That works better when I'm sixty feet away with something long-ranged, you should know that." He shrugs.

"We're starting to run out of options," he admits.

They're silent, ragged breathing having slowed to something a bit more stable.

"You think we know this guy from somewhere?" she asks. "Like, have we fought a buddy of his before?"

"Who knows?" He shrugs. "I think the weirder people out there are beginning to realize that they don't technically need a reason to try to kill us. Crazy, right?"

The door suddenly shakes violently. A wolf's baying fills the air, and the two are shaken from their complacency. The boy pulls out his knife, and the girl produces a machete sheathed at her own back. Charging forward, they slam the door open. The great white wolf only has a few more moments to bark and bare its teeth before they are upon it. The knife is in its side in an instant, and as it turns to bite the boy's arm, the girl's weapon comes down on its head. The creature dissolves into wet clay, pouring over the ground. The air suddenly rings with howls, as more of the imitation wolves begin to close in on the shed.

"He has way too many of those things," the boy grumbles, looking up at the second story. Fortunately, the room that they're looking towards has no windows. Hopefully, that means that the professor can't see them coming. "You know," he looks up at the cloudy night sky. Rain is threatening even more with every second—maybe enough to dissolve the wolves outside the building. "Maybe we should stop coming to school. Stuff like this happens way too often." The girl ponders this. Then she reaches up and cups his face in her hands. The ring on her right hand is cool for a second before warming against his skin.

"Uh, Benio? What are—"

"You're absolutely right, Tatsuya."

Then she angles his face down, stands on the balls of her feet, and presses her lips against his own. It is fairly obvious that she's never done this before (which makes an easy sort of sense, neither has he) but then again, they've mutually left this alone for all the years they've been fighting. So now--?

It only lasts a moment, and then she pulls away, but the shock makes it seem minutes. "Benio—" he attempts, but she holds a finger to his lips.

"When we're done here," she tells him solemnly, "I'm going to want that back." He stares a moment, then his mouth tugs itself into a familiar cocky smile.

"Yes ma'am," he agrees.

They are gone by the time the wolves arrive, the first of fat, driving raindrops spattering against the turf to hopefully spoil the scent. Within the building, the duo splits up, each seeking their common prey from different sides of the building.

The night is full of predators, they muse. And tonight…

Are they the hunters? Or the prey?
-----

Something like this has been stuck in my head for a while now, and their first kiss is not very likely to play out like this. At least, I don't think.

Well what do you think, sirs?

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Sitting down at the table, Haru gave a small nod to the group who entered the room. "A good evening to all of you. Thank you for coming."

Just scoffing, one of them gave Haru a snort. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I only came because not only do I have nothing better to do, but also because you're up to something you damn fox." Plopping down, she closed one eye and looked at Haru sideways from the other as her form shimmered. Moments later, there was something more akin to a dog then a human there. "And whatever it is, it has the interest of my parents. Enough so that they asked me to move here with Ayaka-Chan."

Lips twitching, another one sat down while she became more feline. "Hmm... I must admit that I, too, am curious Haru-Chan. But then, you are always good for a laugh at least."

Chuckling, a being between a badger and a man sat down. "Well said, Kanako-San. Well said indeed." There was a thoughtful look in his eye as he looked at the Tanuki who also sat down. "And I suspect that you have an idea or two, Daichi-Kun."

A serious expression on his face, which raised eyebrows from everyone outside of Haru and his student, Daichi nodded. "Unfortunately so, though I'm afraid that I do not know the whole story. I do know enough though that it is important."

Miyuki looked from Haru to Daichi and frowned in thought. "I think that I might have an idea what you may be getting at, but... Hopefully I am wrong."

However, her hopes were dashed by Haru shaking her head. "I'm afraid not." She then gave a nod to the female rabbit Yokai and the male otter one. "As well, thank you for coming as well, Minato-San, Momo-Chan. I know that this was on short notice."

Nose twitching, Momo shrugged her shoulders. "Not that short of notice. You did give us two weeks after all and we all managed to find people to take care of the children. Though..." Looking around, she frowned. "I do wonder where Natsumi-San is..."

Smirking slightly, Haru brought a cup of tea to her lips. "Ah, Natsumi-Chan is away for the night." At their looks, she continued with her lips curling a bit more. "She's staying at a friend's for the night as a matter of fact."

Elsewhere on the base, Natsumi let out a sneeze before glaring as she looked around. "Oba-Chan is talking about me, I just know it. And teasing me as well!"

Poking her head in, Louisiana smiled some. "Ah, are you done yet, mon chérie? Tomorrow is a school day after all."

With a sigh, Natsumi shook her head and walked into the bedroom. "Hai, hai. It's nothing." Several moments later, she waited until Louisiana laid down before also crawling into bed. Laying on top of the Battleship, she let out a yawn showing her fangs before mumbling some as the blanket was laid down after Hoel-Ni squeezed in. "Thanks for letting me over guys."

On the lower bunk, Shinano paused before smiling as she placed her glasses into the little area of a shelf put aside for it. "You're welcome, Natsumi-San. Besides, um, we don't mind having you over."

The various other shipgirls all chimed in with much the same general thoughts which made Natsumi smile. Her eyes closed a bit as Louisiana began to stroke her head and smile. "Now then, mon chérie, time for sleep and I hope that you are comfortable."

Blinking some, Natsumi sighed as she found her head pillowed by the shipgirl's chest. "Hai, this is pretty comfortable." Then she frowned before closing her eyes. "You guys ruined me with cuddlepiles."

All Louisiana did was smile before nodding at Urakaze who turned out the light for the top bunk leaving the room in darkness except for the Tomcat nightlight and the Space Battleship Yamato one. "Good night..."

Meanwhile, back at Haru's house, the Kawausu frowned some before shrugging. "I got no kids to worry about on my own and my resturant is closed anyways." His eyes then narrowed some. "Though I got to prepare for the next festival. This time I am going to beat Mamiya-San at cooking!"

Softly snorting, Miyuki shook her head. "Oh? This time? Or are you finally going to grab her and head to the nearest hotel?"

Needless to say, more then one of the Youkai did a spittake at that with Haru choking from laughter. It was not helped by the fact that everyone could tell that the otter yokai was blushing deeply. "I-it is not like that, Miyuki-San! Mamiya-San and I are just rivals! Nothing more and nothing less!"

Only humming, Miyuki smirked. "So you say, old friend, so you say."

Glancing from one to the other, the Inugami shook her head. After all, she knew that the two clans were close but not in the way that they could tease each other. Shaking her head again, she turned to Haru and frowned. "So are we actually going to get to the point of being here or not?"

With a sigh, Haru leaned back some. "Of course, Akira-San." Placing her clawed hands onto the table, she took a moment to gather her thoughts. "I am sure that by now you have heard about the situation that the magical government here in Japan is in. And perhaps something about the governments in other parts of the world."

A frown, the Mujina nodded. "Yes, we have as a matter of fact. None of them are in a good state, but I fail to see what issue it is of ours. They would see us in the reserves before accepting our help."

Sipping his tea, Daichi frowned. "Because what they want no longer matters." When everyone turned to him, he sighed. "That Statute is collapsing and will fail utterly. And that is why Haru-San here has asked for all of us to meet." Looking around, the Tanuki frowned even deeper. "Each of us is either the heir to or an important member of our clans. And our clans are themselves either the top ranked of our territories or high enough that our word carries a lot of weight."

Eyes wide, Momo turned and stared at Haru. "So it is happening? The Statute is coming down?" At her nod, her expression turned pensive. "How soon? A decade would be fast and two would be somewhat better."

The answer she got though from Haru made them all stare. "Five years at the outside." Then the kitsune sighed. "And I doubt it will reach that long, so maybe as short as three."

Utter silence descended on them before the cat Youkai rubbed her arms. "Three years... Are you sure about-" She was cut off as Haru nodded. "Oh..."

Getting up, Akira scowled some as she paced. "Three years... that is far too little time for us to prepare! If it falls that quickly..." Head whipping around, she glared at Haru. "How would you even know this!?"

Simply spreading her hands, Haru shook her head. "I've had access to connections through the JMSDF and I will not say anymore then that. As well, I have been talking with some others... Dumbledore-San has spoken to me in regards to a consultation with a different matter, but acknowledged that the Statute is failing and will break soon." Turning, she regarded the Mujina while most of the others looked at her in surprise. "Kaito-San, trust me when I say that he is working with several others to make things as painless as possible in Britain when it fails."

Even as the others turned to him, he nodded as he closed his eyes. Among the group, he was considered the most level headed next to Daichi for a reason. "Dumbledore-San is one of the few magicals that I have heard would be willing to live and let live. As to your other sources..." Kaito opened his eyes and frowned. "Do you trust them?"

All Haru did was give him a serious look. "Hai, I do. With my life and those of my family." While he gave a hum, she pulled out a folder and slid it out. "Here, this is proof of what I am seeing."

Opening it, Kaito looked through it with his eyebrows raising. His was not the only one as even Akira looked surprised and gave Haru a look. "These are breaches in the Statute and they've been increasing in this amount and this quickly?"

While Haru nodded, Momo grimaced. "This is not good, if what we're seeing here is correct then that Statute is going to fall and soon, just like you said. The next few years might see the biggest change in the order of things that we have seen since the 1850s."

Haru was also looking at the pictures before frowning. "Hai, things are changing and will continue to do so. I spoke with one member of the JGSDF who stated, and confirmed, that he saw Kiyohime appear in Hidakagawa during Blood Week. And she also appeared several times afterwards, each time driving off Abyssals in front of hundreds of people, perhaps thousands."

Eyes wide, Kanako stared at her. "Kiyohime? From the legend? She's still alive, but I thought..."

Frowning, Daichi raised an eyebrow. "That she was dead? So had my family until fairly recently. Shukaku-Ojii himself was surprised when I passed it along as he saw her throw herself into the river and thought that she had drowned. Her appearing is a surprise, though not a bad one exactly..." At the looks, he shook his head. "She was defending the town and we have a source among the Yokai that she was defending one person in particular. A human boy, though most of them are rather tight lipped about who, though we did hear that they may be a couple."

With a small chuckle, Haru shook her head. "I suppose that one must be happy for her. Though I have been considering looking into it myself with your family's permission." Once Daichi nodded, she frowned. "However, that brings us back to the simple fact that the Statute is going to fall and I have been moves. In particular, I had a... discussion with members of the non-magical government and the Imperial Household in regards to that. They are open to our problems."

Narrowing her eyes, Akira scowled. "So that was you who I heard did that. You took a big risk, Haru-San. A very big one..." Claw tapping on the table, she frowned some. While her family and the Onos had been more then once against each other, not to mention the normal issues between Kitsune and Inugami, they could cooperate as needed. The fact of which made her frown and sigh. "What do you suggest?"

Placing her hands in front of her, Haru took a deep breath. "Firstly, we need to bring this up with our families. We're all powerful enough that we represent a very good sized block of political power among the Yokai. There is a chance here that we have not had in more then a hundred and fifty years that we cannot afford to squander."

Just muttering, Minato snorted. "Goes without saying, Haru-San. This is big after all."

Acknowledging it, the Kitsune then continued. "My own family will be bringing it up with the next gathering of Kitsune at Fushimi Inari-Taisha within the year. My parents both expect little problems though with getting the other clans to agree." There were snorts at that that as no one expected otherwise. "Of course, there is the other issue. The non-magical government will need advisors to help them prepare. Yokai advisors."

Silence met her at that before Momo spoke up. "Yokai advisors... Are you..." With one look at Haru's expression, she sucked in a breath. "You are... you're serious."

Evenly looking at her, Haru nodded. "Deadly serious. It was their idea as a matter of fact because us Yokai would have a better idea of what needs to be done. Any such advisors will also be given guards to protect them, shipgirl guards. So I very much doubt that the magical government in Tokyo would be too willing to try something if they even notice. And the ones in Kyoto forming the other government... I think that they would support it considering the stance of their families."

Thoughtful, Miyuki frowned some. "That does beg the question of who would be best to advise them. All of our clans would have some who could help. But there's far too many issues..."

It was then that she noticed that Haru was smirking and so was Daichi which caused her to trail off. Finally, Daichi cleared his throat. "There is one group who has both the time, and knowledge, to work best as advisors. Of course, there is the need to convince them that it is true and we would need to throw our support behind them fully."

Kanako blinked and then frowned in thought. "The Japanese Non-Human Rights Movement you mean? The one started by that Tengu?" At the nods, she narrowed her eyes. "I suppose that they would fit the bill quite well. Though I did hear that the tengu has not appeared recently though one of them... Kiba, is his name I think, who happens to be a Okuri Inu, is still in contact with her."

A snort though made her turn to Kaito. "Oh, she's still active enough." Pulling out his phone, he typed something until setting it down so that they could all watch a video of a F-15J pulling movements that should be impossible. "The pilot's family name is Kobayashi and resembles said Tengu's human disguise pretty closely. She's a rising star in the JASDF."

Hissing, Akira pulled back. "Is she insane!? She's practically broadcasting herself! If a magical takes a look-"

Before she could continue, Haru cut her off. "That would assume that they are paying close enough attention in the first place, which I doubt. I do wonder what sort of game she might be playing at though..."

Slowly shaking his head, Kaito frowned. "Now that, we don't know. It's interesting to think about though and I suspect that she's not the only one who got around the Magical Diet's decision not to allow us to help with the defense of the nation."

With a snort, Kanako shook her head. "No, one of my brothers is in the JGSDF." At the looks of surprise, she shrugged. "He's coastal artillery, with how bad radar is it means that those with good eyesight are needed. And he's had some good at killing some Abyssals trying to attack from the Sea of Japan."

Several minutes later as the others were watching more video, Momo waved a paw around as she looked up from some quick research. "Well whatever she may be up to, she's effective." Tapping her claw against her chin, she gave a nod. "I don't think that my family will have much issue throwing our support behind them if they agree to help us in this way. And we can easily pull in a number of the Daitengu as well as support as well as the Inaba clans."

One by one, the others muttered their agreement which made them all nod as they continued to discuss what their clans should do...

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Walking back into the room, Haru set down the tray of treats and tea. "Thank you for staying after the meeting, Daichi-Kun. I do need to speak with you after all."

Simply chuckling, the Tanuki took a sip of his tea before looking over the treats there. "It is no problem, Haru-Chan. We've been friends for many centuries at this point." Raising an eyebrow, he hummed a bit. "Speaking of, congratulations on gaining your fifth tail."

Haru blinked before looking over her back and smiling at the now five tails that were there. "Thank you, it was surprising that it happened. I knew that I was old enough, but did not know when I would gain it." Sipping her tea, she hummed. "I was sort of surprised that none of the others noticed."

That got her a snort from Daichi as he shook his head. "I am not. You did drop something of a bombshell into their laps and even I was surprised at some of the things that I heard." Rubbing his chin, he shook his head before smiling lightly. "One of the biggest was how Akira-San went and actually agreed with working with you. Now that was a surprise."

Lips twitching, Haru gave a small nod. "Agreed. I was expecting far more of a fight with her then what we got. But then... I suppose that I should not be too surprised." At the look she got, the Kitsune shrugged. "Then again, even us Kitsune will agree that the Inugami families have gotten something of the short end of the stick. Even before the... change... they underwent, their families were not exactly trusted."

Frowning, Daichi gave a sad sigh. "That is true enough, though considering how they created Inugami... Nor how they were used." Slowly, he turned thoughtful. "Though... perhaps it was luck that their change occurred. It was luck after all that one werewolf ended up somehow being teleported to Shikoku in the 1500s."

With a snort, Haru shook her head. "And then the Inugami family that found him took him in and decided that his curse could instead be a gift. Especially after he gave his life for his children and wife when several other Onmyoudo families attacked them during the full moon. I will admit, I was surprised when they figured out a way to merge their Inugami spirits with their human bodies and souls to become Yokai. Akira-San being one of the first to undergo the process. Still, it did work I suppose."

A small twinkle in his eye, Daichi nodded. "Hmm, though I suppose from the view of you Kitsune that only made them more annoying. Especially as they gained the long lives of other Yokai."

Unable to help herself, Haru gave a grin. "It also made it more fun as well as now we get to annoy them for far longer then before." After a shared chuckle though, her grin fell away. "There is a reason though that I asked for you to stay though, Daichi-Kun... One that sadly does not involve catching up with old times."

Rather then be annoyed, the Tanuki gave her a small smile. "Yes, I suppose so. Does it have to do with Potter-San?"

Not surprised in the least at the guess, Haru gave a nod. "It does, I was hoping to ask for a favor. One supported by my own parents in regards to him."

Interested though he had a frown on his face. Daichi narrowed his eyes. "A favor you say? Our families are old allies, Haru-Chan. Very old allies as the matter would go... We have helped each other out many times, but asking for a favor?"

Bowing low to his surprise, Haru nodded. "Hai, in particular it may have need of involvement from your own Ojii-Sama."

If he was surprised before, that made Daichi's eyebrows raise until they nearly disappeared. "It may have need for Shokaku-Ojii-San to become involved. That's..." Expression transforming to a more thoughtful one, he rubbed his chin. "If your family is willing to ask of such a thing, then this would be rather big, I agree. But may I ask why?"

With a sigh, Haru straightened a bit. "Shokaku-Dono was a Buddhist Monk for many, many centuries before his true nature was revealed. And the issue..." Running a hand through her hair, she grimaced. "It has to do with the one named Voldemort, or Riddle Tom as his true name is. You see..."

As she explained, Daichi's expression shifted from confusion and interest into pure horror and disgust. Waiting until she was done, he got up and began to pace. "To do such a thing to prevent oneself from moving on. That is..." Softly snarling, he narrowed his eyes and glared at nothing in particular. "I have heard of many horrible things over my centuries, but that!"

Having known it would get that reaction as well as understanding, Haru nodded. "You can of course understand the issue now?"

Still frowning, Daichi nodded. "Hai, I can. While I cannot say that I truly know Potter-San, I can say that from the short time I have met him he is undeserving of such a thing happening to him. To carry such a burden..." Glancing at Haru, he frowned. "You say that it his Okaa-Sama's protection that prevents it from grabbing a deeper hold?"

Just nodding, Haru furrowed her eyebrows some. "That is what Dumbledore-San did say, yes. While I would say that the protection she gave him at the cost of her own life has likely kept it from getting too deep, it should still affect him in some way. But his will is that of the strongest iron as well and his soul is adamant which is why it has such a hard time trying to pull out his own darkness for it's benefit."

Only shaking his head, Daichi had a small smile on his face. "Yes, I can see that. His Okaa-Sama's love helped, but his own light has held the darkness back when the protection was weaker before he came here." Sighing, he gave Haru a look. "If not for circumstances, I would wonder if I should get my Musume here to see if I could not try and get him into the family with spirit like that! She is of the right age after all for finding someone to settle down with."

Tone dry, Haru spoke up. "I'm afraid that Potter-San has far too many girl troubles as it is. And Natsumi-Chan would not appreciate more getting involved."

Barking out a laugh, Daichi grinned. "Yes, I suppose so! Still... perhaps if he was to have a son..." After a moment of thought, he shook his head. "Bah, that's something to concern one with for later. Perhaps in a decade or two."
Rather amused, Haru shook her head while internally cackling. She was not one to turn down possible free entertainment in the future after all! "Perhaps."

Daichi gave her a look which let her know that he knew what she was thinking. Of course, the two of them had grown up together way back and so knew each other well. Even a decade apart did not stop that, though Haru did remember that Daichi did show up for the funeral of her husband after Blood Week... and once her sister beat some sense into her. The clearing of his throat brought Haru's attention back to the present as the Tanuki sat back down. "So then, you are seeking a way to prevent it from getting any more of a hold, as well as perhaps some method of expelling it?"

Serious once more, Haru gave a sigh and looked down into her tea. "Hai. I doubt that expelling it will be easily found though we suspect some methods could be used. The Taizan Fukun no Sai is one such method, though finding someone who knows it..." Giving a shrug, Haru shook her head. "We are hoping for at least some method to keep it from grabbing any deeper, perhaps even wiggling it loose slowly to some extent."

For several moments, Daichi was thoughtful before nodding. "I will consult with Shokaku-Ojii-San and the Clan Elders on this matter. Just what this is would be enough for them to act I think."

Letting out a breath, Haru gave a small smile. "Thank you for this."

However, Daichi just waved her off. "Think nothing of it, Haru-Chan. You are an old friend and your clan has been loyal allies to mine for centuries. I doubt that any of us would even consider this a favor for you to return at a later date, I don't. But this does beg a question..." Turning his gaze on her, the Tanuki frowned. "Why are you so willing to go to such lengths? You and your family?"

Not saying anything right away, Haru folded her hands under her chin and stared ahead. Finally, she spoke up. "There are many reasons for such. It is the right thing to do for one for example. Another one is that he is close friends with Natsumi-Chan and I would count him as such as well. However, beyond that? My parents have heard of him, both from myself and Sakuya-Nee. They do wish to meet him themselves within the next year to gain their own view of him. But... currently they are leaning towards having him and any descendants declared an Allied Clan and friends of the Ono no Mino." She then gave Daichi a look. "And that is whether or not he does become Natsumi-Chan's husband. At least part of it, and this is a secret, is because he knows that we are Kitsune and has not said or even hinted at it."

Eyes widening some, the Tanuki stared at her. "He knows that you are Kitsune? And has kept it secret?"

Chuckling, Haru gave a nod. "Hai, he figured out almost two years ago. Accidentally of course, but since then has not said a word. Oh, he understands that I know even if Natsumi-Chan does not. Part of it is, I suspect, that he believes that the old stories of what happens when we were found out is still true. Harry-Chan also understands that the secret getting out could put Natsumi-Chan into danger and I believe that he would rather die and suffer torture then have her be attacked. Such loyalty to one's friend should rewarded, should it not?"

Slowly, Daichi hummed as he rubbed his chin. "It should, and your clan does value loyalty above all else. Yes, I can see where your parents would indeed see this as being worthy of him being declared a friend to the Ono. Makes me wish even more that I could introduce my Musume to him. However, there is the issue of him not knowing that the old tales are no longer true in that way..."

All Haru did was shrug. "What I have been told is that if Natsumi-Chan does not reveal it herself, or if something does not happen to force the issue, then by this time next year I am to openly tell him and explain things. In either case, they still wish to meet him."

Partially amused, Daichi only shook his head though he did chuckle about it. Ah, the amusement of watching the young...

 

[darthcourt10]

Lord K

A.N./ Oh boy, things are gonna be moving now for Ai and company. Let's hope my glacial, often weekend bound writing pace can keep up

Good thing I was already in the middle of fleshing out a snippet leading up to a meeting between the main players in the successor J.N.H.R.O., so all I have to do is hack off the incomplete ending and hash it out as a much larger and different argument

Hmm.... assembling a who's who of the organisation at some point, would also probably be a good idea, to save having to introduce or explain everyone in depth via sporadic appearances in snippets.

Also in a side note, I got bored at one point, and doodled a unit patch for Ai's Squadron.
Spoiler: The Abyss Divers Patch

A patch version, like what might be seen on a pilot's jacket or something. It was actually surprising, the amount of English on many JASDF unit patches and squadron emblems.

Also the squadron tagline is a unintentional misquote I ended up liking and keeping anyway. After all, this is a unit of mostly younger, volunteer pilots. I liked the idea that whoever first came up with the Squadron logo/patch was some kid who just ran the original German quote through the Japanese version of google translate, rather than looking up an already translated version of the actual quote, and nobody realizing the mistake until somebody who both spoke English and actually recognized Nietzsche came along.

Spoiler: The Abyss Divers - Emblem Version

As much as I liked it though, I wasn't entirely on board with the Engrish and the way the layout worked as a formal unit emblem, so I ended up hacking off the quote just to see what a more "traditional" and bare bones version looked like.

Spoiler: Abyss Divers Tail Marking

And then there was also the very simplified version. Apparently JASDF regs often mean that aside from a few of the very old squadrons that are allowed certain exemptions, many modern JASDF units only have simplified versions of their emblems on their tails, which also have to be smaller than the hinomaru on the aircraft.
*-*-*-*-*

Dog Days

Always an early riser, Kiba has never needed an alarm. The sun has always been the instrument of his awakening, and even on mornings where it is obscured by the depressing haze and drizzle of rain and storm clouds, the okuri-inu still instinctually manages to rise in time with the sunrise.

Even so, waking up this morning is a little harder than usual. Always more for display than for comfort, the lounge chair in Kiba's apartment is merely passable as an article of furniture for sitting on. Sleeping on it with only sheet raided from the linen closet and a spare pillow, is another matter entirely. Rising with Herculean effort and run a hand through his hair until it looks more stylishly-untidy rather than just hilariously mussed, Kiba then wanders over to the floor to ceiling windows and their spanning view of Tokyo that they offer.

Unfortunately, what parts of his view aren't obstructed by the pretence of the two towers across the street, aren't the most idyllic or picturesque views this morning either. Spring, in all it's bipolar wonder, has apparently decided today is one last hurrah for it's more dreary aspects. Eyeing the chilly, overcast skies, and the light rain drizzling onto the window, the okuri-ini frowns as he rubs the last of the sleep from his eyes. Definitely a day to rug up he thinks, as he surveys the chop and waves upon what little of Tokyo Bay he can see between the neighbouring buildings.

Turning away from the window, Kiba then treads lightly, with near silent footsteps back into the apartment. As expensive as it is for a dwelling of it's size and style in central Tokyo, it isn't actually that big when one gets down to it. For a bachelor or childless married couple, it probably wouldn't be that bad, but currently Kiba has a guest. Carefully opening the door, Kiba pauses on the threshold, and quietly checks on the occupant of the apartment's lone bedroom, and the where the dog yokai usually rests his head.

Curled up in a nest of blankets, Asuka hugs a pillow as she seems to silently revel in the space and comfort offered by the bed that looks massive next to her small size. The caretakers at the orphanage had mentioned that part of Asuka's unpopularity with her peers often tended to stem from her occasionally and unintentionally waking others in the shared dorms the orphans were often grouped in. At least this morning however, the young tengu slumbers peacefully. No signs of sleep-bound tears or writhing night terrors. Only the sleeping smile of undisturbed rest and contented dreaming.

Hearing a muted buzz from back in the lounge, Kiba slowly closes the door and decides to allow the teenage tengu her much deserved peace, and a needed sleep in after the whirlwind of the last few days, since leaving the orphanage. Quietly padding back to the couch, Kiba fishes around in the tangled sheets, before finally finding his cellphone down the back of the pillow.

"Meeting tonight. Important events to discuss."

The dog yokai yawns, doing his best to work out the kinks in his back left from sleeping on the couch.

"Well. Time to get to work I guess."
-------------

Wandering back to the kitchen, Kiba flips on the jug to boil, while lazily sorting through and tossing the collected morning mail into haphazard piles on the counter. "Let's see here..... junk, junk, bill, junk, oh! Pizza vouchers!" Placing it aside from the rest, Kiba then moves on to another envelope he needs to look more closely at.

"Who is this for.... To Nakano Seed, Venture & Hedge Investments Incorporated- that's a bill."

A larger package behind that one also requires a check of the name, a cursory shake suggesting the weight and feel of some sort of folder full of papers.

"To Nakano Seed, Ven- oh yeah, that's a portfolio." Flipping it over, Kiba then double checks the address again with sigh. "We really need to get them a computer and some internet up on that mountain. Or at least a phone."

Now the wolf yokai turns his attention to the less modern or professionally packaged mail. Neat little envelopes of velum and parchment that stare back at him, along with a rather formal and official looking scroll, accompanied by one rather notable outlier.

First and most notable among the pile, it is an almost person-sized object wrapped in paper and cardboard. Eyeing it up dubiously, and uncertainly testing it's weight upon realising how light it is, another hesitant test reveals how soft whatever is inside it is, thanks to a tentative squeeze. Kiba double-checks the name of the sender once more, then begins carefully opening it up out of confusion.

"Oh boy, what the hell have you sent me now Suigetsu. This had better not be like the dozen boxes inside each other again." Removing the outer layer of packaging, Kiba then frowns at the plain plastic bag bearing the mark and logo of some sort of convention event. "The hell is this thing, it almost feels like a bunch of cushions or a pillo-OH WHAT THE FUCK SUIGETSU!?!"

Hastily stuffing the offending object back in the bag and re-wrapping it in it's improvised cardboard packaging, Kiba then swiftly shoves the Aya Shameimaru damimakura into the back of a storage closet where Asuka hopefully won't encounter it before he can dispose of it. Pinching the bridge of his nose, the okuri-inu takes a moment to count backwards from ten, before reminding himself that with the prankster Kappa stuck at home on bail, he probably still has yet to hear that Kiba and his apartment are now playing host to a kid.

"Urgh, really man? Impulsive shit like this is why you're going to jail Suigetsu." Muttering to himself, Kiba then turns his attention to the rest of his magical correspondence. Turning over the curiously official looking scroll, the dog yokai sets it aside for a moment and examines the quartet of parchment letters he has left to open.

"Okay, now that the ridiculousness is out of the way.... Hmm, that's a bill. Junk. Junk too. This is..... oh.... oh dear."

Frowning and examining the multi-page letter with greater scrutiny, Kiba the triple checks it just to be sure. For added measure, the okuri-inu then leafs through to the list written on the last three pages, pulls out his phone, and begins punching numbers into the calculator app. Confronted once more by the undeniable sum listed, Kiba leans back and runs a hand over his face in time with a heavy sigh.

"What the actual shit? How many people are they trying to feed there now? There weren't that many fence jumpers last I heard? I thought we just gave them all that- argh-" Flipping back to the letter and scanning it's text once more, the okuri-inu then locates the estimated number in question. Then he blinks owlishly.

"Ohhhhh, that's not- He wrote the character wonky and I miss-read it, so now it's actually higher by about..... oh....."

Kiba stares at the sum on the paper. Then he stares at the pile of other bills on the paper. Lastly, as bad as it makes him feel, his gaze drifts in the direction of the bedroom, and his recent, possibly-maybe-permanent house guest.

Pulling out his phone and loading up his online banking app, Kiba eye's the numerous accounts and numbers with a critical, assessing gaze. One that slowly transforms into a glare. No matter how hard he stares however, what he sees doesn't look any less frustrating. Digging around in his pocket, Kiba then pulls up a second phone, and loads up a different and much more basic banking program via the Internet. The overseas pickings aren't much different.

Getting desperate, Kiba loads up his contact list. Scrolling past an assortment of names such as "Aya Shameimaru", "Horny Lawyer", "Bloodsucking Fund Manager", and "Ban Hammer", Kiba finally finds the one he's looking for, firing off a text message to "Fucanglong".

"I need 10,000,000 yen. Do we have anything available to liquidate or short, asap? Off the books assets or magical preferably, since most of it will be going off the grid for aid."

It isn't long before Kiba receives a reply. One from a contact by the name of "March Quarter Hare" instead.

"Shi is browsing reports while repeatedly pinching her nose, making faces and sighing. I don't know how much you asked her for this time, but I don't think it's going to happen."

"Ffffffffffuck...."
-------------

Calling up the security feed from the garage on his phone, Kiba then looks over the footage with a heavy heart.

Once upon a time, he paid good money to have almost a sixth of the apartment's underground parking area's lowest level walled in, fenced off, and isolated entirely for his own private use. Now each of the empty parking spaces is like a knife, a grave without a body, born of sorrowful sacrifices made in aid of others. What was once a collection so tightly packed in, it was almost impossible to casually retrieve the careful preserved or less regularly driven vehicles stored at the back, is now a desolate and empty shadow of it's former glory.

Flanking either side of the gate in the security fence, and holding pride and place over those that remain, are the forever-king and eternal-queen of the collection, whom Kiba will probably die before ever selling. Surrounding the Kenmeri and Fairlady Z however, are a painful number of empty spaces until one finally arrives at the restored Toyota 2000GT and first generation NSX, sitting opposite the rather well driven and less pristine duo of a R34 GT-R with over 150,000 on the odometer, and an equally worn FC RX-7 currently undergoing an engine rebuild.

A painful reminder of why many gearheads refer to the lesser quality synthetic fuels they sometimes used to get in the early days of the war as "Satan's Piss".

Further down the aisle and once flanked by it's own posse of fellow Ferrari classics, Kiba's Testarossa is now a lonely island of red by itself, with the only other Italian survivor being the equally orphaned Muria. Of the third and fourth remaining members of his European-born vintage automotives, there is only the Manta A and.... the Okuri-inu can't bear to look at the next vehicle liable to be on the auction block. Just knowing where the Renault will likely end up, all he can do is avert his gaze elsewhere.

Absent presences are what greets him. Always more fuel hungry than the rest, the carbureted American muscles, with their near universal fame and coveted statuses were among the first to go, and have all long since departed. Even with the drop in value created by fuel rationing, Kiba could not justify the sentimental value of vehicles such the factory-brought Mustang Mach 1, versus the good that could be done from the profits of it's sale. A row of empty parks, is now all that remains.

The British collection is basically in the same gutted state, but a single step away from similar condition. The sole "vehicle" left is the E-Type, and that's because it's in a million fucking pieces, surrounding a burned out shell he's been painstakingly restoring in intermittent bursts (for a second time) after a tragically catastrophic electrical fire in the 90's.

It is with a heavy heart, Kiba comes to the conclusion he already knows. With no more American cars sacrifice, unable bring himself to do away with his most sentimentally connected Japanese classics, and unwilling part with the Itallians or the wounded Jaguar just yet, the Okuri-inu closes the security feed App. Flicking back to the contacts tab in his phone and scrolling down, Kiba then taps at the name he has been looking for with the weight of resignation upon him.

The voice on the other end, is more more exuberant to hear from Kiba, the Kiba is to hear him from him.

"Hi- yeah, it's me, Kiba.... Mhmm.... Yes, it's about the Renault.... No sorry, I already sold the A110.... Some guy in the US.... He paid for an airlift and everything- Anyway, I'm getting off track, this is about the A310.... Yeah, were you still talking to that group of otaku wanting one for their shop down in Akihabara?"

Locating a pen and grabbing a piece of junk mail, Kiba swiftly begins writing down details on the back of the envelope.

"Ah.... Yeah.... Yep, I got that." The dog yokai then gives a pained whine. "Urgh, I won't lie to you man. I don't want to sell her to these guys. They're that kind of Otaku..... Oh, I hear you there. I had to make one of the conditions of the sale that whoever brought her wouldn't hack-job her after their initial enquiry..... These guys didn't just want to tear out the transmission and move the column. Would you believe the jackasses thought it would be an easy job to convert classic car into an electric? I don't think they even wanted to drive her, they just wanted a prop to sit in their cafe! .....Okay, maybe I don't drive her that much either, but they just want an A310 because waifus. I actually appreciate the car for what it is and how it drives, just like the old man did when he brought it. And his old man when he brought the A110. Anyway...."

Pinching and the bridge of his nose and deflating as he sighs, Kiba then nods absently as it is his turn to listen.

"Uhuh.... yeah..... That's right..... Yeah, it's for another charity thing." A grin tugging at the corner of his mouth at the response he receives, the okuri-inu chuckles tiredly. "Haha, well I'll tell you what. When it comes time to sell the Kenmeri and the Fairlady, I'll let you have first bid on them. You might be waiting a fair bit though, because I plan for it to be a good long while before I finally drop dead."

Hearing the peal of laughter over the phone, Kiba's grin gets a little stronger."Pfft, don't worry about it. Look I gotta go, but just drop me a text if you hear about anymore prospective buyers coming out of the woodwork with offers? I'll call you later to try and sort out a date and time to drop the A310 so you can record and log her condition for the auction..... Alright, that sounds good.... Be hearing from you."

Hanging up, Kiba looks at his phone for a long moment, before the tiredly sighing with resignation.

"Well fuck...."
-------------

"You can't just keep selling shit like this Kiba-"

Keeping an eye on the young, untransformed tengu who is joyously brightening up the day of many a paper-pusher on the office's main floor, Kiba returns the other half of his attention to woman who's office he is currently standing in, while his charge excitedly takes in and talks with the true forms of many of those present.

"- and I'm not just talking about the off the books company assets. I know you locked up your wealth in resellable high value material assets specifically so we had emergency slush funds for the community in trying times, but it can't keep going on like this."

"And why can't it Shi?" fires back Kiba. "It's my money, my cars, and my houses. These sales make sure that people never have to go without, never have to starve, and it's worked fine so far."

Glancing through the window, he then catches a glimpse of Asuka having great fun watching their resident hone onna allowing herself to be juggled as individual bones by a three tailed Kitsune using only his tails. "And I see Tsuyu and Sen must have finally finished the work on the Kawakami start up. They on anything new yet, or still waiting for another assignment?"

Pulling the portfolio that arrived in the mail earlier out of his bag, Shi gives him a draconic stare as she accepts it and begins leafing through the pages, only pausing upon the sections marked out by highlights or post-it notes. "They're already looking into a seed investment for a bunch of kids up in Sounkyuo. A dozen of them all jumped the fence last year, and rather than going through the rigmarole of learning how to live in the big cities, they want to put what they know and how they live to good use, and support their families still inside Daisetsuzan by opening up an onsen styled and themed around a "traditional experience"."

"Sounds interestingly niche. Competition would be pretty fierce in a well established and centralised tourist town like that though."

"Yes, but that's beside the point."

Flicking the portfolio closed, Shi tosses it aside onto a pile of other prospective business ventures. It is more than just the oddity of being in actual physical form, rather than a digital medium that sets the pile apart from the investment profiles on her computer screen, and even the odd print out scattered around her desk. Some of the clients from more isolated and technologically behind communities have submitted their paperwork using parchment and even rice paper. Adjusting the snow globe on her desk that is actually an illusionary cover for a far more priceless object Long-Wen Shi the Second, affixes Kiba with another draconic glare.

"I like you Kiba. Your heart has always been your greatest attribute, but as admirable as it is, it has ever also been your greatest weakness. I always knew that one day we'd inevitably end up shaking the spare change out of this company like the piggy-bank you treated it as, if you didn't ignore Fico scores one too many times and bankrupted us trying to help someone get their business off the ground and their life out from under the magical world, but-" The woman pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs as she mutters something in Chinese. "How much money do you have left Kiba? How many cars? I doubt that Monseca account in Panama has anything left. Do you still have the beach house in Zuchi? Or did you finally sell it up like the house in Osaka. What about the cabin in Nagano?"

"What's it matter to you?" Grumbles the wolf yokai irately. "You want to have a party there or something? You're acting like I'm going to sell the apartment out from underneath my own feet next. Why make a fuss about this now?"

"It matters to me now-" Retorts Shi with her eyes narrowing to reptilian slits, "-because you are old enough and ugly enough to build yourself back up from nothing. You're not that lost little kid anymore Kiba. But she is."

Following the direction of the serpent's pointed finger, Kiba's gaze falls on the sight of Asuka now riding around the office on the shoulders of old Sarutobi, the venerable sarugami looking rather ridiculous with his full business suit now straining to contain his towering 6ft monkey-form as he carts the small tengu around like one of his own granddaughters.

"I don't know what exactly you, Ai and the others plan to do with the girl, or how improvised the decision to take her in was. But how you were living was fine when it was just you. Take it from somebody who was only doing it in passing, not even as an actually guardian. A child is a massive commitment." Shi sighs, slowly sinking back into her seat. "You can't afford to spend yourself into poverty anymore. I know you've always joked it before, that you were born into it and can always come from it again, but you have a responsibility now."

Most of the fire and wind taken out of his own sails, Kiba slumps into the chair on the opposite side of the desk from his business partner and one-time mentor. "I know that Shi. I do. It's just...."

Looking at the okuri-inu with knowing sadness and compassion, the serpent reaches across her desk and gives the dog yokai's shoulder a comforting squeeze. "This isn't the last war Kiba. You don't have to starve yourself to save people this time. But now on top of everything else, you've picked a path that is one of the toughest, hardest, truly life-changingly difficult things you can undertake in life. Ai and Tsukino made their decisions because they saw an orphan trapped in a terrible and socially nightmarish situation. But you.... Teen or not, she is still a child that needs you to look after her Kiba. You need to live your life around her's now, not the lives of the past."

"You say that like you expect me to forget about my brothers and sisters." Shi just smiles gently in response to the wounded bite in the sullen dog yokai's words.

"I expect you to take away from this, that you need to put your life and your plans in perspective for a moment." Giving his hand one last comforting squeeze before releasing it, the draconic investor then returns to the sorting of the digital hoard on her screen. "I've always found it funny how despite the airs you each present to everyone, it is Ai who is the more impulsively head-strong yet easily swayed, while you have always been far too hesitantly inflexible on the rare occasions something comes out of left field to create a situation you did not anticipate in one of your innumerable backup plans for everything."

The Chinese dragon smiles at the still worn looking dog-yokai. "And that's okay. Sometimes's that's just life. I'd apologise, but you really needed the reminder, that this is such an occasion."

Exhaling and running a hand over his face, Kiba slouches in the chair and stares up at the ceiling. "Well. Thanks for that. I guess."

"Don't worry. You'll figure it out."

"No offence, but tell Ai to talk to me the next time you feel like I need a heart-to-heart or a verbal kick in the head unrelated to business."

"It always makes me so sad you two broke up." The dragon gives a rare matronly pout that actually penetrates her draconic severeness. "And it amazes me that so many years after running back into each other, the two of you still haven't gotten back together."

Kiba sighs heavily and the first sign of the obvious, well tread hint, but is thankfully saved by the sound of the door opening. Glancing over his shoulder, the okuri-inu waves tiredly at the new figure entering the office. "Hi Yu."

"Hi guys." Taking the third chair in the room and running a hand through his hair to fix it as he hides his long, velvet non-human ears once more, the rabbit yokai does his best to smarten up his old bomber jacket bearing the joking legend "1969 to 1972 - Back to Back Lunar War Champs".

"Man, is it bring your kid to work day or something? I should have brought my kids."

"I think we'd need a bigger building to pull that off." Comments Shi dryly.

"What I want to know is if it's Touhou day or something," interjects Kiba. "First Suigetsu sends me a pillow, and now you've got that jacket. You aren't even a Moon-rabbit, you're an old hare!"

The rabbit simply raises an eyebrow and ignores the comment on his origins as a mundane-turned-magical beast. "Suigetsu sent you a too pillow?"

"Yeah, take a guess who."

"He sent me a Reisen one." The rabbit yokai gives an uncertain laugh and scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. "The wife wasn't too happy when she opened it."

"Apparently he sent one to Ai as well," comments Shi disinterestedly. "Some wolf character I think?"

"Wait, to her base?"

"Probably," Comments Kiba with a shrug. "Depends on if he mailed it to her "Airi" or "Aina" identities." The dog yokai then grimaces. "Meaning that if it's the former, I'll have to pick it up for her when I swing by to empty her mail tomorrow."

"Hah, that'd be a laugh to see, if it actually gets to her at Iruma."

Shi then rather pointed clears her throat. "Excuse me for interrupting, but I believe we had a meeting to get through?"

"Ah, right." Yu nods and immediately begins leading through his jackets bespelled and enchanted pockets for his briefcase. Kiba however, looks around in confusion, and then glances out the window to the main office. Idly he notes Junko showing off a variety of card tricks and sleight-of-hand acts to Asuka, in between reading Tarot spreads and tea leaves against stock movements flowing across the wall mounted digital ticker.

"Wait, aren't we waiting for Moreau? Where is he?"

Yu shrugs as Kiba catches sight of the thin, awkward looking French not-actually-a-teen still in his own private office on the other side of the main floor. "He's been in one of his "fey moods" again. Looks like a pretty good one too." Hunched almost obsessively over his keyboard and eyes racing as he counts something on the screen, the pale aristocratic expat distractedly sips from a blood bag through a crazy straw. "I think he's going on three days now."

Looking back to the other two yokai in the office, Kiba raises a questioning eyebrow.

"He's been chasing up something to do with water resources in California and the American Midwest." Elaborates Shi, eyeing the financially savant French vampire's office with a curious gaze of her own. "He's been on the phone constantly as well. Some retired American hedge fund manager by the name of Burry."

"I just wish he'd have found something more immediately profitable though." Comments Yu resignedly. "From the sounds of things, it's looking like it's going to be one of those long investments. Pay off won't be until '16 to '19, depending on how Mother Nature feels."

"Well," says Kiba coming to the defence of their resident Count von Count, "Moreau's never let us down in the past, and his pay offs have always been good if we just leave him to it. So until he's finished setting that up and switches his attention to whatever next grabs his notice, it's up to us to chart the short term investments to see us through."

Taping at one of the less modern looking portfolios stacked on Shi's desk for emphasis, the okuri-inu continues. "Now more than ever, we're not just here to make money, but to give a leg up to people trying to survive, start new lives, or get out from the reserves."

Yu nods in agreement, opening up his briefcase and pulling out a sheet of paper that he hands to Kiba and Shi. "Well then, you should be pleased to know that thanks to the fine work of Junko and a few of the others, the returns from their success divining which company and shipyard the contract to build the third Fubuki class DDG would go to, are now in....."
-------------

Wincing as he watches the numbers go up in time with the black gold being fed into the hungry tank of the R34, Kiba sighs before glancing back down into the Skyline with a apologetic smile. "Hey, sorry about dragging you along for all that today. I know investment management isn't really all that exciting, and I was originally planning to take the day off but....."

Smiling back at Kiba from the passenger seat of his usual day car, Asuka shakes her head and grins excitedly while attempting to replicate one of Junko's non-magical tricks with some improvised cards cut out of a spare Manila folder by Chisuheri, their resident Muramasa tsukogami.

"That was actually really fun! I thought stock markets and investing people were supposed to be really complicated and boring. But everyone one there was really exciting and neat! Even the humans like Junko!" Trailing off thoughtfully, Asuka then seems to have some sort of revelation. "Maybe that's just what muggle stock people are like? It's not like there are any movies of what magical Wall Street is like."

Kiba prides himself at his ability to mask his expression, as hazy memories resurface of the rare trips he was cajoled into taking, before ultimately swearing off ever again visiting the supposedly "boring" Wall Street and it's magical counterpart of the 80's and 90's.

Never again. By all that is holy and decent, never again.

"I'd think you'd be surprised. Banking and the Financial sector attracts some pretty odd people." The okuri-inu then chuckles at the thought. "Maybe that's why we're also so good at it. We're not just yokai and magical humans. We're odd ones, even among the odd."

Asuka nods, even as she looks thoughtful and slightly embarrassed. "I think you guys are all cool more than odd. But it was sort of strange that a lot of those there were, uh..... I know the muggles don't tend to write nice things about certain yokai, but even Mama and Papa used to tell stories where there were.... um....."

Seeing the young tengu trail off uncertainly in how to politely broach her point, Kiba knowing grin. "The "bad guys", right? Or otherwise portrayed in some way that isn't exactly flattering."

Asuka looks embarrassed and slightly ashamed of her train of thought after being so wow'd by everyone, however Kiba just gives her a softer smile and lays a hand on her shoulder to let her understand that he knows she didn't intentionally mean to malign his friends and co-workers. "Yeah, we're more than just an odd bunch. A lot of us started out as down and outs, or I hired them because they wanted to be more than what legends and superstitions said they should be. I've been in many of their shoes before. As an okuri-inu, most people didn't think much of me when I first started looking for jobs. To the humans, I'm the descendant of an ancient annoyance, and to other yokai, I'm someone who used to ruin their hunts, scare off their food, or went after their friends. Because I couldn't find work, they expected me to be a scoundrel and a cad, or worse, which in turn only makes getting a job harder. A lot of the more traditionally aggressive or harder to work with yokai suffer from a variety of stereotypes."

"But you're rich now and run a company, so you eventually did get a job." Asuka's eyes then widen in realisation. "You made your own job! You made a job that starts businesses for yokai, who help other yokai get jobs as well."

"That's right," says Kiba with a proud grin. "There's a few different branches of the company involved in making it all happen, and we do a few other things on the side so the underground community doesn't have their eggs all in one basket, but that's the general gist of the company's purpose."

"Wow...." Already looking rather awed by the goal that Kiba partly founded Nakano Seed, Venture and Hedge Investments Inc. upon, Asuka suddenly looks floored as the scope of what they do hits her. "Wait- So all those applications and portfolio stuff.... that onsen thing you were talking to the skeleton lady and the kitsune guy about start ups and risk assessment for- That's all run by yokai?! That place sounded awesome! And you're helping make it happen?!"

"Yep!" Preens the dog yokai, before suddenly noticing the slight melancholy that overcomes the teenage tengu. "What's wrong?"

Staring to the southeast, with her gaze laid in the general direction of something far past the surrounding buildings or even the distant waters of Tokyo Bay, Kiba recognises the sign of someone lost in contemplation of the "what ifs" and possibilities had they only known the options they were unaware of. "Papa.... Papa used to talk every now and again about wanting to take us back to the mainland. Back to the mountains where he grew up, and where he thought some yokai who had registration to live outside the reservations might still be. But the only human jobs he and Mama really knew how to do was farm. And land on the mainland was so expensive, and while they had enough saved up for a house, they couldn't ever seem to save enough for the equipment or machinery to run one big enough to be a proper business, and they didn't known if they could get jobs or blend in doing anything else, so that was why we were still living on the island when Blood Week-"

Clamming up for a moment, her eyes water, but the young tengu defiantly shakes her head when Kiba offers her a handkerchief. Seeming to win out the battle against her emotions, Asuka sniffles quietly and holds onto the hand Kiba keeps upon her shoulder in a show of comfort. Squeezing it quietly, she then looks at him, the beseeching question obvious in her eyes even before she asks it.

"If.... If Mama and Papa had asked..... for one of your start ups or investment things..... could you have helped them."

For a moment, Kiba considers responding with an unequivocal "yes".

A second later however, he sees a much different image. A much younger and crow-faced kotengu, still on the cusp of adulthood and weeping even as she devours science texts, history books and war reports. An attempt to try and understand why human fire could rip the very breath from those born from birth as innate wielders of the air around them. Seeking to know the "why", rather than the basic or brushed off "because of" that most people thought it was more than enough detail, or just a mercy to gloss over. Never realising how disturbed it left her, to know only vaguely, that human science could cripple more effectively than any magic, a literal sixth sense and metaphorical limb that was a core part of her identity and being.

In Asuka's eyes, he sees a similar desire for the simple, honest and uncensored truth.

"Maybe.... I can't say yes or know without actually.... without knowing them or being able to formulate an assessment on what they what they had and what they wanted." The okuri-inu sighs. "Initial application denial isn't a uncommon thing for many yokai who come to us as fence-jumpers, especially those fresh out of the reserve. They usually have little-to-no nomaj qualifications, and sometimes lack familiarity with more advanced foreign or scientific subjects taught as part of modern secondary and tertiary educations. They end up in low income jobs, with little disposable income or even reliable job security. Many are rejected due to lacking a secure source of capital to get things off the ground, or the job experience in the nomaj world to be self employed or set up a business."

At first, Asuka's eyes sink dejectedly. Then she realises Kiba hasn't finished.

"That's why the company is multi-purpose. Most of the smaller finance and investment companies around our size specialize in one or two things under the same general umbrella. They don't branch out in the way that we do." Pulling a business card out of his pocket, Kiba then taps a finger on the words 'Venture' and 'Hedge' to highlight their importance. "We also provide options for those who lack the cash to immediately build themselves and their human identities up on their own. With a little time and luck, we can not only eventually procure the money needed to help yokai start small businesses, but even perform a little "creative accounting", to carry nomaj returns or funds "invested" into us back over into the magical world to support families who need it."

Kiba gives the teenage tengu an apologetic look.

"Maybe it might have been judged as too much of a risk to give them give a seed investment to them at first. But there still would have been options. It would have taken time. Maybe that would have been time fate would not have given. But we wouldn't have left them high and dry. We would have helped."

Eyes slightly watery, but still blinking defiantly, Asuka looks down at her hands in quiet thought.

"So.... that's what this all is, isn't it? It's all to help people." Pausing for a moment, she then gives him the kind of unintentionally piercing look only a child can give innocent realisation. "You.... Something bad happened once.... Because no one was there to help you..... Just like us...."

Inhaling deeply, Kiba closes his eyes and sighs. "Yeah.... it..... yeah....."

Silence falls as the two of them tail off into silence and contemplation. Finally however, Asuka sniffs and wipes at her eyes, breaking Kiba from his own reverie as well. Sighing and glancing upward, his gaze then catches sight of the convenience store attached to the service station.

Hesitating for a moment, the okuri-inu finally settles on decision with a mental cry of 'fuck it, why not'. After all the heavy conversations and moments of the last few days, he could use a little bit of joy in life.

"Hey Asuka." Looking up as she rubs at her eyes with her sleeve one last time to be sure, the tengu then turns her gaze in the direction of the store he thumbs at. "Do you.... Do you want any ice-cream? Don't tell anybody this, but whenever I feel down.... Sometimes a nice ice-cream helps. It's a bit cold, but...."

"Could I have a strawberry flavor?" Hesitantly, she gives a smile, the sadness in her eyes dampened by the dog yokai's awkward but no less appreciated gesture and attempt at comfort. "Strawberry is my favourite."

Kiba offers a warm grin in return. "I better get one for Tsukino then. She likes strawberry too, and might get jealous if we turn up still eating them."

At the mention of the kijo lawyer, the teenage tengu's smile brightens a little more. "We're going to see Tsukino?"

"Yeah. And a bunch of our other friends too, though I'm not sure if Ai will be able to make it in time. Something's come up, but it shouldn't be too long."

"I don't mind." Asuka shakes her head. "Especially if they're like everyone you work with."

The okuri-inu grins. "Well in that case you're in luck. Junko and a few of the others from work should be there as well. Anyway, I should go and get us those ice creams. It was strawberry you said, right?"

"Yes please!"

Getting an eager nod in return, Kiba gives a final comforting pat before extracting himself from his awkward leaning-into-the-car position he's been maintaining for the last few minutes. As he turns to close the door however, something causes him to pause and turn. Looking back at Asuka, he spies the girl tapping her fingers together uncertainly.

"Kiba....?"

"Yeah Asuka?"

Seeing his curious and raised eyebrow, the girl flushes slightly in awkward embarrassment. "What was it you called your job again? Financial investment manager."

Seeing Kiba nod, the teenage tengu smiles tentatively, something else showing through in her gaze now. Something like determination.

"How hard is it to become one?"
-------------

"Tsukino!"

Seeing the thin framed lawyer, Asuka immediately bursts into a sprint, weaving through the crowded and crate-filled office space before practically tackling her around the midriff. With her skin already a deathly blue, and twin horns rising from her brow, the kijo's acid-yellow gaze crinkles into a smile as she easily withstands the force of a small daitengu rocketing into her at not insubstantial speed.

"Asuka! It's nice to see you. Kiba hasn't been boring you with his day job has he?"

Taking the moment to pull off her necklace and drop her own illusion, the jokingly pouting Kiba becomes one of the few in the room maintaining a human appearance. "Nope! He showed me where he works! It was awesome! I never knew stocks and investment stuff could be so neat or help people!"

"Really?"

"Uhuh!"

Raising an eyebrow and looking at the okuri-inu, Tsukino's smile then gains a knowing undertone. "Well, Kiba and his co-workers do have a certain, unique way about their company goals and it's business model."

"Yeah, everybody I've met since you guys found me is like that!" Looking around with a curious yet awed grin at the presence of so many untransformed yokai, and even the rare, surprisingly friendly and unconcerned human among the growing gathering, Asuka gives a slightly embarrassed and guilty laugh. "It's as if everyone I've met over the last few days- you all have jobs which are supposed to be really boring, but- you take these boring jobs and do such cool and amazing things using them as covers!"

Tsukino can't help but chuckle demurely. "Oh, I wouldn't say it's a cover. At least mine isn't, I don't know what Kiba does with himself half the day."

"Hey!"

"And as for boring." Grinning in a away that more than suggests to the young tengu a story to be told, the kijo nods towards someone into the still growing crowd in the increasingly packed room. "Ai was a muggle lawyer for just over two decades, and she had more than her fair share of excitement in that time. One such exciting case was even how we met."

"As I recall, that so called "excitement" was the final straw in you turning into a kijo in the first place." Hearing the no-nonsense and formally clipped tones, Asuka spins in place, surprise and joy upon her face.

"Lady Saburo!"

"I believe I told you Asuka-san, I am no longer a- oh never mind." Giving a sigh that is more good natured and fond than exasperated, Ai allows herself to be tackle-hugged by the young tengu in turn. She does not transform however, for a reason Kiba quickly clues into.

"You're still in uniform? Wait, did you just get here? I'm surprised you even made it at all! I thought you volunteered to be on the reserve pilot list for the next two days."

"Indeed I was," replies the Kotengu with a grimace to the baffled okuri-inu. "But Kogamaru called me this morning requesting my presence here this evening. Supposedly whatever this is about, is serious enough that he told me to pretend 'Airi' was dying so I could file for emergency leave."

Kiba blinks in owlish shock at that, while the pilot purses her lips and frowns in annoyance. "I count myself extremely fortunate that my fellow pilots and C.O. appear to have this odd perception that I am some sort of workaholic." Kiba and Tsukino share a glance that goes over Asuka's head and Ai somehow seems to miss. "Thankfully it made them more than willing to allow me a short break over the next few days if required, so that I may visit and care for my ailing "aunt". speaking of which, have either of you seen Doctor Kawa around? I need him to fabricate a doctor's report that "Airi" had a fall or one of her old Blood Week injuries acting up, requiring him to visit her. I did not need to make use of the moribund sugestion, so it can be anything really. As long as it sounds suitably dramatic enough for "Aina" to want to go to her side."

Kiba and Tsukino can only continue to stare at her. "I can't believe you actually did it though."

"Yeah, I didn't realize this meeting was changed to something apparently so dramatic." Glancing around the room, the kijo frowns. "I know the meeting was originally supposed to be about the ramifications of the upcoming marriage between a Kanmasu and a tsukogami being openly supported by the Emperor in front of the muggle public, but....." Nervously, Tsukino frowns. "I'm pretty sure this is most of the group here now."

Ai's own frown turns from one of slight perturbation, to concealed irritation. "I would hope that the topic at hand has changed then, as Kogamaru seemed to imply with some urgency over the phone. I myself am not entirely happy, taking a such dishonest course to leave my squadron without their flight lead should they be called upon. While Ugkei gave his permission for me to be here, I am taking a great risk if his hints and the rumors around base are true, that I may finally be in the line up for the next round of possible captaincy promotions in the near future."

Asuka gasps in surprise and excitement, but before Kiba or Tsukino have a chance to say anything, life interjects with a distraction.

Just then, there is the crack of apparition as Ban appears in one of the few clear spaces in the room set aside for such a purpose. Almost immediately, the human wizard then disappears with yet another loud crack, off to pick up their next ally lacking in transport or timely travel. Left behind after apparently having side-along apparated with him however, is a Kappa now delivered into their increasingly crowded midst.

"Hey, Suigetsu!" Kiba calls out in time with numerous other friendly calls, although some like the okuri-inu's are also tinged with a hint of annoyance and exasperation. "What the hell man? Sending all these damn pillows to everybody! The hell were you-"

The okuri-inu pauses and then stares from the once lively and energetic kappa, to the spot Ban occupied only moments before, and then back to the disconcertingly pallid and worn down kappa in befuddlement.

"Suigetsu, what the hell are you doing here?! I thought you were under house arrest?!?"

"I should be." Grumbles the normally jovial and mischievous aquatic yokai with an air of nerves and worry. "But apparently whatever is going on here today is serious enough that Jin and Kogamaru wanted to jail-break me to be here. They want everyone here tonight. Especially all the old guard."

Glancing over at Ai and Tsukino, Kiba then realises that while the two of them are also offering friendly waves to a few of their other old friends as they pick them out of the crowd, the pilot in particular, is casting about her gaze in a hawk-like scan of the room. "Correct me if I'm wrong.... But with Suigetsu now present, I believe we may just be looking at the first meeting in over a year with every single surviving founder of the old J.N.H.R.O. present...."

"The old what now?" Asks the confused Asuka from between them.

None of the adults answer however, as the four immediately share a look.

"I think I saw them at the front of the map table." Offers the Kijo with uncertain confusion.

"Who?" Asuka's confusion once more goes unanswered as the gravity of the meeting seems to sink in with the older yokai.

"Well then we need to find them and ask them what the hell this is about." About facing, Kiba immediately begins forging his way through the crowd to the open circle that is slowly forming the point of focus around a table at the center of the room. As the others (plus one increasingly baffled and intrigued teenage tengu follow), it isn't long before they break through the ring, just in time to catch the two voices that do their best to carry over the crowd.

"Okay, okay, could we all quieten down for a moment?! Please, let's just get this under way! Could we please quieten down?! Thank you?! If those of you who can hear, could please just ask those behind you to-"

"WOULD YOU ALL JUST SHUT UUUUUPPPPP!!!!!"

As the regal and youthful looking wolf-yokai leans away from his much more verbose partner, the pale scaled and antler'd woman with green hair and a terrifying amount of scars capitalises on the silence left in the wake of the roar that beguiles her small frame and modern biker garb.

"THANK YOU! MEETING STARTS NOW! PRETTY BOY HAS THE FLOOR!"

Rubbing at one furry ear with a rather pained expression, the young wolf-yokai gives a grimacing nod to his compatriot before turning his attention back to the crowd around them.

"ow- Yes, thank you for that Jin. Now as I was trying to say before, I welcome you all to this meeting, and dearly do apologise for the abruptness of it all. I know the current venue is a little cramped, but on such short notice, I believe it best we gather everyone we could for a most urgent discussion we felt it only right for all to have a voice and presence in."

At that moment, Kiba chooses to make his presence known, all eyes turning to him as he speaks up.

"A discussion many of us seem to be a bit out of the loop on!" With no small amount of awe, Asuka realizes the respect her three saviours and recent personal heroes command. Even as the crowd parts and shuffles to allow them to more easily stand before the table, and face the young wolf and the woman that even in her battered state, the teenage tengu can feel radiating power, the three are unaffected by the focus upon them, emanating their own auras of calm and leadership.

"Kiba! Tsukino! And Suigetsu you little shit! You all made it!" At the head of the table, the woman who feels of wind upon the water and a the updraft of a cool river breeze lets out a hearty laugh and greets the four with a fang-filled grin. "And you even managed to drag Ai out from whatever rock she has been hiding under!"

"Out of the loop on?" Beside her however, the young wolf shifts uncertainly under his heavy, traditional garb that he obviously doesn't quite spiritually fill. "Surely you three know what this meeting is about?"

Kotengu, okuri-inu, kijo and kappa all share a questioning look with each other before answering in the negative.

That the wolf dressed to hold court only seems to get flustered at the apparent mistakes of his allies, increasingly makes it clear to Asuka that there isn't any real sort of political byplay or power struggles within in this group. Even her limited experience in the cutthroat world of playground Machiavellianism can tell that if there is a leader, it's someone else or a group effort, because this youth dressed in the boots of one isn't it.

"Er.... didn't you guys get the scrolls this morning?"

"What, scrolls? Scrolls as in mail or something?"

Beside them, the scarred water spirit produces from her jacket an object that suddenly makes Kiba surpress a silent "oh" or recognition. The others however, begin listing off excuses.

"I'm working three different cases at the moment, including Suigestsu's pro-bono" says Tsukino with a grimace. "I slept at the office last night."

The kappa winces and looks at the kijo apologetically before turning back to the others. "What with the house arrest and all, I've been stuck at the house I put down on my licence for off reserve residence. Most of my personal and muggle mail goes to my muggle apartment."

Ai gives a similar nod. "I send all my magical mail to my apartment in Tokyo. Unless it's specifically addressed to the right identity and where I am stationed, Kiba or Tsukino pick everything up and sort through for anything of note every few days."

At the mention of the okuri-inu, all eyes turn to Kiba, who does his best to deliver a winning smile. For all his youth and inexperience, the traditionally garbed wolf isn't fooled by someone he grew up knowing, though neither is he without hope.

"Kiba, please."

"In my defence, I did pick it up. I was even about to open it. Unfortunately, I was then rather distracted by a gift from Suigetsu." There is a round of laughter from throughout the room, with many of those present either recipients or in the know about the recent shenanigans from their friends. Apparently this is also the last straw for the wolf as he finally losses all composure and pretenses of formality, cradling his head in dismay.

"Oh come on guys! Really!? Did none of you seriously open your mail this morning!?! Something important could have happened! Oh heck- Something important did happen!!!"

"Hey!" Counters Kiba jokingly and for the entertainment of the crowd. "I don't see Tokutomi getting hit up about this?"

From a third side of the table, a hand rises up within the crowd, bearing a scroll and causing the crowd to part around a grinning human wizard, only just beginning to show the touch of late-middle age thanks to the salt and pepper at his temples. "What was that you were saying Kiba?!" The crowd laughs uproariously as the okuri-inu groans in defeat, though beside him, the other three founding members of the organisation don't miss the weight and worry hidden behind the eyes of their once youthful human comrade.

"Okay, okay, I think that's enough for comedy hour!" As Tsukino steps forward and waves a hand to quieten the crowd, Ai's own gaze returns to the two yokai originally responsible for escalating the size and importance of what was only supposed to be a debate on current events and their implications. Her eyes flicking between the wolf, the water spirit, the wizard, and the scrolls all three share in their hands, the kotengu ponders what could possible involve not just them, but all seven of the surviving leaders from the organisations most nascent days of conception.

"In deed. However, seeing as this unknown issue that appears to have been brought before all seven of us, was great enough that the three of you felt unanimously in agreement that all should be present to discuss it's development, you may as well enlighten the four of us along with everyone present."

"Yeah!" shouts somebody from the back of the room. "I'm skipping the monthly JGSDF-JMSDF poker night for this!"

As Tsukino quietens the crowd once more, Ai's gaze remains on her fellow veterans of the organisation. Jumping slightly as Kogamaru realizes Jin and Tokutomi have left it up to him to answer, the young wolf fumbles and opens the scroll. "Ah yes, well.... ah hold on...." Unveiling it and staring at the words for a moment, the regally adorned yokai eyes the rather formal language, and then his definitely not formal crowd before him. "Oh bother it all-"

Finally dropping the last airs of formality, and emulation of whomever's boots he is trying to fill, the young wolf pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Okay, there's no easy way to say it word for word, while all formal-like and what not, so I'm just going to cut to the chase with the general points and details. Two nights ago, there was a major meeting of the family heads from the leading Yokai clans." A Hushed murmur spreads through the crowd. "A meeting regarding the state of the statute. I know many of us have seen the writing on the wall, far more clearly in many cases, than those in the magical world thanks to our lives and movements among everyday nomaj society. I am not blind to the betting pools some of us- I mean some of you have going." A round of laughs rises up at the gaffe, with even Kogamaru himself unable to resist a rueful grin.

"It has almost always been second nature for many of us to work outside the normal systems in pursuit of our goals and the good we do. Whether that be fighting for yokai rights, or off the books aid work for magicals and nomajs alike. Through our jobs and our deeds, we have inadvertently become some of the most integrated and non-magically savvy yokai in all of Japan, especially when it comes to many of the less considered and complicated matters of the modern human world. And that has not gone unnoticed."

A sudden, nervous silence falls over all those present, the previous good humor and light-heartedness at the confusing and unexpected nature of the all-hands-on-deck meeting abruptly fading away.

"Among our number, we have business owners and doctors. We have lawyers, with the qualifications between them to stand before courts in either world. We have men and women, not just serving in the ranks of the Self Defense Forces, but proving themselves and attaining ranks. Here today, we have a property mogul, a fishing magnate, two civil servants in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and another in the Ministry of the Environment. At least a quarter of us owe our businesses, our savings accounts, and the security of our financial fingerprints to a trio of wily investment managers and their fleet of brokers, investors and assessors."

Rather than preening at the mention, Kiba glances at the others, a sinking feeling of where Kogamaru's emphasis on those involved in government, fiance and aid work is headed.

"For many of us here, we are more than just integrated into life in the nomaj world. We are experienced and knowledgeable in some of the innermost workings of it's government and bureaucracies, and how to not just bridge the gap between their's and our own, but make systems that flow. A system that has done it's best to fulfill the demands and needs that those such as Ai, Kiba, Tsukino, Suigetsu, Tokutomi, Jin, my father, and so many others have charted and attempted to right for over fifteen years since this organisation's founding. Fifteen years that don't even hold a candle to the half a century many of you had already been previously working from outside with system, from the within the nomaj system to fix things, or at least find the tools to one day do so."

"And so...." Licking his suddenly dry lips nervously, Kogamaru pauses glances at Tokutomi and Jin who give nods of assent.

"And so the heads of the leading clans have approached us. They have contacted those known to be the surviving leaders and figures of the old Japanese Non-Human Rights Organisation with this request; A wish to meet with a representative of their's, and discuss the possibility of not just an official return of the Japanese Non-Human Rights Organisation with their backing and clout behind us, but also another venture they believe us to be uniquely suited for.... The secret liaison of yokai advisers with the nomaj government, in preparation for the expected fall of the Statute of Secrecy in Japan."

Ai feels her jaw drop. One could practically hear a pin drop in the room. Reeling from the shock and incredulity of Kogamaru's statement, Ai then turns her gaze to Kiba. The Okuri-inu looks equally floored.

"You.... You can't be..... holy shit, you're not joking!"

With a rare display of gravity that most assume the young wolf didn't inherit, Kogamaru nods.

Throughout the room, yokai look around and glance at each other. Finally someone opens their mouth to break the silence. Unfortunately, so do a few other people do at the same time. Immediately, all hell breaks loose, as the room descends into a debate of scale, passion, ferocity and cacophonous confusion that Ai, Kiba, their fellow leaders, and many of the other veterans of the pre-Blood Week iteration of the J.N.H.R.O. haven't seen since the first time Kogamaru's father seriously suggested the idea to lobby the pre-war Magical Diet.

This, the kotengu realises, is going to be the start of a long night.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Muttering to himself, Percy entered the Common Room with a shake of his head. Yes, he was thankful for the Basilisk being dead. And he was doubly thankful for no longer needing to deal with Peeves for however long it took before he either somehow reappeared or another poltergeist formed in his place. Just the same though, things were not exactly easy for the Prefect.

Then again, with Fred and George as brothers, it never was.

As he walked further into the Common Room though, he noted something odd. In one of the chairs sat Ginny with a frown. Coming to a stop, Percy watched for several moments as his sister would peek over the top of her book and frown before ducking back down with a blush. Slowly, the eldest Weasley at Hogwarts raised an eyebrow at that before following her gaze. It only took a second, but he internally sighed as he figured out the reason due to the mop of black hair poking up behind one of the couches.

However, more then that was the fact that he could also see Regina on the couch with her tail raised upwards. Placing his hands into his pockets, Percy walked over and felt his eyebrow raise still further at the position that the two were in. Regina was laying back on the couch as best that she could with her height. Meanwhile, Harry himself was laying back on her with his head propped up on her chest and her arms wrapped around him. It was also with some amusement that Percy noted more then one guy giving Harry looks and mutters. At that time, Harry smiled some. "Ready for me to turn the page, Regina?"

The Abyssal gave a nod as she smiled. "Um, just one second... There, you can turn the page now."

Waiting until Harry did so, Percy cleared his throat and smiled at the two. "Hello, Harry, Regina. You two are looking rather comfortable there."

Just blinking, Harry gave a shrug with his answer making Regina blush. "What can I say? Regina is pretty comfy."

Lips twitching, Percy nodded at that. "Ah, I see. I am a bit surprised to see you as I would have thought that you would be out practicing Quidditch. The game is next Saturday after all after being delayed for two weeks."

Once more, Harry gave a shrug before pointingly looking at the window. "Yeah... We normally would but with how it is outside..."

Percy looked towards the window and winced. Outside, rain was pouring down as the wind lashed at the castle. He also remembered that he could have sworn that he heard thunder earlier. "Right, not good weather for flying. I am sort of surprised though that Wood doesn't have you out there."

Expression blank, Harry stared at him. "He wanted us out there."

His eyebrow raising, Percy frowned as he guessed that there was more to the story then that. "Oh? And what changed his mind?"

Raising one hand, Harry held up one finger. "One was Katie, Angelina, and Alicia threatened him if he tried to get us out into that. They were very... persasive, to say the least." He then frowned. "Though I don't think that what they stated that they would do to his broom is very possible..."

Confused, Percy was about to say something when a flash of insight hit him and he winced. "Right... and the second?"

Slowly, Regina turned to him and gave him a slow blink. "I spoke with him and told him what I would think of him having Harry out there. And how I would act if Harry got hurt or, um, sick from the cold rain." She then gave him a smile that made a shiver go down the red head's back. "He decided that he wanted to study for his OWLs."

That brought a second wince from Percy even as he nodded. "I see..." Internally though he had to shake his head. 'Wood brought that on himself. Though really, who knew that Regina could be scary...' Briefly, the Prefect looked around until he caught sight of Wood at a table, busying himself with studying. More then that though, Percy could see that many of the students were barely paying Regina much, if any, mind. 'Hard to believe how used to everything people have gotten.'

It was then that Ron came over and slumped into a nearby armchair. "So what are you and Regina reading, Harry? Doesn't look like a textbook."

With a blink, Harry lifted the book some to show his best friend and Percy raised an eyebrow as the twelve year old spoke. "It's about the Owl Air Force in World War One and the stuff they did." Bringing the book back down, he frowned in thought. "I asked Madam Pince if there was any books on the First World War since the ones on the second basically all talk mainly about Grindlewald."

Eyebrow raising, Ron turned his attention onto Harry. "Owl Air Force? That's the first that I heard about them."

For himself, Percy was just listening in as it caught his own interest though there was a tickle in the back of his mind. "I think that I remember reading about them somewhere... but..." Furrowing his eyebrows, he shook his head. "Not too much about them."

Glancing over at him, Harry shrugged. "They were sort of like how pigeons were used for messages, though I think I read somewhere that some carried cameras." He then snickered some. "I remember Aunt Texas though talking to me about Langley and how she had a pigeon coop onboard her for a time."

That made Ron become thoughtful for a moment. "So the owls were used to send messages then? Huh, that's kind of cool."

However, Harry shook his head. "Not just messages on the magical side. Some were trained to escort carrier pigeons or to attack them depending on which side. Others were delivering things like potions and the like... There's even mention of bomber owls."

Silence met him before Ron finally managed to say something. "Bomber... Owls."

With a slow nod, Harry glanced up at Regina who nodded before he turned a page. "Yeah, bomber owls. Apparently they used a special exploding potion made with fluid from erumpent horn to drop them into the trenches. Pretty nasty... though not as nasty as what's in this book."

Glancing at it, Percy frowned. "I've seen that book before, Charlie owns a copy. It's about the attempt to use Ukrainian Ironbellies on the Eastern Front I think." At remembering some of the items inside it, he winced. "Um, it did not turn out very well."

Ron looked at him and snorted. "I wonder why not." While a part of him made a note to see if there was anything that would interest him, the thirteen year old hummed some. "By the way, Mate... Who's coming to the game for you ?"

As he flipped a page, Harry chuckled a bit. "Well, Mum of course will be one of them. Taigei-Chan and Ryuuhou-Chan are also coming with their escorts. Not sure who else though, Mum is keeping... well, mum, about it."

Even though he was curious about who else might be coming, Percy shook his head and walked off. He had some studying to do and there was also a letter from Ooyodo to answer that came through Harry's owl box. 'Hmm... I should also write a letter to check on the house...'

Meanwhile, back on the couch, Harry looked up at Regina and smiled a bit. "You okay, Regina?"

Happily returning the smile, Regina gave him a small squeeze. "I am as a matter of fact." Finger against her chin, she thought it over. "This is really, really nice. I kind of like it."

Lips curling upwards, Harry gave her a nod. "I know, it is pretty nice to just curl up and read something." It was then that Harry looked over at to see Ron reading a letter with his eyebrows furrowed. "Something wrong, Ron?"

Snapping out of his thoughts, Ron only gave a shrug. "Not really wrong, just kind of strange." After a moment, he turned back to the letter and didn't say anything else. Even though he wanted to know more, Harry decided to just turn back to his book and respect his friend's privacy. Besides, he would likely find out soon enough considering things.

And it really was too comfy right at that moment.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Nose buried in a book, Hermione was muttering to herself as she walked through the halls. Taking a shortcut through one of the less used areas, she frowned and made internal notes. At one point, the shipgirl walked past Harry who was staring into a classroom with binoculars and an army helmet with leafy branches on it. To complete the look, he had on Marine camo and face paint. It said something that it was not until Hermione had gone around at least two corners when she slowed to a stop and paused. Rewinding the images in her head, she blinked and slowly lowered the book with a frown on her face. "..."

Meanwhile, Harry was still peeking into the room with his binoculars and a thoughtful look. "Hmm... yes. This is going well, is it not, Minagato?"

Beside him, the Smol crossed her arms and nodded with a serious expression on her face. "Gato. Gato gato gato."

Having walked back, Hermione raised her eyebrow and looked down at her friend with a narrowed eyed look. "Harry, what are you up to now?"

Just blinking, Harry looked over his shoulder and gave her an innocent look. "Up to? Me? Whatever gave you that idea?"

Slowly, Hermione raised her eyebrow further and she stared him down but the black haired boy looked back at her with an unchanging expression. Finally, she sighed and shook her head. "You mean besides the fact that you are sitting outside an old classroom with binoculars? Or how you're in camouflage?"

After a moment, Harry shrugged some. Then he said the words that sent a shiver down his friend's keel and made her fairies start running for their stations. "Oh, I was just bored."

Needless to say, once those words registered, Hermione already felt a headache come on. While more then a few people had suffered pranks from the Weasley Twins, even they had learned to fear those words. Also to enjoy the anticipation as shenanigans were always close at hand. Oddly, Hermione had heard someone muttering that Harry took after his mother, Lily, more then his father.

The fact that Snape had muttered such with a fond look on his face had disturbed her to no end.

So it went without saying that those words, those so very dangerous words, set her on edge. "You... were bored, Harry."

Only nodding, Harry hummed some. "Yeah, I was bored. My meeting with Daphne and the others in regards to some of the items in the Room of Hidden Things isn't until later tonight. And with all my homework done..." The reminder of her friend's study habits once more made Hermione's eyebrow twitch. "Well, I got nothing to do to kill time. So I decided to do something."

Pinching her nose, Hermione warred with herself. On the one hand, by knowing what he was doing, she could cut it off possibly if it was too bad. But on the other? There was every chance that she would get a headache or it would be just plain weird to no end. Very likely she would come to regret it. But... like the cats she loved, the Light Cruiser had an insatiable curiosity. "What did you decide to do...?"

When Harry pointed into the room and answered, Hermione knew that it was going to be one of those times she wished she could openly drink. "What else? Getting Barghast and Miss Norris on a date."

Complete and utter silence filled the air as Hermione stared at him for several seconds. She tried, and so very hard, to understand what her friend had just said. Each individual word made sense, but when strung together... "What."

Glancing at her, Harry gave her a raised eyebrow as if there was something wrong with her. "You know how Barghast has that odd relationship thing going on with Miss Norris, right?"

Disbelief on her face, Hermione just stared at him. 'Is he...' Shaking it off, she fought the urge to facepalm. "That's... one way of putting it."

Harry just shrugged. "Well, yeah, though it is a bit hard. I mean, she's completely tsundere to be honest. Thankfully not a Yandare, though a Kuudere wouldn't be too bad. A deredere would be just plain weird though."

Closing her eyes, Hermione slowly nodded. "Yes, because Miss Norris being a... Deredere is the oddest thing about this conversation that we are having. Or the whole situation."

In reply, Harry wagged his finger at her. "I already told you, she's tsundere, heavy on the tsun." Then he paused and frowned. "Then again, most cats seem to be tsundere anyways. Don't really know why..."

About to say something, the Light Cruiser shut her mouth with a snap. 'No, no, don't get sucked into one of these side conversations, Hermione. You know how it ends...' With a deep breath, she let it out. "Right, back to... the date... thingy. Please explain what the heck you are talking about."

Simply shrugging, Harry turned back to the room. "Right! So I was bored and walking along when I noticed that Barghast was staring at something. Turned out, he spotted Miss Norris sunning herself. I mean, you know how he felt when she was petrified. And I could hear his engines go doki doki." Eyebrow twitching, Hermione gestured for him to continue which he did. "So I thought to myself... how could I help matters? So with some work, I set up the room so that the two could have a date."

Once more, Hermione stared at him before poking her head into the room to look. Needless to say, if anything, she felt her disbelief rise at the sight inside. Granted, the sight of Barghast and a confused Miss Norris at either end of a table with a checkered tablecloth and a candle would make anyone wonder. It was not helped by the fact that Scuffles McClawsey was also there and in a suit as he played music. "... What the heck."

Chuckling, Harry nodded as he watched Hedwig, in a suit, wander over pushing a plate of high end catfood. "I know, who knew that Scruffles was so talented? Granted, I wanted to use spaghetti, but..."

Finger raising, the bushy haired shipgirl paused and then sighed. "Harry... Lady and the Tramp involved dogs. Not cats, dogs." She then grimaced. "Also... Are you seriously taking an idea from a Disney movie? I mean, really?"

With a blink, Harry looked over at her. "Yeeees? Disney films are good sources for stuff like this. And as to the first... What did you expect? I didn't think that the Aristrocats had anything good for this in it."

Mouth opening and closing, Hermione eventually just groaned. 'Oh for... You have got to be kidding me...'

At the same time, Harry turned back to the scene as the two ate at the table. Miss Norris still seemed awfully confused by the whole thing, but free food. And it was good food as well, some of the best she's had. Meanwhile, Harry was rubbing his hands together and quietly cackling, "Yes... yes... All according to Keikaku."

Just glancing at him, Minagato raised a sign which made Hermione twitch at as she muttered the words. "'Smol Translator's note, Keikaku means plan.'" While part of her knew, just knew, that she wanted to know more, the Light Cruiser was experienced enough at this point that she really did not want to know more. Thus, with a sigh, she shook her head. "I'm... just going to leave now, Harry. Have fun with... whatever."

Blinking, Harry watched her walk off and then shrug. "What's her problem?"

Minagato shrugged right back in utter confusion. "Gato."

The two then blinked and turned back to the "Date" happening in front of them. Slowly grinning, Harry whispered in a rather fake sounding accent. "Kiss the girl..."

And moments later a pillow whacked him in the head as Hermione's voice could be heard hissing at him. "First, your Jamaican accent is lousy. Secondly, wrong movie, Harry!"

However, all Harry did was shrug before grinning.

 

[darthcourt10]

Lord K

A.N./ Welp, here's the other half of that meeting after the bombshell of a request drops. Hopefully I did it right. Speeches aren't normally my thing. Speech scenes are even harder.

Debate and Duty

Ai has rarely ever been one to shout and flail when making a point. Always more of a formal orator, years of work in the art of delivering evidence and swaying opinions in courts of law have long ago taught her that sometimes a well thought and impassioned counter-argument to catch the other side in the points they have just made, can be far more effective than dramatically shouting out objections and vying for control of a jury's attention. This is especially so in cases and arguments where the atmosphere can be particularly heated and emotionally charged, weighing the result on the outcome on feelings and arguments rather the presentation of evidence and the debates of the law.

Tonight, watching with silent and gravely serious eyes, Ai finds herself reflecting that there are few arguments and debates she has ever been in, that are as emotionally charged as this one. Beside her, Asuka watches the back and forth shouting matches with wide eyes.

"You guys really don't do anything by halves do you?! I thought this was just supposed to be a current events debate!"

Kiba throws back his head and laughs. "This isn't current events anymore kid. This is politics."

Asuka gives the okuri-inu a disbelieving look, causing the dog yokai to grin ruefully.

"Okay, so normally it's nowhere near this bad, I just wanted to use the line. Usually these debates and meetings are basically normal discussions and catch up sessions with each other. But honestly, I don't think I've seen something rile up everyone like this in years."

As if to emphasis the okuri-inu's point, across the table somebody thrusts their hand out incredulously, pointing accusingly at one of the copies of the scroll currently being passed around the room. "Hanging our asses out for those in need is one thing, but this is something else!"

"Yeah!"

"They cannot be serious!"

"They're right though!" Shouts a fox from across the table. "Somebody needs to do something, and we are suited to do it!"

"Suited to getting our tails found out and stuck in a reserve!" Counters a wolf dressed in a similar manner to Kogamaru. "Cousin, have you lost your head?! Compared to working among ourselves, working as part of a government operation leaves a hell of a bigger foot print and paper trail."

Seeing Tsukino finish reading the scroll Kogamaru passed across the table for them to read over, Ai quietly accepts it next, preferring to read the words herself before making any sort of statement or opinion of her own.

"We'll be found out!" Somebody in the back of the crowd shouts in agreement "It's too big of a risk! It's not like the old days! Too many our members in the last few years are unregistered and illegally outside the reserves!"

At the front of the room, Asuka watches Jin gives a fang filled growl while the scent of turbulent water grows in the air. "You're damn right it's not like the old days! Right now, the Magical Diet couldn't pour water out of a boot if the instructions were written on the heel! And the families trying to set up a new government in Kyoto would maybe even support us! Who the hell is actually going to have the time or interest to be poking around the nomaj government and enquiring about "mythological advisors", who all have highly air tight nomaj identities and histories?!"

"We need to do this!" A feminine voice shouts in agreement. "We've always talked of change from within the system! Well this is it! Don't you people realise the opportunity! The old system is fading away! And this is our chance to establish a foothold and a guarantee for real change in the new one, before any of our opponents realize the system and its rules are about to change!"

"Nikako is right! We can't let this slip by! The time to act is now!"

"The fuck it isn't!"

Unfortunately, the suggestion of a time to act only causes more shouting and debate, much to Kogamaru's chagrin.

"Everyone please, if we could just discuss this with some-"

"Like hell the time is now! Weren't you just saying the other day that the statute still has at least four or five years left in it?!"

In response to the counter-point, the original advocate for acting pounds a clawed paw on the table to emphasis his point. "I know that! But that was before I heard this news! This is something that would be criminal to pass up!"

"It's criminal to be cautious and worried for our families should we end up up in jail?! Or worse, back in a fucking reservation?!"

"It's not like the Statute needs to last that long anyway!" Adding fuel to the fire, Junko shoulders through the crowd to the side of the table, the witch holding not any implements of divination, but instead a folder full of potential statute breaches they had originally been meaning to update after tonight's meeting regarding the now forgotten wedding. "If anything, members of the J.N.R.H.O. working alongside the government would only reduce all our estimates! This could potentially carve the time frame for the fall down to three, or even two and half years!"

"To what end!?" Somebody cries out in frustration. "If we speed up the collapse of the statute before most of our plans for the fall are ready, that could just make things worse!!!"

"You don't fucking know that!"

"Half of us are going broke trying to do this by ourselves!"

"The increasing rate of fence jumpers-"

"- breaches in the statute-

"- already an economic and housing crisis in the making-

"-can't afford to do this for another three years"

"We aren't ready!"

"Then at least the government can be!!!"

Gravely, Ai finally speaks up. Adding her two cents, but refraining from yelling, she nevertheless manages to somehow make her voice penetrate through the din.

"The military high command and upper levels of the cabinet at the very least, already know." The crowd quietens, if only for a moment as the impact of Ai's words spread across the room. Having finished reading the scroll, Ai holds it up to make her point before absently passing it to the curious Asuka as she proceeds to elaborate her statement. "These are not the words of dignitaries forging with blind bravery and desperation into the darkness in search of an untried solution, and requesting guides to aid their efforts. These are the words of the those who know the course and challenges they face ahead. They approach us not just because we are the most capable to help, but because we are the best situated to say what is needed, rather than merely know."

A stunned pall settles over the room.

"They know not just that we can help, but at least have a vague idea how. They speak as if the non-magical government could expect us. Be of open ear to our counsel and words. This is more than just the an enticing invitation or a call to action." Ai scans the crowd with a steely gaze, letting her point sink in. "This is not a tentative first approach for a meeting that they want us alongside. Somebody has already made contact. Sounded out the waters, and selectively made their presence known to the right people, with the right sympathies, in the right places."

Across from her, Tokutomi's gazes narrows to a frown. "Yokosuka... It has to be..... There's been too many incidents and going ons there in recent years."

"We've become complacent," mutters Tsukino. "We've become almost as inattentive as the government, too used to the military brushing off statute breaches as either something kanmusu related, or as random inexplicable magical oddities originating from the appearance of the Abyssals and kanmusu."

Standing beside Kogamaru, Jin frowns with a rare gravitas and heaviness that hints at her ancient nature. "Something must have finally happened to clue them in that the magic of the world far predates Blood Week."

Kogamaru himself grips the old shell-damaged sword by his side for comfort at the thought, while nodding gravely. "If that is so.... Then the shrinking timeframe for the fall of the Statue is inevitable, with or without our intercession."

For a long moment, the ripples of shock and stunned silence continue the reverberate and the room, and it's occupants who have just learned the inexorable undoing of their world has now well and truly began.

"Well what the hell do we do now?" crows someone at the back of the crowd. "We're between a rock and a hard place then! Pick your poison!"

"Our options are not all bad, even if it is the navy leading the way on this," Ai interjects. "We are not in the 1940s anymore. The military is beholden to the government. Not the other way around, as it was in the last war."

"Ai is right!" Kogamaru says in agreement and with a nod in her direction. "Regardless of whether it is the military, the government, or the clan leaders that initiated this invitation, we should not have to fear or second guess ourselves. This is a different century and a different government."

"That's what Royomaru said when people compared the last World War to the Bakumatsu conflicts!"

"Yeah, it's not like a "Maquis of the North Wolves" would have any qualms about working with the military, would he!"

Like a match to gunpowder, the room suddenly erupts into shouting and heated debate at the apparently explosively controversial comparison. Kogamaru himself suddenly looks every inch the furious, traditionally garbed Okami noble he is dressed as.

"I AM NOT ADVOCATING THE COURSE OF MY GRANDFATHER, YOU HEAR ME?!" Brandishing the battered and shrapnel-scored sword that is fused into it's sheath by the damage for emphasis, Kogamaru's livid gaze scans the crowd for the two accusers, heedless of the fact that it would be impossible to find them in the verbal brawl the room has degenerated into. "I AM AN ADHERENT TO THE PATH OF PEACE, LIKE MY FATHER BEFORE ME! YOU THINK MYSELF, OR ANYONE ELSE HERE WOULD BE FOOLISH ENOUGH TO EMULATE THE PATH THAT RABID DOG!"

"Royomaru and Saburo got into bed with Kamo with peaceful intentions initially, and look where that led to!"

"We're getting off track here!"

"Saburo was just an official!"

"We can't just give into inaction, out of fear of the past!"

"AND ROYOMARU WAS A FUCKING MONSTER!!!"

"It's a justified fear when we are unready, unable, and can't even resist the comparisons within our own damn camp!"

As the shouting increasingly grows volatile and impassioned, Asuka looks to Ai and notes the thinly pursed lips of the silent Kotengu. Having finished reading the scroll the disguised pilot handed her, and now uncertain and confused, she then looks to Kiba questioningly, yelling to be heard over the crowd.

"Who is Royomaru?! And why are they mentioning Ai's name?!?"

The wolf yokai grimaces, leaning down to answer her over the din of the quarrelling crowd.

"Okay, history lesson, Yokai Rights pre-WWII 101, the Quick Notes version! You know how Ai mentioned she was descended from a line of shogunate retainers?"

"Yeah!"

"Kogamaru comes from something similar, but with more power! His great-grandfather though, only maintained it through the Bakumatsu by selling out a lot of people and handing over a ton of ancient family territory, a chunk of which eventually formed the core of Daisetsuzan!"

Asuka's eyes boggle at that fact, as she looks back toward the the weedy young wolf, now being held back and calmed down by the combined efforts of Jin and Suigetsu. "Wait, that guy's family is responsible for the largest reserve in Japan?!?". On the other side of the table, Tokutomi and Tsukino seem to be attempting to get the conversation back on track, but the human wizard also seems to be attracting his fair share of flak for some of the deeds of his own family during the war.

"Yeah, he thought it better to face properly outlined and gilded cages, than go through continual land losses, infringements, and exterminations like what happened in Europe and America. For his services, he eventually even became a Maquis under the Meji government's reorganised system of nobility! Kogamaru's grandfather, Royomaru, hated it though! He saw his father as a traitor and an ICW puppet, and wanted the old lands and powers they'd had restored! So he became the leader among a group of other Yokai wanting things to go back to the old ways, such as Ai's father, and then allied himself with Kamo Hiroshi and the pre-war government!"

"What?!?"

Kiba's lips curl in a disgusted snarl, tinged with no small amount of pity for those still tainted by their ancestors sins. Leaning down further, Kiba lowers his voice, causing Asuka to strain to hear with some confusion. The confusion though, doesn't last as he begins speaking.

"Ai still can't help but think the world of her father, but I think the man was a jackass. By all the accounts I've heard from people who actually knew him, he merrily espoused all sorts of nationalist craziness, patriotic beliefs and yokai-centric longing for the old days upon his family, then did nothing but work a desk the entire war until he died. Nobody ever tied him to anything, but the man was just nuts and "drink-the-cool-aid" enough that in hindsight, I wouldn't be surprised if he had ended up trying to kill his family if he had lived until the surrender."

Auska glances back at her stony faced hero who is watching the proceedings, feeling slightly disturbed and wondering how such a background could lead to the courageous and wise woman she knows today.

"Royomaru though, was a monster of the highest calibre. Depending on who you talk to, he either went nuts with the political powers given to him, started to believe his own propaganda and posturing, or was always just a rotten apple to the core to begin with, with the war bringing it all to it's most extreme conclusion. Regardless of why, or how he thought what he was doing to the yokai community by the end was supposed to mesh at all with his original intensions, Royomaru ended up getting executed post-war for a laundry list of war crimes. The ICW then looked at the powers and wealth accessible to him and many of his lackeys, and how it allowed them to make in roads with many of the conservatives, nationalists, and imperialists in the pre-war government, and so they emphasised much of their post-war crackdown on yokai with wealth, positions of power, noble ancestry, or histories of political activity."

Asuka frowns as she connects the dots. "So this Royomaru is why the clans are the only ones with any sort of power now?"

"Technically, he's only part of the reason, and the clans have power because yokai choose to respect them and are generally happy with their unofficial governance. The Diet has never officially recognised their leadership though. Anyway, for many people, Royomaru and the pied-piper's song he played to pull many yokai into Kamo and the military's hands, is still a living memory. Kogamaru's father, Tsumemaru used to get this sort of thing even worse back in the day when we were first starting out. Becoming a pacifist wasn't just a political convenience for him."

"So now what? Is this doomed to fail because everyone is just allergic to the idea of working with the military these days?!"

Kiba shakes his head. "I think everyone's just off guard and a little in shock. Give it a day or two for everyone to actually put their heads on straight and think about things properly, and I'm sure the "help" majority will win out." The okuri-inu grimaces guiltily, looking up at the table where the traditionally garbed wolf is now in a second shouting match with somebody else. "We'll need somebody other Kogamaru to try and sell the idea to those who are scared or on the fence though. He's a good kid and a great legislator, but he's still young and kind of lacks the thick skin and stage presence of Tsumemaru. He's too easily thrown off by inevitable comparisons to his grandfather."

Uncertain what to say, Asuka turns her focus back to Ai, who is still watching and listening to the multiple and overlapping shouting matches with an unreadable, assessing gaze. Looking at the disguised kotengu, for a moment Asuka can almost imagine her intense and unshakable stare and expression on the face of some medieval shogan or modern military general. An island of heavy calm and measured contemplation, while the masses around her squabble like dogs and birds.

Suddenly Kiba seems to stiffen, apparently hearing his name and angrily swinging around to yell back at someone.

"Hey! I told you oil, and eventually renewables would be the way of the future, so don't blame me for the lack of forewarning about Hashima Island going under!"

"Says the financier with a bloody divination department to hedge his investments!"

"The time is always right, to do what is right!"

"And how do you propose we go about that? Half-cocked?"

"That's easy for you and Gosetsu to say Kiba! You own a king's ransom in cars, and he owns a property in almost every prefecture from here to Okinawa!"

"Half of which I'm making no money off because we've packed them full of refugees, and a collection that has barely any vehicles left because Kiba keeps selling them all to support the living and resettlement costs!"

"We will be used again!"

"Gosetsu, please-"

"People in positions of power and privilege have a duty to perform at a higher level! If not us, then who?"

"Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!"

"You're in the same boat as them Tokutomi! The Oshiro clan wasn't entirely squeaky clean either!"

"I'm fine with individuals serving because they feel it is their duty or they wish to contribute, but if the military in involved, associating in any way with them on an organisational level, is a PR disaster waiting to happen!"

"The efforts of the government alone will never be enough!"

"The cards say-!"

"Ideals may make good governments, but governments do not make ideals!"

"You can't put yokai rights on a muggle ballot! That would never fly!"

"I'm not against working with the nomaj government! But if this is a military venture, then we all end up right back were we fucking were 70 years ago!"

"If we believe in equality for all, then we must fight for equality for all, not betray our brothers and sisters through inaction!"

"But we can't act to begin with! We're spread out, tied down with too many projects, and skirting the statute often enough as it is!"

"So what makes getting the help we need, and taking the final logical step to do so in the same move, such a difficult question!?"

"Who's to say we won't just go from one end of the scale to the other! Go into this wrong, and we'll just switch from being oppressed and ignored dumb "beasts", to voiceless curiosities and petting-zoo people!"

"What would you do if your C.O. commanded you to reveal yourself tomorrow Gin?! What would you do, huh?! What then!?"

"My- wait, what?! My oath and duty are to the Japanese people and democratic government! Not the militarised nationalistic cult of personality our father was wrapped up in Rin!"

"You're dodging the question brother!"

"Well sister mine, how the HELL am I supposed to generalise something loaded and without context like that on the spot?!?"

"Those who take no part or make no contribution to the state, should not be surprised when the state only takes paltry consideration for them!"

"We aren't ready for this! We still need at least another two years to re-plan and prepare!"

"Trust in the muggle courts? Hah! When you go to court, you are putting your fate in the hands of twelve people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty!"

To Asuka's observation, this at last seems to get a reaction out of Ai, the kotengu's eyes narrowing in a particularly displeased glare at the disparaging remark towards the legal system. Like some sort of mythical beast awakened from a stone bound vigil, the disguised pilot's eyes slowly drift over each of her comrades in turn.

Kiba pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. Tsukino arguing passionately with someone in the crowd, and looking more like the traditional depictions of Kijo than Asuka has ever seen her. On the other side of the table, the ageing Tokutomi does his best to calm the crowd, only to be drowned out by the roaring din. Up on the stage, Jin has apparently switched roles with Kogamaru, and it is now her who is being held back by Suigetsu, the air around her increasingly feeling like the buffeted spray of a writhing and raging river threatening to burst it's banks. And finally Kogamaru, the at last calm wolf, doing his best to restore order, but unheard over the din except for the sound of his sword's hilt being hammered on the table like a gravel or staff.

Abruptly and without warning, Asuka watches in confusion as the kotengu begins shedding her uniform's jacket, pulls up the back of her shirt, kicks off her shoes and removes her cap, then proceeds to deposit it all into the hands of an equally startled okuri-inu.

"Kiba. Hold this for me would you."

"Ai!? What the fuck are you-"

The dog yokai doesn't get a chance to finish, as abruptly there is the suddenly inhumanly avian and imposing form of an adult kotengu now standing before them. That isn't the only thing that happens either.

As one of the few instinctively aerokinetic yokai not just present, but also paying attention to the suddenly transformed kotengu in their midst, Asuka is one of the only ones who notice the orb of highly pressurised air that forms in the palm of Ai's hand. Watching the uniformed yokai then lob the sphere of pressure towards the ceiling, Asuka covers her ears just in time, as lacking a blade or staff to brandish and rap upon the table, the kotengu instead settles for attracting everyone's attention by popping her invisible magical balloon with thunderous results.

The sound of rapid equalisation and expansion of air upon Ai releasing her control over the compression, is like a gunshot that echoes around the room. Some people duck and swear loudly. Others cover their ears as if expecting further auditory assaults. A few people give rather undignified shouts and screams. More than anything else though, the effect achieved is the near total silencing of the out of control quarrelling she would never have been heard over. In the cowed wake of her stunt, her voice is practically alone, able to deliver a declaration that is easily heard by all.

"Freedom isn't free!"

Already some are recovering, with Jin in particularly rubbing at her ears furiously. "Ai! What the actual fuck?!"

"Don't worry!" Shouts Kiba awkwardly, to many of the more shocked members of the crowd. "It was just a bit of wind magic-"

Ignoring the okuri-inu however, and capitalising on the already fading silence before it disappears completely, with purposeful strides the glowering kotengu doesn't just approach the table, but then with a deft flick of her wings, leaps up onto it. With the attention of the entire room quickly upon her, the black-feathered yokai casts an clawed hand out in gesture at all present, as she turns in place upon the center of her improvised stage.

"Why are we here?! Why are we here, eschewing not just our spare time, and poker games, but in the cases of some, risking jobs, cutting hours, or shirking duties at the risk of being underpaid, fired or charged?! Why are we gathered here tonight, if not in aid of others?! Is that not what unites us?! Are we not a part of this organisation, dedicated to more than just rights in recent years, but the spirit of aid, and the betterment of all?!"

With all the room's attention upon her, Ai employs the full range of her oratory skills; honed from years of working the attention and emotions of juries, while getting across her points to sway their opinions. Looking upon the room and the countless eyes gazing back at her, more than a few the doubters already look shamed by her words. Slowly, the kotengu allows her expression to soften and calm, with her voice following suit.

"The American Civil Rights Activist, Martin Luther King Jr once said 'The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy'. Almost everyone one of us either lives by this, or has abided by it at some point in our activities under this organisation's banner and it's cause. For every time, everyone of us, that I am proud to call a friend and fellow member of the Japanese Non-Human Rights Organisation, has been confronted by challengers, hardship, naysayers, and supremacists, we have surmounted each trial in the names of equality, compassion, morality, and simply because it is the right thing."

Slowly turning in place to take in the entirety of the crowd, the kotengu then emphasises her next point with a questioning hand held out and a determined stance as if daring anyone to disagree with her armor piercing query.

"Why should this be any different?"

Turning dramatically, Ai then begins a slow circuit of her improvised stage punctuating her words with gestures, even as her penetrating stare never leaves the eyes of the crowd.

"For so long we have fought to be seen. We have fought to be recognised. We have fought just to be heard. And now at last, we are approached by those willing to listen. Willing to listen and shape the future, that we stand to not just help mold for ourselves, but will be entrusted to the next generation through the new civic system we will have a chance to help create and leave behind."

"There are moments in life when keeping silent becomes a fault, and speaking an obligation. A civic duty. A moral charge. A categorical imperative from which we can not ignore."

Absently, Ai realises that at some point in her improvised speech, she has created a shakujo out of wind in her hand. For a moment, the ringed-staff of visibly shimmering air brings back memories, a distant recollection of standing beside her sister with a similarly improvised implement, as they practiced the arts and traditions of the debate before their father wielding the real thing. Ai does not allow herself to linger on the memory however, nor the fact that the heirloom she is automatically replicating is far away and in the depths of her apartment, instead sombrely continuing with her impassioned words.

"I know this is daunting. I know this suggestion unnerves and scares many of us here. I feel it myself."

"This is not just money we are moving between worlds and slipping under the table. We are not visiting an isolated community, to blatantly deliver more goods than you should reasonably be able to pack into a car without magic. What we are discussing is so far beyond the scope of piggy-backing on the movements of military warships and aircraft, to surreptitiously drop aid packages for communities as they pass by. We are talking about breaking international Wizarding law, on a scale and intent not seen since the times of our forefathers."

Ai looks around, conveying empathy with her gaze and the burden of shared feelings and experiences in her tone.

"I know why we are scared. We are scared, because for many of us here, this fear for ourselves, and this fear and distrust of authority is all we have ever known to feel towards the establishments we have lived under. Lies. Disregard. Discrimination. Marginalisation. Exploitation. We have all experienced it! Being struck down! Ignored! Shouted and cowed into silence and compliance! Told that we are worthless! Unintelligent! Little better than beasts! All that and worse! For daring to raise a voice!!! For hoping for something better!!! For dreaming of lives without fear!!!"

Taking a moment to pause, Ai exhales slowly, and calms herself from the highly charged tone she had been building to.

"But we can not let that fear stop us."

Gently, Ai levels her barely-tangible shakujo at one of the office's windows, and the sparkling gleam of central Tokyo so many miles distant. A world apart from the cramped, crate filled, ageing, 80's deco building they are gathered in, and using as an improvised warehouse-cum-meeting hall.

"The journey has been long and filled with trials to get to this point. Not all of those who joined us along the way are here beside us to see the finish line at last in our grasp. But we are not there yet."

Quietly, Ai turns her now solemn gaze over the crowd.

"We owe it to all those no longer here to see it through with us, to take the final step for them. We owe it to those we fight for, to ensure all the promises and hardships have not been for naught. We owe to those without voice or presence, who will inevitably still face years without representation or homes to call their own as the government sorts out the humanitarian crises the reservations have become. We owe it to the silenced. The victims of one hundred and fifty years of oppression and cruelty, who at least deserve the justice of yokai playing a part in shaping their own future once more. We owe it to the unborn generations that will follow us, to ensure these chains of discrimination are irrevocably broken once and for all. We owe it to ourselves, to be free of these chains of fear that we still bear upon our own hearts."

Drifting off into silence, none interrupt her as Ai turns her gaze to the shimmering shakujo of wind in her hands. Gently letting the opaquely rippling ringed-staff go, the kotengu's eyes never leave it as slowly, the ubiquitously tengu object begins to distort and fade.

"I know I have already quoted a number of Civil Rights Movement figures, so please forgive me if it thus only feels right to end by paraphrasing the words of yet another, one final time. For if there is one thing I intrinsically know and feel to the bottom my heart about the situation we are now faced with, it is this;"

For one final time, Ai looks into the eyes of the crowd around her.

"You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right."

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Hearing the door to the meeting room open, Harry turned away from where he was discussing something with Rose. When she had arrived at Hogwarts, the Tsukumogami had seemed frazzled somewhat. But after a bit of time, she seemed to have calmed down. At seeing Daphne and Tracy enter the room though, Harry stood and walked over. Upon reaching them, he bowed slightly before taking their hands and kissing their knuckles lightly. "Daphne, Tracy, thank you for coming..."

When he trailed off, Daphne gestured at the two girls who were behind her. "May I introduce Flora and Hestia Carrow of House Carrow? We invited them to this meeting."

There was a small amount of approval in both Daphne's and Tracy's eyes when Harry paused for only a moment before also taking the hands of the twin witches and kissing their knuckles as well. "Ah, I see. I am Harry Potter of House Potter." Introducing Rose who nodded, Harry walked over with them to the table. 'Hmm...'

Lips twitching, Tracy gave him a raised eyebrow. "Is something wrong, Harry?"

Just glancing at her, Harry raised his own eyebrow in reply. "Nothing really, though I am surprised somewhat. Carrow as in two of the... followers of a certain Dark Lord?"

Sharing a glance with her sister, Hestia gave a small nod. "That is correct, Heir Potter. Our mother was a Death Eater though she did go through a trial." Part of Harry noted that she did not state that her mother was innocent. Somewhat intrigued though, the Carrow twin gave a hum. "I am surprised that you know that though."

All Harry did was smile thinly at that before giving a small shrug as Rose made them all tea and they sat down. "Considering what happened with my parents? I was also raised to know as much about enemies as possible. Thus I felt it prudent to perform some research on You-Know-Who."

Both Hestia and Flora gave him considering looks as they sat down, with Flora nodding. "Quite intelligent of you."

Now that they were sat down, Daphne glanced at her elf who nodded. While she had grown to trust the Gryffindor in front of her, she knew that her father would be disappointed if she did not treat it like any other meeting. Especially if it formed bad habits. A smile on her face, she turned and gave Rose a smile. "Thank you, the tea is lovely as always."

Rose for her part smiled softly and tilted her head slightly. "Thank you, Miss Greengrass."

Turning back to Harry as she sipped her own tea, Tracy gave a small smirk. "Before you ask, Harry, we invited them for a reason. They have connections after all and wish to be involved."

Briefly, Harry gave the twins a considering glance. At the time, they were sipping their own tea which made him nod. "I see, well I believe that I will trust you in this, Tracy. Do they have the same... goals... that you do?" Skin crinkling around her eyes from her smile, Tracy gave a nod. 'So they know that the Statute is coming down... but are they here from their families or...' With a look towards Daphne, Harry caught the small shake of her head. 'No then, that's... interesting.'

After another sip of tea, Tracy put down her cup. "Anyways, they have access to ways of selling some of the items that would not go well at auction. Instead, one needs places that rank lower. For example? The various beakers and such once cleaned can be sold at second hand stores which they have connections to."

Head tilted to the side, Harry chuckled a bit before nodding. "That's true enough, I suppose." With a little bit more thought though, the wizard shook it off and then reached into a folder beside him before pushing the contents towards Tracy and Daphne. "Well, here's some of the restored furniture."

Looking over some of the pictures, such as a mahogany desk that practically shone, Daphne frowned. "How was it restored? Some of those who have a look at items will examine them closely. While magic can fix things, one can only do so much or so many times before it begins to fall apart."

Just nodding, Harry moved a paper into view. "Well, as you can see here, we sent the damaged pieces back to Yokosuka. Some of the fairies there were carpenters and the like in life, so they were able to repair them. Once that was done, they could work them until they looked like they were fresh from the showroom."

Tracy rubbed her chin in thought for several seconds before nodding. "That's a lot better then what I was expecting. And they would fetch more at auction then what they would if repaired via magic."

While Tracy and Daphne were looking over the items in the folder, Harry pulled out another sheet and handed it to Hestia and Flora. "These are the items that we found and can't be sold at the auction."

Eyes going along the list, Flora slowly nodded. "Most of these items would be doable. They won't bring in much gold individually, but collectively? It would not be a small amount of galleons... And Muggle money as well."

Seeing him look at them, Hestia took a deep breath before letting it out. "Of course, we would be asking for our cut of the proceeds as a middleman to be in muggle money. For certain reasons."

Eyebrow raised, Harry glanced at Rose who also seemed surprised. Then he turned back to the two and gave a small smile. "I think that something can be worked out..."

An hour and a half later, Harry and Rose were walking back towards the Gryffindor dorms with the Tsukumogami frowning in thought. "Master? I have a question..." Glancing at her, Harry blinked and then nodded. "What did you think of Miss Hestia and Miss Flora? And about why Miss Greengrass and Miss Davis invited them?"

Frowning, Harry thought over the question before answering. "I'm not sure myself, but I have an idea what might be happening." At her questioning look, he shook his head. "Well, a big clue is that they want their share of the profits to be in Pound Stirling, not Galleons. That can only be spent in the non-magical part of the world or..."

Slowly, Rose clued in and her eyes widened. "Or will be the only source of funds once the Statute falls! Do you think that they want to try and get away?"

Eyebrows furrowed, Harry gave a short nod. "Well, that I am not sure about. But if you don't want your money tracked by someone in the magical world? Have it in non-magical money. Especially if you have the people keeping an eye on them being Death Eaters as they might not think about it. Which would also let them disappear into the non-magical world if needed."

Considering that, Rose's frown deepened. "Should you be giving them aid then? If you think that they want to be able to disappear..."

With a small nod, Harry sighed. "Well, I won't deny that it might be an issue. But then there is also the fact that it would break them away from their parents if Voldemort returns. And they would be two people less following him... Which I can't say would be a bad thing."

Still not sure herself, Rose shook her head. "Perhaps I should talk with Miss Nagato as well as Haruna? They might have some insight as well."

Harry just smiled up at her. "That would be great, Rose. Mum would have a better idea then me anyways..." Then his smile faded back into a frown. "Though I don't think that they quite realize how much money one would need though. "

As Rose nodded in agreement, Harry spotted Neville walking up to them and waved. Spotting Harry at the same time, the other wizard walked over with a smile on his face. "Hello, Rose." Getting a smile and a nod from the Tsukumogami, he turned to Harry. "Um, I got some word on what you asked me about to ask Gran."

Becoming excited, Harry perked up some. "What did she say, Neville? I mean, it does look like an odd question."

While the confused Rose looked between them, Neville rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, she does wonder what you want with the barrels. And also asked that I tell you that while one can transfigure vinegar into wine or water into rum, she hopes that you do not... um... Decide to get too much made?"

Her eyebrow raised, Rose gave Harry a look with a frown on her face. "I would hope that you are not drinking underage, Master. Or else I know that I would be most disappointed. And so would your mother."

Flinching, Harry made a motion with his hands. "I don't! I swear, Rose, I don't underage drink!" As she nodded, he relaxed some. "I just asked Neville to see if he could get me some more firewhiskey barrels so more perry could be made. That's all."

Now relaxing, Rose gave him a smile. "Oh! Well, that is a bit different then I expected." Finger against her chin, she hummed in thought. "That would make quite a bit of sense. And I do know that we have discussed buying such items as well since we will be bringing more of the harvest this time." Clapping her hands, the russet haired woman turned to Neville. "You would not happen to know of a place to get some more barrels, would you? Because besides the perry, there is also plum jerkum as well as apple cider. And I have been considering making some lovely blackcurrant wine and perhaps some dandelion wine as well if we find some!"

Rather amused, Harry chuckled a bit. "Let me guess, Junyou-Oba?"

Lips curling upwards, Rose nodded. "Miss Junyou." Shaking her head, she let out a giggle. "She was rather excited when it came up and suggested that it could be used by Haruna and I for a source of funds. Personally, I don't really see it as being that popular but who knows?"

With a shrug, Neville gave a smile. "Well, Gran did say that she would be able to get you some barrels. She didn't say how, but... You'll be able to get what you want."

All Harry did was clap his friend on the shoulder though. "That's great though! Isn't it, Rose?"

For her part, Rose gave a nod. "It does sound that way, yes." Suddenly, she snapped her fingers. "Speaking of drinks, Master, Miss Natsumi asked if I could pass on that she would like elderflowers once they are in bloom."

Blinking in confusion, Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "Elderflowers? Why? Does she want to make elderflower cordial?"

Much to his surprise, Rose nodded. "Well, yes, it does seem that way." Seeing the expression on Harry's face, she waved a hand. "There is to be a school festival of sorts with various drinks. Miss Natsumi stated that since you are not going to be there, she wants a traditional British drink in your honor there and thought that elderflower cordial would be perfect."

Scratching his head, Harry frowned some. "Huh... that does make sense..."

 

[darthcourt10]

RCNAnon

Another snip from me, still "catching up" as it were. This time Ron meets his two blonde friends at the train station before leaving for school.

Ron and Warspite: Promises remembered.
-----------------------------------------------

Finding Warspite in a crowd was usually an issue for Ron, if only because with her in a wheelchair she was most often obscured by passersby. Finding Warspite and Duke in a crowd was easy, as Duke not only exuded the same battleship aura that Warspite did but was also tall enough to see over most heads. Combined with her long, bright blonde hair and the fact that they'd made it onto platform 9 ¾'s simply meant she stood out even more from the billowing wizard robes many of the occupants currently wore.

"Mum," he said, tugging on Molly's sleeve, "Warspite and Duke are here, I'm going to go see them."

Glancing over, Molly saw the same thing Ron did. She gave Ron a sort of perfunctory frown and pulled him closer.

"Give me a hug then and say goodbye properly, I know you'll jabber away with them until it's time to leave."

Ron dutifully gave his mother a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll make sure to write," he told her.

"You better," she said, "Be good and keep up your studies!"

"I will, love you."

"I love you too."

With a small wistful smile Molly remained looking at Ron for a bit before she turned back to his brothers, who hadn't managed to escape yet. Hopefully none of them realized that it was actually him who'd changed the clock back and not the usual suspects.

Trotting over to Duke and Warspite, Ron gave both of them a smile.

"You made it!" he said happily, leaning over to give Warspite a hug.

"We did," she said, leaning in to give him a kiss on the cheek along with the hug, "Thankfully nothing came up."

"That's good to hear," he said, turning to Duke.

Duke gave him a smile, though she seemed a little… stiff. Deciding that he was being silly Ron moved in to hug her as well, though he kept himself from planting his face in her upper works and turned his head to the side.

"It's good to see you too Duke."

With his head turned away, Ron missed the blush that came to Duke's face, even as her hands came up around his back.

"It's good to see you Ron," Duke managed, Warspite smiling at the pair.

As he pulled away Ron did notice that Duke seemed a little red but he didn't think much of it.

"So you'll be gone another couple months before summer break, correct?" asked Warspite over the noise of the platform.

"Yeah," nodded Ron, "Though I might get to come back briefly if I get the oil made."

"It would be good to see you again," said Duke.

"Well there's a Quidditch match in a few weeks," said Ron, "You could come see me then… if you had time of course."

Warspite looked at Duke and smiled.

"Well, we can check our schedules and see if we can make it," said Warspite, "It was quite… fun, last time."

Ron felt himself blush a little bit but he nodded.

"It was."

A twinkle in Warspite's eye passed between her and Duke, with Warspite backing her chair into a nearby corner.

"Come here for a minute Ron," she said. Ron followed automatically with Duke following the both of them.

Reaching into her "hull" and pulling the book forth, as well as making Ron blush a bit, Warspite sat the still pristine tome in her lap.

"Do you remember your promise Ron?" she asked him, her voice somewhat soft as they were granted a bit of relief from the noise and bustle.

"Yes," he said, his eyes darting down to the way her fingers were gently tracing over the cover before latching on to hers, "I will fix you for good."

"This summer, I'll have my part of the deal done," she said, giving him a smile, "It's very close right now but not quite. I wanted to let you know that I'll be ready when you're done with school for the year."

"That… that's amazing," he said, "I'll be ready as well. You will walk again without pain Warspite."

"I know," she said simply. There was nothing else to say for the moment, the two of them lost deep in the moment.

The moment passed, movement beside them drawing Ron's gaze back up to Duke.

"I didn't forget about my promise to you either," he said, "I'll make sure to get the right runes to help. Just uh…" He paused, flushing just a bit.

"I'll make sure she goes shopping properly," Warspite said with a grin, causing Duke to flush in turn.

The trio chatted for a few more minutes about lighter topics before things began to trail off naturally.

"I… I suppose I should be getting on the train now," Ron said, "I'll miss you both."

"I'll miss you too Ron," said Warspite, "Now give me a kiss and don't forget to write."

Ron blushed but he leaned in and gave Warspite a kiss on the lips, his hand cradled gently on the back of her head for a few seconds. Breaking it he felt himself blush even more and then looked between both Duke and Warspite.

"I'll write, to both of you."

"Thank you Ron," said Duke, flushing a bit in a fit of daring and suddenly leaned in to gave Ron a kiss on the cheek, "Now go, you don't want to keep everyone else waiting."

Blushing even more, Ron nodded to the pair and then darted away towards the train. The two battleships watched him go together in companionable silence before Duke broke it.

"So… did you really need to pull the book out in front of him?" she asked dryly, causing Warspite to flush a bit.

"Perhaps not… but it felt appropriate," said Warspite, causing Duke to smirk.

"He already knows you inside and out."

"In theory, not practice. He hasn't seen the real me yet."

Duke cocked an eyebrow at that, causing Warspite to flush further.

"Not like that Duke."

"I know Warspite, you should still watch your words," Duke said with a smile.

Warspite let out a little "hmph" before putting the book away and adjusting her dress.

"You should go visit him during the Quidditch match," Warspite said, "I'm sure you'd both enjoy it."

"I… I couldn't do that," said Duke, a small blush appearing on her face.

"Why not?" asked Warspite, "He specifically invited both of us."

"I… don't have time…" Duke said, stumbling for an answer.

"You have six months and twenty seven days of leave time saved up Duke," said Warspite, giving her friend a sideways glance, "And don't bother denying it, I talked with Prince and the Admiral's secretary before hand, their numbers agreed."

Duke flushed at that, mouth opening and closing several times.

"Don't go pulling an "Iron Duke" on me now," Warspite said.

Duke's mouth closed at that, her face looking somewhat hurt.

"You know I don't like that nickname," she said softly.

"I know," said Warspite, conceding with a nod, "And I'm sorry if it is unpleasant but you were about to get into another situation like the ones that caused you to get that nickname."

Duke was silent for a few seconds and then nodded. "Agreed."

"If you can honestly tell me you don't want to go I'll drop the matter," said Warspite, "I still think you'd enjoy yourself. Not to mention Ron's friend Harry has an allied abyssal stationed with him at all times and different visitors come to every match."

"I… no, you're right," said Duke with a sigh, "I was thinking too much."

"Perhaps," said Warspite with a small smile on her face, "You should try to act more like you did when you kissed him. He enjoyed that."

Duke flushed again at that.

"Not as much as when he kissed you."

"I'm not so sure about that."

The two looked at each other and broke out in grins.

"He's a good man, isn't he?"

"Yes… yes he is."

"How long do you think would be appropriate? For me to stay I mean."

"Mmm… three days maybe? You haven't seen much of the wizarding world, I'm sure you could learn something."

"Three days? I… I'll think on it."

Warspite smiled at her friend.

"I think it'd be good for you. Just like that hug."

"I… did enjoy that."

"I noticed."

Duke just smiled, her blue eyes focused on the train.

The two remained there, chatting with each other until the train left and they waved Ron and his friends away.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

Knocking on the door, Harry waited for a few moments before a voice spoke up from inside. "Come in!" Upon opening the door, the wizard was met with the sight of Flitwick behind a desk with several sheets of parchment. At seeing the Second Year, the diminutive Professor bounced a bit. "Ah, Mister Potter! Come in, come in!"

A smile on his own face, Harry chuckled a bit. "Good evening, Professor. Hope that I'm not bothering you too much..."

Only shaking his head, Flitwick waved him off. "No, no, it's not a bother at all, Mister Potter. Just allow for me to finish up some of the work I have here. Please, have a seat." After the twelve year sat down, the Professor smiled. "Can I get you a drink? One of my students who is muggleborn sent me the most marvelous device." Gesturing at said device, he leaned across the desk. "It's a soda machine and doesn't use any of that... Eleckricity? I hope that I pronounced it correctly, but yes, it doesn't use any. Makes creating cherry soda much easier though I am thinking of doing some charmwork on it."

Lips twitching, Harry shook his head. "No thanks, Professor. I'm not really in the mood for soda at the moment."

Simply nodding, Flitwick pointed a finger at him. "Ah, not a problem. I do have other drinks as well if you want some and..." Pulling out a tin, he pushed it towards Harry before opening it. "I also got some cupcakes as always if you want some."

Now smiling, Harry shrugged some. "Now that, I am willing to have." That got him a large smile from Flitwick as the Professor gave him a cup of tea and passed him a cupcake. As Harry did eat though, he looked over the office. Besides the massive bookcases filled with books, there were other items. Along one wall there were shelves filled with various trophies, all glistening in the light of the office. Each one won in a dueling tournament. There was also the odd weapon or two, which Flitwick had told him were also trophies in their own way. However, it was one new piece that caught Harry's eye as he noticed a framed newspaper article.

Mainly because the young, and rather short, woman in said article had a picture on Flitwick's desk.

Chuckles made him look up to see Flitwick looking at him with a smile before turning to the framed newspaper. "My granddaughter, I am quite proud of her own career you know. A master duelist, like myself. In fact, she was one of those who answered the call and was at the Battle of the Thames during Blood Week. Met her current boyfriend there as well from memory as he was one of the muggle soldiers..." Shaking his head, he gave Harry a wink. "They make for a good match, I think."

That caused Harry to chuckle a bit and nod since he had been told the story before. "Well, you would know better then I do."

Only nodding, Flitwick turned his full attention to Harry. "Right, all my paperwork is done so I think that we can get down to why you are here, Mister Potter." With a hum, he opened one of his drawers and dug around inside. "I've completed the enchantments on those rings you made."

As a ring box was floated over, Harry took and opened it. There, nestled carefully, were two rings made of Jade. Both of them had what looked like Celtic knots covering them for decoration. Closing the box, Harry looked up with a slightly larger smile. "Thanks, Professor."

His lips curling upwards, Flitwick gave him a small nod. "My pleasure, Mister Potter, my pleasure. As per the agreement, both of them have the exact same spells on them. Temperature regulation spells, flame freezing spells, resizing spells, durability charms, and the like. I even added a minor charm that speeds up healing somewhat. It won't do too much, I'm afraid. But minor bangs and such will go away much faster."

Eyebrows raising, Harry blinked in disbelief. "That sort of spell exists?" At the amused look from the Professor though, he flushed a bit. "Um..."

Now leaning back, Flitwick gave him a small smile. "They do indeed exist, Mister Potter. In fact, the Hospital Wing as well as magical hospitals have similar spells, though more powerful due to the area they need to cover, placed on them. They help the healing process along." Looking over his glasses, Flitwick gave Harry a knowing look. "For example, a bruise that might take a week to fade will take a few days. In this case? It would shave off maybe a day or two. More importantly though, it helps cause bleeding to stop sooner and to help with poison as it gives it less time to affect one by breaking it down faster. Used to be used by various Pureblooded families in the much... more vicious past, let us just say."

Weakly chuckling, Harry rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, thanks, Professor. I know that they will really appreciate this."

Raising one eyebrow, Flitwick hummed some. "I'm sure that they will, Mister Potter." With a glance at the pocket where the rings were, the Professor became thoughtful. "Marvellous work, by the way. May I ask how you made them?"

Harry didn't expect such a question and so blinked before he shook off his surprise. "Make them?" At the nod, he shrugged a bit. "Pretty much like how I made the other items I have, using transfiguration to shape the material... Though I did have to use an engorging charm to enlarge them for the more fine detail before shrinking them back down."

Interested, Flitwick gave Harry an intrigued look. "So you used simple magic, cantrips, to create them?" When the black haired boy gave him a nod, he chuckled. "Wonderful, Mister Potter, simply wonderful. Five points to Gryffindor for understanding that the basics can be just as useful as the more advanced magic. So many that I have taught forget that and do not bother looking at other uses for simple magic. You remind me so much of your mother, she understood much the same."

Sheepish, Harry gave him a small smile. "Thanks, Professor."

Just shaking his head, Flitwick returned the smile. "Think nothing of it, Mister Potter." After a few more minutes of conversation, Harry left and Flitwick leaned back in his chair. Oh, he knew that there was quite a bit going on that he did not know about. It always was with his students after all. One big clue for the Professor was when he had asked Harry about who they were for. Harry had explained it was for two people he knew and had commissioned them from him due to various issues they had with magic.

After all, Harry did not say once that they were a witch or wizard, which was one big clue to one such as Flitwick.

Making himself a cherry soda, Flitwick sighed a bit in thought. 'Oh yes, Mister Potter, you are certainly a lot like your mother. She would have done much the same as I am suspecting if given the chance after all. And James would have been right behind her as well the whole way.' Shaking his head, the Professor took a sip of his soda and smiled. 'Wonderful, just the right amount of fizz.'

Upon reaching Gryffindor Tower, Harry headed up to the Second Year boy's Dorms. It was little surprise to him that Hedwig was already there waiting. Chuckling, he walked over and gave her head a stroke. "You knew that I had a delivery to make, didn't you?" In return, Hedwig gave a bark before hopping onto his shoulder and giving his ears a nibble. Unable to help himself, Harry gave a laugh. "Just give me a second, Hedwig. I need to write up a letter for Haru-San as well as Tatsuya-San and Benio-San."

Once he was done, Harry placed the letter to Tatsuya and Benio into a small parcel with the ring box. Then he attached Haru's letter to Hedwig before the owl grabbed the parcel. Lightly laughing, Harry stroked her head again much to the owl's enjoyment. "Now, Haru-San might ask for you to take the rings directly to Tatsuya-San once she checks them, okay? So take your time and enjoy the trip, I'll see you when you get back."

All Hedwig did was give a bark before doing a short flight to the Owl Box. Opening it, she pushed the package inside before walking in and the door closed behind her. Shaking his head with a small smile, Harry stretched some and walked towards the door to downstairs. After all, tomorrow was the Friday before the last Quidditch game of the year and he had to find out what had Ron both nervous and excited about it...
_________________________________________________________________

Wrapped around Natsumi's shoulders, Shiromizu poked her head out of said Kitsune's shirt and cocked her head to the side at what she was seeing. "{Uh, Natsumi?}" Getting a hum, she continued. "{Why are we outside an old, crumbling mine?}"

Looking down at her, Natsumi gave a chuckle as she adjusted the knapsack on her back. "Simple, because appearances can be deceiving." At the confused look, she shook her head. "Just pay attention." It took a minute or two, but Natsumi entered the mine while not paying attention to the sign there. Flicking on a flashlight, she strolled down the old, decaying shaft while muttering to herself. "Now... where was the offshoot again?"

Meanwhile, Shiromizu just frowned in confusion as her friend and training rival continued her stroll. However, at one point she flicked her tongue and blinked at the scents. 'What in the world?'

It was then that Natsumi gave a sharp nod. "Okay, now I know where we are. See right there?"

Still confused, Shiromizu looked and slowly nodded at the sight of a rusted pickaxe that had been driven into the wall. "{Yes? It's a mineshaft, so there would be tools left behind. What about it?}"

Amused, Natsumi shook her head before looking behind her at the dirt and nodding before gesturing once more at the pickaxe. "Follow the handle for a moment. See those rocks there?" When Shiromizu nodded, she began to walk towards said rocks. "That's the entrance."

Blinking, Shiromizu looked at her. "{Entrance? Entrance to what?}"

Now really amused, the young kitsune wagged a finger as she climbed over the dangerous looking rock pile. "You'll see~" Hopping off, she found herself in front of a wooden beam. Much to Shiromizu's surprise, she tapped several places and then moved it to the side easily. All despite said beam looking like it weighed several hundred kilograms. More surprising was that the beam hid a large crack which expanded as Natsumi walked into it. "Almost there..."

When they reached the end though, Natsumi paused for a moment at the sight of the two large Oni there. Both of them wore glasses and one of them had tattoos along his arms to his shoulders. Just as about when Shiromizu was going to tell Natsumi to run, the one with tattoos grinned and looked down at Natsumi and laughed. "Hey! It's Chibi-Kit! What you doing here?"

Huffing a bit, Natsumi shook her head. "Doing a run for Oba-Chan, Tatsuo-San. She asked for several items and Underdark is pretty much the best place nearby for them."

Slowly nodding, Tatsuo frowned before pointing at Shiromizu. "And her? What's her story?"

Also looking at Shiromizu, Natsumi gave a nod. "You can transform here, it's safe." With a look at the Oni, the white snake did so as her friend explained. "Shiromizu-Chan here is being trained by Oba-Chan as well. But she's from an isolated area and so..."

Realization dawning on his face, Tatsuo glanced at Shiromizu before giving a smile. "Well now, welcome to our little place under the mountain. Hopefully you'll find whatever you need, the both of you."

Frowning, Shiromizu looked between Natsumi and Tatsuo before blinking. "Just... one thing?" At their nods, she furrowed her eyebrows. "Underdark?"

With a laugh, Tatsuo nodded some. "Oyabun is something of a geek for western fantasy, so he named it that because it would confuse the wizards. After all, it doesn't sound Japanese at all and, even better, if they look it up they'll find that it's a NoMaj RPG thing. They'll assume that it's from one of those Otaku places or something. The fact that it's pretty descriptive of here helps."

If anything, that confused Shiromizu even more. But then Natsumi softly snorted and gave Tatsuo a look. "Like you're much better! You're an even bigger geek!"

Clutching at his chest, Tatsuo winced. "Ouch, you wound me, Chibi-Kit. That hurts so much I might die." The grin on his face told another story and he gestured further along. "Anyways, if you're running an errand for Haru-Sama, then you better head on. Don't want to keep you for too long after all."

A grin on her face, Natsumi only nodded and walked onwards. Once they were out of sight, Shiromizu turned wide eyes to her friend. "That Oni... are you seriously going somewhere with Yokai Yakuza!?"

Natsumi began to shake and Shiromizu thought that it was from fear. But then snorts and snickers came from the Kitsune before she began giggling madly. "Y-Yakuza!? Tatsuo-San..."

There was a scowl on Shiromizu's chest as she crossed her arms. "I don't see what is so funny, Natsumi-Chan! He has all the signs of being Yakuza what with the tattoos on him! And the way he is dressed and him referring to an 'Oyabun' in charge as well!"

Shaking her head, Natsumi continued her giggles. "Tatsuo-San isn't in the Yakuza, Shiromizu-San. He just likes acting like it for his own amusement when doing stuff like he currently is." As they walked, she waved a hand. "The tattoos are temporary ones, and different from the last time I was here. The Oyabun? It's the bear Yokai in charge of the market here. And both of them are just big, what did Harry-Chan call it?" It took a moment, but the nearly thirteen year old nodded. "Big teddy bears, though that's not to say that they can't fight. Tatsuo-San is a guard at the entrance in case magicals show up... Huh, might need to get Harry-Chan cleared for here..."

Utterly lost, Shiromizu stared at her for several moments. But before she could say anything, they stepped out into a big cavern and came to a stop. Yes, the cavern was large, but was it was what was inside it that made her boggle.

Yokai.

Lots and lots of Yokai just wandering around undisguised.

Not to mention that there were various stalls selling goods in various places. Yes, not expensive goods, but still. At one corner was a Kappa selling fish of various sorts, while beside him was a Kyōrinrin selling books of various sorts. Heck, there was a Yamagichi as well that was selling what Shiromizu recognized as sansai. All over the cavern, Obake provided light as both Natsumi and Shiromizu made their way among the stalls. Wide eyed, Shiromizu looked around in awe. "What is this place?"

Chuckling, Natsumi shook her head. "It's one of the hidden marketplaces for Yokai who are off the reserves." Lips turning downwards in a frown, she shook her head. "Though with rationing there's less to go around. Bartering and trade can be pretty common though, which is why I paid Rose-San for some of her preserves and such as well as getting Harry-Chan to buy some treats and send them to me. Both will get a nice price here. Might find something of interest after all." Waving a hand, Natsumi shook her head. "As to the cavern? It was made by a shussebora a few centuries ago before it made it's way to the sea. It was just built within by carving a tunnel from the mines... One tunnel of many, for escape in case it gets struck in a raid."

Interested, Shiromizu nodded as she could understand that. "Is there many places like this? Because this is the first that I've ever heard of them."

The Kitsune frowned for a moment as she thought it over and shook her head. "There's a number of places like this. Usually they're small though, never more then two dozen or so sellers, and they're in places that you might not expect. An old, seemingly abandoned garage for example. Or a warehouse... I think that some of the old amusement parks that were abandoned were turned into places like this, though there is one hospital down near Nagasaki as well where they set up in the basement."

Understanding, Shiromizu hummed at that. "So in other words, out of the way places that most humans would try and avoid? That sort of thing?" At Natsumi's nod, she smiled a bit. "That does sound good..."

Having heard her trail off, Natsumi turned to her and raised an eyebrow as Shiromizu was staring at something. "What's wrong? Something caught your eye?" When Shiromizu slowly nodded, she raised her eyebrow even further. "Well?"

All Shiromizu did was point in one direction. "Uh... right there?"

With a blink Natsumi turned to where there was a side passage and blinked before blushing. Mainly because sitting on a chair just outside the entrance to the passage was a Kejōrō smoking a cigarette on a long handle. As they watched, an Oni walked in with a grin when she waved at him. "Well... not all the things here or places like it are, um... you know."

Shiromizu also had a blush on her face as she nodded. It did not help matters that due to her tongue, she could taste the pheromones on the air. Unknown to her, Natsumi had it as bad with her sense of smell and hearing as she could just catch some sounds. "There's... no place like that near Yokosuka, right?"

Even though she was blushing, Natsumi chewed her lip before nodding. "There's one place? I mean, Oba-Chan didn't outright tell me the truth as she was blushing a bit. But there's a number of Hone Onna there disguised as normal women. All she told me was that they were there because sailors would be sailors and they would be in and out of the port. Nothing more then that though..."

With a shared look between them, the two continued on while resolving never to talk about it again. Rather, they decided to get their business done and get out before they could be drawn into any more embarrassing situations.

 

[darthcourt10]

Lord K Omake: "Two to Tangu"

Harry Leferts said:
And I don't know why, but I am suddenly reminded of how Japan was trying to get F-22s and that there was a fighter-bomber version, the FB-22... *Turns thoughtful* Something to think about alongside how Ai might feel if the Japanese airships come back looking like Touhou style Tengu...​

Ai in an F/B-22 would be hilarious. With it, she'd then have actual stealth and practical invisibility to WW2 era search radars and radar-based rangefinders, along with all her little tricks for making herself silly-fast, inhumanly manoeuvrable and crazy accurate. Her targets victims would almost never see her coming

She already makes her Fourth-Generation derived F-15j (that is admittedly already souped up to better handle and carry out Abyss Diver strike fighter duties) fly like an F-15 STOL/MTD crossed with a Fifth-Generation multirole fighter trapped in the skin of an F-15j. Her getting her hands on a real Fifith-Gen aircraft would be hilarious, although the Abyss Divers of the 13th/7th are unlikely to upgrade from their current F-15js anytime soon.

I'm not sure how keen they'd be to jump to the F-35, since more than one Abyss Diver (including Ai herself on one occasion she was caught unaware) has lost an engine to damage, and only made it home thanks to the F-15's possession of two. Some have also lost sizeable chunks of wing over the years, and managed to emulate Ziv Nedivi and Solo Wing Pixy (again including Ai) thanks to the wide lifting-body design. Maybe if there was enough of a demand from the JASDF, since so much of what they'd be shooting at in this timeline would be Abyssal naval vessels as well as aircraft, the Mitsubishi ATD-X/X-2 Shinshin might get an accelerated development and a multirole version that trades some of it's stealth aspects to be a better bomb-truck/Anti-Ship Missile slinger.

Also, Touhou style Tengu airship girls could lead to some hilariously meta mission briefs;

"Alright Umiu Flight, we have some new returnee's that are in a unique position of believing they are a joint JMSDF and JASDF responsibility, and need to be brought up to speed on modern procedures, chain of command, and lingo. Tengu, your flight's mission is fly out to Tengu Kogen where some of the new tengu airship girls are staying at the Osen Tengu on Tenguyama, while they aclimatize to the modern world.

At the end of the ten days you have been given, you will test them with an ASW training mission, involving a patrol across the Inland Sea to Tengu Mori, with I-10, U-10 and SS-10 playing OpFor against a friendly convoy, represented by the Patrol Trawler JDS Reporter escorting the Aya, the Shamei Maru, the Tengu Maru and the SS Hayate.

Once they've got that down pat, you will all then rendezvous with the rest of the Squadron at Tengu Dake. After that, we will proceed to escort the tengu airship girls to Okinawa, in perlude for the new ASW campaign. Your escort mission to Okinawa will be called Operation Ten-Gu. Any questions?"

"..... sir, are you fucking with us?"


In a side note, originally while I was writing the reactions to Ai's speech, it occurred to me that with how abruptly she got up on the stage and then commanded the crowds' attention, it's a shame it probably didn't occur to, or give anyone enough time to pull out a phone or take notes, and record her speech.

But then I remembered that penseives are a thing.

Somewhere out there after that J.N.H.R.O. meeting ends, somebody lucky enough to own or have access to one, is probably going to go home, pull out their memory of the night, dive in with a camera, and then start an email chain to people that missed the meeting.

 

[darthcourt10]

Harry Leferts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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