After several minutes of discussion, Nagato remembered something and turned towards Harry, "If I remember correctly, you're going to be spending tomorrow with Natsumi, correct?"
Blinking some, Harry gave a small nod, "Hai, Mum. This weekend is one of the Hogsmeade Visits, mainly so that students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang can go and visit, with a second one in a week as scheduled. From what Natsumi-Chan told me, Taiyang will be coming along with her as she was interested in the town…" Frown, he shook his head, "Want me to cancel?"
However, the Battleship shook her head, "No, Harry. You won't need to cancel it since Taiyang will be able to help guard you." She then turned towards Regina, "Are you going to be going with them?"
Considering that for a few moments, the Abyssal shook her head, "Um, not until the afternoon. Lady Wanko stated that she wants to give me a check up as I am going to be having a long term mission."
The Abyssal Princess in question nodded and gave Regina a small smile, "Yes, it is… always good to… make sure that… all systems are… at peak functionality… thus… a full check… and tune up… Though… as you said… it should not… be more than… a few hours… before that happens… at which point… you can continue… to guard… Little Brother."
Right then, Harry gave a loud yawn and shook his head rapidly as he blinked, "Um, sorry about that."
Gently placing a hand on his shoulder, Regina tilted her head some, "Are you tired, Harry?"
Just rubbing at his eyes a little, the teenage wizard leaned into her hand before sighing some, "Yeah, just a little. I've been up now for… nearly sixteen hours after all."
Frown on her face, Shinano shook her head some, "That's not good, Harry-Chan. You do need a little sleep after all. Especially in a case like this where you need to be thinking clearly."
Lightly chuckling some, Harry shook his head with a small sigh, "I know, I know… But with all this? There's just so much that needs to be done that, well…" He made a gesture with one hand, "You know."
If anything, that got him yet more frowns from those there before Nagato sighed, "Harry? Go and get a short nap at least. We'll be able to handle anything and will tell you everything that you need to know once you get up later." Gently, she helped him to his feet before shooing him, "Now, you go and lay down for a bit so that you'll be able to sleep tonight."
His lips twitching some, the wizard gave her a small hug, "Okay, Mum. I'll see you when I wake up in a little bit."
Also getting up, Regina blushed a little at the looks which she got, "Um… I'll go with him and make sure that he gets some sleep as well…"
With a small chuckle, Wanko gave her a small nod as well as a knowing look, "Go ahead and… do so, Regina. Little Brother needs… some sleep considering… all that we need to do…that is ahead… of us." She then gestured to the others, We shall inform him… of what… we plan to… do once he… wakes up."
Simply nodding, the Re-Class smiled and helped Harry to his feet before leaving with him towards the Head Boy's bedroom. Once the door was closed, both of them sat down on the bed with Regina having a gentle expression on her face as she placed a hand on his shoulder, "Harry? How are you?"
It wasn't "Are you feeling okay?" Nor was it "Are you okay?" Rather, her question was how he was, which Harry appreciated as he chuckled before sighing and placing his face in his hands, "Honestly, Regina? I could be better." Raising his head, he looked at her directly and shook his head as his green eyes met her golden ones, "I'm just so… tired about this. Almost every year something happens around Hallowe'en and throws me into some plot of Tom's. Because the guy simple cannot leave me alone and…" Another sigh escaped from the teen, "I just don't know what to do. Is this all that my future will be? Continually fighting him off? Because he cannot stand that my Mother beat him?"
Feeling her eyes wet, Regina pulled him into a gentle hug, "I wish that you wouldn't need to deal with him, Harry. That you would be able to rest from this. If I could, I would make sure of it. But… you know what?"
With a deep breath, Harry looked up at her, "What?"
Her smile growing a touch, the Abyssal cupped his cheek, thumb brushing under his eye, "I know that in the end, you will beat him. Because it is you and… and you're so very strong. Stronger than he is, and stronger than almost anything else. And I believe that about you… and so does Shinano… and Hachi… and Louisiana… and Natsumi… and all the others. We know that you are more than strong enough to shoulder this burden. But…" Leaning down, she leaned her head against his, their noses touching, "But… while you are strong? We know that there will be times that you are tired. That you will sometimes stumble and trip under the weight of the burden that the world has unfairly placed upon your shoulders. And during those times… We will be there. When you are tired, we will shoulder those burdens to help you along. When you stumble or trip, we'll catch you. And when the time comes… we'll help throw those burdens off."
Looking into her eyes, Harry could see nothing but the purest honesty that was there. She believed in every word that she had said… she believed in him. And, thinking, he knew that the others did as well, which helped him find a little bit more strength. Softly smiling back, the wizard nodded a little, "Thank you, Regina…" Leaning forward a bit, his warm breath ghosted across her lips as she licked them, "Thank you."
And, with that, he gently kissed her, Regina closing her eyes as she enjoyed the feel of it, of him as he placed his hands on her hips. Neither deepened the kiss, because there was no need to. And when they pulled back, the bashful Re-Class nonetheless had a bright smile on her face, "You're welcome, Harry. You're always welcome."
That caused him to nod in reply and chuckle a little as he gave her another quick peck. Something that brought a happy expression to her face before she returned the peck with one of her own and a giggle, which caused Harry to grin some. Just a few seconds later, the teen stood up with a small sigh and shook his head, "Well… I suppose that Mum and the others were right and it would be a good idea to get ready for bed. So…"
Nodding, Regina poked him in the cheek as she stood as well with a soft smile on her face, "Exactly." With those words, she proceeded to take off her poncho/cloak and placed it on a nearby chair. An action that left her in just her usual bikini, which, as usual, caused Harry to swallow a little. Once she turned, Regina blinked and blushed a little as she titled her head, "Um… Harry? Shouldn't you get ready…?"
More than a little flustered at how he was staring, Harry coughed, "Uh, right, right… sorry about that." Standing as well, he reached for the buttons for his shirt before pausing for a moment. Not saying anything for a second or two, he turned back to Regina and looked at her before smiling, "You know, Regina… you really are beautiful."
Right then, the Abyssal went a deep red and poked her fingers together as steam wafted from her ears, "U-um… thank you." For her part, she watched as Harry undid his shirt buttons, placing the article of clothing on top of her own cloak, followed by his pants as he sighed. As he had done, her eyes traced over him, feeling the pressure in her steam lines spike a little, "Er… Harry?"
Blinking, Harry turned towards her, "Yeah, Regina? What is it?"
Lips curled into a smile, Regina kissed him for a few moments before pulling back with a shy, bashful look, "You're very handsome. And I'm glad that you're, um, my Admiral and Flagship."
Yet again, it was the teenage boy's turn to be flustered, but then he gave her a small smile and nodded before kissing her, "Thanks."
The two shared a small, happy smile before Regina pulled back the covers so that they could slip into the bed. Once Harry had climbed into bed, she followed and pulled the blankets back over them, "Harry? Could you, um… get onto your side?"
While curious, Harry just nodded a little, "Sure." Turning onto his side, he looked over his shoulder, "This good?"
Humming, the Re-Class moved until she was against him, pulling him close to her as she spooned him, with her being the big spoon and one of her legs over his, "Mm-hm."
Seconds later, her tail slipped over her and him until it was laying right in front of him, its head on the pillow. For a few seconds, they both blinked before sharing a look and giggling, Shaking his head, Harry's next actions caused Regina to blush alongside her tail as he pulled it close, cuddling it, "There… much better."
For a moment, Regina blinked before nodding, "Much better." Gently stroking his hair, she sighed before kissing the top of his head, "Pleasant dreams."
Already drifting off, Harry yawed a little as he smiled, "Mmm… with you, always."
Cheeks ablaze, the Abyssal stared at him before happily smiling and snuggling with him a bit more as she, too, drifted off.
Meanwhile, back in the "Common Room", Wanko also had a smile on her face as she noted the transmission from Regina before the Re-Class drifted off to sleep. She then brought her full attention back to the conversation, "So Little Brother… will be doing… an interview… with the Wizarding Wireless… then? On Monday… afternoon?"
With a nod, Nagato had a serious look on her face, "Hai, which is something that is extremely important." Seeing the confused looks from the Abyssals, she shook her head, "There will be a lot of rumors flying around about what happened. And there will be those who will, no doubt, attempt to use said rumors for their own purpose. Hence, we got an appointment with the same witch as last time to do a live interview. Mainly to try and kill as many of the rumors as possible."
Very slowly, Tanith nodded though she had a confused look on her face, "If you say so, Grandmother. Though I am unsure why still… but if you think that Uncle Harry needs this, very well."
Only shaking her head, Iku frowned some, "I wish that Naka-San was here, because she would explain it better. But… the thing is that there are those who would use this to hurt Harry in the eyes of the public. So if we get our version out, coming straight from his lips? It will cut a lot of their efforts off at the knees."
That got her nods of understanding as the various members of the Fleet of Laughter had somewhat confused looks on their faces. Yes, they understood some of it due to their own efforts with PR. But it still confused them about the whys regarding it.
Just a few hours later, once the Vanishing Cabinet was emplaced so that she could step through it and reach the one under Percy's house, and then through to Yokosuka before entering a final pair to the Timor Sea, Wanko sighed a little bit. Then, she blinked and looked around before frowning, "Where is… Revina?"
Both of them blinking, Rainy Spring and Clover looked at each other before the Destroyer Princess turned towards their superior, "Lady Wanko? She is back at Hogwarts still…"
Puzzled look on her face, the Destroyer Water Demon nodded, "Yeah, she said that she had business there for some reason… and you just nodded when she asked you."
Utter silence met that pronouncement for several seconds that stretched on for nearly a minute. Then, reaching up, Wanko pinched her nose and sighed, "… Because of course… she used the… fact that I was… distracted for such…" After a moment of thought, she shook her head before she began to walk, "Very well then… I suppose that… it won't… cause me too much… problems… if she chases… those two."
One could almost imagine question marks appearing above the two Destroyers' heads. But then they shook it off as Revina just being herself. And, besides… Revina was also one of their most loyal members and liked Harry as well, though mainly because he made her sister happy. Though they still wondered what their Princess meant by her chasing someone…
For Wanko, she continued to walk away from the Vanishing Cabinet, before Harbor Demon arrived, with Wanko giving her a nod, "You are wondering… what is going… on, Ruby?"
With a nod, Ruby frowned some as she bowed slightly, "Yes, Lady Wanko. As is most of the Fleet." Her eyes narrowed some and glowed slightly, "Do we know whom we are to kill yet?"
Just shaking her head, the Harbor Princess sighed, "No, not yet. But that will… come in time. And when it does… we will make… them regret threatening… Little Brother." She then fixed Ruby with a look, "Ruby… gather together the… available Flagships, Demons… and Princesses. We must discuss… what is happening… and will happen. I will speak with… Supprin myself… about a few matters… before the meeting."
Bowing deeply, Ruby nodded, "Yes, Lady Wanko, as you command."
Wanko watched her walk off for a few moments before giving a nod towards Rainy Spring and Clover, both of whom also went off to help Ruby. Then, she made her own way through until, several minutes later, she reached Supprin's office and knocked. She waited until a voice told her to come in and entered to find Supprin there blinking, "Supprin."
In reply, Supprin gave Wanko a bow, "Lady Wanko, how did it go? And can I be of assistance?"
Smiling slightly, the Harbor Princess walked in and sat down on the large chair that was there, it creaking beneath her weight, "It went as… well as could be… expected, I suppose. The foolish… magical politicians… still will not… redo the choosing… so Little Brother is stuck… the tournament still."
Only rubbing the side of her head, Supprin shook her head, "I was afraid of that, Lady Wanko. As was Percy…" Pausing, she chewed her lip a little, "You're not angry at him, are you?"
Relief appeared on her face as Wanko shook her head, "No, I am… not angry with… Percy. He has… tried to help… and thus I… do not lump… him in with the fools… that I am annoyed… at."
Just nodding, the Supply Depot Princess sighed, "That's a relief."
Unfortunately, moments later Wanko gained a smirk on her face, "Yes, I suppose… that it would… be a relief… to you. But you… might want to… help him find… some relief and… release some stress… soon."
A bright blush appeared on Supprin's face at that, "L-Lady Wanko!" Internally though, she was chewing her lip, 'Though I suppose that I could use that for an excuse…'
Eyebrow raised, the other Princess gave her a look that only caused the blush to deepen. Shaking her head, Wanko's smile vanished, "One good thing… has come from… this as Patty… has gifted this… to us."
She then pulled out a folder and handed it to Supprin who scanned it, looking over the design inside. For a few seconds, she hummed while rubbing her chin, "A version of the Bloodsucker modified for anti-shipping?" At the nod, the Supply Depot leaned back, "I can see why this would be useful. Bloodsuckers don't use a massive amount of resources compared to the Liberators. So we could churn them out in greater numbers, and since one of the Wo are due to ascend to a Airfield Demon… Yes, I can see why this would be very useful indeed due to what is happening in the Indian Ocean since it is looking ever more likely that she has survived."
Grimace on her face, Wanko nodded a little, "Yes… which is also why… I must know… if we have the resources… for large scale… production."
Running the numbers in her head, the other Princess nodded, "We do have the numbers, though we might need to lower the number of Nightmares. Still…" She tapped the papers in front of her, "These will vastly improve our ability to punch above our weight."
Frown on her face, Wanko gave a small nod, "That is very… good news as… we may need them… sooner than… we might like…"
Sigh escaping her, Supprin ran a hand through her hair, "Agreed. I hate it, but you're right."
With a slight nod, the Harbor Princess then cleared her throat, "In regards to… if you are… able to help… with the current… situation? I wish… to know if… design for the… mobile shore artillery… is now complete."
Looking at her for a few moments, Supprin got up and walked towards her filing cabinet before pulling out two folders. Making her way back to her desk, she set them down in front of Wanko before opening them, "Design work is done, though we still need to create the prototypes before we can begin production. Iron out all the bugs for them." Slight frown on her face, she met Wanko's gaze evenly, "You want to use them as guards, right? For Harry?"
Very slowly, Wanko nodded as she looked over the drawings, "Yes, because it… would allow for us… to use them… without too much… worry of them… breaking down at… an inopportune… time."
Just leaning back, the Supply Depot considered what she had just heard before nodding, "Makes sense, I suppose." Sitting back up, Supprin looked at the designs in front of her, "I would say that they're overkill for what you want, but then you did assign Regina to Harry. Frankly, having them do some tests before we produce them in numbers for the islands under our control will give me relief. Though, to be honest, I'm thankful that we were able to get so many design notes for those 'Rattes' that the humans had found. Duel eleven inch guns on a mobile platform will kill anything short of a Battleship and hurt even them…" A smirk then appeared on her face as she took the other folder and pushed it towards Wanko, "Which this version will be able to deal with."
Intrigued, Wanko opened the folder to reveal what looked like a massive tank, except where the other one had two main guns, this had just the one, though larger. Reading some of the notes, she raised an eyebrow, "Fifteen inch… gun?"
With a slow nod, Supprin smiled a little, "Yes, though it needed some work on stabilization and such. I did manage to find a few mentions in the notes that we got from Percy regarding one that was captured by the Allies at the end of the war. Still, if we use them on the shores of Timor Leste, we can free up Battleships and the like to hit at sea."
Lips curling into a small smile, the other Princess nodded, "Yes… which will be… a very nasty… surprise for… her if she… tries to attack…" She then looked up at Supprin, "And the other… project? Do we have… the resources for… it?"
Sucking her teeth some, Supprin gave a very small nod, "We do, since some of our scouts found a couple of sunken Container Ships. We're salvaging the containers themselves, which will give us a large amount of steel to make use of. Alongside the other projects, we should be able to lay down the first of the Self-propelled Dry Docks by January." She gave Wanko a look, "They'll only be able to hit twelve knots at top speed, but… they can handle any ship up to about fifty thousand tons. A definite game changer if Sub-Continental is around.'
Yet again, Wanko gave a sigh, "Let us hope… that the Princess… up in Yokosuka… is mistaken about… her mother being alive. But, if she… is… then I am afraid… we will need… every edge possible… in order to… survive alongside… our human and… shipgirl allies."
Rubbing her ring with her thumb, the Supply Depot Princess gave a small nod, "Agreed…"
Or Sieglinde Malafe?
