Chapter 34

The next day went almost exactly as planned. Serious adventurers like us had no problem getting into a military mindset. And after a couple of hours of getting the Volralden and Arpeggio set up with the wire machine and double checking one last time that everyone knew how to process the metals we'd been given, I was back up on the base and helping the JSDF and Itami's Girls run drills.

We couldn't really plan for the monsters. We knew they were going to be there, we knew they would be hostile, but we didn't know numbers. I could have, if I really wanted to, done something similar to what I did with Rias and Sona when I did group exercises. But since I was part of the 'defence', and didn't want to show off any more than I had already, I decided against it.

Instead, Aisha, Hagane, myself and even Roku went over what we knew of the terrain, the monsters we expected, and all the other 'fiddly details' a proper scouting team would be looking for. Also on the list were things like getting Tuka and Yao used to someone (me) feeding them mana. I had to be careful, since I didn't want them to suddenly explode, and they had to be careful, so they didn't say... put the entire base to sleep, or throw a fireball that would have incinerated them as they cast it.

Then, the first thing that wasn't exactly to plan happened. We got a surprise visit on the training field.

"That's adorable." Aisha said as we finished up yet another drill, and thus could pay attention to something other than what we were doing.

She pointed and I looked, "Is that... Lelei on a tank. Yup, that's adorable. Wonder if they'd let her drive one?"

Maki came over scrubbing her arm over her forehead, "She could probably put a hole through one, why would she need to drive one?"

I'm not a military nut like Maki, but had heard one of the Engineers call it a 'Type 74' or 'Nana-yon'. Like most tanks you'd imagine, it had the long/wide body, caterpillar treads and a turret. Lelei, in her adorable way, was half visible as she stood up from the turret hatch where a secondary machine gun turret was placed. What made it adorable however, was the slightly too big helmet she was wearing as the tank rumbled forward. Every time the tank bounced a little, she'd have to reach up and tip it back again. There were also two more tanks behind her as well.

"Huh. Commander is pulling out the big guns I suppose." Itami said as he came over to join us in Adorable Lelei watching. "Though, after what came through the Gate, I can't even call them overkill."

Shino, who had been arguably the most enthusiastic of everyone while we drilled, came over as well. "Shame they're so old though. I mean, sure, they got that fancy suspension and all that, but they were out of style like what? Thirty years old now?"

Maki and I shared a look, from one history buff to another, "If it's not broken, why fix it?" I shrugged, "Wonder how heavy those are."

The two JSDF looked at me like I was crazy, while Aisha laughed. "Um... if I remember right, they'd weigh more than twenty five of Hagane?" Itami did a little counting on his fingers, "Yeah, the Boss said he was just over a ton and a half, and those average about thirty eight, depending on who's driving and what it's loaded with."

"Think you could do it?" Aisha asked, nudging me and once again getting the two JSDF to stare at me like I'd grown even more tails.

Even more so when I looked like I was considering on asking if I could try. "Hope I don't have to find out?" It would probably burn me out for the rest of the day if I seriously put the effort in, that's for sure.

"Still, what are they doing here?" Maki, best little sister, diverted the topic from me.

A moment or two later, the three tanks rumbled to a stop in a perfect line in front of us. With a nimble little hop, Lelei got out of the turret, hung her helmet on the end of the .50 cal gun barrel, and made her way off the tank. A moment later, the other two tanks popped the top hatch, letting whomever was inside peek out and get some air as Lelei stopped in front of Itami.

"We came up with an idea." She said.

The idea was actually pretty good. Won't lie, I hadn't even considered it myself.

As mentioned, tanks are very heavy. They are also well armoured, have BIG GUNS, and unless you do something like say, hit it with another tank, tank shell, or (pure speculation at the moment) me on a bad day, they generally didn't stop for anything.

They ALSO had that fancy suspension Shino mentioned. Oddly enough, they actually had suspension similar to some cars. Instead of 'leaf springs' and heavy shocks, they had a hydro-pneumatic suspension. Ever see those custom cars that could tilt themselves crazily? Ride low, or high, lean forward or backwards? These could do it too! It allowed for all kinds of interesting angles when trying to aim the main gun, or allow them to angle themselves while in a bunker to reduce their profile.

While the tank driver explained all this, the other driver demonstrating, Lelei described the actual plan now that the new 'tool' had been introduced.

"This here." Lelei said, walking us to the side of the tank, "Instead of us trying to carve a circle into the stone with magic or by hand, we considered an alternate method."

And there, bolted to the side, was a simple looking bracket and a sword that had been welded in place. The sword's point was gone, scraped clean off by friction, but the idea looked to have been tested.

"So, you want to put a blade or something in here, and plow a circle into the ground around the Gate?" I asked, standing up after looking at the blade. The poor militia man who owned this would be very sad.

"The idea works on soft ground." The Driver said, "And driving in a circle is about as simple as it gets."

Not knowing how to drive, I deferred to the expert's opinion, "And using that tilt, you can get the blades to gradually cut into the stone... Okay. I see where this is going."

"After the example of Aisha's archery, I am sure you can make a blade for the task." Lelei said.

I hmm'ed, "Weapons aren't really my thing. But maybe."

"You did a great job with my knife." Shino grinned, almost sparkling at me, "Say... could you make me a new one?"

The JSDF all rolled their eyes at the close combat mini-maniac. "Suppose I can." I looked to Lelei, "What about the actual circle?"

"Come and see."

"Inanimate objects only was not a joke..." Maki said, eyes wide.

In short, the circle, the 'quarter sized' example that used some of the gold wire we'd already made and the gems Lelei had deemed appropriate, worked. The super complex circle lit up, glowed super bright and flashy, and with all the magical noise you'd expect (like a mix of 'fizz' and 'fwish' with a dash of 'bzzt') the objects we'd placed inside the circle appeared a hundred metres off at the 'receiving' end.

The objects, as they went IN to the circle were as follows. One of Shino's knives (not the one I'd remade of course). The helmet Lelei was wearing. One of my potion pill bottles (half full). And a bit of fruit that had this world's equivalent to a worm in it, donated from the mess tent.

The objects, as they came OUT however... The knife and helmet were fine. My potion pills however acted like they'd been shaken, and was now more like a lump of potion jello. Still smelled and tasted the same, but I wouldn't have trusted it on the field now.

And a piece of fruit that looked like a very small grenade went off inside of it. The worm inside the fruit had been obliterated.

"Yeah, okay. Thank you for the warning Fels." I mumbled, "But it works! That in of itself is the biggest relief. How do you feel Lelei?"

She handed Aisha one of the metal potion tubes we all carried, "If it wasn't for those, I'd only be able to do it twice, maybe three times, before falling into a short term coma."

Aisha made a show of looking into the empty tube before plugging it into her potion loop on her belt.

"Well, good thing I'm here then." I nodded feeling a little excited. It might be a little far off, but this was yet another innovation I might be able to use to 'disaster proof' Orario. "Suppose I'll go get those tools made... Someone else will have to test them, and I might need to talk to that Mama Dragon for some more scales... Where'd she get to anyhow?"

Apparently, the Mama had been put with all of the stuff my party and I had earned while here. And that place was the space where the destroyed hangar used to be. The monster invasion had left the building a total wreck, but in true neat and tidy Japanese fashion, that space had been cleared of anything that was no longer useful, leaving nothing but the stubs of the four corner supports that formerly held up the now missing hangar.

And some thoughtful soul had wrapped a length of bright yellow caution tape around those posts, and parked all our acquired stuff there. Except... the Mama Dragon was there too.

Thankfully, Giselle was there as well to answer my question of, "So... I really am keeping her too." I had honestly thought my newest project would be a ground zero type of thing, except Duran had left the Mama here, "And if you're here in this lot, do I get to keep you as well?"

Giselle, who had been hand feeding the dragon what looked like a massive cow leg, turned her attention away from the (surprisingly gentle) nibbling dragon, "Hey! I am not... oh... please don't tease me too?" She said when she saw me grinning.

Faced with such an earnest request, I nodded and got closer, the dragon's eyes tracking me, "Sorry. But still, didn't expect her to stay. And no, you may not nibble at my tails." I made sure to stay just out of easy reach. Not that I was afraid of getting hurt. I just didn't want to spoil any potential good relations with this one by disciplining it.

"Well, it didn't want to leave, and Lord Duran doesn't have much use for her anymore. He's already got a den mother, and it wouldn't be long before this one here would have ended up pushed from the pack. Even in captivity, some things don't change." Giselle started using her other hand to rub the bony beaky nose of the Dragon.

"Luck for me then." I nodded, "If they are anywhere near as smart as I think they are, she'll save a lot of time on training." I got a little closer, and joined in on the nose rubbing, "We adventurers usually have a black and white view on dangerous animals. Having one who's already used to people will help immensely."

"She's a good girl. Just don't expect her to pull massive wagons or ride into battle. Yes yes you are a good dragon." She then stuck her somewhat bloody hand into the dragon's mouth, giggling a little as it cleaned it off, "There, all done." Then to me, "Though, now that I think about it, why are you here? I thought everyone was doing all that stuff for tomorrow?"

"We are. But I needed something, and was hoping for some fresh materials." Apparently for this dragon, lunch time was the only thing worth standing for, and now that there was no food to be had, she just lowered herself down to her belly and accepted nose rubs like some massive dog. "Need a few more dragon scales to make some special tools."

"Oh! Well, since I'm here, lemme teach you what to look for, so you don't just yank good scales off. That'll hurt, and well..." She walked along side the dragon, rubbing her hand over the slightly exposed gum line with the pointy teeth that grew from it.

One dragon belly rub later, Giselle and I made our way to the smithy in town with a couple handfuls of fresh scales. She even flew there and carried me! Being the kind of person I was, I could tell there was some magic going on with her, much like the Wyverns. But that was okay, my logical mind had basically hung up its hat and resigned itself.

The Volralden was there, his wolf face smiling happily as the work was getting done. With the various people here helping, there were already several spools of gold wire set off to the side, as well as neat stacks of other metals that had been melted down into fresh ingots, ready for whatever they'd be worked into next.

Arpeggio was still here, though she was close to being out of things to do now that almost all the fancy stuff had been melted down and separated again. That was okay too, since she was A: getting paid, and B: going to be keeping the gold when it wasn't needed anymore. Perpetually poor to potentially filthy rich in a week. She was also exercising her abilities as one of the foremost Geomancers on the continent. I mean, who doesn't like showing off a little?

And to my surprise, Rory was here, sitting on a crate marked 'IRON' (in both Japanese and whatever the local language was) and watching people work.

"What? Am I not allowed to watch?" She asked as I walked over to her to ask, of course, what she was doing.

"Cause no trouble and be welcome." I shrugged, "Though, I didn't think you'd be interested in watching... oh." I gave her 'the raised eyebrow'. There were a lot of JSDF here, and being around all those furnaces had given them reason to strip off their shirts, leaving them in undershirts and camo-pants.

"It's obvious men aren't your thing, but they are mine." She gave her lips a subtle lick, "But what are you doing here? Don't trust them to get things done?"

"Nah, got a special request for something for 'the plan'." I started taking dragon scales out of my pouch, "I'm assuming you want to come along tomorrow?" She hadn't said so, and I wanted to know for sure.

"Yes, I think I will." She nodded, "Going to say no?"

"Not at all." I grinned, "Anyhow, work to do." I turned, "Master!" I called out to the big wolf man, "Need the oven!"

I was just getting the scales up to temperature in the oven when Shino arrived. She was a little miffed it seemed, "You left me there!" She pointed at me.

"I got an air lift." I said, nodding to Giselle, who was watching what I was doing with great interest. I mean, dragon scales were already a prized item here, but refining them into something even more useful? That meant money, and being able to walk into a pack of wild dragons and harvest them without fear? "You really want me to make you a knife, don't you?"

"Hell yes!" She nodded, "I'll be going along tomorrow, so you bet I want the right gear for the job."

I sighed, but was smiling, "Fine fine... If there's enough left over..."

She then took off her field pack, and pulled out a small coat of raw dragon scales that had been wired into an actual vest of armour. "Lelei said she wants this remade, and that that the rest be used to make weapons."

"Oh... well, suppose I don't have much else to do for the day..." I sighed, "Master!" I called over my shoulder.

"Sensei?" I felt a little warm fuzzy feeling go through me as the Volralden spoke in Japanese just for me.

"Another lesson! I need you to make..."

As the metal melting finished up, I made sure to keep the soldiers who'd been manning them around to help. What I'd taught the Smith was a simple 'punch press'. If Lelei wanted me to remake her scale coat, (that I will note, never noticed her wearing since she wore those robes all the time) I'd make it properly, with uniform scales and proper wiring. Sure, he knew how to make one, but the cutting edge needed a little extra care for the material we were working with.

Oddly enough, once I explained to the handful of JSDF who stuck around why I still needed them, they were happy to help. Lelei, while on the 'special list' of dangerous people, was like a kid sister to everyone, and if it helped them to help her, a little extra time away from the showers and lunch was fine.

So, while I processed the scales, they cracked open the reclaimed material crates for iron and made more wire.

The smith, after he made the new punch press and I had gotten what I needed to make the special cutting blades set aside, went about hammering the 'dragon metal' down into thin strips, then punching scales out of it. After that, they went into a second oven for heat treating (to adjust the hardness of the scales so they wouldn't shatter like glass to a sharp impact), then the more nimble handed JSDF who were here would start wiring them together into an actual vest for the girl.

Poor Shino was making pouty faces every time I put off setting aside a little extra metal for the knives she wanted made, but then she asked me a question...

"You know... something's been bothering me for a little while now." She said as I put the half formed blade into the forge to heat up again.

"Hm?" I didn't turn to look her way, since this stuff was a little more picky than actual metal, and overheating it might cause it to crumble, almost like clay.

"You said 'weapons aren't really my thing'. But you made this for me, and it's amazing!" She gave the sheath of the knife I'd re-forged a loving pat.

"Rory!" I called, knowing she was still around... someplace. "Shino? Gimme one of your spares." I held out a hand.

"Sure!" And the hilt of a naked bayonet was placed on my palm.

"You called m-"

And I stabbed the Apostle in the heart, without looking.

Even if it was a smithy, with a dozen people working in and around it... suddenly, the only noise was the roar of the furnace.

"As you can see." I handed a VERY shocked Shino a handful of bayonet bits, like the handle, crosspiece, end bracket and little screw than held it all together. Notably missing, was the entire blade. "I can't actually use weapons."

Then like nothing had happened at all, I pulled the bar of metal out of the furnace and started hammering.

People started breathing again as Rory giggled, dusting off her nice (new) Goth-loli 'uniform' "I had wondered exactly what your curse was."

"And now you know." I nodded, picking up a hot-cut chisel and cutting off a length of the metal and setting it aside, "Shino? Take the tongs there and put that someplace out of the way for now."

Her name snapped her back into focus, "Ah yes ma'am!"

"Very dramatic." Rory said, hovering near my shoulder, out of the way of my swinging arm, "I didn't even feel it. Is it like that with all weapons? But not this?"

"A hammer is a tool." I said, "But since this isn't my hammer, I'm not going to try hitting you with it to prove it."

"Now I know why you don't have any weapons on you at all... Interesting."

"That's right." I nodded, "Now, if you're going to come along tomorrow, could you go back to the base and chat with Itami and Ryuu? They've got the plan and list of do's and do not's. If it's going to work, we need you as a team player."

She seemed to consider that, but didn't answer until I put the metal back in the fire and looked directly at her. "Very well."

"Thank you."

As with any weapon I made, if I could, I would hand off sharpening to someone else. So it was the Volralden who handed Shino the new bayonet blade. Since this was not a normal metal, and it didn't actually discolour when heated up (like almost all normal metals) this blade was SHINY. Like it had been made of solid mercury. I could have stained it, but I didn't have anything on hand to do it and we were in a hurry.

And it was worth it to see Shino sparkle almost as bright as the blade when she held it. I could have sworn the JSDF who had stuck around were trying not to make a show of shielding their eyes.

"It's like a feather in my hand..." Shino said, making a few careful motions with the knife. Excited or not, she was quite mindful of the people around her, "And the ed-"

"Don't." I said firmly, making most of the room freeze, "Test the edge on this, not your thumb." And I handed her a bit of firewood.

She put the wood on the anvil, but the Smith picked it up and put it on the floor instead.

Now, most people would test the edge by slamming the blade into whatever they were going to cut. Shino however put the blade to a corner of the wood and with no effort shaved a neat curl off the side. Next she applied it to the widest edge, and made what amounted to an envelop sized plank.

This made the JSDF 'ooo' with appreciation. Did you know they have competitions for wood shaving? Have you ever seen a wood shaving you could see through? Shino wasn't going that far, but it was pretty impressive.

Delicate tests done, she put the log on its side, and with a 'YA!' cut the log against the grain, the blade passing through without issue, the curved tip sticking into the stone of the workshop floor. This got a round of applause from the JSDF, who once again had to avert their eyes from the sparkling close combat maniac.

"That's... amazing!" She said, making me want to put my mask on, just so I didn't have to squint at her, "It didn't bind or anything!" She held the knife up so she could look down the edge, "And there isn't a mark on it!" She put it back in the sheath her spare had come from, then hugged it like a teddy bear.

"It is very sharp. But do not heat or cool." The Volralden explained.

I nodded, then looked to the worktable where Lelei's new vest was, "All done there?"

"Yes Ma'am." The nearest JSDF said, "It's a little heavier, but I think she'll be okay."

"We used more iron to wire it together than before." Said another.

There was a moment of silence, with everyone looking at everyone else, then around themselves, "We're done, aren't we?"

Another round of looking, and I stood up, "Just got to carry it back." I said while looking at the spools of wire, crates of metal, and the still sparkling Shino, "Yeah. Good work."

There was a hearty "Ooo-RAH!" and with machine precision, everyone picked up a spool of wire and marched out of the shop.

Arpeggio, who had stuck around long after she was needed came over, her face covered in soot (like anyone else's would be after working near a coal forge), "I've learned so much in the last few days about minerals, I'm wondering if I even qualify to be called a scholar." She said, looking up at the Wolf-man, "I had no idea blacksmiths could do this kind of thing with metals, it's like an entirely new field of study for me."

"Only so much you can learn from one direction." I said, "Master. You carry the chisels, I'll pick up the last couple of spools."

We spend a moment making sure we had everything before he put the 'closed' sign out and started on our way back to the Fort. He then said, "I never thought about writing things down. I learn by doing, not by reading. Try, fail, try again, remember." He rumbled with his version of a chuckle, "Paper burns too easy to keep around."

I'd almost forgotten how primitive this world was, but this was yet another reminder. They were still at the 'master/apprentice' stage of learning trades. Aside from Rondel, no one wrote things down for others to learn. Thinking on it for a moment, this also made it easy for the Apostles to 'prune' knowledge.

"You know. You should start a library in this town." I smiled, "I just happen to know a cheap easy and reasonably fast way to make paper too." The two of them looked at me, "I'll tell you how on the way."

We returned to base, and with a very careful flourish, handed over the dragon scale chisels to the Pit Boss. I also had to stop him from testing the edge with his thumb, but he did anyhow. So, now with a bandage over his thumb, they went about welding together a sturdy rig they could bolt to the side of the tanks.

After that, I gave the big wolf-man a handshake and told him to get a shower and some sleep, then Arpeggio and I headed towards the showers ourselves. If we hurried, we could clean what felt like a year's worth of grit off our skin and get to the mess tent before it closed.

Sadly, cleaning that much soot off took time, but some thoughtful soul had saved us something. It was a little cold, but I showed off just a little and used a bit of foxfire to re-heat this world's version of mashed potato and not-cow stew.

Refreshed, fed, and feeling like I'd gotten something done (after that weird day of getting nothing done), I went looking for Itami.

"There you are." I found him a few doors away from my party's door, chatting with Lelei, Tuka and Yao. The two elves were apparently looking at Lelei as she did a 'does this look good on me' twist, her new scale shirt glittering with the movement.

The four of them looked at me, "This looks really good." Tuka said, "And you made it fit her so well!"

"It's a shame we sold all the scales." Lelei mumbled, "But yes, it is more comfortable than the last one." She gave it a few pokes with her finger, "There is less gap as well."

"The best armour is not putting yourself in danger." I said, "Of course, for us that's not possible."

"It's good my little sister is better protected." Arpeggio nodded, "Oh, are you growing?"

Something dangerous flashed in Lelei's eyes, and she took her robe back from Itami and stuffed herself back into it with a huff.

A second of nervous laughter later, "I think we are ready for tomorrow." Yao said, "We've practised the drills, worked with the iron chariots, and picked who is staying here, and travelling with you to this Orario of yours."

"I do plan on stopping in Telskyura." I said seriously, "So if any men are coming, special measures need to be taken."

A pause, then nervous laughter and a 'back of the head' scratch from Itami, "eh... well, we'll manage." He said, then looked to me, "I'm about to do final inventory of the stuff we need. Want to come with?"

"Sure. Nowhere to be but bed at this point."

It was a smaller building just within sight of the Gate. I could tell it was out destination easily enough, I mean, no other building within sight had four armed guards at the door. I suppose that the 'mission critical special equipment' would warrant the extra security, but considering the vast difference in combat potential, who would steal from them?

Protocol is protocol I suppose.

With a nod and salute, one of the guards unlocked the heavy steel door and opened it up for us, letting Itami and I in.

It wasn't just for mission critical stuff it seemed. This was a weapon's room. Lockers upon lockers, rows of rifle racks, crates of stuff marked 'AMMO' and 'HI-EX'... This was where, arguably, the most dangerous stuff was kept.

I stood there for a moment, looking at all the 'cool stuff', and wondering what Maki would have thought. Then I remembered we were supposed to be 'ignorant savages' and having to act like she didn't know what all this stuff was would have spoiled her mood.

"This way." Itami called out.

Following him past the racks of rifles, some crates of Ammo and a box labelled 'Hide from Shino :)' I found him standing next to a neat stack of wire spools, some crates marked with the word 'rations' and a few other things I recognized from Roku's equipment setup. Jungle gear mostly, but a few other gadgets that I knew from my long lost days as a Scout. Just with a more military look to them.

After a quick look, some mental calculation, and the notes I remembered Lelei writing, I nodded, "Yeah, I can't fault anything here."

"Funny you say that. I mean, we're supposed to be from a world more advanced than yours, but you look at our equipment like it's inferior."

"You're only half right." I said, "Your weapons and equipment reflect what you've been fighting. Against other people with similar or inferior weapons, they're great."

He mulled that over for a moment, then shrugged, "I suppose. I mean, we don't have magic, we don't have monsters. Just other people. Until now that is."

Something in his pocket buzzed, and he looked down at it, then took out a smart phone. I gave him a raised eyebrow while he read it.

Then I felt it again. That sense of near bloodlust, of someone trying to stare holes in my back. But... we were in a large closed room, with no windows and thick concrete walls between us and the outside. Still, I started to turn around, "The hell..." I mumbled.

"Sparkle, sparkle, Kaboom!" I heard from behind me.

Turning back towards Itami, I was sure I failed to hide my surprise. Even more so when I felt the beginnings of a suppression spell start to settle over my Kitsune abilities. It was powerful too! But I wasn't really alarmed. Just surprised it was happening at all.

"Sparkle, sparkle, Kaboom!" His phone repeated as he angled it towards me. Yup, clear as day, the camera view was from my rear-right, and I was doing the little dance step turn, just before I'd shut down the Ley Lines in Kyoto to stop Cao Cao from sacrificing Yasaka. "That is you, right?"

I probably looked like a wide eyed idiot, but I kept silent.

"Or this one?" He turned the phone to himself poked it a couple times, then turned it back, "If you order the set of Magical Mil-tan figures, you'll get the Kitsune of Kuoh figure for half price!" And yes, it even had the 'Phoenix brand toys' logo at the bottom corner.

"Where..." I started, my mouth feeling a bit dry.

"Where ever Kurata got the episodes of anime we've been watching forgot to cut out a commercial." He said. "The other one is from..."

"It is her." Someone said from all around me, a magical effect for sure to hide the speaker. The voice revealed itself however, when a young woman floated(!) over to Itami's side. Dressed in what amounted to 'tough civilian clothing' (tough pants, thick cotton shirt, good boots etc.) She was quite pretty, with nice brown hair and well done makeup. "Don't you dare deny it."

Aside from the creepy floating (just a little bit off the ground) she had her hands in front of her like she was holding a ball close to her chest. Between her palms was a flat disk of metal that I recognized instantly. Why? Because I'd made it. On one side, was 'me' in my fox form, my body and tails curled into a ball while looking out with a couple of little gemstone flakes for eyes. The other side however had been changed, and it had all kinds of markings I had not put there, but it was spinning too fast to read.

Squinting at her face however, I did a little 'aha' tapping my palm with the bottom of my fist, "Cosplay club president."

My total, utter, and complete lack of concern for the situation seemed to flabbergast them both. Itami put his phone away and gave the woman a 'okay now what' look, while the lady's feet touched down. However, while Itami went back to his usual expression of 'lazy ant', the woman's face twisted up in anger.

"So you don't deny it! It IS you!" And of all things, I felt my Kitsune abilities get further away.

"I'm allowed to be mysterious. But not lie." I shrugged, "I'm wondering how you managed to learn to do that."

"Um." Itami realized he was about to go WAY off topic unless he did something. "You're not angry?"

"Hm? No. Surprise doesn't make me angry." I said, though I was keeping my eyes on the woman, since she obviously had power, and it was specialized towards my Kitsune nature, "Though, I realize we are in the base's biggest box of explosives." I glanced back at him, "How long did you suspect?"

"Well, Maki-chan marching in with a pair of JSDF surplus boots that were far too small for Roku was the start." He said, "There were a lot of other things too. Little stuff we could pass off, but put together it started to raise eyebrows. Words used, some of your equipment, Maki saying 'no joy' when she missed her target in aerial combat. Knowing how to use things that shouldn't exist in your world."

"I thought we'd been careful enough." I shrugged, "But why wait until now?"

"Because I told them about you." The woman said, "What you did to me!"

"Since the fox is out of the pocket..." I shrugged, "All I did to you was make sure you didn't smash your head on my workshop floor."

"No!" She growled, starting to float again, "You gave me this!" She extended her hands, the spinning 'coin' I'd given to her getting faster, "Do you have any idea the trouble this caused me? At all?" She was starting to spark now, little bits of lightning curling over her arms.

"Um..." Itami (understandably!) started to get nervous, "There's no danger... please stop?"

"It was small at first. Little noises, the feeling of being watched, my room being cleaned when I came home, food going missing from my fridge. But then I started seeing things!" I actually started to feel pressure from her, and it was making me a little nervous, "Creatures, animals, monsters!"

"We're kind of in the ammo storage..." Itami said, backing up from her while one hand went to his sidearm, the other to his radio.

"I tried leaving Kuoh, but it got even worse when I went to Tokyo!" She growled.

Feeling like she was going to cause an accident if I didn't do something, or get shot, I decided to act, "We should talk about it." I said, letting out all the air in my lungs.

"Because of this damned coin, I went through absolute hell! And you want to TALK about it?" The little curls of electricity were starting to arc to nearby shelves.

"I wasn't asking." I said with the last of the air in my lungs, "But sorry in advance."

Then I took a deep breath, and with it, as much of this world's magically rich air as I could. All at once I pushed back against the familiar binding spell that was holding back my Kitsune abilities, then took a single long step forward and wrapped my fingers around the spinning coin, pulling the magic from the Ko-Ha-steel that I'd made it from and grounding it out.

There was really no way to avoid hurting her. With the sudden shock of me using my adventurer ability of magic resistance against the magic holding my Kitsune abilities down, then me rending the magic effects apart with the touch of my hand, she suffered a rather severe magical backlash. Thankfully for anyone within a hundred metres of the building, me soaking up all that magic kept it from setting off any of the explosives in the room.

The poor woman screamed as the magical feedback rippled over her, and like a switch she went from 'sparking mad' to 'lights out' in an instant. Itami, professional soldier that he was, caught her before she flopped to the floor. "Her nose is bleeding..." He said, reaching for his radio.

"Before you do that." I said, putting a hand over his, "Where's my party?"

Realizing I was no longer occupied, right next to him, while he had his hands full, and in a room full of explosives...

Didn't shake him at all. I was impressed.

"Ah, after dinner we showed Ryuu-san this. She and the others just shrugged and went to sit by the goods between the hangars. She said to talk to you, and they haven't said a word since."

Just as planned, I mean, if you counted 'plan fubar' as a plan. "Call Mari, we can talk in her office." I let his hand go.

"This is Itami. Man down."

NOTES!

Lalalalala! I was waiting to do this for evvvvvvvvvver!

Daeore on Ko-fi to look at ART! (and donate if you want.)

Daeore on Inkitt to read my actual book, Were too?