AN: Well here we are, finally! I apologize for taking so long.
I am back in school, and as such further updating will likely take a fair bit longer. I will still update as often as I can, but it might be reduced to once a month.
Stupid education...
I also blame Touhou, and the Touhou M1 Grand Prix for being so goddamned hilarious and distracting.
Yes I am also a fan of Touhou,
I mean a video game where ninety percent of the characters are female is just a breeding ground for Yuri ships! I have about twenty ships just from that series alone!
I know what you're shouting at me: Why is any of this relevant!?
Good Question!
It means that in order to satisfy my Touhou crazed half, that has been keeping me from writing as much, I will be inserting references to the lovely, bad ass ladies of Gensokyou here and there. The odd character might make an appearance, but I have waaaaay to many characters to deal with as it is, so it'll likely just be in passing.
For those of who haven't a clue as to who the characters from Touhou are; you could always check the Touhou Wiki for a character description.
In addition I forgot to add in another ship that will be making an appearance from the Strike Witch Universe, and that would be Lucchini and the Duchesses Maria... I tried running Lucchini and Shirley through my head a few times, but Lucchini's childish personality, coupled with the four year age gap, (thirteen and seventeen) and Shirley's position as more of a mother figure, just brought any attempts to picture them together to a screeching halt. I might consider it if I ever see Lucchini at age eighteen and up with an age twenty two and up Shirley. But at thirteen? DOES NOT COMPUTE!
*Ahem*
That brief look into my shipper's mind will probably never make sense to anyone, unless they are just as manic about shipping as I am.
Alright! Enough rambling, Chapter 7 awaits!
As always: read, enjoy, and review!
Chapter 7,
Reunions
As our two groups merged, Haruka and Yukino instantly made a beeline for each other. Haruka caught Yukino in a hug, lifting the small brunette off the ground before lowering her so she could support her by her waist. Yukino, caught up in her happiness, seemed unaware of what she was doing, as she started to lean in towards Haruka.
The blond, much to the HiME's apparent surprise, began to lean in as well, that is before she froze solid, blushing beet red as realization dawned on her. It took Yukino a little longer to realize what she was doing. She figured it out just in time to redirect her lips to Haruka's cheek at the last second. None the less, Haruka's legs gave out the very second Yukino's lips touched her skin.
The two collapsed on top of each other in a tangled heap. All eyes fell on them as a very awkward silence reigned over them. Yukino lifted her head out of Haruka's…ample chest, her glasses askew. The two just stared stupidly at each other for a moment or two, before they both descended into a fit of tearful laughter.
"What on earth just… almost happened?" Kyouko demanded as the two girls wrapped each other in another hug.
"Suzushiro-san just stuck her toe out of her very, very deep closet for a second there." Shizuru replied, her voice a mix of amusement and pride. "That closet of hers is so deep, that she can probably find all her baby clothing."
Now that was a deep closet! Back before I admitted to myself that I was… less than straight, (back in high school.) all I could find in my closet was 'last season's' Barrier Jacket. (AN: sorry for the bad pun.) I was about to comment on this, but Midori's shocked voice cut me off.
"Youko!" She exclaimed in surprise and horror. "What the hell are you doing here!?"
The girl in question seemed to be doing her best to hide behind Signum. When Midori shouted at her, she gave up all pretenses of stealth… Not that she was doing a very good job to begin with.
"Midori!" She replied, the fake surprise so evident in her voice as to be almost painful to listen to. "What a surprise to see you here!"
Midori's face was the very definition of a deadpan.
"You know it's the funniest thing!" The woman named Youko continued in an attempt to alleviate the awkward atmosphere. "I could swear the train I boarded was bound for Tokyo! I…" One more look at the death glare Midori was giving her was all took for the brunette to fall silent. The rest of the HiME's merely watched this exchange with varying levels of interest. Even Haruka and Yukino stopped what could only be called sub-textual flirting to watch.
Midori took a deep calming breath.
"Alright Youko," she practically growled. For a woman who looked to be very easygoing and carefree… Midori looked rather pissed to say the least. "Let's try that again: What are you doing here? And can we go easy on the bull crap this time?"
"We found her in the medical wing." Caro piped up. "She was working away on something with Shamal-sensei." Midori narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"How on earth did you know how to get there?" she questioned
Youko opened her mouth to explain, however Hayate raised her hand to cut her off.
"Sagisawa-Sensei has been working on something that TSAB has become interested in." Hayate explained, saving Youko from any further embarrassment. "Her progress has been hampered financially, since you can't fund a project of this caliber on a school nurse's salary. As well as technologically. So TSAB sent for her, so that she could work closely with Shamal, and hopefully come up with some results sooner."
I noticed the not so subtle emphasis that Hayate added to Shamal's name.
I also noticed Signum's eyes narrow dangerously at the woman that she had been protecting a few moments before.
Something about the way Hayate said Shamal's name also seemed to rub Midori the wrong way, although she seemed to be trying hard to hide it.
Youko giggled nervously.
Finally, I noticed the evil little twinkle in Hayate's eye as she noticed the change in her knight's behaviour.
"Suzushiro-san and Harada-san are also involved in the project." Hayate went on smoothly, as if she hadn't just thrown Youko to the human equivalent of a rampaging fire breathing dragon. "TSAB has been preparing to take on this mission ever since Kiseki came out of the shadows several months ago."
I blinked stupidly for a moment or two… This was news to me. And judging from the expressions of everyone else in our large group, (Save for Kiseki) this was news to everyone… Especially Yukino.
"Haruka-chan?" she asked, sounding a little worried.
"Sagisawa-sensei has been here before to work with Shamal. Once the prototype was ready, Sagisawa-sensei administered it to Suzushiro-san and Harada-san on earth. Then I had Admiral Lindy go to pick them up. Senou-san, it seems; managed to convince the Admiral to allow her to come along as well."
If I knew my mother like I thought I did, I was pretty sure I knew what the reason was.
There was an abnormally large amount of matchmakers on this base, and they were all troublemakers…
"So why didn't Lindy-san just bring them straight to you?" Nanoha asked curiously. "It certainly would have been more productive than letting them run amok through an interstellar military headquarters."
Hayate sighed in amusement and annoyance.
"You know how Admiral-Lindy has liked to… complicate simple things lately."
… every single last one of them: Troublemakers.
"If you ask me," Vita snorted, a clear indication that this did not amuse her at all. "I think Admiral-Lindy is getting tired of her desk job."
Funny, that's just what I had thought earlier.
"So why did you start this project anyway?" I asked.
Youko stepped up to field the question, as well as to get away from Signum… Who still seemed to be trying to cause the poor woman to spontaneously combust with her mind alone.
"After the HiME festival," She explained. "I became interested in artificially replicating the Materialization ability. I was seeking a better way to help protect the school, the ease that the Sears foundation took Fuuka over disturbed me a little bit."
"They had their own private ARMY!" Midori exploded, waving her arms around with all the grace of a chicken with its head cut off.
"Technically, so did Fuuka." Youko pointed out smartly.
Midori could not come up with any suitable retort, so instead she merely resorted to glaring angrily at Youko.
Between Signum and Midori, I was surprised that the brunette hadn't randomly burst into flames by now.
"Anyway, Fumi-san agreed that the school needed more protection. " She went on, ignoring the two as best she could. "Suzushiro-san and Harada-san, and myself were the three most directly involved with the HiME festival… without being directly involved. All three of us felt rather useless during the festival, and we wanted to do something to help protect Fuuka High. But as it seems Fuuka wasn't the only thing that needs protecting, either way; I'm sure you will find the project to be a boon in this endeavor."
"...To protect Fuuka?" Yukino asked, sounding a little hurt.
I guess finding out that Haruka hadn't traveled halfway across the universe just to see her, took some of the wind out of her sails.
"What? It was just a regular after school activist." Haruka chuckled nervously, the look Yukino was giving her also seemed to take her usual enthusiasm and bravado down by a peg or two.
"Activity Haruka-chan." Yukino corrected softly, lowering her head so the blond couldn't see her face. Haruka's cocky, proud expression contorted into one of sheer panic.
"Yukino." Haruka's voice was soft and gentle (A tone of voice that I wasn't even sure she was capable of, until now.) as she carefully lifted Yukino's face with her knuckle. Bright olive eyes, marred by unshed tears emerged from under messy brown hair. "Why do you think I want to protect Fukka High?"
A soft sniff served as her answer.
"Because it's where you go to school." Haruka explained. "That's where you go to learn. I was helping Youko-sensei with this project before I knew that you would be coming here. Once I found out; protecting Fuuka wasn't my main concern anymore. I was just lucky that Sensei finished work on the prototype when she did. Even if she hadn't I would have made it to you somehow. I will always be there to protect you Yukino. No matter where you are."
"Haruka-chan." Yukino sighed gratefully, enveloping her friend in another hug. "Thank you so much..." Haruka's whole demeanor softened, as she soothingly ran her fingers through Yukino's hair. The bright happy aura that was coming off them in waves was practically blinding.
"What kind of project have you been working on?" Mai asked as Haruka and Yukino (reluctantly) parted.
Youko turned to Hayate, who merely shrugged, then she rested her gaze on Haruka.
"Shamal and I finished work on our first prototype." She repeated, ignoring the increase in the intensity of the death glare that Signum was giving her at the words: Shamal andI as well as our. "So,Suzushiro-san, why don't you give us a quick demonstration, and give the system a test run while you're at it?"
That confident grin immediately reappeared on Haruka's face.
"With pleasure!" she acquiesced proudly. "MATERIALIZE!" (AN: I did say that I might be putting Mai-Otome into this story, I just never said how I was going to do it.) A jeweled topaz earring that I hadn't noticed before, began to glow brightly on Haruka's left ear.
(AN: For a description of Haruka's Otome transformation that doesn't suck, watch Mai-Otome, Episode Ten at the seventeen minute mark.)
As we all watched, a fuzzy looking shadow of Haruka appeared, mirroring her stance exactly. A strange outfit appeared on the shadow (AN: Please look up Haruka Armitage's ROBE to see what it looks like, as I can't even begin to describe it.) and slowly the shadow and it's master began to merge into one another. The very second they fused entirely, the strange green outfit materialized on Haruka, like some kind of weird armour.
Or a very ugly Barrier Jacket.
"Initial materialization of the ROBE seems to be stable." Youko commented, watching Haruka with a keen interest. "Now Suzushiro-san, try calling upon your weapon."
Haruka looking proud as punch, extended her left arm. A large, very heavy looking mace attached to a long chain, with an axe on the other end appeared out of thin air. I don't think that I could have lifted that thing if I tried. Haruka, however lifted it as if it were no heavier than a soccer ball.
"The increase in physical strength is working perfectly." the school nurse noted, nodding in satisfaction. She glanced briefly at Chie, then at Haruka.
Chie; taking her cue, bent over and grabbed a baseball sized rock, before throwing it as hard as she could at Haruka's head with no word of warning. The blond barely twitched, until...
In a blur of green, Haruka reacted with inhuman speed to catch the rock, before triumphantly crushing it to dust with her bare hands.
"Reflexes have also improved significantly." Youko observed. "Next shall we try flight?"
"Flight?" Haruka inquired curiously. "This ROBE thing can fly?"
"If the system is working properly, it should." Youko confirmed. "That metal ribbon on the back of the ROBE can be used as both a grappling device, and a stabilizing fin for aerial maneuvers. Just focus on flight, you'll see."
"Constipate on flight." Haruka repeated, causing most of us to snort in laughter. The blond squeezed her eyes shut, and what I had originally thought was a metal collar with tubes running through it began to light up like one of those neon glow sticks. "Got it!"
"It's concentrate, Haruka-chan." Yukino giggled happily. One violet eye peeked open, as a mechanical humming began to come from the ROBE.
"That's what I SAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIID!"
"HARUKA-CHAN!" Yukino shouted in horror as Haruka took off as if someone had strapped a live rocket to her butt.
"Looks like there are still a few bugs to work out." Hayate observed. as Haruka went up... and up, and up.
One minute the blond was on the ground, the next she was a hundred feet feet straight up in the air, and still climbing at remarkable speed.
"Well at least the flight system works." Chie commented dryly.
Youko's face met her palm with a rather audible smack.
"That girl never does anything halfway does she?" Nanoha remarked sarcastically. Everyone from the HiME group, except Yukino shook their heads as we all watched Haruka become a small dot in the sky.
"So." Vita piped up in a nonchalant manner. "How are we gonna get her down? She clearly doesn't know how to steer that thing ...Does anyone have any suggestions?" Silence pervaded the question.
I noticed that Kiseki seemed to be eyeing one of the larger boulders that Kiyohime's appearance had left behind.
"I have an idea." she offered, turning to the last group, or more specifically to the woman named Trude. "Barkhorn-san, may I borrow you for moment?"
"Certainly." Trude replied, she seemed eager to help out. "What do you need?"
"I need you to grab that boulder over there." Kiseki answered, pointing at the boulder she had been eyeing earlier.
The boulder easily weighed at least a ton, I was at a loss as to how Kiseki expected Trude to lift the thing.
Giving nothing but a curt nod of consent, Trude immediately marched over to the large boulder. Her stride was that of a pure soldier, through and through. With a loud crack of her knuckles, a thin light blue aura surrounded her. As we all watched, the ears and tail of what looked like some kind of dog, just sort of... grew out of her head and butt respectively.
My eyes went wide at the sight.
The last group: The Strike Witches; mages who fuse with their animal familiars in order to use magic.
I will admit that I was a little curious to see what the word 'fuse' had meant. Now that I had seen it, I was surprised to see that the term was quite literal in its implications.
I felt a tug at my shirt sleeve. I looked down to see Alicia, who was regarding me with a confused look on her face.
"Onee-chan!" she whispered urgently, I knelt down to her level to see what the problem was. Alicia shifted so that she could whisper right in my ear.
"Why isn't that woman wearing any pants?" she whispered innocently. I looked up in alarm to see that Trude was in the process of bending over to grab the boulder, giving my older sister an excellent view of... something she really shouldn't be seeing at this age... Or at least, not under these circumstances... Then again, no one should be seeing them under these circumstances... or under any circumstances for that matter.
"Nice ass." Hayate commented sarcastically under her breath.
The rest of the Strike Witches just watched as if this was perfectly normal. Which; considering their own lack of lower dress, probably was.
Acting quickly, (But still far too late,) I covered Alicia's eyes, before her innocence was tarnished further. She may be my 'older' sister, but I was still fifteen years her senior.
... There really was nothing normal about my life at all, was there?
"Onee-chan..." Alisa sighed in amusement. "What's the point in covering my eyes now that I've already seen them? I just wanted to know why she wasn't wearing any, That's all."
That was a very good question... with no answer as of yet.
"OUCH!" Erio shouted suddenly, his nose bleeding slightly. "Caro! What the heck was that for!?"
"For getting a nosebleed!" Caro retorted stiffly, withdrawing the fist that she had used to punch Erio, and crossing her arms in anger. "Pervert!"
At first glance I had thought Erio had gotten that nosebleed from Caro socking him one, but on closer inspection he was cradling his arm, not his nose... which was now bleeding profusely. Most likely due to the peep show that Trude was giving everyone. Clearly Caro had expected Erio to keep his hormones under control.
Oh well, boys will be boys.
Grunting with the effort, Trude slowly lifted the large boulder. Needless to say, I was very impressed. But now the question remained:
How the heck was this supposed to help?
"Where do you want it?" Trude asked as casually as if she was asking where to put some new furniture.
"Approximately where Suzushiro-san took off, if you don't mind." Kiseki instructed pointing at Yukino, who was still trying to spot some trace of her best friend.
It took some doing, but eventually Trude managed to lug the boulder to roughly where Haruka took off.
"Thank you Barkhorn-san." She said with a grin. "If you could just hold that there, that would be great."
"Great." Vita commented. "Now what?" Kiseki's eyes twinkled mischievously.
"Sensei?" she asked, turning to Youko. "If I recall properly; Suzushiro-san's natural healing abilities have been improved as well, correct?"
"Yes," Youko confirmed, seemingly catching on to what Kiseki was planning. "that's right, Suzushiro-san's skull has also become far more resistant to heavy impact."
These words seemed to catch Yukino's attention, and she turned her gaze on Kiseki, her face clouded with worry.
"Excellent." Kiseki grinned, looking very, very evil... that is until she noticed Yukino's face. "Don't worry Kikukawa-san, all this should do is give her a bump on the head and maybe knock her out for a few minutes." Yukino still didn't look very convinced, but she hesitantly nodded her consent.
"That's all fine and good." I pointed out, "But how are you planning to get that boulder up there? poor Haruka-san must be on one of the moons by now!"
"All I have to do is call in a favour." Kiseki explained. "I can send myself and others to different dimensions. Portals however, fall under Yukari-san's domain."
"Who?" Nanoha asked curiously. The golden eyed brunette smiled.
"An old friend of mine." she continued. "You make lots of friends when you wander aimlessly through countless dimensions for a thousand years. I met her about three hundred years ago, when she thought it might be funny to try and trap me in Gensokyou."
I frowned, this friend hardly seemed very reliable to me.
"How is this Yukari still alive then?" Mikoto asked.
"Yukari Yakumo has lived ten times longer than I have." Kiseki replied. "She's a youkai, and youkai naturally live far longer than humans do. But even by youkai standards, Yukari-san is a special case. At ten thousand years of age; she is known as the most powerful youkai in Gensokyou."
"Not that I'm complaining or anything." Trude injected, her voice sounding rather strained. "But this boulder is rather heavy, so if you don't mind, could you just get on with it?"
"Sorry, Barkhorn-san." Kiseki apologized sheepishly, before getting right back down to business. "Al-Hazard. Could you please send a message to Yukari-san to send a gap to Suzushiro-san's coordinates, she should be the only living thing that's up there, so she shouldn't be hard to find."
'Where should I request that Lady Yukari let Lady Suzushiro out?' The device asked.
"The coordinates directly under the boulder if you please." Kiseki specified. "Barkhorn-san, keep a good grip on that rock, Suzushiro-san is likely to be going pretty fast when she comes out." Trude nodded and braced herself.
"It shall be done My Lady." With that the device fell silent, pulsing with a golden glow every second. Kind of like how Bardiche always did whenever I sent a long distance message. (Usually to Nanoha and Vivio.)
We waited...
Nothing happened. Not that any of us knew what was supposed to happen. Although I'm sure nothing wasn't what Kiseki was expecting.
A few moments later, golden eyes rolled in annoyance.
"That lazy Sukima (AN: Gap) is probably sleeping as usual." She muttered rather loudly to herself. "She could barely be counted on to make it to her own bloody wedding...Useless drunkard almost slept through it. Poor Reimu almost called the whole thing o-"
Quite suddenly, a large gap opened up in the ground. Haruka just sort of flew out of the deep purple opening-
CRUNCH!
Where she came to a dead stop as she became intimately acquainted with the boulder. Which promptly split in two from the impact. Haruka was immediately knocked out cold. Her ROBE dematerialized, allowing gravity to reclaim it's hold on her, sending her back down into the gap again.
"Haruka-chan!" Yukino shouted, as her blond friend disappeared into the deep purple sea of eyes that floated throughout the portal.
Seconds later, the gap sealed back up again.
Before any of us had a chance to start worrying where Haruka had gone, another gap opened up about three feet above Kiseki's head, unceremoniously dumping the unconscious blond on top of her. The golden eyed brunette was on the ground before she could process what was happening.
"Okay, first of all: Ow." Kiseki commented with a groan as she wormed her way out from under the comatose Haruka. "Second: I'm pretty sure I deserved that one, although I wish she had been a little easier on Suzushiro-san... Third: Does anyone want to help get Suzushiro-san off me? She's kinda crushing my spine." Yukino, Youko and I stepped forward. Working together we hauled Haruka (who was just starting to come around) to her feet.
"I'll look after her." Youko volunteered, as we carefully lowered Haruka to the ground. "I am a school nurse after all."
"Did anyone get the incense plate of the ass that bit me?" Haruka seemed understandably disoriented.
I turned to look at Yukino.
"I can only assume that she means 'the license plate of the bus that hit her'." The brunette replied, sounding a little unsure and uneasy. "She's a little bit less coherent than usual."
Gee, I wonder why?
Once the blond was no longer pinning her to the ground, Kiseki gingerly picked herself up, and casually dusted herself off. "Thanks Yukari-san!" she called up at the still open portal.
A elegant looking hand poked out of the gap... however there was absolutely nothing elegant about the gesture it was making.
I quickly covered Alicia's eyes again.
"Oi!" Kiseki shouted defensively. "I'm sorry if I was harsh, but you know that if I used flattery to get your attention again, Reimu would literally riddle me with denmaku, and that's after blasting me with just about every spell card in her possession first! Therefore I had to use the only other thing that you'll listen to!"
Without another word, the hand (which I assumed belonged to Yukari) withdrew, the gap sealing up seconds later.
"What the hell was that all about?" Natsuki asked, as Kiseki sighed heavily.
"Yukari and her selective hearing." she replied, turning to Youko, who was in the process of looking Haruka over. "Anyway, how is our ex-rocket doing?"
"She's got a nasty bump on her head," The school nurse replied. "but the nanomachines will take care of that in no time."
"Nanomachines?" I asked.
"The thousands of microscopic machines that Shamal and I developed to enhance someone's natural capabilities." Youko explained. "Once injected into the subject, they form something like an artificial Linker Core that can recreate the HiME materialization ability. You could say that the ROBE is kind of similar to a HiME's CHILD, except it is not bound by the life of another. It seems as though everything is functioning as it should, which is certainly good news for the project."
"How does nearly sending Suzushiro-san into orbit mean that things are functioning properly?" Midori demanded sounding rather irritated.
"The nanomachines take some getting used to." Youko answered calmly. "Suzushiro-san has only had them in her system for only a few hours, it will take months for her to learn how to properly control the Continental Orb Topaz, and years more to perfect it. However I am quite surprised at how well Suzushiro-san was able to control the ROBE during her first test run."
Haruka groaned loudly. I wasn't sure if that groan was in agreement, argument... or just because she had just flown head first into a boulder, at a rather high velocity. Most normal people would be dead after an impact like that.
"We're definitely going to have to work on steering though." Youko added as an afterthought.
"She's certainly handling the nanomachines better than I am." Chie piped up; and for the first time, I noticed that Chie's left ear was pierced by a deep sea blue gemstone. (AN: Does anyone have a clue as to what Meister GEM Chie Hallard inherited in Mai-Otome Zwei?) "I still have a little bit of a fever." Her cheeks were a little redder than usual, but I had figured that was because Aoi had been constantly fussing over her, as if she had been mortally wounded.
"That's why I keep telling you to take it easy!" Aoi scolded, sticking her finger accusingly in Chie's face. "Isn't that what Youko-sensei suggested?"
Chie's eyes crossed behind her glasses, as she focused on Aoi's finger. A wicked grin spread on her face as she opened her mouth and gently nipped Aoi's finger in retaliation. Aoi jumped in surprise, turning several shades of red as she retracted her finger.
Chie was a flirt; that much became immediately obvious.
"Oh, get a broom!" Haruka shouted suddenly as she unsteadily got to her feet. Yukino surged forward to help as the blond nearly fell over.
"Room, Haruka-chan." Yukino corrected gently. Haruka's only response was another loud groan.
"You didn't seriously think I'd miss out on meeting everyone did you?" Chie teased, sticking her own finger in Aoi's beet red face. Aoi seemed to be considering whether or not to return the favour. Ever so slowly she opened her mouth and inched towards her dark haired friend's awaiting digit... "So many beautiful new girls to seduce."
Aoi's face clouded with fury.
CHOMP!
"OUCH! Aoi, what the heck did you do that for?" Looks like Chie's statement had helped Aoi make up her mind.
"Jerk!"
I watched as Chie nursed her mangled finger, while attempting to make it up to Aoi at the same time. This of course was quite futile, since Chie seemed unaware as to what she had done wrong in the first place.
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Nanoha muttered sarcastically.
Truer words have never been spoken.
On the other hand, Chie did remind me that the Strike Witches had yet to be introduced.
I caught Nanoha's eye before glancing at the final group. Nanoha nodded before speaking up.
"Who is the commander of your unit?" She asked turning to the Strike Witches. Her authoritative tone immediately silenced all other conversation, and brought all eyes on her.
"That would be me." Replied the red haired officer clad in yet another World War II era German uniform. "Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke; Commander of the 501rst Joint Fighter Wing, at your service." A quick military salute completed the greeting, and the rest of her unit stood to attention. However the formal atmosphere was completely shattered with every slight breeze.
"At ease." I commanded, trying to ignore the panty flashes I was getting every few seconds. (WHY WAS IT SO GOD DAMNED WINDY TODAY!?) "Commander Wilcke, would you care to introduce yourself and the rest of your squad? I would also like to know where you are from, as well as to get to know your familiars if you don't mind."
"Certainly." Minna agreed with a nod. "and Minna is fine, I will be under your command after all."
"Very well then Minna-san, please continue."
"I am native to Karlsland, and my familiar is a grey wolf." Minna went on. "I named her Krawatte when we met on my seventh birthday... Anyway she grants me enhanced spacial perception; which allows me to instantly determine the location, number and strength of all targets from any direction. It is a very useful skill when it comes to recon, and has served me very well over the years. I hope that it will be of use to you as well. Mi- I mean Major Sakamoto, I'll let you continue from here."
The witch with long black hair, tied up in a pony tail stepped up. Her uniform (or at least the top half of it) was reminiscent of the Japanese Imperial Navy back in World War II.
"I am Squadron Leader; Major Mio Sakamoto." She greeted, her voice was loud, and authoritative, and... sounded remarkably familiar. (AN: Natsuki and Mio, Strike Witches season 1, are voice by the same person.) "I lead the girls in battle, and I am also in charge of training. I am a witch native to the land of Fuso, and my familiar is a Doberman Pinscher. He grants me the ability to discern things in a far off distant place, I can also see through certain domains that human eyesight normally cannot perceive. I often use it to locate an enemy's weak point, I keep it covered when it's not in use since it is constantly active. Regardless of my decline in ability, I will work hard to prove myself useful."
Trude took her cue and gave her introduction.
"I am Flight Lieutenant Gertrud Barkhorn." she said formally. "Like Commander Minna, I am also from Karlsland. As I'm sure you've already guessed, my German Pointer grants me superhuman strength that surpasses the Body Strengthening that is typical of all witches. I hope my skills will be of service to this mission."
Hartmann rolled her eyes as Trude finished her intro.
"Short, simple, and to the point as always, aren't you Trude?" She asked with a fond sigh. "Honestly, the world will not explode if you lighten up a little bit." Trude shot Hartmann a dirty look, which the short blond merely ignored. "Anyway, I'm Erica Hartmann, a Flying Officer. Nice to meetcha!"
Erica, was pretty much Trude's polar opposite, in every way possible.
"Don't mind Trude." she went on. "She's always had an abnormally long stick up her butt, but she means well."
"HARTMANN!"
"Alright, alright, fine!" Erica gave an exaggerated sigh before continuing, meanwhile Trude seemed to be trying to keep herself from throttling her comrade. "I am also from Karlsland, and my familiar is a Dachshund. She allows me to manipulate gusts of air to form an offensive barrel roll called Sturm. Let me tell you, it was a hard technique to master. I remember this one time when I was still in training with Trude..."
"Hartmann..." Trude warned, her cheeks suddenly turning red.
"Our training instructor had asked me to try practicing the move on Trude." Erica recalled, ignoring Trude completely. "She had me do it several times in quick succession."
I had a feeling I knew where this was going.
"Hartmann..." Trude warned again, and met with the same amount of success.
"By the fifth time around I was already feeling pretty woozy." Erica was talking as if she couldn't feel the impending doom in Trude form, closing in on her. "So when Trude flew up to me to see what was wrong, I ending up barfing aaaallll over her!"
"HARTMANN!"
Seconds later, Erica was the proud owner of the third or fourth (I had lost count) lump of the day. Apparently it was the perfect day for multiple head injuries.
"Eila;" Trude growled out through clenched teeth. "would you mind taking over for Frau? Preferably before I am forced to harm her further." The sandy blond laughed nervously, watching as Trude took Erica by the collar and dragged her off to the side. Presumably to give the younger girl a stern talking to.
"I'm Flight Lieutenant Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen." Eila greeted her voice was casual, and slightly boastful. "I come from Suomus, and my familiar is a black fox named Clair." (AN: Short for Clairvoyant) "Clair gives me the gift of Foresight. I can see into the near future, and sense enemy attacks before they make them. I'm first rate at dodging and out-maneuvering foes, meaning that I'm one of the few people out there who can literally dodge a bullet!"
Eila's half uniform was one I wasn't familiar with. She was one of the three who were at least wearing pantyhose, which was a relief, but no matter how hard I tried I could not place where her uniform hailed from. She had said she was from a country called Suomus, and as far as I knew there was no such country on earth.
Origins aside, Eila has a bit of an ego, it would seem.
"You won't have to worry about me." She went on, her tone shifting from boasting, to a few notches below threatening. "But I will not forgive you if you push Sanya too hard. She usually sleeps during the day, and she's our best night witch, so be sure to treat her as such."
"Eila!" The soft voice of the small witch beside her scolded. "There's no need to say that. They will use my skills as they see fit, you don't need to be so over protective, I'll be fine."
Her words were barely above a whisper, but Sanya may has well have yelled at her. All the bravado seemed to immediately drain out of the sandy haired girl, as she began to look rather ashamed of herself.
Noticing that she had perhaps gone too far (Despite the fact that she had done nothing of the sort) Sanya stood on her tiptoes to give Eila a small peck on the cheek.
Eila's entire demeanor went from soul-crushingly depressed, to floating on seventh heaven, sipping tea with Buddha... all within the span of a few seconds.
To say that Sanya's smallest gestures had significant influence over Eila's emotions would be an understatement, it was quite cute really. It also felt very familiar to me, but yet again I could not pinpoint exactly why.
The small silver haired witch stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
"My name is Sanya V. Litvyak; a Flight Officer." her voice was so soft that I had to struggle to hear it. "I am native to Orussia. My familiar is a black cat. She grants me an ability that we call Magic Antenna, or Magic Needles. Using this, I am able to interact with radio waves. It is a type of non-visual perception that can detect objects at extreme ranges. I can also tune in and rebroadcast radio transmissions. Please don't worry about what Eila said, and use my abilities as you see fit."
A large yawn followed her explanation, without another word, Sanya walked back to Eila's side and rested her head against her friend's shoulder. Seconds later, she was sound asleep. The sandy haired girl's face melted into another affectionate grin, as she diligently remained still while her small silver haired companion slept on.
I had about a half a second to notice that the young girl named Lucchini was once again missing from the rest of the Strike Witches, when...
"ACK!" Haruka yelped, as Lucchini copped a feel. "WHAT THE DUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING YOU LITTLE MONSTER!?" All eyes turned to the source of the earsplitting racket. Haruka seemed to be fully recovered, and at the moment she was trying to break the death grip that Lucchini had on her...upper torso. In a way, I was glad that Haruka had mispronounced that particular word, as it saved me the trouble of covering Alicia's ears.
"It's Ffff-" Yukino began her usual correction, but seemed to be unable to make herself continue. "Ffffff-" as she tried again, we all watched her expectantly. Haruka even stopped wrestling with Lucchini to see if Yukino could finish.
"..." A sigh of defeat. "Never mind Haruka-chan."
"Right, now would someone care to get this little runt off me?" Haruka shouted as Lucchini went back to her... massaging.
Shirley marched up to her young charge, and with some effort she managed to extract Lucchini from Haruka.
"Don't you ever learn?" She demanded as she grabbed Lucchini around her middle, before depositing the young girl in front of Nanoha and I. "Now behave yourself, and introduce yourself properly." Lucchini pouted grumpily for a few moments, until Shirley cleared her throat loudly and made an offhanded threat about banning chest snuggling for a month.
Only then did the smallest recruit decide to stop fooling around.
"I'm Flying Officer Francesca Lucchini." She greeted cheerfully as if she had never been scolded at all. "I'm from Romagna. My familiar is a black panther who grants me the power to play with magic energy, and make it do aaaanything I want!" I raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Lucchini don't exaggerate too much." Shirley tutted, ruffling the girl's dark hair. "What she means is that she has the ability to concentrate, discharge and manipulate most kinds of magical energy. It's kind of similar to Kiseki's ability, except that Lucchini can generate her own magical energy, so she doesn't have to depend on an outside source. She may not act like it, but she's our little prodigy who has a true passion for defending those in need... she's especially protective of her girlfriend; Maria."
Lucchini's tanned cheeks took on a sudden reddish hue.
"She's not my girlfriend!" She shouted defensively. The growth of her state of panic was directly proportionate to the growth of the evil grin on Shirley's face. "She's my friend and the duchess of my country, nothing more!"
"Riiiight." Shirley teased. "So then what was with that giant sculpture of you, carved in imported dutch chocolate that she sent you for Valentines' Day?"
Rather than come up with any suitable answer, Lucchini instead looked about ready to burst into tears.
"Oops. I guess I went a little to far there." Quick as a flash, Shirley went from a teasing older sister to a nurturing mother; who quickly had Lucchini back to her old self in no time.
I may be giving her too much credit, since it seems that all it takes to cheer Lucchini up is a nice big hug between a nice big pair of...melons.
"Sorry about Lucchini." Shirley apologized as we watched Lucchini made a beeline for Kiseki, only to offer the golden eyed girl a 'consolation prize' for her trouble. "She means well..." A high pitched yelp from Mami told us that the Black Panther had already claimed her next victim. "...most of the time. Anyway, my name is Charlotte E. Yeager; a Flight Lieutenant from the United States of Liberon. Everyone calls me Shirley, my familiar is a white rabbit.
Now, I have two main strengths: Speed and Mechanics. My familiar makes it possible for me to fly faster than most other witches, as well as perform a task at a higher rate of speed. So long as I'm concentrating, I can knock out multiple gadgets in no time at all! I just love tinkering with anything that drives, or flies. They're my specialty."
"Which is ironic, considering you drive like a lunatic." a refined looking bespectacled blond commented sarcastically. "The last time I took a ride with you, you nearly put my head through the windshield! Who was the incompetent moron who gave you a driver's license anyway?"
"I can drive just as well as the next person!"
"As long as someone's keeping an eye on you." The girl countered, pushing her glasses up on her nose. "I've always said that you're too laid back, especially if you can casually drive a military vehicle off a cliff with yourself and the passengers still inside!"
Note To Self: Never ever let Shirley drive my car.
"Hey! I stuck that landing!" Shirley huffed, not helping herself at all.
Note To Self Revised: Never let her anywhere near my car for that matter.
The bespectacled blond rolled her eyes, and turned to face Nanoha and I.
"Flying Officer Pierrette-Henriette Clostermann." She greeted suddenly, as if her conversation with Shirley had never even happened. Which I guess was a good thing, seeing as it meant that she didn't take notice of the tongue Shirley was sticking out at her. "If that name is too much of a mouthful, then you may call me Perrine. I am a proud soldier of Gallia, who flies by the power of a domestic Gallian cat called a Chartreux. I call her Éclair (AN: For all those French readers out there, let's just pretend for the moment that the 'E' has the correct accent on it.) She grants me a powerful lightning attack called Tonnerre. I don't much like using it though, all that static electricity is murder on my hair."
"Yes, but just think of how many times Tonnerre has saved our lives." the girl with long dirty blond hair tied back in a braid pointed out timidly. "My own included, multiple times."
"There's no need to remind me!" Perrine snapped. "I am not so self absorbed that I would refrain from using it to protect my friends, now would I?" Perrine's voice went from arrogant and harsh, to embarrassed and shy as she spoke. After a second or two of looking like she regretted even opening her mouth, a soft smile worked it's way onto the dirty blond's face. "That said Lynne-san; You have also pulled everyone out of some rough spots as well. So don't sell yourself short." Lynne's eyes lit up in delight, and she turned to Nanoha and I with a confidence that hadn't been there before.
"My name is Lynette Bishop, but you can just call me Lynne." She said with a small bow. "I am a Flight Sergeant from the Britannian Commonwealth. My familiar; a cat called a Scottish Fold grants me excellent eyesight for seeing over a great distance. As a result I serve as the squad's sharpshooter. My familiar also allows me to manipulate projectiles in flight, keeping them steady, or altering their trajectory. I can also charge my bullets with magic to increase the damage they do. I'm a little clumsy, but I'll do my best to prove myself."
After a few hours of hijinx, interruptions and getting sidetracked, we were finally down to the last new addition of Section Six. The short brunette who seemed to be wearing the top half of a Japanese sailor uniform.
"My name Yoshika Miyafuji, a Sergeant from Fuso." She greeted with a smile. "My familiar is a breed of Shiba Inu called a Mameshiba. I named him Kuji Kanesada, or just Kuji for short. I inherited the same type of healing magic that both my mother and grandmother possess. I can also generate large strong shields. I am not fond of combat, but I have come to learn that I need to fight to protect those I love." Her chocolate brown eyes darted over to Lynne for a half second, before she once again focused on us. "That said, I will do anything to regain the strength to fight once more."
I raised an eyebrow.
'Regain.' what on earth did she mean by that? Before I could ask, Hayate intervened.
"As Commander of Section Six, I would like to welcome everyone to Mid-Childa. I would also like to thank you for lending TSAB your services. This mission is likely to be very dangerous, and as such will involve two different kinds of special training in order to prepare. Captain Takamachi will be handling the combat training. Kiseki-san will be in charge of the 'emotional' and psychological training."
I didn't like the way Hayate had said 'emotional' not one bit, nor did I like the evil grin that threatened to split Kiseki's face in half.
"That's right!" The golden eyed blond confirmed with way too much enthusiasm. "Kiseki's relationship counseling service is open for business!"
"WHAAAAAAAAT!?" Our collective outburst frightened birds from their nest all across the base.
Our group became a sea of red faces; Kiseki and Shizuru were the only ones who weren't blushing.
"Before any of you are ready to undertake this mission." Kiseki explained, suddenly dead serious. "And this includes you too Commander Yagami, you must first find the one person whom you would gladly give up your own life for. Al-Hazard has become a place that uses a person's worst fears to drive them to insanity. After a thousand years of life, I have found that nothing can keep a person grounded like love for another. That said, we will be undertaking this mission by sending half of Section Six to Al-Hazard first. I myself am unable to enter Al-Hazard, so I will remain with the other half of the group to provide any support I can."
"Why send only half?" Sayaka asked curiously.
"If anyone from the first group falls into insanity," Kiseki answered. "the other half of the pair would have to take their place. Additionally only someone who would be willing to risk their own life for the one they love would have a chance of saving them, completing the mission and returning alive themselves. Now, for most of you, the choice is obvious. So I will be helping you with your relationships to ensure that they are strong enough to avoid the third outcome of undertaking this mission."
"Which would be?" Midori prodded. I'm pretty sure she knew the answer. I was sure we all knew the answer, we just needed to hear it out loud.
"That neither partner makes it back alive, dooming them both to a living hell of eternal torture."
I had known that was coming. But still, hearing it out loud; I couldn't help but gulp.
Looks like the stakes of this mission just went up.
...
AN: *Phew* That was a tricky one to sort out in my head. I hope it wasn't too hard to follow, but I should have known any chapter where I introduced the Strike Witches would be really long. For those who prefer shorter chapters: I apologize. I figured that more readers might be less familiar with the Strike Witches so I put more detail into their intros. If I was wrong in this presumption, I hope you will forgive me for going overboard with them. I guess another reason why getting this chapter out took forever is because it is so long.
On the bright side you could consider it a (Canadian) Thanksgiving present from me.
On the subject of the poll, I have decided to keep it up for a little longer. I will be closing the poll once Chapter 9 gets posted, and the winner will be joining in Chapter 10. For those of you who think I should stop trying to add more character to this story you can tell me so by voting. You can find the poll on my profile page, at u/4093415/Kiseki7757. Don't be shy, my profile won't bite.
I can't say when I will be able to get Chapter 8 out, but if my professors have mercy on me, (unlikely) it shouldn't be too long of a wait.
As always, read and review! I will see you all in Chapter 8.