12462: Ladies please, we have a protocol for new kanmusu who still have their hulls, reporting in. And it most certainly is not walking up to your captain/crew whatever and saying "hurry up mate, I haven't got all day!"
12462a: Walking up to your rivals hulls/selfs/crews is also right out!

*near future March 2021-Auckland Harbor*

It was a hive of activity down in a certain corner of the docks closed off to the general public. And this was mostly do to the fact that if it wasn't, no one would get a moment's peace. Of course such things are inevitable when one brings in two high profile cell celebrities and their support crews.

What? You thought I was talking about people?! Puh-lease. I'm referring to the boats of course. And not just any boats. The fastest in the world. And the next morning they would go head to head in the most prestigious race of them all! The oldest international trophy in sports; the America's Cup!

In the defender's camp, a deceptively young looking women leaned against the side of a building, hidden in the shadows. She watched her crew make some last minute adjustments on well, her. Stars that was a weird thing to say! She was also, despite still getting used to being in a human body, discovering all its nuances and one of them was impatience. As a top class racer and Cup defender Te Aihe has a love for speed that made Shimakaze seem like a standard. And an insane level of disgust for slowness that would make the Japanese stripperboat look tame by comparison!

So after several hours of watching her crew work with literally freaking millimeters if accuracy her impatience won out! She left her spot next to the building and marched down to the warf.

Peter Burling knew kanmusu existed. Like most sailors since the war began he had readily accepted their presence. He also knew enough about women to know when he was dead! Seeing the redhead wearing the colors of Team New Zealand marching towards him with all the fury of a cornered wombat he knew instantly two things: one she was a kanmusu because no normal women possessed that kind of radiant beauty and two: he was so so screwed!

The women didn't stop, effortlessly leaping onto the deck and his racing yacht shifted ominously at her arrival.

"Hurry up mate! Hurry up!" She cried exasperatedly. She grabbed the tool that was in his hand and threw it into the harbor.

"I needed that!" Burling's protest sounded weak, even to him. He visibly shrunk back at her glare. The strands of red hair cutting across her bright blue eyes did nothing to calm the raging storm.

"No you don't! In fact I'm just fine thank you. Another 2 millimeters of tightening and that shroud would snap at the first sign of heavy wind!" She shouted.

Burling had readied a retort but it died as he pondered her words. He came up with an answer and it made about as much sense as anything kanmusu related did. "Te Aihe?" He asked.

"To borrow an Americanism: no shit Sherlock!" She snarled. He winced again, still pissed he could see.

"What's got you so angry? Are you worried about next week?" He asked.

"Pfft, I can wipe the floor with Defiant and pick my teeth with her bones if I want to. No matter how much she complains otherwise!" Te Aihe grinned. "No I'm mad because you skipper, are ssllloooowww!" She elongated the word as much as her thick Kiwi accent would allow.

He sighed and resisted the urge to facepalm. What was it about kanmusu and the ridiculous? "So you want me to stop working?" He asked.

"Well that would be a start." She shrugged, shifting her feet. She could not keep still for long it seemed. Made sense. All the other racing kanmusu he'd met were the same. And by far the worst was Australia II. Girl could not sit still even when she was sitting. Those reflexes did come in handy however whenever Liberty went after her in one of her drunken episodes. Te Aihe wasn't quite as bad but she was close. And considering how young she was, she most likely had the maturity of a 10 year old at best. He could feel his week getting longer already.

1 WEEK LATER

"Yo Te Aihe!" That heavily accented American voice is what broke Te Aihe's concentration. She'd been just about to explain why leaving the code zero on for tomorrow was a bad idea.

Burling just took the interruption in his stride. Having Te Aihe around all the time almost made him immune to the appearance of kanmusu. Key word being almost. Because when he got a look at the newcomer he seriously began to wish he wasn't married. Defiant wore her colors well. Dressed in the same style running outfit as his own boat but with clear American influence. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her eyes were bright green. Te Aihe was beautiful as were all kanmusu. But falling in love with his own boat who looked young enough to be his daughter really just seemed wrong. This girl wasn't much older but she held herself with the poise and grace of a seasoned professional. New York Yacht Club trained their girls traditionally it seemed.

"Te Aihe are ya just gonna stand there staharing at me or are ya gonna come on dawhn!" Defiant called in that ridiculously strong Newport accent. Damn kanmusu magic!

Te Aihe glowered. No doubt about it she glowered. A dark aura appearing around her that she struggled to keep under control. "Please excuse me skipper!" She ground out and leaped onto the dock.

She met Defiant halfway and the American gave her a shit eating grin in response to her glare. "What do you want Defiant?" She asked.

"What no hello? Do they not teach you manners in Kiwiland?" Defiant teased.

"Hello. Now go away! I have a race to prepare for!" Te Aihe did have manners which she would exercise after the racing was over. Not before.

"About that." Defiant offered a sly grin. "Why wait for tomorrow when we can settle things right here?"

"Hmph." Te Aihe grunted and plopped down on a bench, putting her elbow on the table, fingers skywards. Defiant matched her.

"You have something of mine!" The American growled.

"Do I?" Te Aihe purred, keeping her tone as sly and teasing as possible.

"I want it back."

"Winner take all."

"No second place."

"Begin."

Both boats put all their wind power into their arms, muscles flexing. They say the fastest boat wins the cup and at the moment speed was being translated into muscle power.

Defiant grinned at her opponent as she gained an inch. "Had enough?" She taunted.

Te Aihe's response was a growl that turned into a frustrated hiss as she lost another inch. "Fuck you Defiant this won't prove anything!" She snarled.

Te Aihe's anger proved to be a good motivator and Defiant all but snarled as she lost all the ground she gained. For the next 20 minutes the two were evenly matched. "Fuck this, it's too hot for this shit!"

"Agreed." Said Te Aihe who was beginning to sweat. "Shall we hit the pub?"

Defiant's grin was nothing short of electric. "Let's." She purred and promptly, without warning, slammed her opponent's arm into the table with enough force to crack the hard wood surface. Then she stood up, grabbed her backpack and walked off towards the nearest drink. Te Aihe, left staring at her arm in shock, huffed and raced after her.

Burling followed the pair at a distance, deciding to act as the 'adult' here. He doubted the pair had IDs as they were most certainly young enough not to be able to fake it. But he'd learned not to underestimate kanmusu. Oh his poor liver had not forgiven him for that one time Black Magic hosted a massive pub crawl. So he would tag along and ensure the pair did not get too inebriated. He wasn't sure how much Te Aihe's human form affected her hull but he'd rather not try and skipper a wasted boat in a race.