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Vale, near the Beacon Academy grounds, Gayput 55 Treichleam, an hour after breakfast (Tōkyō time: Thursday 5 April, mid-evening; Anádyr' time: Friday 6 April, midnight)…
It had been harder than he initially thought when Salem asked him to return to his home city to analyze the aftereffects of Cinder Fall's attack on the academy where his beloved sister had been effectively condemned to die years before.
But return to Vale, Hazel Rainart had done.
And he now realized it was a DAMNED good thing he DID come back to Vale.
Seeing the aftermath of what had happened…
…and worse, what had NOT happened here…!
Yes, Beacon Academy — the Oum-accursed home base of the monster who had seen his beloved sister Gretchen killed thanks to that very same monster which his current employer/leader had been married to in ages past — was destroyed…
But Vale City itself appeared to have weathered the mass assault of Grimm as organized by Cinder and her allies — to say anything of a loud rampage by the White Fang under Adam Taurus' leadership — exceptionally well.
As to the "how" this had happened…
Having been easily teleported back to Sanus through long-established warp passages made by the Queen of Darkness from her base at Evernight Castle — Hazel had a good idea where said castle was geographically on Remnant, but kept such to himself so as to acknowledge Salem's right to safety and privacy; even if he had suffered because of the latest incarnation of Ozma, she certainly suffered long worse — the highly pain-tolerant, dust infusing brute fighter had put himself down near the South Shore Road, one of several rural highways that connected Vale City to various coastal fishing villages along the western shore of the continent, most of whom remained intact thanks to their not being seen as priority targets by Salem. Doing it this way would allow the well-built, tall man with the close-cropped beard and dark brown hair to simply walk into the suburban area of Vale itself; the city's walls had multiple gates serving travellers from all around Sanus…and if Marcus Black's son had done what he had been tasked to do on Gaysaw evening to bring the defences down and allow the Grimm to invade wholesale…!
As soon as he approached the South Shore Gate, Hazel immediately knew something had gone VERY wrong!
"Bongiorno, Bel Cavaliere!"
Standing post at the gate were two women of mid-teenage years, both dressed in black, form-fitting skinsuit-like uniforms that left their shoulders and arms bare, such topped by very dark green pirate-like sea boots and green belts around their waists, both possessing small cargo pouches perched on their outer hips. One woman had very fair skin with blonde hair pulled away from her face with a white bandanna, grey eyes peeking out of a very cute face with an impish smile. The other had tanned skin, pink hair done in high twintails, green eyes looking out from a face that seemed a little childish. Both women had shield-like insignia on their chests, such topped by a golden stone-like crown; on their upper outer thighs were what looked to be numbers in a style that Hazel didn't recognize right away. Before he could interpret the fact that the one who had hailed him — the blonde girl — was speaking through some sort of translation system or semblance that allowed such, the other girl smirked as she slapped her friend on one of the shoulders. "Taeko! Stop flirting with him! He looks as if he's come a long way! Leave him be!"
"But he's so CUTE, Akemi!" the blonde declared with an impish wink.
As Hazel awked on realizing a girl appearing to be HALF HIS AGE was FLIRTING with him, a beeping sound echoed from one of the hip-level pockets on the tanned girl's belt. "Sì, mio Comandante?!" she called out after pulling out what looked like a VERY thick and crystal-built scroll with one single crystal button on same, then pressing on it.
A holographic screen appeared over it, showing a dark-haired girl. "Akemi-chan! Taeko-chan! Warning from Sensei! One of the huntsmen is undergoing post-Gifting shock! There's going to be some sort of weapons test on the remains of that yōma on the Beacon Academy transmission tower! Stay on the ground and make sure any passers-by are protected from the noise!"
"Sì! Sì!" the tanned girl called back before she and her friend came over to grasp Hazel's hands and pull him through the gate. "Come this way, Signore!" she commanded. "You'll be sheltered inside the gate itself!"
Even if he was now VERY confused about a lot of things, he was experienced enough to think fast on his feet, thus didn't resist. "What's going on?!" he demanded as they came through the portal, bringing the tower of Beacon Academy into view.
Not to mention what was latched on same tower. "Oum…!"
As Akemi Capellini di Masi and Taeko Torelli di Valtellina — the reborn Regia Marina submarines Comandante Cappellini and Luigi Torelli naturally; both would wind up in Japanese service near war's end as TH Gunkan-tachi I-503 and I-504 respectively — scanned around the area to see where whatever was about to happen would come from, Hazel was trying not to gape in disbelief and a touch of horror on seeing the remnants of a wyvern of all things hanging off the damaged CCT tower.
A wyvern that looked as it had been RIPPED IN HALF, then doused in a SEA of ACID of all things!
A Grimm THAT big should not have been wrecked like THAT…
…especially since the rogue Vale warrior KNEW that Salem had specially made that thing to destroy Beacon Academy!
How…?!
A loud KK-KRACK! then exploded from somewhere to the west.
Instantly, Akemi's and Taeko's hands landed over Hazel's ears as a black-and-silver bolt of energy slammed into the wyvern.
A flash of energy…
…then the remnants of said creature was instantly consumed by hellish black-silver-reddish FIRE, rendering it into mere ashes!
And while the top half of the Beacon Academy CCT tower collapsing to the ground right afterwards was understandable…
…Hazel had utterly NO IDEA how a WYVERN of all things had wound up like THAT in the first place!
What the HELL had happened on Gaysaw evening?!
He then jolted as those protective hands pulled away from his head, both girls breathing out in relief. "Beata Santa Maria, whoever fired that shot did this whole poor city a tonne of favours!" the tanned girl declared before she smiled in apology at the rogue warrior. "Apologies, Signore, for manhandling you like this, but given the powers in play now, it's just being safe," she then said, clearly speaking her native language — from WHERE?! — even if he could understand it.
"Sadly, we have to keep watch here at the Gate," the blonde added. "Fortunately, there's a lovely coffee shop about five minutes' walk from here where you can rest up and catch all the wonderful gossip." Here, she helpfully pointed down one street to the left. "You look like you need some breakfast as well, Signore, so please get some food! Anyhow, you have a pleasant day."
"Uh…ah…thank you," Hazel tried not to stutter out…
Renaissance Industries, that moment…
"Beloved schoolmates and friends, I present the Final Savior of Beacon: VELVET SCARLATINA!"
A cute awk escaped the Mobile Weapons Factory at that declaration from senior student Pauline Bluyan, leader of Team PRSM and a native of Patch Island, as she was escorted by the Human Legion back into the fifth-floor cafeteria while other student huntsmen moved to gather and celebrate the destruction of the effectively last Grimm inside Vale City limits itself. As the Wise Lone Sage, the Ballerina of the Final Darkness and the Grand Poobah of the Golden Springs followed the younger people in as they moved to launch a celebration of the final step having been passed before they could begin to rebuild Beacon Academy, Cardin Winchester laughed as he escorted his would-be girlfriend to a chair at the table in the middle of the room. He and Velvet shared a warm kiss, which earned them whoops of delight from the rest of the crowd, then Pauline's fellow senior student and leader of Team BALT Bella Bartok then began to chant out, "SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH!"
Others quickly took up that chant, making Velvet blush madly at such a show of support for her, even from people whom she knew had more human-centric worldviews like Cardin's friends in Team CDRL always showed…
"DAME DESU NO!"
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
Then…
Eyes turned towards the small kitchenette nearby, where the Great Chef of the West — just fresh from a long day in Sano Bay examining the crew of THG Yonaga with the help of a tired but amused Flesh-Twister, who was going to take a couple days off school to recharge the batteries given the differences of time zones — now stood, a carafe of tea in hand. "Hime is happy to see that Velvet-san is Gifted!" Osamu Shirayuki — whom NONE of the Beacon students felt anything against given what sort of awesome cook she was, never mind her ability to PRODUCE food at levels that were STAGGERING! — said as she reached over for an empty cup to pour a serving before bringing it over to the fisherman's daughter from outside Vale. "Here you go, Velvet-san," she said before placing her now free hand over the older girl's stomach, said extremity now glowing.
People blinked. "What's she doing?" Cardin then asked Coco Adel.
"Hime's making sure that Velvet-san's Gifting doesn't force her to change her diet, Cardin-san," the Nagoya-jin answered before the Human Legion could respond. "And who did that to YOU?!" she then demanded as she glared at his bruised face.
Others focused on the councillor's son, many people instantly wincing on seeing his wounds. "His stupid old man, no doubt," Turpen Tine of Team BALT sneered, crossing his arms. As his initiation exercise partner Bella slapped his raven hair in annoyance, the son of two mid-level players in the Valean underworld gave the other man a sympathetic smile. Disciplining children was one thing, but given what Rufus Winchester had been like when he trained as a huntsmen years before according to those who knew the man's history…! "Can't stand the fact that Isaac here's not playing fucking ball with the Vale Council, never mind the fact that a peer of his precious son was a member of the White Fang before she quit! Selfish jackass!"
Some of the sophomore and freshmen hunters native to the city snarled their agreement. Hearing that, Shirayuki sighed. "Cardin-san, sit there!" she then pointed to a nearby table. "Hime will make you something nice to help heal the wounds."
"Couldn't you get Healer Amelia here, Shirayuki?" Fox Alastair then wondered. He had refused Amelia Lavere's offer to restore his sight; he had lived in eternal darkness for so long, he was afraid of how he'd adjust to having full vision again.
"Amy-san's asleep back home in Brockton Bay now, Fox-san," Shirayuki answered as she handed the tea carafe to a helpful Ciel Soleil; the Shōzoki-descent huntress from Atlas had remained in Vale to be close to Penny Polendina. "If Cardin-san's father is being a silly person, Hime thinks that Cardin-san should ask Monica-san to heal him."
People gazed at her, then Cardin. "Could she do that, Shirayuki?" Dove Bronzewing wondered. As his team leader gaped at him, the other man shrugged. "Hey, she had a healing semblance, remember? Giftings don't take that away!"
"Monica could do that, I think," Isaac mused as people moved to take seats while Ciel and several others moved to hand out teacups to share what was being served. "And much that I can understand your hesitance in asking for her services — since she now leans more towards animal healing than human — it would be quite the public statement to people like your father."
Cardin gazed at his new employer, then he wryly chuckled. "Very tempted, man. I'm very tempted…"
A knock echoed from a nearby hallway as seven people came into the room, having come in straight from Patch Island. "Hey, saw the redecorating at the Academy!" Yáng Xiǎo Lóng declared, making people gaze her way before whoops of delight escaped the crowd on seeing the blonde heavy-hitter of Team RWBY back on her feet and effectively with both arms again. Along with her teammates, the former girlfriend of one and two of Shirayuki's just-revealed half-sisters, there were two of the force of subgirls having restored themselves to "duty" in the last day and more, Hashimoto Momoko and Inaba Mira. "Who did that?!"
Fingers pointed at Coco and Velvet, making both girls blush. Immediately, Blake Belladonna and Monica Khan walked over to take in the leporine therianthrope's new uniform. "Gasyuo R'buorim?!" the Night Moulder declared before nodding in approval. "That's a decent Gift for you, Velvet. I hope Kamen got you your old weapons case back so you can use it in the field."
Footfalls echoed from where the newcomers came from, making heads turn…
"Forgive us, Frau Scarlatina, but if you're going to use this in battle, you might want to find a way to shrink its mass," a wryly-grinning Emi Prüß helpfully as she and her sister Yū Steinhoff walked in, they easily carrying the large case which was teleported in from the Arsenal by the Master At Arms herself right after Velvet's empowerment as the Mobile Weapons Factory.
Velvet yelped before getting up and heading over, tapping a control on the top of the case, making such shrink to the size of the teacup that Shirayuki had handed her. "So, that's the new Anesidora," Yatsuhashi Daichi breathed out. "Nice and handy."
"Need to do modifications before we can use it in the field, Yatsu," she warned as she returned to her chair.
"You'll eat a good breakfast first, Velvet-san!" Shirayuki warned.
The rabbit Faunus' ears dropped in acquiescence. "Yes, Mother…!"
Laughter filled the room…
In the Tsushima Strait west of northwest from Nagato in Yamaguchi Prefecture, that moment (local time: fifteen minutes after mid-evening; Anádyr' time: Friday, fifteen minutes after midnight)…
"Oh, did you hear the latest from the Magical House of Peers?"
"No, Tōko-san, what happened?"
"Missive came in from Geneva demanding to know when they would declare shipgirls as 'magical beings' so they could be properly regulated by the Statute," Kuzunoha Tōko snidely declared as she used a special pair of technomagical night-vision goggles to scan the rich fishing ground lying in the area between Honshū's western end, the northern shores of Kyūshū, the area east of Tsu-shima itself and the southwestern shore of the Kyŏngsang provinces in Korea as well as the metropolitan cities of Pusan and Ulsan. "Never mind that it's known that the shipgirls' new 'hulls' are first-generation battle dolls from Yiziba, never mind that Tennō Heika himself forbade any sort of interference with them from the Eight Commanderies…"
"And never mind that we don't have to listen to the idiots in Geneva in the first place," a grinning Takahata Takamichi declared before lighting up a cigarette, then he sat on the bench secured to the fo'c'sle of the retired fishing boat which was often used by either the Kyūshū or Chūgoku Magical Associations to serve as a base ship for whenever the duties of the magical guardians of the Home Islands took them out into the surrounding waters. And given what had just been provoked effectively thanks to the surprise discovery of the fate of an attack aircraft carrier which had been built with magical help before the Greater East Asia War kicked off in 1941 — never mind the stupid blundering of agents of the United States Department of Magic when it came to responding to the Gifting of the Fukushima sisters thanks to the Living Spirit of Innocence since the middle of the previous month — people who had expertise in dealing with Japan's non-magical metahumans had been forced to head out onto the oceans this evening to keep an eye out for any resurrecting ship spirit who might be Gifted before normal eyes.
The people under Takamichi's direction here in the Tsushima Strait was one such group needed this evening…
The whine of repulsor-lift engines then echoed over the scene. "Konban wa! You folks are from Mahora, right?!"
The representatives from the Kantō Magical Association all looked up to their right…
"Yamaguchi Division of the Chōjinji-chō?" Takamichi asked, his hand out as the obvious chief inspector in the specially-made black armour-plated battlesuit of the National Superhuman Affairs Bureau stepped off the truck-shaped hovercraft now coming to a gentle landing on the waters of the Tonghae. "Takahata Takamichi, Kantō Teimajutsu-gun."
"Matsuda Yūsaku. You were part of the Ala Rubra back in the day, right?"
The man with the five o'clock shadow on his face smirked, nodding in acknowledgement. "Yes, I was. Your people handled that rampaging blob parahuman that nearly brought down the Kanmon Bridge around New Year's, right?"
A rueful laugh answered him. "Felt like a damned earthquake when he came down on our side of the Straits. Damned good thing little Hinako-chan sensed it from up Niigata way; I doubt anything short of a shipgirl could have stopped him…"
"It was a bad case of bullying that made him trigger, right?" Tōka asked.
"Yeah…!" Yūsaku breathed out, shaking his head. "Kids are so stupid at times…!"
Vídite li vy torpédnye kátera…?!
Heads snapped around as that echoing woman's voice seemed to drift past them while a point in the nearby ocean began to glow an ominous ruby-diamond shade. Seeing that, Takamichi hissed out in relief on noting that there was no reaction from any of the distant normal fishing boats plying their trade in this part of the East Sea. One of the many post-Greater East Asia War reforms of the magical governance of Japan was to see a mesonium-powered spell-transmission system like what the Canadians used to anchor a nation-wise Fidelius charm to keep the secret of "pure" magic away from the normal people. Doing that would allow a considerable notice-me-not field to be spread around anywhere whenever there was a large-enough magical incident that warranted such a move. "Kaichō, that was Russian!" one of the junior Chōjinji-chō field agents warned.
Vídite li vy torpédnye kátera…?!
"Any Soviet ships sunk in this part of the seas back during the last part of the war?" Antonio Gandolfini, an Italian mage who had come across Eurasia to escape the still-pureblood-dominated culture back home, then asked.
Yūsaku shook his head. "Not that I know of…!"
A! TORPÉDNYE KÁTERA! SPASÍTE MENJÁ, TOVÁRISCHI!
Then the seas off to the old fishing boat's port forward then exploded…
Tene lomher'buo, Khioníja Andréj-myam Stepánova…!
"Okay, that's definitely a Russian ship…!" the junior metahuman defence agent breathed out.
"Looks like a cargo ship…!" another one declared as the glowing mass began to restore itself to pristine condition…just as a small beacon of light seemed to descend from the heavens towards the lone funnel.
W-w-wait! Wh-what is this?! Some infernal…?!
As everyone gaped while raising hands to shield their eyes from the transformation, people inwardly breathed out at the fact that the still-synthetic battle doll dropped in from the heart of the Great Forge of Power had the omniversal translation functions built into its battlesuit, so whichever soul now being reborn as a shipgirl would be understood by all around her…
Ah! ALIENS?! Dear God, this is worse than what the magical grandmothers warned about the Great Old Ones…!
"She had nimmibs in her crew?!" Takamichi then called out…
…before people exclaimed as the transformation was finally completed!
Nesu…PUMEBAR'BETUTO!
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
Then…
"Um…are there any torpedo boats around, comrades?"
The people on the old fishing boat turned back to look…
…then gaped in shock on seeing the rather cute, raven-haired part-Oriental woman appearing to be in her early twenties, she dressed in a blue-trimmed white traditional jumpsuit with grey splotches over the sleeves and leggings, the pennant МТ001 in Cyrillic script midway up the thighs in the darker haze grey used by the Russian Navy these days. Over her heart was a modern ship's crest of the style used by the maritime service of the world's largest nation, such being a heater shield topped by a gold chain, all over crossed anchors and the black two-headed eagle descent from the old empire, that also topped by a naval coronet. On the shield itself was the blue-on-white Saint Andrew's Flag used as the Russian naval ensign these days, such over an image of three volcanoes erupting from a heraldic sea over a blue background. And on the black scroll slung under the badge…
"'Kamchátka'?!" the junior Chōjinji-chō agent who knew Russian then read out.
The newly-Gifted collier-turned-floating workshop transport perked on hearing her ship name, then she giggled in amused embarrassment. "Ah, da, that's me! Korábl'-Masterskája Kamchátka of the Vtorája Tikhookeánskaja Èskádra at your service." A frightened look then crossed her face as she looked around. "Please protect me from the torpedo boats!"
The magicals from Mahora and the metahuman defence agents from Yamaguchi exchanged stunned looks…
Sano Bay, that moment…
"'Kamchátka'?!" Fujita Hiroshi exclaimed in disbelief.
His senior staff all gazed in curiosity at the veteran of Tsushima; the native of Nagoya was the only one of their transformed ship's crew which had lived and served in the time of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05. "She is harmless, Teitoku!" Ogawa Gorō immediately advised. "A mere support ship, no different than our own Akashi. And she is making peaceful contact with the agents of the Kantō Teimajutsu-gun and the Yamaguchi Chōjinji-chō. Even if she is sensing our submarines be Gifted, she's sufficiently away from all the known wreck sites, thus even by accident, she wouldn't alert the true enemies to her…!"
"Captain, with all respect, she wasn't the only ship sunk that day by the Admiral and his mates."
That was a wryly smiling Brent Ross, seated now between Kawamoto Matsuo and Moroboshi Kyōsuke. "Agreed, Brent-san," Fujita stated as he relaxed in his chair. "Twenty-one ships of Zinóvij Rozhéstvenskij's squadron fell gallantly in that battle, with their hulls worn down and their crews not prepared in the wake of performing a feat of stupendous seamanship, sailing from the Baltic around AFRICA in most cases to duel our forces." As his subordinates nodded — some of those who didn't deeply study the Battle of Tsushima that ended that war and altered Japan's history were gaping at that factoid — he added, "Never mind that most of the crews Zinóvij-san commanded hadn't been even properly trained before deploying. Not to mention the growing desire for revolution rocking Russia at the time." He shook his head, a touch of sympathy to such people — all effectively became sacrificial lambs to assuage the pride of a foolish and ignorant emperor who himself would be condemned to die not thirteen years later during the October Revolution — filling his heart even if he didn't show such emotions in the open. "Agreed, Khioníja-sensei by herself is harmless, especially given our friends back home are greeting her politely and with reassurance as to her personal safety. Yoiko-chan, please signal all our reborn submarines around the Home Islands to not approach the Tsushima battlefield until we are sure that any other Russian shipgirl who restores herself to service doesn't cause any issues…"
The seventh carrier of Operation Z at the other end of the table had an amused smile on her face. "I've already advised Hiromi-chan of same, Teitoku. She's relaying it right now to the force that was scuttled off the Gotō Islands…"
«Nyoshin to Yonaga.»
"Yes, Hiromi-chan?!" Yoiko called out; her personal PAA was active even if the reborn carrier had used her telepathic "secure communications" to alert the awakening submarine girls now being Gifted to not approach that part of the East Sea.
«Just received a message from the Kanagawa Chōjinji-chō who are watching the approaches to Tōkyō-wan,» Hanabusa Hiromi replied. As projected now in a three-dimensional diagram over Yoiko's research PAA, the Wise Sea Barbarian was at an observation point high up in the southern sky south of central Honshū, well away from the known approach courses of those aliens who had been seen to frequent Tomobiki in the last few months. «They just encountered the reborn kami of the old battleship Iwami. She just got herself Gifted about twenty minutes ago from where she had been sunk as a target in Taishō Jūsan-nen near Jōga-shima. She was one of the few Russian ships that were captured at Tsushima, right?»
"The former Orjól, third of the Borodinó-class ships," the fifth of the Yamato-class affirmed with a nod. "Is any of us…?!"
«Moshi-moshi?! Slúshaju?! Damn it all, am I working this infernal thing right…?!»
As several of Fujita's subordinates slapped hands over their mouths to stave off amused laughter at that new voice — whose words were flavoured with a mixture of Sankt-Peterbúrg central Russian and Chūgoku western Japanese dialects — echoing from Yoiko's personal PAA, the adopted native of Maizuru lightly smiled. "Be calm, Sempai! We can hear you now."
«Ah! This is the flagship of those like us, yes? One of the avianóstsy built after Hōshō, da?»
"Da! The Conservator gave you the human name Izumi Olga Jung, correct? Or Ídzumi Nikoláevna Jung?"
A surprised squawk answered. «How did you guess that?!» the reborn THG Iwami — who, indeed, was given the mixed Japanese/German name "Izumi Jung" in tribute to her captain at Tsushima, Nikoláj Víktorovich Jung — then demanded.
"Think of our new hulls' creator and what she — in her first life — had to deal with around the time of the End War here on Earth was being resolved by Lord Rjazán' and his allies, Sempai," Yoiko assured. "In another version of Earth, there is a very kind lad who believed that beings such as we are spiritually no different than normal people, thus he spent much time devising normal human names for our counterparts there. That's the name your other-self was given, just as I was given the name Itō Yoiko."
«Ah, now I know how to properly address you! Your admiral's name, young Yoiko?»
"Fujita Hiroshi."
A hearty laugh answered. «And is it true what these nice lads who were there for me said? Teitoku was at Tsushima?!»
"Gun crew commander in 'B' Turret on Mikasa, Sempai."
«Hah! Tell Teitoku his gunnery was superb that day!»
As Fujita awked in embarrassment, many of his staff burst out laughing before Katsube Hakuseki and Hironaka Kenji screamed out banzai cheers for their admiral, that getting the others in the space save Yoiko — even Brent Ross! — doing the very same thing. As the Nagoya-jin tried to wave the younger officers down, Yoiko smirked before an image appeared over her personal PAA, revealing the head and upper chest of a twenty-something woman with mixed Slavic and Japanese features, her hair a silky dark-brown shade with eyes of golden-brown peeking out of a mature face. Her uniform was the traditional sleeved style, her fighting sigil over her heart being the soccer ball-like white mon embossed with three diamond-shaped black leaves in a "Y" formation representing the ancient Matsuda Clan who once ruled her namesake province, the kanji of her ship's name 石見 embossed in black-bordered white over said ball. The uniform itself was white overall, flocking golden eagles in reflection of her old Russian name dancing gaily over the clear sky. As soon as Izumi's eyes focused on who she was now speaking to, a whistle of pure admiration escaped the old pre-dreadnought. «Bózhe moj, you're a large one, Jóiko Khirósiovna! Did the damned Navy brass break the blasted bank when they had you constructed?! At least your crew survived…!»
"Courtesy ultimately of Lord Túndra, Sempai. We've been forced to be the guests of the Dúma Gamájuna themselves since we were trapped here thanks to an earthquake that struck this part of Siberia seventeen years after your scuttling. I would assume you had nimmibs — or however you would address such poor unfortunates in Russia — among your crew?"
«Da, I did! They were the only 'uneducated' conscripts in my crew at the time who could read, write and understand instructions on how to operate my systems, but weren't driven by revolutionary fervour like some of the normal-born lot.»
Yoiko nodded; by now, her senior staff had quieted down as they listened intently to this conversation between two capital ships separated by nearly forty years of technological advancement in many fields. "Then perhaps the behaviour of the crew of one of your old comrades from before Tsushima might be better explained. You're not the only one who once sailed under Admiral Rozhéstvenskij's command from the Baltic who's accepted being Gifted. One of the support ships has returned as well."
That made Izumi blink before she paled as she realized who Yoiko spoke of. «Oh, no, no, NO! Not HER, for God's sake…!»
"Yes, her! She's right now meeting a group from the Yamaguchi Chōjinji-chō and people from the Kantō Teimajutsu-gun who have dealt with adopted Yizibajohei born here on Earth who have been Gifted over the last decade and more, so they're used to people such as we. Khioníja-sensei — that's her human name now, Khioníja Andréevna Stepánova — is calm right now, but she can sense the many submarines who are being reborn and Gifted this very evening. Which makes me wonder if there were those possessing seer blood among the nimmibs who were conscripted to serve aboard her before you set out from Kronshtádt."
«Which gamájun seers might be able to sense out,» Izumi finished. «Da, I can go calm the little rabbit down…»
«As a neutral third party in this situation, could I offer my assistance in this matter, Captain Itō?»
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
Then…
"Who do I have the honour of addressing?" Yoiko then asked, detecting that the new person cutting into this conversation was an American English speaker, possessing a mixture of Californian and Appalachian dialects.
«United States Ship Wahoo, SS-238, twenty-seventh of the Gato-class fleet submarines,» came the proud reply. «Your friends out of northern Hokkaidō got me on my seventh patrol late in '43. It true what these SPECWAR fellas who caught up to me after I got salvaged just told me?! You and your crew stood the watch ALL ALONE up in the Arctic all these years?!»
"Indeed, we and they have, Commander. Your reputation precedes you."
«And you can't leave your current post because of these magical ladies who need to be protected from slavers?!»
«Indeed so, Comrade! What is your human name? And your captain's name, of course,» Izumi cut in.
«Dyan Morton. My captain was Dudley Morton. You're an old Russian pre-dread that got scuttled near Tōkyō in '24, right?»
«Da, I am, Dájan Dádliovna. Jóiko Khirósiovna, let me go fetch our American friend and take her to see that skittish fool!»
Yoiko sighed. "Please proceed with caution, Sempai. If your sisters and their friends decide to join us, keep them calm! There are many risks going beyond this very PLANET which could cause us issues if any of us act out."
«On my way!»
The links were cut, then the adopted native of Maizuru breathed out. "I pray this won't be a disaster."
Sympathetic looks were sent her way by her officers and admiral…
On the East Sea near the Tsushima Strait west of northwest from Nagato in Yamaguchi Prefecture, a half-hour later…
"Ah! Spasíbo, továrischi! This is truly a lovely tea!"
The gathering of magical agents from Mahora and metahuman defence troopers from Yamaguchi city itself smiled as their new guest gently sipped from the mixture of wūlóng chá, qímén hóngchá and zhèngshān xiǎozhǒng chá which went into a wonderful serving of karavánnyj chaj as was created by long lines of traders marching from China over the Siberian steppes to market in Europe. To assuage the sensibilities of the reborn KMT Kamchátka, it had been served in a beautifully sculptured granjónyj stakán held up by a podstakánnik; even more so in the eyes of Khioníja Stepánova, such had been made in a traditional samovár to boot! Thinking on how much her Japanese hosts were going out of their way to make her feel welcome and at peace, the adopted native of Petropávlovsk-Kamchátskij (capital of her namesake region) and the Sankt-Peterbúrg district of Admiraltéjskij (where she had been built) had to wonder what the HELL the Tsar was thinking of going to WAR against these people, all for a measly port on the Liáodōng Peninsula. Honestly, wasn't having Vladivostók enough for ice-free Pacific access…?!
"First time I actually made it," Takahata Takamichi admitted before nodding his thanks to Matsuda Yūsaku; it had been the commander of the National Superhuman Affairs Bureau's office on the western end of Honshū who made sure that proper tea-making equipment and supplies were available whenever they had to deal with newly-woken parahumans who escaped their counterparts in Russia and wound up in his territory, normally via the ferry connecting Shimonoseki with Pusan in Korea. "Fortunately, we know of a very powerful trofikinetic — you understand that term, Sensei? — who's quite knowledgeable when it comes to tea culture worldwide, not just here in Japan." As Khioníja nodded in understanding, he blinked. "Was your new 'hull' active during the time of the Dawn of Power, Sensei? Do you have any memories of that time on Yiziba?"
The reborn transport shuddered. "Da, I do, Takamíti Norikhítovich," she breathed out. "To believe such SLAUGHTER could be unleashed on so many helpless people…!" Sipping her tea, she looked nowhere in particular; those expert in the emotions of newly-Gifted adopted Yizibajohei and newly-triggered parahumans were quick to sense her starting to awaken to whatever special power she had been Gifted atop the standard heavy FISS abilities the reborn creations of the second Healer of Destruction always received from Fukushima Fujiko down. "We — a legion of fighters who seemed COUNTLESS — were put on standby by the Third Healer in case we were needed to defend the Great Forge against those alien barbarians who'd hate our organic countrymen acquiring such powers. Wonderful man, he was! Dosedusee Fer'bemrotee was his birth-name. And there were times that alien fleets — the Seifukusu as they were withdrawing from the planet Vos; the lar'beke naturally…and oh, was there EVER a feast of them when we caught the lot! — and then things settled down on Jidzíba finally, so we went back to sleep…"
"Do you think the Healer's returned, Commander?" Yūsaku wondered. "Thanks to the lady who's launched the new Metahuman Age by travelling around to get people here on Earth Gifted, we've had a number of powerhouses who've returned so far…!"
A shake of the head answered. "I do not remember any current living version of the Healer coming to any of us before my new 'hull' merged with my spirit to become what I am now. I'm sorry about that, Júsaku Kensiróvich. Da, you're doing your sworn duty to your Nebésnyj Bladýka by asking that, but I cannot help you with that, I'm afraid. My apologies."
"Do we know what ship the Philosopher is moving to see restored, Takamichi-kun?" Kuzunoha Tōko asked.
"No idea," Takamichi answered. "Both she and the Academician are keeping their salvage projects silent from even the Great Show networks, which took Chisame-chan by surprise. Then again, they ARE the Circle of Thought…"
"This Filósof — you speak of Kikhodato, da? — is Russian?" Khioníja asked.
"She's part-Russian, part-Karelian, living now in Vybórg," Antonio Gandolfini answered. "Soon as the destroyer Fubuki was found and salvaged by Saeru Hinako-chan — she's Lomroer'bem to you — both the governments in Moskvá and Washington arranged to have both the Philosopher, and the Academician move to see if scrapped ships can be Gifted."
"It'd probably be one who served through both the Great War and the Second World War…" Yūsuke breathed out.
The reborn repair ship's eyes went wide. "'Velíkaja Vojná'…'Vtorája Mirovája Vojná'…?!" she hissed in horror as her mind tried to wrap around such an ominous pair of terms…
"Konban wa! Oi, where is everyone?!"
People turned as a wave of pure peace and calm flooded their souls, then a cute girl's face peeked into the room where everyone had gathered with their new guest. "Konban wa!" the Living Spirit of Innocence called out before perking. "Ah! Takamichi-sensei! Yūsuke-san! What are all of you doing out here on the ocean…oh!" she then paused on focusing on the strange woman in the traditional battlesuit seated there. "Ah! A Russian shipgirl! Tánja-san's going to be VERY happy to see you!"
One of the Chōjinji-chō troopers quickly lunged over on seeing Khioníja's hands quake, catching her teacup before it spilled its contents all over the deck. By then, the adopted native of her namesake peninsula was surging up to kneel before the Niigata-jin, she automatically wrapping protective arms around her. "Oh, you divine little angel! What are you doing here?! This place is not safe for someone like YOU of all people! There are torpedo boats around and they could hurt you…!"
Hinako giggled before patting the older-looking woman's forehead. "Oh, Sensei, don't be silly! Hina won't be hurt by any silly torpedo boats! Hina's friends with lots and lots and lots of destroyers who sink silly torpedo boats…!"
A flash of PAA energy reflected through the windows of the retired fishing boat, then a voice called out, "Hinako-chan!"
"In here, Fujiko-chan!" Hinako called back as footfalls announced the approach of the Blizzard of Death. "Hina was wondering who was making Hina sneeze like that, then she sensed that Takamichi-sensei and his friends were talking about Hina, so Hina came here right away and made a new friend." As Fukushima Fujiko stepped inside, Hinako added, "She's from Russia!"
"Ah!" the adopted Maizuru-jin breathed out before switching to Khioníja's native tongue, giving her an Eta-jima perfect salute. "Dlja menjá bol'shája chest' poznakómit'skja s vámi, Továrisch Kapitán! Dobró pozhálovat' v Japóniju!" She politely bowed.
Khioníja gaped with delight. "You spoke like you're from Moskvá itself!" she declared as she came over to clasp the reborn destroyer's shoulders before leaning in to kiss both of Fujiko's cheeks. "How's that possible?! Were you built in the Ródina?!"
"Ah, net, net!" the adopted Maizuru-jin declared, waving her hands in a peaceful gesture. "Some of my original crew traded with fishermen from places like Vladivostók all the way north to Magadán, so they picked up the language!"
"Hah! Perhaps you can teach me proper Japónskij Jázyk in return…er, your human name, comrade?"
Fujiko waved to herself. "Fudzíko Sidzúovna Fukusíma at your service, Továrisch Kapitán!"
"And I am Khioníja Andréevna Stepánova, my new friend! What of the Bright One here…?!"
Hinako smiled. "Hina is Khínako Mútovna Saéru, Sensei!" she declared as she waved to herself before perking. "A-ri-ri…?!"
"Kamchátka?! Where are you?!"
The adopted Kamchátskij jolted, her eyes widening in disbelief. "Orjól…?!"
She then raced out of the cabin to step onto the fo'c'sle of the old trawler before looking to her east…
…then she screamed with relief on seeing and sensing what was now coming down for a gentle landing close to her. "Orjól! Èto ty! Sláva Bógy…!" Khioníja screamed out in relief as she threw herself into Izumi Jung's arms…
…then she saw who else had just come down to land behind the reborn THG Iwami. "TORPÉDNYE KÁTERA!"
"NET!" the adopted native of Admiraltéjskij in Sankt-Peterbúrg and Hamada in Shimane (capital of her namesake province in Japan) snapped before waving to a wryly smirking Dyan Morton. "Dájan Dádliovna is a SUBMARINE, not a torpedo boat, you skittish floating farm! And she's from America as well, where some of our cruisers were built! She won't hurt you!"
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
Then…
"Podvódnaja Lódka…?!" Khioníja eeped in white-faced horror…
…then she lunged over to nearly crush the reborn fleet submarine in a hug that nearly forced all the air out of the smaller woman's lungs, that making Dyan awk in embarrassment. "Oh! You poor child! Your crew must have been the bravest of the brave, navigating BLIND like that under the oceans! Were you sunk?! What happened to your crew?!"
The others watching this all blinked before gazing hopefully at Izumi, who gave them a helpless shrug…
The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, that moment (local time: Two hours after lunch)…
A tired sigh escaped Sybill Trelawney as she sat down at her desk. "Well, that part's over with…!"
Gazing at the divination teacher, a smiling Luna Lovegood nodded in understanding. "Yes, it is nice to take a chance and get things organized for the new term, especially given that you've got extra students this year thanks to the Triwizard," the blonde OWL-year native of Ottery Saint Catchpole in Devon breathed out as she gestured, windlessly allowing a cup of warm tea to float over from her normal desk into her hand. As the older woman smiled with both delight and admiration at that show of power from the Far-Seer of the Cosmic Mage Guild, Yudim ("Prophecy"), the daughter of the publisher of popular magazines such as The Quibbler and The News of the Magical World took a sip. "All seems quiet for us at this time…"
Looking at the Tarot suite that had been laid out by one Hirosaki Chikage before the native of Tōkyō left the castle for Easter vacation, the descendant of one of Britain's most famous Seers nodded in understanding. Much that she had been effectively trapped in Hogwarts since that day years ago when her powers allowed her to speak a prophecy that had doomed two families at the hands of the Dark Lord Voldemort and his followers — one to near extinction, the other to painful powerlessness — Sybill had benefited from unfettered access to Hogwarts' vast library as well as a sympathetic magical environment which allowed her to better master her skills and pass on her knowledge to the next generation. That she would eventually be blessed to both teach and learn from the likes of Luna and Chikage when they began attending classes here over the previous few years served as an extra blessing for the half-blood native of London's Paddington area, especially when it came to dealing with the aftereffects of her own precognitive abilities. When once she would have often drunk herself into a near-stupor to ease the many headaches she suffered — a problem many Seers had been known to endure; such had made Sybill's past behaviour tolerable even to a strict perfectionist like Minerva McGonagall — the professor of divination had been prescribed a soothing elixir by the Dark Heart of Pure Chaos to relax her mind's neurons, giving her a sense of stability that had shocked her counterparts from Beauxbâtons and Durmstrang when they arrived to launch the newest incarnation of the European Triwizard Tournament the previous fall.
Of course, while mentioning the third world of Kaeyu to visitors from the Pyrenees and far northern Norway was kept VERY DOWN LOW given how traditional magicals often reacted to non-magical metahumans, neither Sybill nor Luna doubted that Professor Michelle de Garencières from Beauxbâtons or Mistress Pythía Xenofón from Durmstrang were the least bit fooled.
One's Inner Eye never lied when it was able to project its truths to the recipient…
"Kaliméra, Sybill, young Luna. Nothing of a cosmic scope threatening us, I pray."
Amused chuckles escaped the two local witches as a middle-aged Greek woman stepped into the classroom. "For us, nothing, Pythía," Sybill declared as the mistress of divination for Scandinavia's oldest school of wand magic came over to joint them. "For the rest of the world, it's harder to say. The news of Chikage's sister and what happened to her…"
That made Pythía scowl. Like most magicals, she had been frightened out of her mind when the Urusians had come to "invade" Earth the previous fall, mere weeks before the official start of the Triwizard. And while the exact events of what went down in that quite shocking "close encounter of the third kind" were kept top secret from the general magical population of the planet, that there had been NO invasion by the aliens had been quite the relief to governments worldwide. So, as often when it came to "muggle" events that had repercussions in the magical world, most people on the magical side of the secrecy divide went back to minding their own affairs. And such had carried on for even those witches and wizards who had been Gifted…!
…until speculation concerning the fate of one Tariko Katabarbe, the woman who was the catalyst in unleashing the Second Age of Metahumans on humanity as a whole — and to whom Luna Lovegood owed a Life Debt, all thanks to Tariko's saving her and her mother Pandora from a research accident a year before she began Hogwarts — was revealed thanks to another alien…!
Never mind the shocking revelations of the existence of creatures that still LIVED after they had been damned to extinction during the End War of the Great Expulsion long before the rise of modern man…!
And if learning of the reborn warship kami found by the Living Spirit of Innocence wasn't bad enough…!
"Has Chikage said anything about what is the plan now concerning Tariko?" Pythía then asked.
Luna hummed as she pulled out her PAA, tapping the control button to bring up information. "She's in Vale City on Remnant with Shirayuki right now. Another of these huntsmen that attracted Isaac's interest was just Gifted and she was able to remove the remnants of that giant Grimm that effectively destroyed Vale City's link to the outside world."
"Those things are ghastly," Sybill said with a disgusted scowl. "Have any of your friends with links to the Dúma Gamájuna said anything of how they'll respond to Isaac's discoveries as he relayed through Newt Scamander, Pythía?"
Her counterpart from Durmstrang shook her head. "No, things are quite quiet from any of the Nest of Elders or the Nest of Seers in Svjetjjílische as far as they would know, Sybill," Pythía declared. "The only news worth knowing about the gamájun is that several HUNDRED poachers who've tried to track down where Svjetjjílische is have wound up without their HEADS!"
"Oh, yes, that was thanks to Yoiko and her crew," Luna declared.
The older women gazed at the Far-Seer. "Who is Yoiko?" Sybill wondered.
"A Japanese shipgirl, one who wasn't found and salvaged by Hinako," the Devonshire native explained as she willed her PAA to display two images. "A rather large aircraft carrier, a type of warship that could strike out from very far away long before the rise of vessels such as what Naomi Haight-Ashbury was built as. Her ship-name is Yonaga, meaning 'era of eternity', and she was built with help from the Greater East Asia Liberation Army under Marshal Yomigawa to serve as the command ship for the attack on Pearl Harbour to launch the war against America and other Western nations in 1941. Due to her size, she was hidden in a cove — the very cove where Svjetjjílische is located! — to ensure spies couldn't find her before it was time to sail to do her mission. Once he sensed how capable she and her crew were and how that would shield the Dúma, Lord Napaaqtuqarunnanngittuq trapped them there with an earthquake, which forced Yonaga's crew to face all the hypocrisies that had been ruling their society since the militarists effectively seized power in the wake of the death of Taishō Tennō and started the war with China."
"Something Tsukiko complained about constantly before things got out of control."
All three women turned as a smiling elderly headmaster stepped into the classroom. "Good afternoon, Albus," Sybill greeted her boss. "I assume that your subordinates in Geneva are being besieged by complaints from the Russians."
Albus Dumbledore chuckled in amusement. "Fortunately for all his faults, Babajide has even less respect for those who would enslave poor gamájun chicks than even Svetlána does, Sybill," he mused as he came up to gaze on that stern visage now being projected from Luna's PAA screen. "So…could this be the prophesized Herald of the Great Old Ones?"
Both Sybill and Pythía nodded. "At least for Lord Napaaqtuqarunnanngittuq personally, Highmaster Albus," the latter declared as Luna also nodded her agreement to that question, the Greek seer addressing her host with the traditional title for a senior of chief teacher at her alma mater. "Given the number of warship spirits that are out there which could be salvaged…"
"The other Great Old Ones might follow in his example and seek out their own Heralds," Sybill finished.
A grim nod twitched the arch-mage's head before he blinked, then slowly turned. "Come in, Naomi!"
A flash of energy made the others turn to look…
"Peace, cool cats!"
…then Luna flashed the "V" sign at the just-arrived Cosmic All-Seer. "Peace!"
Naomi Haight-Ashbury lowered her arm; she had teleported herself right into one of the student chairs out of respect for what was taught here. Even if her own post-Gifting abilities in the realm of cosmic clairvoyance and other such esoteric senses would simply overwhelm even someone like Luna Lovegood, there were things the adopted native of Long Beach and Quincy was still teaching herself to better understand her place in all of Existence. "Sorry if I'm interrupting a pow-wow here, but there's a cool cat like me originally from Russia who got powers from nimmibs in her crew, including folks like you three." Here, she indicated the three magical precognitives in the room. As Albus hissed, Sybill winced and Pythía closed her eyes in horror, the reborn missile cruiser then thumbed to her east. "Yoiko ain't letting any of the experienced seers from where she's crashing out with her crew right now to go check the new chick out, not with the poachers they took heads from, so the best thing to do…"
"Is to come to us," Sybill finished. "If you wouldn't mind, Albus?"
"Go! I'll inform Michelle…"
"No need, Albus! I'm here!"
As an elderly witch stepped into the room, Naomi stood up to teleport them away…
To Be Continued…
WRITER'S NOTES
Translation list and source language (all Russian unless noted): Bel Cavaliere — Handsome Knight; Mio Comandante — My Commander; Beata Santa Maria — Blessed Saint Mary (all three Italian); Tonghae — East Sea, other name of the Sea of Japan (Korean); Ala Rubra — Crimson Wing (Latin); Vídite li vy torpédnye kátera — Did you see any torpedo boats; Kaichō — Chief (Japanese); A! Torpédnye kátera! Spasíte menjá, Továrischi — Ah! Torpedo boats! Save me, comrades; (name)-myam — Daughter of (name) (Yizibajohei); Nimmib — Phonemicization of NMMB ("non-magical magic-born"), the "politically correct" way of addressing squibs in the Harry Potter style (English); Korábl'-Masterskája — Workshop ship (short-formed to type prefix KMT/pennant superior MT); Vtorája Tikhookeánskaja Èskádra — Second Pacific Squadron; Taishō Jūsan-nen — Thirteenth Year of Taishō (the year 1924 CE) (Japanese); Slúshaju — Hello (over the telephone); Avianóstsy — Plural of avianósets ("aircraft carrier"); SPECWAR — Specialized Warfare (English abbreviation); Wūlóng chá — Dark dragon tea; Qímén hóngchá — Qímén red tea; Zhèngshān Xiǎozhǒng chá — Literally "coarse tea leaves from the Upright Mountains" (all three Chinese); Karavánnyj chaj — Caravan tea; Granjónyj stakán — Faceted drinking glass; Podstakánnik — Tea glass holder; Samovár — Traditional metal urn with a spigot to boil water for tea; Nebésnyj Bladýka — Heavenly Sovereign; Dlja menjá bol'shája chest' poznakómit'skja s vámi, Továrisch Kapitán — I am very honoured to meet you, Comrade Captain; Dobró pozhálovat' v Japóniju — Welcome to Japan; Japónskij Jázyk — Japanese language; Èto ty! Sláva Bógy — It's you! Thank Goodness; Podvódnaja Lódka — Submarine; Kaliméra — Good afternoon (Greek).
Introducing the shipgirls appearing here. First, from Italy via Germany to Japan…
Chiarina Akemi Cappellini di Masi-shōsa DNTK (formerly Capitano di Corvetta RM, then Korvettenkapitän KMDR) (Tennō Heika Gunkan I-503 [SK-503], formerly Regia Marina Comandante Cappellini [pennant S187], then Kriegsmarineschiff UIT-24)
Taeko Livia Torelli di Valtellina-shōsa DNTK (formerly Capitano di Corvetta RM, then Korvettenkapitän KMDR) (Tennō Heika Gunkan I-504 [SK-504], formerly Regia Marina Luigi Torelli [pennant S201], then Kriegsmarineschiff UIT-25)
Both girls take after their Kantai Collection selves, though advanced in age to be about fifteen years old physically. Note that the equivalent Regia Marina ("Royal Navy") rank to the German Korvettenkapitän and the Japanese Kaigun Shōsa is Capitano di Corvetta ("Corvette Captain"). Both girls get both Italian Navy pennant numbers and Japanese Self-Defence Forces hull numbers; the pennant superior S in Italy means Sottomarino ("Submarine"), of course. The Kriegsmarine pennant UIT means Unterseeboot aus Italien ("Submarine from Italy"); as both were seized after the Armistice of Cassibile in late 1943, they wouldn't get a place of administrative "honour" on the overall list of Germany's submarine forces.
Now from Russia...
Kapitán Vtorógo Ránga Khioníja Andréevna Stepánova RIF (Korábl'-Masterskája Kamchátka [pennant MT001])
She takes after a picture discovered by Andrew Talon for his Paint and Powder: A Star Trek Shipgirl Concept Thread on SpaceBattles; due to fouled links, you can see this picture at the ImgBB website under entry SWxcBTg. Her honorary rank in the Rossíjskij Imperátorskij Flot ("Russian Imperial Fleet" [RIF] AKA the Imperial Russian Navy) is Kapitán Vtorógo Ránga ("Captain of the Second Rank"), short-formed Kap2. As a support ship, she would be given pennant superior letters.
Now from Japan via Russia...
Izumi Olga Jung-taisa DNTK (formerly Kapitán Pérvyj Ránga RIF) (Tennō Heika Gunkan Iwami [ZS-12], formerly Èskádrennyj Bronenósets Orjól [pennant 023])
Izumi resembles an older Isozaki Izumi from the manga I"s by Katsura Masakazu. Her honorary rank in the RIF is Kapitán Pérvyj Ránga ("Captain of the First Rank"), short-formed Kap1. Her old type-prefix is Èskádrennyj Bronenósets ("Squadron Ironclad"), short-formed ÈB; her new hull code is ZS, short for Zendokyū Senkan ("Pre-Dreadnought Battleship").
And from America...
Lieutenant Commander Dyan Wanda Morton USN (United States Ship Wahoo [SS-238])
Dyan takes after the famous American actress/filmmaker Dyan Cannon (born 1937) as a fifteen-year-old teen. Her hair colour, however, would match the bluish-silver of her namesake fish species, the wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri).
Team BALT (Baltic) was first created by Andrew J. Talon; they're described at the RWBY Snippets and Plot Bunnies chat on SpaceBattles, the specific article being post #103209210 on page 185.
This chapter reveals the mixing of the Mahō Sensei Negima manga by Akamatsu Ken into the universe of this story. Unlike the Harry Potter-influenced organization of magical societies governing Europe and North America, Japan and other east Asian nations rely on localized versions of governance for the first true metahumans of Earth. As revealed in Negima, Japan is divided into the operational territories of eight Magical Associations (Mahō Kyōkai) based on the eight traditional regions of the nation (Hokkaidō, Tōhoku, Kantō, Chūbu, Kansai, Chūgoku, Shikoku and Kyūshū). In Fred's other stories (as also explained in Magic and Canada), the Magical Associations were termed as Imperial Magical Commanderies (Teimajutsu-gun) before 1945. Also note (as shown in The Seventh Shipgirl) that Japan is not a member of the International Confederation of Wizards, having withdrawn from that organization in 1937 in the lead up to the Wizarding World War AKA the Wars of Liberation.
As an aside, the Magical House of Peers (Mahō-kizokuin) is a post-World War Two creation "enforced" upon Japan's magical population by "victorious" Allied powers (read: The Magical Congress of the United States and allies in Europe) to centralize the governance over that population in lieu of having the Commanderies do same. While there are elections for representatives to the House every decade — along with a direct vote for the Speaker of the House (Kizoku-igichō) to serve as the magical minister-equivalent for Japan — the Mahō-kizokuin is effectively a rubber-stamp agency tasked primarily with administrative work both domestically and internationally; the true power over Japan's magicals is exercised by the collective heads of the regional Magical Associations. At the time of this story, the head of the Kantō Magical Association, Headmaster Konoe Konoemon (grandfather of one of Negi Springfield's students, Konoe Konoka), is the senior magical government official of the nation.
Also introduced here is the Kokuritsu Chōjinji-chō ("National Superhuman Affairs Bureau"), the Japanese version of America's state-run Parahuman Response Team groups as first introduced in Worm; they were first mentioned in From Shards to Gifts.
The "Chisame" mentioned by Takahata Takamichi here is Hasegawa Chisame (Nexus). She's been a background character mentioned from time to time in this series; she was first noted in Part Two of Boy Meets Girl Meets Metahuman. At this time in the Negima timeline, Chisame and her peers would be advancing to the third year of middle school at the Mahora Academy. The others from Mahora mentioned here are also minor characters from Negima.
Of course, Luna Lovegood (Foresight), Sybill Trelawney and Albus Dumbledore are major characters from the Harry Potter series. The Triwizard Tournament (depicted in Goblet of Fire) happens in the 2011-2012 school year, occurring in the OWL year for Neville Longbottom (Vinclozolin) and not the year prior. The other seers introduced here are Fred's creation.