CHAPTER 12:

YAO HA DUSHI

Five months since the Gate opened…

Shino reflected that it was a damned good thing Hazama was as easy-going as he was. She was sure that if Major Higaki was in charge, she'd have been brought up for fraternisation. As it was, all Hazama asked was that she be discreet, make sure protection was being worn (she had no desire of getting pregnant anyway, not until they were good and ready, thank you very much!), and don't let it interfere with her duties. And Harry and Tuka knew better than to allow that to happen.

It was strange, being part of a three-way relationship. It was even stranger being in one with a former child soldier wizard, and a blonde Elf who was seven times older than she was. And yet, Shino actually enjoyed her relationship with those two. Harry didn't mind her aggressive personality, and was willing to be a house husband, but he was no spineless wimp either: he could fight hard when he needed to, and that, she had to admit, was as close as she was going to get for a perfect lover. Tuka was not unlike Harry in some regards, but she was less cynical and more sweet, and it was impossible to hate her. But she also had a core of steel: their operations in Akusho, the Red Light District of Sadera, showed that, when push came to shove, she was willing to fight, even kill. Shino remembered those criminals Tuka and Hodor used their compound bows on, and she reckoned that, if they ever felt inclined to learn how to use a sniper rifle, they'd probably outperform their best snipers.

Plus…well, Shino's reluctance to be part of a ménage a trois was now non-existent. Even as quickly as their relationship had progressed since that night on Mount Hakone, she was actually enjoying it. True, they only started getting truly physical a few days ago…but oh boy, it was damned good, largely in part to Harry. Inexperienced though he was, he managed to show himself to be a good lover. And Tuka…well, behind that shy, blushing façade, she was a closet pervert, and while Shino didn't quite swing that way, she had to admit, the High Elf knew exactly where to touch.

Thanks to what happened in Japan, Pina and the Rose Knights were now allies to the JSDF, and were helping establish peace talks, intending to persuade enough senators to ally in order to put pressure on Molt Sol Augustus for an armistice. They'd brought in Hermione, officially to report back to the ICW about conditions in Falmart, but really, she was there more to tutor Lelei. Shino had to admit to taking a shine to the bushy-haired witch. That weird little blonde who came in yesterday was another matter, Lovegood. She'd come in looking like a dotty kid in a candy store, and said something about Shino having 'Wrackspurts', whatever the fuck those were. Apparently she and that guy she came with, Rolf Scamander, were bigshots when it came to magical creatures, and even now, the young man was examining the Flame Dragon's remains.

The UN was still debating what actual team to send in to Falmart, to 'supervise' the JSDF. It was unlikely, given what Hazama said, that a full team of UN peacekeepers would be sent, just some personnel from various organisations as a sort of oversight thing. Shino was irritated, but given that this was the first major operation, aside from peacekeeping and disaster relief, that the JSDF had been in for some time, well, politics had a bad habit of rearing its ugly head.

Speaking of which, in a couple of days' time, they had to head to Sadera. Apparently Pina was holding a party where the JSDF could give demonstrations of some of their weapons. It was risky, as it could get the attention of the Emperor, or of Zorzal. But the dividends would be worth it. Apparently Sugawara was already in Sadera already, and had managed to gain the cooperation of one of the war hawks, Cicero, in exchange for the release of his nephew, one of the POWs from the Ginza attack.

She looked around the town that had sprung up near Alnus Base. Once, it had been a shantytown, but now, with some help from the Formal clan, it was now a small town. There was even a tavern run by some of the Formals' servants, including that Bunny Warrior Delilah, and it was popular with the locals and the JSDF alike.

She was close to the gates of the town when she saw a newcomer. She had dark skin, and was wearing a mantle with the hood concealing her features, though the outfit she wore looked like some stereotypical skimpy warrior outfit. The newcomer seemed to notice Shino's scrutiny, and spoke in the local language. "Excuse me, but are you with the Men in Green?"

Shino sighed, grateful to Tuka's lessons in the local language. "Yeah. I'm Sergeant-Major Shino Kuribayashi. Look, you're new here, I can tell, so I need to know your name and why you're here. Sorry, but newcomers could be trouble."

"I understand," the woman said, and removed her hood, revealing silvery hair and pointed ears. "I am Yao Ha Dushi of Schwarz Forest. I have come to plead for the help of your warriors in eradicating a scourge upon our people."

Shino frowned. If she recalled correctly, based on briefings they got from King Duran and from Tuka, that meant Yao was… "You're a Dark Elf, aren't you? Right, well, I'll have to take you to my commanding officer. Though why did you come to us?"

"We heard of you vanquishing the Flame Dragon," Yao said. "I scarcely thought it true until I saw the skull of the beast outside this settlement."

They were passing by the tavern when they heard Itami say, "Hey, Kuribayashi, what's with the Dark Elf?" The shabby 1st Lieutenant was leaning out of the window, a tipsy-looking Rory sitting opposite him.

"She wants help for her people," Shino said with a shrug.

Suddenly, Yao scowled, and drew out a sabre. "What kind of beast are you to get such a young girl drunk? Intending to take advantage of her, no doubt."

Shino didn't like the smirk on Rory's face, and as much as she and Itami had their issues, and she sometimes liked to prank him, allowing him to get skewered by a Dark Elf was not on the agenda. "Hey, take it easy," Shino said, placing her hand on Yao's shoulder. "That girl is actually Rory Mercury."

Rory pouted, but Yao asked, "Is this true?"

"Yeah, yeah. The killjoy told the truth. I just wanted to have a bit of fun at Itami's expense. So, why are you here at Alnus Hill, Yao Ha Dushi?"

"…A pair of dragon whelps have been attacking our people. We have managed to hide from them, but they hunger for our flesh, and our entreaties to Hardy have gone unanswered," Yao admitted. "They are already too grown for our weapons to affect them much, so I was sent here as an emissary to seek aid."

Rory frowned, and then mused to herself, in Japanese, "That's very odd. Giselle prefers that area when she isn't moving around on Hardy's orders. And being a Dragonid, she's more than capable of taming a dragon…anyway, are you taking her to see Hazama?"

"I said I'd take her to our CO. I think Hazama would be the one who determines whether we send anyone, and how many. With the peace talks with the Empire at this stage, they'd probably want to be careful, to avoid a political shitstorm. Hopefully, given that we've got King Duran here, we can at least send some people with RPG launchers. If one good hit from a HEAT rocket was able to kill that monster, then they should be good against smaller ones, right?"

Rory nodded. "As long as it hits it in a vital area, anyway. Dragon whelps tend to be more agile than their elders. True, dragons can be surprisingly fast and agile in the air, but on the ground, well…" The petite Apostle shrugged. "By the way, where's Harry and Tuka?"

"Talking to Hodor, last I saw them," Shino said. "Hodor's actually beginning to recover a few more of his memories. Very slowly, but he's better than he was before. There might be some hope to him recovering all of them, in time. Anyway, I'd better get Yao here to Lieutenant General Hazama…"

Actually, Harry had finished talking with Hodor some time ago. He and his daughter were getting some archery practise in just outside the base, with Harry looking on, as well as someone else. This someone else was Myuute Luna Sires, the Siren who had been shanghaied into helping the bandits attacking Italica. She was now working as a member of the Alnus town's Military Police, albeit under supervision. It was her time off, though, and the feathered girl was chatting away.

"Those bastards got me while I was heading to Italica, looking for work," Myuute was saying, crossing her feathered arms. "One of them was an ex-mage from the Imperial Army, and he was able to protect them from my own magic. I had to enhance their arrows and deflect any enemy arrows coming their way. Basically, it was either help them, or get used as their sex toy before either getting sold to one of the gangs in Akusho, or else having my throat slit. Frankly, I'm glad you got me out of there."

Harry nodded. It wasn't like with Pettigrew, who had betrayed people who were his supposed best friends, and then went back to help Voldemort. Admittedly, he had been afraid for his life, but he had joined the Death Eaters willingly in the first place. Myuute, on the other hand, had been conscripted by the bandits. Myuute was actually kind of endearing, once she was no longer an enemy.

Of course, she could never hold a candle to Tuka. The blonde High Elf girl was the archetype of being endearing. She was gentle and peaceful, though one should not mistake that for weak. The operations in Akusho showed that she was more than capable of fighting, and killing, if need be. What's more, she grew out of her starstruck phase with him, to his gratitude. While he was still a hero to her, she didn't have that same worshipping nature as Ginny did. If anything, it was probably because Harry wanted to take it slowly that had Tuka coming to terms with her infatuation with her 'knight in shining armour'. Harry didn't treat her like a prize to be bedded, but a person, and Tuka, far from being offended, found herself drawn to him more, with less infatuation and more gentle attraction.

And there was Shino. Shino, who reminded him so much of Ginny, and yet, was so much more. Shino may have been a Muggle, but her fire and conviction put even Ginny's to shame. Rough and aggressive she may have been, but Shino was compassionate and accepting, and what was more, understood more than Ginny what Harry was. Ginny, while she had gone through bad experiences, didn't quite understand Harry's own past, and couldn't see past his reputation as the Boy Who Lived. Shino had no such preconceptions. She was perceptive and blunt, and while she hadn't gone through anything like what Harry or Tuka did, she had empathy enough to recognise it, and know when to comfort him. Plus, she had the balls to call him out on any stupidity.

Both were strong, beautiful, and intelligent women. And he was lucky to be in a relationship with both of them. No, not just lucky, but privileged.

An uneasy peace had fallen between the JSDF forces and the Saderan Empire. Pina, with help from Sugawara, was courting various nobles to try and encourage a peace treaty. Harry, along with Shino and Tuka, as well as the 3rd Recon Team and their associates, were heading to Sadera soon for a couple of days. Mari was staying in Akusho, acting as a doctor for the demi-humans living there, especially the prostitutes, who were apparently grateful for both prophylactics and anti-VD medications.

Hermione had also been teaching him about some other things. They'd managed to get smartphones to work on this world, even without the telecom towers or satellites normally needed. Harry knew this because Mari had an iPhone with her with a special enchantment on it. And he was getting better with Compulsion Charms. Not that he'd use it unless necessary. Ditto Legilimency: he'd finally managed to learn how to use it. Through it, he knew, for example, that Delilah was actually a spy working for the Formal clan, and that she had a major fixation on revenge against her former queen, whom she considered the vilest of traitors.

Harry, however, was about to go on an unofficial assignment soon, to the palace of Zorzal El Caesar. Killing Zorzal at this stage was inadvisable. He was too well-guarded, and while Harry had the Invisibility Cloak, killing him may lead to accusations of an assassin working for the JSDF. However, he intended to gather intelligence. And if there were any Japanese citizens enslaved to him, well, he intended to free them.

"You're enjoying your new life here, aren't you?" Harry asked Myuute.

"Of course. Seriously, three square meals, booze when I'm off-duty, the JSDF not wanting to make me a sex slave…I've just got to deal with…what did Lady Mercury call those guys again? Oh, right. Otakus. The next one who calls me a harpy, I'm tempted to slap," the avian girl said, huffing in annoyance.

"You just look like how harpies are shown in some anime series, hence the confusion. Anyway, for these guys, it's like something out of a fantasy novel back home. Of course they'd be excited. They just need to know where the line is drawn. Because you guys are people, not anime clichés."

Myuute smiled at that, but then, Harry's radio crackled. He activated it. "Potter here."

"Potter, this is Lieutenant Yanagida. Sergeant Major Kuribayashi has just escorted an interesting guest to the Lieutenant General, a Dark Elf from the Elbe Kingdom by the name of Yao Ha Dushi. I know you intend to head out soon, but we'd like you in on this discussion. Come to Command ASAP, okay?"

Harry sighed in irritation. "Got it, Yanagida. I'm on my way…"

CHAPTER 12 ANNOTATIONS:

So, there you have it. Harry, Shino and Tuka have hooked up, and it seems Harry's going on a mission of his own…one with interesting consequences.

kyugan: Mostly the anime incarnations, due to my familiarity with that source over the manga or light novels. This is pretty standard for my GATE crossovers.

Blackholelord: IKR? And I can't write lemons anyway. I can't write action scenes that well either. If I do write about sex, it's either at one remove, or else as a snapshot during the process for dramatic or comedic effect, rather than a blow-by-blow account.

zetsubougintama: It's funny you should say that, considering that the next chapter's working title is The Enslaved Queen. However, Tyuule won't be joining the harem (I've done enough Tyuule-centric pairings for my GATE stories). But she will be playing a key role in the story…

Azaira: I have rules of thumb when it comes to pairings, to try and avoid squick. If a character is younger than 18-20, then they should be paired with someone of a similar age, give or take a year or two. Once both characters are beyond 18-20, then, well, anything goes, as long as it's not ridiculous. Hooking up Tuka with characters in their 20s is fine by me, despite the age difference, because the maturity is there. I also try to match physical and mental ages when it comes to some pairings, which can be a hindrance with certain stories. Anyway, the upshot is, if I do do a Harry/Lelei story (and I might get around to doing that one day), then Harry will be about 16 at the oldest in said story.

No numbered annotations this time.