STRIKE GIRLS

Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story.

Notes: Another pseudo Self-Insert. I avoid most of the problems of the genre by having my character without some memories. Mostly because I don't think my personality is... well heroic. Let's face it, if I don't have a completely OP power set, I wouldn't risk my life like many anime protagonists, forced or not.

The inspiration for this Self-insert came from the Jumpchain CYOA. I wondered what if the Kancolle girls received help from other anime using mechas (that is material and vehicles) from the WW2 era.

Thus this story is a crossover with "Kancolle", "Strike Witches", "Brave Witches", "Girls Und Panzer", "Inuyasha" and too many various anime and RPGs to note.

Please also note that I took some liberties with how Iwo Jima is. Normally, there is only military personnel on the island, but here I placed a full small town, complete with a school.

Prologue

The first thing I remembered when I woke up was an intense headache I had.

Then came the sound, dimmed as if my ears were full of cotton... I had the impression that I was listening to a movie about a scene of intensive war: Screams, explosions, curses, barked orders, cries of children and women and gunfire... So much gunfire.

My eyes opened to a darkened sky with low-hanging storm clouds. Tracer rounds were streaking across the dark gray canvas along with rapid forms that could pass as fighter planes... Propeller fighter planes...

I blinked and sit up... Too fast as my headache progressed from "need the full tube of aspirin" to "kill me now please" levels. My hand met a hastily bandaged head with a long mass of hair. I could also felt a tiny rivulet of blood trickling along the side of my forehead.

I blinked rapidly to chase away the tears forming and examined my immediate environment. 'What the hell..?'

Hell... An appropriate word to describe what I was seeing. I was resting on a makeshift mattress made of coats and there were many others around me, each with a wounded and whimpering person seemingly painted in blood red.

I could see civilians from all the ways of modern life and military personnel of various countries, mostly Asiatic. Even the few medics circulating among us and doing their best were a mix of military nurses, civilian doctors and amateur paramedics.

Looking beyond the temporary triage center, I could see I was in a park, in a coastal small town as the massive fire destroying most of its port was visible from my position.

Again I heard a series of detonations. "Gunfire..?" 'Huh..? Why is my voice so high.' I focused on the dangerous sound. "... No, too loud... Ground artillery..? No, it's coming from the sea... naval artillery!"

To my horror, I could now hear a whistling sound progressing towards... me! "INCOMING! HIT THE DECK!" I promptly obeyed my order and covered my head with my arms.

THUMP!

Once again I felt like I was underwater as sounds and thoughts seemed to disappear for a fraction of eternity. I looked up again to see that death has missed us... for now: A salvo just obliterated a nearby building. Either it was just a shot for maintaining the pressure on the military forces that I could still see moving around or... they were searching the range for the medical area! 'We're a sitting duck!'

Survival instincts managed to put me up but what about the others..? People were screaming, calling for help or running around like headless chickens... They didn't have a prayer if...

"STOP!" 'Whoa..? Was that really me?' Unfortunately, I couldn't continue to reflect on the what as the how and the why remained too urgent. People were stopping and looking at me and I had to use the momentum for our survival. "You! See if those trucks work! You! Gather those stretchers for those who can't walk and You! We need all the medics to take what they can before the shells fall! Faster, people! If we stay here, we're dead!"

Incredibly, the panic was, not suppressed, but directed towards a proper evacuation. Refocused military personnel were already using the overture I created to begin the preparations. I began to ferry people unable to move by themselves with another person.

Five minutes in the evacuation and already another problem: Some military officers and high-ranked administrative civilians, at least I thought so, were having a loud argument over a map set on the hood of a Humvee about where to go.

My hand clacked like a gunshot on the hood. "Enough!" They looked at me as if I had two heads. "Facts, people. We need facts! We must evacuate before the shelling begins again! The airport?"

An officer, a lieutenant of the JGSDF, shook his head. "Can't... Their damn planes are already bombarding the runways."

I nodded. "Another seaport?"

A grim-faced fireman snarled. "The island is surrounded by those monsters."

'Monsters?' "Then inland... The maximum range of naval artillery is 24 miles..." I winced. Iwo Jima is only 8,1 square miles... 'Iwo Jima? That island near Japan? How do I know about that?' "...which means there's nothing outside their range..?"

Another officer, but from the police this one, hit the hood with his fist. "Nothing! And all the military bases and civilian shelters are already burning! Those bitches took us with our pants down!"

I closed my eyes and sighed. "Then we have no choices. We still go inland and to caves or bunkers. Come on people! Think! There must be even a shadow of something somewhere."

A feminine voice sounded behind me. "There is! The Nanpo bunker east of airfield n°2. It was used by the Imperial Army during Operation Detachment and it's well preserved."

I turned to the woman as the JGSDF lieutenant argued. "What about Mount Suribachi? It was the command post of the Army."

My eyes widened as I recognized the woman clothed in the soot and bloodstained dress uniform of a JASDF captain. She was older, in her late thirties, and had her right eye covered by a bloody bandage but it was her: It was Mio Sakamoto, one of the protagonists of … 'What indeed..? I know of her... but from where..? From what anime..?'

"No, it's too isolated. Once we're in, we would be trapped as the tunnel network was never completed."

An explosion at sea drew our attention. The radio in the Humvee cracked to life "This is North Observation Post! The USS John Paul Jones is sunk! I repeat! USS John Paul Jones is sunk!"

That seemed to plunge the JGSDF lieutenant into despair. "I... I can't believe it... The JDS Myōkō, the USS Sampson and now the USS John Paul Jones... Two Arleigh Burke-class and one Atago-class sunk... and they barely destroyed three of their units... with their fucking 5 inches..."

The fireman grasped his shoulder. "They gave our evac convoy the time needed to escape, Hayato... Their sacrifice mustn't be ignored. We still have all those people to protect!"

The now properly designed Hayato seemed to regain his wits. "You're right Ryu... Alright! You heard the captain, we go to the Nanpo bunker!"

I jumped in shock as the hand of Mio Sakamoto grasped my shoulder. "You're alright? You're pale as a ghost... And that's a nasty head wound... As if I could talk about nasty wound myself, heh..."

"I... I should be..." I managed to crack a smile. "No time to break down now. Will have a nice cry later, heh heh..." I took a large breath. "Okay... We finish to put those people on the way and then the surviving military go to ground and disperse to prevent their destruction..." I bit my lower lip. "Then we wait for the bombardment ending before doing anything except saving people."

Mio Sakamoto blinked in astonishment at me and then laughed "Ha ha ha! You're a good one! You're sharp and logical under fire! It'll serve." She patted my head. "And your name?"

"My name..?" My eyes widened. "Oh, gods... My name... I... I can't remember..!"