Girls Und Panzer: World Tournament!

Chapter 1: Tank Start!

She slept snugly in her apartment. The morning sun shone through the light turquoise shade beside her bed. She cuddled with her Boko bear doll in her sleep. Birds chirped outside.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

The autonomous sound came incessantly from her pink dolphin clock. She sprung into action, "Wah!" she cried as she scrambled through her sheets to turn the alarm off, only to roll off her mattress. Slamming the snooze button, she rushed in making her bed and...

"Oh, right..." She recollected her thoughts. "Heh, I'm not home anymore."

Miho Nishizumi, the youngest daughter of the Nishizumi family, took her time to get ready for school. It's already been a whole year since she first transferred over from Kuromormine. So much has changed since then, a lot of events transpired.

More importantly though, she found her true self, her Sensha-Dou, and friends that helped her find the way.

Miho left her apartment, locking the blue door, and walked to Ōarai Girls High School. The seagulls cawed overhead, cars roll over the paved roads. The sun shined off the walls surrounding houses and apartments. The smell of freshly baked pastries wafted out of the bakeries she passed. "Smells delicious!" Miho excitedly claimed.

A few blocks down, Miho heard a very familiar voice. "Miporin!"

"Saori!" Miho looked over and saw Saori and Hana walking by, with Saori dragging along a half-asleep Mako by the arms. "Good morning!"

"Good morning Miporin!" Saori replied back.

"Good morning Miho" Hana said in her usual polite tone.

"Gaawwdd moooaarrninnng" Mako feebly attempts to respond.

"Don't be like that Mako." Saori nagged onto Mako. "Now let's go, we don't want you to re-earn that tardy count you removed last year do you?"

"Eh, well if you put it that way..."

"Grandma will get mad again, won't she?"

Mako paused in her trail of thought, "...okay, let's go," she says as she put more efforts in dragging her feet. Miho giggled a little on how Mako hasn't changed despite how everything else has.

After all, without everyone's support, they wouldn't even be attending at Ōarai anymore. After all the hard work in the 63rd National High School Sensha-Dou Tournament and the battle with Shimada, its hard to believe that they fought so hard to keep everything the way it was. But for Miho, that was all part of enjoying life, to attend high school without any more disruptions. Is this too part of Sensha-Dou?

"Well, you managed to make it on time you lot," a somewhat gruff voice spoke in front of them.

"Soooodddoooookkkoooooo," Mako lazily said as she lunged towards her for a hug. "I'mmmmm oon timmme toooday y'knoooww?"

"Quit it Mako! And I told you not to call me 'Sodoko'!" Sodoko said to the barely-responsive Mako.

"Yooouu'rrrreee nooooot uusuuually thisss puuuuusshhyyy, Soooodoooookooooo"

"Stop slurring your speech! I can barely understand you!"

"Good morning Sodoko!" Miho said trying to change the subject.

Sodoko sighed, "Everyone is going to call me that huh? Good morning Miho."

Miho giggled again at the sight of Sodoko attempting to get Mako off her. Sodoko had a hard time readjusting to the Morals Committee after Ōarai almost got closed down. A period of time without anything to take control of, or any system to enforce, took a toll on Sodoko's discipline. With all that, Miho was happy to see Sodoko back to her usual old self, even if she's a tad bit more abrasive now.

"Anyways you lot, school is starting soon. I'd suggest yo- Mako get off! You start heading to your classes. Mako! I'm serious!"

"Alright Mako, let's go," Saori said as she pulled Mako off Sodoko and somewhat dragging her inside the school.

School was just like how it was on Miho's first day. Aside from the fact that she was now a third-year, nothing was out of place. There were the new freshmen appearing, the seniors disappearing, and clubs starting their sign-ups for new applicants. That made Miho wonder, will there be anyone joining the Sensha-do club this year? She got excited thinking about having to teach any newcomers the joy of Sensha-do.

Once the classes were over, Miho packed her bags and headed off to the place that has the most meaning to her in the whole school. The tank garage. After the end of the school year, the tanks had been sitting in the garage for almost three months now. Miho raced there from class, but saw someone with the same idea about to bolt before they come face-to-face.

"Ah! Nishizumi-dono!" Yukari beamed with excitement seeing her whole friend.

"Yukari!" Miho returned the joy. Seeing her close friend again.

Yukari bawled over to her, "I was afraid you didn't come back after all, when we have totally different classes... I missed you!"

"Okay Yukari, calm down." Miho soothed her.

"Anyways, you were about to go to the tank garage right?"

"Yeah, it has been a while since we were there."

"Let's walk there together!" Yukari said to her friend. Seeing the whole crew today after the months on break, it made Miho close to tears.

At the tank garage, Miho saw she and Yukari weren't the only ones in the school to have the same idea. "Everyone!"

"Miporin!" Saori shouted in front of the crowd that gathered by the doors of the garage.

"Hey, its Miho!"

"Miho-senpai!"

The crowd continues their greeting. Every team member was here. Anglerfish, Anteater, Duck, Hippo, Leopon, Mallard, Rabbit, and Turtle. The old gang was all here.

"Well, looks like everyone's here!" Anzu said, "And the star of the show has arrived too!"

"Huh?" Miho pondered before realizing everyone was looking at her.

"Yes, you Miho." Anzu clarified. "Remember, without you, none of this would have been possible. Ōarai would've become another lost school to the MEXT. Again, we're thankful for what you have done for us, Miho," Anzu said as she bowed down.

"Ah, no!" Miho flustered, "it was because of all of us!" She collected herself, "I...I couldn't have done it as well without all of you, and the other schools who sent their support."

Anzu's small chuckle came out from the crowd. "That's so like you Miho," Anzu said. Miho smiled with some relief as Anzu continued. "Anyways, we have another announcement to make, everyone!"

Yuzu takes out a parchment. "Today we've received a special letter from the International League."

"Huh?"

"It's got a black circle with a white star on it."

The rest of the Ōarai team were confused, but Miho caught on. "You don't mean...?"

Anzu nodded, "Yep! The International League has sent us a special offer for us to participate in the World Tournament two years from now!"

"Ehhhhh?!" The team cried in unison. What a surprising turn for them all!

"But wait!" Sodoko said, "Why would they send out an invitation that early? Two years?! Some of us might not even be here by that time!"

"Huh, that's right, why would they...?" Some of the team members murmered.

"But that letter and emblem, its an authentic I.L. message right?" Yukari asked Miho.

"Yes, that's how they send their mails. Only by paper, not emails. The mail will be simple with no addressing other than the recipient and the envelope will be sealed by a sticker of a white star in a black circle." Miho replied. "Those letters usually go to the highest schools, sometimes universities, that practice Sensha-Dou. Only a few schools in the world get those letters. Just getting one can warrant unwanted attraction..."

"Miho, did Kuromorimine ever get a letter?" Yukari asked

Miho nodded, "Back when I was a child in the 23rd World Tournament, Kuromormine got one. They were sent around the world to fight the international competitor."

"Did they win?"

"No, they lost in the second round."

"What!? The international schools must be really tough!"

"N-No kidding."

"Alright, listen up you all!" Anzu gathered the Sensha-Dou team's attention. "I know its a bit weird to get this invitation early, but this letter is authentic! The reason lies in its fine print!"

Yuzu cleared her breath as she read out a text.

With the tournament two years away from this exact date, we have started are preliminary preparations for the event. As per our untold tradition, the tournament is held every four years by our discretion. In the half-time mark in the time period, we will commence our exhbition matches to showcase the potential contenders in the tournament. As such, you, the recipient of this letter, are invited to participate in these exhibition matches. We understand that due to the long wait periods between tournaments, you must have many uninitiated Tankery members sheltered from the different cultures of Tankery. We allow these matches to enlighten the Tankery practitioners on what Tankery means to the world and to get familiar to this new world for the real event. Though it is not mandatory, your participation is greatly appreciated and encouraged by the International League. We hope you consider our offer and join us and the many different recipients of this invitation to explore the true meaning of Tankery.

Silence as Yuzu finished the paragraph.

"What's Tank-er-y?" Karina asked, confused.

"Like 'fish tank' tank?" Yuuki followed up

"Uh, Tankery is what people outside Japan calls Sensha-Dou," Miho clarifies. "It's the same thing except in English."

"It seems a new challenge has come upon us," Saemonza says.

"But an international tournament against the world... It's almost too big for us!" Azusa concerns.

"Azusa, we've went up against the heaviest tanks Kuromorimine and Pravda has to offer, I think we'll be fine!" Aya replies.

"Y-you mean we-we're going to see other places nya?" Nekota chimes in.

"Team!" Momo shouted, breaking the chatter, "I know this is a bit sudden and surprising. But...I'm going to be honest, this is almost nothing new for us! We can do this!"

"She's right, Ōarai has always been in a disadvantage. The 63rd National High School Sensha-Do Tournament, the fight against University, we're always lacking severely compared to the enemy." Hana says, "but we've haven't lost yet! We can continue with this!"

"Yeah! And this time, nothing bad is at stake this time!" Saori says. "We can go and have fun! Learn about the world! Meet some foreign boys!"

"'Don't fight a battle if you don't gain anything by winning.'" Erwin chants, "We're not losing anything by a loss, and we will gain either way from this."

"What do you think Miho?" Anzu asks for clarification.

"Uh-um..." Miho ponders as every's attention now shifts towards her. "I think this is great! We should do it!"

Cheers erupt with the unanimous agreement among the entire team.

"Now wait a minute," Sodoko once again, "when are these 'exhibition matches' going to begin?"

Yuzu looks at the letter again, "Well let's see... It seems like the drawing process for the match placement will begin in the start of next month! With the first match commencing a week after that."

"Beginning of next month?!" Sodoko shouted, "You do realize that's only 10 days away right!? We barely got back to school! We may know our training, but we're in no shape to go against big names out there in the world!"

"Sodoko is right," Miho says, "We've been away from our tanks for a long time since the break. We are going to need to refamiliarize ourselves with routines and strategies."

"Yes!" The whole team shouted.

"Um... Let's go out there and kick some butts!" Miho shouted with a hint of encouragement as the garage erupted with "HURRAH!" and the team members disperse to their usual groups into the garage to their tanks.

"Miho, a word?" Anzu got her attention.

"Yeah?"

"Though I think its true that we need to retrain on our tanks, do you think it is enough for the World Tournament?"

Miho paused. "I don't think so. From what I know about the World Tournament, the international culture of Sensha-Dou is very different from how we know it here. There are even new rules among the international community we don't have here. I think we're going to need a more personal hand to get ready for the tournament."

"Hmmm... I guess I'll have to think of something." Anzu said with confidence. "I'll worry about that part okay? We'll just practice as normal today."

Miho smiled before parting. Seeing Anzu and the others still here soothes her, even if it was their last year here. She entered the brick garage housing the tanks and saw everyone tending to their tanks. Checking for any maintenance issues, adjusting track tension, oiling the parts, and airing out the closed interiors from the months of disuse. It took a few hours before each tank was ready to rumble again.

Miho carressed the Panzer IV Ausf. H's long 75 mm barrel as she climbed on. "It's good to be back."

"Nishizumi-dono!" Yukari said in her same estatic voice, "Let's do our best today!"

"I'm ready for more Miporin!" Saori adds.

"My hands are ready to reaffirm the art of Sensha-Do,." Hana chimes in.

"Oi, I'm good," Mako puts her two cents in.

"I'm good too!," Miho affirmed to her team as she climbed into the commander's cupola. standing on top as she watches everyone else get into their crew positions and starting their own tanks. She listend to the engines, the gasoline engines of the StuG III, Panzer IV, Hetzer, M3 Lee, and Char B1; the electric motor on the Tiger (P), the diesel engine on the Type 89 I-Go and Type 3 Chi-Nu. It brought back faint memories back from when she was with her sister riding the Panzer II to go fishing.

The whole team was set as the garage door opened towards the training ground.

"Alright," Miho voiced through her throat microphone, "Panzer Vor!"


Whew!

My first story ever on this site! Ain't that sweet?

I've been having this idea for a Girls Und Panzer story for about five months now after watching "Girls Und Panzer Der Film" and the revelation of a so-called "World Tournament". While it is an undeniable sequel hook for the Girls Und Panzer series, it does give us writers a lot more content to use for our little stories. As a tank enthusiast, the ability to write my own Girls Und Panzer future has always been something in my mind, what with many things I know about tanks and I just want to use that information for something that can maybe make someone's day brighter. I am a new writer though so I apologize if there are certain parts in my overall story that seems "off".

I've got enough content to make a sequel if I wanted to. If. Unfortunately, I am still a college student and school will charge in through a brick wall and send me to Chemistry Class.

Thanks for bearing through my writing. Feel free to Favorite and Follow if you look forward to what's next!