Author's Note: This is my (actual) second work of fan-fiction, and thus some things need to be addressed first;
1: I don't own 'Girls und Panzer'.
2: Constructive criticism is fine; flaming isn't, so if you want to leave a review of the story, please keep this in mind.
3: If any characters seem OOC, please note I have only watched the anime and a bit of GuP: Little Army. Please tell me if I got any of them wrong.
And with that, let us proceed. PANZER VOR!
Chapter 1: A new beginning
Riko 'Erwin' Matsumoto was listening to 'Panzerlied' on her IPod, enjoying her summer break. The national Tankery championship was over, and Oarai High had become the champions, having beaten Kuromorimine Girls High School. After the celebrations, the parade, and the tankery feast, Erwin was ready to enjoy her summer break.
She was lounging on her patio, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, taking in the view. It was breathtaking, the sun glisten off the waves. She could however also see the town that made up the school ship, and she saw people going about their daily lives. She smiled, glad to have been a part of this school.
She was about to begin reading Vom Kriege, a book on military strategy written by a Prussian general, when the doorbell ringed. She put her book down, getting up.
"I wonder who that could be?" Erwin wondered aloud. She looked in the mirror, making sure she looked good. Her blonde hair was normal, forming two spikes that made her look like a desert fox, her tropical field Marshall uniform was neat and crisp, and her peak helmet fitted on her head.
Satisfied with how she looked, she went to the door, and opened it.
"Hello, who is… Mother?!" Erwin gasped, surprised by her mother's appearance. Her mother was wearing a black dress, and had a pair of white leather gloves on. Her hair was blonde, but unlike Erwin's, her fell straight down past her shoulders.
"My, how have you been Riko?" her mother asked, walking into Erwin's dorm. Erwin watched as her mother scanned her selection of various military strategy books, written by various German officers. Her mother turned to face her again, her face becoming stern. Erwin shook herself.
"I have been fine mother," Erwin replied. Her mother smiled. "I am sure you know that I am a part of the Tankery group here at Oarai." Her mother nodded.
"I did know that, did you think I didn't keep tabs on you while I was overseas on business meetings?" Erwin blushed, as that is what she thought. She wasn't close to her mother in anyway, but they weren't cold to one another like Miho was with her mother. She was about to apologize when her mother sat down on the couch.
"Riko, sit down, we need to talk," she said. Erwin sat down opposite of her mother, wondering what was so important. Her mother rested her elbows on her knees, her chin in her hands. She sighed, feeling terrible for what she was about to say.
"Riko, I got a job with a defense contractor working as a sales representative," her mother began. "There were a couple of conditions though. The first of which is that I live in the US." Erwin pulled her peak cap off her head and began to fiddle with the brow.
"So mother, you got to live in the US, so what? What does this have to do with me?"
"Well, the defense contractor has a policy where the families of employees must be in the US. So in effect, you to have to come to the US." Erwin felt herself tense up. "I know that you have one year left of high school, and I know you would rather finish it here with your friends, but Riko, I have to get this job, otherwise I couldn't even pay to have you go to school."
Erwin stood up, her face flushing in anger.
"Why did you make this decision without asking me mother?!" Erwin demanded. "You could've gotten any job, so why did you have to accept this one?" Her mother stood up and stared down at Riko.
"Riko Matsumoto, I didn't make this decision lightly, but in all fairness, we need the money. Ever since your father died two years ago due to liver failure and due to his outstanding debts that he left us with to deal with, I have been barely making ends meet. I could barely afford to keep you in school before. However with Oarai being a championship school, they decided to raise their tuition fees, and I can't afford it anymore." Erwin's mother walked over to the door, sighing in frustration at Erwin's behavior.
"Thus, at the end of the week, we will be moving to our new home, and you will get used to it." Erwin's mother then left, leaving Erwin to go to her room and curdle up, weeping quietly.
She hated her mother, she hated how her father's death left the family in debt, and she hated her circumstances. She hated how when she finally made a lot of friends, she was going to leave them behind and start anew. Erwin threw her peak cap at the wall in frustration.
Erwin spent the next couple of hours crying, until the doorbell rang. Wiping her face and collecting her cap, she headed to the door.
"Who is it?" mumbled Erwin. She heard several people shuffling behind the door.
"Um, it's me, Miho, with Hana, Yukari, Saori, and Mako." Erwin sighed. She opened the door.
"You guys make yourself at home," Erwin said, her voice still not at its peak due to her weeping. Miho noticed this.
"Something wrong Erwin?" Miho asked. Erwin nodded.
"Yeah, my mother told me today that by the end of the week I will be in the US, regardless of what I want." She saw the others' faces fell.
"But, what about your classes, your credit, don't you have the option to stay here and continue classes?" Miho asked.
"No, my mother was quite adamant about the fact that she can't afford to keep me here," Erwin said, slumping into a chair. "Thus, I have to go to the US, lest I end up not being able to go to school."
Miho looked at Erwin, who was looking depressed and down on herself. She frowned, feeling helpless in the situation. She looked at the others, and they too were feeling helpless. She sighed.
"Erwin, if there is anything we can do to help out, just…" Erwin stood up, interrupting Miho.
"Thanks Miho, Mako, Hana, Saori, and Yukari, but honestly, the only thing I can do is getting ready for the move." She looked at her things, and realized something that she could have some help with.
"Um, not to be rude, but can you guys help me pack?"
The week had passed, and Erwin was on the Boeing 767 sitting next to her mother. She was still angry at her mother, for forcing her to move away from her friends, but her friends had made her last week in Oarai the best.
They had a day dedicated to her leaving. In the morning, they held a mock battle between the teams. Erwin was the commander team Bravo while Miho was the captain for team Alpha. The battle was epic, with Erwin having maneuvered her team to flank Miho's from the North and South, creating confusion in Miho's rank and her Stug III knocked out Miho's Panzer IV.
They then went back to the hangar and they had a small party. At the end of the day, everyone gave Erwin a gift. From Miho and her friends, they gave Erwin a model of the Stug III she had commanded. Her close friends from Hippo team gave her several books on German military doctrine. The student council and the others teams pitched in to get Erwin a computer with all the features needed for her to face chat with them.
Erwin was happy that her friends were so kind to her, which made the move all the more painful. She looked at her mother, who was asleep. Erwin sighed, deciding to continue reading 'Vom Kriege', one of the books her friend 'Caeser' gave her. While it was based on tactics for early 1800s military strategy, it was a good read and it did provide some useful bits on commanding forces and how to conduct battle. At that time the pilot spoke on the intercom.
"We are beginning our approach to Dallas International Airport. All passengers, please buckle up." Erwin saw her mother stir awake, and she hastily buckled herself up. Erwin did the same, putting her book away.
After the plane touched down, gotten off of the plane, and grabbed the remainder of their bags, Erwin followed her mother to a cab. She sat in the back, and saw the cab driver was an older man, roughly the same age as her mother.
"Where to ma'am?" the cab driver asked. Her mother smiled.
"Do you know where the corporate building for Moran Tactical Solutions is?" her mother asked. Erwin had learned that this was the defense contractor her mother was working for the day before. The cab driver nodded wearily.
"Yeah, it'll be $12.50 for the two of you; just be glad your fight arrived now instead of rush hour as the AC in my cab is broke." her mother nodded again.
"Alright, and thank you for the heads up." As the cab driver started driving, Erwin's mother turned to her.
"Now Riko, when we meet my friend, you will treat her with respect and not insult her, do you understand?" Erwin nodded, still annoyed at her mother for having to uproot her from her friends. It wasn't that long of a drive to the MTS corporate building, but Riko saw that it was rather imposing. A tall black monolithic building stood tall, and around the base was a thick concrete wall lined with barbed wire and a couple of watch towers with marksman eyeing the perimeter. Riko wondered why her mother decided to work for a defense contractor.
She was about to ask her mother what was special about the job (something she should've done back at her dorm now that she reflected on it) when the cab stopped, just short of the gate. As Erwin and her mother got out and paid the cab driver, a woman around her mother's age with auburn red hair and wearing a light brown business dress drove up behind the cab driver. Her mother nudged Riko, something that irked the blonde girl.
"That would be my friend," Erwin's mother commented. "C'mon, let's go." After loading the car with their bags and getting it, her mother set out to introduce each other.
"Hello Catherine," Erwin's mother said. "How nice to see you. This here is my daughter Riko." Catherine smiled at Erwin.
"Hello Riko, how are you doing?" Erwin faked a smile.
"I am alright, a bit tired from the plane flight." Catherine continued to smile, not noticing Erwin's ersatz smile.
"Well, let's get you and your mother home," Catherine said. "I hope you guys don't mind if I help unpack some things, do you?" Erwin was about to speak up when her mother shook her head.
"No, and thank you. I presume you mainly unpacked the boxes in my room."
"Yes, I left Riko's stuff untouched. I figure I shouldn't go through a young girl's belongings." Erwin silently thanked Catherine; she knew her mother would go through anything, regardless of whose it was.
The drive to their house was uneventful, as could be expected after spending several hours on a plan and just wanting to sleep. As Erwin watched them pass through several small towns, Erwin couldn't help but wonder how Americans were like. Were they are snobbish, ignorant, or as stupid as the stereotypes made them out to be? She didn't pay attention to her mother and friend's conversation, as it was about work.
After nearly an hour, they finally arrived at 'home'. Erwin looked out to see at the end of a short driveway a simple two story house. Getting out of the car, Erwin grabbed her bag, and followed her mother once again into the house with Catherine. She looked inside, and saw that the house was simple. The walls were painted white, there wasn't a lot of furniture, and the layout was simple, with a bathroom, living room, and kitchen on the first floor, and she presumed the bedrooms on the second story. She noted a stairwell into the basement.
"Well Riko, we are home," her mother commented. "What do you think of it?" Erwin sighed.
"It is alright, a bit small for a house, but larger than my dorm room." Her mother nodded.
"Yes, this house was on foreclosure, which allowed me to buy it cheaper than what I normally would be able to. Anyway, while I and Catherine start on dinner, how about you head to your room; it is the first door on the left." Her mother then retreated into the kitchen with Catherine.
Glad to be finally away from her mother, Erwin headed up the stair, and opened her room. Inside was a small desk with a box on top of it (no doubt her computer), a simple bed with green sheets and a black blanket, and a stand for a TV on the wall. Erwin began to unpack her boxes, placing her book onto a shelf above her desk, setting up her computer, and placing the Stug III model at the end of the book shelf.
Erwin was about to start unpacking her various military uniforms when Catherine knocked on the door.
"Riko, dinner is done," Catherine said. She saw Erwin's face, which was torn between anger and sadness. "Everything alright?" Erwin shook her head.
"No, it's just I didn't expect to move away from all my friends, or to end up in the US," Erwin said. "Plus, it doesn't help that my mother can be cold at times." Catherine nodded.
"Well, I can't help about you missing your friends, and to be honest, I wouldn't know how, considering I was an army brat. I tended to move around every four years, thus I never made any long term friendships."
Catherine looked at the books Erwin had, and smiled.
"I suppose you are a big history nut aren't you? And I heard you are into tankery, which is good." Erwin was surprised by Catherine's statement.
"What do you mean?" Erwin asked. "I thought tankery was something that only Japan did." Catherine shook her head.
"Nah, the US Board of Education and the Department of Defense saw the potential in tankery, and thus it is coming to the US. I hear that the school you are going to will be having tankery as an elective."
Erwin smiled at this; at least she will still be able to enjoy tankery while in the states. She then paused, realizing she didn't even know what school she was going to.
"Um, what school am I going to?" Erwin asked. Catherine started to leave, but she stopped at the door.
"It is called Raven's Peak High School, my daughter goes there." With that tidbit of information, Erwin jotted the name of the school down, before heading down stairs to eat dinner with her mother. She was going to see what was up with tankery here in the states, and see how good the school was.
Erwin was tired, but finally all the boxes were unpacked, and everything was sorted away. She had been unpacking for a solid week, while her mother was away at work. Erwin was annoyed at this bit of information, as she felt her mother was using to do the bulk of the work.
She sighed, seeing how she would start classes soon. Unlike most of the other high schools in the area, Raven's Peak started mid-July, which left Erwin only five days left to enjoy her summer break. She felt like it was cut short, but there wasn't anything she could do about it.
Getting up, she headed to her room and turned her computer on. She was hoping to face chat with Miho. She had to wait a few minutes, but Miho's face popped up on her screen.
"Hi Erwin," Miho said. "How is the US?" Erwin leaned back in her chair.
"It's not too bad, but you guy aren't here, so I am bored much of the time."
"That sucks. Well, I hope you get some friends soon. Hey, have you heard that they are starting up an international tankery championship?" Erwin's interests piqued at this.
"No, but I learned that the US is starting tankery up, why what have you heard?" Miho smiled.
"Well, I heard that many major nations, like China, Russia, Germany, France, Australia, and a few others are starting up tankery. I am glad that the US is starting up tankery; maybe we will see each other at the championships!" Miho began to laugh, causing Erwin to laugh as well.
"That would be a welcome sight," Erwin admitted. "So what have the others been up to?" Miho took out a PDA.
"Well, we have been training, we already got three new teams formed up to train on the new tanks we have, and Caeser has taken command of Hippo Team. Besides tankery, we have been hanging out on and off again. But school isn't until late August."
"Beats having to go to school in five days," muttered Erwin. Miho gasped.
"What, you only got a month of vacation though!" argued Miho.
"Doesn't matter, I got school in five days, I just hope it isn't a nightmare at school. Hope no one makes fun of my get up." Miho laughed.
"Well, they don't have uniforms at US high schools, so I bet it will be shocking to see what people wear." Miho joked. "But I doubt anyone will mind. Say, how are you and your mother getting on?" Erwin clenched her fist, but she understood that Miho was only curious.
"Not well, I still haven't forgiven her for being an ice queen, and she is so caught up in her work that she doesn't pay any attention to me." Miho frowned at this and was going to speak up when the doorbell rang. Erwin glanced to her door.
"Hey Miho, I will talk to you later, I got to see who this is," Erwin said, and she shut off the program. She headed downstairs and headed to the door.
"Who is it?" Erwin asked.
"It Catherine and my daughter," said the red-headed woman. "Mind if we come in?" Erwin, while shocked at Catherine's arrival, opened the door. She saw Catherine followed by her daughter, who upon entering thrust her hand towards Erwin.
"My name is Katie, nice to meet you Riko." Katie had deep velvet colored hair, was a little taller than Riko, and had blue eyes. She was wearing a woodland patterned camouflage shirt and pants. Erwin shook her hands.
"Nice to meet you to Katie," Erwin turned to face Catherine. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, but what are you two doing here?" Catherine smiled.
"Well, I noticed you don't go out much, being busy with unpacking, and I thought it would be nice for you to meet Katie, so you won't be so shell shocked upon going to the high school." Katie then looked at the stairway.
"Hey, is your room up here?" Katie said, running up the stairs. Erwin, panicking, chased after here.
"Katie, wait, I haven't…" Erwin hadn't been able to finish, as Katie was already in her room, looking around, seeing the mess of boxes filled with her military history books, military memorabilia, and her collection of model tanks and uniforms.
"Why, I didn't have you pegged as a military nut," Katie said, whistling in appreciation at Erwin's collection. Erwin sighed.
"Really, is having a fascination with military history a bad thing?" Erwin asked. Katie chuckled before shaking her head.
"If we were in some liberal state like California or New York, then perhaps, but here in Texas, no one cares if a girl likes big ass tanks, guns, or anything of the like," Katie stated quite confidently. "Then again, that kind of attitude gets us a lot of flak with the more left wing population, but oh well, screw 'em!"
Erwin watched as Katie flopped on her bed, stretching out until she was quite content. Erwin was able to slide into a chair before Katie spoke up again.
"So Erwin, you have other clothes than your uniforms, right?" Erwin nodded.
"Yeah, I have some denim jeans and a fair number of camouflage shirts to wear in lieu of my uniforms," Erwin replied. "Though what can you tell me about Raven's Peak?" Katie paused, putting her finger on her lip in contemplation.
"Well, I figure that first thing you should know is that the queen bitch of the school is Jaqueline Lindsay, though Jackie is what everyone calls her," Katie started. "She isn't a bitch in that she insults or looks down on everyone; it's more like she doesn't understand that the world doesn't revolve around her fat ass. She tries without failure to be the lead in whatever she gets involved in; she was the lead cheerleader, is the student president, and is currently the team leader for the various sports teams that females can play."
"But with tankery coming to Raven's Peak this year, I really, really hope that she can't stand getting dirty as she has a control issue from hell," Katie stated. "If she is team leader, she will hound us something fierce until most of the people who join leave. I remember when she first got onto the school's volleyball team, and within two weeks she drove out half the team due to her constant nagging and insistence to train."
"Wow, she sounds like a number of the perfectionist that was pretty common back in Japan," Erwin commented, quietly playing with a model of a Panzer IV. "So besides Jackie, anyone of note; like teachers?" Katie nodded.
"Well, there is Henrietta Moran," Katie said. "Her father is the CEO of MTS, and due to a number of the school students having members in the armed forces, they tend to look down on her due to her father being, and I quote 'A death dealing scum bag'. However, I know her from the schools JROTC program that she is pretty nice and helpful, if a bit shy at times."
"Why do people pick on Henrietta if their beef is with her father?" Erwin asked. Katie laughed.
"Because people are fucking cowards," Katie stated, her voice giving the impression she had given the subject some thought. "No one would be stupid to piss off Mr. Moran, not when he has a literal army behind him. But from what I gather from Henrietta, her father mostly deals with private security missions, like VIP escort and patrolling of major ports, not like what most people think of in terms of PMCs."
"I see," Erwin said. "So, are you going to be joining Tankery?" Katie nodded.
"Yeah, I mean of all the classes they have that aren't core classes, tankery is the only one I would really care to join," Katie answered. "I can't speak another language; I've tried to learn German and I failed catastrophically. And the rest, I don't know, just don't float my boat, if you know what I mean."
"I get you there," Erwin said. "I remember when it came time to choose electives or clubs at Ooarai and I ended up in the small History club because I can't stand sports and didn't want to choose something 'feminine' like flower arrangement." Katie stared at Erwin as though she grew a second head.
"Seriously, there was an elective to…"
"Train someone how to arrange flowers, yes," Erwin completed. "I don't get it either." Katie shook her head.
"That has got to be the most useless elective I have ever heard of," Katie stated. "Oh well, hey, want to see something awesome?" Erwin shrugged, and Katie quickly opened a web tab on her iPhone. "I heard this a few days ago when I was shopping with my other friends only to bump into Henrietta at the store."
Katie handed Erwin the iPhone, who began reading the web tab. It was an article about a private project that the CEO of MTS, Victor Moran, had decided to reveal to the public. In a move to encourage tankery in the US (as well as broaden the scope of MTS), Victor Moran announced that they were working on a couple of tank chassis that would be given to the semi-finalist teams in the US national tournament. What tanks they were wasn't stated, though Victor Moran stated that 'they would be a decisive vehicle for any team in the tournament, and should make the final round of the competition interesting'.
"Huh, so I guess this is a publicity stunt then?" Erwin replied. Katie nodded.
"Yeah, with the fallout from Blackwater in Iraq and the overwhelming nature of families in the US having military history, I guess MTS is having problems staying popular. I just wonder what tanks they will have; what do you think?"
"Probably some form of heavy tank," Erwin replied. "I know that in the final stages of the Japanese tournament, the teams tended to deploy more and more heavy vehicles to throw around their weight and firepower at the opposition."
The conversation then took a turn about things that Erwin would have to know before entering Raven's Peak. This lasted a few hours before Katie and her mother, after having dinner with Erwin, bid good bye. Erwin spent most of the night before heading to bed thanking Katie's mom for brining Katie over, as entering Raven's Peak wouldn't be so daunting as it was before.
Author's Note: Here we are, again, with the first chapter. You might be wondering what is going on. Well, in case you aren't subscribed to my profile or other stories, on Christmas, I announced I was going to do a major rewrite on this story. Namely to make the characters more alive, do better battles, and in general liven the story up. Thus for this first chapter, I didn't change much at first, mostly grammar, and spelling, but there are a few changes worth mentioning.
First, Raven's Peak isn't in Washington but rather Texas. The reason for this change was simple; tanks need a lot of open ground to make useful. Also, since Riko's family is supposed to be dealing with debt issues that were incurred by her father before he passed (medical and being finically irresponsible) living in Washington would be extremely stupid, as the cost of living in the state has skyrocketed since I left.
Second, getting this out of the way, Moran Tactical Security will be playing a larger role in this story than before. I gave a sneak peak to it at the end and there will be more later on, so be patient. Also, Raven's Peak's tank selection has changed quite dramatically; you will get to see it when I initially debut the tanks, so please wait, it is incoming.
As always folks, please follow, favorite, and review!