There was a knock on the door, and Vreni looked up from the page of the school newspaper she was perusing.
"Yes?"
The door opened and a young woman walked in. She wore the same uniform as Vreni did; white blouse, laced red vest and just knee-length blue skirt - the school uniform. They both had their hair in braids, but while Vreni had hers starting at the crest of her head and slowly becoming looser downwards until they flowed into the rest of her shoulder-length hair, Heidi had hers in two long, seperate ones with blue ribbons tied into bows on the end.
"What is it?"
"I'm sorry to disturb, but we have a guest."
Vreni furrowed her brow and looked at the calendar that sat on her desk. According to her schedule, no guest was due to arrive today, or at any time for several months.
"Who is it?"
As an answer, Heidi stepped back and allowed the guest to enter.
She was an older woman; middle-aged, with long platinum-grey hair, a stern expression and a seemingly perpetual frown.
Vreni immediately rose to her feet.
"This is unexpected; the master of the Shimada style coming to visit us? You should have given advance notice."
"I doubt it would have made much difference to the amount of preparation you could have undertaken." Master Shimada scoffed.
Ignoring the biting remark, Vreni continued without losing her composure.
"What brings you here, to our humble school?" she inquired
"Should I fetch refreshments?" Heidi proferred from the doorway, but before Vreni could answer, the guest did so for her.
"Do not bother; I will not be staying long. I have come here to tell you that you should drop the pretence."
"I'm sorry, I do not know what you are referring to."
"Every school that practices Panzerfahren takes part in at least one tournament. Every school, but yours."
Vreni smiled and gestured non-comittally with her hands.
"That is not something I can influence. Our school charter clearly states-"
"I am well aware of your school charter," she was interrupted "but that changes nothing. A school which dedicates such a sizeable amount of time and resources to an activity it does not fully participate in should have its very existence questioned."
"Again, that is not for me to decide, but MEXT. And forgive me if I am wrong, but that discussion has been had a long time ago, and an agreement was reached."
"Recent events are forcing MEXT to reconsider."
"Recent events such as the defeat of the University team against an équipe which, prior to their surprising victory of the national championship no one had even heard of?"
The newspaper which lay open on the desk featured an extensive section on the goings-on at other schools, and reported in detail of the Selection University versus Ooarai Academy match, the result of which had shocked the entire world of Panzerfahren.
This seemed to touch a nerve.
"Should you fail to make use of your funding properly, you will have the program pulled and the school shut down"
"Is that a threat?"
"A warning. What you do with it is for you to decide. But if my own daughter could not defeat Ooarai, then I am absolutely certain you would not either."
And with that, Master Shimada left, shutting the door behind her with somewhat more force than was necessary.
Vreni sighed and sat back down, while Heidi looked from her to the close door and back again.
"Did just happend what I believe just happened?"
"I think we got snubbed by the Master of the Shimada style."
"Surely you will not give in to her prattle?"
"Unfortunately it is not merely prattle. It is true that MEXT has been looking to cut expenses, but now with Ooarai gone their eye seems to have fallen onto us. While it is true that the school charter marks us as an exception, I believe that this will no longer suffice. If our school is to survive, we must act quickly and without hesitation."
Heidi's eyes widened.
"Are you suggesting what I think you are?"
Vreni folded up the newspaper and bent down to pull open the bottom-most drawer of the filing cabinet integrated into her desk. But instead of files, it contained a neatly folded uniform; pants, jacket, leather belt and sitting on top of the stack a hat, which she retrieved and turned over in her hands, pondering.
The Képi, or Käppi, as they knew it, was grey as well, with a black vizor, and golden laurel wreaths circling around its entire circumference. Something so simple, yet so important, for it was the only object of its kind in the entire school, and had never before been worn with the purpose that it would be soon.
Vreni carefully placed it on her head and pulled down the vizor as to make it sit properly against her cranium.
"Send out the word to the newspaper club; they are to begin hanging up posters immediately. Tomorrow morning I want everyone ready to begin training.
"Does that mean...?"
"Yes, are mobilizing."
Heidi saluted her now commander and left the room, shutting the door behind herself.
It only took a few minutes for Vreni to change uniforms. The sensation was somewhat unfamiliar; the clothes were stiff and she was forced to hold her chin high, lest the collar chafe her neck.
Finally, she stood with her back to the room, gazing out of the high, curtained window behind her working desk. Its wings were open, and a gentle breeze wafted in, bringing with it the scent of saltwater and pine trees.
Before her gaze the lake glittered in the afternoon sun, with the town resting on its shores, a modest collection of wood and stone dwellings of different sizes, roughly grouped around a church whose steeple was clearly visible over the tiled rooftops where a distant bell chimed the hour of the day. And in the far distance, the forest-covered slopes of the academy ship's mountain range rose into the sky, the trees' timbers and dark green foliage like ballgowns swayed in the wind beneath the watchful vigilance of the barren peaks.
This was their home, and they would do everything to protect it.
For the first time in their school history, Edelweiss Academy was mobilizing.