AN: I've wanted to write a Gladiator Begins story for a long time, however, with there being no Gladiator Begins category, I've decided to write a story biased around the concept, expect instead of ancient weapons from the ancient roman empire days, they use tanks. I've had to make some modifications to the world of Panzerfaren and politics of the modern area, but I think it's going to work out well.

I hope you enjoy, and please favorite, follow, and review if you like. Note: I do not own Girls und Panzer nor Gladeator Begins.

Monolouge

Panzerfaren, a spectacular sport where high school girls participate in simulated tank warfare, and supposedly become better women because of it. He he he... not here.

My name is Hanoashi. I just turned twelve four months ago, though I'm not exactly happy. The reason is simple, my parents died three months ago, along with the rest of my family members in a plane crash. I was one of the lucky ones to survive, though it wasn't reported on the news. At the time, I had assumed it was because they wanted to keep me out of the limelight, allow me to try and piece together my shattered life in peace.

I was wrong. The real reason was because the husband of a predominate tankery instructor has been sizing me up for an arranged marriage to his son. Of course, since my parents had all died, I could make the ultimate decision on my end. I chose not too, as I had always believed you should only marry those you love.

Big mistake. About twelve days later, to my horror, I was drafted into Panzerfaren. Panzerfaren was akin to being enslaved as a Gladiator in ancient Rome, except instead of melee weapon warfare, you fought in tank warfare. You had few rights, and an even lower chance for survival. According to the rules, you can wear one ring or watch, and you can have replica's orders if it breaks. Other than that and the right to be dressed, your Lanasta chooses your uniform and recreation attire.

Anyways, so now I have seven years of forced labor. Death-defying battles, and bland meals to look forward too.

Prologue:

Hanoashi glanced at her watch, using her other hand to bursh some of her red hair out of her face. She let out a small sigh as the call for her summons resounded, and she stood up abruptly. Glancing around, she noticed sever other students join her. To her left there was Miho, formerly Miho Nishisumi, but she had her family name stripped after being disowned for speaking out against the ills of Panzerfaren, She seems scared shit-less now, but she was incredibly brave in doing what she did. She thought in pity.

Next to her was Mako Reize. She had good grades, but way to many late marks at school so she was also drafted to Panzerfaren. She seemed very tired at the moment, but was doing her best to stay awake. A scratch along her forearm shows where a strike had scored her earlier when she had fallen asleep standing up during the orientation. The only other in her group to have chosen to wear a piece of jewelry, she sported her mother's wedding band.

Lastly, There was Yukaro Akiyama. Supposedly his sister had been accused of trespassing, and even though his sister had actually been with her that night, the court seemed to have enough evidence to convince Yukari. However, Yukaro took on her punishment, which someone could theoretically do in certain circumstances, thus his five year long Panzerfaren sentence began.

Hanoashi let out a sigh as she was cuffed and put into the transport van, her orange jumpsuit scratching her back. She glanced around, trying to see how her companions where doing. Miho looked on the verge of tears, which she could not blame her for. Yukaro was the only one who seemed calm, though he was glancing at Miho worriedly. And Mako? She was asleep as usual.

Maybe I should have taken the arranged marriage, she thought to herself. But then again, that's a lot for a twelve year old girl to take on. Isn't it enough punishment for me to have my parents killed in a plane crash? There where no obvious answers for the young girl, and in many ways the gravity of what was happening hadn't sunk in yet.

She began to look down, almost sobbing as she saw her arms in handcuffs. "Dammit! Why did I have to survive that airplane crash?" she whimpered, before she flinched as Yukaro prodded her gently. "Whatever you do, do not let them see you crying. They'll either get a rise out of it or beat you up." he whispered.

She nodded, stealing herself. "I...I'll try. But it's just unfair, you know?"

"Yeah. Doesn't mean we can do anything about it." he mumbled.

The rest of the ride was bumpy, and Hanoashi fell asleep for a portion of it before waking up to see the destination of her new life. "Nishmari," She whispered sadly. She'd lived there until she was eleven, and had hoped to go back someday. But not under Panzerfaren. As the van stopped, she nudged Mako. "Wake up before they open the doors," she whispered, and she woke up. "Thanks," she mumbled, before rising up and making her way to the door.

As she herself stepped off the bus, she ignored the hushed whispered of those around her, her old childhood friends and their families. Some of them where full of pity, others bewilderment and at least aq few where throwing her glares filled with accusation. She fought down the urge to say something, knowing it would result in a beating. However, dispute this, she still wished to say something in response, though she didn't know if that would be to insist that she did nothing wrong or if it would be to assure them that she'd be fine.

Can I survive seven years of constant tank warfare? She asked herself, not too sure how likely her chances where. Just being in the tank was a risk, you could be maimed, crushed, asphyxiated, burned, or exhausted to death. There was a lot that could go wrong, and she would not be extremely lucky, but rather extremely blessed to make it through alive.

She stood in line as the number of Panzerfaren draftees became known, she must have at least counted nearly fifty of them. She nudged Mako when she began to nod off. "You don't want another scratch on your arm," she whispered, resulting in Mako freezing for a brief moment before muttering a thank you.

One thing that separated half her crew was their punishments would be different. Mako and Yukaro where sent here on disciplinary grounds, and their punishment could be very harsh, including physical beatings. Miho and herself on the other hand, since they where technically orphans, could not receive physical beatings, but that didn't mean their kind's typical punishments where much better. Most likely her's would be anything from four to twelve hours bound to a chair to a month in a jail cell. She for one really, really did not want to experience any of those.

To her surprise, as she gazed up, she spotted a yellow harried girl with light blue eyes rise to the front, her sharp gaze penetrating the rest of the group. A few hushed whispered of "What's the Lionness doing here," floated around, but most of the other detainees where silent.

"Alright you lot, It's time for introduction to Panzerfaren. For those of you who don't know, my name is Lyra Istumi, but you will call me Leopon at all times." The then let out a small sigh. "As you can see, my Villa is empty. I've just started my on Panzerfaren school. However, you lot..." she then let out a growl. "Do you not understand? I brought you here with my coin. Until you earn enough to cover your cost, you will not have my respect as a gladiator. Understand?"

"We understand, honorable Leopon," the crowd chorused, bowing slightly as per the custom. Hanoashi herself found it weird, having the best Panzerfaren warrior as her Lanasta, But that still didn't mean much consolation to her, as it meant next to nothing for her survival.

"Next, I will be introducing you to your tanks." she continued, motioning for those teams to follow. Hanoashi found herself having a bit of a difficult time keeping up with the high school students, nearly tripping twice due to the connected leg irons they wore as required by federal law for the first few days on the yard.

"Hanoashi, Miho, Yukaro, Mako," Leopon bellowed. "This is your tank," she continued, pointing to a 38T Herzer mod. Hanoashi felt slightly conflicted over the tank she had been given. On one hand, it was a good all around tank, capable of stopping most small arms fires in addition to hold up against attacks form more... cheaper options such as the BT series and Italian tankkets. It's sloped armor would also help to deflect shots, making survival in it more likely than in similar tanks such as the Sermans, Panzer IV's and KV-2's. However, it armor was thin in places and it didn't have a rotating turret, instead having a fixed gun which could move to get a more accurate shot, though it could only fired in front of the tank.

Glancing around at the other tanks, she saw two more Hertzers, four T-34-1942 models, and three Panthers. With a jolt she realized that Leopon had put together a most excellent team, but not only that, her tanks where designed to give their crews the best chance of survival. I guess it's because she knows what it's like to be in our shoes, she thought. She natural knows what it's like to be in Panzerfaren, and she wants us to have a good chance at both winning and surviving.

Leopon, like Hanoashi, had been drafted into Panzerfaren when she was fifteen years old. However, after her three year sentence was up, rather than returning to civilian life, she opted to become a professional tanker. These are a rare, special breed of people, and like many professionals, they get paid a lot. Most rarely make it to the millionaires, as their usual pay is about a little over two hundred thousand a year, and most died within their first two years. Leopon is only one of three tankers to have survived more than four years, and only herself and Tokato Nishisumi, the founder of the Nishisumi Panzerfaren school, had gone on to become rich and form their own schools.

"Hanoashi, I'd like for you to come with me to my office once we complete the tour," she stated, causing her to freeze up momentarily. I...I'm not in trouble am I? She asked herself, but then shook her head, She hadn't done anything wrong, so she couldn't be in trouble.

"And this is where you will stay at night," she finished. Hanoashi nearly let out a gag at the thought. Essentially, cells with four and five beds each. Barred doors blocked each of the doors, and some of the people began to cry, Miho included.

Her initial disappointment quickly turned into curiosity. Why did Leopon chose to have her draftees live in this kind of place? Does she have some kind of fetish with jail? No, from what I've heard, Leopon is suppose to be very nice, if not strict. Wait, that's it! She realized. Security and heating! In a large grocery store, you heat and cool the place via several large overhead heating and cooling fans. By using open cell doors, she can heat and cool the entire villa, while restricting fights between four and five people. Interesting.

As her leg irons where being took off, Hanoashi's thought drifted to when she would actually go inside the block. I wonder what it's going to actually be like inside the cell. Is it going to be scary? Probably, I mean, I'm terrified right now. She then let out a small breath she was holding. But then again, what else am I going to feel. Embarrassment? Claustrophobic? Loneliness? Wait, maybe not the last one as three other people are also going to be locked in with me.

"Miss Hanoashi, please come with me," Leopon began and Hanoashi bowed slightly before following her to her office. She had to admit, the gentle air-conditioning felt good to her, and she sat down, feeling her long, red hair flow down against the back of the chair. "Am... Am I in trouble, Honurable Leopon?" she asked nervously.

To her releaf, Leopon shook her head. "No, aside from the fact your in Panzerfaren, your not." She wasn't deceived into thinking this hold thing would be a cakewalk, Hanoashi knew full well that seven years in Panzerfaren was bad news. "Actually, I wanted to discuss your team position with you, privately. "

Handing her the team roster, she quickly found her team, gasping when she saw what her position was. "This... this isn't right," she whispered.

Leopon leaned forward. "Maybe not, but that's what I chose for you," she admitted. When she didn't respond, Leopon growled. "Look Hanoashi just go along with it. I don't want you getting hit head on in the Hertzer which would happen if you're in the driver's seat, and your too young to man the gun or load, so that leaves the commanders seat."

Stunned, Hanoashi handed her the paper back. "Why me?" she asked, confused.

Leopon sighed. "Because on that team, you are the only one who is truly innocent, and I kinda want to try and protect you. In all honesty, had I know you'd been orphaned before you where drafted, I'd have tried to adopt you."

"Re...really?" Hanoashi gasped, before a thought occurred to her. "You said that I was the only one truly innocent, but what about Miho? She only spoke out against Panzerfaren," she dared to point out.

To her surprise Leopon's gazes softened a bit more. "Don't take me as being ungrateful, the only ones who should be in Panzerfaren should be professionals, and only if and when they make the sport much more safer, like it is in the African, American, And Eruopean leagues." She then sighed dreamily. "I've heard they even have knockout flags, safer rounds and carbon coating designed to protect crews rather than the tanks."

Sighing once again, this time more serious, she turned back to the conversation at hand. "Yeah, but in Miho's case, it was different. For one thing, she was asking for disownment. Yeah, I'm glad she stood up for us, but the thing is, she should have waited until she graduated high school, when there was no chance of her being disowned."

"Then are you saying I should have accepted that offer for an arranged marriage?"

Leopon shuttered. "Not on your life!" she exclaimed. "Hanoashi, you did everything right in refusing, it's our stupid government who was wrong in this case. Asking a twelve year old to wed is much too young, and drafting you into Panzerfaren for seven year is even more cruel."

"Ah... I see." Hanoashi gazed down for a brief moment."

"By the way... and I want you to keep everything, especially this confidential," Leopon began. "You cost the most coin to draft."

She gaped, causing Leopon to chuckle a bit. "It's that guy who wanted you to marry his son. I'm guessing he's also the one who drafted you, too. At any rate, he kept bidding higher and higher. Funny thing is, even though he's richer than me, he has a school three times larger than me as well, so he essentially has nine times the cost involved. Plus, I got a forty million yen advance loan to build my team, so it was no problem to outbid him.

"Forty million yen... that's likes three hundred fifty thousand us dollars!" Hanoashi explained. She then frowned. "How much did buying my draft cost? If... if you don't mind me asking, honorable Leopon.

Leopon chuckled. "12 Million yen."

Close to one hundred and ten thousand in US dollars. Converting yen to us dollars had became a popular fad among pre-teens such as herself, albeit no one knew where, or even how, it got started.

"Anyways, it's getting dark. I'll escort you to your room, so that you don't get into trouble for being out late," she rose up, and Hanoashi had no choice to follow. They soon arrived at her cell, and the guard gazed at them curiously

"Don't worry she's with me," Leopon remakred gently and the guard nodded, undoing Hanoashi's cuffs and leg irons before gently pushing her into the block, before closing and locking the doors. Sighing, she glanced around.

"Hey, do you want the middle bed, bottom block, or top block," Yukaro asked. Hanoashi gazed at the three choices for a moment before deciding. "I guess I'll take the middle bed... if you don't mind that is."

Yukaro nodded, and she laid down, bone tired. "If you need anything, let me know, okay?" He asked her.

She rolled up into a ball under the covers, gazing at him. "Thanks Yukaro," she whispered. "Good night," she added softly, closing her eyes.

A brief history of Panzerfaren: (585 words long)

Panzerfaren began in the 1920's as a death sport designed to execute condemned criminals. Spectators would watch from air balloons and special designed guard towers and balloons with primitive RPG crews would ensure that none of the participants would escape during the matches. This time was also known as the free-from period, as many, many new tank designs would be tested, as well as current and new designs scrutinized for weaknesses.

In 1939, Japan began their attack on Midway, beginning the pacific wars. By 1942, they had captured all of the major pacific island, but seceded them in 1943 under the infamous Stalin-Pacific accords. Under threat of war against the Soviet Union, Japan ceded most of their territorial gains, but gained the entire citizenry from all concurred lands, inadvertently leading to small pockets of mixed racial groups in Japan. This gave ways to the Social testing period in Panzerfaren, which began in 1946, though it's most notable contribution was televised and recorded matches, actual score keeping, and limiting the machines to 1948 and earlier.

The Social trial period ended in 1962, when then Emperor Haranobu declaimed that any person of non-Japanese decent would be judged biased on their own merits rather than their race and performance in Panzerfaren. Instead in it's place would be a system to punish those who committed wrongs and wanted a shorter sentence, and those who performed poorly in academia due to negligence. This was known as the Era of Condemnation, and it lasted until 1992.

In 1992, due to concerns of overpopulation, both national and global, the criteria for Panzerfaren punishments was expanded and accelerated. Now orphans could be placed into the program, albeit at a limited rate. Those who where Disowned where also occasionally allowed to be placed into the program, albeit at a much higher rate. People could now also substitute for a family member who has committed a crime in some cases, and people could reduce the punishment of some crimes by up to half if they agreed to participate in the program. In 2002, Panzerfaren schools where allowed to hire professional volunteers to their ranks at the rate of 200,000 U.S. dollars per year.

There are several different classifications of Panzerfaren participants:

Volunteer professional: These are payed professionals, usually former participants looking for more cash. They are rarely hired except by the most prestigious schools and even then in low numbers. Most schools hire an instructor, which trains the school, but doesn't actually fight, though there are extremely rare exceptions.

Disciplinary detail: These are students who have excessive late/no-shows, failing grades, or constant Suspensions, detentions, and or expulsion. In most cases, students are given one grace year to improve before being sent here.

Orphaned/disownment: Federal law allows a certain number of Orphans and a certain number of Disowned children to be drafted into the program. This is often covertly question by the citizenry due to the number being secretive and changing from year to year, so no one knows if the number of draftees is overbearing or not.

Substitution: Usually done by a family member, though in rare occasions as it usually isn't allowed to happen flippantly.

Criminal action: These are criminals. Some of them are placed into Panzerfaren directly for their crimes, others volunteer to go in as a participant in exchanged for a reduced sentence. Sexual, assault, and homicidal crimes are strictly ineligible for this program, so most people go in for fraud, theft, and elicit perihelia.