This is just a character intro for the story, as well as a sort of description of what happened between the end of "Battle of Kuromorimine" and the start of this story. It will include the different perspectives that we will be seeing throughout the fic. Please enjoy.

Also if you haven't read the first story, please do.

6 Months Later…

Gerald R. Ford…

It had been 6 months since the Battle of Kuromorimine, and the start of the Koushiki takeover. After that battle the world saw that Koushiki was the real way of Sensha-do. Over the course of the last 6 months, Nanshiki was phased out. The last match taking place in the US against Lone Star High and New York High's teams. Ooarai and JayPac officially merged, creating JPO Academy, allowing the school ship Zuikaku to close down and the residents to move onto the Gerald R. Ford. A graveyard in the park, similar to that in Normandy, was created to honor those who fought for Ooarai and JayPac. The gate guardian is the M4A3E2(76)W "Fury", the only tank that survived the conflict with Kuromorimine. Blue crosses represented those from Ooarai and Green crosses represented those from JayPac. Every week Those who survived the battle visited the park. Officially called the "74th National Sensha-do Graveyard" It became known as the "74th Park".

The rules of the sport changed as well. Now the cut-off date for tanks and aircraft was the year 1980. This new rule saw the revamping of schools sensha-do teams. Kuromorimine was split into East and West Kuromorimine respectively. Pravda and Saunders became the two biggest rivals in sensha-do history, and even Chi-Ha Tan was becoming a threat. St. Gloriana was revamped as well, all the schools that fought were fully ready for battle. With the addition of Aircraft to the fight, limitations on what they could carry were made. For instance, Aircraft capable of carrying Laser guided bombs were allowed, they just couldn't use the bombs. No radar guided missiles were allowed. Only guns, heat seeking missiles and unguided bombs were allowed. No helicopters could fight either, for obvious reasons. Closed-top Anti air was allowed. JayPac itself was boasting some sort of fire power and air power. Since the rule change, JayPac has acquired new tanks like the M48 Patton and M41A1 Walker Bulldog. They've also acquired new aircraft like the Tornado ADV and F-4E Phantom, though the school only has 2 of each.

GRF hospital…

Jay and Yukari were working on a model tank, a Königstiger that Jay had bought for her. Miho was watching the two, smiling that Yukari was back to her old self again.

"Alright Yukari, I've got my part of the suspension done. What about you?" Jay said. He was wearing the schools uniform, khaki shorts and a blue and green Polo shirt. They had been visiting Yukari every day after school, keeping her caught up with the work. Or just

"Yeah! I'm finished! I'll put the tracks on." She said, grabbing the tracks. Jay watched as she carefully put them on. The turretless chassis of the king tiger was complete. They had worked on the turret prior and were ready to put the two together. Jay grabbed the turret and carefully locked it into the turret ring.

"You've heard about the recent match, why it was so big, right?" Jay asked, turning the turret to test if it would stay on the chassis.

"It was the last Nanshiki match…ever." She replied. So, she understands what that means as well. Jay thought. He let go of the tank and kneeled by her bed. "After I get out of here, I'm going back." She said.

"Back where?" Miho asked, taking a seat at the foot of the bed.

"I'm going back to sensha-do." She said, confidently. Jay and Miho were stunned. It was because of the sport that she's like this in the first place. Both Jay and Miho, as well as everyone who survived the 74th, didn't do sensha-do anymore.

"But, you might get hurt again. Please don't." Jay said, grasping her hand. "I don't want a repeat of the last time."

"I'm glad you're worried about me, but this is the sport that I love. I want to keep doing it and you can't stop me. No matter how dangerous it is, I will go back to it." Yukari said. She looked at the clock and realized what time it was. "It's about time you two headed out." She said. Jay looked at the time, and she was right. Visiting hours were pretty much over, and it was starting to get dark. They said their goodbye's and headed out the door.

74th park…

The park was situated near the rear of the ship, a little way away from the apartment and about 15 minutes walking time from the hospital. Jay and Miho sometimes went here by themselves, but this time they came together. They walked up to the gate guardian, the Jumbo they had rode in in the last stages of the battle. The bounce marks were still there, the bullet marks, and the Shield logo. Both stood there quietly as they reminisced the battle.

"So, you guys came as well." A voice said behind them. They turned to see Pascal and Nonna standing behind them, as well as Hoshino and Leon. Caleb and Courtney weren't too far behind. They were each carrying a couple of flowers. "It's been six months."

"Yeah…it has…" Jay replied. "How's that leg of yours Leon?"

"Oh, you know. I'm getting by. It hurts still, but I can still walk." He said.

"How's Yukari?" Hoshino asked.

"She'll be out in a week. She's made a full recovery." Miho said. "But…"

"But what?" Pascal asked. "Is she really going to be alright, or are you just lying to us?"

"She wants to go back to doing sensha-do." Jay said. They were all stunned.

"That sport nearly killed her. And you didn't say anything, did you Jay." Pascal said. "You didn't say anything persuade her, if you let her go back she'll be…"

"And how do you know?" Jay asked, cutting him off. "How do you know…When we first visited her I promised her I wouldn't let anything like that happen to her again." Jay's hands were balled into fists. He was shaking, and he wasn't going to take this from him.

"And how are you going to protect her, if even you are too scared to rejoin the sport." Pascal asked.

"Look who's talking." That's when it hit him. The only way he would be able to keep his promise is to join. He was afraid, but he had to in order to keep to his word. He had visited the practice range a few times and saw that the new teams were very sloppy, and uncoordinated, even with an instructor.

"Well tomorrow, I'm going to rejoin the team." Jay said. The others looked surprised at this. "You heard me right. I'm joining the team. Pascal's right, I am afraid, but that's not gonna hold me back anymore. Whether you join or not is completely up to you, but I'm joining." Jay said.

The next day, JayPac Tank Hangar…

Jay walked into the tank hangar, which was a little disorganized. He sighed and walked past the tanks to the commander's area. He had the keys to the building still and he knew it better than any one of these greenhorns. He saw that the light was on in the office area and knocked on the door.

"Come in." The person said. Jay was wearing the uniform he wore during the battle of Kuromorimine. The commander was a girl, she was about 3 inches shorter than Jay and wore glasses. Apparently, they had changed the tanker's uniform as well, as she was wearing a more modern forest camouflage jacket that had the JayPac and Ooarai flag on each shoulder. She reminded him of Momo almost, except she had shorter hair, and it was tied into a bun at the back. "Who might you be?" She asked still working on some of the papers.

"I'm the guy who was in that seat first." Jay said. She looked up at him and her expression changed from annoyed to confusion. "I was the old commander of this team when it was just JayPac. I take it you're from Ooarai."

"Yes, yes I am. You wouldn't be the 'Patton of JayPac', right?" She asked. "That guy was, at least from what I've heard, one of the best tankers of JayPac. And he worked alongside the 'Carius of Kuro.'" She said, almost dreamlike.

"Well, you're looking at him. Ex-commander of the JayPac High sensha-do team, M18 Commander and Gunner, Jay Brown." He said, saluting. She looked impressed. "May I ask your name?"

"JPO Sensha-do team commander, M41A1 Commander Kimiko Sagrada." She said, returning the salute. "Wait, you must be the one I've been seeing at the practice grounds every now and again. Why were you spying on us?" She asked, gesturing Jay to take a seat.

"Well I've been watching because I wanted to see how my old school was getting along. I know some of the members who are on the team still. I've been keeping up to date." Jay said. He was about to start criticizing her leadership, at least tactics wise, but he decided to keep to himself.

"I take it you want to join the team?" She asked, and Jay nodded. "Alright, under one condition."

"What's that?"

"You have to get everyone who fought and survived the 74th to join." She said.

"And I'll leave you this." Jay said, sliding a paper onto her desk. It was a list of tanks that had been considered and his inside tracks told him they were about to purchase some new ones. "I would start to assign crews to them as well, who are missing of course." And with that he left the office. Jay was walking through the tank hangar smirking. He knew that their experience was vital to their survival and he had bended her to meet their needs as well. He pulled out his phone and texted everyone to meet at his apartment. He had some big news to tell after all.

Jay's Apartment…

The apartment was quiet when Jay got back. The occasional sound of a car driving by or a jet taking off from the airfield filled the air. It was about 1800 and no one was home, which was weird. The sky outside was darkening and he slowly dozed off.

It was a battle, he was running through the streets of some city in ruins. It wasn't Kuromorimine, the building design wasn't even close to that. He ran until he found a sign. It read "JayPac/Ooarai academy." It was the Gerald R. Ford. The battle had come to the carrier and he heard someone faintly calling his name.

"Jay….!" It echoed. The closer and closer he got, the more recognizable it became, the only problem was that it wasn't Miho.

"Jay! Wake up!" Miho said, shaking Jay. The apartment smelled of food and everyone was there. Jay squinted his eyes open and sat up on the couch. He felt some drool on his face and he quickly wiped it off.

"I'm up, I'm up." He said, tiredly. He saw that everyone was over, and he saw Pascal quietly laughing at him.

"Sleep well bud, you've been out since we got here." Pascal said, before taking a sip of water from a cup.

"Yeah, yeah. Let me just get to the point of why I invited you all here." Jay said, standing up and stretching. Everyone went silent and focused on him. "I'm joining the Sensha-do team. And they've requested us to join. All of us." It was eerily silent now, processing what Jay had just said.

"You want us to rejoin the sport that killed all our friends, and Family?" Leon asked, kind of angered.

"Yes, I do. We need to teach these others what they're getting themselves into. They have no experience like we do. They're sloppy on their formations and they don't know how to utilize their tanks." Jay said. "We can teach them. I've even requested tanks for us." Nobody was even looking at Jay anymore. "Well, whether or not you choose to join is your decision, but I'm not changing mine. I promised I would protect Yukari, and you said it yourself buddy." Jay said turning to Pascal. "I am scared, but fears are made to be conquered!" Jay said. Miho giggled a little.

"You kinda sounded like Caesar for a second there." She said.

"Yeah. If she were here she would have added something to that statement." Hoshino added. Everyone was in agreement.

"You know, as much as I want to object, I'm kind of curious what the tanks you requested for us." Pascal said. "I guess I'm in."

"You better not let us die out there, Jay." Leon said. Everyone started to chime in, everyone was in except Miho.

"I..I don't know Jay."

"I understand." Jay replied. "But we could use a top-notch commander." Jay said.

"I need time to think about it." Miho said. Jay nodded and turned back to everyone.

"Alright. Everyone must meet at Hangar #2 that's where the tanks will be off-loaded." Jay said. "1200 hours sharp."

"Yes sir!" Everyone said, except Mako, who was asleep on the couch next to Jay. He sighed and lightly shook her. She wouldn't budge. "I guess Mako is in as well." That's when Jay's phone buzzed. It was a message from Yukari. It read; I'm getting out the hospital tomorrow. 10am.

Jay's eyes lit up with joy when he read that. "Well, I just got wind that Yukari will be out of the hospital tomorrow. She'll be able to see the tanks." Jay reported. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; their friend was going to be ok and back out there.

The next day, Hangar #2…

Jay was leaning against the hangar, watching the aircraft taxi from the passenger terminal on the other side, and takeoff. An American Airlines 737 roared down the runway, most likely heading to Honolulu. Jay watched the jet rise into the air, the sound faded out, replaced by more jet engines idling. He would do this often, just watch the planes. Usually from a nearby hill that overlooked the airport, or from a nearby building.

The sky was clouded over and gray, he knew he pilots would have a hard time landing and taking off. Someone tapped him on the shoulders, and he looked to see it was Yukari.

"Well, look who decided to show up." Jay said, jokingly. "Sorry I couldn't visit you yesterday, I was making negotiations about our team."

"It's alright. I'm just glad to finally be out of that hospital." She replied. "So, whatcha waiting for?"

"Our new tanks. They were bought specifically for us." Jay said. "I had to persuade her to approve the tanks."

"What do you mean by persuade?" Another voice said from behind. He shot back around to see Miho smiling up at him. "You said 'she', right? How did you persuade her to get the tanks?" Jay was looking into her eyes now, she may have been smiling, but he could see the fury deep within her. He knew that she wouldn't hesitate to kill him if he mis-phrased something.

"Well…I, uh…" Just say what you did. That's all you have to do. "I left her a list of tanks I thought would be effective. In exchange for our service." Jay said.

"Is that all you did?" She asked, more sinisterly. Jay just nodded. "Well, then good." She said, cheerier. Jay was still a little shaken from that, but he was relived it was over. The others soon arrived, just as the first of 2 An-124's touched down.

The hangar doors opened as the big jet taxied towards them the way they landed, he knew the payload they were carrying was very heavy. The first 124 to come in was hired by a cargo company. The other one to come in was JayPac's own Ruslan. They were about 30 minutes apart and by the time the JayPac 124 was on the ground, the hired one had already left. On the ramp were 6 tanks all painted in the suggested schemes, just as Jay requested.

"It time to meet your new tanks. Starting with the heaviest of the bunch." He walked over to the Chieftain that was sitting at the end. "Pascal, you are assigned to the Chieftain Mk.7, Shield team unit 1." He continued moving down the line to the T-10M. "Nonna, you are assigned to the T-10M, Shield team unit 5."

"The last of the Stalin Tanks." She said quietly.

"Hoshino, you are assigned to the Gunner position of this Leopard A1A1 L/44. Tank callsign 'Leopon II'." He said.

"Is it fast?" She asked.

"Well, Leopards are usually known for their speed. And this one has a gun to match an M1 Abrams!" Yukari exclaimed.

"Precisely Yukari. The only catch is you don't have a stabilizer." Jay said. "Unlike 'Anglerfish II', which is just a standard Leopard A1A1." He turned to the Leopard next to the L/44.

"Speaking of which. Mako, Yukari, Miho, you are assigned to the Leopard A1A1 callsign 'Ankou II'." Jay said. "With a 105mm main gun and a stabilized system, you can hit targets more accurately on the move."

"That's amazing! I bet…Hana…would have loved it." Yukari said, remembering that their tank would only have 3 members.

"She would have…you and I both know." Jay said, placing a hand on Yukari's shoulder. He still had to assign two more tanks. He walked to the Magach 3. "Leon, your assigned to the 'Waifu II', a Magach 3 with ERA (Explosive Reactive Armor)." Jay said, pointing to the tank. "Shield unit 4, of course."

"What about that tank?" Caleb said, pointing to the M18 that had a weird gun.

"Oh, that's our tank. The M18 Super Hellcat, 90mm GMC." Jay said. "Our only key is to stay hidden, otherwise were as good a toaster strudel. We are assigned to Scout team unit 1."

"We still have speed on our side. Our only speed rival is Saunders Abrams." Courtney said.

"Oh, and the crews to fill in the position missing in your tank will be here momentarily." Jay said. They all waited for the crews atop their tanks. At least, the others did. Jay ordered Courtney to start the tank and drive down to Hangar #6.

Hangar #6, Two hours ago…

Graham was nervous. He was the newest and youngest pilot of the JPO 1st Tactical Attack Squadron, and he hadn't yet met his squadron commander and aircraft. Of the three aircraft JPO had, the F-8E Crusader, the F-4E Phantom and the Panavia Tornado IDS, Graham chose the Crusader. He walked into the hangar and was greeted by an F-8 with a shark face on the nose. He walked past the jet and continued towards the back. He saw some people looking at the planes, and they were a little taller than him.

"U-um…excuse me." He asked, quietly. They didn't hear him over their talking. "Excuse me!" The two who were talking turned around and noticed him. They were wearing flight suits and seemed walked up to him.

"And who might you be?" The taller boy asked.

"I'm Graham Johnson. The new pilot for the F-8." He said.

"So, this is who they found to replace Jackson." The other person, a girl, said. "Well, Graham, Welcome to the Sunrisers." The girl said. "You must be looking for Witch." She said.

"'Witch'? No, I'm looking for Kimiko Utagawa. Isn't she the commander for this squadron?" Graham asked. The two tried to hold in their laughter.

"You know, what a callsign is right?" The girl asked.

"Inst that like a nickname or something?" Graham replied. "Look, I'm just trying to find the commander. She is the one who knows what plane I fly and the team I'm assigned to." He said, trying to assert himself.

"Well, looks like someone is trying to be aggressive. Glad you're part of our team. I'm Johnathan, callsign "Bravo", for obvious reasons." He said, extending a hand.

"I'm Taekeno, callsign 'Cherry'". She said, pointing to her dark red hair. "He and I are both F-8 pilots, so we'll be flying with you." She said. "Just try not to get too close with witch though."

"Why?"

"Because Tiger has a massive crush on her."

"Who's tiger?" He felt someone walk up behind him and place a hand on her shoulder.
"I am, and just who do you think you are, snooping around in here?" Tiger was a big guy, about 6 feet tall and a very sturdy build. He was that type of guy who wouldn't hesitate to kill a guy if he got too angry.

"I'm the…new pilot." Graham turned to face this guy, who had a good 5 inches on him, easily.

"So THIS is who they sent to replace Jackson? HA! This shrimp doesn't even look like he can tell the difference between a turbine and a prop!" He bellowed. He didn't know what to say.

"TIGER!" A girl's voice called out. The footsteps echoed through the hangar as she made her way to their location. The Bravo and Cherry backed away slowly.

"Now he's done it…" Bravo said. The girl, about 5'4" with her hair tied into a ducktail, marched up to Tiger and got in his face.

"Tiger, that is no way for you to treat a fellow pilot! Just because you're the flight leader of Cruxes doesn't mean you can bully around our pilots! You understand?!" Her eyes looked like they were burning into tiger's soul.

"Y-yes Ma'am." He said. "Little punk…" He walked off and disappeared behind his Crusader.

"I'm sorry about his aggressiveness, he can be a little pain in the ass sometimes." She said, softer than she was about 5 seconds ago. "Oh, you must be Graham! Come with me, I'll show you to your plane." She said. He just followed her, silent and confused at how a person even remotely close to his age could switch emotions like that.

The two walked up to the jet, F-8E crusader number 910. On the nose was stenciled the flag of JayPac, a small one. The tail was blue and green striped like the flag, and it looked very similar to the Sundowners tails.

"Here it is. Say, you do look a little young to be doing this. I take it you're a first year, right?"

"That is correct."

"What did you get on your flight test?"

"A 98." She was stunned. She looked at him in disbelief. How can a freshman get the top score in the squadron? She thought to herself. "If you don't believe me, I took a picture of it." He said, pulling out his phone. He flipped through it and fond the picture. Sure enough, it was a 98, and it looked legitimate.

"Well, let's put that to the test. Tomorrow, 1530 hours, you and Tiger will do a mock dogfight." Witch said. "I will be up there to observe." Less than two hours on the team and he already was going to be getting some action. He wanted to fly, it was a life goal. Now he had the chance to actually fight against the best person on the team. "Well, I have to get some paperwork done. Get some rest for tomorrow."

"Well, that's new." Cherry said, scarring the crap out of Graham. "She's never usually this nice to a newcomer. At least she wasn't to me or Bravo over there."

"I think she's into you, dude." Bravo said. Tiger was nearby overhearing the conversation.

"'I think she's into you dude' bullshit…an he got a 98?!" He said to himself. "I swear, I'll beat him. I will beat him tomorrow."

Just then the sound of treads echoed into the hangar. One of the JPO tanks was in the hangar and its commander climbed down from the top.

"Well if it isn't the Patton of JayPac. Back out of retirement I see." Witch said, walking up to the tank. It looked to be a tank destroyer, but Tiger couldn't tell. He was more focused on the aviation aspect of the sport.

"Hello to you too, Utagawa." The commander said. He was taller than Tiger, by a couple of inches. "And yes, I'm going back to Sensha-do. I made a promise to someone and this was the only way to keep it." He said. Tiger walked out to the tank and up to it's commander.

"Who, might I ask, are you?" Tiger asked him.

"Ah, you must be one of the pilots. I'm Jay, M18 commander for the JPO Sensha-do team." Jay said, saluting him. "Although, Utagawa here gave me the nickname 'Patton'."

"Graham." He extended a hand and Jay shook it.

"I'll be counting on you for CAS* if we get into a skirmish." Jay said. "Now let me drop some knowledge on you. Did you know there are three types of aces?" Graham shook his head. "Well, there are those who fight for strength, those who fight for glory, and those who can read the tide of battle. I wonder which one you will be?"

"What do you mean by that?" He asked.

"I mean, that there is a lot for you to learn. Who knows, you might even become a true ace." Jay said. Graham was about to ask what that meant but Jay stopped him. "I can't tell you what it means, that's something for you to find out." He heard the distinct clinking of tank treads approaching, meaning that the rest of the crews arrived and were heading to the tank hangar.

"Well I'd best be off. Take care Graham. I expect great things from you." Jay said. "Button up Boys!" The M18 reversed out the hangar and fell into place in front of a Leopard tank. The entire squadron watched the convoy as they passed.

"Well, he's not as fierce as I thought he would be." Bravo said, walking up to Graham. "And he doesn't even look like he should be in a tank."

"Yeah, well, he makes it work somehow." Graham said.

"Well, since you're new to the squadron, let's go have a celebratory lunch. On me." Cherry said.

"Sounds good to me." Graham said. "I was getting hungry anyways."

"Ditto. Let's go." Bravo, said, already heading towards the door. The group of three headed towards the door and out to the parking lot.

Aomori Prefecture, Pravda High School, the next day…

Mike's eyes shot open as and he looked around. He forgot where he was for a second, then remembered that he was in his Girlfriends dorm room. It was about 3AM and he was freezing. He slowly got out of bed, as to not wake his sleeping girl. They had met at the battle of Kuromorimine, after the IS-3 was destroyed. Sasha was kind enough to get him in the school, and even the same dorm room. They were careful to say that he transferred from St. Gloriana instead of JayPac, knowing after the Massacre during the great battle, he would have been shot on site.

He got up and walked out the bedroom and too the living room. He walked to the window and was wondering if it was even alright for him to do this. He knew his friends thought he was dead, but he wanted to at least know how everyone else was doing. He wondered if Jay and the others were going to continue sensha-do, now that it was all Koushiki.

Ever since the rule change, they were able to upgrade their tank force from having T-34-85's, to the T-80. Mike himself was a T-72 Commander, and he really enjoyed the tank. He knew the tank was on par with most feared tank of sensha-do, Saunders M1 Abrams tanks. It would be only a matter of time before the two would have to fight. Maybe they would even fight JayPac, if Jay wasn't leading the tactics, or Miho for that matter, their destruction would be absolute.

"Mike...I'm cold, get in here please…" Sasha called out. She herself was a T-80 commander. One of the few T-80 commanders for Nikitka's new army. The previous leader after katyusha died, at least rumor spread, was assassinated and little Nikita was in command. Mike decided to head back to bed, it was only 3 am anyway. He walked back to see his girlfriend sitting up on the bed. He was glad to have met her, and she was one of the only nice girls in the army. The others just treated him with a lack of respect. He was the only male tank commander for the army, so he thought as with many firsts, it would be a while before the others would accept him.

"I know what you're thinking." She said. "I understand. You're worried about you other friends back at JayPac." She said.

"How did you know?" He asked, sitting on the bed next to her.

"It's understandable, but in the end it's either me or them." She said, looking at him. He knew she was right, if he even tried to run back to JayPac, they'd track him down. Kind of like they did when Kenji was attacked back in the Great Battle.

"Well, let's get some, I know we have practice in the morning." Mike said.

He rested his head on the pillow, which was ice cold. He felt Sasha press her body against his and he relaxed with her body heat. He fell back to sleep, wishing the night would never end.