Strike Witches

Sakamoto's Exclusive Training

Perrine had a crush on Sakamoto. That was not news to any of the other witches. The way she watched the older woman with a dreamy look in her eyes and the way she became deaf to the world when the Major was speaking... It was so obvious, but, quite ironical, the only one who didn't see it was Sakamoto herself.

Perrine didn't mind this at all, though. The only thing she openly feared was Sakamoto's rejection if she were aware of her feelings.

These strong feelings in question made Perrine an open target for teasing amongst the witches, and she was openly hostile in reply to these taunts. But she never let it show how much it hurt her when life went on without her love getting her any closer to Sakamoto.

Finally, fate was about to give her a rare chance.

Morning came and the dark veil of sleep hanging over Perrine began to thin. She opened her eyes a crack, the blurriness of her natural sight making the sun more bearable as it shone over her naked body wrapped in sheets.

She yawned and reached out to her bedside table, searching with practised accuracy for her glasses. She found them and plucked them from the table to slip them over her eyes. Blinking rapidly, her focus became perfect again through the thin, delicate frames, and she at up to stretch.

As with any normal day, she headed to her bathroom and prepared herself, brushing her teeth, tidying her hair, dressing herself in her uniform. She would save the bathing for after training. Sakamoto was strict and always made the witches sweat in the first ten minutes. Perrine didn't mind this at all despite being so conscious of her appearance and cleanliness. She loved to work hard for Sakamoto and prove that she was better than most of the others. Yes, most. Even she could admit that she couldn't compete with the skill of Barkhorn and Hartman.

She headed down the hallway, the sounds of the other witches bustling within their rooms muffled behind closed doors. As usual Perrine was up earlier than the others so she could be the first with Sakamoto who was waiting on the training field, as always.

Not everyone would be there, of course. Eila, who had flown with Sanya that night to help her out, was asleep with the her younger partner, and Barkhorn and Hartman were training later in the day after defeating a Neuroi the day before. Perrine smiled. The less people between her and the Major, the better.

"Oh, Perrine. You're up early, as usual." Minna smiled kindly and gave a small wave to Perrine. She was standing at the end of the hallway, obviously having just risen herself with her fresh smell of the bath. She had documents in her hands. She would be stuck all morning filling out files regarding the Neuroi the day before. The downside of victory.

Perrine smiled and greeted her warmly. "Good morning, Minna. I was just heading down to start the training early, unlike these girls who are holding up the Major." She cast a disdainful look behind her at the still closed doors. Doubtlessly most of them had rolled over to get back to sleep.

Minna laughed. "Oh, Perrine, don't be so harsh. They still have plenty of time until they're late."

"Right," Perrine said, though she looked distractedly past Minna, eager to get to her dear Sakamoto.

"Well, don't let me keep you from your early start," Minna said. She interrupted Perrine as she tried to pass her, though. "Oh, I just remembered. Sakamoto was speaking to me about giving exclusive lessons to you today to help you master that move you showed her the other day. The one where you loop through the air and still fire a perfect shot?" Minna mimicked the loop with her finger.

Perrine's cheeks went bright red. "Really? She said that?" She looked as though she might faint. "She must have thought it was brilliant, than."

"She was very impressed, but it will keep you busy the entire day. If you're not up to it, let her know and you can schedule another time."

"No, today will be fine," Perrine said, practically running down the hall now after giving a quick, respectful bow. "Thank you, Commander Minna!"

Minna giggled to herself. "That girl," she muttered, her own cheeks blushing as she thought of the Major. "She really is fond of her."

"Major Sakamoto, I'm here," Perrine said, only stopping her mad dash until she was right in front of Sakamoto. She bent over to catch her breath as Sakamoto's booming laugh greeted her.

"You sure are, twenty minutes before everyone else. It used to be thirty. You're losing your touch, Perrine."

Perrine's heart almost stopped. "I'm sorry, Major Sakamoto," she apologised quickly. "I'll be earlier next time, I promise!"

Sakamoto laughed again and slapped Perrine's back surprisingly hard. "It was a joke, Perrine Relax. Now, seeing as you're here so early, why don't you get into the air and show me that move again?"

Perrine nodded. "And Minna told me you wanted to train me on it later, after the session?" she asked hopefully.

Sakamoto nodded. "That's right. It will be an excellent skill to use in battle, so I think we should perfect it as soon as possible. Now get up there and show me... Oh, never mind. Here come the others."

"What?" Perrine turned and gave a scathing look to Yoshika who ran onto the field with Lynette trailing behind.

"Sorry, Major!" Yoshika gasped as she doubled over. "I hope I'm not too late."

"Actually, you're early!" Perrine growled, standing fast in front of Yoshika with her arms crossed over her chest. "I was just about to demonstrate my amazing skills to Major Sakamoto and you had to butt in!"

Yoshika exchanged a long look with Lynette. "We're early?" she asked, sounding amazed.

"I suggest you both take a good look at your clocks," Sakamoto said. "You're twenty minutes early, but that's alright. We'll just get into the paces before the others get here."

Perrine, shaking with anger, turned her back on the pair, furious that they would spoil her morning. But at least she would have the afternoon alone with Major Sakamoto. That would be enough to sate her.

The usual training was nothing too exciting, but it wasn't easy either. Running up and down the runway, attaching their units and trailing each other in the air, and shooting targets in the water was the basic outline for their routine. When it was done, they were all sweating and breathing hard, especially Yoshika and Lynette, the least experienced of them all.

"Well, that was a good workout," Shirley said, stretching her muscles. She was barely out of breath.

"So hungry," Luchini mumbled weakly, falling against Shirley and stuffing her face into her breasts.

Shirley sighed. "You're always hungry. Alright, lets get you something to eat before we bathe. Coming, guys?"

Yoshika and Lynette, both lying on top of each other, nodded feebly and tried to rise from the grass. It took some team effort to hold each other up from the verge of collapsing.

"No thank you," Perrine said, looking longingly toward Sakamoto who was preparing her unit. "I have exclusive training with Major Sakamoto," she said proudly.

"Ohhhh, really?" Shirley said, smiling devilishly. "Well, isn't that a surprise."

Luchini laughed. "Don't go perving at her when she flies above you."

Perrine gasped. "How dare you!"

"Quick, lets get food before she set us on fire!" Luchini gasped and started running back toward the building with Shirley.

"W-wait for us!" Yoshika cried, stumbling to her feet.

"Yes, please slow down!" Lynette called.

"Sargent Miyafuji, Sargent Lynette, where do you think you are going?"

All three girls turned toward Sakamoto who was standing with her striker unit attached, arms crossed and face serious. "I want you two to stay and watch Perrine's new skill. It may teach you something."

Both Yoshika and Lynette looked dis-heartened, having planned to hop right into the steaming bath, but they knew that this was an order. They both nodded in agreement and settled down in the grass again.

"I look forward to seeing it, Perrine," Lynette said kindly.

Yoshika nodded. "I'll bet its something really cool."

Perrine wasn't hearing any of it. She was trembling with fury now that she knew her exclusive training was being impeded upon. "But major Sakamoto," she said, trying to keep the anger from her voice. "I thought it would just be you and I."

Sakamoto nodded. "It is. You and I will be flying. I'll give you pointers and help you perfect your new move. Meanwhile, these two will just be watching from below. Don't let them distract you. I want you to put your all into this."

"But... they are really distracting," Perrine said, hoping to get rid of them.

"Oh, we won't make a sound!" Lynette promised.

"Yeah, silent as mice!" Yoshika added.

For once, Perrine wished the pair would understand that she just wanted to be with Sakamoto, but they were too thick to understand.

"Ready, Perrine?" the Major asked.

Perrine nodded, though all of her excitement had been sucked out of her. "Yes, ma'am."

"She's really good, huh?" Yoshika said as she watched Perrine flying far above their heads with the Major.

"She is," Lynette agreed. "But doesn't something seem a little strange?"

"Strange?"

"Yes." Lynette's eyes followed Perrine as she dove low into a loop. The smoke that left a trail behind her was shaky. "She's a little unbalanced, and her loops aren't consistent. She hits the mark fine." She paused as Perrine shot another target supported in the air by a strong balloon. "But she isn't moving as fluently and she always misses the middle point, the heart."

Yoshika watched. "That is strange. Especially seeing as she is flying with the Major. She's usually much more focused when she's flying with her."

"That's true..." Lynette hesitated for a moment. "Do you think its us? Are we putting her off?"

Yoshika glanced back up at the sky. "She didn't want us here, that's for sure."

"Perrine, concentrate!" Sakamoto yelled. "You aren't making a perfect circle! Shoot earlier! Aim your body against the wind!"

Perrine wiped sweat from her brow as she left her ninth circle, her bullet again hitting the target on the outside ring instead of the red centre. It was frustrating her as much as the Major, but some of that frustration was knowing that she was failing the woman she admired and adored. As usual, she blamed something else and the pair watching her fly were in her sights.

"Don't look at them, look at me!" Major Sakamoto growled. Perrine, startled by the woman's tone, looked up and found Sakamoto only inches away from her.

"Look at me, Perrine," Sakamoto ordered, "and don't stop looking until you're ready to shoot the target, alright?"

Perrine swallowed, certain that she would be put off if she watched the Major while entering the loop, but she would never disobey her orders. "A-alright," she said.

"Good, now try again, and look at me," Sakamoto said as she flew out of the way and watched from a safe distance. The next target was pulled up.

Perrine breathed deeply for a moment, the warm afternoon air filling her. Her heart, now beating hard raced at a faster pace as she watched Sakamoto while raising up. The top of the loop was coming and she turned upside down, arching the top. She twisted her body again to see Sakamoto. She could see the target behind her, hovering a few metres above the water and Yoshika and Lynette... cheering her on? She tried to look at them, but Sakamoto yelled at her to "keep your eyes on me!"

Perrine did just that. She trained her eyes on the Major, staring at her, into her own brown eye that wasn't covered by an eye-patch. She could imagine that purple eye underneath, so full of powerful magic. She wanted to please her so much.

As she watched her, Sakamoto smiled encouragement and nodded her head as though to say 'you can do it, Perrine. All you need is focus.'

Perrine's heart slowed and she fell into deep concentration. "I can do this," she breathed to herself. "Sakamoto believes that I can, so I believe it too." She flicked her eyes to the target, aimed her gun, and fired as she reached the bottom arch of the loop.

Her bullet soared and hit the target with an explosion of clay. The centre had been hit directly. With a whoop that was definitely not in character, Perrine darted through the air without thinking to stop. She ran right into Sakamoto who caught her in her arms, laughing as she held onto the girl made ditzy from her success.

"Easy, Perrine," she said, smiling. "You did it. A perfect shot."

Perrine wanted to leap out of the Major's arms and compose herself like a proper lady, but she had mastered her new skill. Didn't she deserve to enjoy the moment? She dared to wrap her arms around the major, and although the older woman tensed, she warmed into the hug. "Well done, Perrine," she said.

Far below, Yoshika and Lynette had stopped cheering for Perrine.

"Do you think she heard us?" Lynette asked.

Yoshika shrugged. "Who knows, but she hit the target perfectly! She did it!"

"I guess we weren't a distraction after all," Lynette said.

"No, you were still a distraction, but luckily Sakamoto taught me how to ignore you." Perrine softly landed on the grass, arms still wrapped around Sakamoto.

Yoshika ran up to her with congratulations. "You did great, Perrine! I could have never fired a perfect shot in the middle of a loop!"

"It was so graceful!" Lynette agreed. "It was just like you."

Perrine beamed. Perhaps having those two around during her private time with the major wasn't such a bad thing.

"Um, Perrine?"

Perrine faced the older woman, ready to hear about how well she did and how proud the Major was. "Yes, Major?"

"... would you mind letting me go now?"

Author's Note

I haven't been writing for a while and last night I just decided to come back to it. At the moment my inspiration is Strike Witches, so I whipped this up in about an hour (some of that time was spent chasing my cat back inside when she snuck out) so I hope it was alright. I usually write longer stories, so I hope this had enough detail. Forgive me if its boring. I tend to write boring stories if I don't make them chapter stories because I don't make a plan and just go with it.

Thank you for taking the time to read.

ShatteredHeart98