Author's Note: Well, this has been what's most absorbed my attention lately. I've become a slight obsessed with GuP as of late, and my muse is just drilling me about this. This won't replace my other fic, Misfits, but it's likely to be the more consistently uploaded piece. Anyways, enjoy!
Amagi sighed heavily as she walked out the classroom, brushing some hair off her face. She was about halfway through her first day at Oarai High School, and it had gone fairly well so far. It was a tad awkward, starting mid-year like this, but not as much so as she'd expected. This place was definitely a different sort from Saunders, but not in ways she minded. It was far more blue-collar and budget-based, something that made her feel a bit more at home than the money dump she'd been at prior.
She checked her schedule. Lunch next… Cafeteria's probably a step down from what I'm used to, but, hell, I'm hungry. She did have to ask, blushingly, for directions to get there, but, to her surprise, the girl she spoke to seemed even more awkward than she was… Given, walking around wearing neko-ears is hardly normal, so I don't know what I expected. Regardless, she thanked the other student and started to walk off. She stopped herself quickly, realizing she forgot to bow. Her face was bright red when she turned back to do so, and then she left, silently cursing herself.
The lunchroom was lively enough, but the lines were fairly short, so it didn't take long for her to get her food. She left the counter, but, while she was scanning the room for a table, she was confronted rather warmly by an excited-looking ginger, with the greeting, "Hi! You must be the new girl around here! Erhm, what was your name again? Ana, Kaga…?"
"Amagi Pool," She replied, a little bit offset. "I, um… uh… Sorry, but how did you know I was new?" A taller girl beside her, about Amagi's height but with black hair and much thinner, answered the question for her, "Saori-san knows everyone here." Amagi thought for a moment, then mused, slightly intimidated, "Makes sense, but, um…" The ginger, apparently called Saori, piped up again, "Well, I was kinda hoping you'd sit down and eat with us. It'd be nice to get to know you."
I can't really say no, but… I hardly even know these two. Still, they're trying to be nice, so who am I to decline? Let's just hope I don't screw it up… She looked up, and gave a silent nod to them, then followed them to the table. Their faces looked familiar, and so did the girls at the table she was led to. Amagi went to an open seat among the group, fully conscious that she was quite a bit thicker than anyone else there. Already seated were another three girls, all brunettes, one with black hair like the one who led her there, then another with dark brown hair similar Amagi's own, though shorter and rather messy, and a third with a lighter shade of brown. Saori introduced her to the rest of the group, starting with the one called Hana, the girl that had accompanied her greeting, and ending with Miho. Wait, Miho?! Now she recognized the group, it was the IV's crew! She was sitting across from Miho Nishizumi!
Upon realizing this, Amagi's eyes shot wide open, and she felt compelled to stand and salute, shouting [Miss Nishizumi!] as she did so. It was also accompanied by the impulse to bow. These two actions did not conform to each other's existence. What resulted was a maneuver more or less consisting of her leaning forward right into a slap in the face from her right hand. Amagi sat back down, a fiery blush on her face. This was not 'screwing up.' This was far worse. She looked around, meeting with a worried look from Miho, a few shocked faces, as well as catching Saori desperately trying to hold back laughter. She mumbled, [Sorry,] again using English. This was not going well.
Miho walked around to the other side of the table and put her hand on the new girl's shoulder. "Are you alright?" She nodded, bit her lip, and then took a deep breath to regain whatever composure she once had.
She looked around again, and everyone's faces seemed friendly and inviting. She took another breath, and then said, this time in Japanese, "Sorry if I worried you. I, um, well it's just that…" She paused, then looked at the girl now beside her. "I wasn't really expecting to meet my new team commander like this." The girl across from her, the one named Yukari, seemed to perk up instantly and prompted, "You do tankery, too?"
"Yeah. It's kind of in the family for me." Amagi said, while a wave of comfort washed over her. The situation had diffused, for now. "My mother was an ace for Saunders, and that's where I used to go, as well. Not to say that I only do it because of legacy, though. I love working with tanks, and really machines in general."
Miho gave her an intrigued look, before asking, "If you don't mind my asking, who was your mother? I may know the name."
Amagi chuckled, "My mother is Ise Nakashuro Pool. Her name, again, is arranged in the English order, personal-maiden-family." Miho recognized the name, at least partly, prompting, "She spent time in the US to promote senshado there, right? And, well…" Her tone deviated momentarily, she paused, then returned to the former inquisition, "Um, how long did she spend there, though?"
Accepting the probe, Amagi answered, "She pretty much settled down there, actually. Met my father there, had me, and we all lived there until about a year and a half ago, when family matters brought us back here."
As the table realized that she was American, they seemed to start lighting up. Which state she was from, what Western tankery was like, what the boys were like, what sort of flowers there were, how much food did they really eat… It was overwhelming, and rather unexpected. The last thing Amagi thought she'd be was the center of attention. She couldn't even say anything, at least, not until the smallest at the table, Mako, if she had the name right, said, simply, "Let her talk."
Grateful, Amagi smiled and thought for a moment, before starting, "Alright, um, I was born and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where my parents met trying to help a local high school start a team. I lived there all my life, until we moved here, and when I transferred to Saunders High School. It's a big shift, really. Really, most of my friends there were named Sherman or Chaffee. I, uh, I'm, well… Tanks were kinda the only friends I could make. I had a couple there, sure, but, uh…" She didn't really want to go into her social issues. Sometimes it was easy, sure, but… Things like that… incident… tended to limit those times, in number and duration both. That she had recovered from her earlier display was, well, it never happened at Saunders, at least.
She looked to Miho as she felt an arm around her, and the commander spoke, softly, "It must have been really hard on you, then, leaving all your friends and going to a new country. I had to leave a lot of mine when I left Kuromorimine, and even just that was pretty scary. I can't imagine how it would feel to have to do it twice, or in an unfamiliar country…" Miho shifted her arm to form a slight hug, before going on, "But, I do know that the friends I made here really helped me through it!" Amagi was a grateful for the support, but also, perhaps more so, flummoxed by it. She'd never gotten anything like this before, not at Saunders, not at home, not anywhere.
Boosted, the American started back, "So, um, I guess I'll be joining tankery here, so, um, maybe we could talk about that for a bit?" She was really glad that they cared, but, it made her feel weird, and she wanted to change the subject. Continuing, she explained, "I've always been fielded as a commander, though I'm not much good at it. My crews usually end up hating me in one way or another, and I've never handled tactics well. Still, Kay insists I have talent, so make what you will of it. Regardless, I'm also one of the best mechanics they've ever had. If a tank breaks down or needs repaired, I was usually the first one working on it. Besides that, um…" She'd remembered something rather important, and wasn't quite sure how to explain it.
She took a few bites of her food, and realized that everyone else was almost finished, which surprised her. She'd been talking the whole time, almost, and hadn't made that much headway at all. This hadn't happened in ages, and definitely never had in Japan. On top of that, the others seemed eager to hear more, so she tried to finish, "Um, well, on the subject of tanks that need repaired, um, there's a particular machine I've been fixing up on my own time that no one but me particularly wanted. Kay's having it sent over, since she has no use for it, and she kinda wanted to give you guys a tank anyways. From what she said, it ought to be dropped off by your garage this afternoon. I heard that the team won't start practice until tomorrow, but I was wondering if, well, maybe some of you might drop by and help me finish restoring it?"
All five of the girls answered in the positive, with Yukari being particularly excited, and Mako rather unexpressive. Amagi thanked them, before checking the time. Five minutes left. She finished what she could in that time, not wanting to waste food, before walking over to turn her tray in. As she did so, however, Miho stopped her to ask, "Um, Amagi-san, if it's not to personal, why did you leave Saunders?" She had a bit of a concerned look about her, almost more so than when Amagi hopelessly embarrassed herself earlier.
"If you're worried it was because of the match, then don't be. That was more than impressive, but I'm no fair-weather. I saw what you did in the match. Heck, I was in it! But, that's not enough for me to turncoat. Really, it was, well…" She looked down at the floor, starting to feel the sadness washing back. "Let's just leave it at financial trouble. We, um, see, my family just can't afford to send me to Saunders. Not anymore."
Author's Note: The Exposition Chapter, yayz! Sorry if this takes a while to pick up steam, action should start at about Chapter 3 or 4. Hopefully I'll be able to make this unique and interesting enough to be worth reading. It'll take a little while to get moving, but I have big ideas. As to the state of things, well, I'm back in school now, and I probably won't have much time, but I'll try to do better than I did last year. Thanks for checking out my stuff if you're new, or, if you've put up with my drought, then thanks for that, too. Here's to a new, um… A new something!