Tanks against humanity

Yukiyukite Senshadou but nobody dies

"Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name… thy kingdom come… thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us… and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil…" Her sister's tears, snot and saliva all mixed together as the combination of liquid dribbled down her bruised cheeks and chin.

"Good, well done. When you're reincarnated, make sure you don't go into Tankery again." Her hope shattered for the last time, drowning in despair and too afraid to meet her end with dignity.

"Amen." She prayed for death, yet it did not come.

The trigger was pulled, the hammer slammed down, but the barrel did not flash.

"Hmm?... Tsk! Another misfire! Clunky old gun!" For a few more seconds she would linger amongst the living, desperately begging for a sherd of fortune to fall her way.

"-What are you doing?! The truck's leaving! We're gonna leave you here!" Someone else shouted from beyond the corridor, it was a notion for Pravda's departure.

"Wait up, I'll be there in a second!" Their captor yelled back, seemingly unfinished with his sadistic task.

However, as the back of the glasses-wearing soldier hasty ran towards the exit, Miho didn't know it would be the last time she ever laid her eyes upon that face.

Now left alone in the nauseating prison littered with the decomposing corpses of her former subordinates, she looked to her right seeking signs of life from her tortured and abused sister. A trifling spark of hope was lit in her broken heart, perhaps she could be allowed to hold on to one wish.

"We're saved… sis… we're saved…" If they could just survive the weeks of unspeakable torture they had suffered, there would still exist a future for her to dream of.

"…Sis…? Sister…!?" But there was no light of relieve and delight beaming from the deflated body of Miho's older sister, she was only kept off the bloodied floor by her rugged hands which were tied to the bars of their cell.

Nishizumi Miho

Favourite tank: Panzer II

First day at Ooarai

The electric, rhythmic beeping of an alarm clock stirred Miho's senses to reality, was she a bit more energetic on that beautiful morning she'd have stumbled out of bed and smacked her head on the table leg. But that day was unlike her regular days, the eerie dream of her traumatized past had brought a solemn atmosphere to her daily routine. Miho didn't want to recall it so vividly, the crime that was committed against her in her foregone days.

She got up, changed out of her sleepwear and surveyed her small apartment room decorated by many adorable dolls and toys, her favourite being the Boko bears. Looking over her own room filled to the brim with personality, Miho was again reminded that the dreadful life she left behind was no longer with her.

Her new, promising journey at Ooarai was different; it was peaceful. Possibly for the first time in her short life, Miho was freed from the burden of an intolerable duty. She didn't have to pursue a goal she didn't believe in or fight battles for someone else's purpose, she was free to enjoy being a person with her own goals and desires.

For the first time, she saw a future ahead of her stretched out to infinity, she saw a normal life fulfilled with joy and satisfaction. It was as if she had unlimited time, time that she wouldn't trade away for anything.

"So… emm… for your mandatory elective subject, make sure you choose Sensha-do!" Instantly, Miho could hear the rumbling noise of her peaceful life crumbling to dust.

"Did you hear, Miporin? I heard that if you choose Sensha-do, you get a lot of credits!"

"I also… was looking for something more active than Kadou. (flower arrangement)" Her friends, unbeknownst to the reality of Tankery, encouraged their enlistment together.

"B-but… I thought this school didn't have Panzerfe— Tankery courses! …It's the main reason I transferred here…" Miho timidly whispered back to Ooarai's student council president, Kadotani Anzu. In contrast to Anzu's cheerful expression, Miho's own face was ghastly pale.

"C'mon! Don't be like that, we're starting it back up this year. Must be fate that you came at the right time!" Paying no heed to Miho's outward angst, Anzu remained haughty in her attempt to persuade the new schoolgirl.

"No…! You don't… none of you understands what Panzerfahren is like! If only you knew—!"

In the desolate office surrounded on all sides by amateurs pretending to comprehend the death sport Miho grew up with, she felt uncontrollable shivers run up her entire body as she tried to stay composed while attempting to explain fruitlessly the horror that hid beneath true Tankery.

"-Hold on, I know what you're gonna say, but this is different." Before Miho could share her past trauma, Anzu was quick to cut her off.

"…What do you mean?"

"I know about the dangerous style of Sensha-do you practiced at your old school, Koushiki… it's the 'hard-style' of Sensha-do, right? We're talking about Nanshiki, it's like softball, for the general public, not dangerous at all!" Anzu continued her exposition as she fetched a special tank shell with markings written clearly on the side.

"This is the ammo that's used in Nanshiki Sensha-do. GuP rounds."

"They're designed to give the same shock as lead alloy just to the surface, and they don't even punch through metal sheets, no matter how thin." The monocle girl, Momo described further.

"Huh!? Is that even possible? What sort of construction and concept makes that possible?" In her brief moment of surprise, Miho discarded her earlier fearful mood.

"Let's not ask any unnecessary questions! At the end of the day, it actually exists!" Satisfied with her own ignorance, Anzu blissfully patted Miho's shoulder.

"Like it or not, our only option is to win the Sensha-do World Championships! Otherwise our Ooarai Girls High School…—"

"-Will be abolished." Anzu finished Momo's sentence.

"The school will be abolished!? But why!?" Before Miho could struggle to ponder an answer, Saori anxiously posted a question.

"It's really complicated, but I'm not lying."

"And the only way to save our school is to win the championship?" Hana added.

"Yep… yep."

Miho saw no motive to sympathize with Ooarai student council's grievance, the unlucky circumstance of losing their school seemed so feeble of a crisis compared to her own misfortune. The girls before her pleading for her assistance in the upcoming Tankery matches would never truly understand the weight of their request, a request that Miho had every right to refuse.

"I'll…! I'll join Sensha-do!" Nevertheless, Miho was an Ooarai student, a student whose enrollment was facing jeopardy which she could help to prevent. Thinking like that, it was only natural to protect her new shelter when it needed her. After all, there was no other home for her to return to.

"Thank you. We've got no other options but to put our faith in you, Nishizumi Miho, one of the ace commanders of the Kuromorimine Girls High School's legendary 12th SS Corp!"

A dejected but hopeful Miho walked by her lonesome across a vacant parking lot after bidding goodbye to her new friends despite their affectionate protest to stay with her in her time of need. She sought for some solitude to properly clear her head and determine whether if the path she chose was really the correct one that could bring her a future she so long yearned for.

Even with a mind so preoccupied by her endless dilemma, Miho's keen senses still picked up a poorly concealed figure stalking her from a dozen metres away. That somebody particular skirted Miho gaze as she ducked behind a tree not realizing their presence was already exposed, giving the former panzer commander an opportunity to confront her follower.

"Err…" Miho peeked around, spooking whoever was on her tail.

"-Woah!" Another girl dressed in Ooarai school uniform jumped from the unanticipated greeting. Her short, fluffy hair was the first thing to catch Miho's attention, that and her thrilled appearance when she was caught.

"T-that's exactly what I'd expect from the ace of the legendary SS Milk Babies! Your ability to find enemies is incredible!" The first sentence out of the stranger's mouth already left Miho flabbergasted, and the casually blunt stalker took that chance to stack on her spew.

"Oh… excuse me for not introducing myself! I'm Akiyama Yukari, general second course, second-year class three! I'm honoured to meet a real tank rider!"

"-Err, I don't think you—"

"-I've been a fan of Kuromorimine for years, and I always used to read about their tournaments in magazines! I love tanks too! My favourite tank is the Polish 7TP! No, I'm not trying to make you laugh! What's your favourite tank, Nishizumi-dono? Oh…! Would it be alright if I called you Nishizumi-dono?!"

"No, I really don't—"

"-Please would you let me join your team as a comrade and assist you!"

Facing a verbal bombardment the likes of which Miho had rarely ever witnessed before, Yukari ranted on endlessly entirely about herself and her passion. The enthusiasm this young girl approached her hobby was almost praiseworthy if only it wasn't surrounding a sport Miho couldn't see as anything other than disgusting.

"Frau Akiyama…?" Miho addressed her new acquaintance nervously, not sure what was the best way of rejecting her obnoxious demand.

"Yes! Mein Fuhrer! Please, just call me Yukari from now on!" Yukari replied astonishingly, tacking on a full Nazi salute for Miho.

"Tanks are tools for killing people. I used to ride in one because I had no other option, but I think they should be banned from this planet. So I can't be friends with someone who sees them as objects for fun." That was the truth of it, Miho had no intention of further association with someone so blatantly blinded to the horror of war.

Believing herself to be done, Miho turned around and begun to leave a shocked Yukari behind, but the fluffy girl recovered from her idol's rejection faster than Miho could comfortably walk away. A firm tackle that almost knocked the annoyed ex-commander off her feet was enough to drag Miho back for what she thought was round two of Yukari's nonsense.

"I'm sorry, Nishizumi-dono! I'm sorry for being so impertinent! I'm not worthy of being your comrade! I'll be your servant! Make me your servant! Call me Yukari the faithful dog!" Latching onto Miho not too dissimilar from a dog, Yukari begged.

"Why are you like this!? I said no!" No longer hiding her aggravation, Miho shouted back and quickly pushed Yukari off her.

"S-sorry… I got overly excited on my own… I-I've been really shy in front of new people since childhood and… when I go into a panic. I get all worked up like that." When so seriously confronted by Miho, the tank-loving student lowered her head in shame and genuinely apologized.

"Ah… no, it's alright. I'm not good in front of new people either…" Perhaps Miho also grew too frenzied in her communication with Yukari as her attitude implied.

"But it's true that I'm a fan of you! I think it's amazing that a girl who's a similar age as me was riding around in a real tank."

"It's really nothing too impressive… if anything, all I wanted was a normal life like yours, being able to love tanks for how cool they are."

"…Like me? But I didn't… my love of tanks hasn't been all that great, actually…"

"…As they say, 'it's better to have Ivan on your belly than having the Amis above your head.'…"

Miho sat quietly on a set of swings as she listened to Yukari's story with a stern expression. Her feeling of condolence was only rivalled by her sense of intimacy towards the military expert, she also could deeply relate to her innocent passion for tanks and weaponry throwing her world into chaos without notice.

"Huh? What was that?" Yukari asked, still a bit embarrassed and uncomfortable with sharing the darkest period of her past.

"It was a saying during the last days of World War II. Goebbels and the RMVP reported that the invading Soviet troops were… they were… raping German women at mass to spread fear and hatred towards the Soviets. But around the same time, the allies were bombing Berlin on a daily basis, so the people dismissed the propaganda by saying what I quoted…"

"I see… well, I suppose worse things could've happened to me. Thanks for teaching me something new, Nishizumi-dono."

"Oh no, I'm sorry for bringing up something unrelated, I shouldn't have said that." Miho glanced over at Yukari, the sorrowful girl was beginning to recover her spirit.

"So anyway! I really wish you'd believe me when I say that my feelings of wanting to serve you are for real! It's always been my dream to become a real tank rider, and serving under you would be the highest Honour!" Spinning her mood one hundred and eighty degrees, Yukari declared her loyalty and servitude to Miho with utmost sincerity.

The idea of an innocent girl harbouring an unsullied love for the cool and awesome inventions of men urged the young tactician to reconsider her own resentment of Tankery. The sport was a corrupted pit of deprivation left unchecked by the international community for too long. It would continue to swallow the lives of countless young girls, spitting out only victims and corpses never having that primal hunger for violence satisfied.

"Haha… I've never seen a girl who was envious about riding in a tank, and I never thought anyone would idolize me like this. But I feel a little better now, thanks, Frau Akiyama."

"Anytime, Mein Fuhrer! I'm always glad to serve."

"Then please, calling me Fuhrer is a little too much. I'm sure it'll make people uncomfortable." Miho hopped off the swing to meet Yukari and her joyful eagerness, showing her biggest fan a proper military salute.

"Roger, Nishizumi-dono! I'll do anything you ask of me, your wish is my command!"

"My wish…" She was reminded that she too, had a right to dream.

Miho glimpsed Yukari's shimmering smile and it lit a spark of determination deep in her heart. For all her life, not once had Tankery given her anything except unending misery and pointless demise, but if she couldn't change a past of brutality, perhaps she could be someone strong enough to direct the future of the armoured competition onto a better path.

"I'll end this war people call sport…" In her native language, Miho muttered an aspiration she believed in.

She could see the purpose of her life before her, within her grasp was a future where everyone could enjoy Tankery without fearing their untimely death. Miho would be the one to put an end to Koushiki, she would accomplish something her mother could not.

"So, what should we do now, ma'am!?" Yukari's question dragged Miho out of her introspection where she didn't have an answer prepared.

"-Miporiiiin! Miporin what're you doing!?" As it turned out, someone else was there to provide the next step.

"Miho-san, we should head to the Sensha-do club, it's starting soon."

"Oh, right. Well, we should go, Frau Akiyama, today is the first day of the club. And they're my friends, Hana and Saori." Miho casually gestured, introducing her new friends to her newer friend.

"Of course! I'm Akiyama Yukari, general second course, second-year class three. I'm also in the Sensha-do club, nice to meet you!"

"I'm Isuzu Hana, nice to meet you."

"Saori Takebe, nice to meet you too."

"Err… is this our entire fighting strength?" Miho wasn't sure if she was feeling disappointment or bewilderment at the selection of tanks available.

"Yup! We searched the entire ship and we've got a full lineup from the beginning! It wasn't easy finding that really big one or that really long one, you know?" Anzu's description of the vehicles was of no assistance whatsoever.

"What do you think, Nishizumi? Can we win?" Momo asked ominously, seeking the opinion of a true expert.

Miho studied all of the tanks on display. For a school that just re-established Tankery, its collection of rusting metal wasn't the worst it had to offer, but not being the worst was a long way off from winning the championship at the biggest tournament in the world.

"Hmmm… Frau Akiyama, come take a look with me." Hopping off the podium she was on, Miho went in for a closer inspection of the tanks with Yukari.

"Pick any tank you want, okay!? You're the commander, after all!" Anzu shouted behind her, passing her the mantle of responsibility.

"Private Akiyama! Reporting!" Yukari keenly saluted, it appeared to be a habit of hers.

"Give me your honest opinion on our tanks, Pvt. Akiyama." Miho played along much to the delight of her underling.

"Panzer IV Ausf.H, Jagdpanzer 38t, StuG III Ausf.F, Type 89B I-go, M3 Lee, Char B1, Porsche Tiger and a Type 3 Chi-Nu. They're not bad tanks… but with only this many…" Yukari too saw the obvious flaw of Ooarai's Tankery team.

"One 88mm and six 75mm… we can still do it, but we'll have to push everything to the limit…"

"Yes! I will work my hardest to meet your expectations, Nishizumi-dono!" Yukari provided another salute.

"Thanks, so I guess you want to ride a tank with me?"

"Of course! There's nothing more I could dream of other than being in the same unit as you, Nishizumi-dono!"

"We should pick a tank then, what do you think, Private?"

"I… I will respect any options you take, ma'am!" Yukari's burning passion for all the types of machinery in sight meant she held no particular favourite.

"Okay, if the others have no complaint, we'll drive the Porsche Tiger."

"Understood! It's the closest vehicle to what you used to operate, ma'am. I think it's a good choice."

"Owwww-! Ouch! Ohmygod- ohmygod…! What the hell just happened!?" Saori desperately climbed out of the Porsche Tiger and tumbled clumsily into a faceplant on the dirt ground. The rest of her crew too escaped with equal speed but more balance in their steps.

"Oh my… I don't believe we did anything we're not supposed to." Hana referred to the short duration of their tank ride.

"I'm so sorry Nishizumi-dono! I should've warned you about the poor performance of the Porsche T and its machinal problems!" Yukari rushed over to her commander, patting down the dust stuck to her uniform and checking for injuries.

"This is why Porsche didn't win the Tiger I design…" With no more comments to add on top of the tank's failure, Miho could only crack a dry joke.

"So… you guys still want to use this one?" Anzu nonchalantly watched the struggle from the sidelines.

"No, we'll drive another one, the Panzer IV is fine. I can't maintain a Porsche Tiger." Wielding a tank that got stuck in the dirt, overheated its engine and then set that engine on fire within the first two minutes of a test run was too much for Miho to handle. At that moment, she finally understood why the Elefant crew was never too happy when working maintenance.

"Alright, I'll tell the Automotive club to drive this big guy instead. They did claim they're the only ones that can fix it." Recognizing the talents of the four mechanics, Miho reminded herself to praise the Ooarai students when she could.

"Please and thank you. How is everyone else doing?"

"They are all enthusiastic, I'm sure. Sensha-do is a very inspiring sport and they're all very excited about it." Miho and Anzu chatted as they strolled back towards the garage.

Ahead of them were a field of girls each tinkering uncertainly with the tank of their choice, but what Miho saw beneath their amateur skills and lack of knowledge was the determination for success, they all were driven in their own ways to improve and master the way of Tankery.

Her fellow club members were so much like herself years prior, before she was subjugated to the true nature of the cruel war hiding under the pretense of entertainment. However, that would no longer be the case, those girls would never be deceived like she once was.

The rest of the day passed in tranquillity. Each team went for a test run with their vehicle with the expectation of Miho's group and the Automotive club going for two trials in both the Porsche Tiger and Panzer IV. Afterschool, Miho and her new friends visited a Tankery shop to kill some time and went over to her apartment for dinner, engaging in relaxing and irrelevant conversations all the while.

The fresh and unfamiliar feeling of offering and receiving honest generosity left a bittersweet sentiment in Miho's heart as she watched her dear companions depart for the night, it was a sensation she almost forgot during her years as the commander of Black Forest's 12th SS Corp, a sensation she would've never felt when she was the 'Otto Carius of Black Forest'."

Author's note

This story is heavily based TK's doujinshi, Yukiyukite Senshadou. It's actually one of the best doujins I've ever read, not a joke, the characters and plot might be a bit convoluted but it's really the atmosphere and tone that elevates it from all other works. I'd recommend anyone interested in this fic to go ahead and read the doujins, it'll make more sense and be more enjoyable (maybe) if you know the story of Yukiyukite Sensha-do. I'll leave the numbers for part one here if you know how to use them: 145750

I'll be taking some liberties to flesh out part of the settings not covered in Yukiyukite, and making adjustments to some of the questionable plot points in the story. Such as:

The doujin refers to the championships (which is national High-school Sensha-do tournament in GuP canon) as national even though it's clearly implying all characters are from different countries and not just Japan.

The 73th national championship where Kuromorimine loses to Pravda was clearly Koushiki, but the 74th championship which includes all schools started off as Nanshiki before Kitano changed the rules. Also, it was said that most schools expect Kuromorimine and Pravda don't practice Koushiki anymore, so the 73th national championship couldn't be Koushiki since then there'll be only two to three schools participating. (This point made more sense in my head, but you know what I mean.)

Why is Kitano from Battle Royale the movie even here, it just feels like a pretty weird cameo since he actually is very important to the plot. Also, it's not a battle royal system, it's a tournament.

So yeah, it's not a perfect story, but Yukiyukite Senshadou is still the best out there. It's the reason I was inspired to write this fic. Although I'm rather slow on updates so don't expect another chapter unless this fic really takes off and becomes actually liked. I also didn't proofread this chapter too much, let me know if there's a misspell somewhere that I missed.

Some changes I made compared to the doujin would be making Miho actually half German as her backstory implied, making most of the schools also participants in the Koushiki high school championships, making most characters from schools themed after a country actually from that country and some minor details I don't remember at the moment.

Overall, I hope you enjoy this story, and I really hope you'd give Yukiyukite Senshadou a read, it's some real good stuff.