Chapter One: War Without Bloodshed

There was a large, rolling green field, complete with small patches of trees and the occasional house. The wind blew gently, swaying the trees. The scene was serene and peaceful, if not for the dozen or so tanks laying in ruins, smoke pouring out of the open compartments. Dead girls sprawled across the ground, eyes staring blankly into the sky. Blood spilled from their bodies, soaking the dirt below them. The tanks ranged from Polish TKS tankettes, 7TPs and 9TPs, to French FT-17s and R35s.

From a 7TP tank crawled out a girl, all bloodied and bruised. Her one eye was black, and her brown hair was crumpled up, wet with blood. With shaking hands, she took out a handheld radio. "2nd Corps to command. 2nd Corps to command. We have engaged with the 8th Kuromorimine Kampfgruppe, but have been annihilated. They are heading your way. I repeat, Kuromorimine is heading your way!" She coughed out. With that her eyes rolled backwards, and she slumped forwards, dead.

Ooarai Girls High School

A girl in a sailor uniform skipped across the street, her light brown hair bobbing up and down. She quickly ran into the convenience store, and in a few minutes came out, with several bento boxes in her arms. She smiled cheerfully as she ran through the neighborhood, up into a apartment complex. She stopped by a door, and knocked a couple of times.

The door opened, and a girl with wavy hair peered out. "Miporin!" She shouted. "You're late. Everyone is already here!"

"Sorry, Saori-san." The girl apologized. Saori laughed. "It's alright. Come in!" Both girls walked into the room, where three more girls were sitting there. One girl stood up and saluted. "Welcome back, Nishizumi-dono!" She shouted. The girl chuckled. "Thanks, Yukari-san."

A tall girl was kneeling, fiddling with some flowers. "Miho-san, that was really long to buy us some lunch." She said. Miho looked in her arms. There were nearly half a dozen boxes. "Sorry, Hana-san," Miho placed all the bento boxes on the table. "Well, here you go." She said. She looked around. "Where's Mako-san?" She asked.

From underneath the table a girl rose up, her eyes half closed. "Is there cake?" She demanded.

"We'll get some later." Miho replied. Mako nodded. "Good." She said.

They began eating their bento lunches.

"This is good!" Saori exclaimed.

"I will replicate these for future rations!" Yukari shouted. Miho grinned. "These are the best, aren't they?" She asked.

"I could eat a ton of these." Hana said as she eagerly took several pieces of teriyaki chicken. Saori glanced at her. "Please don't." She told her.

"Senshadou practice sure is tiring." Hana said. Saori nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's much harder than before." Miho took a piece of chicken with her chopsticks. "The student council was able to get a contract on a couple of new tanks. They'll come in a week at the least." Miho said. Yukari almost jumped up. "What kinds of tanks are we getting?" She asked.

"I don't know. They haven't told me yet." Miho answered.

"Oh, okay," Yukari slunk down. "I hope something heavy, like a Tiger." She mumbled.

"We could become like Kuromorimine." Saori waved her hand around. Miho looked down. "Kuromorimine…" She whispered.

"Oh yeah, that's where your sister is." Mako droned. Miho nodded. "Yeah, I haven't seen her ever since the collapse…" Everyone grew silent. They all remembered the day when the life they knew ended. It was a almost a year ago, when world flipped upside down. War took control of the entire the world. Countries broke apart as the governments crumbled into pieces, unable to contain the uprisings and revolutions that took place. Taking its place were bands of armed groups, organizations and survivors taking advantage of the situation. From the ashes of war rose hundreds of new nations, all vying for power and control. Millions of people have already died in the last year.

Japan was no different. After the government fell the dozens of schools, such as Pravda, Saunders and St. Gloriana took over vast swathes of former Japanese territory. The entire island chain of Japan was split up between the schools, a shaky peace set up by the heads of the school, who were once classmates, now leaders of new-born nations. In the subsequent events, several schools had to be evacuated and relocated to different parts of Japan, and a few were even destroyed. Fortunately,Ooarai had not been one of them, who was led by the charismatic President Kadotani Anzu and her staff. They were one of the smaller countries, but had maintained friendly relations with its surrounding neighbors.

"It's a miracle the president kept us out of the surrounding conflict," Hana said. "She really is good at diplomacy."

"We're basically stuck here though," Yukari continued. "We can't leave Ooarai. Our Senshadou team is small and hopelessly outmatched by the others."

"It's peaceful here. I'm glad of our current situation, to be honest." Mako added. Miho nodded. "Yeah, and I'm glad I'm with all my friends," She said, smiling. "We're safe here."

"Yeah! No one's going to attack a little school like Ooarai." Saori said.

"Though things are getting tense nowadays…" Yukari said. "Especially Pravda and Kuromorimine, who are growing even stronger. St. Gloriana and Maginot are trying to keep them from acting out, and Saunders is a lonely giant."

Miho looked at the empty bento boxes. "How about we go get some dessert?" She propositioned.

"Yaay, cake." Mako groaned. She slowly stood up, swaying as she rose. The five girls filed out of the house, going outside.

"There's a new cake shop downtown. Let's go there." Saori said.

"Yeah, let's go." Miho agreed. They walked down the street, chatting and laughing as they went.

A few blocks down, in an office building, three girls worked feverishly, signing off stacks of papers and documents. Actually, only two girls worked. The other one, a short girl with red twin ponytails, was munching on sweet dried potatoes while leaning on a swivel chair. "Good job, you guys. Keep up with the good work." She said to the other two girls. One girl, a tall girl with short black hair turned around. She wore a monocle on her right eye. "President, please work!" She pleaded as she signed another paper. The third girl, with brown hair in a ponytail, placed a hand on her shoulder. "Momo-chan, we're almost done this stack." She said. The taller girl turned to the third girl. "Don't call me Momo-chan!" She shouted, and the other girl chuckled. Anzu leaned over. "Don't sweat over it you guys." She threw a potato into her mouth, swallowing it whole. Momo glared at her. "President…"

A look of worry washed over the third girl's face, which Anzu noticed. "Koyama, what's wrong?" She asked.

"Yuzu-chan?" Momo said. Yuzu gave Anzu an envelope. "It's from St. Gloriana. I think you should read it."

Anzu furrowed her eyebrows as she took the envelope from Yuzu's hands. She grimaced as she looked through the contents. She handed the envelope to Momo. "Looks like Darjy got herself in a bind." She said.

St Gloriana High School

In the large room, filled with red curtains and carpets two comfortable velvet chairs were placed before the large fireplace. Two girls sat, facing each other. The one on the left had a cup of tea in her hand, her blonde hair tied into a French braid. The one on the right had leaned back into the chair, with her blonde hair flowing down in a long braid that originated as a swirled bun.

"So," The girl on the left started. "Would you like a cup of tea?" She asked. The one of the right grunted in refusal. The one on the left sighed. "Getting right to the point?"

"Darjeeling, what they did is unforgivable! You need to do something!" The one on the right shouted. Darjeeling nodded. "Calm down, Jajka. It was only a checkpoint, was it not?" She replied. Jajka bit her lip. "But that'll only grow. You know that will empower them to act out even more."

Darjeeling put down her cup of tea. "We've got our hands tied up already. Anzio is getting restless and Chi-ha-Tan is threatening their neighbors. And now Kuromorimine is acting up."

Jajka slammed her fist against the armrests. "You have large amounts of influence! Can't you force all the other schools to force Kuromorimine down?" She demanded. "They may be powerful, but they can't fight everybody!"

Darjeeling smiled. "Don't worry. I've sent telegrams to the surrounding schools. They're surely going to act. And Kuromorimine has Pravda to contend with. Do you really think they're going to launch an attack when they're being threatened."

Jajka looked down. "Pravda, huh…" She clicked her tongue in disgust. "I hate them…" She muttered. Darjeeling sighed. "But they're the only ones that can really scare them. We can threaten them, but they only fear Pravda." She said in a matter-of-factly tone.

Jajka slumped further down. "I know. But I feel so helpless right now. I can't even protect my school without begging for help!" She cried.

Darjeeling stood up and walked over to Jajka and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Shh, don't worry. Things will work out." She whispered. Jajka looked up at her. "You're my only friend. Everyone else hates me." She whimpered.

"Don't say that. St. Gloriana and her allies will always support Bonple." Darjeeling reassured her. Nodding, Jajka straightened up and wiped her tears. She put up a cold look. "I look forward for your support." She said. She flipped her cape as she turned and left, leaving Darjeeling chuckling.

One Week Later

Darjeeling had been serious about her promise; she had even set up a courtroom, with herself presiding as judge. From the door filed in girls from all corners of Japan; Her ally Eclair, from the Maginot school came in first. She wore her blue uniform, and dark hair swished as she waved at Darjeeling. Next was Asparagus, the head of BC Freedom. A tall, imposing figure, she nodded at Darjeeling. Next was Anchovy, Duce of Anzio. She wore the usual Anzio uniform, along with a black cape draping over her back. Her hair was tied into large twin ponytails. She gave a thumbs up. Next was the commander of Chi-ha-Tan, Kinuyo Nishi. She bowed at Darjeeling, who returned it with a wave. Then sauntered in Anzu, who with a large grin plastered on her face walked up to Darjeeling. "How you feeling, Darjy?" She asked. Darjeeling smiled. "Good. How about you?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Just fine!" Anzu shouted.

"President, please sit down!" Momo whispered from behind her. Anzu pouted as the two of them sat down at the benches.

Within thirty minutes the benches were filled up. Darjeeling scanned the room; Gregor, Blue Division, Yogurt, Waffle, Keizoku and other schools had come. She was overcome with worry; Neither Saunders or Pravda, her trump cards had come. She sighed in resignation. This was going to be harder than she previously thought. She saw Jajka sitting in the corner of the first row of benches, tapping her foot nervously.

Finally, in came the representative of Kuromorimine; A girl with long light blonde hair, wearing the black uniform of Kuromorimine marched in, flanked by two other girls. She looked around the room, and scoffed. "What is this, an international tribunal?" She demanded. Darjeeling motioned her to the chair in the middle of the floor, in front of the judges bench. "Sit down, Erika. We have things to discuss." Erika scowled, and proceeded to walk down to the chair.

"Now, let's start things," Darjeeling exclaimed. "But, does anybody want any tea?" She asked. Several hands went up. Darjeeling counted. "Assam, Orange Pekoe, would you mind serving our guests some tea?" A blonde and an orange haired girl began pouring tea to the girls, who took it eagerly. Darjeeling looked at Erika. "How about you?" Erika turned her head. Darjeeling shrugged. "Oh well."

"Now, what Kuromorimine did was a breach of the agreement all of us sighed at the beginning of last year. To deliberately attack another school in such a manner will not go unpunished," Darjeeling said. "We will not stand by and let you do as you please."

Erika smiled, though it was filled with scorn. "Oh, really. What are you going to do about it?" She asked in a mocking tone. Darjeeling frowned. "You will have to pay Bonple three million yen, and will hand over the ones responsible for the incident." She stated.

Erika's mouth open in complete and utter shock. "That's ludicrous!" She stammered. "That's insane! Who the hell do you think you are?" Darjeeling cocked her head to the side in mock surprise. "Me? Insane? I'm not the aggressor here. There were over thirty fatalities because of what you did. Their deaths have to be compensated in some way," She said angrily. "And this isn't even the first time this happened. There are numerous cases of Kuromorimine forces harassing the Bonple border."

"Those were all in self defense! We were defending ourselves against Bonple aggression! They would fire at our soldiers, abduct and kill civilians, and even razed dozens of houses! You're going to ignore their crimes but try to stop our retaliation? That's hypocrisy!" Erika shouted.

Jajka stood up from the benches. "Those are lies! We would never do such things! You're trying to pin the blame on the victims!" She hollered. Erika glared at her. "Sit down, you arrogant swine. I'm not talking to you!" She immediately shot Jajka down, who sat back down with her head hung low.

"Erika!" Darjeeling said sternly, and Erika looked back at her. "If these so called crimes did actually happen, where is the evidence? It could be a false flag operation for all we know."

Erika stomped her feet in anger. "I did send you the evidence! You're just straight up lying now!" She screamed. Darjeeling sighed. "Erika, you're the one that is lying. There is no evidence for what you claim, and you never did send me anything."

"And besides," Eclair had stood up. "This isn't about what Bonple did. This is about Kuromorimine. You are the ones that attacked, you must bear the consequences." She stated.

Erika narrowed her eyes, and her voice became was filled with unhidden malice and hatred. "I see it now," She muttered. "I know what's going on. It's a conspiracy," She looked at the benches. "It's a conspiracy against Kuromorimine, and you're all part of it!" She exclaimed.

Everyone looked at each other, surprised. Even Darjeeling was taken aback. "Erika, what are you talking about-" Erika cut her off. "You're all scared of a new power. Kuromorimine is a threat to all of you, so your conspiring to take us down. St. Gloriana and BC Freedom doesn't want Kuromorimine to become their equal, so they're using Bonple as a pawn," She hissed. "We see through all of it. And we are having none of it! You won't stop us, you can't stop us! Just try it, I dare you. You won't bully us anymore!" She lept up from the chair. "Come on, we won't deal with mob justice. We're out." She stomped out of the room.

Anchovy stood up as well. "Look, I don't really like how you guys are doing this. Anzio isn't taken seriously right now and we feel we're being pushed down. And now your pushing around Kuromorimine. Sorry, but I don't feel good hanging with you guys anymore." She inched her way out of the benches and followed Erika.

Nishi stood up as well. "I find it dishonorable that you would attack Kuromorimine for defending themselves against provocation." She announced, before leaving as well. Several other girls stood up and left the room.

"How dare you attack our ally!" The representative of Blue Division shook her fist as she walked out.

The rest of the girls were in a flurry of confusion and panic. Darjeeling, her face wrought with dismay, put her hands over her face. "I made things worse." She mumbled. "I'm no good."

Anzu, Eclair and Jajka walked up to her. Eclair patted Darjeelings shoulder. "You did what you could. They'll come to their senses." She told her.

"They're empty threats, I tell you." Anzu assured her.

"They saw how many people were here. They can't do anything." Jajka grunted. Darjeeling rubbed her eyes. "But did you see how many people walked out? They're on Kuromorimine's side." She whimpered. Anzu laughed. "It was just a statement. They not actually going to do anything."

"I hope so…" Darjeeling whispered.

"Besides, even if Pravda and Saunders weren't here, they won't tolerate Kuromorimine attacking Bonple," Eclair added. "They're basically surrounded. If they attack Bonple in force the rest of us will decimate them."

Darjeeling straightened up. "Maybe you're right. But I want all of you to prepare incase something happens," She turned to the rest of the girls, still sitting in the benches. "All of you should mobilise your forces in the event Kuromorimine does attack, so we can stop them swiftly." Everyone nodded, and began to file out.

"Well, later Darjy." Anzu waved as she walked out the room.

"Best of luck to you." Eclair nodded.

"Thanks." Jajka said before leaving.

The courtroom was empty. Darjeeling sat silently, drinking her tea. Then from her right came the sounds of music, in a slow rhythm. Darjeeling glanced over and saw Mika, the leader of Keizoku strumming her kantele. "What are you still doing here?" Darjeeling asked, curious as to why she hasn't left yet. Mika looked at Darjeeling's way. "I fear the wind is blowing us towards the edge of a cliff. I pray that you will prepare parachutes for all of us." She said cryptically as she walked out, leaving Darjeeling confused.

Ooarai airport

Miho and her friends stood by the airstrip, waiting for the president's return. Yuzu stood alone in the corner, looking through her phone.

Eventually they saw a Douglas DC-2 Commercial aircraft slowly descend down to the ground. It rolled to a halt, and the door opened. Anzu jumped out and hugged Yuzu, with Momo following from behind.

"How'd it go?" Yuzu asked. Anzu signed. "It was what you would call, a 'shit show'." She answered.

"President!" Momo shouted from behind. "Don't use such language." Anzu turned around. "What? I'm not a little kid." She pouted.

"Well, you are little." Hana said. Anzu tugged at her own hair. "You're the tall person here!" She shouted. "You're the abnormal one!"

"It didn't go well." Momo told everybody. "Kuromorimine denied and blamed Bonple. They left soon after angrily."

"Was is my sister?" Miho asked. Momo shook her head. "It was Erika." Miho trembled. "Oh…" She whispered. Saori looked at her. "Are you alright?" She asked. Miho nodded.

"We'll have to train even harder in Senshadou." Anzu said. "We've got new tanks coming in a few weeks." Momo gave her a piece of paper, and she read off of it. "We're getting uh, an AC IV Sentinel, A D.L. 43 "Nahuel", A Fiat 3000 Model 30, MTLS-1G14, and a uh, what was the last one again?" She stared at the paper. "A Bob Semple tank? What is that?" She said in bewilderment.

Yukari laughed. "Bob Semple? We're going to have that mess of a tank?" Saori looked at her quizzically. "What's that?" She asked. Yukari chuckled. "It's an ungodly 'tank', if you call it that. It was created in New Zealand during the war. It's armor and armaments are inadequate, and it was never actually used in combat. It was named after the minister of works, Bob Semple." Yukari shouted excitedly. "The A.D.L. Nahuel was the only Argentinean design during the war, and it was based off the Sherman. It was never used in combat because they didn't actively participate in the war.

The Fiat 3000 was the first native Italian tank, and was used by the Royal Italian Army during the second invasion of Abyssinia and World War II, even though it was obsolete. It's got pretty light armor and guns compared to later tanks.

The MTLS-1G14 was a Dutch variant of the American Marmon-Herrington CTLS that was sent to the Dutch East Indies. They were also used by Indonesian forces in the Indonesian National Revolution.

The AC IV Sentinel was one of the designs that originated from the original AC I Sentinel, which was an Australian tank design from 1942. The IV was an improvement, with a 17-pounder gun, but only one prototype was built." Yukari flailed her arms.

"Oh...okay…" Saori took a few steps back. "I think you should calm down a little." She suggested, and Yukari flushed with embarrassment.

"Anyway, I think our arsenal has gotten a bit bigger. We also got orders for armored cars and armored fighting vehicles," Anzu proudly announced. "So that means," She pointed at Miho. "You are going to work a lot harder from now on." She grinned. Miho smiled. "Okay, it's going to be exciting to be with all my friends." She replied cheerfully.

Kuromorimine airport

A tall girl with short dark hair stood at the edge of the airstrip, wearing the black uniform of Kuromorimine. Her hands were on her hips as she stared intently at the sky.

Within ten minutes a Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 Drache transport helicopter appeared in the sky. The dust flew up as the rotors slowly stopped and the helicopter touched down on the helipad. A girl with short black bangs exited from the cockpit and opened up the door. Erika stepped out of the helicopter and ran over to the waiting girl.

"Commander Nishizumi!" Erika saluted.

"Erika, welcome back." Nishizumi saluted back. "How did it go?" She asked tentatively. Erika hesitated. "Just as you thought. The international community believed Bonple's lies. St. Gloriana had threatened to use force against us, and turned everyone else against us, besides Anzio, Chi-ha-Tan and a few others. We can't negotiate with them."

Nishizumi sighed. "Was Saunders there?" She asked next. Erika shook her head, and Nishizumi formed a tiny smile of relief. "At least they won't get involved for a while." She exhaled. Her face turned stern. "Order all units to prepare for combat with Bonple, St. Gloriana and whoever is trying to threaten us." She ordered. Erika nodded. "Yes commander."

Maginot Girls Academy

"Commander!" A girl saluted as she entered Eclair's office. Eclair smiled. "What is it, Fondue?" She replied.

"There is activity near our border with Kuromorimine. Kuromorimine is increasing their presence on their side of their border, with at least twelve new tanks and several pieces of artillery." Fondue reported. Eclair frowned. "Thank you. We will increase our forces at the border at well. Send three squadrons of fighters down as well." She ordered. Fondue saluted a second time. "Yes, commander!" She exclaimed and ran off.

Pravda Girls High School

A single tall, black haired woman walked down the dark hallway, as lights flickered on and off. Her footsteps resonated off the iron floor, each clang echoing down the hall. She turned a corner and climbed a flight of stairs.

The woman held a small letter, the black cross of Kuromorimine stamped at the top. She glanced at the contents. She knew this was an urgent message for her commander, but she was in no hurry. She knew her commander would be sleeping right now, and would certainly be in a foul mood if woken up. Therefore every step she took was slow and deliberate.

Eventually she ended up at the front of a door. She turned the doorknob and entered the pitch black room. Her fingers scurried across the walls, looking for the light switch. She found it, and flicked them on. A bright light erupted from the ceiling, showering the woman for a second in a sea of white. As her eyes adjusted to the light she saw in the center of a room a large bed. In the bed was a little girl with short, yellow hair, sleeping soundly. Her covers were the emblem of the school, an assortment of school utensils assembled in the manner of the Soviet hammer and sickle, with red in the background. The woman walked over to the little girl and shook her shoulder.

The girl yawned and her eyes fluttered open. Her groggy eyes stared up at the tall woman. "What is it, Nonna?" She demanded in a drowsy tone. Nonna smiled. "Katyusha, you have a letter from Kuromorimine." She informed the little girl. Katyusha stretched her arms and rose up from the bed. "Kuromorimine? What does Mahosha want with me?" She said. Nonna gave her the letter, who snatched it from her hands. She scanned the letter, and once done, she tossed the letter to the side.

"So?" Nonna prompted. Katyusha turned to her. "They want to offer me a deal, about Bonple." She answered. "They want us to attack them simultaneously and split the territories between us. They think it will be easy to manipulate me to force me under their wing?" She shouted.

"Getting rid of Bonple will be beneficial for us." Nonna said. "And having Kuromorimine on friendly terms will also be a good thing in the long-term."

Katyusha thought for a bit. "Well, Jajka is a thorn in my sides. She is uppity and arrogant towards Katyusha, so she should suffer the consequences she deserves." She exclaimed. A big grin crept on her face. "Maybe aligning ourselves with Mahosha isn't a bad idea. We'll be friends with another big school, and Bonple will be crushed. No other schools will be able to face Pravda ever again!" Nonna's eyes twinkled with glee as she stood up and bowed. "Shall I schedule a meeting with Nishizumi Maho?" She asked. Katyusha nodded. "Yeah, do it." She replied. Nonno smiled. "Da, comrade." She said as she left Katyusha's bedroom.