"Shell loaded!"

Without lingering any more second, Erika Itsumi, the light blond haired girl, who was the commander of this very dreadful war machine known as King Tiger or Tiger II by Allied forces back in the war, shouted out the command.

"Fire!"

Simultaneously, the moment the Königstiger fired. The accompanied Panthers, Jagdpanther and the Jagdpanzer followed suit. All were trying to destroy one lone target which they all considered it was nothing but a failed product back in WW2.

However, at this very moment.

Its last stand.

Its finest moment had put all the Kuromorimine girls with both surprised and horrified.

True. The Porsche Tiger was a failure due to its engine, it could not even run before the start of the trial with Henschel Tiger which later became known as Tiger I.

However, with its 88mm caliber tank gun liked Tiger I's. It had taken out two Jagdpanzers and a Panther who decided to get up close and personal to disable it, but the 200mm armor was remained true to its class as a heavy tank.

Shots after shots, Erika noticed that her tank group started to fire erratically. Shells were flying all over the stationary enemy tank, and even hitting their own friendly disabled tanks in the line of fire.

This is not going anywhere!

The Vice-Commander pressed two fingers onto her throat mic's buttons and spoke out to other tank commanders in her firm and clear voice to dismiss away their frustrated and negative thoughts.

"All tanks! All tanks! Prepare to fire your next round on my command. Try to aim at the gap between its hull and the turret. Aim at its turret ring!"

Kuromorimine tanks immediately halted their firing, and began to align their aiming scope properly at the suggested weak point of Porsche Tiger.

Once the Oorai team's Porsche Tiger fired its shell at the Königstiger which suffered no damage.

The Königstiger's commander cried out the command.

"FIRE!"

All Kuromorimine tanks fired at once.

Even though shells was sanctioned by the League in term of safety for the tank's crew inside, it was quite a visually explosion created by all five shells hitting at the same time.

Soon, the Porsche Tiger finally succumbed to the damages and popped out a little white flag on top of its turret.

« The Porsche Tiger is immobilized! » reported one of panzers.

"Finally!" Erika exclaimed, raising herself up through the command hatch.

The surroundings were a mess, almost like a battlefield. Erika never thought that this failure could have been this successful in stopping her Königstiger, along with her tank group from joining the Kuromorimine's flag tank for a considerable amount of time.

Behind the disabled Porsche Tiger was a building known as Central Plaza, Erika could hear thundering shots and ongoing explosions.

Miho…

So she is really trying to take down Maho?

"Commander is in danger, we have got to help her! All tanks. Charge!" Erika called out. "Hurry up to the Central Plaza."

« The Porsche Tiger is in the way. We cannot get through! »

To Erika's realization. Even in dead, the Porsche Tiger was still fulfilling its duty.

"Quick! Get the recovery truck here now!" Erika ordered.

«« Nah, take your time! »»

The voices coming from the immobilized prototype Tiger was too mocking for Erika to hear.

"Commander!" Erika contacted via throat mic, hoping that she would get a reply. "Can you hear me, over?"

« … » Silence was the only thing she could hear.

"Vice-Commander. It's bad…They said that the recovery vehicle will be here in ten minutes..." said the radio operator.

"Shit!"

She slammed her fist hard on top of the turret's surface.

It was the final straw as a torrent of thoughts erupted like a volcano in her mind.

This cannot be! This cannot be happening!

The Kuromorimine, the most powerful and prestigious school of Sensha-do thanks to the long tradition and its principal of the Nishizumi Style. Now it's all falling apart by this…no-name school, they were supposed to be nothing!

Yet…at the early start of the match, when Erika Itsumi thought that she could have end this meaningless battle quickly with just one shot at the brown-colored Panzer IV Ausf. H, the enemy flag tank. By the mother of fate, something has had got into her way. A fucking Type-3 Chi-nu that never saw actual combat in real life suddenly became a heroic sacrifice, stopping her shell from killing their flag tank.

After that, it was that this hill battle. Erika had never been so frustrated and angry at the girls who were easily panicked and confused by that one little shit Hetzer infiltrated at their ranks and messed everything up, allowing the Ooarai tanks to escape through their encirclement.

Later on, Erika learned that all of their heavy-class tanks lost the mobility and speed against to those light and medium tanks on the field. They were far too slow, even her own tank's tracks got broke apart when she tried to pursuit them. Dammit! They expected to fight the Pravda, to get a certain revenge for what they did back in the 61st Tournament, not these no-names!

Lastly, to her most beyond wildest dream. The Maus, the most powerful trump card of Kuromorimine in the arsenal. The invincibility in term of armor protection and over the top of fire power that would have crush everything in its part was…defeated by them.

Now here they were, getting stuck in this demise situation, helplessly being held outside, unable to do anything to help, to reach out to their command flag tank.

This is really happening…

"No! Not like this! There has got to be a way..."

Then for some reason, her mind flashed back of how these Ooarai tanks have took out the Maus, by the most unusual method…

"Tank 6! Get over here." She called out to the Jagdpanzer.

« Vice-Commander. What do you want us to do? »

"Park right next to that Porsche Tiger and tank 12."

« E-eh? »

"Just do it!"

« H-hai! (Y-yes!) »

"Gunner." Erika said. "Rotate the turret 180 degree to the back."

"…Understood!"

« V-Vice-Commander. A-are you about to do what I think you are about to do? » The Jagdpanzer asked in a somewhat disbelief voice.

"Yes." She answered it flatly. "Get your asses out of the tank if you don't want to be get crush."

« Oi! Oi! You girls are serious?! » came the voice from the Porsche Tiger.

True enough, the crew of Jagdpanzer frantically bolted their butts out before the massive hunk of Königstiger rudely rolled on top of it, then over the hull of immobilized Panther and Tiger (P).

« You guys are being way too rough! » complained the voice.

"We'll be right there! Wait for us, Commander!"

« H-hold on, Eri—Vice-Commander. We are coming too. » said Koume Akaboshi, the commander of Panther followed the Königstiger in the same manner.

« Like I said. You guys are way too rough! »

It was a rough 'squeezing-in' indeed, no doubt their tank's paint job would need some buckets of paint to start over.

The Tiger II soon squeezed itself out of the terminal and proceeded to the main square.

"Come on. Come on! Can this thing go any faster?!" Erika urged the driver.

"I-I'm trying, Vice-Commander."

"I see her!" reported the gunner. "It's the Commander Nishizumi and...the Ooarai's flag tank!"

Miho!

"Push it, driver!" Erika shouted.

The Tiger II's speed started to accelerate considerably.

When they're just about to pass over the corner of the building, a shell was struck near to them.

"Halt, driver. Halt!" Erika yelled, bracing the sudden force forward by the momentum.

She decided that she must take out the Ooarai's flag tank from afar. If she joined in the dueling fray between them, who knew what would have happened.

"Vice-Commander, our flag tank is in the line of fire." said the gunner.

The cupola's vision blocks were limiting Erika's visual so she decided to put her head up through the hatch.

Erika really could not tell what had transpired on this plaza ground, the Tiger I, Kuromorimine's flag tank, was remained undamaged while the other, the brown-colored Panzer IV Ausf. H was damaged considerably from the visual. Still, the Panzer IV was remained operational.

One thing Erika could tell that this very ground was a fighting stage between the Nishizumi and…the Nishizumi, the two sisters bearing the same family name, and only one of them followed the true Nishizumi Style, while the other…was longed considered a false. Her style was nothing but contradicting to the Nishizumi Style teaching.

Yet, on this very ground, her own… Nishizumi Style was in play, which had led the whole Kuromorimine team by the nose to this very end.

Miho…is she truly fighting out there? Didn't she already give up the Sensha-do, after what she had done last year, bringing shame and dishonor to everyone?

The two tanks stopped momentary, having a certain block in between as a medium from stopping the 75mm and 88mm to shoot at each other, and it did the same to the Erika's Tiger II.

The battle was about to reach at its climax, she could feel it.

This will be the two sisters' decisive moment.

The stare down for a few seconds that was almost like a full minute…

Finally, the engine of Panzer IV roared up powerfully as it began to the approach to Tiger I.

The Panzer IV was much faster in term of speed and maneuvering than Tiger I. The Panzer IV fired first, scrapping over Tiger I's frontal armor's cheek. Tiger I fired back, tearing off the Panzer IV turret's spaced armor.

The tension was weighing on Erika's gunner as she tried to aim at the Panzer IV with 88mm 71 caliber tank gun.

What unexpectedly happened next was that the Panzer IV began to...drift over the hard pavement.

"Drif-it's drifting?!" The gunner exclaimed.

"Don't panic!" Erika yelled. "Keep the gun aim right behind our Commander's tank!"

This was Erika's gamble. For she predicted that with its momentum, the Panzer IV would stop right behind the Tiger I's rear.

She only needed one shot at this.

The friction between the Panzer IV's tracks and the pavement was so hard that sparks flew out everywhere to the point the Panzer's one-sided tread were snapped apart and little wheels came flying off.

"Prepare to fire on my command!"

Almost there…the moment it stopped…we will fire the gun and immobilize that flag tank for good!

Wait for it…wait for it…

Almost…THERE!

"Fi—!?"

Her voice suddenly ceased as if there's a hand wrapped around her throat so abruptly, but there was no one or anything to stop Erika from giving the command to her gunner to fire.

So what stopped her?

The eyes.

She saw her eyes.

It wasn't exactly that Miho, the Commander of Panzer IV had spotted Erika with her Tiger II's 88mm gun was aiming at her. In fact, Miho was so fixated on the Kuromorimine's flag tank that she probably wouldn't noticed anything else.

However, at that moment. Erika had saw them…she saw Miho's eyes, they were glinted with full resolved and determine.

Those eyes...were the same. Just like that time…

Unwillingly, her mind flashed back to the time when the sky was dark and it was raining.

It was cold. She remembered it.

Her whole body was shivering to its spine. She felt as heavy as she was drenched from head to toe liked a piece of rag…

She felt that she would die at that time, but she didn't. Erika remembered there's a warmness transferred to her, giving her an energy of life, by someone who bore a face which Erika never liked since the very first day she met her. A clumsy, indecisive girl who earned the Vice-Commander position at ease because of the family name she carried since birth.

Miho...

"Vice-Commander?!" The confused voice of the gunner had brought Erika back to the reality.

"!?"

The shot was awaiting on her command and it was too late for her to give.

Far too late.

The Ooarai's Panzer IV came to a stop right where it needed and fired its gun, so did the Kuromorimine's Tiger I.

...

...

A moment passed, when the thick black smoke started to clear up as the fire was feeble away.

Silence filled up the atmosphere...and Erika saw it...

All of their efforts. All of their sacrifices of making this far...

The little white flag erected on top of their proud leading icon, Tiger I, was too much for a crude joke.

"No..."

« KUROMORIMINE'S FLAG TANK HAS BEEN IMMOBILIZED. »

« THEREFORE, OOARAI GIRLS' HIGH SCHOOL IS THE WINNER! »

The announcement made by Chouno Ami, the referee of the match had Erika's heart sunk to some depth but she managed to climb out of her tank and approached close to her Commander who already walked away from the disabled Tiger.

"..."

"..."

There was no words exchange. Maho Nishizumi simply walked past Erika like she was invisible but for a brief moment, she saw her Commander...was showing a smile. It was faint yet genuine. Something that Erika wouldn't dream of it, given Maho always showed her stoic face all the time.

Maybe it simply proved that how Miho was special to her...

"We did it, Miporin!"

"We have won the battle."

"We won!"

"Hmm."

The crew of Panzer IV came out from their hatches as one of them hugged Miho with tears in her eyes.

"…"

Sighing lightly, Erika removed the black field cap off her head and quietly returned to her tank.

In the end, you really didn't give up the Sensha-do hah, Miho?

~0~

The after-match operation ended well as Kuromorimine had recovered back of all their disabled tanks (although with some difficulties by the tanks' weight, particularly with the Maus and the Jagdtiger, particularly with the Jagdtiger which had 'flipped' itself upside down in the dried canal. It was quite a field day for those recovery trucks).

"Everyone is accounted for, Commander." Erika reported.

"Uhm."

With Maho's nod, Erika then climbed on the Krupp-Protze's driver seat. When she's about to start the engine, she heard the voice.

"Onee-chan."

There she is, the same old Miho. Just like the first time I saw her...or was it?

Erika couldn't help but noticed there was a huge different between then and now. Miho…had changed, she showed more confidently and more…radiant than before, full of light and liveliness.

Maybe her eyes was playing trick or maybe it's because of this bright sunset.

Even though Miho was still showing signs of nervous toward her own sister. Maho eased the tension with these resigned, yet graceful words.

"Congratulation on your victory. You have beaten us soundly." Then came the handshake.

Erika noticed that behind Miho, there stood four girls, the crew of Panzer IV. The ones who have fought alongside her, supported her…probably since the beginning, long before when both parties first encountered at that tank-themed café.

They sure look concerned. Can't blame them for my previous attitude.

You have good friends this time, Miho...

"Onee-chan. I have found it. My own Sensha-do."

Yeah, truly. It was her own Sensha-do alright. Driving every single one of us crazy with your tactic, especially with that Hetzer.

"Next time!" Erika called out, loud enough for everyone to hear. "We won't lose next time. It's a promise!"

Stunning for a moment but the short-haired brunette soon smiled and replied happily.

"Hai!"

~0~

On the way back to their school carrier, beside the running engine and the vibration coming from Krupp-Protze, the atmosphere was quiet, strangely quiet, contrasting to the loud booming of spectators' cheer and the announcing of the winner of the 63rd National High School Sensha-do Tournament at the back.

"Erika." Maho called out.

"Yes?"

"Your words back there. Nicely said."

Maho's compliment did not make Erika blush with embarrassed, instead a sense of sadness appeared across her face.

"Everyone." The Commander of Kuromorimine Sensha-do team turned to the girls. "It was always hard to accept such defeat, but once you admitted it. You will learn from it and strive on to succeed on the next time."

"But…but you Commander." Erika said, a bit shakily. "You have taken us along this far."

"We were...no, I wanted us to become champions...TOGETHER!" Holding the wheel weakly, the light blond haired burst out her desire for everyone to hear.

"Erika-san...please let me take over the wheel." Sitting on the passenger's seat next to Erika was Koume, whose eyes was also tearful, just like everyone sitting at the back.

The light blond haired simply kept her face down, she could not hold these tears for any longer.

"Erika..."

Erika could no longer hear any word since she was crying her heart out.

...

...

« WINNER! OOARAI GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL! »

Standing out far from after-match ceremony in the measurable distance where naked eyes could hardly see. There stood a woman dressed in black jodhpurs which was her own very icon in the meeting with other people, along with her overwhelming authority severe expression that would easily drive anyone away.

Shiho Nishizumi was her name, she was the Headmistress of Kuromorimine High School, the master of the Nishizumi Style of Sensha-do and the mother of Miho and Maho.

At this very moment, she did something that no one could have dream she would do.

She clapped.

She clapped her hands for the victory of her daughter, Miho, the one who she intended to disinherit her when she had not accepted the Nishizumi Style to the heart and brought the failure and shame from the last year tournament.

However, today, this fight, this battle. Miho's own Nishizumi Style had Shiho thinking.

May be it was time to change. No such thing was eternal.

Rock will eventually worn away by the water. Maybe it was time for her to accept the reality…

"Madam."

Behind Shiho Nishizumi was her long trusted servant in the Nishizumi household, Kikuyo Idegami. One Shiho might considered her as a friend.

"With this I wonder, if there would be a fresh wind for the Nishizumi Style. And if so, does that mean the old will be replaced and the continuing of keeping the tradition shall no longer?"

The Kuromorimine Headmistress said nothing, however, there was a small grin formed on her face.

"We're coming back."

"Yes, madam."