Guns and Roses
Any time you think you have the game conquered, the game will turn around and punch you right in the nose.
- Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia Phillies Third Baseman
"There's no way we can get around it, they're know exactly what we're trying to do." Mino let out a sigh, sliding into her seat in the turret of the Ausf. H. "Saori, are the other teams in position?"
"Eagle team is still moving, but they'll be ready in two minutes," Saori said, adjusting her equipment. "Cub and Corgi are in position though, Boar reports the enemy hasn't moved on the objective yet."
Miho nodded, taking another look at the enemy bunker. A breeze blew softly around them, waves of grass playing about like ocean waves of green that broke in the nearby patches of trees. Even without any enemy tanks nearby in view, Miho knew they were waiting just out of sight, ready to pounce on any assault. "Okay, we're going to try bombarding them from a distance, try to draw them out. I want Hippo team to move to our rear and cover us-"
"This is Eagle team, Wolf is breaking position, they're heading straight into the trap!" Kei shouted, Miho turning to see the P 40 breaking from cover and charging hard for the concrete bunker.
"Wolf team, what are you doing?" Miho said, watching as Anzai's tank sped headlong into the killzone. "Fall back now, before they open fire!"
"We can't afford to wait or they'll break through our defenses," Anzai barked back. "A strike before they can will stop us from being defeated!"
"Nishizumi, if they go in alone they'll leave a gap in our lines," Katyusha radioed. "We either have to go in all at once or let them take us apart."
"What was she thinking?" Hana whispered, watching as the Italian heavy tank roared right at the bunker. Everyone could tell what the Anzio team was thinking, and it might have worked with more time in the battle. Now, so early in the game, it was their death sentence.
"All tanks on the assault squad, move forward to support Wolf team, but pull back immediately if they're taken out." Checking her surroundings, Miho knew their opponents were just waiting to spring the trap. "If you sight a muzzle flash, relay it immediately to the tank closest to it."
Wolf team's tank positioned itself right at one of the "firing slits" to the bunker, Miho practically able to feel Anzai's grin inside her turret. "The first match is ours, and the rest will be too!"
"Why aren't they firing, they should be raining hell on us by now Ms. Nishizumi." Yukari tapped her foot nervously, hands wrapped around a shell.
"I don't know Yukari, maybe they're-"
"Enemy rear, it's Mother Superior!" At Darjeeling's words, Miho looked out the back of her turret to see the tanks from the opposing team rolling up through the buildings, the M6 Heavy Tank "Mother Superior" at the center behind Ōarai's Ausf. H. Slowly, the turret levelled at the rear armor, as a mighty blast from just ahead reverberated through the field.
"It's Ohio State, they're hiding in the treeline," Katyusha said, her voice shaking. "Nishizumi, what are you orders?"
Before Miho could answer, the main gun on the Mother Superior fired.
The sun broke through the window into Miho Nishizumi's room like an unexpected but welcomed friend. Bandaged teddy bears were gathered under a bright, hanging red flag, a massive eagle emblazoned in the center. Slowly, Miho's mind started to register the sunlight hitting her face, and with a long and loud yawn she rose from her bed. Smiling, he shifted onto the floor and moved to open the window.
Summer break was starting today, and Ōarai's academy ship was in port for the month long period. Saori had already gone on at length about using her time in town to find a boyfriend, but for Miho the break was a chance to rest from tankery for at least a little while.
It would probably surprise people, but Miho wasn't entirely at peace with her reentry into tankery thanks to winning the championship. True, she had finally found a way of tankery outside her mother's domineering and even frightening style, but even as the sunlight hit her face she could still feel a twinge of hurt when she thought about her mother's actions toward her after the match, and how the woman that gave birth to her hadn't even been there to congratulate her after her victory.
Sighing, Miho did her best to sweep those thoughts away and focus on the present. Looking up, she smiled softly at the sun and blue, clear sky. "I think I'll go shopping today," she said to herself, "I wonder if Saori and Hana would like to come too."
One shower later, and Miho was already out on the town, Saori texting her to meet up at the Café Leclerc sweet shop to discuss their plans for the vacation. Miho was glad for it, since the post-victory celebrations were little more than a haze of banquets, speeches, and important faces appearing and disappearing through the school. There was the mayor of Ōarai, congratulating the team on keeping their vital school open and posing them for dozens of pictures on and next to the tanks. There was the local chamber of commerce, begging for the girls to frequent their shops and boost tourism in the region. At one point Anzu was already bragging that even the American president was going to visit, but no one except Team Rabbit took it seriously.
Despite the flurry of confusion, Miho found herself savoring the calm that came with the aftermath of winning the tournament. All over Ōarai, people chatted excitedly, a few stopping to thank her, honking as they drove by or shouting out their gratitude from the windows.
"Oh, if it isn't our little Patton," one of the older shopkeepers said, standing up from his sweeping to greet Miho. "Off to plan next year's win?"
"No, just to have some lunch with friends," Miho said, bowing respectfully. "Still, everyone is so happy, I wish it could be like this all the time with tankery."
"Keep up those wins, and it will be," the shopkeeper said, picking his broom back up. "You run along, can't keep your teammates waiting can we?"
"Have a good day sir, and thank you." Waving, Miho went back on her way to the shop. As she walked, she couldn't help but notice that the sky kept getting brighter as she made her way to her friends.
As she walked, Miho saw a group of men huddled around a small TV set in front of a bar, muttering to themselves with confused looks on their faces. For a second, Miho wanted to go over and ask what had happened, but a second text from Saori asking where she was disintegrated that thought instantly.
The café was crowded thanks to school being let out, the scent of cakes and sugary drinks mixing with the soft rumble of idle conversation between friends. Miho scanned the packed tables for her friends for a few minutes before she finally noticed the brilliant red hair of Saori Takebe by a window booth, the rest of the team giggling at her probably-latest failed attempt to give out advice on love. Making her way through the customers, Miho quickly slid into the booth next to the raven-haired Hana Isuzu.
"Sorry I'm so late," she said, sliding her purse off onto the bench. "Everyone's been so friendly since we've won the championship, I feel like it takes me five minutes just to cross a street."
"Isn't it great though?" Saori said, clenching her fists with sparkling eyes. "Now that it's summer break, we can finally use this popularity to find ourselves real boyfriends!" Saori had apparently tried to change up her hairstyle after the championship, putting half her hair into a ponytail and leaving the rest hanging free behind it. It didn't do much to actually change her appearance, but when she first debuted it, she swore it would make her the most popular girl in Ōarai.
"I don't think I could even find a boyfriend with your help with all that's happened," Hana said innocently. "I'm still in shock after the tournament, my mother is even letting me rest from arranging." Hana sat almost regally, befitting her status as the daughter of one of Japan's leading flower arrangers. Miho envied her for that, being able to almost effortlessly translate her family's lineage into her skills in tankery.
"Don't say that, don't even think it!" Saori barked, jumping up and pointing over the table at Hana, her face suddenly a mask of indignation. "We should all use this chance to find a boyfriend, before we become old and ugly and only known for our tankery."
"What's wrong with that?!" Yukari Akiyama said, almost as offended. The championship had been a dream come true for her, part of a winning tankery team that no one expected anything out of that won it all in one season, nevermind the fact that she'd found the same friends as Miho. Since then, it was like her entire personality had become one long and gently manic streak. Her parents didn't seem to mind, since the influx of attention had helped their business become one of the most popular barbershops in Ōarai. "I wouldn't mind at all being known for how good a loader I am."
Mako Reizei lay slumped in her seat, either oblivious or uncaring towards the ongoing "conversation" around her. Winning had done little to change anything about her daily life, as she still claimed to struggle with her low blood sugar and grandmother's temper. Eyes half open, Miho thought that she heard her mumble something involving the words "Food", "waitress", and, "Too early".
"How could you?" Saori said, crocodile tears welling up in her eyes. "To say that I'm overreacting Hana, my dearest friend, it makes me almost faint."
"Oh Saori, you reacted the same way when you found out that idol-" Hana tried to say, before being cut off by a long and frightening glare from Saori.
"We agreed never to talk about that," Saori whispered, quickly going back to her bubbly smile when the waitress came up. Placing their orders (At a steep discount; ever since the town found out that all the girls met up in the shop, the owner had given all Ōarai's teams lifetime discounts), the girls went back to their planning.
"I say we take a trip to Okinawa," Saori said. "The beaches, the tanning, it would be such a cool trip, we can make it last all break if we leave tomorrow."
"I was hoping to make it to Tokyo," Hana said, holding up a flyer. "A friend of my mother is having her work shown in exhibition, and she always has such amazing arrangements that it would be a shame not to see it in person."
"Aw, but there's a big demonstration of Cold War tanks at Fuji," Yukari moaned. "I've never seen an M48, and they might even have an M60! They could let us drive it with how well-known we are now."
"Just wanna sleep," Mako mumbled, face planted firmly into the wood of the table. "Just wanna stay home."
"What do you think Miporin?" Saori asked, finally pulling Miho into the maelstrom.
"Oh, uh, I really didn't have anything planned for this break," Miho answered, holding up her hands defensively. "I was just hoping to take things easy for the next few days, let everything calm down and focus on school for once."
"It's okay Miho, we all understand, right?" Hana asked. The girls nodded, Hana smiling gently at Miho, putting her hand atop her tank commander's. "After what you've been through, it would be rude of us to force you into anything."
Miho smiled, surprised into silence by her friends' kindness. Sometimes it still felt like it was almost a dream, how they treated her and what they were always willing to do for her. Then she would go to bed, and wake up to the same thing, and always be grateful for it. "Thanks Hana. Don't worry, I'm sure we'll all figure out something to do if we just walk about the town, right?"
"Oh, it's been so long since we've just been able to walk like normal girls," Hana said, worriedly looking out at the street. "People have been stopping me all the time lately, I can barely get anywhere on time anymore."
"Then let's leave as soon as we're done eating," Miho said, tapping the tank on the table to call a waitress.
"Oh, I can't get enough of that sound, I want to hear it all day," Saori said excitedly, both her and Hana taking turns firing for their waitress until the staff had to take it away.
Finished with their meal, the girls struck out into the town, the salt of the sea mixing with the summer flowers in the window boxes. Cars seemed to lazily drift by on the roads, as children chased each other in the backstreets. Signs of Ōarai's victory still hung on the streetlamps and traffic lights, and in each window a small sticker, "I support Ōarai Academy".
"It's amazing, I've never seen the town so inspired before," Yukari said, a US World War II tanker's helmet covering her wild hair. Her parents had gotten it for her as a gift, and since then she had done her level best to apparently never take it off. "Keeping the school open has turned everything around."
"I'm glad, it wouldn't feel right leaving you all even after just one year," Miho said, smiling quietly as she looked on at the ground. "You all helped me find my own way of tankery, it's something I'll always be thankful to you all for."
"Ms. Nishizumi, you don't need to thank us for anything," Yukari said, placing her hand on Miho's shoulder. "You helped us stay together when everyone else would've torn us apart, we owe you everything for that."
Miho seemed to almost fold in on herself, but on looking up saw her friends, her best friends she'd probably ever have smiling back at her, she felt warmth inside herself. Maybe many people took it for granted, having friends that would always be there for you. After growing up in the Nishizumi school, Miho could never imagine taking such kindness for granted in her worst nightmares.
"You're right," Miho said, opening herself up again. "So where should we go first?"
The girls laughed as they walked, going back and forth from tanks to clothes to Saori's latest hopes of a boyfriend to tanks again. Miho laughed as Hana and Yukari debated which tank would be the most appropriate for a possibly large flower arrangement, but couldn't ignore the fact that there seemed to be more and more people gathered together around radios and TVs. "Hey, is there some big sports game going on today?"
"No, not that I've heard," Saori answered. "I know I saw some people huddled around a window at a woman's house when I was on my way to the shop."
"Me too, there were a group of old shopkeepers huddled in on a radio," Hana said. The world had suddenly changed for the girls. Now, instead of a cheerful day on the town, they were suddenly noticing huddled, whispering groups of people almost everywhere around them.
"I think we should get back to the ship," Miho said, worried that something disastrous had happened. Where all the other girls were suddenly shaking and apprehensive, Miho was suddenly standing taller than even the academy, her voice firm and eyes focused. Her hands didn't shake, her voice didn't tremble. Tankery had taught her how to deal with fear and uncertainty: Make a decision, and follow it through.
The walk back was almost agonizing torture, as more and more people seemed to drop what they were doing and gather together. Drivers would stop their cars on the road to get out and go to the nearest group, leaving their engines idling in the street. An entire construction site seemed to have been put on pause, the workmen condensed at the main trailer for the manager. Even the police were distracted by the news, some staring intensely at whatever source was giving the news.
"I'm scared Miporin," Saori said, grabbing onto Miho's arm. "What if something's happened? What if they're shutting the school down anyway?"
"Anzu said that we would still have a school after winning, she'd have no reason to lie when we won," Miho said, voice steeled against any hint of fear, even as she shook on the inside. "She was the one who started tankery again to save the school in the first place, she wouldn't bother keeping it from everyone if it turned out the school was going to be disbanded."
"Hang on," Yukari said, looking up and pulling out her phone. The girls waited, Hana and Saori shaking, Mako just looking on, as Yukari dialed.
"Hi mom, it's me…Something weird's going on, is there anything…Really?!" It was the sheer shock in her voice that made them all tremble a little more, Miho a standing rock of resolve against their fear. "Yeah, I'll tell them mom, bye." Turning back to the group, everyone was amazed to see Yukari beaming with the burning intensity of a fanboy who just heard his favorite series was getting further installments.
"Yukarin?" Saori said nervously. "Is everything okay? Do you know what's happened?" Gingerly, Saori reached out to Yukari, only for Yukari to grab it and hug Saori close.
"It's wonderful, it's incredible, it's the most insanely beautiful thing we could ever have happen to us!" Yukari started to dance in the street with Saori, swinging the redhead left, right, up, down, and somehow diagonally.
"Yukarin!" Saori shouted. "What's the news?! What's the news?!"
"A new tankery exhibition, we're going to be part of a new tankery exhibition!" Yukari suddenly let Saori loose, sending her flying into Hana and Mako, sending the three down into a heap on the sidewalk. Skipping, Yukari grabbed Miho's hands and kept dancing.
"An exhibition?" Miho said, incredulous to both the announcement and the fact that her friends had all just got taken down by an AP Saori. "Against who? Saunders? Pravda?"
"American colleges!" Yukari shouted, stopping suddenly when she saw fear finally welling up on Miho's face. Awkwardly, Yukari went into damage control mode. "Uh…maybe we should get back to the ship?"
To the surprise of no one, Anzu and the student council were already waiting for them at the gangplank. Each of them looked as they always did; Anzu stood tall and proud despite being one of the smallest people there. Momo seemed to be glaring them into submission with her arms crossed. Yuzu stood smiling to Anzu's left, almost gracious to have them back aboard. "Welcome back girls," she said, making sure they all got back on safely. "I guess you've heard the news already?"
"It's great isn't it?!" Anzu said, slapping Miho on the back. "This means our school will be even safer from being shut down in the next round of cuts, it's the best we could've hoped for!"
"But who organized this?" Hana asked, the girls following the council through the ship up to the street level. "Surely there had to be time put into this kind of event."
"The Ministry of Education apparently has been conferring about it since the tournament," Momo said harshly, her voice echoing with authority in the bulkheads. "They contacted what the American's call 'The Easy Eight', their most famous colleges for tankery. They'll be sending over their teams in the week, and it's up to us to secure victory for Japan."
"Oh calm down Momo," Anzu said, laughing as they made it to the nearest staircase. "It's an exhibition match, so what matters is that we do our best and put on a good show for everyone watching. It's gonna be an international broadcast too." Turning, Anzu gave another devilish grin. "We're gonna be able to show the world what our school is capable of."
"International," Saori said, suddenly squealing with excitement. "Oh, forget finding love here, I'll be a favorite worldwide!"
"You don't even know any other languages," Hana said, bemused. Saori let out a huff and crossed her arms, glaring sideways at the bulkhead. Hana pressed on. "More importantly, what about the summer break? Won't this interfere with things?"
"The ministry made sure that we would still have one week left to relax, and they promised us that the students participating would be guaranteed breaks if the competition went on longer." Anzu laughed as they walked. "We'll be the biggest thing to hit the world's tankery since the sport was invented."
Miho just stumbled numbly through the corridors, trying to focus on the news she'd just heard. A match not only against Americans, but their best college tankers? The idea sent thousands of thoughts careening through her head like flying shells. American tankery was nothing like Japanese tankery, both in terms of tanks used and the crews that maintained them. To Miho, it was akin to putting toddlers in costume against hardened soldiers in battle, and telling them all to fight to the death. Her own mother had constantly spoken harshly against American tankery. "Barbaric," she had called it. "A mutilation of everything the Nishizumi school stands for."
"How is American tankery any different?" Saori asked, following up the stairs behind Miho. "Is it really that strange?"
"American tankery is more action packed," Yukari said, lovingly patting her helmet. "You can modify your tanks in ways that wouldn't even be allowed in Japanese tankery. Engine modifications, increased armor, more powerful main guns?" Yukari let out a squeal of delight. "They've got such cool tanks, they're all customs!"
"Then how are we supposed to go up against them?!" Saori cried, starting to shudder again. "We have just our normal tanks, and we're supposed to win against American colleges?"
"It's an exhibition tournament, it's nothing official," Anzu said, still clambering up the stairs. "Nothing that happens in it is going to affect our school's record, we could lose every match and still make the world love us as long as the match was entertaining."
"So it's just a show match," Mako grumbled. "Why is everyone working themselves up about it?"
"Because it means a lot of tourism and media coverage," Momo said. "Our school will be under intense scrutiny, and above all else we need to show ourselves as the best for education and tankery."
"Plus it means we can do whatever we want during this match and not have to worry about breaking too many rules." Coming up on the deck, the sea breeze blowing softly but with force behind it. Behind them all, the ship's small town lay, already filled with people gathered together in the mid-morning sun and talking excitedly about what was going to happen. Miho saw mothers holding their children, talking to each other about what they could do during the matches. Men and woman talked of plans to leave the ship for the tournament, and the elderly reminisced about their own memories of seeing another country's tanks in action. Miho suddenly realized that she was the cause of such excitement, such happiness.
"It's gonna be an interesting tournament," Anzu said, staring out at the east across the ocean. Spinning back around, she held her hand out. "Are you with me?"
Miho held her hands close, unsure of what to do. Looking at the others, she watched as Momo and Yuzu put their hands in, followed quickly by Yukari, Mako, Hana and Saori.
"You all helped me, even after I'd been ready to give tankery up forever," Miho said. Smiling again, she put her hand in with her friends. "I'd never forgive myself if I left you all now."
Anzu laughed hard and loud at Miho's words, pleased with herself at her skills in emotional manipulation. Or at least, bringing out what was already there. "Then it's settled! Momo, Yuzu, gather the team! We've got a lot of work to do!"