Nishizumi Miho

Favourite tank: Panzer II

"—Deputy Commander Miho, primary objective secured, clean up your AO and we're done."

"—Ah… roger, Commander! On our way…"

Shielded by the darkness of a moonless night, a lone Tiger I escorted by a Platoon of infantry emerged out of the woodlands towards an assortment of burning T-34 wreckages. A few glistening fires remained sparkling over the demolished armour, illuminating the scenery of pure devastation created by Miho's very hands.

Standing halfway out of her cupola as a draft of cold wind blew her by, Miho realized her fingers were stiffly glued to the grip of her C96 pistol. She scanned around the gruesome battlefield, ignoring the guilty conscious condemning her for her previous depraved acts and the crimes she was about to commit.

"Leutnant, look for any survivors… and then, you know…" Miho gave her order to the soldier leading the Platoon, he saluted quickly and passed on her message.

"—Miho, you still there?" To her surprise, her earpiece buzzed alive from the voice of her sister. Below her, the radio operator of her Tiger tapped her feet and gestured a hand sign, letting her know the transmission was private between the two siblings.

"—Y-yes, sister. What is it?"

"—I want you to know you did good today, I'm proud of you. So will mother be once we deliver another victory to our Fatherland."

"—Of course, sister. I'm very grateful for your praise." In her peripheral vision, Miho could spot the white flashes of rifles firing only single shots at point-blank range followed by a short echo of the impact.

"—Miho… I know you don't particularly enjoy Panzerfahren, but we all have to do—"

"— -I know, sister, I know. I'll do what I must, I'll become who I'm meant to be." Miho abruptly cut in to give her reply.

"—If you say so. Remember, we're legends of Black Forest, we'll lead our school and our people to victory." The infantry Lieutenant from earlier returned to report a mission completed, Miho responded with a loose nod and took in a breath of the midnight air permeated with fresh blood and burning metal.

"—Sis, we're done here. Permission to return to base?"

"—Oh- of course, Deputy Commander. Sieg Heil."

"—Sieg Heil."

Second day at Ooarai

On the morning of her second day back into Tankery, Miho dreamed of the peak of her past career. She could still vividly recall the many times she witnessed the blinding flicker of her 88mm round tearing through the air filled dense with gunpowder and struck on target into the hull of her opponent. The scream of destruction detonated whichever unfortunate tank was focused in her sight and sometimes, just sometimes she could hear the last screams of its dying crew too.

—

"Okay, okay. And… three, two, one, action."

"Commencing GuP rounds fire-test seven, target at one hundred metres out." The video camera placed to the left of the Panzer IV was filming the victim of its experiment, the Type 89 in the distance.

"Firing!" Following her announcement, a burst of the muzzle could be seen. At afar, the gist of white smoke and sparks erupted out from the impact point on the Type-89, but there was no fiery explosion or observable damage to the vehicle. The only sign of change was a white flag sticking out of the top of the light tank.

"First shot, good effect on target. Concluding fire-test seven for GuP rounds." The silky brown-haired teen popped out of the commander's hatch and jumped down from the turret.

"What do you think? Looks like it works as advertised."

"It appears so, thanks for your help, President. We'll end the testing here, please let the first-year recover their tank now." Anzu chewed on the last bits of her dried potato as she called over the six younger students of Ooarai, giving them the authorization to return to their vehicle.

Sliding by Anzu and retrieving the video camera, Miho re-watched the footage of her constant beating on the Type-89, seven GuP rounds smashed into the side of the light Japanese tank over the course of her experiment but none caused any significant damage. It was almost unbelievable had she not been the one to fire it, but the new shells built for a 'soft-style' Tankery provided the safety that was promised.

"So, your final verdict?" Anzu joined Miho on her way back to the garage where most members of the Tankery club were finishing their final tune-up, or whatever it was they were trying to do on their tanks.

"I'm really glad that something like this exists, this way we can practice Panzerfahren without risking our lives. I don't understand how this kind of shell and hit detection system works, but it's not worth asking the questions."

"Right, it's only a sport after all, I don't even know how something that dangerous lasted so long." The shorter girl's observation was agreed upon by Miho.

"But the point is it will last no longer. Panzerfahren should've never existed in the first place."

"Yup… pretty much. Why do you call it 'Pantie-fallen'?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, it just means Tankery in German. I'll just say Sensha-do from now on, sorry." Anzu chuckled at Miho's blundering response, the tank ace was still clumsy and shy when it came to day-to-day interactions.

"Ahaha! I'm just messing with you, Nishizumi-chan. I know you're not used to speaking Japanese. Actually, it's impressive how good your Japanese is considering where you're from."

"Ah… yes. Well, I'm half Japanese on my mother's side, and she had me take her last name for recognition. I was taught many things about Japanese as a child."

"Must've been tough on you, doing so much at that age."

"…I suppose so." Miho avoided connecting gazes with Anzu and cast her sight downwards in vague melancholy.

"Hey, now you're here, we don't have to worry about that all stuff. Let's just have our fun with Sensha-do, alright? I'm sure you'll be having a great time later when we do our first mock battle!" A lighthearted Anzu gave Miho a friendly pat on the back, pushing her in the direction of the Panzer IV crew awaiting her command.

"Ah… yes! Yes, I will!"

—

"—Radio check, radio check. One two three, one two three. How's the connection?"

"—Receiving you loud and clear, Nishizumi-dono!"

"—I can hear you clearly also, Miho-san."

"—I copy yes! Let's do this, Miporin!"

Everyone aboard the Panzer IV was beaming with energy, the enthralling experience of riding a WWII mechanical beast wasn't something the average Joe could boast about. Miho had assigned roles for each of her four crews. Placing herself in the commander seat, Yukari was the driver, Hana the gunner and Saori as the loader.

"Okay! If everyone's good to go, I'll start the match!" Miho ducked down to confirm with her team and saw the replies as four sets of nods affirming her decision.

"—To all commanders, the mock battle will begin now, reach your designated starting point and await further orders. All units, Panzer Vor!"

All at once, the quiet hum of Ooarai's tanks sprung alive as sprays of gasoline were injected into the idling engine. Eight tracked machines built by the various manufacturers of different countries rolled out of the garage and onto the vast open field. At the front leading the pack was Miho's Panzer IV, however, it quickly raced ahead of its competition and disappeared by the time the column entered the thick forest where the simulation of warfare may take place.

"—Driver, full speed ahead and take the left at the first split, then the next two rights until we hit the plains." Miho clicked on the mike around her neck and issued her order, she felt the sudden upsurge of wind blowing against her hair as the tank raced by the scenery.

"—Do you know which way we're supposed to go, Miporin?"

"—Yeah, I studied the map of this area before we started."

"—As expected of Nishizumi-dono! Always thinking ahead!"

"—Thanks, Frau Akiyama. Your driving is surprisingly skillful as well."

The Panzer IV and crew enjoyed a peaceful trip and reached their destination without much in the way, the team was by their lonesome in the forest with no other units in sight. After giving their foes the time to also reach their starting line, Miho saw it appropriate to begin Ooarai's first Tankery match in ages.

"—Panzer IV to all commanders, everyone should be at their starting location and ready to go. Your goal is to immobilize all opponents, but please be aware of your surroundings and stay safe! I hope everyone has a fun time today! All units, begin operation, weapons free!" It was the first Tankery match for Miho in quite some time, she sincerely wished for the new style to be everything she hoped it would be.

—

"—Driver, follow this road ahead, keep it around half gas."

"—Roger!" The tank slowly hummed to life once more, its caterpillar tracks rotating in sync with the wheels.

"—What's our plan, Nishizumi-dono?"

"—We'll run away and let them fight it out, then come in for the win once the numbers are culled."

"—A bit disreputable, but a very viable strategy it is." Hana commented.

"—It'd be embarrassing if I were to lose against them, I think I could take them all on if we had a full crew and a better vehicle."

"—Unfortunate that the school couldn't allow you to perform at your peak, Nishizumi-dono. Maybe if we win the championship and receive more funding to the Sensha-do club, we can afford better tanks!" Yukari optimistically suggested.

"—Yes… well, that would be pretty… -target, target in sight, two O'clock. Gunner, traverse right, five hundred." Without prior warning, Miho rudely cut off their previous chat and donned the most serious face anyone from Ooarai had ever seen.

"—W-what? I'm- I'm sorry, where is the enemy?" A baffled Hana was at a loss for action.

"—It's right there, the Char B to your right at two O'clock. Can you acquire the target? Get your eyes on it- turn the turret and look for it."

"—Wait, hold on- hold on. I'm looking for it!" The slow, jaggy movement of the turret was getting on Miho's nerves, especially after she watched it turn past the target.

"—No- no! You overshot it! Traverse back- left! Traverse left! Turn the gun back to the left! …Okay, a bit more… a bit more- stop! Right there! You're looking at it, do you see it? Do you have a line of sight?"

"—Err- yes! I see it, I see it! S-should I fire?"

"—No-no-no-no! Stop! Just keep your aim trained on it, fire on my command, you got that?! Don't fire without my say-so."

"—Okay! I understand!"

In the heated moment, Miho grew just a bit too frustrated due to her crew's pure inexperience. She took a long breath out of the disappointment at her own short-sightedness. She should have foreseen such an incident since her team had literally never been trained before in any way regarding tank operation. That was the one flaw she found out about her new school after transferring away from Black Forest.

"—Alright… the Char B hasn't noticed us yet, we'll maneuver around it and hit it in the back. Driver, give me some left stick and a bit of gas, cut through those treelines and go up right behind them."

"—Roger that!" Thankfully, Yukari, the military expert had read enough books and seen enough movies to understand Miho's phrases.

And so, the Panzer IV cruised up right behind the Char B, its blundering crew had no idea how to optimally operate their vehicle and left themselves open to attack. As her tank closed the gap between the two metal machines Miho was starting to feel a tad bit sorry for the French Char B1, the already heavy and unwieldy tank was a burden on its own, but to be manned by only three personnel was a rather preposterous demand.

"—Frau Isuzu, do you still have the target in sight?"

"—Yes! I'm pointed at it!"

"—Fire when ready."

"—Oh- s-should I shoot?"

"—Yes! Yes, open fire!"

And so she did, a shell slammed into the rear of the Char B to astounding fanfare. Kicking up flashes and sparks of light as everyone excluding Miho were profoundly fascinated by the pure elation of scoring a solid hit.

"Woah… my ears are still ringing." Yukari was the first to submit her opinion.

"That felt… kinda good." Hana too was savouring a sensation never felt before.

"—Keep your sight on it, it's not dead yet. -Frau Takebe, load another shell. Stay clear of the gun and tell Frau Isuzu when you're done so she knows when to fire again."

"—Oh… oh yeah! Okay, okay!"

Sticking out of the hatch, Miho was waiting with bated breath for Saori to reload while she stared intensely at the back of the Char B. After over a dozen seconds of containing her anguish, Miho's patience for her loader ran dry as the 47mm turret was turning around.

"—Frau Takebe! Please load as quickly as possible." Miho peeked down and saw Saori fumbling with a single round.

"—Okay! I'm doing it!" However, it was still not done.

"—Frau Saori! Load within four seconds!"

"—Yes! I'll do it right away!" Still, no shot was available.

"—Hurry up, Saori! Three seconds!"

"—Y-yes!"

"—Too slow! They're returning fire, brace! Brace!" Everyone ducked down and prepared for a 47mm that sailed way over above their heads.

"—Haaw… that sure was clos— ow-oww!" Saori's puff of relief was painfully aborted by Miho's foot to her head.

"—Where's my shell, loader!? Hurry!"

"—O-okay right! It's- it's done! It's good!" Miho brainstormed over a hundred responses to Saori's inability to reload a shell, however, none of it would be truly fair to the first-time tanker.

"—Frau Isuzu, fire when ready."

"—Yes, firing now."

A second shell exploded almost on top of the first one, creating a cloud of white dust upon impact. Once the smoke cleared, a small white flag was clearly observable from the top of the Char B.

"—Cease fire, cease fire, target destroyed. Well done team… haa… s-sorry- I'm so sorry for my behaviour! I always get too angry and- and serious when it comes to Sensha-do! I'm really sorry about that!" By the time the adrenaline rush had died down in Miho, she felt regrettable shame for how she treated her crew.

"—Oh, it's not your fault at all, Miho-san. We should've practiced more when we had the chance."

"—Yeah! Don't worry about it, Miporin, this is how I expected to be treated in Sensha-do!"

"—Please kick me next time as well, Nishizumi-dono!" Her friends were indeed kind-hearted people, Miho again was able to reaffirm that fact.

"—Thank you for being so understanding, everyone. We should move, we've spent too long here. -Driver, continue down this road at half speed. Let's go, Panzer vor!"

—

Half an hour of relative calmness ticked pass the restless crew of the Panzer IV, their heightened awareness gradually grew drowsy from a lack of intense action after their initial kill. Wandering the vast arena of the Ooarai carrier, it appeared that Miho's plan of turning tail and running away was the result of her wise planning and advanced tactics instead of a random whim.

"So Miporin, I always wanted to ask you this, but what does 'fauu' mean? 'fell'? 'flu'? what is it you say all the time?" The low throttle of the tank paired with the quietness of their surroundings meant Miho could hear her friend just fine without their microphone.

"It's Frau, as in Fraulein, it's just German for Miss. Is it weird for me to call everyone that? I'm sorry it's been a habit since a young age." Miho bent down into her armoured car and answered.

"No, I think it's very cute of you, Miporin! But you can just call us by our names if it's easier for you."

"I understand, I'll consider it."

"So it is true that you grew up in Germany, Miho-san?"

"It is, I used to attend Black Forest Girls Academy, Kuromorimine. I was one of the commanders of the 12th corps of the Waffen-SS." Strangely, speaking to her friends about her past didn't sting Miho's tenuous heart as much as she had imagined.

"Nishizumi-dono was a legendary tank commander of her school! In fact, she confirmed over one hundred fifty kills over her career! A feat almost no one can hope to match!" Yukari eagerly bragged about Miho's accomplishments in her place.

"Thanks for the recognition, but let's hold that thought for now. I'm seeing someone in the middle of the battlefield, slow the vehicle, driver." Once again, Miho diverted the topic when a perilous situation demanded her professionalism.

On the endless open field ahead of the advancing Panzer IV, a lone figure laid motionless up against a tree trunk amidst the vast green plains. A red book covered her face from view of others and more likely protected her eyes from the shining sun. Finally realizing the massive metal behemoth that pulled up next to her, the young girl woke up from her afternoon doze and leapt an amazing distance onto the tank in one fell swoop.

"Do you know you're interrupting our club activities!? What're you doing here!?" Miho popped out of her hatch and questioned her new passenger.

"I was skipping, wanna let me in?" The dark-haired girl answered aloofly.

"We're in the middle of a wargame here! You can't just—"

For however long Miho hid from the war, the war eventually came to them.

A hair-raising whiz of death flew by Miho's vehicle at lightning speed, only sparing her and her crew's lives by mere inches of misalignment. The earth-splitting impact of a single tank shell hitting the ground to their left kicked up a ferrous dust storm and sent the entire group of tankers into high alert.

"-Whoa! —Move it! Back it up- go to reverse and turn left! Turn to the left as hard as you can! Ninety degrees reverse to the left now!" The intensely of battles that Miho missed for almost an hour all caught up to her at the same time.

"—What the- what was that!?" Yukari asked fretfully, copying the emotional state of her idol.

"—That was an eighty-eight! The Porsche Tiger is on us, they should be somewhere right in front, look for them. Saori, load smoke immediately." Having regained some part of her posture and relieved of her survival instinct, Miho issued her next sets of orders with more composure.

"-Can I come inside, please?" Having almost forgotten their guest, Miho just noticed she was hanging on by her pinkies as the tank rapidly accelerated.

"…Sure, hurry and jump in!" A decision the normally extremely cautious Miho would never make, but the student crawling up before her didn't give off a threatening aura as compared to the real danger.

"Ah… Mako-chan."

"Huh, it's Saori." The two girls greeted each other casually after the newcomer comfortably slid into the radio operator seat amongst all the chaos.

"—C'mon on, focus! I've spotted the target vehicle! One Porsche Tiger seven hundred metres out! Gunner, traverse right twenty degrees and prepare to fire. Where's my smoke, Saori!? Please have it loaded now!"

"—Ah- I'm really sorry! I don't see anything here that says smoke! All the shells are the same!" A mild detail which elapsed Miho's memories was the unique ammunition circumstances, in exchange for safety she had to sacrifice some utility.

"—It's okay, just load a regular GuP shell. -Frau Isuzu, do you have the target lined up?"

"—Yes! I'm aiming at it!" Stuck in a dire pinch, Miho's mind clocked into overdrive as she evaluated the best possible step to take.

"—Fire now!"

"—Firing!"

Miho glued her brown eyes to the flashing shell expelled from the searing barrel travelling over twice the speed of sound towards its mark. A fleeting second later, a cloud of dust was kicked up just a bit ahead of the Porsche tank.

The response to hostile intent from the rare Tiger was equally as deafening. A metal slug fired from its anti-tank gun ripped through the sound barrier and was also off-target by only metres.

"—Everyone, close your hatches, I'll be popping smoke to obscure their line of sight." Miho kept true to her word, not a second after the last hatch was shut she launched the smoke canisters all around their fighting vehicle.

"—Driver, get us as close to the edge of the smoke in the front as you can."

"—Roger!" The Panzer IV vigilantly crept forward, keeping itself within the smoke from out of sight from the Tiger.

"—Frau Akiyama, do you think you can load faster than Frau Takebe?" In what brief cover they had, Miho didn't have the time to dress her words.

"—Err… I don't wanna be rude to Takebe-dono, but I believe I can." Yukari gave a straightforward answer, understanding hurt feelings on the battlefield meant next to nothing.

"—Switch with Frau Takebe, I need you to load as fast as possible. We'll take down the Tiger here, its frontal armour is one hundred millimetres. We can penetrate it at this distance." Miho was determined to get back on the offense.

"—But who'll drive?"

"—I'm afraid relocating won't do any good, we're too exposed out here. The Porsche Tiger's gunner is pretty good, if we turn and run across the open field without cover, they might just shoot us in the back. We have to take it down first."

"—Okay, we'll do what you say." Counting on Miho's genius, Yukari placed her devoted trust in the Tankery legend and followed her plan to the dot.

The two high school girls hastily swapped their roles with Yukari taking the seat beside Hana and Saori crawling into the driver's compartment.

"Frau Hana, can you acquire the target?" Miho leaned up against her gunner and placed a firm grasp on her shoulder, their distance was close enough she didn't need to speak through her microphone.

"Not yet… the smoke is still thick. I can only see the ground ahead of me."

"Do you remember where they were at last? Aim at where you think they are."

"But wouldn't they have moved?"

"They're in a good firing position, I wouldn't move if it was me. They probably still have the gun trained on where we were last, so hopefully that can buy us some time." Hana returned a slight nod, her eyes were glued to the gun sight searching for the first clue to the whereabouts of the Tiger.

"You can do it, I know you can."

Seconds ticked on by counting down the density of the smoke and the improvement to her vision, the sightline was clearing up slowly until Hana finally saw something new. A slight bulge was growing more apparent over the horizon until its outline could no longer be masked.

"—I see the Tiger! It's in the same spot!"

"—Fire when ready."

"—Firing!"

One shot sailed onwards, striking the armoured vehicle on the turret and ricocheted off its circular surface.

"—Bounced! Load another one now!" Miho directed her glare at the tank in the distance, its turret making micro adjustments to line them up with the barrel.

"—Loaded!" Yukari shouted her status, readying the gun for another shot faster than anyone Miho had ever seen.

"—Firing!"

A second round followed in the trajectory of the first almost exactly with several inches of differences, landing it a bit lower and hitting the upper front plate head on only to fail at breaching through the one hundred millimetres thick armour.

"Tch, —No good! Load another!" Miho clicked her tongue out of the stacking frustration. The self-doubt of whether she misjudged the penetration value of the GuP rounds lingered in the back of her head.

"—Loaded!" Yukari informed once more, but that was too little too late.

In the generous amount of time the Panzer crew took and fired two shells at the Tiger, it was fully ready to retaliate when they missed their second chance. Shooting its own 88mm cannon, the imposing distance between the two armoured combat vehicles proved more advantageous to the prototype tank.

"—Brace! Incoming!" Miho somehow knew their enemy's shot wouldn't miss, that had happened too many times in one day. She knew she couldn't bank on the Porsche T's incompetence like how she did with the Char B, it seemed like she would be tasting her second defeat in a row.

But Miho's downfall wasn't meant to be, even the tank itself agreed.

"Wait- Mako-chan what're—?"

"-Huh? How did the-?" At the very last moment possible, the Panzer IV steered harshly to the left, causing the inbound shell that would spell their impending doom to bounce violently off the side armour, scraping off plenty amount of paint and leaving one gigantic scratch mark.

"Mako-chan! You can drive?!" Miho climbed down and saw what saved them wasn't random luck, but the stowaway they picked up minutes earlier.

"I just learned how to now."

"Just now?!"

"That is very impressive!"

"That's why you're top of our class!" Everyone was openly showering Mako in praises and lavishing her talent.

"Thank you very much, Fraulein! Please be ready to relocate on my command! —Gunner, acquire the target again! Put another round into it!" Miho was quick to put an end to the celebration and raise the tension of her crew. The time for relaxation and commendations should come after their victory, not before.

"—Hold on! I'm turning the turret—"

"-Wait, I'll get us closer and line you up again." Mako interrupted Hana's action and offered a better alternative.

The three hundred horsepower Maybach engine of the Panzer IV flowed its energy to the tracks below, fuelling the tank to dodge and weave at the maximum speed over the enormous grassland, maneuvering in ways Miho almost thought impossible. The stationary Porsche Tiger felt the urgency and increased its own rate of fire, but the rain of danger all missed Miho's tank by slight or wild margins never once hitting its goal.

"—Four hundred metres! We're close enough, prepare to fire! -Saori! Let the driver know we're firing!" Since Mako didn't come equipped with her own radio, Miho had to get someone to pass on the memo.

The Panzer IV put a pause to its need for speed and aligned itself perfectly as it did before Mako took over, the barrel was pointing directly at its metallic opponent.

"—I have the target in sight! Ready to fire!" Hana reported her success faster than ever.

"—Put it down!"

"—Firing!" For their third attempt, Miho was finally satisfied with the results.

Author's note

I'm not very good at writing action scenes, especially in tanks, hopefully the rather mediocre writing isn't a super turnoff for people actually liking this story. Also, not very knowledgeable about tanks, I did do some study when going into writing this story, but I'm not a super WWII expert or anything.

I'm not planning on making the story that depressing like TK's doujin, there's gonna be different plot going somewhere down the line.

Thanks for checking out this story and let me know if I made a mistake somewhere. Otherwise, I'll continue to slowly update this story overtime.