Interlude 1: Saki

After practice one day, Hisa held an informal meeting with the rest of those who were familiar with tankery in order to brainstorm ideas about what they could do to improve the tankery team. The group came up with some ideas for new training exercises, but ultimately, those involved in the session collectively came to the conclusion that it was easier to list the things that did not desperately need improvement.

As the meeting more or less adjourned to wait for more specific ideas to come to them during training, the conversation shifted to tankery.

"You know, even if our chances of winning don't look good, for the first time in a long time, I'm starting to enjoy tankery," Saki said.

Nodoka's expression turned surprised; she had never heard of Saki enjoying tankery before coming to Oarai.

"If I may ask, Miyanaga-san," Nodoka said, "why didn't you enjoy it in the past?"

"It's because of my parents," Saki said. "As far as tankery went, it was impossible for me to please both of them."

"So your parents didn't approve of you doing tankery?" Yuuki K. said, confused.

"It's a little more complicated than that, Yuuki-chan," Saki said. "It wasn't that I couldn't do what I wanted; it was more like there didn't seem to be a right answer at all."

"In what sense?" Hisa said.

"My dad never liked tankery, or the idea of my sister and I participating in it," Saki said "But my mom insisted that we do tankery, and do it well; she did tankery in high school, and was quite good at it. Supposedly, they agreed to disagree on this at first, even after they had two daughters, but they started openly expressing their disagreement and arguing about it not long before my sister started doing tankery in middle school."

Miho was all too familiar with demanding standards for excellence in tankery, and knew that if Saki suffered from those, and could not bear the pressure, she would come to hate tankery. Miho had also heard about those who did not like tankery, enough so that they would forbid their daughters from participating; if Saki had a parent like that, she would not have had a chance to get exposed to tankery, and would possibly even have a negative preconception of it. But this was the first time that Miho heard of someone who had experienced both at once.

"Was there really no way of satisfying both your parents?" Miho said. For her, she would have remained in Shiho's good graces by doing what she said and meeting her standards- a simple task but for the fact that she found such standards too difficult and unpleasant to meet.

"No; it was truly a dilemma," Saki said. "I'd displease one parent by not doing it, I'd displease the other by doing it, and I'd displease both by not doing it well. With all the pressure, I didn't feel comfortable doing it, but at the same time, I didn't believe I could just quit."

"What would your parents have done if they got mad, Miyanaga-san?" Miho said.

Miho's question gave Saki pause, as she recalled that she had asked herself that question before. Why was she so afraid of making her parents angry? The closest she got to a conclusive answer to that question was believing that she was motivated by the common desire to make her parents happy and gain their approval.

"I… honestly don't know," Saki said. "Dad apparently ended up making his displeasure known to Mom at several points- he never said anything directly to me, but I could tell that he didn't like it from how he'd halfheartedly say 'that's nice' and change the subject when it was brought up. On the other hand, he never actually did anything to stop us. It was unpleasant, but I was able to bear it. I'm not sure about my mother, though."

"So if you have nothing to lose, why focus on pleasing your parents?" Nodoka said. "Why not do tankery for your own pleasure?"

Saki nodded, as Nodoka's question brought her to what, for a time, had been her answer to the question of whether and why she should do tankery.

"My sister said the same thing, Haramura-san," Saki said. "My mother was especially proud of her and wanted me to be more like her. My father thought my mother was leading her down the wrong path and vicariously living out her dreams through her. But she was able to resist the pressure on both ends- urging her to succeed and discouraging her from even trying- and did tankery for her own reasons."


Six years ago

Saki, who was in fourth grade, spoke with Teru, who was in sixth grade, while they were walking home from school together.

"Is something wrong, Saki?" Teru said, noticing that Saki had been unusually quiet for the entire walk.

"I don't understand, Onee-chan," Saki said. "Why does Mom make us try so hard to learn about tankery? And why does Dad dislike it so much, apart from Mom wanting us to succeed at it?"

"I can't really speak for Dad's perspective, since he never really understood it; there are always those who view tankery as barbaric, dangerous or otherwise unsuitable," Teru said. "They don't understand a great deal about it, from the safety measures that are in place, to why we do it."

Saki had read enough about tankery to know how the tanks worked, how they were modified to minimize the risk to their operators and the mechanisms that simulated defeating one. But most of the reading that her mother assigned her focused on how to win at tankery, rather than why to do it.

"So, why do we do it?" Saki said. "I've been just doing it for so long that the reason's become 'because Mom wants us to do so,' and I've forgotten why she would want me to do it- let alone why Dad doesn't like it."

"Tankery is an art that makes women out of girls," Teru said. "You'll have to work together to operate a tank, and many teams must work together in order to win. It, like most other arts, requires discipline, hard work, dedication and talent if you hope to do well. Through that process, you gain the skills and qualities you need to succeed at many other ventures, whether you become a housewife, you work outside the home, or join the military."

"That sounds rather serious," Saki said. She was still at the point at which she was studying to do tankery, and not yet actually able to do it. As a result, tankery seemed fairly complex, and intimidating at that.

"It is, but if you take the right approach, it's serious fun," Teru said. "Like any other sport, you can do it with your friends, cooperating together for a common goal. You can also tell a great deal about someone through the way that person does tankery. Why does she do it? How committed is she? What sort of tactics does she use? What does she do when things look bad for her team? The choices you make often say a great deal about you, even in situations when you don't seem to have much of a choice, and tankery is no exception."

"I'd never thought of it that way…" Saki said. "Do you really enjoy it, Onee-chan, even with all the pressure placed on you?"

"I do, Saki, and that's why I'd like you to stick with it," Teru said. "Someday, you'll not only enjoy it, but through it, you can accomplish something important to you."

Saki appreciated her sister's advice, given purely for her sake, without any ulterior motives. Perhaps tankery was, in fact, enjoyable and beneficial. Perhaps there were reasons to do it apart from the obsessive drive to succeed or be the best. If what her sister was true, she had all the reason she needed to continue.


Present day

"I took those words to heart," Saki said, "and when I set foot into a tank, stopped thinking about what my dad would think or how well my mom expected me to do. I found that I not only enjoyed it more, but did better at it."

"That makes sense," Hisa said. "A bit of pressure can motivate people to try harder, but if it's too much for them to deal with, they crack and are unable to focus."

"So you're getting to when you did tankery in the past, Miyanaga-san?" Nodoka said.

"That's correct, Haramura-san; my sister and I went to Hanekoma Middle School and joined our school's tankery team together," Saki said. "I'm not entirely sure, but... there may have been another girl with us."

"Is there anyone I would know?" Miho said. "I know many of those who are now second- and third-years at Black Forest," Miho said. "It's possible that if this girl knew you and your sister and didn't give up tankery, she's at Black Forest now."

"I'm not sure; I think she was a year-mate" Saki said. "My memory of her... is somewhat fuzzy, but I think her name was Mizuho."

"I wouldn't know, then," Miho said.

"But I do know that my sister had a friend there- Hirose Sumire-senpai," Saki said. "She's not the girl I'm thinking of, though."

"Oh, her!" Miho said. "I remember Sumire-san being one of Teru-san's old friends. Was she your teammate, Miyanaga-san?"

"Actually, now that I think about it, she was on another team," Saki said. "We were the gunners in our respective teams and Hirose-senpai, being older and more experienced, helped me out from time to time at practice. She seems serious and aloof at first glance, but is a nice person once you get to know her."


Three years ago

Saki, sitting in the gunner's seat of a Char B1 Bis, lined up her sights with the target, took aim, and pulled the trigger. The shell sailed through the air and struck the center of the target.

"Excellent work, Saki," Sumire said.

"Thank you, Hirose-senpai," Saki said. "I'm finding it easier to make my shot once I focus on the shot itself, rather than worrying about the outcome of the game.

"There will be times when you'll need to make a difficult shot in the middle of a firefight, often with a window of opportunity that lasts for mere seconds," Sumire said. "But you have the right idea, and calmness will go a long way in ensuring that your shells reach their target, no matter how difficult the shot, or how desperate the situation."

Saki smiled and nodded. She then started to climb out of the tank.

"Wait, Saki, did you forget to put your socks back on when you changed into your tankery uniform?" Sumire said.

"Oh… I guess so," Saki said, slightly embarrassed.

Saki changed back into her school uniform. After she did, she and Sumire, who had done the same, met up with Teru. Teru walked over, while talking with a girl Saki's age who had blonde hair that went past her shoulders.

"Hi, Saki, Sumire," Teru said. "How was gunnery practice?"

"Very good, Onee-chan," Saki said. "I learned a lot."

Sumire nodded in agreement.

"It went quite well, Teru," Sumire said. "Saki has improved considerably."

"That's good to hear," Teru said with a smile. "Thanks for helping my sister."

"It was nothing," Sumire said modestly. While Teru and Sumire were known to have similarly aloof and calm dispositions in their time at Black Forest, Teru's cheerful and affable nature was in stark contrast to Sumire.

Saki's parents were the furthest thing from her mind at the moment. She was doing tankery, her own way, alongside her sister, and no longer thinking of it as something that she had to do well or could not do at all. If she could keep enjoying it with her sister, then she would not need either of her parents' approval.


Present day

"It was quite fun back then, practicing at tankery with my sister and the others," Saki said.

Miho smiled, recalling a few such times from her past, when she had the same feeling. Now that she had started enjoying tankery again, she started thinking of those times more often than she did at Black Forest.

"Did you ever end up going to the tournament?" Nodoka said. "I competed last year, but I don't think I ever encountered you or your school."

Nodoka's seemingly innocuous question gave Saki pause. The assembled listeners realized that they were now getting to the part of her story that was most difficult for her to tell.

"Now that I think about it, yes, we did…" Saki said. "I think we went to the tournament, and then, in the first round…"

Saki trailed off, seemingly quivering as she did, and an awkward silence followed for a few seconds.

"And then what happened?" Nodoka said.

"I'm sorry…" Saki said. "My memory around that time… fails me. I believe we lost the first match, but I only know because I heard later. But I do know that around that time… my parents ended up separating and my sister stopped talking to me."

Nodoka and Miho were left speechless. Miho recalled hearing that Teru had done quite well at the tournaments she had entered in her first and second years of middle school, so Teru being eliminated so early on was surprising. But while Miho knew how seriously some people took winning in tankery, she was hesitant to believe that a mere defeat in tankery was true the source of Teru's enmity toward Saki.

"One of the only memories I have of that time is going to my sister in her hospital room and trying to get her to say something- anything to me, but she said nothing to me," Saki said.

"Teru-san was hospitalized in the past?" Miho said, incredulous to hear something that Teru had never told her before. "What happened?"

Saki, however, remained silent, with a blank expression on her face. Myriad questions came to the minds of those who heard the story, but they realized that any of them would get the same response.

"What happened after your sister was released from the hospital, Miyanaga-san?" Nodoka said.

"Not long after she got out, my parents separated, and my mother and sister moved out," Saki said. "I did see them one last time before they left, though."


Three years ago, after the tournament.

"That should be the last of our belongings," Saki's mother, Miyanaga Keiko, said emotionlessly as she finished loading her car in the parking lot near their apartment building, while Teru stood near the open trunk. She then sighed and looked at her younger daughter- the one she was leaving behind, with a mix of wistfulness, and regret.

One part of Saki wondered why Keiko did not so much as say goodbye to her soon to be estranged husband. Another part of her questioned why she would even have to say goodbye at all. Still another concluded that even if things between her parents had to end this way, the same did not apply to her and her sister.

"Onee-chan," Saki said. "This could very well be the last time we see each other. Are you sure you don't want to hear what I have to say?"

Teru frowned.

"How could I talk to you about what happened when you don't even understand the first thing about it?" Teru said.

That question, the last thing Teru said while directly addressing Saki, echoed in Saki's mind. After a moment, Saki spoke.

"You're right, Onee-chan, I don't understand," Saki said. "That's why I want to talk with you about it."

Teru paused for a moment, considering her words, and shook her head.

"Let's go, Mom," Teru said, turning to Keiko without looking back at Saki.

Keiko sighed. A part of her wanted to prevent a rift from forming between her daughters the same way one had formed between her and her soon-to-be-estranged husband. And another part believed that she could not tell Teru to talk things over with Saki without sounding like a hypocrite, much less say what was necessary to get them to talk things over. She had privately asked Teru to hear Saki out, but heard the same response that Teru had just given her sister.

"I'm sorry things turned out this way, Saki," Keiko said. "And I'm sure I've asked you this before, but are you certain of your decision to give up tankery?"

"I've thought it over, Mom," Saki said. "But I don't see any way I could continue after what happened."

Teru bit her lip, suppressing her anger, as Saki continued to allude to the event without speaking its name out loud. The last time they had anything close to a conversation, Teru had told Saki that her ignorance was the problem, and she doubted that explaining anything would help her understand.

Keiko sighed, disappointed.

"Very well, then, I won't ask you to reconsider again," Keiko said. "We'll be leaving now, Teru."

"Yes, Mom," Teru said, getting into her usual seat in the car and closing the door behind her.

"Goodbye, Saki," Keiko said, "I…" Keiko paused as she tried to find the words to say when she did not know whether she would see her younger daughter again. "I wish you well in the future."

"Goodbye, Mom," Saki said. "Until I see you again."

Not sure of how to respond, Keiko got into the car, started the ignition, and, after Saki stepped away, backed out of the parking space, and drove off.

Saki stood there, watching the car pull onto the street, stop at a red light, and then drive on, straight ahead and out of sight. After it dawned on her that the car had left, seemingly forever, she briefly imagined herself rewinding as if it were a movie, seeing the car back into the parking lot and pull into the parking space, her mother and sister getting out, unpacking and returning home.

Saki walked back into her family's apartment- which would not be theirs for much longer, as her father was in the process of moving to a smaller apartment. She glanced around the living room, and saw that the bookshelves were notably sparser; all the books on tankery were gone, as her father had insisted that her mother take them, lest he donate them to a used book sale.

"Dad… Mom and my sister left," Saki said as her father walked into the living room.

"I see…" Kai said, his voice devoid of emotion.

Saki noticed that although her father had succeeded in getting her to give up tankery, he was not completely or even partially happy over this development. Was this what he had wanted? Did he think that having the final word in the argument was worth his family breaking apart? Saki believed the answer to both of those questions was "no."

Perhaps it meant that, like with many things that had been lost, Kai had only truly realized the value the Miyanaga family had once it had been shattered. Perhaps he still remembered the happier times, when they spent time together as a family, rather than being split apart over their differences.

And yet, if this was true, he was not doing anything to bring them back, convinced that they were gone forever. Saki had to concede that the likelihood of her parents smoothing over their differences was slim. But while it somehow seemed natural for things, even bonds between people, to be destroyed so easily and senselessly, Saki did not want it to happen to her family.

Saki was certain about one thing, however- that she did not know of a method to reach out to Teru now that words had failed. And yet, in spite of that, she refused to accept that her sister could simply shut her out of her life so easily.

Saki already knew of many situations in which words failed, but realized that one thing those situations had in common was that the people who tried to resolve them moved on to their next option, albeit not the one they most wanted to use. But what was her Plan B?


Present day

"So my sister and I separated, around the time she went on to attend high school at Black Forest," Saki said. "I would therefore be unable to see her at school, when we got home from school, or when we went home on vacation."

"So did you never see your sister again after that?" Nodoka said.

"I did get to see my sister again in the somewhat recent past," Saki said. "It was in my last year of middle school, while I was touring high schools. Black Forest was first on my list of schools to tour, and I hoped to encounter my sister there."


Last year

Saki stood with several other prospective applicants for Black Forest Peak Women's College, accompanying a guide on a tour of the school.

Saki wondered why she had even signed up for the tour of Black Forest, believing that she would never get in, much less get onto their tankery team. She also believed that there was next to no chance of encountering her sister this way. But there was a part of her that was still compelled to try.

The tour guide led Saki through the halls of the school, and stopped by the table that the tankery team had set up near its barracks.

"Next up is the tankery team, Black Forest's pride and joy," the guide said, glossing over their recent defeat. "Miyanaga Teru-san, one of the two vice-captains of the tankery team, will answer any questions you may have."

Teru sat at the table, sizing up the new arrivals with a discerning eye, a calm yet distant expression on her face. Saki wondered if her sister was mentally calculating what portion of them would end up applying to Black Forest, what portion of the applicants would get in, what portion of the newly matriculated students would try out for the tankery team, and what portion of those would end up being her teammates. Saki wondered if her sister even noticed her as a small queue formed to ask Teru questions, but she reasoned that it was time to make her presence known.

"Thank you for your interest in the team, Oohoshi-san," Teru said to the girl in front of Saki, who had long blonde hair and wore a different middle school's uniform. Something seemed familiar about her, but Saki knew that neither she nor Teru had ever met her before. "Next, please."

"Um, hello, Onee-chan," Saki said nervously. "I was hoping we could talk later, if you had time after this."

Teru eyed Saki coldly, with an exasperated and frustrated look on her face, and shook her head.

"Next, please," Teru said, turning to the next person to approach, listening to a question from Nijou Izumi about where a first-year might start in the team. Teru, getting right to the point, said that it was very unlikely for a first-year to get a spot on Black Forest's tankery team.

Saki meekly walked off. Her worst fears had come true; nothing had changed between her and her sister in their time apart.

And yet, one other thing had not changed. As improbable as it seemed to one part of Saki, Teru had remained in tankery, not just persisting but excelling, becoming the second-in-command to national champion Nishizumi Maho.

An idea occurred to Saki, as she recalled Teru's advice about tankery revealing much about oneself. Teru might be able to ignore Saki's heartfelt pleas and attempts to reach out, but she could not so easily ignore a gun barrel pointed at her tank, or a well-aimed shell striking home. Perhaps even Saki returning to tankery in spite of everything that happened would, in and of itself, be enough.


Present day

"That's an interesting idea, Miyanaga-san," Miho said. "I recall hearing about something like that once before. One of my friends once hated my sister, and refused to talk to her at all, but after facing her in a tankery match, began to understand her better."

"That's what I thought at the time," Saki said. "But after hearing what my sister told you, I have to wonder… does she still think of me? Or did she cast her memories of me aside, like she believes I did with tankery?"

"To think you've been trying so hard for so long…" Nodoka said, "and your sister won't even acknowledge the two of you are related."

Hisa nodded in agreement.

"I'm an only child, but I'm disturbed by the idea of willingly forgetting those who are important to you," Hisa said. "Your sister seems to have been a kind person in the past, Saki; I can't fathom what would cause her to change."

"Neither can I, but, I can't bring myself to accept the way things are," Saki said. "Perhaps, if we face Black Forest in the tournament, I'll be able to find out why she said what she did, at the very least. Perhaps if I see her again, I may be able to ask why she said what she did."

"Still, I must ask, Miyanaga-san," Nodoka said. "Of all the schools you could have chosen, most of which have far better odds of winning the tournament, or at least facing off against Black Forest than we do, why would you come to Oarai?"

"I think you might have told me before, but what did you say your reason was, Haramura-san?" Saki said.

"Well… Yuuki chose to come here," Nodoka said. "Perhaps the tankery program here is merely a fledgling one, but if I could do tankery while remaining with my friends, then it's good enough."

"I didn't have anyone of the sort coming here with me," Saki said. "But then I met you, Haramura-san."


Late last year

"All right, everyone!" Hisa said to her group of third-years from various middle schools who were taking a tour of Oarai Academy. "My name is Takei Hisa, treasurer of the Oarai Academy Student Council, and I'll be showing you around our school."

Saki glanced around at the others in her group, as Hisa took attendance, and immediately noticed Nodoka in the group. She read off a few names that Saki did not take notice of or remember.

"Haramura-san?" Hisa said.

"Here!" Nodoka called out. Saki noticed that it was the girl who had stood out in her eyes.

"Kataoka-san?" Hisa said.

"Here, djey!" Yuuki K. said, after swallowing a bite of her taco.

"Miyanaga-san?" Hisa said.

"H-here!" Saki said, suddenly brought to attention.

Hisa read off the last few names.

"Hmmm… that looks like everyone who's here," she said, as everyone on the list had responded to her roll call. "There was someone else who was supposed to come, but is she a no-show? I think her name was…Touyoko-san?"

"Here~su!" Momo T. said, appearing in the middle of the crowd, speaking more loudly than expected and waving her hand.

"Ah, there you are," Hisa said. "Let's get started, shall we?" she said, before beginning the introductory speech talking about Oarai Academy, and then leading the group around campus.


As the tour wrapped up, Hisa decided to move on to the last of the extracurricular activities, the one that was so far not on a location on campus, since it had not yet been implemented.

"There's one more thing I'd like to mention that we haven't been able to show you thus far," Hisa said. "The school is restarting its tankery program, and we're looking for people with experience. Who here is able to do tanks?"

Nodoka and Yuuki K. raised their hands. Saki remained hesitant for a moment. While she saw tankery as a potential option to help her reconnect with her sister, would she be forced to live up to high standards at this school, especially if she revealed that she had past experience? She wanted to hear more about Oarai's tankery program before committing to anything.

"Haramura-san and Kataoka-san?" Hisa said. "That's good. I would like to let you know, however, that we're just starting out, so you two will likely be some of the more experienced tankers in the school, and may end up mentoring some of your less experienced peers, including even some of your senpais. The school's chance of making it far in the tournament will likely be slim, given that it's likely that few tanks are available. Are you fine with this?"

Hisa believed in full disclosure when it was feasible to do so, and did not wish to give Nodoka or Yuuki K. any illusions about the quality of the team they were about to join, or how much their help was needed.

"Not a problem, djey!" Yuuki K. said. "You serve tacos here, right?"

"Ah, yes, the cafeteria has them as an item sometimes," Hisa said. "And there's a taco place on the ship, fairly close to the school."

"Then it's settled- I'm going here!" Yuuki said enthusiastically. "You coming too, Nodo-chan?"

"Yes," Nodoka said. "I take tankery competitions seriously, but more than that, I'm looking for a school in which I can be at home, doing tankery with my friends. I'd like to stay here for the full three years, and enjoy each one to the fullest while learning as much as I can."

"That's good to hear," Hisa said.

Saki, having heard Nodoka's passion, in seeing tankery as both fun and something she took seriously, was inspired. Perhaps Oarai was an underdog. But if it was, it seemed to have people that would be good crewmates. Perhaps, if nothing else, Saki would enjoy herself here.

Saki then raised her hand.

"I…I've done tankery before, too!" Saki said. "I did it for one year in middle school!"

Hisa smiled. She knew that the other student council members had their own reasons for restarting the tankery program- albeit reasons that she agreed with- but she was glad, above all else, to see that there were students who, whatever their reasons for coming to Oarai were, could find an outlet to pursue their passion in tankery at her school.


As the tour concluded, Yuuki K. went to the bathroom before meeting up with the others, leaving Saki and Nodoka to talk by themselves.

"Miyanaga-san?" Nodoka said. "I'm glad to hear that you're interested in doing tankery. But why did you hesitate at first?"

"I...didn't always have pleasant experiences with tankery in the past," Saki said. "You see, the year I did tankery in middle school... wasn't last year. I can't really say much more than that, though."

"I see," Nodoka said, hesitating a moment to consider what she could say in response. "It would frustrate me if I lost to someone who didn't like tankery or worse, wasn't trying to win. I'm not the best there is at tankery, and I realize that Oarai isn't likely to get far in the tournament, but I don't think I'm playing around or that my efforts so far have been fruitless. I simply want to do my best for my school- which will be Oarai Academy- and prove to everyone else that I'm good at tankery."

"When you speak of someone who doesn't like tankery, are you referring to me, Haramura-san?" Saki said; Nodoka hesitated to answer, so Saki continued. "At the very least, we won't be on opposite sides. I've decided- I'm coming to Oarai Academy.

"Really?" Nodoka said, a hint of excitement in her voice. "Then I have one request, Miyanaga-san. Please don't hold back or hesitate. For now, I don't know what kind of tanker you are or why you hated it, but if you can do that much, I won't hold you to anything more than that."

Nodoka held out her pinky finger, and Saki took it in hers.

"I promise, Haramura-san!" Saki said.

Saki realized that the goal she set out to accomplish was not an easy one. But she was no longer in it all by herself.


Present day

"And that's how Haramura-san, Yuuki-chan and I ended up coming to Oarai Academy," Saki said.

Nodoka realized that Saki had not told the entire story of how she had come to hate tankery- perhaps Saki did not know the entirety of it herself. But Saki had, at the very least, committed herself to doing her utmost for Oarai's sake, and was starting to enjoy tankery as well.

"But how did your father take your return to tankery, Miyanaga-san?" Nodoka said.

"Surprisingly well, it seems," Saki said.


The day before Saki submitted her elective choice form

Saki got a call from her father the evening before she officially submitted her elective application form. The students had been given until the next morning to consider their choice, but Saki had already written her name and put a circle in the box for tankery.

"So, Saki, did you choose your elective yet?" Kai said as the conversation shifted to school.

"I did, Dad," Saki said. "I chose tankery."

"I'm honestly surprised you'd still take tankery," Kai said. "It sounded as though you were quite sure about it when you last left."

"You shouldn't be, Dad," Saki said. "I did leave tankery, but I believe that if I return to it, I'll see my sister again and talk with her. And if I can reach an understanding with her, one day, all of us will come together as a family again."

"I see, but..." Kai said, trailing off.

"Dad?" Saki said.

"...never mind," Kai said. "I don't suppose anything I can say will deter you, though, so I won't try to stop you."

"Thank you, Dad," Saki said.

Saki believed that her father, who had his own opinions but kept them to himself, was easier to please than her mother, who had high expectations for her. And while his decision not to oppose her pursuit was less than some children would have hoped for, it was all she believed she needed from him, at least as far as returning to tankery went.

Saki realized that her father would need to actively and constructively participate in the Miyanaga family's process of reconciliation. But reaching out to her sister- the first step and the only thing she could do by herself- was something she had to do on her own. And while the road ahead would not be easy and getting involved in tankery was only the beginning, Saki believed that her ability to do so without facing opposition from her family was a promising sign.


Present day

"Some might think that my dad just tolerating my doing tankery is relatively little support," Saki said. "But if I can do it, and advance my quest to reach out to my sister, it's all I need for the moment."

"No, I don't think so, Miyanaga-san," Nodoka said. "Your goal is a good one, and that sort of support is what I would gladly settle for, and am fighting so hard to earn for myself."

Saki smiled, but it faded as a realization came to her.

"Oh, and, Haramura-san…" Saki said, after coming to a realization. "It seems a bit awkward for us to be using last names after talking so much and revealing about ourselves."

"Yes, you're right… Saki-san?" Nodoka said.

"Then it's settled… Nodoka-chan?" Saki said, before turning to Miho. "And the same goes for you, senpai?"

"Certainly, Saki-san, Nodoka-san," Miho said.

Miho, Nodoka and Saki herself realized that there were still many unanswered questions concerning Saki's past. But just as Saki had committed herself to Oarai's goal of winning the tournament, they would help her with her own goal as well. While reconciling with Teru was something that only Saki could do, the least Saki's friends could do was ensure that she knew that she had their support when the time came to meet with Teru again.

That day would come sooner than any of them expected.


Author's Notes

Thank you for the reviews.

This is the first in a series of several character "Interludes," detailing certain characters' pasts. They alternate between the characters telling their stories to others in the present, and showing what happened at various points in the past, the italicized text indicating when. Keep in mind that the former can occasionally involve "unreliable narrators," as the storytellers might not properly remember everything (the hole in Saki's memories will be filled in a later interlude), but rarely, if ever, outright lie. The latter will sometimes involve things that happened in the past that are relevant to the story but the storytellers don't know about, and which aren't relayed to the people in the present.

For example, the scene in which Teru gave advice to Saki actually happened; some assume that the similar canonical flashback was over-idealized on Saki's part. The flashback I showed and the others, however, happened as they are described. Saki's dialogue about her parents, however, is meant to be taken with a grain of salt, since it is second-hand; in canon, the only thing we know about the Miyanagas and how they treated Saki is a brief line from Saki early on, when explaining why she plays for +/- 0.

As such, the kind of people Saki's parents are remains largely up to your interpretation, but I doubt that anyone will draw an entirely flattering mental picture of them, whether in canon or in this fic.

In these Interludes, you will sometimes see certain events from different perspectives, or some of the same events referenced in other characters' interludes.

The idea Saki gets is similar to the idea Kikuyo gives to Miho about helping Emi understand Maho when Emi's completely unwilling to speak with her.

As always, reviews are appreciated. I'm particularly interested in hearing what you think of how the Interludes work, in terms of concept, layout and execution; there will be several more throughout this fic, as methods of exploring characters' past.

Edited to fix some minor errors.