What's up everyone! I know this chapter is a little behind schedule, but I've been kinda busy lately and summer classes are gonna be starting soon, so the next few chapters may take a little longer. Till then though, here is chapter ten. Also, to those who have been skeptical about Retribution, you should definitely have a look at this chapter...

One week following the Oarai vs Kuromorimine match

Ever since the camping trip, Jake began to feel like he had been living in a dream.

He finally had told Hana how he felt, and now they were finally together.

As Jake finished with his physical training and prepared for school once again, he couldn't help but smile.

After a few more minutes, he found himself waiting outside Hana's apartment to walk with her to class.

Finally she emerged, and they both caught each other for a quick hug and kiss like usual.

"Morning beautiful!" Jake greeted her.

"Good morning Jake!" she replied.

As the couple walked hand in hand towards the school they were soon joined by Saori, Tex, and Miho, all who were again toting a very sleepy Mako.

"Good morning everyone!" Saori called as she, accompanied by Tex, supported Mako.

"Morning ya'll!" Jake responded.

"Good morning!" Hana responded as well.

"I guess Mako had a rough time getting up again?" Jake asked.

Mako grumbled in response before Miho said, "Yeah, just a little…"

The group all laughed before heading on their way.

Sodoko scolded Mako once again, and shot Jake and Tex a disapproving glare for being so close to Hana and Saori.

"Ahem!" she said clearing her throat and pointing to Jake and Hana.

The two then realized they were still holding each other's hands.

"I don't care if you two are dating or not, but keep the PDA policies in mind while you're on school grounds!" Sodoko warned.

The two both released their hands and apologized. But once they were out of Sodoko's sight, they smiled and chuckled to one another as they once again joined hands.

Miho smiled and giggled a bit at the two while Saori was blushing and hugging Tex's arm.

As they all made it through their morning classes, Jake began to ponder more about the next match.

They would be up against St. Gloriana, and if they brought Spitfires, it wouldn't be an easy fight.

But he put that thought aside as he remembered that the match was a good two weeks away, and that he and Hana would have the whole weekend together when the ship made port in Oarai.

As the two sat down at lunch later they began to plan out their weekend.

"Where do you think you wanna go?" he asked Hana.

"Well, I know of a flower arrangement gallery that's supposed to have a new exhibit, so that might be nice." She replied.

Jake smiled.

"Sounds good to me." He said.

"What about you? Is there any place you want to see?" Hana asked.

Jake thought for a moment, and then replied.

"Is there a plane or a tank museum anywhere in the town?" he asked.

"I think so. I've been by what looked like one before, but never had the chance to visit it. Maybe we can this weekend." She said in response.

Jake again smiled.

"Long as I get to spend the weekend with you." He said as the two took each other's hand.

Hana blushed and smiled at Jake's gesture before Saori cut in.

"Aren't they the sweetest!?" she said teasing her best friend.

"Saori…" Hana complained while blushing heavily.

Jake simply laughed and smiled again at Hana.

Later on that day after practice, Jake saw Richard pacing furiously around his Mustang.

He approached cautiously.

"Hey Cap, what's with all the pacing?" he asked.

He jumped slightly before replying.

"Oh, sorry Jake. It's just…I'm still kinda worried about what happened to Marlene. We never heard anything else after the match." He admitted.

Jake was just about to answer when he saw Colonel Jenkins approaching with two girls out of the corner of his eye.

His eyes went wide when he recognized the two girls.

"Hey Cap." Jake said as he gestured towards the trio.

Both boys immediately saw the faces of Maho and Marlene.

As they approached, Jake and Richard saluted the Colonel before he spoke.

"At ease gentlemen. As you can tell, we've got some visitors." He said.

"Is my sister here? I need to speak with her right away." Maho said.

"In the hangar. She should still be by her Panzer IV." Jake responded.

Maho nodded and walked off to find Miho.

Jake could only guess that she had brought word of what had become of Shiho, and also to offer some comfort to her younger sister as Miho had been feeling pretty low over what had happened to her mother.

That was when Richard spoke up.

"Marlene….how have you been?" he asked worried.

She smiled slightly and replied in English.

"Much better, thanks. I don't think I'd be standing here right now if it hadn't been for you." She said.

Richard was taken aback slightly at her statement, but he smiled at the compliment.

"All I did was talk you through the emergency landing. You're the one who had to do it. If that doesn't say something about your piloting skills, then I don't know what does." He replied.

Jake noticed Marlene slightly blush under Richard's gaze before the colonel spoke again.

"It's because of her skill I've decided to make her an offer in fact." He stated.

"What kind of offer?" Jake inquired.

"After what happened during the match, Kuromorimine lost its privilege to field aircraft for the remainder of the season. And with Shiho Nishizumi in custody, the entire school is in chaos. So when I visited Miss Hartmann in the hospital, I made her an offer: if she would agree to fly for our team, then she would receive the same scholarship benefits she was receiving at Kuromorimine." Jenkins stated.

Both boys stared in awe at this new revelation.

"So…you'll be going to school here at Oarai then?" Richard asked Marlene.

She nodded happily in response.

"Yes! I'll be starting classes next Monday, but the colonel wanted to bring me here early so that I could meet everyone, and so I could start flying with you all."she said.

Richard and Jake both smiled.

"Well, then welcome to Eagle Squadron!" Jake said.

"C'mon, we'll introduce you to the rest of the team!" Richard said as they walked towards the hangar.

Upon entering they saw Miho just finishing up her conversation with Maho.

The two sisters embraced one another before Maho strode towards the trio.

"Take care of Miho for me please. It's going to be a little while before I see her again." She said.

"Trouble at Kuromorimine?" Jake asked.

Maho nodded solemnly.

"With mother in custody, it will fall to me to ensure the school stays afloat. It will take some time, but I'm sure I can handle it. Like I said, please look after Miho for me. She still is in somewhat of a delicate state in light of what happened to Mother." She said before trodding off.

"What exactly did happen to Shiho?" Jake asked Marlene.

"From what I was told, she was arrested and imprisoned. And from the looks of things, she'll be there for a while…" Marlene said.

"Good riddance…" Jake thought.

Finally the trio made their way into the main part of the hangar and Marlene was introduced to the entire sensha-do team.

"Everyone meet Marlene Hartmann. She's the pilot you've heard so much about since our match with Kuromorimine, and the icing on top of the cake is that she's now going to be flying for us!" Richard announced.

The remaining two pilots and all of the girls immediately rushed forward to meet their new teammate.

"So you're actually from Germany?" Aya asked.

"Are you truly related to Erich Hartmann?" Erwin asked.

"What was that nasty crash like!?" Hoshino asked.

"Hey c'mon guys cool it! That's more questions than she can answer at once!" Jake said.

Marlene simply laughed.

"It's quite alright. Yes, I am from Germany, Erich Hartmann was my relative, and let's just say I don't wish to have a crash like that again!" she said answering the questions that had been thrown at her.

Tex and Chris then stepped forward.

"Hey, we met briefly at the match but I'm Jeremy Lyons! Call me Tex though!" Tex said introducing himself.

"And I'm Chris Rowland! By the way, you owe me for puttin' several holes in my Mustang after I blew that Maus to hell and back." Chris said.

Marlene again laughed and said, "It's nice to meet you all!"

That was when the girls of Anglerfish team approached.

"Hi there. I'm Miho Nishizumi." Miho said introducing herself.

"Maho's younger sister! I've heard a great many things about you, and I'll look forward to working with you!" Marlene said in response.

Yukari then introduced herself and Mako managed to grumble out a greeting as well.

Saori was quick to introductions as well as declaring Tex as her boyfriend.

Hana, who had been standing beside Jake, simply laughed at her best friend's behavior.

"Marlene, this is my girlfriend, Hana Isuzu." Jake said introducing Hana.

Hana bowed politely and said, "Welcome to the sensha-do team Marlene. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I have."

Marlene smiled in response.

"Thank you! I must say though, your boyfriend is certainly quite skilled when it comes to air combat maneuvering. I wonder has he used any of those maneuvers on you?" Marlene said slyly.

"WHA!?" Jake said surprised and embarrassed.

"EHH!?" Hana said now turning a deep red.

Marlene burst out laughing before saying, "I'm only joking! What I mean to say is that you're certainly lucky to have him as your boyfriend. You two seem like quite the ideal couple!"

Both Jake and Hana breathed a sigh of relief and then smiled at one another slightly embarrassed at the German girl's comment.

Richard chuckled under his breath.

"Sounds EXACTLY like something Cass would've said…." He thought as he looked at Marlene.

He couldn't help but wonder what it was about her that reminded him so much of his deceased lover.

Then it hit him.

Spunk.

This girl had Cass's spunk.

While Marlene was still busy talking with the girls, he huddled up with the other three boys.

They all quietly discussed something, and then came to an agreement.

Richard smiled pleased and then said, "Well now that introductions are over, why don't we introduce you to your new bird?"

"Absolutely! What will I be flying?" Marlene asked.

"An old mount of the squadron's…" Richard said as he pointed towards "Pegasis."

"I thought that was Cass's old plane though." Hana said into Jake's ear.

"It was. But this is the way she would have wanted it." Jake said.

Marlene smiled pleased at the chrome Mustang that had a winged horse painted on its fuselage.

"I like it!" she said excited.

Richard smiled and then said to Miho, "Commander, with your permission, I'd like to let the squadron paint a personal insignia on each of our planes."

Miho smiled and said, "Permission granted."

With that, all five pilots set to work, and in another hour, all had a new insignia painted on the forward part of the fuselage in the center of the large lightning bolt.

Richard had aided Marlene in painting a black devil riding atop the winged horse on her Mustang, and the red letters now read, "Peagsis and the Black Devil" in honor of her great-grandfather.

Tex had painted a cartoon version of Saori holding a bomb by the tip atop a storm-cloud, and the red letters underneath read, "ThundHERstruck."

Chris had painted a stork carrying a bomb in a sack with the words, "Special Delivery" painted below it.

Richard had a cartoon version of Robert E. Lee with his sword drawn and pointing forward. The writing below it read simply, "General Lee."

Finally, Jake had painted Hana dressed in her sensha-do uniform with a wisteria vine in her hand and the Georgia state flag flying behind her.

The inscription above the painting read "The Heart of Dixie" in bright red letters.

Hana smiled at Jake's handiwork, and Jake blushed slightly.

"I uh…hope I got the eyes right…" he said as he looked at her grey-blue eyes.

She smiled approvingly and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"It looks wonderful! And…I like the whole idea behind it too…" she said blushing.

Jake smiled as well.

She had interpreted the painting exactly as he had envisioned it; Hana as the sole owner of Jake's heart.

The two embraced and got lost in the moment for a minute or two.

"Aww, they're so sweet!" Yuzu noted.

"No fair! I want a boyfriend like Jake too!" Aya pouted.

"Well….I'm still available!" Chris said piping up.

"WHA!?" the entire Rabbit team said at the same time.

"Ewww! No way!" Aya said immediately.

"Stalker!" Karina said.

"Perv!" Ayumi joined in.

All three girls kicked him in the shin before walking off.

"Ouch! What was that for anyway!?" Chris protested.

Richard simply shook his head before re-assuring his wingman.

"Keep your chin up flyboy, there's more fish in the sea. Just make sure you don't go for the younger fish next time!" he said.

"Hey that's not funny Cap!" Chris said in response.

All present laughed, and eventually headed home.

Jake and Hana shared one final kiss before Jake left Hana at her apartment.

"See you tomorrow morning." Jake said.

"Alright. See you later." She responded.

Jake sighed, and walked back to his apartment.

"Is life good or what?" he thought to himself.

Next Morning. Oarai city dock, 0800 hrs.

Jake met up with Hana that morning near the ship's ramp.

Both were dressed in their normal civilian attire, and seemed to be in high spirits.

Jake smiled as he caught sight of her.

The two embraced as they greeted each other.

"Hey! Ready to go?" he asked.

She smiled back and said, "Absolutely!"

With that they headed off towards their first destination which was the flower arrangement gallery Hana had previously spoken of.

Upon arrival, Jake was taken by surprise at the beauty of most of the arrangements.

He had to admit, there was definitely a lot of skill and talent that went into the arrangements.

More than anything though he was just glad to see Hana happy.

He smiled as they walked past each arrangement, and saw how intrigued Hana became over each one.

He listened curiously as she described how each one had been made, and what kinds of flowers had been used as well.

Then, he caught sight of a very peculiar arrangement.

Out of curiosity he walked towards it, and upon further examination, he realized the vase was in the shape of a tank!

"Huh? Oh! I'm surprised they still have that on display!" Hana said joining Jake.

"Did you make this?" Jake asked.

Hana smiled as she nodded.

"Mmmhmm. This is the arrangement I told you about that helped me make peace with my mother again, and it was also the first one that I really felt was done to the best of my abilities." Hana said.

Jake smiled as he looked the arrangement over.

"Powerful and strong, but at the same time, gentle and beautiful….just like you." He said as he smiled at his girlfriend.

Hana blushed from the compliment, but then smiled and kissed his cheek.

"You really are too sweet…" she said flirtatiously.

Jake simply chuckled and took hold of her hand.

Eventually, they made it to the museum where they found a few familiar faces.

"Hana! Jake! I thought we'd see you here eventually!" Saori said as she approached with Tex, Yukari, Miho, and Hippo team.

"Hey you guys! Good to see you all!" Jake said as they joined the group.

"Well, isn't this a surprise!" said a familiar voice from behind Jake.

"Grandad!? Geez, you just keep poppin' up all over the place don't you?" he said turning around.

"Well, I figured since you were gonna be in Oarai this weekend, and this might be the last time I can get these old bones outta Georgia, I might as well come and see you! Hehe, and that new girlfriend of yours…" he said with a sly smile.

Jake flushed red slightly but smiled all the same.

"It's good to see you again Mr. Housten. I hope that it's alright that Jake and I are dating." Hana said politely in English.

Marvin simply grinned in response.

"Of course it is! More than alright actually, it's about darn time he found himself a nice girl like you! Ha, for a while there, I thought he'd be my age fore' he finally found himself a girlfriend!"he said as he burst into a fit of laughter.

Jake again blushed in embarrassment before he piped up again.

"Well, we were just about to check out the museum Grandad, why don't you come along?" Jake asked.

"Well why else would I have come here Jake?" he again teased his grandson.

All laughed before heading deeper into the museum.

"You're grandfather's quite hilarious!" Hana said to Jake.

Jake chuckled and said, "Yeah, you're tellin' me! He's always been that way since I can remember, and he's one of the best pilots I know too."

"How long has he been flying?" Hana asked.

"Since he was about fifteen from what he told me. He started crop dusting about that time, and he enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1943. After that, he flew in the military until about 1952 when he retired and started his crop dusting business where he's been ever since." Jake said.

"That's really impressive!" Hana said as they stopped in front of several planes from World War Two.

Jake eyed a Mustang similar to his own amongst a British Supermarine Seafire, a Grumman F-6F Hellcat, a Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero, and a very peculiar looking Ki-43 Otsu, or "Oscar" as the American flyers had called it.

Upon noticing it, Jake and Hana both approached it.

Marvin was close behind, and had a strange look in his eyes.

Jake began trying to read the description, but didn't have much luck as he was still not proficient at reading Kanji.

"This…plane….was…shot...down...in…." he began but finally turned to Hana for aid.

"Think you could give me a hand here Hana?" Jake asked sheepishly.

She smiled in reponse and said, "Sure!"

Jake then moved aside to allow Hana to get a better look at the description.

"This Ki-43 was shot down in late 1945, approximately two weeks before the war ended. It was discovered in 2006, and fully restored in 2008. It's pilot was Major Mitso Ogawa of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force, otherwise known as the 'Dragon Ace.'" Hana concluded as her eyes fell upon the restored painting of a painting of a very evil looking dragon depicted on the fuselage.

That was when Marvin became very apprehensive, and wouldn't stop staring at that emblem.

"What's it say here Hana?" Jake said pointing to a smaller depiction on the emblem on the description pad.

"It says 'Retribution toward mine enemy'….." Hana trailed off, slightly shaken from the grim emblem.

That was when Jake noticed Marvin's apprehensiveness.

"You ok Grandad?" Jake asked.

"Y-Yeah…I'm fine, just…a little light headed that's all." He said.

"Why don't we go and get some food then. You might feel better once you've eaten something." Hana offered.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Let's go." Jake agreed.

The trio made it to the museum's small food court and sat down with their food.

Jake did his best to keep the conversation light, but he knew something was still bothering his grandfather.

Eventually Hana stood up and said, "I'm going to the ladies room. I'll be right back." She said.

"Alright. We'll be right here." Jake said in response.

That was when Jake noticed that the news was on one of the televisions in the food court.

"Another stunning victory for Oarai against Kuromorimine last week, but even more stunning is the events after the match. Shiho Nishizumi was taken into custody for the attempted murder of Oarai's four pilots after losing the match, and Retribution has made yet another threat. Ringleader Mariko Ogawa states that 'This mockery will not go tolerated any longer. Should any more attempts be made by males to fly, armed retaliation will be utilized. All male tankery pilots should be considered warned, especially these so-called Eagles of Oarai'" the reporter stated.

Jake again was appalled, but his grandfather didn't seem surprised.

"I almost knew something like this would happen eventually…." He said staring into his drink.

"What are you talking about Grandad?" Jake asked.

"Listen very closely to what I'm about to tell you Jake, because there are some things you are about to learn that may be connected to the events that have been happening." He said firmly.

"If, it's about these bitches being sore about males flying in tankery-"Marvin cut him off.

"That's just a bunch of hog-wash Jake, and don't believe for a second that that's why they're pissed. There's a much more grim reason…" he said.

Jake then listened closely to what his grandfather had to say.

"It was about sixty years ago, 1945 to be exact, about thirty miles south of Oarai in fact…." He began.

Flashback. Thirty Miles South of Oarai, Japan, 1945. CPT Marvin Housten, 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron.

"Yellow Two, you get those photo's yet?" Marvin radioed his wingman.

"Roger that Yellow One. Now that we've got these, we ought to head back to Iwo Jima. Don't wanna over-stay our welcome." He responded.

"Couldn't agree more Yellow Two and…wait…" Marvin said as he spotted something off high and to his right.

"Bogeys! Two o' clock high!" Marvin called out.

"Tally ho! I've got em'!" his wingman responded.

The two pilots then turned their P-51D's into the direction of the incoming Japanese fighters, and Marvin immediately recognized the two planes as Ki-43's otherwise known as "Oscars."

The two duos past each other and Marvin and his wingman pulled hard and dove to get behind their foes.

He immediately locked onto one of the Ki-43 and fired his fifties.

RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-BOOM!

The Oscar exploded into flames and went down quickly.

The other however, proved to be a more challenging opponenet.

Eventually, Marvin's wingman had to break off through all of the maneuvering, and it was down to just Marvin and the Japanese pilot.

As the two tried to out-turn each other in a tight Lufbery circle, Marvin could see clearly inside the cockpit.

He saw the fierce expression of the pilot as well as the emblem of a red dragon on the side of his plane with many kill markers adonring it.

Then, to Marvin's disbelief, he heard his radio crackle to life with the voice of the Japanese pilot speaking in broken English.

"You should already know you have lost American. I am Mitso Ogawa, the Dragon Ace, and I am bound by my country's honor to defeat you!" he said.

"I wouldn't count on it Tojo, I'll make you eat those here directly!" Marvin said in response.

The two then dived, twisted, climbed, and soared over the skies with neither one seeming to gain the advantage.

Finally however, Marvin was able to pull in behind the Japanese pilot, and he cut loose with all six of his Brownings.

RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-BOOM!

The Oscar exploded violently, and Marvin circled around to confirm the kill.

As he looked down into the burning cockpit he heard the pilot utter one final message.

"You may have beaten me American, but mark my words, you and your descendants will receive retribution!" he said a spilt second before the Ki-43 impacted into a rice field.

Marvin shook as he saw the impact.

"What in the hell was he talking about?" he thought.

"Yellow One, you ok?" his wingman radioed him.

"Roger Yellow Two. Let's head back to Iwo, we're pushing our fuel as it is." He said as they turned back for their base.

Upon landing, Marvin gave his report to his CO and cited the incident with the so-called "Dragon Ace."

His commander froze when he heard the name.

"Mitso Ogawa!? Housten, you do realize who you just killed don't you?" the commander said.

"No sir." Marvin replied.

The commander then pulled a file he had received warning him to beware of said pilot.

Marvin read the file and was in complete shock.

This pilot had a total of twelve kills, and was well respected within the Japanese society.

"What does this mean sir?" Marvin asked his commander.

"It means you had best be careful Captain." He said.

Marvin again shuddered as he looked at the pilot's photo and remembered his expression and his final message.

"Retribution…" he rolled the word over and over again in his memory.

Oarai City Plane and Tank Museum. Present Day. 1220 Hrs.

Jake was speechless.

"Y-You mean…" he began.

"Yes. That Mariko Ogawa is almost certainly Mitso Ogawa's descendant." Marvin said.

"But I don't understand how this would affect me…" Jake said confused.

"It affects you because she is the one who will most likely be carrying out Mitso's promised "retribution." Make no mistake, this "outrage" over male pilots in tankery is just an act, an act that will mask their real intentions, and that is to kill you and anyone close to you Jake." Marvin said sternly.

"To kill…me?" Jake said stunned.

His grandfather lowered his head.

"Yes Jake, you and me, and anyone close to us. After I shot him down, I did some more research about him and found out that he had a son shortly before he died. That son, promised that he would commit himself and his children to hunting me and my family down and killing us for killing his father. His son obviously never succeeded, but his daughter, Mariko, is formerly of the AJSDF and was an extremely good pilot. My gut tells me that Retribution will most likely try to attack you and your squadron at some point during the season Jake." His grandfather warned him.

"So where does that leave me?" Jake asked.

"Just be very careful Jake, and make sure you look after Hana. Because if they find out they can use her to hurt you, they will. So make sure keep her and yourself safe." Marvin replied.

It was about that time that Hana returned and sat back down.

She smiled brightly at Jake, but noticed his worried expression.

"I think I'm going to go back to my hotel and lay down Jake. I'll call before I leave, so you two have a good time alright?" Marvin said getting up.

"You sure you don't want us to walk you back to the hotel?" Jake asked concerned.

"No, I'll be fine. You two go have some fun and don't worry about ole' me!" he said with a grin.

After Marvin left, Jake and Hana rejoined their friends who were now musing over the different tanks in the museum.

As the couple walked past an outdoor exhibit of a an old M4 Sherman Hana finally spoke up.

"Jake, you've been awfully quiet since your grandfather left. Is something wrong?" she asked concerned.

"Huh? Oh no, everything's fine." Jake said with a re-assuring smile, but Hana saw straight through it.

"Jake, I know that not true. If something is bothering you please tell me what it is, I promise I'll help if I can." Hana said hugging his arm.

Jake sighed but smiled at his girlfriend's kindness.

"Alright. Sit down." He said motioning to a bench.

Jake then proceeded to tell her of the dogfight between his grandfather and the Japanese ace.

Hana listened wide eyed as Jake told the story, and was in disbelief as he finished.

"I…I don't know what to say…" she said solemnly.

Jake hung his head and replied, "Me neither but…" he took hold of Hana's hand. "The worst part of it is that they might try to hurt you to get to me….and that's more than I can bear…" Jake concluded.

Hana wrapped her arms tightly around him in response.

"Whatever happens, I'll be there for you no matter what. And I know you'll do the same for me, so…I think everything will be alright in the end!" she said.

Jake smiled as he embraced her.

It seemed like there was nothing in the world that could dampen Hana's spirits, and he counted himself lucky to have such a wonderful girl by his side.

"Well, whatever does happen, I just want you to be safe, ok?" Jake said as he gazed into her eyes.

Hana smiled and said, "Alright, as long as you promise me the same."

"I promise." Jake said as the two kissed.

They then caught back up with the group and found that they were still having a good time despite the unnerving news.

However, the thought of the dragon emblem still persisted in Jake's mind.

"Retribution…" he thought to himself.