Author's note : Heyo here !~ How are you feelin' today? This one came quicker... I had more time to translate it, and the weather wasn't too hot, so I could work. I'm glad you all follow my story. It means a lot to me. Thanks again and again...

Enjoy this chapter, my red potatoes.~


"Somewhere beyond the sea
She's there watching for me
If I could fly like birds on high
Then straight to her arms
I'd go sailing"

- Bobby Darin


Waking up next to the sea after a long romantic night on the beach was one of the most beautiful experiences Miho had ever lived. The sound of some birds that survived the apocalypse, the sound of waves who shattered themselves on the rocks, all of this gently woke her up. Kinuyo was by her side, looking at the horizon. She was petting Dogmeat, who laid down on the ground near her. Miho let her head fall on her girlfriend's shoulder. They could stay here forever, admiring the maritime beauty that drew itself before their eyes...
The sun's glints appeared as bright spots on the blue sea that reflected the sky. The white foam soaked the sand, dancing with the waves, singing its sweet melody. The shadows of the moving water added shades of green, teal and blue to its paint. The sand took a darker shade whe the dying waves passed on it.

Walking on the coast was such a relaxing thing... Miho felt less tense than in the mountain roads. Here, she didn't care about wild animals or raiders. Maybe two or three mutant creatures would wander around, nothing especially dangerous. Kinuyo looked around from time to time to ensure that there was no risk and that Dogmeat was still following them. He trotted behind them, still as playful as usual. The short-haired girl thought her calm would be eternal... when something hit her.

Kinuyo had thrown a handful of wet sand on her. Miho, taking part in the game, threw one on her too. This turned into a battle of sand balls: it was still a little different from snowballs in the winter! They went through meters and meters, throwing sand at each other without any specific reason. All they knew was that they were laughing out loud and they enjoyed themselves.
Dogmeat brought them a piece of driftwood. His two owners stopped throwing sand balls at each other and Miho threw the stick. They had fun and were still advancing on their journey : it was what they considered a good life. Alice and Maho were still missing, but once they would have found them, they'd feel complete. If Hosomi and Tamada were here, it would be even better. Fukuda would have liked this too. They could have wandered in the wasteland as a group, although it would have got exhausting after a while. But Miho and Kinuyo were already feeling well with each other.

They saw something. Not far away, there was a Shinkansen railway. No more trains would pass here, though.

"Come on, let's walk on the tracks", the brunette said. "There's no danger anymore."

"I always wanted to do that", Miho replied, her eyes shining.

Both girls went on the tracks. They walked close to one another, holding each other, one hand on the waist, the other on the shoulder. Dogmeat, as always, followed them here. He wagged his tail while sniffing around. The smell of the trains that used to pass here, with no doubt, were familiar to him. He pranced around them, curious.

"Miho, do you think would have been different if our respective friends had come? If you had yours, and I had mine..."

"We would have been ten", her partner replied. "We were five in my team... There was me, Yukari, Hana, Mako and Saori. Difficult to watch over four people at a time..."

"With Tamada, Hosomi, Fukuda and I, we would have been nine. I was not especially friendly with the girls that were in my team... I liked them, but my best friends were two tank commanders... life's so strange. And Fukuda, who came later, was also a tank commander. It seems I'm destined for tank commanders."

"You know, when I arrived in Oarai, it was Saori and Hana who went to greet me first", Miho replied. "I had trouble believing people could actually be that friendly at first... Then Yukari, who was admiring me a lot, joined us, and then, after failing to crush her with our Panzer, Mako came too..."

"When I was transferred to Chihatan after middle school, I was already friends with them, except for Fukuda. But why is your sister in Kuromorimine?"

"I tried to escape tankery as much as I could", the ginger captain murmured. "I had a very bad experience with tanks... it filled me with fear and an overwhelming guilt."

"Do you want to... tell me what happened?" Kinuyo said, a sorry look in her eyes. "Let's lay here... "

She bent down and laid down on the tracks. She let out a sigh of relaxation and closed her eyes. Miho looked at her, feeling a still heavy heart at the thought of talking about her trauma.

"Kuromorimine was winning all of the National Tournaments since 9 years. And this year, something went wrong", she told. "One of the tanks, a Pz. III, slipped and fell into a river. I knew the commander... Her name was Koume Akaboshi. And even... I wouldn't have let anyone die. She nearly drowned... Without even thinking, I got off my tank, I dove and I opened the hatch. All the crew was able to get out. But my tank was shot by Pravda, and my school lost... I was operating the flag tank."

"You were a hero", Kinuyo murmured. "It's beautiful, and especially honourable of you. You saved her life... she will always remember you as the one that allowed her to live, even if it meant losing the tournament. You have so much humanity in you, Miho..."

"The problem is that I was blamed for the defeat, for breaking that victory chain, and prevented Kuromorimine to have one tenth. I was so scared for them... I started to run out of air when I opened the hatch. I almost drowned with them... This trauma followed me for a long time. I never wanted to touch a tank again."

"Why did you come to Oarai then?"

"It was the only school that no longer practiced tankery", explained Miho. "But at the last moment, the President, or rather our Overseer now, forced me to take this option because it had just been brought back and I had experience. I had a terrible time... but I quickly took my ease again because I had my friends."

"It must have been horrible for you", her lover replied, surprised. "Before the apocalypse, I never had a true traumatic experience... I've lived through things that left me quite upset, but that was all. I just hope it wasn't too difficult to overcome."

"Don't worry Kinuyo, I'm feeling better now, and you help a lot by being here", Miho smiled. "Well, can we resume our journey now?"

"Oh, not now", the long-haired girl said. "I could stay here forever..."

"True", Miho replied. "It just feels so good to be here..."

They went away later. They walked down the railway and continued on the beach. The sun was still there; for a summer, it fortunately wasn't too hot. Alice was probably no more very far. They went from the dreaded Niigata Prefecture to Toyama Prefecture. Evey single kilometer they traveled were making them closer to the ones they searched for, closer to Kumamoto and closer to Miho's home.
If Shiho Nishizumi was still alive, how would she react to her daughter's relationship with Kinuyo? Maho would probably protect her again. She wanted the well-being of her sister first. She wouldn't want Miho to be disowned because she had a same-sex relationship. It was worse than to be disinherited for a simple matter of tankery tradition. She hoped Chiyo Shimada would be alive, so Alice could still find her mother.
Some schools were likely destroyed to the core by the three bombings in these three prefectures. Viggen High School, the Swedish-themed one, had probably been swept away and devastated by the Niigata bomb, being based here. St. Gloriana was probably struggling to survive, being very close to Tokyo, but was probably in the same condition as Chihatan: the vault was likely under the earth base of the school. Pravda was probably not greatly affected, being located in Aomori.

Kinuyo suddenly stopped walking, hid the bags in a bush, then told Miho to do the same. She did it, even though she wasn't clearly understanding what was happening. To locate it, the brunette drew roughly Chihatan's emblem on the sand and began to undress, only keeping her underwear on. Again, she pointed to her partner to do the same. Miho was a bit torn between two things about what were her girlfriend's intentions : was it a naughty desire or something else? It was actually not for some horizontal dancing: Kinuyo grabbed her and pulled her before pushing her into the water. Miho barely had time to realize that she was almost naked first, then suddenly soaked with seawater.

Kinuyo threw herself into the sea by her side. Dogmeat soon followed her: overjoyed to be able to have fun again, he jumped himself into the water : he swam around the two girls. His expression, his little dog tongue and this look in his eyes were hilarious. Miho couldn't help but start laughing. Kinuyo already did before her. She began to splash her girlfriend, who directly riposted. After sand, it was salt water that they were throwing at each other. Sometimes they threw a bit of it on their god, who quickly shook his head and made a small sound, as if he feigned anger.
Miho had the idea to do a little trick: go underwater to grab the long-haired girl by the waist: she had a start, but quickly realized that the presence was that of her loved one. She returned this little joke: Miho caught her before she did. Their hair was soaked in the salty seawater, their eyes were burning, but they had fun like crazy. It was something they hadn't done for a long time. Moreover, this part of the sea had probably little risk of being contaminated: they were far from the Niigata area. Maybe there would be some radiation in the water, but the current would carry them off quickly. There certainly wasn't enough of it to kill them, anyway. If they had to die, they would die happy.

They played and messed around for about an hour in this sea they wanted to feel caressing their skin again. Old nursery rhymes or just sea shanties returned in their head; when they came out of the water to get dressed and get their stuff back, they began to sing loudly, as if to give the finger to anyone who would be watching them and wondering if they were sane, or those who would get a big fat eyeful at their young bodies.
Dogmeat, after he snorted, almost looked like a giant sea urchin: it caused both girls a huge burst of laughing for twenty minutes. Since they had arrived on the coast, they were completely relaxed, even up to do things they would never have thought of doing after the end of the world. Finally, that apocalypse wasnt the end of their world. It was only the end of a world, not of the world itself.

In the evening, they arrived in the small town of Kurobe. They were finally in Toyama Prefecture! More reassured than ever, they looked for a place to sleep that night. They went back to the beaches, still wanting to get closer to their beloved sea. But it seemed like they weren't alone... Kinuyo noticed a person sitting farther and tapped her lover's shoulder.

"Hey... Isn't she...?"

Miho turned her head. It was a little girl, who looked maybe twelve years old, with light blonde hair, wearing a black ribbon in it... also with her normal clothes and carrying a backpack. She seemed to look tirelessly at the infinity of the sea...

Miho couldn't help but yelled :

"Alice! It's me!"

The girl turned around and started to run towards her... in a moment full of emotions.