Chapter 15: Family Matters
In a small viewing room at their school, the Black Forest tankery team's commanders reviewed a recording of Pravda's previous matches in the tournament, while preparing strategies to use against them.
Maho could not help but be troubled by who her opponent was in the semi-finals. She would be expected to avenge the loss last year in order to remain within her mother's good graces, but what would happen if she succeeded?
"Why them?" she murmured under her breath. "Why do we have to face them next?"
"Did you say something, Commander?" Erika said, having noticed Maho speaking but not having understood the words, much less why Maho would say them.
"Nothing," Maho said.
Maho tried to get her mind off the coming match with Pravda, but it wandered to another difficult subject.
"Surely Mother has realized it by now?" she thought. "The significance of this match... as well as the fact that Miho is doing tankery once again..."
Shiho sat in the living room of the Nishizumi home, reading a tankery magazine.
She looked over the latest tankery news about the national high school tournament, which mentioned that Oarai had, along with Pravda, Black Forest and Saunders, advanced to the semi-finals. Shiho found Oarai's advancing surprising, having expected St. Gloriana to be the fourth semi-finalist. And Shiho was even more surprised when the article, the first she read that named names, mentioned that her younger daughter Miho was commanding the team.
Something had sounded familiar about Oarai Academy; she knew it was the place her younger daughter had chosen to go. And while she had known that it was in the tournament, she had not considered that Miho was in charge of it. If Miho had chosen Oarai because it had no tankery program, then Shiho assumed that there was next to no chance that she would be involved in it. And Miho seemingly did not have the will to be a commander, having served as an assistant to her sister, as well as to her sister's successor as commander two years ago.
Somehow, Miho had changed. But Shiho was less concerned about why Miho had changed than what, if anything, she might have to do.
"Kikuyo," Shiho called out. Kikuyo hastened to respond to her mistress's call; as a maid for the Nishizumi family and a former student, she was used to obeying such requests from Shiho.
Shiho was many things to Kikuyo. She was her employer, providing her with her meals, her clothes, a place to stay in the servant quarters, and a modest salary. She was also her mistress, and someone to whom Kikuyo owed her absolute obedience. And she was also Kikuyo's tankery instructor, who taught her a great deal of tankery; Kikuyo believed those teachings made her into a better woman, and chose to repay the debt of gratitude by serving her, especially looking after her children. Kikuyo viewed Shiho with a mix of gratitude, respect, awe, and fear.
"Yes, mistress?" Kikuyo said, as she came before Shiho, and, on Shiho's signal, sat in seiza before her.
"You are in correspondence with Miho via mail, are you not?" Shiho said, and Kikuyo nodded. "Were you aware of Miho doing tankery?"
Kikuyo paused while trying to consider how to respond to this. In addition to her loyalty to Shiho, she also was loyal to her daughters, and kept in touch with both Miho and Maho via mail after they had left home for middle and high school. Miho in particular did not see Kikuyo as a mere servant, and looked up to her, seeing her as a source of advice, and sometimes, as more of a mother than her actual mother.
But while the two cared for each other, they acknowledged that there were certain complications in their relationship, namely because of Kikuyo being in the service of Miho's mother. Kikuyo would always have to address Miho with the "-sama" honorific, and use the most polite and humble speech possible when speaking to her; Kikuyo was once told by another servant to think of Shiho as like an empress and her daughters as the princesses. And more importantly, for Kikuyo, Shiho's orders took precedence above Miho's requests.
For that reason, Kikuyo was unable to articulate her feelings about the Nishizumi style when Miho asked her for her opinion on one of Shiho's statements, although she did tell Miho how much tankery changed her life. And for that reason, Kikuyo would have to share with Shiho what Miho had confided in her.
"I was, mistress," Kikuyo said. "Miho-sama mentioned it in her letters. I... I honestly thought you already knew."
"I see," Shiho said, and paused to think. "Truth be told, I wouldn't have believed it even if you told me when she first started."
Kikuyo fidgeted as she sat in front of Shiho, anxiously awaiting what she would say next.
"Don't worry," Shiho said in a voice that was more commanding than reassuring. "You needn't report to me everything you hear from my daughters. Now that they're at the age at which they live semi-independently, as a parent, I can only trust them to act in a respectable manner. And if Miho does not, I can only accept that her doing so is not due to a lack of oversight... and do what I must, if necessary."
"I understand, mistress," Kikuyo said.
"Good," Shiho said.
Kikuyo sat, waiting for Shiho to give her permission to leave. As seconds passed in silence and the permission was not granted, Kikuyo wondered what Shiho still wanted to discuss with her.
"Just one more thing, Kikuyo," Shiho said. "You are planning to write to Miho soon, are you not?"
"Yes, mistress," Kikuyo said. "Is my correspondence with Miho-sama improper in any way?"
"No, it's fine that you keep in touch with her," Shiho said. "But do not mention to her what we discussed just now; I am still mulling over the issue. If I reach a decision that Miho must know about, I will have you send word to Miho."
"Thank you, mistress," Kikuyo said, with a mixture of relief and gratitude, although a part of her waited for the "catch" she believed was inevitable.
"Just remain mindful of what you say, as both a student of the Nishizumi school and a servant of the Nishizumi household," Shiho said. "And know that if the Nishizumis are forced to cut ties with Miho, you will be required to do the same."
A chill went down Kikuyo's spine.
"Yes, mistress," she said faintly.
"Good," Shiho said. "You are dismissed."
Kikuyo pondered what she had just been told.
With her chores done for the day, Kikuyo retired to her quarters and took out a pen.
Dear Miho-sama, she began.
Her letter included descriptions of life around the Nishizumi house, the weather, and some of what Kikuyo had seen in the match against St. Gloriana while watching it on television with some of the others. One could be forgiven for thinking that it was an oddly politely-written letter to a friend.
Shiho's command to not mention her knowledge of Miho's doings echoed in Kikuyo's mind, each time being explored from a different angle. Kikuyo then came to an alternative conclusion- perhaps things wouldn't come to that. Perhaps Miho might, by her skill, convince Shiho of her worth on her own terms. Perhaps needed only sit back and do as she was told, as she did in the past.
Kikuyo put the letter in an envelope that already had Miho's address, the Nishizumi house's return address, and the postage on it, and sealed it. As much as Kikuyo awaited Miho's reply, she also feared that her next letter to Miho might contain news that neither she nor Miho liked.
At the Isuzu household, Yuri had time to ponder what had happened. Hana had not taken her up on her offer to call and let her know that she had stopped doing tankery. Originally, the fact that it had not changed would have meant that Yuri had no reason to change her current stance. But having realized that Hana had changed due to factors beyond her control, and having come to wonder whether such change was necessarily bad, Yuri was less certain of her decision.
"Shinzaburou, might you happen to know whether Hana-san's school is still in the tournament, and if she is, when the next round of the tournament is?" Yuri said
"Yes, mistress," Shinzaburou said. "The Miss's school is still in the tournament, having defeated Anzio High School in the first round and St. Gloriana Women's Academy in the second. Four schools remain- Oarai Academy, Saunders College High, Pravda High School and Black Forest Peak Women's College. The former two will face each other in the semi-finals, but the latter two will face each other first."
Yuri paused, trying to digest the information.
"So... Hana-san and her team have been successful thus far," Yuri said. Shinzaburou nodded. "Was getting this far difficult?"
"From what I heard, yes," Shinzaburou said, and paused as he tried to make his explanation simple for Yuri, although he knew he barely understood tankery himself. "Apparently, the Miss and her team were at a disadvantage in several regards, mainly the experience of their players and the quality of their equipment, but they were able to prevail. Two rounds remain, which will be more difficult for the Miss and their teammates, but they are undeterred."
Yuri had to wonder whether Hana had truly never done it before, but she realized that the most frequently stressed piece of information in the stories about Oarai's return to tankery was that they had only just returned this year. In any case, Hana seemed to be serious about tankery, and most likely talented as well.
Tankery had been described as a team sport, as well as one that was beneficial for the development of those who practiced it, and Yuri began to see why it might appeal to Hana. Perhaps Hana wanted to do it with her friends. Perhaps Hana had thought that she would become a better woman through it- her words in their last phone conversation made more sense when viewed in this light.
Yuri tried to recall where she had initially gotten the conception of tankery as barbaric, but could not think of what had caused her to think of it that way, and, much to her displeasure, was no longer so sure why she disliked tankery in the first place. She realized that for every negative assumption she had made about tankery, there was a more positive interpretation. Perhaps it was time for her to see tankery for herself and come to her own conclusions.
"I have made my decision," Yuri said. "Please tell Hana-san that I will come to watch her match against Saunders in person."
Shinzaburou wondered why Yuri did not tell Hana herself, but inwardly rejoiced. Yuri had made a compromise, by stepping out of her comfort zone in willingly exposing herself to something she detested, and while it might be too much to ask her to accept tankery, he realized that she was taking steps toward reconciliation.
"Yes, mistress," he said, and took his leave.
After leaving Yuri, Shinzaburou dialed Hana's number, and reached her while she was sitting in her apartment.
"Hello, Shinzaburou" Hana said.
"Miss, I have good news!" Shinzaburou said giddily. "Your mother is coming to your next match."
"That's wonderful," Hana said. "It's some time from now, but I will be looking forward to having her watch me."
"I will be looking forward to seeing it as well," Shinzaburou said. "It will be my first time seeing one of your matches."
"Thank you, Shinzaburou," Hana said. "I will give a good performance for you and for Mother."
Hana and Shinzaburou said goodbye to each other.
Hana smiled and permitted herself to show as much excitement as befitted a graceful young lady like her.
"Mother is actually coming to see one of my matches- and in person, at that!" Hana thought, realizing that she was a step closer to helping her mother understand. The progress was gradual, but it was happening. Even if her mother had not changed her mind yet, she had started to reconsider, and had taken an important first step.
Hana was, sobered, however, as she thought of one of her other friends, whose grandmother had perhaps the opposite situation- having the desire to come see the match in person, but lacking the ability.
"Mako-san did not say anything about her grandmother, though," Hana thought. "I hope her grandmother will get out of the hospital soon."
Hisako lay in her bed in her hospital room while her doctor stood at her bedside, discussing her condition.
"I see..." Hisako said, as he told her how much longer she would be in the hospital.
"Is something the matter, Reizei-san?" the doctor said.
"My granddaughter is competing in a tankery tournament with her school," Hisako said. "If what you're saying is true, then I'll be cooped up here until after the next round."
"I'm sorry to hear that, Reizei-san," he said. "I know it's not quite the same, but you can watch it on the television if you'd like."
"There are a couple of reasons why I want to go in person," Hisako said. "First, I can recall a time when there wasn't any television and you had to go to sporting events in person. Second, I don't want Mako to worry about me. She's got enough on her plate already, what with trying to go up the next grade in spite of being late almost every day, and now competing against all those schools with better equipment and more experienced students. I'm honestly touched by how she wants to care for me one day, but all the same, I'd rather not impose on her."
"I understand," the doctor said. "Still, judging from how quickly Mako-san rushed over here when you were hospitalized, we'd like to release you only when you're ready, so that she doesn't have to do anything like that again any time soon."
"Well, she insisted that, quote, 'there was only one person who felt imposed on, and she's a jerk,' unquote," Hisako said.
Hisako sighed. She realized that even when she would be ready to be released by the doctors' standards- which she still found overly stringent- she was in far from the best of health. Would she be hospitalized again soon? Or would she not be as lucky the next time, thus leaving the only family she had left alone in the world?
"I know that there's one motivation compelling enough to make you drag yourself out of bed, Mako," Hisako thought, "and that's caring for me, since you said I'm the only one you have and you want to make up for how you parted from your mother. But it's honestly enough for me if you grow up to be a responsible, independent and successful adult, although I would like to be around to see it."
Reiko, sitting in the Haramura family home's living room, talked with her husband, Kei, about their daughter, Nodoka. Their conversation turned to the proposal Nodoka had made with him to stay at her school if she won the tournament, and that she was closer to fulfilling her end of the bargain than he had expected.
"Nodoka has already done this much?" Reiko said. "I've never truly understood tankery, but this alone seems fairly significant. Only one out of four contestants get this far, and she and her school succeeded on her first try on the high school level, in spite of how little they had at their disposal."
"According to the rules, the last two matches will be much more difficult, as will the opponents Nodoka faces," Kei said. "It will most likely be a much needed reality check for Nodoka and Oarai."
"I can't deny that, but surely you've realized it too, haven't you, dear?" Reiko said. "Even proposing something like this is a first for Nodoka. So is your granting such a request."
Kei shrugged, unable to deny the former, but not completely convinced of the latter.
"To be honest, when I first made the deal, I did it because I had no expectations of Nodoka succeeding," Kei said. "She has surprised me, though, by making it this far; perhaps she has some skill in tankery. But does she truly think she can succeed? Does she truly think Oarai is a good school?"
"I'm not certain of the former," Reiko said. "The odds are slim, but I think Nodoka understands. But as for the latter, I believe that she does think so, and not without reason. She has friends there. She's doing tankery. She's getting good grades. Maybe from her perspective, it doesn't seem unreasonable to be content with what she has."
"You said Kitaniji Prep provided with you a good education, dear," Kei said. "And I doubt that if you had not gotten into there, you would have ended up settling for a school like Oarai."
"Perhaps," Reiko said. "But then again, I never knew anything else; my parents told me that if I was able to get into Kitaniji Prep- and they pushed me hard to make sure that I could- that was where I would go. I have to wonder what sort of choice I would have made if I had the opportunity to make that choice myself all those years ago."
"Putting it bluntly, possibly the wrong one," Kei said. "Young people are often shortsighted."
"That's true," Reiko said. "But perhaps you should consider things from their perspective. Perhaps Nodoka has just as little reason to believe that Kitaniji Prep is worthwhile as you have to believe that Oarai is a decent school."
Kei paused, and shook his head. Hindsight was always 20/20, but he realized that the decisions that had made him most successful as an adult were not the ones that had seemed most appealing as a child.
"Then she'll see the difference once she transfers to Kitaniji Prep," he said, "which is what she will do if she fails to win the tournament. Nodoka has never thought of disobeying us, hence her making a bargain rather than refusing outright. As such, once she loses, she will honor her end of the bargain."
Reiko sighed and let the discussion drop. She realized that many of her husband's arguments were ones that she had made in the recent past; she had never thought much of tankery, and had always pushed for Nodoka to study hard. Like her husband, she had once thought that the things she had done to become successful were the things Nodoka would need to do to be successful. But while Nodoka had done what she was told for most of her childhood, her recent insistence on doing tankery made Reiko wonder if Nodoka's path in life would be different.
At the Akiyama family home, Yukari had dinner with her parents the evening of her victory over St. Gloriana.
"I saw your match with St. Gloriana, Yukari; your team did a good job this time, too," Jungorou said. "Which tank were you in, again?"
"I think she's in the Panzer IV, dear," Yoshiko said.
"Most of the time, that would be right, Mom," Yukari said. "But this time, I was in the Char B1 Bis; to put it somewhat simply, we have a new tank, but not the people we need to crew it."
"Ah, I see," Yoshiko said.
"Tankery certainly needs a lot of people, doesn't it?" Jungorou said. "I remember having difficulty getting nine boys my age together for a baseball team when I was in elementary school."
Yukari nodded, remembering her father's telling her about his baseball team earlier. He and the other eight boys were not entirely serious about baseball, not continuing on to play for their schools, much less become professional athletes, but they had fun doing what she did. That reminded her in many ways of Oarai, and while she was more serious about tanks than most of them, she was glad that they were doing tankery with her.
"Incidentally, how close would you get to filling a tank team with nine girls?" Jungorou continued, after pausing a moment to think.
"Two tanks," Yukari said. "Maybe three, but that would be stretching it. It all depends on the type of tank, though; the M3 Lee has a crew of six, while with the Pz 38, we have to get by with a crew of three."
"Wow," Jungorou said. "My guess wasn't even close."
"How many tanks did you think they'd fill, Dad?"
Jungorou gave a self-deprecating chuckle.
"It's too embarrassing for me to say, Yukari," he said. "Your mother and I really don't know much about tankery."
"That's right, and to think neither your father nor I considered that different tanks require different numbers of crew members," Yoshiko said. "My high school didn't have a tankery program, but I did hear about it from others. Sorry that we can't say much more about your victories in tankery than 'That's nice,' Yukari."
Yukari found it difficult to talk about tankery with her parents without boring them by going into excessive detail. But while she sought out people like Hisa, Mako, her teammates on Anglerfish Team, and more recently, Erwin, with whom she could talk about tanks, she never found tankery a taboo subject around her house.
"No, I think that's enough for me, Mom," Yukari said. "And I'm grateful that you don't try to pass judgment on tankery despite not understanding it, and that you accepted that I'm going a different path from you."
Yoshiko simply smiled.
"That door's still open, you know," Jungorou said, "I think I was around your point in school when I started seriously considering being a hairdresser. But, you should only walk through that door if you want to."
Yukari smiled and nodded.
Masae sat in the living room of the Atago family home, on the outskirts of a city in Hokkaido. The house was a far cry from the Nishizumi mansion, but was a relatively large one for a family of four.
"Again, Hiroe, Kinue, Hiroko, I'd like to congratulate all three of you and your teammates on your victories thus far," Masae said. "But Black Forest- the school where the heiress of the Nishizumi school commands, has advanced to the semi-finals as well, and I trust you are aware that this match takes on a special significance for them this year."
"They're that upset about losing last year?" Kinue said, having heard about it before but still finding it difficult to believe.
"It's possible that the Nishizumi school is seething from their loss last year," Masae said. "I can't help but suspect that the younger daughter has been scapegoated; her sudden absence from the team after taking on a vice-captain position in her first year does seem to raise some eyebrows."
"I'll consider asking about it," Hiroe said, "as while I doubt I'll get a straight answer, perhaps Nishizumi Maho or the others might let something slip."
Masae nodded.
"The Nishizumis keep their secrets well-guarded," Masae said. "But the one thing that is clear and well-known is that they will accept nothing less than victory from their inheritors and students."
"Thanks for the warning, Mom," Hiroe said. "But from what it sounds like, this match should be fun. And this year, I'm going to prove that last year wasn't a fluke."
"That's good to hear," Masae said.
The Atago tankery school was only about 14 years old, slightly younger than its founder's younger daughter. Its creed stood in stark contrast to the Nishizumi school's; while the Nishizumi school saw perfection and victory as a matter of course, the Atago school saw it as things that were to be pursued, rather than reached, for the sake of improving oneself. To the Atagos, defeat was not always disgraceful, but could become a lesson that would enable future victories.
Masae saw her elder daughter, who chose to follow in her footsteps as flawed in some ways; Hiroe was prideful, quite blunt, and found it difficult to back down from what she perceived to be a challenge. But even if Masae knew Hiroe was not and could never be perfect, Hiroe was still her daughter, and precious to her. She was pleased that Hiroe had chosen to follow in her footsteps on her own will, and was doing so well, as had her younger daughter and niece. And in spite of her children and niece almost always coming in second after the Nishizumis' teams, she was impressed with their performance.
Hiroe, while supremely confident in her mahjong skills, recognized she had room to improve; over the past four years, she had only defeated Maho's team once, due to a twist of fate that she believed invalidated the victory. But she also believed nothing was impossible, and that as such, this year would be different.
"I want to win this one," Hiroe thought. "To establish that I'm the best at tankery. To prove Mom's way of tankery stands above the rest. To bring victory to Kinue, Hiroko and the others on my team."
On a Monday afternoon, the Pravda tankery hangar, the five members of Hiroko's team sat and talked over lunch.
"What did you do this weekend, senpais? Izumi, a radio operator and the sole first-year on Hiroko's team, said.
"I visited Aunt Masae's home with Hiroe and Kinue," Hiroko said.
"I had a doctor appointment on Sunday morning," Toki said. "It went well; my condition appears to be stable at the moment. As always, I keep the coach, the commander and the vice-captain apprised of any developments."
Toki then opened her box of pills, found the box for Monday, and picked one out, swallowing it. Taking her medications had become routine by now.
Her friends had pitched in to help out, ensuring that she was eating well, getting enough exercise, and doing everything she could to stay healthy and continue with tankery. While slightly guilty about imposing on them, she resolved to do her best as gunner to ensure that their time was not spent, but rather, invested in an asset to the team.
"After that, I went out to lunch with Ryuuka and Sera," Toki said. "We also went shopping for some clothes."
"I'm not the most girly girl, but I enjoy going shopping from time to time," Sera said. "It's a bit of a shame that I have to wear our tankery uniform- including a skirt- to matches, even if I get a pass on the school uniform."
"It kind of defeats the point of it being a uniform, if not everyone wears it," Toki said.
"It's just for a couple hours a few times a year," Ryuuka said. "And you'll have to do this how often? One or two more times?"
"That sounds correct," Izumi. "Senpais… this is really your last year in the tournament?"
"For me, it's the only chance I have," Toki said. "It took me until this year to get onto the team, as it did with a few other third-years, but we're glad to have this chance."
Ryuuka nodded. While she was pleased to get to the finals, not only did she not want to win the way Pravda had last year, but she also wanted to do so with Toki, her friend since middle school, on her team.
"Even considering what happened, I believe there's two special meanings to our victory last year," Toki said. "The first is that those who persevere and strive to improve themselves can eventually prevail. The second is that no one is invincible, not even Black Forest. And if we defeat Black Forest, we'll prove that both are true, and our efforts are fruitful."
The girls from the Pravda tankery team nodded. They realized that they had to face the previously reigning champion in the next round, and one of two difficult opponents in the finals. But they remained optimistic, hopeful that they could overcome the odds together.
Author's Notes
Thank you for the reviews, favorites and follows.
EXpertUS: Several of the interludes intersect with others, and many of them reveal details about other characters' backstories.
This is sort of an intermission chapter, discussing some of the girls' families. It further compares and contrasts them, as well as touches on the issues they will have to face in the coming matches. Next up will be an Interlude focusing on Pravda, and then the match between Black Forest and Pravda.
You may notice by now that I've taken some liberties about where the people are from. For example, Pravda's ship docks in Hokkaido, but the Saki characters from Senriyama and Himematsu, both of whom go to school at Pravda, are from Osaka.
Edited to make some minor changes.