Always Advancing

A Girls und Panzer fanfic

Part LI: Advancing to the Future

by Civilis

The First Battle of Ōarai, as it would be called by Sensha-Do fans, would mark the beginning of a long golden age of Japanese Sensha-Do. With the Ministry's restrictions lifted, and with more funding available, more high school girls would be able to participate, meaning more teams with their own unique traditions and styles. They would fight their own battles and make their own memories. And all of them would establish friendships, many that would last.

Still, the lucky veterans of the Battle of Ōarai would always be a special sisterhood among Sensha-Do tankers, having experienced a rare combination of weapons, tactics, and skills all in a single battle, as six schools gave their absolute best in a struggle for the fate of Sensha-Do itself.

Chi-Ha-Tan's commander, Nishi Kinuyo, who had led the charge that opened the battle, would return to her school a hero. She would use that status to steer her school's team forward. While Chi-Ha-Tan would always be known for its tradition of bold charges, she was able to teach them to make the charges more effective, knowing when and where to strike for maximum effectiveness. After college, she would become a famous prosecutor in the Ministry of Justice, bringing charges against criminals responsible for corruption like that which had threatened her team.

Saunders would continue its energetic style of Tankery, though with an increased emphasis on fun for all the participants and spectators. Arisa's continued attempts to bend the rules in Tankathalon would leave her almost blacklisted from the sport, but she would eventually be hired as an expert to advise an anime series being produced about Sensha-Do. The producer found her colorful personality made her a natural at voice acting, and she would end up with a career in anime. Naomi continued her search for a challenge, and added many other sports to her skills alongside volleyball and Sensha-Do. She would represent Japan in biathlon in the Winter Olympics. Kay would find work and fame, like her parents, in TV marketing, and would be a recognizable face in many ads both in Japan and abroad.

St. Gloriana would always continue to emphasize the feminine virtues of Sensha-Do, but it would temper that with a fondness for the more down to earth mechanical aspects of the tanks. Rosehip was one of the first to join the Tank Racing League when it was founded. She and a crew would hold the record for the fastest lap time around the Isle of Man in a Sensha-Do legal tank for many years. Assam would take her data analysis skills into the stock market, where she would become one of the youngest self-earned billionaires. After a college career in Sensha-Do and rugby, Orange Pekoe would become one of the first women to complete the JGSDF's Ranger School, and would go on to serve as a Japanese liaison to the SAS. Darjeeling would go into education, and after working as a teacher, she would end up as principal of St. Gloriana Girls College. Her emphasis on the balance between tradition and innovation, between ladylike elegance and more down to earth practicality, would be vindicated when, on a stop during a state visit, the British Royal Family would swap stories of Queen Elizabeth II's career as a mechanic during the war.

Anzio, although presented with a real budget to fund their team, would always continue their traditions of combining Sensha-Do with excellent cooking skills. They would eventually be known for a logistics team even greater than that of Saunders, bringing superb food to every match they attended. Many of them would eventually get together to turn Anzio Pizza into a cooperative venture between alumni and the school's Sensha-Do team. Pepperoni would serve as one of their top chefs, and her Italian-Japanese fusion cuisine would win awards for its flavor and appearance. Carpaccio would head the business side of things, keeping the restaurant profitable. And Anchovy, the Pizza Duce, would be its chief spokesman, with her face being second only to the venerable and inscrutable Colonel as a recognizable figure of the Japanese restaurant business.

Pravda would continue to emphasize its might and discipline, and would continue to demonstrate that size wasn't everything. Katyusha would find a job as the star of a kid's TV show, where her natural demeanor would help her. Although a little ashamed by her small size, the fact that a little girl like her could have a big impact made her idolized by many kids throughout Japan. Nina, likewise, would transcend her size, going on to represent Japan at the Olympics in weightlifting. Klara would return to Russia after high school. She would be the youngest member of Russia's national team in the International Sensha-Do Tournament as well as one of its brightest stars. She would face off against many of her friends in the tournament with the knowledge that though they may be on opposite sides, they would always be friends. Nonna would eventually put her Russian skills into use as Japan's ambassador to the country and would spend time with her former teammate. Any rumors that the two spent much of their time together watching Katyusha on TV are to be completely ignored.

Kuromorimine would always remain a Sensha-Do powerhouse, though now that the myth of its invincibility had been dispelled, it was no longer regarded as unbeatable. It would end its win streak with a narrowly won twelfth victory in the National High School Sensha-Do Tournament, which would remain as the longest in the history of the sport.

The girls of Ōarai themselves would go on to leave their mark on the world in many ways. While Sensha-Do historians would remark at the unusual number of former students from the closed Ōarai Girls Academy on the United Alliance team this would end up being put down by most as a coincidence. Any talk of dreams, delusions, or memories would end up as nothing more than footnotes in a couple of almost unread psychiatric papers.

The former Duck Team, consisting of Isobe Noriko, Kondo Taeko, Sasaki Akebi, and Kawanishi Shinobu, would stay with the Saunders Volleyball Team as well as its Tankery Team. They would establish a fad for combining athletic activity and Sensha-Do to improve performance in both realms. Taeko, Akebi, and Shinobu would go on to win the National High School Volleyball Championship for Saunders their senior year. Noriko, who had missed out, would end up using her practice coaching the Saunders Tankery Team to become a volleyball coach, and would be the coach of the other three when they were on the team that won the Olympic gold for Women's Volleyball. The Ōarai Type 89 would end up being donated to the Japanese Volleyball Hall of Fame after being used for physical training by the gold-winning team.

The former Hippo Team, consisting of Suzuki "Caesar" Takako, Sugiyama "Saemonza" Kiyomi, Nogami "Oryou" Takeko, and Matsumoto "Erwin" Riko, would stay with their interest in history. After sticking together through college and graduate school, all would manage to end up as professors of history at the University of Tokyo. At Tōdai, they would establish a reputation for being highly knowledgable, if incredibly eccentric, and are much loved by their students. Their past would be largely unknown to their students at the university until the Tōdai Sensha-Do Team made the mistake of organizing a student-faculty Sensha-Do match for charity, during which the four took down most of the university team by themselves. The Ōarai StuG IIIF still sits in front of the History Department building as a reminder of their feat.

The former Rabbit Team, consisting of Sawa Azusa, Oono Aya, Yamagou Ayumi, Utsugi Yuuki, Sakaguchi Karin, and Maruyama Saki, would stick with Sensha-Do through their high school career. Azusa would end up as the captain of the Saunders team her third year, and as captain, would bring Saunders the National Championship with a win over St. Gloriana. The six would take their love of tanks and movies into careers in show business. Using their skills, be it as producer, crew, stunt driver, or actress, each would find a place in the movies. One would even reach the top of the profession. An Academy Award for Best Actress would go to Maruyama Saki for her role in a remake of Sahara. The Ōarai M3 Lee, which was used in the movie, would end up in the Smithsonian.

The former Mallard Team, consisting of Sono "Sodoko" Midoriko, Gotou "Gomoyo" Moyoko, and Konparu "Pazomi" Nozomi, learned to operate apart at Pravda. Still, they would follow similar paths in life, each choosing to join the National Police Agency. There, their familiarity with tanks would be put to use as they were assigned to work on cracking down on dangerous illegal Tankathalon matches. Although their recognizability made it difficult for them to operate undercover, and they had little success arresting match participants, they did manage to collar a number of organized criminals betting on or attempting to fix the matches. The Ōarai Char B-1bis was modified by the NPA for their use in arresting criminals with tanks, and is still in use in enforcing the law.

The former Leopon Team, consisting of Nakajima Satoko, Hoshino, Suzuki, and Tsuchiya would continue their work as tank mechanics. Together, they would found the Tank Racing League as an offshoot of Sensha-Do after college in an attempt to challenge people to get the most out of the tanks. Their team would compete against their friend Rosehip's as the two preeminent teams in the early days of the sport. Their enthusiasm for both tanks and cars would make them frequent guests on shows like Top Gear. People who knew them well would always insist that however they presented themselves to the world, underneath they had at least some of the makings of proper ladies, being polite, dignified and elegant. The Ōarai Porsche Tiger is still part of their team, and holds the speed record at Nürburgring for a vehicle in the Heavy Tank class.

The former Turtle Team, consisting of Kadotani Anzu, Koyama Yuzuko, and Kawashima Momo, came together again in the events leading up to the Battle of Ōarai. Afterwards, they went their separate ways for a while, while still remaining friends. Yuzu went into the florist business. Momo assisted Anchovy with founding Anzio Pizza. Anzu went into politics. Most of those who knew her were not surprised as Anzu rapidly rose politically, eventually becoming Prime Minister of Japan. She brought in both of her old friends to assist her on her staff. A picture of Momo punching Renta sits on Anzu's desk, prominently displayed for visiting bureaucrats. The Ōarai Pz 38(t) is owned by the Prime Minister.

No official record of the former Anteater Team exists. The Ōarai Type 3 Chi-Nu was anonymously donated to Chi-Ha-Tan shortly after the Battle of Ōarai.

The Anglerfish Team that fought at the Battle of Ōarai is still a mystery. Several different theories about where the tank came from and who crewed it have been circulated; the most popular theories revolve around Keizoku High School, although they have denied that it was their tank, though often with a knowing wink. The actual crew, and their fate, is another story for another time…

Isuzu Hana followed her mother in heading the Isuzu school of Ikebana, although her style diverged. Hana has stuck to the insistence that students of hers must spend time working in another traditional field in order to truly appreciate flowers. The new Isuzu style includes bold explosions of color, and precise placement of stems and branches. She is a prominent member of the St. Gloriana alumni groups.

Takebe Saori spent time trying different professions after college as an attempt to find a man. She worked as a police dispatcher, TV broadcaster, and air traffic controller for a while, where she adapted easily to the stress of the jobs. However, finally, she gave up, and settled down to a job alongside her high school friends as a senior chef at Anzio Pizza. Her cooking skills, however, finally landed her a man and she is happily married.

Reizei Mako took her keen intellect into psychiatry. She somehow managed to make it through the grueling educational and residency process, partially on the basis of the hardships she endured at Pravda. With her doctorate, she managed to find a position at a prominent research university, looking into amnesia and memory loss. Still, her work and teaching schedule has been arranged to let her sleep in every morning.

Nishizumi Maho and Nishizumi Miho stayed with Sensha-Do. Maho stuck with the traditional Nishizumi style, while Miho adopted a more flexible version. Still, with the burden of carrying the school forward as the undisputed top high school style off their shoulders, both were able to relax, have fun and make friends doing Sensha-Do. They kept in touch with the other veterans of the Battle of Ōarai.

Nishizumi Shiho eventually stepped down as the head of the Nishizumi school of Sensha-Do, leaving it to her beloved daughters. In order to settle the matter, the two agreed to a friendly Sensha-Do match between themselves and their friends. The resulting match, officiated by the Sensha-Do Federation under special rules for the occasion, almost surpassed the Battle of Kursk as the largest tank battle in history, including participants from almost every high school and college team in Japan, representatives from more than twenty countries, and every single veteran of the Battle of Ōarai.

The participants and their tanks all had fun.

Next: Ōarai

Author's Note: That's it for this chapter. One very short one to go.

Still here?

Remember that 'another story for another time' bit?

When I was writing the story (not this chapter), and knowing the machinations going on behind the scenes with Kuromorimine and the students there, I thought it deserved its own side story. Given my own intermittent but severe writer's block, that story may or may not eventually get written. No promises. However, the short first chapter of it does exist. I have included it below, until I can finish the whole story, at which point it will be its own chapter. I can't guarantee that I won't make minor changes to it if I do finish the side story.

The following begins the same morning as Yukari is waking up confused back in Chapter II with memories of events that never happened.

"If you shoot, you hit. If you defend, you defend firmly. If you advance, you advance without falter. Iron rules and a heart of steel." - the creed of the Nishizumi School of Sensha-Do

In the school carrier dorm room, an alarm clock buzzed for attention. Much like most of the rest of the room's furnishings, the alarm clock was utilitarian, the type that one would imagine the most generic salaryman might have in their apartment. About the only human touch was a single stuffed alligator, hidden away on one of the nearly empty shelves.

After a moment, there was an audible sigh from the room's sole occupant, indicating she had been awake well before the alarm had started to buzz. She reached out of bed and efficiently disabled the alarm. Then, with almost military precision, she hopped out of bed and quickly folded the bedclothes and stacked them on the end of the bed.

"Why am I doing this?" Itsumi Erika asked herself as the stack of sheets and blankets settled neatly on the end of her bed. "I'm officially no longer on the Sensha-Do team this year."

As she quickly changed from her nightgown into the gray Kuromorimine Girls College school uniform, she thought back over what had led her to this state. For all practical purposes, she'd been off the Sensha-Do team since the semi-finals of last year's National Championships, when a poorly executed maneuver she'd planned had almost led to the unthinkable: a loss to Pravda Girl's Technical College.

Kuromorimine didn't tolerate failures; the Nishizumi style didn't tolerate failures, either. And so she'd spent the National Championship Finals on the bench.

Worse, that her rival Vice-Captain, Miho Nishizumi, had managed to pull off a desperate move to survive the attack and defeat the enemy ambush, while her sister, Maho Nishizumi, the team captain, won the match.

Somewhere in the back of Erika's mind, she remembered that the four girls in the Panzer III that had slid into the river spent the Finals on the bench as well, or, more accurately, in the hospital. All had survived, but due to the mental trauma of being trapped in a tank under water, none would crew a tank again.

Erika had officially been on the team for the remainder of the year, living in the Sensha-Do barracks and taking classes with the rest of the team, but almost none of the girls would speak to her. To add to her misery, Miho was one of the few that went on as if nothing had happened. True, the girl had been a lot more subdued since the incident, but she'd try to make small-talk like nothing had happened, stuttering along until one of the other girls gently dragged her away. Miho had always been incredibly timid, especially for the daughter of Shiho Nishizumi, master of Sensha-Do, but somewhere in the back of her mind, Erika remembered that the stutter was new, too.

This year, however, it was official. She was off the team. Out of the barracks. She would never have a chance to ride in a tank again, never to feel the thrill of battle.

At one point, she had lived and breathed Sensha-Do. She had been a rising star, one of the only ones able to be possibly considered for command at Kuromorimine aside from the Nishizumi family daughters. Now, she was nothing.

She left her room, locking the door behind her. Last year, even after the incident, nobody at Kuromorimine would have thought about messing with her stuff; the Sensha-do barracks were sacrosanct at a school dedicated to tanks. This year, they had given her a room far off from the tank garages and the school buildings themselves. It was as much in the middle of nowhere as one could get on a school carrier.

As she took the steps down to the street, she looked around. Girls from the school maintenance department had been cleaning out some of the vacant rooms in her building. Despite its reputation, Kuromorimine did take in occasional transfer students, mostly for the technical and engineering sections that were the school's secondary focus besides tanks. She'd soon have new neighbors. Not that she cared.

Having spent her school career in the barracks, the novelty of walking to class was new, and for a moment, Erika was able to forget about the past. She passed the housing for the teachers, administrators, and other permanent non-student residents. She passed the omni-present Sunkus convenience store with its delicious looking and non-nutritious food options. She passed a bakery with a window display of Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, the recipe brought over from Germany, one of the few nods the school made to the culture of its sponsoring country.

Erika had almost made it to the school itself when reality intervened. A loud mechanical noise announced the arrival of one of the Sensha-Do team's heavy recovery half-tracks, pulling a trailer with a damaged tank. Its appearance startled her so much she nearly walked into a streetlight post, but she caught herself at the last minute.

After recovering, Erika tried to return to not paying attention to a world that no longer concerned her, but her ears couldn't help overhear the conversations around her.

"Oh my… is that?" asked one girl.

"It's Tiger 212… that's Captain Nishizumi's tank!" another exclaimed.

A third girl pointed. "It's damaged! What happened to it?"

Her curiosity overwhelmed her desire to forget the past, and Erika turned to look.

The boxy Tiger sat on the recovery trailer. Its right side tracks were damaged, and some of the overlapping road wheels had been knocked off. Erika knew that that was an immobilizing blow, something rarely achieved on one of the Nishizumi sisters.

Her trained eye spotted something else on the Tiger, a black welt toward the rear of the hull, the mark left by the impact of a Sensha-Do round. Judging by its size, it was probably the impact of a powerful shell, almost certainly an 88mm round, straight on at close range. That would be what took the Tiger out.

"According to the school internet, the Captain and Vice-Captain were practicing this morning, and the Vice-Captain managed to score a win!" one of the girls in the audience informed the others as she checked her phone. "Even worse, the impact knocked Captain Nishizumi unconscious! She's at the infirmary, but she's expected to recover."

'Good for Miho,' Erika thought to herself. She didn't hate either Miho or Maho. They were professionals, as much as it seemed odd for someone that knew Miho.

Erika turned and walked away, trying to forget that. As far as she was concerned, that was no longer her world.

As fate would have it, however, things wouldn't be that simple…

Always Advancing: New Game+

Chapter 1: Opening Cutscene

Itsumi Erika was a sound sleeper and an early riser, as anyone dedicated to Sensha-Do would have to be. It was thus a surprise for her to be awakened by a loud noise on her second day of school.

She glanced over at her alarm clock. It was a little after 0500, and her alarm was set for 0600, so it wasn't the clock that had awakened her.

The noise sounded again.

"Is that someone banging on my door?" she mumbled. She fumbled her way out of bed, fighting the instinct to fold the bedclothes, and turned on the light. Finally, she bunched up her nightgown and stumbled over to the door.

"Who is it?" she asked brusquely, annoyed at the intrusion.

A surprisingly familiar voice replied. "Erika… I need to talk to you."

She glanced through the peephole, and the familiar features of Maho Nishizumi, Captain of Kuromorimine's Sensha-Do team could be made out in the dark.

Erika unlocked and opened the door, then came to attention out of reflex. "Captain, what can I do…" Erika began, then stopped when she caught a look at her former commander.

Maho Nishizumi was the ideal Nishizumi style commander, wearing an impassive mask at all times. Someone only somewhat familiar with the girl might not have noticed anything amiss that morning, but Erika knew her well enough to know that something was deeply wrong with her. Something about her seemed confused, something that Maho, as a veteran Sensha-do practitioner trained to be aware of her surroundings at all times, never was. If anything, the way she glanced around nervously resembled her sister.

"Can I come in?" Maho asked. On anyone else, it would have come across as an impassive demand, but to Erika, there were hints of a desperate request in her former commander's voice.

"Please come inside," Erika stepped aside and gestured Maho into the room, then shut the door after the girl practically dashed inside.

Once inside, Maho looked around the room. To Erika, this had less of a commander surveying the field at the start of a battle and more the desperate reaction of someone under fire trying to find the enemy before it was too late.

"What's going on, Captain?" Erika asked.

Maho turned to her. "Erika, what day is it?" she asked.

Erika told her the date. "Second day of classes," she added. Had being sent to the hospital yesterday messed up Maho's internal clock? "From what I understand, you were only knocked unconscious yesterday, so you're not missing a day."

"How was I knocked out yesterday?" Maho asked.

"I don't know, I'm not on the team anymore," Erika replied.

Maho was visibly startled by her response.

"I did happen to see your tank. Looked like it was an 88 to the back armor at close range. According to what I heard, it was Miho that knocked you out," Erika added, hoping to provide some help, but Maho seemed more distressed by the answer.

"Miho?" she exclaimed. "But…"

Was Maho really that out of it, Erika wondered? "It's not like anyone else could do it…"

"But… she's not…" Maho softly stammered.

Erika decided to help her to a chair. "She's your Vice-Captain for a reason…"

"She's what?" Maho asked.

"She is… rather, was your Vice-Captain, I guess technically," Erika patiently explained.

"Was," replied Maho. Somehow, it wasn't a question. Her mind seemed to have locked onto something it recognized and she took a deep breath and seemed to calm down.

Erika folded her bedclothes out of habit, then changed into her school uniform. It was still early, but she was up and not likely to fall back asleep. She'd been in the barracks with Maho last year, so she was used to living in close proximity with other Sensha-do students.

Seeing that Maho had relaxed a bit, Erika decided to change the subject. "Have you sent your application to that German university yet?" she asked, hopeful to get the subject onto firmer ground.

"I… I thought I got accepted," Maho replied.

"That was quick," Erika replied. "Then again, you are the two-time Japanese National Champion commander. That has to count for something, right?"

"Righ…" Maho started, then stopped abruptly and went pale. Suddenly, she leaped from her seat to grab Erika. "Two time? Who won last year?" she asked frantically.

Erika answered automatically, despite the erratic behavior. "We did. Well, you and your sister did. I wasn't really on the team anymore at that point. You won the year before that, while I was still in middle school."

"What do you mean, you weren't on the…" Maho stopped mid-sentence and released Erika so she could clutch her head.

"Let me get you to the infirmary," Erika soothed her former commander. "Obviously, we can figure out what is going on."

"No," Maho exclaimed, and sat down on the floor.

"Ok, at least tell me what is wrong," Erika cajoled Maho. "Are you missing some of your memories?"

"My memory is fine," Maho replied defensively. When Erika looked at her skeptically, she continued with "If anything, I remember too much. I remember leaving for Niedersächsische Universität. I remember you and the rest of the team seeing me off at Narita. I can even remember the details of the hot pot we had the night before I left."

"Sounds like you had a very vivid dream," Erika replied, "and it doesn't seem like it was a bad one."

"It couldn't have been a dream, it was so…" Maho trailed off.

"You were probably out for a while after getting knocked out yesterday, something that rarely happens to you," Erika explained. "Plenty of time for a decent dream."

"But I remember that so vividly, and I don't remember yesterday's match you said I had," Maho tried to reply, but Erika shushed her.

"I thought you said your memory was good?" Erika asked as she commenced making a quick breakfast, making enough for both of them.

For her part, Maho sat and pondered quietly. It was as close to her usual mood as Erika had seen since she had opened the door.

Finally, as Erika finished putting down toast in front of the pair of them, Maho finally spoke again. "Erika, have you ever heard of a school called Ōarai?"

"Doesn't ring a bell," Erika answered after thinking for a moment. "I certainly don't remember any Sensha-Do team with that name. It could be one of the small schools without one."

The two ate in silence. By the end of the meal, Maho was looking like her usual stoic self again.

Erika and Maho were just finishing up when there was another knock at the door.

Erika opened the door to see an exasperated member of the Kuromorimine Student Disciplinary Committee with a clipboard and a satchel. "Can I help you?"

The Discipline Committee girl straightened up. "Here at Kuromorimine, we pride ourselves on strict discipline. I know you're a transfer student and new here, but we can't have you being late to class…"

Erika gawked at the girl. "I'm not a transfer student," she finally managed to stammer out.

The girl checked her clipboard, then the room number. "My apologies. Still, you must set a good example and get a move on to class," she continued lecturing.

"What's going on here?" asked Maho, coming up behind Erika.

"Captain Nishizumi!" the girl exclaimed. "I… I didn't realize… this was team business… of course, we'll be on our way!"

"I asked what's going on," said Maho. Erika realized that Maho was just curious, but her usual demeanor gave the impression that she was ordering the poor Discipline Committee girl to explain her business.

"We, uh, this housing block has a lot of new transfer students, some of whom might not be up to our standards, especially the high standards the Sensha-Do team holds itself to. In order to get them acclimated to the Kuromorimine discipline standards, we've been ordered to see to it that they aren't late," she explained. "We also cover some of the other standards, like the appearance and uniform regulations, and confiscate any contraband."

She reached into the satchel and pulled out a novelty headband with a pair of white cat ears on them. "Some of them try to get away with wearing stuff like this, especially a lot of the technical program students."

Since the girl had been looking at the satchel, only Erika had caught Maho's eyes going wide with shock at recognizing the seemingly bizarre item of apparel. By the time the girl looked back up, Maho had seemingly returned to her usual stoic appearance.

"Can I see these transfer students?" Maho asked.

"Of… of course, Captain!" the girl replied.

Maho followed her towards where a couple of other Discipline Committee members had corralled the transfer students, and were ordering them to shape up and meet Kuromorimine's standards. Behind her, Erika followed to see what her former commander was doing now.

"Attention, Kuromorimine students!" the Discipline Committee girl barked out. "Today we are fortunate to have with use Captain Nishizumi, commander of Kuromorimine's National Championship Sensha-Do team and pride of the school! She is the very model of what a Kuromorimine student shoul…"

She stopped as Maho firmly gripped her shoulder. "That should be enough."

Maho walked around the group, stopping when they reached a tall blonde with thick glasses that almost hid her eyes.

"Are you by any chance from Ōarai?" Maho asked quietly.

"Nyaa," the girl responded, nodding weakly.

"Nekota! When you are asked a question by an upperclassman, give a firm, direct resp…" one of the Discipline Committee members started to order, but they were stopped by Maho's raised hand.

"I need to speak to this girl in private for a few minutes," Maho ordered. "This is team business. I will make sure she and Itsumi get to class when we are finished."

Maho ushered the blonde, presumably 'Nekota', into Erika's room. Erika belatedly followed the pair inside.

"Nekota, do you know who I am?" Maho asked the girl.

"They said you're the Sensha-Do Captain, nyaa..." Nekota stammered.

"Have we ever met?" Maho asked again as she folder her arms in front of her.

"Just now, nyaa…" she replied. The blonde was obviously intimidated, Erika reminded herself, but then again, who wouldn't be intimidated by Maho Nishizumi?

"Have you ever met my sister?" Maho asked.

"I don't know your sister, nyaa…" the girl replied again.

"Have you ever done Sensha-Do?" Maho asked.

"No, nyaa…"

"Stop already with the 'nyaa's!" Erika yelled, frustrated. Did this girl have any social skills whatsoever?

"Sorry, nyaa…" the girl replied sheepishly.

"But you did go to Ōarai," Maho asked. She motioned Erika away with a wave, intent on the blonde.

The girl nodded weakly.

"Why are you here now?"

"The school has a reputation for a good Computer Programing program in the technical school. When Ōarai closed, I needed somewhere to go, ny…" she stopped as Erika raised an admonishing finger.

"When did Ōarai close?" Maho asked the girl. Erika felt her voice sounded strained. Perhaps it was dealing with the inane literal answers the girl was giving.

"At the end of last year," Nekota replied. "The Ministry of Education needed to make cuts, they said."

"Did anyone try to keep the school open?" Maho asked, leaning forward. It was very different than the confused state she'd been in earlier that morning, yet still unusual for her.

"I'm sure the Student Council tried something," the girl answered.

"This is getting nowhere," Erika snarked. "Is this really…"

Maho didn't look up as she replied. "Erika, this is really important. I can't say why, but trust me." She turned back to the blonde transfer student. "Did any of your friends come here to school with you?"

"I know a few of them mentioned on the forums that they were coming here as well," Nekota answered.

"Forums?" asked Erika and Maho together.

"We had an online forum for discussing computer games… computers and technical stuff. I didn't know any of them outside that."

"Computer games?" Maho asked the girl. Normally, most Sensha-Do participants scoffed at those that couldn't handle real Sensha-Do and resorted to crude simulations, but Maho still seemed interested. "Did you and your friends play any online wargames, especially any tank games?"

"A couple, nyaa, they were fun," Nekota replied sheepishly.

"All right," said Maho, standing up, "I think we all need to get to class. I'll write you both a note."

"Is that it, nyaa?" Nekota asked the commander.

"I'd like to talk with you later, I think. For now, see if you can find your friends that enjoyed playing tank games, and send me an email if you find them," Maho said as she wrote down her email address on a piece of paper.

"Maho, what's going on?" Erika asked as she gathered up her books for class.

Maho smiled. It was one that would barely be recognized by anyone not familiar with the girl as a smile, still, to Erika, it was the first time she had seemed like herself the entire morning. "I can't explain right now. Something really strange. Still, I'm a Nishizumi. When faced with opposition, we push forwards."