Chapter 38: Call to arms.
12:30 pm
After the press conference was over, Hilda and her companions left the hotel for the school ship.
"Your mom had a good idea to make that statement." Himmler said.
"Yeah ..." She admitted, looking out the window.
"If you want my opinion it was stupid to leave them alive…. We had to kill them and make the corpses disappear. There are too many risks to leave our victims alive, like when we spared that Kursk spy." Göring said.
"This time it's different ... They are in a coma, and they will stay there for a long time."
"True ... We tanned them for the holidays!" A sadistic smile forms on the wiry face.
"This afternoon I will also have to meet some big guys from the local federation."
"How come, mein führer?"
"Because such a thing cannot be solved so easily ... Unfortunately the storm is far from over."
"Indeed ... You will surely be subjected to a kind of interrogation."
"I'm prepared for it."
"And what about the students? Surely the police will want to interrogate them all ... "
"Quiet, Mako. I have given precise instructions to the girls on what they will say."
"Are we with our shoulders covered, then?"
"Exact."
"I wouldn't be so sure."
"Explain yourself better, Göring!"
"When those two wake up they will surely point the finger at us, putting us in big trouble..."
"According to the information gathered, they will remain in a coma for months, perhaps for years ... Even decades if we are lucky."
"Decades?"
"Yes ... In the past I have read about people who have been in a coma for 30 years or more. If Yukari and Arisa also stay in a coma for a long time then we will be safe. " At that thought Hilda laughed, perfidious.
Ooarai school, 12:45 pm
"She was lying, I'm sure!" Miho said.
"What makes you believe it?" Hana asked.
"The fact that she told us nothing about the capture of Yukari, nor Arisa!" She replied.
"True…. If she had been sincere she would never have them secretly brought back to their schools."
"She said they were acting without her knowledge ..."
"And in your opinion, Flint, can two helicopters leave the Black Sun without authorization?"
"Maybe they took off on a false pretext ..."
"It is not possible, someone would have noticed the absence of the prisoners." Saori intervened.
"Yet the culprits have already been arrested, according to what she says ..."
"Kawashima-senpai, don't be naive! They are scapegoats, not the real culprits!"
"I think so too ..." Anzu intervened, giving support to Miho.
"So what do you propose to do, Miho?" Silver asked her.
"Avenge Yukari!" She replied firmly.
"Don't tell me you intend to kill Hilda ... The only idea is pure madness!"
"No, Hana-san ... I want to defeat her, in an annihilation match."
Silence fell for a few minutes, then Momo laughed amused.
"You're kidding, aren't you? Tell me what a joke!"
"I'm not kidding about these things."
"Then I understood ... The latest events have driven you crazy!"
"Why do you say this?"
"The Black Sun is the strongest team in Europe, perhaps in the world! They have countless tanks, including some modern ones, and we only 9! To face them in such conditions is suicide, they would sweep us away!"
"We'll get help from other schools, like the other time."
"You mean when we faced Alice's team?"
"Exactly, Saori-san."
"It seems to me a sensible idea. What do you think, Hana?"
Dark-haired girl thought about it before answering.
"Saunders will definitely support us. Maybe Kuromorimine too, after all the commander is Miho's sister."
"They're not enough." Momo said.
"And what about the others?" It was Flint who asked that question.
"In the past Anzio, Pravda, St. Gloriana, Chi-ha-tan and Jatkosota have helped us. Maybe we can also count on Blue Division, Koala Forest, Maginot and BC Freedom. As for minor schools, it is better not to rely too much on them."
"Let's contact them anyway ... Trying doesn't hurt."
"The problem is that Maginot and BC Freedom are rivals, and if one of the two sides with us, the other will side with the Black Sun." Miho stated, not concealing her fears.
"Look, let's contact them all, and tell the commanders to show up here." Murakami proposed.
"Okay, it's the best thing to do. Saori, can you handle it?"
For a moment the girl was silent, thinking she had misunderstood.
"I?"
"Yes you. You have many social friends in the various schools, you could contact them, see if they convince their captains."
"I'll try…"
"When will the meeting take place?"
"As soon as possible. Obviously, since you are our commander and the idea is yours, it will be up to you to explain your intentions to them."
"I will, Hana-san." Miho promised her.
"Well."
Pravda, 1:00 pm
"You were right and we were wrong, Comrade Klara." Katyusha admitted, feeling guilty about how she treated her subordinate while visiting the Black Sun.
"It was about time you understood it ..." Said the blonde, resentfully.
"In any case, what we could do we did, even if it served very little." Nonna said.
"Unfortunately you are right ... Hilda has managed to convince, at least in part, the public opinion of her estrangement from the fact. And without witnesses, without evidence it is impossible to unmask her."
"So he'll get away with it ..."
"Unfortunately."
At that moment Katyusha received a message on FB. Put her hand to her smartphone she read it.
"Mihosha asks me for an urgent meeting."
"For what reason?" Nonna asked her.
"She doesn't say it here ..."
"Are you going to go now?"
"The meeting is scheduled for later, I have plenty of time to prepare."
"Are you going alone?"
"You will come with me."
"Agree…"
Saunders, 1:15 pm
"If she think her can send one of our companions to the hospital and to go unpunished, She's wrong!" Kay said, angry.
"Kay, being driven by anger is not a wise thing." Naomi said, snorting.
"Instead of being guided by cowardice, yes?"
"We have our hands tied, unfortunately ..."
" I would amputate her hands!"
"Hilda is a martial arts expert, has a gun and is defended by her students. Only a fool could attempt to attack her."
"In any case, I can't stand with my hands and let that viper get away with it! With what courage could I look my companions in the face?"
"I repeat to you, if you attack her, you will fail in your every attempt. And then we don't even have proof that she's the culprit."
"But of course it is! Do you really think she knew nothing about torture?"
"No, I don't believe it. But we can not prove anything, and by making accusations in vain we would act as slanderers. Furthermore, the fact that Arisa had illegally entered on board for espionage purposes certainly does not help our reputation ... "
"I only know one thing! That a my deputy of is lying in a coma in a hospital bed, and as far as I know she may never wake up! And those who have reduced her to that state will go unpunished! I can't accept it!"
At that moment the blonde received a message on FB.
Who the hell is that?
She wondered nervously.
She put her hand on her smartphone, read the message and turned to Naomi:
"Miho wants to talk to me."
"About what?"
"She'll tell me as soon as I reach her at Ooarai."
"Are you going to go there?"
"Yes."
Anzio, 1.30 pm
That afternoon, thanks to the sultry heat, there were few students around; the stalls, usually in full swing, were largely closed and the few open were practically deserted, except for a few rare passersby. Anchovy, in the company of Pepperoni, Carpaccio and Amaretto, was inspecting the school's tanks and self-propelled vehicles, looking annoyed.
"As you can see, Sister Anchovy, everything is in order. Our tanks are fully functional, and ..."
"Shut up, Pepperoni!" Her leader interrupted her abruptly.
"What's wrong with you?" Carpaccio asked her, struck by that unexpected outburst.
"A week ago the Black Sun had dozens, perhaps hundreds of panzers, parading before our eyes! But what do we have? "
"Well, carri veloci, self-propelled tanks ..."
"Scraps, that's what we have!"
Anxious, she kicked one of the carri veloci.
"Duce ... Unfortunately, the economic situation of our school is not at all prosperous. It's already a miracle if we managed to buy a P40." It reminded her of Amaretto.
"Is not sufficient! We are inferior to them ... In fact, we are inferior to all schools, except perhaps Chi-ha-tan!"
"We still managed to assert ourselves on the field."
Anchovy turned to her, looking at her as if she had gone mad.
"Which field? At each tournament we suffer defeats, we can never defeat Saunders, Pravda, Kuromorimine or others!"
At that moment she received a message on FB.
And now who the hell is that?
She asked herself, annoyed.
She read the message, then turned to her companions.
"Miho wants to meet us as soon as possible."
"For what reason?"
"It's not written here ... I hope it's valid."
"Are you going to accept?"
"Yes ... I'm really curious to know what she has to say."
Kuromorimine, 1.45 pm
Erika was walking through the school corridors when she ran into Koume.
"Koume ..."
"Erika-san ... Isn't Maho with you?"
"She is resting in the dormitories nearby. I would ask you not to make any noise if you pass by. " She warned her.
"I really wanted to talk to her ..."
"Tell me, she is sleeping now."
"I got a message from Miho."
"What she wants?"
"She asks for an urgent meeting in her school."
"For what reason?"
"She says she will explain it when we arrive ..."
At that moment a chilling scream rang in the air.
"MIHO! MIHO!"
"It's Maho's voice!" Koume exclaimed in alarm.
"Let's check!" Erika said anxiously.
After a short trip the two girls arrived at their destination. It was Erika who opened the door, finding herself in front of the following scene: Maho was sitting on one of the beds, she was sweating and had an expression of pure terror printed on her face.
"Commander! What happens?"
Maho, still frightened, looked around, then answered:
"A nightmare ... The last of a long series ..."
"A long series?"
"Yes ... I've had them since I touched that diamond."
"I didn't think you were the type to be scared of dreams."
"You don't understand ... You can't understand! In the first dream I relive the final of the last tournament ... Only our school wins it!"
Erika looked at her bewildered.
"And do you call this a nightmare? You should be happy, not terrified!"
"The problems start later…. I remember few things, but they are horrible!"
"Which things?"
"In a dream we lose a match against Pravda ... And Katyusha forces us to march across the battlefield ten times, under the snow."
"This is absurd, she couldn't do it even if he wanted to!"
"In another ... Our students are beaten and arrested."
"From who?"
"From their companions."
"But why?"
"I do not remember!" She snapped, nervous.
"Nothing else?" Koume asked her.
"The last one is what I had a while ago ... Miho ... Miho slips and beats her head, dying instantly ..."
She covered her face with her hands as tears began to streak down her face.
"I wish I had never touched that cursed gem ..."
"Hilda said that sooner or later the nightmares will end ... You just have to be patient."
"I hope so, Erika ... Because with these terrifying visions I risk madness!"
"Anyway ... Miho wants to meet us." Erika told her.
"For what reason?"
"She will explain it to us. She tried to write to you but you didn't reply, so she wrote to me. " Koume explained.
"I understand ... have you already answered her?"
"I wanted to know your decision first."
"Tell her we'll go."
"Immediately."
Chi-ha-tan, 2.00 pm
"Nishi-san!"
"What is it, Haru? I am having lunch!"
"I just got a message from the Ooarai school, asking for an urgent meeting!"
"For what reason?" Kinuyo asked, stopping eating rice.
"They didn't say it, they want to explain it in person!"
"I hope at least it's important ..."
"Shall we leave immediately?"
"As soon as I'm done having lunch."
"Agree."
St. Gloriana, 2.15 pm
Darjeeling had also received the same message.
"The last time she called us, it was for the match against the all stars team, right?"
"Exactly, Orange." Her commander replied.
"And now what will she want?" Assam wondered, sipping her tea.
"The only way to find out is to go to Ooarai and hear it directly from her."
"I still don't understand why Rosehip, Nigiri and Rukuriri have changed sides..."
"Hilda bought them, obviously. You know how to convince people. "
"I noticed ..."
"In your opinion, could ... Recruit others?"
"Maybe Orange ... Anyway, let's start getting ready, I'm curious to know what Miho will tell us."
"Yes, commander!" Her two companions exclaimed.
Ooarai, 2.30 pm
"I sent the messages, now we can only hope that at least some of them will show up." Saori said, snorting.
"Some will show up for sure." Miho said.
"But will they accept? This is the crucial point." Flint wondered.
"The only way to know is to wait for them to come and offer them the thing." Hana replied, sighing.
If they refuse, we will have to throw in the towel.
She thought anxiously.
