Chapter 40: Let us unite.
4:45 pm
"I want you to investigate this matter thoroughly. Use every means, be it legal or illegal, but I want results!" Genbu ordered, turning to a man in his forties with brown hair and eyes of the same color.
"Prime Minister, as you well know, the PSB's tasks are others, such as thwarting terrorist groups or espionage and counter-espionage activities towards China and North Korea."
"I don't want your excuses, Asano! I want you to unleash your best agents to find out if that Hilda has told the truth or not!"
Although annoyed, the man snorted and nodded.
"I will contact my best agent to investigate this case." He promised him.
"Only one?"
"If necessary I will mobilize others." Having said that, he put his hand on his cell phone, writing a message on FB, which he then sent.
At that precise moment Elsa, Yuriko and Shizuka received a message on FB.
5:00 pm
"Miporin?"
"What is it, Saori-san?"
"The commanders of the various teams have arrived, they are waiting for you down in the courtyard."
Miho sighed.
"Wait a minute, I'll finish brushing my teeth and I'll be there."
That said, she brushed her toothbrush one last time and then spit out the window.
"OUCH!" Katyusha shouted, hit in the right eye.
"What the hell ..." She asked herself, touching the strange substance that had rained on her.
"It will be the seagulls..." Nonna speculated.
"It's toothpaste, they have tartar in the ass?"
"Why, can't it be?"
"You have tartar in the brain..." Klara taunted her.
"Damn, how many people ..." Carpaccio said, looking around.
"Miho will have summoned all or almost all the commanders of sensha-do." Anchovy said.
"For what purpose?" Pepperoni asked her.
"She'll explain it to us, for now we can only wait."
"Definitely crowded, this courtyard ..." Darjeeling said, looking around.
"The commanders of various schools are present…. What I don't understand is why summon them?" Orange wondered.
"Miho will surely want our help."
"For what?"
"It's up to her to explain it to us."
"Damn, how hot ... I just hope that Miho has a more than valid reason for calling us here!" Marie complained, when suddenly a stone struck her in the back of the neck, hurting her.
"And now what ..."
She turned, meeting her gaze with a girl who had long black hair and blue eyes staring at her grimly.
"Are you witty, Eclair?" She asked.
"Go away, bitch! Here there is room for a single French school!"
"Yes, for BC freedom!"
"How dare you attack our captain?" Andou intervened threateningly.
"You won't get away with it!" Ruka gave her a hand.
A laugh echoed in the air, making them turn to Kuromorimine's delegation.
"Is there anything you enjoy, Sheska?" Marie asked.
"Hilda would laugh at you if she was here!" The latter retorted, continuing to chuckle.
Andou, nervous with that arrogance, clenched her left hand into a fist.
"Insolent little bastard!"
"Stay here, you!"
"Sheska, stop it!" Maho ordered them sternly.
"But…"
"Nothing but! We are here to meet Miho, not to fight!"
"Yes, commander ..."
"Am I wrong or the atmosphere is a bit tense?"
"You're not wrong, Naomi ... After all, there is rivalry between the various commanders present." Kay said, snorting.
"But rivalry should be confined to the battlefields. Outside of it we are no longer adversaries. " She added.
"Right ... But when does Miho arrive? I'm getting burned out here!"
"Here she is!" Kinuyo exclaimed, next to her.
In fact, Miho, in the company of Hana, Saori, Flint and Silver, had just reached the courtyard.
"Miporin, I present to you Emi Nakasuga, commander of the Bellwall school ..."
"Pleased to meet you." Said a girl with long red hair tied in two tails and brown eyes.
"... Jajka, commander of Bonple ..."
A girl with long blond hair tied in a braid and green eyes waved goodbye.
"... Eclair, commander of Maginot ..."
"Bon après-midi, Miho!" The latter exclaimed cheerfully.
"... Aung, commander of Tanegoto ..."
"Honored." Said a girl with short black hair, eyes of the same color and tanned skin.
"... El, commander of the Blue Division ..."
"Hola!" A girl with long black hair, green eyes, and dark skin, who wore a blue blouse with a large neckline that showed a prosperous breasts greeted her.
"... Marina Constantinescu, commander of the Count ..."
"Pleased to meet the formidable Miho!" A girl with long ash-colored hair and black eyes, who wore a black cloak and a military cap, affirmed.
Miho blushed, flattered by that statement.
"... Wallaby, Koala commander ... "
"So would you be the famous Miho?" Asked a girl with long blond hair and black eyes.
"Yes, I am."
Wallaby peered at her carefully, radiographing her from head to toe.
"Wh... What is it?"
"I made you taller!"
Saori cleared her throat, then went on:
"... Trout, commander of Maple ..."
A girl with short black hair, dark skin and black eyes wearing a military beret snapped to attention.
"... and finally Selma, commander of Viggen."
"Very pleased!" A girl with long blond hair and sapphire eyes exclaimed, wearing a helmet with small horns.
"You know the others."
"Now, Mihosha, can you explain the reason for your summons?"
"Gladly, Katyusha-san. As you well know, a week ago Yukari Akiyama, an Ooarai student, and Arisa, a Saunders student, were brutally tortured by the Black Sun students. Now we need your help to avenge them."
"How do you avenge them?"
"By defeating Schwarze Sonne in an annihilation match."
For a few minutes there was absolute silence in the area.
"Are you willing to help us?"
"I'm in. I want to inflict on those damned vipers a humiliating defeat, which they will remember all their lives!" Kay replied firmly.
"Me too. The students of that school are criminals, and they are also bullies." Alice supported her.
"Bullies?" Miho asked.
"A few days ago, together with the Bermuda trio, I went to see a Boko show. In addition to us, there were also a dozen black sun students among the spectators, led by Göring."
Flashback start
Alice, in the company of Rumi, Azumi and Megumi, had just taken a seat on one of the benches in the small theater where the show was about to take place.
"I can't wait for the show to start!" The girl exclaimed, thrilled.
"But did we have to come too?" Azumi asked.
"Yup." Megumi replied.
For her part, Rumi looked around, adjusting her glasses. In addition to them, students from various schools were present, such as Blue Division, Ooarai and Tatenashi. At some point, just before the start, a group of students from Schwarze Sonne entered the room and took a seat. Among them Rumi recognized Göring, Himmler and Salò. Unlike the others, the Germans were impassive, as if they were cyborgs with human aspect and not people. Upon their arrival some murmurs crossed the audience:
"Aren't they the ones who sent two girls to the hospital?"
"They have a lot of courage to show themselves in public!"
"If I were in them I would stay holed up!"
On hearing those words, Göring turned, glaring at a couple of girls and showing them her clenched fist. The aforementioned, intimidated, embraced. The stocky girl gave an annoyance, then concentrated on the curtain, sipping a can of Pepsi.
Definitely aggressive...
Alice thought.
After a few minutes the curtain rose and a landscape appeared on the wall, depicting a tree, a grassy area, the sky and Mount Fuji in the distance. Boko (a teddy bear) ran into two cats and a mouse, telling them:
"You bumped me, look where you're going!"
The trio turned in his direction.
"How arrogant! Let's get him!" Exclaimed the white cat.
Having said that, they slung over him, throwing him on the ground and beating him. Boko turned to the audience:
"Give me your strength!"
Immediately some of the spectators, including Alice, stood up shouting:
"Do your best!"
Among these, Megumi noted, there were no foreign students, who indeed had taken on a hostile expression, in particular Göring, who crushed the can with one hand. Boko stood up and attempted a counterattack but fell badly to the ground and was beaten again. When the attackers were gone, Boko said:
"I'll try again next ..."
He was interrupted by a series of shouts and whistles from the audience.
"WHAT IS THIS DIRT?" Göring shouted angrily, throwing the can at the stage.
"CLOWNS! GIVE US BACK THE TICKET MONEY! " Salò shouted.
"IT'S A SHOW FOR FAILED!"
"YOU SUCK!"
This and other curses came from the ranks of the Black Sun. The other girls looked at them, amazed by that explosion of anger. At one point Göring lifted the bench on which she was sitting and threw it towards the stage, missing Boko by a whisker (or at least the costumed actress who played her).
"Are you crazy?" The latter asked, frightened.
"We want a ticket refund!"
Now they are exaggerating!
Rumi thought, approaching the group.
"Listen! The fact that the show was not to your liking does not justify your aggressive reaction!" She affirmed, sternly, receiving as a reply a push from Salò.
"You don't meddle!" The latter ordered them.
"You are bullies!" Saori accused them.
"Keep your beak shut, bitch!"
She started to head towards her but received a punch in the face from El, who dropped her on the ground.
"Mantén tus manos en su lugar, bruja!" She ordered her.
The situation was becoming more and more tense, the two groups of students looked at each other in a dirty way. At one point Himmler exclaimed:
"What do you need, an order? LET'S ATTACK THEM!"
Thus began a real maxi-fight, then quelled by police intervention.
End flashback
"They fought like tigers." Alice concluded.
"You look what kind of thugs!" Anchovy exclaimed, shocked.
"They clearly don't have an ounce of control ... In the face of Teutonic coldness!" Darjeeling commented.
"Anyway ... Besides Saunders and the All Stars, who wants to join us?"
"I can't turn my back on my sister, I'm in!" Maho said.
"Miho, are you sure what you do? Even so Yukari won't go back to what it was before."
"I'm very sure, Darjeeling-san. Will you help us?"
"Yes ... Also because BS took us away from Rosehip, Nigiri and Rukuriri."
"We are with you, Miho!" Anchovy said.
"We too!" Kinuyo supported her.
"You are too scarce, you would be in the way!" Sheska exclaimed.
"How dare you?" The gray-haired retorted, angry.
"Anzio and Chi-ha-tan are the poorest teams in Japan, Schwarze is the strongest in Europe. If we have to face it, the last thing we need is a ball and chain like you!"
"A ... Ball and chain? Insolent bitch!" Kinuyo was upset.
"Sheska, keep your mouth shut! The decision is up to Miho, not you!" Maho scolded her.
"We will support you too, Mihosha! It's a promise!"
"I'm grateful to you, Katyusha-san." Saying this Miho bowed.
"Count on us!" Mika reassured her.
"If you want our help you will have to exclude Maginot!" Marie exclaimed.
"Exclude BC Freedom and get our help!" Eclair said.
"Come on, girls ... Couldn't you put your differences aside for once?" Hana asked her.
"Hana-san is right, after all you both promote French culture in Japan. This enmity of yours is stupid and senseless! Why don't you get along?"
Eclair looked at her as if she had gone mad.
"But if they can't get along with each other, how can they do it with us? Think, Miho!"
"Miho, I want an answer! Us or them? " Marie urged her.
"I-I ..."
Miho was nervous, she didn't know what to do. Choosing one was equivalent to moving the other away, and to face Hilda's school she needed all the help she could get.
"Please, at least this time be united! We also need your help to win!" She prayed to them.
The two captains remained silent for a few seconds, looked at each other and nodded.
"Okay, you convinced us. For this time we will cooperate, even if it will be tough. "
"Thank you, Marie-san!"
"And you others? What you decided?" Saori asked.
Emi: "I'm in."
Jajka: "Even if the idea of fighting alongside Pravda and Kuromorimine sucks me I'll help you anyway."
Wallaby: "I'll gladly help you, Miho!"
Aung: "Okay, I'll help you."
El: "I gladly accept."
Selma: "I will be happy to fight alongside Miho Nishizumi, the one who has accomplished the impossible!"
Marina: "Consider me enrolled!"
Trout: "I'm with you, girls!"
"As you can see they are all with you, Miho." Hana said, smiling.
"I ... I don't know how to thank you, I will be forever grateful to you!" The Ooarai commander affirmed, her eyes bright.
Darjeeling smiled at her and patted her on the shoulder.
"This and more to help a dear friend."
Maho and the others smiled as Sheska, not noticed, fumbled with her smartphone.
"That Shiho deserves a lesson!" Göring exclaimed angrily.
"She is a big shot at MEXT, not a barber's daughter. If we lift a single finger over her or her daughters, we won't get away with the chatter." It reminded her Himmler.
"She's right ... If you step on a lizard it will be defenseless, but if you step on a viper it will bite you in the leg, poisoning you." Hilda admitted.
At that moment she received a message on FB.
I hope it's not yet another death threat ...
She thought, putting her hand on the phone.
After reading the contents of the message, she burst into amused laughter.
"What is it, mein führer?" Himmler asked.
"Apparently Miho Nishizumi intends to challenge us in an annihilation match." The blonde replied.
"An annihilation match? But did she go out of her mind? They only have nine tanks, we have many more!"
"She asked other schools for help. And they accepted."
"I don't understand ... What is the purpose of challenging us?"
"Probably to avenge her friend, Yukari."
"Do you intend to accept?"
"Yup. But only when they officially challenge us, if we do it first will they begin to suspect."
"Are you sure? The last time their schools joined forces they defeated the all-star team. I wouldn't underestimate them…" Göring warned her.
Hilda looked at her as if she had just pronounced a blasphemy.
"Göring, we are a strong, numerous and united team, they are a bunch of traditionally opposing schools! And so many dwarfs can't take down a giant!"
"They defeated the ..."
"WE ARE WORTH TEN TIMES THAT TEAM!"
The scream of her leader startled her.
"Forgive my shameful defeatism, mein führer ..." She apologized, looking down.
Hilda, calmed down, took on a more conciliatory air.
"It will be all right, you will see. We have won many battles in the past, we will win this too. You just have to trust."
Encouraged by the words of his captain, Göring smiled.
"You are right!"
"Now I recognize you, my dear friend ..."
"Do you have orders?" Himmler asked.
"Yes, order the girls on our team to start intensive training in preparation for the next clash. But the other students will have to remain in the dark until Miho launches her gauntlet."
"Even our foreign legion?"
"Yup."
"It will be done, mein führer."
That said, the bespectacled came out of the room, while Hilda smiled perfidiously.
Miho... I will test your actual abilities.
