Chapter 18:

That evening:

"Minna, was I right about Mako-chan's skill in the kitchen?" Usagi asked as she finished her last dumpling. "I was, wasn't I?" she grinned.

"You definitley were, Usagi-san!" Miho agreed. "Makoto-san, I'm jealous! How did you ever learn to prepare such tasty dishes? I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a meal so much."

The brunette blushed. "Well.."

"She has plenty of experience cooking for Usagi" Rei said. "That girl can devour food like there's no tomorrow. Her reputation is legendary across nearly every restaurant and take-out shop in Tokyo."

"It's called having a healthy appetite, for your information!" Usagi protested. "Anyway, enough picking on me, Rei-chan! All I need to know is if there'll be dinner at the party tomorrow night."

"See what I mean?" the raven-haired girl laughed.

"If those rumors Mako and I heard are still true about past shore-parties, there'll probably be a self-serve buffet to start the evening with, Usagi-san" Saori told her. "So don't worry too much about going hungry."

"If it's a buffet, Usagi will be fine. It's everyone else who'll be going hungry!" Minako giggled.

"Now everyone is picking on me!" the other blonde moaned.

"Don't forget the tea, Saori" Mako spoke up. "Endless oceans and oceans of tea."

"Hai, the tea, and there'll likely be wine too, if tea isn't... your cup of tea." Saori giggled, "Minna, that was a good one!" as her friends all groaned at the well-worn pun. The ginger-haired teen mused, "I really hope there'll be boys this time."

"Of course there will, Saori-san!" Minako insisted. "But choose wisely, and be sure to get his phone number and all that other important stuff before the party is over. Before you know it, you'll be dating regularly. Then comes the romantic proposal" she swooned, "and the ring, and then you'll be well on your way to a lifetime of-"

"Getting a little ahead of ourselves, aren't we Minako-chan?" Makoto cut her off. "Saori-san, take my advice. Don't panic and try to rush into things. Just play it by ear, trust your heart and let nature take its course."

"Wrong, wrong, wrong!" Minako blurted. "Mako-chan, I know what I'm talking about! Just ask Ami, she knew exactly what to say and do to let her lover boy know she was interested in him. If she hadn't taken the initiative, she'd still be waiting for her shy Ryo to tell her that he loves her. But instead, she made her feelings known to him and now they're happily living together!"

The blue-haired girl's cheeks began to redden when Saori and Yukari abruptly stared at her, wide-eyed. "Ami-san!" Yukari gasped in awe. "You live with your boyfriend? Under the same roof and everything?"

"Uh... hai. I do, Yukari-san" Ami meekly replied, staring down at her empty plate.

"They share the same bed too!" Minako added, her grin widening as she watched her shy blue-haired friend wilt and her blush deepen.

Saori was stunned almost beyond words. "But Ami-san, that means... you and your guy... you know... do it?"

"I'll say they do!" Minako cackled. "At every opportunity! They're almost as bad as my honey sugar and me! Which is, of course, a good thing!" She raised an index finger, emphasizing the point. "A healthy love life is a very important part of any serious, permanent relationship. You know" the blonde mused, "a boyfriend is a lot like a tank, if you really think about it."

"Oh? Planning on running your Taro into a tree sometime soon, Minako-chan?" Rei smirked.

"That's not what I mean, silly! I'm saying that boyfriends and tanks are both bigger and stronger than us, but are always under a girl's complete control, ready to respond to her every feminine whim and willing to satisfy her deepest desires. So we girls should maximize our pleasure by always getting the most out of them." She giggled, "That's why I drive our Panzer the very same way I love to drive my boyfriend! Hard and fast!"

The other girls in the room sat in utter silence for several seconds, with only Makoto muttering, "That's way more information than I needed to hear tonight."

Saori and Yukari both suddenly stood up and bowed, even more deeply in awe of the five new transfer students, while Ami's cheeks now having flushed to a bright shade of crimson. "Minna, we can learn a lot from our knowledgeable new friends on the Luna team!" Saori reverently spoke, with Yukari adding, "I am honored to be in their presence!"

"Oh dear!" Ami murmured, hiding her face behind her hands.

Makoto tried to help Ami out by changing the subject. "Miho-san, what kind of tanks does St. Gloriana use? Is there anything special we should know about them?"

"Hmm... tanks...? Oh, tanks!" Miho struggled to refocus her thoughts on the question at hand. "Hai, they'll probably field a Churchill, which is big and slow, but difficult to kill because of its heavy armor, and three Matildas, a good match for our Panzers. Ami-san, please excuse my forwardness, but you really do sleep with...?"

"Someone's mind is wandering" Hana giggled.

"Sumimasen!" Now it was Miho's turn to blush. "Where was I? Hai, tanks! Um... the best method we've found so far is to take out the Matildas first, then concentrate our final attack on the Churchill with whatever firepower we have left, Makoto-san. Under this weekend's rules, whichever team has the last functioning boyfriend...gomen! I mean tank! Whoever has the last functioning tank wins the match." The Anglerfish commander began fanning her face with one hand. "Minna, anyone else find it warm in here?"

"So what you're saying is, we should try to have at least two working tanks available when we go after the Churchill" Makoto stated, staying firmly on-topic. "Just to be absolutely sure we can knock it out."

"Hai. That would be ideal" Miho nodded.

"Which other Ooarai teams will be joining us?"

"That was a difficult decision, Makoto-san. We both have our Panzer IV's, and we'll be accompanied by Hippo team's StuG III and Turtle team's converted Hetzer. They aren't as versatile as our other tanks, but we need their powerful guns."

"It sounds like we're in for a hard-fought battle" the brunette thought aloud.

"But first comes the shore-party, Makoto-san" Mako quietly said. "Which may prove to be even more difficult to survive."

. . . . .