Chapter 25:

St. Gloriana's four tanks passed twenty meters in front of Miho's waiting vehicles, slowing and pivoting in perfect unison until they stopped facing the Anglerfish team. Darjeeling gracefully lowered herself from her massive Churchill, joining Miho in the open center area. Both girls bowed respectfully to each other, then the host commander spoke.

"We meet again, Nishizumi-san" the blonde smiled. "On behalf of St. Gloriana Girls College and our Sensha-do teams, we congratulate you and your crews on your recent victory in the National Tournament. Your matches were most entertaining and well played. Very well indeed."

Miho bowed. "Arigatou gosaimasu."

"It was most unfortunate that we did not cross paths in battle during the finals. However, perhaps this day will prove to be an acceptable substitute for that lost opportunity." Darjeeling regarded the tank parked beside Miho's with its crescent moon logo and its accompanying new team standing in front. "I see you have brought another Panzer IV and fresh new faces to today's match. That is... somewhat surprising." She smiled, "Especially considering the unique stakes you are playing for this afternoon."

"Stakes?" Miho puzzled. "I don't understand."

"Oh? You are unaware of the agreement?" Darjeeling explained, "During last night's party, your Student Council President repeatedly insisted to me that your victory today was all but assured. Of course, I suggested that such confidence should be reinforced, that a wager was in order to make today's event even more, shall we say, stimulating."

The Ooarai team's commander glanced at Anzu, who looked back at her with a noncommital shrug.

"I guess she forgot to brief me about it" Miho frowned. "Would you mind telling me more about this wager?"

"But of course" the blonde smiled. "The bet is as follows... if you win, each member of your four participating teams will receive two week's supply of our finest English tea." The girl in the red jacket continued, "I am told your school has this rather odd ritual, the Anglerfish dance I believe it is called. If you should be defeated, your teams will again meet at this location after the match is complete, and perform it before my teams, as well as the spectators gathered here today. I must say, I am rather intrigued to witness it in person."

Behind the two commanders, Mako glared evilly at Anzu. "Was it you who made this cruel bet, Kadotani-san? Or was it the wine talking?"

The Council President laughed, "I don't remember doing that! I really don't!"

Darjeeling and Makoto's group heard the other girls of the Oorai teams' horrified reaction to the news. Saori groaned, "Our new boyfriends are here watching us today! If they see us do that shameful dance, they'll never speak to us again! Our love lives will be ruined before they even start!"

Yukari muttered, "Someone's going to record it on their phone and post it on Youtube! We'll never live that down!"

"It will bring lasting shame upon each and every one of us" Hana mourned. She suddenly gasped, "What will I tell my mother?"

"It appears there is rather more at stake today than I had first thought" Darjeeling spoke to the dumbfounded girl standing facing her. "Nonetheless, the hour for our match to begin is nearly upon us. As was agreed upon earlier, your teams will relocate to the nearby easternmost quarter of the battlefield, Miho-san, while mine shall occupy the western portion. Engagement will commence in fifteen minutes. And as always..." she smiled confidently, "may the best school prevail. Good luck."

The two teenage commanders bowed again and parted ways, with Miho returning to her unhappy crews.

Miho felt her girls' earlier confidence fast slipping away. "Minna, let's all stay positive!" she urged, though her heart sank at the thought of Yusei watching her deeply embarrass herself later on if things didn't work out as planned. She shrugged off the growing feeling of doubt and put on a brave face. "Remember, we came here expecting to win today, and I know we still can! Anzu's crazy bet with Darjeeling changes nothing."

"Except for the fact that we're outgunned, we're all terribly upset now, and worst of all, maybe we'll even scare away our new boyfriends when this is over, Miho" Saori sighed.

"Minna, have faith" Minako told them. "Your boyfriends aren't going anywhere except to be by your side and holding hands with you on your first date, crazy dance or no dance! Trust me, I know a thing or two about love, and those guys have fallen for you hard! So let's win this thing and make them proud of you!"

But even Hippo team's cocky commander seemed to have lost much of her usual confidence. "If only we had a Jagdpanther" Erwin muttered above the sound of the St. Gloriana tanks' engines starting up. "History often repeats itself, and the time of our Waterloo is nearly at hand."

. . . . .

Makoto's team boarded her tank and took their seats, closing their hatches and donning their headphones. "Minako-chan, follow the command tank until we reach a branch in the road. She'll go right and we'll go left, ok?

"Got it, Mako-chan." The transfer students' Panzer trundled along behind Miho's tank until the two teams eventually split up, leaving the brunette's team running alone.

Makoto studied the colorful paper chart in her hand, then looked around. "According to the map, we're on the right trail" she confirmed. "I want us to reach our starting point in the trees at the top of hill fourteen with plenty of time to spare, Minako-chan, so don't spare the power."

"Have I ever done that?" Minako giggled, jamming the accelerator pedal hard to the floor. The gasoline-fuelled fire burning within each cylinder of the Panzer's massive engine became a raging inferno and her tank obediently leapt ahead, trailing a hot cloud of smoke from its exhaust.

"Usagi-chan, pay close attention to your radio. Saori should be calling everyone with the St. Gloriana teams' position if they're able to spot them from the top of hill fifteen."

"I'm listening, Mako-chan. But it's really hard to hear anything with all that motor noise!"

Rei spoke on the intercom, "Just try your best, Usagi-chan. We'll win this match together."

Usagi turned in her seat and smiled happily up at the miko. "Hai! We will!"

"No sense in waiting, Rei-chan. Load our gun."

"Hai..." Rei spoke again a few seconds later, "Weapon loaded, Mako-chan."

Makoto braced herself against the back of the cupola as the ride became rougher, her tank bouncing across the rutted path as fast as it could go. She frowned, mentally crossing her fingers.

'I hope this plan works.'

. . . . .

A few minutes later, Miho's panzer slowed as it neared the crest of hill fifteen. "Mako, stop here please. And turn off the engine."

"Stopping now."

"Yukari, follow me." Feeling a strong sense of deja-vu, the brown-haired sixteen year old and her loader climbed down from their now-silent Panzer and hurried to the edge of the hill. Crouching low, Miho raised her binoculars and began scanning the large empty field that spread out below them, the trees that lay beyond it and the dense forest to both sides. She had positioned Anzu's Hetzer at the bottom of the hill to her right, while Riko's STuG sat on lower ground somewhere off to her left, between her tank and Makoto's Panzer on the adjacent hill.

Yukari checked her watch. "St. Gloriana's tanks should be underway now, Nishizumi-dono. But I still don't hear them."

"I don't see them either, Yukari" Miho replied. "That field is the best way to close with us, but not the only way. We both know that Darjeeling usually prefers to operate her tanks in tight formation to protect each other, so a different approach would make that a lot harder to do. She may have something else up her sleeve this time though. We'll give them two more minutes, and if they still aren't visible, we'll switch to Plan B."

"Hai!"

Ninety seconds later, a single tank appeared at the edge of the forest, creeping slowly forward.

"I see one, off to the left! It's a Matilda!" Yukari exclaimed. "But... there isn't anything else following it."

Miho studied the area behind the tank through her binoculars for a moment to confirm it was alone . "They aren't sticking to their usual tactics this time. That's very strange..."

. . . . .

"Anything yet, Usagi-chan?"

"The radio is silent, Mako-chan. No one's talking at all."

The brunette stuck her head out of the turret, looking and listening for the slightest sound. "Nothing" she muttered. "They can't be coming from the direction Miho hoped they would. So where are they?"

"This is so spooky!" Minako gasped. "They could be anywhere!"

"If they spot one of our teams before we see them, they will certainly get the first shot in" Ami pondered aloud. "We could lose a tank before we have any idea what's going on."

"I know, Ami-chan" Makoto replied over the intercom. "Being one tank down so soon will put us in a hole that'll be damned hard to climb out of. Usagi-chan, call Miho and ask her if we can move forward out of this cluster of trees we're sitting in and down into that huge field that's supposed to be ahead of us. Maybe we can force something to happen before this suspense kills everybody."

"Hai."

Usagi picked up her microphone and was about to thumb the transmit button on when she heard a frantic voice in her headphones. "Mako-chan! Anzu is on the radio! Her Hetzer is under attack from two Matildas in the forest to her right! They're trying to pull back!"

. . . . .