With Koume's exit, Erika was left temporarily on her own, unaware that she was being regarded at a distance by Ooarai's history buffs. An eavesdropper would not have to listen to much of their conversation to deduce that the quartet were slightly under the influence of some of the various intoxicating drinks that were on offer that evening.
"Maybe Kuromorimine are like the Zulu - a proud but aloof warrior nation," one posed.
"Or the Spartans, with strong love between their comrades and very capable soldiers, but very different to their neighbouring states," another suggested.
"That's it!" the remainder agreed with enthusiastic but slightly slurred words.
"And Erika is a good commander!" the original speaker said.
"Yeah like that famous one-armed naval commander..." her colleague added.
"Nelson?" a third chimed in.
"That's it!" the trio said in unison.
"But, I don't think she'd ever say 'Kiss me Hardy'..." one of the reki-jo giggled.
"Maybe not, but 'Kiss me Maho'...hmm!?" her friend suggested with a smirk.
"Ah, I see your point!" was said with general laughter.
…..
Looking around her, Erika spotted that Kay was still with Darjeeling, laughing and shouting with a large drink of something fizzy in her hand. Darjeeling's usual companions weren't with her, however. Erika spotted Assam dancing with Rosehip; the latter proving that being on crutches was no reason for her to limit her moves on the dance floor.
Suddenly some rhythmic drumming started up which was then accompanied by wild shouts and cheers from many of the girls. On a makeshift stage that was actually a tank transporter, Ooarai's Leopon, Hippo and Anglerfish teams appeared, although with Ayumi Yamagou standing in for Hoshino and Maho substituted for Miho. All thirteen of them were clad from head to toe in one-piece pink figure-hugging suits with fins attached, while perched on their heads were pink hats with crazy staring plastic eyes and an antennae which bobbed about madly.
Erika cringed. This was the famous (infamous?!) 'Anglerfish dance' which Ooarai apparently used as some sort of brutal training regime to punish failure. And now, because of Erika's victory in the three-on-three match, poor Maho was having to undergo this degrading treatment.
"A-a-an, an, a-a-an, an," the girls began singing as they waved their arms and danced the mad dance.
A-a-an, an, a-a-an, an,
A-a-an, a-a-an, an, an, an,
I want to meet that girl and will cross this sea,
The light on my head is my sign of love,
Burning, scorching and swaying,
Burning, scorching and swaying,
Come here, an, an,
Don't run, an, an,
Shaking the waves, an, an, an,
Let's meet tomorrow on that beach nearby,
Your light is the light of love,
Tempting, teasing and sparkling,
Tempting, teasing and sparkling,
I love you, an, an,
Don't cry, an, an,
It's OK now, an, an, an,
Your body is hot and warm,
Your light's a bit of a bother,
Cooking, boiling, steamy, steamy,
Cooking ,boiling, steamy, steamy,
The piping hot pot,
Piping, hot and delicious,
Hot in soy sauce with miso.
Some of them looked ready to die of embarrassment as they sang this utter nonsense. Maho was in the centre of the line up. She was sometimes slightly behind the others in her dance steps and occasionally looked across at her fellow sufferers to ensure that she was doing the right routine at the right time. Oddly though, Erika didn't see a bright red blush filling Maho's cheeks as it did to many of her gyrating companions.
'Hooray!' Erika thought. 'At least she is showing them that she is not embarrassed by this!' Maho had always been an expert at hiding her feelings. Although, Erika had noticed, at times during the spectacle it seemed like Maho was actually… smiling?