Ami Chono leaned against her desk in Ooarai's tank garage, and flipped between pages in a book. A month had passed since she had arrived on the Zuikaku and started her time as staff advisor to the school's newly reborn Sensha-Do team, and things were going as smoothly as she could expect. Not smoothly enough for what the Student Council had planned of course, but smooth. She simply couldn't see a way for this newly started team to win the national tournament, no matter how set the girls were on their goal.

She had tried to advise restraint, and that the team should perhaps instead aim to be able to win an exhibition match with a similarly sized school in a few months time. But Anzu Kadotani, the Student Council President, had been adamant. They were aiming to win the national tournament.

The team had just finished the day's training session, and everyone was improving at a rapid pace. Far more rapid than Ami had expected. When the Federation called her and asked if she wanted to take on the role of staff advisor, she had assumed it would involve laboriously training absolute beginners for months on end, but here she was. A month, and these schoolgirls were already showing promise. During their practice match on her first day most of them could barely manage a tank, and handling it effectively was off the table. The girls manning the M3 Lee had even left their tank in sheer panic.

That had given her a baseline to work with, and through their daily training sessions every afternoon, they had improved at a tremendous rate. They were still nowhere near as good as they would need to be to be able to participate effectively in the national tournament however. Nor did they have enough tanks or members to field an effective fighting force. And so she was looking through every textbook and article she could find in search of solutions. Glancing over her shoulder she could see the pile of books she still had left to read on her desk.

Practical Application of Military Tactics in Sensha-Do, Sensha-Do and You: A Woman's guide to Self-improvement, The Nishizumi Style, Tankery Across the World, Way of the Shimada, Armor Rusts: A Treatise on the Desensitizing Nature of Sensha-Do, and A History of The Japanese National Sensha-Do Federation and 50 years of The National Tournament. Deep down she knew they wouldn't help, but she clung to what little hope she had left for these girls. They had impressed her so deeply in their improvement, that she felt obligated to do her best to help them in return.

She took a deep breath, turned to her desk, and put the book down beside the others, before shaking her head a few times, and rubbing her eyes. She grabbed the coffee cup that stood atop the pile of books, and took a sip. Sadly, it was empty. She sighed, and yelled over her shoulder, "FAYA!" There was no reply from her aide de camp. "FAYA!" she yelled anew, before stopping and chuckling to herself, realizing her mistake. She still hadn't gotten used to being without Faya. The young girl had stayed behind in the JSDF, snapped up by Major Anzai to handle her office. Ami sighed again as she returned the empty cup to its pedestal.

She was perfectly capable of handling the job herself of course, and having an aide at a small school like this would have seemed pompous and snobbish, to say the least. Still, she missed the energy Faya brought to her surroundings. The company certainly made dealing with problems or late nights far easier. Perhaps their relationship didn't quite follow the JSDF's regulations for officer-subordinate relations, but they didn't pay it much mind.

The sound of a faint knock on one of the pillars holding the roof up pulled Ami out of her reminiscing.

"Excuse me Miss?" a voice said behind her, and Ami answered while taking a few seconds to compose herself.

"Ah, yes. Anzu told me there would be a late joiner to the course. But don't worry, I'm certain we'll have you up to speed in no time. I'm the staff advisor for the course, and my name is Ami…"

"Chono," the voice replied. "I remember you well Captain."

Ami turned around to face the newcomer, and couldn't quite believe what she saw.

"Maho? What are you doing here?"

"I see…" Captain Chono replied as she leaned back against the type 89 tank, after Maho had explained how she had come to be a student at Ooarai. "I can't say I blame you. The Nishizumi style may get results, but it is not one for the faint at heart. One of the first things I got knocked out of me in the JSDF."

"Yes, and I would appreciate it if this stayed between the two of us."

"Oh, but of course. Your secret is safe with me," the captain nodded in reply. "So, you're joining the team? Despite it all, I mean?"

"No…" Maho shook her head. "I've lost too much to Sensha-Do. I'll only help the other members improve, acting as a second advisor. If that is alright with you Ma'am, of course?"

"Certainly! They have all shown incredible promise already, but with the two of us guiding them together, I'm sure they'll achieve a win-rate of 140 percent!" The Captain still had her appreciation for impossible numbers it seemed. She put an arm across Maho's shoulder, and began walking her through the garage to show off the team's meager arsenal.

"There's the Panzer 38 (t) you just saw that's manned by team E, they're the Student Council Members." Maho made a mental note to stay as far away from the 38 (t) as possible, to minimize any interactions with its crew. "Then there's team D, they're all first-years, who drive the M3 Lee, as well as team C in their StuG III Ausf. F." Captain Chono stopped for a second before the StuG. "Curious girls, Team C. They all call themselves by strange names, and one of them seems to idolize Rommel." She gave a quick shrug, and continued the tour. "Oh well, I suppose everyone needs a hobby. Finally we have the Type 89 for team B, and the team's MVP, Team A's Panzer IV ausf. D." They stopped before the blueish grey beast, and Maho took a step forward.

"A Panzer IV huh…" she said to herself. She had commanded many a Panzer IV during her youth, and even more while she was at Kuromorimine. She involuntarily reached out to touch it's front armor plate, like she was pulled towards it. With only centimeters between the armor and her fingertips, the sight of the Panzer III disappearing beneath the surface of the river flashed in her mind, and she caught herself. She yanked her hand back like she had been given an electric shock, and took a few quick steps back from the tank.

"You weren't kidding… were you?" the Captain asked with a worried look.

"No… No I wasn't…" Maho replied as she took a few deep breaths to calm herself.

"Do you… I mean… I know it's difficult, but…" Miss Chono said, seemingly not finding the words.

"You've known me and my family for how long Captain?"

"Hmm… most of your life I'd say?"

"Something like that, yeah. So please, with all due respect, just spit it out." She turned to look at the captain as she spoke in her dour tone. "I'm not in the mood for guessing games."

"What I meant to say was… I've known soldiers like you. Soldiers who have gone through things. Some of them bottled it all up. Some didn't."

"I'm fine," Maho mumbled.

"Ok. If you say so. But what I know for sure is that the ones who bottled it all up were the ones who suffered the most. So, you know, if you ever want to talk…"

"I said I'm fine, didn't I?!" Maho snapped at the Captain, and turned to leave. "Practice starts at 1600?"

Ami looked at the poor girl for a few seconds before she answered. "Yes. We go for 2 hours every afternoon. I'll be here from 1400 to get things prepared."

"Good. I'll see you tomorrow then." The young Nishizumi growled. She didn't even look back at Ami as she left, just walking away with her hands in her pockets.

"Maho?! What are you doing here?!"

Maho looked up from the desk where she and Captain Chono were discussing the day's practice, and saw Saori, Hana, and Yukari having just entered the garage.

"I… I thought you didn't want to do Sensha-Do?" Yukari asked.

"I didn't, and I still don't," Maho replied. "But the Vice-President asked me to help Captain Chono as an extra advisor, so here I am."

"Oh…" The three girls gave each other a few silent looks.

"Is that a problem?"

"Oh, n-no, of course not…" Saori's answer petered out, and the trio awkwardly turned and walked towards the Panzer IV.

"Friends of yours?" the Captain asked, giving Maho an inquisitive look.

"No." Maho replied, intentionally keeping her answer short, and returned to the planning. Captain Chono's look didn't end however, so after a few seconds she sighed, and gave in. "They're just classmates. Nothing more."

The training session passed in a blur. With school and helping Ami advise the team, two weeks had soon passed, and Maho considered herself to have at least a passing understanding of the weaknesses that needed to be ironed out. No matter the training however, she still didn't believe winning the tournament was even remotely a possibility.

Team E in the 38 (t) was, as Maho had predicted, a mess. Yuzu was seemingly the only one capable of handling the tank properly, and drove it with some skill. The President's lax and carefree attitude seemingly extended to tankery as well, and the cyclops PR officer could barely hit the broadside of a barn from 10 meters. Maho had been on the verge of berating them publicly for their failures, but was stopped by Yuzu. The Vice-President had told Maho that she would deal with it, and that she didn't want anyone to know about their meeting or the true reason behind the team restarting. Maho had obliged her, if only to minimize her interactions with them, hoping to keep her old bitter self from resurfacing too much.

The StuG III was a different story. Commanded by a blonde girl named Riko, even if everyone called her Erwin, Team C handled their assault gun well, and were reasonably accurate. At least for being complete beginners. There really was nothing about their performance for Maho to complain about, with the possible exception of their own over-confidence. They were slowly driving her to the brink of insanity however, with their incessant spouting of historical references. Every single method, tactic, or maneuver was 'just like this battle or that'. Their reasonable performance thankfully meant Maho didn't need to interact with them terribly much, leaving the finer details to Captain Chono to deal with.

The 'muscle-brains' as they were called when out of earshot, in the Type 89, did however have problems. Team D's respect for tried-and-true maneuvers and proven tactics was non-existent, and so they always insisted on applying their own moronic ideas on the field. Maho had many arguments with them, trying to get them to see the value of learning to do things by the book, but she had yet to get anything through their thick heads.

Team A, who the team had come to refer to as 'Ankou' after the town mascot, was a very different issue for Maho. The Panzer IV was manned by Hana, Saori, and Yukari, as well as a black-haired girl called Mako. Apparently she was a childhood friend of Saori's. She was rarely on time to practice and often napped during lectures and meetings, which annoyed Maho to all hell, but she couldn't argue with the girl's skill as a driver. Hana's aim, Yukari's loading, and Saori's ability to command also didn't leave much to be desired. What made dealing with them awkward was how much they knew about her, with the exception of Mako. Maho rarely spoke to the trio at school, and they returned the favor during practice. Mostly they just gave her the occasional concerned look, as if she was a glass figurine or porcelain doll, who could crumble at the slightest disturbance.

It all annoyed Maho like nothing else. She knew herself better than anyone else did, so they could take their worry and go to hell with it all. Why did everyone who found out about her insist on treating her as being fragile and delicate? She was, despite her own wishes, a Nishizumi, and Nishizumis didn't break. They only grew stronger.

Still, the Panzer IV's crew wasn't the one that Maho felt the most uncomfortable dealing with. That honor belonged to team B; The M3 Lee. The six first years were all far too young to get in a tank in Maho's opinion. She had made vague mentions of the idea to Captain Chono, but she didn't seem to see the issue with it. Of course she wouldn't. Both her and Maho had practically been raised in tanks, so why shouldn't first years in high school be able to handle it? Still, whenever Maho showed them a new maneuver or told them how to reload just a bit quicker, she had to fight every urge in her body. She wanted to grab them by the shoulders and tell them to get out while they could. To regale them with stories of every scar and misfortune the sport had caused her. But she knew she couldn't. They showed surprising promise, all had a cheerful attitude to each other and their teammates, and even if they didn't know it themselves, they were fighting to save their school. Her telling them the truth would do far more harm than good. Besides, even if the team got into the tournament, they'd be beaten and out by the first round, probably by a minor team like Maginot. The risk of them facing a team like Kuromorimine was minimal.

Maho's silent objections to the crew being so young was not the only thing that made her want to avoid them. There was also the team commander, Azusa Sawa.

Whenever Maho saw the young girl, something within her set off alarms and objections. There was something familiar about her, something that only made the pain and darkness within Maho grow stronger. It was something she couldn't explain. Simply being in her presence made Maho feel like a cold wind was blowing at the flickering candle giving light within her, and she didn't know why.

Maho would be lying if she said the team was as inept as she expected them to be. When she was still back in Kumamoto, she would have killed for recruits that improved as quickly as the team seemed to do. Still, there were issues that needed overcoming. Team E were, with the exception of Yuzu, useless. The first-years needed to better their confidence and morale, the history buffs in the StuG III needed to lessen theirs if anything, and the knuckleheads in the Type 89 needed to learn some normal and actually useful tactics. And then there was Saori.

She had the respect and ear of her crew, which was always a good baseline for a commander to keep control of their tank. She was also excellent at communicating over the radio, always keeping the team informed of the smallest detail. Where she fell down was her ability to do both at the same time. An ability that was non-existent. Maho had discussed the issue at length with Captain Chono, but they both came to the same conclusion. There simply weren't enough members on the team. The limited membership of the team meant some positions had been left open, radio operator of the Panzer IV among them. Overall the team seemed to be doing fine even with a few missing crew, but Saori's inability to multitask made the omission stick out like a sore thumb.

With the day's training session at an end, the team stood lined up in front of the garage. For reasons passing anyone's understanding, the student council, who were the most fanatic about the importance of training, had been absent. This left a strange opening in the lineup. Maho, not being part of the team, had her arms crossed and her back leaning against the wall, not paying a great deal of attention to the small ceremony Captain Chono had instituted at the end of the sessions.

"Excellent work from you all today, girls!" she said and clapped her hands together.

"Thank you very much Ma'am!" the team said in unison and bowed.

"Well, then I'll see you all back here tomorrow then. Take care on your way ho…"

"Actually Ma'am," a gleeful voice interrupted. "There's one more thing!" Maho just sighed as she saw the student council walking towards the garage, with the president taking excited strides as she spoke. "So, remember how you said the best way to improve is a match?"

"Why… yes, of course?" the captain answered, slightly flustered.

"Well, now it's settled!" the diminutive girl exclaimed , full of energy and delight. "We've got ourselves a match everybody!"

A general murmur of excitement made its way through the assembled girls, as the prospect of an actual match sounded far more exciting than more endless training sessions.

"This sunday, we've got an exhibition match, right at home in Ooarai," The black-haired girl continued. "We'll be up against St. Gloriana Girls College, so it's quite the challenge, but one we intend to overcome."

The name didn't mean anything to most of the girls, but Yukari met Maho's eye with a sad look. They both knew that St. Gloriana played on an entirely different level. Yukari seemingly decided to keep her objections to herself however, and just looked down at the ground while the President started speaking again.

"And as an extra incentive for you guys; The losing team will perform the Ankou dance for the winning side." A horrified shudder seemed to make its way through the team, even if Maho didn't understand why. "And if we win, everyone on the team gets a week's supply of dried sweet potatoes!"

A meek and unenthusiastic cheer, sounded in response.

"Uhm… Madame President?" Karina, one of the girls from team D, asked. "What if someone doesn't like dried sweet potato?"

"Oh, don't you worry! I've already thought about that!" The president answered with glee. "I'll happily take their share!"

"Saori, would you wait a second?" Maho asked and walked over to Team A after practice was concluded.

"Eh? Uh… Sure?" she answered and took a few steps towards Maho, meeting her halfway. "What's up?"

"Have you done the exercises I told you to?"

"I mean… I tried?" She gave Maho a sheepish smile as she answered.

"So that's a 'no' then?" Maho sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Look, it's really hard to keep your mind on two things at once, ok? You can't expect me to both keep track of 'Anky' and talk to everyone else!"

"All the other crews seem to manage just fine."

"That's not fair Maho, and you know it!"

"Frankly, Saori, I don't care. You do fine at commanding the Panzer IV, and you're good at keeping everyone posted over the radio. You're just utter crap at doing them both at once, and that's not gonna fly in a real battle."

"Fine, I'll work harder at it, but I'm doing my best."

"And your best is not nearly good enough."

"I said I'll work harder! What more do you want from me?"

"I want you to stop screwing around and take this seriously."

"I'm sorry, ok?! Not everyone was taught how to handle a tank from birth! Just because you got to do this since you could walk doesn't mean everyone else can just pick it up in a month, o all-powerful Nishizumi!" Saori froze, realizing what she had just said. She didn't actually need the frightened gasps of Yukari and Hana behind her to realize. Maho's raised eyebrow and bitter glare was more than enough.

"What?"

"I-I-I… uhm… I'm sorry! That came out wrong…"

"Forget it."

"You see, what I meant to say was…"

"I said forget it!" Maho snapped at the girl. "And stop giving me excuses for your lack of ability! You're in Sensha-Do now, the big leagues, and that means being a cog in a machine!" She gave Saori a forceful poke in the chest, pushing her back slightly. "If you can't do your job, everyone else will suffer!" Another poke. "If everyone else suffers, they can't do their job!" By this point she was actively pushing the girl backwards. "And if they can't do their job, you lose! It's that simple. Either you take this seriously, or you don't!"

"I'll… I'll keep up with the exercises. I'll have it down before the match."

"No, you won't. You're nowhere near as good as you need to be."

"Maho, you're really not being fair here. She's doing her best," Yukari interceded, but Maho was squarely focused on Saori.

"And her best won't do. I don't think you guys realize what's at stake here. Do you know what happens if you don't get your act together?!"

"Maho, calm down. We're not at Kuromorimine. It's just a game, nothing else. If we lose we lose, and then we come back stronger and better next year."

Maho glanced over to the Student Council, pondering if she should just tell the team what was at stake. If they knew, perhaps they'd actually put the necessary effort in. Who knows, maybe reaching the quarter or semi finals would be enough to sway MEXT's opinion? But no. adding pressure was not the way to go about it. Maho just sighed, and turned away from the crew.

"Right. Of course. It's just a game." She took a deep breath. "But you're not gonna handle the radio in the match on Sunday, Saori."

"What, why?" she asked, clearly hurt. "Then who's gonna keep contact with the rest of the team? I might not have it all down, but I'm better than both Hana and Yukari at it. Right?"

"They're not doing it either." Maho turned back to face them. "I am."

For a moment, there was silence. Hana, Yukari and Saori simply stood there, mouths agape, looking back and forth between each other and Maho.

"You… you are?"

"Are you sure?

"Didn't you say you would never get back in a tank again?"

"Will you guys quit it?!" Maho yelled at the three of them. "Do you honestly think I'm saying I'll do something I can't, just to make you feel better?! If I say I'm gonna man the radio, I'm going to man the damn radio. I'm not some fragile maiden in need of defending, so you can just knock it off!" She turned, put her hands in her pockets, and began to walk away. Not looking at the trio, she said her final piece. "I'll see you on the battlefield."

Having blown up at Saori and the rest of the Panzer IV's crew, Maho took a few deep breaths, and set her sights on her next target.

"Yuzu!" she called out and walked over to the Student Council, giving the president and cyclops a disdainful glare. "A word."

Yuzu gave her two companions a confused look, but soon nodded. "Sure." Maho walked the two of them over to the side of the team's garage.

"It was you. Wasn't it?"

"It was me what?"

"It was you who made the teachers believe I had the flu when I was missing three weeks ago."

The brunette stood silent for a moment, before giving a small nod. "It was. I take it you're about to berate me for it? First just let me say that we needed you on the team…"

"I need you to cover for me again."

"...and if you had been in trouble then we…" She stopped talking, staring at Maho like she had grown a second head. "You want me to cover for you? Why? And when?"

"I assume you already heard Ami and I note the need for a dedicated radio operator in the Panzer IV? I'm not good for much else, but I can relay information faster and more accurately than anyone on the team." A happy look of excitement started to show on Yuzu's face, so Maho quickly burst her bubble. "I'm not joining permanently, and I'm not doing it for you, you hear? It's only for this match so the team can get a proper taste of what a battle is like. I might not like it, but manning the radio is at least something I can stomach. Are we clear?"

"Crystal!" Yuzu answered and nodded. "But... what was that about me covering for you?"

"Friday. I'll leave the ship as soon as we dock, and be back in time for the match."

"But why? Where are you going?"

"I have something I need to take care of. I can't get back in a tank without dealing with it first."

"Ok?" Yuzu looked at her with a nervous lack of understanding. She still didn't get what Maho was sneaking away to take care of. "But what is it?"

"I need to go back to Kumamoto."

Author's Notes:

Well, it took a while, but we've finally arrived at some tanks.

Fair warning to everyone, this will be my first ever attempt at actually writing tank-combat, so bear with me if things become a bit weird.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this week's chapter, and I'll see you all back here next week.

Do let me know what you think through reviews or other feedback, as it's always appreciated, and sometimes helps make the series better.

On that note, DarthFii, I really hope that I'll be able to handle Maho's return to Sensha-Do in a satisfying way, but I also can't promise anything. Here's hoping.

Thank you all for the support, and see you next week!

/Rihno