Sorry this took so long, been a wild month, upcoming PCS across the country, etc etc

Lets get to it


If Michael was a poet, hed say the air was thick with apprehension, which carried with it a dense, smothering fog across the battlefield. The crowds were massive, with officials, fans, and every other Sensha-Dō team gathered to witness the upcoming Oorai Vs. Kuromorimine battle. People had already been calling it the Nishizumi civil war, and according to Nekota, it was stirring up some serious feudes in several online Mongolian basket weaving forums.

Michael B. Cooper, of course, was absolutely not a poet, so he just said things felt 'tense'. Fortunately, Alisa didnt seem to mind his lack of eloquent speech so much. In fact, ehe seemed to prefer when he shut up, if the hickies on his neck were any indication. After finding out the girl from Saunders would be spectating the finals, the two highschoolers had made plans to meet up and go to dinner the night before. Dinner turned to desert, which turned into breakfast, which lead to this little 'meeting' in the woods behind the Saunders encampment.

Now, most people called Michael a player, ladies man, pervert, etc. And of course, he'd admit, they were mostly right. Sure, he and Alisa had met up to... ahem... relieve some tension... but he DID care about his team. Besides, he actually enjoyed spending time with Alisa; she waw clever, funny, and could be really sweet.

But the true reason he was here was currently being manhandled out of the not-quite-American tanker's tent. Pulling it free, the freckled girl turned to her paramour with a savage grin, handing him the device

"And youre sure this is legit? like, legit legit?"

The girl waved him off, scoffing

"Yeah yeah, totally! Anzio used to use these actually, and even Kuromorimine had something similar in their Tankathalon team at one point. Theyre allowed, just not used very frequently. And uh... kinda looked down on"

The last part she said with a grimace, but shrugged her shoulders. Michael sighed; But he had looked over the rules and the past battles, and this was completely allowed. Grabbing the object, he stuffed it in his pack, turning back to the smiling girl

"Well, here's hoping it helps. Thanks babe, I appreciate this alot."

Pecking her on the lips and turning away, he quickly returned to his team, leaving a love-struck Alisa giggling in a daze as his only evidence he was ever there


Joshua was astoundingly concerned for his personal safety at the moment. Erika kept stealing glances twords him while the team leaders met for the pre match greeting. He had measured the range to them, and figured they stood an even 150 yards away, give or take 10, and he made sure to stay within 5 yards of his own tank to ensure he could scamble in and shut the hatch before she could make the distance.

When Miho turned around, he could almost see the tears threatening to come out of the corner of her eyes as she made her way back to the Panzer IV. Anglerfish team enveloped her in hugs as soon as she was in range, and Saori began immediately telling her about all the shops theyd go to after they won, and all the boys shed have to make Joshua fight off for her.

Miho began giggling, throwing a smile Joshuas way and waving, before mounting her own tank. Joshua grinned and waved back, much to Rachesl delight, and the Americans began entering their own.

Dropping into the turret, Joshua looked down at his driver, who's face had not stopped grinning

"Ya want it?" He said, anticipation in his voice

Joshua rolled his eyes, holding his hand out as Michael passed the device over, stowing it beside him in the turret. It was small, weighing in at only about 7lbs, and he desperately hoped he'd not need it; but in Sensha-Dō, nothing was certain.

Miho's voice carried over the radio then, crackling to life in everyone's ears

"Okay everyone... we're here! We all know the plan, so tank commanders, do your best to follow it, but remember to stay flexible please! A-and I just wanna say, thank you for everything! You all have been my closest friends, and I couldn't ask for a better team! Don't think about anything other than working together! Now, everyone, Panzer, vor!"


"All units, this is Anglerfish team! No contacts sighted yet, however keep your eyes open on all sides and don't let your guard down! Anglerfish out!"

"Wow, she sounds really professional now. Is all that because of her HAM license?"

Sam nodder, "Sure is. She wouldn't stop talking to me about it, even wanting to use our radios to talk last night."

The American crew then let loose with teasing and jeers, Sam waving them off and flipping them the bird

"Wow Sammy, sure seems like she likes you huh?"

"Piss off Rachel!"

The gunner giggled, but fell silent; She'd be sure to tease her more later, maybe even getting Shinobu on it! Though, come to think of it, maybe theyd already talked about that... Ah, Hana would love to hear about it, in any case!

Still, if Saori's words weren't indication enough, even the tanks themselves seemed to hold themselves in apprehension. With the Chi-Nu added to the team, as well as the Porsche Tiger, their firepower was significantly increased. In addition, Turtle team had forfeited their rotatable turret for a Jagdpanzee 38 (t) conversion kit, upgrading their gun significantly in exchange, as well as their frontal armor. Even so, besides the scout Panzer III they'd seen earlier, anything Kuromorimine had was going right through them; Maybe an unlucky shot from Maho's Tiger would bounce, but nobody was willing to put that to the test. The only tanks that could take any serious hits were the Porsche Tiger and the T32, which meant Oorai was going to be stinging like a bee, and just as durable as one.

CLANG

Before the ringing in the turret had stopped, Joshua was already keying his microphone and Rachel was rotating the turret around to the the trees

"ALL UNITS! CONTACTS IN THE FOREST!"

The tanks slewed their turrets twords the source of enemy fire, muzzle flashes illuminating the shadows between the trees before the loud CRACK of overhead shots and the deafening rumble of low misses sprayed dirt over the battlefield

"Josh, I have a Tiger II in the forest, and several Jagdpanthers, Panthers, and a few others I can't make out!"

"H-how did they get through the forest so fast!?"

"All tanks, continue forward! Don't let them keep us in the kill zone! Zig-zag as much as possible, we need to get to the forest ahead!"

Charging forward under fire, Joshua manuvered his heavy tank to cover Hippo teams StuG, as Leopon did the same to the Hetzer; Their casemates meant they were defenseless, and letting them get hit would do no good with no way for them to fire

Just as the team was picking up speed, Anteater's Chi-Nu suddenly stopped

"Anteater, you've stopped! Are you hit?"

"N-no, the gears are just stiff! It's so easy to shift in the games..."

Joshua rolled his eyes, then cursed as the tank suddenly jerked backwards as the gamers dumped the clutch in reverse.

Just as he was about to scold them, however, their tank exploded in a fantastic display of pyrotechnics, spinning around and popping it's white flag, just as it crossed in front of the flag tank, inadvertently saving it

"Ah! w-we're sorry, but we've been taken out!"

Saori made sure everyone was ok while the rest of the team kept firing

"Rachel, pick targets! Fire at will, if you miss, miss low! Better to kick some dirt in their faces!"

Rachel nodded as the 90mm gun belched fire and smoke, a round skimming off the ground and zipping between two Panthers. The tanks crossed the ambush, and Kuromorimine moved out of the forest in perfect formation, giving chase and firing all the while

"All units, Anglerfish; Commence operation Smokey Smokes!"

Joshua called his ready status as the rest of the team prepared, and as a unit, they spooled up their smoke generators; the tanks without them, like Joshua's, simply had the commander open the hatch and slap a smoke here are wrapped in duct tape to the back of the turret, adding a bit more to their smoke screen.

"Turtle team, once the smoke is far enough out, break off and get into the forest like we discussed! Everyone else, match speed with Leopon and attach tow cables for the climb up Boko hill!"

Joshua watched as the Hetzer broke formation, driving off into the trees to the left and dissapearing; hopefully to do some damage. The T32 matched speed with the rest of the tanks, adding its own horsepower to help pull the underpowered German heavy up the considerable slope before the smoke cleared.

The automobile club quickly hooked their tank up, and the team began the long task of pulling them to safety


Let the record show, here and now, that Yuzu Koyama was absolutely, 100%, DEFINITELY NOT a stalker. Not was she a pervert, weirdo, she-devil, or any other number of bad things.

She would have to admit, though, she could kinda see why people did it now. She couldn't stop the impish little grin on her face, and she felt like she and her fellow council members had grown little devil horns on their heads, watching Kuromorimine pass by, none the wiser with Anzu on the gun.

"Ah, there's one!"

With the crunch of a sweet potato and a twitch of her finger, Anzu sent a 75mm shell straight into the track of a JagdPanther, as Momo reloaded another shell into the breech

"Ah, another!"

The gun spoke once more, and Yuzu cackled in glee as she saw a Panther come to a stop as well. The rest of Kuromorimine began turning twords them, however, and Anzu decided to vacate their current spot with a quickness

"Guess two's our limit, eh? Yuzu, get us deeper into the woods and twords the hill, if you please! I have a feeling that our friends are going to need us in a few minutes..."

"Right, Prez!"

Yuzu happily obliged, masking the Hetzer in the trees once more as wild, inaccurate shots flew through the branches above, before sneaking her way to their next ambush point

"Now you, my pretty, are looking delicious!"

Anzu tore into another bag of sweet potatoes, her crunches audible even over the clanking of the tank, Momo and Yuzu signing

"As expected of the Prez, I suppose!"


Erika's blood was pumping like mad, and she could no longer distinguish the feelings of lust, anger, elation, and determination all swirling in her mind. She stood tall out of her Köingstiger, while her beloved Maho directed the Panzers forwards twords the hill. Upong coming to the base, they formed up and began their long climb upwards

Halfway up the hill, the Oorai tanks opened fire, and the loud ringing of armor piercing shells began hammering away at Erika and her crew. To their left, a lucky shot from the StuG landed on a Panther, taking it out of the fight. Erika raged; How dare they?

"Gunner, prepare to fire at the Sturmpanzer!"

"Jawohl!"

"Schießen!!!"

The powerful Long 88 barked, the recoil mechanism spitting out the used shell casing with fury, as if the Panzer itself was enraged by their foe, and wanted another shell immediately to strike again; Erikas loader reached below her to heft another shell into place, before the breech had fully recoiled, agreeing with the German war machine. Normally, she'd be loading much quicker from the ready racks in the rear of the turret, but Erika had learned from her last battle with her darling Herr Whitman; The shells would be loaded from racks in the hull instead, and the ready racks kept empty of them. This had the fortune side effect of letting the girls stuff a cooler where the ammunition rack used to be, an upgrade her entire crew was thankful for.

The round flew straight and true, but the low profile of the StuG, combined with the pre dug fighting hole it was positioned in, meant the shell only blew dirt all over the tank, which fired off a round that ricocheted into the distance in response

Erika cursed, angrily reaching behind her for a juice box, when two Panther tanks on the left flank began shouting over the communications line

"There's a Hetzer between you two!"

"Ah! Turn, turn!"

"We cant risk friendly fire!"

"Don't worry, we'll get them, just let us-"

CLANG

"AH! Th-they got us!"

Erika watched in rage and disbelief; The Hetzer was running around within the tanks of their Panzers, like a roach or a mouse in a herd of elephants. The Kuromorimine tankers were in complete disarray, panicking and inefficient

"If this keeps up, then... Damnit!"

Her fears were proven right when she saw the Oorai tanks form a line, their Porsche Tiger and Herr Whitman forming a solid wall of armor that the other tanks dashed though, the Puma trailing smoke as they pierced their left flank and dissapeared. Not to be deterred, Erika set out in hot pursuit of them, driving her Köingstiger to it's limit

During their charge, her panzer suddenly lurched to the side, skidding around to it's left as she heard her track come undone

"DAMN THAT TRACK!"

She could only watch, fuming as the smoke plume grew further and further away, her darling Whitman and those cursed Oorai tanks making their escape while Kuromorimine regrouped to pursue

Exiting her hatch, Erika immediately set out giving orders for her crew

"Driver, machine gunner! Get the tools from the back, loader, grab a spare road wheel and drag that track into place! We need to repair this before they're lost for good! Gunner, keep an eye out for that damned Hetzer!"

Her gunner sighed in relief; These tracks were extremely heavy!

Erika's eyes were fixed on the horizon, watching her prize escape

"Well played, Herr Whitman. As expected... But I'm not done with you yet!"


Like I said, been a while so I'm getting back into the groove. let me know what needs fixing and what is good, what's bad, etc etc

Im rewatching the anime as I write, and I forget how fun it is to watch in action. The Best Girl competition has alot of contestants, that's for sure. And as alway, read and review. I feed off of attention, nicotine, and waifus.