Now we will proceed to our traditional post match celebration

I will be aluding to the commonly held fan theory that Yuuki is perpetually in and out of Horny Jail; Though I doubt she even knows what shes saying half the time. Personally I blame Karina and her inappropriate cartoons.

The ride back to the staging grounds was simple, once the safety equipment had been reset. Sugar's Blues would need a fresh coat of paint, and the tankers needed a shower that consisted of more than a simple wet rag to the face, but all in all it was a rather simple affair.

What made it a bit difficult, of course, was riding back not as the Conquoring Heros of Oorai, but as defeated chumps once again. Ah well, can't win em all

Once the teams had gathered round, Joshua hopped down from his tank and made his way to the Panzer IV. Miho was already on the ground, bowing to Darjeeling as he moved to do what he did best; Insert himself into a conversation that he had to right to be in.

"Ah, Mister Whitman! A splendid match, Marigold tells me you managed to best her this time?"

Before he could brag about his victory, the british girl appeared before them, in a clean and impeccable uniform

How does she do that!?

"Oh, yes, our young yank here managed quite the feat. But I suppose even a blind mouse finds cheese every once in a while"

Her teasing smile told him her jab was all in good fun, and Joshua couldn't help but smile as he rolled his eyes

"I've had quite enough mice in my time, thank you very much."

"Indeed. Our Russian friends truly saved our bacon, but I'm afraid you came up just a few sandwiches short of a picnic. I'm pleasantly surprised our match this time didn't turn out to be a doddle, but in the end you seemed to be burning the candle at both ends"

Joshua narrowed his eyes at the girl, noticing she was barely keeping in a laugh; He wasn't exactly from a cross the pond, but he'd been friends long enough with Marigold to know she was speaking practically nonsense. Turning to Darjeeling, he saw the girl furiously scribbling in a notepad as Marigold talked

"Stop it, you're encouraging her."

"Oh well, you know what they say; better ill-taught than un-taught!"

"That's not how that goes!"

"Oh Joshua, don't cross your bridges before you come to them!"

"Cease!"

"I'm not doing anything untoward! I can lead a horse to water, but I cannot make her drink!"

"Think of poor Orange Pekoe! It's her that will suffer!"

That caused her to stop, though not without her lips trembling I'm barely held back laughter. Darjeeling was grinning madly at her notepad, before flipping it closed and straightening herself

"O-oh, how rude of me! Well, it was a wonderful match, Miss Nishizumi, truly full of beans-"

Joshua groaned

"-and I hope we get the chance to participate again! Well now, I must be off then!"

The blonde girl turned away, practically skipping and calling out "Lady Pekoe! Orange Pekoe, come here for a spell!"

The redhead tried to make her escape, and Joshua lost sight of her as the Aphorist of St. Gloriana hunted her diminutive loader down

"You're evil."

Marigold smirked, "I prefer to think of myself as a stalwart, noble knight fending off boredom! Besides... It's wonderful to bring a bit of civilization to these oriental girls."

"That's not noble, it's torture. Also, I'm pretty sure that's racist, but I'm not sure"

Marigold rolled her eyes, "It's just a bit of fun. Besides, perhaps Orange Pekoe will find comfort and refuge in the arms of a certain M3 Lee commander, eh?"

She waggled her eyes suggestively, causing Joshua to groan and Miho to blush and look away

The trio was interrupted by the shouts of the General Secretary of The People's Party, Hero Of the Pravda People 4, times, and Supreme Commander of The People's Sensha-Dō Team

"Whitman! Where is Hector!? I demand his presence at once! The terms of your defeat were perfectly clear!"

"Right here hun"

The massive loader strode forward, causing Katyusha to giggle and rub her hands together

"Aha! Finally, our prize! Nonna, Klara, come! Our victory awaits! To the markets, Hector-san! B-but first your hat, go fetch your hat!"

Hector perkins rolled his eyes before jogging back to the tank, returning with his Ushanka on his head

"Better?"

"U-uhm... yes... M-much! Now then..."

Katyusha made grabbing motions with her arms as Hector picked her up, plopping her down on his shoulders as Nonna and Klara took positions on either side of him. Waving at his commanders, the large American strode off, Katyusha talking loudly about their planned dinner date all the while.

Joshua turned to Miho, seeing her staring longingly at Hector as he went

"H-hey! Over here! Hello? Uh, boyfriend right next to you?!"

Miho yelped, blushing as she turned

"O-oh, sorry, sorry! It's just..."

"The hat?"

"W-well..."

Joshua sighed; Ever since he returned wearing that thing, he seemed to cast a spell on any woman nearby. Joshua asked to borrow it once out in town, but quickly returned it after receiving a marriage proposal from Saori, much to Miho's displeasure. Michael had tried to steal it several times, and only threats of dismemberment by Kay, Katyusha, Nonna, Klara, and the entirety of Rabbit team eventually dissuaded him from further attempts.

"It's fine, you can make it up to me later..."

Miho blushed, "B-boko! Not here in front of everyone!"

"... by paying for my cakes!"

Miho slapped her boyfriends shoulder before laughing, stepping closer to him and pecking him on the cheek

"Fine, but we're not getting the Maus cake!"

"But-"

"No buts!"

Wrapping his arms around his girlfriend, Joshua surrendered and walked her off to the team, throwing one more look at the retreating form of Hector and his hat

I gotta get me one of those...

Her legs burned, her lungs sung for air, every desperate gasp never enough to satisfy the pleading organs. Her heart hammered in her chest as she ran, wind whipping her braids loose; Still, she persevered. She was a hunted woman, and if she stopped, she's not sure she would be able to make it out alive. Though in her case, death might be a mercy... There were worse things than the cold embrace of the void, as she'd come to learn...

"Orange Pekoe! Where did you get off to!?"

The redhead furiously searched for a safe haven, something-ANYTHING-to use as cover. She found it in the abandoned M3 Lee, making her way to the turret quickly before dropping herself in, landing on something mercifully soft

She held her breath, hearing the footsteps echo outside

"Orange Pekoe! Oh, fiddlesticks! Well, bobs her uncle then. Miss Assam! Oh, there you are! Have you hear these proverbs?!"

The voice of her hunter mercifully moved off, and Orange Pekoe allowed herself a chance to sigh

"U-uhm..."

Looking downward, the loader let out a squeak as she realized she had landed right on top of Azusa

"N-not that I mind, but this is a b-bit unexpected!"

"O-oh, I'm so sorry! I was just, you see, I had to, uhm..."

"Darjeeling?"

"Lady Darjeeling, but... yes. She can be a bit... Oh, how to put this... much at times."

"I see. Well, Lady Pekoe, you're welcome to hide out here anytime. Though, maybe a bit of warning next time?"

"O-oh, of course, of course! I'm so sorry love, lemme just..."

Orange Pekoe tried to untangle herself, but Azusa just laughed, wrapping her arms around her paramour and nuzzling her nose against the not-quite-british girl's own.

"Oh no, I never said to stop! Just... surprised by your boldness, my little orange flower."

Orange Pekoe melted at that, kissing Azusa lightly on the corner of her mouth and giggling

"Oh, well, in that case, are you perhaps... busy, my little bunny?"

Azusa smiled and shook her head, before meeting her lips

"A-HEM!"

The girls pulled away with a start, turning their heads to the front of the tank to see Yuuki leering at them, with Ayumi blushing furiously and looking entirely too uncomfortable

"You two looking for a third? Or are we just the audience? Not that I mind, of course!"

Ayumi gasped, smacking Yuuki

"No! Bad Yuuki! Stop it! We talked about this!"

Yuuki laughed as Azusa and Orange Pekoe's mortification grew. Summoning every ounce of command she had careful honed, Azusa shouted in a shrill voice at her subordinates

"G-GET OUT!"

Saori hummed to herself, making her way to the shops. Along the way she'd picked up Ayumi and Yuuki, two of her favorite rabbits. Though, all of them were her favorites, in truth, but she loved to have company!

The girls made their way to a department store, Saori steering Yuuki away from the swimsuit section, saying she was much to young for that nonsense! Besides, a pretty dress was much better suited to attracting a boyfriend, an assessment Ayumi wholeheartedly agreed with

Yuuki broke her speech with an interruption of her own

"Or a girlfriend, right?"

Saori stopped, "Uh, Oh, of-of course! But dont you want a nice boyfriend? G-girls can't love girls Yuuki!"

Ayumi nodded empathetically, blushing and turning her face. Yuuki was unfortunately much less deterred

"Are you sure, Saori-senpai? Sam seems quite happy with Shinobu, and Hana says-"

"N-NO! GIRLS DONT LOVE GIRLS, AND THATS THAT! NO MATTER WHAT HANA SAYS, O-OR HOW NICE HER HANDS LOOK ARRANGING FLOWERS!"

Her outburst caught her kouhai by surprise, but Saori was already making her way to the door, her fists balled and shaking her head as images of Hana's words and teasing danced in her mind

I LIKE BOYS, I LIKE BOYS.

I.

LOVE.

BOYS!

The Fox was a cunning creature; Shrewd, meticulous, and downright mischievous sometimes. Its really no small wonder it featured so heavily in mythology as one of the most common tricksters, always outsmarting those who thought themselves above it.

Erwin mused on these thoughts as she walked out with a brand new set of Panzertruppen trousers tucked under her arm; Yukari would be so jealous! Of course, she also managed to snag a pair of German field binoculars for her friend, and a black Panzer overcoat as well, so she wouldn't be too upset.

Walking out of Oorai's very own ReichGeschäft, Her store of choice for German memorabilia, she checked her phone and saw several messages from her crew to meet up at the cake shop down the road.

She made it two whole steps before turning around and sprinting back inside

Oh, I hope they still have that genuine Wermacht mess kit!!!

"... And then you set up a spike to your forward, shooting the ball down onto the other side of the net so fast they can't help to block it!"

"Yeah! And once that's done it's your serve again! So once you get on a roll, you can keep going and going-"

"- but always remember to keep a good defense too, that's just as important! Bide your time and be mindful of a good set whenever it comes your way-"

"-or your teammates way! Even if you don't get the hit, what matters is the overall score!"

"Absolutely! Be sure to keep up a rigorous practice schedule too, with lots of drills! You need to be prepared for anything the enemy might throw at you!"

Fukuda was in awe; The Lady Ducks were true masters of Sensha-Dō! How could one team be so incredibly intelligent!?

"I-i see, so a quick offensive is crucial, but never forget a strong defense!"

"Exactly!"

The girls were sat at their own table, having asked Fukuda to join them, who readily agreed. They'd begun talking about the match, which quickly devolved into a breakdown of individual plays and tank duels, and then turned into an impromptu lesson on tank commanding and tactics. Fukuda couldn't wait to take this information back to Chi-Ha-Tan! Truly it was a measure of great honor that these girls, who might face off against Chi-Ha-Tan themselves, sought to improve her knowledge for the love of the art of Sensha-dō!

As Fukuda finished listening, the waitress called out that their order was ready

"Oh, that's us!"

"P-please, allow me! It's the least I can do for your lessons in Sensha-Dō, Lady Ducks!"

Bowing deeply, Fukuda made her way to the counter to grab their cakes, eager to at least partially repay their intelligence and wisdom they'd bestowed upon her

Noriko looked confused as the girl walked off, turning to her gunner

"Sensha-Dō lessons? Do you know what she's talking about?"

Akebi slurped at her straw, shrugging her shoulders before responding

"I dunno, I thought we were talking about volleyball."

The party went on as one would expect it to, with Turtle team leaving early to attend to some business that had suddenly come up. Joshua and Miho had appeared a little later, waving to their distributed crews; Hector sat with Katyusha, Nonna, Klara, Alina, and Nina, looking both irritated and amused as the petite crewmembers argued over what cakes to get; Katyusha was quite set on a KV-2 cake for herself, but Nina and Alina insisted she share.

Hana was sitting with Mako, who seemed to be matching her famous appetite, if only in regards to sweets. Rachel sat with them, talking animatedly about how cute the cakes were and getting up to say hi to everyone as they filtered in.

Sam was, unsurprisingly, sitting with Shinobu and the volleyball team, sharing a milkshake with her girlfriend with two straws in a classic display of cliche 50's diner romance. Joshua swore he heard the helmeted Chi-Ha-Tan girl mumble "Sharing of limited resources, genius!" as she wrote it down, but dismissed it.

The rabbits came in not long after, finding their way to Saori and their missing two, when Azusa and Orange Pekoe entered. Yuuki made kissing faces at them, causing Orange Pekoe to blush and Azusa to glare, before storming off to find a booth for just the two of them.

The Anteaters were situated in the back corner, laptops out as they gamed, cakes all but forgotten. curiously, Michael was with them, using his newly purchased Ayy-Ware laptop and seeming just as into the game as the girls were.

Hippo team was obviously engrossed in a heated historical debate, with Yukari joining them and snuggled up to Erwin-or, more accurately, the panzer jacket Erwin held in her arms.

Sliding into the booth next to his girlfriend, and quickly losing an argument about the Maus cake, they settled on ordering a Pershing pastry to share, and get dinner later.

Next to them sat Leopon, with an exciteble Rosehip chattering away about the speed of the heavy tank, asking for specifications and modifications to use for her own vehicle. For a bubbly airhead, the girl had a shockingly good grasp of mechanical knowledge, and the automotive club was all to eager to share with their newest protege.

Next to them was a mysterious trio dressed in light blue; One of them looking eerily similar to Maho with some sort of stringed instrument, and two shorter girls, a pale blonde who was pouting at the older brunette, and a redhead with a piece of grass in her teeth. Oddly enough, they all had cakes, but Joshua swore he never saw them order...

"Well, I guess we lost again..."

"Hey now, none of that! We did good, especially since Chi-Ha-Tan was... uhh..."

"... Over excitable?"

"Yeah, that!"

Miho giggled, cutting into the pastry and taking a bite

"I'm just glad that that's all over with, and we can-"

"Pardon me, is this seat taken?"

Joshua turned to the sound of Merigold's voice, a polite smile on her lips. At his gesture, the girl sat down, signaling Darjeeling and Assam to follow suit. The girls ordered tea (what else?), Darjeeling imitating Merigold's order exactly, causing the Brit to blush a little and laugh. Assam simply rolled her eyes, opening her laptop and losing herself in her beloved calculations

"Nice of you to join us!"

"And it is equally nice to be welcomed!"

Miho giggled; She liked how formal Joshua tried to be in the presence of the british girl, like a younger brother trying to impress his sister with his big words.

"Oh, as I was saying; I have a good feeling about this year. The main season may be over, but there's still alot we can do. Tankathalon, exhibition matches, even more like we just did! Sky's the limit!"

"Quite right old friend. Perhaps next time we'll even be on the same side, eh?"

"I dunno about that, Merigold. I-i mean, it uh... seems most unlikely."

The brit stifled a laugh and shared a look with Miho

"But I suppose anything is possible"

"Ahem, if I may."

All eyes turned to Assam

"By my calculations, the probability of us being on the same team is approximately 92.792 percent, give or take a few thousandths, of course."

Darjeeling spoke next, "Oh? How interesting! And who would we be pitted against? Kuromorimine?"

"... hmm... it doesn't seem so..."

"... Saunders?"

"No... by my calculations, they'd... no, that can't be right..."

Miho interjected, "What can't be right?"

"Well... it says here that they would be on the same team as well... but... that can't be right..." she repeated

"Well, lady Assam, who would our opponents be then?"

The blonde narrowed her eyes at the screen, "It appears... that that particular variable, is unknown, lady Merigold."

Joshua looked around; The girls all looked deep in thought, or thoroughly confused. He cleared his throat

"Well, not to disparage your numbers, miss Assam, but that seems quite impossible, doesn't it? I mean, there aren't really many more teams we could go up against as a fair match."

Assam still looked troubled, but sighed and closed her laptop, looking dejected

"Yes, Mister Whitman, I suppose you are correct."

Merigold placed her hand on top of Assams, joined by Darjeeling ok the other hand

"Oh, don't fret now love. Remember, 'We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty that needs to be done'"

If Joshua didn't know any better from the rumor mill about Assam harboring an ill-concealed crush on the Speedster of St. Gloriana, he'd say Assam actually visibly swooned at that

"S-sir Turing??"

Merigold flashed her a million-watt smile

"The very same."

Assams eyes fluttered at that, and she broke out into giggles before clamping her mouth shut; Okay, he may be dense, but Joshua definitely saw swooning.

He glared at Merigold, rolling her eyes as she winked at him; Always a flirt, that girl.

"In ANY CASE, I think it's safe to say that your formula might need a bit of refinement"

"oh! Yes, of course! Why, I can get started on it tonight, actually! Oh, I'm so excited, I even have a new equation I've been figuring, and it's perfect for...-"

Joshua sighed as the girl rambled on about mathematics, turning to his girlfriend and chuckling at her receptive eye-roll.

Assams must be mistaken; There was no way that every team would be allied to eachother, because then there'd be nobody to face up against!

The very notion was, to paraphrase Merigold, 'Quite daft.'

I would like to take this time to say to all and ensure that this knowledge is passed down:

Assam is a FUCKING NEEEEERRRRDDDD

And Merigold is a flirt, though she doesn't mean anything by it. Probably.

Ahem.

Bit of fluff here (all fluff) with some healthy foreshadowing to wash it all down. We'll be getting into our Betrayal by the Federation soon. I'm interested to see how I'll fit in all the newer crews and such in their respective teams during the All-Stars match. I'm also torn in if I should add something for the University team; on one hand, it's a bit one sided without it; on the other, they're pretty OP as it is already.

Anyway, read and review you know the drill