This is the Nishizumi Style of Sensha-do.
If you shoot, you hit.
If you defend, you defend firmly and without yield.
If you advance, you advance relentlessly and without falter.
A will of iron and treads of steel.
This is the Nishizumi Style of Sensha-do.
And it never loses.
Turtles: A Girls und Panzer Story.
Ob's sturmt oder schneit, ob die Sonne uns lacht…
Koume's eyes snapped open, and she began to move. First, of course, came getting out of bed, which she did in three precise motions: sit up, pivot to the left, stand up. Then came making the bed, which again she did in a few precise motions. She took a coin off her nightstand, dropped it on the blanket, and was satisfied when it bounced.
Der Tag glühend heiß Oder eiskalt die Nacht…
Next step, getting dressed. She turned to her right, to her desk, in order to get her school uniform off the hangers that she'd attached to her chair before going to bed the previous night…
Her desk wasn't there. Neither was her chair, or her clothes, or…
Es braust unser Panzer Im Sturmw-
Koume's left hand groped down onto her nightstand, found her phone, and shut off her alarm. Her right hand covered her face, as everything came flooding back to her. Again.
This is the fourth time now. It's one thing to stay disciplined, but I must seriously have been programmed like a robot if I'm still looking for my furniture in the wrong places.
She'd been aboard the Ooarai school carrier for a week, now. Today was the first day of the new school year, and it would also be the first time she'd actually set foot on the campus itself. At her old school, she'd have been on campus every day for senshado practice, regardless of whether classes proper were being run… but this place didn't have a tankery program. She'd left one of the foundations of her life behind to come here. Just one more thing that had changed in the past six months.
Koume crossed the room to her desk's actual location under the window and retrieved her new Ooarai school uniform. She didn't like it. The green collar and skirt were too bright, and the whole "sailor" aesthetic just seemed tacky. Not like the trim efficiency of her old school uniform.
She checked the time on her phone: 6:03 am. She had to fight down an instinctive surge of terror at the sight. No, Koume, you didn't oversleep. You're not missing practice. You have fifty seven minutes before you need to be at the school and in class. Senshado is not a thing you do. Not anymore.
It was just so hard to adjust to the fact that she wasn't at Kuromorimine anymore.
Once she'd dressed and collected her books and bag, she gave herself precisely ten minutes to eat a quick breakfast of a banana, a biscuit, and a bowl of cereal in her apartment's small kitchen before she was out the door, locking it quickly behind her. That is one nice thing about this place at least. There's no such thing as off-campus housing for students at Kuromorimine. I always thought that was something for college students only.
Once out on the street, it was only about a block before Koume reached an apartment building just like her own. She leaned against the stairs leading up to the second floor and waited.
She didn't have to wait long.
Within moments of Koume reaching the building, an auburn-haired blur in a green-and-white sailor outfit identical to Koume's own came barreling down the stairs. Koume smiled at the sight of her best friend.
"Good morning, Miho."
"Oh! Koume! Um, you made it!"
"Of course I did."
"Great! So, um, let's go! We don't want to be late!"
"Hold it." Miho, who'd been about to march off down the street in the direction of the school, stopped in her tracks. "Miho, did you eat anything?"
"What? Yeah, I had a granola bar."
"That's not going to be enough, Miho, and you know it. Whatever. Did you get all your books?"
"Yes! They're right here, see, biology, 20th century Japanese history, statistics. Koume, I'm not a kid, you don't have to-,"
"Did you lock your door?"
Miho froze, then bolted back up the stairs, leaving Koume trying not to laugh behind her. It was nice to see that some things, at least, never changed.
Once Miho, flushed from embarrassment, had returned, the two of them set off towards their new school. The shops and homes they passed as they walked down the street seemed completely normal, just like one might find in any town in Japan itself, or on the urban area on the top deck of the Graf Zeppelin, but something still seemed off about them to Koume.
They were passing a bakery when it clicked. "Miho, how far are we from the school?"
Miho brought up the GPS app on her phone, very obviously trying to ignore the smells wafting from the bakery's open door, and judging by her stomach's loud rumbling, very obviously failing. I don't know how she's going to make it to lunchtime. "Um, half a kilometer to the main building. Assuming we're going the right way, I might be reading this-,"
"You're not, Miho. I'd believe you'd forgotten your own name before you forgot how to read a map. Besides, there's a sign right over there that clearly says, 'Ooarai Campus', with an arrow. Thanks for the answer, by the way."
Miho had given her the last piece. At Kuromorimine, a half kilometer from the main building would've put them squarely on the campus already, no matter which direction they approached from. Here, apparently, the main building was the campus, or at least had few enough outbuildings in this direction that it would be the first thing they saw.
This place, this "Ooarai", just feels wrong. So completely different from everything I've ever known. Am I ever going to get used to it? Bad enough she'd moved more than halfway across the country to come here. It feels like I moved to the moon. And I haven't even made it to the actual school yet!
Something of her internal thoughts must have shown on her face, because Miho looked over at her with a concerned expression. "Koume, is something wrong?"
"What? No, nothing's wrong," she answered immediately, and then cursed herself. That would sound like a lame excuse to anybody… and Miho wasn't just anybody. She could read Koume like a book. She can read anyone like a book.
Sure enough, as they walked, Miho turned and peered closely at Koume's face. "Do you miss Kuromorimine?"
"… I miss parts of it." That, at least, was true enough. I miss the uniform. I miss my crew. I miss my Panther.
But I don't miss the school itself.
"Do you not like Ooarai?"
"We just got here, Miho. I'm sure I'll get used to it. It's just different."
There was a pause, and then—
"You didn't have to follow me here, Koume," Miho said softly. Koume almost groaned aloud.
"Yes, I did. We've been over this before." Twice before, as a matter of fact.
"Koume, I know how hard you worked to get into Kuromorimine in the first place. In middle school, and then again in high school! And I know you must have had other friends there…"
It was one of Miho's most endearing and most infuriating traits. The girl was easily the most compassionate, most altruistic, and most caring person Koume had ever known. That, combined with her uncanny powers of perception, meant that Miho tended to know instantly if anyone in her vicinity was feeling down, and if so, she would immediately start trying to help.
"Miho, maybe I wasn't clear enough about this previously. I was going to leave Kuromorimine no matter what you did. The only friends I ever had there besides you were my tank crew, and they'd already left. And even if they'd stayed, the rest of the team, the rest of the student body, the teachers, and the administration all made it very clear after the last tournament that they didn't care if I lived or died, so long as they won a senshado match. Which as much as I love it, is still just a sport. I cannot. Ever. Attend a school like that. Ever."
"But… what about senshado? You just said you love it, and you've said it before… I don't want to be the reason you quit something you love, Koume."
"Then you should've transferred to Saunders."
"You didn't have to follow-,"
"Yes, Miho, I did. My parents aren't exactly super-traditional, but they taught me about honor. I literally owe you my life. Even if we weren't already friends, that would be more than enough."
"But-,"
"Plus, of course, there was that whole thing about you moving to a brand new school based halfway across the country where you knew absolutely nobody. At least this way we can still support each other, whatever else happens."
"… thank you."
"Don't mention it." Koume suddenly felt like she needed a cup of coffee. Or some strong tea. It's too early in the morning for this. "Seriously, don't mention it again. Just accept that I'm going to be following you around for a very long time."
"Um… how long, exactly?" Miho said uncertainly.
Koume grabbed Miho's arm and yanked her to the side, narrowly avoiding the utility pole that Miho would've smacked into otherwise. "Until you stop doing that, at the very least."
They passed the rest of the journey to the school in silence.
Probably not the best decision, since it made the trip feel much longer than it actually was. So much so, that when they finally rounded the corner and came into sight of the main building of Ooarai Girl's Academy, Koume instinctively checked her phone for the time. 6:45. Okay, good, we still have plenty of time. Just as long as they weren't delayed… oh no, I just jinxed it.
Sure enough, at the top of the stairs into the main building, so very much smaller than the equivalent at Kuromorimine ("It's the same size as my family's house!" Miho cried as they approached it, which wasn't saying all that much considering how rich her family was but still odd), they saw an orderly queue of students trying to get in, being checked by three short, nearly identical girls with close cut black hair and black armbands around the sleeves of their school uniforms. Yep, I jinxed it.
The three girls seemed efficient at whatever they were doing, at least, as the line moved ahead quickly. Within five minutes, it was Miho and Koume's turn.
"Halt!" the girl in the center, with hair that came down just past her ears and who appeared to be the leader, ordered imperiously when she saw them, even though they were only three feet away and had already stopped. "As the ranking members of Ooarai Girls Academy's Public Morals Committee, it is our duty to check every student today, on the first day of school, to ensure that all students are accounted for." … Public Morals Committee? The girl's eyes narrowed. "I don't recognize either of you. Are you first years? What's your name, class, and grade?"
What is a Public Morals Committee?
"Akaboshi Koume, second year, Class 2C."
"Nishizumi Miho, second year, Class 2C."
The girl looked over at her fellow on her left. "Pazomi?"
The specified girl, with drooping eyebrows and hair cut above her ears, flipped through a notepad she was carrying. "Not seeing either of those names in the second years, Sodoko."
This sounds like the most pointless student organization ever.
The leader, whose name was apparently "Sodoko", turned back to them with blazing eyes. "Okay, are you some kind of impostors from another school or-,"
"We have our student IDs," Miho offered, quickly holding hers out. The third girl, to the leader's right with chin length hair and a friendlier expression than the other two, stepped forward, took it, and began to examine it.
"We're also new transfer students," Koume added. "Just in from Kuromorimine Girls High School in Kumamoto. I'm not sure if we'd be in with the other second years."
Sodoko looked at the longer-haired girl. "Gomoyo?"
"It looks fine to me, Sodoko."
Pazomi flipped through her notepad to the very last few pages. "Yes, they're in here with the other few transfers, Sodoko."
Sodoko turned back to them. "Okay then. Well. You should have said you were transfers from the start. Go straight to your classes, now. And, ah… welcome to Ooarai!" Yes, a very welcoming reception.
Miho retrieved her ID from Gomoyo, and together they walked through the front doors of Ooarai for the first time.
"She's right, Koume, we need to get to our first class, we're cutting it close now," Miho said.
"Agreed. Which is our first, again? Statistics?"
"Yes, statistics. Then 20th century history, then lunch, then biology, then a free period where we'll have our elective the rest of the semester but we're going to choose that today so it's a free period-,"
"Miho. Where's the statistics classroom?"
"Oh, um, I think it's down… that hall."
They had less than three minutes until the bell, and the two of them quickened their pace as they hurried down the mathematics hallway, wading through a large crowd of chattering students who were also moving to their classrooms. From what Koume could hear, every single one of them seemed to be talking about lunch: what they were going to get if the cafeteria had it today, where they were going to sit, etcetera.
Miho's stomach rumbled with a sound like distant thunder, and Koume wanted to strangle the whole lot of them.
111, 113… here we go!
She and Miho ducked into Classroom 115. It appeared, from the state of the room, that the only ones not there already were themselves and the teacher. Stupid Morals Committee.
Thankfully, there were two open seats at the very back of the room. Koume pointed them out to Miho, and the two of them sat down just as the bell rang.
The teacher, a balding man of average height, entered a moment later.
"Good morning, young ladies. I hope you all like those seats you're sitting in now, because they'll be your assigned seats for the rest of the semester."
There was a collective groan from the rest of the class. Meh. Koume would've preferred to sit at the front, but it wasn't the end of the world.
"Since this is the first day of the class, we won't be getting into the actual coursework today." A cheer from the other students, though it was only to be expected. "Today we'll be focusing on the syllabus, which I am passing around to you all now, as well as getting to know each other and the way things are going to work in this class."
The rest of the class passed uneventfully; it wasn't until the bell rang, and Miho and Koume were preparing to leave, that anything noteworthy happened.
"Hi there!"
Koume looked up from where she was stuffing her notebook back into her bag (the teacher had had them do a few preliminary math problems in the last ten minutes).
Standing in front of her and Miho's desks were another pair of girls. One was fairly tall, with long, thick black hair that flowed down to the middle of her back. The other was about the same height as Koume and Miho, with flaming orange hair that reached to her shoulders. Both were smiling.
"Hello," the redhead repeated—by the sound of her voice, it had been her that had spoken the first time. "I'm Takebe Saori."
"Isuzu Hana," the black-haired girl added in a soft, refined voice.
Koume and Miho looked at each other, then gave their own names.
"We haven't seen you before," the redhead, Saori, said. "Are you new?"
"Um, yes," Miho replied. "We just transferred in."
"That's so cool! Where from?"
"Kuromorimine. It's based in Kumamoto City, on Kyushu," Koume said. Saori breathed "Wow!" when she heard that, and Hana looked mildly impressed. Koume stood up, followed by Miho. "Look, I don't mind talking, but we need to get to our next class. Can we talk on the way?"
"Sure!" The four of them headed out into the hallway, and began to head towards the social sciences hall with Saori and Hana leading.
"So, how are you liking our school so far, Akaboshi-san and Nishizumi-san?" Hana asked.
"It's great! Please, call me Miho!" Miho replied eagerly.
"It's… different," Koume said. "And yeah, there's no need to be quite so formal. Just 'Koume' is fine."
Hana turned her head back to look at them, while deftly slipping in between two other large groups of students as they headed down the hallway. "I understand, Koume-san. Merely moving such a great distance would present great problems by itself. And the school that the two of you attended formerly was likely quite different from this one as well." Oh, you have no idea. The taller girl reached the door of their second period classroom and pulled it open for them in one fluid motion.
"Hey!" Saori said brightly. "If you're so new, you must not know anyone else here. After this class is over, would you like to have lunch with us? We can tell you about what Ooarai is like!"
Second period went much the same as first period had; the teacher, another man, this one tall and skinny with a full head of hair, came in and droned about the syllabus and what the semester would look like. The only notable difference was that he also informed them that there had been a "change of plans" regarding fourth period. Apparently, at the beginning of that period, the entire student body would be summoned to the auditorium for "a special announcement." When Saori raised her hand and said that she (along with everyone else) had thought that they would choose their elective in that period, she was told they would be given forms to take home instead.
Koume wasn't particularly disturbed with the change. They'll probably just show us some boring "Welcome to the School!" video or something. She vaguely recalled her brother having to do something similar last year at his own school. It was all different shades of "weird" to her; at Kuromorimine, the elective would've been chosen long before the semester started.
Then the bell rang for lunch, and Saori and Hana were as good as their word.
No sooner had the class been dismissed than the two of them led Miho and Koume to the school's spacious cafeteria. Once there, they led them to the food and showed them exactly how to choose what they wanted, plus commentary ("Ooh, pork ramen on offer today, get that, they don't have that often" "I mean, miso is miso, but I wouldn't really recommend ours, it's nothing special and we have so much better stuff"). Saori did most of the talking, while the elegant and demure seeming Hana shocked Koume by piling her tray with an absolute mountain of food; far more than even poor starving Miho. Then they went over to a window table to eat (the table and chairs were well made enough, with verdant vegetation spaced in tasteful planters nearby, that it felt almost like eating in a fancy restaurant), and proceeded to barrage Miho and Koume with insider information about Ooarai: the school, the town, and the whole ship. What teachers they'd had last year and what they thought of them, what they'd heard about the ones on the schedule for this semester, where the best spots were to study in the library. Where the best spots to hang out in the town were, where the best spots to visit in the forest that made up the aft half of the carrier's top deck were. On, and on, and on.
The two of them also attempted to ask questions about Kuromorimine, what Koume and Miho's lives had been like there, and why they had transferred, but seemed understanding enough when neither Miho nor Koume felt ready to answer.
Koume wasn't quite sure how to feel about the two girls. Part of her, the part that had lived years in the intense, pressure-cooker environment of Kuromorimine, where those around you were first and foremost your competition to make it onto the travel roster, felt sure that Saori and Hana had to have some sort of ulterior motive for rushing to befriend two girls they'd just met for the first time and knew literally nothing about. What could they stand to gain? There had to be something. Nobody was just that friendly and outgoing.
But then…
Don't I already know someone like that?
Going over to meet new people, attempting to make them feel welcome in a new place… it was what Miho would do.
Koume decided she liked these girls.
All too soon, the bell to signal the end of their lunch period, and the beginning of third, rang. The four of them gathered their bags and headed towards the science hallway, with Saori and Hana assuring Miho and Koume that they'd take them around town and show them some of the spots they'd talked about once school ended for the day. Why not? I'll have plenty of free time. When they reached the biology classroom, the four of them chose seats together.
Koume later thought that she should have known it was too peaceful to last.
Third period began like the first two had. The teacher, a woman- finally a female teacher at the girls school—came in, handed out the syllabus, and began to go over it with the class. About halfway through, though, there came a knock at the door.
The teacher looked up from where she had been detailing the basic rules of lab safety. "Ah, a visitor. Isobe-san, could you kindly let them in?" Isobe, a short, boyish-looking girl sitting nearest the door, nodded and began to get up… but before she could get to the door, the lock clicked and it swung open.
Three students entered the classroom, and a hush fell over it.
They didn't look particularly unique, apart from a single broad red stripe on the forearms of their school uniforms. One, the tallest, was a pretty, buxom girl with long brown hair bound up in a ponytail; another, of average height, had severely cut black hair, a distinct frown, and bizarrely, a monocle over her right eye. The third was one of the shortest people Koume had ever seen, barely over four feet tall, with long red pigtails, a lazy smile on her face, and a bag of sweet potato chips in her hand, which she was noisily eating from as she strolled into the biology classroom as if she owned the place.
Koume could not believe her eyes. Since when could students just brazenly walk into a classroom while a lesson was going on? Looking around only made her more confused; everyone, except for herself and Miho, seemed to be looking at the newcomers with something approaching awe.
Then something completely unfathomable happened. The teacher, instead of something like angrily demanding to know why these random students had barged into her classroom and where they'd gotten a key, or simply calling a vice principal, approached the newcomers and inclined her head. "Koyama-san and Kawashima-san. President Kadotani-san. May I ask why you're here? Is there some way I can assist you?"
The pigtailed dwarf waved a large sweet potato chip in the air as she responded through the four more in her mouth. "It's nothing big, Ms Uesaka-san. We just need to talk with one of your students for a moment, then we'll be on our way." The air in the classroom became tinged with a distinct note of fear.
Koume's jaw dropped.
'San'. Not 'sama' or 'dono' or 'sensei'. 'San'. This… student… just addressed an adult teacher as an equal! And the teacher accepted it! Not just accepted it! The teacher spoke first and showed deference!
What is this?!
Koume looked at Saori, seated to her left, who was staring at the newcomers. "Saori. Who are-,"
"The Student Council," Saori whispered.
"… okay? Since when can a student council do this?"
"I do not know how it is at other schools, Koume-san," Hana's voice came softly from over Koume's shoulder. "Here at Ooarai, the Student Council commands… great respect and power."
Great respect and power.
That much, at least, was already obvious.
At the front of the room, the black haired girl turned to face the class, her monocle glinting. "Is Nishizumi Miho in this classroom?"
Dead silence.
Koume's mind went blank. Miho. Why? She hasn't done anything! There could only be one reason a complete stranger would ever single Miho out from a crowd… but that didn't apply here.
To Koume's right, Miho slowly raised her hand.
As one, the Ooarai Student Council marched down the aisle between desks to where Miho sat, books, bags, and stray legs hurriedly being removed from their way as they came. They reached Miho's desk and crowded around it.
The pretty brown-haired one spoke first. "Hello, Miho-san! Is it okay if we use your given name?"
"Um… I mean… I guess so, but…"
"Wonderful! You see, Miho-san, we heard you'd just transferred in, and we wanted to take the opportunity to welcome you to Ooarai! Have you enjoyed your day here so far?"
"Um… well… first period and second period seemed nice enough. Lunch was really great! I love the cafeteria here! The food is great and the way it's set up is just…" Absurdly, Miho's eyes actually began to brighten, as despite herself, she began to warm to both the subject of all the new things she'd discovered today and to the seemingly friendly girl talking to her. Oh, Miho…
Koume didn't buy it for a second. The brown-haired girl was talking in a tone of voice almost as bright and cheerful as the one Saori had been using all day, but there was very obviously an ulterior motive here. They want something.
And sure enough…
Monocle Girl abruptly placed her hands on Miho's desk and leaned forward. "We're glad to hear you've had a good time here so far. But we're here on business. Nishizumi Miho, we are requesting that you sign up for Senshado as your elective." Miho's face froze.
Wait. Wait. Sign up for WHAT?
"I thought this school didn't have a Senshado program," Miho said blankly.
"For the past twenty years, we haven't. We're officially restarting it this semester, and we need you to be on it."
Restarting Senshado.
Koume felt something explode inside of her.
I don't have to give up Senshado after all.
She wanted to run, to jump, to sing. The school was establishing a Senshado program! The gods had heard her prayers, prayers she'd never spoken at any shrine but kept buried unacknowledged in her heart. She'd get to hear the roar of the guns again, smell the spent cordite, feel the rumble of the engine beneath her seat. A new Senshado program. What kind of tanks will they buy? Do they already have them?
Do they have a Panther?
There were so many questions she suddenly wanted to ask of this Student Council, but they could wait. Restarting Senshado. Her heart felt like it was inflating in her chest.
It promptly deflated as soon as she took a look at Miho's face. Koume suddenly felt like the most selfish bitch in Japan.
Miho had turned white. "I transferred to this school specifically because it didn't have a Senshado program."
"We're sorry to hear that, Nishizumi-chan," said Pigtailed Dwarf. And they don't care. It somehow didn't surprise Koume at all that someone who'd address a teacher as an equal had the gall to call Miho something so intimate as 'chan'.
But maybe she could…
"Excuse me."
The Student Council turned their heads at her in unison. Koume had the feeling they weren't used to being interrupted.
"I'm Akaboshi Koume. I transferred here with Miho. We were both on the Kuromorimine Senshado team together. If you need someone with experience to help you set things up, I'd be more than willing to join your team."
"Oh, that's wonderful!" Brown Hair cried. "You can both join!"
"No, I mean that you don't need to bother Miho, because you can see that she-,"
The Student Council promptly turned back to Miho, very pointedly ignoring Koume.
Fuck.
"So, Nishizumi Miho, we are officially requesting that you take Senshado as your elective," Monocle Girl said. "Do be aware that the elective signup sheets pass through our office."
"Obviously, your application to the team will be instantly approved," Brown Hair said cheerily.
"Can't wait to see you on the practice field, Nishizumi-chan!" Pigtailed Dwarf waved another chip in the air, spraying crumbs everywhere.
The Student Council turned and left the room, leaving a stunned silence in their wake. Koume turned and looked at her best friend, and felt seriously alarmed; Miho looked like she was about to go into shock.
"Miho?"