Dein Weg ist Mein Weg
Chapter XXXV
The Arrangement
"Anzio's P40 flag tank is no longer operable. Ooarai Girls Academy wins the match and advances to the semifinals!"
Maho sighed to herself, and leaned back in her chair as she stretched her arms. She wasn't getting any wiser, and she couldn't gleam any more understanding from watching it over again.
Instead, she simply made yet another scratchy circle around the part of her notes that read "Hit P40 HOW?", and rewound the recording of the match once more.
The beginning she quickly scrubbed through, since she had both been there herself, and watched it through once already. There wasn't much of interest there anyways, only seeing the red and blue blocks representing Ooarai and Anzio's tanks spreading out across the field.
There had been a slight surprise in seeing some of Chiyomi's CV33s race across the battlefield to reach the two major crossroads, only to then back off again shortly before Erwin and Azusa's platoons reached their objectives. But switching to the aerial photography of the battle, and seeing the placement of painted tank decoys had made Maho curse ever since she first saw it.
She knew Chiyomi was clever. She knew she was good at utilizing what she had. And yet, she hadn't foreseen her using decoys. All Maho had been able to focus on was how her and Chiyomi would be facing one another again in the forest, and nothing else. She couldn't blame Azusa or Erwin for getting held up at the crossroads by such a tactic. She was the commander, she should have foreseen or at the very least suspected something like this, and made sure that her team was informed and could act accordingly. The blame was solely hers.
But then there were the other parts of the battle. The ones where she was most certainly not to blame. Turtle team disobeying Erwin's orders and charging right into the bulk of Anzio's forces. The cyclops somehow landing her one-in-a-billion shot, taking Hana's killshot on the P40 with it to a fiery grave and accomplishing nothing except for prolonging the match and endangering their victory. Azusa letting herself be lured into a trap even more obvious than the one the cyclops had enacted against St. Gloriana.
The first time she had seen it, and actually gotten to understand how the battle had flowed, she had been angry. She knew that Ooarai was still a team of beginners at heart, but there was no way to excuse or explain such failures, and it most certainly wouldn't fly in the semifinals.
She sighed to herself. The semifinals. Victory against Anzio had by no means been certain, and getting through the semis would be a monumental challenge even for a team with three times the equipment and training. And even if they could claim victory there, there was still the matter of the finals. She would have to lead Ooarai against Miho and Kuromorimine. To fight against everything she had worked for and protected all her life. And if she couldn't, if she wasn't good enough to defeat Miho, to lead Ooarai to victory…
It would mean the end. To everything.
MEXT would close down the school. She would be left without a school, and once again be subject to her mother's whims and will. It would be the end of her.
She would never see Chiyomi again.
She'd never get the chance to make things right with Koume.
She wouldn't get to spend time with her f-... crew… agai-
She shook her head a few times, stood up and walked a quick lap around the room. No, there was no point in worrying about that now. She had better things to worry about right now. She still needed to get them through the semis before there was even any point in properly worrying.
She tried to look through the match yet another time, to see if there was anything she had missed, but there was no point. She just found herself seething bitterly at the failures of her teammates, and she hated it.
And so instead she let her curiosity and confusion get the better of her, and simply watched the final showdown, if you could even call it that, between the Panzer IV and the P40 again.
"Anzio's P40 flag tank is no longer operable. Ooarai Girls Academy wins the match and advances to the semifinals!"
She still didn't understand. And so she rewound the recording, and watched it again.
"Anzio's P40 flag tank is no longer operable. Ooarai Girls Academy wins the match and advances to the semifinals!"
And then again.
"Anzio's P40 flag tank is no longer operable. Ooarai Girls Academy wins the match and advances to the semifinals!"
"Anzio's P40 flag tank is no longer operable. Ooarai Girls Academy wins the match and advances to the semifinals!"
"Anzio's P40 flag tank is no longer operable. Ooarai Girls Academy wins the match and advances to the semifinals!"
"Getting any wiser, are we?"
Maho jumped at the question. She had been staring at the same three minutes of footage for what felt like an eternity, and in no way expected someone to talk to her. But looking around the room, she found herself just as alone as she had been ever since she got home. She was alone, with no one but herself, and her reflection in the window.
Her reflection, that didn't dress like her.
"Oh," Maho muttered with a sigh, and glanced over at the window, looking more at the quiet night outside than her doppelganger reflected in it. "It's you. Come to annoy me further?" She gave a pointed glance at the tank jacket her reflection wore; the black and red of Kuromorimine now exchanged for the light blue of the custom Ooarai-jacket Saori and the others had given her.
"What?" it asked in faux confusion. "You don't like it?"
"That's not the point," Maho mumbled, and glanced back at the computer screen where the final moments of the match were still repeating. "It was you, wasn't it? You did that, didn't you?"
"We did that. I said we were stronger as one, didn't I?" the reflection answered with a smile and a shrug. "Why? Are you unhappy about our victory?"
"No…" Maho replied, suddenly more uncertain than angry. "I… I guess I'm not…"
"But?"
"I'm… I'm not sure… I'm…" She answered, and fell back in her chair. "I'm still fuzzy on what exactly happened…"
"Well, what do you think happened?" the reflection asked. "How did it feel?"
"I guess… it kinda was like what I used to be able to do… Like, I don't know… It was as if I knew where the P40 was, even though I couldn't see it. I didn't see it, but I still did, I guess?" She sighed, and put a hand to her forehead. "But what I don't understand is how… The only way I could have done something like that… I would have had to fall back on all of mother's training…"
"Are you sure about that?"
"I… yeah, of course I am!" Maho snapped back.
"Interesting," the doppelganger said pensively with a sly and knowing smile.
"What, you're saying I don't need those things?"
"Maybe. Maybe not. Going through all that is definitely one way we can do it. It's the old way. The way mother does it, how Miho does it… how she does it. But we didn't this time, did we?"
"No… I guess not…"
"So logic would dictate that we can do it without all that, now doesn't it?"
Maho sighed. "I hate it when you're right…"
"What can I say," it shrugged. "I'm just stating what we already know. We're one and the same after all, so I can't know anything you don't."
"Yeah, sure. If you say so," she muttered. "Still doesn't explain why I collapsed afterwards. And if this ability of mine… I mean… ours?" She sighed once more, and shook her head. "Whatever. This ability. I couldn't breathe in forever while it happened. Damn near could have killed me. So if that's the 'other way' of doing it, I don't want it anymore than I want the old way."
"I thought you were foggy on the details?"
"Yeah, well, it's starting to come back to me I guess," she snapped back. "So I'd appreciate it if you stopped talking in riddles."
"Oh well. We're clever, I'm sure you'll figure it out in time."
A blink. That was all it took. Maho blinked, and just as swiftly as it had appeared, her doppelganger was gone, the phantom in the window replaced by herself once more.
"I hate it when she does that," she muttered, and collapsed onto her desk with a groan.
Be-be-be-beep… be-be-be-beep... be-be-be-beep…
She groaned once more as she turned to face the annoying sound, and slowly opened her eyes again, for a moment looking in confusion at her room which was now bathed in the warm light bursting through her window. She reached a fumbling hand out towards her phone, the source of the noise, and turned it off. After a few seconds, she groaned again and actually took the time to look at the time.
"Figures," she muttered, and slowly got up from her chair, stretching lightly as she did so and cursing at the uncomfortable tension in her back, the prize one paid for sleeping slumped over a desk instead of in bed.
Not that she had much time to regret her choice, or lack thereof. The alarm on her phone rang once more, and she could only turn it off again, before quickly jumping into the shower, changing her tank uniform from the previous day for fresh clothes, and get herself through the door.
"Now," Maho said sternly once she had finished walking the team through the battle, and looked at the gathered members in the small annex of the tank garage in which they held their debriefing. A few dozen chairs had been scavenged from a supply room, and a barely functioning projector from a disused classroom. There was no screen for it to project onto, but the plain concrete wall of the room adjoining it to the garage served this role well enough. "Is there anything anyone noticed that could have been done better or differently?"
There was some uncomfortable silence and awkward squirming at first, but after a few seconds the different teams slowly began to point out areas where they could have acted differently to better deal with an opponent, or to secure a position quicker. Soon almost all pretense was gone as they once more went through the battle and it was clear to Maho that the team was learning to pick out their mistakes and how to both improve, and to make sure they weren't repeated in the future. But then, as they once more reached the part where Azusa's platoon went off to chase down the CV33, she gave a pointed look towards Rabbit team and their commander.
"So… Sawa, anything you feel like drawing attention to?"
"Yeah," Azusa said coldly with a shrug. "We should have hit and eliminated the CV33 much quicker than we did. That's on me, sorry."
"Indeed. Good of you to notice. " Maho said just as coldly. "I hope this shows the value of proper target practice, and why we're going to continue drilling in aiming and firing both while on the move, and while stationary." She gave a bitter glance towards the cyclops at the other corner of the room, before looking back at Azusa and hitting a button on the remote she was holding. "But I was more interested in hearing what you had to say about this part here."
The blocks on the screen sped up as the recording of the match fast forwarded, following Rabbit and Duck team giving chase to Anzio's tankette down the narrow canyon, and ultimately finding themselves boxed in by the Semovente above the exit.
Azusa gave a bitter and resigned sigh, before standing up, glaring at Maho the entire time. A glare Maho was more than happy to answer.
"Yeah, we got ambushed. It happens."
"Correction: You let yourself be led into an ambush, like a lamb to slaughter. Did you really not see it coming, despite all the evidence?"
"Maybe I did, but in case I need to remind you, commander, I had orders to keep Anzio occupied at the crossroads. And seeing as Anzio wasn't actually at the crossroads, I decided to follow the CV33, either to take it out, or to have it lead us to their allies. I had to make a call, and made one."
"Well, you made the wrong call," Maho answered, feeling the anger and bitterness grow within her. "And even after you fell into this obvious trap, your hesitating meant your forces missed your shot to escape, and instead, the only thing you provided to the battle was some added target practice for Anzio's gunners. I'm sure they appreciated it. And once they finished playing around on your end, there was not a single tank between them and the flag tank. Which, in case you forgot, means that we were this close to losing."
"Eh, we won didn't we?" the president casually broke in. "No point in worrying what might have happened, now is there?"
For a moment there was complete silence in the room, only broken by the near inaudible hum of the projector and Yuzu whispering to the pipsqueak, trying to convince her not to push the issue. But Maho was more than happy to be granted such a segue to her next target, and swiftly let her ire move on from Azusa.
"Oh yeah?" she said sharply and took a few short steps towards the end of the room where Turtle team had situated themselves. "I wouldn't be acting so casually about this if I were you, considering your idiotic antics almost cost us the match."
"Hey, we did way better than-" Momo started to yell in protest, but Maho had no interest in letting her defend herself.
"Don't even bother," she said sharply. "You disobeyed your commander's orders, risking not only your own position, but the entire team's. You pulled more tanks onto Duck and Rabbit team's position, making it next to impossible for them to do their job. You also acted like an arrogant bastard, while contributing absolutely nothing to the team's effort. And honestly, I don't know what possible reason I had for expecting anything else." More for effect than reason, Maho was counting the mistakes on her fingers as she listed them. "Oh, and let's not forget your masterpiece, you cross eyed cyclops; the one time in your miserable excuse of a life that you actually land a hit, you save the enemy flag tank from elimination. Did you bet your tuition on Anzio winning or something?"
Maho didn't leave enough time for a response before continuing her verbal assault.
"You should consider yourself lucky. If this was a real team with proper tanks and complete crews, instead of these unfortunate circumstances under which I'm forced to deal with your ineptitude, I'd just as soon take a step off the edge of the carrier than let you inside a turret. And even if you somehow managed to worm yourself onto the team and pulled a stunt like that, I'd have you kicked out quicker than you could climb out of the cupola. And then I'd have you keelhauled and set to clean spark plugs for the rest of your life just for good measure, you worthless sycophant!"
"Alright, we're done here," Ami said sharply, before stepping into the center of the room. "Good work in the second round everyone," she continued, her normal cheerful tones returning as if they had never left. "Now, enjoy the rest of your Sunday, and remember that there's no practice tomorrow while the tanks get repaired. I'll see you all back here on Tuesday when we get to work prepping for the semifinals."
Maho and Momo turned to Ami to protest, but a look silenced them both, and the team soon filtered out of the room. A handful of "Thanks for today" and "See you on Tuesday"'s where uttered as they left, but more than anything the mood made clear that they were all just happy to get out of there.
"So…" Ami said once her and Maho were alone in the small annex, "That took an interesting turn to say the least."
Maho didn't answer. She just stared bitterly at her notes, occasionally glancing up at the projection of blue and red blocks moving around on the screen.
"You… you doing ok?" Ami asked after a little while in the absence of an answer, amusement giving way to concern. "Hey, Maho-"
"You think I'm screwing up," Maho said suddenly and sharply, looking up from her notes. "Aren't you?"
"I didn't say that, did I?"
"No, but that's what you're thinking, isn't it?"
Ami paused for a moment, as if to consider her words as she walked over towards Maho. "If you're asking me, doesn't that mean you've already come to a conclusion, and just want me to say it so you don't have to?"
"Do we have to go through this right now?" Maho asked back. "You're here as an advisor, aren't you, so advise me. If that's what you think, just tell it to me straight."
Ami sighed and sat down in one of the chairs, hunched forwards and looking down at her hands for a few moments, before looking back up at Maho. "I do," she said at last. "I think you're getting stuck in how you used to do things, and that's making you do a big thing badly."
"DAMNIT!" Maho yelled in a moment of pure frustration, and threw her notes across the room. Ami didn't give much of a reaction or say anything, instead just letting Maho pace bitterly a few laps around the small open area at the front of the room before sitting herself down against the wall. "Why can't they understand that this is serious? They can't keep screwing around like this if we're gonna win…"
"Hey, it's fine. We talked about this. We're not at Kuromorimine, and it doesn't actually matter if you win or not. It's just a sport, remember?"
Maho didn't answer. She simply bowed her head and sighed.
"Unless…" Ami continued after a few seconds, "unless there's something I don't know… Maho… This isn't just about you being a Nishizumi, right?"
Maho just gave a light shake of her head in response.
"There's something you know that I don't, and that's why you're trying so hard to win, isn't there?"
A slow, defeated nod was the only answer Ami received, but it was all she needed to understand.
"Alright," Ami said with a sigh as she sat down beside Maho. "Lay it on me. Whatever it is, I'm certain we can deal with it."
"They're closing the school…" Maho mumbled, almost inaudibly.
"What?"
"MEXT is shutting down Ooarai at the end of the semester, unless we win the tournament."
"Come on, Maho," Ami said with a smile, and playfully jabbed her in the side with an elbow. "You can't make me worried like that. You're joki-..." A glance from Maho was enough to quiet Ami down, and an air of understanding to enter her voice. "No… I guess you wouldn't be joking about something like this…"
"You know," Ami said once Maho had explained the situation, "with all that pressure on your shoulders, I don't blame you for being high strung. But hey, being brought up as a Nishizumi has probably left you better prepared than most for something like this."
"Very funny," Maho muttered in response, and sighed. "Still doesn't help the fact that I'm working with a fourth of what I need, if that."
"Well, let's look at the positives. You won the second round match fair and square, despite being at a two-to-one disadvantage. And whatever their actions on the field might have been, you can't deny that your plan of making the rest of the team independent platoons worked. Sure, Turtle team got a bit overzealous-"
"That's putting it mildly."
"But Sawa did great at commanding Rabbit and Duck teams, and Matsumoto kept her cool on her end. And once you get a crew together for the B1, you're gonna be even better off."
"Why do you always have to find a silver lining in everything?" Maho muttered and shook her head.
"Call it an occupational hazard," Ami answered with a laugh. "And besides, with you and me working together on this, we've already got four national tournament wins under our belts. I'm certain we'll get you guys that flag! 120 percent!"
Maho glanced over at Ami, but seeing the careless grin on her friend's face, she couldn't help but chuckle. "Right… So then, Advisor Chono… Advise away…"
"Hey, Maho? Earth to Maho?"
"What?" She glanced up from the half-eaten and mostly picked-through food before her, and up at Saori.
"Were you… were you listening?"
"No… Sorry…"
"Is something the matter? You have seemed very despondent ever since after our match with Anzio," Hana asked.
"It's… it's nothing. I'm fine." Maho put her chopsticks down and looked up properly from her lunch to face the rest of her crewmates around the table. "What were you saying?"
"We were gonna go to that café by the ferry terminal after school!" Saori explained. "You… you wanna come with?"
"Yeah!" Yukari said excitedly, and looked at Maho with eyes the size of saucers, before realizing what she'd done and looking away again awkwardly, mumbling out a quick apology
"No… I'm…" Maho said, glancing over to Yukari before looking back down. "I'm busy... Sorry…"
"Hey…"
"Hu-oh, C-... Maho." Yukari paused at the door of her classroom as she saw Maho beside her. "Aren't… aren't you going to class?"
"You're going out with the rest of the crew after school, aren't you?"
"I… I am…" Yukari answered nervously. "Did… did you change your mind? I'm sure Saori, Hana and Mako would be delighted if you just asked them if you could come alo-"
"We need to talk," Maho said shortly and with a serious tone. "Could you tell Saori and Hana you'll catch up with them later?"
"Oh… I… I guess?"
"Good. I'll come by and get you after the last bell chimes." She gave a quick nod and turned on the spot, beginning to walk away back to her own classroom.
"Uh… uhm… Co-commander?"
"Sorry, I'm busy," Maho said and continued past the girl who had tried to get her attention. She was already at risk of being late for class, and she had no intention to give the pipsqueak or the cyclops any more ammunition to use against her if she could help it.
The girl sighed and looked down dejectedly at the floor as Maho disappeared around the corner. "Just great… nice going, Nekonya…"
"So, uh… uhm… Ni-...Com-... Maho?" Yukari asked nervously as they walked. She had been dreading their meeting ever since Maho had come by her classroom to arrange it at the end of lunch. "What… what did you want to talk about? Have… have I done something wrong?"
Maho stopped in place, turned around, and leaned against a nearby wall. She looked up at Yukari, before sighing and looking back down again.
"I-if I did anything, if I overstepped somewhere along the way I'm really really sorry, I didn't mean to, please please please don't kick me off the team, I promise I'll do better-"
"I'm sorry," Maho said shortly.
"I mean it!" Yukari continued bowing profusely through her blubbering apology. "I won't ever say anything, or even talk to you agai-" She paused, and simply stared blankly at Maho for a few seconds, as if she had spoken in a different language, or grown a third arm before Yukari's eyes.
"I'm sorry, Yukari," Maho repeated, and bowed back to the other girl.
"W-wait…" Yukari answered slowly, still not quite understanding. "Why… why are you apologizing to me? You haven't done anything wrong…"
"No, I have," Maho countered. "I've acted terribly towards you, and I need to apologize for my behavior."
"But… didn't you already do that before the Anzio-match?" Yukari's confusion was clear both from her tone and the expression on her face.
"I did," Maho answered, and looked away at the sky. "And while that might have been enough for the rest of them… I've still been far worse towards you than the rest of the crew. Ever since we first met. I was cold and bitter towards you, and I in no way treated you fairly. So…" Now it was Maho's time to pause, as she stared blankly down into the ground and curled her hands into fists. She knew she was right in what she was saying, and still the words were so hard to say out loud. "So I want to apologize!" she finally blurted out. "For… for that, I mean…"
Yukari once again stared blankly at Maho for a few seconds, before bursting out in a fit of laughter.
"What?!" Maho asked bitterly.
"I'm… I'm sorry," Yukari said after a few seconds when she had calmed herself down. "I accept your apology, but only on one condition."
"Oh yeah, and what's that?" Maha said as she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.
"That you accept mine."
"Yukari, you don't need to do that-"
"No, I do. Because if your behavior needs you to apologize to me, then I definitely need to apologize to you," Yukari interrupted, and looked at Maho with uncharacteristic sternness. "I was ecstatic when I found out you were transferring here. Worse, even. I let my adoration of you and your career as a tanker get the better of me, and I didn't treat you like a person. I couldn't stop thinking about you as the unbeatable tanker I had seen on TV, the steely-eyed girl on my posters. And it makes perfect sense that you would be angry at me for doing that. I mean, look at me." She shrugged, and looked down sadly at the ground. "We've been fighting on the same team for months, and we see each other at school all the time. And I can't even call you by your name properly. I'm pathetic, aren't I? Not like you." She sighed, and glanced up at Maho. "You're so much more than what you look like and what people think you are, and me… I'm exactly what I look like, just some weird obsessive tank-otaku whose only friends for the past 15 years have been some plastic models I built myself…"
"That's not true."
"Yes it is," Yukari shot back. "The only reason you even talk to me is because we're on the same crew. If I wasn't your loader, there's no way you'd even bother with all of this. "I might be a bit awkward and not really know how people work, but I'm not stupid."
"I never said you were," Maho answered, and put a hand on Yukari's shoulder. "And you're not just what people think of you. You know tanks better than almost anyone I've ever met, you're the fastest loader on the team, you're-"
"That's the point," Yukari said dejectedly. "Saori said the same thing a few weeks back, and that's all I am. I'm the awkward nerd who knows about tanks, and I can load a gun. Right? That's all you can think of, isn't it?"
Maho didn't answer, and instead simply looked blankly at Yukari for a moment. "No," she finally said. "It's not. You're also kind, observant, and have a way better understanding of people than you give yourself credit for. Far better than me, at the very least." She gave Yukari's shoulder a light squeeze with her hand and met her eyes. "You were right. About the jacket. I hated the old tank jacket because of the colors. They were too similar to Kuromorimines, and I kept worrying that I would fall back on old habits. You were completely right, and I'm really happy that you figured it out. The new one you guys got me is worlds better, and I couldn't dream of having a better crew."
She let go of Yukari, and held her open hand out instead.
"So, if you're ok with forgiving me, maybe we can let all of this be water under the bridge?"
Yukari looked down at the hand Maho had offered, then up at Maho, then back down at the hand. She hesitantly began to reach out her own in answer, but as they were about to meet, Yukari pulled her hand back.
"Yukari, please. I'm saying it's fine," Maho added, in the hopes of easing Yukari's uncertainty. "Is… Is it the name thing?" Maho then asked, looking at her face in an attempt to try and read where the issue lay. "If… if you want, if it makes you more comfortable, I'd be ok with you… with you calling me Nishizumi, or Commander… And if you don't feel comfortable with me calling you Yukari, I guess I'd be fine with just calling you Akiyama…"
"Sorry," Yukari finally said, conviction filling her voice as she took Maho's hand in her own and shook it. "I just… I just needed to think for a second."
"It's fine," Maho replied, and answered the shake. "But I guess you need to get going, or Saori, Hana, and Mako are going to start to worry about you."
"You sure you're not joining us?"
"No, I'm not. Sorry," Maho said as Yukari let go of her hand, and nodded in farewell. "But I'll see you at school tomorrow, Akiyama."
"Yukari," Yukari said shortly and in a low, mumbling voice, her head bowed towards the ground. "My… My name's Yukari… And if… if it's not too much to ask, I'd like you to call me that. Just like your name's Maho." She looked up at Maho with a determined look in her eyes. "¨Sorry, Maho. I'll… I'll get better at this. I promise."
"You know I'm going to hold you to that, don't you?" Maho said with an amused smile. "Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow!" Yukari said back, and waved as she sprinted off towards the town.
"Whoaaa! They really are huge when seen from up close!"
Maho looked up from her pre-session inspection of the Panzer IV's treads at the voice, which she didn't recognize, and saw a girl in regular Ooarai uniform standing in the doorway of the garage with her mouth agape. Seeing the source of the voice didn't help Maho in recognizing the girl, but she did seem to recall a vague memory of having seen her somewhere before, even if she couldn't place her.
The girl had short and messy brown hair which she had tied up in two equally messy twintails, on her arm was a red armband with some white text Maho couldn't make out, and across her shoulder hung a black school bag by a single strap. A pair of black glasses completed the ensemble.
Maho was about to walk over and ask who the girl was, and why she was there, but before she had any time to do so, the girl had already pounced into the garage at a remarkable speed, almost toppling Yukari over as she leapt in for a hug.
"Ohmygod Yukari! It's so great to see you again! We barely get to talk these days! How have you been, are your parents good? Mine are great, nothing really new to report there, oh, wait, that's right, you haven't been over in ages! We should totally hang out some time, especially now that we're on the same team! Say, which one of these are you in? I bet you're one of the commanders, right, with how much you've been going on about tanks?! Oh, hey, that one looks awesome! I bet it'd look great on the front page! Hey, could I take a picture of you guys?!"
Before Yukari even had time to answer a single one of the girl's questions, much less actually recover from practically having been tackled to the ground, the girl had already rushed off to the other side of the hangar, redirecting her barrage of questions towards Hippo team.
"Uh… Yukari?" Saori asked when Yukari had gathered herself once more. "Is… Is she a friend of yours?"
"Uhh… N-no... Not… not exactly…" Yukari answered with an awkward tone, eyeing the newcomer nervously. "We… we went to the same middle school. She's a good person once you get to know her, but she's… uh… she can be a bit much sometimes…" She lowered her voice and took a few steps closer to the rest of them, before adding "She can be pretty clingy, so I've kinda been trying to keep my distance ever since we got into high school…"
Hearing this confession from Yukari, Saori burst into tearful laughter, and both Hana and Maho couldn't help but smile as Yukari's face turned scarlet red. Their amusement at their crewmate's predicament and surprisingly complicated past was short lived however, as yet another unfamiliar voice entered the hangar.
"Hey, You! Stay quiet if you don't have anything useful to say!" a short girl with equally short and straight black hair yelled at the other newcomer, and with a series of angry strides made her way over to the StuG III, leaving two other similar-looking girls behind in the doorway. "And you four! No modifying the school uniform! This is a class, and you need to follow the rules!"
"Just calm down a bit, Sodoko," Mako muttered lazily from her napping spot on top of the Panzer IV.
The black-haired girl, whose name was apparently Sodoko, turned towards them, and with somehow even more fury stormed over to the Panzer IV. "Reizei! Don't call me Sodoko! And stop lazing about, you're not supposed to sleep at school!"
"Alright," Maho said sternly, and walked over to the girl. "Who are you, what's going on, and why are you here?"
"She's one of our new teammates!" Anzu announced cheerfully as she walked over, one arm across the shoulders of each of the two other girls as she brought them over. "They're gonna man the Char B1 for us!"
"Miss president, you never said we would have to work with Nishizumi?!" Sodoko protested. "She's one of the most notorious delinquents on the entire carrier!"
Maho only rolled her eyes and sighed at this description, and raised an eyebrow at the pipsqueak.
"Nah, don't worry about it!" Anzu countered, and pat Sodoko on the back as if nothing was wrong. "Everything's gonna be just fine as long as you get in the tank and get some practice."
Sodoko looked like she wanted to protest, but with the rest of the team gathered around, she seemed to realize her untenable position and gave in. "Very well," she said after a few moments, and bowed to team. "I am Midoriko Sono, Public Morals Committee."
"Nozomi Konparu, Public Morals Committee" the near identical looking girl on Midoriko's left said.
"Moyoko Gotou, Public Morals Comittee" said the other, on Midoriko's right.
"We will be joining you today, and look forward to working with you all."
"Or Sodoko, Pazomi, and Gomoya for short," the pipsqueak added.
"Miss president, please don't shorten my name," Sodoko protested.
"You said they'll be manning the Char B1?" Maho asked, giving the three girls an inspectory look, trying to find some easy way of differentiation them, an exercise that proved pointless. "The B1 has a crew of 4, and if possible we really don't want to lack any crews. Especially among a new team, since there's gonna be more to learn in less time."
"No worries!" Anzu said with a triumphant grin. "I've already thought of that!" She gave a quick gesture to the original newcomer with the brown twintails, who after a quick glance sighed and gave up on her attempts to photograph every single part of all six tanks, and came over to the rest of the team. "Here's your fourth member."
"Hiya all!" the girl greeted with a cheerful wave, the large camera still slung around her neck bouncing wildly back and forth as she did so. "I'm Taiga, Taiga Ou! It's gonna be great to join you guys! I'm usually in the Mass Media Club, but the President pulled some strings to get me in here as well! I'm sure we're all gonna be great friends, and I'll make sure we're front page news in the Observer at least once a week!"
"Let's try to keep it to after we've won a match for now," Maho said diplomatically. Taiga Ou, huh? She thought to herself. Well, at least we got a King Tiger one way or another… I'd have preferred a proper one though...
"Mako," she continued after a moment, "you're our best driver, so could you help them with the driving until they're up to speed?"
"I have to get help from Reizei?!" Sodoko exclaimed in abject horror.
"Got it," Mako answered shortly, and lazily climbed down from the Panzer IV.
"You're not going to act all arrogant and high-and-mighty just because you've got good grades, are you?" Sodoko asked, already annoyed.
"So you're saying you're just gonna read the manual and practice on your own?" Mako asked back. "Suit yourself, it works fine for me."
"How irresponsible can you be?! You're going to explain every detail slowly, thoroughly, carefully, and clearly."
"You know those are all synonyms, right?"
"I know what I said, now have I been clear?!" Sodoko shot back, waving a finger in Mako's face.
"Right, right…"
"One right's enough!"
"Riiiiiiiight…."
"What's the deal with those two?" Maho asked Saori as they watched the argument unfold.
"How much time do you have?" was Saori's only response.
Aomori Prefecture
Aboard the School Carrier Kiev
Pravda Girl's High School,Commander's drawing room
A few days later...
"How is your training for the semi-finals going?" Darjeeling asked, taking a sip of her tea. Even though the drawing room in which they were meeting was perfectly comfortable thanks to the fireplace, the tea still warmed her up a bit from the horrid storm outside. Assam had hardly been able to believe that their northern rivals had once again found themselves in the middle of a freezing storm, especially in the middle of summer, but there was little point arguing with the weather itself.
"As if we need practice to claim victory," Katyusha countered with a grin, and took a large bite out of one of the pechenne from the table. "Pravda is the reigning champion for a reason! We're the strongest team, and as long as mighty Katyusha is in command, we'll never fall!"
"Here you go," Nonna said and put a small plate of pastries down on the table beside Darjeeling. "I hope they taste well."
"Thank you Nonna," Darjeeling answered. "And thank you for the tea, it is most excellent."
"Thank you, you're very welcome."
"Have you heard this saying? 'The race goes not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong'," Darjeeling said calmly. "Are you sure you don't need to practice?
"It'd be a waste of fuel."
"Oh well," Darjeeling shrugged, and enjoyed another sip of her tea. "Under your exquisite leadership, I'm sure you have more than enough reason to be so laid back."
"And what's that supposed to mean?!" Katyusha snapped.
"Nothing at all," Darjeeling chuckled. "But surely you have a plan for dealing with Nishizumi? I wouldn't underestimate her if I were you."
"Why shouldn't I? Katyusha beat her last year, and Katyusha will beat her this year as well! You just need to make sure to get your part of this right, and you will at last face mighty Katyusha in battle in the finals!"
"Yes, it is high time Kuromorimine was kept out of the finals. With such an unrivaled string of victories, they have almost made the idea of two of the big four that doesn't include them facing off in the finals seem unthinkable."
"Which is why the name of great Katyusha will go down in the history of Sensha-Do as the one who finally defeated Kuromorimine, vanquishing the Nishizumi style and ushering in a new era of Japanese Sensha-Do! They'll call me 'Katyusha the great'-wait, no-'Katyusha the Invincible'!" Katyusha bragged in a confident manner, and Darjeeling half expected her to stand up in her chair and give a speech. It was entirely possible that she might have, had there not been a knock at the door.
"[Excuse me,]" a girl with shoulder-length light blonde hair said in Russian as she entered the room and bowed to Katyusha and Nonna in turn, before walking over to the table and handing a folder of documents to Pravda's tall Vice-Commander. "[You wanted a list of our available tanks for the semi-finals, Nonna.]"
"[Ah, yes, thank you, Klara,]" Nonna answered and started flipping through the pages.
"What are you talking about?!" Katyusha complained. "I've told you a thousand times to stop speaking Russian!"
"Oh, my apologies, Commander," the girl said in apology with not even the slightest hint of an accent, and simply stood in place, gently swaying a bit and tapping her fingers on her thighs.
"I don't believe we've met," Darjeeling said, and looked to Nonna for an introduction.
"Darjeeling, meet Klara. She's recently transferred here from Novosibirisk," Nonna introduced, only momentarily looking up from the documents. "[Klara, this is Darjeeling, the Commander of St. Gloriana.]"
"[Much great to you find,]" Darjeeling nodded with a confident but kind smile.
Klara paused for a moment, before breaking out in giggles. After a few seconds and a look from Nonna she composed herself and bowed back. "[Much great to you find] as well."
Nonna raised an eyebrow at this, but didn't say anything. After another few seconds, she closed the folder and handed it back to Klara. "[Looks good. Please have them prepared for the battle.]"
"I said 'Cut it out with the Russian'!" Katyusha interrupted in protest, and snatched the folder from Klara's hand. "And let me see!" She gave the documents a cursory glance, before reaching out a hand towards Nonna. "Pen!"
"Is there something wrong, Commander?" Klara asked.
"You missed KV-2," Katyusha noted as if it was obvious, as Nonna handed her a pen.
"Commander, do you really think it is wise to bring-"
"Katyusha says we're bringing KV-2, so we're bringing him."
"Don't you mean 'it'?"
"I know what I said!" Katyusha snapped and quickly scribbled on one of the papers, before handing the folder back to Klara.
"Alright then, Commander," Klara answered, and gave a nodding bow to Katyusha and Nonna. "[Good afternoon, Miss Darjeeling.]"
"[Well afternoon, Klara Miss,] Darjeeling replied with a nod, before Klara turned to leave the room. Just as she was about to reach the door however, she failed to contain herself and as it closed behind her, a muffled laughter could be heard from the corridor beyond.
"Are you ready to go yet? Practice is starting soon."
"Yeah, yeah, just a minute," Anzu said back and waved a hand to calm Yuzu down. "No good ever came from rushing about the place. Besides, Nishizumi's still gonna have her hands full training up the new crew. It won't make much difference if we're there five minutes before the start of the session, or five minutes after."
"Anzu, are you really sure it's ok for you to be so calm about all this? I mean, we all know the stakes here. If we don't win, we're done for. And now that it's just us and three of the big-four schools left in the tournament, we're going to need all the practice we can get."
"Nah, there's no point in worrying right now. I'm sure everything will work out in the end, and if it doesn't, one solution or another will show up sooner or later. You just gotta have some faith."
"If only we could find a solution to thar arrogant bastard calling herself Commander, we'd be all set," Momo grumbled as she put a folder away in a bookshelf.
"Sweetie, I really think you should stop arguing with her. You two have way more similarities than you have differences."
"We do not!" Momo protested. "I'm nothing like that brat! And for the thousandth time, don't call me Sweetie!"
"Aweee, but I really think you are," Yuzu teased with a flutter of her eyelids. "You're both really stubborn and determined, for one, and-... what on earth?"
Their conversation quieted down as the muffled sound of increasingly distressed voices appeared from the other side of the office doors.
"Ma'am, you can't go in there!"
"Mazoe, grab her!"
"Sadoka, help! She won't stop!"
"Just block the door, she can't get through the both of u-"
The doors of the office suddenly flew open and a tall woman in a black suit with long black hair and an ice cold expression entered, two members of the Public Morals Committee hot on her heels and trying to place themselves in front of her to little avail.
"I'm sorry, Madame President," one of them said over their shoulder once she, together with her colleague, had formed a barrier between the woman and Anzu's desk.
"Get out of my way," the woman said sternly, and even though there was not even a hint of her raising her voice, the force with which she uttered the words shook the room and caused the two Committee members to take a step back.
"It's fine," Anzu said with an intrigued smile, and raised a hand to wave the two girls back out of the room. "Mazoe, Sadoka, you can go."
The two girls looked over their shoulders at Anzu, as if they weren't sure that they had heard her correctly, but a quick reassuring nod quickly sent them both back out of the room, neither of them turning their back to the black-clad woman as they exited.
"So…" Anzu said calmly and leaned forwards in her chair, her fingers drumming lightly against the wood of the desk before her, "What brings us the pleasure, miss…?"
"Don't waste my time. I'm Shiho Nishizumi, and you know full well why I am here. We have an arrangement, you and I, and I am here to collect."
"Oh… I see." Even though Anzu hadn't the slightest idea what the woman was talking about, she made sure not to let it show, and instead just leaned lazily back in her chair. "I must apologize. So many arrangements pass under my pen that I seem to have forgotten which one in particular I have with you, Nishizumi." She opened one of the drawers of her desk, pulled out a bag of sweet potatoes, and began to nibble at one of the chips. "Would you mind terribly if I asked you to remind me?"
If they had been alone, Yuzu would almost certainly say she was playing with fire. And if she was being honest with herself, Anzu knew it perfectly well without being told. A memory flashed for a moment in her mind as she leaned back, of how Nishizumi had slammed her against a locker and threatened to smash her face in all those weeks ago. She remembered it well, and more than anything she remembered the tone of Nishizumi's voice and the look in her eye.
Two things whose origin was now on terrifying display.
Nishizumi was most definitely dangerous if not handled properly, like a tiger or panther defending its territory. But this woman, who all evidence made obvious was the Commander's mother, was different. She was no mere wild animal like her daughter. If anything she was a tsunami, a natural disaster given human form, and her mere presence gave promise enough of the devastation she was capable of.
And yet, despite seeing the danger before her clear as day, Anzu pushed on, as if she was a circus performer putting her head in the jaws of a lion, and simply grinned as the elder Nishizumi glared daggers at her.
"I don't take kindly to being toyed with, girl," she answered in venomous and deliberate tones. "You will expel Maho, and I will make sure MEXT keeps this pale excuse of a school open."
Nishizumi's words only made the tension in the room that much more dense and thick, seemingly causing both the room and time itself to freeze in place, trapped forever in the singular moment following her words. No one said anything or even moved for what felt like an eternity, as all three of the student council members came to grips with what had just been said.
In the absence of words, the room instead filled with a myriad of sounds, each a fresh ingredient added to the audible stew of silence.
The low whirr of the fan in the corner, moving the stale and warm summer air around the office.
Outside the window, a lone cry of a seagull mixed with the occasional honk of a car on the streets below.
In the distance, the rolling thunder of the Sensha-Do team firing their guns at the practice session.
"Miss… Miss president… We… We can't…" Yuzu finally said, turning to look at Anzu while involuntarily keeping her eyes fixed on the elder Nishizumi.
"Yuzu," Anzu said calmly. "Would you be so kind as to go and fetch Nishizumi for us?"
"Anzu," Yuzu responded in protest, letting her voice grow louder as she tore her gaze from the intruder of their domain, and tried as best she could to put her foot down. "You can't do this, it's not fai-"
"Yuzu," Anzu interrupted sharply but just as calmly, and leaned back in her chair, steepling her fingers as a small and reserved grin, barely more than a smirk, appeared on her face. "Go and bring her, would you? I believe Lady Nishizumi and I need to discuss the particulars of our arrangement." Her voice conveyed what her body language already made obvious. She had made up her mind, and Yuzu knew far too well that there was no changing it.
"Yes... Miss President," Yuzu said with a dejected, disappointed sigh, and left the room.
Next Time on Dein Weg ist Mein Weg: Anzu and Shiho finish off their negotiations, a startling discovery is made, and Maho finds herself lost in the depths of the depths and darkness of the Zuikaku's lower decks.
Author's Notes:
Bit of a large chapter this week, and quite a lot happening. We get a post-match evaluation-turned-massive argument, some resolution of issues between Maho and Yukari, a talk with Ami and the reveal of what's going on with Ooarai's need to win, a small appearance from another teammember, the indomitable Pravda making their first real appearance, the introduction and recruitment of the crew of the Char B1 bis, (featuring Taiga Ou), and finally the sudden and unexpected arrival of Shiho Nishuzumi aboard the Zuikaku, handing Anzu the deal of a lifetime.
What could possibly happen next?
Yes, the patented DWiMW-cliffhanger ending is back, and with a vengeance this week!
[Insert Maniacal Laughter Here]
Seriously though, I apologize for it, but it's just one of those moments where it's too good to pass up. My hope is that the next chapter won't be too far away so you won't be left in suspense for too long.
Beyond that, I really don't have much else to say this time. Getting to add Taiga to "Mallard team"'s roster was a fun idea I've had for a while, giving her some much deserved attention, and also rounding out the B1's crew to it's intended four. And, yeah, that's pretty much it, I guess. No resolution between Maho and Azusa yet, but it's hopefully not too far off. I guess time will tell when they finally choose to sit down and talk.
Thank you all for your love and support, and all your kind words you've left in reviews and in comments. You all make my day just that bit brighter!
My hope is that Ch36 is out sometime before the end of June, but as always, there are no promises made.
Until then, thank you all and much love,
/Rihno