Talks, meetings, and planning ahead!

Town of Ooarai - downtown - 16.15h

All by herself ever since Azusa and the other first years had gone back to the ship Yukari was elated when finally she caught a glimpse of her friends, she felt happy to see them again.

"Hello, everybody! Glad to see you all again!" With a tone of excitement, she greeted her friends who all appeared to be in good shape with the notable exception of Saori, who looked particularly pale in the face, as well as making a somewhat lethargic impression on Yukari. "Takebe-dono, are you alright? Did something happen at the bathhouse? D-Don't tell me that you confessed to a boy and got rejected?!"

"N-Nooooo!" the ginger-haired girl cried out at the top of her lungs in response, her hands clutching the sides of her head as she dropped to her knees. "It wasn't like that! Don't say something like that! I don't want to remember it!"

Surprised and momentarily confused Yukari wasn't sure what to make of it as she couldn't really come up with another reason that would explain the sad state that one of her friends was in. scratching the back of her head in an effort to come up with another suitable answer her effort was interrupted when Hana approached her and explain in some detail what had happened which prompted an immediate reaction from Saori as her face instantly took on several shades of pink in response.

"C-Can we please stop talking about what happened there, please?!" Saori whimpered as she pleaded again with her friends to no longer mention anything about the bathhouse as the ginger haired girl wanted nothing more than to purge her mind of those embarrassing memories. "I don't want to have to go through that again, I want to go home!"

The poor girl was completely out of it, mumbling a series of incoherent sentences as she lamented about something that escaped Yukari's attention before she collapsed again in a sobbing mess.

Mako remained somewhat absent from talking though by the expression on her face she seemed to be taking a certain measure of delight at Saori's sudden predicament that said she didn't do much let alone poke or offer some retorts are the ginger haired girl's expense.

"Yukari-san," Miho said as she smiled at her friend. "I'm glad to see you as well. So how did it go with the first years, did you find what you were looking for at the store?" she had another reason for asking that question, the chief one being that she wanted to change the subject as she saw that Saori still was feeling uncomfortable with it. "How was the store anyway?

"Ah about that Nishizumi-dono, well they didn't have the gun for us in store but they could order it for us," Yukari said in return as she began to explain to her friends how it had gone when she along with the members of Rabbit team had visited the shop and learned what was needed to complete the order. "So you see we need the signature of the prez otherwise they can't order it for us."

"That's a shame but I guess also somewhat understandable," Hana remarked as she joined in on the ongoing conversation. "I can imagine that they would like to know where such a dangerous component is going to, still that shouldn't really pose a problem for us now does it, Miho-san?"

"I shouldn't be a problem," Miho answered the dark haired girl as she felt confident that all they had to do was ask Anzu, who would without a doubt, sign the papers immediately once they had explained it to her. Once that was done they could hand over the papers and place the order for the gun, which hopefully would go well and provide an increase in firepower to one of their tanks. Then she turned to face Yukari and asked her the question, "If you want we could go and visit them later when we get back to the ship, I think we have a good chance at finding the prez in the office. What do you say Yukari-san if we go together and tell the prez how it went?"

"Yes, Nishizumi-dono," Yukari exclaimed proudly as she wasn't planning on letting go of the opportunity to go together with Miho, even if that meant she'd have to go in the middle of the night, she would seize such an opportunity with both hands. "I have everything with me anyway so that wouldn't be a problem for me, I'm certain that the rest will be happy to hear Monday that we got the order through! They'll be so happy when they hear it!"

"We're going to miss the bus," Mako pointed, lazily, out to them, hinting at the clock standing behind them, to which the rest of them all had a look at it, only to realize that Mako was right. Unless they would get moving they were going to miss the bus and therefore also be late.

"Ah, we need to go!" Saori, seeming to have recovered from her ordeal to some degree, shouted as she jumped up and began waving her arms frantically in an effort to make it clear that they really needed to leave now or they would risk being late. "We need to hurry everybody! Come on! Let's go! Hurry up!"

Spurred on by their friend's reaction the group quickened their pace as they had little time left before the bus would reach the closest stop to them and they still had some ground to cover.


Ooarai school carrier - student council office - 18.30h

"Oh, is that all?" Anzu remarked in her usual laid back manner as she didn't move from her chair, chewing on a dried potato as she allowed her gaze to drift over the open ocean while she made that remark. After having been told how it had gone at the store by Miho and Yukari she seemed to have a rather relaxed response about it. In her mind this wasn't something for her to be worked up about, it really didn't mean all that much to her, all she needed to do was to sign the document and get it send back to the store before the ship would depart again. "So all we need to hand them is the document with our signature? Ah sure, Kawashima," and with that, she gestured over for the monocle-eyed girl to come over towards her desk. Quickly handing her the papers Anzu leaned back again in her seat as she simply said, "Get it done."

"Yes prez," said girl nodded her head in return as she reached out for the papers, studying them for a couple of seconds before turning around, and then simply left the room, closing the door behind her which just left the three of them in the office.

"Don't worry, Kawashima will get it sorted," Anzu remarked quickly as she noticed, from the corner of her eyes, the somewhat confused looks of the two girls opposite of her, reassuring them that there was nothing for them to be worried about and that this matter would be resolved with all due haste. "Do you also have any information so we can contact that store? I'll have Kawashima set things up with them so it'll be easier for us to order parts from them in the future."

"Yes ma'am!" the brunette boastfully replied with a sense of pride as she was only too happy to oblige as she stuck her hand in her rucksack and searched for the papers where she had written down all of the information she had found about the store in question. "Here they are prez! Oh, the owner was also kind enough to give me a business card."

Behind them, the door opened as Yuzu quietly stepped inside and gently approached Anzu's desk which prompted the diminutive twin tail to gesture for the brunette to take the papers. "Koyama, can you take those papers with you and work out something with them, we might have to make use of them in the future," she said, smiling as something was going on in her head, "Well, I'll be leaving it to you then, let's see how it'll go."

Watching as Yuzu left the room once she had collected the papers much like Momo had done earlier it was now just the three of them inside the room once more, taking another bite Anzu chewed on it for a bit before she asked them a question, "So tell me, do you think this new gun is gonna help the first years? Will it make a big difference for them?"

About to give an answer Miho stopped as she noticed that Anzu hadn't addressed the question to her but rather to Yukari, with that she took a step back and gave a gentle nod to the brunette to let her know that it was fine for her to give the answer instead.

"Well ehm, it's true that it's an improvement over the gun they have mounted in the M3 at the moment but it's not that much of an improvement, to be honest. It's certainly nothing like the increase that we had with the Panzer IV and the Hetzer, still I believe that even if it's only a small improvement it's still the right thing to do."

"So it's not that good eh? Kinda makes me wonder if we even should bother with it," Anzu said in return to hearing that as she gave some thought to the answer she had gotten back from the brunette, nibbling on a new sweet potato. "Then again their tank wasn't that good, to begin with anyway."

Miho stepped forward in response as she let her hand rest on Yukari's shoulder. "I think that Yukari-san is right, even if it's a small improvement it's still an improvement and we can use any help we can get. Besides upgunning our existing tanks is going to a lot easier than acquiring new tanks."

"Okay then," the diminutive twin tail said in return with a smile on her face, "We'll get that gun in no time, no problem! Right, thanks for letting me know, you can go now. Bye bye."

"Ah, Nishizumi, good that you're still here," Momo stated the moment she opened the door and stepped inside the office again. "Prez, I've finished the papers, all it needs is your signature and then I'll have a courier deliver it for us. After that, we'll need to wait for the store to contact us and let us know when they expect to have the item in stock."

Once she had concluded her business with Anzu the short haired girl turned to face Miho as she informed her of another pressing matter. "Nishizumi, as you might know, this school will have its cultural festival in about a month, given our achievement we expect that we'll have far more visitors attending it than we have in previous years."

Miho and Yukari found themselves exchanging confused looks with each other.

"It's likely that students wishing to attend our school will use this opportunity to come and visit us, due to our exposure to the media during the tournament there will, no doubt be, that those with an interest in our Senshado team come and pay a visit to the school, Nishizumi we would like for you to take care of that matter and make sure nobody is going to leave disappointed. It's really important that we-."

"Kawashima, too long!" Anzu interrupted her, finally bringing an end to the rather lengthy explanation that the monocle-eyed girl had been giving.

"Ahem right," Momo coughed, slightly embarrassed, and quickly wrapped up. "We'll provide you with more information later, that'll be all, dismissed." Nodding her head she gestured that the two girls opposite of her could leave, there was nothing left to discuss with them and the student council had other matters.

Saying their goodbyes and making a bow Miho and Yukari thanked the student council for having given them some of their time before they turned around left the room, going through the door they said their goodbyes to Yuzu as well, also offering her thanks for helping them.

"Wow, that sure was something don't you think Nishizumi-dono," Yukari finally led out as she and Miho made it to the hallway after they had left the student council office. "I got a little scared back there but I'm glad to hear that the prez agreed with us about the gun."

"Yes, Azusa-san and the others will be glad and they have you to thank for it Yukari-san," Miho said in return as she offered some praise to her friend. "You really did well."

The brunette face took on a bright red shade as the words of her friend sank in with her. "N-Nishizumi-dono, t-thank you…" Still blushing she turned away for just a few seconds.

"You're welcome Yukari-san, what do you say if we go home? You likely have plenty of homework to do as well, ah I wonder why our teacher had to give us so much," Miho reassured her friend while she stretched her arms, they had been in the office for long enough and coupled with what already felt like a long day she was tired.

Walking through the hallway they took some time watching the myriad of photo's that had been framed, if one were to follow them one would get an idea of the history of the school and its students. "It sure feels a little odd don't you think, I mean looking all these pictures."

"Say Nishizumi-dono, can I ask you a question?" Yukari asked all of a sudden as she changed the subject much to the surprise of Miho. "How do you think Shimada-dono's doing?"

"Eh, Alice-san? Well I don't really know but I hope that she found a school to stay and hopefully she's made some friends there, I hope that we'll get to see her again one day," answering the question Miho began to wonder herself on how Alice might be doing at the moment, they hadn't heard from her ever since she had left the school carrier, still in her heart Miho felt that Alice had found a school to call home and with that knowledge she couldn't wait for the opportunity to see the young girl again. They kept on talking about what the future might hold for each of them as they continued along their walk towards their respective homes until they finally reached a point where their paths diverted, saying their goodbyes and wishing the other a good night rest they each went their own separate ways.


Ooarai school carrier - streets - 07.30h Monday

"Huh? A festival?!" Saori exclaimed, seeming to be a little surprised, as she heard from Miho about the talk that said girl and Yukari had the other day with the student council. "Are you serious about that? Do they really think that many people are going to show up? But what are we going to do then, I mean it's not like we can keep a match for them?

Having explained to both her and Hana about the talk that Miho had yesterday with the student council and bringing them the news about the upcoming festival, it seemed that compared to the festival last year that this one was going to be a lot bigger. Well, it was pretty obvious why this year seemed it was going to be different, no doubt a lot of people were simply drawn by what their team had managed to accomplish and wanted to have a better look, no doubt plenty of people who had no intention of joining their school would also come and visit. Even then it still mattered that those people would leave feeling satisfied and impressed by their school, at some point, it would pay off and there was nothing wrong with getting more publicity. The more people knew about their school the better.

"So I guess that we'll have to organize something for the visitors then, right Miho-san?" Hana asked, her tone remaining calm and reserved unlike Saori's. "I guess that the student council likely wants us to make a good impression on any potential new students, plenty of people will likely come because of us," the dark haired girl summarized as that was likely one of the big reasons as to why the school could expect to see a considerable influx in the numbers of visitors this time.

"I don't know Miporin, that sounds like an awful lot of extra work for us, how are we even going to manage all that? I mean we can't be at both the tank sheds and at our class at the same time you know," Saori made a comment as she pointed out the problem in what the student council had suggested, given that each class was likely going to run their own separate project they were going to be pretty busy. "Besides do we even have an idea on how we're going to present the team to the visitors? What if they start asking weird or difficult questions?"

Mako raised an eyebrow as she let out a snarky remark. "Don't bother with it."

"Ah but Mako, you can't do that," Saori retorts as there was no way that any of them could refuse a question from visitors. "We have to make a good impression you know."

"Well nothing's been decided yet but I'll go and raise the point with the prez, perhaps they can help us out a little with that," Miho spoke out, finding herself agreeing with what the ginger haired girl had said. "I think it's better if we were to just focus on the tanks."

"That does sound wonderful," Hana agreed as it made the most sense to her as well. "That way we'll have plenty of time to help with any questions that people might have, I think that plenty of people would also like the chance to see the tanks up close."

Nodding her head Saori added to that, "I guess for most people it would be their first time getting this close to an actual tank, maybe it's a good idea if we made sure it would be safe for people to enter the tanks. You know like stairs or ramps so that they're easier for anybody to get in and out. Also, I think we'd look better if we were to wear our uniforms as well."

"Morning everybody, what did I miss?" Yukari asked as she suddenly appeared, given how lively the conversation had been it seemed that nobody had noticed her approaching the group from across the street. "Ah Nishizumi-dono, are you telling them about yesterday?"

"Y-Yukarin?! W-Where did you come from, I didn't see you?" Saori yelped in surprised as she could barely restrain herself from hiding behind Hana. "How long have you been there anyway?"

"Ah Takebe-dono, good morning. Well, to be honest, I actually just got here. Isuzu-dono, Reizei-dono, good morning to you as well. So do we have a plan on what we're going to do during the festival, personally I'd love to let people find out for themselves what it's like to do Senshado, they should experience it firsthand! To know what it's like being inside a tank!"

Some curious glances were exchanged between the four of them, Yukari had actually given them an idea, though if they could actually pull it off remained anyone's guess. They were going to have to discuss it with the student council as well as the school's principal.

"Sounds like a hassle," Mako remarked dryly as it seemed she wasn't interested in anything that was going to mean she wouldn't get her required minimum of rest. "We should add a shift so that people can rest, it's important that people don't suffer from fatigue."

"Mako!" With a disapproving look in her eyes Saori made it clear that this was just another one of the hazy girl's attempt which wasn't going to fly with the ginger haired girl, "You can't do that, what kind of impression would that leave with the guests if they were to catch you sleeping?!"

"Takebe-dono is a little strict today isn't she?" Yukari whispered to the others as they watched said girl going through the effort of giving a stern lecture to Mako as to why it was going to be a bad idea for her to be sleeping in public sight which went on for a while.

"I think it'd be better if we picked up the pace again, we still have school to attend to today," Hana said in response to the brunette's question. "It'll also give us the opportunity to think about the issue and come up with various suggestions which we can discuss during lunch."

"Hana-san, that's a great idea," Miho commented, smiling as she did, it was a good idea for them to have some time of their own to think about this.


Ooarai school carrier - school entrance - 07.50h

Having said her goodbyes to the others Yukari, barely having made past her shoe locker, was caught by surprise when Azusa and the other first years were standing there, waiting for her, and if the look on their collected faces was any indication then she had a pretty good idea what it was that these six girls wanted to know.

"Good morning everybody," she greeted them quickly and then began to explain how it had gone when she and Miho had gone to see the student council the day before, she didn't have to wait for them to ask the question as it was pretty clear at this point why these girls had come to see her. With that knowledge, she was able to give them a thorough explanation of how it had gone with the student council as well as being able to reassure these girls that it was alright.

"So senpai, does this mean it's all been taking care of, that they've already made the order?" Azusa asked as she leaned a little forward, the others quickly mimicking her. "Did they say anything off when we can expect it to be delivered, is there anything else that we can help you with?"

Taken aback by their sudden enthusiasm Yukari was left, momentarily, at a loss for words, it seemed that they really wanted to get better and be of more use to the team, well she couldn't exactly blame them for that and it was good to see that these youngsters were so enthusiastic about it.

"Well the order was placed though they couldn't say when we can expect it to arrive, it'll depend on whether or not they still have it in stock at the main depot. If it is then it'll be maybe a week or two otherwise it might even be three to four weeks before we can expect it."

That said she did do her best to caution the first years not to get their hopes up too much as she hated it if she were to have to disappoint them, of course there was also the issue of how they would get the gun delivered to the school carrier as it wasn't due to return back to port for a couple of weeks once they had left, likely their next stop at port would be for the culture festival in about a month or so. With some luck they might be able to show it for the first time to the public then, certainly seemed like a great opportunity for it, provided they had the gun by then.

"They're going to let us know when it arrives, until then there's not much else we can do but wait. Listen, I know that you must be pretty anxious about getting that gun but being impatient isn't going to help you. Just bear with is, alright?"

"Well if senpai says it there's not much else we can do," Yuuki remarked as she pointed out that what Yukari had said was true, it would be better for them not to worry too much about it.

"Still I'd rather have it now so we can have some practice with it," Ayumi mentioned as she was the most anxious about getting to use the new gun, given that she was their tank's main gunner it was going to be her task of getting used to the new gun's characteristics though that was difficult to do if she couldn't practice with it. "I want to shoot some targets with it."

"You'll get your chance soon enough, once it's here it shouldn't take long to get it installed in your tank. After that you can get all the practice with it that you want," Yukari said as she tried her best at calming the first years down as there was no reason to get worked up about it anyway.

Sadly her efforts only earned her a fresh barrage of questions. "So senpai, is there anything else that we need to know about? Will we get to use special ammunition with this new gun, how are its characteristics? Do you think it's going to be more difficult to aim?"

Overwhelmed by the suddenness Yukari was taken aback, instinctively taken a step back to put some space between herself and the six girls who were swarming her, hands raised in a futile attempt to keep them away as they got even closer to her now. "Whoa, calm down! There's not that much difference between the performance of your current gun and the new gun, it shouldn't take you long to get used to it. Besides you're also using what's basically the same ammo so you don't need to worry about that."

After a quick but detailed explanation on how little difference there actually was between the two guns it finally seemed that she had alleviated some of the anxiety that Azusa and the others had displayed, with them calming down Yukari felt that she had to help these girls to understand that in reality there wasn't going to be that much of a difference in either the performance or the gun's handling so they would be fine, there really wasn't any need in her mind for Ayumi to have to get plenty of practice as she already had a firm grasp of handling their current gun so the younger girl was going to be fine. Still, it was also assuring to see these girls be so enthusiastic and passionate, that was going to carry them far if they wanted to keep on doing Senshado.

A quick glance at her watch told Yukari that she had been talking to the first years for far longer than she should have, it was fortunate that she always came to their school rather early, so, in this case, she still had some time before her class was going to start but she could forget about making a quick visit to the tank shed.

"I really need to go now, I think that you should also go to your class. I'd be pretty bad for any of us if Sono-dono were to catch us being late, don't you think? We'll talk about this during training if that's alright with you all. Bye."

Addressing Azusa and the others she apologized to them for having to leave but she also mentioned that if they wanted they could come and talk to her tomorrow during or after the team's training.

"Man, they're really fired up about this," Yukari commented as she quickened her pace and went up the stairs. "I can't imagine what they must be like when they actually have that gun mounted in their tank, it's going to be pretty awesome." Just thinking about it, she couldn't help but smile, noting with a sense of satisfaction that she felt really happy about having been able to help the younger girls. That in itself was already rewarding enough for her.

Greeting some of her fellow classmates as she reached the second floor Yukari turned left, just beyond the corner she already spotted the sign that denoted her classroom. She felt excited, elated and anxious about later today, there was simply so much that she was looking forward to.


Ooarai school carrier - school hallways - 15.45h

"I can't believe our teacher kept us waiting this long before letting us go on our break," Saori complained loudly as she had another look at the time being displayed on her cell phone, they had to wait for a good 10 minutes before finally, their teacher had allowed them to leave class. "Why did we have to wait anyway? It wasn't even that important you know, Yukarin's probably wondering what's keeping us, she's likely already at the sheds, waiting for us to show up. The only good thing is that after this break it's time for Senshado so we don't lose out too much on our break, fortunately. Ah, I'm getting hungry you know."

"Is that really what you should be worrying about?" Hana interjected as they walked through one of the many hallways, seeming to take some joy at having a little jest at Saori's expense. "Besides I doubt that Yukari-san is going to be worried, no doubt she's already busy in getting everything set up for us. You know how she can be, you can depend on her, so I believe that there's nothing for us to be worried about with being a little late. She's going to be fine."

"Hana-san's right, Yukari-san is likely admiring the tanks anyway and the tank sheds are almost like a second home to her so she'll be fine. I'm wondering though what she thought up that we can do for the festival, knowing her she likely has several good ones." Miho found herself agreeing with the taller girl, if anybody was going to be fine it was going to be Yukari.

"Hey," Mako greeted them as she lied there, resting on a bench, squinting one of her eyes as she saw the trio approaching her. Turning around and grumbling a little she said, "You're late, again."

"Ah sorry about that, we didn't mean to you know," Saori apologized quickly to said girl, making a bow as she did, "But you see we had to wait until our teacher let us go and she still had to get us some papers. Again we're really sorry that you had to wait for us."

Not saying a word Mako just left it be at that, seeming to be feeling better at having had the opportunity to catch a quick nap on the bench. Getting back up on her feet, though it was with some notable reluctance, she joined with the others as they were making their way towards the main entrance and their shoe lockers.

There wasn't going to be any need for any of them to change into their tankery outfits as Anzu had decided that there wasn't going to be any actual training today, rather it was expected of the teams to offer their own views and suggestions on how to handle the upcoming festival and how to present their team in the best possible manner, the goal of which was, of course, to have more students enlist.

"I wonder what the others will came up with," Miho summarized as began to take off her indoor shoes, flexing her toes as she did. "I guess we shouldn't be surprised if some of their suggestions might turn out to be a little more special." It made her think back to when Alice had arrived at their school and Momo had asked all of the teams for suggestions which had kind of backfired much to the chagrin of the person who had proposed it.

"I'm certain that they only have the best intentions in mind," Hana said in return as she placed her indoor shoes back inside her locker before she would continue, "Everybody is always so passionate about what they cherish the most, I think that's one of this school's strong points, we feel strongly about what we care about the most and we'll protect those feelings till the end."

Listening to her friends Saori straightened her thigh high socks out before she slightly adjusted her skirt, even though she didn't mind doing tankery and she even enjoyed being in the tank she did admit to herself that she felt happy that today they could take it a little easy.

Rubbing her behind she reminded herself that sometimes it could get rather rough inside the steel hull of their charges and despite her best efforts at having extra padding there were those times that her butt felt rather sore after having spent some time in the vehicle.

"A girl shouldn't have to worry about her butt being blue and bruised from sitting in a tank," she said in a hushed tone, an attempt to keep the others from hearing her, she felt proud of the fact that she could view herself as being an attractive girl which also made her feel a little concerned about those times that her body had to take some abuse. Nevertheless, it did make her feel a little embarrassed at the other obvious fact that she didn't have a boyfriend.

Still, that was a problem that she had promised herself she was going to resolve, now that the future of their school was no longer in jeopardy she could turn all of her time and energy into accomplishing that goal. Nothing was going to deter her from achieving that.

Standing behind her, somewhat taken aback by the sudden intense aura radiating from Saori, the three other girls were a little puzzled about what had brought this sudden change in their friend's pose as she appeared to be rather worked up about something. There was definitely something going on inside the kind girl's head and though they had a very strong hunch about what that specific thing could be nobody felt that it was a smart thing to bring to up right now.

"Saori-san's, really intense all of a sudden don't you think," Miho whispered to her two compatriots who could only nod their heads silently in agreement, it was likely best not to disturb their friend at the moment.

"Alright then, let's go!" Saori proclaimed loudly as finally, she had donned her shoes and with that she was all ready to go much to the relief of her friends who, for some reason that she didn't entirely understand, seemed to be a little shaken. Dropping her shoulders in confusion she simply gave them a puzzled look, her eyebrows lowering, and asked, "What?"


Ooarai school carrier - tank sheds - 16.00h

Inside the tank sheds, as she was waiting for her friends to come, Yukari let her hand rest on the upper glacis of their trusty panzer IV, the cold touch of the armor in contrast to the warmth of her own hand. Still, Yukari could only smile as she gently moved her hand from side to side across the armor plate.

"I missed you too, I wish we had a chance to ride with you today but it seems like it's not going to happen, I know that you're sad as well, I'm really sorry as I'm sure you would've like going out with us again, don't you?"

Even though the tank didn't seem to respond to her question in return Yukari felt convinced that their tank had to feel sad about being left inside, not going on a ride outside with the crew who cherished their charge. "Don't you worry," she gently said to it as she gave it a loving pat. "We'll be outside with you soon enough, I'm already looking forward to it."

Immersed in her own thoughts about driving with Miho she was violently pulled from her thoughts as a loud clang could be heard echoing throughout the sheds

"H-Huh?" Yukari let out in her surprise as she looked around in order to see where the noise had originated from, not sure if she was alone in the sheds or not she called out, "Ehm, hello is somebody there?"

"Ah sorry if we startled you," Tsuchiya apologized as she appeared from behind the hulking form of the Char B1bis, dressed in her usual attire with a rather large wrench firmly resting on her shoulder, her hand raised she apologized again, "We were busy in removing some panels and I kinda lost my hold of this baby here, sorry if the noise scared you. We didn't mean to."

"You wouldn't have lost your hold of it if you'd been a little more cautious with it," Nakajima commented as she came to a halt next to Tsuchiya, shaking her head in disapproval as she folded her arms across her chest. "I did tell you to be careful with it as those panels are pretty heavy, next time you should be more careful with it, now come on, the others are waiting."

"Ehm excuse me," Yukari mentioned as she raised her hand. "What exactly are you working on?" To be honest she had gotten a little curious on what tank exactly the members of the automotive club were working on though Yukari could wager a guess on the answer to that.

"Ah Akimiya," the short haired girl remarked as she greeted Yukari, rubbing the back of her head in the process. "Well we're doing some maintenance on Leopon, she's still not feeling well so we thought of having another look at her engine but the panels covering it are causing us some problems. They're pretty heavy and the bolts holding them in place are rather tight."

"Still having problems since the match?" Yukari asked, all too acutely aware of the fact that during that match Leopon had almost completely wrecked their engine. It seemed that they still haven't been able to fix the problem.

"Yeah, still once we get those parts you ordered for us we should be able to get her back into shape. Say do you want to have a look?" Tsuchiya asked as she was about to turn around and go back to join with the others. "I don't think you've ever seen the inside of her have you?"

There was a sparkle in Yukari's eyes as she heard it, she had always wanted to see the famous complicated drive system of the Porsche Tiger so this represented an ideal opportunity.

"Are you sure that's alright with the others?" she asked her, a hint of hesitation in her voice.

"Sure, it's not like you being there would cause any problems and besides you were kind enough to go and order those parts for us so think of this as compensation for your trouble," she reassured the younger girl and made gesture that it was alright for Yukari to come and have a look if she wanted.

Looking over her shoulder at the panzer IV Yukari wondered if it was going to be alright for her to be gone for a moment as her friends still hadn't arrived, then again it wasn't like she was going to a different part of the school, Miho and the others could easily find her and besides they could always give her a call on her cell phone. With that knowledge, she decided to take up Tsuchiya on her offer, who knew when she would get another chance.

Marveling at the sight right in front of her Yukari was left utterly speechless, Leopon's crew certainly had been thorough with dismantling the rear section of the heavy tank, not only was every panel that they could get loose been removed but even the two engines themselves had been dismounted and removed from the vehicle.

Each Porsche Typ 101 was resting on a wooden pallet, allowing Yukari an unprecedented close inspection of each one from every angle and she couldn't help but be impressed by the craftsmanship that had gone into each engine, these were marvels of mechanical engineering in their time but they were also very fickle which meant that they tended to need a lot of care. Each of these was an air-cooled, V10, gasoline engine with a swept volume of 15 liters and capable of producing more than 300 hp while going at 2500rpm. Even the generators, the electric motors, and various other components that formed such a crucial part of the petrol-electric drive system had been dismounted and placed on their own separate pallet which made the area look like it was littered though it did make for an imposing sight.

"Whoa, I never thought I'd get to chance to see these," she breathed out a sigh of awe, cautiously reaching out with her outstretched fingers as she wanted to touch them and yet at the same time a sense of reluctance keeping her back.

"It's alright you know, you can touch them if you want to, they haven't run for over a day so they're cold to the touch," Tsuchiya commented as she caught the younger girl standing there, gazing at the engines while keeping herself trapped in an odd looking pose. "You don't have to worry about burning yourself you know, it's perfectly safe. Trust me."

"Ehm, well is it really alright with you? I'd really hate it if I were to break anything," the brunette let out as she was still feeling a little hesitant, being fickle and prone to problems she would feel guilty if she were to cause these girls more trouble than they already had.

Hoshino, who appeared from behind a stack of crates, explained it to her, "Sure, I doubt you can do any harm by just touching them, and besides we're actually looking at getting these replaced as they are pretty worn out. I get the idea that the previous owners were a bit rougher on them than we are, then again that stunt we pulled sure did a number on them as well. Either that or we'll need to completely rebuild them, anyway she's going to be out for a while."

Hearing it Yukari felt sad knowing that Leopon wasn't going to be able to ride for a while, to be confined to the tank sheds while the other vehicles could be running outside, she could only imagine how lonely the poor thing had to be feeling.

Tsuchiya noticed the younger girl's concern, "She's going to be fine once we're done with her, don't you worry about that, she'll be as good as the day she left the factory. There's no way that we're just going to leave her like this, we wouldn't be the automotive club if we did." There was a sense of pride in the older girl's voice, a sense of knowing that her boast wasn't just an empty claim but rather a reality.

"Will you be joining on the talk? The meeting that has been called, I mean." Yukari asked as she thought of something, given that there wasn't going to be any actual training today she wondered if the crew of Leopon would attend the briefing, which if she recalled had been stated that attendance was mandatory.

"Nah, not really," Hoshino remarked, shaking her head in dismissal to emphasize her remark. "We still have a lot of work to do and unless we can get the old girl back into shape before the festival there's no point for us to be at the meeting, the people coming to visit would likely want to see her in action rather than sitting idle in the sheds, am I right?"

"That's right! People want to come see our tanks in action, they want to see what our team's made of! Yukari loudly proclaimed as their tanks needed to be in the action if they wanted to capture the hearts of their visitors, their team needed to be seen in action, showing that there was a constant hive of activity here. The best way to do this would be for their tanks to drive around the school grounds and be seen in action.

"I know right," Hoshino laughed in agreement, her hands resting on her hips as she turned around to face the brown haired younger girl, "We're definitely going to get her outside and have her tearing up the place, even if it means we'd have to push her ourselves."

"Are you sure about that, she's pretty hard to pull you know," Suzuki, accompanied by Tsuchiya, now also came to join the little talk that was taking place. "The four of us are never going to be able to pull her, I doubt we could even manage that with the Type 89 and that's the lightest one we have on the entire team."

"That's it!" Yukari spoke out aloud, clapping her hand as she had just gotten a really good idea. "Thank you so much Suzuki-senpai, thank you for giving me an idea." Expressing her gratitude she made a bow towards the older student.

"Ehm sure," said girl let out, to be honest, she was feeling somewhat confused, as she was at this point left clueless to what kind of an idea she actually had provided the younger girl with. Glancing over at her fellow club mates none of them seemed to have an idea what Yukari meant though they could all see the girl was beaming with excitement, she definitely was working out something in her mind and it made them curious to find out what that exactly was, perhaps the crew of Leopon was going to attend the meeting after all.

"Yukarin!" Saori shouted loudly as she and the others spotted Yukari standing there in the distance. Quickly rushing over to greet her friend she said, "Ah there you are, we've been looking for you as you weren't at your usual spot. I was actually getting a little worried you know. Hey listen, we're really sorry that we couldn't be here any sooner, our teacher had a job for us," the ginger-haired girl said, explaining to her friend why they had been so late.

Joining up with her were Miho and the others, upon entering the tank sheds they were surprised to learn that Yukari was nowhere to be seen. "I'm glad to see you're alright Yukari-san," Miho said and smiled at her friend. "For a moment I thought you had gone somewhere else, luckily we found you here with the automotive club. Sorry that we kept you waiting."

"It's alright, I had a really nice talk with everybody here," Yukari said in return, her cheeks taking on a shade of pink as she heard Miho's say those kind words, knowing that her friends had been a little worried about her made her blush as well as feel warm on the inside.

Greetings were exchanged between the member of Anglerfish and Leopon, some small talk going back and forth until finally their attention was drawn when Momo's voice could be heard coming from somewhere further up ahead in the building, it seemed that the meeting was about to begin. With that Miho and her friends excused themselves as they already went towards the meeting, Tsuchiya and others said that they would show up later.


Ooarai school carrier – tank sheds – 16.35h

"Rejected! Rejected! All of them! They're all rejected!" Following a round of less than pleasing suggestions, all of them had been promptly rejected by Momo, said girl was starting to get into a particularly foul mood as a result, the near constant twitching of her left eye giving away her irritation and there were murmured remarks going around of her popping a vein if she kept this up."Can't any of you come up with something good?! Can you all just stop thinking about yourselves?! We need to attract more students to this school and right now our main selling point is our Senshado team!" the monocle-eyed girl shouted at the top of her lungs, slamming her hand against the whiteboard behind her to emphasize her point, Momo was becoming very aggravated.

Standing more at the back of the group Yukari and his friends were keeping their voices down so as not to make matters worse as the short haired girl's mood seemed to be getting fouler by the minute, and yet they had a lot to discuss amongst themselves as they all had suggestions, suggestions that they felt they needed to share with the others before mentioning them to the student council. It seemed that the time they had spend separate from each other had allowed them all to come up with various ideas, although some were vaguer than others, nevertheless they wanted to discuss their ideas first with their friends and see if they could come up with something even better as they all wanted for this festival to succeed.

"What do you think if we kept a maid cafe here as well," Saori remarked, pointing out how cute they would all look in various maid outfits. "I'm telling you that people are going to be smitten when they catch just a glimpse of us. Ah, I wonder what I'm going to do if I were to get any admirer wanting to woo me, oh I don't think I'm ready for that yet…"

"No, not gonna happen." Mako just shook her head as she voiced her disapproval of the suggestion, everything about that just sounded wrong to her and she certainly didn't look forward to having to play dress up for Saori. She would rather be served by others than having to serve them, that way she could relax and get some rest.

"Ah but aren't those going to get wrinkled when you try to get in the tanks? I mean they don't really look that suited if you ask me, I think it's best if we kept our uniforms on," Yukari mentioned, raising her hand as she felt that she needed to raise some points. "Also I don't think that those shoes that you normally wear are going to be safe, they don't seem to offer enough traction for when you're on the tank. I feel like that I could twist my ankle."

"Yukari-san's right, it's far too dangerous to go around the tanks in anything other than our uniforms," Miho responded, "While it's important to make sure that the guests are having a good time we should also look to our own safety, it'd be a shame if everybody's fun were to be ruined because somebody got hurt. I'm sorry Saori-san but I don't think it's a good idea for us to do it but maybe you want to suggest it to the rest of our class."

Miho just smiled, even though she didn't say a word she did kind of wanted to go with Saori's idea as she imagined that she would look rather pretty wearing a maid outfit though perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to go with something a little more stylish and refined as befitting of tankery. Maybe they could try yukata's instead though she could imagine it being a little hard to get enough of those, well, she could always make the suggestion anyway and see what the others have to say about it. "Oh my..." she whispered, her face taking on a hue of pink.

"Nishizumi, you and the rest on Anglerfish have been awfully quiet! I want to hear some suggestions from you all as well and don't you dare tell me that you don't have any, I won't allow it!" she emphasized her point by stomping the floor, a hollow thump could be heard echoing throughout the sheds.

Behind the increasingly frustrated girl, Anzu, with her legs stretched out, seemed to be less concerned with the apparent lack of good suggestions, if anything it could be said that the diminutive girl didn't seem to care in the least that they still had nothing after an hour, giving off the impression that everything was fine with her. With a wide grin on her face, she turned to look at Yuzu and whispered to her, "There's certainly a lot of high spirit today, don't you think?"

"Yes prez," the girl just smiled in response, whispering some words in return that seemed to go unnoticed by Momo who remained unaware of what was happening behind her back as she kept on shouting and ranting while pointing an accusing finger at just anybody present there.

"Nishizumi, I'm still waiting for your suggestions! I want to hear suggestions from you right now!"


Author's note:

Well here it is, the next installment of this story, sorry that you people had to keep waiting but well you all know how real life can be at times and I do want to take my time and give this story the attention that it deserves and not risk ruining it by rushing to get a chapter published.

Of course having been struck down by a severe case of the stomach flu for most of the past week hasn't exactly been helping, it's a good thing that I managed to get most of this chapter's editing done before the flu struck me down otherwise I wouldn't have been able to post it this weekend.

Been some really good news for those of us in Europe, MVM entertainment has announced that they got the license to both the Der film and the Anzio OVA for release somewhere in 2017, like most of you I nearly jumped through the roof when I read the news. There's always a risk that some series might never get released outside of Japan so I'm really happy that both of these are finally making their way towards us. The Anzio OVA is from 2014 but hey, better late than never, let's make sure that we make it worth the investment for MVM and buy the official release.

Now the only thing left with regards to GuP animation that I want to see released is the 'Humble Akiyama Yukari's Tank corner', really hope that in time this short series will also get released as it's pretty funny to watch. Of course, there's also the 'final chapter' but sadly we don't know what form this is going to take. Doesn't make me any less excited about it, though.

Hopefully you all took a moment of silence today with Veteran's Day and honored the sacrifice paid by so many so that we can live our lives like we do these days. Remember them, remember their actions, remember their sacrfice, and don't allow them to slip into the realms of the forgotten ones.

Well, that's about it from me for today, I'm going to leave it at that, enjoy the chapter and I'll be looking forward to hearing your opinions and such. Have a good weekend and take care folks.