Invitation to Battle!

Sitting at her desk Miho was thinking back to what Yuzu had said to her during their walk home, it made her think back to friends that she had long lost contact with, friends she had made in elementary school. Just thinking about it she found herself asking how long it had been, six, maybe even seven years since they had said their goodbyes to each other.

"I guess that Emi is likely in Germany, I wonder what it's like there," she said underneath her breath as her gaze was being drawn outside. "I hope that she's working hard to fulfilling our promise. I'd really like to see her though I guess it'd be hard to make a journey to Germany, I guess I'd have to wait until our winter break if I wanted to go and visit her."

Getting up from the desk and making her way towards her bed she lied down, thinking about what it might be for her to go to Germany for a while in search of her friend then again it had been so long since they had last seen each other. Even worse, ever since then she had lost all contact with said girl, somewhere Miho was feeling a sense of guilt for having let that happen.

Staring at her ceiling she told herself, "I've lost contact with all of them after I enrolled into Kuromorimine, I really wish we could've kept in touch with each other, I should've…"

Having only herself to blame for letting it happen Miho rolled over onto her belly before she whispered, "I've never even taken the time to get into contact with Hitomi and Chihiro after we graduated. I feel bad about it, losing contact with the first friends I ever made…"

It was in such stark contrast to who the person she had become, these days she spared no expense in order to stay in touch with her friends. But with her first friends she had done just the opposite of that, she had failed to keep in touch with any of them.

Maybe it wasn't too late to get back in touch with them again but she had to ask herself where she would start with her search, she had no idea to which schools her friends had gone to which made it difficult but she was aware that she would need to start somewhere.

"Maybe I should ask Prez and the others of the student council for help? Maybe they can help me with finding my old friends again," she summarized, thinking that with its connections it might be possible for them to find a lead, another option was for her to contact her old school and see if she could get any contact details that they might still have.

Getting up from the bed and taking a seat at her work desk Miho got struck by a sudden idea, maybe there was also the possibility that she could get back in touch with her old friends through social media. And if Emi was still doing tankery in Germany then maybe with the aid of articles and such Miho might be able to track her old friend's location down.

Going to one of the search engines she typed in several terms for tankery in German but once she saw the list of hits it generated she became aware that this was going to take a lot longer than she might have given it credit for. "This might take a bit longer than I thought, then again I never thought that Sensha-Do could be so popular there."

Going through a number of the links Miho eventually found herself on a site where videos were uploaded, for a brief moment she thought about viewing some but she dismissed that as the chance of seeing Emi in one of them would be far too low. And besides, after she has checked one out, some might just not be of a decent quality after all.

Letting out an exasperated sigh she closed the page and turned away from her pc, well this would be something for tomorrow then, at least that was what she was trying to tell herself.

"I'd really like to see them again, it's been so long, and we've all been through so much ever since. I guess we'd all have a lot to talk about, our hopes and our dreams, the things that we've been able to realize. Ah, I'd so like to hear those."

Resuming her place on her bed Miho had a look at her room, just being by herself made the room appear so large and empty. It just made her want to invite her friends to come on over and spend the night together though it would likely be a little cramped if they tried to sleep here with five people. A shame as she really fancied the prospect of a sleepover.

A sleepover, that reminded her again of the day that Alice had come to visit her school, such a shame that the younger girl had felt that she needed to be at another school in order to continue fighting against Miho. Such a terrible shame as Miho had wanted for nothing more than the two of them to fight together but there was little she could have done about it.

"I really hope that you've found a place to call your own, Alice-chan, I really hope that we'll get to see each other again, I hope that it'll be soon," she said to herself, rolling over onto her side, she found herself staring at various of her Boko dolls. Smiling in response the girl was feeling a sensation being stirred in her chest at the thought of seeing the younger girl again.

That reminded her, she needed to get into contact with the younger girl and though, fortunately, she had the sense of mind to get the girl's contact information, she had not yet done anything with that information.

Letting out a deep sigh she said, underneath her breath, "I really hope that you've met wonderful people there, Alice-chan. People, you can call friends, if you've met them, then I'd love to meet them too." It was what she wished for the most for the younger girl, for her to find the same kind of friends that she had come to meet her at Oarai.

Her dear friends, those wonderful people that she had come to meet and befriend onboard this ship, the people she held so dear to her heart, how much they had come to mean to her. If the young Alice could come to befriend such people as well then Miho couldn't be any happier.

"Oh no, it's that late already," she let out in surprise when her eyes finally came to rest on the little alarm clock, she had been so busy, lost in her own thoughts that she had failed to notice that it was already well past midnight and she still had things to take care of before she could go to sleep.

Getting off from the bed she rushed back to her work desk, this night was far from over, there were still various pieces of homework that needed her attention. Opening her textbooks Miho just prayed that she wasn't going to end up as Mako did in the morning. Well, she would worry about that tomorrow, for now, she needed to focus her attention on what still remained of her homework because otherwise, she might just find herself in trouble with her teachers.


Oarai school carrier – streets – 08.10h Tuesday

"So how was it yesterday?" Hana asked the question that was on everyone's mind as the five girls crossed the street, once the last member of their group had joined up the topic had immediately shifted to Miho's talk with the festival committee the previous day as nobody had seen her ever since.

"Did they give you any trouble, Miporin?" Saori chimed in as well, only too keen to learn more. "So what kind of people were they? Where there any weird ones? Did they give you a hard time? What did they say about our plans? Oh c'mon, Miporin, tell us?"

Blinking with her eyes as it took a few moments before the questions from her friends had registered with her Miho was doing her utmost best to not let her friends see her yawn but it was too little avail.

"Are you alright, Miporin? You look pretty tired you know that, don't tell me they were so mean to you that you couldn't get any sleep at all?!" Saori demanded, jumping to conclusions, without even given her friend as so much as an opportunity to give an answer in return.

"A-Ah, no. N-No, no!" Waving her arms around the distressed Miho was only too quick in order to try and stop this little misunderstanding from escalating any further. "I-It's nothing like that, it's just that…" she looked away from her friends, fiddling a little with her hair. "… I'm just a little tired, I forgot about the time yesterday when I came home and I almost forgot to do my homework… so because of that… I…"

"That doesn't really sound like you, Miho-san," the graceful, long-haired gunner remarked as she and her friends listened to the explanation of the brunette and while it did explain as to why said girl appeared to be tired it was at odds at how she always appeared.

"You should've stayed in bed, I would've." Was all that Mako had to say, adding her own opinion to the discussion at hand, although it did little as the rest figured out that this was more of a reflection on the diminutive girl's own desires.

"Mako, please…" Saori said in response, followed by her letting out an exasperated sigh, before turning back and having a look at the brunette in question. Although she felt that it would be wrong to be absent from class she also had to admit that given her pale looking face it would have been better for Miho to catch some much-needed rest.

Guess it was to be fortunate for them that they had relatively simple classes today so there wasn't going to be much of a strain placed on the girl's exhausted physique. "So Miporin, do you think you're gonna be alright? You could've called in sick and get some rest. Still, I'd prefer it if you stayed in school with us, I'm actually looking forward to home economics today~."

"Eh, why's that?" the fluffy-haired brunette asked, unaware as to why the other girl was looking forward to that class, it wasn't like they did anything special there. "How come you're so keen on it, Takebe-dono? Is there anything special about today?"

Saori gave a warm smile in return before she said, "Not really, but we're making curry today so I've actually been looking forward to trying out a new recipe in class today. Of course, if you want we can make some extra for Mako and you, Yukarin."

Perplexed Yukari blinked her eyes as she asked, "For real? Are you sure that's alright, what if your teacher won't let you? You know how strict she can be."

Listening closely Miho knew what her friend was talking about, their home economics teacher, miss Saginomiya was pretty strict when it came to taking any of the foods they had cooked in class outside of the classroom. Furthermore, she wasn't all that keen on her students wasting food or making more than what they would need for class.

"I don't think she'll mind as long as we go and ask her if it's alright before class starts, also I brought extra ingredients with me today so I think we should be fine," Saori mentioned in return, holding up the plastic grocery bag that she had brought along with her. "I'll go and ask her if it's alright when we have our first break, she should be in the teacher's office if I'm not mistaken."

The rest of them decided to take the ginger-haired girl's word for it, if she felt confident that she could persuade the teacher in question then they would put their trust in her. And should their teacher refuse, then they would simply need to look at making Saori's new curry at home. Come to think of it, they might just do that anyway.

Craning her neck up to gave at the blue sky overhead Miho let out a quick sigh as the discussion had veered off wildly, she kept asking herself how it was possible for a conversation which had initially started about her dealing with the festival committee would reach a point where they were talking about home economics and eventually curry, truth be told, it was rather impressive but it also meant that she would need to steer their talk back to where they had started.

Most of all because she wanted to let her friends know that she had a great time yesterday while she had been a guest there, she wanted to let the others know how impressed she had been with the dedication and the passion she had sensed from those students. Miho had come to this realization when she had watched Yuuki address the people, each and every time people clung to her lips, listening to what she had to say, in many ways Miho hoped that she could be a bit just like she was; confident when addressing people, inspiring others to set their differences aside and work together towards a common goal.

"To go back to your earlier question, Hana-san, I really had a great time there," the brunette said, she was going to tell them everything about last night, her friends should know of it.

"Huh, Miporin, are you talking when you went to see the committee? Where did this come from all of a sudden? "

"Took you long enough," Mako let out, taking a jab at the ginger-haired girl. The diminutive girl had been waiting for just an opportunity to get back at her for that earlier remark.

The other girl's reaction, which was to be expected, did not keep them waiting. "Hey, that's mean! You take that back, now! Meanie!"

"My, my, Saori-san, you shouldn't be rude towards Mako-san, after all, it's not her fault that you weren't paying attention to our conversation earlier. Fufufu," she said, chuckling as she did, seeming to want to get a part of the action as well and to get some personal enjoyment for herself as well in the process as they continued on their way towards their school. Despite her refined and polite appearance on the outside, the graceful gunner did have a bit of a cheeky side to her.

Neither Miho nor Yukari decided to act on the matter, silently enjoying the moment as the friendly banter between the other three girls was kicked into high gear. This was going to last for a while, watching it all unfold it reminded Miho again of the time spent with her previous friends, there would often be plenty of banter between Emi and Chihiro, as neither of those two was shy about expressing their opinion. Those could lead to some tense moments alright.

Of course, with the banter taking place that also meant that Miho could likely forget about telling her friends about her experience the day before, well that would then have to wait until their break, not necessarily a bad thing as it would give them all something to talk about. Not that they needed it as there was bound to be enough stuff for them to talk about, whenever the five of them would gather at one of their usual spots they would talk up a storm about even the most common of occurrences but then wasn't that what being high school students was about. To enjoy the simple things in life, spending time with the dearest of friends, and making sure that one had plenty of fun in doing so.

"Nishizumi-dono, you look like you're really enjoying yourself," Yukari whispered to her friend. "Did something really good happen to you last night?"

Giving the other girl a warm smile in return Miho nodded her head as she answered the question, "It did, Yukari-san, that it did." Even this morning was already off to a good start.

Greeting one of the members of the school's Moral Committee the girls noticed much to their surprise that one very specific member appeared to be absent from her duty today.

"Sodoko's not here? How tardy," Mako was all too quick to remark as she registered the girl's unusual absence, barely able to contain her yawn as the five of them continued with making their way towards the main entrance. "She's being sloppy."

The other four girls exchanged looks with each other, it wasn't like Mako was in any position to say that, especially in light of her past record. But they didn't say a word of it, as despite the rather snarky tone that Mako had used it could not hide that deep inside the diminutive girl was a little worried about not seeing the other girl.

Once inside, and after they had all donned their indoor shoes Miho excused herself as she needed to go to Anzu's office and see what the student council wanted to discuss with her. She didn't know how long it was going to take her but she expected to be reunited with her friends before their first break. Saying their goodbyes the group broke up, the girls going their own respective ways.


Oarai school carrier – student council office - 08.25h

Approaching the office Miho couldn't help but wonder as to why Anzu had called for her, well the most likely reasons she could come up with had to do with thinking up possible new training methods, the acquisition of new components or even tanks, or possibly it was about that the order they had placed for the new gun for Rabbit had arrived at the store.

She had excused herself from her friends as Miho had deemed it better if this conversation was to be kept between the student council and her. If there was anything that concerned the team as a whole than she would share it with them later on.

"Well I guess I'm going to find out soon enough," Miho said to herself as she came to a halt in front of the door leading to the office, raising her arm she gently knocked on the door and waited. "It's a good thing that we had maintenance scheduled for today."

"Ah Nishizumi, you're here," Momo let out when she noticed the brunette standing there after she opened the door, one of her eyes a little squinted as she appeared to be in a bit of an irritated mood, "You're a little late though. Now, please, follow me."

Greeting the dark haired girl in return Miho followed her as she was led through the staff office and further towards the office used by Anzu, making the occasional glance she noticed that there was a frenzy of activity taking place, no doubt a consequence of the upcoming festival.

"Hey, Nishizumi-chan~!" Anzu beamed, in her usual carefree and cheerful tone, the moment the little twin tail spotted the brunette entering her office, "Glad to see you could make it, I've got some pretty exciting news for you! You've gotta hear this! This is gonna be fun!"

Seeing at how excited the diminutive president was only brought conflicting emotions as prior experience had shown Miho that sometimes the things that got Anzu excited where the things that most people could do without, then again she figured that there could be no harm in listening to what the president had to say. Given that she had been called out here, it had to involve her in one way or another.

Remaining where she stood Miho went ahead and asked the obvious question, "So does this mean that the gun we ordered at the shop has already been delivered? When can we expect the Automotive Club to finish installing it in the M3?"

"No, no, no!"Anzu was only too quick to remark, waving her hand to gesture that Miho's guess had been wrong, turning to her left as she addressed the brunette with the ponytail standing next to her. "Koyama, show her what I mean, give her the letters."

"We've received several letters in the last few days with requests," Momo filled in Miho as Yuzu approached her and handed said girl several letters. "We'd like for you to read them and tell us what you think of the requests made to us? We felt that it was best to consult you about them before we reach a decision."

Going through them Miho took her time to carefully read the three examples that she had been given, the one from Maginot seemed to be an invitation to view their upcoming match against Chihatan. She definitely liked the idea of paying a visit as it would offer her the opportunity to see Éclair and Nishi again, something she was already looking forward to.

"I like the sound of this, but the match seems to be scheduled on a school day so I don't think it's possible for any of us to visit," she mentioned after she had noticed the date and time mentioned in the letter, it was a shame but there wasn't much that she could do about it.

"Ah, no problem, Nishizumi-chan~," Anzu was only too quick to mention as she waved her hand. "There's no problem at all. I can give you a special permit, you and four others as well." Holding up her hand she gestured that five people in total would be permitted to be absent that day to go and visit the match.

Blinking with her eyes Miho was taken aback a little as she asked, "But won't that get us into trouble with any of the teachers or the principal? I mean, we can't just be absent from class."

"As the student council we have that power," Momo said, taking a step forward while adjusting her monocle, filling in Miho that this would not pose a problem at all. Once Anzu's signature was on the documents no teacher or the school's principal would object, and besides it was not like the students here had a record of being absent.

Accepting the words of assurance Miho continued as she read the second letter, she had heard of this school but that didn't make the request any less odd. Despite her best efforts she was struggling to come up with a suitable reason as to why Viggen had requested for some of Oarai's tankery team members to come over and help train their own team.

"We felt that it was a little odd as well," Yuzu mentioned when she noticed the expression on Miho's face. "We don't really get it either but it seems that they're trying to get their team build up again. We don't have all of the details yet but they kinda have had the same problem as we had in that their team disbanded and they've been struggling to get enough members."

"Is that so," Miho called as she listened to the explanation that was given to her by the brunette, that certainly made sense to her and following that reasoning she could see why Viggen had made their request. That said, Miho couldn't help but think that it was also going to difficult for them to help the other school with their request as it wouldn't be easy to provide them with what their team needed, motivation and a desire to participate, a desire to be a part of it.

"We're still looking into the finer details," Momo called, adding to the earlier explanation. "But the best option that we can come up with at the moment is arranging for some of their students to come visit us so we can train them. Of course, that will mean that we will need to agree on a location for both ships to meet."

That sounded like a lot of trouble to Miho but then this was something that would be taken care of by others, so for the time being it was not an immediate concern to her. And with that, she came to the last of the three letters that she had been handed.

"Tarczay High, huh?" she mentioned underneath her breath, raising an eyebrow as she read the name a second time, struggling with it she found herself having to admit that she had never heard of this school before, even during her time at Kuromorimine she had never once heard the name Tarczay High being mentioned. "I've never heard of them before."

"There's a good reason for that," the monocle-eyed girl said in response to that remark. "Reason being that their school stopped doing Sensha-Do about six years ago, so it's not much of a surprise that most people haven't heard of them." And with that Momo began with a rather lengthy explanation of what she had been able to uncover about this school since yesterday, it went without saying that Miho was going to be stuck in the office for a little longer than she had anticipated.


Oarai school carrier - class 2-A - 09.20h

Sitting in her classroom, Saori was anxious to find out why Miho had gone to discuss with the student council, she hadn't seen the girl anymore ever since they had split ways at the main entrance, right now they just had homeroom for which her friend had been excused.

'Guess it must be nice to be on good terms with the student council,' she thought, her right arm supporting her head as she began to wonder what they could be discussing up there. The most likely explanation is that it simply had to do with the team. 'Is it about that new gun that they ordered for Rabbit's tank, or have they maybe gotten us stuck in another weird training match, or could it be that they want to talk about the future of the team? Miporin, you need to get back here.'

She had hoped that they could have gotten together during their first break but as that had come and go it was obvious that Miho was going to be gone for a bit longer than any of them could have thought. A shame as she wanted to show her latest creation off to Miho, she had spent this morning making several new additions to her growing lunchbox in the thought of sharing them with her friends.

Throwing a glance over her shoulder, noting the long-haired girl sitting just to her right, she let out a short sigh. As much as she valued her friend she was a little upset that said friend had been responsible for gobbling up most of the treats that she had made and wanted to share, in hindsight she really should have seen this coming as the dark-haired girl's ravenous appetite was no mystery to her. Well, she could always make more when she got home and make sure that she had enough that would not only satiate her friend's appetite but still allow her to share with the others.

"Right," she whispered to herself, clenching her fist as if to emphasize her resolve though a cursory glance at her long-haired friend was already enough to make that resolve rather shaky. 'I'm going to need to make a lot of extra today, Hanna's got that look in her eyes.'

Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind she turned her attention back to their teacher, well at least she had one less worry to lose her head over. Much to her own relief their home economics teacher had granted the ginger-haired girl's request but said teacher had also made it clear that she expected for the excess food to be put to good use, that once they were finished they would clean up the room, and if she to find out that any of it had been thrown away there would be a penalty involved.

'Well it's not like there's gonna be much left when Hana gets her hands on it,' she thought to herself, smiling as she did because she knew for certain that nothing would go to waste, one particular friend of hers would make sure of that.

It had pretty gone as she had expected, as long as one would come and ask miss Saginomiya beforehand then she was likely going to grant the request. Saori was getting anxious to get to grips when she and her friends could start cooking, she just needed to make sure that the other two would understand what she would be expecting from them. Oh, that did remind her, there had been a second condition that she had gotten from her teacher, said teacher, wanted to have a sample of the curry that Saori was planning on making to taste for herself.

'I hope she's going to like it, come to think of it, I've never cooked for other people besides my friends, not counting mom and dad of course.' It made her think about her family back home, for some reason that she couldn't quite explain she felt an unmistakable urge to give them a call when she would get home. She just wanted to hear their voices.

Maybe she could give them a quick call during her next break, then again she knew that her parents were at work, which was going to make it harder for her to call them. 'Guess it won't do me any good if I were to call them before I get home, I'll just have to try tonight, maybe after I've taken a bath.'

Reaching out for her pen she began to scribble down some notes, reminding herself that she still needed to do her best in her studies, even if she was a little less enthusiastic about the homework. Eventually, though her mind began to slowly drift back to wondering where her friend was and before the ginger-haired girl was even aware of it, she had lost her interest in her teacher and what she had written on the board.

Putting down the pencil she let out an exasperated sigh, this wasn't going to work.


Oarai school carrier – school hallways – 10.00h

Coming around the corner Miho was surprised when she found herself staring into the olive green eyes of Yuuri who stood at the bottom of the stairs, "Ah, Ichimichi-san, sorry, I hadn't noticed you," she was quick to apologize, "Good day to you, how's it going?"

The taller girl gave a gentle smile in return, "I'm fine, and a good day to you too Nishizumi-san. As for how it's going, well, it's been very busy as we've got a lot to take care of. That said, we're really looking forward to this year and personally, I can't wait to see how many visitors were going to be getting. And it's all going to be because of you, from what you told us yesterday it sounds like the Sensha-Do team has got something planned to show people how nice and fun this school is."

Miho's face took on a few hues of pink as she heard the appraisal, though truth be told, it didn't sit well with her for being the sole recipient of the praise, everybody on the team had done their best to make it happen.

Noticing the change in the light brunette's demeanor Yuuri was quick to offer her apologies, "I'm sorry Nishizumi-san, I didn't mean to imply that you're the only one, which was a stupid thing for me to say. Everybody on the Sensha-Do team needs to be praised for what they did for our school, it was a little disrespectful of me to suggest otherwise, and again I'm sorry."

"That's okay," Miho said in return as she knew that Yuuri hadn't meant it like that, it had simply been a slip of the tongue, then again the girl had raised a good point in that Miho's name itself was a selling point for their school. "I guess a lot of people will likely think that our school did so well is because of me, no doubt I'm likely the reason why people will be coming to visit our school during the festival."

Not saying a worth in return as she still felt a little silly for having said it in the first place Yuuri became aware that this was troubling the team's commander, it was somewhat strange but also admirable in that the commander refused to accept all of the praise for the team's performance, perhaps that was also one of the reasons why so many students looked up to this girl. "You're really something, aren't you, Nishizumi-san? You create miracles, you bring out the best in people, you inspire others to greatness, people will go beyond and above the call of duty for you, and yet you still remain so modest about it. You're not letting any of the fame of praise get to you. I really admire you for that, and being a little honest I also envy you for it."

Blinking her eyes Miho was left speechless for a moment as the words directed at her sank in, she could feel the sincerity behind them, it was a testimony to the person she had become, a person that she felt rightly proud of.

"So if you don't mind me asking, why aren't you in class, Nishizumi-san?" Yuuri asked her, feeling a little curious about why the other girl was not in her respective classroom, only a select few students were allowed to roam the hallways when classes were in session. "Do you have your pass with you? You might otherwise get into trouble."

That reminded Miho, she had overheard Yuzu making a mention of that but she hadn't really given it much attention as she had been so busy.

It was almost comical to think that she might get into trouble because of this, well if anybody were to ask her she would explain it to them, she reasoned that she could likely get away with it given that she had been called to Anzu's office.

"Ehm, I actually don't have one," Miho answered the other girl's question, feeling a little ashamed of having to admit that. "I just got back from the student council's office and I-."

"Oh, I didn't know that," Yuuri remarked as she heard the mention of the student council. "Well I guess then you don't really need to worry about it, pardon me for asking but why were you called there? Please don't tell me it's because she has another crazy idea for the festival."

It was at this point that Miho noticed that there was a hint of irritation in the other girl's voice, betraying a sense of resentment that Yuuri might have towards Anzu. Had something happened in the past between these two girls that could explain this sudden attitude?

Even if it was, this was something that Miho felt that she had no right to intervene, if there was an issue then it should be worked out between the two girls themselves.

"Ah no, I was called into the office because we got several invitations from other Sensha-Do teams. The prez simply wanted my opinion on them as I think they couldn't really decide on which one they wanted to act first," she said, giving an answer to the question made by Yuuri who was visibly relieved to hear that it had nothing to do with the festival.

"Thank goodness, I was already afraid that it was going to be a repeat of last year," the tall girl mentioned underneath her breath, followed by her letting out an exasperated sigh. Her hand still pressed against her chest Yuuri took in a big breath of air.

It caught Miho's curiosity, given that she only came to Oarai this year, she had no idea on how things had been the previous school year. "Last year, did anything happen back then?"

Waving her hand the other girl was quick to inform the shorter girl that she should not let it bother her too much. "Please, don't think too much about it, but well, you of all people are likely aware that our school's prez can be a little… how do I put this?" Bringing up her hand and letting it rest against her chin Yuuri was trying her best to come up with the right word.

"I understand," Miho said, there was no further need for the other girl to explain as she had experienced it for herself first hand at how fickle Anzu could be, of course, the diminutive girl always had the school's best intentions at heart but there were times when her actions might cause trouble for others.

"Ah, so you've already seen it yourself?" the taller girl asked, her olive green eyes staring at Miho with her voice giving away that she wasn't all that much surprised. "She really can be a handful, she's a really kind person but there are times where I wish she would pay a little more attention to others. I just hope that the new student council will be more thoughtful."

Chuckling a little Miho was finding this little, if somewhat awkward conversation, to be rather enjoyable, learning a bit more about the other side of people that she rarely, if ever, saw. "I know, right? Still, she's not a bad person, she's just a little… ehm different."

"My, my," the other girl said, a kind smile gracing the features of her face, her arms now folded across her chest as she said, "That's a rather polite way of putting it, but I think you're right. She's a difficult, even demanding person at times. But she does know what's right; I think that this school's saving has as much to owe to you as it does to her efforts."

The two girls could only laugh in response, both of them knowing that what had been said to be true, nobody could deny that it was thanks to Anzu's perseverance and effort that they had been given an opportunity to save their school.

"Well, I need to get going now, I've still got some paperwork that I need to deliver," the taller girl mentioned as she took a quick look at her watch. "I enjoyed our little talk, Nishizumi-san, I'm looking forward already to running into you again. Though if you ever feel like wanting to talk to me about anything, then please feel free to come visit me at the festival committee. Take care now, Nishizumi-san, Bye, bye."

"Thank you for everything, Ichimichi-san. Until next time, goodbye," Miho waved her off as the taller girl walked past her and went further up the stairs until she disappeared out of sight. Waiting a little Miho could still hear the girl's footsteps echoing from somewhere above, having waited for long enough, she felt that it was about time for her to go as well, her friends were no doubt waiting for her join them again, and it was pretty likely that they were all curious about her talk with the student council.


Oarai school carrier – home economics classroom – 12.00h

The door of the classroom swung open as Saori admitted herself, using the spare key she had gotten from their teacher. Closing it behind her, the ginger-haired girl went over towards the pot where her curry had been waiting for her. "Ah great, it's still just like I've left it, I really should thank Saginomiya-sensei for having kept an eye on it. I do wonder if she already took out some for herself, well if she did I hope she likes it."

"I'll let you know after I've had a taste of it." A voice came from behind, startling the girl. Who was so surprised by it that she didn't dare to look who it was. "C'mon, don't tell me that was already enough to scare you? I told you that I would be coming to collect my share."

Daring to turn around Saori saw, much to her own relief, that it was none other than their home economics teacher, miss Saginomiya, letting out an exasperated sigh the girl was able to calm down again. "Uhm, sorry about that, sensei. It's just that I didn't expect you so soon."

The woman stepped forward, the long coat she was always wearing, moving along with the movements of her legs. She always seemed to have this somewhat stern expression on her face but she was always polite and kind to her students. "Well, given that you're planning to share it with four more students, one of which being Isuzu, I figured it be best if I got here early to collect my share. Truth be told, I'm a little curious as to how your curry is going to taste. Besides I'd like to make sure that the five of you aren't going to make a scene or cause any problems for me."

Making her way over towards one of the rice cookers Saori pulled out the extra packs of rice she had brought with her, given that she needed to make plenty of portions today she had been wise enough to bring an extra pack or two with her to school. Turning it on and filling it with both rice and water, adding some salt, pepper, and other flavorings, she pressed the dial, noting on the display how long it was going to take for the rice to be ready. Satisfied with that she turned to the cooker next to it and repeated the process, with two of them filled she felt confident that she was going to have enough rice for all of them.

"So where exactly did you come up with the idea of making a sweet curry like this, I'm a little curious what gave you the inspiration for trying it?" her teacher asked as she came up next to the younger girl. "It did have a nice smell to it when you were busy in making it, then again you always do well in my class so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise. So as a question, have you ever considered in taking cooking up as a profession? You've got talent."

The ginger-haired girl wasn't really sure what to make of that, sure she liked cooking, and if the others word were to be taken then she was apparently also pretty good at it. But taking cooking up as a profession was something that she hadn't considered before, she wasn't even sure if she was good enough but she had to admit that it did sound somewhat exciting when she thought about it. "Y-You really think so, sensei?"

"I do, that said don't rush yourself, so please think this through," Saginomiya said as she answered the girl's question. "Well, I guess you all will be doing a lot of orientation next year. But first, let's make sure that's everything set up and ready for your friends. I'd prefer if they don't make a mess of my classroom."

Nodding her head in agreement Saori went to work quickly at getting everything set up so that her friends would not have to, there was going to be less for them to clean up if she could get it all set up so that when her friends would come in they could take a seat and begin.

"I hope we haven't kept you waiting, did we?" Miho mentioned as she and the others opened the door and stepped inside, noticing the sweet fragrance that had spread throughout the room. "Oh, it smells wonderful."

"Not at all!" Saori replied in her usual cheerful manner. "I'm just about ready to serve it all up, so go ahead and pick a seat. We can get started right away."

Soon all five members of the fabled Anglerfish had clustered together at one of the many tables that filled the classroom, and having taken her rightful portion their teacher had excused herself, wishing them a good meal and reminding them that she fully expected them to clean up everything after they were done. Hana's stomach let out a loud gurgling sound, which immediately prompted a red-faced blush from the graceful gunner.

Inside the classroom, the quintet of girls was enjoying themselves with the curry that had been made by a few of them earlier that day now that they had been left to their own devices.

"I'm really glad that we still had plenty left of it, it was also very kind of Saginomiya-sensei to let us make use of the classroom," Miho remarked before she took a bite from her piece. "Hmm, it tastes so good you know. Ah, Saori-san, this curry is just heaven."

Hana nodded her head in agreement as she worked down her piece in no less than two bites, with her mouth stuffed she tried to talk. "Wellfff itff tastfff goofff."

"Oh, it looks great Takebe-dono, and it tastes even better than it looks," Yukari exclaimed right after she had taken a bite. "Hmm, I can't believe how rich the flavor is, I don't think I've ever had a sweet curry like this one. You've got to give me the recipe, I think mom would love to make this. You're really good at cooking, aren't you Takebe-dono."

"I… ehm… try to do my best, I've always liked cooking and before I came to Oarai I would help out my mom whenever she was making dinner," the ginger-haired girl said in response, but she seemed to be a little too modest about her skills.

To Miho she gave off the impression that she hadn't expected to be praised by her friends again, despite this curry being possibly the best they ever have had, it was just like when they had gotten to enjoy the hotcakes at Mako's place.

Fortunately, though, Saori was able to make a quick recovery. "Well, what are you all waiting for? Let's dig in before it gets cold!"

The other four girls took her advice to heart, with gusto even, turning on their food and enjoying this delicious meal with the five of them.

"I'm glad," Saori let out, shifting uncomfortably on the chair, "I've never made this kind of sweet curry before so I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out. I was a little worried at first that it might not be to your taste." She grinned with a sense of satisfaction, her face being graced by the usual kind smile she had. "But I guess that if you guys all like it that much then it must be good!"

"Or maybe you simply don't have any discerning friends," Mako remarked, remaining blissfully unaware that her that comment had been rendered somewhat moot by the obvious fact that it had been delivered between distinctly eager spoon-sized bites.

"Well, I guess that means you're not so fussed about your meals so I can just leave the cooking up to you then," the ginger-haired girl shot back at Mako with a sickeningly sweet grin on her face, prompting an immediate and uneasy sounding gulp from her childhood friend. "I take it that it shouldn't be a problem for you now, should it?"

Leaning a little closer to Miho, the fluffy-haired brunette whispered to her. "I think that Reizei-dono's in trouble, isn't she?" Getting a simple nod for a reply she continued. "Maybe it's better if she stopped provoking Takebe-dono, you know? I think she goes a little too far with it sometimes." Another distracted nod was her answer, not satisfied with it Yukari frowned a little as she asked. "Ehm, Nishizumi-dono, is there something on your mind?"

"Hmmm, huh? Oh, it's nothing," Miho said before she placed her phone back in her schoolbag. "I was just checking if I got any news from my sister, we've been getting closer again after that match. I haven't been able to gather the courage to face my mother yet though…"

"You're still a little daunted by the prospect of getting to see your mother again, is that right?" Yukari asked, prompting a surprised look from the girl she had come to idolize. "Nishizumi-dono, you shouldn't look so surprised, by now I think that I know you well enough to know that you fret yourself over about whether or not you've worked hard enough. I know that I don't really have a right to say this, but I think you shouldn't worry so much about seeing your mother again. I mean… she did come to our aid didn't she…"

Letting out a soft chuckle, Miho had a melancholic expression cross her face, as she said. "I know that I worry too much, Yukari-san. But I can't help it, I just don't know if my mother is proud of me or not, it's been a long while since we've last talked to each other."

It left a sad smile on Yukari's face, she knew that for all of the many qualities that Miho possessed, the girl also had the starting inability to perceive them for herself, a feat that, in Yukari's eyes, was rather depressing. But at the moment she couldn't find the rights words, so it was with a heavy heart that she decided if somewhat reluctantly, to let it slide this time.

"Oh my," a whine came from across the table. "Mine's all gone."

The other four girls, who had so far been engrossed in their own little individual conversations, glanced over to where the graceful long-haired girl was sitting, a mere look already enough to tell that her plate was entirely devoid of either curry or rice, or for that matter, any morsel of food. Hana simply sat there with an air of innocence surrounding her, as if she had not just polished off a substantial portion of food within a ridiculously short time.

Saori just sighed in reaction, shaking her head. "I still have some left, if you want I can make you a second plate. Would that be okay?"

"Oh, that would be wonderful." Hana smiled beautifully.

A soothing atmosphere settled over the table for the next ten minutes as the girls finished off what remained of their lunch, enjoying the peaceful air Miho reached out for her cup and had a sip of the tea that she had poured for herself, sadly it had gone a little tepid.

"Ughhh…" Mako moaned. "It's almost half-past, do we already have to leave, why don't we just skip class and get some rest here," she added, apparently she was anything but keen on having to give up on her comfortable seat. "Oh, you guys might be late if you don't leave."

Nevertheless, her little remark had a profound effect on her friends who all jumped up.

"You all leave if you want, I got permission from our teacher to be a bit later in class, I'll finish up the dishes and get everything cleaned up so that Saginomiya-sensei will be happy," Saori said as she got up from her seat, letting her friends know that it was alright for them to leave. Astute as she had been, this was actually something that she had kept in mind and had planned accordingly. "Go on, I'll see you in class. See ya there!"

Spending some time by herself thinking about what to make for dinner tonight also was going to do her some good even though it was still rather early to start working on it she could do with a little distraction right about now.


Oarai school carrier – Miho's apartment – 20.40h

Having finished the last of the preparations for the evening Miho allowed herself a moment of respite, finally feeling that everything was ready for the evening she wiped some of the sweat from her forehead as she said. "Phew, I think I've got everything sorted for tonight. I just hope that Azusa-san is going to like it. Oh, it seems like I still have a little time left before she arrives."

With that she went back to the kitchen to get herself a fresh cup of tea, waiting for the water to start boiling she reached up in one of the cabinets and pulled out a mug. Pouring herself some she thought that lately she had been drinking tea more often, perhaps a side effect of her exposure to the maidens of St. Gloriana, although she herself preferred a milder green tea to their black tea, she was more welcome to its relaxing properties, especially when she would find herself in some of those late-night planning sessions.

Waiting in her kitchen Miho was listening to the silence that had settled in her apartment, it was a little odd and yet the tranquility of it all was also pleasing in a way that helped her to clear her mind. "I guess Yukari-san was right, I shouldn't be scared about getting to see mom again. Well, at first I should try contacting my sister again and ask her how mom's doing."

Dragging her feet across the floor as she kept on thinking about it Miho didn't notice the sound of the kettle whistling, immersed in her own thoughts and losing track of the time, she wasn't even aware of the buzz that came from her front door until finally, somebody knocked on her door.

"Ah, I'm coming!" Miho called as she rushed towards the front door, feeling silly about not having noticed it any sooner. She just hoped that the person on the other side was still there.

"S-Sorry to keep you waiting," the brunette said as she opened the door, somewhat embarrassed at seeing, much to her own dismay, that it was indeed Azusa who had been standing there. "P-Please come in."

"Ah right," Azusa said, wearing a simple looking sweater and a long skirt, she had opted to dress a little more casual for the evening, choosing pieces of clothing that were a bit more comfortable. To Miho it was a little different than how she usually perceived the girl in either the school uniform or tankery uniform, still, she had to admit that the younger girl looked rather pretty. Looking at herself she was still wearing her school uniform.

"Come in, come in." The thought that she had kept the younger girl waiting was an embarrassing one to Miho, but there was little that she could do about it at this point. Offering her apology for having kept her waiting Miho was quick to gesture for Azusa to take a seat and make her comfortable.

"… It's okay, senpai," Azusa said in return as she took off her shoes and continued going further into the apartment. "I only just got here so it's okay. Thank you for having me."

"If you'd please," Miho said in response, allowing the younger girl to walk past her, before going back to the kitchen as she still had her tea standing there, that and she also needed to get the snacks that she had bought for tonight.

"Uh, senpai?" Azusa asked as her eyes came to rest on the piece of paper on Miho's desk. 'What's this? I've never heard of any of these tanks before, are these meant for the team?" she asked as she held up the piece of paper while pointing at some of the more unusual names.

Coming back from the kitchen Miho was at first a little confused by the younger girl's question, but as she noticed the piece of paper that the girl was holding in her hand she understood the question. Approaching her she reached out for the paper and answered the girl's question, "Oh those you mean, well it's actually meant for the team but not in the way you're thinking. I was planning on mentioning this during training tomorrow but I guess I could tell you now." With that, she gestured for Azusa to have a seat so she could explain it to her.

Sitting down the younger girl asked another question, "So are these going to be new tanks for the team? If they're not, then why are you looking up for other kinds of tanks, senpai?" She was getting a little curious, becoming a little aware of the fact that she was hungry for more information, for wanting to know more. There were all sorts of things racing through her mind, her imagination working hard to come up with suitable answers as to why her captain wants to inform the team of something tomorrow.

"I got called into Prez's office today," Miho said as she sat down as well. "We've received an invitation from another school for a friendly match, but because we don't know anything about what tanks they might field I went to go visit Erwin-san and the others and borrowed a few books from them," Miho said. "I was doing a little reading before I went to pour some time and then you showed up. Listen, I'm sorry that I didn't notice you standing there any sooner. I uhm… got a little lost in my thoughts."

"I see, so that means these are tanks that we might expect to come up against in that match? How do you actually pronounce these, I've never even heard of them or seen in any of the magazines that Saki keeps bringing with her," the younger girl said as she tried in vain to pronounce the name of one of the tanks written on the note but she couldn't even make it past the first syllable.

"They're pretty complicated," Miho agreed with her as she had been struggling with her herself earlier. "Anyway can I get you something to drink? I've bought some at the local store and I also got us some snacks for the evening. If you need anything then please let me know."

"Ah… okay…" Azusa let out, feeling a little embarrassed about the sudden attention she was getting from her commander, still it wasn't all that bad. "… Then could I get some juice, if that's alright, senpai? Also, I had a late bite with the others so I'm fine for now."

"Oh okay, well that's fine with me, just let me get you that juice," the older girl said before she got up from her spot. "Oh before I forget, did you have any luck with your after action report? I know that it can be diffi-.'

"I finished it," Azusa said with pride as she pulled the report from her bag and held it up with both hands for Miho to see. "I've worked really hard on it since we last spoke as I wanted to get it finished in time so I could give it to you tonight, senpai."

The commander blinked, needing a moment before the younger girl's words sank in with her, as this was something that she had not expected and yet she also felt proud about Azusa's achievement in getting hers done. To think that she was actually the first one to get their report finished, Miho was definitely impressed by the girl's determination. "…Y-You did?"

Having stopped in her stride Miho turned back to face the girl and slowly approached her, she was surprised by it, but it was a pleasant surprise.

"I didn't think you'd finish it so soon," she said as she expressed her admiration for the younger girl's effort, this was definitely something worth being praised for. "I'm kind of surprised by you getting it done, Azusa-san. But I'm also really glad that you managed this on your own, so is it alright with you if we were to go through it together?"

"…Do we have to?" Azusa replied, visibly not feeling all that comfortable with the thought of going through the report together with her commander, although it was exactly what she had hoped for and it had been her greatest drive towards getting finished as she wanted to hear her commander's opinion on it.

But now that that moment was upon her she was getting scared, what if her report was terrible, what if she had written down the wrong things, were her spelling and grammar nice and tidy? What if she had messed up somewhere?

As such questions came to the front of her mind the younger girl was becoming more uncertain as her anxiety was getting the better of her. She was starting to fret over the smallest details, constantly questioning herself if she had done the right thing as she watched the older girl took the report from her hands and sat down opposite of her.

"Wow, this looks really nice," Miho beamed, visibly impressed by the attention to detail and the amount of work that had gone into the report as she read through the pages. "I was already impressed by you having it finished, but seeing all of the hard work you put into it I'm almost at a loss for words. You really gave it your all, didn't you, Azusa-san?"

Nodding silently Azusa didn't say a word, shifting uncomfortably in her spot, even when she was being praised by her commander it was still a daunting experience for her though it was not entirely unwelcome.

"Oh right," Miho mentioned out as she closed the report and got up from her spot. "I nearly forgot, I was supposed to get you your juice. Sorry about that, just give me a moment."

Letting out a quick sigh Azusa was feeling a little better now that she had some breathing room, she knew that she needed to calm herself down otherwise it was going to be one troublesome evening for the both of them. She had gone through this scenario several times in her mind but now that it was actually happening she didn't have a clue as to how she was supposed to react, it was so embarrassing to her, making her wonder if her commander would still want for her to stay here.

Another troubled sigh and already she could hear Miho's footsteps coming, maybe it would be better if she were to excuse herself from the other girl and simply go home instead. At least that way, she would not have to worry about wasting said girl's evening.

"Here you go," the older girl mentioned as she placed the glass of juice on the table before going back to her old spot and sat down. "So how was your day actually? Did you enjoy yourself?"

It was a question that took Azusa by surprise, just when she was about to steel herself the older girl threw her a curveball. Taking a deep breath she wondered if it would still be possible for her to excuse herself and leave.

"… It was fine I guess, we didn't have anything special today," she answered the question, making the decision for herself that she was going to stay and see this through to the end, even if she might get to regret it later on. "Kinda the normal class that we get every day, PE was also boring and we got a pretty difficult assignment for our art class."

"Oh, how come, is it something difficult that you have to draw?" Miho asked, expressing her interest in finding out what the younger meant when she had said difficult. That, and as she had only recently gotten a pretty hefty assignment from their art teacher miss Shiina as well so she could relate to what the other girl might be going through.

"Well, it's actually that we need to draw a portrait of a person who's special to us. I first thought about asking one of my parents but the ship's not going to dock until this weekend and I don't want to use a photo of them," Azusa voiced her complaints, leaning forward she reached out for the glass of juice and had a quick sip of it. "I don't even know who else I could ask and we have to hand it in before the end of the week. I'm so going to flunk it, there's nothing I can do…"

"And it has to be a person who's special to you, am I right?" Miho asked as she wanted to be certain that she understood the conditions for the piece. It was a shame that she didn't know the girl that well otherwise she might have been able to come up with some suggestions.

Closing the report and placing it next to her Miho could feel that for the time being the report that the younger girl had written could wait, right now there was something else that would need to help her with. "It's okay, you can tell me."

"That is what she told us, that we needed to draw a portrait of a person who's special to us or somebody who we admire," she said in return, her face betraying her obvious frustration over the assignment she had been given. "… Ehm… senpai, do you think…?"

"Huh?" Miho said, not having heard what the other girl had said she leaned in a little closer. "Could you repeat that, Azusa-san? I didn't really get it. What did you say?"

"… I… ehm…uh…" she mumbled, the younger girl looking away as she was trying to avoid making eye contact with the older girl. She mumbled, with a quivering voice, "… W-Was just… wondering… you know… kinda… if… s-senpai… would…"

Trying to puzzle it all together Miho wasn't entirely certain if she understood what the younger girl was having trouble with, she was definitely trying to ask her something but for some unexplainable reason, she was struggling with it. Could it be that it was something difficult to ask, or was it perhaps really embarrassing to ask in the first place?

"If there is a way for me to help you, Azusa-san, then please let me now. I don't mind helping you," Miho mentioned gently, offering some words of reassurance and encouragement. Waiting for a few moments in order to give the younger girl some time to think about it she then continued. "Don't be afraid of asking me for help, it's alright you know."

Spurred on by Miho's kindness and the sincerity of her words Azusa pulled herself together, gathered what courage she could muster, and asked the other girl the big question, the question that had been on her mind for a while now "…Well, then if it's alright with you senpai? Can I draw a portrait of you then?! I'd really like to draw a portrait of you, senpai!"

Miho blinked twice, confused and stunned for the moment, this was not what she had expected, and all she could do in response to the younger girl's request was to let out a surprised. "H-Huh?"


Oarai school carrier – streets - 08.20h Wednesday

"Whoa," Hana let out in awe when she was shown the report that Miho had gotten from Azusa the previous night. "Did she really make this, it looks so professional, I can't imagine how much work she must have poured into it. And she gave this to you yesterday?"

"Wow, this is so cool!" the fluffy-haired brunette chimed in, voicing her admiration for the feat accomplished by the first year student. "This is first-class! I can't believe that she made this! This is so cool! Nishizumi-dono, don't you think that this is amazing?!"

With Azusa's report still in her hand Miho was a little surprised at that reaction, sure she had been impressed by the report as well and had expressed that to Azusa but it became apparent that to her friends this report was something even more special.

"You really think so, Yukari-san?" she asked, seeking further clarification from her friends as while it was impressive to note that the young girl had been able to finish her report first, it still stood to be seen at just how good it would be compared to the other reports that she was expecting to get soon.

Miho had only been able to skim the report after Azusa had left her apartment, although she had fully intended to go through the report together with the younger girl that night some unforeseen circumstances had dictated otherwise. The evening had taken quite a different turn than what she had expected it to be, even now her mind was still, to some degree at least, trying to figure out what had happened.

But from the few pieces she had read she could tell that a good amount of care and attention had gone into it, the younger girl certainly had every right to be proud of what she had written. "Do all of you think it's really that amazing what she did? Isn't that a bit too soon to say?"

"Well, you've gotta admit that it's pretty impressive that she was able to get it finished first," Saori added her opinion on the matter, "It's good that she gave it her best. Don't you all think that it's best for her if she keeps this up? I mean she was the opposing team's commander so it only makes sense for her." In her mind, it was another sign that the girl had learned from her mistakes and was motivated to give it her all, a sign that the evening that she had come to see the team's commander and confess to her about her problems had done wonders for her. To her, it was a relief to see that the girl was doing better.

Having one look at it Mako, on the other hand, could do little to hide her opinion on the report in front of her. "Too much work," she led out in one of her usual lethargic sounding tones.

Shaking her head in disapproval the ginger-haired girl let out a disappointed sigh, already enough of a gesture to make the shorter girl shrink back in response, but other than that she refrained from making any further comment.

And with that the quintet continued, the entrance of their beloved school coming closer with every step until eventually, they passed the familiar sight of the hallways monitors busy with their common practices of making sure that students would be inside on time.

"Ah, I'm so excited for today's training," Yukari beamed all of a sudden as the group of five girls went through the main entrance of their school, expressing how keen she was to get back into their beloved tank and take it for a spin. "Ah, I wish that practice could start earlier!"

The impatience could clearly be read on her face, a fact that some of the other girls were only too keen to take advantage of.

"You do know that it's just training, don't you Yukarin?" Saori asked the brunette, shaking her head, "Honestly, there's nothing special about it today. We've done it dozens of times already, and besides, it's not like you don't know what Miporin is going to talk about."

That was true, Miho had already informed her friends about her talk with the student council yesterday during lunch, filling in her friends about the details with regards to the match against another school.

"Well that's true, but Nishizumi-dono is going to make it official, and besides the thought of going up against a school we haven't heard of before just excites me," Yukari said in return, smiling as her cheeks took on a few hues of pink, "Just imagine all of those new tanks we'd get to see, ah I just feel so fuzzy and warm inside just thinking about it."

It drew a chuckle from some of the others, they knew what the brunette was talking about, at least to some degree. It wasn't so much as the enemy tanks they were interested in but rather their crews, the students of the team, every time they had met another team they would find themselves befriending them.

"I wonder if they're like Anzio, I really enjoyed the party they threw for us after the match, oh it was just wonderful," Hana mentioned with a sense of delight surrounding her, "All of that wonderful and delicious food, oh I just couldn't get enough of it. On that note, do you think it'd be possible for us to arrange another match against Anzio soon, Miho-san?"

Nobody said a word as they heard that remark, except for Mako that was. "You just want to eat."

"Isuzu-dono sure does like to eat, doesn't she?" Yukari asked underneath her breath, they all knew that the dark-haired girl possessed a monstrous appetite, which made one question how she was able to maintain her stellar figure despite her eating habits.

Much to the chagrin of a certain ginger-haired girl they had not been able to come up with an answer to that question.

"I think it's better if we don't" Saori whispered in return, expressing her concerns for what might happen, "I don't think it'd be fair to do that to Anzio, they'd be blowing through their funds. It'd be cruel to that to them after they came to our rescue."

"I don't think it'll be that bad, Saori-san," Miho said, being aware of the point that her friend was making but she did not feel that it was anywhere near as bad as the ginger-haired girl was trying to make it sound like. "Provided that we don't do it every month, that might be just a bit too much for them."

"My oh my," the graceful girl remarked as he ears picked up on the conversation going on behind her back, "You wouldn't happen to be talking about little me, would you now?"

"They are," Mako shot at them, not even taking the time to look over her shoulder.

"Hey, Mako!" Saori shot back at her, her voice pitching up a few tones. "Why, did you have to say that?!"

"Oh, so you were?" Hana was all too quick to pick up on that, making the most of the opportunity when it presented herself with a chance to have a little jab at her friends.

And with that, the conversation began to become even livelier than it had been, lively enough that even a few members of the school morals committee threw them a few disapproving glances as they became aware of the ruckus this quintet was making.

Watching it all unfold Miho could do little other than smile as she was feeling that today was going to be another fun day filled with excitement. And as awkward as the little scene her friends were making was, she did have to admit that she took a sense of pleasure in seeing them all this animated, her friends were living their days to the fullest.

"You look a lot better when you're smiling, Nishizumi-dono," the brunette said to her, her head leaning close to her. Noticing the surprised reaction she got she continued. "I told you this yesterday, didn't I? You definitely look a lot better when you're happy, you don't need to fret over everything, just enjoy your time here. I'm really glad to see you smiling again." Reaching for her friend's hands the fluffy-haired brunette took them with her own hands, gently squeezing as she did. "Nishizumi-dono, you look best when you smile."

In response to something that sounded awfully close to some kind of confession Miho could not help but blush, her face picking up quite a few extra shades of pink. "… T-Thank you… Yukari-san."

It got silent all of a sudden and an eerie sense crept up on Miho as she felt an odd sensation as if she was attracting a lot of unwanted attention, daring to look to her right Miho got the confirmation to her suspicion. The other three girls were staring at her with captivated interest and looking past them, Miho could tell that most others students present were mimicking her friends' gesture.

"… M-M-Miporin… what's this…?" Saori gasped, pointing at the duo with a trembling finger.

Blinking with her eyes Miho let out a surprised. "Huh." She did not understand what the ginger-haired girl was talking about, all the while remaining unaware of the fact that she was still holding hands with Yukari and that said girl's face was, by now, beet red.


Oarai school carrier – class 2-C - 08.50h

Finally in her own class again Yukari gave a silent offer of gratitude with all of the earlier commotion having died down by now, while it certainly had been a pleasant, almost bliss, moment for the fluffy-haired girl when she had been holding hands with her idol, the aftermath of that little gesture had been considerably less.

'I guess we did go about it for a bit too long, still it was so great!' The mere thought was already enough to draw a smile from her face, she had no reason to complain about what had happened, on the contrary, she was pretty happy about it having happened.

Just thinking she could feel a sensation being stirred inside her chest, making her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 'Nishizumi-dono sure had a weird look on her face, I guess I should go and ask if she's feeling a little better during our break. I still don't know why everybody was staring at us like that, did something special happen?'

Scribbling down a few notes in her textbook she quickly reminded herself to keep paying attention to what was going on in class, less she would risk the danger of getting her teacher annoyed again.

Eventually, though her thoughts began to slowly drift back to her beloved tanks. 'Ah I can't wait until training this afternoon, I'm really curious what kind of tanks this other school has. Oh, I hope it's going to be something really exciting! What kind of tank would I really love to see?'

The prospect of seeing never seen before tanks was an exciting one to her, it was but one of several aspects that made every match they had against a new school a thrilling experience for the fluffy-haired brunette. For her, the weekend could not come fast enough.

Looking up from her textbook Yukari took note of what her teacher was writing down on the board, but right now her mind was anything but focused on the math problems her teacher was addressing, she was just too excited about later on today.

Letting out a sigh she reminded herself. 'This won't do, I need to keep my attention focused on the class, I need to make sure that my grades are good enough that that can I go to the next year along with the others. But that also means that I'll also get to graduate with Nishizumi-dono and if that were to happen then our time at Oarai would come to an end.'

Turning her head, looking to her left, outside of the window she could see the city and beyond that the wide open ocean. It was a tranquil sight which helped to calm the growing turmoil in her mind, it was inevitable that their time together at Oarai would come to an end.

'There's nothing we can do about it, it sounds weird thinking about it, I really wish that it could last longer. I wonder what Nishizumi-dono and the others will do once we all graduate.' None of them had ever discussed their future plans but ever since she had discussed the topic of a new student council and the third years graduating soon it had been on the brunette's mind, it did make her a little curious about what the plans were of the others.

'I guess we all have our own hopes and dreams to chase, are we all going our own separate ways or will our paths cross again, I'd really like for the latter to happen, getting to be together again with my friends again somewhere else sounds nice.'

That gave her something to think about, that was until she felt a gentle tap on her right shoulder, fearing for a moment that she had dozed off long enough for her teacher to find out Yukari was reluctant to dare and look. Not until she got a second tap on her shoulder did it occur on her that this was not her teacher at all, with that knowledge she risked a cautious glance and was surprised when she found herself staring into the hazel eyes of one of her classmates.

"… Ehm, something's wrong?" the confused girl asked, pointing at herself as she was asking for confirmation that her classmate did mean her. "… Can I help you with something?" Looking closer Yukari needed a moment before she remembered the other girl's name, their homeroom teacher had mentioned them this morning when she had called the round to see if any student was absent or not.

"Yeah," the other girl whispered as she gestured for Yukari to keep her voice down, the girl's shoulder-length black hair seeming to dance along with the movement of her arms. "Can I borrow your eraser for a moment, I made a mistake in my notes and I can't seem to find mine."

"Oh, well yeah sure," Yukari said in return as she reached out for her own eraser before handing it to the other girl when said girl's name popped up. "Here you go, Minase-dono."

Accepting the eraser the girl was quick to offer Yukari her thanks in return. "Also, could you please stop being so formal, it's really weird, you know. Anyway thanks."

Turning back to face in front of her, Yukari let out a quick sigh, as if she had just dodged a bullet, or more appropriate, a really big shell. It wasn't like she disliked talking to her fellow classmates, it was just that she felt that she didn't have anything in common to talk to them about. It was not like it was with her friends who accepted her for who she was. That and the words that the other girl had just spoken still stung.

'Then again I've never really taken the time to try and talk to them, it wasn't until I met Nishizumi-dono and the others that I began to dare to talk to people again. Maybe I should've… huh…'

Pulled from her thoughts when all of a sudden, she felt the unmistakable notion of being gently tapped on her shoulder, again.

"Here you go, thanks for letting me borrow it, Akiyama," the girl, with her black hair in uneven twintails, said as she placed the eraser back on Yukari's desk, "Say Akiyama, me and a few of the others were wondering if you'd like to join us after school to grab a bite."

Blinking with her eyes the fluffy-haired girl was staring in disbelief as those words sank in with her, was this girl, a classmate of hers who went by the name Maika Minase, asking her to join in something after school? Where did this come from all of a sudden?

"I'm really sorry but I've got Sensha-Do today so it's going to be pretty late by the time I'm finished. And you see Nishizumi-dono, oh she's the team captain and she's really awesome! Is going to give us a debriefing on this new school we're facing! And we've got a lot of training to do to get ready for the match this weekend!" So nervous was she that Yukari simply blurted the words so fast that she had no idea what she had just said, rattling off an entire wash list of reasons as to why it might just be difficult for her to be able to accept the invitation.

"Oh, well okay then," Maika said, with a clearly disappointed expression on her face before turning away from the other girl but it seemed that, for now, the brunette was again in the clear although it left a distinct bitter aftertaste in said girl's mouth.

Risking a glance from the corner of her eye Yukari could not help feeling guilty at her attempt at getting underneath the invitation, a part of her was feeling terrible about it, but she was a little uncertain about seeing other people than her friends.

'I wonder if I did the right thing? I do feel a little bad for her, maybe I shouldn't have done that. I think I'll ask Nishizumi-dono and the others, maybe they can offer me some advice. Takebe-dono is bound to have plenty of advice for me, she knows the most about this kind of things.' Confident in her friend's' ability to help her with this little dilemma Yukari pushed her troubling thoughts to the back of her mind for the time being and turned her attention to where it belonged, her teacher and her notebook. This was turning out to be quite the day.


Oarai school carrier – school building - 12.25h

Situated at one of their usual spots a quintet of girls were busy with enjoying their lunch together while at the same time listening to a problem that one of them had thrown into the group and was now asking the other four for advice on what to do.

"Wait," Saori said, raising her hand in the process, "So you got asked out by one of your classmates, Yukarin? And then you did that? To be honest I don't think you should've done that though I can kinda understand that you must've been nervous back then."

Silently nodding her head Yukari kept herself from saying anything in return, feeling a little ashamed of her earlier actions but so far her friends were showing to be rather understanding of her decision.

"Well, technically you weren't wrong when you said that it's going to be late by the time we're done," Miho added. "But I don't think it's going to be as late as you think it'll be, and besides if they are in a club then they might just be finished when we are."

"That will depend if nothing goes wrong," Mako remarked in between chewing on her food, not even bothering to stop for a moment before she reached out for another sandwich.

Unsurprisingly Hana refrained from making any comments at the moment as she was busy in making sure that she got enough food to satiate her appetite for the time being.

"So ehm, Hana, are you feeling sick?" the ginger-haired girl asked when she noticed that her friend's portion was significantly less than usual, which did not take away that it was as big as everybody else's. "You shouldn't force yourself to eat you know."

Looking up in surprise the graceful girl simply smiled, brushing a lock of her hair behind her ear as she said, "Oh but I'm not sick at all. What gave you the idea? I'm just on a little diet, that's all, so I'm keeping it at small portions. There's nothing to be worried about."

"… Diet… huh…" the other girl mumble underneath her breath, once more sizing up the portion that the black-haired girl had on her plate, it definitely contradicted her prior claim and yet, said girl's expression gave away that she was very serious about this. Letting it slide Saori sighed, what her friend called a small portion was easily more than twice the size of her own. Letting out another exasperated sigh she turned her attention back to the discussion on the brunette's problem.

"Say Yukarin, you mentioned earlier that you had never really talked to them, am I right? If so, then why do you think this girl and her friends invited you over? They must've have had a reason for that don't you think?"

"I uhm… hadn't really thought of that…" the fluffy-haired brunette admitted, back then she had not given it a thought as to why these girls had sought out to invite her over. That gave her something to think about, what the reason could have been for them to do so.

Miho began to smile. "Then I think it's obvious what you should do Yukari-san. The next time you see Minase-san you should go and ask her why she had invited you over, there's nothing wrong with asking her that, afterward, you can decide what you're going to do."

"Miporin's right," Saori added her approval to that suggestion. "Also, it might help if you apologize to her first for the way you tried to get away without having to give her an answer."

"I guess you're right," Yukari said as she admitted that it was a good idea, at the very least it would give her a reason to go and speak to the girl again. It could not hurt to give the girl and her friends the benefit of the doubt and to be honest, the fluffy-haired brunette was getting a little curious by now. It was becoming obvious that she was going to have her work cut out for her tomorrow in class.

"Well, now that that's out of the way, what do you all say we finish our lunch? I don't think there's much time left before we need to head back to class," Hana reminded them but if the clean plate in front of her was any indication then there was a real concern that all of their food might have already been consumed by a certain black hole.

Waving off the remark Saori said in return. "We don't need to hurry, the only class that we've got left is training anyway and we do get some extra time to get there as it's further from the school, so I don't really see a need to rush. I just want to finish my lunch first, we've got a long training session ahead of us so there."

"I'd rather sleep," Mako mention in her usual dry manner whenever she was more interested in catching a nap rather than keeping herself busy with whatever was going to happen next.

It drew some chuckles from the other girls, they all knew that the diminutive girl was pretty fond of her daily dose of sleep but at the same time she was also serious when it was needed.

Silently offering a prayer Yukari was glad that she would not have to face the girl from her class this day, which would allow her some time to think what she was going to say to her tomorrow, Maika did deserve to get an honest answer from her.

"Ah I want to take a shower so badly," Saori let out as she threw her head back before she began complaining about how her back was killing her, the whole day she had been feeling this unpleasant feeling in her back, perhaps she had twisted it, or perhaps it was just a sign of her being exhausted but the ginger-haired girl was confident that a good hot bath would help her

Stretching her arms above her head the girl continued. "Do you think we could go to the bath together, we've haven't done that in awhile you know?"

"I'd love that." Hana was the first one to remark on that suggestion, gladly accepting it as she too was feeling a growing desire to enjoy the comforts that a good hot bath could offer. "Since we've got nothing planned for the evening anyway, why don't we all go to the bathhouse together? And after that we can go and share dinner, what do you all say of that?"

"You just want an easy dinner," Mako said.

"Ah, sadly I can't, I need to go somewhere after training," Miho said as she reminded herself that she had an appointment later that day. "I'm really sorry but you see I made a promise yesterday. I think I should still be able to go to the bathhouse with the rest of you but I can't have dinner with you all. Azusa-san asked me for a favor yesterday when she was at my place."

The others were looking at her, eyes that were curious about getting further answers as they were somewhat intrigued by the sudden revelation and the mention of a certain first year's name piqued their collective interest.

"… Miporin, does this mean that the two of you… in a… you know…kinda…?"

Hana gave her a smile, not saying a word in return and yet her face seemed to be glowing.

"…"

"… N-Nishizumi-dono…" the fluffy-haired brunette whimpered.

Waving her hands frantically Miho had to explain it to them as they were drawing the wrong kind of conclusions of it. "No. No. No! It's not like that! She asked me to let her draw a portrait of me for class. That's it, nothing more and-. Wait, what's with those looks?"

There was a collective sigh, some sounding more disappointed than others.


Oarai school carrier – Tank sheds - 13.00h

"Alright, you maggots! Listen up!" Momo's voice could be heard echoing throughout the massive hall. Catching the attention of every student present in the building, whether they wanted to or not. "We've got an important announcement for you all! So you'd all better listen to this! Am I clear?!"

A few moments of silence greeted the PR rep's statement, it wasn't like what she had said so far was anything groundbreaking but those present had learned to listen closely whenever the student council or their team captain was going to make an announcement.

"Good!" she continued, scraping her throat Momo continued with the announcement, holding up the letter that they had been sent earlier this week. "We've received this request from a school for a training match, the school's name is Tarczay High."

Muttered talk greeted her, those present suddenly started talking about who this school was as none of the students present had actually heard of this school before, so naturally it went without saying that there was a sense of excitement in the air. People wanted to know more, they wanted to hear where this school was, what their team was like, what they could expect.

"All of you quiet!" Momo shouted at the top of her lungs before she slammed her hand against the board behind her. Frustrated and annoyed by the sudden disturbance she shot a venomous glare at those present. "Don't you have any shame?! I was just getting to that part! Now, be quiet so I can explain it!" She emphasized her point by stomping the floor.

But before she got the chance to continue she was interrupted by Anzu, who until this point had been content to nibble on some of her favorite snacks, "Kawashima, that's enough. Let Nishizumi-chan do it. Hey, Nishizumi-chan, c'mon~." And gestured for a certain, if somewhat surprised, commander to step forward and take the helm.

"Eh, me?" Miho asked, somewhat surprised by this sudden change as it had been decided that the announcement would be handled by the student council, though it seemed that as fickle as she was, Anzu had made a last minute change to that plan. To be honest, she could have seen this one coming, in hindsight, she really should have.

"Prez?!" A distressed Momo shot back at the Prez. Equally, if not even more so, surprised than Miho. With her left eye twitching in response as she tried in vain to make sense of this she could only let out an exasperated, "W-Why… Prez… why…?"

"You're taking too long, besides it's boring. Alright, Nishizumi-chan~! Let's go~!" Was the response from the diminutive girl, and about the closest thing to an explanation, if it could be called that, for the sudden change. But she accepted her, though it was with reluctance.

Breaking from her group Miho made her way over and stepped onto the raised platform, taking her place where just moments before Momo had been standing. Taking a deep breath in order to clear her mind before she would speak Miho could sense the growing anxiety amongst her fellow tankers.

"Everybody, thank you for being here," she said as she offered her thanks to those present, immediately setting the tone and changing the atmosphere. It was important to get everybody to calm down again so that she could pick up from where Momo had left.

Noticing that it was quiet enough for her to continue Miho began, "As has already been said we've received a request for a training match by a school that most of us haven't heard of. Even during my time at Kuromorimine I've never heard of them. Luckily, thanks to the effort of the student council we've been able to gather some information."

With a nod of her head, she gave the signal to show the presentation that had been created by Momo, offering a few words of thanks to said girl for the effort she had put into making it. Of course the four Reki-jo, and Erwin in particular, also needed to be given their share of the credit as well as they had kindly enough offered Miho additional information with regards to the tanks that they might come up against.

Waiting for a moment to allow things to quiet down a little Miho informed the students of the school they were going to face. "The school that we're facing is Tarczay High, it's a Hungarian-style school that was founded in order to introduce Hungarian culture and cuisine to Japan. Although we don't know the exact composition and numbers of their Sensha-Do team, we do know that it is centered mostly around Hungarian tanks."


Author's note: There we are folks, the newest chapter in the story and sorry that it took a bit longer before being able to post this one. I know that some of you have been waiting for it, it's been a busy period for me and it shows in the limited amount of writing time I have. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

I had hoped to have been able to get one more chapter posted this year but given how it's almost December I think I can safely say that it's not going to happen, and given that in my line of work December is one of the busiest if not the busiest months of the year I doubt I can get much done on the next chapter.

Some more fun bits, made a full day trip towards the city of Bastogne, about 2 hours driving from my place, to tour the city and its immediate surrounding countryside. There's quite a bit to see there but even with having a full day at my disposal I wasn't able to see everything that I had hoped to.

I did visit the Bastogne Barracks which was rather pleasant in that you get a guide to show around the compound, taking up a good 2 hours of your time. This was the place when Gen. McAuliffe gave his famous 'Nuts' reply to the Germans following for their demand of surrender.

Plus they had a really nice garage filled to the brim with tanks, and no, they did not let me keep one. Was nice coming face to face with tanks such as the IS-3 and ISU-152 which are rather rare tanks to see here in Western Europe, it's quite a sight to stare down a 152mm barrel though in all honesty it really didn't do all that much for me as I've been to the Panzermuseum at Munster (highly recommended) were I was awed at the sight of the Sturmtiger's 380mm shell, that is one a totally different level of big shells. That doesn't take away that these two are some very imposing examples of Russian armor that one could face in 1945. I had a quite lengthy, not to mention enjoyable, debate with our guide afterward and he extended me an invitation to come and visit them during the Nuts event later in December, I'm likely going to take him up on that offer.

Also ordered my tickets for Tankfest 2018, got a full weekend booked, and I can't wait to go there and see all of the tanks again. I last visited the Tank Museum in 2014 so it's been a few years already and I'll be going specifically to see the Elefant in the flesh… err metal as this is one of my personal favorites. Really glad that I can finally see it for real, without having to travel to the US, that is.

So, what do you people think now that Das Finale is getting really close to us, of course, must be said that it'll likely be a bit longer for those of us without a means to visit Japan but hey it'll get here? I'm really looking forward to seeing the match against BC Freedom and I can't wait to find out what else Das Finale has in store for us.

Looking forward to your thoughts, opinions, and or ideas, and until next time. Take care.