That which we did not come to expect!

Nagano Prefecture - derelict rail yard - 15.05h Sunday

The fighting had by now, devolved into a series of small skirmishes between individual tanks, a chaotic swirling mass of armor and guns moving in between the remains of an old and abandoned rail yard where many of its decrepit structures were more akin to ruins. Any semblance of a well-planned and coordinated attack had long disappeared as small groups or even single tanks would engage in brutal short-ranged firefights with each other.

"Alright, thank you for all you've done," Miho spoke into the radio as she gave her thanks to the crew of the StuG before she turned her attention back to her immediate surroundings.

She was proud of her team, how could she not be, after such a poor start of the match her team had come back and were even now causing more than their fair share of losses to Tarczay's forces despite being severely outnumbered.

"Duck and Hippo really did put up a great fight," she said to herself, her hand placed against her chest as she reminded herself how those two fought against twice their number, "They did a great job in taking down a lot of the enemies' tanks. Now we'll just need to deal with the remainder."

As valiant as the fight had been, it had not been without loss as Duck was experiencing engine trouble which would delay their arrival, and even more severe was that Hippo had sustained such severe damage following being rammed by one of the enemy tanks that they were effectively out of the match.

Miho had been shocked at first when she heard it from the reki-jo; apparently, one determined light tank had rammed them in their right side, making a complete mess of their tracks, road wheels, and even the drive sprocket. Although Hippo was still technically in the match it was going nowhere any time soon, for better or worse one could effectively count them out of the match.

The bitter reality was that Miho was now left with only two combat effective tanks, her own Panzer IV and Anteater's Chi-Nu. To make matters worse they would be up against no less than four enemy tanks and those were well aware that the real prize was here.

"We'd have to defend Anteater while at the same time attack any tank of theirs we see," she said as she began to lower herself back into the confines of the turret in order to confide with her friends.

"It's going to be a hard fight for us and if what Duck said is true then we're still looking at having to face four enemy tanks. And one of these four is their long-barreled Turán III, that one is going to be the biggest threat. After that comes their last Zriniyi, we should be able to deal with the remaining two Turán II tanks provided that we keep our front towards them."

"Nishizumi-dono, do you think Duck will get here in time?"

"I don't think so Yukarin," Saori answered the question as she was still in contact with that particular team. "They've got problems with their engine it seems, so while they can still move they won't be able to catch up with us anytime soon and there's no telling if their engine won't stop."

"So," Hana summarized, "We should not count on getting any reinforcement, and we'll have to make do with just the two tanks that we have here while facing four of the enemies tanks, am I correct?"

Nodding her head Miho went on to further explain their situation.

"Troublesome," Mako remarked bitterly, giving away that the closing fight of this match was in her opinion too much of a hassle. She just wanted to get this match over with so she could return to her favorite pastime, sleeping.

"Mako!"

"It's okay, Saori-san," Miho said as she found herself in agreement with her driver, this match was a really troublesome one to fight, there was no point in trying to deny that fact. That said, in Miho's opinion their team was in better shape because they had been able to acquire the initiative from their opponents. The fact that they also were in high spirits did not hurt either.

"We'll need to be careful though," Miho did warn her crewmates about something that they all needed to keep in mind, "Right now, Tarczay will be at their most dangerous."

"Huh?" Saori looked around her shoulder, a puzzled expression on her face as she did not understand what her friend meant with that warning. Surely the threat posed by Tarczay should have been severely reduced by now due to all of their recent losses.

Mako had an inkling of what the girl in the turret meant, that said she was also somewhat disappointed in that some of the others, one girl, in particular, had not. It would have been so easy for her to make use of that. Far too easy for her liking.

"I don't understand. Do any of you know?" the girl in question asked, turning to her fellow tankers or an answer.

"Oh Takebe-dono, don't you know why? It's pretty easy, actually. It's because… um… because…" And then Yukari fell silent as well, after a few awkward moments her face began to take on several hues of pink as her embarrassment got the better of her. "…"

Saori eyed her, "So you don't know the answer to that either. Do you?"

"… S-Sorry…"

Okay, now Mako was really disappointed. Shaking her head as she could not believe that even their loader, could not tell such an obvious answer. This was just too sad for words; if anyone was supposed to know that it should have been the girl whose face at the moment bore more of a resemblance to a beetroot.

"My, my, my," Hana just smiled, seeming to take some twisted sense of delight in all of this. Her gaze was fixed on one girl in particular, just to her front right, although she was also keeping the girl on the other side of the breech in the corner of her eye as well.

"Tarczay has taken heavy losses, they have only a few tanks remaining and that might make them desperate. When people start to get desperate they start to do dangerous things" Miho began to explain it to her crew.

"Ah," Yukari said. "Kinda like how a cornered animal is at its most dangerous, right?"

"Wait, what?"

Mako sighed, this was just painful.

"No, I'm serious! What does that even mean? How's that connected to us?"

And then there was another, even deeper sigh. Shaking her head at the words of the girl to her right.

"Yukari-san's right, if you corner an animal so that it can't escape anymore, it will fight without holding back. Right now Tarczay has been pushed into a corner by us, they're bound to get desperate, and especially given that they want to prove that our victories were staged."

The other four girls grew quiet, nobody really knew what to say to that in return but they all knew that Miho was right. They had been able to seize the initiative but to underestimate their opponents at this crucial point would be to invite disaster.


Nagano Prefecture - derelict rail yard - 15.10h Sunday

Pinching the bridge of her nose in response to the news she was getting, Goulash could feel her stomach turning as the consequences of these latest losses were sinking in with her. It was a terrible blow to her confidence and for the first time since this match had started, and because of it, she was starting to question if they could even win with the way things were going.

"… I can't believe it… I just can't… h-how could this have… happened…" she said underneath her breath while turning off the radio, for her, there was little reason to continue with it any further as there would be nothing else for her to learn. "… H-how…how… are they even able to fight with such determination?"

Just in front of her, her gunner turned on the spot and gave her a confused look, as if the girl was unsure if she should give an answer in return or not.

"This just can't be happening. Tokaji managed to wreck her own tank; Paprika lost a fight that she should have never lost, and they were even able to take out Rétes. How…"

Letting her chin rest on the back of her hand Goulash was starting to feel a sense of fear creeping up on her, she never could have anticipated that Ooarai would have been so fierce. This was nothing like she knew; this was something else, something so unpredictable. And it was that unpredictability that was starting to scare her as she no longer knew what was going to happen, not with fighting against this school.

Four tanks, which was all her team was left with, to think that they had lost so much just to get to this point. It would all be in vain though if they were to lose the match.

That said they still possessed plenty of firepower, more than the few tanks that Ooarai still had in the match could muster. Furthermore, they only needed to take out one of those tanks, namely the tank that was carrying the flag which in this case was the Chi-Nu.

"It's a shame we don't have that much information about it but it stands to reason that its general characteristics should be close to a Sherman or a Panzer IV. In that case, we have a pretty good chance of taking it out from the front though I'd prefer a shot in the side or rear."

There was no guarantee that they would be presented with such an opening but Goulash was not planning on just hoping for the best, which was after all the quickest way to losing this match. No, instead she would use her remaining tanks to pressure Ooarai into an open location and force them to present their side armor.

They would launch a two-pronged attack in order to have either or both of the enemy tanks expose themselves, regardless which of the two groups the Ooarai tanks would choose to engage the other group would be able to get into a position and attack their flank.

Reaching for her radio she made contact with the remaining tanks and outlined her plan. "Galuska, you go and take Palacsinta with you. Try and approach them without being spotted," she told them. After she had said that she waited to hear the acknowledgment of both tank commanders. Once she received that she continued. "I'll take our last remaining Zriniyi with me and seek to approach them from the other side. If we time our attack right we should be able to lock their last two tanks in a pincer. I want to stress that their Panzer IV is mine and mine alone. However, if you have no other choice and you need to defend yourself, engage it."

"Goulash."

Came over the radio and she could tell that it was from Galuska, she could already hazard a guess as to what the other girl was going to object to but despite that Goulash would allow the girl to voice her concerns. "Speak; you have my permission to state what's troubling you."

"I'll tell you right now that I won't be holding back should I spot their Panzer IV, if I can take the shot you damn well bet I will. I don't care about putting that Nishizumi girl in her place; I just want to win this damn match."

"Of course, I would not expect any less from you."

"The same goes for their flag tank, I won't hesitate to open fire on it regardless if you're planning on having your private duel with her. Our honor comes first and foremost."

Not saying a word in return Goulash was listening as to how Palacsinta, the commander of the Turán II she had assigned to assist Galuska, gave voice to her agreement with that sentiment. Neither of the two tank commanders were going to pull their punches, both of them had only one goal in mind, to finish this match as quickly as possible by going straight for the main prize.

"Then we'll just have to see which way the dice will roll," Goulash said, silently thinking on the matter. There was no question that she wanted to be the person to be able to claim that she had defeated one of the daughters of the Nishizumi style, but she could not deny that her subordinates had a very good point in that their focus should be on the enemy's flag tank. The flag tank was, after all, the big prize that was the key to victory in a match that was otherwise turning in an outright disaster for her team.

Biting her lower lip Goulash was given a painful reminder at just how badly she and her team had underestimated their opponents, she was not as foolish enough to deny that this had been a mistake on her part, but she was also aware that there was still a chance for them to save face and exact some measure of revenge.

"Jó vadászatot," she spoke into her radio, telling them to have a good hunt. After that, she contacted the crew of the last tank she had available and told its commander to closely follow her. One way or another, this match was going to be decided in the next clash.


Nagano Prefecture - old switch house - 15.35h Sunday

The enemy Turán rocked back on its suspension as it took the full brunt of the Chi-Nu's main gun to its turret front, knocking it out of the match as its white flag popped up, black smoke coming from where it had been hit.

"Got them!" Piyotan triumphantly remarked about the most recent addition to her personal kill tally, "That's one of those Trunas, right?"

Nekonya was looking at her gunner. "I don't think that's how you're supposed to pronounce it. It's… ehm… ah crap, I forgot what it's called…" Her shoulders dropped, emphasizing her embarrassment about the fact that just as she was to correct the other girl she had completely forgotten what the enemy tank was called.

Momoga smiled, "It's game over for them, that's for sure."

"Yeah, and no continue either."

It had been an easy kill for them, the enemy tank had in its carelessness driven in front of them when it had tried to make its way over the crossing, although it had become a bit of harrowing experience for when the opposing tank's turret began to turn in their direction.

"You know what'd be nice and all?" Momoga made another remark, and this one had little to do with the match

"What?"

"If knocked out tanks dropped loot boxes for you! Just think of how awesome they'd be!"

The two girls in the turret were just eyeing each other, giving some consideration to the suggestion that had been just been said by their fellow crewmate. It was the kind of proposal that appealed to their gamer personality and as such, they were smiling with glee.

The crack of their radio pulled the tri of gamers from their little discussion and back to the realities of the actual world when the voice of Miho could be heard congratulating them on their kill, but it also came with a warning that they were to remain alert of any other enemy armor.

"Well, I guess that's that then," Piyotan let out as she turned back to her gunsight, "Ah it would be so cool if they did drop loot boxes, we could so do with some power upgrades."

"I'd prefer it if we'd get some buffs to our armor," Nekonya said before she made a small adjustment to her glasses, "That or some premium rounds wouldn't be bad either."

Momoga had a different idea. "An engine boost would be better, or maybe an instant repair kit."

"A repair kit, huh? That doesn't sound that bad." Piyotan began to smile, thinking about it.

The bespectacled commander was shaking her head, in her opinion a repair kit was not all that useful to them anyway, not when so many tanks could take them out in a single shot. No, she would much rather have some serious buffs to their offensive or defensive stats.

Appearing up her cupola to spot with her binoculars Miho was searching for new targets, as well as to try and find the enemy flag tank; this fight had been going on for far too long already. And given that Anteater had just made contact with their opponents she was certain that the other tanks would not be far behind. "Where are they, they've got to be around here somewhere?"

They had set up a position near the remnants of an old switch house; it would be the best place to make their last stand as it offered them good fields of fire in a multitude of directions. That said, it did come with some drawbacks of its one and the chief one was a large amount of discarded railway wagons that had simply been left here.

The enemy tank had been obscured from her view due to the train carts that were scattered across this part of the yard, allowing it to have gotten dangerously close before Anteater had become aware of its presence. They were proving to be quite a hindrance as they really limited one's field of fire. That could have been costly for them as there was no way that Miho's Panzer IV would have been able to draw a bead on it.

Luckily Anteater had been paying close attention and had been able to spot the tank first. But as the enemy tank came to a halt and began to turn its turret to face its opponent it became a close race who would get the shot of first. Anteater had been just that little bit faster, getting off a killing shot before the enemy tank could retaliate.

"Still having lost another of their tanks should alert them to our location, it won't be that precise but even a rough estimate at this point would suffice for them," she said as she brought up her binoculars and began to scan her surroundings once more, "Even so we made the decision to make our last stand here. At some point we were going to have to face them, it'll just be a little sooner than I had planned."

Making a grand sweep from her left to her right Miho kept asking herself where the other tanks were, surely they had to be here by now, she could not imagine that Tarczay's commander would do something as foolish as splitting up what remained of her forces.

"Where are you? You've got to be around here somewhere. You've got to know by now that we're here. So why aren't you showing up? Where…"

It was then that she heard it. The unmistakable sounds of metal squeaking on metal, and steel tracks slapping the ground. The raspy snarl of an engine accelerating. Miho had a glance over her right shoulder as the noise was originating from about fifty meters behind them.

Something was traveling down a corridor between the rail yard buildings, which amplified the sound and funneled in their direction.

"Tank!"

Hana heard the call and felt Miho's grip on her right shoulder, the signal to turn the turret.

"Five o'clock," Miho shouted as she got an idea of the direction where the noise was coming from.

Blinking for a second Hana couldn't believe her ears. Someone was practically behind them.

She began to turn the turret, pushing so hard on the grip that it was hurting her hand and the turret whined in recognition of the order.

"Miho-san, what is it?" Hana asked.

Miho would reply with the words that they had feared. "It's the Turán III again!"

All of a sudden, Hana felt cold at the mention of that particular tank.

Saori's muttering certainly wasn't helping. "Faster, faster, faster."

Miho was holding on above the rotating turret, powerless to do anything but watch.

The greenish Turán cut through the shadows as it approached them. It was so close now there was no more need for binoculars.

Whoever the enemy commander was, she was a professional. Not only had the tank been able to outflank them, but they had also come stalking with the main gun pre-positioned. The Turán's turret was already turned ninety degrees to their right, in position to fire a quick broadside.

"Wait, something isn't right here." From Miho's vantage point, something did not add up. Her Panzer IV was the closer target, but the approaching tank's gun was pointing elsewhere. It took her only a couple of seconds before she could trace the trajectory of the enemy's aim to the rear of Anteater's tank.

The crew of the Turán had likely gotten a call that it was the Chi-Nu that was Ooarai's flag tank and were concentrating their focus on that particular tank or it could simply be that they were unaware of the presence of Anglerfish's Panzer IV.

"Mako-san, gun the engine," she ordered her driver, "We need to take them out before they can get a shot off against Anteater!"

With smoke belching from its exhaust Anglerfish roared to life, the tracks biting into the ground as the heavy tracked vehicle lurched forward, like a great beast made of steel that came to challenge its armored opponent.

And the approaching enemy tank had taken notice of their sudden presence.

Inside the enemy tank, the crew was likely urging their gunner to shift her aim to the Panzer IV, the tank with a gun turning towards them.

Sure enough, the Turán's gun began swinging left while the Panzer IV's gun swung right, both guns turning towards each other like gates closing. Someone was not going to drive away from this.

Inside the turret, Hana was keeping her eyes to the gunsight, she was keeping watch as platforms, tracks and other objects blur past before she remembered; they had the wrong shell loaded.

A high-explosive shell was still locked in the breech. It was the right firepower to take out a Toldi or the side of a Turán II but it would be of limited value against a tank with a solid piece of frontal armor like the tank they were facing.

"Yukari-san, please ready an AP!" she called out to her loader.

Nodding her head in recognition of the order the brunette heaved a shell from the rack just to her right below the turret, anticipating a shell change.

"Not yet," Hana said. "On my call."

A shell change would take time, and right now they did not have a second to spare. She was going to have to do it rather differently from how any instructor would have taught them.

Above in her cupola, Miho would remain silent. She could sense that her friend must have had a plan. If she was mistaken then they would be knocked out of the match, leaving Anteater at the mercy of their opponents.

Reaching with her left hand Hana gripped the wheel that controlled the gun's elevation as she began to wait for the first glimpse of her opponent.

The greenish tank appeared on the right side of her sight. In response Hana spun the elevation handwheel counterclockwise, using every ounce of her strength. Outside the tank, the 75mm gun dipped- taking aim toward the ground- and the turret kept turning until it reached the approaching opposing enemy tank.

The gun roared.

The HE shell slammed the ground in front of the Turán III, kicking a grey cloud of cinders and dust in the enemy tank's face. The Turán momentarily disappeared behind the cloud.

"Now, Yukari-san!" she said.

In response, Yukari slammed the AP shell into the open breech. With spins of the elevation wheel, Hana returned the gun to its level position before she set her eyes to the telescope.

The blocky shape of the Turán reappeared as the cloud of dust settled down. Its gun was still turning, its black muzzle hole searching for them.

Hana's finger gently squeezed the trigger.

The 75mm spoke with an earsplitting crack. A blinding flash illuminating both tanks.

Leaving the barrel the shell went spinning through the air and covered the distance in a blink. A screech of sparks blasted from the tank's front armor as the shell smashed into it.

"Hit!" Miho said with elation, her friend had done it.

Meanwhile, Yukari had already locked another shell in the breech, ready for a follow-up shot.

As the dust around the enemy tank settled further, the extent of Hana's aim became obvious. Her shot had found its mark in the Turán's armor between where the driver and radio operator were seated. The little white flag on top of the tank giving away that her shot had done the job.

"Look out! Behind us!" Miho cried out when she heard again the unmistakable noise of an engine but her warning came too little too late as their rear was now fully exposed to not only Goulash's tank but also the last remaining Zrinyi, both of which were now approaching them from their rear.

Although her tank was equipped with a short-barreled 75mm gun that was not all that suited for use against tanks, given how thin the side and rear armor was of Anglerfish even this gun would have no trouble to knock them out. For the Zriniyi it would have no issue with them even against their front.

"Mako-san, turn us around! Hurry! Get us in-between Anteater and them!"

They were never going to make it; there simply was no more time. The match would be over the moment those tanks would open fire. Any second now Miho was expecting to hear the telltale crack of a tank's gun firing. Whatever hope she might have still held on to disappeared as she found herself staring at the black hole of the muzzle.

Goulash's tank rocked on its suspension when, with a vicious clang of steel on steel, a shell slammed into the rear of the tank's turret, spare seconds later another shell cut through the air before it smashed into the tank's engine deck.

The effect of the unknown shots reverberated across the rail yard. The crew of the last remaining Zriniyi assault gun could see their incapacitated flag tank sitting there frozen in defeat, with its white flag clear for all to see.

The noise across the battlefield began to die down all of a sudden following the two explosions, the sound of engines idling and the movements of trees in the wind were all that remained as an odd silence began to settle in.

Some crews would slowly climb out of their vehicles, their eyes fixated on the two flag-tanks that stood there motionless; their armored hulls were covered with the scars of battle and on top of one of them was a small white flag that was fluttering in the wind.

Appearing from her cupola Miho was starting to feel the exhaustion of today's match finally getting the better of her, it had been a long and arduous day but at last, it had finally come to an end.

"… It's over…" she let out as she allowed herself to rest her arms on the edge of the cupola, taking a moment for herself so she could collect her thoughts. After that, her eyes slowly began surveying the battlefield that was littered by tanks, and the crews that were exiting their charges. "… I'm so glad… that the match… is finally over…"

Seeing the flag on the enemy flag tank a sense of joy came over Miho. "We won… we've actually won this match. We've done it, we've shown them that."

Slowly turning inside the cupola Miho was equally confused and surprised when she found herself staring at the battered shape of Rabbit's M3 Lee, both of its guns smoking.

Seeing Azusa up in her turret Miho could not help it but shed a few tears of joy at the sight of the younger girl.


Nagano Prefecture - Ooarai marshalling area - 16.10h Sunday

With Anglerfish rolling into the marshalling area that had been reserved for her team Miho was finally feeling like she could put an end to today's match, it had been a hard-won victory but one of which she was feeling proud about, least of all because several crews had truly outdone themselves.

From up her cupola, she had a decent view of the activity that was taking place, with her tank being the last one to arrive the team was finally complete again. There would be some celebrating going on in all likelihood but that did not take away that they would soon need to start on the work of getting all of their tanks ready for transportation back to their ship.

"Hmm, it looks like the trucks to take the damaged tanks are already here," she said as she could make out the distinct shape of the heavy trucks and their trailers waiting for their allotted cargo. "I'll be nice when we're back on the ship again."

"Seems like the rest are already here, Miporin," Saori said as she could already see the familiar forms of Leopon and Mallard situated at the other end, ready for their turn to be loaded aboard one of the flatbeds, while Hippo was already resting on the back of a flatbed trailer. "So you wanna go and say hello to the others? I'm sure that they're all waiting for you to join the celebration. You're the commander after all, Miporin!"

"Ah that's okay," Miho said, smiling as she did as already she could see several of the crews were rushing over towards where Rabbit's M3 had come to a halt. "I'm glad that they're all safe. Today's victory would've meant nothing to me if any of them had gotten hurt."

"Nishizumi-dono's right," Yukari beamed as she was hinting towards the quartet of figures that were perched in front of the assault gun, pointing out the somewhat sorry state they appeared to be in. "They sure took a big hit alright. Well, they did get rammed by an enemy tank though I guess they're lucky."

"How so?"

"Because it was only a Toldi, that's a pretty light tank," Yukari tried to explain to the others but from the looks of their faces, they did not seem to be entirely convinced by her reasoning. Not that anybody could blame them for feeling that way as even a light tank would still carry a good amount of mass with it, one stood a better chance at getting hit by a truck than by a light tank.

"… Y-Yukarin, sometimes you just weird me out, no offense though."

"Heh?"

Miho shook her head, not saying a word. Not that it would make any difference at this point and besides she was more concerned about getting to know how those crews who had their vehicles knocked out were doing. And there was, of course, another matter that was at the back of her mind, that so short before to the school festival there would be this many damaged tanks that would need to be fixed.

"It can't be helped," she said to herself, "It's happened and we just have to work with it."

"Do you think they can get all of our tanks fixed in time, Miho-san?" Hana asked the obvious question, one that anybody who could see the appalling state of Ooarai's armored force found itself in would be asking. "Some of the tanks got hit pretty hard. I'd hate to be any of the Automotive Club members at the moment; they definitely have their work cut out for them."

"Yeah… I don't envy them…"

"It'll be fine, they've managed to work miracles before," Yukari declared proudly while letting her fellow tankers know that they under no means were to even dare and underestimate the skills and determination of the Automotive Club when it came to fixing a damaged tank.

"Yukari-san is right," Miho said in agreement, although it would be a daunting task she was confident in the skills of those four girls to see them through.

The Panzer IV's engine shuddered to a stop as the lumbering steel beast came to a halt, parking itself neatly in line with the other tanks. Climbing from their hatches the quintet of girls were beyond elated that they could finally stretch their legs again.

There was a collective mood of relief and joy as those crews who had already gathered at the marshaling area rushed over to come and congratulate the remaining crews on their victory.

"Are we glad to see you're all safe! We were so worried because we never heard anything from you anymore," Yuzu remarked as she approached the first years and gave each and every single one of them a heartfelt hug, her voice betraying the sense of joy she was having at seeing the young girls back. "Thank you for making it back to us. I'm so glad that you're all safe and sound."

"… S-Senpai…" The girl was doing her best to hold back the tears that were already forming, "… I-I'm glad to see you again as well."

By now even Hippo was making their way over towards Azusa and her crew as they caught sight of Rabbit, even though they were still recovering from their own little ordeal that was not going to deter them from joining in on the festivities and congratulating their comrades in arms.

"So great to see you all again! That was truly a stunning feat of arms! This must go down in the annals of history!"

"Way to go, Rabbit! You won us the match! You were awesome!"

For the first years, it was an odd experience, least of all because they really did not see what they had done as being all that special in the first place. Not to mention that all six of them, tired and exhausted from today's match, were as worn out as they came.

"You rock, to think you got off the final shot! Awesome!"

"Hah! You sure showed those Tarczay girls what you're made of! That'll make them chew up their words! You really showed it to them! Wow!"

Miho was smiling at seeing the first years standing there, leaning forward she reached out and grabbed Azusa's hand as she said, "Welcome back, Azusa-san. I'm really glad to see that you and your crew were able to return safely. I'm… so glad to see you're all alright…"

Hugging the girl in question Miho felt like a great weight was being lifted from her shoulders, she was just so happy to see Azusa and the rest of her crew. Just holding the girl in her arms was doing so much to relieve some of the anxiety she had been carrying with her this match.

"… T-Thank you… senpai…" Azusa uttered underneath her breath, her face taking on a hue of pink as she did, squirming a little in the process but even so it was clear that she was just as relieved as the girl giving her the hug. "… It's good… to be… back…"

"Did any of you already go and see the first aid station?" Saori asked as she was hinting at some of the scrapes and bruises that several of the girls had, "Do you want me to go with you? I could also ask for one of the staff to come and have a look for you."

"Ah no, we're alright, they checked us up the moment we got back," Karina was only too quick to answer, waving her hands to emphasize that she and her crewmates had already been given a quick examination before they had been given the all-clear allowing them to go and rejoin the others. "We should be fine in a couple of days, just some rest and not doing anything crazy in the meantime," Karina said with a big smile on her face.

Ayumi joined in as well, "Yeah, it's nothing serious and the scrapes we got should be gone soon. They did tell us to take it easy in the coming days and that if we weren't feeling any good we're to see a doctor. That said, we did get banged up pretty good in there…"

"Yep, my back's still sore all over the place," Aya said in agreement to that last bit, "And you know, I could really do with a hot bath right now. Oh, that'd feel so great."

Just hearing it was enough to make Miho smile, the younger girl had said in such an odd way that it provoked a smile from her. Not that she could blame the poor girl for it; she figured that pretty much everybody here could make do with a hot bath right about now.

"Glad to see you're back," Sodoko said as she shook hands with the younger girls, "I let the others here know that we ran into you but we weren't sure anymore what had happened to you after we got taken out. I can't believe that you somehow managed to survive that attack."

"… To be honest senpai, I didn't believe it at first myself." Rubbing the back of her head Azusa was a little nervous as she was still finding it hard to accept what had happened. "I guess we were just lucky, even then they still did a lot of damage to our tank."

"Don't you worry about that," Tsuchiya interjected, pointing at the battered form of the M3. "I promise you that all of us at the Automotive Club will give her all the care and attention that she deserves, once we're done with her she'll be as good as new."

Yuuki had tears in her eyes as she made a bow to thank the older girl for the offer. "… T-T-Thank you… senpai…"

Her fellow crewmates were quick to mimic her gesture, expressing their gratitude to all of the others for the concerns and kindness they were giving them. For any of them, it was starting to become quite an emotional event, least of which was because of all of the praise and congratulations they were getting from the rest of the team.

The mood was festive and elated, that was until it got interrupted all of a sudden by the untimely arrival of Goulash and a whole crowd of Tarczay students, and if the expressions on their faces were of any indication they were most certainly not here to congratulate Ooarai on their victory.

Seeing the red-haired girl approach them Miho was starting to get an uneasy feeling, the sight of anger and resentment in her eyes was betraying what the girl's intentions were, the large body of Tarczay students following in her wake was doing little to convince Miho otherwise. "Ooarai!" Paprika exclaimed as she stormed towards the assembly of Ooarai girls with almost murderous intent in her eyes. "You cheated, didn't you?! Damn you! You were cheating weren't you, you bastards! How dare you?!

'Why are they here? Why would they come all the way to our area? And why do they have this weird idea that we cheated? I don't understand…'

Something here was not making any sense; something was definitely off here but for the life of her Miho could not come up with an answer. Nothing that could give her an explanation for the outrage and anger she was seeing with her own eyes and that was scaring her.

"Why you?!" Momo, not one known to back down, yelled back at them. "You've got some nerve! Accusing us like that! Why don't you fork over some proof for that! If anybody did any cheating here it's gotta be you people! You had nearly twice the number of tanks that we had and you still couldn't win, it sounds more like you're being a bunch of sore losers! Then again, that'd go in line with your damn false accusation!"

"What did you say?! You got some nerves for a bunch of cheaters!

"Those are some empty words without any proof. I think it's better if you lot just left," Hoshino spoke as she took a step forward and confronted the girls opposing them.

Lunging forward the red-headed girl grabbed the member of Leopon by the scruff of her uniform. Even if she was physically smaller than the girl she had just grabbed Paprika gave off no impression that that would be enough to deter her.

"H-Hey, get your hands off me!" Hoshino snapped in response as she returned the favor and grabbed the shorter girl by the scruff of her shirt as well. "Have you lost your mind?! Knock it off with your crap. L-Let go. Get off me. Hey, didn't you hear me?"

"That piece of junk got knocked out! What did you bastards do?! Did you mess with the system?! We knocked out that tank! You messed with the flag system didn't you, you bastards?! Just admit it, you cheaters!"

"You get your hands off her!"

"Screw you!"

Another one of the Tarczay's girls threw forth another venomous insult, "Why should we even listen to what a couple of cheaters say? You rigged something haven't you?!"

"How did we even cheat? We did nothing wrong."

"She's right. Do you even have proof for this?"

It provoked an even more ferocious response from the array of girls from the opposing team. It was almost as if the request for evidence was taken as some bizarre kind of insult.

"We don't?! Then what do you think that M3 of yours did?! There's your damn proof! You lot rigged the flag system on it!"

"That's ridiculous!" Somebody from her own team shot back though whoever it had been was lost on Miho who herself was struggling to come to grips with what one of the Tarczay students had just said.

"Rétes-senpai herself took it down; there's no way that hunk of junk could have shrugged off that hit," another one of the Tarczay girls rebuked, her clenched fists trembling as she was clearly agitated by the denials of Ooarai. "You disabled the system, haven't you?! Admit it!"

"You're nothing more than a group of cheaters!" Another girl yelled, accusing them having committed an act of foul play but none of the Ooarai students present had the right state of mind to ask for clarification.

"Preposterous! Utterly preposterous!" Momo gave voice to her objection. "Do any of you even have anything that resembles a piece of evidence? I'd really hope that you didn't just storm in here without any actual proof if you're making accusations like that! Or have you all just taken leave of your common sense?!"

"Lies!"

"What a bunch of liars here! Guess we should've expected that from these frauds!"

"Yeah! You can't trust the words of a school that faked its victories!"

Accusations and rebukes were flying back and forth as tempers were rising, neither side willing to take no for an answer. On one side the girls from Tarczay convinced in their belief that Ooarai had cheated with the M3 Lee of Rabbit while on the other the girls from Ooarai who by now were convinced that their opponents were using a dirty ploy in order to discredit them.

"You lot sure got some nerve!"

"You bitch!"

Demands were made for the crew of the tank in question to be brought forward and be held accountable for the incident though there was some concern amongst the crews from Ooarai that there was a further, more sinister action that some of the girls on the opposing might resort to.

"Hand over that tank's crew. We want to have a talk with them!"

"Yeah, hand them over now!"

Azusa and the other first years were taking a few cautious steps back as they were not sure how they were supposed to react to this, dumbfounded, confused, and scared at the same time they were quick to turn to the older girls for guidance and protection.

"…W-What's happening? S-Senpai!"

Saori was quick to react, "You get behind us." Putting herself between the first years and several of the Tarczay students the girl stood firm, despite being just as scared as the young girls behind her that was not going to deter her from standing up in order to protect others.

"Don't you dare to lay a hand on them!" she shouted, spreading her arms to make herself a wide as possible, "I-I won't let you hurt them! Go away! Leave them alone!"

Inspired by the ginger-haired girl's act of defiance more girls from Ooarai chimed in and took place next to her, extending their own arms in order to shield the first years from any abuse that might be targeted at them.

"Don't even think that we'll let any of you get near them!" Noriko shouted, undaunted by her small stature, even if she wasn't one of the tallest people on the team she was determined to protect her teammates. "I think it's better if all of you just left!"

"You got a big mouth!"

She just shrugged it off. "If you don't like it why don't you come and do something about it yourself."

"E-Everybody, please stop fighting!" Miho cried out as she sought to stop this from any further escalation. "Please, stop this! Don't fight! I'm sure that we can talk this out! Please!"

But to little avail, nobody gave off the impression that they would pay any heed to what she had to say; her fellow teammates were too focused on protecting Rabbit while others were not shy about confronting their opponents. As for their opponents, well, they were anything but even willing to pay a modicum of heed to Miho's pleas.

"Damn brat! Sure can tell that you at Ooarai got no manners!"

Noriko just grinned in return. "Look who's talking. The ones without any manners are you."

"Why you?! Damn little runt! Shorty!"

"I must kindly ask of you to refrain," Hana stated as she took a step forward and prevented one of the Tarczay girls from doing something really stupid. Being unfazed by the aggression she was getting Hana simply replied in her usual calm and collected tone, "I do believe that it would be in your own best interest if you were to cease and return to your marshaling area."

Tempers were rising, accusations flying back and forth. People were pushing and shoving against each other. The whole situation was a powder keg waiting to catch fire, this was a volatile situation.

"Please, everybody just calm down. I'm certain that there's been a misunderstanding," Miho called out, doing what she could in an effort to diffuse the situation but this was a fighting a battle that she was going to lose. She was going to need help; she could not do this on her own. Not even her dear friends might be able to help her from stopping this.

"Everybody, cease with this at once!" rang out all of a sudden as one of the approaching judges shouted, ordering the two groups to split up while several of her colleagues came running over and got in between the two groups, driving them apart.

"All of you disperse at once! Both groups are to cease with any acts of hostility immediately! There will be disciplinary actions taken should you continue with this!" Turning her attention towards the girls from Tarczay she further explained upon her earlier warning. "This applies especially to you! All members of your Sensha-Do team are hereby ordered to return back to their allotted marshalling area and await further instructions. If you refuse to comply there will be further sanctions imposed for you and your team."

Their faces twisting in anger and discontent the girls of the team that had just been given a warning and anybody who even so much as catch a glimpse of it could tell that these girls were anything but happy about it. They were straining to keep their anger in check, which for some was easier than for others.

It was taking several of the other Tarczay girls just to keep Paprika from lunging towards any of the frightened Ooarai girls again. "Damn you!" she spat at them in a venomous tone, still in a state of rage it was taking everything that the girls who were holding her had in an effort to keep the red-haired girl where she stood. "Damn you all! I'm going to!"

And it was anybody's guess if she was going to heed the call of the judges or if she would break free and come at them again.

"I repeat, return back to your marshalling area and await further instructions."

More officials were now arriving in order to assist the judges with the task of separating the two groups, and although it was not as bad as it had been a few minutes earlier the atmosphere was still tense.

"This is your last warning. Return back to your marshalling area and await further instructions. If you refuse to comply there will be further consequences for you and your team. If you do not leave now we will contact your school."

Grumbled responses could be heard coming from the lips of the Tarczay girls but other than that nobody gave any voice to their disagreement. Slowly but certainly those girls began to pay heed to the orders given by the judges and were starting to walk away, even so, one could clearly see the anger and resentment that was still present in their eyes.

Eventually, even the furious red-haired girl was allowing some of her fellow students to guide her away, cursing underneath her breath while she did.

Miho did flinch for a moment as she noticed it, she did not like the way that the departing girls were eyeing her and her friends but deep inside she could not deny that the timely intervention of the judges may have ruined their chance to talk this out. 'This is wrong; we should've had the opportunity to discuss this. There has got to be some kind of misunderstanding. I'm sure that nobody wanted this to happen.'

To her, it was terrible what had happened and it was a shame that the opposing team was being forced to leave without anybody having a chance to learn what exactly the problem was although none of that was a valid excuse for the way that the students of Tarczay had acted. Perhaps things would have gone better if they had been more restrained in the way they had gone about it, it certainly had backfired on them as instead they were simply told to leave without having the means to air their grievances.

'Why did it have to turn out this way? Why was nobody even willing to talk it out? Surely we could've reached an understanding and clear this whole thing up if we had. Why couldn't we have done just that?'

"Miporin, are you okay?" Saori would ask as she could see that the whole ordeal seemed to have had quite a profound impact on her friend but before she had the chance to listen to her friend's answer something else drew her attention.

"This isn't the last you'll hear of this," Goulash said, the bitter tone of her voice betraying her feelings on the matter. "We'll file a formal complaint against your team with the federation. Don't think you'll be able to just walk away from this."

With those last words, Goulash spun on her heels and walked away from it all, not even deeming those behind her as being worthy of a last look.

Miho and the other students of Ooarai were left in a state of confusion and shock, nobody really knew what to do anymore, and for all of those present, it had a devastating effect on the collective mood. This was not how any of them had foreseen how this match would have ended.

When they had first met the girls of Tarczay it had been seen as a weird occurrence but what they had just been through now was seen as something far worse. Nobody had ever experienced something like this before, it was the first time for any of them, and as such there was not a single person who knew what they should do. Except for one.

"Alright everybody, let's all calm down," Anzu said as she began to address the students under her care, she was aware that what had just transpired had a negative impact on all of them, "The match is over, we're done here. I understand that this must've been an unpleasant experience for all of you but right now it's important that we stay calm about this. If any of you have any concerns about this, please let us know. The student council and I will discuss this with the Federation first thing tomorrow. I promise you that the last word about this has not been spoken."

There were a few muttered responses but other than those nobody was planning on interrupting the speech given by the diminutive girl, for them it was good to know that their worries and opinions were being heard. Even though there was little that could be done about them at the moment.

"Rest assured that we have your wellbeing at heart here," Yuzu announced as she took a step forward. "The student council is there for any of you. If you have any issues or concerns you are at any time free to come and see us about them."

Fulfilling her role as a member of the student council Momo also took a step forward, and although she was clearly not as calm as her fellow members, she nevertheless went about the business of organizing so they could all head back to their home. "We should go and get everything ready so we can go back to the ship. Once there I suggest you all go back to your homes and get a good rest, it's been a long and exhausting day for any of us. Everybody, grab some rest, you've all earned it."

"Alright everybody," Saori said as it was clear that their time had come, "Let's get everything taken care of so we can go home. Besides I don't want to stay here any longer."

"Time to sleep," Mako said, deadpan.

"Ah I could really do with a meal right about now," Hana chuckled, thinking about her dinner.

"Isuzu-dono has a point," Yukari said in agreement, "I'm pretty much starving. Oh, do you think it's possible for us to grab a quick snack on the way back?"

"I don't think that's possible, the train won't stop until it reaches Ooarai."

"Ah shoot."

Left standing there by herself while her friends already set off, a curious sight caught Miho's attention as her gaze came to fall on the parking area. There were a lot of vehicles already leaving the area; most of them would belong to those who had come to visit the match.

Moving as part of this veritable column was a pair of odd-looking vehicles that were now making their way towards the exit which caught the young girl's interest for some reason, somehow these vehicles felt like they were out of place.

Miho couldn't explain it but her instinct was telling her that there was something off about these particular two vehicles, but much to her frustration she could not recognize this type of vehicle or for that matter the curious emblem that was proudly displayed on their sides.

Shaking it from her thoughts she was about to turn around to go after her friends when Miho could feel a shiver running down her spine when the two vehicles were about to drive past her. Spinning back on her heels just as the second vehicle passed her, squinting her eyes she thought she could just see a woman's face in the vehicle staring back at her, their eyes locking for a fraction of a second before the vehicle continued to move along and the woman's face disappeared from her sight.

"… W-What... was that…?"


Nagano Prefecture - train - 18.20h Sunday

The ride on the train back to their hometown was in stark contrast compared to the ride they had made this morning, people just were not in the mood for much talking and whenever somebody did it would be about what had happened.

For all of those involved it had left a sour impression on them, nobody could have expected for the end of their match to have been like this. The way that the students of Tarczay had treated and accused them just made any and all of their hard work during the match to seem to have been for naught.

The match had been an exhausting one, both physically and mentally, nobody had been able to come to terms with the accusations that had been thrown at them. Despite the best intentions and efforts of the student council to raise morale and ease their concerns, nobody could shake off what had happened.

'Why were they so upset about this? I don't understand where all their hostility and anger towards us is coming from. I just wish that we could've worked things out after the match.' Left to her own thought Miho was feeling a notable sense of distress unlike any she had felt before. It did not feel similar to what she had experienced at her former school following their loss in the tournament, this was definitely something else.

'If only I could've talked with their commander. I'm sure that we could've worked something out, resolved our differences and come to an understanding.'

From the corner of her eyes, she could see that Anzu was waving for her to come over, no doubt the diminutive girl wanted to have a little talk with her over what had happened. That said Miho was not really in the mood to talk about it with anybody at the moment, there was just far too much for her to wrap her mind around.

Even so, Miho knew that she would need to go and see for herself what the girl wanted to talk about, she could not pretend that she had not noticed her gesture and stay where she was. Somewhat reluctantly she got up from her seat and slowly made her way over towards where Anzu and the other two members of the student council were seated.

"How are you feeling?" Anzu asked the moment Miho sat down opposite of her, "I'm really sorry that you had to go through that, Nishizumi-chan. If I'd known that this would happen I would've never have accepted the invitation for a match in the first place."

"…Thank you." Miho gave her thanks to the shorter girl, as well as her two companions. "But you shouldn't apologize to me; you couldn't have known that this was going to happen. None of you could've known."

"Even so, that doesn't mean that we don't bear the responsibility for this," Momo remarked, letting it know that despite Miho's words there was still a sense of guilt over what had happened after the match, "For us in the student council this is a serious matter. The way that their students behaved and treated ours is simply something that we, in our official function, can't overlook."

"But."

"Kawashima's right, Nishizumi-chan. As members of the student council we can't overlook their actions, as your president I can't ignore the threat to the safety and well-being of the students under my care. I carry that responsibility with me; I have, ever since I became president of the student council."

Letting her hand rest on the younger girl's shoulder Yuzu told her that it would be best not to overthink it; the student council would look into the matter and file a complaint of their own with the federation. For all other members of the team there would be no further involvement with regards to the incident, should any of the students require further support our counseling the student council would see to that.

"Those people, what were they thinking?" Momo asked the question aloud. "How could they be so stupid to resort to violence and threats? Just thinking about what could've happened makes me furious." Her fists were shaking.

"But it didn't come to that, the judges-."

Anzu interrupted her, saying that, "We got lucky there, at any second the situation could've escalated. If I had gotten to that there's no guarantee that the judges or any of the officials would've been able to stop them. I'm sorry Nishizumi-chan, but that's just the way the situation is."

Silently nodding her head Miho was not entirely sure how she was supposed to react to this, in her mind this was not the way to go about it but devoid of any other option she was left without a means of resolving the matter.

"It really got to you, didn't it?" Yuzu asked as she took notice of the expression on Miho's face, "What they said I mean. Please, don't take it too seriously. We'll see what the Federation has to say about the matter though I'm pretty certain that they're going to rule in our favor."

"Of course they are, we did nothing wrong!" Momo grumbled while she folded her arms across her chest. Taking a deep breath before letting it all out she continued, "I'm definitely not going to let them get away with this! This is going to have its repercussions! I'll fight them with whatever means I can get my hands on! Mark my words!"

"Momo-chan, you shouldn't say that," Yuzu said to her as she was letting her friend know that this was not the way they should go about with this situation. They would only end up investing time and effort on a matter that would bring them little but misery. "I feel it's better if we were to forget all of this and simply turn our attention to the school festival. That's a lot more important at the moment."

"She's right," Anzu gave voice to her agreement with that sentiment; going into a fight with Tarczay over what had happened was not going to do them any good anyway, it would be best to leave that up to the Federation.

Momo let out a sigh before speaking. "... You're right. Both of you, our focus should indeed be on making the school festival a success. It's barely a week away and we still have plenty of preparations to take care of. The festival comes first!"

"Alright, glad that's settled then!"

From where she was sitting Miho had a little look over towards the back at the carriage where Azusa and the other members of Rabbit had taken their refuge after they had all climbed aboard. No doubt what had transpired weighed the heaviest on them as they were the main target of Tarczay's anger and frustration. The sextet of girls was clearly left in a state of shock.

"You're worried about them, aren't you Nishizumi-chan?" Anzu asked the question as she caught wind of where Miho was gazing. "We'll go and inform their homeroom teachers first thing in the morning as well as arrange an appointment for them with one of the counselors should they have a need for that."

"Thank you, for all that you're doing for us." Miho gave her thanks.

"Naturally, that comes with the responsibility of our position," Momo huffed in protest to the suggestion that what they were doing was something extraordinary. "We'd do that for any student of our school, it goes without saying that we'll help them wherever we can. And keep in mind, Nishizumi, the offer that is there for them also applies to you. If you need any assistance from us, please let us know."

"Thank you, Kawashima-senpai." Miho did have some reservations about if she was going to take them up on that offer but still it was a good thing to know that if she were to need it, it would be there for her. It was a reassuring notion but one that Miho could only hope that she would have no need for in the foreseeable future.

Leaning back against her seat Anzu was gazing at the ceiling when she said, "Well, this has been quite the day. And starting tomorrow it's going to be a crazy week for all of us. Still, I wouldn't want to miss it for the world."

With a sly smile on her face, the diminutive girl cast her head down and eyed up Miho closely. The grin on her small face running from ear to ear. "Nishizumi-chan, you're going to enjoy the school festival. I know you will. So put all your troubles aside and enjoy everything that our school has to offer you in the coming weekend. It'll be great, I promise you~."


Ooarai school carrier – Miho's apartment – 20.35h Sunday

Finally reaching her apartment Miho was beyond relieved that she could finally catch such much-needed rest. She was looking forward to being able to spend what little there was left of the day so she could recover a little from today's madness.

"So Miporin, are you sure that you're okay? I mean I don't mind staying a little longer if you want to air your heart," Saori spoke in a gentle tone to her friend, letting her know that if there was still something troubling her than said girl would be more than willing to stay a little longer and hear her out. "What they said really got to you, didn't it?"

"…" Miho didn't say a word in return; there was simply a lot on her mind. And despite the kind, reassuring words that she was getting from her friend she could do with being alone as she wanted to have some time for herself to order her own thoughts.

"Nishizumi-dono, just say the word and we'll stay with you. Even if that means we have to spend the entire night here."

Unlike her friends Mako didn't say a word, instead, she just gave off a curt nod.

"We can make dinner together if you want, if you want something that's easy to make than how about some curry? We can get all of the ingredients at the shop. What do you say, Miporin?"

"… That's really kind of you, Saori-san…" Miho said, shaking her head as she did, her voice giving away her state of mind, "I appreciate your offer, I really do but right now I'd rather be alone… There's a lot I want to think about. So much has happened today and I want to have some time by myself to let it all sink in."

"... Miho-san…"

"You sure?"

"... N-Nishizumi-dono?"

Saori just looked, seeming to be a little disappointed. "You sure you want to be by yourself? Well, I'm not going to argue with you. Just make sure that you don't think too much about it, Miporin. Oh and also make sure you go to bed in time as there's school again tomorrow."

"I will, you all take care of yourselves as well," Miho said, "Be careful on your way home."

The other four girls took this as the signal that it was time for them to take their leave and return to their own respective homes and to get some rest themselves, just as it had been an exhausting day for their friend, so it had been for them.

"See you tomorrow, Miporin. Have a good night," Saori said before she turned around and made her way in the direction of her own apartment. Waving with every step she took. "I mean it, take care of yourself! Don't overdo it!"

"Sleep well, Nishizumi-dono!"

Seeing her friend like this was making Miho feel a little better about herself.

"Call me if you need any help!"

Waiting until her friends had disappeared from her sight Miho made a slow turn on the spot and made her way back towards her own apartment. Going up the stairs she came to a halt when a cold wind rushed past her, the weather was definitely starting to get colder, not really a surprise as they were already well into fall. "I guess winter is going to come soon enough."

Feeling her body shiver in response she continued with going up the stairs, quickening her pace so she could get inside the warmth of her room as quickly as possible. Rubbing her hands together and gently blowing in them she was again reminded that with the season having changed there would be a need to wear some thicker clothes in the evening.

Closing the door behind her Miho was only too keen to take off her shoes; it had been a long and exhausting day and her feet were just about killing her. That said, there was a pleasant warmth in the room and just standing there was already making her feel a lot better.

"Ah, that feels good," she let out in a soft-spoken tone before placing her shoes where they belonged, "Oh I could just fall asleep right here. I can't believe that a single match could be so tiring. Then again, it wasn't just the match that wore us down. It was also, what happened after."

Taking a few steps inside she was given a stark reminder of that as she could feel that today's ordeal came with its own consequences for her physique, her body was feeling sore all over, her legs barely able to support her anymore as the exhaustion was taking its toll on her.

"I need to sit down for a moment," she said as she made her way to her bed and sat down on it, "Ah that feels great, finally some rest."

Breathing out a sigh of relief Miho was glad that she was at last home. Looking around her room she told herself that for the remainder of the evening she was going to take it easy to give herself some much-needed rest, as well as go to sleep early.

"I think… that the first thing I should do is to have a change of clothes… or perhaps…" Rubbing her hand across her face she was thinking about whether or not she should take a shower first. She could really do with a shower though given how rundown she was feeling the idea of submerging herself in a hot bath was a far more appealing one.

"That'd be really great though I'm sure that by now the bathhouse is closed. I guess I'll just have to take satisfaction with a quick shower and then to get something to eat."

Pushing herself off from the bed she made her way towards the bathroom, slowly starting to strip. Even just moving her arms was enough for her to feel her muscles ache in protest, prompting the girl to let out a soft moan every now and then.

Once she was done Miho was letting out an exasperated sigh of relief, expressing how she was feeling as there were no words that she could use to describe how good taking that shower felt to her. Of course, an actual bath would have been even better no doubt but beggars could not be choosers.

"Ah, that felt great," Miho said before she went to turn on the TV in her room, if she was lucky there would be a nice program on that she could watch and in particular she was keen of any Boko shows though the chances of that were pretty low given the time of day. "Kinda figures that there isn't any Boko on TV, a shame as I could do with something to take my mind of today's events…"

There wasn't really much on the TV that Miho fancied, and to be honest she had never really been much into it. Come to think of it she could not remember the last time there had been anything on that caught her interest, not counting the movie nights she had with her friends of course.

"I should get myself something to eat," she told herself when she could hear her stomach growl in protest, it would seem that she had been far too negligent in that regard though luckily that was something she could quickly solve. "Ah right, I should still have a few of those."

Rummaging through what she still had Miho would eventually settle with a simple cup of instant noodles, it was not the most lavish of meals but it would have to suffice for the time being.

Filling the kettle with some water Miho was going back to the room while she would wait for the water to start boiling, picking upon the remote of the TV she began to have another look at what the various channels were offering but just like before there was disappointingly little.

Sitting on her couch with a cup of hot noodles in front of her Miho was making the most of her rather simple supper, she was no miracle in the kitchen like her friend Saori was but right now she just wanted something to eat with the least amount of hassle.

"Hmmm, this tastes good," she whispered before gulping down another fork full of noodles, "Still, having one of Saori-san's handmade meals would've been even better. I wonder if I did the right thing by turning down her offer…" Mentioning her friend's name was enough for her to grow quiet all of a sudden as Miho began to think about what her friends could be doing at their homes at the moment. Would they be having fun, being able to do something to keep themselves occupied or would they, like her, just be sitting there.

Miho chuckled softly before a somewhat melancholic expression crossed her face when she thought about them. "I know that I worry too much, but I can't help it. I don't want to be the person to let people down and right now… I feel like I've let a lot of people down…"

Reaching out to grab the blanket, she was quick to wrap it around herself as the night was getting colder.

"I guess I should look to talk to them about this," she said to herself before finishing up the last of the noodles, "This was such a weird match, I still don't understand why they were so upset with us at the start of the match… and why did they think that we messed with the flag system on Rabbit… I wonder…"

Her mind began to drift around as she went searching for an explanation, now she had not seen what had exactly happened the moment that Rabbit had been supposedly knocked out but even from what she had been able to piece together it was hard to say what might had happened.

"I guess we should try and see I we can get our hands on any footage from that fight," she said, her finger tapping against her chin as she was trying to come up with any way that would allow them to find out what had exactly happened. "Maybe we can obtain it with the help of Chōno-san? I should inform the student council to contact her, then again it won't surprise me if they've already been in contact with her."

Yeah, that was definitely something that she could expect from the student council, while everybody had gone to their respective homes Anzu along with Momo and Yuzu were even now likely hard at work. In hindsight, she should have seen his coming and have offered to lend them a helping hand instead of heading to her apartment.

"Still, they would've likely told me to go home."

They would not have let her stay there, for them it was more important that Miho and the others would get the much-earned rest that they all had earned for themselves. Dealing with the whole affair would be their responsibility, at least which is what she could imagine Anzu and her friends would be telling them.

Letting out an exasperated sigh Miho came to the realization that there was precious little that she could do at the moment and as such there was little point for her to be worrying herself to death about it.

Having one last look at her alarm clock Miho decided that enough was enough; she had already spent far too long mulling over the whole affair. She was going to follow her friends' advice and go to sleep.

Lying down on the bed she closed her eyes while offering a silent prayer with the hope that tomorrow was going to be a more pleasant and enjoyable day for her.


Author's note: Well folks, there it is, the newest chapter to the story for you all to enjoy. This update is a little slower than I had hoped for but the past month has been very busy at work and making an excessive amount of overtime every single day takes a severe toll on one's ability to write and edit material. But luckily it is here now.

Hopefully, you've found the chapter to be enjoyable. As always I'm looking forward to hearing any thoughts, opinions, and whatever kind of ramblings or abuse you feel would be appropriate to hurl in my general direction. If you spot anything or just want to have a talk, feel free to contact me.

So the next episode of das Finale is literally around the corner, I can't tell you all how excited I am to get to watch it though surely this impatience and excitement for seeing it must be shared by all of you as well.

Now with that all out of the way I wish you all a good time ahead. See you all next time and take care.