A Rough Week Begins!

Ooarai school carrier – Miho's apartment – 05.30 Monday

Waking up to the light that was coming in despite the curtains, the first thing that Miho did notice was that her body was not reacting in the way that it should be, somehow she was not feeling like her usual self. "… Uh…w-what time is it…?"

Rubbing her eyes before she had a look at the alarm clock situated on the table just in front of her Miho was having trouble reading the time, another rubbing of her eyes and she gave it another try.

"… W-Why hasn't it gone off yet…?" she asked herself as she squinted her eyes in another effort to try and see what time it was, and finally, she began to be able to make out the numbers on the display. Blinking as she found it hard to believe she rubbed her eyes a third time before having another peek just to confirm that she was not dreaming.

"… F-Five… t-t-thirty... in the morning…" she said before letting out an exasperated sigh at the realization that she woken up way before her normal hour. "… I can't believe it…"

Still staring at the time that was being displayed Miho briefly gave some consideration to the idea of closing her eyes and going back to sleep but she knew that it was not going to happen, there was no way that she could go back to sleep at this point.

She sighed before rolling over, nothing that her entire body was still feeling sore and that even her muscles were aching a little. It made her wonder if she had a restless night, could it be that her mind and body were still troubled by what had occurred yesterday.

Rolling back to have another look at the alarm clock, and then to the rest of the room, she made the decision to get up already or at the very least make an effort. That said, it was proving to be a lot easier said than done as her body was refusing to go along with her intentions.

"… Oh… I just feel pretty bad… guess I didn't get a good night's sleep after all…" Forcing her body to comply Miho clumsily got herself to sit upright on the bed, just sitting there for a moment and turning her head to her right in order to gaze at the curtains that were blocking her view of the outside world Miho asked herself if any of her friends would already be awake, the notable exception being Mako of course for obvious reasons.

"To think… that I still feel so tired…" she said underneath her breath, thinking how awkward she was feeling at the moment. This was something new to her; at least she thought it was as she could not recall something like this having happened to her before. Or was it?

"Maybe it isn't so bad to take them up on their offer," Miho said as she began to have some thoughts on whether or not she should also go and talk to a counselor, perhaps it would help process what had happened and put it aside.

Pushing herself from the bed she stopped as she caught sight of her phone, even from where she was standing, or rather hunched, she could tell that she had gotten a message on her phone. This was a little odd as she could not imagine anyone sending her a message at this time of day.

"I wonder who it is..." Reaching out clumsily with her hand it took her a moment before she could get a hold of the phone and had a look at the name that was displayed with the message. She shot up straight the moment she could read the name at the top of the message.

"… A-Azusa…" she whispered. Just seeing the name made her raise her eyebrows, as she had not been expecting to get a message from this girl at all. It was odd how something as insignificant-looking as a simple text message could already make her feel a little better.

"… Thank goodness," she said as she began reading the little text message that Azusa had apparently sent to her sometime last night. "I'm so glad that she decided to contact me. Hmm, it looks like she wants to talk to me at the earliest opportunity today. I guess I'll have to see when we have some spare time at school, or perhaps I could go and visit her at her dorm once school's done."

Already starting to feel better thanks to the message she had received, Miho made her way to her washroom so she could get herself refreshed and dressed for school, after that she decided to get herself a quick breakfast before she would eventually have to go to her school.

"I shouldn't forget to visit a store so I can buy some snacks after school," she said underneath her breath while making a quick mental note about the snacks she was planning on buying later today, "I wonder if Azusa-san would like those. Well, we'll find that out later. No, I should first see if it's going to be alright for me to visit her first…"

Lost in her thoughts Miho almost failed to notice the door in her way and it was only through the skin of her teeth that she was able to avoid walking face-first into it. Letting out a deep sigh she shook her head before reaching out and opening the door.

"I guess I'm still a little sleepy…" she said before bringing up both of her hands in order to have a good rub through her eyes though it was to little avail. It would seem that the absence of a good night of rest following an exhausting day left her dangerously vulnerable.

Closing the door behind her she slowly began to undress, telling herself that she was going to take a quick shower to try and get the drowsiness out of her system. Again she found herself whispering that she could really do with taking a bath instead of having to make do with a shower.

"… Maybe I should go to the bathhouse tonight…" the girl found herself asking that very question as she had a good look at the face that was staring back at her in the mirror, a face that did betray the lack of proper rest and the thoughts that had been tormenting the poor girl.

"Ah, I look terrible don't I? I guess all of that took a bigger toll on me that I thought," she joked, making a somewhat awkward smile that drove home just how exhausted she was.

"... And to think that we're going to have some pretty long days ahead of us," she said as she was under no illusion that the coming days were going to be prey hard for her. Aware of that she also made a mental note to go to bed at the earliest opportunity tonight, making sure that she would get her fair share of rest was going to be important in the coming days.


Ooarai school carrier – streets – 07.20h Monday

"Good morning Miporin!" Saori shouted, waving frantically, as she caught sight of her friend appearing from the entrance of the building, only one of the three other girls who were with her would follow her gesture.

"Miho-san, good morning to you," Hana greeted in her usual calm voice, making a gentle bow. "How are you feeling if I may ask? I hope that you had a pleasant night's sleep."

"Oh hello…" was all that could escape from Mako before she had to let out a big yawn, leaving any who could witness it to question if this girl had been able to get any sleep at all last night.

"Nishizumi-dono! A very good morning to you and may I say that I am delighted to welcome you back!"

"Everybody…" was the only word hat Miho could get past her lips as the sight of all of her friends waiting for her on her doorstep so to speak. She did not understand why all four of them were here, surely they could have just met at the usual spot, surprised by the sight Miho let out a confused, "… Why… I don't understand?"

The quartet of girls opposing her exchanged a simple glance between each other before turning their faces to look at Miho.

"Shouldn't that be obvious, Miporin," Saori said with a kind, warm smile on her face, "It's because we're all worried about you. We can understand that you wanted to be alone last night and we respected that decision but that doesn't mean that we were happy with it. And besides, if your appearance is anything to go by Miporin then you must've had a terrible night."

Hana nodded her head in agreement. "Saori-san has a point; we can all tell that you weren't your usual self last night and to be honest we were all worried about you. So last night we talked about this and we agreed with each other that we would wait for you at your place."

"Nishizumi-dono, you don't have to bear the burden of this on your own! If you feel like it's going to be too much for you then feel free to share the load with me, my shoulders are always at your service!"

Mako was her usual quiet self, her hazy eyes speaking volumes on where she would much rather be in bed at the moment but the fact that she was standing here with the others said enough.

It was a touching gesture of her friends and Miho could feel her chest aching a little in response to it all, in hindsight she should have seen this coming but her friends had managed to take her completely by surprise.

"… All of you," Miho said, feeling a little tear welling up in the corner of her eyes, "Thank you all so much, for being here, for being my friends… this is all, more than I could've asked for."

The other girls were all giving her a warm smile in return.

"Miporin, you don't need to thank us for that, we're your friends after all," Saori was the first one to speak her mind, "It's only natural that we worry about you when it's clear that something is troubling you. I'd do the same for any of you."

A certain fluffy-haired brunette took a step forward, her fists clenched as she profoundly declared, "Takebe-dono's right! You don't have to thank us for something that's only normal for us to do! Regardless of what happens, Nishizumi-dono, we'll always be there whenever you need us! You can rely on us to be there! On my word, we won't fail you!"

Hana was just smiling as she was enjoying the scene, and nobody could be certain as to what her exact motivations were at this moment.

"What they said," Mako added in her usual deadpan tone.

Being at a somewhat loss for words Miho just did what she could by making a bow to her friends, thanking them for their concerns. There were no words in the world that could even begin to express how happy she was to have these four as her best friends.

"Please tell me that you did have some breakfast," Saori said, being a little wary now about her friend's health, "Skipping breakfast isn't something you should do, we're still young girls who are growing and developing, right?"

"Hmmm?" That was something of an odd remark although Miho did have to agree that skipping on breakfast was not a wise thing to do given how long their days were going to be; on the other hand, it was not an issue for her personally as at least there had been a benefit to having gotten up so early, and that was that she had been able to treat herself to a more expanded breakfast than usual so she was good.

"Nishizumi-dono, do you want a part of my lunch to satiate your hunger? I don't mind making the sacrifice needed to keep you healthy!"

Waving her arms frantically the girl in question was quick to answer, "Ah no-no! You don't need to do that for me Yukari-san! I've had a full breakfast everybody; you don't need to worry about me!"

Hana could not help but let out a little chuckle. "I wouldn't mind though."

With her eyes wide Yukari's immediate reaction was to take a big step back, putting as much distance as possible between her prized lunchbox, its valuable content, and the piercing gaze of a hungry predator that had set its sight on their next meal. "Wait! Isuzu-dono, your eyes! What are you planning on?! No, you can't have my lunch, it's meant for Nishizumi-dono!"

"H-Hana!"


Ooarai school carrier – class 2-A12.00h Monday

With the sound of the bell ringing, Miho got up from her spot and began to make her way towards where Hana and Saori were still seated; both girls were still in the middle of packing away their belongings before they could all head to their usual spot in order to have lunch together.

"Ehm, Hana-san, Saori-san," Miho spoke to the two girls, "I'm sorry but I have to go somewhere so I can't go with you for lunch. I'm really sorry about it but this is something that I have to do. I hope that you can understand…"

Hana gently nodded her head, signaling that she had no problem with Miho going on her own, "I take it that you're going to see Sawa-san and the others, am I right?"

Saori shot up straight in response. "Ah does that mean you've heard from her, Miporin? So I guess that means you're off to go and see her, just like Hana said. If so could you let her and the others know that we're all wishing them the best."

Gratefully nodding her head in return Miho could feel her chest sell a little with pride knowing that these two girls could be counted amongst her friends, the sincerity and kindness of their concern for the first years was simply heartwarming."

"I'll be sure to let them know. Thank you, thank you both."

Leaving their seats the two girls took a step forward and wrapped their arms around the other girl, letting her know that she should get going now. That it was alright for her to go and see the young girl to learn how she was doing.

"We'll let the others know that you won't be joining us for lunch, good luck Miho-san," Hana said gently.

"Take care Miporin, and don't worry about the others. We'll fill them in for you. Bye-bye."

Leaving the classroom and going to her left Miho began to quicken her pace as she was hoping that she would get to have some time to herself so she could have a good talk with the younger girl she was going to see. She was keen to learn how the other girl was doing.

"I just want to hear how she and her friends are doing; they've been through a lot yesterday. Also, I've-."

"Miporin!"

Coming to a sudden halt as she heard her friend call her name Miho began to turn around, not sure what she was supposed to be expecting.

"Hey Miporin," Saori shouted as she came running after her friend, panting heavily as she did "You forgot your bento!"

"Oh thank you, Saori-san," Miho was quick to say in return, feeling a little silly for having forgotten her bento though she was not sure if she was going to spend all of her lunch break with Azusa. That said, it might not be such a bad idea to bring hers along anyway.

"Good luck Miporin, and enjoy your meal."

Making a bow in return Miho went back the way she had been going just moments before, towards the classroom where she would find the girl in question that she was after. She was looking forward to this, only too keen to get to see the younger girl and learn for herself how she might be doing after what had happened yesterday.

"Ah senpai," a surprised Azusa let out as she caught sight of Miho standing there in the doorway, "You're here? I didn't think that you'd come so soon already."

The older girl could tell from the expression on the other girl's face that she had taken her by surprise, which was in itself not a bad thing as she found being treated to a somewhat delightful, if unexpected, sight.

"Hello, Azusa-san," Miho said as she came to greet the other girl, "I hope that I didn't come at an inconvenient moment for you but I was still worrying about how you and your fellow crewmates were doing. I know that you already told me a little in your message this morning but I still wanted to come and see you in person. If that's alright, with you?"

Feeling something being stirred in her chest Azusa could not help but avert her face as quickly as was possible, even so, she could not prevent the older girl from just catching a glimpse as her face was picking a few hues of pink much to her embarrassment.

Miho did not say a word, just smiling at the adorable sight that was greeting her. Not that she could deny that there was a certain enjoyment to be had in seeing the younger girl blush like that before being given the other side.

"Do you want to go outside? Oh, and perhaps you could also bring your bento with you."

"M-My bento…?"

With her eyes darting forward to look at her lunchbox still in her bag she began to reach for it.

"... Right, got it. Now let's go senpai."

With the two of them leaving the classroom a buzz of chatter erupted between the various classmates who were left behind but Azusa did not pay them any attention, she was just happy that Miho had come to see how she was doing, and that in itself was already more than she could have hoped for.

Looking over her shoulder Miho could not help but get the impression that perhaps having come here in person may not have been such a good idea after all. It seemed that she had caused quite a bit of a commotion in the classroom. 'I guess most students see me differently than how those in the team do. I wonder if it's possible for me to… no, perhaps not… perhaps it's better if I don't show up for a while.'

Taking their seat on one of the many benches that line the yard the two of them took a moment for themselves to enjoy the silence and the somewhat warm rays of the autumn sun. Bar the sound produced by a couple of birds somewhere the two of them would have a chance to talk about a few more personal topics in private.

"… Ehm… thank you for coming, senpai…" Azusa said underneath her breath, fidgeting a little with her fingers while doing her best to keep the blushing to a minimum. Odd how she was still so nervous being alone with the girl she had come to admire so much over the past school year.

Opening her lunchbox and pricking her fork into one of the sausages the young brunette let out a somewhat troubled sigh before taking a bite.

"I guess I must've surprised you there when I again showed up in your classroom, didn't I?" Miho spoke, hinting at the commotion that had erupted after the two of them had left the room while feeling maybe a tiny bit of guilt over it. "Should I perhaps explain it to them after we get back or would it be better if I didn't show up at your classroom for a while?"

"It's okay," Azusa said in return, feeling that the other girl had done nothing wrong and that she was appreciative of the gesture, "… Actually, I'm glad that you showed up when you did, senpai. I wasn't sure if it would be alright for me to go and visit you so you coming to see me instead did make me feel better."

Miho could not help smiling when she heard that, treating herself to what her lunchbox had to offer she found herself enjoying the food and the pleasant company that the other girl was offering her.

"And yes, you did surprise me there! You could've at least told me you were coming, senpai," the younger girl blurted all of a sudden while puffing her cheeks in the process before averting her eyes. Giving the other girl a somewhat, undignified sounding, "Hmmph."

Letting out a somewhat nervous laugh the older girl was quick to apologize for any inconvenience she may have caused by her sudden arrival in the other girl's classroom.

Turning back and giving her a warm smile Azusa said, "So, how are you doing senpai?"

"Me? Well, I guess I'm alright, I mean it's not like I've completely gotten over what happened yesterday but I don't want that to keep me down… it wasn't really a pleasant experience for me… and I… I don't know, I don't understand why they were so upset with us in the first place."

Nodding her head silently Azusa was wondering about the same things, much like the girl next to her she did not understand their opponents' reasons nor was she even certain if those reasons could even be viewed as being sound.

"That said, I don't want to let that keep me down," Miho said in response as she could tell that Azusa was also having some problems with processing yesterday's event. It should not come as a surprise that the first years had not yet had their appointment with the counselor. "Even so we're not going to give in. We'll continue with our own way of doing Sensha-Do, doing this sport with all of you means far more to me and I refuse to let them chase me away from it."

"But what about the complaint, the one that they said they would file with the Federation? What about that?" That was still something that Azusa was worried about, mainly because she had no idea what she should expect due to having no prior experience with it and as such it was this uncertainty that was giving her the most problems.

"I don't think that we need to worry about that," Miho said in return, "And you heard what the Prez said, right? We ought to leave that to her and the others, we're ought to focus on the school festival this weekend instead and make sure that it's going to be a big success."

"… It's easier said than done, it's not easy to just ignore something like that. I mean the way that those girls were talking about us like we did something terrible…"

Nodding her head silently she gestured for the other girl to continue with her story.

"I was pretty scared, we all were. We were worried that they might do something to us, or to any of you…"

Azusa craned her neck back to gaze up at the grey sky overhead. "… Well, we've talked about it yesterday, I mean after we got back home, we just weren't feeling ready for going our separate ways already so instead we stayed together for the night and spent a lot of talking about it. We… ehm… didn't know what to do…"

Listening to the younger girl airing her heart, Miho could well understand how, not just Azusa, but the other five girls of Rabbit had to be feeling at the moment.

"Well, I think it's a good thing that the six of you talked to each other about it. Being able to talk about your problems with somebody else is often the best way to resolve it. Of course, some problems are easier to resolve than others."

"No offense, senpai," the girl said, "But I think this one's going to be pretty hard to resolve."

"That's okay, there's more than enough people here who are willing to hear what you and the others have to say. People here want to help you, we all do. So if there's anything that you or the others might need, just let us know and we'll do whatever we can to help you."

"You mean like the school counselor?"

Miho nodded, "It might just be what you and the others need to help you process this. Still, the decision on if you want to go or not will be up to you but you should know that there's nothing wrong with letting other people help you."

"Yeah," the girl said in return, "We kinda figured that out last night. It's not like we didn't want to go in the first place but we're all a little nervous about it. We don't really know what we should expect."

"I wish I had the answer for you, Azusa-san." Placing her hand on the younger girl's shoulder to comfort her a little, Miho could not deny that she was feeling a little troubled by not being able to give the girl the answer she was hoping for. "I've never been to a counselor myself so I don't know either what I should expect though I think that it's mostly just talking about the problem and trying to come up with a solution together. I don't think that there's going to be anything for any of you to be afraid of."

Listening to what the older girl had to say did make Azusa feel a little better about the whole prospect although she had to admit that there still was an element of anxiety gnawing at the back of her mind. Well, the sooner she could have her appointment with her assigned counselor the better.

Enjoying the simple matter of sharing lunch the two girls continued with their talk although the topic was gradually shifting from one unrelated matter to another, but that did not seem to bother either of them.

Finishing the last of her food and closing her lunchbox a lot faster than she had foreseen, Miho began to feel that she had been spoiled by sharing lunch with her friends every day as her stomach could be heard grumbling in protest which prompted an immediate reaction from the younger girl.

"Do you want some of mine? I still have some left."

"Are you sure? You shouldn't skimp on your lunch for my sake."

"It's okay, I always pack more into my bento than I can eat anyway so I always have some leftovers. Normally the others take care of what's left but since it's just the two of us you can have them, senpai."

"You're sure about this, Azusa-san?"

"Uh-huh."

Accepting the lunchbox from the girl next to her Miho was surprised that there was still a sizable portion left in it, having another puzzling look at the younger girl she could not help but wonder if the girl had said the truth or not.

That was when she spotted that there was another box lying next to Azusa, with her curiosity piqued she pointed at and asked. "Uh Azusa-san, what's with that box?"

"Oh, this one?" the girl asked as she picked up the box next to her and held it up for the other girl to see. "That's just my other bento, I always bring two with me, there's just not enough space in one box."

"Ah, I see." That did satisfy her curiosity but it also made Miho feel a little stupid about having had her doubts and not accepting Azusa's word. Well, it had happened though fortunately, it did not seem that she had hurt the girl's feelings.

Clapping her hands together Miho offered a prayer of thanks before she picked up her fork and finish what leftover she had been given by the girl sitting next to her, a girl who by now was sporting a grin that ran from ear to ear. She was enjoying the scene that she was being treated to with much gusto, taking it all in with delight.

Not sure how she was meant to react to this, the older girl just silently continued with finishing the lunch, feeling the odd sense that this little feeling of awkwardness was perhaps something that she had brought upon herself.

With the break coming to an end it was about time for both girls to head back to their respective classrooms; they had been able to enjoy a pleasant lunch together as well as having been able to catch up with their talk, discussing some matters that they could not have done with other people around. For both of them, it had been just what they had needed.

"Ah," Miho said just as she was about to leave, "How did it go with the portrait that you drew of me?"

The kind of gaze that she was getting from Azusa was an unexpected one; somehow the girl was looking back at her as if she had just asked for the impossible. It made her question what had happened when the young girl had gone to see her teacher about it though she did also feel that it would be rude of her to pry any further into the matter.

"Ehm senpai, if it's alright with you, would you like to come over to my place tomorrow?"

That question came out of the blue and Miho almost did not register it leaving her for a moment dumbstruck at the suddenness. Once she got over it and realized what the other girl had just asked her she was simply happy that Azusa had made the first move.

Giving said girl a gentle smile in return Miho gave her answer, "I'd love to come by and visit your place again. At what time would suit you?"

"Oh, ah, how about eight o'clock then? Would that be alright with you, senpai?"

Thinking about the suggested time Miho could not find anything that would prevent her from being there, at the moment she had nothing planned for tomorrow night so she was fairly confident that it was not going to be a problem for her.

"Yes, that sounds fine to me."

Upon hearing that answer the young girl almost began to shine, her face taking on a very joyful expression which went quite a way to betray how excited she was.

"Great! I'll make sure that I have enough drinks and snacks for us!"

"I don't mind bringing something with me either," Miho suggested, feeling that it would not be right in letting the other girl be the only one to provide for snacks and drinks.

"Ah well I guess you could bring some with you if you want," Azusa said in return, allowing the other girl to convince her to bring something for them to enjoy, "Could you perhaps then look for some snacks, senpai? I'll take care of the drinks then if that is alright with you?"

"Thank you, senpai."

"My pleasure, well I'll see you then at practice. Take care, Azusa-san."

"You too, senpai."


Ooarai school carrier – streets – 18.05h Monday

"Ah I'm so glad that we were able to go home early," Saori was airing her relief at being able to finally go home, "Homeroom was just boring you know? And there wasn't anything for us to do in the tank shed anyway; I just want to go home and take a bath!"

"Eh, Takebe-dono, you sound happier than you should," Yukari said, expressing some of her concerns at seeing the other girl's appearance.

"Wouldn't you be if you just sat there doing nothing?"

Hana chimed in, "I must admit that I can understand how Saori-san's feeling, I didn't like the idea of having to sit there idly without being able to do anything. I mean it was pretty upsetting to know that we can't do much until our tanks are repaired."

Miho could all too well relate as to how her friends were feeling at the moment, just like she had been struck with a sense of dismay and disappointment at hearing that the damage to most of their tanks had turned out to be more severe than they had initially thought it would.

"Yeah, it was pretty unsettling hearing the state of our tanks."

Some of them had taken such heavy damage that there was an actual concern that they not be repaired in time to partake in the festival while with others they would be cutting it close.

"So Nishizumi-dono, are we going to have to cancel the demonstration that you had planned? Or what about the rides with the guests, what's going to happen to those?"

Uncertain of what to say here Miho made the conscious decision to go with the more optimistic approach as in her opinion it would be better for them to put in every effort they could. "We're going to do everything we can Yukari-san, and if we're not going to make it in time, well we'll see about it when we get there. But in the meantime, I'm not going to give up on anything just yet. We've been through worse; this isn't going to hold us back."

"Miporin's right, we can't let this ruin our contribution to the festival! There's a lot of people counting on us, we can't let them down!"

"Agreed, still such a hassle..."

"Takebe-dono definitely has a point there," Yukari said in agreement, "But how are we going to help them, I mean we don't know anything other than minor repairs and maintenance. There's no way that we can be of any help with the kind of work that's needed the most at the moment."

"So what should we do then instead?" Hana was curious if there was a different way for them to get their tanks back into shape and she was of the opinion that unless they could be of actual help that it would be better for them to give the Automotive Club the space they needed. "It would be rude of us if we were to get in the way of our senpais, indeed, we can't help them but I do feel that it's also important that we don't hinder them either."

"I guess that does leave us in a tight spot," Miho spoke.

"Isn't there another way for us to help them then? There's gotta be something we can do, right?" Asking the question that was on their collective mind Saori was trying to come up with a way that they could lend their support to the quartet of girls who were even now toiling in the shed. And apparently, she had forgotten her earlier thoughts about going home and taking a bath as her mind came to focus solely on helping those four girls in whatever way she could.

"I agree with Saori-san." Raising her hand Hana gave voice to her opinion, "I know that it might be difficult for us to provide any help today but perhaps it might be a good idea to think about this tonight and see if we can come up with a solution tomorrow."

"Wow, Isuzu-dono!" Yukari beamed as she was captivated and inspired by the words of wisdom that the ever-graceful looking girl had just spoken. "Leave it up to Isuzu-dono to come up with an idea!"

Opting to not say a word Mako was just silently shaking her head, it was not that she was disapproving of the suggestion but rather of the fact that it would be expected of her to hand in her suggestions, something she was not keen to do.

"Mako, anything wrong?"

Making out a short disgruntled sounding huff to voice her frustration before turning her attention back to the other four girls she just casually shrugged her shoulders in response to that question. "Nope."

"Right..." Saori said, knowing better than to just accept that answer but she also knew her friend well enough that there was no way that she was going to get anything more out of her. Not unless the girl in question was willing to go along with her, which brought its own set of associated dangers with it.

Deciding to go with discretion as the better part of valor here Saori did not pursue the matter any further, instead opting to return to the topic at hand with her friends.

"So should we then compare our notes during tomorrow's lunch break? Does that sound alright with you?"

"Yeah, I guess we could do that," said in agreement with the made suggestion, feeling that it would be a good moment for them to compare their notes as they would have some time to discuss them and hopefully come up with a few they could do.


Ooarai school carrier – Miho's apartment – 19.55h Monday

Putting down the pen next to the piece of paper she had been using to write down some suggestions for tomorrow's group meeting, Miho got up from behind the desk and made her way over towards the kitchen to get herself something to drink.

Letting out an exasperated sigh she was reminding herself that it had been easier said than done in coming up with several ways for them to help. Again she had to think about what Yukari had said about none of them knowing anything but the simplest of tasks when it came to doing repairs or performing maintenance on their tanks.

"I guess that just shows how much we've been depending on them," she said underneath her breath while she reached out for the fridge and pulled out a pack of juice. She was wondering what was going to happen once those girls would graduate next year, Tsuchiya would stay but they could not burden her with doing everything. The problem they were facing at the moment ought to be seen as a warning for what could happen again.

"Once the festival is over I'll need to discuss this with Anzu and the others. We need to find other people who can help us with maintaining our vehicles; it'd be nice if some of the new girls next year could help us out though I'd prefer it if there would be a way for the Automotive Club to be able to guide them."

That would be her preferred choice, students who were already attending this school and if possible those in their first year so they could hone their skills. It could be seen as a tall order but it was something that she was going to have to bring forward and raise awareness about.

Lost in her thoughts for a moment she did not catch that she had spilled some of the juice over the floor. "Ah no!" she let out as she quickly put the pack down and went to grab a towel or something. "I need to clean that up quickly…"

While she was busy with wringing out the rag she had used to clean up the spilled juice she began to think about the things she had written down while listening to the sound of the tap, it was odd that something as simple as the sound of the slow-running water had a calming effect.

Hearing her phone ringing all of a sudden Miho stopped the tab and dried her hands before making her way back to the table in the center of the room so she could pick up her phone. "I wonder who it is," she said.

Expecting to see the name of one of her friends or possible someone from the student council, Miho was utterly surprised when the name that was listed on the screen was none other than the name of her sister, dropping onto the couch, still staring in disbelief as the name she was not sure what to make of it.

Snapping out of her daze Miho pressed the button before she brought up the phone next to her ear and asked, "O-Onee-chan, is that you?"

Hearing the telltale sounds of her sister's voice Miho began to calm down a little, although she had been taken by surprise mere moments before she was now back to her usual self.

"Ah no, it's just… I didn't expect to get a call from you all of a sudden," Miho said in return when her sister asked a question about why she was sounding a little anxious. That was just typical of Maho, she had always been quick to notice any change in Miho's demeanor or voice, regardless of how subtle they might be.

"No no, I'm just fine. It's good to hear that you're doing well."

Something was soothing about listening to the calm voice of Maho, even though she had experienced it herself so often Miho still found it to be amazing that her sister's voice could have such a calming effect on people.

It was just so pleasant listening to her even if her sister did not always make it easy for others; Miho knew that her sister, despite all of her merits, was not so good at small talk though it was not something she could blame Maho for.

Sitting down on the couch in the room she was trying to imagine how things would be, she had not really spoken to any of the students from her former school ever since their match against the UST ended. Perhaps she should have taken the time and talked to them a little more.

She was quickly pulled from her thoughts when she heard her sister ask her a question. "Yeah, things are really busy here at the moment, our school is having a big festival this weekend and there's a lot that needs to be taken care of. To be honest I was a little nervous at first but now I'm having a great time seeing everybody work so hard to make it a success. I'm happy, really happy, that I can be a part of this."

Just talking about it was making Miho's chest swell with a sense of pride, pride in being a part of something that was going to be so special to a lot of people.

"I know that you must be pretty busy with school and such, but onee-chan, do you think you can come and visit us?" Miho asked, smiling at the thought of getting to show her sister around the school that Miho had come to love and cherish. "I'd like it if I could show you around my school, there's a lot here that I just want to show you, onee-chan. What do you say?"

Her sister's answer to that question quickly put a stop to Miho's plan as Maho was not going to able to make it this weekend, she was pretty busy at the moment with a lot of preparations and right now she was going to need every day she could get.

"Oh… I… I understand onee-chan," Miho said, feeling a little disappointed about hearing that and knowing that she was not going to be able to show her sister the school that she had come to love and cherish so dearly.

Even so, her sister was keen to let her know that under any other circumstances she would have loved to accept the offer and although she could not promise anything, she would see if she could work something out.

"Aha, yeah. Say onee-chan, how're things going back home? How's mother doing? Oh, alright, I hadn't expected that though I shouldn't be surprised about it. Has she ever said anything about when I was… you know…?"

Breathing out a sigh of relief when her sister told her that their mother had never said a thing about Miho having been at their home for those few hours, Miho was still finding it hard to shake the feeling that her mother had known about her presence.

"Huh? About our recent match?" Miho was surprised about that match being brought up all of a sudden, perhaps it should not have been that surprising that her sister was keeping track of any matches that Miho would participate in. Scraping her throat Miho asked, "So I take it you've heard what happened after the match? Say onee-chan, why is it that they seem to hate the bigger schools so much? I… just… don't understand it…"

Listening to what Maho had to say it became clear that even her older sister found this to be a difficult matter to tackle, especially across the phone. Learning that Maho herself had very little experience with this school and was limited in what she could explain to Miho but she was still doing her best.

"…Yeah, they said a lot of things that hurt. I just don't understand where all of that anger and resentment was coming from… it was scary…" she said as she was explaining to her sister how it had been a rather unpleasant experience for her.

Even so, her sister was still doing her best to offer Miho whatever advice and comfort she could, it was a kind and sweet gesture although it should not have come as a surprise that it was less applicable to Miho than she would have liked.

"Onee-chan, thank you for trying to make me feel better," Miho said as she was giving her thanks to her sister, somehow she just had the feeling that she had to say it, "Thank you so much for everything that you've done for me. "

Smiling as she was listening to what her sister was saying Miho fell silent as her sister said something that gave her quite the shock. She just sat there for a moment, alone on her bed, eyes staring in front of her before she asked a question.

"… Wait, what did you just say?" She wanted to hear again what her sister had just said to her; this was something that she could not believe at first but when Maho stated it again the reality sank in with her. "… Ah… so you're actually going?"

It was somewhat unexpected to learn that Maho was going to study at a university in Germany, and for Miho it was a heavy pill to swallow as this came out of nowhere but she could also understand her sister's reason for going; Europe was after all the birthplace of the sport.

"So when will you leave then? Do you already know where you'll be going? Do you have a place to stay?" There was just so much that Miho wanted to ask her sister, so many questions to which she was keen to get an answer.

"Aha." In part it was because she was worrying a little about her sister leaving the country for at least a few years, on the other hand, it was also because she was curious about the sport outside of Japan, and perhaps there was also a slight hint of envy in her heart at her sister having just that opportunity. "Alright, ah so. Oh right. Aha, so it's all been taken care of already?"

Odd how just hearing her sister say that was enough to make her chest hurt, looking down Miho knew what that meant, she was feeling a little sad about her sister leaving.

"So can I ask you what the name is of the university that you're going to study at?"

Hearing her sister answer the simple question with any hesitation Miho was a little surprised by how open her sister was about the whole matter.

"Niedersächsische Universität, huh? I can't say that I've heard of them before though that isn't much of a surprise, is it?" Truth be told Miho had never really looked into how the sport was being practiced outside of Japan, not that anybody could blame her for that.

Getting up from the couch she would make her way over to the small desk in front of her, opening one of the drawers and rummaging through it Miho was looking for a piece of paper and a pen so she could write down the name of the university that her sister would be going to.

"Onee-chan, could you repeat the name for me again? Why? Oh, I just want to write it down so I can look it up." Leaning forward just a little while listening to her sister repeating the name, writing down the name to the best of her abilities Miho was not entirely sure if she had correctly spelled the name but she did reason that once online it would be easy to get the name right.

Just letting the name roll around in her mind she began to wonder if it would be possible for her to go visit her sister in Germany during her winter vacation, though she could not rule out the possibility that perhaps Maho might return to Japan to visit her family instead.

"So, how is it going with the others? I mean Erika-san and Koume-san, how did they react to the news of you leaving Japan? I can imagine that they must've been pretty surprised."

Miho could well imagine that the news must have come as a shock to any member of Kuromorimine's tankery team even though they really should have seen this one coming.

"Oh… really?" she said as her sister was telling her about the reaction that she had gotten from Erika who in particular seemed to have been very upset about Maho leaving. It did not come as a surprise for Miho to learn that Erika had been the one most affected by her sister leaving, she knew that Erika had always been looking up to her sister, in many ways her sister was something of a role model that Erika was striving towards.

She was feeling sorry for that girl, this news must have come as a big shock to her as well and thinking about the girl in question was enough reason for Miho to quickly make a silent prayer on her behalf.

But there was something that she had to ask her sister, a burning question that she simply had to ask, to get an answer to. She was fervently hoping that she would get a positive answer from her sister, anything else would be unthinkable to her.

"… Ehm, say would it be alright for me to come to visit before you leave for Germany? I mean… would it be okay with you if I were to see you off at the airport? I don't… feel like it's alright to say just goodbye to you over the phone… it feels… kinda wrong…"

Hearing Maho say that she would love for her younger sister to see her off at the airfield was enough to bring a warm smile to Miho's face, she was just so happy to know that she would get the opportunity to see her sister one more time before she would leave for a different country.

Even so, this was something that was making Miho feel a little sad, there was just something about what her sister had told her that just did not sit well with her for some reason. She could not explain it but it was an unpleasant sensation for her.

"Well, onee-chan it's been great talking to you again. I wish you a good night."

Hearing her sister say her goodbyes before hanging up, Miho was left alone again inside the confines of her apartment, the phone still in her hand as she began to think of her mother.

Craning her neck back to look up against the ceiling of her room the girl began to wonder if it would be possible for her to gather up the strength and courage needed to go see her mother without the support of her older sister being present there.

Clutching the phone Miho would roll onto her side while staring at the display, uncertain about what she was going to do about that matter, she had been planning on going back to her home and seeing her mother but she had always been kind of counting on her sister to be there.

She knew that her sister would back her up where needed but being deprived of that support was making the girl a little wary about the whole prospect. Even so, she could not deny the fact that at some point she was going to have to face her mother.

Letting out a troubled sigh Miho would reach out and wipe away a tear that had been forming with the back of her hand. Not the way she had thought she would be spending her evening.


Ooarai school carrier – tank sheds – 12.10h Tuesday

Entering the large building that made up the tank sheds Miho found her being confronted by a most pleasant sight as she could see, much to her relief, that her cherished Panzer IV and Duck's Type 89 were already looking to be in a far better state than they had been yesterday.

"Thank goodness, I was starting to get a little worried," she said as she walked over to the brown-colored tank and let her hand rest on the hull, the cold touch of the metal notable. "It seems that you're doing a lot better now. Well, it does seem that they're not yet finished with you, are they."

Letting her eyes wander further past the front of the tank her trained eye already began to pick up on many of the finer details that would still require some attention before the tank would be fit to participate in the festival but Miho was given a reason for feeling confident.

"They've really outdone themselves to get these two finished already." Given some words of praise for the efforts that have already gone into these two vehicles, Miho began to walk over towards the other remaining vehicle, doing a small inspection of each of them.

Anteater's Chi-Nu had, fortunately, come out mostly unscathed which meant that other than a quick look-over the rest of the maintenance could be done by its crew. That was making her feel a lot better as it was certain that these three tanks would all be ready in time.

The fourth tank she stopped by was Turtle's little Hetzer which apart from missing a pair of road wheels and a drive sprocket did not seem to be in a bad shape, no doubt the fact that they had been knocked out of the match by a single shot was a contributing factor to that.

"I guess they must've been up all night if they've been able to get this much done." She was impressed; sure this was the Automotive Club she was talking about, but even this was exceeding her expectations.

The StuG was one of those vehicles which were in the worst of shape as they had been particularly hit hard by their opponents; Miho was still finding it hard to believe that one of the enemy light tanks had been bold, or crazy depending on one's view, enough to slam into the side of the bigger vehicle. Just looking at the damage that had been dealt against the vehicle she was actually more concerned about the wellbeing of the enemy crew, hoping that none of them had gotten hurt in the crash.

Mallard's tank seemed to have suffered a beating and at first glance, one could be excused for thinking that the repairs were going to last for days but the reality was that a lot of it was rather more cosmetic damage. The torn and twisted fenders were easy to replace, as were the damaged track links. All in all, it could have been a lot worse.

"They shouldn't have too much of a chore with it, provided that there isn't anything else that's going to need all of their attention and time. I guess that our last two tanks are the ones that are going to need it the most effort."

She came to a halt as a peculiar sight greeted her as the M3 Lee was still in the same sorry state as it has been ever since it had been brought back here. "… I wonder why they haven't done anything on you yet. Could it be that they are waiting for some spare parts? This is strange."

The sound of the door closing somewhere behind her alerted Miho to the presence of others, turning around to see who it could be, she was pleasantly surprised that it was the crew of Leopon themselves who had entered the building. Even more surprising was that the four girls were not wearing their usual attire but rather the school uniform.

"Oh Nishizumi, it's you. We hadn't expected to see you here. So what brings?" Nakajima let out as she greeted the younger girl. "And what's with the face? Wait, don't tell me it's because of these?" she asked when she noticed that said girl was having an odd expression on her face.

"Ah, it's just that," Miho said in return before she began to fidget a little with her fingers as she was being confronted with a second, even more unusual, sight of this quartet of girls in the school uniform. "… Well, I've never seen any of you wearing the actual uniform before so I'm a little surprised by it.

"You think so?" Tsuchiya asked, appearing a little confused by the compliment while she spun around on the spot. "It's just the same uniform as you're all wearing. It doesn't seem like anything special if you ask me."

Looking at her own uniform the short-haired girl was giving off the impression that she did not care all that much about the uniform. "Anyway, I'm going to get changed into something more comfortable."

"We're going ahead as well. Take care, Nishizumi," Hoshino said her goodbyes as she was quick to follow the other girl. She was quickly followed by Suzuki. After that, it was just Miho and Nakajima who remained, the two girls looking at each other before laughing at the situation.

"What do you think?" Nakajima asked as she hinted at the tanks that stood there, "We worked through much of the night but there's still more than enough to do though I'm pretty sure that we'll manage to get most of them ready before the weekend. It's gonna be a tight one but we'll do whatever we can to pull it off."

Stretching her arms a little the girl also made mention that after the festival was over she and her friends were going to enjoy some much-needed rest, something that they were all keenly looking forward to. "Ah, that is going to be great I can tell you. Hopefully, we can also get through without having to make these many repairs the next time."

"So Nakajima-senpai, what's actually up with the M3?" Miho asked as she hinted at the sorry state that the tank still found itself in. "I'm surprised that you haven't done anything to it yet?"

"Oh that," the girl said, "It's not like we can't get it fixed. And it's not like we don't want to fix it. It's just that…"

Blinking Miho was a little confused as she understood what the older girl meant with that last part. "What do you mean? Is there something I should know about?"

Nakajima let out an exasperated sigh in response to that question. Bringing up her right hand she began to scratch that back of her head. "Ah damn, how am I going to explain this to you?" She gave another sigh. "I guess the student council didn't tell you about this, did they?"

Shaking her head Miho gestured for the other girl to continue.

"Well, the gist of it is that those girls from Tarczay have filed in a formal complaint with the Federation. You know, about us having supposedly cheated by rigging the flag mechanism on the M3. I don't know why but they're taking this pretty seriously so they've already informed us that they're going to send over a team to inspect the tank in question but we're not allowed to do anything to the tank until they're finished with their investigation. Talk about a hassle."

Hearing the explanation Miho could only mimic the older girl's earlier reaction by letting out a sigh of her own, this was not what she wanted to hear as it meant that they were not going to be able to make any use of the M3 for the festival.

Nakajima just looked at her. "I'm really sorry about having to bring you the bad news. I wish we could've fixed her up and all but it seems that our hands are tied. Damn, I just wish they'd hurry up and get down here."

"I see," Miho said, thinking about what she was going to do given that she was now going to have to change her plans accordingly. Not something she was looking forward to but she had no other option. There was little any of them could do about it at this point; they were going to have to work with what they had at hand. She would have to think of something.

"I wish I had better news for you," Nakajima remarked as she could figure out that the news was not the kind of news that the team captain was anxious to receive, "I know it isn't much but if there is anything you need our help with please let me know. We'll do what we can to make up for this."

Making a bow to show her gratitude to the older girl for her support, Miho offered her thanks, despite feeling strongly that mere words could not do justice compared to the sheer effort that had been done by those members of the Automotive Club. "Thank you, Nakajima-senpai. I know that this doesn't come close to the proper thanks that we owe you all. Also, can I ask you a question, this might sound a little weird but I'd like to know anyway?"

"Ah sure. Wait, does that mean that you have something I mind?"

Miho nodded her head in response, she might just have the right idea that would let them make use of the M3 without them doing anything to the tank but there was one thing that she would need to find out first. It did mean though that she was going to have to speak to Anzu or at the very least to the other members of the student council if she wanted to get this issue sorted.

Looking over her shoulder at the door Miho was feeling a little guilty about having to leave without telling her friends but as unfortunate as it was there was little she could do about that right now, she needed to go and see the student council and discuss this matter with them.

"I'm sorry everybody," she said in a soft-spoken tone, she had been looking forward to having lunch with the others but there was something more important that she was going to have to take care of first.


Ooarai school carrier – school – 12.15h Tuesday

Walking through one of the many hallways the unlikely duo of Saori and Yukari were making their way towards their usual lunch spot at the tank sheds though one of their group had already gone on ahead and the remaining two were going to be a little late due to other obligations.

"I wonder why Nishizumi-dono decided to go ahead. Do you think she has something that she needs to take care of, Takebe-dono?"

Walking next to the brunette Saori had been thinking about that very same matter but so far she could not come up with something more detailed than a simple yes. Miho had her reasons for having taken her leave earlier no doubt, but what those reasons were was a mystery to her.

"Takebe-dono?"

"Ah sorry Yukarin, I was just lost in my thoughts for a moment. What is it that you asked me?"

The brunette shook her head before repeating her question. "What do you think that Nishizumi-dono had to take care of that made her decide to go ahead, Takebe-dono?"

"Oh that, well, I guess that Miporin has some things that she wants to take care of," Saori said, "I guess there's a lot that still needs to be done with regards to our demonstrations this weekend. To be honest I don't envy Miporin for having to make sure everything is sorted and such."

Going down the stairs the two girls kept on talking about the subject although neither of them went any further with trying to come up with other reasons, both of them were content with the knowledge that their friend had good reasons for doing so, and for them, that was good enough.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs Saori turned to face the fluffy-haired brunette next to her and ask, "So Yukarin, did you ever get to find out what it was that your classmate wanted to ask you?"

Something had come to the thoughts of the girl and there was a burning desire to know how that had actually gone, given that there was little else for them to talk about at the moment Saori was feeling that now might as well be as good as a moment as any to inquire about that particular matter.

"Hmm, I kinda did."

"Y-You actually did?! Yukarin! S-So what was it about, tell me!"

"Eh?" This was sort of a surprise for Yukari, she had not expected that her friends would be that interested in hearing what it exactly was that her classmate had come to see her about, not that it was all that interesting anyway except to a certain group of people.

"… Well, ehm, she and a couple of other students in the school have made a club… and ehm they were kinda wondering if I'd like to join them…"

"Wait! What? When did this happen?!"

"It's nothing special, it looked like a nice club but I don't really know if I'll have the time to attend it. Not with us being busy with our studies and with doing Sensha-Do of course."

"…So you didn't join?"

"Nope."

Letting out an exasperated sigh Saori seemed to feel a little more at ease, even though she was no wiser than before she had asked her question. "So, are you going to tell me what this club was all about? I'd hazard to think what sort of club could interest you to join. Wait, don't tell me it was a club about tanks?"

"It is a club about tanks."

"W-Wh-What?!"

Surprised, and also somewhat confused, Yukari was finding it hard to believe that this was somehow surprising for the other girl. Shouldn't she know better by now? Well, the news was out now, not that it would be of any difference to the fluffy-haired girl.

"Takebe-dono, did that really surprise you?"

Holding up her right hand and pinching the bridge of her nose with her left hand Saori remained frozen for a while. "… J-Just give me a moment…" Apart from taking a deep breath, she would remain still for a little longer.

"Ehm Takebe-dono?"

"Alright! I've managed to process this! And no, you joining such a club didn't surprise me in the least; I wouldn't even surprise me if you were the one who had started such a club. No, what surprises me here is that anybody besides you started such a club. Does that mean there are others like you?!"

"Huh? Like me?"

"… N-Nevermind…" It was starting to get a little too much for Saori, to think that there would be other tank nerds besides Yukari in this school. Now there was something that she had not thought to be possible, well, it was not like this was going to have any impact on her future at this school so there was little reason for her to panic about the fact.

But it did seem that her reaction had created some confusion in itself.

"So ehm, Takebe-dono. Do you think that I did the wrong thing there? You think I should've joined that club instead?"

Perplexed Saori was asking herself where that question came from all of a sudden, at what point had she given her friend the impression that she should have joined the club? If that were to come at the expense of being with her friends then there was no way that the ginger-haired would ever approve of it.

"…Yukarin, are we still talking about the same thing?"

"Weren't we?"

"… N-Nevermind…"

"But?"

"Forget it, okay! Just forget that I even brought it up!"

Blinking twice Yukari was anything but certain how she was even supposed to react to that. Yet there was a nagging thought at the back of her mind that she might have said something that in hindsight, she better may not have.

Saori, on the other hand, was wondering if the people of that club were as mad about tanks as her friend was or if they would be less fanatical about it. She did not dare to contemplate the possibility that they might be even worse than the girl walking next to her.


Ooarai school carrier – student council office12.35h Tuesday

If Miho had been impressed earlier by how busy the hallways were she was simply outright shocked when she saw the madness that was taking place in the larger office of the student council this very moment.

Having quickly made her way from the tank sheds to the office of the student council Miho had come here with the intent of bringing up the issue with the legal issue that she had learned about from one of the members of the Automotive Club. And as it was, in her opinion, a serious matter she did want to discuss with Anzu at due haste.

Unfortunately, the moment she got here it became clear that her plans might require some slight adjustment, or more precisely to be discarded entirely as there was no way that Anzu would be in any way able to see and listen to her concerns.

"Oh there's something I want to ask about," Miho said as she just remembered that she had come here to talk about the situation with the M3 and although she had already been told about it by Nakajima she was of the opinion that it could do them no harm to discuss it as well with Anzu and the others. "It's about Rabbit's tank. I went to visit the garage earlier and I saw that was still in the same state it was brought here."

"Ah yes, that," Momo said in response to hearing that subject, a small yet distinct hint of venom notable in her tone. Apparently bringing up the current state of disrepair of that particular tank was a sore point to the black-haired girl. "Nishizumi, I'm sorry but we're going to discuss that with you later tomorrow. I wish we had the time and space to discuss the issue right now but as you can see we're a bit short on either at the moment."

"Oh, and what about the office?"

"That one's currently being used at the moment; the prez has an important meeting right now with the principal and several other officials with regards to the festival. As you can guess there's a lot that needs to be discussed."

"Hmm, I understand. Thank you for letting me know, Kawashima-senpai."

"Naturally she still wants to discuss several matters with you, Nishizumi," Momo said, "There is indeed the matter of the M3 and its investigation that needs to be addressed. We need to come up with a way to make use of it without getting into any trouble with the investigators."

"Do we know when they'll arrive? Is there any chance of them still making it before the festival?" Miho was asking several questions, hoping to get some answers so she could adapt her planning accordingly. Of course, what she would like to hear was that the investigators were already on their way and they would have the tank back before the weekend though she knew that the chances of such a fortuitous outcome were astronomically small.

"I'm afraid that they've not gotten back to us about that which likely means that we'll have to deal with the problem that the M3 is going to be off-limits to us for the festival. I know that isn't what you want to hear Nishizumi-san," Yuzu said as she chimed in on the discussion, "We're all unhappy with it but it doesn't seem like there's anything we can do about it on such short notice. At the moment we're more or less at the mercy of the Federation."

It was indeed not the kind of news that Miho wanted to hear but just as Momo had said there was little that they could do about the situation. It was likely going to be the best for them to cooperate as much as possible to get it resolved in the quickest possible manner so that the tank could be repaired and brought back to service.

"I'm sorry about this, Nishizumi."

"It's okay, it's not like you could make a difference Kawashima-senpai…"

Momo could do little other than shake her head in return.

In response Miho began to walk around the office, hoping that it would allow her to take her mind of the matter for a bit as she understood that there was little point to getting worked up about it. For the time being, she could do with something a little more enjoyable.

Just having a cursory glance over the document Miho stopped as she took notice of the suggestion for an activity that was listed at the top left of the form, one that in a way piqued her curiosity. "A board game café, huh? What's that?"

"Oh that," Yuzu answered in return before she turned over to Miho, "It's a proposal from a couple of students, they're names are written down here as you can see. It's kinda like a normal café, you know the type you've likely seen already before, but this one also allows people to play various games. In this case, the games that you can play are board games."

"Board games, that sounds fun. But how do people know what games they should bring? Even more, who's even going to bring those games?"

"The students in question who presented this have said that they would bring enough games for people to enjoy there. That said I'm not entirely convinced that they're going to be able to pull it off, people don't have that many games at home," Momo let out in a somewhat bitter sounding remark.

"You shouldn't say that Momo-chan," Yuzu said in return.

Folding her arms firmly across her chest the dark-haired girl said, "I'll believe it when I see it. And that's final."

Just thinking about it Miho was finding it hard to picture it in front of her but she had to admit that the idea had a certain appeal to it, even if it did sound a little silly. She did wonder if it was going to be possible for her to visit them during the festival although she knew that the chances of that were pretty slim.

Having another look at the form something else caught her attention. "Just three of them, aren't they supposed to be doing this as a class? Are they going to be alright?" Feeling a little concerned that running a café might just be a bit too much to handle with so few people.

Yuzu shook her head in response. "They're doing this on their own. Their classes are mainly busy in manning many of the stalls that'll be present around the school grounds. And besides, we don't mind if students are willing to do something on their own. In fact, we'd prefer it that way."

"Oh, I see," Miho said as she took in what the older girl had just told her. "But are they going to be alright with just the three of them? I mean, isn't running a café a bit too much to expect from just three people? Isn't there a way to give them some help?"

"We had our concerns about that as well when they presented the idea but they said that they would manage it," Momo replied as she came over as well, "They also said that they might have a few additional students coming over should they need help. The president said that they could do it anyway because it seemed like a lot of fun to her." Momo let out an exasperated sigh. "You know how she can be, don't you?"

Miho silently nodded her head as she knew what kind of person Anzu Kadotani was and that she would definitely give her approval to anything that she would deem to be fun. Still, it was good to hear that the issue of additional help had already been taken care of, she could well imagine that it must be terrible if that café had to stop because there were not enough students to aid them with all of the work.

"They were also keen on giving us a quick demonstration of some of the games they're planning at having at the café for people to try; we had to play three rounds before we got into the hang of things."

"And Momo-chan lost all three badly," Yuzu remarked with an almost too innocent looking smile on her face, "I felt really bad for her though I did give her plenty of advice that she just ignored."

Momo's venomous gaze spoke volumes, and if looks could kill every person within the room would have already died several times over. Not saying a word the girl just merely stared at nobody in particular with a look so utterly unamused it went beyond terrifying.

"Well, at least it's a lot better than what those wackos from the Outdoor Activities Club proposed," Momo said underneath her breath, pinching the bridge of her nose as she did, "That was downright preposterous. I'm still trying to figure out what they were thinking."

Yuzu was visibly struggling to hide her smile. "It's not all that bad was it now? I mean, prez was really excited about it at first."

"…"

"For all the wrong reasons, I should add," Momo said underneath her breath, puffing her cheeks as she was visibly expressing her disapproval of that situation. She was feeling a little agitated and there were other matters that she would rather spend her attention on rather than on such trivial matters that held little value. "Enough of all this, we have work to do."

"Of course, Momo-chan."

"Don't call me that."

Taking it all in at her own pace Miho believed that discretion would be the better part of valor here, opting to not say a word while hoping that the topic could change to something that would feel less than threading through a proverbial minefield.

Even so, with the way that things were going she did reason that her chances of getting to readdress the issue of the M3 again were pretty slim, as was the chance of her getting to speak to Anzu directly. Well, as much as she wanted to there was little that could be done about the current situation.

"Ah, that reminds me," Momo spoke as if she was suddenly remembering something important, "Nishizumi, we've gone ahead and made an appointment for you with one of the school's counselors for tomorrow in the morning. We don't know if you're going to need it as badly as Sawa and the other first years do but I do recommend that you be present for the first session."

"Huh?" Surprised and taken aback by this sudden decision Miho was left for the most part speechless, sure it had been brought up yesterday on their way back to the ship but she had been under the impression that she would at least get the opportunity to discuss this first.

"It's alright Nishizumi-san," Yuzu was quick to say as she caught wind of the younger girl's apprehension, "Kuzehashi-sensei is a very kind person, and she's good at her job. I don't feel like that you're going to need any counseling to deal with what happened but we'd all feel a little better if you had a simple talk with her."

No doubt the girl with the ponytail was doing her best to assure the younger girl that there was nothing for her to be reluctant about, even so, Miho did have to admit that there was a certain sense of anxiety about going to see a counselor. Even though she was still having her doubts about the need for one she nevertheless decided to accept the offer, even if it would just be for her to know who this woman was.

"Here, let me write it down for you, that way you won't have to worry about forgetting about it," Yuzu said as she quickly made a few scribbles on a piece of paper before handing it over to Miho. "Make sure you don't lose it, her office can be a bit hard to find at times."

Looking at the piece of paper and what had been written on it the girl in question began to ask herself the question if it would be even possible for any person to forget about such an appointment. At the very least she would find out for herself if this woman was as good as Yuzu had said she was.

"Anyway we have things to take care of and you might want to go back to your friends, I think you've yet had the chance to get something to eat did you?"

"… No, I kinda forgot all about it after I heard about the M3, I guess I should make sure that I get to have lunch."

"You should Nishizumi-san," Yuzu said, sounding a little concerned, "It's not going to do us any good if you were to collapse because you didn't eat enough. You need to take good care of yourself, especially with how hectic the coming days are going to be, make sure that you get enough to eat and rest properly."

"I will, thank you Koyama-senpai."

"Alright Nishizumi, you heard her. Look after yourself and get out of here!"

Leaving the office none the wiser than when she had come, Miho was feeling a sense of disappointment but at this moment there was not a lot she could do about it. "Guess it didn't work out the way I had hoped it up," she said while shrugging her shoulders, "Well, I'll just have to hope that they'll get back to me as quick as possible though given how busy they all seem to be at the moment I shouldn't expect to hear from before the end of school."

She had several solutions to their problem in mind but she was going to have to run them through with Anzu first, and be given said girl's approval for any of them; once that was done she could work out the finer details and still get everything in order before the weekend.

"This should work, I know that it will, we're going to make it," she said to herself before coming to a halt as she had a look at a clock that was hanging there, "Ah, I'll need to hurry otherwise I risk being late for class." With that, she began to quicken her pace as she made her way back towards her classroom.

There were some things that she was eager to discuss with her friends as she was going to need their help with this. She did not know if her plan had a chance of working but she felt certain that not doing anything was worse than giving it a try.

Going back through the hallways while thinking about their current situation Miho was feeling that now she was keen to be with her friends and hear their opinions on the matter, she could do with hearing their voices.


Ooarai school carrier – Azusa's dormitory – 18.45h Tuesday

Going through the entrance of the building Miho greeted the dorm mother as she saw the woman standing there, by making a gentle bow towards her, thanking her for the hospitality of allowing her to be here.

"Oh hello Nishizumi-san, are you here to see Sawa-san again?"

"Ah yes, she invited me over yesterday."

"Well, you girls have yourself a pleasant evening. Also, give my regards to her when you see her. Take care."

"Ah, I will. Thank you."

Going up the stairs that would lead her to the floor where Azusa's room was located Miho began to think about what she could expect with regards to the portrait that the brunette had drawn of her, to be honest, she was getting pretty curious.

That was until an unexpected even pulled her from her thoughts. A bloodcurdling scream followed by a crass voice rang out, sending shivers down her spine, causing the girl to freeze on the spot instinctively.

"KUROKO!"

"O-O-ONEE-SAMA! I CAN EXPLAIN!"

"WHY YOU!"

Miho had no idea what was going on but this was one of those moments where her natural sense of preservation told her that it would likely be best not to get caught up in it, yet for her to avoid what was happening she had to know where it was coming from but at the moment she was only certain that it was coming from somewhere up ahead. Threading with caution Miho continued, knowing full well that she would need to risk going further in the direction of the noise if she wanted to reach Azusa's room.

"ENOUGH OF THAT, GIVE IT BACK!"

"I DON'T WANT TO! IT'S MINE!"

"I SAID GIVE IT BACK!

A weird sound could be heard this time, something that Miho found almost impossible to place. A part of her was curious to learn what it could but she had to remind herself that now was not the time to let her curiosity get the better of her. Whatever it was that those girls were shouting over, it was just weird, and in a way, scary.

"W-W-WONDERFULL O-ONEE-SAMA'S LOVEWHIP IS WONDERFU-"

More strange noises could be heard as she went further up the stairs, some of them bearing a terrifying semblance to a person moaning or something like that. Drawing ever closer to the floor where Azusa's room was situated, Miho could only hope that the girl she had come to see was not involved in whatever was going on. That she was going to be alright.

"YOU'RE STILL SAYING THAT?!"

Reaching the top of the stair and rounding the corner there was a sense of relief when her eyes came to rest upon the figure of the younger girl standing there in the door opening. But there was no time for respite as said girl was gesturing to her.

"Quick senpai! Get inside, hurry!" Azusa was urging Miho to get inside her room with all due haste and barely had her guest make it past the threshold or the girl pushed the door shut.

"Ehm, what was that all about?" Miho asked the question, still uncertain by what she had just witnessed and why there had been such a rush to close the door. "I don't understand… it…"

Still panting and with her hands planted firmly against her door Azusa was giving off the impression that she had just narrowly avoided a life-threatening situation.

Just watching in confusion Miho was by now no longer sure what to make of it as this whole situation was getting weirder by the second. 'I wonder what that was all about, and why does shehave this worried expression etched all over her face? Could it be that some of the inhabitants here are having a fight? If so I just hope that the dorm mother can put a stop to it.'

Pinching the bridge of her nose Azusa was only too quick to wave her hand, "P-Please just forget about it, alright? We just happen to have a few girls in this dorm who are a little ehm how should I say it… uh weird, yeah really weird."

"Weird? How weird do you mean?"

The girl just let out an exasperated sigh, as if she was going to have to explain something that she did not want having to explain any further. "… Please don't ask me any further, senpai. T-Those two are just weird. I'm just surprised that our dorm mother hasn't thrown them out yet, she's normally pretty strict about making a commotion or being a hindrance to others."

That was just strange to hear and Miho was still left puzzled by that answer, even then she did get the impression that this might be one of those things that would be best left alone. It was also a matter that did not concern her so the girl did have a feeling that she did not have a right stick her nose in other people's business.

"It does sound like it's pretty lively outside," she said.

"Please don't say that senpai," the younger girl said underneath her breath while shaking her head, "Those two always make such a scene, I don't even understand why their rooms are right next to each other. So can we change the subject please?"

"Sure. Oh here are the snacks that I brought with me."

"Thank you, I'll go to the kitchen and get us something to drink. Is juice okay for you?"

"Ah yeah, that's fine with me."

Gazing around to have another look at the room Miho was reminded a little that this was only her third time in this room, the previous two had been for when she had come here to sit down as a model to allow Azusa to draw a portrait of her.

Entering the room while carrying a small tray with their drinks, Azusa was giving off an obvious impression that she was again a little anxious about having her here, not that Miho could blame the poor girl for.

"So Azusa-san, how did it go with the portrait?"

"…Ah, about that," the girl said, averting her eyes as she did, almost as if she did not want to or did not dare to look Miho in the eyes. Quickly putting the tray down on the table she began to fiddle with her fingers. "… It's kinda… you know… a little embarrassing…"

"Why?"

"… Because it is…"

Not entirely sure what the younger girl could mean with that Miho was left wondering if it would be alright for her to push the girl further or that perhaps it would be better to let the matter rest. Though as the way things were going the latter might just be the more viable option, a shame as she was keen on seeing the portrait for herself.

Well, it could wait for the time being as she was keener on learning how Azusa was doing now, the girl was supposed to have already had a session with one of the school's counselors.

"Uh Azusa-san, if it's alright with you can I ask how it went with the counselor?"

Azusa did little other than letting out a surprised sounding, "Huh?"

Just hearing that reaction made Miho wonder for a moment if the members of Rabbit had gone to their appointed meetings as they were supposed to, she was hoping that they had done so.

"You did go there, didn't you?"

Averting her eyes Azusa was mumbling something underneath her breath.

"What did you say? I couldn't hear it."

Letting out a troubled sounding sigh Azusa began to explain. "We went there like we were supposed to but once we got there we were told that we had to split up. Each of us had to talk separately with a counselor, which was kinda scary having to sit there on my own."

"I'm sorry to hear that Azusa-san…"

Looking back at the other girl she continued, "It's okay, it wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be and the woman I was talking was pretty kind and understanding to me

"Who did you have?"

"… hmmm I think it was Kuzehashi-sensei but I'm not sure…"

Blinking at hearing the mention of that name Miho was surprised to learn that Azusa had been assigned the same counselor that she had been. Well, if what she had been told at the student council office was true than Azusa was also in good hands. That said she was not going to find out for herself until her appointment with this woman tomorrow.

The two of them would continue talking on the subject for a bit longer, going back and forth before eventually moving on to different and more pleasant topics to spend time chatting about. Once that was done it started to become a lot livelier in the room than it had been earlier as both of them came to settle into their routine, a more relaxed mood fell over them.

Laughing together while enjoying each other's company the two girls were making the most out of the moment until there came a moment for Miho where she decided to ask the one question she had been postponing.

"Azusa-san, could you show me the portrait you drew of me? I'd like to see it.

Looking at her with questioning eyes Azusa gave off the impression that she would rather not, somehow she was anything but keen to let another see the portrait she had tirelessly worked on. "Do I have to?"

"Why don't you want to show it to others, even to me?"

"Because I'm scared that it's not good enough for you, senpai. I know that I'm not the best at drawing in my class and I'm just afraid that you're going to call it ugly…"

"How could I ever call it ugly knowing that you did your best on it? I've been here with you so I know just how much time and effort you put into this, there's nothing for you to be scared about."

"You promise senpai?"

Holding up her pinky finger Miho answered in return, "I promise."

"F-Fine then… I suppose…" Azusa said underneath her breath before by locking her pinky around the other girl's. "… You'd better not laugh senpai."

With her face taking on a few hues of pink as she handed over the drawing she had made the girl was quick to turn around and bury her face in the palms of her hands. It was pretty obvious that she was embarrassed about letting somebody else see it. "… Go ahead, have a look at it."

Just looking at the portrait that Azusa had drawn of her Miho was overcome with emotions, there were just no words that she could use to describe this sensation she was experiencing.

"… It's pretty, I'm proud of you, Azusa-san," Miho said gently, feeling her chest swell with pride knowing that the girl next to her had drawn this. "I like how it turned out. Even if it isn't the best drawing I still like it because it was made by you Azusa-san. I can tell how you poured all of your feelings into this portrait.

Sure it may not be the best of drawings she had seen but that was not important here, what mattered to her was the fact that she could tell that the girl had put in a lot of effort and time into making this, that is what counted the most. That was what impressed Miho the most, the dedication and commitment that had gone into making this portrait.

However what she was treated to next made it seem like all of her troubles had been worth it, just to her left Miho saw the expression that was apparent on Azusa's face on hearing such words of praise.

As a tear ran down the length of her cheek Azusa's body began to shake as she could no longer hold it in, all of those emotions and feelings she had been penning up inside of her came in an unbroken stream.

Leaning towards her Miho just wrapped her arms around the girl and whispered into her ear that it was alright for her to cry, that she could cry for as long as she felt like she had to.

Sitting there with the younger girl in her arms Miho was wondering if this was how her sister would have felt when they were younger, back then Maho had always taken it upon herself to comfort her younger sister whenever she was in distress.

After a few minutes had gone by and the younger of the two girls was starting to feel a little better now that she had been able to let out what had been troubling her.

"Here you go," Miho said as she handed the girl her handkerchief. "It's alright now; you can let it all out if you want."

"… T-T-Thank… y-you…"

"Feeling better now?"

"…Uh-huh…" Azusa just sat there while she nodded her head, even if she had been crying out of happiness she did look like a mess at the moment. "… E-Excuse me…"

Pushing herself to her feet the girl left to go to the bathroom.

Leaning back Miho could only tell herself that this was becoming quite the evening alright, not what she had been expecting, and as unexpected as it were the evening was not yet done with her, as when Azusa came back from the bathroom she had something to say the moment she sat back at her spot.

"… I-If you want senpai, you can have it…" Azusa said with tear-stained eyes.

"Huh?"

"You can have it, I drew it for you."

Miho didn't know what to say in return, feeling that it was more right for Azusa to retain possession of the portrait she had drawn. Even then a part of her did want to accept the girl's gift as she did understand the feelings that were behind the gesture.

"Are you sure about this? I mean you went through so much to get this done."

"It's okay," Azusa mumbled, twiddling with her thumbs as she did. "And besides I don't think I would've kept it if it had been of somebody else, I want you to have it senpai."

"But why?"

"Because I admire you, you keep on inspiring everybody around you. I… I want to be such a person as well."

Hearing Azusa give her such praise was enough for Miho's face to turn red in response, she knew that she was able to get the most out of her crew but this might just be given her a little too much credit. It was also making her feel a little embarrassed as well.

"… T-Thank you, Azusa-san," the girl said, her cheeks red, as she accepted the gift. "I'll make sure to give this a good place. I promise you that I'll take good care of it."

"T-Thank you, senpai…" the other girl said in return.

"I'm really glad that you asked me to model for you."

"Me too, senpai. Me too."


Ooarai school carrier – student council office21.05h Tuesday

As the day was starting to come to an end Anzu was leaning back in her chair, her eyes coming to rest on the little message that was being displayed on her screen. She knew what it meant and although she was keen to get this over with there was also a hint of hesitation, "I guess it's time."

Pushing what reservations she may have aside she would lean forward and click on the message, waiting for the connection to be established.

"I hope that everything went, well, if anybody would've been able to convince them it would be her," Anzu said as she leaned back again, craning her neck back as she began to gaze at the ceiling. Thinking about the nature of the call she was about to have she could not deny that she was feeling an equal mix of excitement and fear. "A lot is going to be riding on this one."

Taking a deep breath as the image on the screen was showing that the connection was successfully established and the all too familiar face of Ami Chōno would appear, her usual uplifting smile a telltale sign that she was feeling a sense of excitement.

Anzu could tell, to her it was clear that the woman on the other side of the connection was just as excited, if not more, as she was about what would happen in a couple of days. Given that she had come to know the woman well over the past months this came as no surprise to Anzu.

"Good afternoon, instructor," Anzu said while making a short bow to the screen, "I want to thank you for getting back to me on such short notice. I understand that you must be pretty busy at the moment with several matters so I wish to thank you for making time for us."

"Thank you kindly but it's fine," the woman said, making the same gesture that the young girl had made moments before, "As a member of the Strengthening Committee I feel that it is my responsibility to make time for any school that shows a lot of promise, and besides given the nature of this meeting as well as its importance it should only be natural for me to make time for you."

Nodding her head while listening to what Ami had to say there was a sense of relief that was allowing Anzu to feel a little less anxious about the whole matter. "I'm glad to hear that. Now I don't know if you've had the chance to read the message that I've sent you yesterday but if possible I'd like to get an answer to that matter with all due haste."

The woman nodded her head in acknowledgment of that request. "I have read it, yes but unfortunately I can't give you an answer at the moment. This matter is being looked at by a different department and I have no say in the matter."

That was a little disappointing to hear but Anzu had been kind of expecting it

"That said, I can tell you that the matter has been given priority. Now, I can't be sure but I think that this might be related to the meeting this weekend. If it is, I would advise you to bring it up as well and see if you can convince them that this should be seen through with all due haste."

"Got it," Anzu replied, making a quick mental note of the information that had just been divulged to her. If that was true there would be something that could be used as a bargaining tool, well, she was going to have to see how this meeting was going to work out. That said, the few scraps of information that she had been able to gather were meager to say the best, she was going to need far more than this.

"Kadotani-san, how are things over on your side?"

"Everything that we needed to do has been taken care of," the twin-tailed girl stated with a sense of pride at what she and her team had been able to achieve, "There is still the case of having to inform Nishizumi-chan about this but at the moment she seems to be enjoying all of the preparations for our school festival and I don't want to ruin that for her."

"Be as that may I do feel that it is important for her to be up to date on this as much as is possible."

"Even if we still don't know exactly what it is that they want to discuss?"

"Especially because we still don't know what it is that they want to discuss," Ami said, her voice taking on a more serious tone, "This is a serious matter, I don't know what exactly the reasons are but both the Federation and MEXT are in an agitated state. I do have my suspicions but so far I have not been able to confirm them."

Hearing the woman say that made Anzu raise one of her eyebrows. "Is it that bad?"

"It might be, there's definitely a sense of urgency with regards to this meeting. I've heard that the director has been having almost daily meetings with several representatives from MEXT concerning this matter."

Taking it all in, it was becoming clear to Anzu that there was something much bigger than she had initially guessed. Whatever it was that was having such a profound impact on those organizations it was becoming obvious to her that Ooarai was going to be involved in one way or another.

While she was certain of that, she was left uncertain about whether or not that would be a good thing. And that made it hard for her to decide on how she would want to proceed with this planned meeting. She was not shy about admitting that she would use any and every means to ensure the safety and existence of this school.

Ami agreed with her. "I don't believe that there's going to be any risk of them trying to shut down the school, MEXT seems to have made peace with that decision so they won't try that anytime soon. Unless I'm mistaken I think that they might want to make use of your school's recent achievements in the sport to facilitate their goal."

Those were reassuring words to hear but her previous dealings with MEXT did leave Anzu a little skeptical and until she could confirm it for herself she would remain cautious. "Chōno-san, given that you're a member of the Strengthening Committee of the Federation is there any chance that they will explain the matter to you before they come and see us?"

A smile caressed Ami's face. "I already have an appointment scheduled with them about this tomorrow but as I'll be working under an NDA I can't tell you anything about the content of the meeting. As much as I hate to say it you'll have to wait and see what it is that they want to discuss with you this coming weekend."

Letting out a huff in protest Anzu was contemplating on how to handle the situation; she had been very keen of getting whatever information she could before the meeting took place so she would be in a far better position to negotiate but hearing that there was an NDA in effect made her apprehensive about gaining more information.

"An NDA, don't you think that sounds a little excessive?"

Shaking her head the woman explained. "No, I don't exactly know what this situation is but if there is one thing that I'm certain about it's that this is a serious matter. It's clear that they do not want anything about this to get leaked to the public just yet for fear of doing damage to their plans for the Pro-League."

"Ah right," Anzu said, "Their little pet project, are they still going on about that?"

The woman gave voice to her disagreement with that sentiment. "Kadotani-san, I can understand your feelings towards the Pro-League but please do not let your previous dealings cloud your judgment. Despite the poor manner in which MEXT handled the situation I do agree with them that the implementation of the Pro-League is going to be important for the future of the sport in our nation."

Taking a deep breath Anzu gave her reply, "I can understand that but I don't like having to deal with them again after what happened. I've already asked more of the students than I ever should've, I don't want to have to put their happiness at risk again. I don't feel anything for cooperation with either MEXT or the Federation if that means endangering the happiness of our students or the future of this school!"

"Believe me Kadotani-san when I say nobody has any intention for that to happen. Both the Federation and MEXT have come to the agreement that the continuation of your school and its Sensha-Do team is something that we must endorse. There are a lot of schools that have been inspired by your school's recent victories; it's not something that can be ignored any longer."

Even if they were words of acknowledgment and assurance, they also left a bit of a bitter taste in Anzu's mouth as she knew from experience that it had not stopped one particular member of MEXT to push forward their plans at the expense of her school.

And then, of course, there was the recent incident with students of Tarczay High.

"And yet there are also schools that think that we cheated," Anzu let out about what had only recently transpired, an event that she found to be annoying and an injustice to all of their hard work to achieve a goal that many had said would be impossible.

"Yes, that was indeed a regrettable turn of events, for all of those involved I should say. The Federation is currently looking into the matter even as we speak though I can't say when your school can expect any kind of resolution."

That in itself did not say all that much, Anzu had expected that somebody of the Federation would be looking into the allegation filed against her school but she was under no illusion that it would be of little priority for them. Though she could not deny that with what was taking place there was the possibility of them giving it a priority just to get it out of the way.

Then Anzu had a question about the other faction in this, and the one she was more suspicious of. "So with regards to MEXT, where do they stand? I can imagine that they're not entirely happy with the way that things turned out for them."

She did not have to wait long to get an answer to that question, and it was just the kind of answer she had been expecting.

"It's not much of a surprise that they are not happy about the fact that some of the funds, which were originally intended to go towards the Pro-League, are now having to be diverted towards your school. It's causing them having to reevaluate their current plans, which is something I can tell you they are not happy about. There is a lot of talk going on between them and the Federation about the change of plans."

"So what should we be expecting then? There's not a lot for us to go by at the moment and I doubt that's going to change in the coming days." There was just too little information to work with for Anzu's taste; she had been hoping that she could have gotten more information about the matter and such in order to improve her position at the negotiation table. It was frustrating for her having to admit that she had almost nothing.

"That leaves us back at square one, not what I was hoping for."

Rubbing her eyes as she was fighting against exhaustion Anzu knew that sooner than later she was going to have to call it a day, over the past three days she had been at it tirelessly. She was keen to grab some rest but she knew that there was still a mountain of work waiting for her, and it was not going to solve itself. Tomorrow would be no different.

Leaning back in her seat and craning her neck back the diminutive girl began to think out loud about possible solutions though none of them would offer her with the answer she was seeking, looking down after a few moments she turned to the monitor and asked, "Is there any other way that you can provide us with additional information? I don't want to go into negotiations with them, not in the way that I'm currently finding myself in.

"I wish I had more information for you, I really do. That said I am fairly confident that they will seek out a means to make the most out of the current situation in an effort to recuperate the most out of their loss. MEXT is certainly not done yet with your school."

That was just what Anzu had feared, she had never been able to shake the uneasy feeling that even with a written declaration that the last word on this had not yet been spoken. And now it would seem that her fears were being confirmed, and the unfortunate truth was that this time it did not seem that she would be able to negotiate. All that she could at the moment was to try and prepare herself as much as was possible, and to put her trust in the woman she was talking to.

"And you think that this meeting they have planned might be a part of that strategy?" She could already hazard a guess at the answer she would get to that question but it was a question that Anzu was going to ask nonetheless. There would be no escaping from this one so she might as well face it head-on and on her own terms while she still could.

Ami's answer did not wait long as she said, "I don't question that for a second, Kadotani-san. Whatever it is that they are planning on, this scheduled meeting with you is going to be a part of their new strategy, I'm certain of that."


Author's note: hey folks, new chapter for you all to enjoy.

Well, damn did things chance since the previous chapter. I wish I could say it had changed for the best, that we could have nice talk on how the second episode of 'das Finale' and how enjoyable it was, that it brought so much laughing and many smiles. I personally enjoyed the episode immensely.

Sadly reality is a little different now, and our lives have been affected in more ways than one.

Hopefully this chapter can bring you some enjoyment and help you take your minds off the more unpleasant things happening in our world at the moment for a bit.

Take good care of yourselves folks, stay safe, and stay healthy. I hope you are all here again when the next chapter gets posted. Look after yourselves.

Till next time.