The School Festival Draws Ever Closer!

Ooarai school carrier – school hallways – 09.05h Wednesday

Standing in front of the room Miho was beginning to understand some of the reluctance about coming here that she had seen for herself with Azusa. That said she was also keenly aware that she had made a promise to Momo that she would go and see the counsellor so there was no going back now.

"I wonder what kind of person she is; Koyama-senpai said that she's a kind person and somebody good at listening," Miho said to nobody in particular, the hallways were deserted anyway, she was just talking because it was something that she wanted to get off her chest.

Looking down on the piece of paper she had been handed yesterday there was a strange feeling about being here in the first place, something that she was finding hard to describe.

Reaching out with her hand Miho knocked on the door and waited for a reply, not sure if she was going to have to wait for the woman to open the door or not.

Standing there she was left with the creeping notion, as the silence continued, that perhaps there may not be anybody inside the office at the moment. What if the woman in question was not even there; what if she was in class or at a meeting or something?

"What should I do now?"

Contemplating her options as the hallway remained inauspiciously deserted the girl began to wonder what she should do; she did not want to come over as being impatient by knocking again on the door but on the other hand, she was not keen on waiting here until somebody showed up.

Having another look at the note she had been given to see if she was at the right location and that the time was correct, knowing that she was where she was supposed to be she let out a sigh of relief. Yet that only raised the question again as to why the counsellor she was here to see had not yet shown up.

Bringing up her arm with the intent to knock a second time on the door she hesitated with her hand hovering just in front of it when all of a sudden a voice coming from up the hallway caught her attention. Quickly pulling her arm back Miho turned to her right to see who it was.

She saw a woman coming down the hallway towards her, the clacking of her heels echoing off the walls, and all of a sudden a lump stuck in her throat. On one hand, the approaching woman was holding what appeared like a clipboard or something while in the other she was carrying a large bag.

"Ehm excuse me, sensei?"

"Are you here to see anybody? I'm afraid that all of the other counsellors are absent today."

"Oh, does that mean Kuzehashi-sensei is also absent today? I have an appointment with her."

The woman froze on the spot, blinking for a second. "… I-I'm Kuzehashi… don't tell me that you're the student I have an appointment with today...?"

"Ah yes, I'm Nishizumi Miho. I got sent here by the student council," Miho replied.

"That explains it, well, I hope that I haven't kept you waiting for long. I'm sorry about that but the vice-principal came to see me earlier and it took up more of my time than I had thought it would. Again, I'm really sorry if I kept you waiting here," the woman answered.

Putting down the bag next to her on the floor the woman reached out with her other hand and searched for her keys in her pocket. It did not take her long to find them and once she had them in her possession she was quick to open the door for them.

"Now, where are my manners," the woman said as she took a step inside before turning back to face Miho to properly greet while making the gesture for the girl to have a seat in her office, "Good morning, Nishizumi-san. Please, feel free to come inside and have a seat where you like."

"G-Good morning to you as well Kuzehashi-sensei," Miho kindly returned the greeting and made a quick bow to the woman, "Thank you for having me today. I hope that I'm not imposing on your time."

The woman, who was somewhere in her mid to late twenties, although one could easily be mistaken for thinking her being even younger given how she had her brown hair pulled into a ponytail on the side, held up with a pink scrunchie.

It just looked odd and, in Miho's opinion, it stood in such contrast to the more formal teachers' outfit that she worethat it made her wonder why the women even wore it, to begin with.

"Not at all, make yourself comfortable. There's no reason for you to be tense about being here. So just relax."

"Ah, okay."

Walking back to her own spot the woman took a seat in her chair before she reached out to grab a notebook and a pen.

"Alright then, please allow me to properly introduce myself," the woman said as she got up from her seat and made her introduction. "Pleased to meet you, Nishizumi-san. I am Kuzehashi Akari and I am one of several counsellors employed by Ooarai Girls Academy to oversee and offer aid or guidance to any student who has or suffers from Academic, Personal-Social, and Career Post-Secondary issues. It's nice to meet you."

Getting up from her seat Miho made a short introduction as well as offering her thanks to the woman for having her here.

Grabbing hold of another piece of paper she had a look at Miho. "Now, I was informed about this by members of the student council who had arranged an appointment on your behalf, am I correct?"

"Ah yes. I'm not entirely sure if I need any counselling but it seems that the student council wants to be certain that I'm alright," Miho said, giving voice to her opinion on the matter. "They're likely concerned about my wellbeing because of what happened at a recent match we had last weekend. And possibly they also want to make sure that nothing bad happens this weekend."

The woman opposite her had been listening with great interest to what she had to say about the matter and it gave Miho the impression that this counsellor might just be the kind of person she could talk to.

"May I ask you a question, Nishizumi-san? And I would like to have an honest answer from you. Do you feel that you are in any need of counselling? That you need to discuss the issue with me or any other counsellor?"

Not sure what to say in return Miho became silent for a moment at this was something that she had no experience with, furthermore she did not know if what happened the previous weekend would be a good enough reason for her to need the aid of a counsellor. Maybe she did but by herself, she had no idea, perhaps she was just here without even needing it.

Akari leaned a little forward and said, "It's a tricky question, isn't it? Most people find it difficult to say if they need counselling or not; there are cases where it is easy to tell but in most cases, it's hard to say for certain."

"Aha," the girl let out while she had another look at Akari's office, taking in the myriad oddities and trinkets that were scattered about this small room. For a moment it raised the question if these all belonged to this woman in particular or that perhaps some of these were the property of others, it was an interesting question but Miho was not so sure if she wanted to see it answered. 'I guess even counsellors have their own quirks.'

Turning her attention back as the woman continued with her explanation, she did have to admit that this counsellor was certainly thorough. 'That said I've got to admit that she seems like a kind person and it does appear that she takes her job really seriously. I'm glad to know that.'

"Now, I was not given any details by the student council as to what was the cause of the issue that you are here for. So if possible could you tell me in your own words, what happened and how you experienced it?"

"Ah right, so what do you want to hear from me? Anything specific?"

"Just relax, take it at your own pace, simply ease your mind and let it out."

Listening to the woman's instructions Miho had to admit that there was a strange, yet somewhat reassuring, sensation about being inside this office and talking about the incident of the past weekend to this woman.

'This really feels weird, and yet something is exciting about this. I've never really talked to a counsellor before; I didn't see the point of speaking to one when I was still at my former school. I wonder if things would have been different for me if I had gone to see one back then.'

It was an interesting line of thought but one that she could not dwell on, and besides there was little point to it as she was happy with where she found herself these days. With friends that she loved and a school that she cherished, what more could she have asked for?

But there was something else on Miho's mind, something that she was concerned about, gnawing at the back of her mind. Turning around and looking at the woman she was going to ask her a difficult question, her voice quivering as she was not certain if she would want to hear an answer or not. "U-Uhm excuse me, Kuzehashi-sensei, could you perhaps tell me something about how the others are doing? They should have been here yesterday. A-Are they going to be alright?"

Akari was quick to raise her hand in response to that request. "I'm sorry Nishizumi-san but that information is confidential and strictly between me and my patients. I can understand that you might be concerned about your teammates but I cannot disclose any information with regards to their mental wellbeing."

After that, she began to explain that because of her professional obligations she could not divulge any such personal information unless she had express permission from the client in question but even then she believed the information should remain confidential.

"… Oh, I guess you're right about that," Miho said, feeling an equal mix of relief, disappointment, and some embarrassment wash over her, "I'm sorry Kuzehashi-sensei, I shouldn't have asked that question."

She was feeling a little dumb; in hindsight, she really should have been able to realize that she would not be getting an answer. It only made sense that the woman would not share such personal information with her; she was in essence an outsider.

"I guess I worry too much about it, I just want to… you know… know that they're going to be alright… was that wrong of me?"

Shaking her head Akari leaned a little forward and said, "It's not wrong at all, worrying about others before worrying about yourself is a virtue and you should be proud of that. I don't disapprove of you asking about the wellbeing of your fellow teammates though you should have known that you were not going to get an answer from me."

"Yes, sensei," Miho said with a lump still stuck at the back of her throat as she stood up from her seat and made a bow to once more apologize. "Also thank you for your understanding… again I'm really sorry for having asked…"

"That's okay Nishizumi-san but if possible I'd like to get started with your session. That is after all the reason why you were sent to me, isn't it?"

"Oh, ah… yes please." Nodding her head Miho reminded herself that she was here for her own personal concern as well, right now it would be best if she were to focus on that first. Looking around once more in the room for where she was supposed to lie down she was somewhat in a state of confusion when she concluded that there was no such place present in the room.

"Ehm, excuse me Kuzehashi-sensei but where should I lie down? I don't see a bed or a large sofa for me to lie down on…"

Hearing the woman chuckle in response gave Miho an unpleasant feeling as if she had just asked something silly again. Could it be that she had been mistaken or that she had the wrong ideas?

"I'm sorry for that Nishizumi-san, I really am, but the way you asked that was just too adorable for me," Akari said while waving her hand in front of her, "I'm afraid that you may have the wrong idea of what I do or what my profession means. Although I do aid students with psychological issues I don't use a bed or such."

"…" It was an embarrassing moment for Miho as her face became beet red.

"So just lean back in your seat, you can adjust it if you want and make yourself comfortable."

Following the woman's instructions, Miho found that there was little need for adjusting her seat as she was feeling comfortable as far as she was concerned, at least that was what she thought.

"I'll go and make us some tea," Akari said after she had put down the notebook and pen. "In my experience talking about issues is always a bit easier for a person when there's also a nice cup of tea to calm their mind. Is there any particular blend you like?"

"Ah no… Oh wait, could I have a milk tea?"

A warm smile graced Akari's face as she heard that. "Sure, I think I'll have some as well."

Watching silently as the woman made them both a cup of tea before coming back and placing one of the cups in front of her, Miho could do little but wait until the woman had retaken her seat.

Taking up her pen and notebook once more Akari told Miho that she could start if she felt like it. "Alright then, shall we begin? Why don't we start at the beginning? Just take your time and tell me about it in your own words, you don't have to force anything and you don't need to tell me everything in one go. It's okay for you to go back if you're feeling uncertain about any details. Alright, let's get started then."

Taking in the brief explanation she had been given, Miho began to tell about what had happened on that particular Sunday, the day they had their match against a team from Tarczay High, and the unfortunate event that happened right after the match.


Ooarai school carrier – student council office09.30h Wednesday

"Ah Prez, there's something that I'd like to bring to your attention," Momo stated as she came to greet Anzu before she would have the opportunity to leave the office, "There's still the matter of our M3 tank that needs to be addressed. Nishizumi came to see you about it yesterday but unfortunately due to all of your meetings there was no room in the schedule to have a meeting with her."

"No problem Kawashima, so what is it that Nishizumi-chan wanted to say?" Anzu asked, carrying a tablet and a stylus pen as she just came from her most recent of meetings. She was feeling a bit sorry for not having been able to speak to the girl in question but there was little that could be done about that given her responsibilities. There was simply a lot that she had to take care of. "I guess that means she's found out about our little issue."

"Yes," Momo answered back and presented the diminutive girl with a set of notes that she had been handed by Miho yesterday, "This was left to me by Nishizumi, she requested that I gave it to you at the earliest opportunity though I regret that that happens to be only now."

"Ah that's okay~," the girl said while waving her hand, "These kinds of things happen and it's not like either of us could've foreseen there'd be this much to take care of. So given that she left you with these that must mean that our Nishizumi-chan already has a plan? Well, she's not the team's captain for nothing~."

"She has some ideas, yes, but I hardly think that is somehow connected to her being the Sensha-do captain of our school. That aside I've already gone through her suggestions and marked those that I feel are the most likely to yield us good results with the guests."

"Aha," Anzu said underneath her breath as she had a good look at the notes though she did not go straight for the ones that Momo had already marked for her, she was planning on going through all of them just in case she had missed something.

"I'm impressed that she was able to give it this much thought on such short notice, well I guess that's only to be expected of our little Nishizumi-chan~," the girl continued as she had a further look through the notes while comparing them to each other, trying to figure out for herself what the best one would be for them to implement given the limited amount of time and resources they had to spare.

Leaning forward just a little Momo chimed in and gave her opinion, "I believe that this one is the most likely option to provide us with the most return for our investment while also ensuring that there will be no complaint from the investigators upon their arrival."

Gazing at the option that her friend was suggesting to her, Anzu had a good read, taking in both the pros and cons that came with this particular suggestion. She was weighing her options; she was fond of what it was suggesting and she could easily see how this would not get them into any kind of trouble with the investigator though she was not entirely convinced if this would be of any interest to the guests.

"Hmmm… sure there might be some who would be into that but I don't feel that most of our guests would want to see a tank undergoing maintenance and repairs."

"I know but it is the best option that we have," Momo said in response, "We can leave the tank as it is, thereby not violating the written orders. Furthermore, we already have all or most of the spare parts we need for this set up in stock so we don't lose any time. There is also the matter that we can use this to assess any potential new students on possessing an affinity for vehicle maintenance."

Listening to the explanation that the black-haired girl was giving her Anzu had to admit that she definitely had a point there, this had the potential to solve a lot of their problems in one go. "Well, you got a good point there. It'd be nice if we could already scout for a group of girls to take over from Leopon when they will graduate next year. It'd be pretty bad if the team was left without a means to affect maintenance or repairs though I doubt we'll get anybody who's as good as the Automotive Club is."

Adjusting her monocle Momo only had the following to say, "That's more to do with them being ridiculously good at it. It should not come as a surprise that their replacements are not going to be up to their standards."

"That's true," Anzu said in return, "But that's okay, they'll get better with time and enough practice. What's more important is they're committed to the job; it won't do the team any good if the people doing the repairs just quit."

"Quite so, that would be most unfortunate." Momo was aware of what might be a problem for those students who were to pick up the mantle from the quartet of girls that made up Leopon, there was going to be a heavy burden put on their shoulders.

"I'm also somewhat concerned that there might be too much of a burden placed upon Tsuchiya as she'll be the only one left, it's not going to be possible for her to do maintenance and teach new students at the same time."

Scraping her throat before making another suggestion the girl continued, "If possible I'd like for us to see if we can get as many students as possible to fill that vacancy. I do not believe that we should look for just four individuals, as Leopon can also carry a crew of five and as such, I advise for that should be the absolute minimum we should aim for."

Nodding her head as she was pondering about that suggestion Anzu could not deny that there was quite the appeal to recruiting a larger group of mechanics, not only would that provide their heaviest tank with a full crew but it would also reduce the burden of maintenance and repairs.

"It'd be great if we could manage that, of course, the more the merrier but it's not like we'll have any say in this."

"I'm afraid not but that should not deter us from trying, in my opinion, we should employ every possible means at our disposal towards facilitating our goals for the Sensha-Do team and the school itself."

It got silent for a moment before Anzu continued. "With regards to Tsuchiya, we'll need to see what we can do to provide her with whatever support we can muster. Write it down as a point for our first meeting after the festival is over."

Grinning from ear to ear Anzu was finding it hard to keep her excitement in; this was promising to be a thrilling weekend for anybody. The girl standing next to her was right, they should pull out all the stops while they were at it, being modest was not going to do them any good. Here and now was the time for them to go for an ambitious and aggressive attack.

"Right! Let's go with this one~!"

"As you wish, I'll get started on making the necessary arrangements and preparations," Momo stated as she made several notes on her own notepad using the pen she had been holding, "I believe that we should be able to have all of these in place by the next morning provided that we have everything in stock for it, though I don't believe there's anything vital missing from our inventory."

"That's great to hear," Anzu acknowledged, "Say, Kawashima, speaking of Nishizumi-chan, when is she supposed to have her meeting with the counsellor? It was today, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Momo was quick to answer, "Nishizumi is currently having her session with the counsellor that the school appointed to her. The principal agreed with our assessment that those afflicted by it would need the best help we can provide so he has seen fit to appoint Kuzehashi-sensei to Nishizumi."

"Ah, her!" Nodding her head and sporting a wide grin the diminutive girl simply could not help but smile when she heard the name of the counsellor, knowing well that their team captain was in good hands. She was glad to know that the school had selected that woman.

For now, that was enough for the time being to satisfy Anzu's concern with both of those matters, but there was something else that she was equally concerned about and which prompted her to ask the question, "So how's it going with those shipments that got delayed? Do you have an idea of when those are gonna arrive? Several of the food stalls need what's in those shipments."

Making a few taps on her tablet Momo was looking for her latest notes on that matter, which it was fortunate that she had. Once she had found the relevant information she began to relay it back to the diminutive girl as well as provide her with an assessment on when they could expect all of the material to arrive.

"So somewhere in the course of this afternoon, am I right?"

"Yes Prez, it should arrive within the allotted time frame though there is no telling on if there might be any further delays, that said I have been in communication with our contacts and they have assured me that it will arrive as scheduled."

"That's great to hear Kawashima," Anzu said as she took a step forward and made a gesture for the other girl to lean forward a little, just enough so she could actually give her a well-deserved pat on the back, "I'm proud of what you're doing, I know that the past week must've been like an ordeal for you, but I want you to know that whatever the outcome of this festival is going to be you've pulled more than your weight around. I'm really proud of all of the work you've done~."

Standing there, unable to move Momo was overcome with emotions as the words of praise that she had just gotten from the other girl sank in with her. With her knees trembling she stood to attention before making a bow. "… T-Thank you… Prez…" Momo muttered clumsy underneath her breath.

"That's okay Kawashima," the other girl said in return and gave her a quick tap on the shoulder before she continued on her way towards the next meeting. There were going to be plenty more of those before this week would be over.


Ooarai school carrier – counsellor office09.55h Wednesday

"Aha, I'm starting to get a general idea of what happened," Akari said while looking over the notes she had written thus far, highlighting those parts that she felt were important to discuss, "So what happened after that? What was the general mood for the other students and you in particular? Could it be that as the team's captain you felt like you're responsible for this?"

"…" Miho fell quiet as she had no idea how she was supposed to answer that question; maybe it was true but there was no way for her to know for sure. After a few moments of silence, she decided to go and try to explain it to the best of her abilities.

"It's okay; you don't have to force yourself." She could hear the woman say all of a sudden; could it be that Akari was able to tell how Miho was feeling just from her expression? Perhaps it should not be that much of a surprise given that this was her job, no doubt Akari had to be able to tell or at the very least have an idea of how a person had to be feeling for her to be able to do her job.

"Right… I…"

"Just a moment, let me get us another cup of tea. Do you want milk tea again?"

"Ah yes, thank you very much sensei," Miho said as she had not thought of the possibility that the woman would take a break all of a sudden, or perhaps this was only a moment of rest so that she could have some time to order her thoughts for herself. If that was true that Miho really had to give Akari credit for being this attentive to her patients, guess there was a bit more than just listening to students and giving them advice

"No need to thank me, Nishizumi-san, I could do with another cup myself anyway. And besides, I can imagine that after all that talking that your throat has to be dry as well, am I right?"

"… Still, thank you…" Miho mentioned in a soft-spoken tone as the cup of tea was placed in front of her, "

"Well," Akari said in return as she sat down herself, "It kinda comes with the job, I can only help you with your problem if I know what the problem is and one of my old teachers always told me that the only way to get people to talk about their problems is to make them feel comfortable and at ease."

Sipping her tea the woman continued. "It's pretty hard for a student to talk about their problems if they're all tense or anxious. It can even happen that they'll twist or even leave out some of the more painful parts of the problems yet that is where often the root of the issue lies. It's not easy getting people to open up to you, especially if you're a stranger or a teacher."

"I guess not."

Putting down the cup Akari had a comment about that, "There's nothing wrong with having secrets, and every person has a secret or two that they'll always keep to themselves. You might have secrets that you prefer to keep from your friends or vice versa, that's just how things are in life and that's fine."

"Eh, so you feel that it's alright for people to keep a secret or two from other people, even their friends?"

Akari simply nodded her head as she said, "I do, just because they're your friends doesn't mean you have to share everything about you with them. It's not something you should feel guilty about. Anyway, shall we continue where we dropped off?"

"Ah okay."

The two of them would continue talking for a bit longer; Miho explaining again what was troubling her and how she kept on asking if there would have been a way that she could have avoided it all. Most of all she was still uncertain if she bore any responsibility for it.

In return Akari kept on listening to what the young girl had to say, offering suggestions or advice where needed and from time to time her personal observation on certain matters.

"I think that'll be enough for today," Akari said as she had a look at the clock hanging on the wall, noting that the two of them had been at it for well over an hour by now. "Would that be alright with you, Nishizumi-san? If you feel like you would prefer another session then we can look to make a follow-up appointment for you, though to be honest, I don't believe that you're really in need of one. While it does seem to have been an unpleasant experience for you and the others, from what you've told me I don't see any signs of this having any consequences for your mental wellbeing."

"Ah, okay, so I guess that means that I'll be alright then?"

"I think you'll be fine but if you ever do feel the need to want to talk about it, or any other issue you might have, feel free to contact or come see me at the teacher's office. My door is always open to any student in need. "

Nodding her head Miho was feeling grateful for the offer and although she was hoping that there was going to be no need for her to act on it, there was a certain reassurance to knowing that it was there for her.

Pushing herself from her seat she made a bow towards Akari, thanking the woman for all of her troubles. "Thank you for your time and effort, Kuzehashi-sensei. I'm really grateful for you having been kind enough to have me here today."

Getting up from her seat in return Akari made a bow of her own as well, "And thank you for having been such a good and understanding patient, I don't know if you're ever going to come to see me again but I'll be looking forward to talking to you again."

Gently making her way towards the door before coming to a halt just in front of it, Miho made a turn on the spot before making a bow towards the woman to say her goodbyes.

"Likewise sensei, I did enjoy talking to you. I wouldn't mind having another talk with you though if possible I'd prefer it if I didn't need to have an, ahem, reason for it if you know what I mean."

Hearing that comment, as well as the sincerity behind Akari, began to chuckle before she said, "Thank you, dear, to be honest, I feel the same." Walking from behind her desk and making her way over towards where Miho was standing at the door she reached out and opened the door for the girl. "Let's meet again sometime but hopefully not as counsellor and patient."

"Goodbye, and I hope that you'll have a pleasant day, sensei."

"You as well Nishizumi, have a pleasant day, and good luck with the school festival. I'm looking forward to what you and all the other students are going to treat us to," Akari said in return before she would close the door.

With the door behind her now closed Miho was experiencing an equal mix of relief and anxiety, when she had first come here she had to admit that she been a little nervous at first but after having spent some time with the counsellor and talking with her found it to have been a surprisingly pleasant experience for her.

But that was now all behind her, now it was time for her to return to her classroom and meet up again with her friends. There was still a long day ahead of her, and an exhausting practice session was waiting for her at the end of it. "I should get going," she said.

The hallways of the school were alive with a host of frenzied activities seeming to be taking place; just looking all around her Miho was amazed by the sheer volume of students that had been passing her. 'Wow, I had an idea that it'd be busy but I didn't think it'd be this busy.'

Just as the thought had come to mind a trio of girls ran past her, each one of them carrying several shopping bags, no doubt they were meant for whatever class or club project that those girls were a part of.

"I guess I'm a little lucky in that I don't have to do anything," Miho mentioned underneath her breath as she was watching the girls disappear from her sight though it had piqued her curiosity as she did feel that inside her chest there was a desire to know more. "I should make sure that I get the opportunity to have a good look around the entire school."

That also reminded her, she was going to need to hurry up and get to the tank shed as she was keen on learning more with regards to the status of their vehicles. The members of the Automotive Club had their work cut out for them, well at least as far as the mechanical aspect was concerned. A task that had not been made easy by the extensive damage that some of their tanks had suffered during the match against Tarczay.

There was no telling if any of their tanks were already back in a state where their respective crews could handle the rest though Miho was under no illusion that for some of their tanks they were going to be cutting it pretty close.

"I guess it shouldn't really come as a surprise that we won't be able to practice today," she said as she leaned and looked out through the window towards where the tank shed was situated. It really should not have come as a surprise; in hindsight, it might have been better if Anzu and the student council had simply rejected the offer in the first place.

"That would've saved us a lot of trouble," she said before letting out an exhausted sounding sigh.

"Ah Nishizumi-san, are you alright? Is there something wrong?" The voice came from somewhere behind her, and unless Miho was mistaken it was a voice that belonged to a girl she had already met before. Pushing herself away from the window she made a quick turn and was pleasantly surprised when saw that it was none other than the head of the festival committee, Yuuri Ichimichi herself.

"Oh, Ichimichi-san it's you. Ah no, it's nothing really," Miho was quick to say as she made a bow towards the girl approaching her, "So how are you doing? I guess you and the other members of the festival committee must be really busy now that the festival is almost here?"

"Nishizumi-san, thank you kindly for your concern," Yuuri said in return, making a bow of her own, "And yes we're really but it's all going to be worth it. I feel that it's kinda reassuring to know that in just a few days all of our efforts will bear fruit. I just hope that our guests can enjoy themselves to the fullest. That said, I'm worn out from all of the work, I'll be glad when it's all over and I can have some rest."

Hearing those kind words Miho could do little but smile, as she was rather keen to experience this festival for herself. "I'm looking forward to it, Ichimichi-san. I think that with all of the hard work that you and the others are putting into this festival it'll be amazing.

"I can only hope," she said in return, chuckling a little. "But there's actually a reason why I came to see you. Something that I was hoping that I could talk about with you, that is if you want to."

Miho blinked as she did not understand what the other meant with that. "… I'm sorry Ichimichi-san but I don't understand. What is it that you want to talk to me about? And what do you mean with if I want to?"

"Oh I'm sorry," Yuuri was quick to apologize, "I thought you would understand but that's okay. Again I'm sorry for not explaining myself properly but I heard from the president that you were somewhat troubled by what happened after your last match? Is there anything that I could help you with?"

"Our last match?" Miho asked before it would dawn on her what Yuuri was hinting at. "Oh is that you mean? Ah yes, that was something that I've never experienced before. I've been trying to understand why they were acting like we did something terrible to them… but I can't…"

"I see," the other girl remarked, "Just in case you want to talk about this with somebody, or if you need having somebody willing to hear you out, you can come and see me if you like to."

"That's really kind of you Ichimichi-san but I'm alright, and besides I've just come back from my appointment with Kuzehashi-sensei," Miho said in return, explaining that for the time being she was well looked after though she did appreciate the offer.

"I'm glad to hear that, Nishizumi-san." Yuuri was smiling even more than usual after hearing that answer as if she was visibly relieved to hear the good news. Her fair and light complexion that was prone to blushing gave her a warm and kind appearance. "So I take it that you're now on your way to your classroom, am I right?"

"Ah yes."

"Oh, on a slightly different note, it's kinda a little selfish request on my behalf; do you think you'll get the opportunity to speak with the student council? If so there's a message I'd like for you to pass on to them if that is possible for you."

This was a little odd and Miho was not sure as to why the girl would ask for her that instead of taking it up with the student council herself, but just as she was about to politely decline she recalled that Yuuri had once mentioned to her that she and Anzu did not always get along.

'Ah, maybe it's because there's a little disagreement between each other. Still, I think it'd be better if she were to try and resolve this herself, they should talk this out between themselves.'

"Ehm…" Miho trailed off, a lump being stuck in the back of her throat as she began to question if it would be alright for her to ask a bit more about what kind of message that Yuuri wanted for her to pass on. Would it even be appropriate for her to make that demand?

"Ah… I guess you'd like to know what the message is, right?" Quick to notice what was giving the other girl some distress, Yuuri took the first step. Taking out a small envelope from her cardigan she presented it to Miho. "It's nothing big really but if you could pass this on to Kadotani-senpai I'd appreciate it, it's more or less a few suggestions for people from the festival committee who I'd like to propose for the new student council. Kawashima-senpai asked me about it a few weeks ago."

So that was it, hearing the explanation made Miho feel at ease about the message although she could not shake the feeling that it would still be better if Yuuri were to hand it over personally. "… I think it would be better if you were to hand it to them yourself, Ichimichi-san."

Taken aback by the sudden decline Yuuri stood there with the envelope in her hands. Withdrawing her hands and returning the item to her pocket before she turned back to look at Miho as she spoke softly, "… You're right, that was stupid and insensitive of me to ask of you…"

Nodding her head in return the girl said, "You don't need to apologise to me. Really, I'm the one who should be apologising instead. It was wrong of me to ask you to deliver this for me."

Giving the girl opposite of her a kind smile in return Miho told her that it was alright, that she did not have to worry about it, nor that she would have to apologise for it.

Making a bow to show her gratitude Yuuri said, "Thank you Nishizumi-san, thank you for your understanding and forgiveness. Still, I'm sorry for any inconvenience I may have caused you."

"Please don't," Miho said quickly and made a gesture for Yuuri to stand up again. "Please don't think about it any further. I'm sure that you have already enough on your mind as it is."

Giving the girl a moment to let it all sink in with her Miho felt that it was a little strange that she was the one offering advice here to others. Well, she reasoned that even the most composed of students would struggle when there was so much going on in such a short period.

"Even for us in the Sensha-Do team it's getting pretty busy now, we're really lucky that the Automotive Club is pulling all-nighters to get our tanks back to running though I'm still worried about certain ones." Miho knew that Leopon itself had also suffered some serious damage as it had borne the brunt of the enemy fire during the initial ambush. "A few of our tanks took a lot of fire before they got knocked out."

"Ah I see, so do you think that there will be any changes or complications to your plans for the demonstration. I mean with the damage that your tanks have taken I can imagine that you must be hurrying to get them back into shape."

"We're definitely going to do our best to get them all ready for the festival. The guests are after all coming to see them in action and we don't want to disappoint them, now do we?"

Left speechless for a moment Yuuri began to chuckle in response, followed quickly by her starting to laugh. After a minute or so with the girl having regained her composure and wiping away the tears, she gave Miho a warm smile in return.

"You're right Nishizumi-san, we can't disappoint our guests. That would not reflect all that well on us won't you agree? The people coming here have a lot of hopes and expectations and it falls to us, the students, to live up to those expectations."

Nodding her head gently Miho was wholeheartedly in agreement with that sentiment, more than anything this festival needed to be going to be an enjoyable experience for the guests.

"Well, take care of yourself now Nishizumi-san, and good luck with getting everything in order. If you need any help from me or the committee please let me know, alright?" The girl made a bow.

Making a bow in return Miho offered her thanks. "Thank you Ichimichi-san, I'll be sure to let you know should the need for it arises. But to be honest I hope that we won't have to."

"So do I," the other girl said.

Saying their goodbyes the two girls each went their separate ways; their respective classes were soon going to start and by now Miho was rather keen on seeing her friends again and discussing how it had been for her with them.


Oarai school carrier – streets – 19.00h Wednesday

"Ah commander, what a surprise to see you here," Erwin remarked in surprise as she came to a halt the moment she caught sight of Miho. "Good day to you commander, so how are you doing? I didn't expect to bump into you here. I thought you lived on the other side of the carrier, or am I mistaken? So what brings you out here?"

"Erwin-san, nice to see you here, good day to you too," Miho said in return, greeting the blonde-haired reki-jo, making a bow as she did. "Actually about that, I'm on my way over towards Saori-san's dorm, she's invited me over but as the others already had plans tonight it's just going to be the two of us."

"Uh-huh, I see. And here I was thinking it would be for a strategy meeting. Also, may I add that you look rather different this time, this is kinda a first for me," the blonde-haired reki-jo said as she took a step backward and carefully inspected what she was seeing, "It's pretty rare for us to see you in anything casual. That said you look pretty good in that."

"You think so?" Looking at herself Miho began to wonder if her choice of wardrobe might be a little odd though in her mind she had just grabbed some pieces that were comfortable to wear. Her attire consisted of just a simple plaid brown skirt and a matching sweater; somehow it didn't feel like what she was wearing was anything special and even her coat was just something that she felt was rather plain.

Should she perhaps have taken a little more time or could it simply be that Erwin's sudden remark was making her overthink things a little too much? "Do I look weird or something?"

"Oh no! Nothing like that, it's just that it's pretty rare to see you in something other than our school uniform or you know…" she began to trail off a little as it became clear that Erwin was not entirely clean in this matter either. "… Ah, I just realized… the same goes for me…"

Shooting a glance in return as the increasingly embarrassed reki-jo Miho could tell that it was for her as well a somewhat unusual sight to see the girl in something else than her typical attire. That said it was still something in the trend of a more military-oriented style so it was not all that much different from what she would see the girl normally wearing.

"… T-This is a little awkward, sorry about that commander…"

Seeing as the other girl's face was taking on a few hues of pink Miho said, "It's alright Erwin-san so don't feel bad about it. I guess it must be a little strange for those of you I only see at school or during matches to just run into me when I'm wearing casuals."

"Ah… uhm… yeah, that's kinda the gist of it…" Mumbling a little before scraping her throat the blonde adjusted her stance and spoke, "... S-So on a different note are you going for a strategy meeting, or are you perchance going to discuss some additional ideas for the festival?"

Shaking her head Miho was all too quick to inform the other girl about the nature of her planned evening with her friend, it was just going to be the two of them enjoying the company of each other while making dinner and watching a movie or something.

"So if I may ask, why couldn't the others be there as well? I mean you're normally everywhere as a group whenever I see you."

"That's okay, well Yukari-san was going out for dinner with her parents, Mako-san went to see her grandmother and I believe that Hana-san went to discuss something about another exhibition with her mother. Bit of a shame they all had to leave on the same night but I guess that just happens."

"True," Erwin said in agreement, nodding her head as she did, "Sometimes the wheel of fortune can spin in the weirdest of direction. Still, I guess it must be somewhat unusual for you to be with just one of them, right?"

"Well, I guess you could say that. I mean it's true that it doesn't feel like it normally does without the other three but I think that's okay. It'll be nice to be with just one of them for a change."

Nodding her head again in agreement Erwin could certainly relate to what the brunette was saying, she had for herself experienced on multiple occasions that it could be true bliss to be without the usual group that she associated with. Sometimes it was just best if she was with just one of her usual companions or even none of them, to have some time alone to herself.

"But if it's alright with you Erwin-san, I'll be off on my way again. Though if you're heading in the same direction I am we could go together. I mean if that's alright with you?"

"Of course, alles klar," Erwin said as she smiled, "You want me to keep you company for a bit longer? It'll be my pleasure. I was on my way back anyway, had to do some emergency shopping."

The blonde-haired girl explained as she held up the plastic grocery bag for Miho to see. "We ran out of snacks, and given that we're running a marathon tonight we're going to need these."

"Is that so?" the brunette asked, somewhat confused at the mention of a marathon as she didn't hold the four reki-jo for the type to go and watch movies the whole night.

"Ah no, it's not for that," Erwin was quick to remark as she explained to Miho that with marathon she was meaning something else, for them, it was actually a full night long questionnaire where their knowledge about their respective fields would be put to the test.

Walking down the street the together Erwin decided to bring up a possibly more unpleasant topic to talk about, scraping her throat she braced herself. "Ehm, commander?"

"Yes?"

"So is it true?" the blonde asked all of a sudden, just slightly adjusting her cap. "About Rabbit's tank? About how they're not allowed to repair it or even so much as touch the tank until a team of investigators has come to inspect the tank?"

Miho had to swallow as she listened to what Erwin had to say, it meant that word had already gotten out to the others of the team. This was something that she had been hoping that she could bring up during tomorrow's training but it would seem that the other crews had already gotten wind of the situation.

"Please tell me that it's not true," Erwin said, her jawline straightening as she was waiting for an answer to her questions.

"It's true, all of it," Miho gave her answer without even so much as trying to sugar-coat her words, "The student council has received a letter of notification from the federation. Much like you said, we've been told not to conduct any repairs on the M3 until they have been able to perform their investigation."

"So they've gone ahead and filed their complaint, haven't they?"

"They have," Miho told Erwin everything that she knew thus far, to be honest, it was not all that much but even so she was not planning on hiding anything from a fellow student. She was going to be as honest as she could with any of them, and besides everybody was going to hear the story from her tomorrow anyway.

Hearing it all and letting it sink in with her, Erwin was initially at a loss for words. She could not fathom a reason as to why an opposing team would go this far. It simply went beyond reasonable, it was outright preposterous, and it was an insult to the honour of Ooarai's tankery team.

"Uhm, Erwin-san? Can I ask you for a small favour?" Miho said, as there was something that she was keen to inform the other girl about, something that she felt was rather important.

"What is it?"

"I know that you're likely going to discuss this with the rest of your group, no doubt the others already have their own suspicions but if possible I'd like to ask you to not talk about this until I have the opportunity to bring the news at training."

"Of course," Erwin proclaimed, "It goes without saying that I'll keep all of what you have told me from ever leaving my lips."

"… N-No, y-you don't have to go that far."

"Uh, I don't…?"

Doing her level best at explaining to the blonde-haired reki-jo what she had meant with that Miho was wondering if it would even be possible for her to keep this from going out of control. To her it did not feel like that raising a fuss over what had happened was going to help them anyway and right now it would be better for all of them to focus their attention and efforts to where they were most needed, the festival.

"So you don't want us to get upset about it, is that right?" the girl asked before adjusting her field cap a little, "Well, I guess you've got a point there. Even if we were to make a big stink about it I doubt that they'll budge, heh, it might actually make it look like we're guilty of what they accused us of."

"Hmm," Miho let out as that was something that she had not thought of herself, at the same time it made her wonder if perhaps Anzu and the others had already been aware of that possibility from the very start. Could that perhaps explain why they had called for the students to remain calm about this and let the student council handle the matter in the first place?

"Still I'll be glad when we can mount our charge again," the reki-jo said all of a sudden, "It hasn't been sitting well with us, not being able to practice with it when there's such an important event about to take place."

"I know, I feel the same about it."

"But mark my words commander! We're going to throw everything we got into practice once the StuG's ready!"

Those were reassuring words to hear, and at the same time, they were making Miho feel a little worried. Sure it would be good to train with gusto but there was also the ever-present risk of overdoing it, which became increasingly more likely."

"Uh Erwin-san, are you sure it wouldn't be better if you and the others didn't take it a little easier?"

"Huh why?"

"… For no reason."

Continuing with their walk Miho was feeling a little bit of relief that she had been able to more or less steer the conversation before it could have turned sour. It was at this point a topic that she was not keen to discuss; she did not want to dwell on it anymore.

"Well, commander, I'll be taking my leave at this point," Erwin declared as she came to a stop at one of the many crossings, making a salute to the other girl she said, "Well, I hope you'll have a pleasant evening. Take good care of yourself and we'll see each other again during training tomorrow. Goodbye."

"You as well Erwin-san, have a good night yourself and goodbye," Miho said in return, waving at the girl for a moment before they would each go their separate ways.


Ooarai school carrier – Saori's apartment – 19.25h Wednesday

"Alright, almost done here," Saori mentioned underneath her breath before she put down the pencil she had been using for a while now, "I think that's the outline done; now I just need to draw the finer details and fill in the technical specs."

Leaning back in her seat before adjusting herself a little Saori could feel a need to stretch her arms for a bit before continuing with the work she had set herself out to complete. For the past two hours, she had been hard at work updating her little tank booklet although by now one could hardly call it little anymore. Ever since she had begun sketching tanks to be able to quickly identify them during matches the booklet had rapidly increased in size, so much that there were now several booklets.

"I guess I won't be able to finish this illustration before Miporin shows up," she let out as a glance over the clock in her room told her that her friend was about to show up, "Well, I can always continue with it tomorrow. I'll just have to see what I can still get done before she gets here…"

Just to her right were several books about Hungarian tanks that she had borrowed to get a better idea about the various tanks that she was busy drawing now.

"They definitely took us by surprise by having those two tanks," she said as she made several changes to the muzzle brake of the Turán III she was working on, "This one was pretty scary, I need to write down that it's a lot more dangerous than the others, oh and that it has more armour."

Reaching out for the cup of juice that was to her right Saori grabbed it and had a quick sip before she continued with the drawing. It was not an easy tank to draw but she was getting there, all of those rivets and such made for a tedious task but she had to admit it made the tank look cute. Even so, it was taking her longer than she had planned.

"I'm glad when I can get these done, well as long as I can get this one finished," she said as she had another look at her most recent sketch. "I can start working on the others after that, with any luck I should have them all finished somewhere next week!"

Another look at her drawing and Saori could feel her chest swelling with pride over her latest creation; she was not entirely certain as to how quickly their team would benefit from her work but she did reason that it could not hurt to get this one done as soon as possible.

"I wonder if we're ever going to run into that school again?" she asked herself, wondering on what the chances would be for their schools to have another encounter though she did figure that after what had happened that the chances of another match had to be so low it would be easier to say, not going to happen.

"Yeah, I don't want to run into those people again," she said, thinking back at how some of those students had threatened Azusa and the rest of her crew, "That was just low, trying to pick on a couple of first years like that. They should be ashamed of themselves, that's no way to act in this sport. If I had been one of the judges I'd have disqualified their entire team on the spot!"

Her right hand was shaking in response to her anger rising a little; taking a deep breath before letting it all out Saori had another sip of the drink, "I guess there's little point about me getting worked up about this. There's nothing I could've done about that, I'm just glad that nobody got hurt. Still what's up with that school…"

The ringing of her doorbell caught her attention, prompting Saori to get up from behind her desk and make her way to the front door to answer it. "I'm coming!" she shouted.

"Come on in," she said before she had even fully opened the door and allowed her guest to get inside. "C'mon Miporin, get inside. I'm so glad that you could come. Come on in, have a seat where you want. I'll be getting us some drinks. Is juice alright with you?"

"Oh ah, yeah sure," Miho said though she had barely set foot inside the apartment, taking off her shoes she continued further inside while listening to the sounds coming from the kitchen. "Thank you for having me here."

Upon entering the room Miho froze as the first thing that caught her attention was a large box that was just standing literally in the center of the room, which was definitely a curious sight to behold.

"Ehm, Saori-san?" Pointing at the box Miho was keen to get some kind of explanation, "Just what is that? The box I mean. Why is it standing there, just like that?"

"Huh?" the other girl said in return, appearing somewhat confused about what her friend was talking about as she came back from the kitchen. That was until she caught sight of the box as well and it dawned on her. "Oh, that one you mean? Ah, it just arrived today and I haven't had the opportunity yet to go through all of it."

"Oh…" Miho just nodded her head, so that meant that her friend had in likelihood been doing some shopping, and knowing Saori well enough she could figure out that the content of the box had to be clothing.

"Hey, why don't you come and check out what I got? There's some really cute stuff in it, you know? Oh, Miporin I'm sure that you're going to like them as well," the girl said as she began to pull on her friend's sleeve, "You gotta check them out, oh hey, I got a great idea! Why don't you try some of them out for yourself! I'm sure you'll look great in them!"

Unsure what to make of it, and somewhat confused about the whole matter, Miho nonetheless allowed herself to be brought forward by her friend until she found herself standing in front of the mysterious box. At this point, there was no longer any going back.

"So uh Saori-san, could you perhaps tell me what's in this box? I take it that they're clothes or something…"

"Thigh highs!"

"Huh?"

"Socks"

"…"

"Thigh high socks. You know the kind that I often wear, just like these," the girl said as she pointed at her legs, she was wearing a pair of charcoal grey thigh highs to go with her outfit.

Blinking with her eyes Miho was for a moment at a loss for words, having another look at the box and them turning back to gaze at her friend she was wondering if she had perhaps misheard what her friend had just said, surely the girl could not have meant what she thought she had heard.

"Saori-san, did you just say that inside this box there are thigh high socks?"

"Yes," the other girl nodded her head.

"And it's just thigh high socks in there? I mean like there is nothing else? As in you have this entire box filled with nothing but thigh high socks?"

"Yep," the girl nodded again as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "That was just silly Miporion, you're just teasing me here, aren't you? What else did you think I could mean with that?"

At this point, Miho had completely lost Saori as her mind was trying to make sense of this awkward moment. She was going to need a few moments to allow herself to let this sink in.

Miho caught a glimpse of something odd in her friend's eyes, she might be mistaken as to what exactly it was but her gut instinct was telling her that she was never going to make it to the door. She had the impression that her friend was not going to let her.

'I still wonder why she had to go and buy so many in one go. Sure it's getting colder outside and we're approaching winter but I don't think that anybody would even need to have that many of them, to begin with. Let alone buying even more…'

As if she had read Miho's mind, Saori gave the reason why the box was so large. "They had some really awesome discounts that I just couldn't pass up on plus they gave me an additional discount if I ordered above a certain number of items," she explained.

Saori's face had a kind and warm smile on it as she said, "C'mon, have a seat. I'll go and get us those drinks I said I would."

"Ah yes. Thank you."

'What should I do, I came here to have a fun evening with her but things have become weird… I don't know what I should do here.'

With the girl returning from the kitchen with some drinks for the both of them and having had some time to have it sink in with her, Miho was starting to feel a bit more at ease, now that the initial shock and surprise had been overcome, and after she had some minutes to process all of this she came to the conclusion that this was just one of those things that she should just accept and get on with it.

"Do you want to try some of them?" Saori asked as she caught sight of her friend staring at the box. Pushing herself up on her feet she made her way over towards the box and opened it. "Let's have a bit of fun tonight and try them all out! What do you say Miporin?"

"W-Who me? N-No it can't, I mean those are yours."

"Don't be shy Miporin, you've got to try some of these on!" the girl exclaimed with excitement and she reached into the box and pulled out several unopened packs. "I've got ones with frills, bows, striped ones, ribbons, mono-coloured ones, a few with lace. You name it I got it. Just have a look at the details between these; yeah I know that they almost look the same but they're really pretty different from each other if you know what details to look for. Aren't these just so cute and girly?"

"Aha…" Miho did have to admit that most of the ones that her friend was showing her were pretty cute, she would not mind having to pick some of these for when she would be going out somewhere. That said she also had to be honest and say that with some of these there was almost no difference and she could not entirely follow Saori's reasoning and going on about the finer differences.

"I've also got a few that are thicker so they're good to wear when it's cold outside."

"Those are pretty handy then," Miho said as she felt that it was getting colder outside over the past week, there was an appeal to wearing warmer clothes.

"Oh, I also got a few that are just perfect for use with a maid outfit! Let me show them to you, you just wait here for me but no peeking, alright?"

"U-Um… sure," she mumbled as she was not certain what she was even supposed to say in response to that, it just the two of them here and they were just girls. As the ginger-haired girl disappeared into the bathroom with a pack of the socks an awkward sensation began to creep up on Miho, she was not sure what she was supposed to make of this.

"I wonder if she's still not over having her suggestion for a panzer maid café been rejected." It was a suggestion that Saori had been quite vocal about but nobody had really taken it seriously, Momo least of all because there already were quite some clubs and classes that had already applied for doing a maid café so it absolutely had been out of the question for the tankery team to do anything even remotely similar.

"Even if I did agree to it there's no way that we could get that done anymore in time and I really don't want to impose upon either the student council or the festival committee."

As unpleasant as it might be she would have to let her friend know that under no circumstances could they do her suggestion of a panzer maid café. Her friend was going to be disappointed but it was something that Miho, as commander of the team and one of her best friends was going to have to tell the poor girl.

Alerted by the sound of the door to the bathroom opening Miho was quick to avert her eyes by turning in the opposite reason though she had no idea why she resorted to that almost by instinct.

"Ehm, Saori-san, about that panzer maid café idea of yours…"

"Hmmm? Oh that, yeah I know that we can't do that but I still want to show them to you, they're pretty cute you know. And besides, I might get another chance next year so it's all good."

"Right…" By now Miho was not even sure if she wanted to see her friend in her new leg coverings, this whole evening was just getting weirder by the minute. Then again, would it be a bad thing for her to just accept her friend's quirk and indulge her for the evening.

Letting out another sigh Miho slowly began to turn around before opening her eyes.

"Sheesh, Miporin, you don't need to act like that. It's just me you know. C'mon and tell me which one you like better."

Having a look at her friend Miho was relieved to learn that Saori had not undressed or anything, the girl had merely changed the types of socks she was wearing and now lowering her eyes to gaze at her friend's legs Miho was feeling a little anxious. Not to mention she had to blush a little.

"So which one do you think looks best Miporin?"

"… I… uh ehm…" It was a hard question for her to answer; in fairness, she felt that each of them had a very pretty design to them, a lace top with ribbons and frills gave them a girly appeal and Miho could see why her friend might be fond of these.

"So do you like the black one or the white one?"

The black with the white lace felt like it would match better with a maid outfit, or at least the type that Miho thought her friend was talking about, even so, she could not deny that the white one with the black lace also had a certain appeal to it. "I ehm…" she said, blushing. "I kinda like them both. They're really pretty you know, kinda makes me wish that we had gone with your suggestion."

"I know right, seeing them just makes you want to wear a maid outfit to go with them!"

It was rather tempting and Miho found that somewhere deep inside that she did want to try a maid outfit but she had to remind herself that now was not the time or the place for that.

"So, are there any you want to try on? Oh, wait that's it! I've got the perfect ones for you!"

Rushing off quickly Saori went back to the box and began rummaging through it in search of the items that were on her mind, the perfect match for her friend. Pulling out said items she presented them to the other girl. "I mean c'mon, these are just meant for you! Look they even have Boko on them!"

Miho just froze on the spot, losing track of everything that was happening around her, the entire focus of her mind was for some unexplainable reason drawn towards one of the packs that her friend was holding in her hands.

With her eyes transfixed on the small package, still in its plastic wrapping Miho was starting to feel a strange sensation wash over her. It was not that she had never worn thigh highs before, she had a couple of them in her apartment but these were definitely something else.

"… It really is… Boko…" she said underneath her breath, she was finding it hard to believe that these were genuine Boko products, even for her as an avid collector of all things related to this character it was almost unthinkable that she could have overseen such products being on the market. '…B-Boko… I can't believe I've never seen these before. I-I want to try them on but I'm scared that it might be embarrassing. B-But they're Boko…'

Gently opening the package and pulling out the two pieces of clothing she could feel that these were made of a high-quality fabric as they were soft to the touch. "Uhm… Saori-san, are you sure that it's alright for me to try these on? I mean you bought them with your money didn't you?"

"It's okay Miporin, they weren't all that expensive given the discount I got and besides I thought they would make for a nice present for you. They're yours, Miporin, now c'mon and try them on! I want to see how they look!"

"Uh, w-w-wait Saori-san… I-I can't just… w-w-wait…"

"No need to be shy now!" Saori stated as she carefully began to work Miho towards the bathroom where she could enjoy a little privacy while she changed. "C'mon Miporin, try them on! I want to see how they look!"

Trapped inside her friend's bathroom the girl could do little other than letting out a deeply troubled sigh as she came to accept that she had to wear at least of these. Not that she was opposed to this, and in fact, she was rather eager to try them on. "They're so cute." One pair had a nice dark red colour while the other was some kind of beige or light brown, each of them covered in various prints of Boko.

"I wonder if Alice-san knows of these. I would like to see her again."

Finished with putting on a pair of her gift Miho took a deep breath before stepping out of the bathroom, bracing herself for what was to come.

"Whoa Miporin!" Saori exclaimed as she dropped down in front of her friend to have a better look, the excitement in her voice notable. "You're so cute in those! Ah, I knew these were the right pick for you. Wait a second, I've got to take some pictures of you!"

"… A-Ah w-wait S-S-Saori-san!" she did her best to stop her friend but it was too little, too late. Before she knew it the camera on the girl's phone went into overdrive.

Giggling with almost childlike enthusiasm Saori was enjoying herself. "I think you look so adorable in those Miporin!"

"... Thank you, Saori-san, for buying me these. And also for inviting me over tonight. I'm glad you did." Miho had to smile as she got the compliments from the girl, it was kind of her to say that and she knew that she was going to wear these on her next visit to the Boko museum.

"Don't mention it; I'm just glad that you accepted my invitation. Hanging out with you is a lot better than just being alone; still, it would've been even better if the others were here as well."

Miho could not help but chuckle as she heard that, she could not imagine the others' reaction if they found out about this. It would have been a lively evening for sure.

Seeing her companion laugh Saori began to laugh as well and the two girls were having more fun than they thought would have been possible. After a while, even Miho no longer saw it as an oddity but just some silly fun she could have with one of her best friends, at this point it had all become something for her to enjoy while forgetting all of the past days' problems. Even if that something was rather silly.


Ooarai school carrier – school grounds 14.40h Thursday

From where she was seated, perched on top of the turret of her cherished Panzer IV Miho was closely observing how people were already hard at work with the construction of the stands and seating areas for those who would come to watch the demonstrations.

"Wow, I wonder if we're even going to be able to pull it off, I'd be nervous being in front of so many people."

"Impressive isn't it Nishizumi-dono!" Yukari exclaimed as she could already picture how it was all going to look in her mind, she could envision the crowd of spectators who would be watching their every move, cheering them on. "Oh just thinking about it is making me so excited!

"Say Yukari-san, are your parents going to visit?"

"Yeah, they're definitely coming. My mom sounded pretty excited about getting to visit the school and all though I don't think they'll be able to visit on Saturday. You know with them running a business and so, kinda a shame as I'm afraid that the Sunday is going to be way busier.

"Hmm," Miho let out, knowing that what her friend was saying was true, their festival was going to span no less than two days though she knew that with many students still having school on Saturday there were going to be fewer of them present than on the second day of the festival. That was the day that they were expecting the majority of visitors would come, and the one that they were all preparing for.

"Still it'll be great, ah man I can't wait to see how many people are going to come!" Yukari was sounding excited though anybody who was witnessing all of the preparations taking place would feel the same; there was something infectious about this excitement.

"That said, don't you think they're going to be a little too close?" Saori asked as she came to join up with the duo, "I mean this yard isn't all that big, to begin with, and with those stands present it's going to be a lot more crowded than usual. Still, I'm not entirely convinced that it's a good idea to give them a fire demonstration here."

"That is also why we're using blanks for that," was the answer that came from Miho as there was no way that she would ever have any of her tanks fire a live round when a crowd was in such close vicinity to it. "There's no way that the principal would have agreed with it otherwise."

"Uh-huh," Saori remarked, "Still do you think he could've stopped this if the student council felt otherwise. I know that technically the principal is in charge of our school but sometimes it really feels like the student council has more power than him."

"Man, I'm really curious how many people the student council is expecting," Yukari said again as she was pointing towards another seating area was being set up on the other side of the tank yard. "I can't imagine how many people they want to try and house here, this is really whoa… unbelievable… "

"Yeah," Miho said in agreement as it was quite a sight to behold, she had no idea how many people would even show up but if these seating stands were to be of any indication there were going to be more than enough. It was an exciting prospect. "I just hope that we'll be able to welcome plenty of newcomers to help make up for those team members that'll graduate next year."

"Don't worry Nishizumi-dono, I'm sure that there's going to be plenty of newcomers wanting to join our team! So you don't have to-."

With the sound of raspy snarl signalling an engine accelerating, and steel tracks slapping the ground the crew of Anglerfish turned around to have a look to see who it was. Appearing from the woods to their rear came the distinctive blocky shape of Anteater's Chi-Nu, brushing aside branches as it broke cover.

"I wonder if they're already finished with their lap?" Yukari asked as she kept observing the greenish tank rolling toward them until it came to a halt beside them. "Or would they have a mechanical issue?"

"Is everything alright?" Miho questioned as the commander of the other tank appeared from the cupola. "Do you need any help?"

"Ah captain, ehm no everything's fine, nyaa…" the girl said while giving off a somewhat awkward vibe, "…Actually, we uh… ehm… kinda got lost… hehehe…" And as quickly as she appeared did she disappear; withdrawing again into the dark confines of the tank and the protection it would offer her from their gaze.

"…" Saori couldn't say a word, to think that they had gotten lost when they had even been given a map.

Miho just had an awkward smile, feeling that it could happen to the best of them.

"Well, I guess that can happen," Yukari mumbled, keeping most of it to herself as she could not fathom how anybody could get lost when they had the benefit of having an actual map. Not to mention the fact that the route they had gone to set out yesterday had been clearly marked, Duck had personally seen to that and they were not known for doing things halfway.

"Yukarin, do you think they might've been a bit too busy with their games…?"

"To be honest Takebe-dono, I could see that… yeah…"

Watching as the greenish coloured tank drove off again, and likely back to the safety of the tank sheds the rest of Anglerfish was left dumbfounded as none of them had an idea on what had just happened.

That said, there was still plenty left to do, with the weekend rapidly approaching there was every reason for them to put in as much practice as they could. Many of the crews had already been going through their paces now that most of their vehicles had been brought back to service and it was just as well, they had only tomorrow left.

After another hour or two of practice and driving around the track, the crew of Anglerfish was starting to reach the end of their limit, and as they had a good look at the field as they began to approach the shed they could see that other students were also going home.

"I wonder if any of them is going to come back tonight," Saori said to nobody in particular as she was closely watching a group of girls leaving the school grounds. "I heard some of the girls in our class say that they were going to stay all night otherwise they aren't going to make it."

"Oh, do they have that much to do?"

Raising her hand Yukari chimed in, "I heard people in my class say that as well. I guess those involved in clubs or doing class projects have a lot more work to do than us."

"Indeed," Hana said, "I guess you could say that those of us in the Sensha-Do team got it rather easy compared to them. Though, I suppose, some of us are going to have it harder than others."

Her eyes began to travel towards the front of the interior, where their driver was seated. Given that they were going to be giving rides there was going to be a lot asked of the drivers.

"You think you're gonna be okay Mako?"

"What a bother," the girl in question said in one of her usual monotones. It was clear to those who heard her that the girl was not looking forward to being stuck in the tank for most of the day.

"Don't worry Reizei-dono!" Yukari proclaimed. "I'll be certain to make sure that you'll be resupplied throughout the day! Mark my words, I'm going to tackle the logistical hurdles so that Reizei-dono won't be left without a drink or snack!"

"… Yay…"

Just hearing it all Saori could do little other than to shake her head in disapproval, and even pinching the bridge of her nose did little to distract her though she should have seen it coming as their driver had made it clear to her that she was not happy with the arrangement. "…"

Hana was just chuckling, the smile on her face hidden by the gun's breech and other equipment, not that she could care about any of the other crew catching her in the act. She was enjoying the moment, taking delight in the lively expressions that she had caught on the face of their radio operator; they were such treats for her, savouring every single one.

"Nishizumi, you hearing me?" It was the voice of Momo coming over the radio. "We're heading back to the office; we still have enough work to do this evening. We're going to leave the remainder of the practice up to you. We wish you a good night."

It did not come as a surprise to the crew of Anglerfish; the members of the Automotive Club had also declined earlier to join the practice as they were too busy with fixing the remaining tanks. After the crew of Mallard had completed their compulsory laps they as well had informed Miho about their need to leave earlier due to other obligations, so by now, there was not even a handful of tanks left.

Duck was already busy with doing one last round across the parcour,and if what Saori had told her was true then Hippo was hot on their heels. Anteater still ought to do two more laps though it was becoming obvious that it was not going to happen today.

And that just left her tank; they had completed their assigned number of laps with ease and in record time as well. Perhaps it would be best for them to finish this all up.

"So should we be going as well, Nishizumi-dono?"

"Is there really a point to us going again?" Hana asked, appearing from her hatch, "We've already done that parcour three times? Is there going to be a point to us doing it a fourth time today?"

"Hana's got a point, and besides I'm rather beat so I wouldn't mind calling it a day," Saori said in return while letting her fellow tankers know that she too was at the end of her limit. A practice session of almost three hours straight really was a lot to ask. "If you ask me, we should call it quits and go home."

"B-But…. But!"

"Also," Hana added, "I would like to inform you that I too would appreciate it if we could end today's practice session. You see I have an appointment with regards to an upcoming exhibition so I would very much appreciate it if we could return home at a suitable time."

Hearing what her friends were saying Miho was giving it some consideration, it was true that they had traversed the parcour three times already and without any effort. And even if she was feeling that there would be no harm in a little extra practice she had to admit that she was getting tired as well, it had already been a long day at school and she could well imagine that everybody by now would want to get some rest.

"Well, I guess there isn't any harm in calling it a day. Is that alright with the rest of you?"

"Yes please."

"Yay!"

"Not gonna object. Nope," Mako replied, deadpan.

"… N-Nishizumi-dono…"

Taking in the opinions of her friends it was clear that the vote to go home was almost unanimous; everybody had given it their all so it would be good for them to be rewarded for their efforts. The practice was important but getting some much-earned rest was so as well.

"Alright then," Miho said as she pressed her fingers against her throat microphone, "Saori-san, can I ask you to contact Duck and Hippo? Inform them that if they want to they can break off and return to the sheds, also Anglerfish will be calling it a day."

"Got it Miporin."

"Mako-san, you can drive us back to the sheds."

"Okay."

"Let's go home everybody."

Having given the order Miho knew that their practice session of the day was at an end, once the tank would be parked in its allotted spot they could grab their belongings and go home. With her back feeling a little sore she realized that calling it a day early may not have been such a bad idea, after all, getting some rest might be just what she was going to need as well.


Ooarai school carrier – Miho's apartment – 20.05h Thursday

Dropping down on the couch while letting out an exasperated sigh of relief, the exhaustion from the past four days was now taking its toll on her, Miho just sat there and while staring at the ceiling. She could not recall the last time she had been this busy.

"I know that I should be glad that we were able to get a good amount of practice done today but I'm really worn out from it all…" she said underneath her breath as she began to think back to their training of the past few days.

By now almost all of their tanks were back into shape, the only exceptions being Leopon, though the Automotive Club were confident that they would have her ready by tomorrow, and of course Rabbit. That said she had to admit that Azusa and her crew had been outdoing themselves over the past days with their newly allotted task.

Lying down on her back Miho could do little but smile thinking back to it, the way that those girls had pulled themselves together and had taken on their new role with gusto made her feel so proud of them.

She could well imagine that plenty of other students had to be tired as well by now, there was so much work that had been done, there was still plenty of work that would need to be done tomorrow, and she could understand that for most students it might have been difficult to get enough rest.

Tomorrow was going to be the last day that any of them could practice before it would all start this weekend, and just thinking about it Miho found herself feeling a sense of excitement at the prospect of it all.

"There's going to be so many people just coming to see us," she said, her whole body shaking as the implications of that sentence sank in with her, many people were coming to them, more were likely coming just to see her. "I just hope that I won't disappoint them, people might have these weird expectations of me. I think this is going to be even harder than when I stood in front of so many people once we won the tournament."

Letting out an exasperated sigh she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. She had no idea how many people she could expect to see, no doubt the number was going to be higher than any reasonable guess she could come up with.

Not that it would matter much, thinking about it Miho came to the realization that regardless of how many people would show up it was not going to change what she had to do.

That reminded her, she still had not heard back from either Anzu or the student council itself with regards to her suggestions on how to deal with the M3 tank. It would have been nice if they could have gotten back to her and filled her in on a decision though it was also possible that they had not yet been able to discuss it, which would be a problem.

Though thinking about it there would be no way that any of them had not given this some thought, it was more likely that they had not been able to inform Miho about their decision just yet. Making a quick mental note to ask them about it tomorrow Miho left it at that.

"They must be pretty busy with things themselves; I can't even imagine how much work everybody in the student council must have to go through. I do wish I could've done more to help them…"

She did not know the exact size of it but she could make an educated guess, daring to imagine it she was confident that it would not be the kind of job that she was suited for.

"How many students can we realistically convince to come to our school? We're not a big school like some of the others, and our Sensha-Do team isn't all that big to begin with…"

Rolling over to the other side she was thinking about what would be a good number to aim for, taking into account of needing replacements for several crews. But as quickly as she began doing the numbers a new problem became obvious to her, they were going to need to acquire new tanks so they could expand the team.

"We'd have to look at how our finances are going to be next year. Well, if we're lucky and get more than enough new students it shouldn't be too hard to make several purchases. Hmmm… I wonder what kind of tanks we should look to get, maybe a few with a strong gun or perhaps several fast ones."

Their choice of tanks was of course going to be dictated by their finances but if possible Miho would like to get several different types of tanks so the team would be flexible in its approach. It was something that she felt would be best to discuss with somebody like Yukari who had a good understanding of tanks and could help her narrow down a selection.

"Even then there's a lot to pick from, I don't even know where to start," she said, her mind going back to a time when she could not stop dreaming about tanks. "There's so many of them, some of them cuter than others. Anyway whichever ones we get, we need to treat them well…"

That would all come in time, for now, it was important to make sure that the festival was going to be a success. They could look for new tanks after that, once things had quietened down a little. Just another little item on her list that she was going to have to discuss with Anzu at some point, and in time, she would have to again with whoever would succeed her.

"I wonder who they'll choose to be her successor. What kind of person would they be, would they get along with her, would they hold the Sensa-Do team in as high regard as Anzu did?"

There were so many questions, so many uncertainties that she would need to deal with in time.

"Whoever gets chosen, I hope that we can be friends as well. I want to befriend them and work together towards making this school even better," she whispered while thinking about who these new members could be. Even if she had no idea at this point who the successors would be, she knew that she was going to be working with them.

"Hmmm, I wonder if I could ask them to introduce me to their successors." She was thinking about if that would be possible for her, naturally it would do the team well if Miho were to have the opportunity to discuss things through with the new student council while Anzu and the others were still here at Ooarai. She was hoping that it would help smooth things out.

Going to her little kitchen Miho had a look to see what she could use to make dinner for herself, likely she would opt again for something simple like a cup of instant ramen or something. "I guess I should've taken Saori-san up on her offer of taking some leftovers with me…"

Just thinking back about the meal she had been treated to yesterday at her friend's place was enough to cause her stomach to make a prompt reply. It had been such a great meal, and it had been surprisingly easy to make. Well, when Saori had been doing it that is.

"That desert she had gotten at a store was also good, I should've asked her from which shop she had bought it yesterday," she said, feeling once more a little silly about not having thought of that when she had the chance.

Filling the cooker with water she began to think that once the festival was over, it would be a good time for her to start training Azusa so she got more experience. "I need to start with that, we're going to be pretty busy with training all of the new team members though I guess that most of them should have some experience with operating tanks…"

With her thoughts trailing off, Miho was feeling a little silly for not having considered that, of course, there were going to be enough new students who had prior experience in the sport. It was not like she was going to have to train an entire team of rookies.

Laughing it off she shook her head, telling herself how different the situation would be compared to how it had been at the start of this year. "Yeah… things are going to be different, not just for me or the team, but for everybody. Thinking about it… it feels… kinda exciting."

Craning her neck back as she was gazing at the ceiling of her apartment, Miho could feel a little tingle run down the length of her spine, making her feel that next year could be pretty exciting for Ooarai's Sensha-Do team.

With the cooker whistling to let her know it was ready she reached for it and poured the water in the cup she had picked. Not much of a meal but it would do for today, not that it would really matter as there was always tomorrow.

"Oh right, we didn't make any plans about tomorrow," she said all of a sudden when she came to realise that she had not talked with her friends about what to do tomorrow after all of their training was done. They had plenty of time to discuss the topic but none of them had even thought of that, how she was feeling like a fool right now.

"Should I contact them? No, it's better when I talk to them first thing tomorrow… yeah, that's a better idea. Well, I guess I should have dinner first."

Fiddling a little with her hair before picking up the cup Miho went back to her spot on the couch, the warmth of the cup notable in her hand. Sitting down and offering a prayer of gratitude for the meal she dug in, enjoying the savoury taste of the curry flavoured ramen. Having finished the cup and treating herself to a second one she had to admit that dining with her friends was a better way to spend an evening.

Sitting there, her thoughts began to wander to a different matter that had been at the back of her mind for a few days now, ever since she had the phone call with her sister. There was just something about it that she could not shake.

"I wonder if onee-chan's able to come and visit, I really hope that she can make it. I'd love to show her around the school and all…" she said quietly while thinking what it would be like for her to show this precious school and all of its wonders to her sister. There was so much that she wanted to show her, so much to tell her about.

"It's a small chance I know but I still hope she can make it." That was what it was, Miho knew in her heart that in all likelihood Maho would not be able to come and visit her, at the moment her sister had a lot of other important matters to take care of before she would go to Germany. She knew that she was going to miss her sister dearly.

"Still I'm glad that they allowed me to take that day off, I don't want to miss onee-chan's departure, I want to be there when she leaves…" Wiping away a tear that had been forming she pushed herself up from the couch, feeling that it might be a little silly of her getting emotional about it. She should be happy, happy that her sister got to have such a wonderful opportunity.

Well, in truth she was happy for her sister but she could not deny that the thought of her sister leaving the country was an unpleasant one for her. Though to be honest it was not like she had seen her sister all that often in the past year, maybe she was just overthinking it.

"Whatever is going to happen I need to make sure to take enough pictures so that I can send them to her, I'm sure she'll like that," she said, smiling as she began to imagine her sister's face. She had no idea how she was going to do it but that was not going to stop her.

That said, her friends would likely be taking enough pictures on their own, and there was no doubt in her mind that the student council would make sure that there was going to be a plethora of photographs taken during this festival.

She would ask them tomorrow for it.

Just lying there Miho became aware of just how quiet it was being by herself in her room, and it stood to such a contrast compared to the previous night when she had gone to visit Saori, it was almost surreal.

"Ah, I can't wait for the school festival to begin though I'm a little anxious…"


Author's note: Hey folks, here's the latest chapter for you all to read and enjoy.

Been an interesting couple of months since the last chapter got posted, I hope you all have been doing well and that things have improved for you.

Not much to say from my end here, been able to get enough other stuff done in the two months I was stuck in lockdown here. That said, I do miss that Militracks got postponed until September this year and I do have that uneasy feeling that it will get cancelled altogether, well, I guess we're going to find out in a couple of months.

Well, see you all next time and take care.