Dein Weg ist Mein Weg
Chapter XXIX
The Experiment
"Miss Nishizumi?"
No… she won't be able to keep them under control… she's too wild… I should make them work like this… and then…
"Miss Nishizumi?!" the teacher repeated, somewhat more forcefully, and Maho instinctively stood up and answered.
"Y-yes, sir?"
"Good to have you with us," she joked with an amused but serious smile, and pointed to the blackboard. "Please solve this for us, would you kindly?"
"Yes, of course…" she left her desk behind and walked over to the equation written down on the blackboard, using the precious few seconds between her desk and the teacher to actually catch up with what had been asked of her. She had been too busy planning her experiment to pay any real attention to the lesson, but thankfully the solution was still left in her mind from last year, and after a minute or so she was allowed back to her seat.
Soon after, the bell chimed and class let out, the morning periods giving way to lunch.
"Uhm… well… uh…" Saori cautiously started and stopped from her desk.
"Yes, Saori?" Maho answered uninterestedly without looking up from her notebook, where her scribbling continued. "What can I do for you?"
"Well… I mean… Are you… with me… or rather… are we… by which I mean… would you…"
"No, I'm not angry," Maho answered with a calm, yet determined tone, "at least not any more than usual. Yes, we're fine for the moment, and thank you but no, I need to finish this up, alone, so I'll eat by myself today."
"Oh… well, uhh, good luck then, I suppose…" Saori said in puzzlement, and left the classroom together with Hana to fetch Yukari and Mako.
"Apologies for the inconvenience," Maho said to the teacher as she stood up and quickly collected her things.
"Ah, yes, Miss Nishizumi. You are excused," the teacher answered, and returned his attention to the blackboard, where he was currently working through some equations. Maho gave a small bow, and silently left the classroom. Seeing as she had already gone over all the lesson entailed during her time at Kuromorimine, and her being the commander of the Sensha-Do team, she had been allowed to leave class a little early, to prepare the afternoon's practice session.
Even though she only made a quick stop at her apartment to drop off her bag and grab her trenchcoat, she still had barely five minutes to spare before the rest of the team arrived once she actually reached the garage. Seeing the large gates already unlocked and opened, she assumed Ami had already arrived, which was nothing irregular, but as she rounded the corner, she saw something that very much was.
"Well, Commander," Ami said with an enthusiastic smile. "It seems the Lee is no longer down a crewmember!"
A moment of awkward yet deadly silence filled the hangar, as Azusa turned to glare at Maho.
"I see…" Maho said slowly after a moment, somewhat taken aback at seeing the first year back in the garage. Having quickly composed herself, she continued into the large hangar and up to the table where Azusa and Ami were standing.
"Miss Sawa," Maho said dryly and nodded dismissively to her, "I thought you weren't interested in Sensha-Do?"
"Don't get any delusions of grandeur, Commander," Azusa muttered back, and glared at Maho. "I'm not doing this for you. And don't think I'm looking forward to having to listen to your orders."
"Go line up outside, cadet," Maho growled back, and put her bag down on the table. Azusa turned on the spot, and exited the Hangar with swift steps. Maho followed her path with glaring eyes, but ultimately sighed and shrugged, glancing down into her bag. "Well, it's not like you'll have to for much longer," she said to herself before walking towards the large doors herself, as most of the team had begun to gather in the yard outside.
"Alright everyone!" Maho called to the assembled team, and paused for a moment as the errant chatter among the different crews died down, "We're approaching the second round of the tournament, but that is no reason to slack off. From today on, we're going to change how we do things around here. We're going to do something no other team in Sensha-Do history has done, and through hard work, and determination, we're going to make it work."
The reaction was roughly what she had imagined. Some scattered groans, some looks of confusion, and one or two nods of agreement.
"I'm not going to lie to you; we're not doing too well. We've lost both of the matches we've played up until now, our arsenal of tanks is sub-par compared to our competition, and even though you have all impressed me and Captain Chono immensely with your progress, you just don't match up to the rest of the teams in the tournament." She paused, both to observe the reaction of the team, and to gather her own thoughts.
She wanted to continue, to state outright what she had already realized, but the words caught in her throat. She glanced over to Ami, who smiled and nodded; a wordless signal of support, telling her to go on. Still, she had to steel herself to even attempt uttering what she was about to say. As long as she didn't say it aloud, she could still try to convince her that it was a lie, a mere piece of propaganda concocted by her mind and depressed thoughts. But she knew it wasn't. She had already figured as much out.
In the end, the only thing that managed to spur her to speak was seeing the cyclops preparing to open her mouth and argue that caused her to continue.
"But that's not our problem…" she said and looked down at the ground, in a voice that was a lot lower and lacking in conviction than she would have hoped for. She sighed, clenched her fists, swore under her breath, and looked back up, looking to the team before her. "The problem is me. I might have been a good commander while I led Kuromorimine. Some would say better than good…" she gave a quick glance to Yukari at this, "But this is not Kuromorimine, and you are not the sort of team I have been taught to lead. You were all here last week, and you saw how little I trusted in my own commands. And if I don't trust me, I can't count on you to trust me either."
A short murmur made its way through the team, but whether it was from concern, pity, an unlikely appreciation of her honesty, or something else she couldn't say. Momo's mood was far easier to read however, as a smug, self-satisfied grin quickly spread across the cyclops lips, and a look of arrogant vindication appeared in her eyes.
Both wanting to deny the raven-haired moron from gloatingly interrupting, and wanting to get all she had to say out before her mind began to shut itself down again, Maho continued. "I don't trust myself. Not with commanding moment-to-moment, and definitely not a team like you. So, that's why we're going to try something new. Captain Chono, if you would?"
She nodded to Ami, who nodded in turn and began handing out small folded sheets of paper as well as maps of the Zuikaku's woodland park to each of the tank commanders, with target coordinates marked on each. As she did so, Maho kept on speaking, pacing slightly back and forth while she spoke. "All crews are to take their tanks to the coordinates marked on your map, and there you'll wait for further instructions. Do not open or look at your piece of paper until given the go-ahead to do so, Is that clear?"
The four commander's nodded in turn.
"Good… good..." She stopped, if only for a moment to see the gleam of anticipation in the eyes of the team, before nodding her head towards the gate of the hangar and clapping her hands a few times. "Alright, to your tanks, we haven't got all afternoon."
"Well, I shall be off to the observation tower," Ami said cheerfully and put a hand on Maho's shoulder, even with the rumble of engines from the team's tanks filling the air as the other tanks rolled away across the yard to their destinations. "I wish you the best of luck, Commander Nishizumi. Let's hope your little experiment works out."
"Yes…" Maho answered quietly, "let's…"
She remained in place for a moment and watched Ami walk away to the observation tower beside the hangar, before sighing and entering the large structure to head to the Panzer IV, and its crew that stood gathered around it, talking in low tones while giving the occasional glance towards her.
"If you don't mind, ladies, I want us out of this hangar and by our starting position in the next ten minutes. All crew aboard, please," she said sternly as she neared the tank, ignoring their hushed whispers, and with practiced steps climbed up and on top of the bluish grey hull, letting her fingers trail over the phoenix-insignia for a moment as she passed by the turret and threw herself up and over into the commander's cupola.
She could feel a weight against her chest as she waited for Hana, Saori, Yukari, and Mako to take their positions, even after all the training she had put herself through during the past few weeks. As soon as the loader's and gunner's hatches opened however, she drew a deep breath and steeled herself, leaving no outward trace of the phantom pain her mind inflicted on her body.
"Mako, point E11, quick as you can, please," she ordered calmly over the internal radio, and moments later the engine roared to life and they began to roll away towards the forest and hills of the parklands.
"Comma-no-Maho... Sorry..." Yukari asked as they made their way through the forest. "Is-is it OK if I asked a question?"
"Sure," Maho answered shortly in her usual tone, standing up in her seat with her torso sticking out of the cupola to breathe easier. "What is it?" she asked in return as she sat back down in her seat. "And just make up your mind already. It's been at least two months. Either just get it wrong and annoy me, or put some effort in and get it right. Don't go around switching back and forth all the time."
"Sorry, C-Maho." Glancing down into the loader's seat, Maho saw Yukari mouth her name silently a few times, repeating it over and over and, hopefully, trying to commit it to memory.
"Anyways, what is it you want to ask?" Maho sighed as she glanced at their map and out of the cupola. There wasn't too much more ground to cover before they reached their destination.
"Well, uh, I was just curious…" Yukari said cautiously, "Why do you have that on?" She gestured vaguely at Maho, and it was obvious that by 'that' she meant the trenchcoat.
It was a fair question of course, Maho did stick out quite a bit from the dark blue of the rest of the team in her beige trenchcoat just thrown over her regular white and green school uniform. Despite knowing this full well however, all she could do was sigh at the question.
"I need to have something on when we're in the tank, don't I?" she muttered in answer. "Bare skin and rough metal is just a recipe for disaster.
"But," Hana followed up, and also looked up towards Maho from the gunner's seat, "what about your regular uniform? The sewing club went to such trouble sewing us these jackets, so it seems a shame not to use them. Did something perhaps happen to yours? Or did it not fit properly? I am certain the sewing club would be happy to make some adjustments for you."
"Yeah," Saori chimed in from down in the hull of the tank, "Or is it something else? Some dark memory maybe, or perhaps you've got a phobia of the color blue-oh, and I wore blue socks the other day, I'm so so sorry, Maporin-"
"I don't want to talk about it," Maho said sharply, both interrupting Saori and ending the discussion with one stroke. "Now cut the chit-chat, we're here."
"Is everyone at their designated position?" the commander's voice asked over the radio, and a series of affirmative statements followed from the other tanks of the team.
"All ready over here, Commander," Erwin answered into her transceiver, being the last to reply.
"Excellent," the commander continued. "We're now going to have a short training match. Elimination rules are in effect, and there will be three teams. Phoenix team will be on its own."
"Huh… interesting..." Erwin said with a smirk to herself and her crew, even as she continued to listen intently to the instructions. "What are you planning, Commander…"
"Each tank is currently positioned at a random point in the park, and each of you must establish communications with your team-mates. How you choose to act after that is up to you. Captain Chono is responsible for the starting positions and the splitting of the team, and I have not been informed of either. The playing field is therefore as level as we can make it."
"But, Commander?" Noriko of Duck team asked, interrupting the briefing. "How will we know what the teams are?"
"Once Captain Chono starts the match, you'll all open your pieces of paper, and switch your radios to the channel noted there. That will leave two tanks in contact with one another, the other two in contact with each other, while Phoenix team switches to radio silence. Captain Chono will be monitoring all radio communications to make sure no one cheats. The team with a tank last left standing wins. Any more questions?"
A few moments of silence followed, before Captain Chono's voice took the place of Commander Nishizumi's.
"Alright everyone!" she cheered across the radio waves, "You all know this by now, but Sensha-Do begins and ends with a bow. All participants, bow!"
"Let's have a good match!" Erwin said and bowed lightly, as much as was possible in the assault gun, and was joined by her crewmates. Over the radio they could hear the rest of the team doing the same.
"Very well, there's no time like the present!" Captain Chono cheered. "All tanks, panzer vor, and match start!"
"Leave the engine off for now," Erwin said to Oryou as she pulled out the small piece of paper. "We're positioned well enough as it is, and we might as well figure out where we're going and who's on our team before we start drawing attention to ourselves."
"Yes, Commander!" Oryou answered, and both Caesar and Saemonza nodded in agreement while Erwin fiddled with the radio.
"This is Hippo, ready for action," Erwin said into the transceiver, but was quickly cut off.
"What the hell took you so long?!" the student council's PR officer yelled back over the radio, "Ah, nevermind that, at least we've got a good tank on the team. Where are you guys hiding?!"
"We're currently at point C2, and holding position."
"Alright!" the de facto commander of Turtle team cheered. "I'm pretty sure I saw the Panzer IV pass us by at point A3. We're gonna go take out that arrogant bastard and wipe that smug grin of her face once and for all. You're going to meet us at B4 and we're taking her out right now!"
"I… uh… I don't think that's going to work…"
"Stop arguing with me! Just follow the plan!" A short click signified that their teammates had cut communications, and that the discussion was over.
"Well, it seems we've got our orders then…" Erwin shrugged. "Oryuo, try your best to stick to the forest and keep us out of sight. We're heading to B4."
"Copy that, Commander. Heading B4."
"And Oryou?"
"Yes, Commander?"
"No need to rush," Erwin said with a grin. "Best to do things properly, so we don't disappoint our seniors."
"Festina lente" Caesar commented as she put a shell into the breech, in preparation for what was coming.
"That's it!"
"Alright, keep it steady…" Maho called down to Mako as they left the thick forest behind, and reached a decently sized clearing, with a dirt road passing through it at the opposite end leading south to north. "We'll be at the road shortly, and then we'll swing north and try to cut a path up to the river, see if we can catch anyone."
"Copy that," Mako answered.
"Hana, you ready on the gun? I don't expect any surprises, but you"
"Yes, I am prepared," Hana answered calmly as she fiddled with the sights.
"Gun is loaded and ready as well!" Yukari called up.
"Good. Stay alert."
They soon reached the road, which in actuality was little more than a wide path between the trees left unplanted and simply covered in loose dirt, and turned North. Maho scanned the treeline on both sides as they drove on, if only to have an excuse to keep herself out of the hull of the tank for as long as possible. She still felt far from comfortable or confident in her seat and position, but she had to try.
But she was left little time to think or ponder her situation, as a shell flew past several dozen feet ahead of them, cutting clean through a small tree beside the road and grabbing her attention.
"Everyone at the ready!" she called down into the tank as she peered into the trees, and saw their assailant. "Mako, angle the tank to 10 o'clock. 38(t) spotted, heading our way."
"Tank at 10 o'clock, got it."
"Well, at least we can get Turtle team out of the way nice and early," Maho sighed. "Hana, take care of them."
"Yes, Maho."
But getting a shot off proved difficult. Momo's aim might very well be abysmal, but the same could in no way be said about Yuzu's driving, as the 38(t) weaved left and right among the trees at top speed, and headed right towards them. Hana fired a shot into the woods, but the small Czech tank's speed and maneuverability won out over Hana's aim. Just as Yukari finished reloading, it had reached their position, and barrelled out from the woods beside them and, in a truly impressive maneuver, drifted through the loose dirt past and behind them, their own turret too slow to keep up with the speed of Turtle's maneuver, placing the tank right behind the Panzer IV's weak rear armor, and the 37mm gun fired.
Unfortunately for Turtle team, the gun was barely aimed in their direction, and Momo had seemingly tried to fire the moment the German medium tank first appeared in her sights, without even bothering to check that she had aimed the gun properly.
Maho could barely muster the energy to sigh as the turret of the Panzer IV finished turning, and fired a shell into the front armor of the 38(t). A second later, a schwipp sounded as the white flag raised over it.
"Panzer 38(t) is no longer operational. Team A is down one tank," Ami called out to the remaining tanks, but Maho was far more happy to listen to the sweet song of the cyclops' fury at having missed, which could be heard even through armor and the low rumble of their engine.
"Alright," Maho sighed and shrugged after a moment, pressing on her throat mic to tell Mako to get them underway again, and they continued down the road. Glancing back at the eliminated tank, she almost felt sorry for Yuzu. A driver as skilled as her, hamstrung by a gunner as incompetent as Momo. It was nothing short of a damn shame.
A few minutes later they reached the river, and slowly began to ford it. While the river didn't have anything that could be described as a strong current, it was rather deep, and so the engine had to work hard to push the treads through the water and across the loose, sandy riverbed.
The Panzer IV had barely crawled up on the other side when a shell pinged against their turret. Moments later another pinged off their front armor, sending a rain of dirt it threw up down on Maho from where the ricochet hit the ground, and then a third shell slammed hard into their side, rocking the tank but still leaving them intact.
"It's Rabbit and Duck," Maho noted, and soon found at least one of their attackers. The Type 89 was trying to pull back among the trees, its ambush having failed, but Maho had no plans on letting them. "Hana, take down that tree behind them to their right. Force them to stick around."
"Just one moment…" Hana answered cooly, and the new heavier gun wavered for a moment, before roaring to life and sending its payload flying through the forest and cutting the tree Hana had aimed for in half, causing it to fall neatly to the ground and acting as a barrier to block Duck team's escape.
Maho could just make out the M3 Lee deeper in the forest, but the Type 89 was their target for now, and they had nowhere to run. They would have to come to her. Yukari, being one of the fastest loaders on the team, soon had a fresh shell in the breach, but not before the Type 89 had time to fire a salvo in return and start driving away through the edge of the forest, heading for the road that they presumably considered a viable path of escape.
"After them! Don't let them get away!" she yelled, and the Panzer IV's engines properly roared to life once more as they set out after their prey.
Hana fired another shell, but the Japanese tank was nimble, and halted just in time to dodge the doom that headed towards it. Maho swore under her breath, both over the fact that Duck team was getting away from them, and that they didn't have the time or ability to deal with Azusa and Rabbit team, who periodically sent another set of shells their way as it kept up with the chase by driving parallel to the road through the woods.
Another shot fired from each of the tanks, and neither had any real impact. The Type 89's 57mm gun did get a hit in, but it merely graced the side of the Panzer IV, while the 75mm of their own gun ended up missing through Duck team's incessant weaving back and forth across the road.
"Gun's reloaded, Maho!" Yukari called up.
"Alright, just aim and take them ou-" she began to call out, but interrupted herself. A flash of light appeared in the woods right ahead of them, shaking the leaves and trees, and a shell flew right toward them. But the nimble weaving of the Type 89, which had saved them from an annoying number of Hana's shots, proved the tank's undoing as it, seemingly unaware of or simply not reactive enough to the new combatant, weaved right into the path of the shell, and knocked itself out, rolling limply for a few meters more until it gently came to a halt against a tree, and the white flag popped out.
"Type 89 is no longer operational. Team B is down one tank," Ami announced, but Maho didn't have the time to listen, nor did anyone else in the Panzer IV.
"It's Hippo team!" Maho called. "Dead ahead!" The StuG III's low profile had made their ambush a near textbook attack, but now that the bushes they had used to hide behind had been blown away by the firing of their gun, they were left out in the open. "Hana, it's now or never."
"Yes," she answered, and Maho could barely make out a deep breath as the gun aimed, roared, and sent a shell down-range. It flew beautifully through the air, struck the StuG dead center in it's flat front armor, and embedded itself in the plate of steel. Seconds later, a third white flag flew in the gentle summer breeze.
"Sturmgeschutz III is no longer operational. Team A is eliminated."
"Nice shot," Maho noted with a pleased nod, before getting Mako to aim them at the M3 Lee, their last remaining foe.
"Gun's reloaded!"
"Armor's angled."
"The gun is aimed directly at the M3 Lee."
Now we'll see just how much of a coward you really are… Maho thought to herself, and smirked. A ping and a bang sounded as another of Rabbit team's salvoes bounced off and struck their armor, before she drew a deep breath, reached up to her throat mic, and spoke.
"Charge them at full speed. We're giving them everything we have and more."
Azusa could barely think with the repeated banging on the armor of their tank and the resulting cries of her friends as the tank rattled and rolled from shell after shell striking their M3 Lee. All she could do was try to make sure that they held their ground, and that they kept on returning fire.
If they retreated or ran, they would be taken out for sure. And if they stopped firing, Phoenix team would have a clear path to them, devoid of danger.
But despite it all, the mounting pressure and panic among her and her friends made the reloading of both their 37- and 75mm-guns painfully slow, and with every shot the Panzer IV pelted at them as it weaved among the trees, charging them like a bull seeing red, only made the process even slower.
As their enemy got closer her plan to hold and return fire almost collapsed from the pressure, as Karina threw the clutch into reverse and began to back them away and turn, but Azusa could only tell her to stop. Tell her to hold. They had run away from an enemy before, and she wasn't going to repeat her mistake again.
"Ayumi, hold fire!" she called, as confidently as she could, as the Panzer IV only grew larger in her periscopes. "Just keep the aim stead for now, and fire on my command! Aya, keep firing as quickly as you can!"
"Yes, Commander!" Ayumi cried back, but the waiver of her voice as she replied didn't fill anyone with confidence.
"It's… It's going to be fine..:" Azusa said, attempting to convince both her friends and herself that it was true. "We're going to win this… Just… just hold it…"
She knew exactly what Maho was up to. This was no longer a Sensha-Do match. It was a game of chicken. Azusa knew that Miss Izusu's aim was the best on the team, and that the 75mm gun of the Panzer IV didn't need to be close to penetrate their armor. There was no point to charging the, like this. No point, except for one. Maho was making a statement, and asking a question with the same maneuver.
She wanted to see azusa and her friends flee. She wanted to see her break down and run away again. Just to prove a point. But Azusa had no intention of giving her the satisfaction.
"Hold it…" she repeated, both to herself and to Ayumi, and tried not to let her breath run away from her as their foe came closer and closer. "Hold it… hold it… hold it… Hold-"
Another explosion silenced her commands, and a whisper of smoke trailed from the muzzle of their 75mm barrel. She had barely heard the metallic ping of the shell bouncing on the side of Phoenix team's turret, but it didn't matter.
Before Yuuki had time to load another of the heavy shells into the gun, the Panzer IV turned to the side and circled around their position, firing one last shell dead center into their side armor.
"M3 Lee is no longer operational. Team B has been eliminated, and Team Phoenix has won the match!"
"So," Maho asked the team once all the tanks had been returned to the hangar, and they had all lined up outside again, "I hope you enjoyed that, because we'll be running two more matches like this before facing Anzio. One this Friday, and one on Monday next week. We'll also be running additional practice sessions during the weekend, so you are all expected to be here at 10 sharp."
She paused for a moment, and waited for the collective disappointed groan at losing their weekend die down. But she soon continued, so as not to lose the attention of her audience.
"But for today, that will be enough. I want the tank commanders to remain behind for a little bit, I have some matters to discuss with you, but the rest of you are excused. Well done today."
"Thank you very much," the team answered, not quite as enthusiastically as Maho would have liked, but just about as much as she had anticipated.
"What do you want, 'Commander'," Momo said dryly as her and the rest of the tank commanders gathered by the planning table in the hangar.
"Just keep your mouth shut and you might find out," Maho shot back. "And if I were you, I'd listen closely, since this is going to be the best news you've heard in weeks." She let the cyclops leave her immediate focus of attention, and instead faced the four tank commanders as a group. "I'm not going to command the team in next week's match. That's what I meant by us trying something new, and that's why we had this training match."
"So…" Noriko asked once the shock of Maho's announcement had left them, "Who's gonna command?"
"They are," Maho answered, and nodded to Erwin and Azusa, who were immediately hit by a second wave of shock by this fresh information.
"I'm sorry, what?!" Erwin and Azusa said in unison once they recovered.
"You heard me. That is going to be our gameplan going forward. Phoenix team will act as an independent force to deal with the strongest enemy tanks, and you two will each lead a platoon to handle whatever missions the battle require." She glanced over to the tanks gathered in the hangar, and added "Well, maybe not a platoon, but you won't be alone."
"So," Erwin deduced, and looked at Maho with an impressed gleam in her eye. "That's why you had us fight this training match today. You wanted to see who could lead."
"In part. I was already pretty certain of who was going to lead who, but I wanted to see you in practice first. Erwin, you will have Turtle team at your disposal, while Azusa and Rabbit team will be backed up by Duck team."
"But, we've never commanded a team or anything close to it?!" Azusa protested. "Why not give the command to Miss Kawashima?"
"Because I picked those who can command," Maho replied, and showed Momo a smug smirk, putting her full weight behind the unspoken insult. "Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week and the next you two will be taking lessons with Captain Chono instead of practice like normal. She's one of the best tank commanders in the JSDF, knows how to lead, and she's won the Sensha-Do championship three years in a row. She'll make sure to get you up to par in time. Meanwhile, your crews and the rest of the team will be running fire and maneuver drills, the sort of stuff where you wouldn't really be doing much anyways."
There was some more questions and protests over the next half-hour or so, mostly from Momo for not being given a command, and from Azusa for having been given one, while Erwin and Noriko seemed rather accepting and even excited for the idea. But in the end, the matter was settled, if only begrudgingly accepted, and the four of them left the hangar behind to get something to eat, while Maho finished up what little paperwork she needed to get done for the day.
"Alright," Maho said and hunched over the planning table. Her two weeks were up, and she had no idea if it had been enough. She glanced around at the rest of the team, who all stood huddled around the small table in the hangar, the commanders standing closest to the table. Sure, the team had improved during the past few weeks, far more than she could have hoped. What at first had been wrought with issues and slow to function and adapt had, while not perfected, at the very least been improved and problems had been ironed out. The two additional practice matches and the weekend-training sessions had helped as well, and although Phoenix team had stood victorious in all three battles, the fighting had been tougher and tougher as the weeks passed. The other crews had gotten better and better at firing and maneuvering, at driving and aiming, and most importantly hitting. The rest of the tank commanders had gotten better at coordinating their movements, their assaults, and their retreats.
All in all, they had achieved a miracle. They had created fresh command structures where none existed. But the question still remained; Had it been enough?
"Tomorrow, we're going up against Anzio High School. They may not be Saunders or St. Gloriana, but they are not to be underestimated either." She glanced down at the map before them all, and sighed before looking back up. "So, here's the plan: Anzio's going to fill most of their force with smaller tanks as secondary forces, acting as diversionary forces and bait. Erwin, Azusa, the secondary forces are going to be your job to handle. Meanwhile, we'll be dealing with the enemy's flag tank."
"How do you know the enemy is going to take on your challenge?" Erwin asked as she stroked her chin. "They'll outnumber us, won't they? So they could easily send their forces out in bulk to take us out one by one. Defeat in detail is not something we want to experience."
"Well," Maho sighed, and bowed her head to look at the map before her with its many crossroads and cliffs. "I'm pretty confident Anchovy's going to come right for me the moment the match starts. And if I'm not a tempting enough target, I'm hoping the flag tank will be. If she still doesn't, we'll just have to deal with it. Regardless, if she doesn't hunt try to hunt me down like I'd expect, we'll have to go and get her ourselves." She looked back up, and glanced at the other commanders. "If something goes wrong, feel free to call on us if you need help. The Panzer IV is the centerpiece of our force after all, but the plan is for you to deal with Anzio's secondary forces, while we take out the flag tank."
"Do we know what they're bringing out?" Yuzu asked
"I have a decent enough idea. We should be fine."
"You've said that a lot of times, Nishizumi," Momo muttered. "And more often than not it's been nothing but hogwash. Why should we believe you this time?"
"Because," Maho emphasized as she stared daggers at her, "despite what you think of me, I know what I'm talking about." Normally, that's where she would have let it rest, but the cyclops was particularly efficient at drawing out the Nishizumi brand of cold bitterness from Maho, so she continued. "And unless you want to go another round out there to once again show off just how inadequate you are as a tanker, you'll listen to me." It was clear the student Council PR Manager was grasping for a way to retort, but Maho didn't yield an inch, and instead continued her verbal assault. "You know, the way someone even half as clever as you think you are would."
With no good counterargument at hand, Momo just muttered something inaudible and looked away bitterly, shrinking slightly as her shoulders slumped.
"Kawashima brings up a good point though," Oryou said thoughtfully, "What if they bring something we can't pierce."
"They won't," Maho answered. "Anchovy's going to have a P-40 as her flag tank, but as I said, we'll deal with that one. The secondary forces will be mostly CV-33s, which might as well be made out of cardboard and plywood, a few Semovente M.41s, and maybe one or two M13/40s. But that's just if we're unlucky. Still, nothing you shouldn't be able to handle."
"But, how can you be so sure about Anzio's lineup?" Yukari asked. "And how do you know they'll make the P-40 their flag tank? I thought you didn't like infiltrations or spying...
"Let's just say I have ample experience in dealing with their commander," Maho replied.
"So you've fought against them before?" Saori piped in inquisitively.
"But… I don't remember you playing any matches against Anzi-" Yukari began, but was interrupted by Maho.
"Let's go with that," she said shortly to Saori, putting a clear end to the discussion.
The meeting continued a while longer, with discussions on the terrain, what the best places to set up ambushes were, how to proceed in this circumstance or the other, and a myriad of other topics. Still doubtful and wanting her mind clear and focused on the Panzer IV and nothing else, Maho did her best to stay out of discussions, even if she was forced back into them a number of times. As afternoon turned to evening, and the practice session began drawing to a close, Maho was once again pulled back in by an unexpected question.
"So what are we calling this gameplan of yours, Commander?" Erwin asked, catching Maho's attention.
"What?" Maho asked back, not fully understanding the question.
"Marita, Husky, Dragoon; Any good plan needs a codename, no? We don't want to end up like we did against Saunders, having to shout our orders openly over the radio."
Maho was taken slightly aback at this suggestion. She had never had to name any of her plans at Kuromorimine. Mostly because she tended to play it by ear, which worked fine when she commanded like a chessmaster and all her forces moved to her whim, but this would be different. She certainly understood the logic in Erwin's words, even if she had to think for a moment to figure out a name.
"Hmm... Meistersinger von Nürnberg," she answered after a few moments of thought.
"Gesundheit," Noriko grinned, causing a small giggle among those near her.
"No, that's the name!" Maho growled, indignant at having to explain herself. "It's a three-act opera, and we have three taskforces."
Erwin shrugged. "Not what I would have picked, but I'm not complaining." A few moments of silence and a glance around the gathered team didn't seem to raise any objections either. "Alright then, Operation Meistersinger von Nürnberg it is." She looked back at Maho. "Anything else, Commander?"
The title still didn't sit right with her, but Maho endured it. "No…" she answered and shook her head. "That should be all. The match starts at 10 tomorrow, so disembarkation will be at 7. In other words, we gather here at 6." An audible groan could be heard from behind her, as the realization dawned on Mako that she would once again need to get up before the sun. "So, get some sleep, and I'll see you tomorrow."
A low murmur made its way through the team as they all began to disperse, leaving the garage one group after the other.
"Commander," Erwin smirked with a small nod, touching the visor of her cap in a faux salute as she left, which Maho answered with a dour nod of her own. She remained in place, staring down at the map of the battlefield without really seeing it. It was just a good place to rest her eyes to avoid having to look at anyone as they left.
"Maho?" Hana asked when the crew of the Panzer IV were the only ones left in the hangar, "Is everything alright? Is there perhaps something that is bothering you?
"No..." Maho muttered in reply, without lifting her gaze. "I'm fine… Just some old memories, nothing more."
"You want to go get something to eat to take your mind of things, Maporiin? It's still not super-late," Saori asked cheerfully, but Maho just shook her head.
"No… I just want to be alone for now. Some stuff I need to think through…"
"You sure? I mean, we would all be happy to help you out with dealing with…" A look from Maho made Saori's cheerful voice die down, and she merely nodded in understanding acceptance. "Alright then. Sleep tight, Maho. We'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah… See you tomorrow…"
Finally, she was alone, alone with no one but herself as company in the large and empty hangar. She pulled up a lone chair from the desk behind her, and collapsed into it, sighing and letting her forehead fall to meet her palm. With her free hand, she grabbed the small stack of papers from the table, looking once more at the documents outlining their match in the second round and the circumstances surrounding it. She wished it would have said anything else than what it did, crumpling the edge of the papers as she gripped them tightly. Cursing under her breath, she let the documents fall to the floor in defeat, watching them flutter through the air like leaves in an autumn wind. The text upon them wasn't about to change just because she wished it was so. As if the battle wouldn't be hard enough on its own, they were facing Anzio. First they faced Saunders, and now Anzio.
"Why did it have to be Anzio?" she asked the void of emptiness that was the hangar, "Why did it have to be her?"
Next Time on Dein Weg ist Mein Weg: The second round of the National tournament begins, and two bitter rivals face off, with old wounds only waiting to be reopened. This is the real Anzio battle!
Author's Notes:
Greetings everyone!
So, as some of you may have noticed, there was some strangeness around this update and its timing, but rather than explain the entirety of it I'll just say that it should all be solved by now, and shouldn't be repeated. Apologies for any inconvenience.
As for future updates, it seems my life will take a rather hectic turn the next few weeks, so even though it pains me to leave you on a cliffhanger as big as the Anzio-battle, I can't say for sure when chapter 30 will release. I wish I could have new stuff out for you all the time, but sadly reality has a different opinion on that.
Then there's this chapter, which is a slightly odd one. At least to me. We have Azusa begrudgingly rejoining the team, a training match, Maho introducing her experimental idea, and some planning for next chapter's big match. All-in-all a pretty decent chapter if I do say so myself.
Again, sorry that the next chapter will be a little while, but I will see you all again as soon as possible.
Until next time, Sayonara!
/Rihno