Chapter 7: Showing our Strength! Oarai Face the Freikorps!
William examined his map as the formation of three tanks advanced deeper into the woods. Nothing but trees, trees, and more trees. Except for the ventilation mountain and a river that cut through a portion of the right side of his map, there was truly nothing remarkable about the forest that set the boundary for the match. He pulled up his radio to give his next order. "Alright, Type 100, break formation at the next fork in the road. Head right and sweep the path for enemy units," he ordered.
"Affirmative, continue on the right and sweep," Ross repeated. In his tank, he put away the receiver and activated the headset connected to the tank's intercom systems. "Alright ladies and gentlemen, here is where the fun begins. Remember we're here to get the others some experience so no need to be too serious. Don't relax, but give them a few shots before you take them out. And Chloe, make sure you light em' up with that MG," Ross commanded. He reopened the hatch and took position behind his new toy. A little bit of embellishment may have been given to the Vickers-Crayford rocket gun since it didn't actually shoot rockets, but instead 40mm shells. However, it would do its job. Its shells wouldn't knock out anything except for the Type 89, but giving some barrage experience for the new crews would suit it perfectly.
Ross pulled a 40mm shell from one of his two hip-mounted ammunition bags and slid it into the barrel. The squeaking of metal on metal was music to his ears as he closed the breach. "Oh I cannot wait to fire you," he whispered to himself. Ross continued scouting through the foliage to try and pick up any activity that may indicate the location of an enemy unit. He would find nothing, but sunlight streaming through the leaves and waving branches. Maybe I should bring Natalie here sometime. An afternoon picnic sounds delightful, he thought. He shook his head of any thoughts of food. "Gotta stay focused," he reminded himself aloud.
His ears picked up the sound of another tank engine before the Stridsvagn M/41 of the student council came into view. "Target, roughly 100m ahead!" he shouted through his headset, "Keep the front pointed at it. That 37mm can't hope to penetrate our armor!"
The light tank ahead of them came to a stop and fired a round into the hull of the Type 100. "Impact, no dam-" Tandy reported before a blinding screen of smoke erupted from the shell. "They fired a smoker!"
"Advance slowly through the smoke. Chloe, the moment you see them, fire the MG. Jody, hold your fire, I wanna test out the Vickers," Ross ordered as the gasoline-electric drive pushed the tank forward slowly, just as he ordered. Ross grabbed the grips of the rocket gun mounted to his cupola. Let's see what you've got council girls. The moment they emerged from the smoke, the radio operator went to work on their enemy with the rapid-fire machine gun. Bullets screamed out towards the Stridsvagn and rattled against the hull, but ultimately ricocheted off the armor harmlessly. After taking aim, Ross fired his gun, sending a 40mm HE shell towards the Stridsvagn. The tank was rattled by its explosion, but the light tank survived with little damage.
Oh, fuck the hell yes, Ross gleefully thought as he felt his ears ring from the sounds of war. The M/41 recovered from their shock and reversed past a curve in the pathway. The MG34 stopped firing as the tank slinked out of sight. "Pursue slowly, I can smell a trap, likely with that StuG III. Those German jagdpanzers can be crafty," he ordered.
"Technically the StuG is more like an assault gun over a tank destroyer, considering its development," Chloe commented while kicking away some bullet casings.
Ross rolled his eyes as he extracted the shell casing from the Vickers rocket gun. The casing was still pretty warm, but his leather gloves saved his hands from the heat. "Say, do you think this is warm Chloe?" he asked as he knelt into the turret and tossed it down into the radio operator's compartment.
With a shriek, Chloe smacked the casing away from herself and onto the floor under her feet. "Hey! That was hot!" she shouted.
"Kinda the point," he teased and jumped back out into the open air. The M/41 hadn't come back into view, so he looked to his map to preview the path ahead of them. "Let's give them one more round of MG fire before we take em' out," he decided. As they rounded the bend, a wild shot flew past them and into the trees behind them, before exploding into a cloud of smoke. The MG34 lit up and pelted their enemy while Ross reloaded his gun. A loud bang filled the area as the shell was spit towards the enemy. It impacted the lower hull of the tank and shook it to its core, but it still did not fall. Another 37mm shell was fired at the Type 100, but it fell short several meters from its target.
"Kawashima, you missed again," Anzu dryly noted. She kicked her feet up on the hull wall in front of her and she relaxed in the radio operator's position, effectively leaving the tank to her two subordinates.
"I see that Miss President," Momo replied while gritting her teeth. She slammed another shell into the gun and fired without putting any attention to her aim. "This sight must be malfunctioning. I can't hit a thing!" She complained and redid the process, only to send another shell into the trees.
"Yuzu, spin us around so we lead them to the StuG, we've done enough," Anzu lazily ordered. The agile light tank spun around by quickly stopping its right track, which spun the tank around to face away from the enemy. "Kawashima, smoke."
The turret spun around to face the Type 100 and fired a smoke round. Thankfully for them, it didn't need to hit to blind their enemy. The M/41 quickly drove back down the path as if daring their enemy to give chase.
And give chase their enemy did. The two tanks sped down the path. Despite its armor and armament, the Type 100 stayed close behind the Stridsvagn M/41. "Alright, now where's that ambush…" Ross wondered aloud. A quick look at his map provided him a perfect turn just a little way down the path that would be perfect for a sneaky tank destroyer. Just as I predicted, he thought. He fired up the tank's intercom system through his headset once more. "Tandy, there's going to be a sharp left turn ahead. The second that Stridsvagn turns left, I want you to angle the front hull 30 degrees to the left. Alex load Panzergranate 39 and Jody, be ready to fire. Let's show these girls how it's done!" he shouted enthusiastically.
With one final slight bend in the path, the sharp left turn appeared just meters away. Ross ducked back into the turret and slammed the hatch shut. Alright Krupp, do your magic.
The light tank ahead of them skidded to the left and kicked up a cloud of black earthy soil. Just as he was ordered, Tandy slammed the brakes for the left track and let the tank drift into the corner at an angle. As if that was their cue, the bushes erupted in flames as an explosion tore through the foliage just barely above the ground. A 75mm Panzergranate 39 armor-piercing round shot out of the concealed StuG III's gun and slammed into the lower hull of the Type 100 at an angle causing a plume of smoke to obscure the tank as it exploded.
A cheer erupted from the inside of the tank destroyer. "Alright, we got them good!" Caesar, the loader and commander, cheered.
From the Stridsvagn, however, Anzu noticed the lack of the white flag that indicated a knock-out. "Kawashima! Switch and load that fancy sabot shell!" she ordered sternly. The turret operator glanced down at the small council president, before jumping out of the gunner's seat and pushing the aforementioned shell into the breach.
"Jody, teach them the error of their ways," Ross demanded eagerly once the smoke cleared. With a simple twitch of her pointer finger, the gunner fired the 88mm cannon and sent a shell directly into the hull of the StuG III, and knocked it out. The pop of a white flag from the roof confirmed a total knockout. "We'll have to teach them about the magic of hull angling," Ross noted while looking down at their defeated opponent.
The gunner on the hand cheered excitedly. "Hell yeah! Type 100 one, StuG III zero! That'll teach you about trying to trick us!" Jody shouted.
"Lang-" Ross shouted before an impact from the side of the hull interrupted him. The tank shook violently before coming to rest just a few inches from its original position. Ross's eyes widened and pushed the commander's hatch open.
Only for him to see the knockout white flag sticking from the roof of the turret. He turned to the left where the smoking 37mm Bofors anti-tank gun told him everything. "You have got to be kidding me…" he bemoaned. "Taken out by the light tank?!" he shouted and slammed his fist into the turret roof angrily. "Damn you Ferdinand Porsche!" he cursed.
The student council looked shocked through their periscopes, except for Anzu, who smirked with superiority. "Alright Kawashima, it's your turn again! I think I need a new packet of sweet potatoes." The president jumped down back into the hull and tore open another packet of her favorite snack. "You're back in command by the way!" she cheerfully commented before indulging herself.
"O-oh, right," Momo stuttered before recomposing herself. She turned to her commander's radio. "Captain, this is the Stridsvagn reporting in. The StuG III was knocked out, but we managed to take out the Type 100 ourselves. Permission to rejoin the main group?" she asked.
Meanwhile, the main group of the remaining three Oarai tanks had just stopped behind the ventilation mountain. "Stay safe Saori!" Miho shouted as her excitable radio operator ran into the ground-level cave that doubled as a ventilation shaft. She activated her throat microphone to respond, "Good work M/41, rejoin the main group at the ventilation mountain and do not engage any more units until we regroup and get information from Saori."
The captain sighed and reviewed her map and her plan. Without the StuG III, taking out the last two heavies is going to be a challenge… We outnumber them two to one, but that's not enough for a direct assault. Miho pulled out her phone and called Saori. After activating the speaker she could hear her radio operator clearly. "Alright Saori, where are their last two tanks?"
000
"Alright, Joseph it's just you and me now. They only have one of their long 75s left though, so we just need to find them and take out the Panzer IV. Without their captain the final three tanks will simply be targets to hit," William radioed to the Elefant. The two tanks remaining would be tough nuts to crack, especially considering their superior firepower, but that fact didn't ease William's nerves. I was hoping Ross could give us their positions at the very least, then it'd be a simple point-and-shoot operation. He wearily jumped between looking at his map and examining his surroundings, which conveniently consisted of only trees.
His handheld radio buzzed to life. "So captain, what's our plan of action on tracking down our prey?" the radio operator of the Elefant, Elliot Lakeman, asked.
"We're going to need to find an alternative source of reconnaissance. The only place with any elevation is the ventilation mountain. Any volunteers wanna climb it?" William asked over the radio. After getting no reply he sighed and reexamined his map once more. "There's a small rise on the way to the mountain. We'll head there and attempt to find any units. From there we'll ensure victory," he declared with his confidence growing. "To gain all, we must risk all! Freikorp voran!"
The powerful German engines roared once more and the pair of machines set off on a path towards the mountain with the Tiger in the lead. The going was slow for the heavy tanks, but the slow gains in elevation allowed them to survey parts of the battlefield behind them. With no sign of enemy tanks, however, they were left to head forward toward the mountain ahead.
High above them from a small hole in the wall of the maintenance stairway, Saori could see the tanks and their movements. With binoculars and cellphone in hand, she was able to report their movements. "I can see their tanks, Miho! They're heading towards the mountain," she reported eagerly. She cross-referenced their position with her map and tried to give Miho an exact position.
"Thank you Saori, I think we have enough to go on, stay up there. I'll call you after the battle is over," Miho said and hung up the call. She reviewed her options. We have three tanks on the mountain, and the Stridsvagn is on its way… she thought before an idea came to her, The Student Council! She turned her radio to connect with the M/41. "M/41 hold your position. The enemy is heading towards us, so I want you to fall in behind them. Once the firing begins, shoot at the Elefant's tracks. We'll be able to flank it and take it out once the Tiger's dealt with," she ordered.
"Alrighty then! Where's our target?" Anzu asked.
"They're heading up the Parkview Pathway. Keep your distance and do not engage until they fire," Miho replied.
The M/41 only had to make a few extra turns before they were near the start of the pathway the Freikorp's tanks were heading down. The wide and deep track marks gave them a final confirmation. "Yuzu, we should be able to catch up with them before they reach Nishizumi. If we could destroy the Type 100, then we should be able to take out the rest of them!" Momo assumed.
"But Momo-chan, Captain Nishizumi told us to hold our fire," Yuzu protested.
"Disregard it, we'll speed right up to them and take them out!" Momo declared, "And don't call me Momo-chan!"
Yuzu sighed and pushed the accelerator forward. "I really don't think this is a good idea…" she whispered but complied regardless. Anzu simply indulged in her dried sweet potatoes.
The tank sped up the pathway which would lead them to their enemy. A large dust cloud was kicked up by the rapidly spinning treads. A dust cloud that did not go unnoticed.
"M/41 slow down! We can see your dust cloud, and if we can see it the enemy can see it!" Miho desperately ordered.
By the time the Stridsvagn slowed down, William had already noticed their dust and could hear the clattering tracks of the light tank. "Quinn turn the turret around and prepare to fire, we've got company! Leslie, take us to the left side of the path so we can shoot past the Elefant! Joseph, I want you to pass us and be our shield from any frontal attacks!" he ordered.
"On it!" the recipients of his order replied. The Tiger I H2 pulled to the side of the road and rotated its turret. The long 75mm Kwk 42 L/70 gun glared menacingly behind the tank and waited for its prey. Like a fly buzzing into a Venus Flytrap, the Stridsvagn came into sight. "Open fire!" William ordered.
The electronic firing mechanism of the main cannon came to life and flames shot out from the muzzle break. The 75mm shell crashed into the front of the M/41 and its 50mm of frontal armor couldn't dream of withstanding the impact. The tank shuttered to a stop and the white flag popped out of its turret.
The Elefant advanced forward, right into the view of Oarai's remaining three tanks. "Everyone aim for the tracks of the Elefant!'' Miho shouted.
Each of the remaining tanks fired, and a flurry of shells descended onto the tank destroyer. The first shell to hit was the Panzer IV's round. The long barrel and large-caliber gave the shell very accurate and high-velocity rounds, but the shell hit the angled armor plating protecting the front of the treads and bounced into the air. "Yukari, reload quickly!" Miho ordered!
The 37mm and 75mm shells of the M3 Grant whizzed past the Elefant and impacted the side of the Tiger, but bounced off harmlessly. The low velocity 57mm round from the Type 89B didn't even reach the target. The heavy tank destroyer slowly began a neutral turn to its left, where the fixed gun would be pointed directly at the Panzer IV.
Yukari quickly slammed another shell into the Panzer IV's breach, but she wasn't quick enough. From the right of the Elefant, the Type 89B fired another round into the side of the tank destroyer and destroyed its right front drive sprocket, causing it to come to a stop. Miho breathed a quick sigh of relief before giving further orders, "Hana, disregard the Elefant and aim for the front of the Tiger H2! Yukari, eject the shell we have and load a Panzergranate 40 round! Azusa, get close to the Elefant's side after we take out the Tiger and fire into the side of the casemate with your hull gun!"
"Right!" Hana shouted and adjusted the gun while Yukari replaced the shell in the gun with the tungsten-cored armor-piercing composite rigid shell. The MG34 mounted in the Elefant's hull began firing at the gunner's sight of the Panzer IV. The bullets rattled the turret and completely obscured Hana's vision with the sparks generated by the rapid-fire machine gun. "I can't get a shot!"
The Type 89B came to the rescue of their captain with a well-placed shot that exploded near the machine gun and stopped its fire. However, it delayed the Panzer IV enough that the Tiger was now staring them down.
Two shots rang out on the battlefield as Germany's finest 75mm cannons fired their ammunition. The two shells, a Panzergranate 39 and its tungsten-cored cousin, the Panzergranate 40, met near the middle of the opposing tanks. They missed each other by inches and flew towards their opponents. The Panzergranate 39 crashed into the hull of the Panzer IV and exploded in a plume of orange, red, and yellow flames, while the APCR Panzergranate 40 impacted the hull of Tiger I Ausf. H2. Both turrets spat out white flags signifying their elimination. The final shot of the match was fired by the freshmen and the M3's hull gun and eliminated the crippled Elefant, giving the victory to the native Oarai students.
"All tanks from the Freikorp's team have been eliminated! The victory goes to Oarai!" their ad hoc referee announced with her radio. A simple reset switch reactivated all the knocked-out tanks to allow them to return to the garages for repairs.
Before they set out for the garages, however, the captains of both sides jumped out of their tanks followed by some of their crewmates. The area around the battle had been thoroughly battered by shells and tank tracks along with spent casings and the shattered remains of the Elefant's drive sprocket. The driver's hatch of the crippled tank destroyer slowly opened and the driver, a tall boy named Tanner Alan, crawled out. He rubbed soot and sweat off of his face, a common result of a tank's elimination. Dirt and grime was just another side effect of tank combat that a crew member would need to deal with. The second hatch for the radio operator flew open, and Elliot Lakeman crawled out as well. "Just one more thing to fix," he said to the driver.
"Right," Tanner quietly replied. Although the knockout status was removed, they'd still need to figure out how to get the Elefant back to the garages.
"Think we can fix it out here?" Elliot asked.
"Could be easier," was Tanner's reply.
At the Panzer IV, Miho jumped down from the turret and onto the packed dirt that gave them leverage during the battle and served as a natural foundation for the mountain. The other three girls chose to only open their hatches to get fresh air and relax their muscles. "That was some battle…" Miho weakly said as she leaned against the medium tank for support.
"That was so intense! We didn't fire much, but I feel like we just fired 1,000 shells," Yukari exclaimed as she hung her head out of the hatch wearily.
"Why did I choose to do this again?" Mako asked rhetorically as she rested her head against the edge of the driver's hatch.
Saori approached the tank from the right side with beads of sweat rolling down her face from running back to the tank. "That's-" she paused to catch her breath. "That's because you need the extra credits. You wouldn't even be able to move on to the next year if Sensha-do didn't offer three times the credits!" she explained with annoyance, "Maybe you shouldn't have been late so many times."
"That felt incredible," Hana said, taking the attention away from Mako's poor sleeping habits.
"Mmhm," Miho hummed. She rubbed some water from her eyes which was a result of the smoke and tried to calm down from the adrenaline rush the battle had caused. To calm down her shaking muscles, she sat down next to the tracks and took several deep breaths with her eyes closed.
William examined his own tank which was left with a rather prominent scorch mark. Joseph jumped down from the large superstructure of the Elefant and glanced at the broken pieces before approaching William. "How's the Elefant look? I saw that the Type 89B did quite a bit of damage," William joked.
Joseph shook his head in minor exasperation and rubbed his stinging eyes. "I'd rather not try to drag it back to the garages, we'll just tear it up more, let's bring the parts here so we can drive it back. My boys can get it fixed up quick enough out here with the right tools," he replied. The rear hatch of the Elefant opened to reveal the annoyed faces of the female pair of loaders who glared at him. "Right, boys and girls," Joseph awkwardly corrected.
000
It was already well into the evening when maintenance and repair for every tank was completed. The commanders of each tank gathered in the Student Council's office for a post-match briefing along with the members of the Student Council. In the office, a table was pushed in front of the couch that lined the right wall while armchairs were placed on the other side. A rolling whiteboard was pushed in front of the table by William, who opened the meeting. "So, I suppose it's time to say congratulations to our winners," he said jokingly.
A few chuckles and giggles prompted him to continue. "I think that battle proved that my earlier assumption on the team's progress was correct, especially considering that you beat us," he continued, "So I suppose I should hand over this meeting to the captain." He took his seat next to his fellow Freikorp commanders. He also removed his helmet and placed it in his lap, just as the other two had.
"O-oh, alright," Miho stuttered. "Alright, following the battle I think the best course of action for the team is to continue practicing our roles and slowly building up our skills and experience."
"That would be the obvious thing to do, but isn't there anything more we can do?" Caesar asked.
Miho thought for a moment, but Joseph spoke up before she could reply. "There's always a need for more firepower, but the first match in the Nationals limits both teams to 10 tanks, so it may be more beneficial to spend our time strengthening what we currently have," he argued.
"I think we can try to do both at this time. Expanding the team will be critical for matches further on in the tournament, should we win the first round or two," Miho suggested.
This time Momo spoke up, "We HAVE to win the Nationals this year. Defeat can never be considered an option."
"Teams spend years developing their teams before they can make it past the first couple of rounds. Taking this team past that would be a near-impossible challenge. The final match has a limit of 20 tanks, do you really think we can have 12 more tanks found, restored and everyone's crews trained to near perfection by then?" William asked. "I want this team to go far, we all do, but we have to be realistic. The final match is scheduled for July, that's just under four months away."
Kawashima glared at William. "If that's what we have to do to win, then that's what we'll have to do," she concluded irately.
"Now, now everyone, let's focus on the here and now. Our main priority should be continuing regular after-school practice sessions. But if time allows we should work on searching for more tanks. We know there are more to be found, but let's not let that distract us from practice," Miho interrupted, "And let's not let this distract us from our daily lives and school work either. Sensha-do is not everything in life after all."
Momo looked like she was going to argue against Miho's lax attitude, but a look from Anzu made her hold her tongue. "I have two more things to address before we end the meeting. The first is about Sensha-do uniforms for the team. While the Freikorp members can keep their uniforms, we'll need something more practical for the rest of the team. If anyone has any ideas, please draw a basic sketch or concept drawing, and then we can all decide on the final uniform. I'd like any ideas to be submitted by the end of the week and then we can decide next Monday. Is that plan agreeable with everyone?" Miho asked.
Everyone quietly nodded in agreement. "Alright, then the last thing I want to address is how we should address our teammates in battle. One thing that I found during our practice battle is that our messages were somewhat bloated by calling each team by their tank's name. Not only does this hamper communication, but it could cause problems training new crews to memorize each model's name. Does anyone have any suggestions to fix this issue?"
Momo was the first to make a suggestion. "A simple system of ABC call signs would simplify communications," she suggested.
"Why not use the Roman numerals for numbers like how you listed the tanks and their crew members?" Noriko suggested.
It shocked nobody when the Roman history buff voiced her support for that idea. "That's an excellent idea. Roman numerals are both easy to remember and quick to pronounce," Caesar pointed out.
"But that might cause confusion once we have more tanks because I doubt the average person would know the Roman numerals past ten, so they could struggle to visually recognize a numeral painted on a tank past that" Joseph countered, "Standard numbers would do the same job and everyone can recognize them."
"Why not go for something more relaxed and playful, like animal names?" Azusa proposed. The room fell silent and everyone turned to her. The freshman commander shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "Is that a bad idea?" she trailed off.
That's not a bad idea actually. Besides, I think it'd be beneficial to let everyone have a little fun with their team names. "I like it," Miho voiced her support, "Everyone can make an identity for themselves while still providing for simple and memorable naming and communication."
"Sure why not? It sounds like fun!" Noriko enthused.
The Freikorp commanders nodded in approval, but Kawashima didn't like the idea. "I think such a naming convention is too lax and unofficial. We should be taking this team more seriously and I think you're being too lax and-"
"Kawashima enough!" Anzu complained, "I think calling each tank by an animal name would be cute! We could paint little mascots onto the tanks too! Nothing's wrong with everyone having a little fun."
"Miss President, you can't be serious!" Kawashima objected.
"Momo-chan you're getting too worked up over this. We should still try to have fun with this, you know?" Yuzu reasoned.
The girl with the monocle glared at Yuzu. "Don't call me Momo-chan!" she demanded.
"Okay everyone, we've all made our arguments! Does anyone else have any objections to the use of animal names?" Miho interrupted.
Outside of Momo-chan's silent fuming, nobody had any problems with the proposal. "Alright, then decide on a name with your crews tomorrow and get them to me when you've made your decision. Once I have all of them I'll have a list passed out to everyone and you can paint your mascots on your tank." Miho explained. "And if that's everything then this meeting is adjourned!" she dramatically exclaimed.
000
The evening had come by the time the garages were closed and everything was locked up. Miho and Ross were the last of the students to leave. The early evening sun cast shadows over the campus area's streets, which were deserted of students as most ran home to do homework or did some quick shopping in the final remaining business hours.
"So, I heard we're gonna be stopping at port tomorrow," Ross said as Miho locked the main gate to the practice field.
Miho nodded. "Mmhm, since you guys flew here I'm guessing you haven't seen Oarai yet?" she asked as the two began their walk back to their apartment building.
"Obviously not," he chuckled, "you transferred here too, so I'm guessing you haven't seen much of it either?"
Miho nodded again. "Yeah, I wasn't exactly sightseeing when I passed through though."
The sound of their footsteps filled the wide silent streets before Ross spoke again, "So are you doing okay as captain? It's not exactly the easiest job."
"I-I'll manage…" she muttered and fidgeted with the edge of her uniform's sleeve.
"You don't sound confident," he commented.
The captain looked away. "I- well, it's easier when I think about why I accepted the role," she confessed.
"Which is?" he prompted.
"Well, for my friends. They're the ones who stood up for me, even when faced with expulsion," Miho explained, "And everyone's so supportive so it helps me put back my... fears."
There were still several blocks to walk until they reached their apartment complex so Ross continued, "Your fear?" he asked.
"Well," she paused, "I guess I'm afraid of disappointing the team." Her eyebrows furrowed. "Why? Why?!" The girl demanded to herself, "Why do I have to be afraid? Why can't I just be a normal Nishizumi like my sister!" she shouted. She clenched her fists and punched her forehead as if it would beat the fear from her mind.
Ross grabbed her fists to stop her from hurting herself and put his other hand on her shoulder supportively. "Woah! Miho what's wrong?"
Tears threatened to fall from Miho's eyes. "I-I thought I was doing the right thing, but nobody supported me! Losing wasn't an option, but I couldn't just let them drown!" she shouted. "And now I'm afraid I'll fail here and let everyone down and that'll happen since I'm afraid it'll happen and fear is against everything about the Nishizumi style!" she sputtered, letting her emotions free. She pulled her hands out from Ross's palm and covered her face when tears started falling.
"Miho, calm down. Let's talk," he spoke firmly, but with a gentle tone. Ross guided her to a nearby bench where they sat under a rapidly setting sun. In front of them was an empty children's park where the only ambient noise accompanying them was the creaking of a swing in the breeze. "So, you're afraid of disappointing the team?" he asked.
Miho silently nodded, but kept covering her face and faced away from Ross. "I don't think you will, because I think you're a good captain. I don't think we would've made as much progress as we have if you weren't," he reassured.
"B-but back home my actions lost us the finals and I failed as their team vice-captain. What if the same thing happens here? What if we don't win the Nationals as the council wants and they blame me?" Miho asked tearfully.
So that's the cause of this, isn't it? "Miho, if it's not a problem, may I ask what happened last year?"
The event that caused her to leave Kuromormine and her home in Kumamoto replayed in her mind. A barrage of tank shells destroying a portion of the cliffside path, a Panzer III slipping off its course, and eventually the tank being swallowed by the dark, cold river below. She explained everything to Ross, who listened quietly and intently. "I thought I was doing the right thing by trying to save the crew, but because I abandoned my tank it was eliminated. It was the flag tank so we lost," she mumbled.
"So you left the flag tank to save your teammates from drowning?" Ross asked astounded. Miho silently nodded and brushed her eyes to clear away another wave of tears. "And the rest of the team was disappointed that you went to save them over trying to win the match?"
She nodded again. "Everyone was upset that I broke their nine-year win streak. Kuromormine is harsh on its students, even outside Sensha-do, but on the team, they demanded so much," she explained, "Kuromorimine takes Sensha-do to a different level. That's why after the end of last year, I left."
"Well I think they're wrong," Ross claimed, "You did the right thing."
"Nobody there thought so..." she replied quietly.
Not everything is as simple as black and white, that was something Ross understood, but sometimes there is little room for moral debate. "So what? You saved lives! What do you think their families and friends would have thought if they drowned? Winning's great and it sucks to lose, but it's better to lose if the cost of winning is your teamma- no, your friend's lives!" he argued passionately.
Miho broke out into another fit of sobs. Did I go too far? I did come on a little headstrong… Ross thought, feeling his passion wane.
"If that was true, then why didn't my sister say anything?! Why did my mom disown me?!" she started crying harder. "Why did I have to be the failed Nishizumi?"
Ross bit his lip and froze as the park grew darker with the passing of the evening. "Miho…" he paused and took a deep breath before pulling her into a hug. "Miho, you shouldn't judge your own worth based on what other people say if they'd so easily disregard their friends in the name of victory," he reassured quietly, "Ultimately only you can decide if you want to see yourself as a failure, but if you want my opinion, I think the fact that you put yourself in actual danger over artificial tank shells shows the opposite."
Miho's cries softened as she leaned into his shoulder. "I just want to be accepted by them again… I miss my family. I miss the way things used to be," she sobbed.
Family… Ross's heart tightened when he repeated that word in his head. Stop, put her first. "One day, one day you'll see them again and maybe they'll see things your way. When that day comes, you'll have plenty of friends to support you," Ross encouraged.
"Do you really think so?" she asked.
Ross nodded eagerly. "Of course! If your sister still does Sensha-do then we'll see her at nationals, right? Maybe then you can show her how you feel?"
Reconnect during the national tournament? She asked herself, Maybe I can show her my own way of Sensha-do. I can be more than just the Nishizumi Style…. "Do you think by showing her how I feel, then maybe they'll accept me?"
"You're okay who you are, if they won't accept that, then it's their problem, not yours," Ross stated, "But maybe you just need to show them your own way to come together again."
The two separated as the streetlights around them came to life and lit the dark streets around them and the park in front of them. Miho wiped her eyes clear and sniffled. "Thanks, Ross, I appreciate your help," she thanked, finally feeling calm.
Ross stood up and mock saluted. "Yes Captain, anytime!" he exclaimed jokingly. He held out his free hand to help her up.
Miho giggled and grabbed his offered hand. "C'mon, don't start that…" she bemoaned although her smile told a different story.
"I don't know, I think it suits you! Or would you prefer cap'n? Frau Hauptmann?" he teased.
The girl blushed and turned away, but continued giggling. "Anyways, don't you still have to pick up Natalie?" she asked, trying to change the subject.
Although it was tempting to continue, Ross decided to stop teasing his superior. "Alright, alright, let's go," he said. The two resumed their journey through Oarai's streets under the streetlights and emerging stars.
000
Another chapter down. I think from here on I'll try to respond to reviews through PMs since I haven't responded in the author's notes, less clutter that way. For my first tank battle, I'm pretty pleased with how it came out, along with more team management and some character development. Thank you for reading and I hope if you've enjoyed it you'll leave a review, I love reading comments even if it's just one or two lines and again, I'll try to do a better job responding to them. Other than that, follows, and favorites are great to see too, but I'm also just happy that you would check out my work. We're going to see a little team development before our next battle, but don't worry, there's still some good content on the way. Hopefully, it'll be up before a month passes, blame college.
Up next it's Chapter 8: Rocket's Red Glare