Chapter 15: Special Agent Yukari
Anglerfish Team and Ross walked through the busy streets of Tokyo with people surrounding them in a massive crowd that felt overwhelming, but they did their best to stay together and not get split up. The group was using Hana as a lead marker since her tall height and shiny black hair and her hair antennae helped her stand out. Despite this Ross slowly started falling back.
"Hey, guys wait up!" Ross called out. He held Natalie closer and tried his best to look over the shoulders of the crowd.
He heard Miho call out, "Guys, wait up for Ross!" While he peered over the crowd one of his feet slipped and he began falling over. Reacting quickly, Ross wrapped his arms around Natalie, one behind her head and one diagonally behind her back. He grunted as his arms scraped the pavement, but he turned to quickly pull Natalie away from the pavement.
Natalie cried out, but only because of the sudden movement and surprise. As Ross sat up he quickly checked her for any injuries. Thank God, just a little dirt, he thought and wiped off the back of Natalie's overalls before getting back up. The crowd had parted around him, giving him some space to regroup and calm Natalie down. Ross grimaced as cuts on his arm rubbed against the fabric of his Sensha-do uniform. Damn, that stings…
Pushing it aside he rejoined the crowd and tried to look over the heads of the crowd to find Hana and the rest of Anglerfish Team. He pushed forward despite the stinging and was rewarded when he caught a glimpse of silvery black hair. Perfect, they must've not gone far, he thought eagerly. Ross began to push his way through the crowd, muttering "Excuse me," and "Sorry," as he made his way back towards his friends. Probably would've been better to speak Japanese here since we aren't on the carrier… What was the word for excuse me? Sumimasen? He thought, A little late now. As he finished his thought he broke through the crowd onto an empty street corner which led to a sparsely populated park. "Hana, guys, wait up!" he shouted before coming to a stop.
The woman he was following turned to face him before he realized his mistake. The first giveaway that she was not Hana was the kimono she was wearing, whereas Hana and everyone else at the drawings wore their Sensha-do uniform. Second, she was much older than Hana was. Finally, she was accompanied by a young man in his mid-20s. The woman grimaced and turned away, but spoke to him, "Hana? Are you referring to my daughter?"
"Your daughter? Are you Hana Isuzu's mother by chance?" Ross asked.
"Yes, I am Yuri Isuzu, how do you know her?" she asked stoically without turning to face Ross. Ross stepped forward to properly introduce himself when Yuri gagged and stepped back to keep her distance. "Please, keep your distance," she requested.
Ross blinked in confusion for a moment before he connected the dots. Like mother like daughter, he thought. "My apologizes, I'm Ross Huot and this is my daughter Natalie, I'm a tank commander on Oarai's Sensha-do team and a friend of Hana's," he explained.
"A friend?! My daughter is friends with a teen parent and a tanker?!" Hana's mother gasped. She suddenly felt very faint and began to fall. The man next to her quickly jumped into action, keeping her from hitting the ground by placing his arms under her.
"Lady Isuzu!" he exclaimed. Gently he picked her up to carry her bridal style. "Oh dear, and for this to happen so far from her residence…" he said. He stood up and walked into the park where he placed her on a bench and placed her purse under her head for support. He turned back to Ross who was still trying to process what just happened. "Ross, wasn't it? I'm deeply sorry for this incident. I'm afraid Lady Isuzu does not handle small children very well," he explained.
"I understand, Hana has a similar problem with Natalie," Ross replied. He readjusted Natalie in his arms causing them to sting in protest, and he hissed in pain.
The man looked at Ross's arms with concern. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"Just a small scratch. I'm sure it'll be fine," Ross answered, although the fiery red gashes hidden under his long sleeve would disagree.
"My apologies, my name is Shinzaburo. I am a servant for the Isuzu family. You said you were a friend of Hana's?" Shinzaburo asked.
"Yeah, she's the gunner of the team captain's tank. She's a very talented gunner," Ross complemented.
Shinzaburo frowned. "Lady Isuzu will not be pleased to hear that Hana has taken up another art other than flower arrangement," he noted, "Please excuse me, I have to inform her of our current situation. I'm presuming that you got split up from her and her friends?" he asked.
Ross nodded. Shinzaburo nodded back and stepped aside to call Hana so Ross turned away. A patch of flowers catch his attention so he wandered over and knelt next to them. He admired the various shades of light purple. "You know, Hana could probably tell us everything about these flowers," Ross said, "I certainly don't know anything about them." Natalie stared at the bright flowers with wide eyes and a bright smile before reaching out to touch them. "They're pretty aren't they?" Ross asked. Nattalie babbled and waved her outstretched arm around. "Here," Ross said and gently plucked a flower from the patch and placed it in Natalie's hair. By slipping it into her hair tie that held some of her hair in a side ponytail, the flower would neatly and securely complement her light brown hair.
"Hey, Ross!" he heard called out. He stood back up and turned to see Anglerfish Team minus Hana running over to him, except for Mako who was hanging off Saori.
"Oh, hey guys," Ross greeted with a smile.
"Ross, I'm so sorry that we left you behind," Miho apologized.
"It's okay, I can handle myself for a little bit," Ross joked.
Miho noticed the stains on Ross's uniform from the minor bleeding on his arms. "Ross, your arms! What happened?" she asked with concern.
"Well… I fell," he admitted.
Miho lightly gasped. "Are you okay? Is Natalie okay?" she asked.
"We'll survive I think, barely," Ross answered with a cheeky grin before grimacing again as his arm began to sting again.
Miho pouted. "That's not something you should so easily joke about. What if it gets infected?"
"Amputation it is then!" Ross declared.
Miho didn't laugh. She just sighed and turned to Yukari. "Can I have one of your field bandages?" she asked.
Yukari cheerfully saluted. "Of course Captain- I mean Miho, here," she exclaimed and pulled a wrapped field bandage from one of her front-left pockets at the bottom of her jacket.
Miho tore open the package and unrolled a moderately sized roll of cloth. "Here, hold out the arm you're not holding Natalie with, and I'll do the rest," she ordered.
Ross did as he was told and held out his left arm. Miho gently unrolled Ross's sleeve, exposing his wounds to the open air. He grimaced against as the many abrasions stung like a splash of acid. Before putting on the bandage, Miho pulled a handkerchief out of her own jacket's pockets. "Perfect! A handkerchief to bite on while you remove my arm!" Ross exclaimed, "you're well prepared."
Miho just deadpanned at him while he smiled like he was the funniest person in the world. She simply sighed again and began carefully wiping off what dirt and dust were still stuck to his arm. Honestly, to joke so easily about your own body getting hurt… Miho thought as she finished wiping off the abrasions. Next, she began to wrap his arm with the clean, white bandage. Once that was finished, she tore the rest of the roll off with as much care as she could before moving to the next arm. Ross shifted Natalie to his freshly bandaged arm and Miho repeated the process on his right arm. As she finished up, Ross just had to squeeze out one last remark, "Thanks captain, but next time I'd like to try cauterization."
Miho pouted again and whined a little bit. "Honestly, you should treat these things more seriously! You could've gotten an infection and if you got seriously sick you could be out of the tournament," she lectured, punctuating it with a pouty foot stomp.
She's cute when she pouts… Ross thought. He blushed at the thought. "Um, t-thanks for your concern," he stuttered.
Miho slightly smiled and relaxed. "So long as you're more careful in the future then it's okay. Would you like me to take Natalie so your arms can rest?" she offered.
"What do you think Natalie? Wanna hang out with Miho again?" Ross asked.
Natalie babbled meaningless syllables before hugging Ross's neck. "Oh, do you want-" Ross started before Natalie let go and reached out to Miho. "Oh I see, giving Daddy a goodbye hug," he finished with a smile.
Miho took Natalie into her arms with a smile. Natalie clutched onto Miho's uniform and leaned into her chest. "Mmmmmm," she babbled.
Miho giggled. "No, it's Miho, Me-ho," she corrected with a smile.
"Mmmmmmm, me, mio," Natalie babbled.
"As you can see, her English is still a work in progress. German on the other hand," Ross said, "let's head over to Hana and her mother. We'll need to keep our distance though. She has the same distaste of babies as Hana." The group started walking back to the bench where Hana and Shinzaburo waited for Hana's mother to wake up.
"Hana doesn't like babies? I never noticed," Miho said.
Saori frowned. "Well, it's not something she's happy with, especially after we became friends with you Ross," she explained.
"What's wrong with babies? I mean, they're just little people right?" Yukari asked, "I've babysat my cousin on a few occasions, he didn't tend to do much except play with toys. He didn't even want to learn about tanks, even with children's books!"
"There are children's books about tanks? Maybe I should get some for Natalie," Ross said. "Let me ask, how long did you watch them for and how old was he?" Ross asked.
"A few hours here and there. He was just over a year old," Yukari answered.
Ross crossed his arms before immediately regretting that decision when his arms started stinging again. "Ah, he must have passed the spit-up phase. I've lost many great shirts too well…" he said.
Saori grimaced as well. "Yeah, now I kinda get why Hana doesn't like babies," she said, "there are so many gross aspects…"
"I mean if you do your job as a parent, then it's not that bad. Sure you change a few diapers and lose a few shirts, but it's worth it when you see them smile or reach a development milestone," Ross said, "watch this, she just loves this game." Ross turned to Miho and Natalie and put his hands over his face. "Where'd I go?" he asked in a childish voice.
Natalie tilted her head in confusion. "Peek-a-boo!" Ross exclaimed while uncovering his face. Natalie giggled excitedly and repeated her dad's action, except babbling instead of saying "peek-a-boo."
Miho smiled. "That's so cute!" she said. Natalie turned to her and covered up her face again. "Where'd you go?" Miho asked. Natalie revealed herself again with a babble. "There you are!" Miho exclaimed.
"That's cute, I guess… I'm not sure if all that's worth it though," Saori said.
"Wait, watch this!" Ross said. Slowly he put his hand on the top of his head. Everyone looked at him with confusion until Natalie put her own hand on her head. "Once they can sit up, babies love to imitate the people around them, especially their parents. So, I came up with the head game!" he explained.
"Really? She can be entertained by just putting your hand on her head?" Saori asked.
"It doesn't take much to entertain her huh?" Yukari asked.
Ross shook his head. "Nope, but she especially loves her tank toy and her rocket toy," he answered.
"Oh yeah! She was making firing sounds and jerking the tank around as if it had fired when she played with it," Miho said, "Boko was her favorite target."
Ross laughed. "Yeah, she likes to do that. Do you think she'll want to do Sensha-do someday?" he asked.
"Maybe," Miho answered. Their conversation was cut off when they approached the bench Yuri was resting on. Hana and Shinzaburo knelt next to the bench, patiently waiting for everyone to return for Yuri to wake up. Miho stayed on the other side of the sidewalk and kept her distance while Ross stood in front of her to hide Natalie.
"Ross, I'm sorry to let you get separated," Hana apologized while bowing slightly.
"No, it's fine. How is your mother?" Ross asked.
"She hasn't moved since I laid her down, but she should be awake within a few minutes," Shinzaburo informed.
Ross nodded understandingly. Shinzaburo turned to Hana. "Miss, is it true that you're participating in Sensha-do?" he asked.
Hana frowned. "Yes," she quickly answered.
As she answered, Yuri, stirred on the bench before awakening and slowly sitting up. "Oh dear, where am I?" she asked. She looked around and saw her daughter first. "Hana?"
"Yes, mother. Shinzaburo called me and told me that you fainted. My friends and I rushed over as soon as possible," Hana answered.
"Oh dear, I'm sorry to have caused so much trouble," Yuri apologized and turned to Anglerfish Team and Ross, "and I am sorry to you as well."
Saori stepped forward to respond. "It's alright Mrs. Isuzu," she replied.
"Very well. It's good to see you again Saori," Yuri replied. "Could you introduce your new friends to me, Hana?" she asked.
"Of course, these are my new friends, Yukari Akiyama, Mako Reizei, Miho Nishizumi, and Ross Huot," Hana introduced.
Yuri smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you all," she said before looking at their uniforms with confusion. "Did Oarai get new uniforms?" she asked.
Everyone froze and looked away, except for Hana who pressed forward. "No, these are our Sensha-do uniforms. We wore them for a drawing ceremony today," she answered.
Yuri's eyes widened. "Now I remember… you said you were one of the members of the Sensha-do team!" Yuri accused while pointing to Ross. She turned back to Hana. "But why? Why have you chosen to do Sensha-do?" she asked.
"Because… because lately my flower arrangements have been bland and unimaginative. I thought Sensha-do might help bring them more energy!" Hana explained with growing passion.
"No, your arrangements are beautiful, elegant, clean. They completely embody the Isuzu Style!" Yuri protested.
Hana frowned. "But I-" she began, "I-I want my arrangements to be more than our family's style!"
Yuri gasped and looked troubled for several moments before staring at her daughter with a stern gaze. "Very well… then I ask that you do not cross my threshold again," she demanded.
Hana frowned and looked downwards while Shinzaburo gaped at Yuri. "But Lady Isuzu-" he began to protest.
"Shinaburo, silence!" Yuri demanded. She scowled at Hana one final time. "I thought I raised you better," she bitterly commented before getting up from the bench. "Let's return to Oarai Shinzaburo. I don't feel like shopping anymore," she said. As they walked off, Hana looked up and shakily stood up.
Saori stepped forward. "Hana… are you alright?" she asked.
"One day… one day I'll make a beautiful flower arrangement that will truly convey my feelings to Mother. It'll surpass anything I've done before and she'll forgive me for stepping away from the Isuzu Style," she said with growing determination, "I'm sure I can do it." She walked past Saori towards Miho, who was still hiding behind Ross to keep Natalie out of sight. "I appreciate your consideration Ross, for keeping Natalie out of my mother's and my sight, but if I'm going to grow and surpass my previous work, I must put aside the prejudgements my mother passed on to me," she stated.
Ross just silently nodded and stepped aside. Hana stopped in front of Miho and Natalie. "Natalie, can you forgive me for my presumptions?" Hana asked.
Natalie sneezed and Hana fought back a cringe of disgust as her nose began running. Instead, she summoned her courage to push aside her disgust. "Ross, may have a tissue?" Hana requested.
Ross picked up what Hana wanted to do, to push aside her disgust of babies. He only smiled and handed her a tissue from his diaper bag. Hana took the tissue and gently wiped Natalie's nose, despite her feelings of disgust. When she was finished, she threw the tissue away in a trashcan and took a deep breath. "Thank you. I need to change my mindset on all the things Mother taught me if I want to grow. That includes her disgust at babies."
"How did she raise you if she hates babies?" Mako asked bluntly.
"She never needed to interact with me until I was old enough to be taught how to be a proper lady like her. Shinzaburo raised me until I was ready to be accepted by Mother." Hana explained before becoming downcast again, "she never wanted children, but she was pressured to have me to continue the Isuzu family and to pass on our tradition of flower arrangement. Had she been from a different family… I would never have been born."
Everyone stood in shocked silence. "H-Hana, I'm sorry I never knew…" Saori apologized.
Hana warmly smiled. "Don't worry about it Saori," she reassured, "I now have an opportunity to change my family for the better. If I grow with Sensha-do and with everyone else… I know I can do it."
"Then, I'll do my best to help," Miho said.
"Thank you," Hana replied.
000
In her room back home, Yukari overlooked her equipment for her covert operation into Saunders University High School. The evening was still young, so Saunders' school would still be open to serve its students supper at the cafeteria. This laid out the road for her mission, where she would infiltrate the school and find out the lineup for the first round of the tournament. She had acquired a Saunders high school uniform, a handful of smoke bombs for an emergency exit if needed, and had been given Joseph's spyglasses. She put on the glasses and looked in the mirror. "You know, I think I kinda like these glasses. They remind me of Major Charles W. Whittlesey of the Lost Battalion," she said.
From her phone sitting on her, Joseph's voice could be heard since her phone was in speaker mode. "No, no, you'd need round lenses for him. Now, try turning on the camera and put it in streaming mode. So long as you have an internet connection it'll be able to stream your footage back to my PC. It'll also record the footage and save it to the Bluetooth receiver which you can download onto your computer with a USB cable," he instructed.
"Alright, streaming mode is now on," Yukari said while turning on the receiver.
"Streaming quality is good, connection is stable, and I can hear you loud and clear from the stream. We're ready to begin when you are," Joseph responded.
Yukari smirked. "Alright, I just need the internet password for the Saunders school network," she said.
"You're not going to believe this. They actually made their password 'Independence Day.' That's rich," Joseph said with a laugh.
Yukari giggled. "I expected nothing less from Saunders," she said. She slowly opened the window and climbed down with her backpack on her back. "Operation… um what is our operation name?" she asked with a whisper when she hit the ground.
Joseph, in his office in Garage 2, sat back for a moment. "I got it, Operation: 007," he decided.
Yukari giggled as she snuck away from her home. "Do I get to be James Bond?" she asked jokingly.
"Roger that Yukari Bond. Or would you prefer Agent 007?" Joseph proposed.
"Just stick with Yukari…" she suggested as she stepped onto the internship walkway that was paired with a road that connected the top decks. A few students were still further ahead on the walkway between some of the bigger ships, but Yukari was the only one close to Oarai. "Alright, I made it to the walkway without a problem."
"Affirmative. I'm gonna lose camera connection once you disconnect from Oarai's internet, but you'll still be able to talk to me through the receiver which relies on your phone signal." Joseph informed.
"Alright," Yukari said. On Joseph's computer screen, the stream froze and disconnected while Yukari walked over to the USS George Washington. When she stepped onto the carrier, she was able to connect her phone to the internet and Joseph's stream came back online.
"Stream is back up, proceed with the mission," Joseph ordered
"Right," Yukari quickly replied and walked into the Saunders main building. Students were still wandering around, talking amongst themselves, or leaving the building. "Wow, it's really active here…" she quietly noted.
"Don't get too distracted. Remember the mission," Joseph reminded.
Yukari steeled herself and looked around. The hallways were lined with shiny red lockers and pristine white tiles. At the entrance, several trophy cases proudly boasted the school's many accomplishments, not just in Sensha-do, but also in other sports, the performing arts, and even charity efforts. "Do you have any idea where the Sensha-do garage is?" Yukari asked in a whisper.
"I'm afraid not, but if you look around you should find it. Just act normal and pretend that you belong. Remember your story," Joseph advised.
Yukari nodded and began walking around trying to blend in. Although nobody had noticed her yet or cared to talk to her, she still felt out of place. "If you can't find it, try asking someone. Just be casual and friendly," Joseph said.
"Right," Yukari replied. After a few more minutes she had walked past many classrooms and even a gymnasium but no garages. Eventually, she ended up in a massive cafeteria serving various American cuisine laid out like a food court with several options ranging from fast food-style establishments to takeout to even a large buffet. "Wow…" she muttered. The smell of freshly cooked food allured her, at least she assumed it was freshly cooked although one food counter looked suspiciously like a McDonald's.
Joseph interrupted her. "As much as I like seeing my country's very delicious and probably not healthy food, we need to stay focused. Perhaps you could ask a passerby for help. After all, you are a prospective transfer student who is interested in Sensha-do," he suggested.
If there was one thing that could push her away from the engineered scent of fast food, it would be tanks, even if it pushed her social boundary. "A-alright, I'll ask someone for directions," she said and looked around for a suitable person to ask. She saw a pair of pale, ginger-haired girls who were throwing their trash away. "U-um, excuse me," she called out mildly as she approached.
The girls turned to her and gave her friendly smiles. "Hi! I don't think I've seen you around. I'm Nora, what do you need?" the girl with longer, shinier hair said.
"I-I might transfer here, but I want to see the school's Sensha-do program before I make a decision. Could you maybe point the way to the Sensha-do garages?" Yukari asked awkwardly.
Patty smiled. "Sure! Actually, let's take you there! We're meeting with our crews for a strategy meeting too. If you'd like, you're welcome to join us!" she offered.
"Really? I'd love to!" Yukari answered excitedly.
000
Nora and Patty led Yukari to the garages where all their tanks were while also eagerly talking about themselves, transferring to Saunders from Kansas, and their experience in Sensha-do. "I forgot to mention! I actually command one of the tank crews here and Nora is my gunner!" Patty exclaimed as they stepped outside and walked towards a large and long steel Quonset hut.
"Wow! What tank do you crew?" Yukari asked.
"We've crewed a few different vehicles. Back in middle school, we crewed a Medium Tank, M2. Man firing all those M1919 machine guns was a blast!" Nora said.
"I miss the ol' M2…" Patty said, recounting all their memories.
Yukari couldn't help but enter her "Panzer High" state, coined by Miho the last time she got overexcited over a tank. "An M2 medium tank? That's so cool! Is it true that you can deflect the machine gun bullets off the sloped armor on the sides?" she asked.
"You could! If you aimed it just right the bullets wouldn't shatter and would ricochet off. You know a lot about tanks, don't you," Nora replied.
Yukari nodded excitedly. "I love tanks!" she exclaimed.
Nora and Patty giggled. "Well then, I hope you decide to transfer here. Saunders is a great school and the Sensha-do team would love to have you," Patty said.
Yukari's heart sunk, but she maintained a smile. I hate lying to them when they've been so welcoming… but it's for Miho and the Sensha-do team!
"Don't get ahead of yourself Yukari. Remember that you're a spy, not a transfer student. Keep up the ruse, but don't get too invested," Joseph advised through the receiver.
Yukari held back the urge to nod. "This is a nice school, but I still have some schools to check out. Saunders is definitely making a good impression though!" she responded to Nora and Patty.
The two led her into the Sensha-do garage. "Well, hopefully, this will help you make your decision," Patty said as the two girls stepped aside to let Yukari bask in Saunders' collection of armored vehicles.
Yukari gasped at the tanks. She kept her eyes glued to them without turning away at all. Each tank was illuminated and kept in amazing condition that would make any tank museum jealous. She ran up to the first row of tanks and slowly walked past each of them while admiring the tanks. "Standard model M4 Shermans, the third-most produced model! It's basic, but it's uniform, clean, and a solid medium tank!" she exclaimed eagerly.
She rounded around the last M4 Sherman with Patty and Nora catching up to her. "M4A1s! The cast hull is so smooth and round. It's undeniably one of the most recognizable Sherman models!" Yukari eagerly commented. She excitedly ran past the M4A1s and reached the front of the building again. Next, she looked down the third row. "M4A6s! Only 75 of them were made!" she exclaimed. A crew of girls working on the suspension of one of the M4A6s turned to her and gave her a confused look. "Um, um, good luck in the first match!" she stammered out. The girls smiled and gave her a thumbs-up before turning back to their work. Not sated in her desire for more tanks, she ran over the fourth row of tanks, where instead of uniform M4 Sherman models, ten vehicles stood side-by-side. Two unique tanks adorning a large 1st symbol on the side of their turrets. The turrets looked similar to the Sherman turrets and the 75mm gun was identical; however, the hull and the tank overall was shorter than the Sherman and a little shorter in length as well. The suspension system however was similar to the Shermans with train car looking boogies. "Wow! Not one, but two T22E1 medium tanks!" she exclaimed excitedly.
She looked over the rare tank from every angle, until her eyes settled on the commander's hatch where an AA mount carried a unique gun. "Is that a Gattling gun?!" Yukari exclaimed while pointing at the gun.
Patty smirked and jumped up onto the tank's hull before climbing onto the turret. "Sure is! We thought M2s or M1919s were a bit too modern for our tastes, so we put the innovative Civil War-era Gattling gun on instead. Straight from the trenches of Petersburg and the Battle of San Juan Hill!" she explained.
"Woah," Yukari managed to say. "May I get a closer look?" she asked.
"Sure thing!" Patty said and reached down to pull Yukari up onto the turret once she climbed up onto the hull. "That's not all though!" Patty exclaimed while reaching down into the turret. After a moment, she pulled out a rifle with a wooden stock, a shiny steel barrel, a yellow-colored receiver, and a lever behind the trigger. "This is the Henry repeating rifle," she explained.
Yukari's eyes only widened further. "Is that an actual rifle!?" she shouted with a hint of fear.
"Heck yeah it is! Watch this!" Patty replied. She pulled out a .44 caliber bullet and loaded it into the rifle. She adjusted her position on the turret so she had one knee on the turret and braced herself into position with the rifle pointed forward. "You might wanna cover your ears a little. The rifle has some extra shielding to absorb some more sound, but to an untrained bystander it is still really loud."
Yukari covered her ears and gave Patty the best thumbs up she could in that position. Patty just smiled and aimed down the rifle's sights at a basic shooting range target stored against the curved wall of the Quonset hut. With a resounding crack, the rifle fired and within a second the bullet left the barrel and shattered against the target, leaving the target effectively undamaged. "We've got a little plan for these bad boys in the tournament, but I'm afraid Kay wants us to keep us tight lipped on it. Don't worry though, it's nothing nefarious or against the rules," Patty said.
"How can you use a rifle against a tank?" Yukari asked, hoping to get more information out of the girl.
"Sorry, I'm afraid I can't tell you, but it ain't getting lucky and busting up a lens, not with them shattering like that that's for sure," Patty answered, "C'mon, let's head to the strategy meet-"
She was interrupted by a whistle coming from below the tank. "Nice shot Patty!" Kay complimented loudly, "Maybe you outta replace Nora as your tank's gunner!"
Patty smirked and hopped down the T22E1 followed by Yukari. "Pfft, Nora could hit that shot blindfold, with one arm, and while riding a horse," Patty said.
Nora rolled her eyes. "It's not hard to hit your target when you can fire a round every three seconds with the T22E1's autoloader," she said.
Kay laughed before turning to Yukari. "Now, who's this girl?" she asked, "I don't think I've ever seen you before."
"You know, we never did get your name," Patty mentioned.
Yukari froze. Is giving my actual name too much? Could it compromise the mission?! She anxiously thought. Quickly she said the first thing she could think of, "Um, 6th Armored division, Oddball, sergeant 3rd class!" she exclaimed, "I-I'm reconing schools I might transfer to."
Kay let out another loud laugh. "I like it Sergeant Oddball!" she said, "C'mon, you clearly have an interest in Sensha-do. Why don't you join us for our first round strategy meeting? Oh! Before that, these tanks lined up here are our tanks we'll field in the first round."
Yukari looked down the row of tanks, noting six standard model M4 Shermans, a single M4A1(76)W, and a single M4 VC Firefly along with the T22E1 medium tanks. "It's a pretty solid line-up. We'll be able to hit our opponent quickly and crush them with our superior firepower!" Kay exclaimed.
"No doubt about that, that automatic 75 can do some damage. Sure it's no Kwk 43 that Joseph has on his Elefant, but the T22E1 will have three rounds in his rear before he'll even be able to turn that heavy beast around," Patty said.
Joseph grit his teeth, but held off any temptation to deafen Yukari by shouting loud enough into the receiver for Patty to hear. We'll see how cocky you are after I put a round right through your gun manlet, he thought.
000
At the back of the Sensha-do garage was a stage and rows of seats separated from the main garage with a wall and a pair of double doors. Everyone on the Saunders Sensha-do team gathered in the room while Kay, Alisa, Naomi, Patty, and Jennifer stood on the stage. "Welcome everyone! Today we drew number seven at the drawings which determined our first-round opponent. We'll be facing Oarai Co-ed Academy in the first round!" Kay announced.
A cheer roared out from the assembly. A few jeers from a few lively students called Oarai "weak" and "fresh meat" which only made Kay smirk. "Now, guessing from your reaction, you know that this is Oarai's first year back in Sensha-do. Now I don't want to dampen your spirits, and we'll need every ounce of energy for this tournament, but Oarai is still a threat."
Patty and Jennifer stepped forward. They had changed from their regular school uniform to their Sensha-do uniforms, which broke away from Saunders' own Sensha-do uniform in resembling cavalry soldiers in the American Civil War, with dark blue tunics with gold adornments, a cowboy-style dark blue hat with a golden emblem of crossed rifles, light blue pants, and tall black boots that nearly reached their knee. "Oarai has acquired transfer students from Schwarzadler High School who are participating with them in this tournament. They've added three tanks to Oarai's arsenal, along with five tanks crewed by native students. We should presume that they will again field eight tanks as they did in their exhibition match against St. Gloriana," Patty opened.
"However, they may field the maximum ten tanks just like us. Although Schwarzadler has fielded three German tanks, one medium, one heavy, and one tank destroyer, the rest of Oarai has a variety of tanks from German to American. We should expect anything and everything from them," Jennifer added.
They know our line-up as well, except for the KV-1K and the Calliope. Perhaps we could use that to our advantage… Joseph thought.
"Anyways! I've met with the crews I want to field in the first round and our lineup has been settled. We'll field six M4 Shermans, the Firefly, an M4A1(76)W, and our two transfer friends' T22E1. We'll split the team into two squadrons, Squadron A will consist of myself and the rest of the M4s. Squadron B will consist of the Firefly and the T22E1s. Alisa, our flag tank in the M4A1(76)W, will find herself a nicely concealed spot to hide unless we absolutely need her to join us," Kay explained.
The students listened intently as Kay and the transfers detailed the map for the match. This left vice-captains Naomi and Alisa to simply stand by their commander and scan the crowd. As Naomi looked over the students, her eyes fell on Yukari. Kay had already explained to her why "Sergeant Oddball" was at the meeting. Something about her isn't right, Naomi thought, studying the new girl intently. Suddenly she caught a slight nod from Yukari, which caused the light to reflect off of her fake glasses.
Which, for half a second, exposed a small wire on the right side of the frame that disappeared into Yukari's fluffy hair. With her excellent vision, Naomi not only caught the wire but also saw the outline of the camera lens that did not reflect any light when the rest of the glossy frame did. She's… recording this? With a pair of glasses? She thought with confusion. Then a spark of familiarity fired. She was part of the Oarai group at the drawings!
Naomi loudly cleared her throat to interrupt Kay and the transfer students. "If I may interrupt. You," she said and pointed a finger at Yukari, "stand up."
Joseph froze as Yukari shakily stood up. He bit his lip anxiously as he watched what was happening on the stream.
"You're a spy!" Naomi accused, "you're from Oarai!"
Kay and everyone else gasped and turned to Yukari for an explanation. "Sergeant Oddball, is that true?" Patty asked. Already a feeling of betrayal started setting in on her.
"We're done Yukari! Smoke and bail!" Joseph commanded anxiously.
Acting quickly, Yukari reached into her jacket and chucked the smoke bombs onto the floor, flooding the room in a thick, but harmless smog. "After her!" Alisa shouted through the emerging chaos as people shouted in panic as their ability to see around them was gone.
By that point, Yukari had already taken off and was out of the building before the smoke had cleared and back on her way to Oarai.
000
Joseph smiled as he heard the garage door open and footsteps started getting nearer. Yukari entered his office, panting and sweating as if she had just finished a marathon. "Good work!" Joseph praised, "We've got everything we need for Miho."
Yukari fought for her breathe. "D-do- do you have," she paused to breathe.
Joseph just smiled and handed her a bottle of water from a mini-fridge he had installed. "Yes I do, Sergeant Oddball. Or perhaps… Agent Oddball?" he joked.
Yukari took a long drink from the water and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Can I just be called by my name?" she asked.
"Where's the fun in that? I get to be Pigeon Commander Joseph, Miho gets to be Captain Nishizumi, and you get to be Agent Oddball! Or Sergeant Oddball, I think it fits either way."
Yukari just groaned and handed over her glasses. "Here're your glasses back," she said before taking another drink of water.
Joseph just smirked and place the glasses on his desk. "After all that running and the camera hasn't loosened an inch. That's true craftsmanship," he praised himself.
Yukari finished her water and tossed it into the recycling bin. "So, can I have a copy of the footage?" she asked while handing him a flash drive.
Joseph connected the glasses to his computer, along with Yukari's flash drive. "All yours in three… two… one…" he said as the footage downloaded to his computer. He simply made a copy of the footage and placed it within the flash drive. "Here you go." He pulled out the flash drive and shut down his computer.
Yukari took the flashdrive. "T-thank you for helping me on this. I couldn't have done it without your help," she said.
"All in a day's work," Joseph replied, "Now we know what we're facing."
"I just wish I didn't have to step over Patty and Nora's trust. I hope they can forgive me."
Joseph frowned. He pulled out a can of soda and opened it. After taking a swift drank, he could finally formulate a response as the fizz pushed him back to being fully awake. "Unfortunately it's how the mission had to get done. Don't dwell on it too much. I'm sure they'll move on."
"I hope so…" Yukari said sadly.
They were interrupted by Joseph's phone buzzing. "You can head out if you'd like," he prompted before taking the call. "What's up Ross? Someone wants to meet with us?" he said, "alright I'm on my way."
000
William, Ross, and Joseph stood outside their apartment building in front of the alley beside it. as the sun began to set. "So Miho told you that some random girl wants to meet us? Why?" Joseph asked.
"Miho said her name was Sayuri, but I have no clue why she wants to meet us," Ross answered. He stepped a little way into the alley to sit on a discarded plastic beverage crate. Suddenly, he felt a cold, metallic feeling press against his throat.
"Don't make a move boy," a sharp, but slightly feminine voice snarled from the darkness behind him.
The three boys froze. A hooded figure wearing a black sweatshirt with torn jeans stood behind Ross with a boxcutter against his throat. "A-alright, what do you want?" Ross asked shakily.
Another hooded figure stepped out from behind the first figure. "I'd like your friends to come just a little further into the alley. After all, it is where I told your little puppet captain to tell you where to meet us," Sayuri, hidden under her hood, demanded.
William and Joseph raised their hands fearfully and stepped forward into the alley and into the shadows. "That's right, join your friend," Sayuri said.
Now that all three boys were out of sight from anyone on the street, a third figure stepped into the alleyway and pulled her hood up to obscure her face. She held a baseball bat menacingly and glared at the boys.
Now that they were trapped, the girl holding the boxcutter retracted the blade and pulled it away. Ross jumped up and rejoined his friends, while the boxcutter girl put the sharp tool away and took a baseball bat from Sayuri, who held her own bat. "Now we can have our talk," Sayuri said threateningly. She angrily swung the baseball to hit Ross in the stomach.
Ross screamed in pain and fell to the grunt while gasping for breath. "Ross!" William and Joseph shouted before they were attacked by the other two hooded girls.
"This. is. what. you. get. for. polluting. our. ship!" Sayuri raged, punctuating every word with a swing of the bat.
"We don't want you perverts here!" another girl shouted.
The boys cowered on their knees and tried to cover their heads as the blows rained down on them. With every shout of pain and every groan of agony, a new bruise or wound coated their hands, neck, and under their clothing, which didn't help deaden the blows. After what seemed like an eternity, the girls stopped beating their target and lorded over them with disgust. "This is what you get for staining our ship with your filth! This is what you get for forcing that poor Nishizumi girl into Sensha-do, this is what you get for pushing that team around. You are nothing, but scum on this Earth. Remember the Blackshirts of Oarai whenever you dare to step out of line again," Sayuri spat. She grabbed Ross's neck and pulled him up so she could see his face. "And you… I feel bad for the little girl you claim as your daughter. You must've taken her from her mother, didn't you?" she accused.
Ross's eyes met Sayuri's and although they were bloodshot and bruised, he glared back at her and mustered a response, "F-fuck you," He spat into Sayuri's face.
Sayuri's eyes filled with rage. "I think we'll talk a little more now, thanks to you," she sneered and raised her bat again.
The sound of flesh being struck filled the alleyway again, except the two accomplices of Sayuri were the victims who fell to the ground while groaning in pain. Stepping over the bodies below her, Victoria, with her torque wrench in hand. "And who the hell are you?!" Sayuri screamed.
"Someone who has a chance to fight back," Victoria coldly replied. With swift movements, she grabbed Sayuri's bloodstained bat and yanked it out of Sayuri's hands. She tossed it to the ground and grabbed Sayuri by her sweatshirt. "Nobody attacks my family and friends on my watch," she said. With a harsh swing, her wrench crashed against Sayuri's head, knocking the girl out instantly. "Pathetic," Victoria said while throwing the girl onto the ground.
Midoriko Sono, the head of the Student Morals Committee stepped forward with her partners, Moyoko Gotou and Nozomi Konparu. Behind them, Miho peeked over their shoulders with her eyes full of fear and anxiety with Natalie in her arms, being entrusted with her before the boys walked into Sayuri's trap. A pair of police officers stepped past them all and placed Sayuri and her girls under arrest. While they were being taken away, Midoriko stepped forward and knelt next to the injured boys. "Don't worry, help is on the way," she reassured calmly. She stepped aside as the ship's emergency medical personal quickly arrived at the scene. She turned to Miho. "I know things are moving fast right now, but can you please watch Natalie for a while longer? At least until we know the full story of what happened and if Ross can resume her care?" she asked professionally.
Miho shakily nodded. "What happened? What's going on?" she asked.
"I'm afraid I can't make a statement until law enforcement reaches a conclusion," Midoriko answered. "Just bear with us once law enforcement can complete the case. Thank you for alerting us of this attack. Your courage helped save those boys from a lot of suffering," she comforted.
Tears began to fall from Miho's eyes. "Are they going to be okay?"
I wish I could give this girl something, Midoriko thought compassionately. "I can't say…" she confessed.
Miho just nodded sadly and looked past Midoriko. Victoria was still standing where she had thrown Sayuri completely still. Her own angry tears began to fall. She turned to Miho and Midoriko. "Nothing makes sense… they haven't done anything to deserve this," Miho said.
"What happens now?" Victoria asked.
"I think the best course of action for you two would be to return to your dorms," Midoriko advised, "I'll call you to inform you of any updates on the situation, including the extent of the boys' injuries and what I can release from law enforcement."
Miho sniffled and nodded. Victoria threw her wrench at the ground angrily and stormed towards Midoriko. "There's nothing you can give us now bowl-cut?!" she shouted.
"I'm sorry! The responsibility of the Morals Committee is to act as a liaison between students and law enforcement along with keeping the general peace on campus, not investigating crimes," Midorko answered forcefully. "Now I please ask you to return to your dorm so that we may reach you once law enforcement and medical personnel come to a sure conclusion."
Victoria just glared at Midoriko for a moment before scoffing and storming off. Miho watched sadly as she stormed off. "We'll call you once we know more about this situation. You should return-" Midorko began.
Miho cut her off. "I-I know, I'll watch Natalie until Ross is okay," she said.
"Okay, thank you for your help," Midoriko responded before walking off with Moyoko and Nozomi.
000
Girls und Panzer: Tank Aces has reached a massive milestone. It is now over 100,000 words long and joins only 40 other stories in the 100k club in the Girls und Panzer community here. I can hardly believe it myself. The response I've also got from you readers has also been phenomenal. I used to write Pokemon fanfiction for years, and after all that time, probably around five to six years I had only reached 25,000 words MAX, and I'd never completed those stories. There is still one final milestone to beat for one of my previous fics, but I'll you all know once we've hit that point. It's not far away. Most of them also never got the attention and interactivity Tank Aces has. I cannot thank everyone enough for your support, your reviews, your follows, favorites, and even just reading my work. But I'll try, thank you, thank you, thank you, to all the readers who've clicked on my work and for those who have followed, favorited, and reviewed.
Of course, 100,000, that's a pretty large number. Perhaps we're close to being finished?
HA! Not a fat chance!
Up next on Girls und Panzer: Tank Aces
Chapter 16: Shermans Will March to the Sea!