Chapter 31: Together and Facing the Future

As soon as her brain raced to catch up with her, Miho darted away from Ross. Her face was completely red from embarrassment and mortification. She managed to find a way through the crowd and ran away as fast as she could. She ran as far as her legs could take her into the forest, which wasn't very far, but it was far enough. She stopped to lean against a tree and put her face in her hands as she took deep breaths. She slid to the ground and sat down on the edge of a small creek with her legs hanging over the slowly flowing water as she breathed heavily. Oh my God… I-I can't believe that happened… she thought as she tried to calm her racing heart and burning lungs, We kissed… I kissed Ross…

Just the thought of it sent her heart racing again. She took her helmet off and buried her face in it. In front of EVERYONE! EVERYONE!

"Miho? Miho, where are you?" Ross called out. Wow, what a way to let the cat out of the bag! Kiss her in front of EVERYONE! I'm sure that will make her fall for you! He thought bitterly. His footsteps got closer until he rounded the tree Miho was sitting against. "Miho… can we talk?" he asked. She shyly nodded without raising her head from her helmet. Ross sat down on the ground next to her and let his feet dangle over the edge as well. "Miho, I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention," he said.

Miho slowly looked up from her helmet but didn't look at Ross. "N-no… I wasn't paying attention either…" she mumbled.

"Miho, we've known each other for a few months now and I feel like we've become pretty close," Ross stated. Miho turned her gaze towards him with a blush growing on her face as if she knew what he was going to say next. "Miho, I've had feelings for you for some time now. You're kind, smart, caring, and you never judged me for having a child at my age. That's… that's why I fell in love with you," he confessed.

Miho's face was completely red again and her eyes filled with tears of joy. "I-I've fallen in love with you too. You're a great guy who's determined and won't let yourself get down, even when you're faced with the responsibility of a baby," she replied.

Ross smiled warmly. "Then I guess I should ask. Miho, will you be my girlfriend?" he asked.

Miho smiled warmly back at him. "Yes, I will."

Awkward would not have been enough to describe everyone's feelings after the kiss and Miho running off. So… should we continue the celebration or wait for them to come back or what? Anchovy contemplated to herself. She sighed before straightening herself up. "Alright everyone, let's leave those two to settle their personal matters! We have plenty of food, so please, help yourself before it gets cold!" she announced.

Everyone slowly dispersed and started eating and talking amongst themselves. A loudspeaker was playing nice Italian music in the background and things started to actually liven up. Anglerfish Team sat together at a table when Koume approached with a plate of food. "You guys are Miho's crew right?" she asked, "may I sit with you?"

"Oh, of course!" Hana answered cheerfully.

Koume sat down with a bright smile. "Thank you so much. It's a pleasure to meet you. How's Miho been doing at Oarai?" she asked.

"Great as far as I can tell," Saori answered, "and now she's got a boyfriend thanks to me and Jody so she's gotta be really happy now!"

"I don't think you have much to do with it," Mako said with a deadpan expression.

Saori stuck her tongue out at Mako. "I have to ask, what's it like at Kuromormine? It must be cool to be able to go to such a prestigious school!" Yukari asked excitedly.

Koume frowned slightly. "It's… complicated," she began, "to be honest, it's very mechanical and strict. You follow the command and don't question anything. If the captain says the sky is green then the sky is green. That's just the Nishizumi style at work."

"What's up with the Nishizumi style anyway? Miho certainly doesn't like it," Saori asked.

"It's main tenant is to never stop advancing and seek victory no matter what. That's why when… when Miho abandoned her tank to save me, she was disowned because she abandoned victory. By abandoned victory, she abandoned the Nishizumi Style and thus… at least in Shiho's eyes, abandoned the family," Koume explained.

"That's horrible! And her sister just went along with it?" Saori asked.

"She's… in a complex situation, that's all I really know," Koume answered, "in her defense, I know she still sees Miho as her sister."

"That sounds rough," Yukari said.

Koume nodded sadly. "Let's put that aside though. What's Oarai like?"

"We're just kinda average, to be honest," Saori answered, "except for the Freikorp, we don't follow any sort of cultural themes."

"Oh yeah, the Freikorp Oarai, isn't that what you call your boys?" Koume asked.

"Not really, just the students who transferred from America, and they have both boys and girls in their crews," Hana answered.

"Interesting. Unlike Maho or Erika, I don't think it's a bad idea to at least give boys a shot at Sensha-do. I'm excited to begin working with you guys," Koume responded.

"I can't believe we're going to have an actual Kuromormine tanker on our team!" Yukari gushed.

"Miho's was a Kurmomine tanker too though," Mako pointed out.

Yukari blushed from embarrassment. "W-well uh, you know, she doesn't really fit with their image so… I uh…" she stuttered.

"I get what you mean," Koume stepped in, "Miho never meshed well with Kuromormine's style. I don't really either, but not to the point of leaving the school permanently."

Elsewhere in the crowd, near a dessert table, Jody was having a great time spoiling Natalie. She sat down at a table after filling a plate up with sugary goodies. She sat Natalie on her lap and picked up a cookie. She broke a tiny piece off and put it in Natalie's mouth with a smile. "It's good right?" she asked. Natalie nodded eagerly and reached up for more. Jody giggled and gave her another piece.

"Excuse me," a girl with short brown messy hair with short twintails and semi-rimless glasses. On her shoulder was a red armband with the Kanji for Press and the English translation under it. "Are you the teen parent on the Sensha-do Team?" she asked.

"Huh? No, I'm just babysitting. Who are you?" she asked while narrowing her eyes, "and why are you looking for Ro- I mean, him?"

The girl blushed and bowed. "My apologies, that must have looked suspicious. My name is Taiga Ou and I'd like to interview the teen parent on the Sensha-do Team! I'm part of the Broadcasting Club and the Student C- I mean I'd like to write a story about the Sensha-do Team. People are always talking about the 'Teen Parent Tank Commander' so I thought I should definitely interview them. It's nothing sinister I swear!" she exclaimed.

"I see… well I'm not this little cutie's mother," Jody said while pinching one of Natalie's cheeks gently. Natalie giggled and clumsily snatched the cookie Jody was holding and shoved it into her mouth while she was distracted. "Hey!" Jody protested, "I mean, I was going to give it all to you anyway, but you should at least eat it slowly!" Natalie ignored her and leaned back into Jody's lap with chewing on the cookie happily.

Taiga giggled. "She's pretty clever. Hey, do you mind if I ask you some questions, since, judging by your unique uniform, you're an American transfer, right?" Taiga asked.

"I guess that'd be okay," Jody replied.

Taiga grinned and pulled out a notebook from her black schoolbag with a pencil. "So what's it like moving to Japan from America?" she asked.

Jody sat back and thought for a moment. "Well, for a while things were alright… but lately some things have just left a bad taste in my mouth," she answered, "you already got the language issue, although it's not that bad, but there's this gang of students just he- sorry Natalie, just bent on messing with us. We actually only fielded eight of our tanks today because they broke in and sabotaged our tanks. You've heard of the Blackshirts right?"

Well yeah, that's why the student council wants me to write this story… Taiga thought to herself, "I've heard of them, they're specifically targeting you and the team?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, and I knocked the face in one of them for it! They've caused us so much freaking trouble it makes my blood boil!" Jody ranted.

"You're the one who sent Sayuri to the hospital?!" Taiga asked with surprise.

"Oh no, no, no, she's not in the hospital, she's locked up! Where she belongs! That bi- girl led an attack on my best friends and like he-heck I'm going to let that slide," Jody corrected.

"She was arrested?" Taiga asked.

"Yeah! She must've got out the first time somehow and thought she could just waltz back into school like she owned the place!" Jody exclaimed.

Taiga's eyes widened while she scribbled on her notebook. "That's interesting… so you punched her because she attacked your friends?" she asked.

"Yeah, after she provoked me. I was out at the front of the school trying to recruit people into the Sensha-do Team when she knocked all my papers out of my hands and started spouting off crap about us. After that, I taught her a lesson!" Jody explained.

"Just off the record here, you thought it was okay to hurt her because she had hurt your friends previously?" Taiga asked.

Jody gave her a sour look. "You sound like you're judging me… well, she deserved everything she got. The only way some people learn is through force and they can't be reasoned with," she answered.

"I mean, you could've gotten a teacher and told them," Taiga suggested.

"And what would they do? They'd force her to do something for punishment or something. I don't see how that's much different from just giving her a good punch and a good warning that there's more on the menu if she keeps up. So long as you have the power to keep up on that bargain, and you have to! The only way to stop evil is by having the good guy be stronger!" she explained.

"I mean… with a teacher there wouldn't be any medical bills to pay…" Taiga pointed out, "or you could have them do community service and get something constructive out of it."

"I guess, but then you've gotta waste time and energy supervising them or coming up with something to do. Sometimes a good knocking is all someone needs," Jody argued.

Taiga shrugged. "That's an… interesting position Miss…" she paused.

"Just call me Jody," she introduced.

"Right, anyway, I have another question, what's your relation to the baby you have? Are you related?" Taiga asked.

"Oh, this is Natalie, and no, we aren't. I'm just babysitting while her dad handles some… personal matters. Let's just say he's getting her a mommy," Jody joked.

Taiga giggled. "Is that so? What happened to her real mother?" she asked.

Jody stopped. Lisette… just thinking about her… her fists clenched together in anger, if I ever find her, I'm gonna give her a good whack for abandoning Ross and Natalie! Jody took a deep breath to calm down. "She's not in the picture right now, that's all I feel I can say."

"I see… well I won't press the issue. I think that's all I need," Taiga said while standing up from her seat. "Could you tell me who her father is so I can interview him?" she asked.

"Sure, his name is Ross. Boy with brown hair and eyes in a Freikorp uniform, he'll probably be near Miho whenever they're done sorting their feelings out," Jody answered.

Taiga bowed gratefully. "Thank you for your help, Jody," she said.

"Yeah, sure, it's cool," Jody replied before going back to spoiling Natalie.

Anglerfish Team and Koume looked up from their table when Miho and Ross returned from the forest. Saori was the first one to notice them and notice that they were holding hands. She squealed with excitement and ran over to them as they approached. "Congratulations you two!" she exclaimed before suddenly hugging Miho, "I knew you could do it! I'm so happy for you!"

Miho just accepted Saori's enthusiasm. "T-thank you, Saori," she stuttered with a blush. Ross just sighed and shook his head with a small smile.

"Congratulations, I'm guessing you two are a couple now," Hana said.

"Yeah, I suppose so," Ross answered.

Koume slightly leered at Ross as she approached. "I guess you look like an alright guy, but you better not hurt Miho," she warned.

Ross stepped back a little with his hands in front of him reassuringly. "I won't, I promise," he assured.

"Good, because if you do, it won't be me you're worried about," Koume pointed out.

The image of Miho's cold older sister came to mind. She obviously means Maho. She certainly doesn't like me and that's gonna complicate things… he thought.

Everyone's attention turned back to Saori and Miho as Mako weakly tried to pull Saori away from Miho. "Can someone help me pull this love demon away from our commander?" Mako asked irately.

Hana giggled and easily pulled Saori away. "That's enough Saori," she said.

Saori pouted but relented. Mako had to roll her eyes. "It's just a relationship, it's not like they announced that they were getting married," she scolded.

"I know, but love is such a wonderful thing! How can I not get excited?" Saori pouted.

Taiga was casually walking around looking for Ross when she caught him and Miho from the corner of her eye. Her face lit up and she ran over quickly with her notebook in hand. "Excuse me!" she exclaimed.

Everyone turned to her. "Can we help you somehow?" Ross asked.

"Yes, yes you can," she replied while coming to a stop, "you're Ross Huot, right? The 'Teen Parent Tank Commander?'"

Ross narrowed his eyes a little. "And you'd like to know because?" he asked.

"I'm Taiga Ou from the Oarai Broadcasting Club. We do journalism and broadcasting for the school. I'm going to write a story on the Sensha-do team and I'd like to interview you and the captain if you have the time," she answered.

Ross and Miho looked at each other and shrugged. "Sure, we can answer a few questions," Ross said.

Taiga smiled. "Thank you so much! Let's start with Ross," she said while opening her notebook. "So, how did you end up at Oarai?" she asked.

"My friends and I transferred to Oarai after our team in America got disbanded. We're here on a Federal Government program to get feedback from American students on their experiences at Japanese schoolships. Oarai asked specifically for students with experience in Sensha-do," he answered.

Taiga nodded while writing in her notebook. "So, why are you doing Sensha-do when you have a child? How do you manage both of those responsibilities?" she asked.

"Well, it helps having great people around me," Ross said while glancing at Miho. She smiled and blushed. "I do my best for her every day. As for why I do Sensha-do, I hope to use a Sensha-do scholarship to get through college in the U.S and get a well-paying job so I can provide for Natalie comfortably."

"That's very noble. Few people can plan that far ahead, much less for a young parent," Taiga complimented. "What field do you want to pursue?" she asked.

"I'm not sure yet, but I'm interested in STEM fields. Maybe mechanical or electrical engineering," Ross answered.

Taiga nodded as she scribbled in her notebook. She took a deep breath and braced herself for the next question. "Now, the Sensha-do team has had several incidents during the nationals that have caused some discussion within the student body. One of these incidents you were involved in was the ramming in the first round. Why did you feel the need to do that?" she asked.

"I didn't. We didn't ram them intentionally. The steering levers of my tank were stuck due to a chance mechanical fault. That's why the Federation did not level a penalty," Ross explained with a hint of agitation in his voice.

"If I may," Miho interrupted, her eyes growing stern, "there's been a lot of rumors I'd like to address."

Taiga turned to her with an eager ear. "Alright, what do you have to say Captain Nishizumi?" she asked.

"Most, if not all, accidents in the nationals so far have been just that, accidents. They've been spun by people with prejudices who would like to see our team fail because we are Co-ed," Miho stated.

"Could you explain what really happened then for our readers?" Taiga asked.

Miho nodded and told Taiga the whole story of each incident the team was involved in. Although some were genuine wrongdoings like Jody's assault on Sayuri, she explained the disciplinary actions taken in response. Taiga filled two entire sheets of notebook paper with notes about the story. This is going to be interesting to see how the student body reacts… Taiga thought. Once Miho finished running through the events Taiga closed her notebook. "I think I've got enough for a rather comprehensive story. Thank you for your help," she said with a bow.

"You're welcome, anytime," Miho replied before yawning and starting to fall over. Ross caught her and supported her with his body.

"I think it's time we head back to the train station. Our tanks should be loaded back up and you look like you need some rest," Ross said with concern. Miho drowsily nodded as the adrenaline from the match started to run dry. Everyone else in the team looked like they were about to fall asleep as well. Saori was carrying Mako while Hana and Yukari were showing signs of fatigue as well.

Ironically there was one person who wasn't tired and it was Natalie who Jody had given plenty of sugary snacks too. Jody herself wasn't very tired as well from the sugar, and she bounced over to Ross and Miho with a bright smile on her face. "Looks like you two finally got together! About time Ross," she teased. Natalie reached out to Ross with an excited babble.

Ross narrowed his eyes at Jody as they climbed into the passenger car of the train that would take them back to Oarai. "You spoiled her with treats, didn't you," he accused.

"Hmm… maybe!" Jody said cheerfully as Ross helped Miho into a seat before sitting down next to her.

Ross just sighed and took Natalie from Jody. "If she has problems sleeping tonight, I'm not going to be happy," he grumbled.

"Aww, don't let something like that spoil your honeymoon!" Jody advised before skipping away before Ross could throw something at her.

Monday came once again, starting a new school week and beginning the process of integrating Oarai's new tanks into their team along with repairing the rest of the tanks. In Garage 4, Miho met with the new crews of their new tanks.

"So Avaron is the commander, Sando is the gunner, Saiki is the radio operator, and Moriyama is the driver, is that correct?" Miho asked, holding a clipboard.

Avaron nodded eagerly with a smile. "That's right!" she exclaimed.

"So what will your team name be?" Miho asked.

Avaron gave her a confused look. "Team name?" she asked.

"Oh, every tank has an animal team name and mascot to make communication easier. What would you like yours to be?" Miho asked.

Avaron and her crew thought about it for a moment before Moriyama spoke up. "How about Luca Team?" she proposed.

Miho blinked blankly., "Luca?" she asked.

"It's an acronym for last universal common ancestor," Moriyama explained.

"What does that mean?" Miho asked.

Avaron sighed. "Moriyama, you're using terms that a regular person wouldn't be familiar with," she pointed out. "I'll explain it. The last universal common ancestor is basically the earliest organism that all current living organisms decend from. Basically, it's the start of all current existing forms of life on Earth, although it's not necessarily the first form of life on Earth," she explained.

"Interesting, then your team will be Luca Team" Miho replied.

"Sounds good to me!" Avaron said.

Miho gave them one last smile before moving on to the Char B1 Bis where Mako, Hana and the Student Council were waiting for her. "So, how's recruitment for the B1 going?" Miho asked.

"We've found some crew members for you!" Anzu answered cheerfully.

Three girls with nearly identical bowl cuts approached them in an identical stride and posture. "We'll be joining you in Sensha-do today Captain Nishizumi," Sodoko declared with a bow, "thank you for having us."

Mako gasped. "You didn't tell me that I was going to train Sodoko!" she exclaimed.

Sodoko glared at Mako. "It's Midoriko Sono!" she corrected irately, "and you are going to teach me everything you know!"

Mako sighed. "Right, right," she relented.

"One right is enough!" Sodoko scolded.

Miho softly giggled before composing herself and taking their roles and writing it down. "What should be your team name?" she asked.

"Team name?" Sodoko asked.

"Mallard! The B1 looks like a Mallard and-" Mako suggested before cutting herself off.

"And?" Sodoko asked menacingly.

"And your bowl cuts remind me of a Mallard's head…" Mako answered while suppressing a snicker.

Miho quickly wrote the team name down and moved on to the next tank to avoid the chaos. The Automotive Club was working on the engine of the Panzerbefehlswagen VI (P) from the rear deck. "How's work going on the Tiger going?" Miho asked.

Nakajima looked up from the engine with grease covering her face. "Well, she's been tricky. Joseph gave us some tips on handling the drive, but it was in a pretty roughed-up state so it'll take some time. Even when it's done, we'll probably need to crew it so she doesn't get roughed up," she answered.

Miho nodded in agreement. "The Porsche Tiger is notoriously hard to work with, and our last German diesel-electric tank…" she trailed off remembering the disaster that took the Elefant from them.

"Have you seen what Kass has done to it though?" Nakajima asked, "that girl has worked wonders on it. She's a hard worker."

"I'll have to check in on it then. I didn't have much faith in it being much more than scrap metal, but I'll have to see how far she's gotten it," Miho replied, 'anyway, can I get your roles and team name?"

"Sure, we're Leopon Team and I'm the commander, Hoshino's the gunner, Suzuki's the loader, and Tsuchiya's the driver," Nakajima answered.

"Thanks, we'll get you trained on your tank as soon as its ready," she said before leaving them to their work. She turned to the backdoor of the garage she was in and decided to check out Kass's work. They had put the Elefant out there since garage space was getting tight and it wasn't being actively used regularly.

Outside, a small chain link enclosure surrounded a small area where some rubbish and scrap was left in piles. At the far end; however, was a neat little workshop with the Elefant tank destroyer shielded from the afternoon sun by a white tent. On the engine deck, Kass sat with her chin in her hands.

"What's on your mind, Kass?" Miho asked as she approached.

Kass snapped up and turned to Miho. "Oh, captain!" she exclaimed before jumping down and standing at attention, "I was just trying to solve a little problem I'm having with the final stages of the Elefant's restoration!"

"The final stages? Have you really restored it to working condition?" Miho asked.

"Only with a little bit of help," Chloe said from behind Miho with a smirk.

"You've been helping her restore the Elefant?" Miho asked.

Chloe nodded. "The Elefant is heavy on the electronics and wiring. Even an experienced Elefant crew member like Kass would need an electronics expert to fix it," she answered.

"Have you found any replacements for the motors yet Chloe?" Kass asked.

Chloe sighed regretfully. "Unfortunately, no. Those things are nearly impossible to find and the only manufacturer isn't willing to sell us one, even if we had the cash."

"Kuromormine…" Miho whispered. Kuromormine was the only school on the high school level to use Ferdinands and Elefants and produced their more specific components in-house.

"The good news is, captain, outside of the motors, the Elefant is effectively ready for battle!" Kass exclaimed, "I've replaced the carbon lining, replaced the wiring, replaced the interior, and even replaced the optics!"

Miho's eyes widened. "Really? That's incredible!"

"Just goes to show what you can do with a little determination, elbow grease, and ingenuity," Chloe stated, "but it's all worthless if we can't get those motors."

"I'm sure we can figure something out. Has the Sensha-do Federation reinstated the safety approval of the Elefant and Ferdinand?" Miho asked.

Kass shook her head. "Not yet, but I've been communicating with them constantly about it. By the time we get our motors, they'll be back on the battlefield!"

"That's great to hear!" Miho exclaimed.

"Alright, let's get back to work though. I'm almost done with the last of the wiring repairs and all our tanks will be ready for the next match. Also, the Student Council approved some new security measures around the school so the Blackshirt break-in shouldn't happen again," Chloe informed.

"Good, good…" Miho muttered, "but honestly I'd just like them disbanded."

"Yeah, we all do, but that's a bit out of our reach," Chloe replied, "oh right! The Student Council wants to meet with you later tonight in their office. And for Kass, I've got something for you to investigate!"

Kass perked up at the news and she jumped down from the Elefant. "What is it? Some new mystery to unravel?!" she asked excitedly.

"Yes, but promise you won't laugh, alright?" Chloe requested.

"Promise!" Kass promised.

"Alright, well Rabbit Team heard a rumor about a 'Monster of Oarai's Depths.' Apparently, on the 13th deck there's been rumors of a monster making loud screeching noises," Chloe explained.

Kass started giggling. "Really? That's what's going around? C'mon, even the deck number is cliche."

"Hey, you said you wouldn't laugh! Rabbit Team is completely enamored in this and they want you to help them investigate," Chloe said.

"Right, right," Kass composed herself. "Sure, why not? It should be fun. Should I be armed to slay this monster as well?"

"Nah, Patty wants to go with to slay this beast, but I think she's just playing along for the rabbits," Chloe replied.

"Just don't get into trouble," Miho warned.

"Yes captain!" Kass replied with a mock salute.

Back at her desk, Anzu was surprisingly not chewing on a sweet potato, or even lounging about. She looked over her desk which was covered in papers of expense reports, budgets, and tax revenues of various prefectures and schools of Japan, and compared it to Oarai. "This doesn't add up," she decided.

Yuzu and Momo looked at her with confusion, both were just as surprised by her strange request to gather the reports and even stranger seriousness in looking over them. "What doesn't add up?" Momo asked.

"Take a look at this. This is an overview of Anzio's budget and their prefecture, Tochigi's GDP." Anzu turned the paper around so Yuzu and Momo could see it. "Tochigi is 16th in the GDP rankings, and yet Anzio has nearly double our budget when Ibariki is 12th," she explained.

Momo looked at the report critically. "Every other schoolship's budget matches their GDP and tax revenue ranking," she noted.

"Except for Oarai," Anzu pointed out, "and isn't it strange how our headmaster can afford a brand new Ferrari when its price is double her salary?"

"Maybe her spouse helped pay for it?" Yuzu suggested.

"She's not married though," Momo pointed out.

"And she's constantly refused to expel students for 'financial reasons' even when their actions border on criminal!" Anzu exclaimed, "and whenever they are arrested, the police on the carrier just let them back out. I can't believe I haven't noticed until now."

"We were pretty busy with the Sensha-do team," Yuzu said, trying to calm down her friend and superior.

"That's not an excuse though," Anzu countered, "we need to fix this."

"I agree, this is an inexcusable situation. Ibaraki is a relatively well-off prefecture and yet can't afford a school carrier that's barely functioning while Kumamoto or Tochigi can spend lavishly on the arts and Sensha-do? Those funds exist, but they aren't going to the schoolship," Momo said.

"The question is, how?" Yuzu asked, "we can't exactly just accuse the administration of stealing from the school. This could be a scale of corruption all the way to the prefectural or even national government scale."

"I don't know. That's why we need to bring in help," Anzu stated.

"Is that why you want Nishizumi and Valentine to visit tonight?" Momo asked.

"Yes and no… we do need to tell them about our… other problem with the Ministry of Education," Anzu answered.

Yuzu nodded in agreement. "That's probably for the best," she said.

"Oh, and our next opponent has been decided," Momo added.

"I bet we can guess who given the fact we're heading northeast," Anzu replied, "I've always wanted to visit the U.S, but Alaska isn't what I was thinking of."

Rabbit Team, Kass, and Patty stood in front of an elevator that would take them below deck. Azusa was holding a flashlight, Ayumi had the video recorder, Aya had her phone out with its camera on, Kass had a notebook, and Patty had her "shotgun." "Is everyone ready?" Asuza asked. With affirmations from everyone, she called the elevator and the group descended into the ship's hull. It took some time, but eventually, they reached deck 13 and departed the elevator.

"So, anything you can tell me about this 'monster?'" Kass asked as she, Azusa, and Patty led the group down a hallway.

"Well… the rumors say it screeches really loudly," Azusa answered.

"Like an angry cat?" Karina asked.

"Or maybe like a bat?" Ayumi suggested.

"I don't know," Azusa admitted, "but I think we'll find something cool down here anyway."

000

I don't have much to say, since I'm uploading so soon since the last, but hey, that makes up for a dry summer right?

Up Next on Girls und Panzer: Tank Aces

Chapter 32: The Real Beast is Unveiled!