AN: Like I said, lots of characters, there's no way you'll be able to keep track of them.
Enjoy!
Tomorrow came as quickly and as normally as possible just like any other day. Every member of Hakodate's Tankery team gathered outside the tank depot where there was a large flat area for maneuvering. All of them had been waiting for some time already with some starting to get impatient.
"They're late," Ishihara pointed out.
"I'm sure they just want to make a nice entrance," Kaede said whilst munching on some potato chips.
Kanagawa just stood to the side with his friends who also looked bored out of their minds. And even with his training and experience, he also wanted to get out of the sun. Though it was a beautiful day, it was quite hot, and it made him wonder where in the Pacific Ocean the Yorktown was currently on.
Most of them were just spacing out while Katayama fell asleep while standing, although he tends to do that in almost any situation. Kanagawa just sighed and looked to the side and was surprised to see the Automotive Club doing their best to stay awake. If nothing happens to keep them up then they'll pass out then and there. So, he decided to strike up a conversation with their commander.
"Long night?" He asked.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, we had some work right after our meeting yesterday when you were all gone already. We're used to staying up, but we finished later than normal," Mino Kuroda answered. He was the commander of the KV-85 and president of the Automotive Club.
"What the hell did you guys do?"
"Mostly maintenance and cleaning. But we did some painting too. You're Kanagawa, right?"
"Yeah."
"Ah, good. It's your tank that we worked on the most last night. We fine-tuned the engine, cleaned up the inside, and gave it new paint. But Okura over there screwed up the paint so we had to redo it," He explained.
"Yo, you said to put the brown in, and I did!" Shin Okura argued from the side. He was the driver of the KV-85.
"While the primer was still wet? Yeah, of course!"
"Oh, screw you, man-"
"Okay, let's stop now, please!" Kazuki Murakami interjected, he was the gunner of their team.
"We got the job done, that's all that matters. We don't have to think of anything else," Jiro Takeuchi added, he was their loader.
The two sighed and nodded to each other before going back to their original tasks earlier.
"Right, sorry about that, hehe," Mino chuckled awkwardly. "So yeah, we fixed up your tank and gave it new paint. We swapped the school insignia with ours, but we kept the turret number. Is that okay?"
If memory serves Kanagawa correctly, the number '217' on his turret number also belonged to Panzer Ace, Otto Carius. Carius was responsible for over 150 kills against allied vehicles in WW2; the man was also responsible for a kill against a Soviet IL-2 in late 1943 because it was annoying them. In short, the man was a legend!
So, he nodded. "Yeah, the changes are good. Thank you, Kuroda-san."
"Anytime, Kanagawa-san."
Another minute passed and they all considered getting inside to get away from the sun while others considered leaving entirely. However, one of the crewmembers of the M6A1 was looking up when he saw something.
"Airplane," Shou Koizumi said whilst pointing up. He is the loader of the 76mm gun on their tank.
Everyone followed his gaze and confirmed that there was in fact an airplane flying above them. Well, about to fly above them since it has yet to even come on top of their ship.
"Yup, that's a plane," Hajime Fujiwara said as he looked up with a hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun's light. He is the gunner for both weapons on the M6A1.
As a byproduct of boredom, everyone started talking about the plane even if it were just murmurs to each other. Fujimoto brought up a pair of binoculars and looked up at the incoming plane.
"It's a plane all right. Looks pretty big, with four engines, and a flat bottom. It's definitely a cargo plane. Yup, it's a Kawasaki C-2 military transport," He reported and looked closer. "Hang on a second."
"What is it?" Kanagawa asked.
"See for yourself," He replied, handing him the binoculars.
Kanagawa brought the binoculars up to his eyes and looked up to the incoming airplane. Yup, everything Fujimoto said was spot on. However, as he looked closer, he could see the insignias painted onto its wings and side. It looked like the front silhouette view of a tank inside a circle with a blue and white color scheme. It was a symbol he knew all too well.
"Stand fast, boys. I think this is it," He said as he handed the binoculars back to Fujimoto.
They all watched as the C-2 flew above them, but a figure seemed to come out of it and start falling towards the ground at a rapid pace. Said figure was a human being diving towards the ship's deck at such a high speed before flattening out to slow down. Once they were slow enough, and at quite a low altitude they pulled the cord to the parachute and safely glided down. The person landed on their legs a short distance away from them. They then undid the straps on their parachute, allowing it to fall off them, before picking up a duffle bag that landed with them and walking towards the group.
The person removed a pair of goggles from their face and the boys were finally able to properly identify them. This person is clearly a woman as told by the shape of her body and her shoulder-length light brown hair. She wore a black uniform that was like the Kuromorimine tanker uniform but with some changes: the skirt was a bit longer, that and the long sleeve underneath was completely black instead of red, and there was a Sam Browne belt wrapped around her. And there were also a few pins on her uniform jacket, two of them being the emblem of Kuromorimine and the emblem of the Japanese Sensha-do Federation.
She also had a pair of dark brown eyes to complement the face of a middle-aged woman who looked like she has seen it all and there was an aura that demanded respect around her. Overall, she seemed intimidating. Despite that, her eyes widened in delight and she gave them a warm smile.
"Hallo! Hallo! Guten Tag!" She greeted with a wave while walking towards. "Who's in charge here?"
"That would be me, Student Council President Kaede Machida, nice to meet you!" He greeted with an outstretched.
"Ah good, I'm in the right place!" She said before shaking his hand and bowling. "I'm sorry for being late. There were some complications before take off. "
"Oh, it's no problem, ma'am. At least you're here now."
"Right. So, shall we get going?"
As the Student Council conversed with what seemed like their instructor, the rest just watched from the sidelines. Most especially one of the commanders who was staring at the woman with eyes as wide as saucers.
"Oh, ssshhhhiitt," Kanagawa whispered a curse.
"Do you know this person? Is this one of the problems you were talking about?" Nakasone asked.
"Yeah, I know who this is. And no, this one is worse, way worse," Kanagawa answered.
Nakasone didn't know what else to say after that and kept quiet. The woman moved until she stopped at a spot just in front of them.
"Hello everyone! I apologize for being late as a lot of things are happening in the office. Anyway, my name is Kyoko Kanagawa, I'm the instructor assigned to you by the Japanese Sensha-do Federation. It's an honor to be able to teach you," She introduced herself with a bow
Everyone greeted back and they all processed her name in their heads. It didn't take long until they quickly realized something. The physical features, the name, and a lot of other things check out. They clearly had thoughts about it but decided not to say anything.
"Now, what exactly am I dealing with here?" Kyoko asked.
"We've got the basics down such as driving and shooting, but otherwise, we're as clueless as they come," Ishihara answered.
"So total newbies, huh?" She said and smiled before clapping her hand. "Well, that's fine and nothing to be ashamed of. When I was back in high school, I was regarded as one of the best! I had, and still have, a hit rate of two hundred percent!"
"Whoa, were you really that good, Instructor Kanagawa?" Yasushi Minami asked. He was the driver of the M6A1.
"Of course! Just look up my name or ask someone from Kuromorimine! When I saw something, it was already dead! But it's not like I was born the best. I studied and I trained, and only then could I be called something useful. You can be the same. Now that I'm here, I promise you, I'll turn you all into lethal weapons!" She proclaimed and a chorus of cheers was heard. "Now, I'm willing to help all of you, but I also need you to help me too. Think you can do that?"
"Yes, ma'am!" They all sounded off.
"Good. Now, who's the commander and vice-commander?" She asked.
"Here. I'm the commander and this is the vice-commander," Ishihara said and stepped forward along with Georgy.
Kanagawa couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. He's the commander? No wonder the team here sucks.
"Ah, very good! Now, who here is the most knowledgeable in Sensha-do in general?" Kyoko asked.
The whole field was silent for a moment. Eventually, not knowing what to do, heads started to turn towards a certain someone in the group. Kanagawa stiffened up as he felt the gazes of all of his new Tankery-mates fall on him. He would've been fine if it wasn't for…
Kyoko's gaze fell on him and she regarded him with eyes widening a bit before walking over to him. She stopped at his side and spoke without even looking at him.
"So, you're here too, huh? I thought you weren't taking Sensha-do anymore," She said.
"Kanagawa, do you know the instructor?" Ishihara asked.
The young man gulped, not knowing what to do. So, he said the first thing that came into his mind.
"Um, no," He said.
Wrong move.
"NO?!" She almost shrieked whilst turning sharply to face him. "I've literally birthed you, raised you, and gave you everything you have! After all of that, after everything I've done, that's what you're going to say to me?! You don't know me?!"
The rest of the boys started whispering to each other as Kyoko continued to tear Kanagawa a new one. The boy in question just remained still as he tried to find a way out of the situation.
"U-Um, let's calm down please-" He was cut off when she turned around to look away from him.
"I know your father and I aren't always around because of work, but we do our best. However, it seems our best isn't damn near enough for you, isn't it?" She asked, her voice now a lot softer than earlier.
"W-What? No, that's not-"
"Go ahead and say it! You hate me, don't you?!"
"E-EH?!"
"Even after everything, I'm just not enough… We're just… not enough…" She trailed off.
And then she began trembling. And then they heard sniffling. Kyoko then brought her hands to her face as sobs were heard coming from her. No one really knew what to do, but many of them started whispering to each other. The main topic being about how Kanagawa is actually a spoiled kid who's now giving his parents a hard time. Kanagawa was aware of it though, and he knew he had to fix it somehow. So, he stepped forward and raised his arms up.
"Hey, when have you ever done anything to make me hate you? You and Dad have always done what's best for me, and I know that. Besides, nothing will ever change the fact that you're my mother," He told her.
Her sobbing stopped and her head turned just a bit.
"So… does that mean you're still my baby boy?" She asked.
Kanagawa wanted to groan but he couldn't. So, he sighed and spoke while trying to force down the feeling of embarrassment.
"Yes, I'm still your baby boy," He said, forcing a smile.
At the moment after he said that, Kyoko straightened up and whirled around. Her face was clear and was now showing a bright expression with a huge smile on it. It was like she wasn't even sad or crying in the first place.
"Thank you for saying that, Kenji," She said. "I know you're still my baby boy, you always will be. I just wanted you to say it!"
"Eh?!" Kanagawa blurted out before he shut down completely making Kyoko chuckle.
"Hold on over there, tanker. You've got this," She told him with a pat on the head before walking past him and facing all the other boys. "This is a lesson, so listen up. Almost every school practicing Sensha-do has a theme or style that they follow which outlines their doctrine and order of battle. However, that does not mean they are unable to adapt. Sometimes they even rely on some very peculiar ways of fighting if it means gaining an advantage against their opponent. You must be able to recognize and outmaneuver these tactics, otherwise, you've already lost. Is that clear?"
"Yes ma'am!"
"Good," She said and looked behind her to see that Kenji was still frozen in place. "What are you still standing there for? Reih dich wieder ein, Kadett!"
"J-Jawohl!" Kenji said after he snapped out of it before running back to his crew.
"You okay? She got you good," Nakasone asked.
"No," Kenji said with an annoyed expression. Every time! I always fall for it every time!
"Alright then, for those that still don't know, Kenji over there is my son. However, I'll still treat him the same as the rest of you while in class," She told them. "Anyway, can I see your tanks?"
They all went inside the depot with Ishihara and Georgy leading Kyoko around it while everyone else manned their vehicles for inspection.
"M4, T-34, Panzer IV/70, M24, BT-7, KV-85. Oooh, an M6A1, that thing is like a baby Maus. And a Tiger, very nice," Kyoko mumbled.
"We've got nine working tanks here. Due to the previous team shutting down and financial issues, most of the vehicles were sold or scrapped. These are all that's left that we found lying around and restored. We don't have the ability to buy new ones, maybe we can get some old second-hand ones, but that's it," Ishihara explained.
"I see," Kyoko said. "The way I see it, your lineup is rather good. You can totally get something out of this. Although, you would really have to use your head and pick your battles carefully."
"Heh, that's what Kanagawa said," Kaede remarked as he followed.
"Alright then!" She said with a raised voice so that everyone would hear. "I've been told that you can drive and shoot. And now I've seen your tanks. The question now is how all of you would fare in actual combat. So, why don't you all engage each other in a mock battle?"
"Huh?!" Everyone was surprised by that statement and they all started talking about it. Sure, they seemed somewhat promising, but it's only their second day, and they know next to nothing about Tankery.
"Is it okay to do that so soon?" Terada asked worriedly.
"It'll be fine! When I started Tankery, our instructor threw us into a battle on the first day without giving any sort of genuine advice. All she told us was to find a target, point the gun at it, and then shoot it. Besides, experience is the best teacher. So go out there and get some!" She declared.
"But, what advice can you give us, Instructor?" Murano Hisoka asked. He's the 37mm loader of the M6A1.
Kyoko took some time to think about what to say before grinning and putting a hand on her hip.
"If you shoot, you hit. If you defend, you defend firmly. If you advance, you advance without falter. Iron rules, and a heart of steel. That is how you win," She said.
Everyone just stared at her. Such big words and quite inspirational too. Although it was still not something one would call useful advice, it did pump them up. However, it was not the same for everyone. Kanagawa's breath hitched and he looked away when he heard his mother's words.
Kyoko then chuckled. "Of course, that's not for everybody. And you might not understand. So, here's one that you will understand: be safe and have fun. You got that?"
"Yes ma'am!"
"Ausgezeichnet! Now, if everyone could man their vehicles and drive outside, please."
With that order, everyone manned their vehicles and prepared to head out. Before Kanagawa climbed up his tank, he noted that it looked cleaner than usual and that the emblem was now replaced with the one for Hakodate. It was an outline of Goryokaku Fortress with the moat in a light blue color, the fortress walls in a dark blue color, a thin red outline in between both, and the Kanji of Hakodate written in bold white characters in the center.
Once everyone had manned their vehicles, they drove them outside where they all parked in a line, before the crews then disembarked again since Kyoko still has some more instructions.
"The rules are simple, find your opponent, and immobilize them. An immobilized tank will have a white flag shooting up from it. Now…" She then reached into her uniform jacket and pulled out a map. "I've marked your starting locations in the training grounds. Drive over there and wait for my signal to start the match."
She passed them the map and allowed them to mark their locations on their own maps.
"Have you all marked your locations?"
"Yes ma'am!"
"Okay! So, I know that this is the first time for some of you, but let's spice things up a bit. The winners can leave for home early while the rest have to stay and clean up. Is that alright with all of you?" She asked and everyone agreed. "Good! Now, Tankery starts with a bow and ends with a bow. All participants, bow!"
Every member of the Tankery team bowed. "Let's have a good match!"
With those words, everyone climbed into their vehicles and drove into the training grounds while Kyoko climbed the nearby observation tower. It took a few minutes, but Kanagawa and his crew had arrived at their starting point which is a spot somewhere in the forest.
"This is the Tiger. We're in position," Kanagawa radioed. He was followed shortly after by everyone else.
"This is the Panzer IV/70, we're in position."
"T-34 here, we're ready."
"The Chaffee has arrived!"
"The KV is ready for action!"
"BT-7's in position, ma'am."
"This is the M6A1, we've made it!"
Then the transmissions stopped, and a full minute passed until someone spoke again.
"That's seven out of eight vehicles ready. M4 Sherman, what's your status?" Kyoko asked.
There was a small moment of static through the comms until another voice spoke.
"... Are you sure this is it?!"
"Yes! I'm the one holding the map here!"
"Guys, there's no need to be angry."
"Um, hello! Sherman, what's happening?" Kyoko asked again.
"W-We got a little lost, Instructor! We're almost there now, we're sorry!" Eiji Kikuchi replied nervously. He is the commander and radio operator on the M4.
Kyoko chuckled. "That's okay, take your time, we've got a lot of it. And you're all in the first stage anyway."
A couple of minutes later, and with some guidance, the Sherman was finally able to reach their starting position.
"Sherman has reached the spawn point!"
"That makes eight vehicles ready. Are there any more concerns?" She asked but only got negatives. "Very well. In three… two… one! Match start! All tanks, Panzer vor!"
"Your mom sure is something," Nakasone remarked.
"I know," Kanagawa replied. "Driver, take us forward down the road, please."
"Got it," He said before shifting gears and driving forward.
"Loader, put a round in the gun. Gunner, be ready to shoot on my command," Kanagawa ordered.
"Affirmative!" They both said. Fujimoto put an armor-piercing shell in the breech while Yoshima checked the fire control system.
"Radio operator, you can't do much in this setting so just keep your head out of the hatch and scan for targets."
"Alright!" Nakasone said as he stuck his head out of the tank, keeping the radio on and the headset on his head.
"Alright, let's go hunting."
The Tiger continued driving down the small road in the forest while its crew did their assigned tasks. After five minutes of driving, cannon shots were heard in the distance which alerted their crew.
"Looks like things have already popped off," Kanagawa remarked. "Katayama, head north. The noise is coming from there."
"Got it," Katayama said.
They came across a junction and Katayama drove the tank in the direction heading north. Kanagawa kept his head on a swivel as they continued down the road. The cannon shots had ceased so that meant someone was already down, but something felt off. A chill went down his spine and he was speaking before he even realized it.
"FULL STOP!" He ordered.
The 57-ton tank came to an abrupt halt just in time to avoid a shell being fired at them from the side. The shell had grazed the upper glacis of the front armor before continuing and slamming onto the dirt.
"Reverse left!" He ordered again and the tank immediately faced to the right. "Gunner, that tall bush over there next to the tree! Fire at it!"
"Firing!" Yoshima announced just as he pulled the trigger.
The 8.8 cm cannon fired a shot at the bush, but instead of an explosion of dirt and other debris, there was a loud clang as metal slammed onto metal before there was a display of pyrotechnics with smoke. A moment later, a white flag popped out of the bush.
"The M24 has been knocked out! Seven of eight remaining!" Kyoko announced.
Hiding behind the shrubs is an M24 Chafee light tank that was crewed by the defunct basketball team. Using the speed and size of the tank they were able to get to an advantageous position where they could ambush anyone driving down the road. It was a solid plan, a very good plan. Many factors were in their favor, so this should be a piece of cake.
"Bro, how the hell did they spot us?" Tomio Hayakawa asked before groaning. He was the gunner in their tank.
"I don't know. We were perfectly camouflaged," Nobu replied as he pushed open the hatch to let fresh air in.
"Damn it, I told you we should've gone with the slam dunk plan!" Osamu 'Osa' Kurata argued. He's the loader.
"They probably would've seen us, though," Toshiyuki 'Tosh' Shirogane said. He's the driver.
"Nonsense, we just needed more guts!"
"Willpower!"
"Meat!"
"Doesn't matter now, we're down for the count," Nobu said. "We've got a lot to learn if we want to stay here. So start training those tiny ass brains of yours!"
"Eh, your grades suck just as bad as ours, Captain," Osa remarked.
"You know what I mean, you ass!"
Back in the Tiger, the crew simply stared with dumbfounded faces except for Kanagawa of course.
"H-How did you know they were there?" Nakasone asked.
"I saw the outline of a tank as we approached. It was hard to see, but they're there," He explained.
"That was awesome! Our first tank kill ever!" Fujimoto proclaimed excitedly.
"The next few are coming," Kanagawa remarked.
Just as he said that, shells hit the ground near their tank causing them to flinch with Kanagawa having to take cover. He looked around and saw three tanks coming at them from their flanks: the KV, T-34, and BT.
Are we fighting Pobeda all of a sudden? He wondered.
"Driver, get us the hell out of here!" He ordered.
"Affirmative!" Katayama just as he drove the tank forward, narrowly missing the shells fired at them.
"Keep driving! We can't be effective in a place like this, it's too tight!" Kanagawa said.
The Tiger sped away from the three Russian tanks who were now pursuing.
"Kanagawa's on the run! Let's get him!" Georgy declared and his crew cheered.
"We came, we saw, we kicked ass!" Takao "Alex" Shinomiya declared. He's the loader on the T-34.
"Fear the might of the Golden Horde!" Bunko "Khan" Nakanishi exclaimed. He's the radio operator on the T-34.
"Charge!" Arata "Saigo" Seto yelled. He's the driver of the T-34.
The T-34 fired again along with the KV-85. Both shots missed, however.
"Damnit, missed!" Kazuki cursed. "I need another round!"
"Here it is!" Jiro said just as he threw another round into the gun. "Loaded."
"Don't fire too much, we only loaded the tank with the minimal amount," Mino reminded.
"Yeah, I know. It's kinda hard shooting on the move!" Kazuki said.
"Shin, step on it, man!"
"I got it! A tank race is what I live for!" Shin declared as he floored the accelerator.
The T-34 and KV-85 drove side by side and fired simultaneously with both shots missing due to a combination of firing on the move and their target now zigzagging. The BT-7 followed them from a further distance but still rather close.
"Wow, Kanagawa's really running," Ishihara remarked before firing the 45mm gun. The shot missed, of course. The other factors aside, he was a bad shot, to begin with.
"Good thing we convinced the rest to gang up on him then," Kaede said as he munched on some potato chips while sitting comfortably.
"It's kind of odd that he's just running. You'd think that he'd instantly be fighting back, right?" Terada asked as he drove the tank.
"We've got the numbers advantage and his crew's inexperienced. We hold all the good cards. But it's best we take him out first, and then we'll deal with the rest," Ishihara said before firing and missing again.
Some minutes ago, it was agreed by everyone else that Kanagawa is the most dangerous opponent, so they quickly devised a plan to take him out. This was something that Kanagawa himself was starting to realize too.
"Are they shooting at me because I'm the instructor's kid?" He wondered out loud.
"It sure looks that way," Nakasone replied.
"Well, that's just mean," He said. "Katayama, just keep the zigzag up. We're near a clearing."
"Got it," Katayama said as he shifted gears.
Once they get to the clearing, Yoshima will have a lot of opportunities for a clear shot. For now, Kanagawa laid down everything about the situation and assessed it.
Damnit, I should've known! They may suck, but these guys are still active Tankery players and a rag-tag team is still a team! The Student Council knows my history, so they probably roped in the others to try and take me out first. Smart move on their part. Now the question is what else they might be planning. The M24 is down, the KV, T-34, and BT are chasing us, so what about the rest?
An idea struck him, and he checked the map again. The map he had also featured the topographical data of the grounds, and from what he can see, the clearing they were driving is located between two hills. At that moment he realized what was happening.
"Boys, stay sharp! I think we're walking into a trap here!" He told his crew.
"Oh, that's just lovely!" Nakasone exclaimed.
"The clearing is kinda like a small valley with two hills in between! I think they're waiting for us on top of both! Gunner, keep the gun hot! Loader, battle carry another round and reload as fast as you can!" Kanagawa ordered.
"Affirmative!"
The Tiger continued to zigzag to avoid the incoming shells, but the three tanks were closing their distance and it was only a matter of time before one of them hits. In fact, a 57mm round managed to graze the side of the tank. It didn't penetrate, but it showed that they were running out of time.
C'mon, just a little bit further… He thought to himself.
"I got you now!" Georgy and Kazuki exclaimed as their sights lined up with the thin side and rear armor of the Tiger. And as they prepared to fire, Kanagawa saw the clearing right in front of them. He's got it.
"Fire!"
"Full stop!"
The second order came just in time to negate the effects of the first. The Tiger came to an abrupt halt just as both the 57mm and 85mm guns fired, making them miss their target. And, while the Tiger halted, both tanks kept driving forward into the clearing and right into the kill zone they had established themselves.
"Tank sighted! Fire!" Kanai ordered.
The 76mm and 37mm guns of the M6A1 on a hill, the 7.5 cm gun of the Panzer IV/70 on the other hill, and the 75mm gun from the M4 on the base of the second hill all fired. 76mm, 7.5 cm, and 37mm shells slammed onto the KV and white flagged it instantly, while the 75mm shell from the M4 only de-tracked the T-34. But it was all good enough.
"The KV-85 is down! Six of eight remaining!" Kyoko announced.
"That's about to change again," Kanagawa remarked. "Gunner, rotate the turret to the left!"
"Rotating!" Yoshima acknowledged right as he brought the gun to bear on the BT-7 behind them.
"Oh shit! Terada, reverse! REVERSE!" Ishihara panicked as he shot at the Tiger with the 45mm. Despite only being ten meters apart, he still missed.
"I AM!" Terada yelled back as he reversed the tank at full speed.
These efforts are for naught as the muzzle of the 8.8 cm gun was brought to bear on their tank.
"Wow, it really was a good idea to bring Kanagawa along," Kaede said nonchalantly as he munched on his chips.
The 8.8 cm shell slammed onto the front of the light tank, throwing it off the ground and then crashing on its top. A little white flag popped from its bottom shortly after.
"The BT-7 is down! Five of eight remaining!" Kyoko announced.
"Gunner, gun front. Driver, forward," Kanagawa ordered and the Tiger was moving forward again.
Back in the clearing, everyone was reacting confusedly to the scene around them and panicking, not knowing what else to do.
"I told you to hit the Tiger, not the KV, damnit!" Kanai yelled.
"You were the one who gave the order to fire!" Hajime retorted.
"Kanagawa's pretty good, huh?" Kenshin Oshima questioned. He's the radio operator and on their tank.
"Well, he is the instructor's kid, I'm not surprised," Yasushi Minami answered. He's the driver of their tank.
"Doesn't matter, there's still more of us. We'll crush him!" Kanai proclaimed.
"76mm loaded!" Shou said.
"37mm loaded!" Murano said.
"Get ready to fire again!" Kanai ordered.
"Make sure it's the right target this time!" Hajime yelled.
On the other hill, the crew of the Panzer IV/70 was also thrown back by the whole thing.
"Uh oh, we just hit a friendly tank," Taro said as he looked through the sight.
"Is that even allowed?" Mikio Takai asked as he loaded another shell into the gun. He's the loader of their tank.
"There were no teams given, we just grouped up to take down Kanagawa first. So technically, we were supposed to do it," Norio Nasui said. He's the driver of their tank.
"We're not breaking any rules then, that's good. Now to take out the real target," Taro said as he continued to look through the sight.
Moving over to the M4 Sherman on the base of the hill, the crew just looked with wide eyes.
"Ah crap, we just teamkilled someone," Eiji remarked as he peeked through the
"Really hope we don't get banned for this," Kichiro Shiba said. He's the driver of the M4.
"Hey, what if we just charged in there and used the thing?" Hideki Sonoda asked as he put another round in the gun. He's the gunner and loader of the M4.
"I don't know if it's allowed though," Kichiro replied, unsurely.
"Well, let's find out," Eiji replied. "Wait for my command."
As the three other teams prepared, the crew of the T-34 were only starting to come back to their senses.
"Ugh, that hurt," Alex said as he picked himself up. The sudden stop had hurt them all, one way or another.
"Is everyone alright?" Georgy asked to which everyone replied with an affirmative. "Hey, Saigo, get us out of here!"
"No can do, I think the track's snapped," Saigo replied as he tried and failed to drive forward.
"Well shit! Goddamn, trigger-happy newbies!" He cursed. "Alright, whatever, let's at least try to give Kanagawa a hard time. The fifty-seven can penetrate the Tiger's upper front plate, so let's bring it around."
Georgy then started turning the turret to the rear while the rest braced for impact.
"What great last stand will this be like?" Khan asked.
"Dunno, it's way too pathetic to even be remotely awesome," Alex answered.
"I agree," Georgy said.
And just as he said that the tank rocked violently again and threw the crew into a daze. A beep sounded and the lights on the tiny panel showing the tank's state changed. It basically tells you if your tank has been taken out, and judging by the red light on the panel instead of the usual green, it told the crew all they needed to hear. And sure enough, there was a small white flag on top of the T-34's turret.
"The T-34 is down! Four of eight remaining!" Kyoko announced.
"Well… that's that," Khan stated weakly.
"Alright, that's our fourth kill!" Fujimoto rejoiced.
"Don't celebrate just yet. We're not yet done," Kanagawa reminded. "We're still walking into a trap here. They've probably in an advantageous spot so they won't move. But there's no other way besides forward from here. So we're going in, I'll spot them."
"Got it!" His crew replied.
"On my command, 3… 2… 1… forward!" He ordered.
The Tiger sped up and drove into the clearing at full speed. The gunners of all three tanks within were instantly tracking their target, and all at once, they fired. But, Kanagawa already predicted this.
"Turn left now!" He ordered and the tank immediately turned that way.
The 76mm, 7.5 cm, and 37mm all missed their target and hit the dirt while the 75mm shell hit the Tiger but ricocheted off the side of the hull. All the crews scrambled to reload their guns and Kanagawa took this chance to retaliate.
"Rotate turret to our 4' o clock! And on top of the hill next to the tree!" He ordered.
"Affirmative!" Yoshima replied, and a moment later the gun was on target. "On target!"
"Fire!"
"Firing!"
An 8.8 cm shell shot of the gun and slammed onto the M6A1's front a fraction of a second later. A small white flag shot out of the top of its turret as well signaling its immobilization, but there was no celebration.
"Reverse!" Kanagawa ordered and the tank reversed just in time to dodge an incoming shell. "Rotate turret to our 1' o clock! Over on the other hill!"
"Got it!" Yoshima replied and followed the order given. "On target!"
"Fire!"
The gun fired again, and a shell slammed onto the upper front plate of the Panzer IV/70. A moment later, a white flag popped out of its top.
"The M6A1 and Panzer IV/70 are down! Two of eight remaining!" Kyoko announced.
"One more, boys! One more! And it's just the M4 Sherman. Its 75mm gun can't do anything to our front, so we'll be fine," Fujimoto assured them.
A moment later, a revving of an engine was heard and the M4 burst out of some bushes and charged right at them.
"There they are. Well, let's put them out of their misery. Gunner, bring our gun to bear," Kanagawa ordered.
"Got it!" Yoshima replied and began turning the turret.
The M4 continued to rapidly close the distance while the turret of the Tiger was still turning. Kanagawa was starting to get anxious, but he knew that their gun would bear on the Sherman before it could maneuver to shoot at their weak spots. So he pushed himself to relax. But at that moment, he saw something off with the Sherman. More specifically, why was there a hose spraying water on the tank? He narrowed his eyes in confusion before a realization came to him and his eyes widened.
"Oh shit! FLAMMENWERFER!" Kanagawa yelled as he descended into the tank while slamming the hatch shut.
"Light 'em up!" Eiji ordered.
The stream of liquid coming from the M4 ignited into a brilliant stream of flame which completely enveloped the tank in seconds. The onlookers stared wide-eyed at the sight; Kyoko even recoiled due to the surprise.
"WHOA! Flamethrower!" She yelled.
The crew panicked and froze, not knowing how to react. Kanagawa didn't know what to do since he had never encountered anything with a flamethrower before, nor had he heard about anyone being in the same situation. Yoshima also recoiled as his gunsight was filled with bright orange flame.
Of course, the flamethrower did absolutely nothing to the Tiger besides covering the hull with black soot that can be cleaned with a hose and raising the temperature inside by just a little bit. However, all of this was just enough of a distraction for the M4 Sherman to slip by and line up a shot at the Tiger's weak side armor. A 75mm shell embedded itself into the Tiger and a small white flag popped out from the top of the turret.
The crew of the Sherman popped out from their hatches with the crew of the Tiger doing the same. Both crews had an expression of pure disbelief on their faces. Kanagawa was unable to comprehend the fact that they lost when they held every major advantage, while Eiji was unable to comprehend the fact that his half-assed plan worked somehow.
The same shock and disbelief were also felt by everyone else watching. Kyoko blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't seeing things before keying the mic once more.
"U-Um, the Tiger is down! One of eight remaining! The victory goes to the M4 Sherman and its crew!" She announced.
It took a moment before the crew of the Sherman started cheering for their victory and laughing at the absurdity of it all. Meanwhile, the crew of the Tiger simply sank back into their tank.
"Well, that happened," Nakasone remarked.
"I know I've said that all tanks are special in their own way. But I can't believe we lost to a Sherman with a seventy-five, especially when we held the advantage," Fujimoto remarked.
"A Königstiger was destroyed by a Greyhound in 1944. This isn't really anything new," Kanagawa said and shook his head. "I was not expecting the flamethrower and I freaked out. I'm sorry, guys, I cost us our victory."
"That's okay, we're still in training anyway. And I'm kind of at fault as well, I panicked took my eye off the gunsight," Yoshima told him.
"We all panicked and screwed up as a result. So, we're all technically at fault here," Katayama added.
"Yeah, man, don't sweat it," Nakasone said.
"That's right, Kanagawa-dono. Failure is a part of growth, right? We just have to keep moving forward. Like a Maus blowing through a building!" Fujimoto said.
Kanagawa smiled. "Thanks, guys. I'll be sure to keep track of anything else surprising. We won't lose again."
His crew smiled at the reassurance just as another radio transmission came in.
"This is Kyoko. All teams, return to the depots. Recovery teams will pick up all the disabled tanks later. And I'd like to have a word with everyone and personally congratulate the winner."
AN: Okay, I think all of the Hakodate affiliated characters have been introduced, or at least you now know what their names and positions are. I'll be posting a small chapter that lists their names, positions, and maybe other things along with this one. There will be a lot more characters, especially when things become more developed.
The next official chapter would just be a continuation of this one and then some true action after that. I plan to speed run the whole tournament segment so I could finally write shit like the ones in MLLSD. MLLSD gives me life and I don't know if any of it is canon, but most of it is to me in my heart.
Anyway, please leave a review, I'd very much like to hear your thoughts, and thanks for reading! Peace out!