Chapter 2:

When lunchtime came, Miho's Anglerfish team joined Makoto's crew, carrying their meal trays upstairs to the roof of the cafeteria building. The two teams sat facing each other at one of a half-dozen long brightly-painted picnic tables, the girls noticing that Riko's Hippo team were already having their noon-day meal nearby.

Usagi spotted Rei staring at her over-filled tray and frowned. "Go ahead, Rei-chan" the blonde sighed. "Make another mean joke about my appetite. I know you're dying to."

"I wasn't thinking of your appetite, Usagi-chan."

Usagi gave the miko a suspicious look. "No?"

"Not at all. I was just wondering what kind of metal they used to make your food tray. It must be exceptionally strong to hold all that weight. Perhaps we can use more of those trays to cover the outside of our Panzer, for extra armor."

"Ok, then that's... wait a minute! That was a joke!" Usagi scowled at the raven-gaired girl.

"And a very sneaky one!" Miho giggled.

"Fine!" Usagi lowered her voice. "Next time future me brings us here, I'm leaving you behind, Rei-chan. I'll be the loader, and the radio operator too!"

"And there goes our tank!" Makoto chuckled. "Boom!"

"Ohh! Mako-chan, don't you be like her too now. Putting up with one evil Rei is more than enough for me!"

"Gomen, Usagi-chan" her brunette friend chuckled. "I tried not to say it, but I couldn't resist."

"Try harder next time!" the blonde fumed.

Riko got up and walked over to the girls' table. "Miho-san, have you heard the latest rumor?"

"There's another one?" the Anglerfish commander asked in surprise.

"Hai. It's totally unverified, of course. But my source in Nagasaki told me and Anzu the name of the second school we'll likely be competing against. And it isn't good news."

"You have a spy on the inside, Erwin?" Yukari exclaimed. "That's so exciting!"

"I prefer to think of her as a covert operative, Yukari-san" Riko smiled.

"So which school is it?" Saori asked the teen wearing the German field marshall's cap and jacket over her white and green fuku.

"Kuromorimine Girls Academy."

"My sister?" Miho's smile quickly vanished. "If that's true, and the other team fighting alongside them is Saunders..." She frowned, "Minna, we have a big problem."

"Nonsense, Miho-san!" Minako insisted with a dismissive wave of her hand, "You beat your sister's school before, and you'll do it again! I know you will!"

"We defeated Kuromorimine alone, Minako-san" Mako reminded her. "Adding Kay's Shermans to Maho's Tigers and Panthers may prove to be a lot more than our tanks can handle."

Yukari muttered, "I hope that giant Maus doesn't turn up again!"

"I need to rethink our strategy for Saturday's match" Miho murmured. "We need to try something fresh and new, something the other schools aren't expecting. If only we knew which school will be helping us."

"Still working on that, Miho-san" Riko said. "Perhaps my operative is mistaken and it won't be Kuromorimine after all. But I thought you should know that it's a strong possibility, and knowing is half the battle."

Makoto remained undeterred. "We'll do whatever it takes to help you win this one, Miho-san. Try not to worry too much about it." She tried to brighten her friend's mood, asking the Hippo team commander, "Erwin, would you mind doing me a big favor? I'd really like to try on your hat."

"Sure thing, Makoto-san!" Riko removed her cap and handed it to the brunette. "Minna, why is everyone staring at me?"

Miho's bright smile quickly reappeared. "Because we hardly ever see you this way, Erwin. You look so different without it."

"I do?"

Makoto slipped the back of the field marshall's cap over the two green balls of her hair tie and pulled it down onto her forehead. She grinned at Ami.

"How do I look?"

"Very authoratative, Mako-chan!" the blue-haired girl giggled. "Or should I address you as Rommel-chan from now on?" Ami gave the brunette a brisk salute, and the other girls of her team quickly followed.

"Rommel-chan!" Usagi cackled. "I like that! Uh... minna... who's Rommel?"

"Rommel is Erwin's family name" Rei told her. The miko sighed, "Haven't you learned anything since we've been here?"

"Nani? I thought Erwin's family name was Matsumoto" the blonde puzzled.

"Not this Erwin, baka!" the raven-haired girl sitting beside her muttered. "The other one!"

"There are two Erwins now?" Usagi gasped. "Does our Erwin have a cousin or something? I'm so confused!"

"Aren't you always that way?" Rei teased.

"Hush up, you!"

. . . . .

A few minutes after two that afternoon, the Ooarai's Sensha-do teams gathered together at the tank hanger for their next practice. "Minna, before we head out to the range, I'd like to try something different this time" Miho said. "We'll divide ourselves into two groups, just like the way our match is supposed to be set up on Saturday. The first group I'm calling the Red team will consist of Anglerfish, Duck and Hippo, and the second, the Blue team, will have Turtle, Luna and Rabbit working together. That way we should hopefully be more evenly matched."

"Who's supposed to be the lead tank in our group, Miho?" Momo asked. "I assume it'll be my Hetzer, which puts me in charge, since Anzu wants to be our gunner today."

"Perhaps your leader should be someone whose tank actually managed to fire its weapon during our last match against St. Gloriana, Momo-chan" Mako murmured, causing Yukari to snicker.

The brown-haired Anglerfish loader blushed when Momo glared at her. "Sumimasen!"

"That wasn't my fault!" Momo blurted at Mako. "And for the last time, stop calling me Momo-chan!"

Mako smiled. "No problem, Momo-chan."

The school's tall and thin public relations manager glared evilly down at the shorter Anglerfish driver through her half-glasses. "After we start today's practice, I hope somebody shoots your Panzer's track off!"

"Not happening, Momo-chan."

Jealous of Mako now having a boyfriend, Momo's face reddened and her hands clenched together as she tried to think of a good reply. "Just because you met that cute guy at the shore party and he's your boyfriend now doesn't mean you can say whatever you want to us unattached girls, Mako!"

"Momo, please calm down!" Ooarai's council vice president pleaded.

"I am calm, Yuzu!" Momo yelled. She pointed at herself. "This is my calm face!"

"You could've fooled me!" Anzu laughed.

Miho interrupted the two teens before their feud escalated further. "Minna, we can settle this later. For today's practice, I want Makoto to take charge of Blue team to gain more leadership experience. We'll position our tanks at the opposite ends of the practice area, and commence our battle on my signal. The group with the last surviving tank wins. Ok? Then let's get today's skirmish underway."

As Makoto's Luna team walked into the building toward their Panzer, Miho caught up to their driver. "Minako-san, I need to ask you something. I received a text from Yusei this morning. He said he's going to tell me something very important when we see each other this weekend."

"Oh really?" Minako smiled.

"I'm more than a little worried about what he's going to say" Miho confessed. "Do you think it's possible he wants to... break up with me? I hope not!" She told the blonde, "I'm in love with Yusei, Minako-san. I truly am!"

"Of course you are!" Minako confidently replied. "Miho-san, I promise that breaking up with you is the last thing on your guy's mind! You know what I think? I think he's going to tell you what you just told me. That he's in love with you too! So get ready for your relationship with your boyfriend to turn a lot more serious after our match on Saturday!"

"Hontou?" The brown-haired girl smiled happily. "That would be so wonderful!" She hesitated, "But... how can you be so sure?"

The blonde with the red bow in her hair winked at her friend. "Remember who you're talking to here" she grinned. "My track record of matchmaking is one hundred percent successful, Miho-san! And it will still be one hundred percent after next weekend! For you and every other girl on your team too!"

Miho giggled, "That's right... Sailor Venus!"

"So stop worrying about impossibly silly things like breakups!" Minako insisted. "How about we get in our tanks and have a fun afternoon shooting at each other? I've been so looking forward to this for weeks!"

"Hai!" the Anglerfish commander smiled. "Tell you what, if Makoto's Blue squad wins today, I'll buy Luna team dinner tonight, Minako-san!"

"And if Red team wins, I'll buy your team dinner!" Minako giggled, "As long as you don't make us do that crazy Anglerfish dance if we lose, it's a bet!"

"Ok! It's a deal!" Feeling much happier after hearing Minako's reassurance about Yusei, Miho climbed onto her Panzer IV, dropped into the turret and pulled on her headset, while Mako started the engine. She squeezed the microphone around her neck and spoke, "Minna, can everyone hear me?"

"Hai!" five radio operators chorused in reply.

"Then follow me out to the range, and good hunting everyone! Panzer vor!"

Miho's tank lead the way and the six massive machines rumbled out of the hanger. The tanks split up into their respective teams when they reached the practice grounds, with Makoto's Blue team turning into a forested area, where they soon disappeared from sight.

. . . . .