Chapter 5:

Early that evening, while the girls of Anglerfish team were enjoying their dinner at Minako's considerable expense, Makoto asked, "Is there anything important we should know about your sister that could help us in Saturday's competition, Miho-san? I don't want to pry into your family affairs, but in the anime she mostly came across as cold hearted and even rude at times."

"Maho often behaves that way, Makoto-san. She puts winning her Sensha-do battles and the honor of our mother's school above all else." Miho frowned, "Sometimes I think she has forgotten what it means to have fun and enjoy the feminine art the way it was truly meant to be experienced."

"That's most unfortunate, Miho-san" Ami said. "Winning is important as a measure of proficiency, of course, but it certainly isn't everything."

"To Maho it is, Ami-san" Yukari muttered. "And with Kuromorimine having such powerful tanks at their disposal, she almost always gets her way."

Mako added, "Maho's Tiger has more than double the engine power of our Panzers, Makoto-san, with a larger caliber gun and a faster turret traverse speed. Finding your tank in its sights may prove to be a most unpleasant experience."

"Sounds like this weekend's match is going to be a real handful for us" Makoto mused. She chuckled, "Now I'm starting to worry."

"I'm not worried about your sister and her fancy tanks! Not at all!" Minako confidently exclaimed to Miho. "Your Anglerfish team has Mako, the best driver, Yukari, the fastest loader, Saori's speedy radio skills, Hana's killer gunnery and if that wasn't enough, Ooarai has another extra-special advantage that Kuromorimine doesn't have. The best advantage of all!"

"We do?" Miho puzzled.

"Hai! We have you commanding our teams, Miho-san!"

The brown-haired girl blushed. "Arigatou, Minako-san. I only hope I can live up to your high expectations on Saturday."

"You will!" Minako smiled back. She reminded the girls, "Minna, here's another thing to remember. Don't forget about all the moral support you'll get from your boyfriends. Having them at the match this weekend cheering you on will help a lot too!" She sighed, "I wish my Taro could be here to cheer me on."

"Hai, I can hear him now" Rei chuckled. "Go Minako-chan! Drive like a lunatic! Jam your Panzer between two other tanks! Hit that tree!"

Usagi cackled, "Then back up and hit it again!"

"Not funny" the blonde muttered. "I made one or two tiny little mistakes during our practice skirmishes and I'll never hear the end of it! Can't we talk about something else for a while?"

"I've been meaning to ask, did anyone get their tea?" Saori questioned the girls. "Darjeeling promised us two weeks' supply if we beat St. Gloriana but I haven't received mine yet."

"Me neither!" Usagi blurted. "Where's my fancy English tea?" She added, "I didn't much care for it at first, but after drinking all those cups I had at the shore party, it's really starting to grow on me."

"Really?" Rei grinned. "If you like it that much, maybe you should switch schools and attend St. Gloriana from now on, Usagi-chan. Oh, and make sure you join their Sensha-do program. Darjeeling would never win a match ever again." Before her scowling friend could utter a reply, she quickly added, "And that's officially my second tease, so you can stop counting now."

"Our tea will probably arrive on the next Sunkus supply boat" Yukari reassured the girls. "There's one due to meet up with the Zuikaku late Friday afternoon."

"You even have the supply ship schedules memorized?" Mako asked, opening her eyes to peer inquisitively at the brown-haired girl.

"Hai, I do, Mako-san! It came in really handy when I snuck aboard Saunders' school ship to do that reconnaisance mission!"

"The same mission where you got caught and they chased you off the George Washington!" Miho giggled. "That video you made was so funny! But I do appreciate your effort, Yukari. Finding out what Kay was planning helped us a lot during our match against Saunders."

"Arigatou, Nishizumi-dono!" her loader smiled happily. "I'd do anything for you and our team!"

"I guess all we can do now is hope Erwin's information about Kuromorimine is wrong" Saori frowned. "I can't imagine how hard it will be for us to win if your sister's school and Saunders are working together, Miho."

Her commander sipped her coffee, silently pondering Ooarai's chances for a moment. "Minna, I hate to say this, but any hope we have of winning is going to depend a whole lot on which school we're paired up with. If it's one of the weaker Sensha-do teams, like Chi-Ha-Tan or Anzio, we'll really have our backs to the wall. Those girls are good, courageous fighters, but their tanks won't fare well against Shermans, let alone Panthers or Tigers. Even if we're paired with St. Gloriana, we'll be struggling."

"I think there's way too much negativity here tonight!" Minako insisted. "We all need to be more confident about our next battle, Miho-san!"

"No problem, Minako-chan" Rei smiled. "I'm very confident."

"Good! That's what I want to hear!"

"I'm confident your insane death-defying stunts at the controls and your non-stop pedal-to-the-floor driving is going to sink everyone in Luna team up to our eyeballs in hot water again" the miko snickered.

"That's not what I meant!" Minako grumbled. "Rei-chan, you're such a downer!"

"I have every reason to be, considering the way you drive" the miko scoffed. "Nice going today, by the way. You turned our Panzer into the filling of a tank sandwich."

"I love to drive really hard, Rei-chan! Everybody knows that! It helps our team in battle, it's fun, and it... turns me on" the blonde admitted.

"Everything turns you on!" Rei laughed. "Not just being with your Taro. Moonlit nights... driving fast... smoking... I wouldn't be surprised if you get aroused taking out the trash, Minako-chan."

"Anyway, you're just jealous of my skill in the driver's seat!" Minako blustered, her face turning red.

"Jealous? If you think I'm jealous, you're delusional, Minako-chan!"

Makoto held up her hand to silence the bickering girls. "That's enough, you two." She asked the Anglerfish commander, "Miho-san, correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you have two other tanks available? I remember seeing them in later episodes of the anime, but they aren't in the hangar and haven't joined us during any of our practice sessions."

"Actually there are three other tanks, Makoto-san. Mallard team has their Char B1, Anteater team uses a Type 3 Chi-Nu, and Leopon Team, the girls in the automotive club, operate a very rare tank, a Porsche Tiger. You haven't seen Mallard yet because their commander, Midoriko Sono, has been tied up lately with her work on the Public Morals Committee. The Chi-Nu and Tiger are both in the shop for repairs."

"The Tiger P is always in the shop" Yukari grumbled. "Whenever it isn't broken down in the field or catching on fire. I think they carry more fire extinguishers in it than gun rounds."

"It's really that unreliable?" Makoto chuckled.

Miho nodded. "It's a good tank... when it works. But we'll need it and everything else we have this weekend, and even that may not be enough."

. . . . .