"I-I… Yeah, it is late. Umm… I'll talk to you again soon, okay?" Miho said quietly, staring into space blankly.
"Yeah, that's… That's fine, thanks. Goodnight, Miho."
"Alright… Goodnight, Erika."
Miho hung up the phone, letting her hand drop lightly onto the bed she was sitting on. She didn't move.
"Miho… Are you okay?"
Yukari's voice broke the silent spell that had taken hold of her, and she started slightly.
"I'm… yeah, I'm okay, I think." Miho said, smiling weakly. Yukari was sitting cross-legged on the bed next to her, concern all over her expressive face.
"Are you sure? You look really rattled! Did she say anything to you?" Yukari leaned across the bed towards her. "If she said anything, I'll-"
"No really, it was nothing like that!" Miho insisted, raising her hands. "It was just… Really surprising. I haven't heard her like that in ages, and… After the way she spoke to me in the championships, I thought she hated me…"
Yukari's expression softened, and she shuffled across the bed to sit closer to her.
"I'm really sorry it all went down that way…" She mumbled softly. Yukari struggled to always say the right thing, but Miho loved how earnestly she always tried. Instead, Miho spread her arms, and Yukari silently embraced her, head pressed against Miho's chest.
"I know, sweetie."
"Why d'you think she's calling? You think she's feeling really bad, now your sister's not there either?" Yukari asked, buried deep within Miho's gentle hug.
Miho paused thoughtfully. Erika would definitely be missing Maho, and a lot of other friends who graduated.
"Or maybe she's feeling stressed because of the added pressure?" Miho mused. "It's a lot harder to run the tankery team than I thought, and Kuromorimine's got ten tanks for every one of ours."
"Could be both. Should we be worried about her?"
Miho really appreciated the sudden concern. As soon as she heard that Erika might be hurting, Yukari became so much more sympathetic. Despite her eccentricities, Miho thought Yukari was surprisingly mature.
"No, maybe this could be good? If she gets a bit more closure, she might learn to move on from me…" Miho murmured, running her hands slowly through Yukari's hair. It had a therapeutic effect, like petting a dog.
"I hope so, it must be hard for her…" Yukari said quietly, muffled by Miho's pyjamas.
"She'll be okay." Miho said comfortingly. "We should try to sleep though, it's getting late."
.0.
Erika's alarm rang, and she switched it off after a few seconds.
5:45am.
Erika quickly hopped out of bed and folded sheets with military precision and speed. This done, she yawned and did her morning stretches. After that, she got changed into her P.E kit and went out for her morning run.
6:45am.
Erika got back to her dorm from her run, and took a quick shower, cold. Then it was time for breakfast.
7:15am. Erika was dressed and out of the door, ready to cycle into school. Morning practice would start at 7:30 sharp, and would consist of only light training, so that the girls would be ready for their lessons at 8:30 without needing a shower.
Same as every day.
Classes passed robotically. It was important to be balanced in mind and body, so Erika made sure she was focussed and worked hard in academia.
At lunch, she headed to club HQ and worked on logistics with her subordinates. The sheer number of tanks they had made repairs, maintenance and resupply an ordeal all on its own.
Afternoon lessons passed in exactly the same way as the morning, and by 6pm, Erika was feeling tired. But club activities started at 6:15 on the dot, so she headed back to club HQ and got a coffee - black. Then she got changed into her tankery uniform and headed down to the hangar to lead drills.
Just like every other day.
Nine heavy tanks stood in a line in a pockmarked meadow, an intimidating mix of Tiger Is and IIs. In the distance sat a small forest, and beyond that a fake encampment sometimes used for camping and crew physical exercise. One by one, Erika inspected each one for maintenance issues. All external tools were properly contained, all tracks and wheels free of dangerous debris, and all suspensions in good working order. All tanks were to be free of dirt, and must be immaculate specimens.
Finding everything to be in proper order, she ordered the assembled crews to step back inside their tanks and took her place before her own, leading from the centre of the line. Feeling something resembling contentment at her squadron's hard work, she hauled herself up onto its gigantic frame and took her place in the commander's seat. Standing proud of the armoured plating, she regarded the terrain.
"Vorwärts!" Erika commanded, touching her throat mic with one hand and thrusting forwards with the other. "Top speed, arrowhead formation!"
The mighty Maybach engine roared into life, and the Tiger II lurched forwards. Every time she heard her beloved tank turn over, it sent a little chill up her spine, her metal monster thrumming with power as it advanced inexorably on its target.
Everyone seemed smaller, and every problem more manageable, when viewed from the cupola of a 68-tonne tank.
Formation training is vitally important to retain discipline, Erika recited in her head, barking an order to bank their formation to the left. The terrain sloped upwards, so the tanks on that side would have to work their tanks harder to maintain their place in formation. She had to keep an eye on them, examine their precise positioning.
Advance in perfect order…
Tiger 211 started to err to the right - soon it would cut into the path of Tiger 204. Erika scowled and ducked back into her tank to speak to the radio operator.
"Tiger 211, you're intruding on your neighbour. Ease left a metre." The operator relayed her message obediently, silently giving Erika a thumbs-up. Erika nodded in reply and hauled herself back up out of the cupola to inspect the formation.
Tiger 211 over-corrected, but Erika decided to let it slide for now, provided it didn't go too far the other way. She had far more important concerns than 50cm.
"Spread out, assault formation. Guns ready, eyes on eleven o'clock." Erika tried to sound as imposing and confident as possible.
11 o'clock referred to a copse of trees about five hundred metres away, in which some dummy targets were placed. They'd been there for years, and were thoroughly beat-up from all the training shells fired at them. In a strange pang of nostalgia, Erika remembered her first time running this drill.
She'd been loading - everyone's first job in a tank. In a panzer III, Kuromorimine's primary 'training' vehicle. Miho had been commanding her tank. Of course she was just as new to the team as she was, but… Nishizumis got special treatment.
"Load shell, ready to fire!" Miho cried in an unsteady voice - within weeks, squad cohesion would make that order almost unnecessary. With sweaty hands Erika complied, slamming the brightly coloured training shell into the breach and pulling her hands away quickly.
"Fire!"
The deafening boom that came as the gunner fired shook the tank, and echoed in Erika's excited ears.
"Good job guys! Perfect hit!" Miho's not-so-authoritative voice chirped, and Erika turned back across the cramped interior. Miho was looking appreciatively down at her crew from the commander's seat, and as their eyes met Miho beamed disarmingly down at her.
Later, Erika would tell herself her racing heart was thanks to the excitement of her first drill, but deep down she knew better. She'd fumbled the next couple shells, and had apologised profusely after the drill was done.
Erika shook herself out of her little reverie - these girls were experienced and trained, and didn't need the same leeway she had been given then.
"Targets spotted!" Erika recited on autopilot. "Four shermans, five hundred metres! Slow to combat speed, load HE shells, fire at will!"
Erika ducked back inside her Tiger II, in anticipation of returning fire that didn't exist. The thunderous volley of 9 guns firing together came a second later. Six seconds total, a respectable time. Spotters in a panther hiding in the woods would be able to tell her how accurate the shots were.
"Slow to firing speed, line up targets and fire at will!" She barked the second order distractedly, watching her crew robotically follow her orders. They were perfect in their execution of course, they'd run that drill a hundred response was automatic, clockwork. Exactly what the Nishizumi style required.
You should find your own Tankery, Maho's voice reminded her. Erika's expression soured.
She acted popping back out of her tank, investigated the dummies with her binoculars, and gave the all-clear.
"Four targets destroyed. Good work, everyone."
The rest of the drill was really more of the same. Single file formation, into the trees. Spread out as soon as the terrain allowed it, search for flanking tanks. Get caught in an 'ambush', instruct commanders on how to face the enemy to maximise their chances of survival. Destroy the fake enemies, proceed to the final checkpoint.
At the checkpoint came the full interior inspection, in which Erika would also be able to check the number and type of shells fired by each tank. Of course, nobody made any mistakes, and every tank was impeccable. Even Maho would give her seal of approval… Had she been here. Content with their work for the evening, Erika dismissed the squadron.
Erika sighed and checked her watch for the time. On Sunday, she'd managed to leverage permission to shut down some of the residential districts for some urban combat training. This was a pretty new form of drill, instated by Maho when she had taken command, and had proved extremely useful both in the 63rd finals and in the University Strengthened match. Miho had shown the high school circuit the benefits of guerilla tactics in cramped urban environments, so she had to assume lots of other schools would be training similarly for this year's competition.
She'd been given permission for a full squadron of 12 tanks - she would be taking six Panzer IIIs, four Panzer IVs and a pair of Jagdpanzer IVs. The latter's fixed guns would have a lot of trouble aiming in those environments, so they'd need to be ready. All the crews were very green as well, which would prove to keep things interesting.
"Commander?" A voice asked. Erika ignored it at first, lost in thought.
"Commander?" the voice repeated, a little louder. Erika stiffened with surprise, suddenly realising she was the one being addressed. A part of her was still ready to turn to Maho and wait for her response.
She looked about herself and then down, her eyes resting on a familiar shock of auburn hair.
"Koume?" Erika replied. "What is it?"
"I was just… wondering if you're okay, is all. You seemed distracted in the drill just now, and… You looked like you were spacing out just now." The last comment was much quieter than everything else, and Koume seemed to lose the ability to look Erika in the eye as she spoke.
Glancing around, Erika noticed two things: One, she was still sitting atop her Tiger II, which had long since been driven into place inside its hangar and switched off, and two: everyone aside from Koume and herself had now left. She was probably just a couple minutes from sitting in the dark.
"Oh, well…" Erika cleared her throat awkwardly. "I was just thinking about preparations for the drill on Sunday. Do you know if the Panzer III crews have repaired their vehicles after the debacle on Monday?" Erika was, in that moment, not sure if she already had the answer to this question, or if Koume was remotely the right person to ask, but for the sake of being a commander she had to appear focussed and in-control.
"Um, I'm not sure actually. I think I saw the crews of 034 and 035 working as we came in, we can go check on them if you'd like?"
Erika nodded. "Mm. Lets."
She jumped down easily from her tank, and the pair headed across Kuromorimine's huge hangars, down from the heavy tank division and towards the light tanks. They walked in an awkward silence, and through the corner of her eye Erika could see Koume glancing across at her as if she wanted to say something. Erika let the silence hang,though. She wouldn't force it out of her.
Sounds of laughter echoed out across the silent hangar as they passed rows of Panzer IIIs, and a solitary spotlight illuminating a pair of tanks clearly showed the source. As Koume's eagle-eyes had spotted, panzer crews 034 and 035 were busy around their tanks, tools and oil strewn everywhere, and were unmistakably… messing around.
At their approach, one of the girls turned and spotted them.
"Shit! The commander!" She hissed, a lot louder than she probably intended, and waved her arms at her friends. Erika recognised the loader standing atop the chassis of 035, balancing a spanner on her nose. Only now realising she had an unintended audience, she started, and the spanner toppled. It bounced off the tank with two loud clangs, before loudly clattering to a stop on the floor. For a moment everyone froze with frantic expressions on their face, some staring at Erika and others at the fallen spanner. Then, a frankly comical scene unfolded as the girls attempted to look as presentable and serious as possible, tripping over each other to look as though they had been working.
To tell the truth, Erika found the whole thing hilarious, but tried to maintain a neutral expression as they assembled before her.
"Commander Itsumi!" 034's commander said breathlessly, trying and failing to wipe oil off her face. "I didn't realise you were there!"
"Working on your tanks?" Erika asked, looking at the vehicles. 035 was up on jacks with most of its wheels removed in order to repair the suspension, while 034 was mostly just in for repainting after a friendly-fire incident had burned half a dozen shell-marks into the turret. 035 seemed to be coming along well enough, but frankly the girls had more wet paint on them than 034 did, and Erika knew from experience that it stained.
"I… Yes, commander! We were just… repairing after the exercise on Monday! And then… You know…" 034's commander looked as if she wanted the ground to open and swallow her whole. "One thing lead to another, and we… decided to make some fun while we worked…"
Erika let her squirm under her gaze for a couple moments, before replying.
"Will you both be ready for the exercise on Sunday?"
"Yes!" Cried three more girls who looked about ready to cry.
"Excellent." Erika replied. She'd been 16 once, she knew how easy it was to start larking around in the evenings when all the other crews had gone home. "Don't stay up too late, though. I don't want the teachers blaming me if you're too tired to work tomorrow."
"Yes! We'll be done soon!" 034's commander insisted, clearly desperate to get this over with as quickly as possible.
"Glad to hear it. Goodnight, girls." Erika said at last, and turned to leave. She only made it a couple paces though, before a joke got the better of her and she turned back. It had been a rough day after all, she wanted to blow off some steam.
034's commander was letting out an exaggerated sigh of relief as Erika turned, which turned into a coughing fit as soon as she realised she was spotted.
"One more thing - we know the Oarai girls like to infiltrate other schoolships and snoop around, so please don't do anything you wouldn't want them seeing."
And with that she was gone, turning away quickly to hide her amused smile. It wasn't necessarily the most responsible thing to tease the first-years, but she wanted to let them know they weren't in any trouble while still making it known that they shouldn't be behaving like that.
Koume walked with her out of the hangar, and out into the evening air. Erika was surprised how dark it was already. She'd have to check their latitude later. The evening breeze was pleasant too, after the heated confines of her tank.
"So… Are you headed back to your dorm, now?" Koume asked politely.
"Hmm? No, I'm… gonna go back to HQ." Erika decided. She wasn't feeling up to homework or relaxation just yet, so she might as well get some work done before she was too tired. "Just to sort some things out. You?"
"Actually, do you mind if I tag along? There's some logistics I'd like to clear up before tomorrow."
Erika shrugged. "Yeah, sure."
The two spent about an hour on paperwork together that evening. They didn't chat all that much, but Erika couldn't deny it was nice to spend the time with someone else rather than working alone. After that it was pretty late, and Erika finally felt exhausted enough to head back to her dorm.
Home brought yet more work as she caught up with schoolwork, and all the while the allure of her phone sang in tempting tones.
I won't call her, she reminded herself. I said I'd call her soon, but the next day is entirely too early. Besides, what would I even say? "I just wanted to hear your voice again"? That'd be a creepy thing to say even if she was single.
I'm supposed to be getting over her, anyway.
With thoughts of calling Miho firmly battered out of her mind, she turned her attention back to Maho, and her new role as commander.
Something definitely wasn't right. The idea of 'finding her own tankery' kept worming its way back into her mind Miho had found hers, whatever it was, and every school seemed to have its own distinction. What was she doing?
The Nishizumi way.
Erika groaned and got up from her desk. Homework was definitely not happening tonight. With any luck, a good night's sleep would clear her head.