Hey guys. After seeing the receptions to the story, I'm quite happy to be seeing such positive responses to such a weird idea such as this one. And you probably would want to hear that I will begin to carve out a fully fledged story for this one. It'll be quite some time before the next chapter can finish though, since I write two stories at the same time, while having university work at hand. But I'm now inspired to expand on this crazy idea that I came up one day on the bus to university. I appreciate your patience, and I'll try to keep my quality top-notch to befit the waiting time.

For the two initial reviews, I have to say you two are the primary reasons why I want to keep on going with this story (though I really appreciate the other 3 favs and 4 follows). Your advices are well-noted. I do want to build on more of the GuP universe on the more technical point of view, but I'll make sure not to make it too difficult to understand (I'm not a physics genius lol, nor do I have a PhD in anything, though I want to pursue one in the future), and to also build a nice and meaningful storyline out of the world building process. Though I do drop a lot of physics and science references scattered in the two chapters, like how GuP like to drop tank trivia.

Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter, and thank you once more for your support. You don't need to give receptions now as I have decided to continue on with this one, but if you have any thoughts that you wanna let me know, or that you are truly interested and want to follow, then feel free to. Any support is much appreciated.

Chapter 2: A Sword Between the Flowers

'Gather…everyone…after…training.'

The Shimada heir was making quick notes on her handheld tablet as she quickly walked down the hallway to the dorm exit. Her hands clicked gently on the flat fragile screen, but her finger dances were oddly off. The soft fingertip missed the key she needed by a margin, forcing Alice to quickly click backspace to erase her mistake. It was confusing, and she didn't know why.

Still hadn't gotten over that awkward trip she just led the campus's new guest through, she wondered if the guy was actually satisfied with what she did, or he was just being the polite person that she first impressed. Reality was indeed catching up to her. Alice had always been considered a genius and an adult in a child's costume, and she took it to heart. She never liked it when she was treated otherwise. But a genius she was that she couldn't do a simple task by herself: a simple task of just talking eloquently. And an adult she was that she began to feel out of it when her mother left her alone in the room with him. The fact that she had never been exposed to anyone like this ever before since she made that jump from elementary school just came back to slap her right in the face, that out there was a different world than hers.

Aside from that, there was also the question about him too. She knew he was a doctoral candidate, quite a figure in his own university, but she never knew the humbleness of his stature, the youthful roundish chin and the absorbent jet black hair that took in so vast the knowledge of humankind in such a short period of time. No one could relate to in this small but not so small compound. No one but Alice. How old is he? Is he nice? He looks nice, but is it just politeness? And will he be nice after that sloppy attempt to welcome the one guest that her mother has already told her about, that she should have known? Uncertainty began to flood in like a broken dam.

"Oiii, Commander!"

Alice quickly exited the dorm, traveled over to the training ground and rendezvoused with the three girls standing in front of the tank formation - three of her most trusted battle companion on the battlefield. Three who proudly distinguished themselves as what they called the Bermuda Trio on the pyramid of the team. Three great foundations to a grand structure ready to take on the world of tankery.

"Good afternoon Commander. How are you doing today?" One of the members of the trio, Megumi, politely greeted the team captain. The Saunders alumnae's long and neatly maintained dark brown-hair illuminated the stark contrast of the impression of any Saunder students may give to the knowledgeable. One could have thought she was a St Gloriana's elegant flower instead, and he would be absolutely forgivable.

Alice stopped to catch some breathe before replying with a light smile and a nod.

"Your face is red Commander." The energetic of the blue sky, Rumi, was surprisingly subverted for this particular moment, as she adjusted her glasses with one hand. "Are you alright?"

"Do you think she's alright?" But the remaining member of the Bermuda Trio, Azumi, knew better. But instead of concern, her voice smoothened like a piece of bubblegum. "You know, after such an intimate session with him…"

One could never fully describe the increasingly heating expression on the young commander's face. That phrase, the index finger on her lips and that deceitful look. She knew. And that's where the amusement takes place.

"Him?!" It wasn't just Alice who was mortified. "Commander?! When do you actually have a boyfriend?!"

"Why didn't you tell us, Commander?!"

"Hey, what about the intimate part? What does that imply?!"

"And all of this went under our radar…"

And all of this was occurring right under Alice's nose, as her jaws were on the floor, her cheeks were red hot and eyes shrinking into nothingness. And as the orange-haired sub-commander was on the verge of bursting into a spree of laughter.

"I was joking. I was joking" Azumi waved her hand playfully. "But I'm pretty sure you guys know who I am talking about."

"Who?" Rumi was confused at first.

"Our new guest." And Azumi had to clarify

"Oh, you mean the research contract that coach Shimada mentioned?" Megumi identified. "It's a he? That's unexpected."

"Yeah, I thought anything Senshado related is female from the word go." Azumi said. "Until I saw him with the Commander today."

"Oooohhh." Both ladies were ecstatic from the remark. "So, how does he look?"

"Hmm. Pretty smart-looking I'd say. Very befitting for a man his stature." Azumi said. "Though he looks really…young. Probably not even our age."

"And he's already a researcher? Hmmm seems like he's our Commander's…" Rumi couldn't finish her sentence before being cut off.

"Everyone." And surprisingly by a stern-looking Alice, who had recovered from the whole fiasco. "We have training in ten. We don't want to be late."

"Yes, Commander." The trio did not resist. It was a rather strange sight to see a girl worth their youngest sister taking charge and giving out orders like that. But then again, universities are a strange environment. There were no more clear lines and criteria to call each other senpai and kohai anymore, and people like Alice and Michael would be a prime example for breaking the social norm. Not that it was enjoyable for any of them, especially when facing reality a little too soon for an aged mind.

On the topic of Michael, the man, for the next hour or two had been relatively unproductive. Yawns plagued his cheek muscle as the sense of misplacement was all over him. He'd be damned if he got anything done at this point, aside from a short conclusion to his most recent experiments. Sometimes he wished that could spend a lot more time on academy ships rather than on land. Ever since entering graduate school, his department had grounded him in one location for years, and sometimes in one single room in a single building. Undergraduate was his only time, and it ended too shortly for him comparing to now. And the discomfort of the plane trip he was on from mainland Japan had stretched his sleep to its elastic limit. The hypnotism of the bed began to feel so alluring.

"Alright, I've had enough…"

He closed the browser and powered down his laptop. Sitting in one spot while his eyes were lifting weights was a recipe for falling asleep on the keyboard and an eight hundred pages word document. But he could not if he was standing. Maybe a walk would at least keep his mind up until night comes.

As he would also be having a proper introduction to the ladies, Michael did not change out of his suits as he left the room. Heading out to the hallway to the huge campus, the silence and emptiness felt like a scene out of an apocalyptic movie, seeing how it was so packed two hours ago. It really was a Senshado's institution after all. While everybody may have their own classes at times, it was these periods that the student's intention and goals were all united in the one job of commandeering a tank properly, skillfully and deadly.

Michael walked over to the courtyard of the compound. After finding it to be empty as well, he headed over to the side gate, where he was instructed to go to the control building. A relatively small box-shaped piece of concrete slabbed together and placed an antenna and a disk on top. Rather unimpressive comparing to the majestic grandiose of the rest of the campus, but as Michael approached the open front door, his impression was immediately revived from the dead.

The interior was arrays of modern computers and equipment lining up neatly parallel to each other neatly, facing two huge screens that stood over seven times the height of the average man of the age. One showcased a map of different tank icons of different colors and types moving around on the map and a list on the side listing out what those tanks were. The other screen was basically projecting angles of the battlefield where battle was taking places.

Any unimpressive remarks Michael may have before turned immediately into regrets. Even the computers were using some of the finest operating systems, and, judging by the looks of it, were probably stuffed with some crazy designer's graphics cards. Even the computer department in his university didn't have this modernity of facilities. No wonder this was a place for only the bests of the best. The price to keep these infrastructures up must be crazy.

"Excuse my intrusion." Michael gently knocked on the open door, as suddenly, all the operators from their own workstation turned around. A little baffled, though their work did not allow them to run astray, so they went back to their work immediately. The only exception being a young girl with two long brown braids in the nearest station to the door who stood up politely to face him directly.

"Uh, may I help you, mister?"

The demeanor certainly caught Michael's attention. It seemed to strike deep in his cortex, in a forgotten chord that he hadn't touched for years. That double braids that extended down to her waist, that bright gold eyes, and especially that Kyushu dialect. Deja vu? It seemed like this wasn't the first time they were face to face.

"Oh, I wonder if it is alright if I can spectate the match in this room." But nevertheless, he decided not to press it.

"...But who are you, to begin with?"

Mrs. Shimada hadn't informed these individuals yet, he supposed. Well, it was a little early to set out so he didn't really blame them.

"Michael Joule. Temporary research partner with the Turtle Bay Institution from the Department of Physics, Tokyo University."

It was a little long to explain, as the girl appeared to stand in the midst of the process. But those close to the door also turned around to both the name and the purpose.

"Tokyo Uni…Oh! I've heard of that from…"

"Coach Shimada, isn't she?" Michael completed it for her. "Yes, I just met her this morning."

"Oh, t-then please excuse our impoliteness, Joule-sama." The girl seemed to realize something far more serious than she initially registered.

"No worries." Michael waved his hand in response. "And please, you need not call me that. I'm not that senior anyway."

"Then, Joule-san?" She hesitantly replied, to which Michael simply nodded with a smile. "And please have a seat at…uh…at the back, if you don't mind."

Another nod, another smile before Michael walked to where the girl had pointed toward. Along the way, he could feel glances and whispers sent his way. They were curious individuals indeed, but he didn't pay them much attention. Sitting down comfortably behind one of the empty computer stations, Michael looked upon one of the screens projected.

"Nine M4 Sherman, four Panthers and two Jagdpanthers each side."

That was what was said on the screen. Despite growing up in a tank heavy culture, being influenced by many inside and outside, knowing the shape of each tank, Michael found this task to be a headscratcher. Which one was the better one? He'd assume the Sherman? Since they use more of that, and they seem to be pretty common around. Jagdpanthers were probably less useful, since they don't have a turret, and seems pretty sluggish. But then again, they may just be the elite tank people like to use. A pretty neat case of subject mismatch. To him, this sounded more economy than physics or mathematics.

'Though Alice may be present in this match. Is she here?' Michael thought to himself as he scanned through the top left corner of the screen. Sitting right in the fourth slot on the first list, commanding a Panther tank. But to his interest, right beside the name was a crown symbol, glowing brightly like a sore thumb.

"Commander? Wow…"

A thirteen years old commander of perhaps over a few hundred university students. Not middle school or even high school, but university. Being a participant in this elite tank crew was already a prideful enough fact, but to hold the baton too. He wasn't indeed too far away from home.

Tracing the number on the list to the different tank icons on the screen, Michael identified Alice's position as that one tank moving at the near corner of the map. Through the green heap of circles and ovals overlapping on each other that he presumed was a symbol for a densely forested area. Along with her was another Panther, attempting to cut through a group of five Shermans of the opposite color. It looked like a pretty risky move. Going one against two and a half was a little daunting, even if the opponent seemed small and easy-picking. But if they did go through the five Shermans, the centre of Alice's opposite team would be in a pretty sticky situation. With the current speed, acceleration and path of motion, they would pounce on the five tanks in three, two, one…

All of a sudden, the two tanks stopped. A few seconds of silence ensued, as the screen failed to capture the full beauty of tank combat. The other camera was too focused on the main battle fighting over a small hill. But they were forced to switch as soon as a voice of Kyushu dialect rang out from the corner of the operating room

"Team A's M4 Sherman tank number zero eight has been disabled."

Not mentioned by whom, but inside the operating room, he could see it. Below the tank's list and their commanders were the battle log, written in different colors representing each team. And the most recent entry read: Panther I (3) M4 Sherman (8).

Not much longer would the next log appeared, and that Kyushu dialect rang out again.

"Team A's M4 Sherman tank number zero nine has been disabled."

And again: Panther I (3) M4 Sherman (9)

At this moment, the camera controller was compelled to switch the camera over to the raging Panther. Or rather its next victim. The Panther was nowhere to be seen, only deductible by the muzzle of one of the surviving Shermans trying to land a hit on them. A flash of light blinded the camera before a thin light zipped through the air and into the dark forest, swallowed by the darkness. The battle log did not have anything new from Panther number three, so the shell could be assumed to have done little to affect it.

And then another flash of light. This time coming right from the depths of the forest. A sleek silhouette appeared like a shadow before disappearing with the acute light source. A haunting symbol before a shell coming from that same light flash smashed into the Sherman, completely stopping it in its movement. Smoke emitted from the tank, and within the smoke, a white flag popped from its turret.

"Team A's M4 Sherman number six has been disabled."

The battle log appended. Yet another kill from the third Panther of team B, making the other Panther trecking alongside it looked like a dumb wallflower. Though it still secured a kill after another brief exchange of firepower, before both of them moved on with their objective.

"Now they have free reign over the flanks…"

What a cunning, devilish yet spectacular move. That could have turned way worse for Alice. Michael would probably have never done such a thing if he was in that hatch. But what does an eighteen years old physicist from Tokyo, know about tactics? These girls had been trained all their lives, while he was simply being the ethnocentric fellow standing on the sideline, to be reminded that his expertise wasn't, and never would be, this.

His arms guarded his side, Michael observed. He knew the tank's armor was coated with a specially made carbon material, containing the von Braun's molecules. Yet it wasn't an invincible material. Eighty-six percent absorption rate is a big deal, but there were limits. Yet calibers of weapons in this sport seemed to be unlimited. So it would make sense if the higher the caliber of the weapon, the more likely it is to cause serious damage to the vehicle and the crew. And here mean actual life-threatening damages.

The question itself sounded self-defeating though. A smartass could always reply with 'Because it is league-sanctioned ammunition, specially made for personal safety' and be done with. But Michael was never to be satisfied. The answer to that could have been settled years ago. He knew it perfectly clear himself. But what was in their so-called 'league-sanctioned' ammunition? What made them so safe without any regards to gun caliber? And what caused them to actually break its legendary one hundred percent casualty rate, five times? Starting with the incident of the 57th Senshado Tournament.

He glanced to the screen once again. The group of two Panthers had gone past their engagement point and had reached the edge of the forest. Any further and their concealments would be completely gone. But they never squandered their chances when they lifted the veil to their true beauty and wrath. Their flanking thrust began, but Michael's awed reaction had gone old. Instead, he watched as other tanks in team A scrambled in shock. Every single shot that landed directly. Every shot that enabled the pop of that signature white flag. He did not expect the answer to those questions to pop up immediately on the screen like spoonfeeding, especially the last question, but it was always worth it to watch, to observe.

"Hmm."

The battle raged on, yet the outcome went in one eye and out the other for Michael. Even as Alice's tank scored continuous kills one after another, the physicist no longer cared. The beholder's eyes were now on the explosions. The cloud of smoke that emitted every time a shot landed. That clunk of movement when the tank was hit. If he could get just something out of it. But as expected. He did not get much. At all? Perhaps not for now. It could just spring at him at any moment. Just not now, and he better be armed.

Before he knew it, the last observable explosion was also the last shell fired on the battlefield. And to be heard from miles away, the voice from the very same corner of the room echoed out.

"Training match complete. The winning team is Team B!"

Then from the other corner of the room, another female voice rang into the microphone.

"The final training session for today has been completed. Surviving tanks may return to the hangar."

It probably was his time to go now.

Michael stood up from his chair and walked over to the front door. But before he made his exit, he made his existence known to the girl in braids once again.

"Thanks for letting me in today. It is an enlightening experience."

The girl, who just placed her headphone down tiredly, stood up all unprepared.

"N-No problem, Mr…wait, Joule-san. I'm glad we could be of help to you."

'Well not really.' He rolled his eyes in irony, but still maintained a polite smile on his face.

"I'll be sure to come back in the future, so I hope you guys would take care of me." Michael said.

"Likewise." She replied.

"What's your name by the way?"

She fiddled around with her headphone a little before letting a little mutter out of her small lips.

"Aimi. Aimi Taneka."

Taneka? That sounded familiar as well. Did he pass by that name before?

"Taneka-san…Anyway, it's a pleasure to meet you." Michael lightly inclined forward before turning away with a wave. "I'll be going to let people know I exist in this institution now. I'll see you later."

"See you later."

He could hear her dim goodbye as he opened and closed the door. That dialect and that attitude couldn't be mistaken, but hell, where and when did he actually meet her before all of this? God damn it, his memory was never good when he needed it.

Knowing where the girls would probably end up, Michael, still vividly remember the direction from the tour he was given earlier that day, made his way there actively, even before the first tank even returned. His back laid against one of the giant hangar's walls near the door, watching as columns of tanks that survived the white flag gradually rolled through the gates. To his own insignificance of stature comparing to the Shermans and Panthers, it was a significance of a lifetime as one of the rare times he had stood right in front of a working and functioning battle machine. And the first time the ladies here ever witnessed a man in their institution.

The leading tank was Alice's. Recognizable because of her petite silhouette popping out of the hatch, he wondered why she was the only one. Yes? No, he was wrong; there were three more. The ones at the very back of the columns.

Her eyes were drifting to her clock like a pendulum, waiting and anxious if she'd miss her time for her favorite Boko show. It was to set only twenty minutes after dismissal. She had to hurry otherwise she'd miss it. But no, she already promised Michael that she was gonna have everyone gather around. It'd take long. She'd miss the show! Oh no, she should have set the recorder in her room! Now she could only hope that the guy would conclude it quickly so that she could leave soon.

Their eyes suddenly met, as Alice finally realized that Michael was already there. And it broke just as soon as she does. His wave of greetings, how come could it be so natural? Was that a common thing here? She knew it between friends like her sub-commanders, but he wasn't friends. She just met him a few hours ago. She barely knew if he liked her or not. She barely knew anything about him. How could he wave so casually? What could she respond with? What was expected of her to reply?…

To Michael though, it strangely was a hard press. She was indeed shy. Too shy beyond his expectation. Though what height would he need to lower the bar to? The physicist decided to look over to the rest of the tank columns, watching as they orderly parked in front of the hangar. As soon as that was done, the ladies began to disembark from the vehicle and lined up in front of them. Uneven lines though, extrinsically. And who else was the reason they were full of conversations right then?

"Please be quiet everyone." To Michael, he saw one of the girls, a brunette, from the column's back tank, quickly trying to settle down everyone. Then she looked over to Alice, the only person who knew the full detail.

It took quite a while before Alice actually exited, as she disappeared into the tank for a short while. But after she made her way down from the giant machine, Alice calmly walked to the front of the formation, standing upright to the attention.

"E-Everyone." She began. "From today, we have a new…uhh…supervisor for our Senshado training and activities. Please, Joule-san…"

Alice turned over to Michael standing at the other end of the tanks, facing the curious group of girls as he took a step up.

"I'm not exactly a supervisor though." He said to Alice, a little jokingly. "Although my job does look like one."

He cleared his throat before starting.

"So good evening everyone. My name is Michael Joule. I am currently pursuing my doctoral degree in physics at Tokyo University. My specialty is in kinetic physics. As some of you may have heard already, I am in a partnership with coach Shimada, in which my job would mainly be conducting tests and experiments regarding tank armors and shells, so because of that, I would kindly ask you if you don't mind participating in some of them if needed."

He let a moment pass for that to sink in, and for any questions to arise. Unsurprisingly, a couple of hands showed up.

"What do we get from participating?" One of the girls asked.

"It'll be noted down, and the coach will put it in your recommendation, and I think you'd have higher chances to be listed in the International team. I'm not too certain about the latter part, so you can ask Mrs. Shimada if you want clarification." He explained.

The reactions were quite mixed. Some were quite ecstatic, while some were just indifferent, and a little not too impressed by the deal. Michael wasn't too surprised though. This was probably a little abrupt for them, and considering the difference in chromosome was still the barrier that they would have to break down before any meaningful connection could be made. He'd probably need a bit of time.

"Other than that, you can still ask me anything, any questions if you have any." Michael said with a friendly smile. It wouldn't hurt to show some goodwill. "I don't bite. I'll try to help you best as I can."

Murmurs continued to circle around the formation. But no questions were voiced publicly. Way until everyone was dismissed. Only then would the more curious members of the All-star team step up and approach their new guest and friend.

"Hello." One of them was a shapely woman, towering over the young physicist as she curiously offered Michael a handshake. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Joule-san. My name is Azumi. You can feel free to call me directly that."

"...I'm Rumi." Then came from the side was a four-eyed lady, with bright blue hair, strangely shy from her usual counterpart. "I-It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Before Michael could reply to both, one also came from the other side of him. This time was the brown-haired girl who attempted to settle everyone down earlier.

"I'm Megumi." She smiled brightly. "I hope you'd enjoy your stay here in our training institution."

Michael was a little confused over the constant bombardment of introduction, and to be surrounded from all three sides. Before anything, he took a step back to face all of them at once.

"So Azumi-san, Rumi-san, and Megumi-san." Michael referred to the ladies by turn. "I'll definitely try to keep it in mind. It's not easy sometimes, considering I have a lot to remember. But anyway, thank you for your kind welcome."

"And we hope to be in your care too." Megumi bowed slightly. "I hope you can forgive our ladies. They aren't familiar with a boy, nor participating in anything like this."

"No, I'll take my time." Michael raised his hand in defense. "It's not as quickly considering many of them grow up in a girl-dominant environment. To be honest, I think that can be a liability."

"You understand our culture pretty well." Azumi replied. "It's true. I didn't grow up with many boys. Though my circle of friend is broad, so I don't mind that."

"Rumi was brought up home-schooled, and she was in an all girl's high school." Megumi's polite aura dropped, as she grew more teaseful. "So you can see she's a little sheepish around you."

"Hey stop it!" The one in question yelled out but quickly retracted herself when Michael turned around to her. Her cheeks went bright pink as she looked down, and a curious smile and a finger were brought on Michael's chin. She wasn't any different from Alice for this particular moment. Much less in degree, but it was most people's day of firsts, so it was expected really.

"It's alright Rumi-san, I won't judge. I would probably do the same if this is my first." Michael gently approached. "You can take time all you want. But if you need any help from me, anything-"

"N-No, I think we should be the one saying that to you, J-Joule-san." Rumi responded, stutteringly. "We should be the one helping you with stuff around."

"Well, what goes around comes around." Michael replied. "I like it best."

"My, how noble of you, Joule-san." Azumi's voice sweetened. Though that did little to entertain the man. Too corny for his taste

"I was expected to by the way. By the nature of this job I'm doing, there's little personal gain." Michael shrugged his shoulders before pointing at Azumi. "I won't serve takers like you though."

"Haha, sorry." Azumi promptly retreated. "Though I'll probably need some help with my academic assignments."

"Sure." Michael agreed without hesitations. "I'm getting a little hungry now. Is the cafeteria opened yet?"

"It should be." Megumi turned around. "It is open from early morning till late night. But we can go together."

"Sounds like a great idea." Michael said. "How about we invite Shimada-san over too? Shima-…where is she?"

When he had finally noticed what was up, Alice was already nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, she rarely ever joins us for dinner." Azumi said. "She has a favorite TV show that is always on every day at this hour, so she's probably gone."

"I see." Michael nodded with an input. Curious as well. "Still, four of us can still make dinner great. Let's go."

"So Joule-san. How is your impression of our campus so far?" Megumi asked as soon as all four of them had gotten their share of dinner in the cafeteria.

"Pretty good I'd initially say." Michael replied. "The infrastructure is amazing even to my own standard."

"Your own standard? My are you a rich noble boy?" Azumi giggled teasingly.

"Well do you expect an Olympiad medalist to go selling drugs on the street?" Michael returned with a sarcastic quip. "Don't believe what anime shows you alright?"

"Wait, you have an Olympic medal? In which sport?" Rumi, being the more silent one, suddenly exclaimed with wide eyes.

"No no it wasn't a sport. It was the Physics Olympiad six years ago in London." Michael clarified. "I got a silver medal then."

"Six years ago? How old were you then?" Even Azumi's playful tone had turned into a pitch of shock.

"Twelve." He said. "I know, it's unusual. You can spare that in private."

"Wait, if you're twelve six years ago, then you're still three years younger than us?" Megumi shockingly said. "Wow, that made me feel so nervous and inferior, even though I'm still older than you."

"Maybe we should consider calling you Joule-kun or Joule-chan instead heh?" Then again, the sweet undertone reemerged.

"Academically, I'm still a senior to you all." But he wasn't amused. "Oh, hey, maybe I should make you call me senpai or sensei instead. I have always wanted to assert my obvious dominance over everyone here."

"Ahaha, I'll pass." Azumi conceded with an innocent laugh.

"But my my, it's hard to imagine working with another genius in this institution." Remarked Megumi with respect. "But about Senshado? I'm curious, what drives you to choose us as research partnership? Or is it about something else?"

"No it is about Senshado." Michael confirmed, as he glanced sideway with a troubled twerk of lips. "I've been interested for a long time, but couldn't really get involved."

"Really?" Rumi said. "…For how long exactly?"

"...Ever since my older sister took part in tankery." He scratched his head in response, to get the strain off his two furrowing eyebrows. "In fact, I think my sister is my strongest force of attraction for me to Senshado."

"She sounds like an interesting person." Megumi remarked, to which Michael gave a a nod as he stared in the distance. "Where is she now?"

"Uhh…" Michael stroke his cheeks lightly, his uncertain eyes for scientific validity became yet uncertain again. "She's currently studying at a vocational school right now, after she graduated."

"Oh, she's not participating in Senshado anymore?" Azumi asked, genuinely curious.

"...Not as often as she used to. She has her reasons."

The eighteen years old suddenly sighed. The thin veil of air strangely dampened the excitement of a new and intriguing person with an unseen yet casually pressured down on their own breathe like a weight.

"Uh…" Megumi wasn't the only person to notice, but she was certainly the first to speak. "But I guess she's already passed the torch onto you. Though it is a shame that Senshado is female-only so that you have to be involved so indirectly."

"...Well, I do remember that there are co-eds proposals, but are all turned down by the Federation." Rumi said. "Tradition still wins I guess."

Michael simply shrugged. Though it was hard to make his mind up of which sides to take on this matter. He believed in its spiritual values taught to young maidens, but it couldn't be denied that to exclude half of the world's population meant a lot of talent and opportunities missed. And even if he had picked a side, the battle was nasty and soul-draining, so he'd not bother joining the ashtray.

"Anyway ladies." Said Michael as he stood up. "It is a great meal, and a great time talking to you guys. I think I need to catch up with my sleep for now."

"Already? Wow, you're early." Azumi noted. "So I'll see you tomorrow I guess?"

"Yeah, tomorrow definitely. I'm gonna need to ask you all a favor for some testings to do." He replied.

"Oh, what is it about?" Megumi asked.

"It's…" He never did finish what he wanted to say as the yawn caught him off-guard and killed all his incentives to tell these girls. "Excuse me. I think I'll explain that first thing in the morning when I finally get down to it. For now, I need to catch up with my sleep."

"My, an early bird I see Joule-san?" Azumi teased.

"Ever slept like a horse?" Michael asked.

"Uhh, no?" Azumi's two irises rolled.

"Then you'll never understand my pain." Michael shrugged dryly before turning around. "See you guys tomorrow."

The Bermuda trio gave Michael each a wave. As the young genius left the cafeteria completely, the typical girl gossip began.

"So, what do you think?" The mandarin haired leader turned over to the two with a playful giggle. "He certainly deflects shots way better than our superheavy T28. Not as easy of a target as I thought"

"He isn't as cute as I imagine." The Saunders alumnae pouted. "Even though he looks small comparing to us."

"Really?" Rumi said with disbelief. "I think he's pretty interesting. A lot more mature than someone his age…A-And seems nice too."

"I mean he's not what I would expect from a junior." Azumi said. "Maybe we should stop judging everyone by our Commander's standard."

"Though his name is Michael Joule, right?" Megumi asked, to which the two curiously nodded. "Is it me or does that name sounds familiar?"

"Michael is a pretty common name, though I don't know where he comes from." Azumi said, nodding. "But Joule?…Yeah, it does sound familiar."

"...I agree." Rumi caressed her chin. Her brows mounded up greatly. Joule. That name did strike chords. It was like magic, or maybe science, that the name brought her back to the days without even knowing her destination, and filled the blue-haired girl with a surge of almost limitless energy. The time she was cramped in that sloppy Soviet T-28 yet eager to prove to the world what that outdated tank could still do. The time that even though Jatsokota never made it to the semi-finals in her three years, she still made herself a name amongst a few of the Senshado legends of the era, one that would push her into the professional league like today. And part of her successes Rumi could arguably attribute and be grateful to one of those people…

'It can't be her right?' Rumi thought, her nails suddenly dug into her chin. 'That wouldn't make a lot of sense…'

Ok I admit that after writing chapter 1, I realized that the institution is said in the wiki to be somewhere in Tokyo, which goes in stark contrast to a statement in the chapter that he flew from mainland Japan. So my bad. Because of that careless mistake, my solution is to forget that statement, and make the unknown location even more unknown, just not in Japan. Hope it's a little thing that you won't mind.

Secondly, I am still uncertain if my decision to make Rumi initially more reserved personally before Michael is a good idea. Nothing much is revealed from Der Film or any other GuP work really about the Bermuda trio aside from the fact that they are pretty playful among themselves and obsessive about Alice's cuteness, with Azumi being quite liberal with her appearance, so I find it quite difficult to reenact their personality in . And considering Michael is a guy being thrown in the midst of a sea of girl is a vortex of changes for everyone, I'm kind of just taking my liberty here. Her outburst at the beginning also feel inconsistent with this, so I'm not sure. Just give me your thoughts if you feel that it fits.

Anyway, thanks for reading the new chapter and I hope to see you in the next one.