Maho Nishizumi stood in front of the door, dressed in her Tankery uniform. She didn't know what to do. This was never something she considered, so she had no plans for how to approach it. She looked down at the two envelopes in her hand. She was here to deliver two different messages, neither of which she wanted to be delivering. She'd come to terms with it, however, that she didn't want anyone else delivering the messages. It was best coming from her.

She turned the envelopes over in her hands, contemplating how to address them. Maybe, she thought, it was too much all at once. She selected the less important of the two and hid it inside her uniform. It could wait. The door opened just as she was bringing her hand back out.

Miho stopped dead in her tracks, shocked to see her sister was waiting for her. "Maho…"

Straightening her uniform, Maho realized she was subconsciously making it look like she hadn't just hidden something. "Can I come in?"

"Um… oh, yes, of course- Oh, wait. But I'm going to be late for school." She started trying to close the door behind her.

"I called ahead. You're excused from classes today. Tomorrow too, if necessary."

"If necessary? Why would that be necessary?" The younger sister's eye caught on the envelope in Maho's hand. "What's that?"

Maho shuffled nervously, an unusual thing coming from her. Nervousness was always more typical of Miho, between the two of them. She took a deep breath, still preparing herself for this. "Can I please come inside."

Stepping back into her tiny apartment, Miho set her things aside. If she wasn't going to school, there was no reason to have gotten ready. Maho quietly followed her in. She wasn't really a loud and outgoing person most of the time, but her silence was starting to make Miho uncomfortable. The younger sister was unsure what to make of it.

"Is there anything I can get you? Are you thirsty? Or…"

"Miho."

"Yes?" She looked up at her older sister expectantly. Maho's being nervous was making her nervous.

Maho took a deep breath. "There's a war." That was all she could manage. The thought of what she was about to tell her sister was to heavy a burden.

Miho looked back down at the envelope, then back to her sister again. "What do you mean? Where?"

She steeled herself. It would hurt to be the one telling Miho, but it would hurt both of them more to let Miho's mind wander. "Far… far away. But it's getting closer." She took another deep breath. "The government has been trying to help in the war effort, to keep it far away from Japan. They needed the best fighters, so… so…"

"What are you saying? Are you…?"

"Mom went. Her ability commanding tanks is invaluable." She wanted to go, to hide from this position she'd been put in, but there was no way she would leave Miho hanging like that. "And now she's gone missing… and they… they think she's dead."

It took a moment. Then Miho started to wobble, and then she collapsed. Maho caught her, helping her down to the floor. There were several silent minutes that passed with nothing but Maho holding her sister. Miho shook in her arms. The news was disabling for her. Her relationship with their mother had never been the best, Maho knew this, but she also knew that Miho cared very deeply for others regardless of who they were. This was still their mother.

"Listen, Miho… they still don't know for sure. She might be out there somewhere." She patted Miho's head. "We're Nishizumis, Miho. We only lose when you're involved."

Miho nudged her sister with her head. "Stop it."

Maho forced a smile. "It's true, though. I can count only four Nishizumi losses ever, and they're all because of you. You lost against Pravda, then against St. Gloriana, and against the two of them together. And then you beat me. You're the only one who can make Nishizumis lose."

"…I suppose you're right." Miho barely managed a weak smile. "So she's still alive, because Nishizumis don't lose when I'm not around."

"Exactly." Maho let out her breath. At least it looked like she could get Miho to stay positive about this.

Miho looked up at her sister. "Why didn't she tell me?"

"That's…" Maho shook her head. "I'm sorry, Miho. She was already preparing to leave after our match with Selection University. She was writing letters, but… I wasn't passing them along to you. I should have told you."

Miho fell silent again. She sat up, but didn't push away from her sister. Maho knew she'd made a mistake, and she felt like there was going to be some sort of comeuppance eventually, even though she knew her sister wasn't that kind of person. Seeing her like this was punishment enough.

Maho carefully placed her hand on her sister's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Miho stood up suddenly. She smiled, though the smile was weak. "Like you said. She might still be out there somewhere."

"Miho…"

"It's okay. It'll be okay." She walked around a bit, seemingly aimless and still a bit wobbly. "We'll just… have to go find her."

Maho jumped up. "No!" Miho snapped out of her trance-like moment, startled by her sister's shout. Maho stopped and took a deep breath. "Don't say that, please. It's a war zone. A real one. It's not like Tankery at all. There are no rules and regulations keeping you safe."

"I- I know that."

"Just please… promise me you won't try to find her." She couldn't stand the thought of her sister heading into a real battle.

Miho grabbed her sister in a close hug. "Thank you for coming to tell me." Stepping back, she smiled again, but this time it was a bit stronger. "I should go to school. My friends will be worried."

"But-"

"Come with me. I… I could use the company."

Maho nodded. She understood. With a few moments more of preparing, they left Miho's apartment. Miho left her bag behind, as she wouldn't be needing it. Maho locked the door behind them. The walk to Ooarai Girls High School was slow and quiet. They were in no rush, and had no reason to be. It was a calm and beautiful day, so they took their time walking.

The whole time, Maho was watching her sister carefully. She knew there were a lot of things occupying her mind right now, and was waiting eagerly for anything Miho might want to say. She didn't have long to wait before Miho made up her mind about something.

"I think you're right. We shouldn't just rush off and try to find her. She'd be pretty disappointed in us if we followed her into such a dangerous situation without being properly prepared." She hung her head sadly. "She'd be upset even if we were prepared. And I wouldn't even know where to begin anyway."

"That's okay. You don't need to worry about it. I'm…" Maho paused, drawing a curious look from Miho. "I'm here to make sure you're safe."

"Thank you."

Maho fell into step just behind her sister, letting Miho lead the way. There was still something she had to tell Miho today, but it would be even harder to get it out. She couldn't leave without telling her sister, but she couldn't figure out how to say it. She had told the truth. She was here to make sure Miho was safe. She'd just neglected to mention what she wanted to protect her sister from.

They reached the front gate of the school, and Miho made a beeline to the garage building where the school's Tankery team kept their machines. Maho followed her, stopping at the garage door. She watched her little sister climb up onto the hull of the Panzer IV and lie down under the main cannon. She turned her head to look at Maho.

"They'll show up at lunch. We usually meet here to eat."

Maho nodded. So they still had a few hours to wait. There was nothing else to do, so she climbed up and lay down beside her sister. They sat staring at the garage ceiling, letting the minutes roll by. Maho wasn't sure how long it had been, but she was pretty certain Miho had fallen asleep more than once. She was content to let the silence continue, but someone would eventually interrupt it.

That someone entered the garage several doors down from them, in front of the M3 Lee. That someone was absently singing their way through an old German marching song that Maho recognized as Panzerlied. That person was taking clear liberties with the lyrics and sounded quite angry.

Miho opened her eyes, giving her sister a look of curiosity. The strange intruder suddenly oddly emphasized the middle of a line, cutting it short. This was immediately followed by what sounded like someone punching the frontal armor of an M3 Lee, and then shouting in pain. The sisters got up and turned to see who was disturbing their peace.

Miho recognized the person, but she certainly didn't recognize the attitude. "Erwin? That… that's not your tank."

Maho started to wonder if maybe the girl was drunk. She didn't know what standard of discipline Ooarai's Tankery team held its girls to. As it turned out, however, being drunk was just as good an impairment as the truth. This girl was very angry.

Erwin shook her head. She didn't even look up at them. "What does it matter? They're taking mine. They're taking all the German tanks."

Miho jumped up. "What? Who's taking them?"

Sitting down with her back against the M3 Lee, Erwin took off her hat, tossing it to the ground beside her. "Men in uniforms showed up and said the military was allocating some assets. They're taking half our school's tanks and we're not even getting a day's notice. They'll be gone before school's out." She looked up at Miho. "Where have you been?"

Maho finally sat up. She looked over the Panzer IV she was sitting on. This was the tank Miho had used to beat her. If they were coming for it… "They must be getting desperate."

Miho looked up at her sister. "Who? The military?"

"I guess. I mean, doesn't the military have hundreds of top-of-the-line Main Battle Tanks? Why are they going out of their way for four old ones?" Erwin squinted up at Maho. "When did you get here?"

Maho took a deep breath. This was going to be a lot for both of them. "They've already taken most of Kuromorimine's tanks. When I left, the Maus was the only one left, and that's only because they were still figuring out how to transport it. They must really need tanks on the front lines if they're going so far out of their way."

Erwin nodded, folding her arms across her chest. "Mmhmm. They'd have to be losing tanks faster than they can make them and are trying to find any that they can that are still operational. Of course, this means commandeering them from Tankery teams."

Miho headed for the door. "I've got to stop this. If there's anything I can do…"

She was gone before Maho could stop her. Maho knew better. She knew there was nothing Miho could do. She knew it was only a matter of time before Ooarai lost the rest of its tanks as well. The two Japanese tanks and the American M3 Lee would be spotted the moment the military men stepped into the garage, and then they would try to take them as well. Maho leaned over to get a good look down the line of tanks. She was pretty sure they would take the French tank too, but there was no accounting for taste.

Erwin pushed herself up and set her hat back on her head, taking an extra moment to make sure it was secure. She glanced at Maho. "So, what are you doing here?"

Maho just stared at her for a moment, then turned away. "Look after Miho for me. I'll be back as soon as I can. There's something I need to take care of." She walked out of the garage. As soon as she was out the door, she broke into a run. If the military men were already here to take the tanks, that meant… The second envelope, the one she'd hidden in her uniform, suddenly felt much heavier.