By the time Yukari stepped into the showers to clean herself off, the rain had stopped and the showers were empty. The mud all over her was dried to a shell and the sun had started rising. She didn't have any energy left in her to put effort into washing herself, and so just stood in the shower, letting the warm water run down her body and to the drain in the floor. Tears and sweat were lost in the shower water, the mud and the dirt as it all washed away.

She'd spent four hours on the phone. Sergeant Dodger had surprised her by telling her she could take as long as she needed. She needed more than she'd taken, but she couldn't stand any more. She felt sick, exhausted, weak and frail. Her appetite was entirely gone, despite not having eaten in almost half a day. She didn't think she could stomach it anyways.

For three hours, she had sat there reassuring her mother that everything would be alright. That her father would recover and the three of them would all be together again. Miho had been there the whole time, but Yukari hadn't heard her voice once. And then the news finally came.

Yukari spent the last hour trying to console her mother. They'd learned that her father's heart attack had caused one thing after another to fail. The doctors had spent eight hours without rest trying to keep up. In the end, he just had nothing left. He was gone. Yukari had no time to cry for herself, trying in vain to comfort her grieving mother. In the end, she had to tell her mother to hang up and go home. She had to insist that Miho get them both home, if not for her mother's health, then at the very least for her unborn sibling's.

She sat down in the shower stall, her back up against the wall and the water splashing around her legs. Her mind went numb as she sat there, and then her left leg and her right shoulder. Absently, she reached up and ran her fingers through her hair. She stopped when she realized that her hair was starting to grow out again. It still wasn't half as long as before, but the usual friz was beginning to retake its rightful place.

She pulled herself back to her feet. Turning off the shower, she made her way back out to the change room. She stopped and stood in front of a mirror, taking a long look at herself. She hardly recognized the person staring back at her. Short hair that barely hung past her ears, lines on her skin where her clothes covered her, and a considerably dark tan on her arms, face, and legs. Her natural strength had disappeared under the muscle she'd gained from training, which now defined her arms, legs, and body in hard lines, and her breasts had even filled out a little as well. This woman staring back at her wasn't someone she'd met before, certainly not in the mirror.

The tired eyes were what caught her attention the most. Yukari was a girl full of life and happiness. She knew this. But this woman was tired and full of misery. The life and joy was gone. She got herself ready, putting on her clothes without really thinking about it. She staggered out into the hall, her surroundings barely registering on her mind.

"Private Akiyama."

She stopped in her tracks at the voice behind her. Slowly, she turned to face the sergeant. "Yes, ma'am?" Her voice was dry and frail, weakened from a night of crying.

Dodger stood at the end of the hall, her hands clasped behind her back. After a moment of just staring at Yukari with her cold eyes, she lowered her gaze. Reaching up, she pulled off her hat and ran her fingers through her hair. "I'm not any good at this, so bear with me." Moving her hand away from her hair, a single strand of blonde hair stuck straight up. The sight was jarring next to the normal image the sergeant held. She slowly took a few steps toward Yukari. "Screw it. I'm not going to bother trying to give you comforting words. It's far from my area of expertise, so listen up, Private."

Yukari instinctively stood at attention. "Ma'am. Yes, ma'am."

Dodger put her cap back on, hiding her almost-endearing hair. "I bet it's a big damn tragedy for you, Private. The whole world is crushing down on you. Hitting you with everything it's got. Well, Private, it's going to get harder. You're dad died. So what? Are you going to leave the army now? I don't think that's a choice you get to make, but I'm sure if you wanted to you could find a way. And what then?"

"Sergeant, may I speak freely?"

"Consider it your birthday present from me."

"Yes, ma'am." Yukari took a breath, then continued. "I don't think I have it in me to be a deserter, but… what am I supposed to do? My mother doesn't have anyone to take care of her now."

"Private, that's utter bullshit and you know it. Or at least you should. You didn't think your lack of income was because we didn't pay you, did you? Since we take so very good care of you, and there's really nowhere for you to go on your nonexistent days off, we at the army take the initiative and send all your pay home to your mother." She lowered her voice. "And the younger Nishizumi sister."

"Wha-" Yukari's voice caught in her throat. If Sergeant Dodger knew Miho was hiding with her parents, that meant it was only a matter of time before the army grabbed her and forced her into training. Not to mention the trouble she would be in for… dodging.

Dodger held up her hand to stifle any further shocked comments. "For the record, I'm not a supporter of the draft. I'm actually glad one of you escaped. So long as I'm the only one who knows, and trust me, I know more than you could possibly imagine, but she's safe where she is. That aside, I'm sure you know how machinery works."

Yukari was suddenly lost. "Machinery, ma'am?"

"Society is a machine, Private. The army is a machine, and so is the government. Your tanks are machines, and so are we. The war effort is a machine too, and like all machines, the entire thing can collapse at the loss of a single small piece that otherwise seems worthless. Without one soldier, one young loader, a tank crew is lacking. Because one tank crew is lacking, that tank isn't as reliable. Because of one unreliable tank, the line breaks. Because the line broke, the battle was lost. Because the battle was lost, the war was lost. The enemy spreads and takes more land. Maybe it takes all of Europe, or Africa, or Asia. Suddenly, they've taken Japan. Your home is gone, because one loader wasn't with her team."

Yukari was speechless. She had been aware of what was at stake, vaguely, but it hadn't been put into words. As long as it was just a thought, she could ignore it. Now that it had been said, she couldn't push it out of her head. This war was real. Even though she still didn't know who she would be fighting with or against, or where she would be sent, she understood, at least in part, how much was at stake. Whoever this enemy was, they could be kicking down the door to her home in a matter of months if no one was there to stop them.

"All that to say, Private, that you're more important than you know." The sergeant paused, then added an amendment to her statement. "Maybe." She turned around and walked away. "Probably not, statistically speaking."

Yukari watched as the sergeant walked around the corner and out of sight. Only then did she find her tongue again. "Thank you, Sergeant!"

Just after lunch, several of the girls were told there were phone calls waiting for them. Out of all of them, there were only around thirty calls. As they'd only been given access to four phones, most of them were waiting in line outside the room, and most of the calls were sitting in the queue. They'd been given a time limit of ten minutes each, and most of them were taking as much of the time as they could.

Erwin watched the door, waiting for her turn. She didn't really think there was much to talk to her parents about, so she wasn't sure why anyone would be calling her. She didn't have a problem with her parents, and if they wanted to talk to her she'd gladly take the call, but she didn't really know what to expect.

Darjeeling stepped out, having only been on the phone for about two minutes. She smiled at Erwin. "Your turn."

Erwin stood up and looked at the corporal manning the switchboard. She nodded, indicating that it was indeed Erwin's turn. She walked into the room, making her way past the others who were talking on the phone. The phone on the end was waiting for her. She sat down and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Riko, dear, how are you?"

"Dad? I'm… well, I'm okay. I guess… I guess I'm a little scared, but… well, who isn't? From what I've heard about this war, I'd be more scared if I wasn't ready to help."

"That's okay. You know it's not easy for me to see you sent off to war like this, but… I want you to know that I trust you. I trust you to come back alive, and to protect everyone. I know you didn't really have a choice in any of this, but I think you'll do well. You're the expert on war, after all."

He was right. She straightened up in her seat. If there was anyone who could pull through overwhelming odds with just their tank and their wits, it was General Erwin Rommel. And if there was anyone who could follow his example, it was her. "Thanks… thanks, Dad."

"It's true, I'm not just saying that."

"I know."

"Listen, I was told you ship out soon. When you get to wherever you're going, get in touch and let me know what base you're stationed at. I'll try to come and visit whenever you get some time off."

She would like that. "I'm not sure if we get any time off. We haven't yet, anyway."

"Of course not. You're just in training. It's your first job, so I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"Gee, thanks. Anymore nuggets of wisdom you want to impart?" They always talked like this. It was part of what made their bond special. Sarcasm and snark that the other would always brush off with ease. Now more than ever, she hoped he knew she didn't mean it the way it sounded.

Her father laughed it off, as usual. "Nothing for now. It takes time to come up with these. I might have to start charging you for them."

"Spare me, please."

"Well, anyway… just let me know, then. I want to time it right. There's someone I'd like you to meet."

"Someone you… who would that be?"

"Sorry. Can't tell you until you meet her. How are we on time?"

Erwin looked at the timer on the phone. "Um… not enough time to talk about anything else."

"Well, then I'll let you go for now. Keep in touch, okay? Love you."

"Love you too, Dad." There was a click from the other end of the line, signaling the call was over. She stared at the phone for a moment. "He wants me to meet… 'her'? I hope Mom knows about this." She turned to look at the person sitting next to her. Not actually looking at them, but more just looking in their direction while she collected her thoughts.

Tsuchiya covered the mouthpiece of the phone she was holding. "Do you mind? Private conversation."

"Sorry." Erwin shook her head and stood up. She walked out of the room to where the rest were waiting, and then out of the building.

Darjeeling was waiting outside and gave her a friendly wave. "How was it?"

Erwin wasn't sure why Darjeeling would be interested in her phone call, but it didn't matter. She shrugged. "A little weirder than usual, but not too much. It didn't really feel like I had the full ten minutes, though."

She smiled. "It does feel like that sometimes, doesn't it?"