The Legends Still Live On
Bogen Fünfzehn: Unternehmen Bekenntnis!
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They're all students in many areas, the freshmen. They all learn their basic school lessons, but they also learn how to fight in the Arts of Warfare, and they also learn how to become experts with love. At least, that last one is what the girls want.
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"Now then!" Anton began as he stood at the front of the room he and Saori had temporarily acquired. There was a rolling chalkboard behind him written over with various items of romance, and Saori, the writer for said items, was off to the side for the moment. There were a few tables where most of the freshmen for Ooarai's Arts of Warfare programs were seated. All of them were in their school uniforms.
Anton then raised a finger. "Remember that your goal in this is not to kill, but to incapacitate," he began to everyone in the room. He then turned to the side and waved his hand over in a coming forth gesture. "Bring it, Mesut."
Upon receiving the cue from Anton, Mesut, who was off to another side of the chalkboard, charged forth to Anton. The American sophomore got into a ready stance that consisted of him spreading his body out a bit to react to any possible moves. As soon as Mesut got close enough, Anton crouched down and tossed the German freshman over himself via hoisting him by the legs. Mesut ended up falling on his back onto a large gymnastics mat that was laid out in front of the entire chalkboard.
All of the freshmen winced a bit when they saw and heard the thud of Mesut falling onto the mat, but Mesut immediately sprung up again. He wasn't hurt at all because of the cushioning.
Anton then turned to everyone else. "And that, girls," he began, "is one way you can defend yourself from an abusive boyfriend."
After he finished, most everyone started to clap, excluding Saki and Bastian, who remained staring off into space. "Ohhhh…" some of the girls went in admiration. Anton chose to give a slight bow in response, and Mesut also went back to his seat.
"Hey, that was awesome, Mesut!" Matthias complimented with a high-five.
"Yeah!" Christoph agreed. "You took that like a champ!"
"Nice going, Mesut!" Erik congratulated.
"Yeah, I could never withstand something like that," Julius remarked as Mesut took a seat beside him. Their table had him, Bastian, and now Mesut. The other three boys sat at their own table.
"It's not really that bad," Mesut shrugged. "I mean, we already experience similar things in some of our more intense Fußball games."
"Wow, Saori's romance corner is amazing," Azusa remarked with a smile as she wrote a few things down in a notebook at her table. "And they've been awesome ever since Anton and the other boys came in with their training on self-defense."
"They're so amazing, Anton and Saori, even though neither of them have any romantic experience!" Karina remarked next to her in an energetic manner.
"That's what impresses me the most!" Yuuki remarked beside Karina at the other end of the table.
"Hey, isn't tomorrow's study group being held by Captain Nishizumi?" Ayumi wondered at her table, which consisted of her, Aya, and Saki. "And I heard she's bringing Staffelkapitän Hartmann along, too."
"Eh, more tactics theory?" Aya somewhat whined from beside her with a smile. "Well if the both of them are there, then hopefully they'll have some funny moments together that'll stop me from getting bored and falling asleep."
"Now, anyone have any questions?" Anton asked at the front of the room as he clapped a few times to get everyone's attention.
Nobody raised their hand for a bit, but soon, Saki slowly raised hers.
Nobody noticed her at first, and they had already started to get up and leave. But soon enough, Saki's raised hand was noticed and everyone stopped.
"Sa-Saki?!" Karina asked in surprise as everyone started rushing around her in a panic.
"What is it?!" Anton asked her. "Did I scare you at all with that demo?!"
"Wha-What's wrong?!" Azusa asked Saki in concern. "Does your stomach hurt?"
Saki remained silent for a bit as everyone stared at her, awaiting her words in anticipation. The only exception was Bastian, who stared off into space.
Finally, Saki spoke up, "I might… have fallen in love."
All of the girls reacted in various ways. Saori and Aya both recoiled in shock. Aya's glasses ended up breaking again, too, for some odd reason. Azusa had wide eyes and her hands to her mouth in disbelief. Ayumi had her eyes wide and mouth open a bit as she looked on in disbelief. Yuuki grew a dreamy look and held her hands to her face upon hearing Saki. Karina didn't have much of a reaction. She simply held a face that said she didn't understand what just happened.
The guys reacted a bit differently. All of them besides Bastian recoiled back as they held an arm out ahead, as if trying to dispel what just happened. Bastian simply stared off into space again. Anton was unique in that he was using his other arm to cover his face.
"Oh, he won't get past me without getting thrown overboard first!" Anton roared out in anger as he removed his arm from his face. His face was similarly rage-like in appearance. "What kind of fucking womanizer is that bastard?!"
"Anton?!" Azusa reacted in surprise at Anton's actions. The rest of the freshmen there reacted in a similar way via their change of facial expressions to those of panic.
"We're gonna blow him all the way to Timbuktu with the Acht-Acht!" Anton continued in a fit of rage as he stomped the floor. "Where's my phone?! I need to call the other guys to get down here!"
"Uncle, calm down!" Azusa cried out as she rushed forth to hold Anton at bay. She did it by hugging him with her entire body to restrain him. She knew just how much he cared about all of them, such that he would always do everything he could to make sure that he never hurt any of the freshmen, even in such a state as now, so she used that to her advantage by putting herself in a position where if he continued his fit of rage, then he would end up hurting her.
Meanwhile, some of the other freshmen were looking on at Azusa's current efforts with somewhat panicked looks. Some of them, mainly the boys, were holding back Saori and keeping her from falling into a similar state that Anton was currently in. The other freshmen remaining were with Saki.
"Are you okay, Saki?" Ayumi asked nervously with concern. "You don't have a fever, do you?"
"Who is it?" Yuuki asked with her dreamy look. "Is it somebody from shore?"
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(Azusa: Um, hey there, everyone! Sorry for the interruption, but after reviewing it, what happened after that point in time was considered to be unsafe and disturbing to view, so that scene was cut out. But rest assured, we eventually managed to calm down Anton, and we collected some information from Saki about who she met. Every morning, she takes a rest in the park along her route to school to gaze at the scenery. That seems to be what Saki does everyday.)
Earlier during one of her rests, Saki was sitting down with her bag beside her on a long rise of stone that served as a bench. She was currently staring off into space again, but she also had a small bird in her hand that decided to land there for whatever reason. She listened to all of the birdcalls around the area, including those from the one in her hand as she relaxed for the moment.
(Azusa: And on one particular day…)
Saki then heard some footsteps approach. She looked over to find someone jogging in her direction. They appeared to be jogging for exercise. Their outfit consisted of a red and black hoodie with the hood up, some black sweatpants, and white sneakers. There were headphones coming out from one of the hoodie's pockets up to the hood itself, where they presumably went into the person's ears.
As the person reached her, they slowed down as they came out of their jog. "Mornin'!" they greeted in what sounded like an American male voice. Said guy could barely be recognized with the hood over his head, but he had a slightly noticeable grin with a bit of sweat running down his face.
(Azusa: She was suddenly called out…)
The boy then took out his earbuds, which were playing a very specific song very loudly as they hung down, as he took a seat beside Saki. "I brought some coffee," the boy offered as he set a thermos out in the space between them. "Want some?"
"In an abandoned land!
Come on in child, take my hand!"
"So what are you looking at?" he asked as he continued to sit next to Saki. "Is it fine if I sit here with you?"
"Hear a rising force!"
"Wow," the boy went as he looked on at the scenery. He then looked over to Saki. "I didn't know that it could be so relaxing to just gaze at the scenery."
"Watch the devils, the damned!
They're gonna break their chains!"
Saki looked back to him, somewhat in curiosity, as she appeared to look for something to say to him.
"Through the night!
You can hear them"
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"You know what?" Anton began with a gloomy deadpan. "I think I'm gonna go space off in parks too from now on and just gaze at the scenery all fucking day because why the hell not. What else could go wrong…"
Some of the freshmen there started to sweat a bit nervously as they saw Anton in his current state of gloom. All of the boys ended rushing over to him in concern, except for Bastian, who held his normal spacing off look.
"Hey, snap out of it Anton!" Matthias tried to get Anton to snap out of his state as he shook him. Some of the other boys there began to do the same.
"Taciturn charas, huh…" Saori spoke up in revelation with a gloomy grin of her own. Her glasses were no longer being worn. She then slumped her shoulders a bit. "I was completely unobservant of that group… That's it. I won't say anything anymore. That way, I, too, will become popular starting tomorrow…" She then started chuckling a bit at her idea, which by comparison to everyone else, made her start looking insane.
"Uncle! Mama!" Azusa tried to snap Anton and Saori out of their states. "Wait, no. Anton and Saori! Please come back to us!" she revised as she made fists with her hands in a begging manner.
In the meantime, Karina was talking with Saki. "Saki, that's awesome!" she said with her usual energy. "Did you start to like that boy after that?"
"… I don't know," Saki soon responded after a short silence. Karina didn't appear to understand the meaning behind those words, but at least one person did.
"I can understand those complicated feelings, though," Azusa spoke up as she reasoned with Saori, who had started to grow a bit intrigued by hearing Azusa speak. "So shouldn't we give some aid here to Saki's love?"
At hearing Azusa's latest suggestion, Saori grew a huge glint in her eyes as she lit up with an idea. The sheer amount of glint she had in her eyes was enough to snap Anton out of his gloominess and look to her with a bit of interest as his raised eyebrow indicated.
"That's exactly right!" Saori proclaimed as she whipped out her glasses again to wear them. "You can rest at ease, Saki! I, Saori Takebe, Ooarai's master of romance, will bring your romance to fulfillment!"
Everyone looked over to Saori with mixed reactions as she spoke. Saki looked over to Saori with her usual spacing off look. Ayumi and Yuuki seemed like they were ready to carry out Saori's current plan. Aya had a slight look of disbelief at what was going on. Karina looked completely lost on the current plan. Azusa just held an awkward smile at what was happening.
The boys all looked to each other and sighed simultaneously as they slumped their shoulders a bit in resignation for what they were going to effectively be forced to do.
"A master of romance with absolutely no experience, though…" Anton muttered after hearing Saori's proclamation.
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And so Saori started up a training regiment for Saki to get her romance on.
"Straighten up your back and walk with elegance!" Saori instructed Saki.
For whatever reason, Saori had a crop in hand, which gave her a vibe similar to that of a drill sergeant. Saki now had a book on her head that she had to keep balanced, which could only be accomplished with proper posture.
"Refine your table manners!" Saori instructed again.
Saki was now sitting down and eating a meal. She did so with a proper sitting posture along with elegant table manners, never once making a mess of any kind.
"Both tea and flowers are a maiden's taste!" Saori instructed yet again.
Now, Saki was in a robe with a cup of tea in one hand as she picked a flower with her other hand from the nearby garden. Said garden apparently belonged to Hana.
"Most important for romance is stamina!" Saori instructed later on.
Now, she and the other freshmen girls were in some jogging outfits that consisted of dark blue sweatpants and a similarly colored long-sleeve jacket.
"Rom, acti! Rom, acti!" Saori commanded as she continued running while waving around a bokken in a way to encourage continuation. She was ahead of everyone else, which included Saki and the rest of the freshmen girls.
"Why us too…" Aya whined as she started getting tired. Some of the other girls were getting tired as well.
A little behind them were all of the freshmen boys plus Anton, all in similar jogging outfits, who purposely hung back so as to motivate some of those tired girls in a unique way.
"Come on!" Anton barked as he swung a whip ahead of him and let it crack through the air. "You haven't earned a rest yet, so keep running!"
The other freshmen boys also had whips of their own that they used in the same way to keep all of the girls moving. Although they weren't long enough to reach the girls, the motivation factor of hearing the cracking of whips was more than enough to keep the girls moving.
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Finally, Saori's romance training regiment was completed, and Saori herself was proudly standing atop a table looking down on Saki in front of her. Both were back in their school outfits. Saori still had a bokken that she rested on the table as she leaned on the handle.
Most of the girls that had run with them were still in their jogging outfits as they tried regaining their breath. The only girls that weren't tired were Saori, Saki, and Azusa. Azusa wasn't in the room now for some reason.
All of the boys that came along were standing off to the side watching. They had all changed back into their school uniforms, too. None of them were worn out at all.
"You have come along well, Saki!" Saori said to Saki with some proudness within her. "There's almost nothing else that I need to teach to you!"
"Normally I would say that there's nothing more to do but to attack, but…" Anton began from the side. "Saki…" he continued with a gentler voice. Saki looked to him in response. "Could you at least smile a bit more?"
Saki seemed to think about Anton's suggestion before she started using her hands to mess with her face a bit so she could get a smile on it.
"Yeah, Saki is so cool!" Karina praised as she saw Saki try to smile.
"Yeah, that's it!" Saori praised as well. "The smiling face a cool girl sometimes shows! That's a real strong point! Even a trump card!"
"But Saki smiles pretty often, though," Christoph said to Anton as the guys stood with each other.
"Wait, what?" Anton reacted in a bit of surprise as he turned to Christoph. "Are you for real?"
"Nice going, Saki," Azusa began with a kind smile as she came back into the room with a tray of food in hand. "I brought kintsuba and the kelp tea that Saki loves for refreshments."
Seeing the food made Saki smile a bit, which caught both Saori and Anton off guard.
"Ah, there it is!" Christoph remarked on Saki's smile.
"Good God, this is the first time I've ever seen this…" Anton said in disbelief as he looked on.
"Stop!" Saori called out as she held a hand out to Saki in a halt gesture. By now, Saki had started eating some of the kintsuba she was given. "Saki, stay just like that! Stay that way until you meet him again tomorrow!"
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The next morning then came around, and all that was remarkable about it were chirping birds, a still-smiling Saki, and a load of freshmen girls with two more sophomores all gathered together. Everyone had their school outfits on.
"So this moment has come at last!" Saori proclaimed as she clenched a fist in determination. She didn't have her glasses on anymore.
"You gave your best, Saki!" Karina cheered on Saki.
"So she kept that face on ever since she put it on yesterday, even during meals and baths…" Azusa observed in a mixture of disbelief and wonder.
"Saki, did you write the love letter?" Saori asked as she turned to Saki. In response, Saki flipped out a letter with her name on it sealed with a heart sticker. "Great!" Saori responded with a satisfied nod.
"Alright, prepare yourselves boys," Anton said to the freshmen boys who had recently arrived. The boys were all near the bushes, and they all had their Maschinenpistolen 40 from the survival fight they had earlier in the year. "The time to fight is near."
"Understood," Matthias replied affirmative for all of them. They all then got set up and hidden away in the nearby shrubbery.
Anton then pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "Hello, Bubi?" he began another call. "You and Miho set up yet?"
"Wow, Anton's level of power now is just amazing…" Azusa remarked as she stared at Anton with a bit of a nervous smile at his current actions.
"He's the kind of person who cares more about helping others than about himself," Yuuki observed.
"Yeah," Azusa nodded slowly. "But why are the boys armed…?" she asked with her same nervous smile.
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Elsewhere on the ship was where two particular armed vehicles were stationed. The Panzer IV H commanded by Miho was positioned in some woods nearby, and they had a line of sight on the location of the freshmen. Said line of sight extended to be about 800 meters give or take. The Panzer was heavily concealed by quite a bit of shrubbery. Each crew member was sticking up through their hatches as they waited. The only missing crew member was Saori, who was with the freshmen. All of them had their usual school outfits on.
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At another overwatch position farther away rested the 8,8 cm Flak 37 Sfl. The heavy halftrack was placed atop a hill, and the heavy Flak gun had an immensely long line of sight as a result. It was about 2,000 meters give or take from the gun to the freshmen. The lines of sight for the two vehicles were such that they formed a ninety-degree angle when they met at the freshmen.
On the Acht-Acht, the crew consisted of all the normal operators for it minus Kolari and Satiainen. Replacing Anton in the passenger seat for the moment was Erich, who was currently on his phone. All had their normal school outfits.
"Yeah, I'm at the specified point," Erich confirmed to Anton over the line. He also wore a headset for the radio in the FAMO. "Let me see if Miho is at hers."
He then set his phone aside for the moment as he fiddled with the radio.
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Over on her Panzer IV, Miho was currently looking around at random things as she and her crew waited around. Soon, she had a message come over her headphones.
"Hey, Miholein," she heard Erich through her headset. "You set up?"
"Oh!" she reacted as she came back to Earth. She then realized what happened and started to reply. "Yeah, we're set up over here. But… is something gonna happen after this?"
"I have no clue what's going on right now, so I can't tell you," she heard Erich respond. She then heard his voice again, but she could tell he wasn't addressing her. "Yeah, we're set up, Anton."
"Hmm…" Miho hummed in thought as she lowered her head. "Well since Anton is the reason for this, then I wonder if Saori also has a part in this…"
Because Saori wasn't there to operate the radio, Miho had rigged it so that it always diverted the input and output signals directly to her headset. The radio was also permanently on the same channel as the radio in the Acht-Acht, that way she didn't have to have a radio operator for the moment since Saori was gone. It also worked out since she didn't have any other forces to communicate with besides the FAMO, which made such an arrangement more convenient.
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"Wait, why is there a tank and a Flak gun on standby?!" Azusa asked in shock of hearing that the Panzer IV and Acht-Acht were already pre-sighted on their position. She then remembered all of the freshmen boys with their MP 40s. "And why are the boys all armed?!"
"If that guy happens to be a dirty bastard of a womanizer…" Anton mischievously began with a dastardly grin as he drew out the M240B he used in the survival fight. Upon seeing him bring out the general-purpose machine gun, all of the girls there besides Saki started shaking in fear at the implications of what was going to happen. "Then he'll have to suffer the concentrated wrath of the school that won the International Arts of Warfare Tournaments!"
Julius was up in one of the trees for the moment as he played the lookout role. He then soon spotted the same jogger that Saki had spoken of approach from afar. He wore the same outfit as before, but he had a notable absence of headphones.
"Hey, he's coming!" Julius alerted the rest.
"Alright boys! Lock and load!" Anton ordered as he hid with the other boys in the shrubbery. All of them then flicked off their safeties and readied their weapons.
"Girls, hide! Saki, follow the plan! It's time to fight!" Saori ordered the rest of the girls. The rest of the girls besides Saki then rushed to hide away in the bushes while Saki stayed where she was on the long stone rise serving as a bench.
The jogger soon came close to where Saki was, and he came to a stop there when he recognized her.
"Ah, mornin'!" he greeted with a grin as he started to fan himself. He sounded exhausted from his running. "Man, it's starting to get hot as of late, isn't it?"
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Everyone else was watching the scene play out from the bushes. All of the girls besides Azusa held their attention on what was going on with Saki. The boys were all watching and waiting for the moment to attack. Anton was on his phone again with a cold look on his face.
"Bubi," he began over the line. "Once I give the signal, you and Miho are gonna shell that guy, and we'll start our own attack afterwards."
"Hääää?!" he could hear Miho's shocked voice over the line. Supposedly, he guessed it was because Erich had the FAMO's radio headset on while he was on the line with him. "Why?!"
"You're not planning to shoot him even if he does nothing, right…?" Azusa asked from beside Anton with some nervousness in her voice. She was nervous because of the fact that there was a planned assault on the guy already in place, even though he seemed innocent enough already to her.
"Verstanden," Erich responded in a clear voice that held some coldness to it as well. Both Anton and Azusa could tell he had entered his commander persona. "We'll annihilate him."
Anton grew a satisfied and dastardly grin that showed some teeth upon hearing that Erich was on the same page as him. Azusa, however, started looking extremely fearful upon hearing that her captain's boyfriend was also fully supportive of eliminating the boy Saki had met.
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"Good morning," Saki kindly greeted the jogger she ran into earlier with her smile still on her face.
"Whoa…" the jogger went as he raised his eyebrows in wonder upon hearing Saki's voice. His heart thumping became even more noticeable amidst the brief silence that came about.
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In the bushes, Anton could see what was going on, and he grew a look of rage as he calmly spoke over his phone. "Bubi, you and Miho can fire at will," he ordered.
"Anton?!" Azusa reacted in shock from beside him as she looked to him with a similar facial expression of shock and terror. She then lunged toward him in desperation. "No! Don't fire!" she cried so as to be heard over his phone by Erich. Her lunge ended up having her effectively hugging onto him again.
Nearby, Christoph was staring on at the scene of Saki and the jogger for a moment in thought before he lit up in recognition. "Hey, I recognize that guy!" he claimed. "That's…!"
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With Saki and the jogger, the jogger finally revealed his face as he brought his hood down.
"Wow, that has to be the first time I've heard your voice, Saki," Seth Farnborough remarked with an interested look. "Considering you're always rather quiet."
"Aaaah!" the two of them heard as rustling of the bushes and shrubbery nearby flared up. Out of the shrubbery came the rest of the freshmen girls, Saori, all of the freshmen boys, and Anton. They all dramatically fell out onto the ground ahead.
"What the hell?!" Seth remarked with a start as he looked over to the commotion. He did not miss the fact that half of those that had fallen over were armed. "What's with that drop-shot way of falling over?!"
Saki didn't respond to the current scene at all as she held her smile.
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(Azusa: It seems like the relationship those two had before had continued on unchanged.)
After the mess with the freshmen was sorted out, Seth and Saki continued to sit down and gaze at the scenery like before.
(Azusa: Seth happened to smile then, and he didn't appear to notice it.)
The two of them held content smiles as they let the sounds of nature flow around them. Seth had a red face from the exercise he had done earlier. Said exercise was also what caused his heart to thump as it tried to circulate even more blood and precious oxygen to his body.
(Azusa: Saki seems to be fine with just sitting in that park together to pass the time.)
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"Tha-That's right!" Saori agreed later in the present as she waved a hand around. "For Saki to suddenly get called out by a boy, it's still too early for those things!"
She and the other freshmen were with each other again as they chatted at a table. Among those there was also Anton, who was relaxing as he drank a can of soda. He didn't speak up at all for the moment. He was just there to see if he could relax and just forget about the previous incident.
"That's right," Yuuki agreed. She then brought a hand to her face. "That said, my new boyfriend-"
"Does he even exist?" Aya cut her off as she looked over to her with a look of doubt.
"What should I do?" Yuuki ignored her and continued to Saori. "I'm gonna get into big trouble…"
Hearing what Yuuki said made Anton slam his can down with a start. He then started to grow a really dark look.
"Um… Anton?" Azusa asked in a bit of fear as the girls drew their attention to him.
In response, Anton drew his M240 again and flicked the safety off of it. He had it slung over onto his back before, but none of the girls really paid it any mind before that current moment.
"Oh, uh oh…" Azusa reacted as she started to sweat at what seemed to be implied by his actions. "Maybe it's time for Operation Counter-Rambo…"
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Elsewhere, the freshmen boys were off with each other discussing various things.
"Oh, is that true?" Christoph wondered. "Saki's face didn't go back to normal yet?"
"No, it didn't," Matthias confirmed with a head shake.
"Wow, that's real odd…" Mesut commented.
"Bunch of crazy girls, if you ask me," Erik opined.
"I can't argue with that," Julius shrugged.
Bastian meanwhile just stared off into space. But he soon spoke up, "… Diese Mädchen sind lustig."
All of the other boys looked over to him in surprise at first. Because they rarely hear him speak, hearing him speak was something to experience for them. But they soon started laughing when they processed his statement, as they couldn't agree more with it.
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It seems that spring for these freshmen girls is still far away as long as their Uncle Rambo is still around.
Part of Projekt Jägermeistern.
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The author doesn't claim to own "Girls und Panzer," the music used, or any other references made. "Girls und Panzer" belongs to Actas. The music belongs to Sabaton. Any references made belong to their respective owners.
Feel free to ask any questions if you have them. Please note, however, that questions asked without being signed in will not be answered. The author would prefer to address questions outside of the story, and leaving questions while signed in provides that ability.