I'm glad you managed to find the time to read the second chapter! Hope you managed to find this chapter interesting and please leave a review (Any review would help boost my ego xD)
P.S: I'll also respond to the questions left behind in the reviews.
1.) So, Oorai has been invited to participate in the World Tankery Cup: Asia Qualifiers that is due to take place in Seoul, the capital city of South Korea.
The only question is, what kind of welcoming will they receive from the Koreans? After all, there has been a history of bad blood between Korea and Japan, best-known example the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910 AD to 1945 AD).
Good observation! Let's just say that the girls wouldn't have it easy.
Now back to our regular program!
CHAPTER 2: Needle in the haystack
12:45 pm
Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean
Oarai Girls Academy's Carrier Zuikaku
A crowd had already gathered in front of the tank shed, possibly curious about the new tank. As Miho and the student council walked closer, they noticed that the crowd was composed of the members of the Oarai's Sensha-do Team.
"I bet it's another German tank," said Erwin, a girl dressed in a German military uniform talking to her other crew members.
"Do you think we will get kouhais?" the Rabbit team, composed of now second-year students, wondered out loud, all except Saki who was busy looking at a butterfly.
"We're lucky that this one isn't a pain to get unlike our Porsche Tiger," Tsuchiya said as she and her teammates stood outside, wiping sweat from their faces.
"Nishizumi-dono, over here!" someone shouted over the din of the crowd and Miho looked for the one calling her and saw a fluffy-haired girl looking out the door. "Yukari, what are you doing there?" Miho asked as she approached the team's tank nut. "I'm examining the new tank and quick, come inside!" she said excitedly.
Miho makes her way inside and sees a 2 and a half meter tall tank covered in algae and barnacles. "According to Suzuki, you identified this as a Swedish tank, right?" Miho asked as she saw Yukari bend over a pile of books, no doubt these were encyclopedias about tanks.
"Yup and I think I've identified which Swedish tank exactly!" she said as she shoved a book to Miho that contained a picture similar to the tank in front of them, although it was much cleaner.
"The errrr… Stridsvagn m/42 EH? Miho pronounced as she read the name of the tank.
"Yup and I'd difficulty in identifying this one because of the relative rareness of Swedish tanks in the battlefield hence I thought we wouldn't be encountering them!" Yukari said.
The door suddenly opened and the rest of the Anglerfish Team, arrived in the form of Hana, Saori, and Mako, the last of which is sleeping snugly on the back of Saori.
"Saori, perfect timing, I need your help," Miho said as she looked for a piece of paper to write on.
"Anything for you Miporin, just get this off me first," she tried to shake the girl on her back awake. Meanwhile, Miho looked for a scratch paper and a pencil, which Yukari kindly gave.
Miho quickly wrote the jumbled letters and the keyword on paper and showed it to the orange haired girl, who put on her glasses to see the message more clearly.
"Uhmmm I don't understand Miporin... I'm sorry," the girl said as she removed her glasses.
"Vigeneire... Use Vigeniere," the girl on the back of Saori mumbled before going back to sleep.
"That's it, I remembered! Saori exclaimed as she gently sets down the girl on her back before seizing the paper and began solving it. A few minutes after she began, she looked up and announced, "Done!" and gave the paper back to Miho, which she read immediately.
"Use the Microscope, that doesn't make any sense," Miho said as she scanned what Saori decoded.
The door opened once again and the other members walked inside the tank sheds. Most of them are at awe at the new tank but a few are walking their way to their respective tanks.
Someone cleared their throat loudly and many others, including Miho, looked for the source. Standing on top of a crate is Anzu, but the crate doesn't really supplement the Student Council President's lack in height.
"Gather round! Gather round! Gather around people!" she announced motioning for the members to come closer. "This tank right here-" she motioned to the newfound tank –" proves the rumors." A lot of whispers came flying, their source can't be found.
"What rumors?"
"What is that tank even?"
"What is she talking about?"
"Momo, get the heavy pump hose!" Momo immediately complied and gave the hose to Anzu, which the small redhead aimed at the turret. "Yuzu, turn it on!" Instantly the water pumped out of the hose and hit the tank with full force, removing some of the algae coating the armor of the tank. She kept the hose on until the entire turret of the tank is algae-free. "Turn it off," she said as she hands the hose to her P.R.O.
"If you will look right here, you will see this strange logo right here," she said. Miho herself noticed the red roundel with a tank shell crossing the circle vertically with the letters O.T.C. underneath it, all of which was stenciled in the tank's turret.
"This is the logo of the Ōarai Tankery Club or OTC for short. If you don't know 'Tankery', it is the English equivalent of our Sensha-do. Anyhow, the OTC was established a few years after the original Sensha-do club was disbanded, this new club was privately funded by the members and operated in secrecy, but they were found out and expelled." Anzu explained.
"Now we believe that they have leftover equipment that we can use, we will now send all of you in a clue hunt in the search of OTC equipment. All groups will join in the hunt, except our group, because we will be the one to coordinate this search mission and the automobile club because they still have work to do" she stated. "The grouping will be, Anglerfish Team, you will be Search Party #1, you will look at the old laboratory building. Rabbit Team, you will be Search Party #2, you will the one to check again the old club buildings. Hippo Team, your team will be Search Party #3, you explore the forests around the school. Duck Team will be Search Party #4 and will investigate the school's storage shed. Mallard and Anteater Team combined will be Search Party #5 and will poke around town and look for things of interest." Anzu announced.
"Yuzu here will give you maps if you need them, and remember to radio in if you find something. Do your best and remember no slacking off. Good luck!"
A resounding chorus of "Hai!" echoed around the tank shed and everyone was off.
Rabbit Team had the least amount of time going to their search area since the volleyball team along with Miho and Mako went there before. They stumbled through the old derelict wooden buildings, shattered glass and other assorted trash litter inside and outside the building.
"This place gives me the chills," Ayumi began as she peered into every window, watching out for sharp glass.
"We'll be in and out in no time," replied Azusa. "We should search every room thoroughly too" she added.
After an hour of scourging every room, along with an incident involving a dead rat, the girls are on a dead end.
"One last room," Azusa said as she opened the door revealing a room with a thick layer of dust and bunch of boxes pressed against the wall.
"I don't think we can find any clues here." Karina opened the windows to let some fresh air in.
"Come on guys we can do this." Aya started walking towards the boxes
The girls immediately started attacking the boxes, opening all of them to look for things of interest
"Found anything guys?" Azusa asked as she stood up from the box she was scourging.
"Nope," Yuuki said as she slammed the door to a cabinet shut.
"Oh, look at this," Karina held up a small rusty bronze statue of a blindfolded woman holding a sword in one hand and a scale in another.
"Ah it's hopeless, we just wasted our time," Ayumi despaired.
"Maybe we should get back," Yuuki suggested as she closed a drawer in the teacher's desk.
Aya felt a soft tapping from her back and turned around to see Saki. "Quiet, guys Saki-chan has something to say." She said and the others looked at the quiet meek girl expectedly.
"Cannon," Saki said while pointing upwards.
The other girls looked to where she is pointing and finds a 77mm HV Gun among the ceiling beams.
"Wow! Saki-chan, you're a genius!" Aya cheered.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the Anglerfish Team had the most amount of trouble going to their location. The seclusion of the old laboratory building, not to mention the place being roped off didn't make their job easier.
"Ah, we should have brought the tank," Saori exclaimed in frustration as she hiked the way with a sleeping Mako on her back.
"Too late for that, and where's your sense of adventure?" Yukari said as she led the way, with a machete in hand, cutting a way through the thick foliage.
"Don't worry guys we're almost there," Miho announced as she looked at the map given to her by Yuzu before they left.
"I wish we could have encountered more flowers," Hana, the ikebana master, said as she was holding a bundle of daffodils.
The group walked more for a few minutes before finally seeing the old laboratory building. It was a long single-story brick building; a part of it collapsed due to the subsequent fire started by the Tankery club but otherwise, it looked safe. Vines had run down to the wall and glass windows had long been broken.
"Are you sure it is safe to enter?" Saori asked as she warily looked at the burned building.
"I think so," Yukari stepped inside the building.
The inside of the building was not much better. The devastation of the fire was more seen inside with the walls being singed and a few laboratory equipments inside burned to crisp. On one of the worktables sat an old microscope, exposed to the elements.
"Hey didn't that message Saori decoded said something about a microscope?" Yukari asked.
"Yeah, here goes nothing." Saori peered into the eyepiece. "Huh, I don't see anything."
"Lemme try!" Yukari said. "Yeah, I don't see a thing too."
"I'm gonna show you how it's done," The sleepy girl said as she begins to operate the equipment. As she moved the mirror, a beam of light got reflected into a nearby wall mirror, which reflected it into a shiny steel ball before being reflected into a specific brick on the wall.
"Whoa, that's amazing! "Yukari exclaimed.
"I think we should push it," Miho said as she pushed the brick. A section of the floor moved, accompanied with the creaking of gears, revealing a passageway to a hidden basement. "Any of you got a flashlight?" she asked as she tried to make something out in the darkness.
"Here." Yukari handed over a single flashlight to Miho, which Miho used to reveal a long set of stairs going down.
"That sure is dark," Hana said as she looked at the darkness.
"Here goes nothing," Miho huffed as she went downstairs with a flashlight in hand.
"Come on, let's go," Saori said as she began to walk towards the staircase but was promptly stopped by the girl on her back.
"I'm ma..ma….sca….sca…scared of gho…ghosts!" Mako said, suddenly awake and holding Saori back.
"Oh come on," Saori exclaimed while pulling Mako, ignoring the latter's pleas. The pair of them went in, with Hana bringing up the rear. The corridor's lined with bricks and puddles are filling up the floor.
"This is like the inside of the ship, except for the bricks," Saori commented
"Yeah, it is" Yukari replied. A bang echoed around the corridor and Yukari found herself hugging Miho and screaming out in surprise.
"It's all alright," Hana reassured them as she walked past them.
"Isuzu-dono is really brave," Yukari said after she broke her embrace with Miho.
"Déjà vu," Mako whispered
The Ankou team turned a corner and came across lines of barbed wires blocking.
"Oh no, something's on the way," Miho said
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it," Hana said as she held a pair of pliers in her hand, and after a few quick snips, she managed to clear the blockage.
After a minute of walking without incident, the five saw a heavy oak door, around it, are some sandbags, a pile of pallets and a few rusty drums.
"It's locked," Saori said, trying out the door.
"This looks like the job for Mr. Tater Masher," Yukari said as she fished out her handy Stielhandgranate and with a help of a little of string, she managed to attach it to the doorknob. Making sure that her teammates are safely hidden behind cover, Yukari said, "On the count of three, Three Two, One!" Yukari counted as she pulled the detonation pin from the grenade and quickly joined her friends behind cover.
The loud bang was heard by the four and they all looked up to see the results, but the subsequent dust kicked up by the explosion prevented that. A few seconds after however, they managed to see the door, or what was left of it. The oak door was clearly blown off its hinges, the grenade had done its job too well.
"Wow, that was quite effective," Hana said as she surveyed the scene.
"It was a miracle the tunnel didn't cave in," Mako commented.
"We should enter no-"Miho was saying when she was interrupted by a gunshot and someone shouting. "Don't move, we shoot."
The hot afternoon sun scorched the Hippo Team as they walked through a pathway in the school's forest. The tree's shade was not enough to block away from the heat of the great burning ball of fire.
"I think the direction we are going to is wrong," Saemonza said while holding a compass to make sure they are going in the right direction.
"No, my divination has never been wrong," Caesar said, defending her divination.
"How long will we have to suffer?" Erwin looked into the map once again.
"This is like the Sandakan Death March," Saemonza said as she gulps the last of her water from her field canteen.
"No, more like the Long March." Oryou fanned herself furiously.
"No, this is the Bataan Death March." Erwin wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"That's it!" the other three exclaimed, exhausted from the heat.
"I-I can't take this anymore," Oryou said as she lied down on a big pile of bushes. But instead of the quiet rustle of leaves, her head made contact with a metal object that makes a loud "twang!" Her other group mates immediately crowded around her and Saemonza helped her up. "Ow, that hurts," Oryou rubbed her head.
They all investigated the thing that made the noise and hidden in the bushes is the wing of a crashed Fouke Wulf 190A fighter plane, strapped under the wing is an MK103 auto-cannon. The four kneeled down to examine the object,
"Guderian would love to see this" Erwin said as she thought of the fluffy haired girl who accompanied her in the scouting against Pravda.
"Yeah and that cannon looks deadly," Saemonza added as she stroked the barrel of the autocannon.
"If the wing is here the rest of the aircraft must be nearby," Caesar stood up.
After a few minutes of searching, the four had found the rest of the aircraft. Out of the blue, Erwin shouted, "Hey guys look at this!" She dug up a used white parachute with a red circle in the middle.
"So if there's an airplane here with a used chute buried nearby, someone must have a good reason to do so," Oryou said as she brought out her phone, ready to call the student council.
"I think someone tried to invade the carrier," Caesar said.
"I think an air battle took place here," Saemonza offered.
"No, someone must have tried to build a dogfighting team," Erwin claimed.
"That's it!" the other three exclaimed.
In the darkness of the storage shed, the Duck Team's flashlights shone through the darkness, lighting the way through, helping the four volleyball players in their search. Akebi waved her flashlight at a pile of objects, looking for something of interest when something caught her eye. "Look at this!" she said as she picked up a dusty old volleyball, bounced it on the floor to test it. "Here it comes! "She shouted as she served the ball to Noriko, who then hits the ball so hard that it causes a rusty cupboard to fell down with a loud boom, kicking up dust.
"That was awesome!" Shinobu exclaimed after coughing because of the dust. She then beamed her flashlight to the cupboard before she noticed the door. "Hey guys, take a look at this!"
"What is it?" Taeko asked as she set down the Fubuki-class destroyer in a bottle she was examining.
"This," Shinobu said as she pointed her flashlight at the door, drawing the attention of the others. "What do we do?" she asked her teammates.
"We should enter it!" Noriko said and before any of them could react, she backed out and screaming "Guts!" she rushed the door hard, slammed it with her shoulder, causing it to open.
The door revealed a long dark corridor and without a word, all of them filed one by one through the door. After a short walk, a large room came into few. Noriko fumbled for a switch and pressed it. The light quickly came on, slightly blinding the four and allowing them to see the contents of the room. On a center of the room laid a 7.5cm PAK 40 tank gun and around it were a few bulldozer blades, along with the camouflage nets, radio sets, and sandbags that filled the entire room.
The combination of Mallard Team and Anteater Team or Search Party #5 have been roaming around town. Although Anzu's joining these two teams might have been a disaster in the making.
"Maybe we should just go home," Nekota said, walking while her face was on her phone.
"Remember no slacking off and why aren't you three wearing the proper uniform?" Sodoko bereted the girls for not wearing an undershirt.
"It's too hot and we're not even inside the school now." Piyotan reasoned out.
"That's not the point!" Pazomi joined in.
The four continued arguing while walking through town, while Momogawa was busy playing "World of SPG" on her phone, with only Goyomo actually doing the assigned task.
The group turned a corner and something caught Goyomo's eyes.
"Uhhhmmm guys," Goyomo meekly said.
"What?!" screamed the four who were busy arguing.
"Look at that," Goyomo pointed out and Sodoko immediately took out her phone. At the edge of the roof, hanged an 8.8 cm KwK 36 cannon that had been used as a rain gutter.
"Thank you for your hard work," Yuzu said as she put the phone down. "That was search party #5, that's about everyone except Ankou Team" She added.
"So found no new tanks although we found a crashed airplane, an anti-tank gun, a few dozer blades, some camouflage nets, a 77mm HV cannon and an 8.8cm KwK 36 cannon. Although Ankou team's still unaccounted for," Anzu summarized as she munched on dried sweet potatoes.
"That crashed airplane sure sounds interesting. I wonder if OTC tried to build a squadron too." Yuzu said as she marked the plane on the map pinned to the wall.
"What will we do with those dozer blades, not to mention those cannons?" Momo asked as she looked into her clipboard.
"I have a bright idea!" Anzu exclaimed as she stood up from her chair. "Yuzu, where is the old body of our 38(t)? And Momo-chan can you rally the students up later?"
"Say prez, do you think it's strange that Anglerfish team hasn't called yet?" Yuzu asked, getting worried about the five-girl group
"Nah, don't worry, they can handle themselves, they'll be back in no time" Anzu waved her off with a dried sweet potato in hand.
10:00 am
Tokyo, Japan
JSDF Main Headquarters
Somewhere inside the headquarters of the Japanese Self-Defence Force, Ami Choumi started her day. After getting her cup of coffee from her secretary, she immediately addressed the large pile of paperwork on her desk.
"Permission letter on the approval of using the M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyers on Sensha-do matches from Saunders University," she said reading the topmost paper on her desk. "Those persistent bunch, just because that Tsugi approved that opened top vehicle, doesn't mean I should too," she mumbled to her herself as she stamps the word "REJECTED" into the paper and setting it aside.
Next, she picked up a manila envelope labeled, "Anzio Girls High School." and opened it. Inside was a blueprint for one "P43 Heavy tank, a photograph of its 1:10 wooden model, and a letter asking for its approval, Choumi went ahead and see if the prototype vehicle is within the rules and when she is satisfied, she stamps "ACCEPTED" into the envelope.
A small plain white envelope caught her eye and she took her letter opener and slipped it open. After quickly reading the letter from the Japanese Sensha-do Federation, she pressed the button for her secretary and said, "Please call Mr. Kenzaki and Ms. Harukaze to my office now." She cleared her desk and prepared for one long day.
Phew, another chapter down pat. This one is slightly longer than the current word count of the story xD
Like I said before, any reviews are appreciated with favs and follow also favored.
I'll try my best to present the next chapter this year. (December will be one heck of a month for me xD)
Edit: 03/22/19
Corrected some grammatical errors and also Happy Birthday to me lmao