Ohayou!

Finally, after procrastinating for many months, I have managed to finish this chapter up. Ironically, next week is our midterms and here I am writing fanfics lol.

But that's enough about me, and wihout further ado, I present to you Chapter 4. And as always, enjoy!

Chapter 4: Bad things come in threes

1:00 pm

Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean

Oarai Girls Academy's Carrier Zuikaku

"What?" Hana said, lowering her improvised weapon.

"You heard us right, now where was I? Oh why are you looking for us, and haven't you heard of knocking before?" the girl who introduced herself as Maki said as she raised her MP40 again.

"We apologized for breaking down your door. We were just looking for your organization in the hopes that we can find more tanks so that our chances in the tournament will improve." Mako said, suddenly awake because of all the action going around her.

"First and foremost, isn't tankery banned by the student council and second whi-" the red-headed girl was saying when a loud bang came from her side, followed by a chorus of screaming in front of her. Saori suddenly fell down to the ground with a thud among the shell-shocked faces of her teammates.

"Jesus Christ!" Yukari reacted as she unsheathed her knife, ready to attack.

"Oh, no…." Hana silently said as she cradled in her arm an unconscious Saori, trying to hold back tears.

"You bloody wankers!" Mako, coming back to her senses, rushed the three girls in front of her, murderous intent gleaming in her eye. She almost made her way to them but Miho held her back.

"Mako-san, No! You'll only make the situation worse," Miho said, trying to calm down the black haired girl. Meanwhile, swallowing her anger, Yukari went down and assess the unconscious radio operator's situation.

"Miho let me go! I'll make those pieces of shit pay for what they did to her," Mako screamed, clawing her way out of her commander's clutches.

A burst of fire suddenly cut through the noise and effectively silenced the group, the redhead girl looked furious while holding a still smoking MP-40 pointed at the ceiling.

"Hanayo, step forward and apologize." Maki said, her voice filled with authority.

The small shy girl stepped forward, having just picked up her submachine gun.

"Sumimasen everyone, I'm Koizumi Hanayo, and I accidentally dropped my gun. Again I'm sorry." The brown haired girl apologized, bowing repeatedly while clutching her gun close to her chest.

"Yeah, early Sten guns were known for accidentally discharging when dropped." Yukari chimed in, standing up.

"Not helping Akiyama-san," Miho pointed out as she still held off Mako from launching herself into the trio.

"Oh Nishizumi-dono, I forgot to mention, Takebe-dono isn't dead yet, she's just unconscious from a high-velocity rubber bullet," Yukari explained as she picked up the round that started it all.

As if right on cue, the girl in question suddenly rose up. "Ouch, what happened," Saori said. "Why does my head hurt so much," she mumbled. Mako suddenly broke into a run and hugged the orange haired girl. "I thought you're dead…."

"Yeah, we forgot to mention that these guns fired non-lethal rounds and Kayo-chin here is dead clumsy, I'm Hoshizora Rin by the way, nyaa~." The girl with the short orange hair said as she slid the safety bolt on her PPSH-41.

"If we all put our weapons away and come inside, maybe we can have a proper chat." Maki slung her SMG and her two subordinates followed suit.

"How can we trust you to not 'accidentally' shoot us again?" Mako stood up, her eyes red from crying into her friend's shoulder.

"Then here-" Maki said as she unslung her MP-40 and gave it to the Panzer IV's driver. "-you look like a sensible enough person, while this here should be given to the Nishizumi." She removed her Luger P08 from its holster and threw it to Miho, who caught it effortlessly.

Meanwhile, Rin and Hanayo gave their guns to Hana and Yukari respectively.

Yukari's eyes widen as she received the gun. "Whoa a real-life PPSH-41 or the Pistolet-Pulemyot Shpagin, with the signature drum magazine filled with 71 rounds of 7.62x25mm Tokarev."

Rin winked and said, "Careful not to drop my papasha." Yukari can't help but giggle, getting the reference.

Meanwhile, Hana removed the British SMG's magazine to prevent any more accidental discharges.

"If that's all settled with, please follow us," Hanayo said as the trio walked forward, taking the group through tall stacks of crates, a wall filled with metal drums and other unrecognizable junk.

"How did you guys end up here underground," Hana asked, avoiding a small puddle made from water dripping from the ceiling.

"We volunteered to stay back here, someone needed to tend the tanks after all" Hanayo replied, looking back at the questioner, missed a low hanging pipe and smacked her head. "Owwwwww!"

"Are you alright?" Saori asked as she stopped so that she doesn't bump into the brunette.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said as she looked up, and when she saw it was the girl she accidentally shot, she asked. "Aren't you going to be mad at me, as your friend over here did," she mentioned, pointing to the again sleepy Mako.

"Ahhhh no worries, it's just an accident, and don't worry about her, she's just overprotective," Saori said patting Mako's head.

As the group continued its walk, they came across a rusty wreck. "Oh my God, is that a dual turreted 7TP DW?!" Yukari exclaimed as she made her way to her favorite tank.

"Sure it is nyah," Rin said, as she picked up a dusty old tennis ball and began bouncing it to the walls.

"Where did this tank come from?" Mako asked, eyeing Yukari jumping inside the rust covered Polish tank.

"This was custom made in a factory in Germany after we presented the blueprints of the tank. We had it shipped to Oarai before we discreetly sneaked it onboard during the port calls. Maki explained as one of the turrets of the 7TP DW noisily rotated.

"But where did you get the funding to do all that, surely not it doesn't come that cheap?" Hana inquired, knowing the suspected rumors about where the money came from.

"We all had a hand in the finances but most came from my own pocket," Maki said as she said as the fluffy haired girl jumped out the first turret and went to another, all greasy and dirty.

"From your own pocket, are you that rich or something?" Saori questioned.

"Yeah, she's the heiress of one of the largest hospital groups in the country. Although she gave most of it to her relatives, she still receives a healthy stipend every month. Rin excitedly explained.

"Rin, you're giving too much away!" Hanayo scolded her.

"Sumimasen..." Rin apologized.

"The Nishikino Medical Group?" Mako said, making the connection.

"Yup, the corporation has been in my family for generations." Maki finally replied, the group suddenly came to a stop in front of a giant brick wall. "We're here."

"What do you mean exactly by here also is that your only tank?" Saori asked, pointing at the tank that still contains the fluff.

"Of course not, Rin, if you will" Maki waved her hand at her subordinate.

Rin started messing around with the nearby shelves till she found what she was looking for; a hidden switch. She pressed it and stood aside for the process to finish.

Loud mechanical noises started emanating in front of them, as unseen gears and cogs split the wall before their very eyes.

As the brick wall parted, a large room came into view. Even though they are underground, the afternoon sun provided ample light, passing through large industrial skylights.

"Ara ara," Hana said in surprised, as she registered the scene in front of her.

A row of military vehicles laid in front of them, all of them covered by tarp or junk. Most of them are one way or another, tanks, but only to some extent, there's even one that looks like a Crusader tank on wheels. On the other side of the room a weird assortment of furniture, barrels and boxes were located, all decorated with some garnish, including some once colorful posters of girls in dresses, now fading and weathered.

"Yukarin, are you coming?" Miho called out to her loader.

"Coming Nishizumi-dono," Yukari said as she climbed out of the tank, now all dirty with rust and grease.

"Would you like some wipes Akiyama-san?" Anglerfish team's gunner produced some from her back pocket.

"Arigato, Isuzu-dono," the fluff said as she wiped her face and arms. The group carried on inside and once everyone is inside, the shy-looking girl pressed a button on the wall to close it again.

"Kayo-chin, can you please prepare refreshments for our guests? And Rin, will you be so kind as to collect all the firearms and store them away? Maki ordered as both went away to do their tasks.

"How long have you guys been living here? Saori asked, gently lowering the sleeping girl on her back to a worn-out leather sofa.

"About three years? I don't exactly remember." Rin answered, poking her head out of a closet where she stow the guns away.

"Two and a half years to be exact," Maki corrected, who had just entered the room, removing her steel helmet, revealing more of her glossy red hair.

The smell of something sweet pervaded through the air, clashing violent with the smell of rust and machine oil coming from the machinery in the room. "Here's the food, bon appetite!" Hanayo said, coming in with a platter of mitarashi dango and some green tea.

"Arigato Gozaimasu!" the Ankou girls said, minus Mako, who just slightly opened her eyes, took one and bit off one of the small mocha balls.

"That's quite rude of you!" Saori scolded the lethargic girl who finished her dango without missing a beat.

"So how does it taste like? Hanayo asked, nervously twirling her bamboo stick.

Mako suddenly sat up and a single tear drop rolled from her right eye.

"T-too sweet?" the blonde girl stuttered.

"Delicious….." Mako finally said.

While the two group laughs off Mako's overdramatic reaction, Yukari slipped away silently and started poking around tanks. On one of the tallest piles, she slightly lifted the tarp to reveal a tank chassis incorporating the torsion bar design and on the rear end of the tank, the iconic soviet fuel tank.

Yukari thought to her, judging by the height it wasn't tall enough to be a KV-2 nor was it short enough to be a regular T-34. It was also not possible to be from the IS series since the chassis doesn't match one from the IS family. So it could possibly be a KV-1, or some other rare variation like the KV-1S or even the KV-85.

To narrow down the possible matches, she checked the turret ring of the Soviet tank. There! The turret ring's diameter was a lot bigger than a KV-1 or KV-1S. So she was sure this was a KV-85 heavy tank.

As she was celebrating her small success, she felt cold metal pressing against her nape and immediately tried to turn around. "I won't do that if I were you," a familiar voice said. Yukari couldn't help but shudder as Rin cocked the hammer of her revolver.

AN: I know it's too short but it serves to keep the story flowing. And besides, writer's block and laziness is one deadly combination.

I would like to extend my thanks to my fellow writers in our Discord server for lending a hand in times of need. You should probably go visit their works too, the likes of Monty, Richie, Sharky and our server overlord, Christopher.

And of course, I would like to thank you too my dear readers for supporting

Don't forget to leave a review, any questions and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. And if you find this story interesting, don't be shy to fav and follow.

Well, that sums up today's update, till next time.

Bye-bye!