Blazepanzer here, with another story idea...I kinda wanted to write about Koala forest academy, but I wanted to incorporate my favorite OC and my favorite cannon character into the story. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!
Note: Blazepanzer does not own girls und Panzer
Wallaby let out a small sigh as she entered the room. "You called Instructor?"
"Yes...unfortunately...the Sensado federation recently sent us word that Matilda is not to participate in any more Sensado practices."
"What?" Wallaby gasped, her green eyes widening in shock. "But why, no one has complained about him participating in the matches before!"
The older woman in the room, Kaori, sighed. "Yeah, but they think that he is too dangerous, plus the Japanese Endangered Species Committee determined that it is to dangerous for a Koala to be included in our Sensado activities."
"But..." Wallaby begin, but Kaori held her hand up. "I'm sorry Wallaby, but that's just how it's going to be," she sighed.
Wallaby gazed down, clearly upset. "Should I tell the team?"
Kaori nodded. "There's something else," she added.
"What's that?" Wallaby asked.
"Well...the Sensado federation is demanding we adopt an actual commander and vice commander position. As for the commander...that'll be you."
"Seems like the Federation is striping us of all our uniqueness," Wallaby muttered.
"All that they are asking is that our Koala no longer participate in our matches, and that we adopt an actual command structure. Sure, it's frustrating, but they kind of do have a point." Kaori then nodded. "Oh, and can you go over to the airport and fetch the new vice commander?"
"New...vice commander?" Wallaby asked.
"Yeah...well...we kinda got an opportunity to bring in somewhat of a veteran, though...well...I'm sure you'll see the issue when you meet her.
Wallaby tipped her head in confusion. "What's the issue?"
"You'll see."
Five hours earlier...
Green eyes gazed through the window, she let out a small sigh. Nine years left...damn... she muttered inwardly, moving a strand of her ginger hair to the side.
She jerked as the door opened. "Hanoashi Katoni?"
"Yes officer?" She rose up and bowed respectfully.
"Koala forest is in need of a vice commander. We've...agreed to let you go on carrier arrest for the next two and a half years."
The Irish girl nodded. "Understood sir."
"Just glad to be out?" He jeered. "Anyways, they'll be a hearing at the end of your high school tenure, but in the meantime, please follow me and we'll get you sorted out."
Stifling a sigh, she followed, a flurry of activity as her fingerprints were taken, a tracking anklet placed on her leg, and her school uniform was fitted onto her.
"Right, you can go anywhere on the carrier, but you'll be transported to and from the carrier during official matches in the winter and summer tournaments. You are otherwise not permitted to participate in off carrier matches, nor leave the carrier for any reason other than a tournament match, understand?"
Hanoashi nodded. "I understand sir,"
"Good. Remember, a successful completion of your tenure under carrier arrest does not mean you get to walk free, only that we will re-evaluate your case. You may now go."
"If I'm not sent back to Fuchu prison after high school then I'm a Maus," Hanoashi muttered under her breath as she walked over to the waiting helicopter.
Wallaby glanced up as she noted a police transport helicopter land, and a ginger haired girl in the Koala forest uniform. She looks Irish, she mused. Though...why did she fly in on a police helicopter?
"Wallaby, commander of the Koala Sensado team," she introduced herself, extending her hand.
"Hanoashi Katoni, former team commander of the Nishmari Co-ed Sensado team, and...well...your vice commander now, so it would seem," the Irish girl extended her hand.
So it would seem," Wallaby laughed goodhearted. "Anyways, welcome to Koala."
"Thank you," Hanoashi smiled, though Wallaby noticed that she looked tense. "You...ah...want to talk about it?"
Hanoashi nodded. "I need to report to the instructor, but yeah, I'd rather you hear it from me, especially given it's kinda obvious where I came from, given the tracking anklet and police copter."
"Tracking anklet?" Wallaby gasped, surprised, but as she glanced down at the girl's feet she could make it out."
"Yeah, got a scholarship to Ooarai, they started up their Sensado team, and...well...an ex team commander like myself, joining up was a no brainier. And a mistake, clearly," she added bitterly. "Anyways, long story short, the Instructor decided it'd be a good idea to toss the students into a practice match right away, our...arguably most experienced commander, Miho Nishisumi, decided it'd be a good idea to guide her Panzer IV tank over an Iron rope bridge, which the driver, completely inexperienced, shifted a bit too much to the left and snapped one of the metallic ropes, nearly causing the tank to fall off the bridge."
Hanoashi paused briefly before continuing. "Actually, the only reason why they didn't fall off was due to the fact that the Stug III fired on the Panzer IV, causing it to stabilize."
"But...wasn't there a chance that shot from the Stug could have destroyed the bridge?" Wallaby gasped.
"Well...apart from Miho in the Panzer IV and myself in the M3 Lee, no one else participated in Sensado before," Hanoashi shrugged. "Anyways, after the match, the Instructor had the ever brilliant idea to congratulate Miho and her crew. At that point, I spoke up, stating that the whole thing on the bridge was dangerous, Ami expelled me from the team. And so...I took my school bag from the hanger, and headed straight home. Barely got in the door when an officer tackled me to the ground and placed me in handcuffs."
"Why?" Wallaby asked, gently.
"Assaulting the instructor...apparently exiling me from the team wasn't enough."
"That's awful...I'm...sorry that happened to you..." Wallaby trailed off, not too sure how to go on.
Hanoashi sighed. "I...just...want to get my punishment over with and live a quiet life. But if they ever discover that Ami lied about the whole thing, you can rest assured that tanks will rust and be recycled before I'm satisfied with her punishment."
"Can't say I blame you," Wallaby mused. "Though, that does sound kinda vindictive."
"You try being sentenced to ten years in Fuchu prison for speaking out about the Sensado team being unsafe," Hanoashi shrugged.
"Fair poi...wait..." Wallaby stopped, staring at Hanoashi. "They sent you to Fuchu Prison for ten years?" she gasped.
Hanoashi nodded slowly. "Ami's not only a Sensado instructor, but she's also a military veteran. Meanwhile, I'm just a nobody farm girl who's family and friends all abandoned her. With no one to defend me...they...threw the book at me."
"It...sounds like you've had quiet the ordeal." Wallaby paused, gazing at the building. "Anyways, we're here."
Hanoashi nodded, and entered the commander's office.
"Hey...who's the new girl?"
"Our...new vice commander," Wallaby noted slowly. "She's our new vice commander, Platypus."
"What...why?" Platypus gasped, shocked.
"They...said we could no longer use Matilda during our matches...and that we needed to develop an actual command structure. So...now I'm the team commander apparently."
Hanoashi found herself in the center of attention, gazing at the crowed of girls around her. My...teammates... she realized.
At first, they gazed at her with friendly expressions, but as they waited for the instructor, they slowly began to notice the weird band on her leg. Obviously, tracking anklets were not something a person would normally wear, and so that was beginning to cause some doubt in the girls around her.
"Ladies, about eight PM yesterday, I received word that the Sensado federation will no longer allow Matilda to participate in our matches," Kaori began.
Why can you not use a Matilda? Hanoashi wondered, not yet realizing that the instructor was referring to a Koala and not a British tank.
"What...but they've never had an issue with him being in our tank before!" One of the girl's shouted.
"Him?" Hanoashi whispered to Wallaby. "Didn't know this was a co-ed academy..."
"Our...pet Koala..." Wallaby sighed.
"Oh..." Hanoashi noted, before gasping. "You had a Koala tanking with you?"
"What, you think it's dangerous?" Wallaby growled.
"Last time I spoke out about something being dangerous, I got arrested, so no, I don't think it's dangerous," Hanoashi sighed, raising her hands up in defeat.
Waliby just glared at her briefly before letting out a bemused huff.
"Ladies, I'm sorry, but that's just the way things are. Additionally, we are being asked to form an actually command structure, so Wallaby will be the new commander, and Hanoashi here is to be our new vice commander. That is all." And with that, Kaori headed into her office.
To say that Hanoashi was a bit lost was an understatement. She had no real idea about how the other girl academies worked, much less Koala's academy. She didn't know any of the girl's here, so she had no idea of what to expect of them. She had no idea about this academy's culture, or how she should act.
She was not allowed to speak during the helicopter ride over, nor was she given anything to read other than a map, directions to her apartment, a purse with a wallet, some spending money to get her started, and her apartment key. And her uniform.
I like this uniform, it's short sleeved, and I can move around in it quite comfortably. My only complaint is it not having a skirt, but oh well...beggars cannot be choosers, she mused to herself.
"So...you want to introduce yourself?" Wallaby asked.
Hanoashi jolted. "Oh...right...my name is Hanoashi Katoni, it's nice you meet you," she began. "I...suppose I should go into an explanation of who I am and how I got here..."
"So wait...your saying that you got arrested just for rightfully telling your instructor that you needed to work on safety procedures?"
Hanoashi gazed down. "Yeah..." she whispered, before her eyes hardened. "Or...rather...Ami couldn't handle the fact that I insulted her pet Nishizumi for being dangerous, and decided that expelling me from the team wasn't good enough." She shuddered, before glancing up, sighing. "I'm sorry...I...shouldn't take it out on you girls, I just..." she glanced down again.
"It's alright Hanoashi," she heard Wallaby whisper.
Hanoashi sighed. "Thanks," she whispered.
"Anyways, do you feel like getting into a tank?" Wallaby asked.
Hanoashi let out a small nod. "Which tank am I commanding?"
"That M13/40 over there," she noted. "Those three will be glad to have an actual commander," Wallaby added with a slight chuckle.
Hanoashi nodded, and walked over to them.
"You gonna be alright commander?" one of them asked, her amber eyes clearly worried behind her glasses.
Hanaoshi just sighed a small yes.
"Commander, I'm Sara Sanda, though I tend to go by Marukami," the largest of the girls noted.
"Oh, my name is Taigi Ou, ...just...Taigi is fine though," the glasses wearing girl smiled.
"Taeko Kondou," the third girl smiled. "Taeko's fine with me."
"Hanoashi Katoni...Blaze was my nickname back before I..."
"Hey...you did what was right," Taeko smiled.
"You think so?" Hanaoshi gasped.
"I was there," Taeko nodded. "Though...I wish I had stood up for you...I...I never really understood what you meant until the finals."
"What do you mean?" Hanaoshi gasped, gazing at her intently.
"You didn't see the finals?" Taeko asked.
Hanoashi shook her head. "No, I was in prison until about five hours ago," she confessed.
"I'm...sorry," Taeko whispered.
"No...no, it's not your fault," Hanoashi rushed out to defend her teamamte.
Taeko nodded. "Anyways, we...nearly had an accident in the finals, and my parents insisted that I change to an academy with a better safety track record, so here I am."
"I was covering Ooarai's matches when I discovered that they used cell phones during one of their matches, so yeah...I just left the school and came here," Tiaga admitted. "Bunch of freaking cheats."
"I tried to tell Kay what happened, but she just said that Miho would never cheat like that." Taeko sighed.
"Wait...you used cell phones during matches?" Hanoashi gasped.
Taeko gazed downward. "Yeah...it's pretty dumb, I know, but still..."
"Anyways, when I heard that Taiga was leaving, I join up with her. She and I kinda go back a ways if you will," Marukami noted. "Namely that I was a former delinquent, but if she needed a good article, I was good at tipping her off. In fact, I kinda was the one who tipped her off about Ooarai's Cell phone usage.
"Taeko actually came to us about what her having to leave and admitted to the cell phone usage. After that, we decided to leave together." Taiga noted.
"Alright ladies, we'll be having a free for all match today, so if you can all get in your tank and head toward the respective start points, we may begin," Wallaby began. "Hanoashi, I know you've been out of action for a while, but just take things easy and do your best, okay?"
"Yes commander," Hanoashi nodded. She watched as her crew clambered into the Italian tank, before taking a deep breath and climbing in. Can't believe I'm doing this... she muttered to herself as she settled herself, before taking out the map. "Ammo check?"
Twelve Armor Piercing High Explosives, and twelve Armor Piercing Ballistic Cap shells," Taeko noted. Thirty millimeters of penetration at one thousand meters, give or take," she added.
"I see, opposition armor thickness?" Hanoashi asked.
"Matitla II, armor of 75 mm on the turrets weakest armor is 55 mm on the rear, our best tank. M3 Grant..."
Hanoashi nodded. "We'll look into taking out one of the Stuarts." She then let out a small hum. "Now that we have eleven crews, it's probably time me and Wallaby discuss appointing a deputy commander," she added.
"Deputy commander?" Taeko asked beside her.
Hanoashi nodded. "Typically, teams start looking into a deputy commander once they have over ten tanks. Although it is possible that Wallaby may want to wait until next year to do so. Anyways, it's a conversation that can wait a while."
Arriving at the location, Hanoashi let out a small sigh. "Feels good to actually have the sun on my skin for once," she smiled happily.
"I'm guessing prison was pretty hard on you?" Taeko asked.
Hanoashi let out a small nod. "Fuchu prison is no cakewalk. But giving that I Insulted an instructor and her precious little Nishisumi girl, I'm not surprised, expectantly considering that Ami falsely accused me of assaulting her. Besides, I said what needed to be said."
"You familiar with the Maus?" Taeko asked.
Hanoashi nodded.
"Well, get this, during the finals, Kuromorimine brought their Maus tank, and Miho's plan to beat it was..."
Hanoashi let out a gasp as she heard about Miho's plan. "Is that woman Maus damned insane!?"
Taeko nodded. "After that, my parents told me that I could still participate in Sensado, but that I had to do it at a different school than Ooarai, That's when I began to think about what you said and what we did, and realized that we were braking rules left and right. I spoke to Tiaga, and she left with me, Marukami leaving with her."
"Alright, it seems as though everyone has made it to their places, it's time to begin the match."
"Jink to the left!"
"On it Saori!" The driver muttered.
"No no no no!" Saori yelled as her tank was hit, hard.
"Damn...how the hell is she handling that Italian tank so well?" Saori muttered.
"Three Stuarts taken out so far!" Taeko call out excitedly.
"Stay focused," Hanoashi urged. "They're still probably a lot of tanks left."
"Right," Takeo returned her focused to the task at hand.
"I didn't realize that we were on the verge of a strategy like this," Maurkami smiled.
"Well, this tank may not be a T-50, but some of the techniques seem to work. The fact that most tanks tend to move a bit faster than they're supposed to helps."
"Why is that anyways?" Tiaga asked from the Radio operator seat.
"From what I understand it's very hard to create a tank engine the exact same way as the original while maintaining safety regulations," Hanoashi noted. "Still, they try, but some of the characteristics are going to be different. Speed being one of them. Of course some of the tanks such as the Crusader and T-50 were too fast, so they have a limiter on them."
At that moment the tank rocked sideways, falling on it's side with it's flag deploying.
"Ya'll okay?" Hanoashi asked.
"I will be when you get off me," Taeko laughed.
"Sorry, let me just..." Hanoashi smiled, giving Taeko as much room as she could.
"Well done Hanoashi, looks like the rumors bout you being a good tank commander are true," Kaori called over the radio.
"Kinda got distracted there, sorry Commander." Hanoashi apologized.
"No worries, you can exit the tank, but make sure you stay close to it, alright?"
"Fine by me," Hanoashi noted, clambering out of the tank and stretching in the sun, her ginger hair flowing in the wind. "Ah...this feels so good," she sighed happily.
"I'm guessing they didn't let you get out in the sun much?" Taeko asked, joining her.
Hanaoshi shook her head. "No...we got the gym treatment...and well...Fuchu prison is rather abysmal. Doesn't help that they put me in the foreigner's section dispute being a forth generation Japanese citizen."
"That must have sucked..." Taeko sympathized.
"Well...mostly it was just boring, embarrassing as hell...and quite scary." Hanoashi admitted, gazing up. "I'm not counting on being released upon graduation," she admitted.
"But why, surely if they see that you can and will obey the law, they'll let you out early," Tiaga suggested.
Hanoashi shook her head. "No, I get a re-evulation of my hearing, that's all. For all I know they could just say that my breaks over and I've got nine years left."
"But...that's insane, and you didn't even do anything wrong!" Taeko protested.
Hanoashi just sighed. "Try telling that to the courts. I have, they wouldn't even let me get in a word edgewise."
Just then a Dragon wagon arrived, along with a British Conqueror recovery vehicle in tow. "Right, let's get this tank right side up and then you four can ride inside back to the hangers." one of the girls in the tank shouted.
"Ronda, part of the automotive club," Taeko noted.
"I...see..." Hanoashi nodded. She watched, having seen a similar situation go on back at Nishmari, though the heaviest tank they had was the T-50, and they didn't need the same equipment for that as one might need for the Matilda or Grant variants.
"All of you did well today girls, that was some impressive tanking, expectancy from you four, M40 team!"
Hanoashi let out a quiet smile, noticing her team was also quite happy at the praise. No mater what, we did things right, she mused. They'll be no interrupting this moment because we nearly got ourselves killed like Miho and...no no...don't think about the past Blaze, just be happy about the present!
"At any rate, everyone is dismissed...oh...Hanoashi...I believe Wallaby wanted to see you in her office." Kaori finished up.
Hanoashi followed Wallaby into the office, noting that the air conditioning in the room felt rather nice.
"Please, take a seat," Walaby nodded, handing her a coke.
While Hanoashi wasn't a big fan of soda, she figured she could handle one. "So, what do you wish to talk about?" she asked, opening the can and taking a swig.
"I can see why Kaori wanted to bring you here," Wallaby nodded as she opened up a sprite. "but anyways, I wanted to know more about you, besides the whole Ooarai thing."
"Well...there's not much to tell," Hanoashi shrugged. "I'm just an Irish girl living in Japan, a girl with dreams of becoming a High school teacher or daycare worker when I graduate...or...at least I did...before I...you know..." she trailed off, clearly sad.
"What will you do now, though?" Wallaby asked gently.
"I don't know for sure. First I need to know what going to be decided at my new hearing, but...as long as I can just get a job and live a quiet life, I'll be happy." However, even as she spoke these words, she knew that deep down she wouldn't be satisfied. Her actual dream was to get married and have children, or if she couldn't do that then she'd love to have a job where she worked with children. Even so, that dream was now gone.
"That's one way to look at it...maybe they'll give you a full pardon, or discover your innocence," Wallaby urged.
Hanoashi nodded, clutching her cola a bit. "I...I hope so. Either would be nice."
"So, what do you think of the team?" Wallaby asked.
"Everyone's been very nice to me, dispute my...er...criminal record," Hanoashi noted. "Everyone seems to be pretty well trained, from what I've seen."
"So, anything you see that we need to do," Wallaby asked.
Hanoashi nodded. "Given that we have more than ten tanks, we may need to consider looking into a deputy commander. Other than that, I'm going to need some more time to see what else we need to work on, if there is anything we need to work on."
"Fair point. Anyone in mind?" Wallaby asked.
"Just got here," Hanoashi reminded her as she took another drink. This tastes disgusting!
"So, any medical issues we need to know about? Everyone gets asked this, so I hope you're not offended..." Wallaby trailed off.
"SC type-4 Diabetes, but as long as I don't consume too much sugar, it's all good." Hanoashi noted.
"Is...it okay for you to be drinking that?" Wallaby asked.
Hanoashi shrugged as she finished the cola. "It's fine this time, though next time something with less sugar would be appreciated. Water tends to be my go to drink. Kinda addicted to it, so I have to watch myself."
"Huh...well...that works. Anyways, we've got St Gloriana, Sanders, and Blue Division gunning for a practice match. Whom do you think we should spar against."
Hanoashi gazed down. "You know I can only participate in the winter and summer tournament matches, right?"
"Still, I want you're opinion. Carrier arrest or not, you're my vice commander, so I want to hear from you." Wallaby noted.
"In all honesty I don't know. Never really had any experience at the girl's academies other than this school and Ooarai, and my time at Ooarai was very brief. Here's hoping my time at Koala is...longer."
"Indeed," Wallaby smiled. "Anything else we need to know about?"
"I'm deathly afraid of cone snails," Hanoashi shuddered.
"Cone snails?" Wallaby asked.
Hanoashi nodded. "Yeah, never could handle being at the beach. Though giving my carrier arrest..."
"It's unlikely you'd go to the ocean," Wallaby concluded. "Anyways, I think that's about it, she rose, extending her hand. "Once again, welcome to Koala forest Vice Commander Katoni."
"It's an honor to be here, Team commander Wallaby," Hanoashi smiled, accepting the handshake.
Exiting the shed, she noticed Taeko waiting for her. "Um...Hanoashi...I was wondering if you were going to do some shopping this evening? If so I could go help you...giving you just got here and all..."
Hanoashi smiled. "Thanks Taeko, I could use the help." Hanoashi glanced around. "So, what now?"
"Well, first we join in the post practice curry," Taeko smiled, walking forward, glancing back at her. "Come on Blaze, let's eat! I'm starving!"
Hanoashi smiled in return, following as she felt a quiet rumble in her belly.
"So, what do you think?" Wallaby asked her crew as they sat together.
"Well...it's kinda weird not having Matilda with us, but other than that it I think that things are going to be fine," Platypus noted.
"I meant about her," Wallaby asked, gazing at Hanoashi as she and Taeko received the day's curry, which happened to be Shrimp curry.
"She seems kind enough," Platypus noted, as she began to dig into her curry. "And her skills are pretty good to have taken down three of our Stuarts."
"True," Wallaby noted. "Kaori stated that she was somewhat of a veteran, perhaps I should look into her background at Nishmari a bit more."
"Well, this ought to be interesting," Platypus noticed, gazing at Hanoashi intently.
"Most outsiders tend to run when offered Vegemite. But she isn't," Wallaby noted.
"Maybe she's tried it before," Platypus shrugged.
"Maybe...she did mention she had SC-type 4 diabetes," Wallaby shrugged.
"Not at the table," Platypus sighed, though she continued eating dispute the look on her face.
"Why, is something wrong about it?" Wallaby asked, gazing at her intently.
"My boyfriend has SC-type three diabetes. He wishes he had type 4, though even type 4 is no cakewalk." Platypus noted. "Basically, he has to live on a special type of formula, as his body cannot digest any kind of sugar."
"Ah...that kind of sucks," Wallaby sympathized. "Wait...boyfriend?" she added, going a double take.
"Yeah..." Platypus blushed. "Met him back during the homestead match," she added.
"Ah...the co-ed match you went to during the summer break," Wallaby noted.
"Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure I remember Hanoashi's name being on one of Nishmari's Panzer III's," Wallaby noted. "Anyways, he and I got to talking, and we found each other interesting, so we exchanged numbers. After a while, we just...agreed to become a couple."
"So, who do you think we'll face in the first match?" Wallaby asked.
"That's kinda hard to say," Platypus shrugged. "Though personally I'd like to have a rematch with Viking Fisheries Academy."
"I think we all would like that," Wallaby noted. "An opportunity to settle the score if you will." I just hope we don't have to go up against Ooarai."
"Why, you scared?" Platypus teased.
Wallaby gazed at Hanoashi in sympathy. "No, I just don't want no trouble is all, and even if Ooarai doesn't start anything, it's not going to be easy on her."
"True," Platypus sighed.
"I'm surprised you tried the Vegemite right away," Marukami noted.
Hanoashi shrugged. "Well, it'd be rude not to try it, and it's pretty good," she admitted in a matter of fact tone.
"It took Marukami about three weeks to even try it, though it took me a week," Tagia admitted. "Taeko tried it right away."
"Hey, nothing ventured nothing gained," Taeko laughed. "It's not really for me though."
"That's fine, but I like it. I'll have to pick some up from the store."
"By the way, do you need help shopping? Me and Tiaga could go with you as well," Maurkami offered.
"Well...I'm not going to be buying a whole lot, and I need to see what I already have first, but sure, I could use the company," Hanoashi smiled. "Besides, we are a team and I'd like to get to know you all better."
"Sounds like a plan!" Taeko laughed. "So, what kind of apartment did you get?"
"No idea, but given the nature of why and how I got here, I'd assume it'd be a small apartment," Hanoashi shrugged. "Either way I'm just happy to be away from Fuchu," she added.
"So...are they letting you go after the two and a half years?" Marukami asked.
Hanoashi sighed. "I wish, but it's no guarantee. All I'm getting is a new hearing on the matter, and I'm not going to apologize for something I didn't do just to get an early release."
"Would make your life easier, but I can respect that," Tiaga smiled.
"It's the principle Tiaga," Hanoashi noted. See us Katoni were raised to be hard workers and to take responsibility seriously, to own up to our mistakes. Sure, falling on my knees and pretending to be sorry might get me out, but then I'd be lying and covering up for that scumbag Ami Chono. How could I face my father and mother in Kuroguard after that."
"You're parents are dead?" Taeko gasped.
Hanoashi nodded. "Yeah, Mother died trying to help evacuate people from her workplace when it caught on fire, and Father...well...he suffered a lot of smoke inhalation also from helping with the evacuation effort. He survived, but could never fully recover, and he died a few hours after I called him informing him of my arrest." She then gazed downward. "A part of me feels like that news is what killed him, even though he had been on the downward trend for quite some time."
She let out a small sigh. "Sorry, I shouldn't drag us down during mealtime like this."
"No no, it's alright," Taeko soothed. "But we should head on out and get to shopping."
"What about tank maintenance?" Hanoashi asked.
"We split the jobs between clean-up crew A and B. We are B and today is A crew's turn to clean and perform maintenance."
Hanoashi nodded. "Okay then. First though I need to check into the local police department, I'm supposed to check in every morning before school and every evening after practice."
"That's sounds rough," Maurkami nodded.
"Well, it's better than Fuchu prison," Hanoashi chuckled.
Arriving at the station, she walked up to the counter. "Um...I'm..."
"Hanoashi Katoni, don't worry, we're aware of the situation ma'am," the clerk smiled. "We'll have an officer mark you as present this evening and then you can go."
"Oh, um thank you," Hanoashi breathed.
"These friends of yours?" The clerk asked.
"My teammates," Hanoashi smiled. "We just met today, but I hope we'll become good friends."
"Always good to have more motivation to avoid running," a gruff voice mused gently as the largest officer Hanoashi yet met walked in. "Right, You're in the clear miss Katoni, just remember you've got to check in every morning and evening, rain or shine, alright?"
"Don't worry sir, I'll remember," Hanoashi smiled reassuringly."
"Good, you're clear until morning then young miss," he smiled, before turning to the other girls. "You look out for your friend, you hear?"
Hanoashi couldn't help but grow a quiet smile as her teammates affirmed that they'd look after her.
"Thanks for helping me shop," Hanoashi bowed.
"It's no problem Blaze, but we'd better get home now," Taeko smiled.
"Yes, I can't believe they jail students for a night if they're out after curfew," Hanoashi breathed.
Taeko shrugged. "Me and Marukami got caught once. It's embarrassing for sure, but it doesn't go on your record unless it starts happening a lot, or if they catch you doing delinquency. But if it's just you being out after dark, it's just a come to the station and we'll lock you in a room kind of thing."
"Are they bars on the room?" Hanoashi asked.
Marukami shook her head. "No, it's just a cement room with a bench and a toilet."
"We had a bar wall and an exposed toilet in the cells I went to...of course that's max security, so you got no privacy," Hanoashi nodded.
"Well, we'll be off, just remember to check in before school, alright? I'd hate to see you sent back over not checking in," Tiaga reminded her.
Hanoashi smiled. "Don't worry, I'll remember to check in. Good night girls!"
"Good night commander," they smiled as they walked out.
Hanoashi quietly put her groceries away and then laid down on her futon, falling asleep.