Masae 6: Meaningful In Its Own Way
"I left Black Forest before the end of the school year," Masae said. "The transfer was in the middle of the year, but we managed to settle into Pravda quite nicely. Almost immediately after arriving, my sister and I decided to join the tankery team"
"Did you ever feel like an outsider there, Instructor Atago?" Miho said. "I imagine it must have been hard to get used to a new school."
"Only at first," Masae said. "I soon found out that there were people who would welcome me, and one person who knew me very well."
23 years ago
Masae and Masaki approached a table set up for prospective tankery recruits in Pravda's cafeteria. The season was over, so they were recruiting for next year.
"Thank you for your interest inthe Pravda tankery team," the commander, who was sitting at the table with a few tankery club members milling about behind her, said. "My name is Zennou Kazumi, and I'm a second year who leads the team. May I ask your names?"
"Certainly," Masae said. "My name is Atago Masae, a second-year, and this is Atago Masaki, my younger sister and a first year. We transferred from Black Forest in the middle of the year."
Some of the girls nearby whispered among themselves. Among the few fragments Masase could discern were statements expressing disbelief that someone would give up a vice-captaincy at Black Forest to come to a school like Pravda.
"That reminds me..." Kazumi said, as if saying out loud what Masae believed the others were whispering about. "Why did you switch schools from Black Forest to Pravda, anyway? Relatively few would willingly transfer out of a school like Black Forest, especially not when they were vice-captain."
"My father got a transfer at work, and my mother decided it would be more expedient for my sister and I to transfer schools," Masaki said.
Kazumi sighed, before turning to Masae. Masae wondered what she would have to say, and suspected that it was not good news.
"Please do not take this the wrong way, Atago-san," Kazumi said, "but Pravda's tankery team is run very differently from Black Forest's. If you wish to do tankery with us, you will need to understand that Black Forest's... more demanding standards do not apply here, nor does its track record."
"I understand," Masae said. "In fact, I've started to wonder whether that's necessarily a bad thing."
"Is that so?" a familiar-sounding person said from behind Masae. "Then it seems like you've found your answer, Masae."
Masae and Masaki turned, and saw Toshi, their old tankery teacher, standing there.
"Sensei..." Kazumi said.
Toshi then turned to the sisters.
"It's been a while, Masae, Masaki," Toshi said. "Would you mind stepping into my office later? I'd like to catch up."
"Certainly, Kumakura-sensei," Masae said.
Toshi then turned back to Kazumi.
"Kazumi, I see you've met Atago Masae and Atago Masaki," Toshi said.
"Yes, ma'am," Kazumi said. "I would introduce them to you, but you know them already?"
"Yes, from a while in the past," Toshi said. "They're both highly dedicated and skilled tankers, so I can assure you that they are good additions to the team. Black Forest has not corrupted them, but it may well have given Masae the answers she has been seeking."
Kazumi nodded and said, "Yes, ma'am," before allowing the Atago sisters to fill out their application forms.
After school, Masae and Masaki stopped by Toshi's office.
"Thank you for coming," Toshi said. "I hope you weren't offended by what Kazumi said. She, along with most of the team, is talented, but wouldn't have made it at Black Forest."
"I understand how Commander Zennou feels, Kumakura-sensei," Masae said. "I am a relative outsider here, and I realize that I will have to work hard to prove myself and integrate myself into the team. If nothing else, I was well-known around Black Forest"
Toshi nodded, led the Atago sisters into her office, and motioned them to sit in chairs across from her desk.
"I've heard a little about your accomplishments at Black Forest," Toshi said. "You did quite well becoming vice-captain of Black Forest's tankery team, Masae."
"Thank you, Sensei," Masae said reflexively, but sadly. Her triumph felt hollow in some ways, and she knew it would be significantly more difficult for Toshi to think of any cause to congratulate her sister.
"Of course, you seem less than happy about it," Toshi said.
Masae nodded.
"My school has won the high school tankery tournament twice," Masae said. "Commander Nishizumi, usually a strict critic, said I played a significant role both times. But when I think back to it, it doesn't seem fulfilling. Black Forest does take things seriously, much more so than Troika did, but I wonder if they've become obsessed with victory and blinded to everything else."
"I see," Toshi said. "Do you remember what we talked about before you left Troika, Masae?"
For a moment, Masae wondered "Which time?", since she had often spoken with Toshi throughout middle school. But she then concluded that there was only one instance that was relevant to the discussion at hand.
"Yes, ma'am," Masae said. "You wanted me to think about what I wanted out of tankery. I suppose back then, I thought the team could be doing better, but winning wasn't what I truly wanted. I think it was people who did this with the same sort of passion that I did."
"That's good to hear," Toshi said. "What about you, Masaki?"
"I realized I couldn't keep up with Black Forest's tankery team," Masaki said. "The worst part was that it was quite hard on my sister, who was looking forward to doing tankery together, but worried I couldn't keep up."
"For one, the decision wasn't entirely fairly done, even if we assume that Commander Nishizumi was right," Masae said. "For another, I missed doing tankery with her."
"As did I, Nee-san," Masaki said. "I'm not all that good at tankery, but I enjoyed doing it with you. I know people's skills vary, but it might be nice if people like me, who aren't cut out for 'serious' tankery, and people like you, who can aim high, can do tankery together."
"I see," Toshi said. "There are those on the Pravda team who take it seriously and represent the team in tournaments, and those who do it for fun."
"And what about you, Kumakura-sensei?" Masae said. "What brings you here?"
"As a result of funding cutbacks, I was laid off from Troika Middle School, at the end of last year, but the athletics director provided me a good reference," Toshi said. "As such, through a happy coincidence, I came here, to Pravda, when they were looking for a tankery coach."
"So you're doing tankery teaching full time now, ma'am?" Masae said.
"Correct," Toshi said, "even though I still answer to 'sensei' or 'Kumakura-sensei.' But while I believe I deserve my students' respect, and need it in order to do my job, I also have not forgotten that there was still a time when I was still learning, as well as the fact that I will likely never meet the standards of those like Black Forest."
"That's good enough for us, sensei," Masaki said with a smile. "So where does the team stand now?"
"The tournament may be over, but there's still some exhibition matches and practice left," Toshi said. "It won't be until next year that you get another shot at the tournament, and you stand less of a chance of winning with us than you did with Black Forest last year. Does that work well with you?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Masae and Masaki said without hesitation, and Toshi nodded and smiled approvingly. Many challenges would await them at Pravda, but they were willing to face them. Perhaps those challenges would be fun and educational.
Present day
"I don't consider my year and a half at Black Forest to be a mistake or a waste of time," Masae said. "I got a good education there, and as far as tankery goes, I learned a great deal, if only by spending a lot of time commanding a tank, and serving as vice-captain. So when i saw Kumakura-sensei again, I had made some progress on answering the question she posed to me, but still wasn't all the way there yet."
Miho nodded. Her time doing tankery alongside her sister, and her departure from Black Forest had helped her realize that she could not do tankery the Nishizumi way, but it took some time at Oarai before she fully realized how she could do it.
"How did your impression of your new school change over time, Instructor Atago?" Miho said.
"I came to like it," Masae said. "The students were appropriately serious and devoted to practice. We often did tankery practice together, which meant that I had many chances to prove myself to my teammates and enjoy myself."
Present day
Masae and Masaki exited a practice match, in which Masae commanded half of the team against the outgoing vice-captain, a third-year named Ekaterina, a tall, dark-haired girl. Kazumi had warmed up to Masae after hearing Toshi speak well of her in their first meeting, and decided to give Masae a chance to lead one side in a practice match to gauge her ability to lead.
Masae took Masaki as her driver. Because of her prior experience, the sisters' new crewmates, some of Masae's yearmates, were willing to give her a chance, and were pleased with her performance.
During the match, Masae sprang an ambush on Ekaterina's forces, then drew her into another trap, winning relatively easily.
"Excellent work, Masae," Kazumi said.
Thank you, Comrade Commander," Masae said.
"To be honest, I had worried that you would have incorporated Black Forest's mistakes, including a lack of flexibility, into your tanking style," Kazumi said, "but you made good use of terrain, and quite effectively ambushed Ekaterina's forces."
"Because I went to Black Forest, I was able to see where they fell short," Masae said, "including, among other things, how they left behind other people. I mainly chose tactics based on the situation, and didn't conform too closely to one style."
"That's good to hear," Kazumi said. "Ekaterina seems fairly impressed with you, as well."
Ekaterina walked up to Masae, a smile on her face, and shook her hand. Masae found this odd, believing that at Black Forest, a vice-captain, even an outgoing one, would find it humiliating to lose to a new member of the team.
"You put up a fine fight, Comrade Atago," Ekaterina said. "Perhaps what I'm saying might seem meaningless to those at Black Forest, but these are some of the last opportunities we third-years will have to do tankery with each other before we graduate. Some of our paths will take us to university, while others are heading to other destinations, so even if we see each other again after high school, we will likely never come together to do tankery like this again."
Masae nodded respectfully, her question having been answered before she even had a chance to ask it.
"I agree, Ekaterina-senpai," Masae said. "It's quite fun, and fulfilling, to do practices like this, which is meaningful in its own way. With nothing at stake, we can focus more on having fun. And with our mistakes having fewer actual consequences, we can try new things- if we fail, we learn valuable lessons, while if we succeed, we have new tricks to use in the tournament."
"That's good to hear," Toshi said. "Kazumi and I have been talking about you while we observed the matches. Given your performance, and the fact that you seem to enjoy this, would you be interested in leading the forces in practice on a regular basis?"
Masae's eyes lit up. For the first time in a while, tankery seemed fulfilling to her, both done at an appropriately serious level, but also about more than just winning.
"Yes, ma'am!" she said, enthusiastically, thrilled at the prospect of more entertaining matches, and of being able to lead many of the others.
Present day
"Some see practice as a boring but necessary part of tankery or any other sport," Masae said. "Others see it as nothing more than a means to an end, a way of improving oneself. My sister and I enjoyed doing practice games, and getting closer to our teammates. Some of them weren't on the regular team, so they appreciated the chance to practice, get better and do tankery."
Miho nodded in agreement. She recalled how her teammate Mako's only complaint about practice was when it was done too early in the morning, and recalled how Duck Team was simply happy to do practice, whether in volleyball or tankery.
"Of course, while we enjoyed it, we also took it seriously," Masae said, "using it as an opportunity to gauge our weaknesses and see areas where we could improve."
"Black Forest prepares itself to take down all comers," Shiho said. "While you were away, we were busy preparing ourselves to face your new school. But you understand that much, don't you?"
Masae simply nodded. She understood what kind of resolve Black Forest had from her time there, as did Miho and Maho. Even Hiroe, Kinue and Hiroko knew from Masae and Shiho's accounts.
"So I was just another opponent for you to defeat," she said, matter-of-factly, before turning to Maho. "What about you, Maho? How did you feel about seeing Miho rise up as someone who would ultimately oppose you and your school?"
"I had mixed feelings, Instructor Atago," Maho said. "Miho wouldn't be around my school any longer. Mother expected me to defeat her to prove the superiority of the Nishizumi style." Shiho nodded in response, before Maho continued. "But Miho was also doing tankery her own way, and while she left behind friends, she had more recently found friends who had values similar to hers." Miho smiled and nodded. "Essentially, I was eager to see what Miho had come up with on her own, but was hesitant about the prospect of having to defeat her- and glad that she ended up emerging victorious."
"I suppose that's the difference between your family and mine," Masae said. "But for what it's worth, that does make me more grateful for my family."
Masae's daughters and niece silently concurred.
"In my final year and a half, I continued doing tankery for Pravda," Masae said. "Back then, I hadn't expected to become commander of the team, let alone a teacher, but not unlike how I came to Pravda in the first place, circumstances placed me there, and I came to enjoy and make the most of my new position."
Author's Notes
Thank you for the reviews, favorites and follows.
Sorry for the delay. I have been leveling to 100 and gearing up a character in Warlords of Draenor in WoW.
Part of this chapter is meant to contrast Masae's development with Miho's. While Miho wonders if she can do tankery at all, Masae's first order of business at Pravda is getting back into the tankery team. While Miho is initially reluctant to take on leadership, Masae embraces it wholeheartedly. Masae is also somewhat stricter than Miho, if not nearly as much so as Shiho. Therefore, it's less likely that Miho would have been as successful as Pravda's commander, and that Masae would have been as successful as Oarai's commander.
Character Analysis: Toshi Kumakura
Toshi, from what we see in Saki canon, is fairly personable without being non-serious, helping prepare the five Miyamori girls- the three members of the mahjong club, a transfer student from New Zealand and a girl Toshi recruited herself- to the quarterfinals. It's also implied that she also was coach for Harue while Harue was a professional.
In the fic, Toshi, having come into tankery relatively late in life, has a different perspective on it. She realizes that it may not be her students' goal in life, but wants them to enjoy it as best as they can. And since she's still learning a great deal about tankery, she hopes her students will continue to learn. In many ways, she's different from the Nishizumis' obsession with tankery, and thus is a great influence on a young Masae.