Before we begin:

Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter! Big thanks to everyone who reviewed, and/or followed this story. I really appreciate it!

Update 15/09/2017

The title and summary change was mostly a way to spice things up a bit. Buttercups are cool.

Chapter 1: The First Day of Tankery

It was an average sunny day out at sea. The sun was shining, there was no cloud in sight, and a light, refreshing breeze blew on the deck of Kuromorimine's school ship.

As normal as it might have been, Ami Chouno enjoyed it as she lied down under the large tree next to the tank shed in her favourite position: hands cushioning head, elbows out, legs crossed, top button on shirt undone, and blazer somewhere off to the right. Her empty lunch box was at arms reach. In this state, she couldn't help but think about the things in her life that made it great.

She loved tankery and everything about it. She loved the thrill of riding a tank into chaos. She loved the complexity of commanding an armoured force in ground combat. She loved the sound of clanking metal, the blast of an 88mm gun, and most of all, the satisfying explosions of her rounds striking the armour of opposing tanks. She loved victory for it was filled with reward, and she loved defeat, for those are matches where she learned the most.

She also loved the people who participate tankery with her. Good people. Supportive people. People whom she called friends. Maybe it was a tankery thing, but she found that most of the girls who joined the sport were easy to approach and quite sociable. Some weren't, but she was okay with that; the few short conversations she had with them revealed to her that she was not all that different from them. They had hobbies, they all wanted to do something worthwhile in their lives, and they all wanted to improve themselves in one way or another.

Then there was the tankery instructor, Shiho Nishizumi, who was something else entirely. She was a strict and imposing teacher who gave her life to the sport, and was really, painfully unforgiving in most cases (only the ones that had to do with tankery). She wore a slight frown as her default facial expression, and she stood with a back straighter than anything Ami could ever hope to achieve.

Even with all of these traits, Ami could not help but see Shiho as charismatic in some odd way. She tried to understand why she felt that way about her instructor, and later reasoned that it could be because Shiho was a loving mother of two young girls, or that maybe it was the many liberties Shiho granted the team.

Ami smiled. Whatever the case was, she felt extremely lucky to be the tankery club. It was all she could every ask for.

For the time being, however, her mind moved on to some more pressing matters. Should I eat take-out for dinner, or should I cook? If I do cook, what should I cook? I haven't had stew in a while, but stews don't go well with raw salmon. So I guess I have to choose either or. But again, take-out sounds good, too. I don't feel like cooking anyway, but I'm kinda low on cash, and I don't want to blow it all on some carton of sushi. Speaking of sushi, I haven't made those in a while. Should I make those instead, then? Hmm. Decisions, decisions . . .

"You know, Ami, if Master Nishizumi sees you here, you know she's going to grill you down for lying on the ground like that," commented her second-in-command and long time friend, Kazuko Himinari, who has just arrived.

"I know, I know. I'll be up soon," Ami said with her eyes closed.

"Well, obviously not soon enough," another voice said overhead.

"Ah! Master Nishizumi!" Ami sprung up and scrambled to button up the top button and slip on the blazer. She then gave a bow along with Kazuko.

Shiho sighed. "I do not mind your lying down on the grass," she stated, "but the dress code is an entirely different matter. As punishment, you will be the one cleaning the tanks after school today."

The student slumped in defeat. "Yes, ma'am." Kazuko couldn't help but face-palm quietly between Shiho's back.

"Well, onto some positive news," the instructor said as she handed Ami a brown envelope, "I have the list of newcomers for this year."

"Really?! Yes!" Ami shouted as she tore open the envelope and read the paper inside. Her friend leaned in to get a peek as well. They stared intently at the words on the page.

"Hmm. Wow, it's a small wave this year," said Kazuko.

"Yeah, no kidding," Ami agreed. "Only seven new members. That won't be enough to fully replace last year's graduating fourth-years."

"If we split them into a team of four and a team of three, they can service the smaller tanks and be scouts or flankers."

"Yeah, like the Panzer IIIs."

"I was thinking more of the Hetzers, but yeah, the Panzer IIIs work as well."

Suddenly, someone bear-hugged Kazuko from the back, causing her to almost lose her balance.

"Kyaa!" she screamed while wobbling on one leg. "Oi, Keiko, what are you doing?!"

"It's the beginning of tankery classes!" Keiko exclaimed, her arms still wrapped around her twin in a choking embrace.

"Yeah, thanks a lot, Captain Obvious," Kazuko said. "Can you get off me now?"

"Fine," Keiko said. She then faced Shiho, and bowed. "Good morning, Master Nishizumi."

"Good morning," Shiho answered.

"Anyway, what are you doing here?" Kazuko asked Keiko.

"What do you mean? It's three minutes after lunch hour," the girl said. "The others should be coming now."

Sure enough, the rest of the tankery team came in pairs and trios, chatting away about their new subjects and how lazy their new teachers were. They bade Shiho a polite good morning, and waited beside Ami and the twins for the class to begin. The first-years came individually with nervous looks on their faces as they stood waiting in a small, ad-hoc group far from the more experienced crews. After a good 5 minutes, Ami, walked to where Shiho was standing and started her introductory speech.

"Hey everyone! How are you all doing?" She got a few positive responses and thumbs up in return. "I'm glad you're all doing well because it's time to hop back into battle, blow stuff up, and win ourselves gold this year in the nationals!" Cheers and claps rang out in the open air.

Ami walked up to the first years and introduced herself with a friendly wave. "Hey guys! I'm Ami Chouno, commander of Kuromorimine Tankery Team. Welcome to tankery!"

"Thanks!" one of the first years said. The others timidly said their hellos.

"Well, it's time for introductions!" Ami pulled out the list of the first years' names.

"Um, forgive me for asking, Miss Chouno," the same first year said, "but if you already have the list, then why do you need us to say our names? Isn't it easier to skip that process?"

"Yeah, I guess," Ami replied, "but I like to stick the names to the faces to get to know you guys better. Oh, one more thing. In this class, you only need to be polite if you're talking the instructor, Master Nishizumi. For the rest of us, though, just call all of us by our first names."

"Sounds good! I'm Junko, by the way. Junko Fukui."

"Ah. Junko Fukui from 1-C," read Ami. "Nice to meet you. Anyone else want to introduce themselves?"

One by one, the rest of the first years said their names.

"Good morning. My name is Kikuyo Hashimoto. I'm glad to make you my friend."

"My name is Akane Yuki. I am pleasured to make your acquaintance."

"My name is Minako Gintaru. It's nice to meet you."

"My name is Tomomi Koizumi. It's great to be here."

"My name is Eri Fujiyama. I look forward to working with you."

"My name is Hanako Ueno. I am honoured to be in this team."

Ami checked them all off on her list. "Perfect! Everyone is onboard and accounted for. It's a pleasure to meet all of you!" She turned to the rest of the team. "All right guys, today we're going to have a practice free-for-all match in the Panzer IIIs to get ourselves back into high gear!"

"Let's do this!" they all shouted, and soon the doors to the tank sheds were opened and the girls rushed in.

Ami looked at the first years who were standing there timidly. "What are you guys doing? C'mon, I'll show you your tanks!"

"W-wait, we're supposed to go into battle now?" asked Tomomi. "But we've never been in a tank before."

"Oh, yeah! I almost forgot." The commander took two Panzer III manuals and tossed them to the tank crews-to-be. "You're all set now!"

"We're supposed to learn how to drive a tank on the fly?" Junko questioned.

"Yeah! You'll learn quickly enough if you read them. Anyway, it's good to have first-hand experience in battle."

"But how about the more experienced tank crews," piped up Eri. "They would blow us to bits."

"Oh, I see. Here, follow me." Ami was about to lead them to their tanks, but Shiho stopped her.

"Your crew is waiting for you," she said. "I'll teach the first-years the basics."

Ami actually wanted to be the one to teach them, but she didn't want to argue with Shiho, who was the tankery instructor anyway. She just nodded, waved to the first-years, handed Shiho the list, then trotted to her tank.

The instructor led the first-years to their tanks. "The blue flags mounted to your tanks mark them as low-priority targets. No one will shoot you under any circumstances until all the rest have been knocked out. This way, you can take your time aiming and coordinating between each other in the tank without the fear of being attacked."

"We understand, Master Nishizumi," they all said. Shiho nodded before moving on.

"Tanks usually need 3-5 people to operate, which means that there will be one group of 4, and one group of 3. The teams will be chosen from the order you said your names in. Junko, Kikuyo, Akane, and Minako. You will be Rookie Group A. Tomomi, Eri, and Hanako. You will be Rookie Group B. These are only team presets, so you may change the groups later in your own time, just as long as there is one group of 4 and one group of 3."

"Every member in a tank crew has a vital role in operating the vehicle. There is the commander, the gunner, the loader, the driver, and the radio operator. However, this is only the case in a 5 man crew. For a crew with 4 members, one person has to be the loader and the radio operator." She looked at the girls of Rookie Group A, who all nodded. "For a crew with 3 members, one person has to be the loader and the gunner. Either the commander or the loader has to operate the radio." She looked at the girls of Rookie Group B, who also all nodded.

"Very well," she finished. "I will be overseeing this match as I do every practice match, so if you have any questions, you should ask them now or after the battle." No one said a single word, and with that, Shiho took off for the observation tower.

"Wow, she's kinda scary, don't you think?" commented Hanako after the instructor walked out of earshot.

"Well, she's not scary," Junko said, "she's just...intimidating, I guess." Hanako seemed to agree, and both teams got to work, figuring out who was going to be who.

"Can I be loader?" Junko asked. "I took swimming classes, so I've got the muscles to load a gun quickly." No one objected.

"I'll be gunner," Akane said in her barely-more-of-a-whisper voice. Again, no one objected.

"In that case, can I be driver?" asked Minako. "I really want to drive the tank." Once more, no one objected.

"So, I guess that leaves me as the commander." Kikuyo said this as more of a hesitant question than a statement. The other three just nodded.

"D-don't worry, we'll make it easy for you," said Junko. "Right, guys?" Minako and Akane nodded.

It was a unanimous decision to let Kikuyo read the manual to everybody instead of them passing the manual from one person to the other so they could save time and so Kikuyo could get some practice giving people orders.

It was a slow and wonky process at first. Junko tried to load the shell in backwards (ignoring the fact and pure common sense that no bullet would be able to fly far with a flat front), Akane almost traversed the gun into the other parked tanks, and Minako almost drove their tank into Rookie Team B's tank (an ordeal she would later say was an accident, no matter what that Team B said).

However, they got the tank rolling smoothly, and soon enough, they were at their spot waiting for the battle to commence.

"A tankery match always begins with a bow, and ends with a bow," Shiho said through speakers inside the tanks. "Everyone, bow."

"Let's have a good game!" they all said.

"Very well. Let the match begin."

Rookie Team A's tank roared to life and sped down the road.

"All right! let's blow some tanks up!" Junko said enthusiastically.

"I can't wait to hear the gun firing," Minako said from her driver's compartment.

"Yeah, I know right?" Junko said. "What about you, Akane?" Akane put one big thumbs up.

"Kikuyo, how about you?" Kikuyo didn't hear her, as she had the turret hatch open and had her head poked out, carefully scanning the surrounding environment. Junko smiled, and said no more.

"There is a perpendicular path ahead to the right!" yelled Minako so Kikuyo could hear her over the engine. "Which way should I go?"

"Stop at the intersection!" Kikuyo replied. As soon as the tank stopped, Kikuyo spotted an enemy tank. "Tank! Right crossroad!" Akane turned the turret to face the enemy who was, at the moment, busy with another target. She lined up the crosshairs with her target.

"Fire!"

The blast jolted the girls like an amplifier on full blast as the breach was forced back, dispensing the spent shell that clattered onto the floor. It was a short, fierce moment that left the tankers' ears ringing. The tank rocked back and forth from the recoil.

"A-a-amazing," croaked Junko. Kikuyo and Minako couldn't say anything at all. The feeling left them speechless. Akane, however, was not as fazed.

"Too low," she muttered to herself, and adjusted her aim to compensate for bullet drop. She waited for the loader to snap out of it, but Junko just stared into space. Akane had to tap on her the shoulder.

"Oh, right. Sorry," Junko said, and loaded a new round. Akane shot the tank again and this time hit her mark. A white flag popped up from the turret.

"Wow, nice shot, Akane," Kikuyo said.

"You got that tank?" Junko asked. Akane nodded. "Nice!" She then loaded another round in.

"I guess we can move u-" An explosion near the tank cut Kikuyo off as she frantically searched for the shooter. It turned out to be Rookie Team B.

"Oi! I thought they can't shoot us!" Junko yelled.

"I'm pretty sure the 'blue flag' rule is only meant for the experienced players," Minako said.

"Well, if that's the case, Akane! Shoot those suckers!"

"Please do!" said. Kikuyo. The turret turned again to face the opposing the rookie team, but it wasn't enough. The tank drove into the foliage and out of Akane's view before she could pull the trigger.

"After them!" ordered Kikuyo, and the Panzer flew down the path to chase after the other. The path was mostly a straight line, so it wasn't hard to follow the fleeing target, but it was about to get messier.

"Uh, Kikuyo? You might want to get down," said Minako.

Kikuyo didn't get to ask why as the tank drove into the open and whole barrages of bullets from all sides of the vehicle whistled past it.

"Oh, crap! Kikuyo, get down!" Junko told her. Not wanting to get hit, the commander crouched back into the turret and closed the hatch above her. Muffled explosions and cannon shots can still be heard inside. They were right in the middle of an intense firefight.

"That's some reckless plan those newbs have!" the loader hollered out.

"Need I remind you that we're all newbs too and we're just as reckless for following them!" Minako bellowed back. Akane blindly fired the gun to needlessly add to the commotion and to see if she can hit the moving Panzer in front of them. No luck.

However, they considered themselves lucky as they got out of the kill zone with the tank in one piece, and they sped away from the carnage.

Junko opened the side hatch and peered back. "Woo! We're freaking invincible!" she cried out. Everyone couldn't help but laugh and whoop out in joy.

"Best. Class. Ever," Minako stated.

They followed the other tank through the thick vegetation and into another clearing: the paved surface in front of the tank sheds. Both tanks stopped, and prepared to fire. Rookie Team A's tank stopped rocking as Rookie Team B finished rotating the turret. The commanders of both teams didn't want to waste any millisecond of time, and ordered their gunners to shoot.

"FIRE!" they shouted in unison.

The silence that followed signalled the end of the match.

Shiho's booming voice came over the loudspeakers. "All tanks have been neutralized. This match is a tie."

It took no time at all for the rest of the tankery team to drive back to base. Soon they were all lined up to bow for the closing of the match.

"Thank you for today's match, and thank you for today's class!" they all shouted in unison.

"That is all for today," Shiho said. "Class is dismissed."

The descending sun touched the horizon as Ami finished rinsing off the last tank. Finally she thought. She put the hose back and grabbed her lunch box before heading out. As she stepped out of the garage, she spotted Shiho walking in her direction. She bowed on instinct.

"Master Nishizumi," she said.

Shiho returned the gesture by a slight dip of her head. "Ami," she said. "It looks like you've finished cleaning the tanks."

"Yes, I did," Ami said. "It took longer than I thought, though."

"It took you an entire two hours," her instructor said.

"Two hours?!" she screamed. Shiho nodded. "Oh, no! I should have done it quicker! I lost so much homework time, and I have a ton of homework to do!"

"I know. That was the point," Shiho said.

"...ah." Of course it was.

"However, that was not the reason I wanted to see you," Shiho continued.

"It's not?"

"I want to talk about your current position as commander of the Kuromorimine Tankery Team. As you are aware, the team has lost twice in a row since your becoming of commander."

"Yes, ma'am," Ami said gloomily. As much as she appreciated defeat, thinking about her last tournaments left a bad taste in her mouth.

"If you do not produce acceptable results this year, you will be replaced as commander of the tankery team."

This struck the teen hard. She knew she was going to have to have to win the national tournament someday, but she didn't imagine the consequences being this harsh if she ever failed to. The position of commander was not something Ami wanted to give up, but after losing both finals, she started to doubt herself. She can still remember hearing the disappointment in her teammates' voices when they told her it was all right that they lost, or hearing Shiho's mile-long lists of the things she could have done better in the finals, or even hearing the voice in her head telling her that she was the least qualified person to run the tankery team. It hurt her, knowing that she was a major part of the reason why Kuromorimine couldn't claim victory for two straight years.

"C-can I still stay in the team if I get replaced?" she managed to ask.

"Yes."

"D-does the team k-know about this?"

"Since it only really affects you, telling the other members would be redundant. However, if you wish for this matter to be public, I will make it so." Ami didn't answer. Instead, she just stared at the ground.

Shiho knew the pressure of being a tankery commander; she had more than a decade of tankery experience under her belt, along with all of the hardships that went along with it. She knew the feeling of being responsible for 30+ people and the reputation of an entire school. She also knew her consequences were harsh, but she chose to make them harsh to push her students to their limits, so they can expand the boundaries of their tactical prowess.

However, she also knew that occasionally, they might need someone to inspire them and tell them that they are already good at what they do. Shiho preferred not to resort to this because it can make people soft and effectively stop them from trying to improve themselves. But this time was different. She knew Ami was already doing her best because of her immense passion for the sport, and the teacher reckoned that a small compliment won't hurt.

She sighed, put a hand on Ami's head and, with a good, hard stare, she looked at the young commander directly in the eyes and said, "you are a good commander, Ami. You inspire determination and enthusiasm among your friends, a quality rarely found in commanders your age, and I think part of their reason for participating in tankery at this school is you. You follow the Nishizumi Style of Tankery well, and you should not forget the many times you led your team to victory. So, not just for your sake, but for the sake for your teammates as well, win this year's national tournament."

Ami stared at her teacher, then smiled a big, radiant smile. "Thank you, Master Nishizumi."

Shiho faintly grinned. "Let's go back to the city," she said. "You have a lot of homework to do, remember?"

Ami agreed, and they walked back in silence.