Interlude 10: Oarai's Past

After school, Miho checked her e-mail. Among the various others, from e-mails about team business, to messages from friends, to those that were nothing more than spam, she saw one from Hisa.

Miho was always glad to hear from her friend, senpai and former second-in-command, having kept in touch with her after her graduation at the end of the previous year. In this case, however, the message was one that she was eagerly anticipating, as it revealed that Hisa had found some information that Miho had sought for some time.

To Nishizumi, Miho

CC: Haramura, Nodoka

Subject: The Decline And Fall of Oarai's Tankery Team

From: Takei, Hisa

Miho,

I remember you asking about what happened to Oarai's old tankery team at the convention. As luck would have it, one of my teachers, Professor Saotome Junko, was Oarai's last tankery commander. I was able to meet with her recently, and would like to share with you and Nodoka what we discussed.

Miho read on as the e-mail summarized Hisa's conversation with the professor, starting with when the professor had first approached her.

A few days ago

As class let out, Hisa gathered her things and began to leave. But as she slung her book bag over her shoulder, she noticed that her professor, a middle-aged woman with shoulder-length dark hair and a dark business suit, was waiting for her. The woman had a neat, professional and conservative appearance, so Hisa did not initially notice her approaching in the crowded lecture hall.

Hisa was slightly surprised to see the professor take the initiative to talk with her outside of class. The professor's demeanor matched her appearance, as she was polite to the students, if distant. She showed courtesy while giving subtle reminders that she was still in charge- and making them more overt if need be.

"Takei Hisa-san?" Junko said. "It's nice to meet a fellow Oarai alumna around here."

"It certainly is, too, Professor Saotome," Hisa said. "And I'm also glad that, thanks to the efforts of everyone in our tankery team, my class won't be the last to graduate from Oarai."

"Indeed," Junko said. "The hardest work is ahead of you, though, primarily ensuring that your team and your school remains around and does well in the long term. Of course, even what you've done so far is certainly worlds beyond what I managed."

"Professor, do you mean that you also were a member of Oarai's tankery team?" Hisa said.

"I was, Takei-san," Junko said. "To be more precise, I was the last tankery commander of Oarai, before Nishizumi Miho-san."

Hisa nodded. Hisa had been commander for a period of a few days, before ceding the position to Miho, but she saw no need to correct Junko on that minor detail, not when there was a more pressing matter to discuss.

"That reminds me of a question I have, Professor," Hisa said. "What happened to Oarai's tankery team in the past? That sort of information might be useful in order to prevent history from repeating itself, so to speak."

Junko nodded.

"It's not entirely a simple answer," Junko said. "I can meet with you later to discuss this; would Sunday at 3:00 work?"

"It would," Hisa said.

"That's good," Junko said. "Do you know where my office is?"

"I do," Hisa said. "I'll see you there, Professor."

Earlier this day

Hisa arrived in the office building for the faculty, and proceeded to Junko's office. She wore a white blouse, a light pink cardigan and a long blue skirt, hoping to look somewhat nice without seeming as though she was trying too hard.

Hisa knocked on the door to Junko's office.

"Come in," Junko said, and Hisa stepped into the office, taking a look around as she did. It was neat and professional, with few personal touches, save for a family photo of Junko and her husband, who were married but did not have any children. The shelves contained many books on business, some of which Junko had written herself, as well as other information Junko needed for her job.

As Hisa's gaze turned to Junko, who wore a navy blue pantsuit with white dress shirt and a red necktie, she wondered if Junko had purposely cleaned up in anticipation of her arrival, whether her office was always this way, or even whether she was simply neat and professional by nature.

"Thank you for seeing me, Professor Saotome," Hisa said.

"You're welcome, Takei-san," Junko said. "Please have a seat." Hisa sat down in a chair in front of Junko's desk. "I considered inviting Nishizumi-san, but I didn't want her to have to come all the way here. She's undoubtedly busy at the moment as Oarai's new commander."

"I'm sure she is," Hisa said. "I've commanded before, and know that even a team this small is a handful to lead."

"In any case, please feel free to share anything you learn here with her or the others on your team," Junko said. "I'm not proud of my tenure as commander, but I don't consider it shameful enough to keep secret."

"Yes, ma'am," Hisa said. "So, where shall we begin?"

"To begin with, by the time I became commander, Oarai was already past its prime, having gradually declined over the course of the previous decade," Junko said. "Thirty years ago, it was about on par with where St. Gloriana and Saunders are now; a somewhat strong school that had not won any tournaments. But as a result of attrition and declining popularity, it supposedly lost the ability to field a full team within five years, and after a defeat in the semifinals one year due to not having enough tanks to fight evenly with its opponent, it started falling even more rapidly."

"That's a shame; it sounds as though Oarai was once fairly strong," Hisa said. "Nodoka's old friends and other talented individuals are in the Saunders tankery team, and Mihoko did quite well as commander of St. Gloriana last year."

"Mihoko...?" Junko said.

"Fukuji Mihoko," Hisa said. "She's a friend of mine, who's studying to become a teacher, and we don't have many classes together." Hisa winked a sly smile. "So you don't have to worry about being too formal with her when you're with me."

"I see," Junko said. "Well, if I do meet Fukuji-san, then I would address her as formally as I do you, and also expect the same respect that you show me."

Hisa paused to consider what Junko was saying. In all her time at Oarai, both as treasurer and as a ranking officer on the tankery team, she had never felt the need to assert her authority. She wondered if Junko had ever had to do that.

"That's a reasonable expectation, Professor," Hisa said. "That said, your attitude toward professionalism is not one that everyone at Oarai has. My friend and former superior, Kadotani Anzu, is fairly laid back and casual, but quite dependable when things seem desperate."

"I see what you mean," Junko said. "To be honest, it wasn't that different in my time."

25 years ago

Junko entered the tank commander's office to meet with her, hoping that she had not gotten in trouble. She felt as though she had not done much to distinguish herself, so she saw few possible good reasons for her to catch the commander's eye.

"You wanted to see me, Commander?" she said.

"Yes, please have a seat, Saotome-san," the previous commander said. "I'll get right to the point. I'm graduating at the end of the year, and believe that you will be best suited to replace me."

"Me?" Junko said. "I only started doing tankery in high school."

"You're the only one remaining who has command experience, Saotome-san," the previous commander said. "It commonly happens that when a new year begins, the experienced players must take up leadership from the veterans, the former novices become experienced, and many newcomers arrive. I'm essentially asking you, the only candidate with related experience, to take the next step up, like so many others are. Can I count on you to do this?"

"Yes, ma'am," Junko said.

The commander smiled, partly out of approval, and partly in amusement.

"You don't need to be so formal with me, Saotome-san," the outgoing commander said. "I'm only a year older than you, and got started in tankery around the same time that you did. I did what I could as commander, which was good enough against Bosporu, but not enough against St. Gloriana. All I'm asking is that you do the same. Can I count on you for that much?"

Junko nodded. The task of commander seemed to be the most difficult, but broken down thus far and described in those terms,

"You can, senpai," Junko said. "I won't let you down."

Junko's statement was one spoken without knowledge of what she was getting into or what would happen to her in the future, but it was one that she believed in wholeheartedly.

Earlier that day

"I took my predecessor's advice to heart," Junko said, "although I do wonder whether leading relatively humbly and striving to do my best in spite of my inexperience and limitations was a mistake."

"It's hard for me to say, Professor," Hisa said, "but I do think she had a point about the changing of the guard, so to speak. Some of our better novices were third-years. Furthermore,I think that she was appropriately humble about what she could and couldn't do."

"Being a leader was something of a balancing act for me," Junko said. "How do you demand respect without coming off as arrogant? The relationship between leader and subordinate is by its very nature unequal, but how unequal should it be?"

Hisa paused, slightly taken off guard by Junko's question. It was one that Hisa knew did not have a definitive answer, so Hisa decided to share one person's answer.

"Miho didn't really worry all that much about it," Hisa said. "Essentially, most people called her what they would if she was just another classmate."

"So you called your commander by her first name?" Junko said. "And Nishizumi-san was fine with this?"

"Yes, ma'am," Hisa said. "Miho wasn't originally the team commander. I ceded the position to her while remaining as vice-captain. But she wasn't the type to insist on formality, and relatively few used her title, even if they acknowledged her as our leader. Most of all, she considered herself one of us."

Junko nodded, wondering why she had ever made such an assumption about Miho. Perhaps she was still thinking of her in comparison to her mother. Or perhaps Junko's own ideas about leadership and authority were influencing her thoughts. In any case, Miho had made it work, and Junko had to respct that.

"I suppose what matters most is how you do as a leader," Junko said. "There's a difference between relaxed yet effective leaders and ones who don't command respect. On the other side of a spectrum, there's a difference between a harsh but fair leader and one who is either using a heavy hand to cover up her inadequacies, or worse, a bully."

"That's true," Hisa said. "In spite of that, I don't think anyone sets out to be the latter in either pair."

"No, they don't, Takei-san," Junko said. "But for whatever reasons, the results we intend to happen are not always the results that do actually happen. In spite of my best efforts, I was unable to be the leader Oarai needed, or do what I set out to do. The first time I realized that this problem would likely be beyond my ability to solve was when I got to work on some of the issues the team was facing."

24 years ago

Junko sat in the tank commander's office, weighing many issues that had come to light in recent practice.

The maintenance team reported recurring problems with the Porsche Tiger overheating. They, a few students from the fledgling Auto Club who had been drafted to repair the tanks in exchange for approving their club, did not know much about repairing tanks, and while they could keep the tank in working order, they didn't know enough about how to mitigate the problem. Junko barely knew how to operate her own tank, let alone help some other team with theirs.

The Type 89's crew had submitted a report half complaining about their vehicle's performance and half pleading with her to not drop them from the team. Junko saw both parts as beside the point; she needed all hands and all tanks on the field for tankery battles, meaning that someone would have to crew the Type 89. She believed their performance needed improvement, but knew she had no one to replace them.

The Chi-Nu and the Char B1 Bis' crews both claimed to be shorthanded. From what little Junko knew about tankery, she realized that this was true. But the reality of the situation was that everyone on the team had been committed, and any newcomers would have to be trained in their position. All of the existing tanks were barely manned, so shifting a person from one to another was not an option.

Junko leaned back in her chair and sighed. She had always imagined that being commander would make her the most powerful person on the team, but she had no idea how far her resources fell short of her needs. Perhaps this was why her predecessor seemed so humble. Perhaps this was why people had not chosen to compete with her for the position. Perhaps she would have a difficult time finding someone to take on this burden once she was no longer able to do so.

Earlier that day

"Essentially, as commander, I soon realized the limits of my abilities, and it did, at times, feel like I was cleaning the entire ship with a toothbrush," Junko said. "Unfortunately, that led me to shift the onus of dealing with those problems to my subordinates with more experience."

"Perhaps that's not always a bad thing, Professor," Hisa said, "particularly if you have subordinates who might be more suited to that than you are."

"I suppose you're speaking from experience, Takei-san," Junko said, "although I do find it a bit surprising that you would say that after commanding a team full of amateurs."

"Oarai has an odd assortment of talents," Hisa said. "We range from jocks to geeks, from the technically savvy to the more artistically inclined, and from a handful of veterans to a majority of newbies. Some of our team members came from clubs that shut down, while others are from more loosely organized groups of friends."

"Interesting," Junko said. "It seems as though your crews have a certain degree of solidarity that mine lacked."

"Yes, ma'am," Hisa said. "At the end of the year, we put on a celebration, and invited everyone to show off one talent apart from tankery or their group's talent, which is a celebration of our efforts as an entire team, and a good exercise in teamwork for each crew. When Leopon Team put on a magic show and seemingly transformed the Type 89 into a Porsche Tiger, Duck Team got pretty mad over the auto club doing something like that to the tank they loved so much... until it fell over and revealed itself as a cardboard cutout."

Junko chuckled softly.

"I must admit, I'm quite impressed," Junko said. "That this 'Leopon Team' crafted a lifelike replica of the Type 89, and that Duck Team actually grew attached to that tank."

"So was I, Professor," Hisa said. "But that does essentially show what this team is all about. Just as Duck Team is proud of their Type 89, everyone's proud to be part of this humble team, and willing to fight against long odds. They come from a broad variety of backgrounds, but combine their skills for the sake of the team's common goal."

Junko nodded.

"That's good to hear, Takei-san," Junko said. "As long as morale remains high and they keep their spirits up, you should be able to succeed where my team failed."

"In any case, you seem to be a far cry from the way you were back then, Professor," Hisa said. "You seemed relatively laid-back, rather than strict. I was actually a bit surprised to hear that you were willing to talk to me, although I probably wouldn't have been if we were classmates."

"It's partly due to the reality of my position, Takei-san," Junko said. "The fact of the matter is that by the time you were born, I graduated from this institution, and while you were still young, I gained experience. Teaching you is my job and as such, it is in both our interests if you respect and obey me, since the fact of the matter is I know what I am teaching better than you do at this point. Of course, you most likely understand the teacher-student relationship by now, but I hope you understand what else I'm getting at."

"Yes, ma'am," Hisa said. She silently acknowledged that while Junko had shared things with her that she had not shared with many of Hisa's other students, their relationship had not changed. Once Monday came around, and Hisa was back in Junko's class, Junko would treat her like any other stunt, and expect Hisa to show her the same respect her peers did.

"Back then, I simply didn't have the skill or confidence to take a firm hand over my contemporaries," Junko said. "Since I was largely an amateur at tankery, I was in no position to make demands of my subordinates as far as performance went. Essentially, I felt out of my element, as I would if I were substituting for Professor Kanzaki in his English courses, and if I did not believe in my own skills, I could not lead others decisively."

"The rest of the student council felt the same way last year," Hisa said. "Momo was bossy by nature, but she was also somewhat aware of her shortcomings; she was a mediocre commander and an utterly abysmal gunner. She and my fellow student council members were glad to have me around, although they knew they couldn't rely on me- or Miho, for that matter- to win."

Junko nodded. She felt as though Hisa's point did not absolve her of her inadequacy as commander, but it did point to an important truth.

"No leader can win by their strength alone," Junko said. "Their subordinates must also step up, not only obeying the leader's orders, but doing so well enough to win. As such, since I didn't have enough faith in myself or my subordinates, you can imagine how I felt when the time came for me to draw my school's lot- and I ended up facing Black Forest."

25 years ago

Junko stood on stage, somewhat nervous. The act of drawing the number was extremely simple, even if it required a small amount of decorum due to the public nature of the event, a bit like accepting one's diploma at graduation. But this simple act would have wide-reaching consequences for the team, determining who they faced and when. They would need to do more than have a good draw to do well in the tournament, but if they had a bad draw, they would be faced with an almost impossible battle from the get-go.

But another part of Junko decided that it was unproductive to think of such things and simply do it. Black Forest, Pravda, and some of the other strong schools had already drawn their lots, and Junko had some idea of where they were on the tournament brackets. All that was left for her to do was to draw one of the remaining lots and let the chips fall where they may, as it were.

Junko then drew her number, and immediately realized that her first opponent was the last one she wanted- Black Forest. Of course, most of the other schools that had not gotten their first opponents by this point significantly outgunned Oarai and had more experienced people. Even if Oarai had gotten the worst possible outcome, none of the others seemed to be good.

Junko had to wonder- were there some opponents that she simply could not defeat? No matter how she thought about this, Black Forest had the advantage in every regard, save for the equal numbers forced on them by the tank limits.

But Junko, upon turning back to her teammates, realized that this was not something she could simply accept, as it was her responsibility to her teammates to do everything she could to win. If there was a chance to win, she had to do everything she could to make the most of it. And if they were doomed to fail, she would ensure that they put up a fight before they did.

Earlier that day

"I knew enough to realize that the odds were against me, but still hoped I could accomplish something," Junko said. "In retrospect, even that hope seems naive and overly optimistic."

Hisa shook her head. She recalled how Oarai was relatively lucky in getting Anzio for its first match. Perhaps they could have succeeded if they got a strong school like Saunders first, but they would never have stood a chance against Black Forest. But even without the stakes in place, Hisa wanted to go as far as she could.

"Actually, I know how you feel, Professor; that situation is quite familiar to me," Hisa said. "I believe in doing the best with the hand you're dealt, even if that took me a while to realize. To make a long story short, Oarai was never my first choice, due to the lack of tankery and other reasons, but I'm proud to call it my alma mater, and glad that it remains open."

"So am I, Takei-san," Junko said, smiling warmly for a moment. She had always considered Oarai Academy a good school, even if many dismissed it as unimpressive, so she was glad that another Oarai alumna felt the same way.

"Going back to the subject," Junko said, "did you see or hear about the match itself?"

"I did, Professor," Hisa said. "A few years ago, someone uploaded the video of the match online, and I found it during my first year of high school. That video became incredibly popular after Oarai won the tournament, especially among those who didn't think Oarai had what it took to win, or that its victory was a fluke."

Hisa nodded. There were those out there who complained that Oarai's victory was the result of dumb luck or the enemy's carelessness. Most of those who had gone up against them knew better, though, and were aware that Oarai's battles were difficult, but within their ability to win.

"Well, as someone who fought against Black Forest, what do you think, Takei-san?" Junko said.

"I don't think of Black Forest as incompetent then or now, Professor," Hisa said. "Nishizumi Maho-san is a skilled commander who defeated my old middle school easily. Of course, Miho is not only a skilled commander, but one who knows her sister and her old school well, and used that to her advantage. The commander isn't the only thing the team needs for victory, but in many ways, the experience, knowledge of Black Forest and leadership style Miho brought to the table were crucial for our success."

"Then you understand what you had that we did not," Junko said. "Essentially, all I have to say about the battle, apart from what you saw on the video, was that the first tank that was taken out was my tank. Some would blame their subordinates in such a case, but I realized that I had not trained them well enough to overcome the loss of a commander, which throws the troops into disarray and is a blow to morale."

"I can't deny that," Hisa said. "Through a risky gambit in the match with St. Gloriana, I was able to take Mihoko's tank out of commission and gain the advantage necessary to win. But perhaps you're asking too much of yourself if you hope to overcome such disadvantages with your level of skill."

"Perhaps," Junko said. "But after the defeat, I couldn't help but think about how things might have been, and found it hard to accept that the obstacles I had faced had been insurmountable."

25 years ago

As Junko walked away from the tournament, she found it difficult to accept what had happened. Her school's participation in the tournament had barely begun, and now it was over so soon. One of Junko's subordinates muttered to herself, accusing the tournament organizers of inviting them to the tournament for no other reason than to humiliate them, and even rigging the selection so that Oarai ended up against Black Forest. The only evidence for that was that Black Forest had drawn their lot first and Oarai had drawn theirs last.

Junko recalled what Shiho had told her before the battle started. Regardless of whether she was ready to face Black Forest, they had been her opponents in the first round. Regardless of whether she was worthy of being commander, she was. Her teammates had counted on her to lead them to victory, and because she had not been able to do so, there were no second chances.

So what was competing in tankery all about, then? Was it a simple matter of proceeding until their school encountered one too strong for them to defeat? Junko knew that some of the stronger schools had this problem, as St. Gloriana and Pravda tended to fall against Black Forest, if not each other. In spite of that, it was easier if they were able to defeat some of their enemies, or at least make a decent showing.

One of Junko's teammates asked her if she wanted to say anything to the others in response to the loss, but Junko said no and excused herself, not knowing what to say. No answers were coming at the moment, but she would have the rest of her high school career to think of something to say, some silver lining in the cloud of Oarai's humiliating defeat. She owed that much to the team that would be around next year... although she began to wonder whether the team would still be around in any significant capacity by then.

Earlier that day

"I wasn't the only one who felt this way," Junko said. "Some of my teammates were new to tankery, and after this harsh first impression, they left it and never looked back."

"You took it remarkably hard, all things considered, Professor," Hisa said. "Some of those unfortunate enough to get Black Forest as an opponent are resigned to their low chances of success. As such, they don't get their hopes up, but don't fall into despair when they lose."

"Well, there is a difference between a narrow loss and a crushing defeat," Junko said. "I'm fairly surprised you did as well as you did in your first year- even your loss against BC Freedom while outnumbered- and you should be proud of doing that well."

"Thank you, Professor," Hisa said. "But in any case, Miho probably could overcome the odds if she faced them again."

"She's luckier than most in some ways, notably in that she has a second chance," Junko said. "We had no such luck, even if we had no way of knowing for certain that we would never get another shot at the championship in any of our high school careers."

"So all that happened after you graduated, Professor?" Hisa said. "How exactly did you hear about it?"

"My cousin Chiaki, who's two years younger than I am, was, like you, a treasurer for her student council," Junko said, "and she eventually became a chief financial officer for a small corporation. With no volunteers for commander, I appointed her an interim commander in hopes that we would be able to find a replacement. You could call that nepotism, but she was the only person I really trusted for the job."

Hisa sighed, pondering how none of Junko's comrades had qualified. Most of Hisa's friends at Oarai- her fellow student council members, her crewmates in Octopus Team, Yumi, Miho and Yukari- were all on the tankery team, but Hisa considered the rest to be trustworthy comrades. If Junko could not say the same of her teammates, it was clearly the beginning of the end for hr team.

"How did that work?" Hisa said.

Junko let off a slightly bitter chuckle. She had more of a sense of humor than Hisa expected, but she found the answer to Hisa's question more depressing than funny.

"The short answer is 'it didn't,' Takei-san," Junko said. "Chiaki was the commander for administrative purposes only. She had the authority to take attendance, review applications, and discipline any members, but couldn't command; you'd be better at teaching my class than she would be at commanding. We didn't have the people necessary to do practice, so her lack of tankery skills was never a practical concern. But we failed to get the people we needed, and so the club was soon cut."

24 years ago

Early on in the year, the student council met and discussed the school's clubs and electives. Tankery, having too few members, was essentially stripped of its status as a recognized elective, but still remained in existence as a club, but would lose even that before long.

"So, Treasurer," the president said. "Do you have any news from the tankery club?"

"Unfortunately, I don't have any regarding our attempts to replace the missing members, President," Chiaki said. "But the deadline for officially entering the tournament is next week. I'd like your permission to enter."

The other student council members looked at each other, and shrugged.

"I don't know tankery all that well," the public relations rep said, "but isn't it more or less a formality, essentially signing a sheet agreeing to all the rules of the tournament and mailing it in?"

"If only it were that simple," Chiaki thought as she let off a sigh.

"The problem is that I haven't been able to find anyone interested in commanding," Chiaki said, "as well as people to replace the large number of third-years who left at the end of last year. We'll likely only be able to field three or four tanks at most, and we won't stand a chance. Based on what I saw of my cousin Junko's only match as leader, if we run into a strong school, we'll be gunned down before we put up a fight."

"Then I don't see what the point of entering is..." the president said, "nor do I see the point of keeping this club around. Clubs operate on popular interest, and it seems that few do tankery here, and fewer are interested in joining the club."

Chiaki sighed. She had to admit that she got into her position as a favor to her cousin, and had no interest in it, meaning that she could not argue why it should not be cut. She also had no evidence to counter the president's points, and what little she had noticed proved that there were few who were interested in keeping it around. As such, there was only one last thing she could do as tankery commander; find out what would happen to her club's materials

"What are you going to do with the tanks, then?" Chiaki said.

"To put it simply, we're going to try to sell them," the president said. "They are the property of this school, and we intend to put them to good use for the school, just as we are reallocating the funding used for tankery elsewhere. Can I count on you to handle that?"

Chiaki reluctantly nodded. This was not the role she had hoped to play for the tankery club, but she had a responsibility to the student council, and would fulfill it.

"Yes, ma'am," Chiaki said.

After the decision was made, Chiaki called Junko and told her about everything that had happened in the meeting.

"I understand," Junko said. "The tankery club had hardly any members this year, and couldn't go on to the tournament. In addition, even maintaining the tanks and buying fuel and appropriate shells for them is somewhat expensive. It's natural that we couldn't afford to keep it around, especially when hardly anyone was interested in it."

"I'm glad you understand this much, Junko," Chiaki said. "But you don't seem entirely happy with this."

"I'm a bit sad to hear that they're selling the tanks," Junko said. "As long as we have them around, it's possible that someone could come along and revive the club someday. It's a bit depressing that the tankery team will end this way, without any hope of coming back."

"I understand," Chiaki said. "It's natural to want one last chance to protect what you hold dear and are about to lose for good. Knowing that, I fought as hard as I could to keep the club going, but unfortunately, I was fighting alone."

"I don't blame you," Junko said. "Don't take this the wrong way, but if you were the only one trying this hard to keep the tankery around, then perhaps this was meant to happen. Not many people are willing to keep it afloat, and there are those who would want it gone, after all."

Later that day, Junko met with one of her former schoolmates, Isuzu Yuri, who had also graduated from Oarai Academy, and was studying botany at Junko's university. Yuri wore a long-sleeved dress. For many people, that was dressing up, but for her, that was as close as she got to a modern casual outfit.

"I see," Yuri said, trying to keep her tone level and her feelings to herself. "As a former tanker, you must have found the news quite unfortunate, Junko-san."

"Well, at least something good came out of it," Junko said. "In the same meeting in which tankery was cut, lower arranging was officially recognized as an Oarai elective. Congratulations, Yuri; you got what you wanted, even if it's after your graduation."

"Yes, I'm glad to hear that," Yuri said. "All my life, I grew up around flower arranging, as part of my training to inherit my family's school. I want to share my passion with others, help people learn more about it, and see it afforded the same respect as other arts of its nature."

Unlike her daughter, Yuri's time in the calligraphy elective had helped her realize where her passions lay. It had mainly served to remind her of the difference between doing something because she had to and because she wanted to.

As such, many years later, when she had a daughter, she was glad when that daughter seemed to enjoy flower arranging, and was frustrated when that daughter forsook flower arranging in favor of tankery without telling her. She was angry that Hana chose tankery over flower arrangement, and upset that she did not confide in her.

But this was far in the future, and at the time, no one believed that Oarai's tankery program would ever return, much less rediscover its former glory. More people at Oarai shared Yuri's perspective than Junko's, and they believed that tankery was yet another trend that rose and fell at Oarai. Perhaps it would return in the future, but Junko believed it needed a large foundation of support, a stronger leader than her and the right circumstances to re-establish itself.

Earlier that day

"I have no doubt that Chiaki did what she could," Junko said. "Unfortunately, since she was the only one fighting for it, and she mainly did so for my sake, it was clear that few cared very much about keeping the tankery around, and a significant number wanted to see it go."

"You knew an Isuzu Yuri-san, Professor?" Hisa said.

"I do," Junko said. "She never liked tankery, but she understood what it meant to me as a friend. That's why she kept her opinions about tankery to herself, even though she knew I knew about them. And that's why I was surprised to hear of Isuzu Hana-san participating in tankery."

Hisa simply nodded. She remembered that Hana's doing tankery as an Isuzu heiress had put her at odds with her mother, but had no desire to disclose that.

"Well, I know from Miho that sometimes, kids can take paths that are different from their parents," Hisa said. "But going back to what you mentioned before that, Professor, I take it you never found a buyer for those tanks."

"That's true," Junko said. "From what Chiaki told me, apparently, the Student Council stopped trying to sell them, or even keep track of them. One by one, they disappeared into various places on the Oarai school ship as the tankery program was forgotten."

"I see," Hisa said. "We found the tanks in all sorts of strange places- in a disused storage area, in the bottom of a pond, and even in a small storage room in the bowels of the ship. Do you have any ideas as to how they got there?"

Junko let off an amused chuckle.

"No, but that must be quite a story, Takei-san," Junko said. "Although regarding the latter, I did hear a rumor that the Auto Club was disgruntled over being called in to repair the tanks all the time, and resented having to help take care of a club that couldn't stand on its own. So they took out their frustration on the Porsche Tiger, which they regarded as the worst of the lot, taking it to a place where it would be difficult to retrieve."

"And their successors in the Auto Club helped retrieve that tank," Hisa said. "I wonder if you might call that irony, in a sense."

"Well, you should take it with a grain of salt, since I heard it second-hand," Junko said. "Chiaki heard it from a friend, and said friend claims that she knew a member of the auto-club."

"Maybe so, Professor," Hisa said, "but I still find your theory quite plausible. Some of the newcomers in the Auto Club are apparently less than happy about having a fair amount of their club time taken up repairing tanks."

"I see, but do they still do tankery?" Junko said.

"Yes, ma'am," Hisa said. "Our group may not be the most experienced in tankery, but they try their best and do well together."

"That's good to hear," Junko said. "And I believe that's what matters the most in the end, Takei-san. Because you had a large group of recruits who were willing to improve themselves, you were able to make a good team. And because of your and Nishizumi-san's leadership, you were able to lead them to victory. It may sound like a somewhat standard piece of advice, but the best thing you can do to ensure continued success is to continue to bring in good people and good leaders, even if they're not necessarily very experienced. I may not be able to tell you how you can solve the team's problems, but I know that you can only do so together."

"Our team does its best on that regard," Hisa said. "So we should be able to

Junko gland at her watch. Meeting with Hisa was an unusual gesture on her part, but it was also one that she had to schedule and budget time for.

"I believe that's all I have to tell you," Junko said. "Unless you have any questions, I'll send you on your way."

"Thank you, for telling me this story, Professor" Hisa said.

"You're welcome, Takei-san," Junko said, with a polite smile. "Again, feel free to share what we discussed with Nishizumi-san and Haramura-san, as well as anyone from Oarai. I'm glad to hear that tankery's back at Oarai, and hope its future is better than its past."

"So am I, Professor," Hisa said as she got up and, with a bow of gratitude, excused herself. She had many things to do, among them, writing an e-mail to Miho about what she had learned.

Present day

Miho finished looking over the summary of what Junko had told Hisa. It was clear that there was no one cause to the downfall of Oarai's previous tankery team, and that if Miho hoped to preserve the team for years to come, she would have to deal with multiple issues.

Unfortunately, Professor Saotome didn't have a winning formula any more than you and I did, nor did she claim that was the case. But her experience had a great many insights on what we could do. It's not your task alone, nor is it Nodoka's, but

That's all for now. Congratulations on winning against Nodoka's team, and I hope things are going well for you at Oarai.

Hisa

Miho smiled and composed a brief e-mail to Hisa thanking her, asking her to send her thanks to Junko as well. As she sent it, she sat back and pondered what the future would hold. Nothing lasted forever, and many of the years that would be critical for the success of Oarai's tankery team would be out of Miho's hands. But Miho would do what she could, training strong tankers and leading them well. She would face all challengers that came this year, including the one that had defeated them last year. Those efforts were small in the grand scheme of things, and were not all that the team needed, but she resolved to do what she could to preserve the tankery team for the future.

Author's Notes

I decided to continue the numbering of the Interludes from Necessary to Win; rather than 1-9 again, they will be 10-18. Let me know what you think of this numbering system.

This is something of a first as far as Interludes go, since it focuses almost exclusively on OCs, and is significantly more in the past than previous interludes, which tend to not go back more than 10 years in the past. Here, it shows the rest of the story behind the fall of Oarai's tankery team.

Edited to fix some minor errors

Character Analysis: Junko Saotome

If Miho represents the best commander that Oarai could have had, Junko represents a more probable and less pleasant result. Junko is essentially someone who has very little experience, but still has more than her peers, and so is drafted to lead her team, perhaps what Oarai would have been able to expect if Miho and Octopus Team had not been around. Oarai could not have won without everyone giving their all, but it also needed a good leader, and virtually none of the newcomers to tankery had what it took.

Junko knows that she's less than ideal, but resolves to do her best for the sake of the team. In spite of those low expectations, and in part because of Junko's relatively low self-esteem, she took her failure somewhat hard. Junko has ultimately recovered, but is a changed woman. No longer the self-effacing and laid back young woman, she has become a competent and confident, yet stern and somewhat aloof professor.

One has to wonder how the experience of leading the team will change Miho. Perhaps she will not change the same way Junko has, but she will most likely have to grow somewhat more confident and assertive as a result of continuing to lead the team, even if the person she is at heart does not change.

Oarai's old tankery team went out with a whimper, rather than a bang, so to speak, and perhaps it was beyond salvation by the time Junko took the helm. But for the current Oarai team, hope remains as long as the team consists of talented, motivated and determined individuals, who care about the team's success and are willing to do whatever is necessary to sustain it.