Interlude 11: Oarai's Clubs

At lunch the day after the match with BC Freedom, Anglerfish Team went their separate ways to meet with some of their newer friends. That morning, Miho had received an invitation to lunch from Tsuchiya, who also wished to speak with Noriko and Mutsuki, and learned that some of her crewmates were also meeting with their friends. Miho accepted her invitation and encouraged her friends to do the same, glad that they were meeting people outside of their crew.

Miho noticed that Oarai had many separate groups of people, who were close-knit, and had more in common than just tankery. These included clubs, groups of friends with the same interests, and other people who were both close friends and effective teams. By contrast, at Black Forest and many other tankery schools, many tankery teams were assigned together based on their skills, and were not quite as close; Miho was not particularly close with her crewmates at her old school, even if she had some other friends during her time there. Miho was sad to leave her old friends behind and part ways with her sister, but she was happier at Oarai, and hoped that it would retain its identity, particularly its sense of camaraderie, in the years to come after she left.

At a long, rectangular table used for seating larger groups of students, Saori sat among Rabbit Team, which had come to rely on her for advice on love and radio operation, even if she did not know much more about either than they did.

This time, however, they discussed their friends in other teams. Yamagou Ayumi had become friends with Kataoka Yuuki, not just Utsugi Yuuki, entering her second year in the same class with the former. Karina was friends with Akebi from the volleyball team. Ono Aya had a burgeoning friendship with her fellow gunner, Miyanaga Saki, while Azusa was also getting to know Nodoka as a fellow commander. And Maruyama Saki, the enigmatic and silent loader, had been seen hanging out with Mallard Team, with the others concluding that she had wandered off on her own and mistaken them for her friends.

"It's nice to see you're all also meeting other people on the team," Saori said.

"Well, our group is somewhat loosely tied together, Saori-senpai," Azusa said, "as one of the few things we have in common is our year in school. If I may say so, our team is not entirely unlike yours."

Saori nodded. At the start of the previous year, she was friends with Mako and Hana, neither of whom were friends with each other back then, and Miho and Yukari were relatively new to the group.

"If I had to describe a unifying element, it's tankery," Saori said, "although it did bring together a lot of people with little in common, who ended up working surprisingly well together."

"True," Yuuki said. "That said, I can't help but hope that it'll bring me together with another boyfriend, and that things will work out this time."

Aya nodded. She'd drifted apart from her male friends over the course of the last year, as a result of a lack of contact and disagreements about tankery. In spite of that, she had made several other new friends who did not disapprove of her love of tankery. Since she and Saori were in different grades, they most likely would never have met if not for tankery, and Aya was glad that they did.

At a square table in the cafeteria, Mako and Hana sat with Natsumi and Shiina, with both pairs of friends sitting next to each other.

"I must say that this is quite the coincidence, Mako-san," Hana said. "I've recently become friends with Natsumi-san, but it's quite unexpected to see you and Fujino-san here as well."

"Not really," Mako said. "Natsumi and Shiina have been friends for a long time, so it's only a coincidence that we separately managed to get to know each one. I taught Natsumi some driving techniques and Shiina's in my class."

"Yeah," Shiina said. "Natsumi, I did tell you a little about how I got to know Mako, but how did you get to know Isuzu-san, apart from you two being classmates?"

"I was fascinated by how polite and ladylike Hana was," Natsumi said. "And it wasn't in the same way that I did it to curry favor with others, but it seemed quite genuine in her case."

"My mother was very strict about the value of good manners," Hana said, "because she considered good etiquette and respect for others to be very important to her. Perhaps I act the way I do in part because of her influence, but I also do because I choose to do so."

Natsumi nodded.

"Saro once told me that people tend to behave in the ways that come most naturally to them," Natsumi said, "which means that the various eccentricities of the teams are reflections of their personalities. Out of curiosity, is it true that until this around time last year, the tanks were painted all manner of bizarre colors?"

"Yes," Hana said, "although Octopus Team knew better, and plans to paint Anglerfish and Sparrow Team's tanks were overruled by the relatively cautious Yukari-san and Kajiki-senpai, respectively."

"That must have been a sight to see," Shiina said.

"Not to mention extremely garish-looking and tactically unfeasible," Mako said.

"True," Natsumi said. "But everyone here at this tankery team brings something to the table. Few of us have experience, but we have all sorts of crazy ideas that, when brought together, lead us to win unexpected victories."

Shiina nodded. She knew that unlikely individuals could be successful, as she had played through one class-based RPG with some of the classes that were deemed almost useless, including a Berserker, a Monk, a Bard, an Illusionist and a Juggler. Some parts of the game, such as those with enemies that were highly resistant to physical attacks, were quite difficult, but it was an entertaining challenge that gave her some appreciation for what unlikely individuals could bring to the table, both in the game and real life.

Elsewhere, Yukari ate with Hippo Team, which had dubbed her "Guderian" the previous year, essentially making her an honorary member in the process. The "History Club"- called that despite not being recognized by Oarai Academy- had no official prerequisites for membership, as anyone with a sufficient interest in history could be inducted and considered a member. Unfortunately for the four members and one honorary member, the club's membership remained very small, at the very minimum most clubs had in order to be able to be recognized.

"So, have any other like-minded people come to join you?" Yukari said to Erwin, whose fondness for World War II era history she shared.

"Regrettably none, Guderian," Erwin said. "Alliances are formed and broken across history, but excluding you, our honorary member, our membership has stayed at four since we first met in the lunchroom in our first year."

"I see," Yukari said. She remembered Erwin telling her about how the four of them stood out from the others in their costumes.

"Que sera, sera," Caesar said. "It's often difficult to find people who share the same passions as fervently as you do, and who would cross the Rubicon and plunge headlong into civil war alongside you. In spite of it, this group is a good size."

Erwin nodded. While she was slightly disappointed not to find any more history fanatics, she agreed that it was, in some ways, better that they remained a small group of friends who knew each other well, rather than a large and faceless collective.

"Still, for the most part, we're content if most people simply tolerate us, not saying anything out loud or trying to stop us," Oryou said. "The toothless former head of the disciplinary committee was merely an annoyance in the grand scheme of things."

"True," Saemonza said. "It's not like we're asking for- or need- the school's money to do this. We pay for our costumes, our history books and everything else out of our own pockets, while our parents simply shake their heads and sigh."

Yukari nodded in agreement. Her parents had never understood tankery, but they had allowed her to pursue her interest in it. That was enough for her, and being able to do tankery alongside Miho was a dream come true.

Of course, not everyone was so fortunate. Some needed money to be able to do the things they were passionate about. Others needed members in order to receive the school's blessing so that they could officially operate as clubs. Still others had both, but lacked the cohesion and close bonds of friendship that this small group of girls had.

Elsewhere, Miho sat with her classmates and fellow club heads.

"Have you ever wondered, Nishizumi-san," Tsuchiya began, "why the student council made tankery an elective as well as a club?"

Miho pondered the question.

"If I recall correctly," Miho said, "the main difference between them is that while electives are mandatory, clubs are not at this school. There was also some red tape associated with the tankery having to be officially registered as an elective, but that wasn't the main reason behind this designation that I thought of."

Miho recalled that students at Black Forest were required to join a club. For her, that was a non-issue as long as her mother expected her to do tankery, and when she decided to leave because of the backlash against her decision to save a member of the team at the cost of victory, she wanted to leave the school entirely.

"You got that right," Noriko said. "But for most people, even if they don't have to join a club, there's usually a club out there that suits their interests, even at a school this size."

"The same can't always be said for electives," Mutsuki said, "since the selection is more limited, and more focused on those with a stamp of 'legitimacy,' for lack of a better word. Many students thus end up taking the 'least worst' of the electives, rather than one they actually like. I, for one, was not particularly interested in incense, but found it to be a decent enough class., nd chose it as my elective in my first year"

Miho nodded. She recalled how, when she wanted any elective but tankery, she had chosen the incense elective on a whim, finding it the most relaxing and least competitive of the electives. She also remembered Mako's initial choice of calligraphy, and when Mako had been asked to explain her decision, she had shrugged and said that having worked with a pen all day at school, she did not find it very hard to do so in one more class.

"Essentially, now that I think about it," Tsuchiya said, "the Kadotani administration made tankery an elective so they would have an ample supply of recruits who didn't think too hard about what elective they wanted."

"Yeah, one thing surprised me at first about tankery," Noriko said. "In my first year on the tankery club, I was essentially given a regular spot on the team, even if it's in a tank only my friends and I could love. I heard that in a lot of other schools, you'd have to work your butt off and wait until your second or third year to even be considered as a regular."

"What surprised you about this, exactly, Isobe-san?" Miho said. "This is a new club, with a high membership requirement. Even the few tanks we started out with required everyone we had in order to crew them. Essentially, it's a bit like having a volleyball team that only consists of you and your three friends."

Noriko nodded, always happy to have things explained in terms she understood. She had initially thought of shell fire as spikes and serves, but had gradually grown out of this tendency as she did tankery more.

"Yeah, I know," Noriko said. "But the reality of many sports clubs is that you do the grunt work when you first start out, and you'll eventually earn the privilege of playing as a regular. Only exceptionally talented players or members of exceptionally desperate clubs end up being the exception, and I was right about the latter."

"That's true," Miho said, "even if we didn't know how important the tankery team's efforts would be last year."

"I'm not just talking about the tankery team," Noriko said. "When I was brought on board the volleyball team my first year here, I knew that this was a small club, and we were desperately fighting against attrition."

Two years ago

Noriko, then a first-year, met with three of her seniors in the Volleyball Club, having recently completed the process of registering for the club. She recognized all three as the seniors who had recruited her when she took a tour of Oarai Academy.

"Welcome to the club, Isobe," Kagura, captain of the team, said. "I believe you met the others here before, so that saves us the trouble of introducing ourselves again."

"Thank you, Captain," Noriko said. "But is this really everyone here?"

"Afraid so," Kagura said. "We're just barely meeting the membership requirements this year, and next year, you'll be all that's left. We'd hoped that there would be more newcomers like you."

Noriko let off a sigh. While typically confident and determined, she still took it hard when setbacks initially occurred, and was occasionally prone to being depressed in the time between when a problem presented itself and she was able to think of a solution. The prospect of possibly being the only student left at Oarai who did volleyball was quite an unpleasant one, no matter how she chose to thnk about it.

"I'm sorry that things look so grim at the moment," Kagura said. "But things won't change if you sit around and moping. If you want to change, get out there and recruit some new people, ideally first-years who will carry on this club. Show this school the power of our guts!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Noriko said energetically and set off.

"Guts" was Noriko's favorite phrase for a variety of reasons. She believed that people's talents or resources could get them a finite distance, but that guts was a bottomless source of energy, and it was always possible to put more into it. Her senpais had not given up on reviving the club, so neither would she.

Present day

"At heart, I'm a person who can keep going as long as I have a goal," Noriko said. "So even the possibility of keeping the club afloat was enough to get me to give my all, and the fact that my senpais felt the same way was encouraging."

"I agree, Isobe-san," Miho said. "I've found that whenever I'm depressed or feeling unsure of myself, it always seems more bearable when i have something to do about it, and people who are willing to support me."

"Things didn't necessarily work out, though," Noriko said. "The first promising individual I found happened to already be committed to another club- and was recruiting for hers as well."

Noriko gestured toward Mutsuki.

"Noriko and I were in the same boat, back then," Mutsuki said. "In hindsight, though, it does seem a little silly for me to have been less confident about my situation, when I had significantly better odds. Unlike her, I had a pair of determined individuals- Kajiki-senpai and Kanbara-senpai- who remained for my second year."

Two years ago

Unbeknownst to Noriko, at the same time she was hearing about the volleyball club's need for members, Mutsuki, along with Anko, was meeting with her new fellow club members for the mahjong club.

"I see," Anko said. "I had no idea that things were this bad."

Kanbara Satomi, who had gotten her position as club president by virtue of being the only person who actively volunteered for the job, as her two senpais were uninterested in a leadership role, let out a "Wa-ha-ha!" laugh.

"It's not like we're dead yet," Satomi said. "All we need is a couple more warm bodies and we won't have to worry about being shut down next year year. And even if we do get shut down, we can go about trying to re-establish the club."

Anko privately doubted Satomi's optimism, but had no desire to openly contradict her senpai and president. For now, she decided to give the club a chance, but was not especially confident or even sure that she wanted to stay around.

"I do have an idea for something you can do for us, Tsuyama, Tanaka," Yumi said. "Perhaps the second and third years have already made up their minds about which clubs they want to get involved in, but the same can't necessarily be said for the first years. Go out there and find people who haven't chosen a club yet, and tell them about us. Perhaps you'll get some of them to try them out, and a few of them will become regular members."

Mutsuki nodded . She did not have much experience with recruiting, but could not bring herself to refuse her senpai's request.

"I'll do what I can, Kajiki-senpai," Mutsuki said, with less than absolute conviction.

Anko nodded but seemed less certain. She knew Yumi was within her rights to ask this of her, and believed that she should at least try. But the situation seemed somewhat bleak; they were a shell of a club, frantically scrambling to even keep what little they had. There seemed to be little hope of winning this battle, so Anko had to ask herself whether she could even fight.

In homeroom the next day, Mutsuki arrived early, and saw Noriko, the only other student there at the time, and one of the few whose names she was confident she remembered at this point in the year.

"Isobe Noriko-san?" Mutsuki said. "My name's Tsuyama Mutsuki, and I... wanted to talk with you about something..."

As Mutsuki ended up tripping over her words, as she wondered how to transition from introducing herself to stating her business. The only thing that she was clear on was that the former was first, and the latter was second, but she did not want to come off as someone who only spoke to Satomi for the purposes of recruiting.

"Nice to meet you, Tsuyama-san!" Noriko said. "I'm recruiting for my club; would you like to join the volleyball team?"

Mutsuki's eyes then lit up, as her confidence was revitalized for a moment. Noriko made the process of recruitment seem easy, so Mutsuki realized that it might be best to simply come out with it like Noriko just had.

"Ah, yes, that was it!" Mutsuki said. "I was hoping I could ask you to join the mahjong club, Isobe-san, but I realize that it probably wouldn't be fair to your teammates if I essentially poached you."

Noriko chuckled slightly.

"You're hard up for recruits, too?" Noriko said. "I guess we're not the only ones, then, even if I'll be the only member of the club this time next year."

"You could say so," Mutsuki said. "Although, Isobe-san, I notice that you don't seem terribly bothered by your club's situation."

"Well, it does bother me that I might not have anyone with whom to share my passion in volleyball," Noriko said, her expression turning serious for a moment. "But I don't believe difficulties like mine are insurmountable. Now that I think about it, the same can be said for yours."

Mutsuki nodded in agreement.

"You're right," she said.

"Well, I do know one thing," Noriko said. "You wouldn't be out here recruiting if you didn't care. So just stick with it and maybe something good will come of it."

Mutsuki smiled. She knew that enthusiasm alone would not solve all her problems, nor would it always enable her to meet others' expectations for her, but she always thought about what Noriko had said whenever she was close to giving up. There would be some battles she would not be able to win, but she resolved that it would never be due to lack of trying.

Present Day

"Noriko and I became friends before long," Mutsuki said. "To some degree, I'm slightly closer with her than the senior members of my club, simply because there's no gap between leader and subordinate, or senpai and kouhai between us."

Miho nodded, fully aware of how some relationships were fundamentally equal in a variety of ways. Many of her teammates, especially those who were both her juniors in school as well as her subordinates, would never see her as anything other than Oarai's commander.

"So how did you get along with Kanbara-senpai and Kajiki-senpai?" Miho said. "How did they treat their subordinates?"

"My predecessor as president was quite laid back," Mutsuki said, "and even the typically serious Kajiki-senpai was far from the most stern or demanding leader. In spite of that, they were good at what they did, and had were confident enough to take authority. But even if they were confident, they still worried about our problems, especially when we made little progress on recruitment"

Two years ago

A few weeks after Noriko and Mutsuki met, Yumi called a meeting of the mahjong club to discuss their progress as they sat around a mahjong table. While Mutsuki realized that some of the club, including the senior members, were out today, she noticed that Anko had a more consistent pattern of absenteeism.

"So how have things been going on your end, Tsuyama?" Yumi said. "Do you have any progress to report?"

Mutsuki sighed, wishing that Yumi had not asked, and shook her head.

"You haven't had any luck so far?" Yumi said. "This could be bad."

"Mahjong can be played with three players, you know, Yumi-chin," Satomi said, trying to put an optimistic spin on the situation. "Even if no one comes after our senpais graduate, we'll still be able to play."

"That's true," Yumi said, "but the student council won't let a club with only three members stay around for long, so we'll have to do what we can to ensure that we go into next year with more people in the club besides those at this table.

"We may not be the only club faced with this problem," Mutsuki said. "My friend Noriko's facing a similar situation with her club, so she has some idea of how difficult it can be to recruit those who share her interest. She's very passionate about what she does, and I respect that in her, even if it's a shame it isn't mahjong."

"I have a similar friendship with Hisa," Yumi said. "Mahjong is, for her, a distant third behind tankery and her work for the student government. But Hisa's smart, competitive, and good at taking calculated risks. Perhaps in another time, another place, she might have been quite a good player..."

As Yumi trailed off, the conversation died down.

"But speaking of our friends," Yumi said. "Kanbara, have you tried talking with your friend Senoo? I recall you saying that she was coming to Oarai this year."

"Kaori said she'd consider helping us out if we're in desperate need of members, but she still finds mahjong intimidating," Satomi said.

"I'd say it qualifies as 'a desperate need' this point, but I'm not sure if Senoo would be convinced," Yumi said. "Incidentally, Tsuyama, have you seen Tanaka around?"

"Unfortunately, no, Kajiki-senpai," Mutsuki said. "She hasn't been coming to the club lately. I've seen her from time to time around the school, so I know she's still coming here, but other than that, I don't know. We're not in the same class and don't know each other well, so I don't know what's going on with her."

Yumi let off a sigh.

"She hasn't taken her name off the roster, Yumi-chin," Satomi said. "So there's a possibility that she'll come back, but even if she doesn't, she'll still be counted as a member."

"Maybe so," Yumi said. "But the club's about more than having enough members. We want it alive and vibrant, both so that it will continue to attract more people, and so that it will have a future. To that end, we're going to need those who are more reliable than Tanaka around. I'm going to redouble my efforts to find such individuals."

Satomi nodded. She believed that it was not yet a matter of her club's survival, but Kaori would not abandon her friend's club in its hour of need. She saw hope in most situations, so she believed that there were still ways for the mahjong club to ensure its survival.

Present day

"In spite of everything that happened, I don't think Kajiki-senpai and Kanbara-senpai were wasting their time," Mutsuki said. "What they should have done is anyone's guess, but I think most would agree that they were right to try what they did."

"Our efforts didn't bear any fruit that year, either" Noriko said. "But I don't think they were in vain, as if we'd done nothing, we'd have ended up regretting it."

"I see," Miho said. "But some people did join you later on?"

"They did," Noriko said. "Akebi, Shinobu and Taeko, three girls from their middle school's volleyball team, applied together to Oarai, and joined the team... just in time for it to get shut down. Still, they're fighting the good fight with me, and I appreciate their doing so."

"Kaori did eventually change her mind," Mutsuki said. "But we had no luck on getting anyone else, even among the incoming first-years, save for one mysterious player."

"You had a recruit without even knowing her name?" Miho said.

"We hosted online games of mahjong on our laptops, through the local area net of the school," Mutsuki said. "Naturally, only Oarai students could join those games for a variety of reasons, the most relevant being that they were the only people who could possibly join our club. We found one anonymous player, who turned out to be quite the enigma, but after that, turned out to be our newest member."

Last year

Satomi sat and ate lunch with Kaori on the first day back at school.

"Have you had any luck recruiting, Satomi-chan?" Kaori said.

Satomi sighed slightly. It was difficult for her to put an optimistic spin on her answer while also keeping it truthful.

"Not yet," Satomi said. "Tankery has been launched with a lot of hype, so most people's attention will probably be on that."

"What about that transfer student, Nishizumi-san?" Kaori said. "She probably hasn't heard about the advent of tankery here yet."

"Go ahead and try," Satomi said, tilting her head to the side and looking over Kaori's shoulder, behind her, "assuming you can get her attention from her two new friends."

Kaori briefly turned around, and saw Miho eating with m

"I've been thinking," Kaori said, "there are many other people who are more talented at mahjong than I am. But you care about your club a great deal, and are willing to do what it takes to save it. Because of that, I'll do what I can to help you, Satomi-chan, even if I'm not a very good player."

"You don't have to be, Kaori," Satomi said. "Yumi-chin also started out as a total newbie, and quickly got to the point at which she surpassed me. Who knows? You might just do the same, and the only way to find out is to play with us."

Kaori smiled. Perhaps Satomi's prediction was overly optimistic, but she saw that it was born out of her natural optimism and trust in her friends, so Kaori believed Satomi.

"Count me in," Kaori said.

Satomi grinned triumphantly, pleased that she would have good news for the others.

"Speaking of Yumi-chin," Satomi said, "I'm curious as to how she's doing with our other potential new recruit."

Meanwhile, Yumi had been playing a few matches online against a player known as "stealthmomo," before the year started, using the school's wireless network. The player had been good, but had declined invitations to join the club, insisting that she could not be found and logging off without elaborating.

This time, the player had logged on, and Yumi saw a familiar IP address, one that came from a classroom that she had been in during the first year.

"I think I know where to find her," Yumi said. "Tsuyama, keep her occupied. I'm going after her."

Yumi then rushed out of the room.

"Wait, senpai!" Mutsuki said. She considered bolting after Yumi, but another message from Momo stopped her in her tracks.

stealthmomo: Is something wrong?

TsuyamaM: Nothing. Shall we get started, then?

stealthmomo: Yes. Let's have a good game.

Meanwhile, Momo played mahjong in her classroom, using a small tablet PC. It was hardly the most private locale, but Momo's invisibility meant that peple would not be watching her, and her knowledge of that would enable her to play at her best, without being distracted.

But while Momo was not distracted by the others, her thoughts soon began to wander. After about a minute or two of pre-match pleasantries, Momo realized that Mutsuki was trying to keep her talking, but wondered to what end.

She was about to log out yet again, as she did when the subject of recruiting her came up, when the door to her classroom opened, and she saw someone she had never seen among any of the first-years.

"My name is Kajiki Yumi, third year and member of the mahjong club," Yumi said. "I want you! I want you for our club!"

Several of the first-years whispered to each other and snickered at Yumi's attempt to reach out to some unknown person. Unbeknownst to them, Yumi's call had been heard by the person she had intended for it to reach.

Momo froze, shocked by what she was hearing, as she immediately recognized the name of the person asking for her as one of those she had played against, the one who had most often asked her about joining. Perhaps it was easier for her to dismiss the offer as half-hearted when it was connected to someone she only knew online, but when that person had come to her in person to make a heartfelt plea, it resonated with Momo more easily.

No one had ever actively reached out to her this way before, and Momo realized that Yumi did not do so merely out of pity. Yumi needed her skill, and wanted her for the club, as yet another member who shared her passion for mahjong. It had taken Momo's entire life to meet someone like this, and she had no idea when the chance would come again.

Momo thus knew what she had to do. She then took Yumi's wrist in her hand, and Yumi turned towards her, their eyes meeting.

"You're a strange one~su," Momo said. "But I'll join, if you want me so badly."

Sodoko rushed in, hearing the noise.

"Kajiki-san, what are you doing in a first year classroom?" Sodoko said.

"Recruiting for the mahjong club," Yumi said. "There were some... complicating factors, but we now have a promising new member, and she now has people who value her for her skill."

"I'm not interested in hearing it," Sodoko said. "Get back up to class 3-B before I assign you detention for cutting class."

Yumi sighed, realizing that there were disadvantages to having Sodoko in the same class as her.

"Fine, Sono," Yumi said. "I'll come back with you."

But as she departed, she glanced over her shoulder at Momo, and gave a smile and a nod.

"I'll see you later," she said.

"See you later, senpai," Momo said.

In the end, Sodoko had Yumi write a letter of apology for disrupting the class and read it in front of Momo's class in homeroom the next morning, while most of the people turned in their elective registration forms. Distracted by that, Yumi had forgotten to turn in her elective form, and Momo, who hoped to choose whatever elective Yumi did, had also held off on doing it.

On the way over to the student council office at lunch, Yumi turned to Momo.

"I'm sorry about the disturbance yesterday," Yumi said.

"Not a problem~su," Momo said. "In fact, I'm glad that you went to all this trouble to find me, senpai. No one has ever done that for me before."

Yumi nodded.

"We don't have many recruits for our club," Yumi said, "so I naturally have to be aggressive in getting people to sign up. But in your case, I certainly don't want to treat you like you're invisible, but show you that you're a valued member."

Momo smiled and nodded, eagerly looking forward to spending time in the mahjong club. Before long, Yumi met with Kaori, Mutsuki and Satomi outside the Student Council office.

"Glad you could make it, Yumi-chin," Satomi said. "Unfortunately, the student council had an unscheduled meeting for some reason and they can't see us immediately."

"That's odd," Yumi said. "I can only assume that it's related to the announcement asking for Nishizumi Miho. For now, I'd like to introduce our fifth member."

The three members of the club looked blankly, and Yumi turned to her side, only to find that Momo had temporarily vanished.

"Touyoko Momoko~su," Momo said. "My friends call me Momo. It's nice to meet you all."

Momo's description of her nickname was more an invitation than a description of her experience; none of her acquaintances had ever been that familiar with her. But she was finally glad to meet others her age, and would always be grateful to the one who had sought her out.

Present day

"Unfortunately, the student council told us we would be shutting down," Mutsuki said. "But while we were there, they offered us something we could do- participating in the tankery team, and that's what we did."

"I know, and your efforts helped save this school," Miho said with a smile.

"True," Mutsuki said with an appreciative smile, before turning more somber. "Unfortunately, while we're up to the point at which Noriko and I met you, I'm sorry to say that neither of us have much to say about our clubs apart from our participation in the tournament. In the end, the tournament maintained the status quo at the beginning of last year; Oarai Academy is still in existence, but our clubs are not."

"I see," Miho said. "I'm sorry that our team's success didn't help you progress toward your goal at all."

"Well, no, but it did ensure that we had a school to which we could return and that we could keep trying," Mutsuki said. "Of course, we wouldn't have Kanbara-senpai and Kajiki-senpai with us, so it naturally fell on them to choose a successor as president of the club and commander of our tank. And it seems that somehow, I was chosen."

"Somehow?" Miho said. Having come from Black Forest, she knew that most clubs there had formal processes for choosing leaders. She suspected that the same was true at Oarai, and her being informally named commander by Hisa, her predecessor and later second in command, was the exception rather than the rule.

"There were only three possible members," Mutsuki said. "Kaori, my year-mate, was a newcomer to mahjong and slightly timid, so she'd have been ruled out if she hadn't declined. And Momo is a newcomer to the club and wished to stay as gunner. So I was chosen based on seniority, experience and personality, even if I didn't feel like the best choice"

"I'm surprised to hear that you think Touyoko-san would be better, Mutsuki," Noriko said. "Taeko has shared a class with Touyoko-san both this year and last year, and she notes that Touyoko-san is pretty quiet unless the teachers call on her- which they don't always remember to do."

"You might not know it, but Momo, for all her lack of presence, is actually a fairly cheerful and friendly individual," Mutsuki said. "She's also quite confident, possibly enough to be a good commander, although her skill as gunner means that she's well suited to her current position."

"I know," Miho said. "She's probably the third best in the school after Saki-san and Hana-san."

"Of course, Momo is also quite close to Kajiki-senpai, and is quite a fan of her skills," Mutsuki said. "She sees her as an excellent mahjong player, and considers her the best rookie tank commander she has seen in action. But she's also willing to give me a chance, understands that I'm learning as I go and judges me on my own merits, which is encouraging."

"That sounds nice," Tsuchiya said. "I do sometimes wish my subordinates were as confident in me."

"You're doing relatively well for a new commander, Tsuchiya-san," Miho said, "especially on a tank as difficult to use, albeit powerful, as the Porcshe Tiger."

Tsuchiya shook her head.

"The others are confident that I know what I'm doing as far as tankery goes," Tsuchiya said. "What they're concerned about is whether I can effectively lead the club and balance my commitments."

Noriko and Mutsuki looked at each other. They realized that while their former clubs had brought them together, neither of them involved any skills that were useful in tankery. While Noriko's good physical condition helped with loading shells, she found it somewhat incidental to her success, as the shells were far heavier than the volleyballs she used.

"But before we go into that," Tsuchiya said, "let's go back to how we got started in all this."

Last year, after the first seven tanks were found

The four members of the Auto Club who eventually formed Leopon Team were working on a vehicle when the student council came in. The four girls stopped work and turned to the student council.

"Well, if it isn't the student council," Nakajima Satoko said. "What can we help you with?"

"It's about the tankery elective," Yuzu said. "We need your help with vehicle maintenance."

"The four of us are taking the magic elective together," Hoshino Fukiko said. "Besides, Suzuki here's friends with someone who knows someone on the team, and heard that they barely had enough tanks."

"Yeah, that sounds right," Suzuki Ichiko said.

"If it's about switching classes, then you just sign this form and I can have you over to tankery quickly," Anzu said. "We need people with skill working on vehicles, and you seem to be the only ones who fit the bill."

The four girls looked at each other. Magic was the one elective that had seemed interesting to all four of them, so it had been a fairly simple process of choosing it and sticking with it since last year. But while Tsuchiya had been to a magician's show when she was younger, the others only saw magic as an elective that they could take to fulfill the requirement without taking much time away from their club. Tankery seemed like a significantly greater commitment, which turned them off at first, but when they heard about the vehicle maintenance aspect, they immediately saw it as the right fit.

"That sounds interesting," Tsuchiya said, "but are you really sure you need our skill? We've worked on cars, rather than tanks."

"Well, cars are a bit like tanks, aren't they?" Anzu said. "In any case, in the absence of a specialized tank repair crew, if anyone can help us out with vehicle maintenance, it's you girls."

Suzuki nodded, and turned to Nakajima.

"Sounds like a nice change of pace," Hoshino said.

"We're in," Nakajima said. "Everyone, you ok with that?"

"Yep!" Suzuki and Hoshino said.

"All right," Tsuchiya said. "But I will say that this does seem like a somewhat desperate measure."

"We are asking for help from many people and organizations around this school," Hisa said. "And we are making do with less than optimal equipment. But we would appreciate the help, particularly in this regard, which is crucial to our success- for all our sake."

Tsuchiya had noticed since the beginning that Oarai seemed unusually desperate to get tankery restarted, but did not have enough information to piece together why. But for the moment, she believed that what mattered was that they had need of her and her skills. Doing what she could was her duty to her club, but it also seemed like a potentially interesting opportunity

Present day

"At the time, I wasn't necessarily unwilling, but I mainly believed it wouldn't be right of me to say no to a request the student council had made, especially when my club leader had said yes," Tsuchiya said. "However, I did ultimately enjoy this and appreciated the chance to put my skills to use on tanks, whether repairing or piloting them."

"Ah, yes, I heard about that from Hisa-senpai before," Miho said.

"If I recall correctly, Nishizumi-san, you were there during some of our attempts to get the Porsche Tiger running, and when we joined as Leopon Team," Tsuchiya said. "Supposedly, it's a tank that only those who are passionate about tank maintenance could love, but we put it to good use."

Miho nodded in agreement. Despite not having Yukari or Someya Mako's encyclopedic knowledge of tanks, she was well versed in the capabilities of tanks. The Porsche Tiger had been considered impractical for battle, so the auto club's ability to use it effectively was nothing short of an amazing feat. They had set the bar high, and their successors would be hard-pressed to meet their standards.

"So, I'm just curious, but what's different this year?" Noriko said. "Some of my new recruits aren't interested in tankery, but the group of four that I have already is still willing to do it."

"I'm not so lucky," Tsuchiya said. "Since all three of my teammates were third-years last year, they had to be replaced, including our club president, Nakajima-senpai. Their replacements weren't there when we made the promise to the former student council, but they still feel bound by it anyway."

Mutsuki nodded, having some idea of what she meant. She was reading a fantasy novel about a boy who had inherited a blood oath from his family to find and slay a demon that one of their ancestors had summoned, and was initially reluctant to devote or risk his life to the undertaking. Tsuchiya's kouhais' task was smaller, but could she fault them for not liking it being foisted on them as part of their membership in the auto club?

Earlier this year

After the first practice battle, the Auto Club got to work on repairing the tanks. At first glance, the extent of the damage had seemed intimidating to the newcomers, but with Tsuchiya's reassurance that she and her senpais had dealt with bigger jobs all the time, the other three had gotten to work. Unfortunately, their initial impression only seemed to be reinforced as progress was slow.

"For a practice battle, the damage on these tanks seems real enough," Goto said gloomily. "All except one were disabled, and the damage on some of them does make it seem as though they'd be inoperable even without the system."

"It can't be helped," Tsuchiya said. "The tanks are fitted with carbon lining to protect us, but the shells do their damage, and that's a large part of the point of a game. When the tanks are ruled inoperable by the system, it's meant to be equivalent to being destroyed in real life."

"But this is quite a harsh deadline, Tsuchiya-senpai," Nanami said. "And it seems like it's outside of the scope of our club's responsibilities to help out a club without getting anything in return."

"We're also part of the tankery team," Tsuchiya said. "And this is a vitally important job to keep that club going, and in fighting shape against its foes. The practice matches will be essential when we go up against our opponents in the tournament."

"I guess," Rokubungi said, less than fully convinced. "But how long will it be before that's all we're doing? Before the Student Council cuts all our funding except for what we need to repair the tankery club's tanks?"

Tsuchiya sighed. She realized she was talking past their concerns, which she, to some degree, shared herself. Given her new responsibilities as commander, which meant that she could no longer drive the tank and had to inspire her subordinates even though she barely knew how to direct them in battle, it was difficult to be enthusiastic as she was at the best of times. However, she also realized that the team was dependent on their help, both as tankers and as mechanics, so they had to do their part, regardless of how much they liked doing so.

"I honestly don't know," Tsuchiya said. "I'll talk to the commander and let her know our concerns."

"Thanks," Nanami said.

"I do understand where you're coming from," Tsuchiya said. "Perhaps if I'd joined when you did, I would be thinking of this arrangement the same way you are. It's possible that it won't change over time, but your enjoyment of it might."

The others simply nodded, before leaving with a "See you tomorrow, senpai."Tsuchiya realized that it was perhaps too much to ask them to understand this immediately, but was grateful that she could count on them for the time being.

Present day

"So far, nobody's left and everyone is still doing their jobs," Tsuchiya said. "They still seem worried about where the club might go in the future, but they're gradually starting to tolerate it as it is now. Perhaps the status quo is less than desirable, but they can live with it as long as the club remains."

Miho paused to consider Tsuchiya's assessment for a moment. Was this the most she could ask of the Auto Club? It seemed to be overly depressing a prospect, but then she had to wonder; did they have to think of it that way?

"Now that I think about it, it seems to be a matter of perspective," Miho said. "Isobe-san and Tsuyama-san seem to have things they can do to improve their situations, whereas the Auto Club can only hope that things don't get worse for them. And without a cause like saving the school that everyone can rally behind, people will naturally start thinking of their own interests."

"Morale is an important factor for any organization," Mutsuki said. "When the mahjong club seemed to be going nowhere, we lost some of our less committed members- Anko was actually the one who stuck around the longest. In spite of this attrition, the hope of getting back together is what kept the remaining members going."

"Same here," Noriko said.

"So maybe that's one thing that you have that we don't," Tsuchiya said. "The only solution that anyone has ever proposed is to cut ties with the tankery team, and the person who proposed it immediately felt guilty about the prospect of leaving you all in the lurch."

"So they do know how important their help is to the tankery team," Miho said. "I'd like them to understand that we appreciate their effort, and for them to do it because they want to, rather than out of a sense of obligation."

"I agree, Nishizumi-san," Tsuchiya said. "I suppose that the optimal solution would be for them to understand what they're getting out of this."

"That might work," Miho said. "Incidentally, have you ever heard the story of 'stone soup', Tsuchiya-san?"

"Yep," Tsuchiya said. "A soldier asks villagers for food and they say no, since they're supposedly short on food. But he finds an ordinary rock and a pot, gets them to contribute to a 'stone soup,' and they create a soup that feeds the entire village as well as its guest."

"That's it, but there are a few different tellings and interpretations, which Hisa found out when she shared it with Darjeeling-san and Fukuji-san," Miho said. "Darjeeling-san offered an interpretation some would consider pragmatic and others would consider cynical, saying that people preferred to take part in something that was already established, and when they're confident they can profit from their contributions."

"Perhaps she has a point," Mutsuki said. "My father's a stockbroker, so he knows how people tend to invest in ones that they know will succeed, or that will pay off enough to justify the risk. Personally, I know that it's a difficult sell getting people to join a dead club, just like it's difficult to get them to contribute to an empty pot. Whatever prospective recruits are hoping to get out of joining that club, they're unlikely to get it if we're focusing all our efforts on getting reinstated."

"I can't argue with that, Tsuyama-san," Miho said, "but I know Fukuji-san, whose father established a successful business with good working conditions, disagrees. She said that it's a matter of people being able to achieve together what they could not have achieved alone, and success being shared by everyone who contributes. Fukuji-san leads for the sake of her subordinates. And it's because of you three and everyone else that we're able to succeed."

"You're right, Nishizumi-san," Mutsuki said. "I can only operate my tank by cooperating with Momo, Kaori, Anko and Hiroko. The five of us can only win battles by fighting alongside everyone else. I suppose what I'm saying is that I sometimes feel as though, without a club around, I don't even have the pot to put my stone and everyone else's ingredients."

"Well said, Mutsuki," Noriko said. "Passion and guts may be what fuel us, but I've learned that they aren't necessarily enough for people, who want results, concrete proof and convincing arguments."

Noriko's mind went back to a persuasive essay assignment she had in her second year. The teacher had given her some credit for making a passionate argument, but found her to be lacking in evidence, and Noriko barely managed to get a passing grade.

"Hisa-senpai was in one such situation," Miho said. "Few who wanted to d tankery would come to a school without a tankery club, and the student council would not revive it without popular demand, a Catch-22 of sorts. Perhaps the threat to the school's existence catalyzed the return of tankery, but certain individuals, myself included, ended up at the school independently of that. Perhaps where there's a will, there's a way."

Mutsuki nodded, finding Miho's confidence refreshing. Perhaps if Miho had become so sure of herself over her time as a leader, so would Mutsuki.

"I can't say I know the solution, Isobe-san, Tsuyama-san," Miho said. "But perhaps if there are many hungry people with ingredients they want to use, the student council will give you a pot."

"Yeah," Noriko said. "We're really not asking for much."

"And Tsuchiya-san, on a similar note, as long as you have people committed to your club, you will be able to keep it going," Miho said. "In the mean time, though, please let the others know that we value their efforts, and they can talk with me if they have any questions or concerns."

"Thank you, Nishizumi-san," Mutsuki said. "It'll probably be more difficult to actually achieve this, but having something to work towards is a good start."

"You're welcome," Miho said. "I do feel as though I'm drawing on others' experiences, but this is how I feel."

"Chin up, Mutsuki," Noriiko said with a smile. "Doesn't guts count for anything in mahjong?"

"Perhaps so," Noriko said, recalling a time when, in the course of a mahjong game in her first year, a bold discard near the end of a game enabled her to call a tile and go from last place to second place with a sanbaiman.

As Miho walked back to class, she pondered the various sorts of people who were part of the tankery team, whose efforts had been crucial to her victories time and again. They came from many different places, with many different desires and goals, so Miho had no desire to force them to cast everything else away for the sake of the team. Her mother often spoke of sacrifice in the name of victory, defining it as anything from giving up one's childhood in training for tankery to abandoning those in danger, but Miho did not believe sacrifice was a necessity. Victory came as a result of everyone's efforts, and she believed they deserved to share in it once they had won.

But Miho also found this conversation useful on another level. Mutsuki, Noriko and Tsuchiya were also leaders in their own way, growing into their responsibilities and facing separate challenges. Miho had the drive to constantly better herself, and this included learning from those around her. It was one more way the people under her command could help her, and a way for her to lead them better.

"At Oarai, everyone has to do their part for the team to succeed," Miho thought. "The least I can do is to keep on learning and improving along with everyone else."

Author's Notes

This is another Interlude with a focus on multiple characters. In this case, it's some of the clubs, whose struggles reflect some of the issues various crews have, and do sometimes relate to the tankery team's longer-term issues, including leadership, retaining members and staying afloat over time.

Mutsuki Tsuyama and Noriko Isobe

Mutsuki and Noriko are two individuals who contrast in many ways. Mutsuki is cool-headed, cautious and somewhat nervous, while Noriko is slightly hotheaded, impetuous, and driven by guts. Mutsuki wins by careful thought, luck and thinking independently, while Noriko wins by physical prowess, snap judgments, and teamwork.

Both Noriko and Mutsuki are in their final year of high school. In their first year, they joined a humble yet close-knit club of their respective sport. In their second year, they had to deal with it getting shut down, and set out on a quest to restore their club; although they realized that the school needed to be saved, they did not forget about their previous quest. And now, in their third year, they have the unenviable position of being in charge of a club that does not officially exist.

Both Noriko and Mutsuki realize that they are asking for the Student Council's blessing, as well as its money, but believe that while the Student Council is not obligated to grant either of their respective requests, neither is unreasonable. They are only asking to be allowed to come together with like-minded individuals, which will be of benefit to them and the school.

Character Analysis: Tsuchiya and the Auto Club

Tsuchiya isn't seen apart from her Auto Club members much in canon, so it's relatively difficult to tell what sort of person she is, or what relationships she has outside of the club. But one look at her tournament participation roster shows that as her teammates graduate and go their separate ways, she will remain behind at Oarai, likely the one in charge of the club. Like Mutsuki, she will have to adjust to her position and take up Nakajima's responsibilities.

But while she sees helping out the team as her responsibility, others see it as something of an imposition on them and are concerned that they are being used. Tsuchiya believes that fulfilling this responsibility will be best for all concerned, but how can she convince them to do it? Finding the answer to that question will be critical for the rest of it.

As for the newcomers, Oarai's need for their services is somewhat touching, but also concerning to them. They worry that the Student Council will only see the club as a tool of the tankery team. Any time spent fixing the tanks is not spent working on separate projects.

But in moments where they are not overwhelmed by frustration, they realize that their seniors willingly chose to help the tankery club, even crewing a tank in the final battle, and enjoying it all the while. Perhaps given enough time to come to understand why their senpais underwent this process, the newcomers will have a similar change of heart.

Incidentally, Tsuchiya's obsession with drifting seems to have been lost in the shuffle, partly because it's difficult to incorporate it or other quirks, like the History Team's citing history all the time. Perhaps if you want an in-story explanation, you could chalk it up to stress, since she's now in charge of a club that doesn't fully share her enthusiasm, more responsibility and less favorable circumstances. Her love of tankery hasn't completely diminished, but she finds it very difficult to be as enthusiastic as she used to be, to say the least.