Chapter 7: Old Friends and New Foes
The time for the tournament drawing came once again, and representatives from all the schools attended in the convention hall set aside for the event.
By coincidence, Miho was the first to draw. She knew that the number in and of itself meant nothing, as the other team's draws would determine her school's opponent, and her and her team's efforts would be necessary for their success.
Next came Itsumi Erika, now the commander of Black Forest. Miho knew Erika well from their first year at the school, which was also their last. Erika was ambitious, determined and always striving to advance the interest of Black Forest and the Nishizumi school. But she was also arrogant, hotheaded and intolerant of those who did not serve her purposes. She was in many ways everything Miho was not as far as Black Forest went; if Miho was the last person people would expect to have attended the school, Erika embodied the stereotypes associated with that school, particularly the negative ones.
After that, in turns, came the rest of the commanders. Miho knew of many of them, having faced some of their schools in the last two years, but she had heard of them as lower-ranked members of their teams, not the commanders. With the exception of her and a few others, most of them were new to the.
From Saunders came Sagimori Arata, who was calm, composed, and did not believe much in standing on ceremony. But she was driven to succeed, for the sake of her mentor and coach, Akado Harue, who had given her the red necktie that she wore with her school uniform.
From Pravda came Atago Kinue, the younger daughter of the founder and head of the Atago school, Atago Masae. She looked up to her headstrong and confident older sister Hiroe, and while she hoped to fight alongside her sister, she hoped to lead her school to victory in Hiroe's stead, as a way of continuing her sister's work and being acknowledged as her equal. Since the end of the last year, Miho and Kinue had become friends.
From Continuance came Mika, who briefly glanced over in Miho's direction while drawing her lot.
From St. Gloriana came Shoumei, a girl with white shoulder-length hair. Mihoko had chosen Shoumei as her successor for having a similar skill at tankery and regard for the well-being of her subordinates.
From Maginot came Eclair, a girl Miho's age who had shoulder-length dark hair. Frustrated with Maginot's reliance on its traditional defensive tactics even when they were impractical, she challenged her friend, senpai and predecessor to a duel for command of the team the previous year, wagering her own right to participate in tankery. Her victory had earned her leadership of the team, but also a reputation as a usurper who was trying to forcibly impose change. She thus hoped to prove that her style would perform well.
From BC Freedom came Kei, whom Miho recognized from the practice match before. She seemed more determined than usual this year, whether because Oarai's victory had emboldened the competition, because it was her last year, or simply because it was in her nature.
From Chihatan came Jindai Komaki, whose dark hair was tied in small pigtails and who wore ceremonial miko robes to the public appearance. Miho heard that Komaki's family was heavily involved in tankery, even if they did not have the Nishizumis' success. Miho wondered what expectations Komaki, the heiress to her family, someone who was regarded as royalty and addressed as "Princess" by many of her teammates, had to bear.
From Koala Forest came Ryuumonbuchi Touka, who was the daughter of the current head of the school, and a granddaughter of the founder. Her blonde hair made her look almost like a dead ringer for Kay, but the Koala Forest uniform had a differently colored blazer, skirt and necktie than the Saunders uniform did. In terms of personality, while both were somewhat bombastic and exuberant by nature, Touka carried herself with an aristocratic air of pride and grace that the laid-back Kay lacked.
From Anzio came Carpaccio, a blonde who was formerly her school's vice captain and now was its commander. She was in touch with her childhood friend, Caesar, even if both knew that their schools would possibly have to face each other in the tournament, and were willing to talk about virtually anything except tactically sensitive information for their schools.
From Joghurt came Nanpo Kazue, a brunette with long brown hair in a ponytail tied with a blue ribbon. Her family name was familiar to Miho, as Kazue was the granddaughter of Nanpo Shizuru, who was a somewhat well known professional tanker in her time. As soon as Kazue drew her number, Miho knew that she had picked the slot next to Miho's, and would be her opponent in the first round.
Meanwhile, in the stands, five Joghurt tankers, who were attending the ceremony, watched in horror as the previous champion became their first opponent. While neither was especially well-regarded, Joghurt's tankers realized that Oarai had done more to overcome its disadvantages than they had.
"Crap..." Shishihara Sawaya, the gunner of the crew, said. "Our first opponent is Oarai?"
"Is that a bad thing?" Motouchi Naruka, the loader, said.
"They only have ten tanks, from what I heard," Iwadate Yuan, then driver, said. "If this were the semi-finals, we'd have the advantage of numbers, however slight."
The others looked at her with blank expressions, unsure of how to bring up the fact that Joghurt had not made it that far in the tournament in any of their lifetimes.
"The tanks vary in quality," Himari Chikako, the radio operator said. "Perhaps the Type 89 is weak, but the Panzer IV, StuG and Tas are forces to be reckoned with; we'll likely lose a few to them and their crews."
"But I do remember the commander telling us one thing," Maya Yukiko, a first-year who was the commander for the group, said. "She believed that Oarai had overcome its disadvantage, and won against all odds. She believes there's no reason that we can't do the same."
Yukiko did sometimes wonder if what Kazue had said was true. But she found her confidence refreshing, especially Kazue's confidence in her skills. Her classmates had used her for menial labor before, but rarely had they entrusted her with a position as important as this. This responsibility and this opportunity warranted her absolute best, and she would not disappoint those who believed in her.
A few other commanders, whom Miho did not recognize, drew their numbers. Miho planned to keep an eye on their schools in case they became her opponents later, although the few remaining spots ensured that Miho would face them in the semi-finals, if she faced them at all.
The last person to come was the commander and representative for the newcomer this year, Rinkai All-Girls High School, a school with a large number of exchange students from many different countries that had only established a tankery team this year.
Tsujigaito Satoha, a girl with moderately long dark hair, walked to pick her lot. She wore her school's uniform of a charcoal gray blazer and skirt, a white dress shirt and a red necktie. For her public appearances, she wore her hair in a ponytail and wore glasses.
Satoha drew the lot, and realized that, as a result of their placement, Rinkai would have one extra match to go in the tournament- or possibly Bosporu, if, by some chance, it won the first round. Satoha understood the ramifications of this, but as she had won the national tournament while studying abroad in Germany, and some of her teammates at her new school had done the same in their home countries, she did not see having to go an extra round as unfair or impossible. Her school had a great deal of fanfare surrounding its arrival to tankery, but it had yet to justify the acclaim, so perhaps Satoha could think of it as yet another opportunity.
Satoha rejoined some of her friends from school, who were waiting in the audience, and dressed in the same uniforms that she wore. Some of them had never had to wear uniforms to class before coming to Rinkai, and while they were getting used to that, a few of them were surprised that they were being expected to wear the uniform outside of class. Satoha empathized with them, but reiterated that while Rinkai ultimately expected its students to follow the rules, even if they were unfamiliar to them.
Rinkai students who did follow the rules found that the school was quite inclusive. The cafeteria featured daily specials from various cultures in addition to a standard menu that accommodated various dietary practices and needs. Extracurricular activities were mandatory, but the school offered a wide variety of them, as well as resources that enabled students to find a club that suited their interests or establish their own. There had been significant demand for tankery over the past few years, and while it had taken more than popular demand to establish a club like that, once the support came from a variety of international sponsors, the team quickly established itself while welcoming many experienced transfer students. For Satoha, however, the opposite was true; she had studied abroad and did tankery in Germany for the past few years, and was eager to return to Japan with a friend she had made abroad.
"Ah, you're back," Hao Huiyu, a first-year from China with short blue hair, said. "It seems as though we have an extra match, but that shouldn't be an insurmountable problem for us."
Satoha nodded confidently, then turned to Megan Davin, an exchange student from America whose dark skin set her apart from the others, even on the ethnically diverse Rinkai team.
"Yeah, but I've got a question," Megan said. "If we're facing an extra match, does it make any difference as far as the tank limit goes?"
Choe Myeonghwa, a white-haired second-year who was born in South Korea and went to school in France, shook her head. The French national high school tournament, which her old school had won, had similar rules, even though the relatively few participants meant that there were only nine contestants in each given tournament. Her school happened to have the extra match, and her first match had the same rules as second.
"Not as far as I know, Meg," Myeonghwa said. "The rules say that only the semifinals and the finals allow more than 10 tanks."
Aislinn Wisheart, a blonde third-year from New Zealand, drew on a dry-erase sketch pad with a marker. She was less fluent with Japanese than the others, and while she could understand others easily, she often found it easier to express herself by drawing on her sketch pad. This time, she drew a rough sketch of the tournament brackets, with lines indicating how many tanks were allowed at each level. The area encompassing the finals had "20 tanks," the semifinals' area had "15 tanks," and everything below that had "10 tanks."
"Ah, right," Megan said.
"Well, we do have a fair amount to prove this year," Nelly Virsaladze, a first-year from Georgia, said. "After all this hype, it wouldn't be funny if we lost right off the bat."
"That shouldn't be a problem as long as we don't get sloppy," Satoha said. "But for now, let's get going to the tankery cafe for a dessert before we head back; I'm also hoping we meet a certain someone there."
Inside a local tankery cafe, as Nodoka joined her friends from Saunders, Miho, together with the rest of her friends from Anglerfish Team, looked for a table.
Miho encountered Kinue, who waved her over.
"Hello, Miho-chan!" Kinue said. "It's good to see you here today."
"It's good to see you too, Kinue-san," Miho said. "Are you here by yourself?"
"Yes," Kinue said. "I'd introduce you to my vice-captain, Anastasia-chan, but she's not feeling well today."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Miho said. "Everyone, this is Atago Kinue-san, a friend of mine and Pravda's commander. Kinue-san, these are my friends and crewmates."
Miho's friends from Anglerfish Team introduced themselves.
"I'm Takebe Saori. I'm the radio operator for Miporin's team."
"My name is Isuzu Hana, and I am the team's gunner."
"Reizei Mako. I'm the driver."
"I'm Akiyama Yukari. I'm the loader."
Miho and Kinue took a seat, and placed their orders. Kinue, in the cafe for the first time, was initially unsure of what to order, until Miho recommended a vanilla-flavored cake in the shape of a KV-2. But once the feeling of unfamiliarity wore off, Kinue was intrigued.
"This seems like quite an interesting place," she said. "It reminds me a little of the soccer ball-like cake I had for my tenth birthday, but I didn't know these cakes would be so detailed."
"It's a work of art, Atago-dono," Yukari said, "so much so that it's almost a shame to eat it."
"I see," Kinue said. "By the way, Akiyama-san, you don't need to be so formal with me. '-san' is generally the most I expect out of people my age who don't know me well."
"That's just Yukari-san for you, Kinue-san," Miho said. "She calls almost everyone she knows that."
Kinue chuckled.
"You have quite an interesting group of friends, Miho-chan," Kinue said. "How have things been going for them and your school?"
"Relatively well," Miho said. "We've been practicing a fair amount lately, breaking in the new members as a way of getting ourselves as a team up to speed and ready for the tournament."
"You're not the only one," Kinue said. "Much of Pravda's team this time is officially representing the school for the first time. Similarly, many of the older students I look up to- my sister, Hiroko, Katyusha-senpai, Suehara-senpai and several others- are no longer around."
"I see," Miho said. Perhaps Pravda's difficulties in this regard would make things somewhat easier for Oarai if they were to face each other, but at the same time, Miho hoped Kinue would succeed in her own way. "How are you doing?"
"Fairly well," Kinue said, "Unlike your school, most of the newcomers to the main team were on the bench the previous year, just like I was in my first year."
Miho then noticed someone she recognized from the drawing approach the table, with another girl standing behind her. Miho could not get a good look at her face, but she seemed oddly familiar.
"Nishizumi Miho-san?" Satoha said. "And it seems I've found Atago Kinue-san as well; this is quite a fortuitous coincidence."
"Yes," Miho said. "And you are...?"
"Tsujigaito Satoha, commander of Rinkai Girls' school's tankery team," Satoha said. "It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too," Miho and Kinue said as they stood up and bowed to their new acquaintance, before taking their seats again.
"Why don't you have a seat, Tsujigaito-san?" Miho said.
"Thank you, Nishizumi-san, but I'll pass; I'm not going to be here for all that long," Satoha said. "I mainly wanted to meet those responsible for giving Black Forest two consecutive defeats in the last two years. It's not something that happens very often, but it was long overdue."
"Why do you think so, Tsujigaito-san?" Kinue said.
"To be honest, most people are lucky to get the championship even once in their high school careers, regardless of circumstances, without schools like Black Forest around," Satoha said, prompting Kinue to nod in acknowledgment of Satoha's implicit point, before Satoha turned to Miho. "Nishizumi-san, I realize that your sister is a talented commander, but her school's winning streak should not have extended this long. My school might be a new arrival, but I hope that it opens the playing field up to more competition and ends the dominance of a single school over the championship."
Miho nodded. She had never valued upholding Black Forest's winning streak as much as everyone else did, even before it seemed as though she would have to choose between continuing it and saving her friends. To her, accepting defeat was a part of tankery, and when she won the tournament with Oarai, she saw it as nothing less than an impressive accomplishment. She thus understood what Satoha was saying, but knew that she was saying it from the perspective of an outsider, and so chose to enlighten her.
"I can't argue with what you're saying about my former school, Tsujigaito-san," Miho said, "but my sister understands that what is asked of her is extraordinary, and has her own reasons for wanting to pursue it. She holds those reasons dearer to her than the idea of victory, and considers the possibility that she may not need to win to achieve them. Furthermore, it's because of her and many other talented Black Forest commanders that the school's winning streak has extended as long as it had, not just their strong tanks. They have earned their victories, so you may find them difficult to defeat, should you face them."
Satoha nodded in understanding. Having been around people with many different cultures, she realized that she could not easily force others to adhere to her own values. For example, what some found to be appropriate familiarity was downright rude to others, while what some found to be obligatory politeness was overly formal and distant for others.
"Yeah, Satoha, if there's one thing I learned in my time in Japan, it's that you should trust what Miho says about her sister, the girl behind Satoha said with a slight German accent.
Miho looked closer, trying to figure out who was on a first-name basis with her, and the pieces came together.
"I know that voice..." Miho said.
"It seems you remember my vice-captain," Satoha said. "I didn't just come to tell you about why I wanted to win the tournament, but to introduce you to someone who's wanted to see you for years."
Satoha stepped to the side, fully revealing a girl with shoulder-length red hair and the Rinkai uniform- Miho's old friend, Nakasuga Emi.
"Emi-chan!" Miho said, surprised.
It had been about six years since the two had last seen each other, when Emi was on a train out of town, on her way back to her home in Germany. At the time, Miho had wondered whether she would ever see Emi again, but fervently hoped that she would. Before she had left, Emi had charged Miho with finding her own way of tankery, rather than doing it because her family expected of her or to emulate her sister, and Miho hoped to show Emi the answer she had found. But while Miho had believed she would see her old friend again, she had never expected to see her in Japan once again.
"It's been a while, Miho," Emi said. "I'm glad to see you're still doing tankery."
"As am I, Emi-chan," Miho said.
"You know each other?" Kinue said.
"We go back some ways," Miho said. "Kinue-san, this is Nakasuga Emi-chan, a girl I was friends with while I was in elementary school. Emi-chan, this is Atago Kinue-san, a friend of mine from Pravda, as well as my friends and crewmates- Akiyama Yukari-san, Isuzu Hana-san, Reizei Mako-san, and Takebe Saori-san."
"It's nice to meet you, Nakasuga-san," Kinue said, standing up and bowing, and Miho's teammates soon responded in kind. After a moment, Emi returned the bow.
"Sorry, Kinue... I mean, Atago-san, I'm a bit rusty with Japanese etiquette," Emi said, "which is exacerbated by the fact that I never really got it to begin with. It was always so hard to be polite to everyone else all the time."
Satoha shrugged.
"That's true," Satoha said. "But I must admit that I do often come off as more blunt and straightforward than most people."
"Well, you can get away with it, since your temper's better than mine," Emi said. "You can say what's on your mind, while being less likely to say something you'll regret, or in a less than optimal way."
"That's not always a bad thing, Nakasuga-san," Kinue said. "You do remind me a little of my sister."
Miho nodded. Hiroe, a relatively new friend of Miho's, was also hot-tempered and somewhat blunt about opinions that might offend other people, but very honest and true to herself. Maho respected that honesty and that passion, especially after having to keep so many aspects of herself hidden while assuming he Nishizumi heiress persona.
"Ah yes, her," Emi said. "I heard she was more than a little conflicted about her victory two years ago, but I believe she succeeded where a lot of people failed, and shook things up a little, like Miho did."
"Yes, and the championship is more open to competition than ever," Satoha said. "Black Forest is no longer in a lock to win, but neither are the schools that defeated it."
Kinue nodded in agreement. A year after her school's victory against Black Forest, her school had been defeated by the opponent it had defeated in the previous finals, before said opponent lost to the underdog, Oarai. She knew that it was unreasonable to take success against any opponent for granted, even as she worked to ensure her school won once again.
"My sister told me to watch out for three schools this year," Kinue said. "The first was Black Forest, the until recently undefeated champion, and previously our primary rival. The second is Oarai Academy, which won last year in spite of everything going against it. The third... is your school."
"You sure you want to let us know that we're on your radar, Atago-san?" Emi said, while proudly smirking.
"It would be foolish to assume that we're not, Emi," Satoha said. "We at Rinkai attracted a fair amount of attention upon our debut. Even Oarai could only benefit from being underestimated for so long. Hiding one's capabilities and counting on one's opponents to let their guard down is only viable as a short-term strategy."
"That's true," Kinue said, before adopting a confident smile. "But my sister then pointed out that if she were talking to anyone else, she would have to mention a fourth school- ours."
"Very true, Atago-dono," Yukari said. "Your school did well in the semifinals, and almost defeated Itsumi Erika-san's flag tank. Perhaps your school would have been our opponent in the finals, but I believe Nishizumi-dono would have triumphed."
Almost on cue, Erika walked past, but, noticing the group of people, stopped short.
"I finally found you," she said, looking at Miho, "although it seems I might have to get in line, so to speak."
Miho tensed up. Black Forest was often stereotyped as arrogant and ruthlessly competitive. While Miho, herself an exception to the stereotype, knew that groups of people were not homogeneous, she realized that Erika fit the image many people had of Black Forest. With the two's clashing personalities, and with Miho having bn chosen for the vice-captain position that Erika had sought in their first year at Black Forest before the incident that resulted in Miho's departure, Miho knew the encounter would likely be less than pleasant.
"Speak of the devil," Emi said as she turned and made eye contact with Erika. "We were just discussing the four schools most likely to win this, and you happened to come up, Itsumi-san."
"I imagine," Erika said. "In the old days, Black Forest was the only consistent winner, and I hope to bring about the return of those days."
Satoha frowned. The German high school level tournament was intensely competitive, and champions were often unseated, even when they did not succumb to arrogance or complacency. The idea of a school dominating for almost a decade and treating that as a natural occurrence came off as downright absurd to her.
"That puts our goals into direct opposition with each other," Satoha said. "In my perspective, the tournament's more fun when one school doesn't win all the time. I do my best to win for my school, but don't view the championship as something that I am duty-bound to attain year after year."
"The same goes for me," Kinue said. "I share Tsujigaito-san's sentiment, and merely hope that it's my school that ultimately prevails."
"Yeah," Mako said. "I would have thought that the tournament would have knocked you off your high horse and forced you to understand our perspective- as well as our being a threat to you."
Satoha gave a slight smile at Kinue and Mako's sentiment, while Emi remained silent, not sure of what else she could say that Satoha and the others had not without potentially ending up saying something she would regret. As the others silently concurred, Erika paused, considering what to say next.
"I suppose it's natural all of you would come to that conclusion about our school, since you were never part of it," Erika said, before turning to Miho. "But what about those who were part of it? For a while, I've been meaning to ask you this question- weren't you at all proud to be part of a school like Black Forest? Wasn't being our vice-captain both a great honor and a responsibility to the school?"
Miho noticed that Erika was not entirely the same person she had seen a year ago. Perhaps the old Erika would have made some sort of condescending remark about the other teams being inferior to the others. But while Erika still believed that her school and her way of tankery were superior to the others, she no longer seemed to look down on the competition as much; perhaps they were inferior, but they weren't necessarily doomed to lose.
"Having thought about it, Erika-san, I've realized that yes, I was once proud to be part of that school," Miho said. "Black Forest's accomplishments impressed me, when I first came here, but they also intimidated me, as something I would have to live up to. In spite of that, I did my best as vice-captain for the sake of my teammates, including when I saved the tank."
"You certainly gave up on Black Forest quickly enough," Erika said, a scornful undertone in her voice. "A part of me was angry, but I believed we didn't need you if you felt that way... and, of course, it didn't hurt that I got your old position."
Miho shook her head.
"I wasn't just planning on leaving the school behind, Erika-san," Miho said with some resolve and an even greater measure of solemnity. "I believed that I'd be unable to do what I believed to be right if I stayed there, where I was forced to live up to my family name. When I left, I chose a school that had no tankery program, where my family's name and reputation would mean nothing, and nothing would be expected of me. Things didn't work out as I'd intended, though, but I'm glad for that."
Erika paused for a moment, caught off guard by what Miho had said. Clearly, Miho was not the same person who had wilted in the face of her harsh words a year ago. This was her answer, one she had thought over for a long time, given much consideration, and chosen for herself.
"Is that so?" Erika said, and Miho nodded.
"I have friends now at Oarai, and a school more suited to my methods of tankery," Miho continued. "And yet, my time at Black Forest wasn't entirely bad, though, as I believe I learned a great deal about what I wanted out of tankery, as well as how I could do it. I wasn't suited to relentlessly winning at all costs, but I am suited to my school, and can win my way."
"I thought so," Erika said as she stated to leave. "That's all I have to say for now. Just watch out, though- Black Forest's making a comeback this year. Your school, Pravda, Rinkai, everyone else who comes against us... we're taking you all down."
"I'll see you later, Erika-san," Miho said. "Please send my regards to the others at Black Forest."
With a nod and a brief wave, Erika walked off.
As Erika left, Kinue turned to Miho, and softly sighed, her expression uncomfortable. Miho knew that Kinue, unlike her sister and her cousin, was of the belief that, "if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all"; indeed, she had not spoken even once since Erika's arrival.
"You... don't like Erika-san, Kinue-san?" Miho said.
Kinue sighed and shook her head.
"That's putting it too bluntly, Miho-chan," Kinue said. "After we were defeated in the semifinals last year, when I commanded the flag tank, my sister comforted me, not blaming me for the loss. From what I heard from Itsumi-san back then, I do not think she would have been so compassionate if I were one of her subordinates. That's all there is to it."
Miho nodded, realizing that Kinue's opinion about Erika was the same as her opinion about Shiho. Kinue, like many students who attended her family' school, did not agree with the Nishizumi style, and believed that she would not do well by their standards. Kinue and Miho thus chose to do tankery their own way, and hoped to win their way, as well.
"Perhaps her defeat against us is causing her to change that perspective," Miho said. "She seems less sure of herself than last year."
"Perhaps," Kinue said. "But this time, she won't have to face you until the finals, while her opponents until then will largely be schools that hers defeated last year, including mine."
"But that is good news in a sense," Miho said. "In that case, I can root for you without hesitation until then."
Satoha furtively glanced at her watch, then turned to Miho.
"We'll have to be going," Satoha said. "It was nice talking with you, Nishizumi-san, Atago-san."
"Likewise," Miho and Kinue said.
"I'll talk to you more later, Miho," Emi said. "But before I go, you have Skype, right?"
"I do," Miho said.
"Great; here's my contact information," Emi said, handing her a piece of paper with that information, and Miho did likewise. "My family keeps in touch with Skype, with me in Japan, my folks in Germany, and my sister on a German university ship."
"Thank you, Emi-chan," Miho said. "I'm glad we were able to meet again, and I'd like to talk with you soon."
"It was nice meeting you, Nakasuga-san," Kinue said.
After Emi and Satoha left, Miho and Kinue looked at each other.
"It seems your school's days as an unknown are over, Miho-chan," Kinue said. "Some may dismiss your victory as a fluke, but those who have faced you know better."
"I know," Miho said. "But what about you, Kinue-san? When exactly did we appear on your radar, so to speak?"
"We took notice of your school after your match with St. Gloriana," Kinue said, "although we had more pressing concerns, namely Black Forest."
"My sister said most of her schoolmates felt similarly, and they were concerned about how the match with your school would go," Miho said. "It was only after they won that many of them, apart from my sister, started looking ahead to the finals, although some were expecting Saunders to win, rather than us."
"There is a certain amount of wisdom in that perspective," Kinue said. "You shouldn't get ahead of yourself, either. Joghurt is not an especially strong opponent, but you should take them seriously."
"And what about you, Kinue-san?"
"Maginot isn't quite the same as it was in my mom's time," Kinue said, "but I'll have to take them seriously, too. They'll test me as a leader, just like they tested Mom."
"I see," Miho said. "I wish you the best of luck, then."
After Miho's crew and Kinue finished their desserts and paid the bill, they got up to leave.
"I must be going, Miho-chan," Kinue said. "Good luck in the tournament, and please send my regards to Takako."
"My old coach?" Miho said, reflexively reacting before she realized that the fairly polite Kinue would not be so familiar with adult who was a stranger to her.
"Ah, no," Kinue said. "Suzuki Takako, my second cousin, whom you may know as Caesar."
"Ah, yes," Miho said. "If I recall, she's friends with Carpaccio-san from Anzio."
"And you said Haramura-san is eating with Sagimori-san and the others from Saunders right now?" Kinue said, and Miho nodded. "It seems I'm not the only one with friends and family in other schools."
"I know," Miho said. "It's because I get along with all those other people that I wish them the best, even if I'm competing and hope to win for my own reasons."
Kinue nodded.
"It was nice meeting you, Atago-san," Hana said.
"Likewise," Kinue said. "I hope we can see each other again in the tournament."
The two parted ways with smiles on their faces before Miho walked off to rejoin her friends. Miho did not think of her opponents as her enemies, as while they were competing for the championship, that could be considered yet another commonality between them. As such, Miho would cheer on her friends from other schools, while still resolving to do her best for her school, no matter the opponent.
After finishing up, the girls of Anglerfish Team boarded the boat that they would take back to their school ship.
"This is great, Miporin!" Saori said. "Not only did you meet one of your friends from another school, but you saw one that you haven't seen in years."
"It certainly is, Saori-san," Miho said.
Mako nodded in agreement, her expressionless face warming for a moment.
"I recently found out that one of my classmates from middle school, one of my oldest friends besides Saori, is studying and working as part of the ship's crew," Mako said. "It's always nice to see an old friend again."
"I remember Nakasuga-san from when you told us about your childhood friends, Miho-san," Hana said. "But what about the other two; Yuzumoto Hitomi-san and Yusa Chihiro-san, correct?"
Miho nodded to confirm that Hana had the names correct.
"Unfortunately, so far, I only was able to meet with Emi-chan," Miho said. "But at the same time, I believe I'll be able to meet with the others again, just like Nodoka-san met with her friends.
"Haramura-dono's quite lucky," Yukari said. "Not only does she have friends from a young age, but she reconnected with them after so long. I never had any friends I knew well at that age. She must be happy to see them again, along with everyone else she met at Oarai."
Previously at the cafe
Nodoka sat at a table with her friends from Saunders, whom she knew to different degrees and in different contexts. Takakamo Shizuno and Atarashi Ako were two of her first friends in Achiga, one of a few towns she lived in as a child, and had introduced her to the tankery club. While at the tankery club, she had befriended Matsumi Kuro, whose older sister, Matsumi Yuu, was unable to come to the drawing due to being at university. In middle school, Nodoka had befriended Hanada Kirame when she joined the school's tankery club. It was only recently that Nodoka had gotten to know Arata, a childhood friend of the Matsumi sisters.
"Again, congratulations on becoming Saunders' commander, Arata," Nodoka said.
"Thank you, Nodoka," Arata said. "It is quite a responsibility."
"Akado-san knows that you're the best suited to handle this, Arata-chan," Kuro said. "Of all of us, you're the most reliable and dependable."
"Yeah," Arata said. "Most of the experienced leaders, like Kay and her friends, left at the end of the year."
"Well, Kay does know that you won't do anything like put up a radio interception balloon behind everyone's back, Arata," Ako said. "I'm glad she and Alisa patched things up before they graduated, but Kay has no desire for anything like that to happen again."
"So how about your circumstances, Nodoka?" Shizuno said.
"Oarai's no longer in immediate danger of closing," Nodoka said. "As such, we can look to the future and think about things down the road. Miho-senpai even occasionally floated the possibility of making me commander after she graduates."
"That's a sound idea," Arata said. "I may be a second-year, but I'm also planning for the future. We may be doing our utmost to win this year, but we're also looking ahead to the future, including by training some of our younger members to do tankery."
"I see," Nodoka said. "That sounds like quite a responsibility."
"You seem a little nervous, Nodoka-chan," Kuro said, "and I can understand the feeling. I was always happy driving, since it seemed like you had a great deal on your plate as commander of our small team. And Arata-chan has taken a large step up from commanding her tank to helping command the crew."
Arata nodded in agreement.
"Like Kuro said, I think I know where you're coming from, Nodoka, so I think I'll give you some advice," Arata said. "When you're a leader, you'll likely find yourself wondering why you were the one that was chosen. Simply do your best so that you can inspire the others to do the same. You and I aren't the only newcomers to leading, after all."
Nodoka nodded. Perhaps her old friends would once again become her opponents, but for now, they were able to cooperate, share knowledge and help each other.
Back at the school, Nodoka decided to place a call to Hisa, telling her what she heard from her friends, in hopes of getting her perspective as the former vice-captain.
"I see," Hisa said. "I think Sagimori-san raises some good points, ones that I followed as commander of my old middle school, and vice-captain of Oarai."
"She was also right about the two of us not being the only ones who had to get used to leading," Nodoka said, "perhaps more so than she realized. Tsuyama-senpai, Tsuchiya-senpai, Hirose-senpai and President Mikado are in the same position as well, with the latter having to deal with commanding a tank and being president of the student council."
"I see," Hisa said. "I spoke with Mikado-san recently. While she still judges us unfavorably and disagrees with the decisions her predecessors made, she's relatively humble and willing to learn, even from us."
"I'm a bit surprised that you were able to get to speak with her, Hisa-senpai," Nodoka said. "She always struck me as the type who was detached and professional, to the point of keeping a certain distance from her subordinates and constituents."
"You might just get the chance someday, Nodoka," Hisa said. "It'll be quite an educational opportunity, both in understanding what it means to be a leader, and the perspective of those in charge of the student government."
Nodoka nodded in agreement. The tournament was just getting started, and so was the ongoing struggle to keep Oarai Academy open and its tournament team around. Winning in the tournament and ensuring the school's continued survival were both of the utmost importance to her, so she hoped to learn more about those who were entrusted with the school.
Author's Notes
Oarai is going into the tournament again, but this time, they're no longer an unknown. Their victory has earned them a measure of respect, as well as fear, and their opponents will no longer underestimate them; some will acknowledge that they have advantages, but no longer believe said advantages are absolute. All too often, writers of sequels have the protagonists' rivals continue to treat them as amateurs or be dismissive of their accomplishments, so I hoped to avoid that. While Oarai is fighting to prove that its victory is not a fluke, that does not mean that its previous accomplishments count for nothing.
It's tempting to give Oarai the extra battle that would result from adding a seventeenth school into the tournament, but I decided to give it to Rinkai, to give them an additional chance to establish themselves as a worthy contender in universe.
Miho's victory the previous year has instilled in her a greater sense of confidence, which is why she feels more comfortable standing her ground against Erika this time. Her post-series level of confident can be difficult to portray while keeping her in character. Some writers go too far, portraying her as overly authoritative and even occasionally verbally aggressive toward others. Others, however, make her overly dependent on others, particularly the OC she's romancing. Portraying characters well in fan fiction is something of a balancing act, and in this case, it's a challenge to make Miho somewhat more confident while also keeping her true to herself.
I'm not sure whether Hao is the Chinese girl's first or last name. It's presumably the latter, but that does make her a bit of the odd one out of the Rinkai group, since they otherwise use first names on each other in Saki.
Originally, Miho's friends weren't going to appear in the tank cafe scene, since there were quite a few other characters, but I added them in because it wouldn't make sense for Miho to go off on her own without them.
Edited to make a few minor changes.