Interlude 14: Miho's Old Friends
Miho started up Skype on her laptop, and followed Emi's directions to get in touch with her at the appointed time; 7 p.m. in the time zone where Oarai's school ship currently was. The time had been changed at the last minute, with Emi e-mailing Miho to say that "a certain someone" had a last minute delay, and would be half an hour late.
Miho and Emi had spoken a few times, mainly sharing stories about their schools and the tournament.
"I'm on," Miho said into her headset's mic after logging in. "Can you hear me, Emi-chan?"
"Yep," Emi said. "It looks like everyone's here."
"Everyone?" Miho thought for a moment, knowing that the calls had, until now, been between her and Emi.
But then Miho looked into the list of Skype users in the conference call, and saw two names she recognized: Yuzumoto Hitomi and Yusa Chihiro.
Miho not only recognized her old friends' names, but after a moment, saw that their pictures, which they had uploaded as Skype avatars, seemed familiar.
Chihiro's picture showed her in her soccer uniform. She was significantly taller than she had been when she and Miho had parted ways, standing around the same height as the younger members of Duck Team. Her hairstyle, however, was more similar to their leader's, being short and boyish.
Hitomi's picture showed she had become somewhat taller than before, albeit not as much as Chihiro. Her hair was neatly cut and was just above her shoulders. She was wearing glasses, as she had been since her second year of middle school.
"Hitomi-chan? Chihiro-chan?" Miho said.
"Wow, it's been a while, Miho-chan!" Hitomi said.
"It certainly has," Chihiro said. "I was really surprised when Emi-chan mentioned her encounter with you when she encountered us Hii-chan's game against her."
Miho smiled with a bit of amusement and abundant joy in seeing her oldest friends come together again. Evidently, Emi had arranged this as something of a surprise, and it was quite a pleasant one for Miho.
"The three of you met by chance?" Miho said, wondering if Emi had such an experience when she reunited with them. Perhaps Emi had hoped to give Miho such a surprise when she encountered her at the tankery cafe.
"It's not really a coincidence, since Hitomi and Chihiro are going to the same school," Emi said.
"After being apart for middle school, Hii-chan and I went to Continuance together for high school," Chihiro said. It wasn't really a surprise, but it was pleasant nonetheless."
"They also know what happened," Emi said. "How two years ago, you saved the tank in the finals, and how last year, you went to Oarai and won the tournament."
"A lot happened over the past two years," Miho said. "But I think that what's true most of all was the lesson I learned from my sister and the three of you that summer. I may not be able to do tankery the Nishizumi way, but I still love doing it, especially with friends I can count on. That's what matters most of all, but it's not the whole story."
The others nodded.
"So... what about you, Hitomi-chan, Chihiro-chan?" Miho said. "What have you been doing since we parted ways?"
"I think I'll go first, since my story is the shortest," Chihiro said. "The short version is that I lost interest and gave up on tankery after parting ways with you and the others."
Emi let off a disappointed sigh, which the others heard, as she had left her mic open. The most Miho had told her thus far was that none of the others had done much tankery after she had left.
"Well, that sucks," Emi said. "After going through all that effort to keep Miho from giving up, you just up and quit like that?"
"It wasn't exactly an easy decision for Chii-chan, Emi-chan," Hitomi said. "But easy or not, her decision to give up tankery was, in some ways, inevitable."
"It started around the time you left," Chihiro said. "To be honest, doing tankery really wasn't the same without you around. We'd done some training exercises with the Nishizumi school students in the days before your departure, but while we could ask them to come and help us every so often, getting them to come on a regular or permanent basis was something else entirely."
"So you couldn't do it as much as you used to," Emi said. "I hope that wasn't the only reason."
"No, there was another factor; my mother," Chihiro said. "She's nowhere near as strict as Miho-chan's mother is, but whatever she says goes. That's why I was able to understand why Miho-chan's sister couldn't openly oppose her mother. And that's why, when my own mother told me to stop doing tankery, I couldn't say no."
6 years ago
The day after Emi's departure, Chihiro got home from school. Her house was a small but relatively nice one in the suburbs, a good place to live but a far cry from the Nishizumi estate. Unfortunately, her family situation was comparable to Miho's as well, with her mother, Yusa Kimiko, being somewhat strict, even if not as much so as Shiho.
"I'm home," Chihiro said as she opened the door and stepped inside.
"Welcome home, Chihiro," Kimiko said in her usual civil but stern tone. "Were you doing tankery with your friends again?"
"Unfortunately, no, Mom," Chihiro said, as she took off her shoes. "Emi-chan went back to Germany yesterday. We're short a driver."
"Ah, yes, you told me earlier that your friendl from Germany was leaving, but I didn't remember the date," Kimiko said. "But if your group can no longer do tankery together, perhaps that's for the best."
"What do you mean, Mom?" Chihiro said.
"I always did think of it as something of a distraction from your studies and soccer, but was willing to tolerate it because it didn't get in the way," Kimiko said. "It is nice for you to have some fun with Hitomi-chan and your other friends, after all. But now, it seems your group is going their separate ways, so now would be a good time for you to move on, just like your friends are. School and sports will soon become more difficult, so you must be ready to commit yourself to them."
Chihiro let out a sigh, knowing that in spite of her mother's tone, it was not a suggestion, but an order. The first time they had driven a tank together, she had accidentally fallen off and sprained her ankle while going to help Hitomi, causing her to miss practice until she recovered. Her excuse of being at Hitomi's place had not been enough to save her from a scolding, but if her mother had known she had been injured while operating a tank, she would have never let her do it again.
"Which only means our little army would have been disbanded that much more quickly," Chihiro thought gloomily. It was hard to accept that they would inevitably be going their separate ways, but it had to be done.
"Yes, Mom," Chihiro said, hoping that she did not sound as reluctant as she felt.
There was now only one thing left to do- inform Hitomi and Miho about the change in her circumstances.
The next day at school, Chihiro called Miho over to her and Hitomi's desks- adjacent to each other because of their names being close to one another in alphabetical order- and prepared to deliver the bad news once the three were together.
"So, Chii-chan," Hitomi said. "Miho-chan and I were wondering; where are we going to find a new driver? I could do it if you'd like."
Chihiro sighed.
"I appreciate the offer, Hii-chan, but we'll need a new gunner, as well," Chihiro said. "My mother says that she only tolerated my doing tankery for so long, and now that we're down a person, I may as well quit."
"I see," Miho said, resigned rather than surprised. "That's unfortunate, although we've had to get used to the reality that our group has been breaking apart since Emi-chan first told us about the move."
Hitomi, the most expressive of the three, pouted out of severe disappointment, and Chihiro and Miho wondered if she was going to cry.
"B-but Chii-chan..." Hitomi said, "I finally started getting good at driving! I can go an entire lap around the training course without hitting an obstacle or veering off course! All we need is another loader or driver, and we can do tankery again!"
Miho simply nodded. She didn't have the heart to tell Hitomi that much was expected of relative beginners for the Nishizumi school, and she also realized the significance of this accomplishment to Hitomi, who had previously gotten involved in tankery on a whim. She was persisting and improving in her weakest area, so the idea of not being able to do tankery with her friends was disheartening.
"I know, Hii-chan, and I'm sorry I gave up while you and Miho-chan still wanted to keep going," Chihiro said. "I'm really glad you found something you could take seriously, and wish I could put as much energy into it as you did."
"Don't apologize, Chihiro-chan," Miho said. "I understand if your mother doesn't approve, and while I hope that you will keep doing what makes you happy, I have no desire to cause strife between you and her." She then turned to Hitomi. "Hitomi-chan, I'll see if I can talk to my family's students to get another two members."
Miho realized that the students were willing to do favors for the daughters of their instructor, even the younger one. Miho felt guilty about using her influence like this, but when she apologized to the trainees for imposing on them, they had told her that they saw it as a chance to work on their skills. Perhaps she could not do so all the time, but if Miho could get two tankery club members, it would help Hitomi improve her skills, and give the two of them more time to enjoy tankery as fiends.
Miho wanted to do what she could for her friends, to keep the makeshift tankery crew going as long as possible. And even if one of their number had departed, she wanted to keep the group together for as long as she could.
"I appreciate the offer, Miho-chan," Chihiro said. "But I think our tankery group is finished. My mother doesn't want me doing tankery anymore, but I think you, Hii-chan and Emi-chan can go on to bigger and better things. I'll be looking forward to see how you do."
Miho nodded. She had begun the process of trying to find her own way of tankery, but was disappointed that she would most likely have to undergo it without the friends who had first showed her that tankery could be fun. In spite of that, the three remaining groups of the fledgling tank crew had not yet gone their separate ways, so they could still enjoy their time together, even if they did not do so inside a tank.
Present day
"When you left, Emi-chan, it was essentially the beginning of the end for us," Chihiro said. "We still hung out together, but we didn't do much related to tanks. And, of course, we ended up going to separate middle schools. I'm not blaming you; I'm just saying that this happens to a lot of childhood friends like us."
Miho nodded. As a result of the students going onto the ships in middle school, it was thus common for one to see classmates from a different town or even a different prefecture, and less common than one might expect to keep going to the same school as one's friends from elementary school. Those who were able to do so typically cherished their friends, much like Mako and Saori had remained close over the years.
"Yeah, I get what you're saying," Emi said. "Even before I came back to Japan, quite a few friends of mine went to different places for their own reasons. For example, G..." Emi stopped short and cleared her throat, realizing she was about to disclose something she was not yet prepared to discuss with the others. "Never mind; I'll tell you about that later. Anyway, where did you go, Chihiro? Hitomi?"
"My middle school, Troika Middle School, had a robust soccer club, so my mother hoped I would apply there, even if Miho-chan and Hii-chan never ended up going there," Chihiro said.
"Troika Middle School's tankery team is fairly strong," Miho said. "Much like Pravda, it was the main rival for the school my sister and I attended. But what about you, Emi-chan?"
"My parents wanted me to go to a different middle school," Hitomi said. "Fortunately, the one I attended had a tankery team, even if it wasn't as good as Troika's."
"Good or not, I wasn't very interested in doing tankery," Chihiro said. "There was no one I knew well on the team, so it would essentially be doing tankery with strangers. And even if there wasn't a scheduling conflict, my practices hardly left time for anything but what I had to do."
Something seemed quite familiar about Chihiro's story. Miho was interested in hearing more, both out of general interest and to pin down that similarity.
Four years ago
Inside the locker room of the Troika soccer team, Chihiro changed from her soccer uniform into her school uniform. With those two and her gym uniform, she had a total of three sets of uniforms, and was often changing from one to another. In a similar way, she had to balance her life as a student, her life as an athlete and her private life in spite of the demands all three placed on her; she was starting to understand where the term "student-athlete" came from.
"For all I wear the same things every day, I sure do have to change clothes a lot," Chihiro thought.
Kinue, then a student at the school and a member of the soccer team, walked up to Chihiro, having changed into her school uniform already. Given the size of the club and the highly competitive aspect, relatively few members knew each other well, but Kinue and Chihiro, while not quite friends, felt fairly comfortable talking with each other about team-related issues.
"Yusa-san, I have a question," Kinue said. "Is Waku-san quitting the team?"
"That's what I heard," Chihiro said. "Considering how unkind the rumors are, and how likely she is to hear them, if she hasn't quit already, it won't be long before she's gone."
"I've heard," Kinue said. "Waku-san always seemed committed, even if she had no higher ambitions than to play for her school. If that's the attitude the team has, I won't be far behind her."
Chihiro sighed. She and Kinue were merely acquaintances, but it always was sad to see someone she liked and who liked the sport lose hope and leave the team.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Atago-san," Chihiro said. "I know things can be difficult at times, but is it really that intolerable?"
Kinue let off a soft sigh, her expression unusually disheartened. It was difficult for her to say yes outright, but even more difficult to deny her feelings when she was asked about them directly.
"The 'all or nothing' attitude is what bothers me," Kinue said. "It really makes you wonder; if you fail to become a pro or qualify for a scholarship, are your efforts truly in vain?"
Chihiro shrugged. She found questions like that difficult to answer. She could not say yes as though she truly believed it, but how confidently could she say no? What answer would be both honest and believable?
"I don't know what to say to that," Chihiro said. "I am planning for my future in case that doesn't work out. But, isn't it at least worth a try? Like the saying goes, shoot for the moon and you'll land among the stars."
"That is a good way of putting it, Yusa-san," Kinue said. "My mother runs a tankery school, and realizes that many of the people who do tankery don't end up becoming professionals; my aunt is one such case, as are a few of my mom's friends. Mom thus believes in people learning what they can from tankery, and it will serve them well in whatever path they choose."
Chihiro nodded, as she briefly thought over nostalgic memories of tankery. Perhaps she would never find another group of girls like Miho and her friends, but she would remember the lessons of cooperation.
"Yeah, that's true, Atago-san," Chihiro said, "and I think the same can be said for soccer."
"It can," Kinue said. "And this is why I'll be leaving, to take what I've learned and use it elsewhere. Goodbye, Yusa-san; even if I do end up quitting, I'll make an effort to come to your games."
As Chihiro said goodbye to Kinue, she pondered this turn of events. Kinue's decision to get involved in soccer was not a mere impulse, nor was her decision to leave.
Chihiro's path was different. She felt the pressure, but believed she could withstand it. She wasn't sure whether her final destination would lie along the path of playing soccer, but she was determined to keep going as long as she could.
Present day
"A few days later, Atago-san went before the coach and announced she was quitting the team," Chihiro said. "She wasn't the first or the last to do so."
"That must have been after she talked with her mother, sister and cousin in the restaurant," Miho thought, as she recalled what Kinue had told her. "And all of them supported her decision. That's yet another difference between her family and mine."
"You mean you met Atago Kinue-san?" Miho said.
"You know her?" Chihiro said.
"Yes, she's a friend of mine," Miho said.
"I also met her briefly," Emi said. "The Atagos aren't as big of a name as the Nishizumis, but people know who she is."
"At the time, I briefly wondered if she was surrendering to pressure from her family to do tankery," Chihiro said. "But her family seemed quite different from yours, Miho-chan."
"Certainly," Miho said. "She's the type who knows she wouldn't make it in an extremely competitive and driven school like Black Forest, which explains why she had to quit. But what about you, Chihiro-chan? What are your future plans?"
"Yeah, I'm planning on studying physical therapy at university," Chihiro said. "We athletes know how important our body is, so we fully appreciate the importance of keeping it in good working order. Spraining my ankle after falling off the tank back when we first met really sucked, and I saw a few of my teammates get injured in our games."
"It doesn't sound quite as glamorous as going pro," Emi said. "And it's certainly unlike some of my teammates, who hope to become professional tankers in the future."
"Maybe not, but I was never completely obsessed with soccer," Chihiro said. "I give it my all, and hope to make it big, but at the same time, I'm not fixated on it or blind to the possibility of losing, among other things not working out as I'd hope. It was a path that was chosen for me, but also one that I genuinely enjoy."
Miho nodded, even as she heard an implied "unlike the Nishizumis," in Chihiro's voice. Chihiro was always the most tactful and polite of Miho's three childhood friends, compared to Hitomi's tendency to get excited enough to forget her manners, or Emi's brazen disregard for what others might find offensive. As such, Chihiro chose her words carefully, even if what she said hinted at her true feelings.
"So where did you end up, Hitomi-chan?" Miho said.
"I got into a middle school that did tankery- Rising Sun Middle School," Hitomi said. "It probably wasn't as serious as Black Forest or Bismarck were, but it was still a step up from what the four of us did."
"Pretty much anything is," Emi said. "Back then, I saw playing in a tank as nothing more than preparing for the next level at best. That said, I did hope that all of you would go up to the next level with me, even though my circumstances meant we wouldn't be on the same team."
"So did I, Emi-chan," Hitomi said. "Of course, back then, my concern was whether I could continue to keep up my expectations, and keep pace with you and Miho-chan."
"True," Emi said. "I'll be honest; disregarding Miho's family issues, you were the one I was most worried about as far as determination and skill went. But I saw that you were not only trying hard, but willing to go the extra mile in order to improve yourself, so it was only a question of whether you could do that over the long term."
Five years ago
Hitomi, now in Rising Sun Middle School, realized that virtually every aspect of her life had become more challenging. She now not only had to do chores, but had to keep her dorm room clean. All her subjects became more challenging, and the workload increased. Tankery was no exception, as it had gone from a game she played with her friends, to a sport in which she was expected to do her best to win.
She attended an orientation meeting of the tankery team for new members. They were told that for this meeting, it was fine for them to wear their school uniforms, a blue sailor fuku with a red neckerchief, but if they wished to participate, they would have to order a tankery uniform. For the briefest of moments, Hitomi wondered if that was the only requirement for entry, before the instructor disabused her of that notion.
Hitomi listened to the tankery instructor recite the rules in the first meeting of the year. Students were expected to show up to practice on time, every day, notifying the teacher when they were unable to come, or if they no longer wished to participate. If they did not fulfill those expectations, they would no longer have a place on the team.
All the rules seemed simple enough, and were things that had been asked of Hitomi in school, even before middle school. But Hitomi believed they were delivered with an unusual degree of severity.
The instructor's final remarks on the first day were the ones Hitomi remembered best.
"You all are not little kids anymore," the instructor said. "So if you prove that's true, then you'll be treated accordingly."
That last statement was not a threat, but a challenge, one that Hitomi hoped to fulfill however she could.
"Yes, ma'am!" she said with everyone else.
That evening, Hitomi called Chihiro, whom she managed to keep in contact with through middle school, and told her about the team and its rules.
"That's pretty much what one would expect, Hii-chan," Chihiro said. "I got a similar speech from my soccer coach. Both your coach and mine want to make sure that the people who play for them know up front what is expected of them."
"I know what you're saying, Chii-chan," Hitomi said. "But it's starting to feel more like a class than a game."
"Well, they are trying to teach you something here, and hoping that you get better at it over time," Chihiro said. "But in any case, I don't think your coach is asking too much of you- just that you be a player that your teammates can count on. If you can do that, I think that you'll be able to find players that will put in the same amount of effort."
"I guess," Hitomi said, not entirely convinced.
"Think of our time together last summer as a taste of what will come in the future," Chihiro said. "A great deal more will be asked of you, but you'll likely find yourself enjoying it more if you take it seriously."
Hitomi nodded. Gone were the days when she could get involved with something on a whim and drop it just as quickly. She had matured since then, and become stronger-willed, but most of all, she'd found something she did not want to give up on. The latter was all the reason she needed, and as long as she had that, she was willing to rise to the occasion, do whatever the coach asked of her, and do well enough that she never had to worry about the consequences of failing.
Present day
"I continued showing up and doing my best, day in and day out," Hitomi said. "At some point, meeting the expectations became natural to me. That's why when we had actual matches against other schools, I felt ready."
"I noticed that, too," Chihiro said. "And while that conversation was before I started noticing the discontent among Waku-san, Atago-san and some of the others in my soccer team, I still believe that things are more enjoyable if you stick with them and take them somewhat seriously."
"Kinue-san has found her passion," Miho said. "I may not know your other acquaintance, but I hope she has, as well."
"Thanks, Miho-chan," Chihiro said. "Atago-san may not remember me, but send my regards to her."
"I will," Miho said, before deciding to get back on subject. "So, how did your school fare, Hitomi-chan?"
"As I was saying, my school did relatively well in the tournament," Hitomi said. "We ultimately lost each time, but largely to opponents of what the coach called our 'weight class,' rather than a school like the one Miho-chan went to. The matches were fairly close, though, so I didn't feel as though I was out of my depth. I knew I had room to improve, and I felt as though if I did, I'd do better next year."
"That's certainly different from Black Forest," Miho said. "It's nice to feel as though you can do better, rather than feeling as though you're stuck on the top and fearing anything that could knock you off of it. Oarai may have won last year's tournament, but they haven't lost sight of that desire to improve, nor do they take their successes for granted."
"Ah, yes, Black Forest," Hitomi said in an uncharacteristically somber tone. "That does remind me of how I started facing opponents like them, once I went to Continuance Girls' Academy."
"Right, I've heard of Continuance ," Emi said. "They've got one of the biggest tankery teams outside of the top-ranked schools. Unfortunately for them, between everyone in their reserve roster and their senior teams, they can't field a tankey team that can play to save their lives, present company excluded."
"You didn't have to put it like that, Emi-chan," Chihiro said. "I also ended up going to Continuance, and they didn't seem all that bad from what I saw, even if they lost to your school."
"I agree with Chihiro-chan," Miho said. "From what I heard, their individual skill is decent, even if they have not been able to defeat Black Forest and other schools."
"You may be right," Emi said. As a result of age and maturity, she had the capacity to realize that it was no longer worth pressing her argument when she stood at risk of hurting Hitomi's feelings. Emi had come to realize that she was not always right, and that not only could she not always convince people, but there were times when it was best not to try. In the past Emi had paid dearly for speaking in anger when she was certain she was in the right on a more important issue, so Emi had no desire to press a trivial issue that was largely subjective.
"In any case, good team or not, I had a lot of difficulty getting in," Hitomi said. "There were a lot of people out there who were better at it than I was, so I couldn't necessarily out-compete them for a spot on the team."
Two years ago
Hitomi stood outside the tankery commander's office at Continuance, looking over the results of the tryouts. Only the names of those who would be participating as regular members of the team were listed, along with their assignments. Hitomi had to wonder if this was for the sake of sparing the feelings of the rejected by publicly disclosing their status as such, not wanting to bother, or some combination of both.
Hitomi thus had no idea how many people had applied and gotten turned away. Was it true that she was at the bottom of the barrel? Or was it possible that there were those who were so much better than she was?
So when Hitomi met up with Chihiro that afternoon on their walk home, she hoped for sympathy, but also expected a reality check.
"How did your tryouts go, Chii-chan?" Hitomi said.
"As well as could be expected," Chihiro said. "I'm still mainly doing chores for the team as one of the new members, but some of my senpais have taken an interest in my skill in the training exercises. They didn't make any promises, but they said there was a chance I could make the team fairly soon, as one of the better first-years. Considering that on the team, there's two or three second-years, and the the rest are third-years, it's quite good indeed."
"I see..." Hitomi said.
"I'm betting you're in a not entirely different situation, Hii-chan," Chihiro said.
"How did you know...?" Hitomi said, briefly surprised.
"Intuition, based on how well I know you and why you'd ask about my situation," Chihiro said. "But also, I know how clubs work."
"Well, the leadership of the tankery team wasn't quite so encouraging," Hitomi said. "They essentially said we'd have to keep on coming to practice, or they wouldn't have us around even on the bench."
"Is that so?" Chihiro said. "Then it seems like they don't keep people around out of pity, but because they're of value to the team."
Hitomi nodded. A part of her found it disheartening that practice would likely be all she did for at least her first year. But anothe part saw it as her duty to the team, an opportunity to improve, and a chance to do tankery. She was no longer a little girl playing around in a tank, but one competing alongside her team, and she realized that by taking tankery more seriously, she was also enjoying it more.
Present day
"It was certainly very different from back then, when I was a member because the rest of you needed me," Hitomi said.
"You could say that," Emi thought. She had heard rumors that at Continuance, where friendships were key, getting good spots was more a matter of who one knew rather than what one knew. But rumors were rumors, and Emi had heard too many unpleasant and false rumors about her own school- from its recruiting tactics to how it procured the funding for its tanks- to unquestioningly accept what she heard about others second-hand.
"That's true," Miho said, "and I'd go so far as to say that if we had been missing any one of us, we wouldn't have been able to use our tank. So if one of us had a problem, the others would pitch in to help out, and if two of us had a dispute, we'd have to resolve it if we wanted to keep going. In a sense, Oarai is somewhat reminiscent of that, given that every available girl is put into a tank."
"There are advantages in having some players to fall back on," Chihiro said. "If one player gets injured on my soccer team, we can call in a player from the bench to replace her, and we can rotate players in and out for certain games, especially exhibition matches. Essentially, the good of the team comes before that of any individual member."
Miho nodded. Perhaps a day would come when Oarai would grow to the point at which they had team members to spare, and Miho hoped that it would continue to be an effective and relatively inclusive team.
"Even back then, I understood the need to stay competitive," Hitomi said. "Our school lost to St. Gloriana, whose commander was apparently quite strict and ruthless."
"Do you mean Ceylon?" Emi said.
"Yeah, I think so," Hitomi said. "I heard she was from the Black Tea Garden. I found the name odd, so I asked our commander, Mika-san, about it, and she told me about the group."
"One of Satoha's old friends from middle school goes to St. Gloriana and heard about her," Emi said. "Satoha's friend describes Ceylon as a hotheaded and arrogant wannabe Nishizumi, who was a tyrant to compensate for the fact that she didn't know how to run a team. So don't confuse that bi... that girl's posturing with actual strength, Hitomi."
"I don't," Hitomi said, "although the fact is that there not only were people in my school who were better than I was, but there were tankers from other schools who were also better than them."
"I see what you mean," Miho said. "That can be discouraging sometimes. " Her school had sometimes struggled with their weakness compared to others, but had ultimately pulled through and proven that they could triumph.
"I made it to the regular team in my second year," Hitomi said, "which my senpais said was better than the average tanker. But even 'above average' effort didn't seem to hold a candle to Black Forest."
Last year
Hitomi opened the top hatch of her tank, and surveyed the battlefield. Her tank was one of the few on her side that had not been disabled, but it may as well have been. Looking a few hundred yards to the northwest, Hitomi saw her school's flag tank, a T-26 E Command Tank, disabled. Hitomi's group had been too late to reach the flag tank, and too weak to do much against the onslaught.
In spite of what she had heard, Hitomi found the result difficult to accept. Her team had won against Blue Division in the previous battle; their advantage had not been overwhelming, but they mostly had the upper hand from start until finish. And this time, they had been crushed under Black Forest's might, losing six tanks, including their flag tank, while Black Forest only lost two.
Hitomi remembered facing Nishizumi school students before. Maho was, even back then, calm, decisive and quite skilled, but the other three were prone to bickering and underestimated their untrained counterparts in Miho's team. That handicap, however, was only enough to enable Hitomi and her friends to eke out a near-victory.
Since then, Hitomi had come a long way, but it seemed as though the Nishizumi students had come even further. She believed she had done her best, having improved in both tankery and determination. But compared to the Nishizumi students' extensive training, her skill seemed to be paltry by comparison. And given the sacrifices and effort the Nishizumi disciples had made, her resolve to change herself and commit herself the same way her peers did seemed mediocre at best.
But Hitomi then remembered the time she and the others had helped Miho confront her mother, and how Shiho had coldly said that victory mattered above all else. The Nishizumi school's means of attaining success were means that Hitomi and her friends- both from childhood and at Continuance- could not accept, nor could they accept the idea that they were the only way to win.
So Hitomi vowed to seek a happy medium, to be dedicated but not obsessed. Perhaps she would not always win with that mindset, just as she had lost the practice battle against Maho, but she felt as though she would achieve something even more meaningful than victory.
Present day
"Some think that my perspective is defeatist, and I'm trying to justify my inability to win," Hitomi said. "But while I believe in trying hard, I also don't think winning is everything, and my commander, Mika, thinks the same way."
"I don't think so," Miho said, "and I think a lot of people would agree with you. The Atago school stresses self-improvement even in the face of defeat, even if their heiress and the instructor's elder daughter, Atago Hiroe-san, is one of the most competitive people I know."
"Incidentally, Miho-chan, your sister didn't seem to recognize me," Hitomi said. "It had been too long, and we'd met only a handful of times back then."
Hitomi's tone was the same as the one in which she used to describe her defeat- she was disappointed with what happened, but knew that it was a natural outcome.
"I see," Miho said. Perhaps if she asked Maho, she would remember Hitomi's name, but could not be expected to pick Hitomi's face out of a crowd. "If you'd like, I could ask to see if she remembers you."
"Well, I guess the Nishizumis can't be expected to remember everyone they defeat," Emi said. "I probably wouldn't remember Maho's face if she wasn't famous."
"And, of course, we lost this year to a newcomer," Hitomi said. "We weren't quite sure what to expect when we got Rinkai right off the bat, but we had some inkling by the time they defeated Bosporu. And yet, that wasn't enough to win."
A few days ago
Hitomi stood along with the rest of the team in the post-game ceremony for the match against Rinkai. As frustrating as she found her defeat, given it was her last chance to compete in the tournament, she had gotten used to accepting unfortunate results gracefully, thinking positively and pouring her efforts into a worthy endeavor as a means of coping, doing whatever she could to be of use to the team. While she had become more focused, mature and disciplined over time, she still had much of her youthful energy, and her teammates appreciated her giving her all.
As the crowd dispersed and started to go home, Emi turned and walked toward her, not having noticed her in the pre-match greetings.
"Hitomi?" Emi said, hoping that Hitomi still remembered her and was fine with her using her first name.
"That's me," Hitomi said, reacting reflexively and addressing Emi as she once did. After a moment, she turned and recognized the speaker. "Wait, Emi-chan?! Is that you?"
"Yeah," Emi said. "It's been a while, Hitomi."
Hitomi charged forward and threw her arms around Emi, causing her to fiercely brush and protest.
"You know her, Emi?" Satoha said, turning to Emi.
Emi let off a sigh as she released herself from Hitomi's arms, not having wanted Satoha to see Hitomi's display of affection.
"Yeah, she's Yuzumoto Hitomi, a friend from the summer I spent in Japan," Emi said, as she broke free of Hitomi's embrace. "Hitomi, this is Tsujigaito Satoha, a Japanese exchange student I met and befriended in Germany, as well as my commander."
"Nice to meet you," Hitomi and Satoha said, as they bowed to each other.
"I'm honestly surprised that you're still doing tankery, Hitomi," Emi said, impressed. "You changed quite a bit in the time I knewt you, but I wasn't sure how far this newfound determination would carry you."
"It hasn't always been easy, Emi-chan," Hitomi said. "But I've learned that nothing worthwhile ever truly is. Chii-chan's helped me understand that, even if she's no longer doing tankery, and she showed up to support me."
"Chihiro's at this school too?!" Emi said.
"Yeah, talk about happy coincidences, Emi-chan," Chihiro said, making her presence known to the others there. She had come to support the team, but was not expecting to see Emi there, since neither she nor Chihiro attended the tournament drawing.
"Speak of the devil..." Emi said.
"Yeah," Chihiro said. "Congratulations on your victory, Emi-chan, Tsujigaito-san."
"Thank you," Satoha said. "You must be Yusa Chihiro-san. Emi told me about you."
Emi let off a brief chuckle. She and Chihiro had often butted heads when they were younger, and even after the group had stabilized, they were the among the most prone to disagreements.
"I can only imagine what she's told you about me..." Chihiro said. "But it's nice to meet you, too, Tsujigaito-san."
Satoha briefly checked her phone, and, seeing a text message from the coach, turned to Emi.
"I hate to break this reunion up," Satoha said, "but we will need to get going soon. The coach is impressed that we won again, but we've got to get back and prepare for the next match."
Hitomi sighed but nodded. She knew enough that, win or lose, tankery teams had to keep working hard and improving themselves, whether or the next round or their next shot at the tournament. That sort of resolve was what carried her this far, and she hoped that it would take her team to greater heights in the future.
"Alright," Emi said. "Here's my contact info, so let's talk in a few days. I have one other person I want to introduce to you... or should I say, re-introduce."
Both Hitomi and Chihiros faces lit up, immediately recognizing the name. While Hitomi had defeated, at long last, their group of friends from many years ago would be reunited. That alone made the day worthwhile, and they eagerly awaited the day when they would talk again.
Present day
"We didn't have all that much time to talk," Hitomi said. "But Emi-chan did arrange for us to talk again, while arranging this as a surprise for you, Miho-chan, so I'm glad we met her again."
"As am I," Chihiro said. "But I don't think we've heard about what happened to Emi-chan yet."
"So she didn't tell you when you met her earlier?" Miho said. "I heard some of it already, but I'm interested in hearing it again."
"I didn't tell either of them," Emi said. "So, shoot."
"What kind of school was the one you went to back in Germany, Emi-chan?" Chihiro said. "Does it have a theme of any kind?"
"It's a standard German high school," Emi said. "It has a full lineup of German tanks, but not the German theme. It's a bit like the standard Japanese high school Oarai in that sense, rather than the Japanese-themed Japanese high school, Chihatan."
"I see," Miho said. "When you told me about it earlier, it reminded me of Oarai Academy in that sense. Oarai Academy has no unifying theme for its tanks, nor does it have one for its school. The school is very much like a traditional Japanese school, with the students wearing a sailor fuku that they might wear anywhere else."
"I see what you mean," Chihiro said, "although there's a fair amount of variety among 'ordinary' high schools. The national theme seems to be the one that's most easily noticed. "
"So..." Hitomi began, "it'd be like if Oarai's like a vanilla cake without frosting, Black Forest is a vanilla cake with chocolate frosting, Emi-chan's high school is like a chocolate cake without frosting, and there aren't any chocolate cakes with chocolate frosting?"
Chihiro chuckled, but because she was not pushing the button to talk, none of her friends heard her.
"That's a bit of an odd way to put it, Hitomi, but it works," Emi said. "My school was a standard German high school, even if the team was uniformly German."
"So that's how they're like Black Forest," Hitomi said.
"That's where the similarity ends, though," Emi said. "They do take things a lot more seriously than most Japanese schools, albeit not to the extent as Black Forest. I think Miho might have fit in there, and probably would have become commander if she'd so desired."
"Possibly," Miho said. "I didn't originally choose to lead Oarai, but now, I'm glad that I became commander. It's a way for me to help my comrades become better at tankery, my own way."
Emi silently acknowledged Miho's declaration, reaching the answer she'd been searching for all those years.
"Of course, there's something I didn't tell you around the time I was leaving, but I'm sure you figured it out on your own," Emi said. "As much as I disliked your sister back then, I realized that I had one thing in common with her, to an extent- going forward in tankery, determined to win but not understanding why."
"That's sort of a stretch, Emi-chan," Chihiro said, "unless your family wanted you to do it. You did say you had an older sister who did tankery, right?"
"Yeah, I did," Emi said. "She was pretty serious about it, and I hoped to do at least that much, if I wanted to get involved. Back then I didn't understand how into it the Nishizumi school was, or that I was more like them than I realized, pushing myself so far and being impatient with those who seemed to be just playing around. It's ironic, really, considering how much I hated the Nishizumi school back then."
"I remember you saying something like that the last time you had Hii-chan and I over before you left," Chihiro said.
Emi silently concurred. She had long since deduced that Chihiro and her friends had told Miho about what they had discussed, thereby going against her express wishes. In the end, though, since Miho had found her answer on her own, Emi had determined that it did not matter whether she was the impetus, and was simply glad that Miho had realized what she had.
"So did I, Chii-chan," Hitomi said. "But what changed, exactly, Emi-chan?"
"It was just after you all saw me off that I thought more about it," Emi said. "I didn't come up with anything immediately, but it did set me on the path to finding the answers."
Six years ago
Emi sat in her seat on the train as it pulled away from the Panzer IV crewed by Miho and the rest of her friends from Japan. While the Panzer IV had pulled up to the train, it could not stay there forever, since the girls had already said their goodbyes, and were now hoping to get back before they got in trouble.
As the Panzer IV faded into the distance, with the last thing Emi saw being it turning around to go back, Emi turned back to her mother, who spoke once she had her attention. Friede Nakasuga was Emi's German parent, a woman with long red hair, who spoke with a German accent and introduced herself with her name in Western order.
"Your friends certainly have a flair for the dramatic, Emi," Friede said.
"Well, Mom, I suspect it's because they had no other choice," Emi said. "It took Miho this long to find out an answer to all her tankery-related problems, tentative as it may be. It probably won't be easy with that overbearing mother of hers, but it's a first step, and I'm confident she'll continue down this path."
Friede took a moment to process her daughter's calling Miho by her first name.
"And to be honest, Mom, it's not just for your sake that I'm going back to Germany," Emi continued. "It's also for the sake of finding my own way of doing tankery. I'm not a fan of just playing around, but at the same time, I can't do things the Nishizumis can. How, then, should I do tankery?"
"I think the phrase that you're looking for is 'a happy medium,' Emi," Friede said. "Do it seriously, but also do it for fun. But most of all, do it your own way."
"Thanks, Mom," Emi said. This principle was like laying the groundwork for the building of her own way of tankery. It was not enough to get her very far, but it was an important step that would lay the foundation for the future.
At the airport, Emi and her mother met up with Nakasuga Asuka, Emi's older sister, who had finished preparations of her own, and was waiting for her mother and her sister. The family had a set of four tickets back to Germany, and
On the flight back to Germany, Emi, sitting in the window seat next to her sister, decided to ask a question she had in mind. The trip would be a long one, and now was as good a time as any.
"Nee-san?" Emi said. "Why did you get involved in tankery in the first place?"
"I'm not sure where to begin, Emi, or what kind of answer you're looking for," Asuka said. "What brought this on?"
"Well, I've been thinking," Emi said. "Miho and her sister have always been expected to do tankery just because their family wants them to do so. Miho has always wanted to emulate her sister... until she learned that her sister hoped that she would do things her own way."
"I see," Asuka said, intrigued to hear more about her former opponent. "But what about you, Emi? Our family is nothing like the Nishizumis, so there's no pressure on you to do tankery a certain way- or not to do it."
"I know, but now that I think of it, it's not all that different for me," Emi said. "I got interested in tankery because you, my sister, were doing it. So I have to wonder- how did you first get started in tankery? Who influenced you?"
Asuka paused to consider her sister's question. In this case, the facts were clear enough, but they were not the only thing Emi needed to hear. She needed an answer that appropriately answered the doubts that led her to ask this question, and Asuka was unsure she could give such an answer.
"There isn't much of a story," Asuka said. "No one told me to do it or why to do it; I'd just heard about it for so long that when my middle school announced they were recruiting, I decided to try it out."
"I see," Emi said. A part of her had hoped that her sister's answer would be more conclusive and give her more to work with.
"Sorry, Emi," Asuka said. "I suppose that wasn't very helpful."
"Actually, Nee-san, it gave me some idea of what I should do," Emi said. "It's just like Mom said; the fact is that no one can tell me why I should do tankery any more than they can tell Miho how to do it."
Emi looked out the window at the almost endless sea of clouds below the plane. They still had a long way to go on their trip, and it seemed even longer before Emi could truly work on finding her own way of tankery. At this moment, Emi realized the difficulty of what she had asked of Miho, whose mother was far less supportive of her independent initiative than Emi's was.
But difficult or not, Emi realized that this process was one that she and Miho would have to go through. As such, she hoped that by the time they met each other again, they would be able to tell each other the answers they had found.
Present day
"I was far less certain of myself than I let on when we parted ways," Emi said. "As one might expect, it's easy to go around spouting off about your ideal, but it's harder to put it into practice, and make sacrifices for it."
"That's right," Miho said. "And it's because the Nishizumis have done that in the past that they're so confident about arguing in favor of it, making it somewhat more difficult for me to stand my ground and defend my own position."
"Yeah, but I don't get it," Hitomi said. "Even if Miho-chan is in disagreement with the Nishizumi school, shouldn't she be able to practice her style? She doesn't have any interest in running the school, then it shouldn't be a problem for her to do as she wishes."
"You met her mother, Hitomi," Emi said. "She's not very tolerant of her daughter's disagreements with her, and it probably got worse after Black Forest didn't win two years ago."
Miho nodded.
"That's true, Emi-chan," Miho said, "and that has caused me some...difficulties." She then moved to change the subject. "But you were about to mention what you were going to do about it?"
"Right," Emi said. "As I said before, Germany's schools are more serious than most tankery schools except for Black Forest and maybe Pravda."
"So... stricter than my schools, right?" Hitomi said, once again feeling insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
"Right," Emi said, "but strict does not equal tyrannical. You wouldn't have been guaranteed a spot on the team, but your coach would probably be willing to respect your efforts. It's probably similar in some ways to Chihiro's old soccer team at Troika, except more people know what they're getting into at the start and don't get cold feet."
"Probably," Chihiro said, "although I can't help but wonder if you say what you do because your standards are somewhat higher, Emi-chan."
"Maybe," Emi said. "But my perspective was still being shaped and formed at the time, as I learned more about tankery. I was still learning many of the basics, including how to command, which I had to do first, much like how painters have to learn how to use a brush before they can develop their own style and commit their artistic visions to canvas."
"I agree," Miho said. "The years that I did tankery until coming to Oarai did teach me a great deal about the basic skills of tankery. I never could do tankery the Nishizumi way, but without that experience, I may not have become what I am today."
"Neither would I," Emi said. 'But while my middle school years taught me the basics, and did leave their impact on me, I was most influenced by my high school years."
"As was I," Miho said. "What happened in your time there?"
"It was about two years ago, that I met a girl named Tsujigaito Satoha- Miho met her in the tank cafe, while Hitomi met her during our match," Emi said. "At the time I met her, Satoha was a Japanese exchange student, who studied abroad since starting high school."
Two years ago
Emi met with Satoha in the tankery hangar of her high school. While willing to meet with the exchange student, Emi realized that before any conversation with Satoha could begin, they would first have to settle on the language that they would be speaking.
"Just wondering, but do you speak German or Japanese?" Emi said, in Japanese.
"(Both,)" Satoha replied in German. "(Japanese is my native tongue, but I could use practice in German.)"
"(That works fine with me,)" Emi said in German, remembering how she had used Japanese while in Japan. "(I'm Emi Nakasuga and it's nice to meet you...)"
"(Satoha,)" Satoha said. "(Satoha Tsujigaito. It's nice to meet you, too.)"
Satoha extended her hand for a handshake, and Emi, after a moment of hesitation, shook it.
"(I hope that was alright with you, Emi,)" Satoha said, "(and my calling you by your first name is as well. You spent some time in Japan, so I was wondering if you wanted to adhere to their customs)."
Emi chuckled slightly.
"(Nah, the idea of being so polite all the time didn't really click with me,)" Emi said, "(especially not having to be so formal with people all the time, Satoha. The worst part, however, was having to keep your opinions to yourself and suck up to people.)"
"(To be honest, you do have to watch what you say in Germany, even if they have different standards of what you can and can't say)," Satoha said. "(There will always be those more powerful than you, and some things that simply aren't appropriate to say. Part of growing up involves coming to understand that)."
Emi sighed and nodded. As a result of becoming more mature, and a few cases of learning the hard way, one of which nearly cost her a friendship, Emi had become more mindful of others' feelings.
"(Yeah, I know,)" Emi said. "(But what I do like, Satoha, is that you're willing to come out and openly disagree with me, despite our only just having met. And you do seem like the type who's fine with othes disagreeing iwth you.)"
"(That, in and of itself, isn't a big deal,)" Satoha said. "(As long as you're reasonably polite about it and don't say anything that would be clearly out of line, you shouldn't worry about what others will think about holding a different opinion. Besides, I've been prepared for few people to share my values, and that's part of the reason why I came here.)"
Present day
"Satoha was a person who found German culture to be a bit of an adjustment," Emi said. "Having worn a uniform in middle school, she had to get used to the idea of wearing what she wants, within reason. During her orientation, she was slightly taken aback when someone she'd just met called her by her first name. But over time, it grew on her, and she's a bit of a Germanophile."
"I suspect she'd be disappointed by Black Forest," Miho said. "There isn't that much German culture at the school, even if it's German-themed. You seem to know this, Emi-chan, and I think Tsujigaito-san is most likely aware as well."
"Well, she is," Emi said, "although she mainly complains about the school's almost decade-long winning streaks. That's the thing she misses least about Japan."
"You mean it's different in Germany?" Chihiro said.
"Yeah," Emi said. "It's rare for the same school to win the tournament twice in a row, and three consecutive tournament victories has almost never happened, save for one time a couple years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Our school, a fairly strong contender in the tournament, won the tournament the year before I came there, but hadn't won it for five years before that victory. People were more or less fine with that five year losing streak, to the point at which they'd hesitate ot call it that.."
"It makes sense that Tsujigaito-san would feel the way she does about Black Forest if she experienced that," Miho said.
"Yeah, Satoha found watching the Japanese tournaent boring," Emi said, "since the same people won so often. She pretty much only watched it because I was interested- because I was a friend and because she enjoyed my commentary on it."
"But two years ago, there was the accident in the finals," Miho said.
"Back then, I wasn't expecting anything of that nature to happen, even if it was in character for you to make that decision," Emi said. "So you can imagine that seeing that turn of events, and you at the center of them, was quite a shock to me."
Two years ago
Emi and Satoha sat in a lounge in their dormitory building, watching the finals of the Japanese tankery tournament on TV, with a special channel devoted to Japanese broadcasts.
Satoha wondered what the point of watching a tournament with an almost predetermined winner was. While her and Emi's school had been eliminated in the semifinals this year, she had found the back and forth match between Churchill Girls' High School and Rising Sun Academy to be an exciting battle. The outcome, in which the latter defeated the former, succeeding where Satoha, Emi and their teammates had failed, was a pleasing case of an underdog triumphing.
"(It's nice that Pravda's still fighting, but I don't see how this can end well for them,)" Satoha said in German. "(They've gained an advantageous position, but they've lost so many of their tanks already, perhaps too many to fight back effectively.)"
"(Well, anything could happen at this point,)" Emi said. "(One shot on the flag tank is all they need)"
"(In theory, but I doub they could manage it)," Satoha said. "(Black Forest has taken some losses, but they're better put together at the moment than Pravda. If this goes on for much longer, Pravda will be broken down to the point at which they can't fight back effectively.)"
"(But look there,)" Emi said. "(Black Forest did have to take the flag tank away from the main group)."
Suddenly, the tank in the lead of the flag tank's group began sliding off the cliff path and into the water.
"(It's just like my sister in middle school!)" Emi said. "(But this time, Pravda doesn't seem to be helping out)"
"(They don't seem to know what's going on,)" Satoha said. "(It's a lot easier to judge a situation as a spectator than it is to do so as a participant.)"
Hesitant to make the same mistake that she did with Maho, Emi decided to continue watching, and find out what everyone saw and thought later. Perhaps not even the camera showed everything there was to see. At that point, Emi then noticed Miho climbing out of the tank.
"(Wait, is that Miho?)" Emi said.
"(Your friend from Japan?)" Satoha said. "(The younger daughter of Instructor Nishizumi?)"
Emi nodded.
The two watched speechlessly as the Pravda tanks advanced on and shot the commander-less Black Forest flag tank.
"Pravda wins the tournament!" the announcer said.
As the announcer's statement, one they had never expected to hear, echoed in their minds, Satoha and Emi found themselves unable to say anything in Japanese, German or any other language.
Finally, Satoha broke the silence, as the TV broadcasted the post-game ceremonies, with Hiroe taking the championship flag, as she had an oddly forced smile on her face.
"(I can't believe it...)" Satoha said. "(Did the younger daughter of the head of the Nishizumi school, instructed to win at all costs, abandon the flag tank to save those girls? Did the seemingly invincible Black Forest just lose?)"
"(I'd be more surprised if Miho didn't do something like that,)" Emi said, "(since that tenet of the Nishizumi school never sat well with her. Even her older sister doesn't really like that. As for Black Forest losing, yeah, that just happened.)"
"(For the first time in about a decade,)" Satoha said, thinking back to where she was when she was eight; a grade schooler who was only dreaming about doing tankery, rather than a teenager who was competing in the tournament. "(There will be repercussions from this, to be sure)".
"(Unfortunately, I think they'll just scapegoat whoever was responsible and keep on going the way they always have been,)" Emi said.
Emi's thoughts went back to Miho. When Miho realized what kinds of decisions her sister had to make in tankery as the Nishizumi heiress, she wondered if she could continue at all. Maho and Emi both knew that Miho enjoyed tankey when she could do it with friends, and so encouraged Miho to do it her own way and for her reasons, rather than under the Nishizumi style or for the sake of her family. But would her family or her school stand for this?
The irrepressible part of Emi, a fire burning within her that had been tempered but not extinguished by her increased maturity, found the idea of Miho being cowed into submission by her family unacceptable. Having come to realize the sacrifices Maho had made, it seemed unfair to rob Miho of the freedom her sister hoped she would have. And would people really criticize Miho, with several being grateful to her for saving their lives?
Perhaps if Miho were the same person Emi remembered, it would be difficult for her to stand her ground on this issue. But Emi believed that what Miho had done was right, and that was all there was to it.
"Miho, a lot of people are probably going to give you hell for what you just did," Emi thought, "In spite of that, I hope you persist, because their opinions aren't the ones that matter, and winning wasn't why you enjoyed doing tankery with me and with the other two. Those days might be behind us, but I hope you didn't also leave behind your love of tankery."
Present day
"I'd been hearing Miho's name here and there, but this was the first time I actually saw her since leaving for Germany," Emi said. "It seemed as though Miho could, even in a situation like the one that had transpired, do what she thought she must in spite of all the pressure against her."
"Unfortunately, Emi-chan, the pressure got to be too great for me, and I did end up leaving Black Forest, as you most likely heard," Miho said. "My sister and the friends I had saved had hoped it wouldn't come to that, and my parents and coach would have preferred that I persist and rededicate myself to victory. But I believed that as long as I stayed there, I would be pressured to do tankery the Nishizumi way."
Emi let off a sigh. She had not heard much about Miho since then, since she did not have Miho's contact information in the years since they had parted ways, just as Miho had lost touch with Chihiro and Hitomi. While virtually all those who watched tankery eagerly debated and discussed what Miho had done, few knew or talked about what had become of her, largely the result of Maho and Shiho officially reporting that Miho had left for personal reasons. Even that much was largely reported as an afterthought.
"I understand what you mean, Miho-chan," Chihiro said. "I felt the same way as Emi-chan when I heard about it. But in retrospect, I believe it was naive for us to think that your mother would have let you do as you pleased. Strict parents not only have high standards, but tend to keep their children on a short leash; my mother keeps in touch with my coach and my guidance counselor to stay on top of how I'm doing at school."
"Well, I suppose it was difficult for you to resist your mother's will," Emi said to Miho. "But at the same time, I thought that giving up on tankery was essentially letting your mother control you, even if you didn't give her what she wanted. So after seeing you drop off the radar between the end of the last tournament and the start of the next one, I was glad that the next thing I heard about you was that you were back in tankery, and leading rather than following. Seeing you just give up would have really pissed me off if the idea weren't so depressing."
Miho nodded solemnly. While she had believed that it would be impossible to continue in tankery as long as she was bound by her mother's expectations, she realized that she had never truly been prepared to give up what was such an important part of herself.
"Yes; in retrospect, I do believe that giving up on tankery was not a solution," Miho said. "Thankfully, Oarai was more accommodating to my style of tankery, even in the face of a threat to its existence, which was a far more concrete reason to demand success than Black Forest had. The former student council tried to forcibly recruit me, but in the end, I went along willingly, with the support of and for the sake of my new friends."
"That's good to hear," Emi said, "even if I didn't think Oarai was up to the task of taking down Black Forest at first."
"Neither did most people, Emi-chan," Miho said. "That worked to my advantage in that it ensured that my opponents would underestimate me, while there was relatively less pressure to win, at least at first."
"Ah, right, your school getting shut down if you didn't win," Emi said. "I heard about it before, as did most people, some time after the semifinals match. I still find it hard to believe that a school's very existence would be on the line in tankery. But it seems you were able to withstand the pressure and triumph."
"Still, doesn't it seem unfair, Miho-chan?" Hitomi said. "You wanted to avoid all this pressure, but then you were expected to succeed so that your new school could stay open."
"I'd hoped never to face such pressure, Hitomi-chan," Miho said, "but that fact was not something I could change. I had a chance to avert what was otherwise inevitable, to eliminate a threat that had been in place before I arrived, for the sake of those who have come to Oarai this year, and will attend Oarai after I graduate. So I did what I could, and was able to succeed, against all odds."
"I get it," Emi said. "And a lot of people are glad your school's still around."
"But what about you, Emi-chan?" Chihiro said. "What were you doing around this time?"
"After the unexpected outcome last year, Satoha gradually became more interested in the Japanese tournament," Emi said, "although I don't think Oarai got onto her radar until they defeated St. Gloriana. As for me, I was a bit surprised that you were the leader, but soon realized that it was probably due to you being one of the few with any real experience."
"That's more or less how it was," Miho said, "although I wasn't the only one."
"True," Emi said. "Of course, we had a tournament of our own to deal with, and while neither the stakes nor odds against us were as high, the result was the same as yours. We'd become the commander and vice-captain of the team that year, and led our team to victory."
"So how do you do things, Emi-chan?" Miho said.
Emi chuckled. She had told Miho a little about her team in one of her previous conversations, but was not about to divulge tactically sensitive information..
"I'm not about to show anyone my playbook, Miho- not even you," Emi said. "But, all in all, my team was a bit stricter than what you're used to, albeit not as much as Black Forest. If you're on the team, I expect you to believe that we can win and do your best. If you can't do that, then I have no need of you."
Emi paused for the briefest of moments, realizing that she was coming across fairly harsh, almost like the way she perceived the Nishizumis.
"But I won't cut someone loose if they're trying as hard as they can, nor will I leave a tank full of girls to drown, regardless of whether they're my teammates or my opponents," Emi continued. "My goal is to win against the people who do things that way, not sink to their level."
"So did you end up facing people like that, Emi-chan?" Hitomi said.
"Surprisingly not," Emi said. "The first couple opponents were mediocre, and our opponent in the semifinals, while strong, wasn't entirely hardcore; perhaps they're a bit like Saunders. My final opponent was, if anything, at a disadvantage against us. They lost, but not before making a more valiant effort against us than some might have expected."
Last year
As the sun set on the urban battlefield, the site of the final match in the German tankery tournament finals, the crowd was on the edge of their seats as the losing school made one last assault on Satoha and Emi's team's flag tank.
The schools participating in the finals were Satoha and Emi's school, as well as Napoleon High School. Some would have thought that Napoleon, based on its elimination against Satoha and Emi's school the previous year, could not have presented a credible threat to them.
Satoha, however, disagreed. She knew the school had a less than stellar run the previous year compared to its other efforts, even if she could only guess why. But she believed in the potential of schools to change. A promising freshman had taken control of the team.
In the end, despite, or perhaps because, of the fact that Satoha took Napoleon seriously, Napoleon was defeated. Their bold final assault with all their remaining tanks, hoping to punch a hole in Satoha's lines, was stopped cold, even if Satoha had suffered quite a few casualties in the process. Napoleon High School's flag tank had been disabled, as Emi fired a shot at close range before it could take aim at Satoha's flag tank.
At the end of the game, the commanders of both teams exchanged handshakes.
"(Thank you for the game,)" Satoha said to her opponent at the post-game ceremony. "(That last attack of yours made things interesting)".
"(I'm glad to hear that,)" Satoha's opponent said. "(You also performed better than we thought. I'd assumed that since we took out Churchill and Rising Sun, we'd have a chance against you, but I was wrong.)"
"(No, you weren't)," Satoha said. "(The fact that we won doesn't necessarily mean that our victory had been set in stone)."
"(I suppose so,)" Satoha's opponent said, starting to leave. "(I hope to play against you again someday.)"
"(Same here)," Satoha said before rejoining Emi.
After a brief ceremony, Satoha's school accepted the championship flag while hearing the cheers of their family, friends and fans.
"(That was fun)," Satoha said to Emi after the ceremony. "(Not all that many people were betting on us to win, and I'm interested in seeing who will rise to the finals next time)."
"(The Japanese finals should be coming up fairly soon)," Emi said. "(Apparently, Miho's school made it all the way to the final round in its first year and are facing off against the champions)."
"That should be interesting to see, at least," Satoha said. "I'm not entirely convinced they'll succeed, since Napoleon failed despite being at less of a disadvantage against us than Oarai is against Black Forest. But they've been putting up a valiant effort so far, so it should be fun to watch them."
"Glad to hear that," Emi said. While she appreciated Satoha's willingness to watch the finals with her, she was happy that Satoha was genuinely starting to enjoy it herself.
Present day
"Luckily, I wasn't the only one here who won the national high school tournament," Emi said. "Miho's school pulled through narrowly, after an impressive fight."
"We did," Miho said, "although it was a difficult to fight, and we never forget that it wasn't guaranteed."
"So, Emi-chan," Chihiro said, "you, like Tsujigaito-san, would like to see more people who can threaten the established champions in the field of Japanese tankery?"
"Right," Emi said. "I, for one, was tired of Miho's mother looking down on us, and refused to accept that people like us couldn't defeat Black Forest, so I hoped to stir things up somehow."
"And you think your school's the one to do it?" Chihiro said.
"Right again," Emi said, her tone cocksure. "To put a long story short, Rinkai, a private multicultural school with many exchange students, is finally getting a tankery team together. It took a while to get the support from the various countries to get the different tanks, but now we've got them, and some students who are talented exchange students."
"Including yourself?" Chihiro said playfully.
"Well, after winning the tournament, we did catch the recruiter's notice," Emi said.
Last year
A few weeks after the tournament victory, Satoha and Emi arrived for a meeting with a scout in their coach's office. When they saw a platinum-haired woman with a dark business suit, they immediately recognized her as the person who had come to meet them.
"(Hello, and thank you for coming)," Alexandra said in German. "(My name is Alexandra Windheim, the tankery coach for Rinkai All Girls School.)"
"(I'm Satoha Tsujigaito and she's Emi Nakasuga,)" Satoha said. "(It's nice to meet you.)"
Alexandra offered her hand for a handshake, shaking hands with Satoha and Emi.
"(It's nice to meet you, too,)" Alexandra said. "(To begin with, would you feel more comfortable speaking Japanese or German?)"
"We can speak either, Coach Windheim," Emi said. "Japanese is Satoha's native tongue, and German is mine, but we're each comfortable in the other."
"Good," Alexandra said. "Like you, I'm also from Germany, but I'd like to see how good your Japanese is, since that's what's relevant here. I'd like to congratulate the two of you on winning the tournament, and formally extend an invitation to come do tankery at the Rinkai All Girls School tankery team."
"In Japan, right?" Emi said. "It's been a while since I was in that country, and to be honest, I felt like a bit of an outsider when I was there."
"You won't be the only one," Alexandra said. "Various other people are coming there, from various different countries with their own cultural baggage. The school, as you may have heard, caters to exchange students, and has an international theme."
"Really?" Satoha said. "How do things work over there?"
"Rinkai's goal is an atmosphere that is inclusive to many others from other countries," Alexandra said. "We do have our own rules and standards that we expect our students to comply with, even if they're not what they would be used to. For example, you must wear a uniform to school, or you will be sent home. We do what we can to help students adjust, but no one is exempt from the rules."
A part of Emi was less than pleased to hear this part, particularly having to wear a uniform but she quickly put that out of her mind. Neither Satoha, who had worn a sailor fuku to school every day in middle school, nor Alexandra, who wore a suit to work every day, would have much patience with her griping over a relatively minor matter. Most of all, though, Emi respected Alexandra for being up front with everything involved in what she was proposing, including what Emi did not wish to hear.
"However, what's most important of all is keeping an open mind, both of the country you're visiting, and of the things your fellow visitors bring to the table," Alexandra said. "As such, if you're willing to do what is asked of you and participate in the school community, you'll get a great deal out of your time at Rinkai."
Alexandra passed Emi and Satoha two copies of the Rinkai brochure. The front color had a few girls, from a variety of different races and ethnicities, wearing the uniform. As Emi resigned herself to the fact that it was one of many things she would have to get used to, she also realized that it was an interesting metaphor for the school; people from various backgrounds uniting for a common purpose, an attempt at preserving everyone's individuality while achieving a degree of conformity necessary for an organization.
The conversation turned to Emi and Satoha's tankery careers, as well as some of their personalities. It lasted a little over an hour, with roughly twenty minutes for each girl, and more than twenty for various other questions.
"So, what do you two think?" Alexandra said. "Do you think you have what it takes to do well at Rinkai? Would you enjoy coming here?"
Emi nodded. While she was younger, she had a tendency to speak her mind even when it hurt other people's feelings, and she once described herself as socially being a bull in a china shop. But as she got older, she became better at expressing herself.
"I'll do my best," Emi said. "It sounds like an eye-opening experience."
Satoha nodded in agreement.
"Well said, Emi," Alexandra said. "I don't expect an answer from you today, and it will take some time to set up, but please think this over."
On the walk home, Satoha and Emi discussed what they had heard.
"All in all, I'm pretty enthusiastic about what I heard," Emi said, "although it will be a big step. What about you, Satoha?"
"For me, it'll essentially be going home once again," Satoha said. "Of course, I'm still living and going to school on a school ship, but in this case, I'll often be a few hundred kilometers from my parents, rather than several thousand."
Emi nodded.
"Some, after wining the tournament, wonder what their next step is," Emi said. "They may, after winning a national tournament, want to go up to an international level. I'm looking forward to the idea of helping out a new team."
Present day
"Satoha and I talked with our parents, of course," Emi said. "Satoha's folks wanted her to spend her final year of high school in Japan, and go to university there. My parents saw it as a potentially good opportunity to learn from other cultures. And that's how I ended up at Rinkai."
"What about your schoolmates, Emi-chan?" Miho said.
"The coach was sad to see us go, but found Rinkai a fairly exciting prospect," Emi said. "She's proud when her students move on upward to bigger and better things, and on the bulletin board in her office, she posts articles about alumni and their accomplishments."
"Sounds nice," Hitomi said. "I wonder if Black Forest is proud of Miho-chan."
"I don't think so, Hitomi," Emi said. "She won, but not their way, and ended up defeating them. Aside from Maho, who's probably proud of her sister, they probably think of her as the girl who cost them two championships- once as an ally and once as an enemy- and she may yet do so a third time."
Miho shook her head. A part of her wanted to point out that Maho's joy in her accomplishments was a fact, not a possibility, but she decided that it was a minor detail for now.
"You might be surprised to hear this," Miho said, "but while the coach was disappointed to see me leave, she respected my accomplishments at Oarai, saying that it took courage, as well as many other things, to lead an untried team to victory. She's... hard on those who fail, but she believes it's most important that students persist and learn from their failures."
Emi paused as she heard a detail that Miho had not mentioned in any of their previous conversations.
"Interesting..." Emi said. "Perhaps I don't know as much about Black Forest or the Nishizumi school as I thought, just like I didn't really know your sister before."
Miho nodded, but realized that for the moment, she would likely not have time to tell Emi.
"It's getting a little late," Miho said. "Perhaps I can tell you more of my story next time, Hitomi-chan, Chihiro-chan. You heard most of the major events, but I'd like to tell you about my school and the friends I made there."
"It sounds like quite the story, Miho-chan," Chihiro said.
"Yeah," Hitomi said. "I'm glad you didn't give up tankery, Miho-chan."
"So am I, Hitomi-chan," Miho said. "Tankery was the reason we met in the first place, after all, and it brought us together again. Let's talk again soon, everyone."
As Miho logged off, she reflected on how far everyone had come since they played together as children. They all had found paths they could follow. They had come a long way from playing around in a tank, and could do things seriously. And most importantly, they were not only better at tankery, but found it more fun and fulfilling. Miho was glad to see them again after all these years, to see them having come this far, and hoped to show them how much she had changed.
"It looks like the two of us found our own ways of tankery, Emi-chan," Miho thought. "I hope to face you and see you demonstrate yours."
Author's Notes
Like Miho's Interlude, this is meant to bridge the gap between Little Army and the present, although there's an additional year, and a very eventful one, to cover.
Incidentally, it seems that, in the Little Army sequel, Emi and Hitomi eventually ended up on the same team, one that seems entirely unlike Rinkai. It's one of many ways that canon develops in ways that I can't anticipate, and it seems many other fanfic writers have encountered something similar.
From here on out, parenthetical text denotes speech in a non-Japanese language.
A Side Story has been posted about a critical experience for Emi that she was hesitant to mention in this Interlude (partly because the chapter was getting extremely long, and partly because Emi's looking for a good time to tell it). With it, I have now archived one million words on this site. I don't have anything special to commemorate this occasion, except to thank everyone for the support and feedback thus far.
Character Analysis: Hitomi Yuzumoto
Of all of Miho's friends from Little Army, Hitomi probably best represents the kind of friend she has at Oarai, given that she shares some traits with Miho's "converts" to tankery. Like Saori, she's cheerful, energetic and ignorant about tanks. Like Hana, she's a subpar driver who finds a niche in another role (albeit as a loader rather than a gunner). Like Mako, she's less than committed at first, but gradually gets more involve in tankery.
You may recall that Hitomi's interest is like fireworks; intensely bright but very brief. I chose to have her face some degree of rejection and adversity to showcase how she's become more disciplined and determined over time. A small cue that indicates how much she's changed is that in the last chapter of Little Army, she starts working on her driving, which was her weakest area. This signifies a willingness to work hard to improve herself and do things that are difficult for her.
Her results are less impressive than Miho's, but they don't have to be. It's tempting to have all the characters who studied in one group rise to similar heights together, but this isn't always the case; for example, in Muhyo and Roji, the eponymous Muhyo went to the academy with his friends Yoichi, Biko and Enchu. After graduating, Muhyo became the youngest Executor (highest Magical Law rank), while Yoichi- who knew he wouldn't measure up to Muhyo- became a Judge (second highest rank), Biko became an Artificer (separate career track), and Enchu, after losing the Executor position to Miho, as well as the mother he'd hoped to care for (he has a similar goal to Mako's, but unlike Muhyo, not her work ethic), snapped and turned evil. This shows that peers can have different degrees of talent and aspirations, so perhaps Hitomi, not unlike Yoichi, has a somewhat humbler goal, one that is meaningful in its own way.
Character Analysis: Chihiro Yusa
Chihiro changes the least in Little Army, although I suspect that as the stabilizing force of the group, she's the most sure of herself, compared to the flighty Hitomi and the somewhat meek Miho. Even Emi implies that her values had been challenged.
Chihiro seems to understand some of what Miho is going through, having a somewhat similar family situation. Because she can't oppose her mother, she has some idea of why Maho does what she does, even if it's unpleasant to herself or Miho. And because she enjoys soccer but is pressured to succeed, she has some idea of why excessive pressure would turn Miho off of tankery, as well as that the fact that she does enjoy it is most important.
It's suggested that of all the girls who do tankery in high school, few can or want to make a career out of it. Chihiro drops out earlier than most, because she has found something she can focus on. Her attitude was meant to contrast with Kinue (who coincidentally once played the same sport).
Character Analysis: Emi Nakasuga
Canonically, Miho has the rockiest relationship with Emi out of all her friends, as they start out with some degree of tension due to Emi's dislike of Maho, and Emi's blunt personality. Emi's mouth tends to get her in trouble at times, while sometimes preventing her message from being properly understood, but she ultimately means well, and in the last chapter, hopes Miho can find her own way of tankery.
With time comes maturity, and Emi gradually learns how to express herself without hurting others' feelings. A Side Story will show the root of all this, one time when Emi made a mistake that she would never be able to undo.
Interestingly enough, Emi is, at the same time, trying to find her own way in tankery, so she finds it in Germany along with Satoha. In spite of her disliking the Nishizumi style, she realizes that she hasn't been trying to find her own way of tankery, and so chooses to rectify this by finding a style of tankery she can use to defeat the Nishizumi disciples and those like them, rather than simply detesting them. In this way, for all the ways Emi contrasts with Miho, her story has a few parallels as well.
Satoha Tsujigaito
Relatively little is known of Satoha in canon, save for the samurai-like image she sometimes projects, although she does seem to take note of promising rivals even if they seem unimpressive, respecting the younger Kei, and considering Yuuki a potential threat. This includes her teammates, as while they are friends, they're also hoping to take each other on in the international level.
Satoha draws influences from Japanese and German culture, finding that she doesn't cleanly fall into either. She's considerably more outspoken than most Japanese, prefers talking with her friends less formally, would rather shake hands than bow. On the other hand, she prefers the Japanese language, Japanese cuisine, and various other aspects of Japanese culture, occasionally fancying herself something of a modern-day female samurai.
She respects Miho for what she has accomplished, and has some respect for Maho, as well, but doesn't think much of the Nishizumi school's desire for an unbroken winning streak. She hopes to prove a school that can challenge the established champions, enjoying how in Germany, the champions were by no means undefeatable; while almost a decade passed with Black Forest's winning streak, it has been almost that long since any German team has won the championship twice in a row.
Edited to fix a few minor mistakes and take into account that Alexandra is German, according to the Saki character tables.
On a side note, it's interesting to see how Emi's school is different in Little Army 2, for several reasons.
*Bellwall, while having been strong in the past, is a shadow of its former self.
*Bellwall has no coach and very little discipline, although the fact that Emi's stricter than Miho does keep the various delinquents in line.
*Hitomi goes to school with Emi.
*Emi left her previous school on not nearly as good terms. I'm not as fond of this development, since I had thought that Emi would have matured somewhat after butting heads with Chihiro and Miho at times.
*Emi's school apparently didn't survive her departure.