Chapter 19: A Bigger Fish
The match between Oarai and Rinkai began, in the urban battlefield some distance outside the city.
A large crowd had turned out to watch the game from the stands, due in large part to the hype generated by a strong newcomer facing off against a champion. Others watched the match on TV in their homes inside Tokyo, and in various areas for watching the match throughout the city. Many more were watching the match in the stream from abroad, including many of the Rinkai tankers' families in their home countries. Two contenders with impressive records had come together, and whichever one prevailed, the battle would be quite a spectacle.
On the side of the arena, Kazue, Yukiko's crew, Touka's crew, and Ayumu and Miyuki, watched the match as they sat in folding chairs they had brought. The two groups had met by chance at the event, and so decided to watch the opponent that had defeated both of them.
"So you're also here to watch and cheer on Oarai, Ryuumonbuchi-san?" Kazue said, after the group's setup and introductions were finished.
"That is indubitably so," Touka said. "I will not have any opponent that can defeat me fall short of defeating all comers."
"Koromo does, too!" Koromo said excitedly. "It'll be fun to watch how Nonoka and Miho fare against this enemy."
Kazue solemnly nodded. She, too, was rooting for Oarai, but realized that even if she wanted their victory, it was less likely to happen than it was in most of Oarai's previous matches. Not only had the tank limit increased- a change that only benefited Oarai's opponents- but so had the skill level of the opponent Oarai was facing.
"Their fight will be significantly more difficult this time," Kazue said. "Saunders put up a good fight against Rinkai,but they were defeated. And, of course, they defeated us last year."
Touka softly scoffed, intriguing Kazue. Both of their schools had lost to Oarai, but Touka had not lost any of her boundless confidence. Was it because her school was somewhat more successful? Was it because she did not understand the odds she faced? Or was it because she was a great deal more onfident and resilient?
"Well, rising up to face new challengers is often a part of games," Tomoki said. "In single player games, you'll naturally face more difficult opponents as you go along. In multiplayer ones, you will likely, at some point, run into someone who is simply better than you are, just like your school and mine did. You can't avoid this, but you can better yourself and learn to enjoy the challenges you're faced with."
"That's true," Koromo said. "This match looks like it'll be fun."
As Oarai's tanks proceeded to their starting point, Mallard Team conversed amongst each other regarding their being chosen as the flag tank.
"So we got chosen as the flag tank this time," Saro said. "I do have to wonder why exactly we got tapped for a job like this."
"You could say that it's my fault to some degree, Saro," Gomoyo said. "About a year ago, I talked Sodoko into joining the tankery team. I believed that we should fight alongside the others, not merely police them. And since we're just another member of the team... we were chosen by chance."
Saro nodded.
"So it's random, then," Saro said. "We weren't chosen because our tank had the most powerful gun, the thickest armor, the greatest speed or the best crew."
"From what I heard from Nishizumi-san," Gomoyo said, "the rule is meant to force us to make sure that any of us is ready for the role."
Saro let off a soft sigh. Her mind went back to the statement she made at the commanders' meeting, in which she said that people should only volunteer for a task when they were certain that they could succeed at it. She stood by that statement, but now realized that it did not account for those situations in which responsibility was thrust upon individuals. Her team's performance was acceptable by Oarai's standards, but there were many crews better suited to the job, many of whom had taken it on before.
"I suppose it does save us the trouble of choosing a flag tank," Saro said. "And with that out of the way, its no longer a matter of whether you are worthy of the task or whether you can convince others that you are, but whether you succeed or fail."
In contrast to Mallard Team, Emi was well used to being in command of her team's flag tank, having done so several times in Germany, including during the semifinals in her and Satoha's successful bid at the championship. Her sister had taught her a great deal about managing this responsibility, including her belief that there were things that mattered more than victory. Asuka had no regrets about the international game against Japan, nor did she hold the misunderstanding against Maho, simply chalking it up to "the fog of war."
Emi understood and agreed with her sister, but was still determined to do everything in her power to win. She had high expectations for the various individuals who had been in command of the flag tank, and held herself to those standards as well. Her teammates had performed well in the past, and she had no intention of letting them down now that she held this responsibility.
"I hope, for your sake, that the crew of your team's flag tank is one that you can trust, Miho," Emi thought. "Because if they're not up to the task, this will be a very short match."
As the match began, Oarai's forces approached Rinkai's tanks from both sides of a wide street in the abandoned urban arena, striking as Rinkai went through an intersection on one of the streets that was parallel to what might be considered the battlefield's main street; a severely weather-beaten sign seemed to say "Main Street".
The StuG fired, taking out a Grizzly. The crew did not consist of exchange students, but of a group of first-years who had come to Rinkai after hearing of it establishing a tankery team.
Octopus Team also fired, taking out a Semovente. The crew had been some of the best in Italy's national tournament, but once their tank's white flag raised, they were out of the game, just like anyone else.
The Rinkai forces responded quickly, firing on Oarai's troops with surprisingly accurate shots. It was as though they worked as a unit, but Miho realized that each team knew very well what they were to do in this situation. It seemed like more of a case of individuals all reaching the same conclusion than a case of absolutely fluid teamwork.
With each salvo, the shots grew closer and closer, and Oarai's position grew less and less tenable.
Having inflicted as many losses as possible, and with the enemy counterattacking, Oarai decided to withdraw and attack again once they had a better opportunity to attack. In spite of knowing that it was not intended to defeat or even cripple the enemy, Miho could not help but feel disappointment, and wish that her attack had been more effective.
"I'd hoped that we could have taken more of them out," Miho thought. "Emi-chan has gotten quite skilled."
But as Oarai's troops were withdrawing into the streets, hoping to rendezvous and strike at Rinkai again, Satoha's Type 4 fired on the Type 89, disabling it.
"Ok, I'll admit that you caught us with our pants down, Miho," Emi thought. "But did you really think that Satoha and I, Germany's national champions and people well acquainted with your fighting style, would let you get away with it unscathed?"
Emi knew well from watching Oarai's matches that a retreating enemy should not be mistaken for one that had already surrendered. In the match with Black Forest, tactical retreats had kept Oarai in the game, and they had been able to stay in the game long enough and inflict enough losses on Black Forest so that in the end, the one tank Oarai needed to keep in the game had been able to survive, and its counterpart from Black Forest had been defeated.
"Rinkai's team has strong offensive power," Miho said. "Withdraw to the city square and attack Rinkai again there."
Perhaps the next attack would have limited success, but even so, Miho could only fight against Rinkai in the way Oarai was best suited to. Oarai's tactical options were limited, and their arsenal, to some extent, influenced the tactics that they could use.
In an abandoned city square, Miho's remaining tanks met up, preparing to spread out and strike at Rinkai again. Anglerfish, Anteater, Turtle and Octopus Team were on one side, while the others were on the other side.
But before they could do so, Rinkai's troops surged through the main street, bifurcating Oarai's forces with a moving steel wall.
Emi was not yet in a position to defeat Oarai's flag tank, but her allies could make significant losses on the enemy. Her Panzer IV fired, taking out the Hetzer before it could attack them. She was well aware of how the tank had made some effective shots at long-range, and detracked some of Oarai's enemies.
"Not bad so far, but Miho's come back from worse," Emi thought, before smirking. "Of course, I'm just getting started."
As Rinkai's tanks unleashed a barrage of gunfire, a shell from Nelly's SU-100 hit the Tas in the side, forcing it to a stop. As other Rinkai tanks aimed their guns at the Tas, the white flag raised, and they moved on to other targets.
Slowly, but surely, the two halves of Oarai's forces were being pushed backwards, away from each other. Oarai was now on the defensive, but more than that, they were playing Rinkai's game. All of them, especially Miho, knew that if this continued, with the difference in numbers, firepower and crew experience, the battle could only end in Oarai's defeat.
On the side of the field, Nodoka's friends from Saunders, as well as a few of Saunders' alumni- including Mairu, Kay, Alisa and Naomi- watched.
"Nodoka's out already?" Shizuno said, completely shocked.
"Well, it wouldn't be any fun if she, Miho and their teammates won effortlessly, would it?" Kay said. Nodoka's friends shook their heads. "After all, that is part of the reason you tried so hard, wasn't it?"
Nodoka's friends nodded. The revelation that their efforts had almost caused Oarai to be shut down was distressing, as was the related discovery that Nodoka's father would only allow her to stay at her school and do tankery if she won the tournament. In spite of that, Nodoka's friends had enjoyed the match, and hoped for another, which they would have gotten had Rinkai not defeated them.
"That's true," Kuro said. "Of course, even in a school like ours, we do feel a fair amount of pressure to succeed- self-imposed, I might add."
Harue nodded. Kuro's statement had reminded Harue of her own time in high school, when Saunders' team was humbler and less successful. Her coach had not been stricter than was necessary, but Harue still felt obligated to succeed, and a crushing sense of failure when she was unable to win against Black Forest. In the end, however, she had come back from it, and hoped Oarai could say the same when they had a similar experience.
"This may be somewhat unpleasant for you to hear, girls..." Harue said, "but I think that perhaps Nodoka and the rest of Oarai would be better off in the long run if they did end up losing at some point. They need to be able to deal with failure, come back stronger and learn lessons from their mistakes."
Ako paused to consider Harue's point. Perhaps winning all the time was not necessarily good, but it was also demoralizing to be in a second-rate school. Hatsuse had told her a little about BC Freedom seemingly being resigned to being mediocre at best until their match with Oarai had gotten them out of their rut- enough so that Ako was happy to have chosen Saunders. But upon thinking of Hatsuse and the victory over Oarai, Ako remembered that Oarai had failed before, and that experience was a wake-up call that enabled their futur success.
"But didn't they lose against BC Freedom last year?" Ako said. "And didn't that, in the long term, help them iron out some of their flaws?"
"They did," Harue said, "and they went on to defeat BC Freedom this year. They did improve, but at the same time, I hope they don't get complacent."
"You do seem quite interested in Haramura's success, Akado-sensei," Mairu said.
"Well, she is a former student of mine," Harue said, "just like you are, Mairu. But apart from that, I see a little of our school in Oarai, and hope that in years to come, it stays true to itself."
Arata nodded. Saunders' team was relatively young, but a long time had passed since Harue's bid at the championship. Harue was now coaching for her alma mater, while the young children she had taught tankery to in the past were now doing it in actual combat. Through it all, Saunders had remained much the same as it was in her time, simply becoming bigger and better, and Harue had the same hopes for Oarai.
Maho and Shiho watched as Oarai's plan had fallen through, leaving it vulnerable.
"So Rinkai is seeing through Oarai's tactics," Shiho said. Her tone did not betray any indication of how she felt about this.
"It seems so," Maho said. "Rinkai's vice-captain knew Miho from a long time ago, and has been following her in tankery ever since. It's the same as how Miho was able to use her knowledge of Black Forest and the Nishizumi style against us."
Shiho nodded.
"Most schools have tactics that they tend to rely on," Shiho said, "and they often do so even when they're not always practical or the enemy may predict them. Oarai is no different in some degree; while not bound by any specific doctrine, their options are limited because of the quantity and quality of their tanks, and some of their opponents are starting to realize this."
"That may be true, Mother," Maho said, "but what about Rinkai? Their commander and vice-captain may have led a team together in the past, but their subordinates are very different this time."
"Perhaps they will be forced to adjust to their new school," Shiho said. "But in the end, they will most likely do whatever comes naturally to them, as will Miho."
Maho nodded. She and Miho had long ago realized that the Nishizumi style was fundamentally incompatible with Miho's character. The style of tankery she had developed was largely influenced by her own team and the challenges she faced, so Maho believed Miho could find a way to win this match, just like all the others.
In the stands, two of the prospective Oarai tankers had come to watch the match, and others sat elsewhere, alone or with some of their friends outside of the team. The two of them had seen Oarai's tankery matches before, but this was the first time they had watched them with some idea of what the tankers had to do, as well as the gap between Oarai's regular team and the newer applicants.
"Wow, this is a lot more difficult than I thought it would be," Kagami Ritsuko, a first-year who had tried out along with Turtle and Hippo Teams, said. She was familiar with Oarai's battles, but it was an entirely different experience to see one first-hand, without foreknowledge of what the outcome would be. The dire straits Oarai found itself in were even more nerve-wracking to spectators who did not know they would prevail.
"What did you expect?" Sakaki Ibuki, a fellow first-year who had tried out with several of the teams, said. "They're in the semifinals, facing an opponent that has defeated three of its challengers so far."
"Well, now that Hippo Team has been taken out, I understand better what we're up against," Ritsuko said. "When I tried out with them, I knew that I wouldn't easily slot into their group. They dressed so strangely, and rattled off all those historical references. For example, the most you could expect out of me is to say that the Battle of the Bulge was in 1944."
"I know how you feel," Ibuki said. "I really don't play video games, so I couldn't get Anteater Team's various usage of gaming terminology. Perhaps they were trying to translate the unfamiliar ideas of tankery into terms more familiar to them, but it wasn't very understandable to me."
Ritsuko nodded; she'd recalled the history club members referencing various battles, and the volleyball team talking about spikes and serves, both of which were vaguely reminiscent of the in-jokes and slang that her group of friends from middle school used. It did make a certain amount of sense to keep things understandable for one's group, even if they were not understandable to many other people.
"But there was more to it than that," Ritsuko said. "As quirky as they were, Hippo Team knew what they were doing, worked well together, and had strong bonds of trust and friendship. Of course I'd feel like an outsider among those four who have lived together. Of course I wouldn't be able to keep up with them if they'd done tankery together this long. "
"They did get started in tankery last year," Ibuki said. "It's not practical to assume that you'll be at their level immediately. I think Anteater Team said as much to me at one point."
"They're probably right," Ritsuko said. "But it still feels discouraging to see them taken out so easily in a battle like this, as though all their effort and skill means little by comparison to their enemy."
Ibuki sighed. It was all the more depressing to consider that she was that much more insignificant in terms of the national tournament. But unpleasant or not, the realization that she would have to drastically improve to be of use to Oarai's team was a sobering but necessary wake-up call.
"Well, I can't argue that things don't look pretty bad now," Ibuki said. "But Oarai has won in spite of long odds in the past. They might just do so again this time."
Ritsuko nodded. She knew that she had a long way to go before she could be on the level of the regular Oarai team, but hoped to one day do tankery on their level, and face the same opponents they did.
As the StuG was occupied with some tanks to the front, Megan circled around with the Chaffee for a pincer attack. As the StuG fired at and defeated a Sentinel, it tried to turn around, but too late; as it was turning, Megan's tank fired a round into its backside, causing the white flag to go up.
Megan pondered her coach's advice. Alexandra was largely pragmatic, and she generally encouraged her students to use any tactics that were within the rules and bounds of fair play. Calling her a believer that "the ends justify the means" would be overly simplistic, but Alexandra believed in her team's mission, and that there was no place in her team for anything that undercut the team spirit. Emi largely respected and agreed with her coach, but wryly noted to Megan that "that focus on results, and her fondness for dark business attire are two things she has in common with Nishizumi Shiho."
Back then, Megan had chuckled at Emi's remark, adding that she only wore black to funerals. But while she knew that the desperation to win could lead to all sorts of bad decisions, there was nothing wrong with trying one's best against one's opponents. Oarai had performed enough to earn this degree of respect, and strong enough that Rinkai would have to try this hard to prevail.
Hao, in her T-34, looked over Oarai's troops as she tried to take down the Porsche Tiger. She had heard about the German tank's offensive power and defensive strength, which were desirable for any tankery team, but also about its tendency to break down, which made it impractical for combat. In China, where the playing field was more level, she had not seen any tanks with either, so it naturally surprised her that Oarai would be forced to put a tank like that into play.
The tanks Rinkai had received were given as a starting set. They were a far cry from the ten tanks Oarai was unable to sell, but the ten The team hoped that their success in the tournament, would, among other things, convince their team's sponsors to upgrade their arsenal, enabling them to add more tanks and get even stronger ones from various nations.
But for now, they wanted to show that they could succeed with what they had. Hao's Russian tank, the closest she could get to a Chinese tank, was a strong WWII-era tank, so she felt confident that she would be able to defeat her school's enemies with it no matter what thy brought to bear against her.
Hao then ordered her tank to fire on the Porsche Tiger, but while the shot struck the side armor, it did not succeed in disabling Oarai's tank.
Leopon Team circled around as the crew of the T-34/76 was reloading. As the Russian tank's gun was trained on them, the Auto Club fired, taking out Hao's team with a blast to the side.
"So that tank does have quite a few upsides after all," Hao thought, knowing from the force of the blast alone that she was out of the game before she heard the soft whoosh of the white flag raising.
Rabbit Team was forced to evade some shells, and weaved through the streets of the city, avoiding Satoha's Type 4 Medium.
"The girl in command of this tank and the opposing team won the championship in Germany last year, didn't she?" Yuuki said. "I can only imagine how much trouble we'd have if we faced her in last year's tournament."
"Rinkai didn't have a tankery team back then," Ayumi said.
"Well, we're part of Japan's winning team!" Karina said. "So let's show her what we can do!
Azusa smiled, before continuing to give orders, as the M3 Lee dodged a shell from the Type 4 Medium by going around a corner, and quickly doing a U-turn as the Type 4 rounded the corner. Rabbit Team fired on Satoha's tank before circling around it.
Rabbit Team, barely avoiding a few shells, saw an opportunity before them as the enemy commander's tank came into view. With seconds to react, they took aim as the Japanese tank tried to circle around them for a shot.
The M3 Lee fired, striking the Type 4 Medium in the side with two well-placed shots. The Japanese tank shook from the blasts, then went completely still.
The white flag then raised on Satoha's tank.
"This is Command Team," Satoha said to the others. "I've been taken out, so Emi is in charge now."
Emi was unsure of how to take the news. Having Satoha taken off the field was a significant setback, one that she had not experienced since leaving Germany, but she had expected that things would not go easily against Miho. Rinkai's match against Saunders had been challenging until the final opportunity had presented itself, and Miho had won against them under less favorable circumstances.
But at the same time, leadership of the team had always been essentially as much Emi's as it had been Satoha's. Emi had disagreed with the requirement for a Japanese commander, but knew that when it came down to it, it did not change how things worked between them. The two of them formulated their strategies and led together. Satoha was the primary commander, and when she was taken out, the responsibility of leading fell to Emi.
So now it was time for Emi to do what she did best- assisting Satoha, filling in for her and winning for their school.
"Now that Satoha and Haramura-san are out of play, it's just you, me, and our remaining forces, Miho," Emi thought. "Whose style of tankery will prove superior- yours or mine?"
Author's Notes
I'd like to thank KMT4ever and Stalker117 for beta reading this.
This battle is one of Oarai's more desperate ones, and will be continued in the next part. It was split in two here to show Emi taking over in the second half, which works better as two separate halves.
In some ways, it's one outside of Oarai and Rinkai's comfort zones. Oarai is unused to facing a team that's somewhat like theirs (relatively new, with a group of people who have experience, but may not have worked together much before), albeit with many of the same advantages their previous rivals have had. At the same time, Rinkai is also facing a relative newcomer, so match records and participation history are less useful as sources of reference.
Next up is the latter half of the battle, with the two old friends facing each other in the field of tankery battle.
Edited to make a few changes, and add on an incomplete sentence about Harue's thoughts.
Character Analysis: Oarai's Newcomers
They come from a variety of different backgrounds, none of which are related to tankery. Their skillsets are equally diverse, and equally unrelated to tankery. Ibuki, Ritsuko, Shiki, Ichiko, Maki, Ayame and others have become interested in Oarai's tankery team, just like many other newcomers before them.
Unfortunately, unlike the others before them, particularly, Mallard, Anteater and Leopon Teams, as well as those who came this year, there are not slots open for them, and they will not face opponents suited to their level of skill. At the moment, the most they can do for their team is to practice and improve their skills, but for now, that is enough for them.
The new recruits are long-term challenges to the team, one that will require effort from all concerned for the team as a whole to succeed. The newcomers will have to get up to speed with the senior members, and the more experienced people will have to help them out. The newcomers will have to learn how to fight alongside their seniors, while their seniors, some of whom may have lost members of their crews, will have to accommodate new members into their crews, and new crews into the team as a whole. The process will be a long and difficult one, but the time will come when these newcomers become the backbone of the tankery team, just as the ten teams who won the tournament were, so it's up to them to become worthy of that trust, and those who will pass the torch to them must help them however they can, while they can.