The Zuikaku bathed in orange sunlight as the sun was disappearing over the horizon, the moon soon to take its place.

Yuna Fujiwara, Ayano Ishii, and Eiko Takebe arrived at a mundane-looking light blue house which perfectly blended in with the surrounding residences. This was Eiko's humble abode. Its proximity to the school made it a very convenient home. White curtains hid the interior of the building but the trio assumed that someone was making dinner based on the faint smell of curry and the almost imperceptible hiss of a stove.

"Nice place, Eiko!" Yuna complimented as they stood at the gate.

"Thanks, it's fairly new. We moved here just two years ago," replied Eiko before she opened the gate and beckoned the two in. "Act formal alright, Yuna? You don't wanna leave a bad first impression on my mother right?"

Yuna and Ayano entered the premises with Eiko closing the gate after them. "What kinda person do you think I am? I promise you, Eiko, your mom's gonna love me!"

The redhead rolled her eyes and made her way to the doorstep and unlocked the door using a key hidden inside a fake rock.

"Ah, nice. I thought that only happened in the TV shows!" the brunette remarked.

To which Eiko replied, chuckling, "Shut up, dude,"

Once the door swung open, the trio were blinded by a sepia light and their nostrils were immediately invaded by the strong smell of curry.

Yuna and Ayano's stomachs rumbled and they drooled in their mouths. The smell only got stronger once Eiko pushed the two in.

After closing the door, Eiko announced their presence. "Kaa-san, tadaima!"

A voice promptly came from another room of the house. "Okaeri, Eiko-kun! How was your day today?"

"Eh, it was fine I guess," she began taking her shoes off. "I brought some friends over if you don't mind."

"Y-You did?!" Eiko's mother exclaimed in shock, "I-I mean, of course I don't mind! Just remind me next time, okay honey? Now go ahead and get dressed. I'll be preparing the table!"

"Alright"

Yuna and Ayano said, "Ojamashimasu..." in unison as they too removed their shoes

"You guys go ahead and sit at the table. I'll be joining in a moment."

Afterwards, Eiko went upstairs to change into her casuals while the two stayed at the genkan, taking in their new surroundings. Yuna and Ayano haven't been inside a house in ages so they were a bit overwhelmed with the place.

It was significantly warmer here than outside, giving the place an almost cabin-in the-woods-type of atmosphere. The light blue walls were decorated with landscape paintings and portraits of the family which was a far cry from the plain walls of an apartment complex. What was most peculiar to the two was the space the house had. It was bigger than the two of their rooms combined!

Ayano nudged Yuna's shoulder and whispered, "Hey! Earth to Yuna?"

It took a few seconds for the brunette to regain control of her body. She shook her head slightly and replied, "O-Oh right! I'm here. Come on then Aya-chan, let's go meet Eiko's mom."

Her friend nodded before they made their way to the house's kitchen, passing by the living room where Eiko's presumed aunt slept on the couch. There in the kitchen, they met their friend's mother, who had the same hair color as her child, and from her appearance alone, she was a kind and doting parent.

While she was tending to the curry on the stove, she noticed the two in the corner of her eye and paused cooking to introduce herself.

The woman patted her cooking apron - worn over her purple sweater - before awkwardly waving hello. "H-Hey there you two! I suppose you're our guests for tonight?"

"Good evening, Takebe-san! My name's Yuna. It's a pleasure to meet you!" the brunette said after bowing.

Ayano bowed beside her and introduced herself too. "Ayano. N-Nice to meet you, ma'am..."

"The name's Saori. It's so nice to know Eiko-kun's finally made friends after all this time! Welcome to the Takebe household! Please make yourselves at home!"

Yuna's eyes suddenly widened. S-Saori? Hmm… it might just be coincidence, she shrugged these thoughts away for a moment and replied, "Does Eiko have any uh... friends other than us?"

Saori laughed, "Oh gosh no! She hasn't made any ever since she finished middle school! She had a lot of friends then, a ton even, but for some reason, she stopped socializing with people once she started high school. Maybe it's those books she's been reading..." the woman muttered the last line as she rubbed her chin.

"Hey Mom, can we please just eat already?" Eiko - now dressed in a yellow t-shirt and shorts - suddenly appeared behind Yuna and Ayano. She sat at the dining table, visibly pouting.

Her mother snapped out of it. "Oh yeah, of course! Just gimme one second."

Yuna and Ayano then took their seats at the table while Eiko got up and over to the couch where her aunt was sleeping. She shook the woman awake but there was no response.

"Mako! Wake up!"

Yuna's eyes lit up in surprise. M-Mako?! M-Must just be a nickname or something…

"If you don't wake up, I'm gonna elbow drop you again!" the redhead warned.

Mako grumbled something incoherent and shifted around as a response.

Eiko sighed, "You asked for it," before she proceeded to elbow drop her aunt on the stomach which resulted in her jumping up awake.

"Wh-What the hell?! What was that for?"

"We're having dinner Mako. Wake the hell up!"

"Sigh, alright, alright! I'll come over in a sec..."

Afterwards, Eiko returned to the table, Mako following suit a few moments later.

She sat next to her niece, her long, unruly black hair on full display to the two girls opposite of her. It looked as if she wasn't ready for dinner yet as she would close her eyes and snore from time to time, but always jumping back awake whenever Eiko slaps her on the back.

Saori served her family and guests five plates of curry. "I made my specialty tonight, luckily. I hope you two enjoy it!" before sitting down beside Mako.

With everything set, they clapped their hands in unison, and said, "Itadakimasu..." before digging in.

For the first few minutes of dinner, everyone was silent until Saori started up a conversation. "So, Yuna-san, Ayano-san, how did you two come to meet my darling Eiko-kun?"

"Don't call me that, mom!" her daughter exclaimed in embarrassment while her mouth was full.

"Oh come on, Eiko-kun! What could be so embarrassing about that?"

"Well," Yuna swallowed her food, "We kinda started talking with each other ever since school started. I would borrow a couple of books from Eiko in exchange for other stuff, but we never really advanced our friendship further. That was until we joined the Senshadō Club."

"Ara! Senshadō? Oh Eiko-kun, you really are following in your mother's footsteps! You really meant it when you said you wanted to make me proud, eh?" Saori gave her daughter a proud smile, one that any child would aspire to get. Eiko however, buried her face in her hands in embarrassment and shame.

"N-No I'm not!" she denied in a muffled voice. "I only joined the first club I could find, okay?! It's just a dumb coincidence!" to which Saori chuckled.

"You were in the Senshadō Club ma'am?" asked Yuna before she took in a spoonful of curry.

"Yes I was, back in 2012 when I was your age. I was the radio operator of a Panzer IV! Oh how the boys fawned over me..."

Eiko rolled her eyes at this.

After Saori pulled Mako's head back up just before she fell face first into her food, she asked, "I'm curious about something… Our Senshadō Club dissolved two years ago, right? Why'd they bring it back all of a sudden?"

Eiko answered, "'Cuz the school's about to be bankrupt and becoming irrelevant or something like that. At least that's what Kaichou told us."

"And reviving the Senshadō Club will help them… how exactly?"

"Well, if we manage to win this year's tournament, then we'll have enough money to save our school!" replied Yuna.

"You do realize how slim of a chance you have at winning something like that, right kid?" Mako asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, if we train hard enough, m-maybe we could pull through!"

The woman scoffed and muttered, "As if…"

"Don't discourage the kid, Mako," Saori said.

"I'm just saying, miracles don't happen as often as they do now. We were just lucky Miho stumbled upon our school when she did."

Eiko's mother sighed before she put some food in her mouth. "I guess you're right…"

A few minutes later, Yuna and Ayano had finished their food; so had Saori and her daughter. Mako's was still untouched, but no one bothered to finish it for her.

Yuna leaned back against her chair as she rubbed her belly. "Ahh that was so good. Thanks again for the food, Takebe-san. And umm, I'm pretty sorry if we intruded on your premises since you didn't know we were coming over and all that."

"What are you talking about? A friend of Eiko's is always welcome in the Takebe household!" Saori replied and leaned over to her, "Next time you come over I'll be serving my other specialties!"

The woman then noticed the girl beside Yuna, who was wiping her the lenses of her round glasses which had gathered up droplets of water from the warm steam the curry emanated. She hasn't said a single word ever since dinner started. In fact, Saori almost forgot she was even there in the first place.

"How about you, Ayano-san? How'd you come to meet my Eiko?"

Ayano was startled by the sudden mention of her name so she quickly put on her glasses and stammered, "U-Umm... she- she was... I met her at the club too."

"Huh alright... So are you three part of different crews or..."

"We're all crew mates, actually. The other teams are their own cliques, and since we don't belong in any of these cliques, we just decided to... form together."

Saori nodded as she listened intently. "I assume the tank you're commanding has a five-man crew. So if there's only three of you, won't that make operating a tank a bit difficult?"

"Umm, well..." Yuna scratched the back of her head. "We'll just... better our efforts then!"

"Hmm... that won't work Yuna-san. A tank crewed to full capacity by amateurs is still better than a tank with only one veteran crewman. If I were you, I would find more people for my crew. 'Cause having multiple jobs during a Senshadō match would be exhausting and will overwhelm you, not to mention it's stressful as all hell. You'd pass out before the enemy could even shoot you!"

Yuna leaned forward, her hands clasped on the table, as she digested the information Saori had given her. "I'll take that into account. Thanks ma'am."

"Anything to help a fellow tanker!" the mother smiled before picking up the dishes and walking away.

"Hey Yuna, if we're looking for people, then I know someone who might help. Her name's Yoshida Shiori; an old friend of mine. I don't know where exactly she lives, but I do know she's still here in Oarai."

"Then we can find her!" Yuna exclaimed with an excited grin.

"Yeah, but it'll take time. It's gonna take a lot of asking around…"

Afterwards, the night continued as the trio continued their conversation in the living room; Mako joined them too. Their talks about Senshadō eventually shifted towards more casual subjects like Eiko's obsession with books apparently stemming from her father, or how Mako once lived by herself until she was evicted from her home due to her refusing to pay rent, and how she met Saori again and made a sort of intimate relationship with her after her husband left her.

Soon, it was time for them to hit the hay. The trio would have to sleep in Eiko's room, and since there was only one bed, they had to accommodate. Eiko slept in her bed by herself while Yuna and Ayano slept on the ground on a single futon. The futon was only made for one person, which made it a very tight space to slip in.

After Eiko had taken a bath and brushed her teeth, she arrived in her room. "Hey guys, mom doesn't want you sleeping in your serafuku so you can borrow my spare PJs- what the hell?!" and found Yuna bawling out as she held a novel in her hands.

The redhead's face immediately flushed. Yuna reading one of her books without her permission was bad enough, but it being one of her hurt/comfort stories - the last things she would want to give someone - made it a whole lot worse.

"Wh-Why'd he… have to die so soon?!" the brunette exclaimed through sobbing, oblivious to the fact that Eiko was right behind her.

"Yuna…" she heard a low voice from behind, causing her to jolt. She slowly turned around, quaking in fear. "E-Eiko?"

"Yuna…" she grumbled, "You know what you've done, right?"

Yuna turned around and went into the Dogeza pose as quickly as she could. "P-Please forgive me, Eiko! I was just really really bored!

"That's a pretty shitty excuse man… get over here!"

Yuna and Eiko got into a small fight where the latter tried to steal her book back. In the end, the redhead came out on top. "Chapter 23… how in the hell did you get there so fast? And how did you even read it in the first place? This is in German!" she asked as she placed the book back in its place.

"It's 2033, Eiko, we have Google Translate!"

"You didn't understand shit then…"

Afterwards, Eiko switched off the lights as Yuna and Ayano got in the futon. Despite looking uncomfortable on the outside, the two were actually snug in there. The futon was just tight enough to shield them from the cold and loose enough to not strangle them. Eiko looked at her two friends and chuckled silently, seeing as they looked like two girls in a sushi roll.

They spent five minutes in silence, looking up into the ceiling. Eventually though, Yuna broke it.

"Hey Eiko"

"Yeah? You're still awake?"

"Yeah, I usually sleep around 1 in the morning."

"That's unhealthy dude." replied Eiko with a chuckle.

"Eh, I don't care! A-Anyways, thanks again for allowing us to sleep over like this. I didn't expect you to welcome us, let alone me, into your home that easily."

"It's no problem. We are officially a tank crew now. A-And I guess we're friends too."

"R-Really?! Friends?!" the brunette exclaimed. Eiko didn't need to look at her in the face to see that Yuna was wearing her annoying excited face. "Does that mean I get to borrow the Spymaster book?"

"No!" she gave a hard pass.

"H-How about that Dragon one? O-Or the one about the Dominion School?"

"Hell no!"

"Maybe the Isekai one? I think Second Chance was its name?"

Eiko knew this conversation wouldn't stop until she actually allows Yuna to borrow one of her books, so she gave in. The redhead sighed, "Fine, you can borrow that one. But you gotta return it by next Monday or I ain't giving you any of my books again alright?!"

"Sure, Eiko! I always keep my promise!"

"Yeah... sure you do..." the redhead yawned, "It's getting pretty late. I'm going to sleep," before she covered herself with her blanket.

"Hmm, guess I should too. Night Ei-chan!"

"Don't call me that please."

"Hehe, alright."

May 25, 2033

Wednesday

4:43 PM

Yuna was about to exit the school when she realized something and her heart skipped a beat. "I have club activities!"

In a panic, she turned around and ran as fast as she could until she reached the gymnasium. She rounded the building's corner and the tank sheds came into view.

The commander couldn't help but gasp when she saw the tanks that they found yesterday were on full display. The vehicles were lined up neatly in a row and looked like they had just come out fresh from a factory. Gone were the dents and scratches; the moss, algae, and other vegetation; and the rust. These tanks were sparkling clean!

Yuna, eyes filled with wonder, exclaimed, "What a heavenly sight- ow!" before promptly getting smacked in the back of the head. Before she knew it, Eiko was behind her.

"The first day of training and our commander's already late. Jeez, this club's fucked…" the redhead pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Hey, I'm not used to it yet, gimme a break!"

"Once you straighten up, then I probably will. Anyways, we gotta deal with this chaos right now."

Yuna turned around and saw each of the cliques arguing about something. Yuna wondered what it was about, so she walked over to the Student Council to find out.

Yuna was distracted however by five students, dressed in orange overalls, sitting on the ground and leaning against the Panzer IV Ausf. F2. They were covered in dust and their clothes were stained with oil. They seemed to have been working all day, as they all were panting heavily in exhaustion.

Must be the Automotive Club… Yuna stopped and bowed in front of them, whispering, "Thanks for your hard work," before she continued towards the Student Council.

Akira Kawashima and her two subordinates stood by a desert tan-colored Hetzer seeming to pay no regard to the chaos surrounding them. They were instead on their phones, silently tapping away. When Yuna came to interrupt them, they hid their devices and put on their stern faces.

"Afternoon, Kaichou!" she greeted.

"What is it, Fujiwara?"

"Yeah uhh, what in the world's happening here? It's like we're in the House of Commons or something.

Akira and her friends turned around and saw all the other cliques fighting amongst each other. From the little snippets of words and phrases they heard through all the shouting, the Student Council summed it up to the cliques fighting for the commander position; a common argument that plagues new Senshadō athletes.

"W-Wait so they're fighting 'cause everyone wants to be the commander and they can't come to a unanimous agreement because they can't put their egos aside?"

After a split-second pause, Akira nodded, "Pretty much"

"W-Well where's Nishizumi-sensei?! She's the only one who can fix this!"

"She went to the bathroom for a bit. It's up to you to calm them down, Fujiwara." the Student Council president patted Yuna on the shoulder.

"Can you help out at least?"

"Nope. I'm having a meeting with the other Student Councils of the other schools concerning a practice match right now," suddenly, a very distinct notification sound emanated from one of Akira's pockets.

Yuna raised an eyebrow. "Is that Discord?"

"Umm, n-no it's just my ringtone... Now enough talking. Get over there and calm their nerves before it turns into a full-on riot."

"A-Alright, I'll try my best." Yuna nodded nervously and walked off.

She first tried to resolve the conflict between the History Buffs. The four of them stood in front of the StuG III Ausf. F.

"I told you I'm commanding the tank, Shingen! The real Michael Wittmann drove in one of these things in '41 so it's only fair that I get to commandeer it!" Wittmann argued.

"He was killed by a damn shoemaker! And besides, he was nowhere near as great as the Tiger of Kai himself. Takeda Shingen is the greatest general who ever lived! I'll be the commander!"

"It was a lucky shot!"

Afterwards, the argument devolved into incoherent yelling until Yuna arrived, hoping to quell the argument. "Guys, guys, calm down! There must be something we can do to decide this!"

"Fujiwara is right, there is only one way to do so," said Takeda, "A duel"

"Wh-What?"

"Oh boy, here it comes..." Sherman remarked in a jaded manner.

Takeda and Wittmann walked three paces back from each other before suddenly pulling out their weapons. The tank ace had a P38 which looked awfully real while the Sengoku daimyō unsheathed the katana she always carried around; sunlight gleamed off of its cold steel surface.

"Woah, woah, woah! Wh-What are you guys doing?!" Yuna exclaimed and began to panic. Joan and William however, weren't really that concerned.

"Ah yes a pistol, the coward's weapon. Why don't you fight me in melee combat like a real man?"

"Okay first off, we're both girls. Secondly," Wittmann smirked, "you brought a knife to a gunfight dumbass! You can talk smack all you want but at the end of the day, you're the one who's gonna be pumped full of lead."

"Hmph, good luck trying to hurt me with a toy gun."

"Oh it's not a toy, Shingen. It's very much real. You think I'm lying? How about you come at me and see for yourself."

"With pleasure..."

Before she could lunge towards Wittmann however, Yuna stepped in between them. "Stop!" she yelled, which turned a few heads towards her.

"I'll just decide who'll be commander okay?!"

Michael and Shingen immediately directed their hostility towards her. "And who gave you that right?" they both asked in unison.

"I-I'm the overall commander right?"

"A temporary commander, that is," Wittmann interjected, her pistol now aimed towards the brunette.

"But a commander nonetheless!" she countered, "Now, everyone calm down. I can't decide if you don't! Come on, put down your weapons!"

Everyone paused. Wittmann and Takeda were still ready to lunge at each other, even if that meant getting through Yuna. In the end, it was too risky so they heeded their commander's order. Takeda slid her katana back into its sheath and Wittmann hid her pistol inside one of the pockets of her SS jacket.

The brunette sighed in relief, "Whew, that was close..."

"Now what do you suppose is a more proper way to decide our roles, Fujiwara?" asked the samurai girl. "If you don't come up with something in five minutes, I'm stabbing Wittmann in the gut."

"Not if I do it first-"

"Hey, hey! Shut up!" Yuna exclaimed before rubbing her chin until an idea came to mind. "I know! How about we take votes?"

"Wouldn't work, Fujiwara-san," replied Wittmann, "We'll just end up voting for ourselves."

"What? Wh-Why's that?"

Joan sighed, "We're selfish women, Fujiwara, whether we'd like to admit it or not."

"So elections don't work huh… Hmm, is there any other way we can resolve this?"

"There isn't," replied Takeda, "The only way we can solve this is with a duel!"

"We can't solve everything with violence!"

"Yes we can!" both history buffs countered.

Yuna groaned in annoyance, "You people are hopeless!"

"Hey what's going on here?"

Yuna turned around and jumped in surprise as Miho was standing right behind her. Her hands were on her hips as she wore a puzzled look.

"N-Nishizumi-sensei!" the brunette exclaimed, "W-We were just umm... ha-having problems with the crew positions!"

"Let me guess, you're fighting over who's gonna be commander?"

Yuna nodded.

"Alright, that's understandable. I saw this happen a lot in Pravda but it was more intense over there… Okay then," she took a second to inspect the four history buffs. "So who's your club president?"

"That would be Takeda over here ma'am," Sherman answered, pulling Takeda towards her.

"Alright, you're the commander," Miho said nonchalantly.

"Hmph, I expected as much," Takeda said, now with a puffed-up chest accompanied by a smirk.

"What?! How?! I'm the tank ace here!" an indignant Wittmann said.

"The instructor's word is always right, Michael," the samurai girl teased.

"You shut the hell up!"

"Hey! Pipe down!" said Miho in a slightly raised voice. The two shut up and snapped their attention to her. "Wittmann, or Michael, or whatever the hell your name is..."

"Her real name's Tanaka Hanae, Nishizumi-sensei," Sherman interjected.

"Um, okay... Tanaka-san, since you're feeling unfairly treated, how about I'll just give you your second-favorite role? What's it gonna be then?"

"W-Well umm..." Wittmann scratched the back of her head. "I-I guess the gunner could be a fine spot to put me in."

"Good, the gunner role then," Miho turned towards William and Joan. "How about you guys? You figured out your roles yet?"

"Driver" answered Joan.

"I guess being the loader's good enough," said Sherman.

"Alright," Miho nodded with a smile. "That's you guys done," she then looked to her right to see the others had stopped quarreling. She decided to go over to them to find out what positions they've agreed on.

Beside the StuG was an olive green M24 Chaffee light tank, found in the dark caverns of the lower deck of the Zuikaku by the old Volleyball Club. Their captain, Shizume Kano, was elected to be the commander. Out of all the members of the old club, Shizume was the least stupid so Miho didn't need to switch her with somebody else.

Afterwards, the instructor went over to the Bob Semple tank which was next to the Chaffee. The six freshmen were organized in a row as Miho walked up to them. Unlike the other cliques who fought amongst each other for the commander position, the freshmen did the opposite and instead were fighting because no one wanted to be the commander. Miho could understand though. They were all too naive to be operating a tank.

I just gotta find who the Azusa Sawa of this group is then, she thought.

Since there was no other way to produce a commander from the freshmen, Miho resorted to threatening them. "Alright, if there's still no assigned commander for this team, then I'll have to kick you all out of the club."

"Ehh?!" The freshmen began panicking. They spent a good minute murmuring with each other before an "Ahem" from Miho silenced them.

"Alright, so who'll it be?" asked the instructor with a raised eyebrow.

The freshmen looked at each other one last time before one of them answered, "W-We decided... maybe Kobayashi-san can lead us-"

"What?! Why me?! I thought you were gonna be commander!" one of the girls suddenly exclaimed. She had salmon-red hair worn in pigtails and brown dead-fish eyes.

"I-I'm sorry Kobayashi-san, I just can't do it!"

"Come on man!"

"Kobayashi-san it is then," Miho concluded before she walked off.

With all the crew positions now assigned, Miho ordered the newly formed tank squadron to move over to the training range for target practice. For the assigned drivers, maneuvering the tank proved to be very confusing at first, but it didn't take long for them to figure out how to start their vehicles. After that, the drivers' skills turned decent in only a matter of five minutes.

The tanks made their way to a wide-open field stretching over five hundred meters long. It was once a part of the forest, but after Oarai's introduction to Senshadō in the late 1900s, it was turned into the school's shooting range.

The five metal behemoths stood side-by-side, their cannons aimed towards a number of dummy tanks in the form of Panthers about 300 meters away.

Inside the brown Panzer IV, Yuna sat in the gunner's seat in anticipation of Miho's order to fire. Beside her was Ayano who served as the tank's loader, and deeper into the tank was Eiko who drove it. Due to the Panzer being undercrewed, Yuna had to double task as both commander and gunner. It was obviously hard maneuvering through the cramped tank interior so Yuna was practically stuck there. Nevertheless, she was ecstatic to be inside an actual tank.

Eiko switched over to the radioman's seat after she drove the tank into position. A few minutes later, she heard Miho's voice yell, "Attention all units, you are cleared to fire!"

"Oh shit, here we go!" Yuna exclaimed in pure exhilaration before she squeezed the 75mm gun's trigger and was deafened by the loud bang that followed. On instinct, she covered her ears before realizing she had forgotten to aim her gun from the sheer excitement. Three more shots and a short burst of machine gun fire rang from outside.

Miho reported the results of the first volley. "Anglerfish Team, you managed to graze the dummy, good job. As for Turtle Team, you missed. Try again. Hippo Team, kudos to you for managing to hit the tracks; a little bit higher and you would've hit your mark! Rabbit Team, you managed to hit nothing with your machine guns... B-But that isn't your fault! Don't worry! Maybe this course isn't meant for your tank, so you're dismissed for today. Oh congratulations to Duck Team for hitting the ground. Try again!" she uttered that last line in a disappointed tone.

Yuna then heard a loud whistle from outside, signaling the crews to load their guns. She then turned to Ayano and said, "Alright Aya-chan! Load a shell in!"

Her loader nodded before ducking down to fetch a new shell. It took longer than expected though, as Miho called out the Panzer IV directly.

"Anglerfish Team hurry up! Everyone's ready to fire except you!"

"H-Hurry Aya-chan!" the brunette yelled in a panic.

"Th-This thing's too heavy!" the girl reasoned before she punched the shell into the gun breech, successfully loading the tank.

That's reduced loading speed for us... Aya-chan needs to work on her arms.

Yuna pressed her mic, which was placed over her throat, and ordered Eiko through the intercoms, "Eiko, tell Nishizumi-sensei we're ready!"

"Gotcha!"

A few seconds later, Miho yelled again the order to fire. This time, Yuna wanted to be more precise with her shot and so she was the last one to fire. Her shot seemed to miss the dummy by an inch.

"Anglerfish Team! You took too long to fire! Remember, the enemy won't wait for you to shoot! If this were a real match you'd be dead by now! Try again! And that goes for everyone else!"

Whew, it is hot in here! My head hurts like hell… Dammit, I have to pull through! Yuna took a deep breath and found the resolve to fight through the pain. "Ayano, load another shell in! We'll hit them this time, I'm sure of it!"

The loading process took even longer than last time - predictably resulting in Miho reprimanding the team again. Ayano at this point had grown tired. Usually, a loader wouldn't break a sweat from loading three shells, but Ayano hasn't loaded a single shell all her life so this seemingly mundane task came as a challenge for her.

"All units fire!"

Yuna squeezed the trigger again and was once again deafened by the cannon firing.

"Holy- we really need earplugs!" Yuna remarked as her ears rang.

"We really do!" replied Ayano, raising her voice to be heard. She then adjusted her glasses before fetching another shell.

"Look, I know all of you are new to this, but seriously? We're at the fourth volley and none of you have yet to kill anything! We're not going home until one dummy gets disabled. Try again!"

Afterwards, thirty minutes of pure hell for Yuna's ears and Ayano's arms passed, and during that period, the Panzer managed to graze its target seven times, miss it four times, hit it five times and bounced, and hit it with a non-penetrating shot two times.

The sun was setting on the Zuikaku, and the Panzer's interior was darker than the Johannesburg itself. Yuna and Ayano leaned against their seats, panting heavily whilst soaked in sweat. Their trembling bodies felt like giving up at this point.

"I... I can't do it anymore..." said Yuna in a strained voice. "Holy fuck… I'm being cooked alive in here... You... You okay Aya-chan?"

"I-I don't know... Yuna..."

"Alright you know what, I give up. Let's do one last volley before we go home. If none hit, then… I-I dunno anymore. We'll just try again tomorrow or something. Load your guns!"

Yuna buried her face in her hands and groaned as loud as she could. "I'm gonna die in here!"

"Load your tank Anglerfish Team!" Miho yelled.

Overtaken with anger, the commander yelled, "Oh my God, shut the fuck up!" and banged her fist on the hull, squealing in pain shortly afterwards.

"G-Gun's ready Yuna!" Ayano reported before she fainted in her seat.

The brunette then peered through the gun's sights and saw that her aim was a bit far off its mark, so she adjusted it a bit until it was just right. The Panzer's gun was, as far as Yuna could tell, directly pointed towards the dummy Panther's gun mantlet.

Only a hundred millimeters thick... It might just work, she thought before holding in her breath.

"All units fire!"

Yuna released her breath, as well as a shot from the gun. The loud bang which always followed no longer phased her as she was determined to see the results of her work. The brunette watched as her round flew towards her target, a smile slowly creeping up her face as it got closer and closer.

As the shot impacted with the stationary Panther, the tank violently lurched backwards before settling down. Smoke emanated from a sizable, and very noticeable hole on the tank's gun mantlet as a white flag popped out from the top of the turret.

Yuna was overtly shocked, evident from her gaping mouth and widened eyes. "Ho... Holy shit!" she uttered before fainting just like Ayano and hitting her head on the gun's sight.

As her last bits of consciousness clung to her body, she could hear Miho's bewildered voice slowly fading out. "Holy shit! Anglerfish Team you did it! You hit the Panther! Maybe you guys aren't so bad after all…"

After an indeterminable amount of time, Yuna finally regained consciousness and she found herself not in the cramped, oven-like interior of the Panzer IV, but in the comfort of a bed.

Whilst she slowly opened her eyes, she wondered, Where am I? but after recognizing the white ceiling above, she quickly deduced that she was back in her own room. But how?

Yuna wanted to find out, but her body was still too weak. The only thing she could do was turn in her bed. Eventually, she found herself staring at her writing desk to her right where a figure was slouched down, possibly reading something. Her lamp was also turned on, serving as the only light source in the room.

The brunette's eyes widened and panic began to take her over. Yuna tried to revert back to her original sleeping position to somehow trick the intruder into thinking that she was still asleep. But then her bed creaked.

"Hmm? What was that?" muttered the intruder, who from the sound of it, was a woman.

The fatigued commander started sweating bullets. With nothing else to do, Yuna just closed her eyes and hoped to God the person inside the apartment with her would just ignore her minor change in position.

She then heard the chair of her writing desk be quietly moved and placed somewhere else. Judging from the shadow looming over her, Yuna presumed the figure was sitting right next to her.

After a few seconds of nerve-wracking silence, trying to figure out what the mysterious person was gonna do next, the intruder spoke.

"You're awake aren't you?"

Yuna responded with silence.

"No fooling me Fujiwara-san, I know you are."

The brunette's cover was blown. She had no other choice. Yuna took a deep breath and readied herself before she replied, "Wh-What do you want?"

"Huh? What do you mean 'What do you want'? It's me, your instructor!"

"Wait what?" Yuna turned over to the right and faced the stranger. She was hit with the realization that the intruder was in fact, her instructor Miho Nishizumi.

Yuna jumped in surprise at the sight of an unexpected figure. "Ni-Nishizumi-sensei?! What are you doing here?!" she exclaimed before suddenly being hit with a throbbing headache.

Miho's mouth quirked. "I'm glad you're okay, commander. I thought I lost you there for a second. You can't get up just yet since you're still suffering from fatigue so I suggest you lay there for a while until everything's better."

"Wha... What do you mean? What happened?"

"Well..." Miho propped her chin on her hand, "You passed out from exhaustion. I'm not used to training rookies so I pushed you a bit too hard. Sorry for that."

Yuna paused for a second, trying her best not to get overwhelmed with information. She shook her head and said, "You- You don't have to apologize Nishizumi-sensei! I-It's not your fault!" she then tried to sit up. "I umm... I guess I was just too overwhelmed during that moment, and I may have spent too much energy and-"

She was interrupted when Miho placed a hand on her shoulder, making her flinch, "You don't have to blame yourself for everything, Fujiwara-san. And you don't have to treat me like some guy who can't do anything wrong!" the instructor said with a reassuring smile. "I've made a lot of mistakes in my life; some more significant than others. I'm not as perfect as people think I am, alright? In fact, I'm quite the opposite…" the instructor fixed her JGSDF uniform before continuing. "Anyways, I don't wanna intrude on your property any further. Can you stand up?"

"Umm... I think so?"

"Hmm, alright then. I still recommend you stay in bed for the rest of the evening, and if you're still not feeling well tomorrow, don't feel afraid to take a day off."

"I can't do that Nishizumi-sensei! The Senshadō Club needs me!"

"Yes they do. But not if you're this weak. Like I said, feel free to take the day off. You still got 199 pardons left anyways."

Yuna paused as she looked down at her waist dejectedly before nodding. "Yes sensei..."

"Great," Miho said with a smile before she got up and turned off the lamp behind her. The moon served as the only light source now. "Well, it's time for me to go. There's food in the microwave if you need it, and your phone's on the nightstand if you want it. Get well soon kiddo," the instructor gave her apprentice a headpat, which made Yuna blush, and made her way to the door. But before she did, she stopped and turned around to the brunette with a smirk. "-And don't worry, I'll keep the body pillow a secret!"

Sh-She found it?! Yuna thought as she looked on at Miho who left her apartment and closed the door after.

With Miho gone, Yuna fell back onto the bed and covered her face with a pillow as she screamed her lungs out. "Oh my God! Oh my fucking God, Nishizumi-sensei came to my house! Am I dreaming or something, holy fuck!" then she realized Miho must've found her millions of yen worth of merchandise. Shit! I gotta check if the dakimakura's not the only thing Nishizumi-sensei saw! she thought and stood up immediately, only to be brought back down by an intense headache. …Or maybe not… I'll just deal with it another time…

And with that, Yuna tucked herself in and went to sleep.

Yuna didn't attend school the next day since she was still fatigued from yesterday. Her absence meant that the Senshadō Club couldn't conduct practice. She was their commander after all (even though she didn't hold any power).

Miho couldn't cover for her either as she was suffering from a hangover after a night of drinking.

So in the meantime, Eiko and Ayano decided to investigate the Donzoko Bar where Yuna presumed to have found a suitable gunner for their crew. She had told them of a secret entrance to the bar the night prior, so all they had to do was follow the directions.

The pair moved quietly through the mostly empty halls of the main school building, cautious not to be seen entering the janitor's closet by anyone.

"Alright, now what do we do?" Eiko whispered, to not be caught.

"Yuna said there's a fake wall in the upper right corner of the room. Maybe it's behind those boxes?" Ayano replied. She didn't need to whisper as she was already used to speaking so quietly.

"We're gonna make noise if we move 'em!"

"N-No one's around outside, we'll be safe," she assured.

"Alright fine!"

Eiko pushed the boxes aside and accidentally knocked them over. Afterwards, the false wall was revealed. The redhead knew it was fake since it was painted darker than the surrounding walls.

With a light push, she was able to open it before being faced with a flight of stairs leading into the abyss.

Eiko gulped. It was like staring at an entrance to hell or someone's basement. The darkness of the room made it so that the two couldn't see what was at the end of the stairs below.

"A-Ayano, you got a flashlight?"

"Here," the bespectacled girl handed Eiko her phone.

"Alright thanks, you ready to do this?"

"R-Ready as I'll ever be," she answered before grabbing onto Eiko's shirt to not lose her.

After getting her shit together, Eiko stepped forward and made her descent down the stairs.

Ayano's phone proved to be ineffective as its flashlight only illuminated two feet of the path ahead of them. Nevertheless, it was much better than walking in complete darkness.

As the two descended lower and lower, they began to hear a series of reverberating metallic clanging accompanied by a loud humming noise. It was as if they were in a factory.

"We must be under the ship now..." Eiko mused.

After what seemed like an eternity of walking down a flight of stairs, they eventually reached the bottom where another door was waiting for them.

"You think we reached the Johannesburg?"

Ayano nodded without a word.

"Alright, just stick close to me okay?" Eiko said before pushing the door open, which took a bit more strength than she expected. The rusty metal door creaked loudly before it eventually gave up and swung open.

Afterwards, Ayano and Eiko found themselves in a decrepit, dimly lit hallway with moldy black walls and barely functioning ceiling lights. The place also stank of piss and rotten corpses of rats.

"So this is the Johannesburg..." Eiko muttered, "Seems cleaner than I thought it'd be."

"What did you think it was gonna look like?"

"I-I dunno, like an indoor landfill or something."

The redhead then looked around. On one end of the hallway was darkness where faint voices could be heard.

Definitely not going there!

On the opposite end of the hallway was a door with a small round window that displayed its significantly bright interior. Next to the door hung a red izakaya lantern. There was also muffled music coming from the other side.

"Looks like we found the place," Eiko held her friend's hand and they made their way to the door.

Once there, they tried to push it open, but to no avail. They tried a few more times but failed.

"What?! Come on, we came all this way for this?!" she exclaimed.

"Eiko, look" Ayano pointed to a message to their left scribbled on the wall. Written in a light red color, the message told, "Knock three times to open"

"Oh..." Eiko uttered, feeling a bit stupid. She did so and immediately heard a familiar voice.

"Hold on! I'm coming!"

"Wait, Yu-Yuna?!"

They heard the sound of opening locks on the other side of the door before it finally opened slightly. A brunette girl then peeked through the small crack and beamed at the sight of Eiko and Ayano.

"Hey! You're here!" Yuna then swung the door open, revealing a brightly lit room with red walls and wooden floors. What was most noticeable was Yuna's attire. She wore a white shirt under a plum red vest, a bowtie on her neck, a maid headband on her head, a white skirt, and knee-high socks.

"Wha- What the..." Eiko was at a loss for words.

The brunette shrugged, "Hey, I need some way to make money. Now what the heck are you still doing out there? Come on in! Hurry before the delinquents come!" Yuna pulled her friends in before slamming the door shut and locking it.

Eiko and Ayano found themselves inside the infamous Donzoko Bar, where all of the school's delinquent and unwelcome students hang out. The room wasn't the same as the rumors told it to be though, as it looked more like a fancy pub than a run-down tavern.

The walls were painted a cabernet red, the ceiling a bluish silver, and the floor was made of creaking dark wood. The bar was situated in the middle of the room with all of its stools empty save for a few occupied by said delinquents, and on one corner of the room was some sort of small karaoke stage where someone was half-assedly singing Salad Days by Mac DeMarco. The room also had the permanent stench of booze and cigarettes in the air.

A woman with long black hair, also dressed the same as Yuna, was at the bar cleaning a mug when she noticed the newcomers. She greeted them with a smile and said, "Irasshaimase! Make yourselves at home! We got food; we got music; but most importantly, we got lots of alcohol!" she held up a bottle of rum proudly. "Now Fujiwara, why don't you escort these fine ladies to a table?"

"H-Hai, Ogin-dono!" she bowed. "Come on guys, I'll find a good spot."

Yuna led her friends to the cleanest booth she could find. After they sat down, she took out a small pad of paper and a pen and prepared to list down their orders.

"Alright, what are ya havin'?"

"Yuna! What is going on here?" Eiko asked in pure confusion.

The brunette leaned over to whisper, "You're in the Donzoko Bar! You gotta take an order or else they'll kick you out! Oh, and don't worry! It's on the house!"

Eiko paused for a moment before she replied, "F-Fine, umm..." she picked up the menu laid on the table and scanned its contents. "I'll take the chicken karaage."

Yuna then turned to Ayano who said, "I-I'll just get two yakitori p-please."

"Alright!" the brunette exclaimed cheerfully, "Would you like some sake too?"

"Yuna! We're 16!" the redhead replied.

"O-Oh right, hehe... W-Well, I'll be right back with your orders!"

While Yuna was gone, Eiko whispered to Ayano, "This is the weirdest shit I've ever seen!"

"I-I know! Yuna in a barmaid costume?!" she then chuckled, "I thought I've seen everything!"

"I thought we were looking for a gunner?"

"We are, m-maybe Yuna's just trying to get the patrons to trust us first. They seem pretty scary."

"No shit, they're delinquents!"

"W-Well, let's just act casual alright? We don't wanna provoke them."

"Okay, got you."

Ayano then took off her glasses and started wiping them clean. Meanwhile, Eiko looked around the establishment. "Still can't believe it looks this peaceful..."

"That's 'cause those rumors ya keep hearing are wrong, new girl."

"Hmm? What?" the redhead looked around to see where the voice came from, but she found no one. Must be from the booth behind me, she thought and calmed down.

"Wh-What do you mean?" Eiko asked the girl behind her.

"Things calmed down here after Captain went and joined the Senshadō Club. All those rumors about people getting murdered here are just made up by the Journalism Club to drive the normal students out of here. After the Winter Cup of 2012, we renovated the whole place and made it open to the public. A bunch of business people actually come here on Saturday nights, ya know?"

"Who's we?"

"Me and Ogin over there. The name's Rum kid, try not to remember it." the voice from behind said.

"Eiko" she returned the formality.

Eventually, Yuna came back, now with two plates of food. She lay them down on Ayano and Eiko's table before sitting down herself.

"So how's the food?" the brunette asked.

Instead of an answer, she got a smack on the head from Eiko. "That's what you get for skipping school. Nishizumi-sensei's gonna be really pissed at this…"

"I-I didn't skip school! I was in my bed for most of the day. I just arrived here ten minutes ago, you know!" exclaimed an annoyed Yuna.

"Oh, uh, s-sorry about that…'' she apologized and gave her friend a headpat, which seemed enough to calm her down.

Afterwards, Eiko asked, "So anyways, who are we looking for exactly?" with her mouth full.

"Her name's Ishikawa Bunko. Used to be in the old Senshadō Club 'til it closed down. She's here right now actually."

"Wait really?" said Ayano after she swallowed a mouthful of yakitori.

"Yeah! She's on the table near the bathroom."

"Why didn't you just talk to her on your own?" the redhead asked.

"Do you know how terrifying she is?! She's threatened to kill me a dozen times ever since I landed this job!"

"And you think bringing us with you is gonna work?"

"I-I dunno," Yuna shrugged, "But at least there's more than one of us now so I feel less threatened… Anyways, you guys want seconds?"

"Food's our least priority here Yuna!"

"Then why are you stuffing your face with chicken right now?" the brunette raised an eyebrow.

Eiko looked away. "I was... kinda hungry..." she swallowed her food before continuing, "Let's just ask her if she can help us. The sooner we get out of here, the better."

"Why? Don't you guys like this place?"

"It's pretty cool Yuna," said Ayano.

"But we don't exactly belong here," the redhead added, "Now come on, let's go ask her."

The trio then stood up and made their way to the opposite side of the bar where Bunko sat. They stopped in front of a booth where a tall girl, wearing a black leather jacket and slate jeans sat. She had a grown-out bob cut and red eyes.

"H-Hey Bunko-senpai!" Yuna greeted the girl in a friendly manner, but Bunko seemed to be the opposite of friendly.

The delinquent, who was once browsing on her phone as she smoked a cigarette, then turned to the brunette with a hostile look. "What do you want?"

"Li-Listen, there's something I gotta tell ya... I-It's really important."

"Not interested. Go away." Bunko returned her attention to her phone.

"Please this is serious! I need you for the Senshadō Club!"

Upon hearing these words, Bunko paused for a second before she hid her device, put out her cigarette, and pulled out a stiletto. "Sit down," she ordered, to which Yuna and her friends immediately did.

"You've got some real nerve fucking with me like this," she said, her feet now kicked up on the table as she picked her teeth with the small knife.

"I-I'm not lying Bunko-senpai! The school's revived the club. We're gonna fight in the 84th Tournament!"

"That's the biggest lie I have ever heard in my life! I should stab you right now for wasting my goddamn time like this."

"Wait, wait I'm not lying!" the brunette exclaimed, waving her hands around. "I can prove it to you! Tomorrow, 4:45. We'll be having practice. Y-You can come watch!"

"Sure" she answered to which Yuna immediately formed a smile. "Give me your monthly salary first."

"Wh-What?! Y-You mean my 58,000 yen?! Wh-Why would you have to do that?!"

"Insurance, so I'll gain something regardless of if you're lying or not. It's that, or I'm not coming at all. What'll it be, Yuna?" Bunko asked with a smirk.

"U-Umm... Ho-How about my bike? I have a bike at home! I can give it to you for free-"

"I don't want your stupid bike, dumbass."

Yuna sighed as she bowed her head. She knew there was no other way to get Bunko to come. "Fine... But you promise to give it back when I prove you wrong okay?"

The delinquent shrugged, "Maybe"

"So does that mean you're coming?" Eiko asked.

"Yeah sure, I have some time to kill anyways. But if I find out all of this is a big friggin' lie, I'm stabbing you in the chest, got it?"

Yuna nodded nervously, sweat streaming down her forehead. "G-Gotcha senpai!"

"Good, now get the hell outta my sight and bring me a friggin' drink."

A few minutes later, the Panzer trio escaped the dark depths of the Johannesburg and made their way home.

"Well that could've gone better," said Eiko.

"At least we got her to join," Yuna replied.

"How'd you even meet that girl, Yuna?" Ayano asked.

"Last summer when I accidentally fell into the Johannesburg. I was about to get stabbed by some girl 'til Bunko-senpai saved me! In exchange for... ten thousand yen of course..."

Yuna's redhead radioman chuckled, "She cleaned you out!"

"Yeah... That's how I got the Donzoko job too. So I guess... I should thank her?"

The trio stopped at an intersection where they would split up. "It's good hanging out Eiko! See ya tomorrow!" Yuna waved farewell to Eiko as Ayano did too, only a little less lively.

"Sure, hope you don't pass out next practice match, Yuna. You too Ayano."

"Hey, don't even worry about it! I'm like that Boko guy on the TV! You can kick me down a thousand times but I'll always get back up!"

"You still watch that kiddy stuff? Eh, whatever. See ya!" Eiko split up from the two to return to her home. Yuna and her friend did the same.

To be continued...