Sensha-do required a lot of a student's time. Besides the time allocated in their timetables, there was extra practice after school and so much time dedicated to maintenance. While they had people to repair battle damage, the teams preferred to take care of their own vehicles and that took time and great effort; tanks had not been designed with schoolgirls in mind. Grown conditioned men struggled with the heavier components and machinery. After maintenance was over, it was difficult to summon the effort to so much as type at a keyboard. It made the balance of schoolwork and Sensha-do difficult.

This went doubly so for loaders. After training, holding and loading shells for hours, and then doing maintenance, loaders were 'absolutely knackered' to use a British idiom. As such, all Orange Pekoe wanted to do was return to her room and take a long, hot bath. She might have been the strongest member of her team with endless references to her being a 'pint-sized powerhouse' but she was still worn out.

The last thing she expected when she returned to her room was to close the door, turn back around and find herself face to face with her sister. She had not been there a moment ago.

"How did you get here?" She squeaked with decidedly none of the St Gloriana poise and calm.

"None of you lock your doors." Aki replied. "Which is sweet."

"I meant here."

"I asked where your room was and everyone I asked gave me directions. Everyone's really polite here."

The tone she used prickled at her but Aki's smile wasn't mocking. Only teasing. "What are you doing here?"

Aki laughed completely humourlessly. "Hello to you too." She turned away and began to disrupt her perfectly organised desk.

Pekoe stared at the back of her head, thinking about how she tied her hair back in two loose bunches and how simple it was. Her own hair in their twist buns was ornate, complex.

"You came all this way." She said. "Why?"

Aki continued to look at everything on the desk with her hands.

"I was going to talk to you, after the match against the University Select Team, but you were already gone."

"We couldn't hang around."

"I know." Pekoe replied. "You stole their rations."

"They could afford it."

"Why rations though? What was the point?"

"Because they won't forget it. We took the rations from the University All-Stars team the same day they lost to high schoolers."

"Adding insult to injury."

Aki turned to face her. "Is that such a bad thing?"

"They were just pawns of the ministry. They weren't the enemy."

"No." Aki agreed with her. "And some of them were us once so they know why we did it."

"And Viking?"

"What have you heard?"

"That you made a dog go crazy and eat a police car and a fire engine, all so you could take some spare parts for a Panzer III. How do you even transform a dog into a typhoon?"

"We were supposed to put it to sleep for a bit… But we were given the wrong pills."

"Given by who?"

"I don't know."

"And you didn't ask?"

"Are you judging me?"

"Yes!" Pekoe raised her arms, her hands in fists just as Aki's had been as she ranted at Mika. "What if that dog had actually hurt someone?"

"That was the first thing Mika worried about."

"Mika…"

"You know I worried too!" Aki raised her own fists and they glared at each other for a moment before realising their mirrored behaviour and swiftly putting their arms down.

"Would you like a cup of tea?"

"Is that a rule? You have to ask me?"

"Yes." Pekoe answered.

"Oh." The blunt response drove the wind from Aki's sails. "Okay."

"How do you want it?"

"Surprise me." Aki said and then remembered. "But no salt."

"You were surprised, weren't you?"

Pekoe busied herself with making the tea, both of them made awkward by the reminder of different times. It didn't help that both of them had to fight not to smile at the memory of Aki doing a glorious spit-take of her salty tea. It had not been a prank war they had endured as children, war was too strong, but every so often one of them would think of a way to get the other.

Everyone made fun of St Gloriana's cup and saucer, tea-drinking habits but Aki had to admit; it was delicious. She could suddenly understand why they were constantly brewing and sipping the stuff.

"What is this?" Aki inquired.

"Chamomile."

"I think I met her earlier today."

"Are you just going to make fun of everything here?"

"You could go to any school and make fun of their ways." Aki pointed out. "Everyone makes fun of Chi-Ha-Tan's Sensha-do team. Even you. And could you honestly say you wouldn't make jokes if you were at Blue Division about their uniform…"

"It's called manners." Pekoe replied coldly and then thawed. "We wouldn't fit in wearing their uniform."

Aki couldn't help but briefly glance at herself, at her high collared shirt and high necked blouse that with its pale blue colour and white vertical stripes made her seem drab compared to her sister's deep blue pullover and skirt and contrasting black tights. It couldn't be denied; it was an elegant uniform. "We wouldn't fit in there." She confirmed. "And you… You fit in here?"

Pekoe could hear the unspoken plea in her voice, the desire to hear that she wished she had gone to Keizoku and regretted being at St Gloriana but she couldn't fulfil it. "Yes, I do."

Aki sighed, wilting, and took a sip of tea to cover her feelings.

"You know how hard I had to work to get here. To stay here! And you mock my name but I had to earn that too!"

"Was being Haru really so awful?"

"Why do you think everything I do is an insult to you?" Pekoe suddenly felt very tired, the exhaustion that had been shocked out of her returning hard. "Do you really think I'm a different person now?"

"Aren't you?"

"Of course I am. So are you. No one stays the same. Unless you think you could have pulled off heists in lower secondary? Or taken out a Pershing in a tank with no treads while skiing? Through the mud?"

"You saw that?" Aki asked, startled.

"I saw the highlights." She replied and then regretted it because it seemed like a dig at their pilfering of the A-SUT's rations. "I don't know how you aren't all in little broken pieces after making that jump when you took out the first one. Well, Rosehip told me Chris-"

"Tie Suspension." Aki finished for her. "How do you not go crazy in that land-whale you call a tank?"

"The real thing is much slower. Ours can set a fair pace."

"It's a snail." Aki asserted.

"That's why we have Rosehip."

"Rosehip?" Aki frowned. "The girl with pink hair? The one who thinks Crusaders should fly?"

"That's her." Pekoe smiled fondly.

"She belongs with Chi-Ha-Tan."

"Why? Because she's hot-blooded and passionate? Because she's not what you think a St Gloriana girl should be?" They were back to fighting again. "Why are you here?"

Aki finished her tea. "You know I don't know." She put the cup down. "I want to hit you." Pekoe sipped her tea nonchalantly. "Especially when you do that."

"It is an act, you know. We're not really above it all. We just pretend we are."

"Why though?" Aki's fists came up. "What's wrong with living in the moment? Why do you have to pretend you aren't excited, or scared?! What's the point?"

"What's the point in taking all the fun out of Sensha-do and taking it deadly serious like Kuromorimine? To win nine championships in a row."

"What does that mean?"

"Why do nothing according to convention and think about team mates first?" Pekoe continued. "To defeat three of the Big Four and win the championship, like Oarai. That's how they do things." Pekoe finished her tea. "Why don't you tell me why Keizoku has its ways?"

"Its 'ways'?"

"I know why. But I want to hear you say it."

"Because we're poor." Aki spoke vehemently. "And if we weren't liberating supplies from the other schools, we wouldn't even be able to train, let alone compete. We can't make up the difference with… Bake sales…"

"And St Gloriana has lots of wealthy alumnae who love to donate to us. And tell us which tanks we should and shouldn't use."

Aki rolled her eyes. "Sounds awful."

"Envious?"

Aki glared at her and Pekoe's weariness reached a whole new level.

"You don't know why you're here… Did you just want to fight?"

"I don't want to fight… But…" Aki flapped her hands, simultaneously looking like she was trying to grab at strings and fend off a swarm of bees. "Looking at your stupid face just makes me angry."

Pekoe stared at her for a moment and then broke down laughing at just how ludicrously childish this statement was, not to mention how neither of them had the stature or features to look angry without being endearing. Even though she felt patronised, Aki also couldn't help but dissolve into giggles. She meant what she said but that didn't mean she didn't feel silly saying it.

[][][][]

As both a gunner and a loader, Aki understood the exhaustion that came after a long training session and so even though it made her an ungracious host, Pekoe took a bath while Aki cooked. Aki found the experience uncomfortable, as she was used to a far more basic setup and she didn't want to think about how long it had been since the two of them had eaten a meal together. Camping cookouts were frequent among the Continuation High Sensha-do club, usually what they had fished and foraged for themselves and almost every time it made her miss her family.

It was strange for Pekoe too. St Gloriana spent a lot of effort creating a homely atmosphere but her sister preparing a meal was a step further. It didn't help that their muddled conversation meant she didn't know how Aki actually felt though she noted she had avoided answering why she was here. She had come here in her own uniform and asked for directions from other students which meant that Assam would be well informed and be compiling a new dossier while letting Darjeeling know. Perhaps they thought Mika was out there and they had locked down the school in response but were too polite to come accost Aki while she was her guest.

"You look like a girl I used to know." Aki remarked in response to her loose long hair.

Pekoe made a decidedly un-ladylike gesture in response which made Aki beam. "You can't have long hair loose when you're loading." She said, something that Aki already knew.

"Isn't it exhausting tying your hair up like that all the time?"

"I find it helps me focus."

"You'd have to be focused to manage all that."

"You still have the fringe."

"Hiding the family forehead."

Pekoe touched hers unthinkingly. "I learned to accept it."

"You're lying, aren't you?"

"Of course I am! We look like we're questing for fire!" She didn't know which comments were more annoying; the ones that suggested she looked like a cave person with low intelligence or the ones that mused her large forehead must mean she had a big brain, and she was a nerd...

They ate quietly for several minutes, Pekoe musing that she had missed the simpler fare of home while Aki continued to wonder at the lavish décor. And this was a low-end room at St Gloriana. It looked like a stately home. It was nothing like the Spartan conditions at Keizoku.

"Do you have a fresh insult for my school?" Pekoe asked, watching her.

"How do you keep this place clean?"

"Effort."

"Seriously?"

"We're expected to keep our spaces tidy and there's an army of cleaners for everywhere else." Pekoe sighed. "Do you think that I think I'm better than you?"

"Do you?"

"How can you think that?"

"Keizoku wasn't good enough for you."

"I didn't come to St Gloriana because I thought Keizoku was beneath me."

"Really?" Aki replied with dripping scepticism.

"I came here because I thought it suited me. And it does. I like tea and biscuits. And tennis. And croquet." She frowned. "But not cricket. Cricket is a cruel joke. And sometimes the English proverbs get… Tedious." She smiled now. "But you know what it's like hearing philosophy."

"I do."

"I don't know what's worse, the moment where she asks me if I've heard what she's about to say and then explains it to me."

Aki blinked several times. "… Yours explains what she means?"

For a moment she sounded so forlorn that Pekoe had a desire to hug her and then she laughed at the absurdity of it. "You're angry we went to different schools but we ended up taking the same roles."

"I did think about that. But I guess you don't go on raids with your commander."

"Sometimes."

"Sometimes?" Aki was taken aback.

"We're the Sensha-do club." Pekoe explained. "The other clubs think we're weird and old fashioned and we're always making things difficult for each other. It's easier for us to disrupt them than it is for them to disrupt us though. The debate team can't drown us out but our engines can definitely drive them to distraction."

"That's not a raid though."

"Rigging the feed on their mics is though. Assam had them cut out mid-debate and start playing a speech from the Minister of Transport instead."

"That doesn't seem… Elegant."

"It's not. But they tried to start a movement to get us banned from training on the ship so honour had to be satisfied. All because Rosehip took a shortcut past their hall. She also demolished a bandstand and that's why we're feuding with the music department as well."

"That sounds…" Aki paused, thinking about it. "You really fight amongst yourselves?"

"Darjeeling says it's a very British thing to do; fighting with the neighbours. The only time they make peace is against bigger enemies."

"Oh." Aki felt herself start to flush and couldn't stop it.

"What? What is it?" Pekoe gazed at her embarrassed sister. "What are we going to have to unite against?"

"I came here…" Aki squeaked, and then swallowed. Now she spoke confidently. "I came here to warn you that we're planning a mission here, against St Gloriana."

"You're coming for our supplies?"

"Yes."

"Keizoku's never taken from St Gloriana. We don't use the same tanks."

"That's the point." Aki admitted. "It's never been done so we want to do it. To prove it can be done. Something people will never forget."

Pekoe could see the logic to it and also identify the mind that would come up with such an idea. "And Mika wanted you to warn us because if we know you're coming and she still pulls it off, she makes even more history."

"I wanted to warn you!" Aki said desperately. "Even if she hadn't told me to come, I would have."

"Why? Wouldn't you have liked to have gotten one over on me?"

"You called us pirates." Aki glared at her sister. "Like we go around picking on the weak and destroying what we can't take with us. That's not who we are."

"I know."

"I had to let you know it wasn't personal."

"Darjeeling told me a little about English history. Did you know they were pirates in their past? She told me how much St Gloriana owes to them, to those pirates. And it is personal."

"I just said-"

"Think about it!" Pekoe interrupted her. "We have our public quarrel, and then Mika decides to make history by coming here? Don't you see? She's playing with us."

"Mika wouldn't do that!" Aki protested hotly.

"I don't mean trying to hurt us. She wanted you to come here, and talk to me. Don't you see?"

Aki was all too aware of Mika's puppeteering skills but hearing it from another unsettled her. "How does taking our schools to war help us? Everyone's going to expect me to know everything about this place, and you, they'll think you're our inside woman."

"I don't know about yours because I don't know them but mine know I would never betray them. Besides… You're here with me and you let everyone know you're here. Assam probably has someone watching right now in case you sneak off to do some recon. Meanwhile, someone else could have come, someone who didn't announce themselves… You're a distraction."

"When did you get so good at analysis?"

"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

"Did Darjeeling teach you that?"

"No. My history teacher. It's her favourite joke." She rolled her eyes and Aki smiled dutifully. "You know this can't end well. If we know you're coming-"

"You don't know Mika. She lives for this."

Pekoe heard the admiration, respect, and love, in her tone. "You really think she can get so much as a bolt off this ship when we're fully alerted and waiting for her?"

"She won't be alone."

"I know that! But what do you think you can get away with?"

"You don't know Mika."

"This can't end well."

Having echoed themselves and with nothing else to say, they gazed at each other ruefully until Aki couldn't help but say sadly. "It would have been so much better if you were coming here with us."

"You don't need me."

"Yes, I do. We were a team."

"You still have a team."

"It's not the same."

"That's a good thing." Pekoe insisted. "You can't improve if everything stays the same. Things need to change."

"Is that why you left? You were tired of me?"

"Aki! It didn't have anything to do with you! This was about me. I wanted to come here, I wanted to do what made me happy and you wanted to go to Keizoku because that makes you happy. Unless it doesn't… Is that why you're mad? Because you're unhappy there?"

"I'm not unhappy! Not at school. I just… I…"

"Miss me?"

"Don't make me hit you."

"If it'll make you feel better." Pekoe replied, leaning in and presenting her cheek.

"That's not fair!"

"You're the one that wants to hit me." Pekoe shrugged and waited. She could feel her sister's eyes burning and found herself looking at a family photo. There they were, eight years old, with their parents; their red-haired, green-eyed mother and blue-eyed, fair-haired father. It was an odd quirk of fate that had combined their appearances to give their daughters a familiar look but strikingly different features.

After what felt like the Godfather trilogy followed by a marathon of the best Bond films, Aki finally spoke. "Do you know what gets to me?" She asked. "When I'm with Mika and Mikko, when we're training or just spending time together, they feel like my sisters. But I already have a sister."

Pekoe was beginning to become distressed over just how deep Aki's abandonment issues ran. She sounded seriously depressed over her departure and it made her hurt to think she didn't have similar feelings. Did that mean Aki cared more about her than she did about her?

[][][][][]

When Pekoe woke the following morning, Aki was gone and she was not at all surprised she had been able to leave without making a sound. She had left a note which simply read 'Thanks for the tea.' And her signed name.

It was a polite note, somewhat cold, though not as frightening as the summons she received. She had learned to read through the flowery wording and discern the real meaning a long time ago and knew that 'We request the pleasure of your company' meant 'You have no choice.' while 'At your earliest convenience.' Translated as 'Now.'

And yet, arriving at the Sensha-do clubhouse everything was as it always appeared to be. Tea, scones, cucumber sandwiches… If it wasn't for Assam's back being ruler straight and her eyes apparently at an X-ray setting, everything would have been normal. Darjeeling meanwhile was smiling the way she always did.

But they had to observe the niceties and so tea was poured for her and she helped herself to a sandwich while Darjeeling made observations about the weather.

"We hear you had a visitor." Assam finally said.

Pekoe was not in the mood to observe decorum. "Aki came to tell me that Keizoku's planning a heist. Here."

The blunt declaration was greeted with wide eyes from Assam, and an amused 'Hmmm' from Darjeeling followed by a sip of tea.

"She doesn't know any details, and even if she did she wouldn't tell me, obviously. And she wasn't betraying them, she came because Mika wants us to know they're coming."

"Truth is stranger than fiction." Darjeeling declared and then addressed Assam. "Does this tally with what you've learned?"

"Keizoku is swarming with Pravda spies and they're planning to come here? No, that doesn't tally. Katyusha must be certain they're going back to their usual hunting grounds and Mika is…" She shrugged. "She's 'trolling' Katyusha by coming here instead."

"Aki said it's because they've never come here. No one talks about when they go to Pravda anymore but if they come here…" Pekoe trailed off.

"It would indeed be a feather in her cap to succeed here." Darjeeling remarked, revealing absolutely nothing of her feelings.

"But what are they coming for?" Assam pressed. "Fuel? Ammunition? Our tea?"

"If Mika wanted our tea, she would wait for an invitation." Darjeeling beamed. "Fortune favours the bold. Mika isn't coming here for mere trinkets, I think."

"A tank?" Assam was incredulous. "How could they even hope to spirit away a tank?"

"They've done it before with forty-five ton KV-1 tanks. No one knows how they did that. Or how they filled that hanger with foam." Darjeeling continued to beam, as if nothing in the world amused her more.

"Doesn't this trouble you?" Pekoe inquired, starting to worry she was displaying the opposite of what she felt.

"Keizoku will do what Keizoku will do and the more things change, the more they stay the same. If Keizoku comes to us instead of Pravda, the only thing we can do is provide a better reception for them. A reception that Mika deserves." Darjeeling's genteel façade fell and the steel revealed itself. "If Keizoku wishes to have a story to tell then we will ensure that one way or another it will be a story worth telling."