Blazepanzer here, and thank you for taking the time to read my newest fanfic! Yeah yeah, I know, another new one, but this is the second to last new one I want to write outside of sequels, or at least until I get my old fanfics completed. Feel free to let me know what you think!

Anyways, enjoy! Note: Blazepanzer does now own girls und panzer!

She closed her green eyes as she took a deep breath and opened the door, her light ginger hair flowing slightly as a breeze flowed in from the window. Daring to open them, she noticed five other girls standing in the room. "So, you wanted to talk with me about something?" Hanoashi asked quietly, as she leaned against the wall just inside the room. I was just going to join the Archery team, but one of these girls told me to meet them here instead, she recalled.

"First introductions," the girl around 162 centimeters, with shoulder-blade length brown hair noted, her amber eyes somewhat scrutinizing. "Please say your name and amount of Sensado experience if you will."

"Hanoashi Katoni, went to Nishmari Co-ed academy for four years, served my first year and a half as a T-50 light tank driver, followed by becoming deputy commander for the remainder of the year while swapping to a Panzer III G, and served the remaining two years as overall team commander. Won the summer finals during my final year."

"Misami Kuwahara, served in Kuromorimine middle school as a driver for two years, became a tank commander during my third year but was kicked out for under performance during a practice match. Spend my fourth year at Jaktasoda middle school, but rejected a high school scholarship to their school after discovering a pandemic of kleptomania going on over there.

Hanoashi sighed in response. "Yeah, I've heard about that issue, sadly."

"I'm Momoe," a girl with medium length brown hair and green eyes bowed gently, her height being around 149 centimeters. "And this is my twin sister, Masa Minzu," she added, pointing to a shorter girl around 149 centimeters in height, who had shorter black hair and green eyes. "We piloted a T-80 light tank in the singles tournament with our mother back in middle school."

"Mari Matsu," a girl wound 135 centimeters bounced up and down on her heels, excitedly, her short brown hair bouncing up and down with her movements. "Commanded the tournament of fives team at Osasa co-ed middle school during my final year."

Before Hanoashi could respond, Mari ran up to her and grasped her hands. "It's such an honor to meet you Miss Katoni!" she gasped excitedly. "The way you won the summer tournament last year was amazing! The way you de-tracked the enemy and then left them along to repair their treads only to de-track them again to gain all those points, and on top of that the four wins that year!" She gasped and bowed down suddenly. "Can I please have your autograph?"

Hanoashi laughed sightly. "Sure, but you're the only one who's asked me for my autograph," she admitted.

"Wow, really?" Mari gasped, but to Hanoashi's surprise Misami walked up and patted Mari on the head. "Calm down little bounce, we're here on a serious business, remember?"

"I'm not little," Mari protested, glaring up at Misami, though Hanoashi could tell right away that Mari wasn't too offended by the name.

"Anyways, I'm Sayrui Oumari," the fifth and final girl introduced herself. The black haired girl let out a smirk. "Looks like you and I are breaking up the M club so to speak."

"The M club?" Hanoashi tipped her head in confusion.

Mari, Masa, Momoe and Misama all have names that start with M," Sayrui noted, her hazel eyes shining. "You and I are the only one's who don't. Though you're a bit different than the rest of us in more ways then one."

"Really?" Hanoashi tipped her head.

"Yep," Sayuri smiled, before walking up and to the Irish girl's surprise, the girl placed her hand on her cheek. "I wish I had freckles like you," she added.

"Ignore her," Maisami muttered, before grabbing Sayuri's hand and dragging it off Hanoashi's cheek. "She's fascinated by the freckles so to speak.

"I...see," Hanoashi glanced at Sayuri warily.

"She's not lesbian in case you were worried," Mari bounced excitedly. "Though she is a bit more touchy than you'd think."

"Thank Maus, I'm contracted to marry a Yukaro Matsumino after graduation," Hanoashi sighed in relief.

"Marry?" Mari gasped. "I thought you might go into the professional leagues with your skills."

Hanoashi shook her head in response. "As much as I love Sensado, my dream is to get married and be a stay at home mom, though I don't blame you if you are surprised at that. A lot of people assume that girls who do Sensado are..."

"Ultra feminist?" Misami noted. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

"Hano-momma," Sayuri began, but was promptly tapped on the shoulder by Misami in a slightly hard. "Ignore her, she gives weird nicknames to those she views as motherly," Misami explained.

"Er..." Hanoashi stared as Sayuri refereed to Misami as Misama. So far, let me get this straight, Mari's the excitable one, Sayuri's the touchy, jokiest one, Misami's kinda the elder of the group and the Minzu siblings are the quiet ones. Hanoashi mused. But they haven't told me why they wanted to meat up with me, and what's up with going over our Sensado experience?

"Yeah, anyways, let's get a hamburger or something, now that we've gotten to know each other." Misami noted, and with that began to lead the group out of the room.

Hanoashi watched them go before feeling a slight tug on her sleeve. "Come along Hanoashi," Mari urged. With that, the ginger haired girl felt compelled to follow the group.

"So, what exactly brought you over to Ooarai?" Sayuri asked.

"Scholarship," Hanoashi admitted sheepishly.

The five instantly stopped in their tracks, surprised.

"Um Hanoashi...you don't know, do you?" Misami began slowly.

Know what?" Hanoashi asked.

"O...Oorari is supposed to end functions this year," Mari admitted.

"End functions?" Hanoashi tipped her head, before gasping. "You don't mean close down, right?"

The five nodded. "See...Ooarai's student council made an agreement with the ministry of education, that if they won the nationals, then Ooarai would remain open," Misami explained. "The Sensado nationals," she added as Hanoashi gave her a confused look.

"But...wouldn't they need the most expertise they could find?" Hanoashi asked.

"You'd think, but they rejected us all for some medical BS or whatever. Well except Mari who got wrongly expelled in intermediate school over a misunderstanding, but they had gotten that sorted out back then. As for me, I broke my leg in a fall during middle school and had to temporarily retire from the Sensado team for six months, and that's the excuse they used on my rejection paper."

"Should we tell her?" Hanoashi overheard Momoe asked Masa who nodded. "Our...mother used to be a street prostitute before she meet our father, who happened to be a Christian. He witnessed to her, she got saved, and one thing lead to another and they eventually got married and had us."

Hanoashi smiled at them reassuringly, which caused the two to visibly relax.

"You took that well," Misami noted. "Those two don't exactly like to share their mother's story since they've seen a lot of other kids with that kind of parental background get bullied. So please..."

"Kept it between us, don't worry," Hanoashi promised.

"Anyways...they tried to say we had STD's as a rejection reason. Thankfully we managed to get the medical record cleared up with much much medical testing, but still...not an easy thing to deal with."

"I...I'm sorry to hear that you had so much trouble," Hanoashi whispered. "At least you were able to get everything cleared up."

"Cancer survivor here," Sayuri admitted. "Reason why my hair's short right now, the old stuff all fell out during Kemo. Thankfully it wasn't permanent, though."

Hanoashi was about to respond when Mari piped up. "So what about you Hanoashi?"

"Sc-type 4 Diabetes," Hanoashi glanced down, as it always embellished her when she brought it up.

"So you can't eat sweets?" Mari gasped.

Hanoashi nodded embarrassingly. "Something like that. But...please don't deprive yourself of them on my account, it always pisses me off when people do that."

"So...how is it different..." Sayuri began, but Misami cut her off. "After lunch please, you'll thank me later," she added.

"Thanks, I really don't like to talk about it near or around a meal," Hanoashi sighed gratefully.

"No problem," Misami smiled.

Arriving at a burger joint, the six girls got their order quickly and sat down.

"So, I'm guessing you wanted to talk to me about more than our shared Sensado team rejection, right?"
Hanoashi asked.

"You're already aware that Ooarai Girl's academy is starting up their Sensado team, obviously. Well, the Ooarai land Girls and boys academy are also opening up their Sensado teams as well. And us five...six if you opt to join, are going to join the land's Sensado team."

"Count me in then," Hanoashi smiled.

"Just like that?" Sayuri gasped.

"Sure, I'm going to need to change schools anyways given that Ooarai is shutting down. And my Aunt promised to send me to any school I want provided my grades matched up, and my father agreed to let her do so provided I didn't get a scholarship," she explained.

"But you got a scholarship," Mari pointed out.

"To a school that's closing down," Hanoashi reminded her. "Father will understand, in fact he told me that if I had a problem serious enough to..." just then her phone buzzed. "I'll check that out later," she admitted. "Anyways, as I was saying, Father told me to just call my aunt if there was an issue worthy of leaving Ooarai, and this definitely qualifies as such."

"Great! Oh this is going to be so exciting!" Mari gasped.

Hanoashi smiled. "Though since the ship is entering nationals, we'll be restricted to the Tournament of fives or the singles tournament," she explained. "Still good tournaments though.

"Just the tournament of fives," Misami admitted. "We're only receiving nine tanks given that the boy's academy is wanting to enter the official tournament. If Ooarai girl's academy, the ship that is, closes down, then we may buy some of the tanks if we can afford them to expand our roster, and possible along with some cheep tanks from other sources to help out in the nationals next year." She then smirked. "Might even get some of the ship's team crewgirls as well."

"Oh, and we'll all be commanding the tanks," Momoe admitted. "Though we need to decide on a team commander."

"It's obvious who the commander should be at least," Misami noted, gazing at Hanoashi, as the other girls turned to gaze at her with great interest.

Hanoashi blinked a few times before sighing. "Sorry girls, I'm kinda still exhausted from my time as Nishmari's team commander."

"What about Vice commander than?" Mari asked.

"I'll think about it." Hanoashi agreed before taking a bite of her burger.

The girls ate quickly before they made there way to the park.

"So, who's going to be the team leader then?" Masa asked quietly.

"I say Masama," Sayuri noted. "I mean, she's always keeping us in line and out of trouble.

"Same, Misami," Mari noted her vote, glaring at Sayuri at calling Misami Masama. "Unless Hanoashi changes her mind, that is" Mari added.

"Fine by me," Masa smiled.

Momoe nodded in agreement.

Misami looked at Hanoashi cursorily. "You okay with this?"

Hanoashi smiled. "Sure, you take the lead Misami, I'll go trail and follow. Besides, it's clear that your friends trust you, and so do I."

"You're our friend too, right?" Masa asked.

"I kinda figured that," Hanoashi smiled. "And...thank you. I...haven't told the two friends in my class about my rejection notice yet and I'm not too sure they'd transfer with me, so I'm glad know that I'll have friends who'll be going with me." She then let out a small laugh. "Even if we just met."

The five other girls laughed along with her. "True, though I'm glad we're friends," Misami smiled. "And I'm glad to have you as a vice commander." she added gratefully.

"What about your text?" Mari brought up.

"Oh, right..." Hanoashi whipped her phone out. "Rikona..." she mused, glancing up at the other girls. "I really ought to call her back." she whispered.

The other girls backed off to give her some distance.

"Who's Rikona and why does Hanoashi seem so spooked by this," Mari whispered to Misami.

"Hush," Misami whispered harshly, before gazing at the ginger haired girl. "But she does seem rather uneasy about it."

"You think there's trouble...no with that laughing there's not any." Sayuri noted. "Unless she's a secret masochist."

That earned the cheeky girl a good wack on the shoulder from Masami, which earned her a whine of "Masama" in return.

"We really need nicknames," Momoe muttered. Every time I hear one of our names with the letter M, it spooks me.

"What would be a good nickname for our new friend, I wonder," Misami mused, placing her hand to her chin in thought before glaring at Sayuri. "No motherly names," she added sharply as the girls was clearly about to suggest something of the sort.

"Right," Hanoashi walked up to them, smiling. "No issues, just my cousin telling me what I now already know."

"About the school Closing?" Mari asked.

Hanoashi nodded. "Yeah, apparently aunt Sheila heard about it and had Rikona call to ask me about what school I'm planing to transfer to."

"Ah, by the way you looked when you saw that we thought that something bad must have happened," Sayuri breathed.

"Can't say I blame you, when Rikona text for me to call her as soon as possible, it usually means something serious. Which this is in a way, but not what I feared most, and knowing about it ahead of time helped."

"So, you're all set to transfer with us. Right?" Misami asked.

"Rikona's gonna fly me out this weekend," Hanoashi smiled. "Said I could bring along any friends who want to transfer with me as well. No idea how she knew."

"Really, that's great!" Sayuri smiled, but Misami whacked her on the shoulder.

"That's really okay though...I mean I wouldn't want to impose...though we were discussing how we could ride together on the transfer." Misami admitted sheepishly.

"Sure! There's plenty of room, knowing what her side of the family likes to use."

"You come from a rich family?" Momoe asked quietly yet respectfully.

"My mother was disowned for marring my father who came from a more...humble family, so I wouldn't exactly say I come from a rich family. But my Aunt still cared deeply about my, and my parents, and me and my cousin Rikona are very close, so I'm thankful for what I have.

"Oh...I'm sorry to hear about your mother, but glad that her sister still cared for her. Is...it possible for me to meet your parents sometime? I always doing like that," Misami asked.

"My father...sure, but my mother died when I was six," Hanoashi whispered, glancing down at her feet for a brief moment, before glancing around. "It's starting to get late," she noted.

"I believe you're right," Sayuri noted.

"Um...Hanoashi..." Mari asked.

"Yes, what is it?" Hanoashi asked.

"Would...it be alright if I spent the night at your house...I mean...I don't want to impose, but...well...I'd like to get to know you better..." she trailed off, unsure of how to continue.

"Me to! Me to!" Sayuri began bouncing around like a little kid who won the lottery, but was once again whacked on the shoulder by Masami. "You're coming over to my house to study math, remember?" she growled sternly. "You're math skills stink dispute your apparent skill as a gunner."

"Masama...Killjoy," Sayuri whinnied mockingly, and thus earned a slight shove this time my Masa.

"Show some respect, she's trying to tutor you and grades come first, remember," said girl whispered harshly.

"Funny, my math skills were top notch while my gunnery skills were in the gutter," Hanoashi laughed, before turning to Mari. "I'd love to have you over for the night," she smiled. "Though...my apartment is somewhat bare-bone," she added.

"That's fine," Mari smiled, before grabbing her hand and leading her off. "Let's go!" she smiled.

"Um..okay then," Hanoashi stammered, surprised, before glancing back at the other girls. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked.

They all smiled and waved bye. Hanoashi did not miss the look of amusement on their faces.

"So, what's your favorite tank?" Mari asked as they walked home.

"Panzer IV H," Hanoashi smiled. "It's got that tanky look as I call it," she added.

"That's a good tank," Mari smiled. "Mine is...well...I've kinda got three. The Scorpion if we're talking about fictional tanks and the M-1 Abrams if we're talking all around. As for world war one tanks, the BT-7. I love it's unique truck-like shape, as I put it."

"You're a tank enthusiast I take it?" Hanoashi asked.

Mari laughed. "Not even that, I'm somewhat of a military enthusiast. Me and my older brother would play all sorts of military games, call of duty, Halo, Ace combat, you name it! Well...mother didn't let us play online due to the increased profanity, but you get the idea." Suddenly she squeaked. "Sorry...that probably sounds crude, what with a cute small girl like me enjoying video games,"

Hanoashi smiled. "Don't worry, I play some games too. Though I'm a little bit different so to speak."

"Oh, what kind of games do you like to play?" Mari asked.

"Many different kinds, though that's not what I meant by different," Hanoashi admitted. "By the way, do we need to stop by your place and pick anything up?"

Mari shook her head. "No, I tend to sleep in my undies, so unless that bothers you, I'm good for a night."

"Funny, I do the same thing," Hanoashi laughed.

"We seem to have a lot in common then," Mari laughed.

"Right, we're here then," Hanoashi smiled, opening her apartment girl.

Mari followed her new friend, some would say Idol, into the room. She was speechless as she saw a lack of decorations. Or, something of a lack of decorations, everything was bare-bones except for an entertainment center, which was filled with little tanks and car models.

After a moment, she realized that the car models were NASCARS. "These you're favorite drivers?" she asked.

Hanoashi shook her head. "No my friend, that the entire 1998 NASCAR Winston cup field right there. Rikona got it for me as a high school acceptance gift, along with the 1998 Winston cup race DVD collection.

"Wow, what a fantastic gift!" Mari gasped.

"Are you by any chance a NASCAR fan?" Hanoashi asked.

Mari looked downward. "No, sorry, racing isn't my thing." she whispered. "No offense."

"None taken," Hanoashi smiled reassuringly. "It's not for everyone really."

"Hey...this tank model, it has your name on it," Mari noticed, glancing at a Panzer III G.

"That's the model that will be competing in the Homestead match next weekend." Hanoashi smiled. "The current commander's name is printed below mine. Sadly, since the tournament takes place in the spring and the qualifications for said match take place the year before, some commanders can't compete in the match even if they school's qualify for it, so in those cases they honor the previous commander by placing their name over the current commanders."

"Aren't you disappointed in not being able to compete then?" Mari asked.

Hanoashi shook her head. "Not really, I was honored to lead Nishmari into their first tournament win and to guide them into their first qualification to the Homestead match, so I'm quite satisfied with that. Plus, two years is exhausting for a team commander, so I'm glad for a break."

"That's why you didn't want to be the team commander?" Mari asked.

"Partially, and I kinda want to relax. Of course being vice commander means a lot of paperwork, but that part isn't too tiring. I actually view homework as a sort of video game on paper, so it's actually kinda fun for me."

"I wish I could view homework like that. It's always such a drag to me," Mari sighed.

"You notice something weird about these tanks?" Hanoashi asked.

"Huh...they look a lot like the Nascars..." Mari gasped.

"Yep! The whole Homestead match concept traces it's origins back to NASCAR, directly inspired by it in fact. For one match, all school allegation is lost in a free for all match from four schools, with tanks painted in brightly colored paint schemes and covered in advertiser decals. In fact the name Homestead traces back to the days when NASCAR held their final race at Homestead Miami."

"Wow...I had no idea," Mari breathed.

"By the way, those tanks with the double signatures, they tend to become collector items after a few years," Hanoashi teased gently.

Mari was about to respond when she noticed some pictures. "This is your high-school uniform?" She asked, pointing to one where Hanoashi was wearing a white polo shirt with a pink skirt and leather watch.

"Nope! Didn't have a uniform," Hanoashi smiled. "In Nishmari, we could wear whatever we wanted, provided it had no graphics, logos, and, for us girls, was paired with a skirt or if the clothing was a dress. Guys could were pants with almost any kind of shirt as long as it wasn't sleeveless or see through."

"Sounds kinda liberal," Mari laughed.

"Well, it's not quite as liberal as Sanders or so I hear," Hanoashi laughed. "They might have been a bit liberal on the clothing, but she schooling was...well...let's just say if you went to Nishmari middle school during your final year, most of high-school is a review course."

"You're kidding!" Mari gasped.

"Nope, in fact some academies allow Nishmari student to skip the first year if their grades are high enough. Ooarai used to do that until a few years ago."

"Wonder why they stopped," Mari asked.

"Reason why they started to let those in the ship and engineering courses off without having to pay tuition, I guess." Hanoashi shrugged.

"What exactly do you mean by that?" she asked.

"Well, normally you have to return two thirds of the tuition to those who successfully complete the ship and engineering courses if they work hard and have excellent marks," Hanoashi explained. "On top of having to pay them minimum wage."

"So if they don't charging tuition fees for those in the ship course, then they just have to pay them minimum wage, right?" Mari asked. "Sounds like those here at Ooarai are getting screwed."

"Sounds that way. Of course if you don't know about all that then Ooarai sounds like a great deal, you don't have to pay tuition and you get paid to boot," Hanoashi laughed. "And plus, they actually charge for the room and board, and on top of all that you have to buy your food, which eats up the minimum wage earnings."

Anyways, is this your friend?" Mari asked, gazing at the girl by her side, dressed in a leather fur coat dress. She had long brown hair and light, lime green eyes.

"No, that's Rikona, my cousin," Hanoashi smiled.

"She's so tall in this photo...she must be...what...162 centimeters?"

"She's 190 centimeters tall and still growing, actually," Hanoashi smiled.

"Whoa, that tall!" Mari gasped. "I wish I was taller," she sighed.

"According to her, being tall has a lot of drawbacks," Hanoashi urged.

"So does being short, though in a way that's not too bad. I...just didn't want to be this sort." Mari sighed.

"And this is my Aunt and parents," Hanoashi noted, gazing at the other photo. "And that's me on the right," she added.

"Who's that boy on the left," Mari asked.

"My older brother Nova," Hanoashi sighed longingly. "He was adopted to a distant cousin in America, so I rarely get to see him."

"Oh...I'm..."

"Yeah," Hanoashi sighed.

"Wait...this is..." Mari gasped, surprised as she noticed a newspaper clipping in a picture frame. She read quickly through it, her gaze softening. "You're mother died a hero, didn't she," she whispered.

"Yeah, almost lost Father as well," Hanoashi sighed. "I like to read this every morning to remind myself of who my mother was like."

"She must have been wonderful," Mari breathed.

"Yeah, she was." Hanoashi took a step back. "Not like me."

"Wait, no, you're wonderful as well!" Mari gasped in surprise.

"No no, I mean...the only thing I share with her is her motherly desire. I'm...not good at cooking complicated dishes like she was, and I love cleaning which is something she hated, We don't even have the same desires in dressing."

"What do you mean?" Mari asked, her eyes growing curious.

"Well, for one mother preferred pants and long sleeve shirts, where as I prefer short sleeves and dresses or skirts. Furthermore, mother loved wearing jewelry where as I...I can't stand to wear anything other than a watch." Hanoashi glanced down. "I'm not even comfortable wearing an engagement ring."

"There's nothing wrong with not wanting to wear jewelry," Mari noted.

Hanoashi nodded in response. "I know, and I'm glad Yukaro understands," she then sighed. "It's just...I'm so different from mother and she died when I was so young that I can't really relate to her as much as I'd like. My looks all come from my father's side."

"But you have your mother's athleticism and courage, right?" Mari asked.

Hanoashi shook her head. "No...mother...from what I heard she could work all day and then run marathons in the evening with father, and lift about 36 kilograms like it was nothing. Me...I can barely run a mile without running out of breath, and I can't lift much more than 27 kilograms without strain. As for courage, maybe, though I hate loud noises. Tank cannons don't bother me ironically enough, but thunderstorms and horror films...count me out!"

"I'm...sorry..." Hanoashi shook her head. "I didn't mean to unload on you like that Mari..."

"No no, it's fine." Mari smiled. "I'm guessing you and Rikona are close?"

"Sometimes we get a bit too close some would argue, but yeah. She was there for me after mother died and she and Shelia always took good care of me and father. In fact, if father had died from his injuries, Shelia had promised to adopt me so that me and Rikona could live together. At least before me and Yukaro received the whole contract to marriage licenses."

"What about Nova?" Mari dared to ask.

"Father insisted on keeping me around. He'd loved to have kept Nova as well, but he could only afford to keep one of us and America isn't exactly as safe as Japan is for us girls, so I stayed with Father while he moved out."

"That's why you're contracted to marry Yukaro then, because of your father's decline in health?" Mari noted, pointing to a hand written letter in another frame.

"Yes. Father...he's fought his best and Shelia has done as much as she can, but father is..." she trailed off, letting out a yawn. "You want to take the bed? I have a sleeping blanket I can use for myself..."

"Actually if it's alright I'd like to share the bed...nothing weird or anything, but..." Mari trailed off.

"Sure. I guess we should head to bed then...there's a shower if you need it," Hanoashi pointed.

Mari sniffed herself and shook her head before undressing.

Hanoashi simply followed suit and the two girls girls crawled into bed together.

"Hey...um...Hanoashi? I'm glad we're friends," Mari whispered as she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

"Me too," Hanoashi whispered, likewise closing her green eyes, and embracing the comfort of sleep.

Opening her eyes, Hanoashi was briefly surprised by the sight of a brunet girl sharing her bed, doubly so since both of them were in their undies. Then memories of yesterday flooded through her mind and she let out a quiet smile.

Welp, time to start the day, Hanoashi smiled, gently rising out of the bed while being careful not to wake up the sleeping Mari. Glancing back at her new friend, she let out a quiet smile. Mari is quite cute, she mused.

"Morning Hanoashi," Mari sighed, rubbing her eyes as she walked in, wearing her uniform.

"Morning Mari," Hanoashi smiled, handing her plate. "I made us pancakes,"

"Chocolate chip...aren't you..." Mari began to ask, but paused not wanting to offend the girl.

"Remember what I said yesterday," Hanoashi smirked. "I sprinkle a bit of dried strawberry powder in mine as a flavor enhancer," she added. "Oh, and they're syrup there if you want," she added.

"No thanks, not a big fan of syrup," Mari glanced down, before perking up. Chocolate though," she smiled as she took a bite.

"You excited about tomorrow?" Hanoashi asked.

Mari nodded. "More nervous really, but yeah. We'll have to pack up today though after we let them know that we're transferring. Speaking of which I got a text from Misami telling us to meet up at the Sunkuns on fifth street.

"Sounds good, I can't wait to meet everyone again," Hanoashi smiled.

"I'm glad we all get along," Mari smiled.

Hanoashi simply smiled in return.

"So, in regards to video games, did you leave your modern stuff on the mainland?" Mari asked.

Hanoashi laughed briefly. "Not even! Up until I came to Ooarai, the most modern game console I had was the old Famicom."

"You mean Super Famicom, right?" Mari asked, giving her a are you kidding me look.

Hanaoshi shook her head. "Nope! See, while Rikona and Shelia took very good care of me and my father, he didn't want me becoming spoiled, and thus growing up I didn't have a lot of money for entertainment. VHS, music casset tapes, Famicom, and books were my main sources of entertainment so to speak. Plenty of books and music cassetes as Father was into that while Mother was a movie fanatic, and thus I had plenty of them. Me though, I was somewhat more of a gamer though I did enjoy the other stuff."

"And a racing fan apparently," Mari smirked.

"True! Anyways though, I never really felt the need to upgrade to a newer system until now. I mean sure, the newer systems look fantastic, but the old stuff is still very fun for me, and there's a lot of games for them that I hadn't bought yet. In fact...my father gave me some money for graduation and insisted that I buy myself something a bit more modern than 1983 tech."

"So you bought a PlayStation one?" Mari noted. "But why not buy a PlayStation 2?"

"I had already bought a DVD player and so I didn't feel like I needed more than a PlayStation one," Hanoashi shrugged. "Plus I kinda didn't want to skip too many console generations and such...well...you know."

Mari nodded in understanding. "That makes sense."

The two found themselves early at the Kobini, given that they, well...Hanoashi, lived relatively close to it. "So, what tanks do you think they'll have?" Mari asked.

"Well, according to what I've heard, Ooarai had about fifty tanks, Thirty for the junior team and twenty for the main tournament, though some tank crews in the junior team did go into the main tournament if a need for their particular tank arose," Hanoashi explained.

"You mean like if one of their tanks broke down?" Mari asked.

Hanoashi nodded. "That, or if they were facing a school with lighter tanks, in which it'd be better to avoid using the slow, lumbering behemoths all too much. One or two is fine, but filling the team up with heavies can be problematic. Picking a Heavy as a flag tank is a risk as well."

"Because they break down so much?" Mari guessed.

Hanoashi nodded. "Yeah." Of course in the co-ed middle school leagues..."

"You viewed the T-50 light tanks as a heavy tank,' Mari smiled. "Yeah, I've heard, and don't get me wrong it's a great tank, but it's just so hard to drive!"

"Funny, it didn't see too hard for me when I first tried driving it," Hanoashi laughed as Mari gave her another are you serious look. "But yeah, I know what you mean, she's quite the finicky beast so to speak."

"Hey, Hanoashi, Mari!"

"Hey guys!" Mari smiled and waved.

"So how was your date with you're role model," Sayuri smirked as she began to rub Mari on the cheek.

"It's...not like that...not like that at all..." Mari protested.

Not gonna like, kinda wish Yukaro would rub my cheek like that, Hanaoshi blushed deeply, though she nodded. "We just had a nice sleepover, nothing weird happened."

Sayuri snorted before walking up and petting Hanoashi on the head. "Sure...if you say so Sis."

"Wait, you're siblings now?" Misami joked, before shaking her head. "Ah, I forgot you three went to the co-ed academies and thus you view each other as siblings."

"You went to the Co-ed academy?" Hanoashi gasped.

"Um yeah, didn't I tell you that yesterday?" Sayuri tipped her head.

"No, you didn't!" Misami tapped Sayuri on the shoulder, hard.

"Okay, so I was actually the commander at Osaka Co-ed academy during my second year, but when I got cancer I chose a girl by the name of Hina as the new commander. She in turn chose little Mari as our team commander the year after," Sayuri smirked.

"I...I'm not little!" Mari Protested honestly, but pouted as the four others laughed. "I swear I'm not short," she pouted.

Hanoashi simply petted her on the head gently in comfort.

Mari gently shoved her hand back and gave her a mock glare. "You've got the Sayuri disease," she growled, before laughing, the other four joining in."

"Sayrui disease?" Hanoashi tipped her head in confusion.

"Yeah, they call it that when someone else get's touchy with them," Sayuri sighed. "If I get to be too much, please tell me, alright?"

"Um sure...but I don't mind it all too much," Hanoashi smiled. "No thanks to Rikona, that girl's a right hugger when it comes to family."

"Huh...are her hugs any good?" Sayuri asked.

"You've got to be family with her first, though I can put in a good word for ya," Hanoashi smirked.

"You're the best sis!" Sayuri hugged her.

"Um...sure," Hanoashi laughed.

"Though I've gotta admit I'm kinda envious of you in a way," Sayuri whispered.

"Why?" Hanaoshi asked gently.

"Your long hair," Sayuri noted. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that my hair is growing back after all that Chemo, but...I'm used to having waist length hair and well..." she trailed off.

"I'm sure it'll grow back in time," Hanoashi soothed.

"Muh! But I want it now!" Sayuri pulled back and stopped her feet on the ground like a kid.

"Sayuri, just wear a wig!" Misami muttered.

"But it messes with my current hair!" Sayuri protested, shoving her hands down in a further pout.

"Tough, you'll just have to learn some patience."

Suddenly Mari began to ponce. "Um guys, shouldn't we get going, even if we're only going to fill out the transfer papers, we really don't want to arrive late."

"Guess so," Sayuri nodded, before glancing back at the six. "Race ya!" she shouted, before rushing off.

"Not this again!" Mari huffed, before taking off with them. Hanoashi briefly watched the other three take off, before smiling quietly and rushing off along with them.

"So all six of you wish to transfer to the land school?" the office lady asked.

"Yes...I'm kinda feeling claustrophobic," Mari shuttered. "Being trapped by land and all."

"My father's not doing well and I can't afford the flight if his condition gets worse," Hanoashi sighed. "I want to be able to see him at least twice a month and be at his side if he ends up passing."

"I'm feeling seasick," Sayuri muttered.

One by one they gave their excuses to the attended, which glanced at them and gave them a transfer paper.

"So, when are you heading out? Tomorrow?" the attendant asked.

The five girls glanced at Hanoashi who nodded. "Yes, our family members pooled their money to get us a flight and it includes enough room for our belongings," she explained.

"Right, please fill out these papers and we'll let you go home to pack up, the attendant smiled, handing them papers."

The six girls nodded and quickly filled out the papers, listing their excuses though being careful as to not mention the Sensado team. While Hanoashi couldn't know for sure how the other five felt, she wanted the team to have the best chances of success, despite having been rejected from it for a grossly illegitimate reason.

Quickly exiting the building, the girls walked always. To Hanoashi's surprise, four of the five started laughing. What's so funny? Hanoashi tipped her head.

"Ah man, those excuses were so funny!" Sayuri laughed.

"Yep! Mari, seriously, you're too claustrophobic? You didn't seem that way when you drove back at Osasa!"

"And you Misami, that was so cliche!"

They made that stuff up? Hanaoshi gasped, surprised. They lied!

"And Hanaoshi, that excuse was perfect!" Sayuri smirked.

At once Hanoashi glanced down, barely noticing the worrying look that Mari gave her.

"I don't think that one was made up, judging by her reaction" a new voice echoed.

The five girls gasped as the attendant walked up to them.

Hanoashi sighed and gazed up at her, her green eyes troubled. "I'm sorry they lied to you like that. Trust me, they'll be hearing a stern warning about that one way or the other." Her green gaze then turned on her friends, clearly wrathful, which caused them to glanced down in shame.

"Really, I'm not too concern with the validity of their reasons, I just want to be sure you six aren't being bullied is all," the attendant sighed. "Though I do trust you miss Katoni, so I'll ask again, are you being bullied?"

Hanoashi shook her head. "No, none of us are, or at least as far as I know these five aren't. Everyone's treated me kindly since I've arrived here, it's just that my father is in bad shape and I want to be next to him in case he gets worse."

"That and the illegal disqualification from the Sensado team," the attendant dared to point out. "Don't worry, I've heard the story and the offer at the land school, and rest assured I'll be keeping this a secret from the instructor. You six stay safe."

With that Hanoashi watched the woman walk off, before turning and walking off in a different direction, furious. She didn't bother looking back as her former friends called out her name. I can't believe they lied like that! She spat to herself, just barely being able to keep her anger in check.

Before she knew it, she found herself at her house, and entered. Sighing, she laid on her bed. "What a mess," she whispered. "And I was looking forward to them..."

Her eyes widened as she felt something brush against her hand. She rose up, and shifted through the sheets, surprised to find a white flip phone. What's this doing here? She wondered. Sitting up, she gingerly placed it on her desk, a realization flooding over her. This must be Mari's phone! She noted. I guess I'll just wait and see if she comes to pick it up. After all, I don't know where she lives and she does know where I live.

However, as she began to quietly pack up her things, which didn't take long at all, she noticed something. It's been hours now...I'm guessing she doesn't realize she's left it here, she mused.

Glancing between the boxes and Mari's white phone, she let out a quiet sigh and walked over, picking up the phone and opening it, not surprised to see a lot of text and missed calls on it giving it kept going off for the past half hour. And a number.

Misami's number... Hanoashi mused, quickly copying it down before closing Mari's phone and letting out a sigh. I guess the way I just ignored them was pretty rude. Maybe...I ought to give them another chance...if they'll give me one. Swallowing her nerves, she took out her own black cell phone and dialed the number.

"Um hello...who's this," a voice mused. "We don't need any advertising!"

"Um...is this Misami?"

"Hanoashi? I'm guessing Mari gave you my number?"

"Um...kinda...the thing is she left her phone in my apartment," Hanoashi admitted.

"Oh! We've been looking for it all evening!"

"I noticed," Hanoashi chuckled. "Anyways...I uh...I'm sorry about running off like that," she apologized softly.

"What, no Hanoashi, we really aught to be the ones apologizing to you! Expectantly since we all know how Sensado vets hates lairs,"

"No no, it's alright." Hanoashi reassured her. "So, we're all good to head on out together tomorrow?"

"Yep...oh no! We've been so focused on finding Mari's phone that we haven't packed up!"

"Don't worry I can help out with that considering I've already got everything packed up," Hanoashi offered."

"Really, thanks!" Misami smiled. "Let's see...Sayuri and I have agreed to help each other out, and Momoe, Masa, and Mari have agreed to help, so...I'll send Mari over to your house and you can help them out. Mari also needs to pick up her phone."

"True. Well, I'll be waiting!" Hanoashi smiled.

"Great...and Hanoashi, I'm glad we're still friends. We've been feeling so awful about what happened..."

"Don't worry Misami, it's in the past, as long as it doesn't happen again," Hanoashi smiled.

"Thanks, I'll send Mari right over then," Misami smiled before hanging up.

Hanoashi let out a small smile herself as she sat on her bed and waited for her friend to arrive. She didn't have to wait too long as she heard a hesitant knock on her door. She rushed over and opened it.

"Hanoashi..." Mari sobbed as she rushed over to hug her. "I'm so sorry..." she whimpered, erupting into sobs.

"It's alright Mari, I forgive you," she whispered.

"But you...you're my idol...and I...I lied to you," Mari whispered.

"I'm not your idol, I'm your friend now, remember," Hanaoshi soothed, petting her on the head.

After a bit Mari let out a quiet sigh. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Right, now, we really ought to head on over to Momoa and Masa's house and help them to pack up, I promised her I'd help you three pack up."

"Heh...more like you three will be helping me pack up," Mari snorted. "I mean seriously, Oni-chan warned me not to pack up so much stuff, but did I listen, no! I didn't!"

"It's fine, I actually love housework," Hanoashi smirked. "Oh, before I forget..." she walked over and got Mari's phone and handed it to her. "Here you go...I uh...had to access it to find Misami's number. She must have called a hundred times or so."

"That's fine," Mari smiled. "I'm just glad you called when you did, I was about to buy a new one right before she told me I had left it here."

"Well, it's a good thing I checked then," Hanoashi smirked.

The two walked over to Mamoe's house, which was a small apartment. As the two approached, the two sisters rushed over and bowed.

"We're sorry Miss Katoni," they coursed together.

Hanoashi felt torn. On one hand she felt guilty about making them feel bad. True, what they did was wrong, but she understood why they did it. On the other hand, she found it quite amusing how they spoke and acted together.

"It's alright you two," she chuckled. "No really, relax, I'm not mad anymore. If anything I'm feeling guilty about running off like that."

The two girls glanced up, clearly looking relieved at being forgiven, though they stayed quiet for a bit before Masa spoke up. "How bad is your father, Ms Katoni?"

Hanoashi sighed. "He's holding on the best he can, but there's been about as much done for him as there can be."

"I'm sorry," Momoe whispered.

"Anyways, we've come to help with the packing up if that's alright," Hanoashi smiled after a bit of an awkward silence.

"Thanks, but we've already got our stuff done, so it's just you and Mari now," Masa nodded.

"Just me then," Mari sighed. "Hanoashi had already packed up by the time I arrived."

Momoe and Masa shuddered in response, causing Hanoashi to tip her head. "Something wrong?"

"Her room..." Momoe shuddered.

"It has...everything in it..." Masa whispered.

"Everything?" Hanoashi tipped her head.

"Er...I don't buy a lot of clothes?" Mari tipped her head. "And I...I buy cheep snacks and such."

"And she was thinking about getting married and taking a part time job just so she can play video games all day," Masa muttered.

"Had to talk her out of getting a Tubal Ligation in middle school," Mamoe shuddered.

"I thought we agreed not to talk about that! Besides, I only said that I would consider the possibility if I did get married and my guy didn't want kids, not that I was going to actually just walk out and get one!"

And this is advanced girl talk we're casually having in the open, Hanoashi mused. Oh well, it's been done dozens of times in written media and thousands of times fan materials.

"Anyways, we'd better get started," Masa shuddered. "There might be boys listening," she whispered.

The four abruptly began walking, though Hanoashi briefly walked in the wrong direction before whipping around and following the others.

"Mari, you...don't want kids?" Hanoashi whispered.

Mari shook her head. "I...if I did get married and he wanted a child or two, I'd be willing to have some, but no, not really. You?"

Hanoashi nodded. "At least three, though up to five or six in total," she admitted. "That's one area me and mother agreed on."

"And we kinda disagree on, but something tells me you'll make a good mother when the time comes," Mari smiled.

"A part of me can't wait for that day, although another part of me just wants to enjoy school, and later on newlywed life."

"Really, what kind of ring you getting," Masa asked.

"Not getting one, Yukaro offered, I refused." Hanoashi began to huff as they continued to run. "Nothing wrong with rings, but the sight or feeling of something stuck on my fingers drives me batty, so no ring for me. Nail polish too."

"You wear toenail polish," Mari pointed out.

Hanoashi snorted. "That's on the toenails. Besides, I hate things between my toes, so a toe-ring won't work for me either. Plus I'd have to wear saddles every-wear I'd go and most people would look to my fingers rather than toes to see if I'm available."

"So how are people going to know you're not available?" Mamoe asked.

"I'll just have to tell them," Hanoashi shrugged. "That, or hope the sight of me being with Yukaro or with my future kids wills be enough to drive them off."

"Wait...we passed it!" Mari suddenly shouted.

"Seriously!" Masa grumbled, as the four girls stopped.

"Fresh Taki-imo! Also Okonomiyaki and Taiyaki!" a street vendor called out, rattling a bell to attract customers.

"What, I'm hungry," Mari pouted.

"You're always hungry," Momoe shrugged. "And you're room is so packed that it'll be after dark by the time we finish cleaning.

Hanoashi's belly rumbled loudly right after Momoe finished speaking. "Wasn't me, I'm Austrian," she joked, causing Mari to laugh, Masa to facepalm and Momoe to shake her head in exasperation and mutter something about "not that dad joke again."

"Well, I guess that settles it then," Masa shrugged before walking up, ordering an Okonomiyaki. Mari and Momoe ordered a Tiayaki while Hanoashi ordered a Taki-imo.

"Mmmm," Mari hummed happily as she ate.

Hanoashi had to avoid letting out a small laugh of amusement over how cute Mari looked, the way she ate her Taiyaki. "This is really good," Hanoashi hummed as she likewise ate her Tali-imo. While not as much of a fan of sweet potatoes as Anzu was, not that the Irish girl knew about the student council president's love of the stuff, they were one of her favorite snacks if she wanted something sweet.

"Yes, and this Tiayaki is Delicious," Mari smiled. "I think I'll order another," she smirked and got back in the line.

Masa and Momoe sighed at their friends antics. "That one tends to only think of food it seems," they muttered together.

Hanoashi glanced at the two questioningly. "She can't help it if she's hungry," she shrugged.

"Yeah, but Mari's a big eater," Momoe sighed.

"You'd think not given how small she is, but she often eats as much as me and sis combined," Masa noted.

"I heard that," Mari growled as she walked up. "Anyways, I can eat this on the way, Mari added."

"I was sissified that you'd try and go for thirds," Momoe joked as the four began to head off in the direction of Mari's house.

"I'm not that much of a glutton!" Mari glared, before sighing. "But you're not wrong, it was tempting. "Oh, we're here!"

"Well well look at that, you're practically right next to a food stall vendor," Momoe smirked.

"He...he just moved in last week!" Mari huffed, shoving her hands downward in anger before sighing and recomposing herself. "Hanoashi, let me welcome you to my little oasis," she smirked, before opening her door.

Hanoashi stepped in and gasped at the sheer amount of stuff in Mari's room.