Miho's room, Ooarai school carrier - the next day

"This is Hana-san, my tank's gunner. She is really good and in one match knocked out two tanks in one shot!"

"It's an honor to meet you, Nishizumi-dono."

"As am I. You're a very talented gunner."

"This is Saori-san, my radio operator. She's a very fun one to be around, and has... a big liking for boys."

"Greetings, Shiporin! It's so exciting to finally meet you!"

"How did you know my nickname..."

"Oh, I call Miho-san 'Miporin', so I decided to give you that nickname as well!"

"Really now. I guess something new will be running in the family, then."

"This is... Yukari-san?"

All heads turned to find out that Yukari had fainted. In fact, she had been knocked out cold ever since she laid eyes on Shiho as she came through the door. The full weight of her legend, her reputation, and her caliber had been too much for Yukari to bear. Having her daughter as your Sensha-do commander was enough. Meeting the legend in person, however, that was a totally different story.

"Oh, no, Hana, please get some cold water!"

"You'll ruin the carpet-"

"Anything to wake up Yukarin, we do this all the time when she faints!"

Hana came back, holding a glass of frigid water, before splashing it all over their knocked-out cold friend's face. With a start, Yukari came to and shot back up, almost hitting the roof, much to the amusement of everyone.

"Wha-ah-EHHHHH?! N-NI-NISHIZUMI-DONO-DONO!~"

Yukari fainted again, to sighs and a few laughs from everyone. Miho opted to just continue her introductions, Yukari would wake up sooner or later.

"Back to Yukari-san, she's my loader, and very good at loading! She managed up to one shell every three seconds in a match!"

"Now that is impressive. Say, I may allow you to be instructors at All-Stars if Chiyokichi allows..."

"And this is Mako-san, my driver. She is suffering from low blood pressure, so she's sleeping during daytime, or feeling sleepy at least. At nighttime, however, that's when she's awake, mostly. But, she is an insanely skilled driver, she learned just from spending a few seconds reading the manual!"

"Oh, I hope her condition improves soon, and my, my. So, these are all your friends? Your tank crew is as good as I've heard!"

"Just four, Mother, but I'd say the closest. The others are resting after our practice."

"Ah, well, it's a pleasure to meet you all."

"You too, Nishizumi-senpai!", the others said in unity.

"Now, then, dear, what book are you all at, now?"

"We're finishing up Deuteronomy, and we'll go to Joshua once we finish that."

"And how long have you been going?"

"This has been going for two weeks now, Nishizumi-senpai," Hana interjected.

"You all must be fast, to read all that so quickly!"

"Mhm! Mind if you, well, studied with us?" Saori questioned.

Shiho agreed, and sat down with the others as Yukari was laid on Miho's bed to take a rest. Mako was already sleeping on the floor, so there was no need to worry about moving people off the bed.

The four opened their Bibles and began to read. Shiho had already explained her story to the others, so confusion was already gone by now. However, scarcely had they begun reading when Miho's phone began to ring. Curious, Miho stopped reading in the middle of Chapter 29 and stood to answer it, only to find that it was Maho calling. Nervous, she asked her friends and her mother to continue reading as she talked to her sister elsewhere. Moving to her bathroom, Miho answered the call and began to speak with her elder sister.

"Onee-chan... why did you call?"

"Miho... thank goodness..."

"Onee-chan, what happened to you?"

"I... can't take this anymore..."

"What-what's going on, onee-chan?! Are you being bullied? Is there something wrong with school? Tell me, please! I'm willing to help!"

"Where are you right now? Are you at home? School? Practice? Tell me!"

"I-I'm in my room, with my friends..."

"And?"

"M-M-M...Mother..."

"What... what are you doing with her?!"

"Studying the Bible..."

"WHAT?! Please tell me this is a joke, it has to be!"

Hearing the usually calm and collected Maho like this was extremely concerning for Miho. This was nothing like her sister, here she sounded on the verge of nervous collapse. Not even in the face of the hottest battle or when Kuromorimine lost their nine-year winning streak did Maho sound so "out-of-character". Was school being this hard on her? No chances on that, Maho was known for her iron determination to get through anything. Was it the bullies? Sure, compared to several girls at her school she was short, but she still was good at fighting, an expert, even. What was it that was plaguing her sister to be so, crazy?

"Onee-chan, she's in my room if you want to talk-"

"Let me talk... with her... Now. Please..."

Unnerved, Miho exited the bathroom to find that everyone was still reading, but her coming out of it looking like she had seen a ghost attracted their attention. Shiho was the first to speak up, worried. Miho was stuttering as she told her mother.

"M-M-Mother, O-O-Onee-chan wants to sp-sp-speak t-to you."

"Miporin, that's Maho-san!"

The mere mention of Maho's name had suddenly hit Shiho like a truck. Thanks to her ideals, she had driven her daughter to the point of insanity all for the purpose of maintaining some family traditions. The full realization of just how badly she had treated her daughter came crashing down on Shiho, and chills were going down her spine, each full of guilt at her previous actions as a mother.

"Maho? Please excuse me, everyone. Miho, you can continue without me."

"Yes, Mother. Alright, everyone, sorry about that, where were we again, Saori-san?"

"Deuteronomy chapter 29, verse...13!"

"Alright, let's continue..."

"Maho, what's going on?"

"Mother, I can't take this trial anymore. Please, I'm trying, but I can't do it. I'll accept a disownment, anything to get out of this torture."

"Maho... I'm sorry."

"Mother? You're apologizing for doing this to me? I... I thought you'd never- I'm sorry, but..."

"Not just that, Maho. I'm sorry for all that I did to you through our years together. The abuse, the punishments... I was too hard, much too hard on you."

"Mother, w-with all due respect, i-isn't that parenting a part of the Nishizumi Style? You said-"

"The Nishizumi Style is a bad thing, Maho, that's the truth. I've ruined your life just to preserve something so fleeting and erroneous. I'm glad you still have feelings for Miho, despite all I've done. The way I wronged her for saving a life, I consider one of the biggest mistakes in my whole life."

"No, Mother..."

"Face it, Maho, I parented you all wrong for the past nineteen years."

"But, the ancestors, we can't offend-"

"The ancestors don't know anything because they're dead. The dead know nothing, and their spirits don't exist anymore."

"I, don't know what to say..."

"It's okay, Maho. There's nothing more you have to worry about from me."

"So, I can be able to freely answer my question with Theology and the Bible? I won't have to worry about you, or any punishment you might give, or the ancestors?"

"Precisely, that's what the Bible's message of love preaches, anyway."

"Mother, I- I should've talked with you sooner! I wouldn't have had to go through this in the first place!"

"Fufu, indeed. I'm glad to see your grades are getting better, Maho, though while I won't be as hard on you and Miho anymore, be sure to keep those grades up. Remember the only reason you got into that university was your Sensha-do scholarship."

"Don't worry, I'll keep those grades up, Mother. Oh, two more things. One, apology accepted, and two, I'll talk to you later, I have class in less than fifteen minutes. Love you!"

"I love you more, Maho. Knock it out of the park, hehe."

"Heh, I will! Oh, and be sure to tell Miho and the others good luck at the Grand Finals, they'll really need it."

"Don't worry, I will."

With the phone call over, and both sides having finally met peace, Shiho rejoined Anglerfish in their Bible reading, now content with herself and her family.

St. Luke's Medical Center, Tokyo, 2 days before the Grand Finals

In the parking lot of St. Luke's Medical Center, a Tiger II tank was parked outside the hospital, accompanied by a Panzer IV and a Tiger I sitting side-to-side with each other. Their reason? Waiting eagerly alongside their crews to receive Erika from the arms of the caring hospital that had for the past week looked after her following her relatively close shave with death almost two weeks before. However, it wasn't only the crews of those tanks present. Many other students from Kuromorimine and Ooarai, much too excited to prepare their own tanks, had simply packed themselves inside and/or ridden on top of said tanks, eager to join in receiving Erika from the hospital. Anglerfish Team and the crew of the Tiger II rushed inside as the others waited on the tanks. Fortunately, they wouldn't have to wait long, as by the time they had arrived, Erika was already waiting in the lobby.

"Look! They're coming out now! And-"

"SHE'S STANDING! SHE'S STANDING!"

"And she's so full of energy, too, and smiling!"

"A full recovery for Erika-san! Thank goodness!"

Kuromorimine's students began to jump and squeal out of excitement, and all began to greet their Commander, cheering her and expressing all forms of joy that she had come back in good health, and that she was now ready to command them to further victories rather than this be the end of her career. They were glad to have their Commander back after so long.

"Welcome back, Erika-san! We've missed you dearly!"

"Congratulations on your recovery, Erika-san!"

"Erika-san! Erika-san! Nothing, nothing, nothing can stop her!"

"Quick! Tiger I crew, bring her uniform! Help her put it on!"

"Right! It's been so long since she last wore it!"

Erika appeared as she made her way to the exit of the lobby, her silver hair flowing in the breeze, followed by Miho, Koume, and the others. Her face was radiant, her mouth curved in a bright smile, ready to take on the world. Upon seeing their dear leader, without hesitation, the Tiger II crew threw themselves on their beloved commander with open arms, and the Tiger I crew, running after them, brought Erika's Sensha-do uniform for her to change into, helping her don it for the first time in almost two weeks. Tears were in Erika's eyes as she was reunited with her classmates, having dearly missed them for so long, and soon enough she was soaked from so many tears being wiped on her uniform, but she didn't care. A moment to celebrate and be reunited with her crew was bound to pull a few tears. Anglerfish and Ooarai looked on with bright smiles at the happy reunion. And that was just the beginning.

"Look, everyone! She's here! The hero has come home!"

"Erika-san's back?! She's back! Everyone, Erika-san has returned from hospital!"

"Erika-san is back! Erika-san is back! Tell everybody! Erika-san is back!"

"Quickly! Assemble the guard of honor, we can't let this opportunity go to waste!"

"Get the flowers! Get the confetti! Get the posters and signs and decorations! Let's welcome the Commander home!"

"Attention all students, Erika Itsumi has returned! Let's go greet her 'Welcome home!'"

"Here she is! She's appearing in the Tiger II!"

"She looks majestic on it~!"

"All hail Itsumi-san, our great Commander!"

"Welcome back, Commander!"

"Glory to Kuromorimine! The Commander has returned!"

At Kuromorimine's school carrier, Erika was greeted with even more cheering students and even a full guard of honor. Maho's discipline had really taught them a lot. Saluting accordingly, she took the time to shake as many hands as possible, as if she were a very prominent world leader visiting another country and meeting that country's population who welcomed her. That day's practice session, Kuromorimine's tankers worked extra hard to put on a good show for their comeback commander, and needless to say, they didn't disappoint. Erika was pleased with how Koume had taken the team after her incapacitation, and seeing her team's competence and skill never having declined one bit brought many smiles to Erika's face, and when Erika was happy, everyone else was happy as well. Celebrations at Kuromorimine lasted long into the night, with singing, dancing, partying, feasting, everything to welcome back Erika. It was like a one-day Oktoberfest.

"Eat, drink, and be merry! Our Commander has finally come home!"

"A toast to our Commander! To many more victories under her command!"

"I propose we make this day a holiday to celebrate for the school!"

"I agree! Victory returned to us when Erika returned!"

"Don't forget about Koume, though. She's still good."

"Eh, I suppose, but regardless! Erika's back and that's why we're celebrating!"

"Yeah, of course! Now, with the Grand Finals ahead of us, let's win it! Go inspire the girls, Erika-san!"

"Uhh... alright... yeah, let's go win the Grand Finals! Alright, everyone, Erika speaking! Will we win it for Ooarai!?"

"Yeah!"

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU! WILL WE WIN THIS TOURNAMENT FOR OOARAI?!"

"YEAH!"

After the festivities had died down and everyone had gone to their rooms to go to bed, tired from so much celebration, Maho called Erika, and after disposing with the hospital discharge talk and the "Welcome home" things, the two then talked at length about the Grand Finals, discussing tactics, approaches, maneuvering all the sort. It was going to be the biggest tournament match in Sensha-do history basically, so they needed to prepare as much as possible. In the middle of their conversation, however, Miho suddenly called. Putting Maho on hold, Erika answered Miho's phone call, and was told that Miho had some massive news regarding the tournament's Grand Finals. Urging Miho to go on, Erika began to wonder what this news would be. Was it canceled? No chance. Did it have any rule changes? Was there a change in the date again? But, hearing the news, Erika almost jumped out of her bed in shock. It was something she expected, but not of this magnitude.

"You're kidding me! F-fifty tanks?!"

Sensha-do Hangars, Continuation school ship - the same day

"Easy does it... easy..."

"Help me screw this part in... this is getting a bit difficult..."

"I've got you- woah! Thanks, Löfström, I don't know what we'd do without you."

"My humble pleasure as always!"

"Now, last pipe... and we're done! Phew! Great job, everyone, that ought to make our maneuvers easier!"

This was the third engine upgrade the Sturmi received. Being heavily reliant on speed, maneuverability, and agility, they needed the fastest engines they could get. Fortunately, they had been able to get their hands on a Maybach HL230 engine. In fact, they had managed to win a bidding war with Leopon Team over it, with the latter being forced to just use the engines they could afford to use, them being the Ford GAAs. Compared to that engine's 500 horsepower (373 kilowatts), this Maybach engine had nearly 700 horsepower (510 kilowatts), with a displacement of 23 liters compared to the Ford GAA's 18. This meant that they could go at around 40-60 miles per hour had it been a normal engine, but their new modifications had made it able to go up to even 70 miles per hour, and with upgraded transmissions added the previous day they were sure to not worry about any strain on the engine. However, they still had the driving test to do to verify the first evaluations.

Sturmi wasn't the only tank to receive the new engine or transmission. The T-34s (both variants) and the Panzer IV Ausf. J, those being slower than the already-fast T-26s, also received the same engines, all won from the bidding war with Leopon. Leopon left no hard feelings at Continuation, however, since that's how they'd been taught to behave. Plus, their Ford engines cost less, so why bother, anyway? Upon first evaluation, the engines appeared to serve their operators well, raising their miles per hour capacities by 5-15, according to the calculations. However, they had yet to be tested for driving, and after completing their respective installation processes, the crews were prepared to take their tanks for a ride, hoping that the new engines wouldn't disappoint. Having started early morning, it took up unto the afternoon at just before lunchtime to finish.

After eating lunch, the four crews began to ready their tanks for their test runs, filling their fuel tanks and making the necessary adjustments, as well as readying the tools to repair their engines, just in case. The Sturmi would be the first to test out their new engine, and Hannes was excited as ever for it. Climbing in, as soon as her rear end hit her seat, she turned on the engine, and its resulting rumble was music to her ears. The rest of the crew had managed to climb inside in time, and got as comfortable as they could before the experiment would begin.

"Alright! EVERYONE READY?!"

"YEAH!"

"ALRIGHT, LET'S GET THIS BABY ROLLING!"

Slamming the throttle, Hannes, as well as the rest of the crew, were caught off-guard by the faster acceleration this engine offered.

"Woah! This thing goes and speeds up fast, still!~"

It took a while for Hannes to grab control, but once she did, the controls responded quickly. Turning left, it took less than a second for the tank to respond, much like a real car. The same likewise. With maneuvering done with, now was time for the maximum speed test.

"Alright, here goes nothing... I hope the field's big enough for this."

Once in position, Hannes accelerated the tank, watching the added speedometer hands move left to right as the speed increased. It was nearing the red, 80 miles per hour, and fast. The Sturmi passed 70mph, then 75, and reached 80, with great strain now being felt and heard further back, before Hannes gradually slowed by pressing on the brakes, and bringing the tank to a complete stop a few seconds later.

"Wow. Talk about a powerful engine."

"Almost feel bad for Ooarai, we robbed them of these bad boys. Now, we're done installing this 88-millimeter cannon to old Sturmi. Don't you feel we're overdoing this, Jouko?"

"Well, Löfström, I think we are, but what's done is done. If we want to win this, then we'll have to fight well, and fight hard. Besides, Miho's a great commander, she'll surely find a way to exploit our weaknesses!"

"I hope so, otherwise this Grand Finals will just be a Grand Massacre."

"Oh, don't be so pessimistic, Hannes, Miho has many talented commanders on her team as well!"

"Oh well, let's just move on to the others."

The day continued with the other tanks' new engines being tested. They went as well as the Sturmi did, but the T-34/85 was noticeably slower than the others due to its higher weight compared to the other tanks, going at best around 60-65 miles an hour. But nevertheless, it was an upgrade from before, and as long as there was improvement that was seen, there was nothing to worry about. Additionally, Jouko decided that making the barrel longer wasn't going to cut it, not only making the Sturmi look ridiculous, but also affecting the weight distribution, and so, using the cash in her own pocket, though the school paid for some as well, she decided to buy an 8.8 cm KwK 36 cannon; the same as a Tiger I. A week before, the purchase had been made, and five days later, it had arrived.

For the previous three days, while also working on the engines, everyone had also worked hard on switching out the Sturmi's cannon from the old 7.5 cm cannon, and whilst they worked on removing, others like Jouko and Frisell helped with enlarging the new barrel, extending it by 14 inches. The day the tests were to be conducted, they had wrapped up safely and thoroughly installing the new cannon, and after focusing on the new engines, they had been completed as well. The new cannon, however, had barely changed the speed of the tank given its power, in fact, the engine had increased the speed limit to around 80mph from the previous 70. All of this in addition to the other engines being installed meant that Jouko recruited the entire team to help as 21 people couldn't do all the heavy lifting, and when hard work paid off, everyone was excited to run the tests.

As soon as the speed tests were completed, Jouko decided to do a fire test with the Maus armor sample as well as the Tiger II sample with no carbon coating. It was almost sundown, and the sky was orange, so they had to be quick before the sun went down. After both armor samples were in position, Jouko fired from 500 yards at the Maus armor, which actually dented it with medium damage. 250 yards was worse, with a larger and deeper dent. 100 yards actually managed to penetrate, though the shell would lodge itself and have to be taken out by disposal. After that was done, the Sturmi moved to 50 yards, which dug deeper, 25, which actually went through, then finally, point blank, which not only went clean through, but made a large hole. The Tiger II test was more successful, with 500 yards putting a large and deep dent into the armor, 250 yards penetrating and lodging, 100 yards penetrating deeper, and 50 yards going clean through.

Excitement was in the air when the test results were announced. The Sturmi's new and better gun worked greatly, and the new engine allowed for better speed and maneuverability. That, in addition to the better engines for the other tanks, were good upgrades for the team, and confidence in victory was higher than ever before. Of course, nobody outside Continuation, save for the Federation, knew of their upgrades, meaning that Ooarai's Compound Team would be in for a surprise. However, after the testing, Jouko made a specific request in a phone call to Federation officials, something that to the common hearer seemed absurd, but had been approved by her teammates.

"Good evening, Mrs. Chono. May I please request for a capacity of 40, no, 50 tanks for the Ooarai Compound Team?"

"Erm... do you wish to expand your own roster? You'll be outnumbered two-to-one."

"We don't mind, we kind of already contain an advantage over the Ooarai Compound Team with our tanks' combined skill and quality, so I want to give them a chance."

"Are you sure? Once I do this, it cannot be reversed."

"I'm sure, I've confirmed with my fellow students."

"Alright, good luck, Jouko, and thanks for the call. I can't wait to see you all in combat in two days!"

"Thanks, Mrs. Chono."

The next day

"Our first topic will be Panzerfahren. In a surprise unexpected move, Jouko, recently made the Captain of Keizoku High School's Sensha-do Team, requested that the Ooarai Compound Team which will fight against Keizoku in the Grand Finals of the Winter Cup tomorrow be allowed for their capacity to be increased to 50 tanks. This puts Keizoku in a large disadvantage, with only 25 tanks to field per Jouko's request to maintain their capacity. After a meeting with the respective commanders of the Ooarai Compound Team, including the recently recovered Erika Itsumi, the lineup has been expanded to the following:

Ooarai - 10 tanks (PZIV, M3L, T89, StuG III, HTZ, Ren. B1, T3C-N, T(P), MIVM, T-44)
Kuromorimine - 6 tanks (Tiger I, II, x3 Panther, Maus)
St. Gloriana - 6 tanks (Churchill, Cromwell, x4 Matilda)
Saunders - 6 tanks (Firefly, x4 M4, M4A1(76))
Pravda - 10 tanks (x6 T-34/76, T-34/85, KV2, IS2, ISU152)
Chihatan - 8 tanks (x4 Type 97, Type 97 Shinhoto, x3 Type 95)
Anzio - 4 tanks (P26/40, Semovente da 75-18, x2 CV.33)

How Continuation will handle these new numbers will have to be seen when the Grand Finals comes. We hope it will be a thrilling match for all of you. The match will be held in a field of grass with forests scattered everywhere and a few mountains. As usual, our newscaster, Taiga Ou of Ooarai, will provide the commentary. Since the match is an annihilation match, there will be no time limit, so for those attending in-person, sit tight, this may last for a long time. We hope to see you there."

AN: We're about to jump right into the Grand Finals, but before that I'm going to take a hiatus to post the next chapter.

Yeah, I'm sorry leaving you all in this little cliffhanger, but seeing the state of my earlier chapters compared to my current ones, I'll have to postpone new chapters in favor of improving the previous ones both to improve the reading experience of newer readers as well as give off a better flow of writing.

Plus, with me going to school tomorrow (as of the posting of this chapter at 8:48pm HKT, Monday, my last day off due to me being sick for over a week) I'll start getting a bit burned out over writing the next few chapters and the resulting battle may not look so good. So, I'll try to refine both the earlier chapters and my writing with additions to those chapters such as more dialogue, more action, and hopefully more "moments".

During that time, though, feel free to take a look at the revamped chapters once I start pumping them out. With the story being so close to 100k words and that certainly being broken after editing the previous chapters, I'll just say this in advance, thanks for the support and advice given these past 100k words, I may see this fanfic ending at around 150k words, but if I decide to take this longer it may reach 200k, maybe even beyond, but we'll have to see. Thanks for reading, suggestions are warmly accepted!