Blazepanzer here with another story, a concept if you will that I've been eager to make a reality as far as fanfiction goes. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it.
With that being said, enjoy! Note: Blazepanzer does not own Girls und Panzer.
"Strawberry shortcake is so awesome," a girl whispered in her sleep.
If you say so sis, a girl with ginger hair and green eyes mused silently, though she had a quiet smile on her face. Still, it's cute when Miho talks in her sleep.
"Must be having a good dream," a third girl rose up, rubbing her amber eyes. "Good morning Blaze," she whispered softly.
"Morning Maho," said girl smiled. Her actual name was Hanoashi, but her friends often called her Blaze due to her red...now orange hair.
"So...think she'll jolt awake soon?" Maho whispered.
Hanoashi shrugged. "Sometimes she jumps up, and sometimes she wakes up slowly. But...we have time, so no pressure."
"Yet," Maho cautioned. "Miho has been quite irresponsible in the past."
"She's made great strides in responsibility," Hanoashi glared at Maho in protest.
"True, but...can she keep it up," Maho fretted.
"Oni-chan," Hanoashi began slowly. "Have some faith in our younger sister, alright?"
Maho let out a quiet sigh. She only calls me Oni-chan when she's serious. She mused. "You're right," she sighed.
Suddenly the alarm rang, and Miho jumped up, gazing around wildly. "Where are we?" she gasped.
"Technically, we're at Ooarai girl's academy high school, more specifically in our apartment bedroom," Hanoashi chuckled.
"Oh right..." Miho mused quietly, before becoming cheerful. "I'm not at home anymore huh?"
"Technically, we are at home, and we're still Katoni, even if by adoption, so we live by Katoni standards," Maho corrected.
"Ah...but Mom and Dad are so strict," Miho pouted.
"The Nishisumi would have been even more strict, Miho," Maho began. "Besides, The Katoni have been very good to us, so that alone should cause us to live by mother's teaching, not to mention the strictness is for our own good."
"You're right...but still...the restrictions, I couldn't even go out on my own without you or Blaze by my side." Miho whined.
"Miho...Remember when you stuck a fork in the outlet?" Hanoashi began slowly.
"I was like nine," Miho protested.
"Or when Blaze found you stuck in a barb wire fence?" Maho added.
"I was...twelve...and that was the last time I was reckless," Miho huffed. "Still, you've helped me out of a lot of messes...thank you Blaze," Miho smiled.
Hanoashi gently placed her hand on Miho's back. "You've made a lot of progress sis, so don't beat you're self up over the past. Besides, you can go almost anywhere you want on Ooarai, so you should enjoy your newfound freedom." she encouraged.
Miho smiled again in return. "I'll take it slow Blaze, we still don't want to get lost, and while I know that you and Oni-chan would come and find me, you...shouldn't have to look after me anymore."
"We really don't mind it, it's what older siblings do," Maho smiled. Though I don't seem to have to watch out for Hanoashi, then again Blaze was trained in the Katoni lifestyle from birth, where as Miho barely began living as a Nishisumi when we where put up for adoption, she added silently.
The Katoni were quite big on work ethic, responsibility, and self disciple, and though Yu and Drake were very kind to all of them, they expected constant improvement and adherence to the Katoni values. Hanoashi seemed to thrive on her family's way, where as Mhio somewhat struggled with it from time to time.
Maho meanwhile found it quite easy, much easier than the Nishisumi values, which valued results and victory above all else. I fear what would have happened if the incident had never happened, if Miho and I remained as Nishisumi.
There really wasn't anyway of knowing, so Maho glanced at the clock. "Well, we really should have breakfast and then get ready for school. We don't want to be late for our first day do we?"
"Absolutely not, Mom will have our necks," Miho shuddered.
"Unless we have a good excuse, in which messing around will not fly." Hanoashi added.
Breakfast was a repetitively quick affair, with Maho having cereal, Miho having instant pancakes, and Hanoashi having a quick sandwich. Maho was the only one who could really cook, but Miho and Hanoashi had insisted they get to school early as a precaution. As for why neither of the two sisters cooked, well Hanoashi could, but she struggled with anything complicated, and nobody was about to let Miho near a range for obvious reasons.
Exiting the house, they gazed at their surrounds in uncertainty. Maho was a bit nervous for Miho, one reason being that Maho was a second year, dispute being in the same grade as Miho and Hanoashi for her entire childhood. The reason was because Nishmari's final middle school course was practically a first year's high school course, and some schools offered to move students up to the second year if they performed well enough at Nishmari.
Hanoashi had also performed well enough, but she opted to take her first year at Ooarai. From what Maho gathered, she wanted to use the extra year to pass time for a rather obvious reason, if you knew about Hanoashi's dating life. Maho also suspected that a big part of it was to help keep an eye on their younger sister.
Speaking of, Miho hadn't quite earned enough to start as a second year at Ooarai. She came very close, and that by no means meant that she had made bad grades. Rather you needed extremely high marks and Mihos ranged between 82 and 96, where as you needed at least 90s across all fronts to start as a second year.
"So...I wonder if we'll make any new friends?" Miho wondered.
"It would be nice to have some friends on board," Hanoashi agreed.
It's still sometimes difficult to see Blaze as our sibling, Maho allowed her thoughts to wonder. Not that I don't, she's a good sister, and her family has taken us in when nobody would due to our mother's actions, but Blaze looks nothing like us. Ginger hair, medium-dark green eyes, and a few freckles, with a slightly reddish skin-tone. Where as Miho and I have dark amber eyes, brown hair, and cream skin. It's truly a striking difference and anyone would see right away that we were adopted.
"Ow!"
"Are you two fighting?" Maho asked, not paying attention.
"Yes, because I totally throw my siblings into random signs," Hanoashi spat sarcastically.
Actually turning around, Maho clearly saw that Miho had accidentally ran into a sign. "Miho..." Maho whined.
"I didn't see it Oni-chan!" Miho protested.
"Yeah, because I'd totally throw you into a sign that fast," Hanoashi muttered. "Seriously though, you've got to watch out for that stuff sis," she added.
"Duly noted," Miho pinned, rubbing her head for a bit before gazing at the sign. "Heh...that's kinda cute," she chuckled.
"She's not paying any attention, is she?" Maho whispered, heading next to Hanoashi.
Hanoashi shook her head. "Oh she's paying attention, right now she's just distracting herself from the pain. Besides, it's not like we haven't accidentally ran into stuff in the past."
"Don't remind me, I feel bad enough ruining that girl's birthday," Maho shuddered.
"She was being quite a dick to mother when she offered to reimburse that girl's mother, and besides, people really shouldn't carry large cakes like that for miles," Hanoashi soothed.
"Don't let mom hear you talk like that," Maho hissed. "But, you're right I suppose," she added more gently.
"Anyways, we should really head to class," Hanoashi urged, changing the subject.
"Aww...but I want to smell the fresh bread more," Miho whined, placing her hands up in surrender when Hanoashi glared at her. "I'm joking Blaze, let's go."
"You use the glare well," Maho growled gently, referring to infamous Nishisumi look, or glare as it was called. Maho had taught it to Hanoashi when they were younger.
"Well, sometimes it comes in handy," Hanoashi shrugged.
"Like the time you used it on a gunman and got shot?" Maho added sarcastically.
"Hey, he would have kidnapped us had I done nothing," Hanoashi huffed.
"I guess. But you almost died," Miho remarked worriedly.
"Eh...it would have been worth it to save my sisters," Hanoashi shrugged. "But I am glad that I pulled through." She added gently.
"That was the second time you saved me...thank you Blaze," Miho whispered, hugging her older sister.
"It was nothing really, Miho," Hanoashi smiled, petting Miho gently on the back. "Besides, you saved me once too, so we're more than even in my eyes."
Maho remembered that day well. They had all gone to the beach when they where ten, Maho was eleven. It had been Hanoashi's first time, and she was picking up sea shells when she was about to pick up a cone snail. Thankfully, Miho had warned her just in time. One spike from that creature and their sister would have been dead in moments.
She let out a shudder at just how close they had came to losing her that day. And it wasn't just Hanoashi they'd have lost, one year later Miho had been found by Hanoashi, caught in a barb wire fence. As it turned out Miho has been caught for over an hour and had to spend a month in the hospital fighting tetanus and other bacterial infections, not to mention needing a blood transfusion. Had Hanoashi not found her, Miho probably would have died in another hour or so, if not sooner.
Meaning that had Miho failed to notice what Hanoashi was about to do, Miho would also have been dead in a bit over a year later.
"Can we just...move on now," Maho asked, not wanting to dwell on the past.
"A bit longer, Miho and I are having a moment," Hanoashi chimed.
"Seriously..." Maho muttered, clearly knowing that her sister was right, but suspected that Hanoashi was also trying to annoy her by prolonging their moment.
That moment was five minutes, though Maho had worked though her uneasiness during that time. Letting out a small sigh, she turned to her siblings. "Well, I guess this is where we part."
"At least we'll get to see each other at lunch," Miho smiled.
"We might be eating lunch with new friends, Miho," Hanoashi pointed out.
"Oh...right, still..." Miho paused, uncertain.
'Don't worry, We'll still be sharing the same house together," Hanoashi soothed. "So we'll get to hang out tonight."
"Tonight?" Miho asked, becoming more worried.
"We might be hanging out with new friends after school as well," Hanoashi reminded her.
"You have to grow more interdependent of us, Miho. "We'll always love you and be right by your side if you need us, but one day we'll move out on our own," Maho reminded her sternly. "Now, I don't know about you, but I do not want to face father's wrath by being late." With that Maho turned around and left the group.
I just hope that Miho will be okay, Hanoashi mused as she enter her new class. She had left Miho at Class A-4, which was only a few classes away from A-9. Still, I meant what I said earlier, Miho has made massive strides in self responsibility over the last few years, so I have faith she'll be fine without us for a day.
Gazing around, she suddenly felt alone. I usually had at least one of my siblings with me when I was back at middle school, she mused silently. Snap out of it Blaze, you're nearly an adult! Hell, you could marry Yukaro right now and get a job at a cafe if you could convince you're parents, she reprimanded herself rather harshly.
In reality, her parents were perfectly fine with Hanoashi's choice of boyfriend, the issue was that Yukaro was eighteen and Hanoashi was sixteen. Her mother believed in the American age of consent which was eighteen for both genders, unlike Japan's lopsided age of consent, which was sixteen for girls and eighteen for boys. Hanoashi was fine with the wait, dispute her love for Yukaro, especially since there was ongoing legislation to change the age of consent for girls from sixteen to eighteen in the works.
"Hey, you new here?" A girl with brown hair and matching eyes waved at her. "You can sit by me if you like," she offered.
Feeling simultaneously nervous but also a bit of relief, Hanoashi made her way over to the girl and sat at the desk next to her. "No assigned seating?" she asked.
The girl shook her head and pointed at the board. Hanoashi gazed at the moment, reading the sit where you like. You...do know a student could have put that there, right? She mused silently, before turning to the girl. "Thanks...for you know...anyway my name's Hanoashi Katoni. Just...call me Blaze though."
"Asuza Sawa...it's very nice to meet you Blaze...would...you like to be friends?" she asked.
Hanoashi smiled gently. "I'd love too. I...really don't know anyone at Ooarai, aside from my sisters."
"You have sisters?" Asusa asked. "I"m kinda jealous."
"Two, an older sister named Maho and a younger sister named Miho."
Hanoashi froze as Asuza mentioned those names sounding familiar, but she quickly shrugged it off. "I have a younger brother, boy let me tell you, he's a handful," Asusa smiled.
"I may or may not be having a younger brother, giving my mother is currently pregnant. We still don't know yet." Hanoashi smiled in return.
"Are you hoping for a brother?" Asusa asked.
"I'm actually hoping for twins. To be honest I was an only child for a while, and I still remember how lonely it could be." Hanoashi smiled, then remember something that Asusa clearly didn't yet know. "My family adopted Maho and Miho when I was seven, but I couldn't love them more than if they were my blood siblings."
"That's so sweet!" Asusa gushed.
Is it? Hanoashi mused quietly, not too sure what Asusa was going on about.
Miho meanwhile had just walked forward a few steps in class and wasn't coping as well as she had hoped. Blaze...Oni-chan...where are you? She fretted, before shaking her head. No! I promised my sister that I can do this on my own, and I'm not a baby anymore! She scolded herself. I can do this!
But as she looked at the class and realized she knew nobody, she froze again. It's...like a sea of people! she mused inwardly.
Suddenly she felt a small tugging on her sleeve and turned to see a girl with short grayish brown hair and amber eyes. "You seem lost," the girl whispered.
"Oh...uh...I just...don't really know anyone in class." Miho stammered.
"Same. Friends?" The girl smiled, extending her hand.
Realizing that this was her first friend, Miho smiled. "Absolutely," Miho smiled, accepting the handshake. "My name is Miho Katoni...though just call me Miho." she added in introduction.
"Miho huh...a pretty name for a nice girl," The girl smiled slightly. "Name's Saki...Maru...yama?" Suddenly the girl huffed. "Maus dammit Japanese is hard," she huffed.
"You don't speak Japanese?" Miho gasped.
"It's...difficult when you have to move to Japan and only had three months to learn it," Saki sighed. "I'm also a bit on the quieter side...so that doesn't help."
"Oh, that's understandable...you came from one of the English speaking nations, right?" Miho asked.
"Stevensville, Canada" Saki shrugged. "Right above Lake Erie,next to New York," she added to clarify."
"New York huh?" Miho mused. "Sorry...world history isn't my best."
"Geography, not world history," Saki smiled. "Bit of a difference, but you learn a bit of both if you learn one."
"I...see." Miho gazed around. "You know anyone else in our class?" she asked.
Saki shook her head, a slight wave of irritation showing. "Just moved in last week," she reminded her.
"Ah...Sorry, I'm kinda a ditz when it comes to remembering that stuff," Miho apologized.
Saki just smiled. "It's fine Miho-san, I struggle with Japanese, so we're even, I think."
"If you want, we can speak in English. I'm not as good as my sister Blaze, but I speak it pretty well...I think," Miho offered.
Saki shook her head. "That's a kind offer, but if I only speak in English, then I'll never learn properly."
The two shared a quick moment of silents before Saki turned to her. "So, you say your sister's name is Blaze?" Saki asked.
"Well, her actual name is Hanoashi, but she likes to be called Blaze," Miho smiled.
"Plant...foot?" Saki asked, confused.
Miho shrugged. "Her parents where the last of the Katoni, so when Blaze was born, they hoped that she would be the plant that rooted the new Katoni generation, the first step in the restoration of the Katoni. Or at least that what Yu told me. Oh, and Yu's my mother." Miho explained.
"I guess that makes sense, but...why the nickname Blaze?"
"Because of her ginger hair," Miho smiled.
"Ginger...you mean russet, right?" Saki asked.
"No no...as in a bright ginger," Miho corrected.
"Was...she was adopted...wait, no you said that you were so...I'm confused," Saki sighed.
Miho suddenly realized why Saki was confused and mentally slapped herself on the head. "No, Maho, my sister and I, where adopted by the Katoni when I was five and Maho was six," Miho clarified. "And Hanoashi's genetically more Irish than anything, her family moved from Armerica to Japan right after the war."
"Ah...that explains the ginger hair then." Saki smiled. "So, I'm guess you live in Nishmari?" she added.
"How'd you know?" Miho gasped.
Saki shrugged. "lucky guess."
"Ah well," Miho shrugged.
Maho calmly sat down in the seat with her name on it, glancing around. Welp, we're early and nothing's happening...
"So, you must be Maho Katoni?" A girl beside her waved.
"Er...yes, you are...er..."
"Yukari Akiyama!" She girl smiled. "I hope we can become friends!" she added.
"Likewise," Maho bowed.
"Wait...didn't I read about the Katoni in the news paper?" Yukari paused, tipping her head.
"Maybe?" Maho wondered. I thought it was only local news... she added silently.
"Ah yes, "Hanoashi Katoni and Miho Katoni, the two sisters who saved each other on different occasions, right? And you're their sister too? That's so amazing!" Yukari gushed.
Maho felt her cheeks turn red slightly. "Actually, Hanoashi saved Miho twice," Maho admitted.
"Twice? When?"
"Well it was..." Maho began, but paused when a classmate yelled "Rise!"
Yukari quickly rose, and Maho did as well. I'll tell you later Yukari. Hm...that name sounds familiar...
"Bow...and greetings!"
"Good morning Sensei Hikari," the class chorused.
"A very good morning to all of you," Hikari bowed. As the class rose, Hikari gazed around a bit before settling her gaze on Maho. "Ms Katoni, would you like to come up and introduce yourself?"
Maho rose up and walked up to the front of the class. "Um...I'm Maho Katoni, it's nice to meet all of you," she bowed gently.
"Maho Katoni...?" one of the students whispered.
"I could have sworn I heard of a Maho somewhere..." a second girl whispered.
"Wait...Aren't you the girl who got trapped in the barbed wire fence." A third girl with glasses and blond hair asked.
Maho let out a sigh. "No...um...miss Nekota, that was my youngest sister Miho."
"Oh...sorry! And I like to go by the name Nekonya," the girl apologized.
"It's fine Nekonya." Maho smiled.
"Now...if I recall...We also have two new transfers...Takako, Hina, would you like to also come up and introduce yourselves?
Two girls rose up as Maho went back to her seat. One of them, with blond hair rose to speak. "Good morning, My name is Hina," she smiled, bowing.
"I'm Takako," the other one waved gently.
They seem so confident, Maho realized. Unlike me.
"You may not know this, but Hina and Takako transfer to help set up the new club which will be announced this evening during the entrance ceremony."
New Club! Thank Maus! Maho breathed in relief. I had no idea what to choose. I mean, Miho is wanting to do Incense, and Blaze is wanting to do Archery...but nothing really appeals to me personally.
"I wonder what club it'll be?" Maho mused.
"I'm hoping Sensado," Yukari smiled. "Don't you?"
Maho shrugged. "What's Sensado?" she feigned, trying to ignore the possibility.
"You don't know what Sensado is?" Yukari gasped.
Maho shrugged. "I know it involves placing teens in world war two style combat, which sounds like an exceedingly ripe ecosystem for childhood PTSD to develop if you ask me." Huffing, Maho continued. "If you ask me, Sensado's a danger to society and that's that."
"You think it's that bad?" Yukari whispered, sounding a tad distraught.
If Miho hadn't ran off and got herself stuck in a barb wire fence, mother would have let us join the Nishmari Co-ed middle school league, Maho growled silently. At first I thought her reservations were utter bull, but she's right, Miho was nowhere ready to join Sensado at that time. Turning to Yukari, Maho nodded. "It's tank warfare," She remarked simply. "And teens have no business in it in my opinion."
And the truth...Maho? Her consonance tore into her. The truth is that you hate Sensado because of what your mother did, not because of how dangerous it is.
Hanoashi gazed upward as the bell rang. She had just sat through four lectures and had another three left to go. Granted, it was mostly introductions and stuff, but still, somewhat boring.
"I don't know about you, but I'm starving," Asusa sighed, stretching her arms out. "Wanna eat together?" she asked.
"Sure!" Hanoashi smiled, rising up and giving herself a small stretch.
"You hot?" Asusa asked gently, gazing at Hanoashi's bare arms.
"No, just don't exactly like sleeves that much. Thank Maus they have a sleeveless version of the uniform," Hanoashi smiled.
"Ah...I'm kinda the opposite, at least most of the time." Asusa shrugged.
"Nothing wrong with that," Hanoashi smiled. "Still, I wonder where the lunchroom is?" she asked.
"Bottom building, to the far left rear, I think," Asusa recited. "Shouldn't be too hard to find, right?"
It took three minutes to find the building, and Hanoashi let out a sigh of relief. "From now own, I'm having two sandwiches in the morning," she huffed.
"You had just one?" Asusa asked.
"Normally, one had been enough." Hanoashi nodded. "Hm...looks like Miho made herself a new friend," she added, gazing at her sister.
"So...that's Miho, huh? And that girl beside her, that's Saki Mauryama," Asusa noted.
"You know her?" Hanoashi asked curiously.
"I've only met her once, and even then it wasn't more than a quick greeting," Asusa admitted. "At Ooarai Airport," She added.
"Hi Asusa," Saki greeted quietly. "How's your day been?"
"Pretty good, and you?" Asusa smiled.
"Very good so far," Sake smiled. "Want to eat lunch together? All four of us?" she invited, receiving various nods from the three other girls."
Maho sat across from Yukari, who was enjoying a Rice and omelet lunch. Maho herself was having a teriyaki salmon lunch with a side of beans.
"So, you've lived in Nishmari since you where six? What's it like?" Yukari asked.
"Peaceful," Maho smiled in bliss. Much better than life if I had lived as a Nishisumi, she added silently. Granted, Yu and Drake are by no means millionaires like Shiho was, but unlike Shiho, they actually give a crap about their daughters. Give me middle class parents over snobby rich-brat parents anyday!
"I heard it was mostly agrarian, right? Must be a lot of farms in the local area..." Yukari continued in between bites.
"Yep, we do have a lumber factory and a few businesses, restaurants, and shops, but other than that most people work on the farms in some capacity. Also Namco Bandai's second headquarters is being built as we speak, so that'll be a big boost to our local economy. Anyways, what's Ooarai like?"
"Well, the town has a massive tourism and fishing industry. We also have some farms, but nothing on the scale of Nishmari," Yukari smiled. "Though, given you and your siblings where all from Nishmari, I'm surprised none of you took the agriculture course," she added.
Maho shrugged. "Miho wants to be a Nurse, and Hanoashi want's to be an English teacher, or at least she does assuming she doesn't get married, as she wants to be a stay at home mother most of all. As for myself...I'm still trying to decide."
"That make sense...I want to be a barber, like my parents," Yukari smiled. "They actually have a barber shop right here on this ship," she added.
"Hm...maybe I'll try to join my father's business. He runs a small financial investment company in Nishmari, so maybe he'll let me join. Or not, but it's something to look into."
"So you want to be an accountant or secretary?" Yukari guessed.
"Janitor," Maho sighed. "I...like doing physical labor, so a job at a desk isn't really my sort of taste. Then again...janitor isn't exactly my cup of tea, so I'm back at square one."
"Ah...a worker...well, there's plenty of time and most jobs involving labor don't require specialized early education, so it's fine to be indecisive," Yukari shrugged.
But for how long? Miho wondered. I've only got two years of high school left...
"Calling all students, convene in the gym...calling all students, convene in the gym," A voice echoed over the radio.
"I wonder what this could be?" Hanoashi mused.
"Don't know," Asusa shrugged. "But we'd best get down there and see."
Arriving, Hanoashi sat between Asusa and Miho. "Huh...seems like an assembly," she mused.
"It certainly does," Miho smiled. "Wonder what it is about?"
"Probably going to welcome the new students," Hanoashi guessed.
"Likely," Saki mused quietly. "I just hope I can understand it," she added.
"Listen, Saki...if you find yourself struggling with Japanese, I can come over and help. I'm pretty good with English...so..." Hanoashi trailed off.
Saki just smiled. "Thank you. But I'll wait a week or two, and if I'm not ready, then I'll have you tutor me."
"Alright, but feel free to ask me anytime," Hanoashi smiled back, before gazing up at the stage, gasping when she saw her cousin up there. "Oh! It's Rikona!" she mused a little too loudly, earning her a shush from the girls behind her. "Sorry," Hanoashi whispered, glancing at them briefly before returning her gaze up to her cousin.
Rikona just smiled at her and waved, Hanoashi repeating the action in greeting.
"You know her?" Asusa asked gently.
"Are you kidding me?" Miho smiled. "Rikona is one of the best cousins a girl could ever have, and the vice Heiress of this academy."
"Miho and I really look up to her," Hanoashi added, this time keeping her voice down. Except when she's trying to get us to try out bondage. Talk about a weird hobby! She added silently.
"You must really love her," Saki smiled.
"She's the best," Hanoashi smiled. "Oh...it looks like Hitomi's there too!"
"Our other cousin and Rikona's older sister. We love her just as much...but Hitomi didn't exactly hang out with us as much as she's five years older than Rikona, who's five years older than us," Miho explained.
"Ah...so she's ten years your age then," Asusa smiled.
"Alright everyone, quiet down, we're about to do introductions for our mandatory after school electives." A girl with a monocle began.
"Who's that?" Hanoashi asked gently.
"Momo-sempai," a first year behind her whispered. "Student council vice president. Don't ever call her Momo-chan, she'll have your head."
"Duly noted," Hanoashi muttered. Who the Maus calls an upperclassman Chan? I mean close friends and or family members, sure. But a random first year?
The presentations began, the usual lineup Hanoashi had read about. So...Archery it is then? She mused.
But right as the last presentation on the list had finished, a new presentation had begin.
"Sensado, an important part of our culture and a decades old tradition!" A girl in a Ponytail began.
Sensado? But...I thought...but...Archery... Hanoashi's mind flew into a brief period of shock as the presentation continued.
Miho was having a hard time keeping quiet, her excitement was bubbling over. I have a second chance at Sensado? But will Yu even let me take it. My...barbed wire fence escapade lead to her banning me from taking it in middle school, so...
Almost as soon as it began, the presentation ended, and Miho, along with the other students rose. "Blaze...we get to take Sensado!" she whispered.
Hanoashi hadn't moved, So Miho gently pulled her up. "Er...Blaze...quit having a brain fart," Miho urged, causing Saki to laugh and Asusa to make a face of disgust.
"Sensado...I..." Hanoashi shook her head.
"What's wrong Blaze...I thought you wanted to take Sensado...Oh!" Miho gazed down, looking upset. "Is...this because of what I did when I was twelve?" she whispered.
"What did you do?" Saki asked quietly.
"No no..." Hanoashi protested, raising her hands up. "It's not that Miho, I promised," Hanoashi smiled. "It's...it's just that I had my heart set on taking Archery and now that Sensado is being offered...I'm not too sure. I...don't want to just switch from Archery to Sensado out of the blue, but...I also don't want to just ignore Sensado, we've both wanted to do it since we were kids."
"Oh...I understand Blaze. You don't want to decide recklessly," Miho chuckled. "Just like a Katoni," she added.
"By the way, what did happen when you were twelve?" Asusa asked, turning to Miho. "I mean...it's fine if you don't want to talk about it, but..."
"I kinda wondered off and got stuck in a barbed wire fence," Miho sighed. "Hanoashi found me just in time, and if it wasn't for her..."
"Miho...you saved me a the beach," Hanoashi sighed.
"Yeah, but it's my getting stuck in the fence, my fault you couldn't participate in Sensado in middle school," Miho protested.
"Miho...I don't care about that, I'm just glad I found you and that you're safe. To me, that's all that matters to me," Hanoashi smiled.
"So...what happened at the beach?" Asusa asked.
"Yeah, I'm intrigued as well," Saki added.
Hanoashi shrugged. "I nearly picked up a cone snail," she sighed. "Miho warned me. My hand must have been..." Hanoashi paused and began shacking violently.
"Blaze...are you okay?" Asusa asked quietly.
"Cone Snail," she shivered.
"Miho...is she going to be okay?" Saki asked.
"I...I"m okay...Miho...it didn't jab me, did it?" Hanoashi asked shakily.
"Blaze, you'd be in Kuroguard if it had. You are fine," Miho smiled firmly.
Hanoashi took a deep breath, and sighed. "I'm...okay now, I think," she sighed. "Sometimes...I get a bit of PTSD from thinking about how close I came to dying thar day. My hand was less than a few centimeters from the snail, so..."
"Same for me getting caught in the fence," Miho sighed. "But not that bad," she added.
"When you get tangled up in blankets, you cry out in fright, saying no, no, not the wire!" Hanoashi mused, though unassumingly.
"I do not...okay fine, I do that." Miho sighed.
Maho sighed as she stood up, glancing at Yukari. "You...going to join Sensado?" she asked.
Yukari smiled. "It was always my dream to, but Ooarai didn't have any middle school Sensado classes, so of course I'm going to join. What club will you be joining?"
Maho sighed. "Sensado."
"But you said that..." Yukari began, but was interrupted.
"Yeah, and I still hold to that," Maho admitted. "But my sister Miho always wanted to join in middle school, and mother wouldn't let her join at that age, so...yeah. I want to keep an eye on her."
"That makes sense," Maho admitted. "But are you going to be comfortable with joining...I mean, I could keep an eye on Miho if you like," Yukari offered.
"Thank you Yukari, but I have to do this myself," Maho reassured. Even if I don't want to join, she added silently.