Part 4: Erika

Joban Expressway

Adachi City

"I thought I told you to get gas while you were out today."

"You did?"

["Ugh, Jesus."]

"Sorry. It's been a really long week."

"You're telling me…"

Maho remained quiet in the backseat of Dahlia's truck, watching with mild amusement as the Carpenter scanned the highway ahead for a gas station. Eventually finding one, the three passengers were driven off of the snowy road and up to one of the several pumps at the otherwise empty lot.

Dahlia fished around her center console for her wallet. When she found it, she opened it and passed Chloe a handful of paper notes.

"Chlo, take Maho and Erika inside and get some stuff for the road."

"Anything you want?"

"The usual."

The Driver stepped out and was confronted by weather bordering on a blizzard. The air was frigid and white, unusually cold for a Japanese winter, and driving snow pelted her exposed face. Dahlia pulled up the hood on her jacket and slid a card into the fuel pump, tapping out a long pin code.

Inside the store, the three girls were greeted by warmth from the central heat, a quiet song emanating from the speakers, and a polite greeting from the clerk. They each went in different directions, with Myiazumi hunting for snacks, Nishizumi ducking into the bathroom, and Itsumi heading to the very back of the store and going through the drink coolers. Erika took an energy drink can from one of the racks and looked it over, but before she could decide on purchasing it, something flashed before her eyes.

The store was dark, silent, and completely ransacked. Cutting through the quiet, Itsumi heard her voice shout something, before throwing the can. One that looked just like the one in her hand.

"Koume!"

Erika shook her head and the vision disappeared, but a feeling of dread washed over the tanker. She put the drink away and closed the door, catching her reflection in the glass.

Her mirror image, however, wasn't wearing what she was. She was in her weathered Kuromorimine uniform, her face covered with dirt, soot and blood. Her filthy jacket with rolled up sleeves, scuffed, muddy boots, and tattered skirt. She looked down at herself, but found only her normal clothing. A feeling of panic rose in the veteran's heaving chest.

"Ahhhh!"

"Hrrrgh!"

Smash!

Erika's nose was suddenly an inch away from the glass, having caught herself from headbutting the door. She blinked and her reflection returned to normal.

Itsumi closed her eyes and sucked in a breath, turning around and facing away from the cooler.

She was assaulted by only more haunting and terrifying images. Swiping at her attacker with a piece of glass, the two punching, kicking and screaming at each other, the girl's head exploding.

Akaboshi bleeding out.

A vigorous shake of her head, and the scene vanished. The peaceful ambience of the store returned. Tears welled up in Erika's eyes as she leaned against the refrigerator door, eventually sliding to the floor, where she buried her face in her hands and began to cry.

"I'm sorry, Koume… I'm so sorry…"

At the front of the store, Maho had rejoined Chloe at the counter, who had gathered a small mountain of assorted snacks and beverages. She set down a few items she had picked up along the way.

"Where's Erika?" Chloe looked up from counting yen notes.

"...I thought she was with you." Maho said.

Suddenly, during a lull in the music, the Commander heard something from the back of the store.

Something that sounded like sobbing.

Maho looked around, and at that time, realized where they were, and what was probably going through Erika's mind at that very moment. She shot a glance at Chloe, then to the clerk.

"Give me just… one moment, please."

Not waiting for a response, Maho headed in the direction of the sound. The cashier gave the remaining student a mildly concerned look.

"The two of them are from Kuromorimine." The Carpenter explained. "They… survived the war."

"Oh. I see." The man said quietly. He looked down at the snacks on the counter and began tapping buttons on his register.

At the back of the store, leaning against a refrigerator, Maho eventually found her companion. Erika was seated on the floor, hugging her knees, slowly rocking herself back and forth, whispering something between sobs.

"Retreat is our best chance. We stay here, we'll all die. We'll regroup with Commander Nishizumi. I'll keep you all safe. Soga trusts me to protect you."

Maho knelt down in front of Erika, who, despite having her eyes open, didn't seem to notice her.

"Erika?"

"She told us not to retreat. Airfield was vital. We don't disobey orders. Schwarzwald doesn't retreat. We advance. No matter what, we advance. Engal Was, Wir Kommen Voran. Engal Was, Wir Kommen Voran."

"Erika."

"Engal Was, Wir Kommen Voran!"

"Erika!"

Itsumi suddenly snapped out of her trance and stared at Maho, panting breaths and streaming tears. She suddenly attempted to stand.

"I… I need to…"

"It's okay, Erika." Maho said in a quiet, soothing voice, holding her companion's shoulders tightly. Not unlike her childhood when Miho would awaken from a bad dream. "It's okay. You aren't there anymore. You're here, with me."

"I… I'm not on the carrier." Itsumi slowly looked around, slowly returning to her senses. "I'm not on the carrier."

"That's right, Eririn. You're here."

Erika blinked, returning her gaze to Nishizumi. Her pupils shrank from the size of quarters to something approaching normal. Her heart stopped racing and her breathing evened out. "Maho?"

"Yes, Erika. I'm here." Maho stood up and extended her hand. Itsumi hesitantly took it, allowing herself to be hauled to her feet. She immediately enveloped Maho in a hug, the recipient of which continued to whisper soothing words to her distraught companion. After a few minutes, Erika wiped her eyes with her sweater sleeve as Maho guided her outside. Not far behind was Chloe, who had finished paying for everything and headed out after thanking the clerk. The young Carpenter paced briskly through the still empty station and climbed into her companion's truck, which was now running. Dahlia herself was inside, talking to someone on her phone.

"Oh, absolutely. I mean, the break to Ooarai isn't very long, but I definitely will." Hachimiya glanced at Chloe and nodded at her. "Yeah, I'll look for train tickets in the morning, or maybe have the kid do it." The Foreman grinned, an expression that faded when her friend didn't return it. "Anything from Ginger?... Yeah, I figured… No, me neither. I've tried, but hey, phones work both ways, right?… I know… No, why would it be your fault? You raised us both the same way, and I turned out alright… She's just being a bitch… Hey. She's my sister, I can say whatever I want." Dahlia looked around at the snow accumulating all around them. "Okay, well, I need to get back on the road. Yeah, tell her I said 'hello'. Love you too, Mom. Bye."

As she set her phone down on the center console, Dahlia noticed that the back seats were still empty. "Hey, where are the lovebirds?"

Koida wordlessly nodded over her shoulder, behind the tailgate of the truck, where Maho was speaking to Erika in a hushed voice.

"What happened?"

"Erika had a bit of a breakdown." The Apprentice finally explained. "Flashback to the war. She thought she was still there."

"Oh." Dahlia looked ahead.

"How's your mom?"

"Good. Mostly. Between me and Ginger, I'm the only one who's called… at all, really. She didn't even call after the Ooarai thing." She sighed. "Don't have siblings. They suck."

"I'll be sure to let my parents know."

The Foreman looked at the swollen grocery bag in her friend's lap. In the same moment, Chloe handed over the change and leftover money. "Wait… did I give you too much? How much did all this cost?"

"Surprisingly little." Chloe fished around for the receipt, eventually finding and unfolding it. After a few seconds of reading, she handed it over. "He… voided all of the stuff Maho got. And some of mine."

Dahlia reread the paper, then looked up at the store.

"Huh…"

Joban Expressway

Moriya, Ibaraki

Some time later

"Okay, Dahl. I got another one." Chloe began, looking over at the driver as she chewed through another peanut butter cup. "Would you rather give up having heat and air conditioning for the rest of your life, or give up the internet for the rest of your life?"

"Ahh… that's a good one." Dahlia said, loudly slurping a soda. "Because you know how much of a polar bear I am. I love having A/C, and the heat is almost never on in my apartment."

"Right. So summer would suck for you."

"But at the same time, the internet is… quite important. For… stuff."

"Yeah. Of course."

"Okay. I have a few questions… What happens if, like it's the middle of summer, and I go over to somebody else's house?"

"Uhh… their air conditioner turns off as soon as you walk in. And it… doesn't turn back on until after you leave. Their thermostat could be set to sixty, and it could reach like… ninety five, and… nothing would happen."

Dahlia rested her elbow on the center console, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "Do they know it's because of me?"

"Mmmm… no."

"So if I go the other way, does the internet just no longer exist?"

"No." Chloe shook her head. "You just aren't able to access it. Like… everybody gets a username and password to use the internet, but you weren't cool enough to get one."

"Can I ask other people to look stuff up for me?"

"Sure. But that'll get old. And probably a bit… weird given your search history."

"If I ask the same person, they'd eventually get used to it."

"Maybe, but you never know. And I sure as hell aren't going to be your go-to-Googler every day."

"Hmm… and this is for the rest of my life?"

"The rest of your life."

While Dahlia mulled over Chloe's umpteenth 'Would You Rather' question, Erika watched the snowy countryside pass by. At her side, Maho tapped away at her phone, likely talking to Miho, all while crunching through a bag of pretzels. To Itsumi, this felt like that road trip she had always wanted to take, but never had the time, destination, or friends to go with. Maho had taken a few trips to Ooarai over the past few months, but it had been by train, and Erika had needed to stay behind in her place.

While an American rock song quietly bumped away on the speakers, Erika thought back to her experiences over the last several months. Securing a loving and supportive relationship with Maho, someone she never expected to even have a chance with. Watching the reconstruction of her home, however slow it might be. Being reunited with the team and tank she had lived with for four days and three nights straight. Revisiting the airfield.

Going there was definitely the most painful.

Other than a sweep for munitions, the airfield had remained untouched since the ship's arrival. When Erika returned, Maho was able to see first hand what her beloved had gone through. A maze of twisted, burnt metal, muddy craters, and piles of corpses. Itsumi had even been unfortunate enough to find the ones she had dispatched. In the daylight, their wounds appeared even more horrific.

A skull broken open. A chest partially emptied. A head nearly decapitated. A shudder rolled through the Vice Commander as she bit down on a Pocky stick.

The trip to the tank garages didn't make things any better.

Every member of the Volunteer Korps and Sensha-do team that was buried there was taken back to the mainland. A one Akaboshi Koume among them. Part of Erika still couldn't believe that she was gone. To this day, she still expected to receive a phone call or a silly text from her friend. Or for her to one day knock on the door and invite the commanders out for ice cream.

It was a good thing Maho was around. The first visit to Graf Zeppelin was nearly too much.

Nishizumi had been helping Erika focus on positivity. The two of them had made it. They, and many of their friends, had survived thanks to them. They were in it together. And they were going to rebuild. For themselves. And for the ones they had lost.

"We could make it worth it."

"How about you, Erika?"

"Eh?" Itsumi was snapped out of her thoughts by Dahlia. "Sorry. What was the question?"

"Would you rather only be able to eat pizza for an entire year, or not be able to eat pizza at all for five years?"

"Ohh… I do like pizza. Especially from Anzio."

Maho quietly giggled at how suddenly captivated her beloved was by the out of the blue question.

"What kind?"

Dahlia shrugged. "Whatever."

"Can I put hamburger on it?"

"Sure. Any kind you want."

"But it's for every meal." Chloe pointed out. "Three meals a day, at minimum. Three hundred and sixty five days in a row."

"Or sixty six, if it's a leap year." Dahlia added.

"That's… alot." Maho observed after a moment. "It would get expensive fast."

"Oddly specific priority, but okay." The Foreman commented.

"That's fine." Erika said, waving her off. "I'm sure there's a way to make a breakfast style pizza. Hash browns or grits instead of sauce. Or pancake syrup. Bacon and scrambled egg… Maybe put the whole thing on a bagel. Bagel pizzas are a thing. Though, leftover pizza is the best kind of breakfast..."

"It… kinda scares me how prepared you are to answer this, Itsumi." Chloe said after a moment of silence.

"Kuromorimine has had its fair share of meet ups with Anzio, inside and outside of our tanks." Itsumi explained. "I've eaten a lot of pizza."

"A girl after my own heart. Better watch out, Maho." Dahlia said with a laugh. "So you would do it, too? For the year?"

"Yep. Hey, what about the last one?"

"Hmm?"

"Something about no internet for life?"

"Oh." Dahlia said as she slowed down, approaching a toll booth. "That was a few questions ago. But I went with no A/C or heat. The internet is too important." Her 'Eazy Pass' device beeped and she sped up again.

"I… think I agree." Erika nodded. "What other ones did I miss?"

"Just one. It kinda sucked. Chloe isn't always good at this." The Apprentice brought her arm up for a backhand, a mockingly offended expression on her face. "I've got something better. Would you rather be naked at work, or school in your guys' case, for… a whole hour. Like, somebody comes by and takes your clothes away, and doesn't give them back for an entire sixty minutes. Or… be naked and dropped off two kilometers away from your hotel?"

The other three girls hummed and glanced at each other in thought.

"That is a good question, Dahlia." Maho said. "I mean… at Kuromorimine, the Sensha-do team members see each other nude rather frequently. At the bath house after practice and matches. And Erika and I have… obviously." Itsumi's cheeks flushed pink.

"But you don't share all your classes with them." Chloe pointed out. "Or have sex with them." She eyed Dahlia. "I've seen you naked before, haven't I, Dahl?"

The Carpenter nodded. "You have. As I have you."

"I think you're better looking." Chloe reached out and poked her friend on her bust. Dahlia smirked.

"I agree."

"Hey! You aren't supposed to!" The Apprentice crossed her arms in a pout. "You're such a bully."

"When could the two of you possibly have seen each other naked?" Maho asked hesitantly. "Do I even want to know?"

"What happens at Ooarai stays at Ooarai, Nishizumi." Dahlia quipped.

Erika laughed with the others, eyeing Maho for a time.

"Every day, she finds a way to prove herself right."