Pre A/N: Disclaimer: This part follows Nakajima as well as Dahlia

Part 12: Nakajima

A few hours later

It wasn't until around ten o'clock in the evening that the party began to wind down. Most of the food, which had been provided by Takebe, Isuzu and Murakami, had run out, and the drinks brought by Ogin weren't far behind.

After Suzuki had nearly fallen off of the Char B1, much to Sodoko's chagrin, Hoshino had decided to bring her and Tsuchiya home, being the least intoxicated of the four. Nakajima had opted to stay, as the Commanders were planning on being the last to leave.

Reira found herself slowly walking alongside her Porsche Tiger, running her hand along its armor skirts. This tank had quickly become her and her friend's pride and joy during their brief induction to the team. Even if Japanese Sensha-do was destined for decline, she personally couldn't wait to take it out to the practice range again.

Raising her other hand, Nakajima sipped from a bottle of 'Samuel Adams Winter Lager', an American beer that Dahlia had somehow managed to find in Tokyo. Throughout the night, she had mostly recovered from her inebriation, thanks to Cutlass cutting her off for a time. The arrival of food also helped.

Some sluggishness remained, however sober she convinced herself she was.

Staring at the Leopon emblem on the turret, Reira's mind began to wander.

The young tanker and mechanic had, for the last several years, devoted herself almost entirely to learning everything there was to know about cars and vehicle maintenance. Like the story she had retold, she had rebuilt her Mazda RX-7 from a rusted frame, to the beautiful car that was parked outside. She and her friends had also done much of the work rebuilding and repairing the team's tanks since the beginning, with welcome help from a few of the tank nuts among them. From simple oil changes for her classmates' cars, to rebuilding a tank from almost nothing, Nakajima had done it all.

A fun experience, but also a lonely one.

Reira was blessed with many friends, including those on her crew, but none very closely. Her little brother, and the rest of her family, were all back home in Suzuka, and part of her was looking forward to seeing them again. Not to mention a few minor flings with a few classmates over the years that never became serious. Yet a sudden feeling of something unfulfilled descended upon Reira as she gazed at her tank.

Something that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

The Leopon commander rounded the back of the Jagdpanzer and approached the small group of stragglers surrounding Miho.

"I just wanted to thank you all again for coming." Nishizumi said. "We came together one more time, worked out some… personal issues." She shot a glance at Oryou, Saemonza and Aya. "And we'll be ending the year stronger than before. That's always great. I personally don't know when the team will begin participating in Sensha-do again, but it likely won't be for some time."

A ripple of glum nods passed over the gathering.

"As much as it pains me to say it, Rabbit and Duck teams are now even more undermanned." Miho eyed Azusa and Noriko, then the girls of Ahi. "Though we might have some up and comers here with us. Now… getting back into practice… I would like to do that next month. Once everyone is back from the holidays, and provided we're all up for it, we can bring practice back into the curriculum."

"Maybe even build up our arsenal." Kadotani interjected, sipping a beer. "After a big conflict like this, I'd imagine most teams would want to scrap anything they couldn't quickly rebuild."

"I would ask Kay about that." Dahlia offered. "Her mechanics are up to their eyeballs in work. I bet they wouldn't mind losing a few Shermans."

Anzu nodded, then glanced at Maho. "Nishizumi? How about you?"

The elder sister shook her head. "We haven't even started the team rebuild yet. Our below deck tank hangars are still inaccessible by vehicle, and the surface garages are incomplete." She eyed Dahlia, who playfully waved her off. "Once we have the infrastructure, and can take a more accurate inventory, I'll get back to you."

The President hummed in reply. "Bringing practice back. I'll send that down the pipeline to the teachers." She concluded with her disinterested tone.

"The Federation has been silent on when or even if the Nationals are taking place next year." Miho continued after a moment. "I have been giving the Cauldron Tournament or the Tankathlon some thought, but those tend to be populated with smaller schools, and aren't regulated by the Federation. If I hear anything, I'll let you all know.

"It's been a tough few months, girls." Nishizumi said. "It was a tough fight, too. We lost more than we could have imagined. We lost friends…" She eyed Dahlia and Chloe. "Teammates." Her eyes drifted to Maho and Erika. "And family." Miho looked around at everyone, landing her gaze on Azusa and Isobe again. "We can't replace them, but we can make sure that their memory lives on. Everything you do, every day you live, push through it all for them."

Shinobu leaned forward and patted Aya's shoulder. The Gunner nodded at her with a sniffle.

"With that, I want to wish everyone a happy and relaxing holiday. Have a safe walk, or ride home tonight, and if we don't see you tomorrow, we will next year." Miho smiled at her friends. "Thanks to all of you for coming. Myself and my team will be here a while longer, if anyone would like to stay for a bit."

Nakajima's eyes wandered the dissipating group, eventually landing on Dahlia.

"Yeah, we had a long drive, and the kid is beat." Dahlia said to Miho. "We're gonna take off."

"Alright, Dahlia-san. Thank you for coming, and for bringing my sister."

The pair shared a hug, with the carpenter slapping the Commander's back a few times.

"It's always good to see you, Miho. Thanks for the invite." She turned around, where Chloe could be seen rubbing her eyes. "Ready, kiddo?"

"Uhuh…" The apprentice said with a yawn.

"Aight, lemme just… hey Nakajima!" She called out. "Want a lift home?"

Reira politely shook her head. "Nah. I'll be fin-woah…" She cut herself off by stumbling to the side, nearly face planting into the Hetzer. A sudden wave of exhaustion crashed over her, which wasn't helped by the lingering alcohol.

"Yeah. I can see." Dahlia smiled. "Come on. I gotta take this one home. Mother will start to worry."

Chloe's only response was a middle finger as she tiredly shuffled after her friend. Reira hesitated, before shrugging and following them.

"You're up first, Chlo." Dahlia announced as the trio approached her snow dusted truck. "You probably won't make it to Riera's and back."

Complete darkness had descended upon Ooarai, and a light snowfall was drifting down from the cloudy sky. With a sway in her stance, Reira watched a snowflake float down and land on the mouth of her beer bottle.

"Wanna gota sleep…" Chloe mumbled.

"Well then get in."

Nakajima giggled as she climbed into the back seat. "You sound like Reizei, Chloe."

"You hush. So… when do we go back to Tokyo?"

"Second week of January. The first is on a Thursday, so probably the following Monday. You excited?"

"Absolutely." The apprentice muttered.

"We're going to petition the school to cut back on the crippling hours." Dahlia said as she rounded a corner. "Sorta like we planned on doing here, just without the walkout."

"Shame. I was looking forward to that."

"Well, the Council deserved it. Kuromorimine has been good to us. At least so far."

Chloe shrugged and reached down to the floor, collecting her backpack as Dahlia rolled to a stop in front of the student dormitory building.

"Okay. Go get some sleep, kid. I'll see ya in the morning. We'll hang, or something."

"Thanks for the lift. G'night, Nakajima." Chloe stepped out of the truck. "Wanna take the front?"

"Yeah, sure." Reira climbed out and took her place in the passenger seat. "Night, Chloe."

The apprentice nodded and waved, crunching her way towards the building as Dahlia drove away.

"So how's life been treating you, Nack?"

The mechanic shrugged, sipping her drink. "Eh. Better than you, I'd wager."

"Ha! You're not kidding. You know, despite everyone on the crew, being this far from home gets surprisingly lonely."

Reira nodded. "Really…?"

"Yeah. I miss the carrier. It's good to be back." Dahlia watched some snowflakes get swept away by her windshield wipers. "Though, even here, things can get depressing."

"Yeah, I… I know what you mean."

The carpenter thought for a moment. "Actually, next week is the two year anniversary."

"Anniversary of what?"

"My boyfriend leaving me."

Nakajima recoiled. "...oh."

"Yep. It was mutual… kinda. You remember the first job I was in charge of?"

"The City Hall renovation?"

"That be the one. Now, a little bit of lore on the situation…" Dahlia rested her elbow on the center console as she launched into her story. "My ex, Yumeshi and I had been together for about… three years at this point. He's on the boys ship, the Shōkaku. And we only got to see each other a few times a month, thanks to the port schedule. Even less once I got into the BCC. We'd meet up, go to restaurants, or the movies. Head to each other's respective dorms and have… coffees."

Nakajima snorted a laugh.

"Unfortunately, thanks to this job I was on, I'd had to miss a few of our meetups. Yumeshi wasn't a fan of it, and neither was I, but I was under a lot of pressure. New foreman. First big job. Ya'know? One day, just before the holidays, so around now, he called me while I was at work."

"He did it over the phone?!" Nakajima asked in disbelief. "What a douche."

"Hang on, I'm getting to that. So, in one of our last conversations, he calls me and says, 'Dahl, look. I'm really happy for you, with finding your calling and all, and I hate to do this over the phone, but I'm starting to feel more and more left out. I want to be part of this Blue Collar thing you're doing, and I want to support you, but you aren't letting me.' I said, 'Well, I don't really have much control over how long things take here. I'm a foreman. I'm needed. Besides, it's a job. It'll end eventually.' He goes, 'That's what you said last time.'"

Dahlia stopped at a red light and swiped her friend's beer away, drinking from it. "I said, 'Because it's true.' Then… he said, 'Well tell me this: When did your last project end? The gymnasium expansion.' I said, 'In August, before the school year started.' 'And when did your current project start?'"

"In August." Reira answered. "Before the… school year… started."

"Exactly. He felt like I was choosing the Blue Collar Club over him. I said, 'Come on, babe. That's ridiculous. No way am I choosing anything over you.' He said, 'Well that's what it feels like. You've missed our last four chances at a meet up. I miss you. A lot. And I love you. But, it really feels like I'm your second pick. I don't like it.'." The gears in Nakajima's head started turning. "I said, 'You're not the second pick, I promise. It's just that sometimes I don't have a choice.' He said, 'I know. I understand that. But we need to have a conversation about this.' I kinda knew where he was going with it, so I just said, 'Look, Yumeshi. I love you, too. But if you want me to choose between you and what I love to do… you probably already know my answer.' He said, 'I know. Which is why I don't want to do this over the phone. Shōkaku comes back to port this weekend for the holidays. We need to talk. Can you do that?' I said yes immediately." Dahlia rounded another corner. "I went to the boys' ship. He took me to lunch. We had our conversation. That has to have been some of the best… yet the most depressing sex I've ever had."

Just before taking a sip of her beer, Nakajima burst out laughing. After a few seconds, she looked at Dahlia, who had a slightly pained expression on her face.

"Aw, I… I'm sorry, Dahl! I shouldn't have laughed." Reira said between giggles. "I just… didn't expect that ending."

"What can I say? We wanted to go out with a bang…" Dahlia shrugged. "Pun maybe intended, whichever is less sad."

"Nono… I shouldn't have laughed. I just… I know exactly how you feel. Being completely absorbed by what you love to do, and damn everyone else." Dahlia nodded slowly. "I know what you mean."

Nakajima was about to begin sharing her own story, when Dahlia suddenly stopped her truck.

"Well, here ya go." She said.

"Huh?" Reira turned her head and saw a small multi family house with two sports cars parked outside, and space for two more. "Oh… say, did we beat Hoshino home?"

"I… don't think so."

Nakajima clumsily pulled out her phone. "Oh. They went with Ogin to Donzoko. A little after party thing, I guess."

"Well, you'll have the place to yourself then, eh?"

"Yeah. I guess so. Thanks for the ride, Dahlia." The mechanic started to get out of the vehicle, but stopped and turned around. Something had suddenly clicked into place. "Hey… you wanna come up for a bit?"

Dahlia gave her friend a surprised look.

"I… I like this conversation. The heart to heart vibe. And I have a story of my own to tell. Come on up. I have more drinks upstairs." She sucked down the last sip of her beer and waved the empty bottle in the air.

After a moment of consideration, Dahlia relented.

"Ah… what the hell? Alright." She shifted the truck into park and stepped out, following Nakajima up to her apartment.