Strum Von Das Kettenantrieb (Assault of the Tracked Vehicles)

by mazinkaiser

A teenaged girl was trying to escape her troubled past only to confront them (along with her old and new friends) in the only way she knew how – The Way of the Tank.

3. In Between the Devil and the Deep Blue C

In this chapter, Maho discusses Miho's reasons for leaving her tank in the last Senshado finals with Zacarias, Ooarai-Bellwell gets a new crew, and fights Saunders, the school that puts emphasis on shock and awe.

Read and enjoy.

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Chapter 3 – In Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

After the last of the Training from Hell Day sessions, both Anglerfish and Hawk Team had gone to the Leclerc Café in Ooarai to discuss the upcoming National Sensha-do High School Tournament match after their rigorous training the day earlier.

The said café was certainly tank-oriented with posters of tanks on the walls, sandbags, steel drums, and jerry cans near the entrance as well as turrets of tanks at both sides of the entrance as well.

Yukari Akiyama had pressed the turret button of the tiny Fiat 2000 with a turret on top. The resounding boom was shocking to the others that only brought a smirk to the Anglerfish loader's face.

A waitress had come to take their order. In response, Hana Isuzu had ordered for all of them – four chocolate cakes, a strawberry tart, a lemon pie, and a New York cheesecake…make that two lemon pies."

"Order received," the waitress then said after accurately taking the while order. "They'll be served soon."

"The button makes the sound of a gun, huh?" Saori Takebe had commented.

"It's the sound of the Type 90," Yukari Akiyama answered.

"It really fits for a tank café," Hana then surmised.

Another cannon firing was heard and Saori could not help but squeal at the sound. "I can't believe that sounds make me feel sorta good now."

As soon as the Anglerfish radio operator had finished fangirling, a small truck carrying their orders had come out of the tunnel to Yukari's right. "Whoa, what's this?"

"This is a Dragon Wagon," Yukari said upon seeing the tiny vehicle with their orders on its trailers. "Its job is to carry tanks."

"It's so cute," Miho Nishizumi had gushed at the cute tank transporter.

"The cakes are cute too," Hana added with gusto.

The mood had grown somber when Miho had apologized to her friends for picking a wrong number thus pitting them with a strong team at the start.

"Is Saunders University High School really that strong?" The Anglerfish gunner then asked her commander.

"Not sure if 'strong' is the right word," Yukari then answered for her commander. "They are certainly wealthy though. No other school in the nation has as many tanks as they do."

After a beat, she then added. "They even have three separate teams."

Miho then interjected. "During the first round of the official match, you're not allowed to use more than ten tanks. The total number of shells is also limited."

"Still ten tanks…" Saori could not help but comment. "…is still two more than we have at the moment. Do we even stand a chance?"

"Saori, I met another group of people willing to join us." Chihiro Yusa said with a big smile. "Now, all we need is a tank for them to use."

"That's great," Mako said with a monotone. "Now how about my attendance credits?"

"We won't get any if we lose, will we?" The Anglerfish Radio Operator complained.

In anger, the Anglerfish driver had stabbed her strawberry tart and ate a piece to everyone's surprise.

"Mako, calm down." Hitomi Yuzumoto told her new friend. "I'm sure we have a chance of winning the tournament. We just need a little more practice and a lot more hope."

"Could have said better myself," Emi Nakasuga said with a nod before taking her own piece of her chocolate cake. "I'm sure we'll have even more members soon."

"Those aside, the national championships are broadcast on TV, right?" Saori was beginning to return to her usual bubbly self. "I might get a bunch of fan letters."

"Only the final match is broadcast live," Hana then corrected her friend.

"Then let's try to make it to the finals," Saori replied with a hope in her heart. "Miho, you eat too."

"Okay," Miho had started to eat her own chocolate cake.

A familiar voice had pierced through the sounds of silverware colliding with dishware. "Vice commander?"

Miho had recognized the voice immediately and turned to look at the newly arrived girls who were standing near Mako.

"My mistake, I meant former vice commander." A girl with long blonde hair was saying with a teasing tone while the brunette girl on her left was as stoic as ever. "Long time, no see."

"Big sister," Miho breathed out in fear and respect upon seeing the overall commander of Kuromorimine looking at her and her friends intently. "It's been a long time."

"Miss Maho," Emi, Hitomi, and Chihiro had added with reverence upon seeing the ace tanker within their midst once again.

As for everyone else except the blonde girl, they had looked at Miho and the others surprised that they had known who one of the girls were.

"I thought you had already quit sensha-do," Maho Nishizumi then said coolly at her younger sibling. "Is it because of Emi and the others?"

"No, Miss Maho." Surprisingly, it was Emi who spoke out in her friend's defense. "Miho had chosen sensha-do out of her own will. We only joined her as did the rest of her friends here."

"I see," the elder Nishizumi sister said with a slight nod before turning to the other girls. "Care to introduce yourselves?"

"I'm Yukari Akiyama," the brunette loader said with pride.

"I am Hana Isuzu," the brunette gunner said with grace.

"Mako Reizi," the brunette driver said with little to no concern.

"S-Saori Takebe," the ginger-haired radio operator said with a little fear.

"Ah, the crew of the Panzer IV." The oldest brunette added with a nod of her head. "And I'm guessing that Emi, Hitomi, and Chihiro would be the crew of the Abrams then."

"H-how did you know?" Miho was certainly surprised at the accuracy of her older sister's educated guess. "We didn't even post our roster in the school's webpage."

"She doesn't need to," Erika Itsumi then interjected. "Commander Maho was sure that Miho would go for the Panzer IV and that Abrams' fighting style had reminded her of someone who she had fought with years ago. The rest was just guessing the right crew."

"With all due respect, we believe that Miss Miho had made the right decision in that match." Yukari then added. "Even our instructor tank had thought the same."

"That is none of your business," Erika then rebuked the other girl. "This is between Miss Maho and Miss Miho only."

"I'm sorry," the shaggy brunette had realized that she had gone too far.

"Let's go," Maho then said suddenly. 'I think it's time I have a talk with that Abrams.'

"Yes, Commander." The blonde said with reverence as she was given the time by Maho. "There's more cafes in this town anyway."

As the two girls were walking away, Erika could not help but say. "You'll be fighting Saunders University High School in the first round, right? Don't show us another pathetic battle."

After a beat, she added. "Don't sully the reputation of the Nishizumi style any further."

This was the straw that broke the camel's back as nearly all of Miho's friends had stood up angrily.

"That so mean!" Saori shouted at the two girls' back.

"Miho would prove you so wrong," Hitomi added with her hands on her hips.

"Absolutely rude," Hana had added her own input.

"What a bitch," Chihiro said under her breath.

'So, she's the one that Miho was referring to when she told me about her days in Kuromorimine,' Emi had thought as remembered the stories that Miho had told them about her days in middle school. 'Let's see how she'll take it when we serve them yet another loss.'

"I'd say you're the rude ones," Kuromorimine's vice commander shot back. "You're just a no name team. Teams that would only embarrass sensha-do's tradition shouldn't even participate in the championships."

"It's an unspoken rule," Erika then added with a sneer.

To the Kuromorimine student's surprise, someone had countered the statement. "Being scared of an unspoken rule that one had created to give strong teams an advantage, would be embarrassing."

"W-we wouldn't lose a fight to you," Saori's voice had slightly faltered despite her righteous fury.

The blonde had only scoffed at such a boast and spoke. "Good luck with that."

Saori had countered that by a rude gesture (no, not the Finger) but her left pinky pulling the lower left eyelid and her tongue stuck out momentarily.

"Can I do the finger too?" Saori said as she had sneaked onto the author space. "Pretty please."

No, as that is extremely rude and not becoming of a proper Japanese girl. Now head back to the café and let me finish this chapter.

"Ok."

Thanks, Miss Maho. (takes the bought chocolate cake in a box along with a plastic cup of coffee from the stoic girl who immediately left with Saori) I was about to sneak out of this place during the line break for a quick snack anyway.

(clears throat) As I was saying, the Kuromorimine girls had left the café just as Hana had commented. "They're so unpleasant."

"Um," Yukari was about to say something but stopped. "Their team – Kuromorimine was the runner up last year. Before that, they were the champions for nine years straight."

"Oh, they were?!" The ginger-haired girl had finally realized that the blonde did have something to back up her claims after all. "We never knew that."

"Who cares?" The red-head then said with disdain. "We can beat 'em even if it would be like a David and Goliath kind of battle."

Seeing the forlorn look on Miho's face after being reminded of her past defeats, Hana then suggested. "Should we get another piece of chocolate cake?"

Mako then raised her right hand before adding. "Can I have two more pieces?"

"Sure."

-oOo-

Once they were out of the café, Maho then turned to her second in command and spoke. "Erika, you should return to the Graf Zepplin and start the training. I have one more thing to do."

"Of course, Commander." The blonde sub-commander said with a nod. 'I'm betting that she'll visit that Abrams. Then again, that tank has the soul of a real tanker and I'm sure it was he that had gotten the Ooarai team to be that organized despite being composed of rookies.'

From there, the pair had gotten two separate taxis with Maho heading towards ferry port with Erika heading towards the port where the Graf Zepplin was currently parked.

A half-hour later, the ferry had docked with the Zuikaku and despite her being well known as the commander of the Kuromorimine Academy, Maho was still permitted entry to come aboard.

-oOo-

After the mechanics had left the garage after doing some menial mechanical work, Zack was about to power down and rest his generator for the next day.

Once again, the door was slid back with another girl entering the garage and managing to find the light switch after groping the wall for a bit.

"Who goes there?" Zack then said before his cameras had found the intruder. "Introduce yourself."

"Nishizumi Maho, commander of the Kuromorimine sesnsha-do team and older sister of Nishizumi Miho." Came the short answer. "I would like to speak with you."

"I see," the Abrams had lowered its turret including its cannon to show his nodding. "What can I do for you then, Miss Maho?"

"I want the straight answers to my questions, 2nd Lieutenant Zacarias Wycoco, US Army."

"Ask away then," the tank added coolly. "And I promise that I won't answer it by stating my name, rank, and service number."

Maho could not help but smile at the given joke before regaining her bearings. "It's good to see that you would take my sudden arrival with good humor."

"I had to since you're the fourth person who had visited me outside of training along with a few others," Zack then said with a virtual shrug. "So, what would be your first question then?"

"Did Miho tell you about why she had abandoned sensha-do?"

"Yes, and I gave her answer that she had taken with a grain of salt."

"What answer was that?"

"I simply told her that she had done the right thing as sensha-do is a sport after all and that even we in the US Armed Forces just don't leave our buddies behind to die," Zack's tone was firm with a bit of irritation behind it. "These days, safety is of outmost importance."

"Despite it being against orders…" Maho's own tone was just as firm and yet a bit of irritation was emanating from it.

"These days, even the brass would understand that the mission would come second when it comes to the lives of its men under their command."

"You don't understand…"

"Understand what?" Zack's tone had neared dangerous levels. "That it's ok to leave your own team members to possibly die just as long as the match was won?!"

"They would have been rescued after Miho would have asked for a red flag event due to the accident rather than taking her own volition."

"You do know that it would take too much time for the crew to survive being trapped underwater," Zack's temper was certainly showing in his heated retort as he did read the rule book and even remembered his own time in safety training back in California. "If Miho hadn't opened the hatch in time, the rescue squad would only find dead bodies."

Maho could not say anymore and was hit with realization that her younger sister had sacrificed the match and even her own life to save their teammates' own. She then knelt down and cried in front of the Abrams who could not even comfort her.

Luckily for them, a second interloper had done just that. Ami Chono had lifted the younger girl, so she could cry on her shoulder while Zack could only look on with both regret on losing his temper once again and relief upon seeing someone who could comfort the crying girl in her arms.

"There, there." Ami was telling the younger girl while hugging her tight. "You didn't know about what would have happened inside the tank and I'm sure that no one told you. Truth is, those girls would have panicked and by the time they would be rescued, they would be already dead by drowning."

"I-I should've k-known about it," the brunette sensha-do commander said in between sobs. "As th-their commander, I-I should h-have known about it."

After sobbing a little more, Maho then asked. "H-how did you know a-about it?"

"Both Zack and I were trained for such a situation," Ami answered for herself and her co-instructor. "The training itself had lasted for two months in near freezing water about the same temperature as the river in that accident and thus we had learned on how to deal with it and escape. Sadly, it was not taught in high schools due to sensha-do being a sport and the rarity of such an event even occurring."

"I-I see," the third-year student said while wiping away the tears from her eyes. "I- I need to apologize to Miho about it."

"There's no need to, Sis." Another voice had come from the newly opened door. "I'm sure that Mother or even Black Forest would see it as a sign of weakness from your end. For now, let's just keep it between all of us."

All three had looked at the door to see the whole teams of Anglerfish, Hawk, and Turtle.

"Ordinally, I would have asked you to leave." Momo then broke the silence once the door was closed shut. "But it would be too embarrassing for you to be seen in tears while leaving the Zuikaku. And I agree with Miss Miho in keeping this a secret since news of possible deaths due to an accident in the last tournament would put Black Forest in a really bad light."

"Yes," Maho said with a grateful voice. "All of you are alright in my opinion. I'm afraid if the situation was reversed then all of you would have been humiliated as you exit Black Forest."

"How about we eat at the cafeteria then join you back to the ferry?" Emi said simply as it was the first time that she had seen the elder Nishizumi sister in such a weakened state. "The food is pretty good."

"How much have you all heard?" Zack then asked his students.

"Around the time that you had lost your temper," Anzu answered for them. "Personally, risking a scandal just to get the tenth win in a row in a tournament would be counterproductive if I do say so myself."

"Believe me, a lot of us in Black Forest who could read between the lines would have thought the same." Maho said with a big smile. "I'm sure even Mother would have thought about it and would be forced to renege her support for Black Forest if such a scandal should occur. Not only that, that scandal would have overtaken the win in the tri-media and the school would be forced to shut down by MEXT due to the social and political backlash resulting from it with their victory being forefieted automatically."

Remembering the offer to have snacks with part of the enemy sensha-do team, the Black Forest Academy sensha-do commander then shook her head and added. "Sorry, Emi but Erika is waiting for me back in Graf Spee. Besides, I need to keep the act of keeping this stick up my behind a little more."

"I'm alright with that," Momo then said before everyone laughed and let one of the visitors leave the garage and the school ship. "Farewell."

After Maho had left, Emi then told the others. "So, what are we going to do now?"

"Well, we can play some darts until we need to go home while talking about our next move." Miho then said before walking towards the cabinet where the dartboards and darts were kept. "Although, I wish we have any idea on what Saunders is going to throw at us."

During the game session afterwards, Yukari had gotten an idea and brought Emi along for the ride.

-oOo-

The next day, not only was both Yukari and Emi missing but there was a news flash of a stolen 1968 375 hp 440 Magnum V8 powered Dodge Charger being chased by a M109A6 Paladin self-propelled howitzer and five Willys M38 4-wheel drive military light utility vehicle through the streets of the school ship – USS George Washington. The said howitzer was heard to be yelling on its speakers at the top of its proverbial lungs – "Stop in the name of the law, young sheilas."

The said rouge vehicle was tinted and thus it was hard to know who was in that car that was being chased at nearly 100 miles per hour by the jeeps that were obviously tuned up and being shot at by the slower Paladin as they had jumped hills, drifted the sharp corners at high speed, and breezed through intersections despite the traffic lights being red.

Rabbit Team had even called the chase – Bullitt redux to the confusion of their other teammates although everyone had loved the action-packed scene anyway. The Automotive club had even thought of duplicating the same chase down to the vehicles used in the movie and were shot down just the same.

"That was some crazy driving," Saori squealed as she and her friends were on their way home after doing some practice runs. "I would love to meet the guy or girl behind the wheel."

"I have a funny feeling that you will too," Miho added in a softer voice. 'That driving technique looks familiar for some reason.'

"I would like to meet that person too," Mako said in her usual monotone. "Maybe I could learn a few tricks from him."

"Now Mako," Hana then interjected. "There's no need for you to drive like madman in the battlefield."

By this time, the whole group had stopped in front of a barber shop that was owned by the Akiyamas.

"I didn't know that Yukari's parents have a barber shop," Saori then opined upon seeing the barber shop. "Speaking of which, where is she and Emi? I can't call both of them on the phone before class and even now."

"Yeah, I can't call them either." Miho then added with Hana and the others nodding in agreement. "They were both out of range for some reason."

"Well, we'll know for sure when I call them again later." Chihiro then said as the group then headed for the barber shop. "It's not like either Yukari or Emi to just disappear."

-oOo-

Hana then knocked on the door twice before turning the doorknob. A gentle voice from inside had said. "Welcome."

The said woman was pretty much an older version of Yukari with the man had sported a punch perm and a bit of a mustache along with rectangular glasses. The man had slightly held down the newspaper he was holding to take a good look at the guests.

"Excuse us," Miho said in greeting. "Um, is Miss Yukari here?"

"And who are you?" The man then asked, still bewildered to be having students at that hour.

"We're her friends," Saori answered quickly with everyone nodding in agreement.

"Oh, you're her friends." the man nodded at the given answer. "Wait, you're our daughter's friends?!"

"Darling, please calm down." The woman then said as she too stood up to keep her husband from having a nervous breakdown. "It's not so bad."

"Not so bad?!" Mister Akiyama then exclaimed. "They're Yukari's friends, our only flower's friends."

"I heard you the first time," Missus Akiyama then added. "Thank you for being our only daughter's friends."

The barber then prostrated himself on the floor wooden floor covered with green carpeting as he said. "Thank you for taking care of our little girl."

"U-um," Miho and the others were at a loss of words at the scene. "Y-your welcome."

"Yukari actually left home this morning with a red-headed girl who she said was another friend of hers," the homemaker explained. "Neither of them has yet to return from school."

"Let's go to the second floor so you would be a little more comfortable," Missus Akiyama then added.

"Y-yes, of course." Miho had answered for the group as they had followed Yukari's mother to the second floor.

-oOo-

Yukari's room was filled with memorabilia of tanks and other things related to WWII. All of the girls had somehow understood that their friend was indeed a tank nut and proud of it too.

After looking around while seated in two tables, Missus Akiyama had brought them snacks to tide them over as they wait for their friend to arrive. Mister Akiyama had even offered his services but was told that he could do it at another time by his own wife.

"Please excuse my husband," the homemaker explained to her guests. "It's the first time that our daughter has had friends come over."

After a beat, she added. "As you can see, she was always obsessed with tanks, so she never managed to fit in and find like-minded people."

"I guess this is why Miss Yukari wished she met us before," Hitomi had whispered to Miho. "She would have been our fifth crewmember if she had lived in Kumammoto."

Miho could only nod in agreement.

"She was very happy to have made a lot of friends in sensha-do including the talking Abrams tank that my husband and I had met just a few weeks before when he had gotten lost," Yukari's mother then said. "And we feel the same especially when Mister Zacarias had complimented her zeal in sensha-do that provided the spark for the whole team."

"Well, I have things to do." Missus Akiyama then said as she stood up and left the girls to their devices. "Please relax and wait. I'm sure Yukari would be back soon."

After more gossiping with Mako feeling jealous of her friend for some reason, Yukari herself had arrived in the most unorthodox manner – through the bedroom window. She was wearing a Circle K Sunkus convenience store uniform bearing two colors – red and blue.

"Yukari?!" Both Saori and Hitomi exclaimed at the same time.

"Huh?" The shaggy brunette was saying after she had jumped down from the window sill that she entered. "What's up, everyone?"

"That's our line," Miho and Chihiro said in tandem.

"Also, do you know where Emi is?" Hana then asked. "Your mother said that you and she had left this place early in the morning and neither of you have come back till now."

"Oh, I took her back to her apartment to take a short nap." Yukari said with putting her right hand on the back of her head. "She's certainly spent after all that running and driving…"

"Wait, the car being chased by the Saunders' SPs was stolen by you?" Mako said as she had quickly put two and two together. "Why?"

"Well, the George Washington is a really big ship and we were already chased by the Saunders' sensha-do team out of the school building so we 'borrowed' the car to get to the supply hold much faster."

"Who was driving?" Miho then asked.

"That was Emi," the Anglerfish loader said with a big smile. "She's so cool in knowing how to hot wire a car that was left open by the way and driving it at high speed without even slowing down. Of course, she got miffed at my back-seat driving, but even then, I'd love to have her around in another spying mission."

Miho could only shake her head at the consequences both her friends would be getting once word had spread that they had stolen a car, drove it at high speeds in a school carrier while being chased by the said carrier's SPs and even an instructor tank. 'I'm sure the lieutenant would blow a gasket when he hears of this, maybe two.'

"By the way, I got the lieutenant's approval in this spying mission as long as I don't get caught."

'Yeah, but that also means not doing stupid things either.' Miho added mentally. 'I hope Mister Zacarias wouldn't be too mad at them.'

"We were worried because we couldn't contact either of you." Hana then explained why all of them were in Yukari's room. "We actually asked Miss Momo and the others if you had left any message that you would be out of school for the day."

"Actually, we did call the lieutenant as we were sneaking aboard the supply ship and he gave us his approval since spying on other ships weren't even mentioned in the rulebooks." Yukari answered with a shrug. "Also, we had our cellphones turned off for the most part both to save power and to not be discovered."

"Then why aren't you coming through the front door?" Saori then added. "Your parents are worried about you, you know."

"I know," Yukari answered with nary a change in tone. "I thought that Dad might get even more worried if he saw me in this get up. Still, it's perfect timing for all of you to be here right now."

After pulling out a USB flash drive from her bag, the Anglerfish loader then said. "There's something I'd like to show you."

She then plugged the flash drive to its plug in the television for viewing. The video had started with a nice title screen with a Sherman tank as the background.

"I didn't know that there was a video like this," Hana then commented.

"Where did you get it?" Saori then added.

Yukari could only flash a smile in return. The screen then showed the starboard side of the USS George Washington and later the gates of Saunders University High School itself complete with said loader's narration of the event with some quick peeks at the accompanying red-head wearing the same convenience store uniform as she did.

"What's up with that footage?" Miho then asked.

"I edited it lightly on the way back," Yukari answered with her right hand behind her head. "The captions are still tentative though."

"No, that's not what we're talking about." Saori then added as the beats of M4 Sherman Medium Tank A GO! GO! were heard in the TV's speakers. "You know, I'm sure that the Lieutenant would love that song when he's taking a walk."

"Yeah, it'll be cool to listen to when we rush some of the enemy tanks too." Chihiro said while her body was moving with the beat. "We do need some inspiration music from time to time."

This time, the video was about to show Yukari changing to a Saunders uniform when she immediately shut the camera off.

"Hey, we're all girls here." Hitomi then complained as she was enjoying the show.

"I need to save some battery power anyway," the Anglerfish loader retorted hotly, her cheeks burning. "Besides, it's not that important compared to what we found later on."

The video then came to the point where both spies were wearing borrowed Saunders uniforms and just walking around the campus. Both were greeting and being greeted by the other students despite not even knowing each other with Yukari still providing narration to the video.

"By the way, what is with the Sunkus uniforms?" Saori then asked. "Where did you even get it?"

"Well, we actually snuck into the convenience store's supply ship in order to sneak in the George Washington." The shaggy brunette answered with a smile as if anticipating the question. "As to how I got it, it's a secret."

"More like she got it from a cousin of hers who works there," Chihiro then opined. "I mean, that's how I got mine and even worked there for the summer last year."

"How…" Yukari could only hang her head since it was true. "Oh, these are the juicy parts I was talking about."

The video now showed a gigantic tank garage where plenty of M4 Shermans and their variants (M4A1s, M4s, and M4A6) were parked side to side. Of course, Yukari had to be shushed by her companion as her loud excited voice was attracting unwanted attention from the maintenance crews working on the tanks.

Emi's fake excited voice could be heard saying. "Good luck on your first round!"

She got a thumbs up for her efforts that Yukari could not help but smile at.

After a brief eye catch using the Anglerfish logo, the scene had changed to an auditorium where the Big Three of Saunders – a long haired blonde who seemed to be in charge of the whole outfit, a twin-tailed brunette who seemed unsure as she had rattled off the participating tanks, and the stoic short gray-brown hair student who easily towered over her companions.

The music itself had switched to Battle Hymn of the Republic as well.

As it turned out, the participating tanks for Saunders is one M109A6 Paladin self-propelled howitzer that was presently doing patrols of the school ship, one Sherman VC Firefly (M4A4), seven Sherman tanks with most of them having 75 mm guns (M4s) and the last one having a 76 mm gun (M4A1).

"They sure aren't holding back," Yukari was heard whispering to her re-headed companion.

"I doubt they would have," Emi whispered back laconically. "I wonder what their flag tank would be."

While Yukari was adding additional information, there was a loud cheer as the flag tank was chosen. Emi was then heard saying that she would tell what tank the flag tank would be at a later time and that it was time to go.

Unfortunately, the shaggy-haired gunner had thought to push their luck a little further as the blonde (who was announced as Kay, the overall commander) had asked if anyone has any questions.

"I have one question," Yukari then asked from the back row. "How will the platoons be organized?"

Kay was seen to be pleased with such a good question as she answered. "We won't have enough tanks to form two complete platoons, so it'll be one company with three tanks per platoon."

"How about the defense of the flag tank?" The loader then asked again.

Off cam, Emi was visibly shaking her head and looking for a way out.

"There is none," Kay answered with a shake of her forefinger, that with her raised thumb would form an L.

"But I heard that Ooarai-Bellwall has a StuG III, a Tiger I, and an Abrams in their line-up," Yukari then said in the hopes of getting another interesting tidbit.

"It'll be alright," the blonde said as she had her arms akimbo and blue eyes closed. "We can annihilate them with a single tank or our secret weapon."

It was then that the stoic senior student had noticed something. "I haven't seen you two before."

Both Yukari and Emi had looked at each other as the camera had captured the red-head's ashen face.

"What's your unit and rank?" The stoic student added in a rising tone. "Answer me!"

"Calm down, Naomi." Kay then said with her hands in a placating manner. "Don't scare her like that."

"I may have to agree with Naomi though," the brunette said softly. "I haven't seen them around either."

"Alisa?!"

"I-I'm Sergeant Oddball of the 6th Armored Division and this is Lieutenant Henri Schmidt of the 1st SS Panzer Division," Yukari yelled out in fear after taking a minute to think about the names. "And it's time for us to skedaddle out of here."

"They're fakes," the one called Naomi yelled angrily. "Kay, stop laughing and help us round up these ornery varmints."

Kay could not help but laugh even more at Naomi's take at Western jargon (taken from Looney Tunes, no doubt) with Alisa taking over and actually getting a posse to get a hold of the girls who were now running for their lives, the digital camera still running before Yukari had signed off.

The credits then rolled signifying that the video was over, but the spies' shared troubles had just begun.

-oOo-

As the credits were still rolling, Mako had commented. "Such recklessness."

Either Yukari had ignored the comment, or it went over her head as she replied. "I did my best."

"Is it even alright to do this?" Saori then asked with disbelief. "It looks dangerous."

Yukari had turned off the TV and pulled out the USB flash drive. "Recon prior to matches is allowed under official rules and thus even the lieutenant had agreed with me."

"I'm sure reconnaissance didn't include actual spying," Miho said softly before shaking her head. "Oh well."

"Miss Nishizumi, despite having done some quick and dirty editing for the film, I still hope it would be of help to you." Yukari then said as she had genuflected in front of her commander (and crush) while giving her the flash drive. "Miss Emi and I really tried our best to get at least this much information."

"Thank you," Miho said as she had accepted the flash drive. "Thanks to you, we now know what their flag tank will be. I'll do my best to come up with a winning strategy."

'Somehow, that gesture Yukari made in giving Miho the flash drive is similar to someone asking his love to marry her.' Saori then thought as she saw the whole thing. 'Must be my imagination.'

Out loud, she added. "I'm still glad that you and Miss Emi are still safe, Yukarin."

"Did you get hurt?" Mako then asked as they were reminded of the vehicular chase.

"The video made quite nervous," Hana then quipped with a relieved smile.

"We agree," both Chihiro and Hitomi said together. "We were worried that you would be caught."

"I really appreciate your thoughtfulness, girls." Yukari felt like tearing up at the concern of her friends. "You even came to my home."

"Oh no, it gave us an opportunity to see your room." The Anglerfish gunner returned the compliment.

"Even then, you girls were the first ones to even come in my room." The shaggy brunette was definitely tearing up as she spoke. "Before I've met all of you, my friends were only tanks."

Saori just had to break the somber mood by saying. "You're right. The photos in this album mostly feature tanks."

"Huh?" Yukari was surprised to see her new friend holding her photo album. "Um, yeah."

"So, what's the story with the punch perm?" The Anglerfish radio operator then asked. "You actually looked a bit boyish with it."

"Well…I didn't like my frizzy hair." The Anglerfish loader answered with a shrug. "Not to mention, it looked cool when my dad got that hairstyle. But I let it grow out in middle school since perms aren't allowed there."

"Hey, take a look at this." Hitomi then said as she had pulled out a photo of the them with the Panzer IV as their backdrop. "You'd fit right in, Miss Yukari."

"Yeah," Yukari said with a blush. "You four looked like you're having a lot of fun back then."

"Still, I'm pretty sure that your hairstyle was the reason why you couldn't make friends, not your love of tanks." Saori then added. "But if you lived in Kumamoto City, would you had tried going to Black Forest?"

"I don't know," Yukari said while rubbing her chin with her thumb and forefingers. "Being a free spirit, I don't think I would actually fit there and may give up early."

"I believe you're right, Yukarin." Miho said with a nod. "Still, you may had found a soul mate there."

"Maybe."

"In any case, we need to win the first round to take our first step to the championship." Mako then quipped.

"Let's try harder," Hana agreed.

"You're the one that needs to try the hardest, Mako." Saori then retorted to Mako's surprise.

"Why?"

"Morning practice begins early tomorrow."

"What?"

-oOo-

The next afternoon, practice was over with Miho instituting the changes to the formation that their instructors had provided for her days before.

The new Anteater Team were also overcoming their initial difficulties with their tank's controls as they had sacrificed part of their gaming time to work out.

By late afternoon, practice had ended with everyone getting better with their teamwork and tactics.

"All right, that's it for today's practice." Momo was telling everyone while using the Abrams as her stage along with the rest of Turtle team. "Dismissed."

"Good work," everyone had answered back while bowing.

After bowing, everyone had left except for Anglerfish and Hawk teams.

"Good work, girls." Miho had told her team. "We're getting better and better."

"I'm exhausted," Saori had told her commander. "I want some candy."

"Same here," parroted the rest of both teams.

"Do you want to buy some on our way back?" Miho then asked her friends. "I'll even buy some oil for the lieutenant since I've seen some engine oil for sale on the way home."

"Thanks for the offer, Miss Miho." Zack said as he stayed where he was. "But I wouldn't want to be a bother to you and the others. For me, seeing your smiles as we practice and maybe winning the matches is payment enough."

"Oh, Mister Akiyama would like to offer you a haircut once you're back to normal." Hitomi then told the Abrams. "And he also knew a few mechanics that could do some additional tune ups that the other kids don't know about."

"Great," Zack said with mirth at the fact that he could get some tune ups despite the mechanics being busy on the other tanks. "I think I'll head there on Saturdays or maybe I'll get an appointment."

"How about you girls?" Miho then turned to her friends.

"Sorry, Miho but we've got things to do so please go on without us." Emi said crossed while Hana had given a stealth tap on Saori's back as the latter was about to say yes. "See you tomorrow."

Miho then left the school and headed back home while the rest headed back to the school building.

-oOo-

After just walking around to lessen the loneliness of walking alone, Miho then realized that it was both sunset and that she had forgotten her tactics notebook. She also noticed Saori's handbag still on her own desk after coming back to their classroom ten minutes later.

Miho then heard a familiar roar outside and saw the Abrams and Panzer IV moving at the assembly field in front of the garage. She hurriedly ran for the garage before seeing Saori holding a stopwatch just as the tanks had come to a complete stop.

"Nine seconds," she cried happily. "That was faster than last time for sure."

"Alright, we did it." Yukari said as other three had emerged from their hatches.

"I'll mobilize faster next time," Hana then added.

"Same here," Chihiro said as she peeked from the gunner's hatch of the Abrams with Hitomi also coming out of the commander's hatch and Emi from the driver's hatch.

"Everyone…" Miho then said as she had come out of the shadows. "You're all still practicing?"

"We don't to drag you and the lieutenant down," The ginger-haired girl said while rubbing the back of her head. "This match is important to all of us."

"We'll show Miss Maho that we're not an embarrassment to sensha-do," Hana then added. "We maybe newcomers to the world of sensha-do, but that doesn't mean we don't possess its spirit."

"Yeah, so what if we're going against a school with more tanks than we do." Emi then harrumphed. "We've got the best team, instructors, and commander in our own school."

"I wouldn't refer myself as the best commander…yet," Miho then said while blushing as the Panzer IV was being led to its spot inside the garage. "And we still have to prove ourselves as a team, so I guess one of three isn't too bad."

"And yet, that's only half true as well." Zack then said with a snort. "Even then, it is a pleasure staying here and teaching what I can teach about tanks and tactics."

"And since I'd like to stretch my legs again," the Abrams said as it started on its own. "I'll take you girls home."

The Abrams did as it had promised with the M4 Sherman A Go Go heard in its speakers as the students moved their bodies to the beat.

-oOo-

Since the tanks were now repainted and given their new logos on their bodies (mostly on the turrets), the whole club were now fitted for their new uniforms complete with their logos on the back with even more practice and pre-match tune ups for the mechanics including Hitomi and Emi.

Anglerfish Team's logo/mascot is that of a cartoonish drawing of an anglerfish with its mouth a straight line thus hiding the sharp teeth inside. Turtle Team's logo is that of a cartoonish drawing of a turtle that seemed to be running as its legs were shown as a spiral with its front legs being used as arms in fighting positions.

Duck Team's logo/mascot is that of a duck, drawn in a cartoonish manner with wings spread out and shown to be smiling. Hippo Team's logo/mascot is that of a cartoonish drawing of a cheeky hippopotamus cheekily showing his behind and smiling widely at his crude humor.

Rabbit Team's logo/mascot had come from their love of movies in this case Monty Python and the Holy Grail as it is the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog that could only killed by the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.

Tiger Team's logo/mascot is that of a cartoonish yet scary drawing of a tiger about to strike at the viewer. Of course, it did freak out everyone who had looked at it even Zack surprisingly. Hawk Team's own logo/mascot and that the lieutenant was proud of is a more detailed drawing of a Hawk hooking a fish on its claws with its wings spread.

Finally, Anteater Team's logo/mascot is that of an anteater wearing a black leotard and waving a ribbon.

Ami had come by more often to supervise the practice of gunnery, maneuver, and formation as well to visit her armored counterpart some more.

"What do you think, Zacky boy?" Ami once asked as the girls had taken a break with Miho and her friends eating outside the Panzer IV tank. "Do you think we can match Saunders from what we've known from the videos we've watched?"

"Probably yes," the Abrams answered with a confident tone. "Our new line formation will certainly be used in case we are being chased with me joining Tiger team at the back and Hippo team taking the point along with Anglerfish. As it is now, even Anteater Team is getting better and may be of use to the team as well."

"Good to see that you're getting pumped up as well," Ami said with a laugh. "I guess this is just like the practice fights you guys do back in the States, huh?"

"In a way, but we're still part of the same outfit."

-oOo-

While the teams were getting ready for the coming tournament match, a group of five girls had gone towards school council office for their shared request in joining the sensha-do team to prove themselves.

The three of the five girls had been classmates in second year with the last and youngest one being a transfer student who was asked to transfer from her school – West Kureoji Grona High School to spy on the school that was rumored to have gotten the respect of Darjeerling herself and whose sensha-do team was led by a Nishizumi while still a freshman along with one other.

In the lead was one of the first years – Youko Minami while pulling along her classmate – Nagisa Shiratori. Behind them were their seniors – Takami, Kita, and Azuma, all of which wanted to join their fellow tankers – Neko Yamamori who with her group of friends had been showing how powerful Bellwall's own team would be.

They had all gotten up the island of the Zuikaku where the office was located. Unlike the now members of Anteater Team, they found all six members of the Student Council in their desks.

"So, you wanted to join our sensha-do team as well?" Momo had said while getting Suzuka Shimizu to serve them some tea and biscuits. "Not that I don't mind new team members, but we don't have a tank to give you."

"With our surging income thanks to our new industrial base that would not only give us needed tank parts, but also accounts for most of our sales from other school ships and even those in the mainland, we are slowly getting in the black." Umeko Himura then added with a shrug. "Not to mention, our students are also doing their part to contribute even more to help our team out. Long story short, we now have enough to buy one tank."

"Any ideas on what tank would that be?" Juri Koyabashi then asked her fellow student council members. "It's too bad that we have students willing to join our team and we don't have a tank for them to fight with."

Anzu then looked up from the laptop she was using. "Well, there is one tank that is in the market right now and from whatever funds we have, we have more than enough to buy it and still have enough to remain in the black for a good spell."

"You mean the T-44 that is on sale at the tank market," Yuzu then interjected. "Well, it would help with our variety since we now have some Japanese, German, one French, and two American tanks within our ranks. The only thing we need is an Italian or a British tank and we're good."

"Don't tempt me." Anzu riposted with a smile. "Our winnings alone from our first tournament win will suffice in giving us a lot of money to pull us out of debt along with our income."

"We'll take it," the whole group had chorused with glee. "We want to fight for Ooarai-Bellwell."

"Alright," the School Council president added with a big smile. "Then let's get ourselves a tank."

Turning to the new transferees, she then added. "Welcome to the team."

-oOo-

After three more days, the Zuikaku had docked in Nagasaki where the USS George Washington was also docked being the home team.

The chosen battleground was Omaruwan Country Club Old Course that was perfect because of its wooded terrain with open areas that were suitable for the battle between Saunders and Ooarai-Bellwall and their tactics.

In one part of the golf course, the food stalls were set up for the visitors that would watch the match with the Saunders stands nearly full and there were even cheerleaders while the Ooarai-Bellwell stands was…well, not as filled as their opponents. I guess that is what would happen when you were the visiting team.

There was even a special sitting for St. Gloriana Noble Sisters – Darjeerling and Orange Pekoe with both sipping tea from their respective cups.

Back with the team, Momo as Vice commander was asking the teams if they were done with the last-minute preparations.

"Yes," chorused the Rabbit Team.

"Ready to go," Caesar answered for Hippo Team.

"Us too," Noriko Isobe doing the same for Duck Team.

"Panzer IV is ready as well," Miho had added with a smile for Anglerfish.

"All systems green," Zacarias Wycoco answered through his speakers for Hawk.

"Rarin' to rumble," Hirono answered for her commander Neko and Tiger Team.

"Anteater Team, ready to move out, nyaa." Nekonya added with an excited tone.

"Autobots, transform and roll out." Anzu said in a deep voice before chuckling. "I've always wanted to say that."

"Prez…" Momo could not help but agree that her friend wanted to lighten the mood since it was obvious that everyone was nervous and trying to hide it. "Everyone, please stand by until the match begins!"

The three members of Turtle Team then left to do some last-minute consulting with the referees.

It was then Yuuki Utsugi had remembered that she had forgotten to load the ammunition of the M3 Lee's gun.

"That's the most important thing," Aya Oono then complained as she was examining the M3 Lee's right tracks.

"My bad," the short haired brunette answered while rubbing the back of her head.

Almost the whole team laughed except for Aya who was still steamed that they had to get the shells from ammunition dump.

"You're all so…" A condescending voice was about to say when said voice had changed to a higher pitched squeal as a brown-haired girl in twin tails wearing a dark green khaki blouse and shorts had run towards the Abrams and hugged it. "Oh my god, oh my god. A real M1A1 Abrams tank and it talks too."

"Get off!" Zack yelled at the girl who had rubbed her cheeks at the tank's glacis plates. "I said, get off!"

"No way," the said girl squealed with delight, ignoring Emi and Yukari who had hidden behind the Panzer IV. "Maybe I can't get to Takashi's heart right now, but at least I have you."

"Alright, let's go." the other girl said while pulling the smaller girl away via a half-nelson. "You and your Abrams love, Alisa. You know, I'll set you up with whatsisface after this match."

"Oh c'mon," Alisa was positively crying now. "As if he'd give a nobody like me a chance, Naomi."

"Um, excuse me," Saori then said with shining eyes as she had approached the retreating pair. "But if you have trouble with amour, I can be of help."

"Thank you," Naomi then said with a polite bow of her head. "But I think this is something between us. By the way, you're hereby invited to a meal before the match and maybe socialize a bit."

The Turtle Team had come back after their meeting with the referees with Anzu saying. "Why not? It'll be fun."

"At least bring the Abrams there," Alisa said while struggling to get out. "He's American too."

The whole Ooarai-Bellwall team all looked at the main battle tank who then replied with a heavy sigh. "Actually, I'm still more American than they are despite my Filipino ancestry…in more ways than one, that is."

"Not without us, you won't." Ami then said with the three referees behind her. "I'm not going to give Saunders a chance of getting an Abrams under my watch."

One of the referees then stage whispered to the other two. "Actually, she's more concerned with the guy who was turned to that Abrams. Especially since he's as sexy as hell and actually good with kids."

The other two referees could only nod in jealousy at their superior's luck with men…tanks in this case.

-oOo-

The girls thought to troll their armored and tracked instructor even more by riding on him on their way towards the stands of the home team.

There were stalls for books, burgers, ice cream, and pies. And that was just on the right side from the entrance. On the left, there is a first aid vehicle, a shower vehicle, and a hair salon vehicle as well.

"It really is a rich school," Hana commented with everyone else just too shocked to say anything as they had dismounted from the Abrams.

"You can say that again," Hitomi added with awe.

"I wonder if they have some books about Ferraris in there," Zack mused as the Abrams had turned its turret to the book store. "I need to catch up on my technical reading."

"You want me to read it to you?" Ami then joked as she had remained on top of the main battle tank's turret. "That'll cost you one date."

"Very funny."

But before Anglerfish, Turtle, Hawk, and the referees were about to have their choice of junk food, they were met by the Big Three of Saunders.

Kay had seen part of the visiting team and greeted them. "Hey, Anzie."

"She shortened Kadotani Anzu to Anzie?" Yuzu said to herself. 'Why?"

"They're just using the Americans' penchant for nicknames," Momo answered quietly. "I mean, a pen pal of mine did the same with me."

"I didn't know that you had a pen pal," the SC Vice President then added. "You should have told me."

"Oh c'mon," the monocle wearing brunette said with a groan. "I'd like to keep a few things to myself, Yuzu."

"But I told you much about me," Yuzu was pouting when she said this.

"Alright, alright." Momo said with a defeated sigh. "She's actually a friend of my cousin in Texas."

"Hey, Kay." Anzu had returned the greeting with the same enthusiasm. "Thanks for the invitation."

"Feel free to eat anything you like," the blonde overall commander of Saunders University High School sensha-do team. "Okay?"

"Okay, okay." Anzu answered with a bit of mirth. "Okay, Kay."

Kay was seen clutching her stomach at the pun on her own name to the displeasure of her Vice-Commander – Alisa. She then spotted two familiar faces amongst the group of girls that were licking ice cream. "Hey, Oddball and Henri."

Both Yukari and Emi had flinched at being called by their fake names while Kay had approached the group. The shaggy brunette had even said in fear. "Oh no, she found us."

Saori had even said as she hid behind Miho. "Is she going to yell at her?"

As the blonde senior had approached the group, she then said calmly. "Did you girls go home okay?"

"Huh," both girls gasped with Yukari answering. "Yes."

"That was quite a show you two girls did at the streets of the George Washington," Kay said with a warm smile. "Thankfully, there were no casualties with the damage being relatively minor. So, all of you can come over to hang out with us."

After a beat, she then added. "We're always open. See ya."

Kay then left with Alisa still being held by Naomi in order not to rush at Zack who was buying a book about automotive mechanics with Ami actually buying it with his credit card.

"That's a relief," Hana then commented precisely. "I thought things would have gone ugly."

"Yeah," Chihiro said after a beat.

"Their captain seems to be a good person," Saori then said with awe.

"So friendly," Mako then added.

-oOo-

The match began an hour later with Anzu stepping in for Miho and Kay meeting at the center of the field along with Ami, Kanon Sasagawa (the head judge), and her assistants – Remy Takashima, and Hibiki Inatomi. Behind them is the large screen showing the match for the audience.

Kanon had given the introduction of the match. "Alright, the match between the Saunders University High School and Ooarai-Bellwell's Academy will now begin."

The two commanders then walked towards each other and shook each other's hands.

Kay then told her opposite. "Let's have a good match."

Anzu had only nodded and spoke. "Yeah."

All of the tanks were now positioned and idling with the Abrams being topped off before the match even began.

-oOo-

Inside the Panzer IV, Miho then explained her battle plan. "As I had explained, the side that immobilizes the enemy's flag tank wins. Saunders High's tanks have slightly outnumbered us and overall have superior offense and defense compared to our tanks, but let's stay calm and take them on."

After a beat, she continued. "Keep your tank mobile to draw the enemy into breaking formation. Then, try to lure them to our StuG III's or Tiger I's firing range."

Once again, she then paused before adding. "Lieutenant, I'll need you and the rest of Hawk to seek out both the Paladin and Firefly before coming back to the rest of us. You're the only ones who could certainly do it."

"Yeah," Zack said with a sigh. "I guess we'll have to go bear hunting earlier than expected."

By then, Turtle team had gotten back to their tank by means of the Daimler Dingo. Anzu even said upon arriving. "Let's get this show on the road."

-oOo-

A single rocket fired into the sky had signaled the start of hostilities between Saunders and Ooarai-Bellwall.

All tanks had moved forward once Kanon had added. "Commence match."

Kay's adrenaline level had shot up at the excitement of getting into a regulated tank battle. "Advance, advance, and keep charging forward. Miss Hilda, try to get into range as to pound the Ooarai tanks just enough for us to take them out."

After a beat, she then added. "I'll leave two Shermans to defend you from them, although even they could not handle the Abrams, so you'll have to try and immobilize it, so we can gang up on it."

"Sounds like a plan."

-oOo-

In another part of the stands, both commander and vice-commander of the Black Forest were sitting on their padded seats while watching the giant screen that was carried by Krupp K5 "Leopold's" mounting and 12-wheel bogies on special railways.

"It seems that Miho's road to the finals had just begun," Erika told her commander in a matter of fact way. "Let's see if she can take that first step."

"Indeed," Maho added laconically. 'Miho, prove to us that you can find your sensha-do.'

-oOo-

"Rabbit Team, please scout the area to the right." Miho was telling the other tank commanders. "Duck Team, please take the left. Hawk Team, I wish you luck in your hunt."

"Roger, Anglerfish Team." Asuza replied with a bit of nervousness. "We'll do our best."

"Same here with Duck Team," Noriko added with confidence. "I wish you luck on your end, Rabbit."

"Thank you, Duck." The freshman commander answered with a blush. "Same to you."

"Hawk Team, heading out." Zack was then heard on the tactical net. "One last thing before I go silent, expect the unexpected."

"Will do," Miho responded happily, understanding why Hawk team would not broadcast until they had returned to the group. "Good hunting, Hawk."

"What would we do then?" Erwin then asked her commander. "Lie in wait for any unsuspecting Shermans."

"That would come in later," the Ooarai-Bellwall commander answered. "For now, you along with Anteater and ourselves would be guarding Turtle Team. They may ambush us while the Paladin would be pounding us from afar."

"Good point," the blonde tank co-commander added. "Even then, we still have to watch out for that Paladin first than that Firefly that could hit us from beyond visual range."

Inside the Panzer 38(t), Momo had murmured. "Couldn't you have come up with a better name?"

"What's wrong with it?" Anzu replied with a slightly sarcastic tone. "It's actually pretty cute."

Miho then told everyone in the tactical net, her favorite battle cry. "Panzer Vor."

-oOo-

The M3 Lee medium tank had rolled along the northern part of the forest leading to the meadows.

"It's so humid," Yuuki complained as the heat of the almost noon sun was raising the temperature inside the tank while pulling down her head set. "Tanks need air conditioning."

"It's hot," Karina Sakaguchi added. "Let's open the hatches so we could get some fresh air in here."

"Quiet," Azusa shushed them from the command cupola. "I hear something. Karina, stop the tank please."

The M3 Lee had coasted to a stop with Azusa had picked up her binoculars and looked at open field while keeping the medium tank within the confines of the forest. The crew was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop inside the tank.

It did not take long for the Rabbit Team commander to spot three M4 Shermans on the hill nearest to forest they were hiding.

Taking the initiative, Asuza then reported to Miho. "Reporting from Point B085S, we see three Shermans and we will attempt to lure them out."

No sooner than the M3 had moved that three salvos had pushed up the dirt around the medium tank. Three more Shermans had been spotted hiding in the forest as well. It was a trap.

"Commander Miho, we're surrounded by six Shermans." Asuza contacted the Panzer IV immediately. "Please help."

Miho had gotten the transmission with a bit of fear creeping in her voice. "Rabbit Team, reinforcements will be coming from the southwest."

Turning to Saori, she then added. "Saori, contact Anteater Team and tell them to follow us with the rest to keep together as they watch out for incoming shells including those over the horizon."

"Got it, Miporin."

Both the Panzer IV and the Type 3 Chi-Nu tank had turned right to help out the beleaguered Rabbit Team and their M3 Lee with Duck Team still moving on their sector and the rest at the center.

Speaking of the beleaguered team, we now see the M3 Lee moving at its maximum speed while dodging fire from the Shermans chasing them as well as the trees in their way.

Despite not being heard by the enemy, the crew still voiced out their concerns thus the following lines being yelled:

"Hey, don't chase us."

"Perverts!"

"Stalkers!"

Thankfully, one of them – Aya had thought to turn the 37 mm cannon (the one on the turret) and fired at the chasing tanks. Too bad, her shot missed the lead tank that has…wait a minute?! Why the hell is Kay standing on the command cupola waving her arms around like a madwoman?!

"You aren't even hitting us at all," she yelled at the retreating tank. "My grandma could aim better."

At about the same time, the three Shermans had returned fire making the Rabbit team panic even more as shells had detonated near their tank. More so since heavier shells were also shot in front of them by the Paladin that was using predicting fire on them.

-oOo-

Back at the stands, Orange Pekoe had noticed the situation was all too familiar as she had clutched her tea cup. "That's Saunders for you. Their tactic is based on brute force and strength in numbers."

Darjeerling could only nod in agreement as she too was holding her tea cup daintily. "Do you know this joke? It goes that the US president confidently claimed – 'My nation has everything.' Then a foreign reporter asked him - 'Do you have a hotline to Hell too?'"

The St. Gloriana sensha-do second in command had giggled before asking. "I'm curious, but what did the US president answer?"

The blonde only added with a smile. "He just answered – 'No, but I do know where Shangri-la is.'"

The orange haired loader could not help but giggle even more as an age-old joke that had baffled their forebears back in the war was brought up.

-oOo-

Back with Rabbit, it seemed that they were still being chased (and fired upon) no matter what they did.

Ayumi was even telling their driver to hang in there with Yuuki adding – "You can do it, Karina."

The short brunette buoyed by the support of her teammates yelled. "Let's go!"

Meanwhile, both the Panzer IV and the Type 3 Chi-Nu were making their way towards the battle. Unfortunately, 155mm shells started raining on their positions and the three Saunders tanks including the Firefly had found them as well.

"It seems that they have gotten three of their number to break off from the chase to ambush us," Hana was telling Miho before turning the turret in order to shoot back along with Anteater. "Somehow, they knew where we are. And we still don't know where the remaining four are either."

"Quite a bold tactic to put most of their units against us this early," Yukari then opined. "The other three including the flag tank may be with the Paladin."

"No, I don't think they would do that since even Kay would correctly guess that Hawk team would be hunting for the Paladin thus it would be dangerous for the flag tank to be there." Miho said with a shake of her head during the running firefight. "I'm sure they would put the flag tank in a safe place while the Paladin and its escorts would be moving around both to keep us in range and to keep our attention away from the flag tank anyway."

After a pause, she then returned to the tac net by saying. "It's dangerous to keep driving forward, Rabbit Team. Can you stop?"

"We can't," the whole of Rabbit team yelled in response. "They're still shooting at us."

"They're still being bombarded by three tanks," Saori reported as another salvo had landed just behind the Panzer IV. "And so are we."

"Rabbit Team and Anteater Team, we'll keep up with you soon." Miho then added. "Once we merge, proceed northeast."

The three tanks did meet amidst the deafening fire and turned to the right as soon as they met while being shot at. Little did they know that their movements were being tracked.

"Two of the tanks are trying to get ahead of us-nya," Nekonya then reported amidst the roar of the gunfire. "It's as if they know where we're going."

"What should we do?" Asuza then asked the other tank commanders.

"Do we shoot?" Aya then asked her own commander.

"Advance at full speed," Miho then ordered. "Charge into the enemy lines if they try to block us."

"Seriously?!" Karina could not believe what the overall commander was saying.

"Roger, we'll show you how skilled I am at driving-momo." Momoga replied with a feral smile. "Let's do it."

Mako had only smiled as she had put the Panzer IV into gear.

With the Saunders' tanks, Kay had said to herself. "Alisa's information is accurate today. Nice."

Momoga had proven her own worth by charging at the enemy tanks first even missing one of them by a hair with the rest following the Chi-Nu's example. Once the three Ooarai-Bellwall tanks had passed, they had crested the hill and disappeared.

-oOo-

With Hawk Team, the Abrams had gone on a western direction at the southern side while keeping itself as incognito as possible. Zack had gotten a bad feeling thus he had asked Hitomi to look up at the gunner's cupola.

The blonde did so and spoke. "There's a balloon over at the north of us."

"I knew it," the Abrams said in response. "Chihiro, please text Miss Ami and tell her that some hanky-panky is going on in the match."

"Ok," the Hawk Team's gunner replied as she had pulled out her cellphone. "Done."

"Lieutenant, I see a flash to our left." Hitomi then added before returning to her seat. "Is that the Paladin?"

"Probably," Zack replied with tense tone. "Emi, head left and pick up speed. Chihiro, prepare to fire on my signal and Hitomi, load a shell once the first shot is taken and continue until I say so."

"Ok."

-oOo-

At about the same time, Miho had sighed in relief at escaping the trap set by Saunders.

"That was close," Hana then said with relief in her tone. "That would have been our end if they didn't balk at our sudden charge."

"Yeah, it is as if they were waiting in ambush…" Miho trailed off as something had clicked in her mind. 'That's it.'

She then let herself out of the cupola just in time to hear a droning noise up above followed by the sight of a floating balloon with a radio wave receiver that was wiretapping on their radio traffic being blown to bits as soon as the whoosh of a Hellfire missile's rocket propulsion was heard once launched from a Predator drone nearby.

"What just happened?" Miho said to herself as she had buttoned up once again.

Saori then said. "Miss Ami just texted us that Hawk had reported a certain eavesdropping balloon in the battlefield that they had also seen and dealt with."

"Alright, we still go as planned." Miho then said with relief. "Rabbit Team continue searching for the Shermans and bait them towards the others. Anteater Team, you'll have to do the same since you do have the speed advantage while we come back with the others for the meantime."

"Roger/Roger-nya." Both Yuuki and Nekonya answered as the tanks separated, all of them careful of any ambush.

-oOo-

With the Pathfinder, Hilda had seen the approaching Abrams and raised the alarm. "Fire on the Abrams and don't stop until it did."

The radioman of one of the Shermans then reported to her commander. "We are now engaging the Abrams."

Kay was instantly worried at the sudden development and thus told the Paladin and its escorts. "Fall back! We're coming to bail you out."

"You heard the boss," Hilda then said as she had the driver of the self-propelled artillery turn the self-propelled gun right. "Provide rearguard actions while we withdraw."

The three Shermans had remained while the Pathfinder had turned around, all of which were providing withering fire at the charging main battle tank.

It was to no avail as both were taken out with the Pathfinder taken out just as it was about to escape by the Abram's DM 33 rounds. All three Saunders' armored vehicles had sported white flags after either getting themselves mission killed or in the Pathfinder – mobility killed.

"All units keep together," The blonde commander of the Saunders sensha-do team then said in a tense tone. "What happened to your woman's instincts, Alisa?"

"It had hit a snag," the brunette sadly replied. "Just to be sure, I'll join you."

-oOo-

Unfortunately for Alisa, the Type 89 I-Go had crashed the thatched wall surrounding the M4A1's position and for a few minutes, the tanks' commanders had looked at each other in shock.

The silence was broken when Noriko said after knocking on the cupola. "Divert to the right. Hurry!"

Shinobu had followed the instructions as she had seen the Sherman as well and drove the Type 89 out of there. In return, a panicked Alisa had ignored protocol involving contacting her commander – Kay of the situation and settled to just blast the Type 89 to smithereens.

Noriko had held on the Type 89's turret and had asked for the radio before making her own report. "This is Duck Team. We found the Saunders' flag tank at Point 0765."

After a beat, she then added. "The problem is…they saw us too. Help!"

Miho had received the call and answered as she had checked the positions on the map. "Point 0765, right? Then please keep running and draw the enemy out."

Turning to Saori, she then added. "Tell all tanks to proceed to Point 0615. Hurry!"

"Got it," the ginger-haired radio operator said before transmitting the message to the others since they could not be electronically eavesdropped anymore. "I hope Hawk heard it too."

-oOo-

With Hawk who had just left their victims in Point 0818, the Abrams then made their way north towards Point 0615 to meet up with the others at full military power.

"Commander Miho, Hawk Team here." Zack said as he had broken radio silence. "We've taken care of the Paladin and both of its guards and are on our way to rendezvous with you."

"Good work," Miho answered with a relieved tone. "There's still the Firefly though, but I think we'll see them soon enough."

"Right," the Abrams said while Emi had increased its speed. "Hawk Team acknowledges."

-oOo-

Alisa was complaining as the Sherman M4A1 could not even hit the Japanese tank it was chasing as smoke candles were served in their direction, blanking their view with white smoke.

"What're you doing?" The tank commander was ranting at her crew (much like Momo did). "The enemy tank's just a Type 89."

"We're shooting blind here," The M4A1's gunner replied with a huff. "You try to shoot with nothing but white in the cross hairs."

"No excuses," Alisa was fuming mad now. "Just fire."

Back in the Type 89, the whole tank had taken a glancing hit that rocked it. Akebi Sasabi was slightly panicking as she told Noriko while throwing the latter another smoke candle. "Commander, they kept using aggressive spikes!"

Noriko had caught the candle before answering. "Don't let their spikes through. You're the reverse libero."

"That doesn't even make sense," the blond gunner of the Type 89 said softly in reply.

In the M4A1 Sherman, the twin-tailed brunette commander was also getting impatient with how her loader was taking her time in getting the shell inside the barrel as seen in her tapping of her right foot. "Hurry up."

"Sorry, Commander." The M4A1 Sherman's loader replied softly. "But the shells are stored way back here."

"Shoot them with the machine gun then," Alisa then ordered her gunner. "Do it now."

"With the machine gun?!" Her gunner reacted loudly. "That would look funny."

"Who the hell cares about how it looks," the Saunders overall second in command ranted back. "There's no room to be picky."

By then Noriko had gotten back inside her tank and its turret was turned so that the 57mm cannon was facing the other tank. A single round was fired, and it was the Sherman's turn to be rocked with the gunner making a face plant dead center on Alisa's lap.

"Hey, I don't swing that way!" Alisa yelled at her gunner before pushing her off her lap. "Return fire!"

The chase had reached point 0615 with the Type 89 now dodging .30-06 machine gun rounds while Helmet-chan was still reaching for the tank round.

By this time, the smoke had cleared allowing Alisa to have a clear view…of pretty much all of Ooarai-Bellwall's sensha-do team. Not only that, the Panzer IV was also on its left flank.

"Stop, stop." She cried as the first round that Hana fired had passed their own tank's gun barrel. "Retreat, retreat."

By this time, the rest of the tanks were also firing at the poor M4A1 as it backed away while moving in a zig-zag manner.

Kay then got a call from her vice-commander asking for help. "What happened to your innate senses?"

"I think they found out about my tapping of their radio signals and thus, had reported it to the JSF."

"YOU WHAT?!"

"I'm sorry and I mean really sorry."

"We'll talk later," Kay's voice had changed considerably from her usual happy go lucky twang to that of martinet commander. "For now, just get your butt out of there."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Kay could only sigh at the underhandedness of her own vice commander before adding. "Alright, everyone follow me."

-oOo-

Back in the stands, Orange Pekoe had quipped upon seeing that the Saunders flag tank is being chased by nearly all of the Ooarai-Bellwall team in the big screen. "I didn't expect this to happen."

Darjeerling had covered her giggling with her right hand before saying. "It's like a game of tag."

Somewhere else in the stands, Ami was sitting on the turret of her Type 10 main battle tank and laughed out loud at the chase seen on the screen. "This is so original. I like it."

After a pause, she then added. "I've never seen a chase like this before. The only thing left is the Benny Hill theme."

-oOo-

Back to the chase…I mean battle, the Sherman M4A1 was running as fast as it could, given that it was being chased by a company of various tanks. Its commander was having a nervous breakdown as seen in her rants.

"There's no way this tough Sherman would go down," Alisa was ranting to her crew as the tank itself was being rocked by near explosions. "This tank is a bestseller. They built 50,000 units, after all."

The M4A1's crew could only sigh at how their beloved commander was cracking up under the intense pressure she felt due to the situation.

"It's sturdy and doesn't break easily," the brunette overall second in command had continued her rant. "Steers easy too. Even idiots could drive this tank, because it comes with a foolproof manual."

In the loader's mind, she had this to say. 'Wow, Miss Alisa is definitely out of it to recite our past lessons. Besides, we have just proven that an idiot could command this tank too.'

"Not to be rude, but that no longer counts as boasting." The M4A1's gunner replied hotly. "I mean, we've studied all of those things in class last year."

"Shut up!"

-oOo-

In the Kuromormine stands, both commander and vice commander were discussing the changes of fortune in the match.

"In a way, this development is quite unexpected." Erika was telling her commander. "It seems that Ooarai is both luck dependent and skillful at the same time."

"Yes," Maho replied with only a few words. "Something to be expected for rookies such as them while being guided by veterans. Personally, I'd rather have a herd of lambs be led by a lion than a pride of lions led by a lamb."

As for the rest of the audience, the tournament was certainly starting on the right foot as the excitement level was high all throughout the match."

-oOo-

"Why are we being chased by a bunch of lame tanks!?" Alisa ranted as the chase had continued with the M4A1 rocked by even more near misses.

She then roughly tapped her gunner who could pass it on to the driver while saying. "Hey, turn right."

After a pause for breath, Alisa then continued. "Our team is in a whole different league than yours. Fire."

Anglerfish team had narrowly missed the 76mm shell by a foot as it made a new crater on the battlefield as Hippo Team had swerved left to avoid the fired shell.

"What the hell is up with those tanks?" the brunette ranted. "They're so small that you can't even hit them. One hit is all it takes to take them out."

She then told her gunner. "Adjust three degrees to the right."

After seeing that the turret was turned three degrees in the desired direction, she then turned to her poor loader and added. "Load faster."

"What the hell are those girls?" Alisa was not finished in her rant. "Those weaklings don't even belong in this competition. Their school would be shut down anyway."

"Just be crushed," the M4A1 tank commander had enough and stood up before continuing her rant outside of the tank.

This was immediately noticed by the crew of the Panzer IV as Hana had noted. "The M4A1's commander is screaming something while her tank is running away."

Miho could only smile awkwardly at such an unprofessional move by their opponent.

-oOo-

Back with the audience, they saw something coming up on the screen. It would seem that the rest of the Saunders team were catching up to the chase.

"Saunders has arrived," a man commented upon seeing the new icons moving in the big screen. "Ooarai is now in a tough spot."

-oOo-

Miho was now telling everyone by radio. "We're closing in on the target. Attack will resume in 65 seconds so fire at will."

"Who's Will?" Someone then asked in the radio.

"Yeah, who's Will?"

"She meant that you have to fire when you're ready," Yukari then explained as she briefly held the radio mike. "As opposed to just fire when we all fire all at once."

Miho then spotted something in front of them. "Hill ahead. Drive around it as you approach the target."

"I know," Mako replied as she had switched tracks. "Where is Hawk anyway?"

The Ooarai tanks then fell into a line formation with the Tiger at the rear to let the StuG III be at the front along with the Panzer IV that would later make a right turn.

"Yuzu, don't fall behind," Momo ordered as both the Type 89 and M3 Lee had gotten behind the Panzer IV.

"I know, Momo-chan." The Panzer 38 (t) driver replied with a huff.

"Hang in there," Anzu then quipped as she gave a piece of the dried potatoes to her fellow crewmembers. "We'll get through this."

In the chased Sherman, Alisa had gotten melodramatic as she had ranted about her crush. "Why did Takashi love that girl!? Why won't he notice my feelings!?"

A sudden boom had drowned out the rest of the rant whie causing birds to fly away in panic. In the Panzer IV, Miho had wondered on what had made the boom.

"It's the Firefly's 17 pounder," Yukari answered in fear. "That means the rest of the Saunders are nearby."

"That's really loud," Saori commented from her seat.

From the radio, Neko's voice could be heard saying. "The rest of the Saunders tanks are here. Distance around 5, 000 meters."

"Even then, the Firefly's effective range is only 3,000 meters so we're safe…for now." Miho answered in the airwaves. 'Where is Hawk now?'

In the M4A1, the whole crew's morale had risen significantly as the cavalry had arrived and thus, they had energetically done their duties and fired upon the enemy tanks.

As it turned out, the Ooarai-Bellwall tanks were now sandwiched between the Saunders tanks as they chased the flag while being chased by six more behind.

"What do we do, Miporin?" Saori then panicked. "Unless we could knock out the flag tank, we'll be shot down ourselves."

"Tiger team and Anteater team, cover our rear with Hippo team and Rabbit team joining us in the lead." Miho then replied in the radio. "Hawk Team, where are you?"

There was a thunderous cheer in the Ooarai stands when a single icon had showed up at the map and catching up rapidly. As for the tanks in the field, an unfamiliar whine was heard from far to their rear.

"What was that?" Kay asked her crew before looking out the cupola. "I don't believe it?!"

Ooarai's lone cavalry had arrived as well with its own whine of its turbines replaced by the synthetic whine of the fictional Airwolf jetcopter's turbos that only a few had recognized.

"Commander, please give us a status report." Zack then said as Emi had continued gunning the engine. "For now, I'll have Chihiro clear out some Shermans first."

With surprise now on the other side, Saunders had found their tanks fired upon both from the front and the rear with the Tiger, the Chi-Nu, and the Abrams getting hits at the enemy tanks thus whittling their numbers further to two.

"It seems that the knight templar is riding to the rescue of his fellow knights," Darjeerling quipped for her successor to understand. "Not only that, in a sandwich, the bread is not as delicious as the filling inside."

Even then, the Type 89, Chi-Nu, and M3 Lee were taken out in the intense fire fight as was the Tiger by the Firefly before the Abrams had taken it out.

As it was, Hana had gambled on her last shot as did Saemonza on her end to finally take down the M4A1 for good.

The announcement was loud and clear. "Ooarai-Bellwall team wins."

The tanks had stopped as the match was over with the Ooarai-Bellwall team joyous at their come from behind win. The disabled tanks were tugged towards where the others had parked before everyone had hugged each other in joy.

-oOo-

A half-hour later, the captains of all teams (Emi had stood for Zack despite the Abrams being behind its students as did Hilda's co-commander and her Paladin) had faced each other before bowing to each other in respect to symbolize the end of the match.

"Look at the applause," Hana said as the Anglerfish and Hawk Teams had met near the tracks where the Krupp K5 "Leopold's" howitzer's mounting and 12-wheel bogies were running on. "And not just from Ooarai either."

"We won," Saori started cheering and waving her arms behind her friends. "Yay, us."

"I can't believe we won against Shermans," Yukari added with glee as she teared up. "I thought that most of us would have been taken out early and thus the Chi-Nu, Tiger, and Abrams would have to fight it out by themselves while defending Turtle Team."

"Same here," Hitomi then said. "Thankfully, that radio operated balloon went ka-blewie and we're free to do whatever we want. Not to mention that whoever that was eavesdropping us could not know where we are since the Lieutenant had ordered us to go silent until we had taken down the Paladin."

"That and Duck Team had found the Saunders flag tank in the forest," Emi added with pride with the girls that she had met to chat with sometimes. "If not for them, we still would have been playing hide and seek with them until now."

"Agree," Mako said with a slight smile.

"Excuse me, but who is the overall commander here?" A familiar soprano was then heard nearby. "I would like to talk to her."

"I am the commander," Miho said as she had stepped forward. "What can I do for you, Miss Kay?"

"That's great," the blonde Saunders overall commander had suddenly hugged her Ooarai-Bellwall counterpart. "I didn't expect such a surprise from the Abrams as none of us had seen it unless it was too late."

"Alisa even said that she could not figure out where the Abrams was until the Paladin was assaulted," Kay then added, ignoring the looks of righteous indignation on Saori's, Yukari's, and Emi's faces. "I guess it's because he didn't broadcast anything."

Of course, Miho could not say anything due to shock as only a few girls had actually hugged her with one of them actually being her own older sister.

"Um…"

"Yes?"

"Why didn't you hunt down the Panzer 38 (t) since you still have more than enough units to do so?"

"Oh that," Kay said airily with a dismissive wave. "We thought that it'd be defended by the Tiger and even though our Firefly could handle it, there's still your Abrams that we couldn't ignore as well as the rest of your platoon."

"Good point," Miho said with a nod.

"Also, we don't condone what our fellow tanker – Alisa had done as sensha-do is a sport and our tanks will cry if we stray off the right path."

"That's alright," the brunette Anglerfish Team commander said with a shake of her head. "If it were not for Hawk Team spotting the balloon, we would have used it to our advantage anyway."

"And that's what I like about you, Miss Nishizumi." Kay said with a shrug of her shoulders before raising her right hand for a handshake. "Always finding a way to go further."

After a minute, the blonde commander then said after both commanders had shaken hands. "Well, it's been nice knowing all of you girls, but you know tempus fugit and so must I."

"Tempus fugit?" Saori then asked everyone else. "What's that?"

"Time flies," Mako answered with a shrug. "I guess she's not as much as an airhead as I thought she'd be."

"She's the overall commander of the entire Saunders University High School sensha-do team," Zack then chose the time to speak up. "I doubt that she'd be an airhead. Even then, good work. If we keep this up, we may win the championship anyway."

-oOo-

After Kay had gotten back to her group, she had put a hand on Alisa's left shoulder and said. "We need to talk."

Poor Alisa nearly fainted as she would either be doing Kitchen Police duty or worse, Latrine duty for a week.

-oOo-

As for the visiting commanders, both Darjeerling and Orange Pekoe were glad to see that the underdog did have the skills and the drive to head straight to the top. Both were hoping that they would have a rematch with the improved Ooarai-Bellwall team in the future.

Erika had brushed off the win as beginner's luck and the fact that the Abrams had done most of the job with Maho thinking that Ooarai may become the Cinderella team of the sensha-do world. 'Then again, they did have the perfect role model in their team commander already.'

-oOo-

Once the Shermans had been either brought out by dragon tanks or driven back to Nagasaki, the Anglerfish and Hawk teams were thinking of leaving too.

"So, should we go get some extra-large parfait to celebrate our victory and maybe get our kind instructor tank a fill up along the way?" Saori then said as the sun was setting down to the ocean. "We deserve it anyway."

"Sure," Mako said for everyone else. "All that driving made me hungry."

Suddenly, they heard a ringtone of a cat meowing.

The Anglerfish radio operator had recognized the ringtone and thus said. "Mako, your cellphone is ringing."

After Mako had pulled out the pink cellphone from her pocket, Saori then asked. "Who is it?"

The Anglerfish driver replied quickly as she had pushed the answer button. "I don't know this number."

"Hello," Mako said as soon as she had put the cell near her right ear. "What? Okay"

"What's wrong?" Saori then asked the question that everyone wanted to ask as Mako looked like she had seen a ghost.

"It's nothing," the diminutive Panzer IV driver answered noncommittally despite dropping her phone in shock.

"That doesn't sound like nothing!"

This time, Mako was beginning to tear up and thus Hitomi had hugged her tight. "My grandmother had collapsed. She's in the hospital now."

This time, everyone had panicked as Saori then added. "Mako, are you really alright?"

Hana had picked up the dropped phone before adding. "You should go to the hospital right away."

"But how do we get to Ooarai in so short a time?" Emi then interjected. "Even with the Lieutenant, it would still take us about a week to get there."

"Yes, and the Zuikaku has to return to port first." Miho then added. "And that's about the same time as riding the Abrams, give or take a few days."

"That's much too long," Yukari then added her own two cents.

"I can call upon a friend of mine based in Okinawa to pick Mako up through his Cessna," Zack then inputted his own idea. "But even then, the earliest he could actually fly Mako would be tomorrow morning. More than that, he still needs to see Mako first."

By that time, Mako herself was removing her shoes and socks for her own risky plan to get to her beloved relative.

"Mako, what're you doing!?" Saori once again cried in panic. "Stop that!"

"I'll swim to Ooarai," Mako replied before Chihiro could hold her down. "Let me go, Chihiro."

"No way," the tall Abram's gunner replied with a grunt at the squirming teen. "That's suicide and that won't help your Grandma even more."

"You can take the helicopter that we rode here," someone said from behind the tank. "It's faster and much safer than trying to swim."

"Big sister," Miho was surprised to see her older sibling again. "Why?"

"Family emergencies are something that no one should ignore or be excluded to," came the short and precise answer. "Besides, I've already read all of your files and that Reizei only has one surviving relative thus making this ambulance run even more important."

Erika was about to say something but realized that her commander was right all along. "Come with me."

Mako had followed the slightly older girl to the waiting Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 Drache that the latter had gotten on first and performed start up procedures.

Maho had followed her Vice-commander and added in her worn head set. "I'll count on you to take Reizei there."

"Roger."

Turning to Mako, she then added. "Get in."

Mako had only bowed in respect in response before boarding the WWII helicopter.

"I'm going too," Saori said as she too ran for the open hatch. "She'll need somebody to look out for her."

"Count me in," Hitomi then ran as well. "I hope you don't mind, Miss Maho."

"No, I don't." Maho answered laconically with a nod. "Get in."

The Drache had taken off with Maho waking back to the waiting shed so she could wait for Erika to come back. Miho had softly thanked her older sister despite the latter wearing headphones and the deafening sound of the whirling blades.

"Think nothing of it, Sis." Maho replied as she still heard the expression of gratitude. "Besides, your friend needed help and I'm just glad that I could accommodate it."

-oOo-

In Ooarai-Bellwall's SC office, the whole Turtle Team were talking about the upcoming battles of the other schools especially the crowd favorites of the tournament – Pravda Girls High School and Black Forest Girl's Academy.

"Pravda High's first match is tomorrow," Momo began her report. "And Black Forest Academy's first match is the day after that."

"Well, I'm sure they'll steamroll their opponents anyway." Anzu said with her left hand's knuckles on her left cheek. "Nothing new."

And just as Anzu had predicted, Pravda did annihilate Viking Fisheries High School and Black Forest did steamroll over Chi-Ha-Tan Academy using their tried-and-true tactics of using bait and switch and brute force respectively.

Of course, this would later lead to the commander of Viking High School's thirst for revenge at the Tankathon event later on as well as getting Chi-Ha-Tan to be Ooarai-Bellwall's staunchest ally at the exhibition match after the championship.

For Ooarai-Bellwall, this is considered proof that the road to the championship would be even tougher since both schools were not exactly the types to use boxing gloves in a fight, just fist cuffs.

---

I guess even an ice queen like Maho does have a heart, after all. And we get another new team to the Oorai-Bellwall roster as well (make that two) next chapter.

Next chapter, Oorai-Bellwell is going to bump heads with Anzio, the school where speed and surprise is their stock in trade. But before that, Ranma and freinds has to deal with a boy whose chip on his shoulder is as bad as his sense of direction.