Chapter 3: The gym

3:00pm

"Here you are!" Sheska said, braking.

Kay and El carefully observed the building in front of them: it was single-storey and had a luminous sign (at that moment off) that said:

SCHWARZE SONNE BOXHALLE

"It's a boxing gym, right?" Asked the blonde.

"Exact. Göring trains here every day (when she is not engaged with sensha-do or other activities). Follow me, I'll take you to her. "

The interior of the gym was painted white. In the center was a blue 6x6 ring. On top of it a girl, who Kay and El recognized as Göring, was training with a sparring partner. Around it a dozen girls were busy training themselves, throwing punches at punching bags hanging from the ceiling. They all wore the same uniform worn by Göring in the poster they had seen earlier.

"And now?" El asked.

"You will have to wait until the sparring is over. Göring hates being disturbed while exercising. By the way, thank you for saving Eva. She is a good friend of mine. It is the same for everyone here, to tell the truth. "

"We couldn't stand and watch her run over." Kay replied.

"But how long is missing in the end?" She asked.

"Little, if I'm not mistaken."

In fact, after about a minute, Göring knocked out her opponent.

"You're doing well, Göring! Ludmilla will come out with broken bones! " Exclaimed a girl with black bob hair and eyes of the same color at ringside.

The stocky girl smiled.

"Did you doubt it, Goebbels? They didn't nickname me Maus by chance! " She stated.

"Hey, Maus!" Sheska called her.

"What's up?" She asked, turning around.

"There are visits for you!"

"You know I hate being disturbed while I work out!"

"Yes, but they are special guests!"

Göring snorted angrily, stepped out of the ring and walked towards them, closely followed by Goebbels.

Kay swallowed when she faced her. She was taller than her (one meter and 70 against her 1 and 58) and had a menacing air.

"You two are the girls who saved Eva."

"Yup!" El answered.

For a few seconds Göring was impassive, but then she assumed a benevolent air.

"I am very grateful to you. If Eva had died Hilda would have gone mad ... From pain, I mean. And I with her. " She stated.

"I'm not surprised ... Losing a loved one is a huge blow."

She knew it from experience, having lost Arisa…. But that was before she traveled into the past.

"How can I help you?"

"They would like to become our students and join the club." Sheska answered her.

"I don't think they have the right physique for boxing… And how are they dressed then? It's the first time I've seen those uniforms. " Was Goebbels's comment.

"Actually I was referring to the Panzerfahren club, not the boxing club." The brunette pointed out.

"But you see what demands! They only arrived today and are already claiming to join us! They don't know that first them have to ... "

"Goebbels! Nobody asked you! " Göring silenced her abruptly.

"Sorry, Maus ..."

Having said that, she turned her heels and headed for the ring, from where the other boxer had just gotten off.

"Excuse her. She's a good friend and hard worker, but sometimes she gets rude, at least to strangers. " Göring stated.

"I understand ... Anyway, we would like to first get the student council's consent to our admission to the school and team." El said.

"I have nothing against it, but ... Do you have experience with panzerfahren?"

"Yup!" The two girls answered in unison.

"Which school do you come from?"

"Me from El Alamein."

"And I from Ro ... Roci ... Roncesvalles!"

"I know Alamein, but not the other ... It will be a minor school."

"Indeed it is."

"Ok ... What role did you have?"

"Tank Commander!" They both answered.

"What tank were you on?"

"Panzer II!"

"M4 Sherman!"

On hearing the last answer, Göring became suspicious.

"The M4 Sherman is an American tank ... And the El Alamein uses only British tanks, like the Churchill."

"I heard they recently got a couple from Overlord." Sheska said.

"Why?"

"Maybe they plan to use them against us at the next tournament."

Göring laughed out loud at that answer.

"No tank can compete with ours!" She stated.

I took a big risk ...

Kay thought, in a cold sweat.

"Have you ever driven any German tanks?"

"No." Was her answer.

"The Panzer II, I said so." El answered.

"I see ... If you get admitted you could join our foreign legion."

"Speaking of which, could you explain to me how your sensha-do team works? This is the first time I've heard of a foreign legion. " Kay said.

"Our team is divided in two: on one side we have the real team, made up entirely of German tank crews. On the other, the foreign legion, made up of foreign students (French, Polish, Italian and others). It is divided into various divisions: Yorktown, Elizabeth I, Jean d'Arc and others. They use Spanish, French, Italian, British, etc. tanks. and we use them in matches abroad. "

"Can't foreign students be part of the core team?" El asked.

"It is made up entirely of German tankers, I explained that a little while ago."

"Yes, but do you also accept foreigners?"

"Those are enlisted in the legion."

"So that's a no."

"Exactly, no. Is it a problem? "

"This thing smells a little of Apartheid." El stated.

"Foreign students are not discriminated, if that is what you suspect. They can move freely around the ship, attend the same classes as us, participate in various clubs, etc. "

"Why this division, then?"

"Because driving tanks like the Panzer, Tiger or other German tanks takes experience, and German sensha-do students have it. We let the others drive tanks like the Matilda, the Sherman or others. "

Though unconvinced, El preferred not to insist.

"Anyway, do we have your consent?" Kay asked.

"Yes, but we need that of all student council members. Mine is not enough. "

"Hilda has already given her approval."

"So you just have Himmler's."

"Where can we find it?"

"Let's see… Maybe you will find it in the library. Sometimes she spends hours there reading books. "

"A real scholar, huh?"

"You can well say it. She has excellent knowledge of history and geography, comparable to Hilda's. "

Kay was perplexed. When she had visited the carrier school with her colleagues, she had seen neither the gymnasium nor the library. Maybe they were closed for some reason, or maybe Hilda had deliberately avoided taking them there so as not to make the visit too long and boring. She snorted.

"Sheska, I hope you don't mind driving us again." She said.

In response, the girl snapped to attention.

"Always available to two heroic girls like you! I'll take you there immediately! " She exclaimed.

Come to think of it, it was a double stroke of luck, saving Eva… Not only did we avoid a dark future, but we earned the esteem of many here in the Black Sun.

Thought the blonde girl.