Chapter 50 - Summer Champions
[The Next Day - Practice Match Against Ooarai]
"Commanders and Vice Commanders step forward!" Ami Chouno said
(Erika and Koume walked to the center to meet with Miho and Azusa)
"Eririn!" Miho smiled
"Long time no see Miho!" Erika smiled
"Miho-san! Glad to see you again!" Koume said
"You too Akaboshi-san! Let's have fun!"
"Looks like you're doing well as the new vice-commander.." Erika said to Azusa
"Y-Yes! Miho-senpai is taking good care of me!" Azusa said
"Then that's good..support her as best as you can..and don't forget to have fun!" Erika smiled
"Thank you very much!" Azusa bowed
"This is a Flag Tank Battle practice match between Ooarai Girls Academy and Kuromorimine University High School! Both teams ...Bow!"
"Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!" both bowed and greeted
[Kuromorimine Tank Line Up]
(Erika and Koume have returned to their line and they both noticed that everyone was again nervous and have very stiff expressions except for Alice)
"L-Look..it's Ooarai's Stug III..they were so strong during last year's tournament..so scary.." Sakuraba said
"There's the Type 89B! The most skilled crew of their school!" Tojo pointed
"Are we going to be alright? I can't stop myself from shaking.." Rio said
"Relax Rio-san..this is nothing out of the ordinary.." Alice said
"Geez why are you guys getting all worried again?" a voice called out to them from behind via loudspeaker
(Everybody looked behind and saw the great White Tiger I of Gero approaching them. It was the first time for some of them to ever see the White Tiger in action)
"Look it's the White Tiger!" Tojo shouted
"Nii-chan!" Alice smiled
"It looks so amazing with the white color! A very original tank!" Chinatsu said
"You're late!" Erika shouted
"Sorry! I had to make some reservations at a place!"
"Ohh you guys going on a date after the match Erika-san?" Koume asked
"Hmm? Oh it's not like that..Bakatora is meeting very important people later.."
"Very important? More important than you?" Koume teased
"Those people are important to both of us you could say.." Erika smiled
"I see.." Koume smiled
(Gero then parked their tiger in front of their line and got down to greet everyone)
"S-Sorry senpai..we're still a little bit nervous.." Sakuraba said
"Well..I guess being nervous is better than overconfidence.."
"Nii-chan..do you have any advice to calm them down?" Alice asked
"Hmm..let's see..alright I want you all to do this..clench your right fist...and place it directly over your heart with the Kuromorimine logo facing towards the enemy..then close your eyes.."
(As instructed they did what was told and they could all feel something similar)
"Can you feel it? Can you hear it?"
"I can feel my heartbeat senpai.." Toshi said
"It's beating very fast.." Endo said
"Mine too.." Tojo said
"Good..that's what I feel too..I also feel nervous before every match..but nervousness isn't the only thing I feel..I also feel excitement..I'm so excited to have a fun match against a strong opponent..turn fear into fun..that's my advice for you.."
(Soon they all were able to calm down and their heart were still beating fast but not out of fear anymore)
"Now open your eyes..what did you see as you listened to your heart?"
"I saw myself hitting an amazing shot!" Sakuraba smiled
"I think I'll be able to do amazing maneuvers today!" Tojo shouted
"And I saw us laughing and smiling by the end of this match..so let's give it our all and have fun! Alright?!"
"JAWOHL!" everyone responded
[Ooarai Tank Line Up]
"Did you see that? Just a minute ago they all had nervous faces but now they all look like warriors now.." Shizuka said
"Amazing..Gero-san completely changed the atmosphere just by arriving.." Rin said
"I'm getting all excited now..Gero-dono is just like a General that motivates his army in an instant!" Shizuka smiled
"Centipede Team! Mount up! The match is about to start!" Miho ordered
"Understood Miho-dono!" Shizuka saluted
[Tank Line Up]
(It was a 10 vs 10 Flag Tank Battle. Ooarai's flag tank was Leopon Team's Porsche Tiger while Kuromorimine's Flag Tank is the White Tiger)
Ooarai - Panzer IV, Hetzer, Stug III, Type 89B, M3 Lee, Renault B1, Porsche Tiger, Type 9 Chi-Nu and Mark IV and Type 97 Te-Ke
Kuromorimine - White Tiger, 1 Panzer III, 1 Panzer IV, 7 Panther A's
(10 seconds to the start of the match and the countdown has started in the audience)
5..!
4..!
3..!
2..!
1..!
"MATCH STAAAART!" shouted by Ami Chouno
[Kuromorimine Tank Formation]
"Hey Erika..why did you make me the flag tank?"
"We talked about this already right? The tank that has the highest survivability rate will be the flag tank which means that's you!"
"Eehh..but my actions are limited to being the flag tank!" Gero was pouting
"Oh don't pout now..who said anything about limiting your actions.."
"You mean?"
"You can do whatever you want in this match..just don't get taken out!"
"Jawohl my Kommandant!"
"Don't forget to give orders to your team!"
"I won't! Alice-chan! Toshi! Tojo! Do you read me?"
"Loud and clear!" the three responded"
"Alright we got the go signal from Kommandant! Alice-chan and Toshi go hunt their flag tank! Tojo keeps the Type 89B at bay!"
"Jawohl!" all three responded
"What about us Matsu-kun?"
"Oh we have a very very special task today.."
"And that is?" Hajime asked
"Entertaining Centipede Team!"
"Roger!" his crew responded
*BOOM *BOOM
(Suddenly explosions happened along their tank formation. Erika looked through her binoculars and saw Ooarai tanks stationed at the hill in front of them and are taking shots)
"Ok the summer champions are waiting for us! Let's give them a taste of how Kuromorimine fights!" Erika ordered
"Jawohl!" everyone responded
(Immediately Gero's team went into different directions as ordered while the rest went with Erika to push forward towards Ooarai's tank formation)
"Sango! Get a good vantage point and keep an eye out for their formation!" Erika radioed
"Jawohl Kommandant!" Sango responded
(Sango's Panzer III then separated from their group)
*BOOM *BOOM
"All tanks maximum speed! Close that gap now!" Koume shouted
[Ooarai Tank Formation]
"So fast!" Miho said
"Those aren't the usual Panthers Nishizumi-dono! Those are first generation Panther A's! They're just as strong but faster!" Yukari said
"All tanks keep up the fire!" Miho ordered
"Commander! Three Panthers separated from their group!" Azusa reported
"They must be headed for the flag tank..Leopon Team get ready for visitors! Duck Team please assist the flag tank!" Miho radioed
"Roger!" Leopon and Duck Team responded
"Miporin! The direction their flag tank is headed for!" Saori said
(As Miho looked through her binoculars she saw her brother with a big smile on his face and she knew already what that meant)
"Shizuka-san! He's headed straight for you!"
"Understood Miho-dono!"
"How did he know?!" Rin was surprised
"Amazing..just amazing! Let's have fun! WHITE TIGER!" Shizuka shouted
(Just as Shizuka shouted the white tiger then appeared just beside her red te-ke)
"FIRE!"
*BOOM
(The 88mm traveled towards the red te-ke but with Shizuka's foot instructions Rin was able to maneuver quickly to dodge the shell then immediately firing back at the tiger)
*BOOM
(The 37mm shell hit the white tiger's right turret but the shell bounce off for it was too small of a caliber for the armor of the white tiger)
"Nice shot! Just what I'd expected!"
"Round Up!" Ono shouted
"FIRE!"
*BOOM
(Again the shell was dodged by the red te-ke and was now running away from Gero. Shizuka knew that they can't win head on so they'll be trying a different approach. Gero then chased after her immediately)
[West Side of the Battlefield]
(Alice, Toshi, and Tojo were now on the hunt to find Leopon Team. As they got deeper into the forest they were able to spot the Porsche Tiger and the Type 89B)
"There they are!" Toshi said
"Alright, just as planned..Tojo-san please take care of the Type 89.." Alice said
"Jawohl!" Tojo radioed
"Fire!" Alice ordered
*BOOM *BOOM *BOOM
(Three 75mm shells from the Panther A's were shot at the same time at the direction of Ooarai's flag tank with 1 shell hitting the side turret of the Tiger and bounced off while the other two were dodged)
"Ohh they're here! Time to go Duck Team!" Tsuchiya said
"Right behind you!" Noriko said
(Both Leopon and Duck Team now ran away from Alice and her group to buy some time for Shizuka to take out Gero's flag tank)
[East Side of the Battlefield]
(Erika's group was getting closer to Miho's group. Both side were returning fire at each other until they came in range of a certain tank killer of Ooarai)
*BOOM
"Panther taken out! Nice shot Saemonza!" Caesar said
"Kommandant! Tank No. 6 got hit and white flagged!" Koume radioed
"That would be their Stug III's doing..Sakuraba-san! Show them what real precision is!" Erika radioed
"Jawohl Kommandant! Target found! Firing!" Sakuraba shouted
*BOOM
(The 75mm shell from Sakuraba's Panther was shot while on the move and went straight directly towards Rabbit Team's tank and white flagged it. Everyone was surprised to the point that it made them reverse and take cover for a bit)
"Rabbit Team!" Miho shouted
"Excellent shot..their vice commander is now out! Now go look for the enemy Stug III! It must be camouflaged somewhere up that hill to our left!" Erika ordered
"Jawohl!" Sakuraba smiled
(As ordered Sakuraba's Panther then went straight to the hill on their left to hunt down Hippo Team)
"Hippo Team! Be careful they sent someone to hunt you down! We'll fall back to checkpoint delta for the plan! Meet us there if you can!" Miho radioed
"Roger that!" Erwin said
"So what's the plan?" Caesar asked
"Let's lay an ambush first for our guest then if we can't take him out then we'll pull back.." Erwin said
"Okay..will be moving to a different location ze yo~" Oryo said
(Sakuraba then arrived at the hill were Hippo was hiding and was surveying the location through her gun sights)
"Hmm..where are you hiding-"
(Sakuraba's smile was halted as she saw a muzzle of a gun barrel pointed at her tank)
"Ohh..hi there.." Sakuraba said
*BOOM
(The 75mm shell hit the panther's frontal armor and bounced to the left)
"Crap! It bounced!" Saemonza said
"Run awaaaay!" Erwin shouted
(Immediately their Stug III came out of the bushes and dashed away. It was colored in green army camouflage)
"That was close! Firing!" Sakuraba shouted
*BOOM
(Sakuraba fired back at the running Stug but it missed. She then proceeded to chase after Hippo Team across the vast forest. After Sakuraba's tank reach a top the hill and came down the Stug was nowhere to be found)
"Where did you go?" Sakuraba was again looking through her gun sights
(As her panther was moving along she didn't notice that she went by the camouflaged Hippo Team on her left. They turned off their engines as they hid under some bushes again to avoid detection)
"What you can't see in front of you..is usually behind you!" Sakuraba said as she quickly rotated her turret
"Looks like we got found out! Start her up Oryou!" Erwin said
"I'm trying! But the engine keeps on stalling ze yo~!" Oryo said
"Hurry up or else-" Caesar's words were stopped as she saw the panther's gun barrel pointed at them
"FIRING!" Sakuraba said
*BOOM
(As Sakuraba pulled the trigger the 75mm shell was shot towards Hippo Team's stug III and it hit the rear side skirt armor as and deflected the shell and acted as a push for the stug to turn it's direction towards Sakuraba's tank's rear armor)
"Ohh! Thanks for the help!" Saemonza said
"Ehh?" Sakuraba was confused to what happened
"FIRE!" Erwin ordered
*BOOM
(The 75mm shell from Hippo Team penetrated deep into Sakuraba's panther then soon a white flag popped on top of it)
"Kommandant forgive me I got taken out!" Sakuraba radioed
"Are you hurt?" Erika asked
"No ma'am everyone is fine!" Sakuraba said
(Hippo Team then approached Sakuraba's tank)
"You guys ok?" Erwin asked
"Ohh yes..you really got us!" Sakuraba said
"Nah..we just got lucky..we got saved by the side skirts.."
"Now that you mention it you didn't have that before right?" Sakuraba asked
"Yes..it was installed by Chief Matsumoto after our last match at our last tournament.." Caesar said
"Really?! Our Chief Matsumoto installed that?!" Sakuraba was surprised
"Yup!" Saemonza smiled
"I'm totally gonna blame him later!" Sakuraba pouted
"Ahaha..go easy on him alright?" Caesar said
(Suddenly a Red Te-ke went by in between them and surprised them both)
"Excuse me! Coming through!" Shizuka shouted as she got past both tanks
"That was centipede team right?" Erwin asked
"Yeah..if I'm not mistaken they are being chased by-" Caesar said
*BOOM
(Suddenly Hippo Team's Stug III got shot from behind and a white flag popped on it. Everyone looked and saw Gero's White Tiger dashing through both of them just like Shizuka)
"Nice fight Sakuraba-san! Hi there Hippo Team! Long time no seeee~!" Gero shouted as his voice faded at the distance
"Ahaha at least Gero-senpai is having fun.." Sakuraba said
"A storm just passed by.." Saemonza said
"That's not fair Gero-san! Taking advantage of the situation!" Erwin shouted
"Commander! We got taken out! But Centipede Team is leading Gero-san towards the designated point!" Caesar radioed
"Roger that Hippo Team!" Miho said
*BOOM
(As Miho was responding Mallard Team suddenly got hit from behind and was white flagged by Erika who was still chasing Miho's group since the start)
"Nice shot Rin-san.." Erika smiled
"Thank you! Still no match for your boyfriend though!" Rin teased
"Sorry about that Commander we got taken out!" Sodoko radioed
"Don't worry about it! All tanks we've reached our goal! Get ready!" Miho shouted
(Miho and her team now arrived in a location where it was filled with rocks and boulders too steep for a tank to climb up and there is only one way in)
"Why would they go in there?" Erika said in her mind
"Do we pursue?" Suzu asked
"Yeah all tanks straight-"
(Erika's order was stopped short as she saw the Mark IV tank of Ooarai suddenly drive in front of them and blocked the one and only entrance. The Panther taking the lead slammed head on to the Mark IV and they saw the side gun of the Mark IV aimed at them)
"FIRE!" Ogin ordered
*BOOM
(The Panther got struck by a 57mm shell face to face knocking it out of the game)
"Alright! Our first ever kill!" Murakami said
"Yeah but it looks like it's the end for us!" Flint said
"Feur! Feur!" Erika ordered
*BOOM *BOOM
(The Mark IV was bombarded by 75mm shells and soon a white flag was seen on it. But unfortunately it served its purpose as a heavy roadblock for Erika and her team to prevent them from going after Miho)
"Damn it! This was their plan all along!" Erika said
"What is senpai? To block us here?" Sheska asked
"No..to separate us from Bakatora.." Erika said
"Kommandant! I have a visual on Gero-san! He's still chasing the red Te-Ke and is now headed for Ooarai!" Sango radioed
"All tanks find another way in! Sango inform Alice-san and Toshi-san to hurry it up!" Erika ordered
"Jawohl!" Sango said
"And tell Bakatora he's headed for an ambush!" Erika shouted
(On the other side of the battlefield Toshi and Alice were still chasing Leopon Team. Tojo was separated from them as he was too focused on chasing Duck Team)
"Damn it that Tiger is so fast!" Haruhiko said
"Alice-san was this tank always this fast?!" Toshi asked
"It was definitely fast when we fought but not like this..looks like they were able to upgrade their motor perfectly this time.." Alice said
"Alice-san! Toshi-san! Kommandant said to hurry it up with the enemy flag tank! Gero-san is about to be cornered by Ooarai!" Sango radioed
"Nii-chan!" Alice got worried
"Understood! Haruhiko full throttle!" Toshi ordered
"Roger!"
(Toshi's Panther then accelerated even more in an attempt to catch up to Leopon Team)
"Ohh he's catching up! Then how about this?" Tsuchiya smiled
(Suddenly while maintaining their high speed Leopon Team did a perfect drift on the road to the left. Haruhiko the driver of Toshi saw this and attempted to do the same)
"I can do that too!" Haruhiko shouted
"You idiot don't get carried away!" Isamu shouted
(Of course Haruhiko was not experienced in drifting the Panther and it slid off the road and hit a tree)
*CRASH
"See what you did?!" Endo said
"S-Sorry..my head's still spinning.." Haruhiko said
(Toshi then looked out his cupola and he saw the Porsche Tiger aiming at them)
"Uh-oh.." Toshi said
"FIRE!" Tsuchiya ordered
*BOOM
(The 88mm shell of Leopon Team hit the Panther at its side and penetrated it's engine. Soon a white flag appeared on Toshi's tank)
"Nice shooting!" Tsuchiya said
"Thank you senpai!" said the new gunner of Leopon Team
"Alright time to go!" Tsuchiya said
(Tsuchiya then accelerated away again as she saw Alice's Panther headed for them and was still continuing on the chase. On the side Gero was still chasing Shizuka and both of them were headed towards Miho)
"Taichou..Sango-san said that we are being headed for a trap.." Hajime said
"I know that..but we're still going!"
"Roger!" Hajime smiled
(Shizuka's Te-Ke suddenly leapt from a ridge and went down into some kind of crater. Gero's Tiger followed and entered the crater as well. The crater's wall was too steep for their tanks to go up)
"Ohh looks like this is the final stage.."
"Matsu-kun..I know you already realized it but..we're completely surrounded.."
(One by one the tanks of Anglerfish, Anteater, and Turtle Team went out of hiding behind the rocks already aimed at their tank. Shizuka was at the middle facing Gero and was about to take him on while Miho and the rest provide firing support)
"This is going to be hard.." Ono said
"That's what makes it fun!"
"Round up!"
"FIRE!"
*BOOM
(Gero took a shot at the red Te-Ke but it dodged easily. It then accelerated towards the White Tiger and took shots on it)
"Fire!" Miho ordered
*BOOM *BOOM * BOOM
(Miho and the other tanks fired towards the White Tiger without hesitation. They weren't even worried about hitting Shizuka's tank. To Gero's surprise every shot they made was accurate and were always from their blind spot. All shots were hitting and bouncing off of Gero's tank)
"That's a cool tactic!"
"What is?" Hajime asked
"Shizuka-san is acting as a blocker for me so I can't see which tank will shoot!"
"And they're not even scratching that red Te-Ke.." Ono said
"They really trust each other to pull that off.." Ken said
"Amazing! Miho-chan's team is really amazing!"
"Round up!"
"FIRE!"
*BANG *CLANK
(The 88mm shell lightly grazed the side armor of the Red Te-Ke and it can be heard from inside the tank)
"T-That was close!" Rin said
"Even though we're going at full speed and mixing our turns he still manages to touch our tank with his shots..the Heir of the Nishizumi Style is a monster!" Shizuka smiled
*CLANK
(Another shell grazed their red Te-ke and the shot pushed their tank a little bit to the side)
"Damn..he's getting close! His next shot will definitely take us out!" Rin said
"Miho-dono! Are you guys ready for the plan?!" Shizuka radioed
"Ready when you are!" Miho said
(Shizuka then instructed Rin to charge straight towards the White Tiger)
"A head on challenge? Bring it on!" Ken shouted
"Round Up!"
"FIRE!"
*BOOM
(The 88mm shot impacted in front of the red Te-ke and Shizuka took advantage of the reload time to close the gap)
"Ono double time!"
"Round Up!"
"FIRE-"
(Gero hesitated for a second on pulling the trigger as he saw Shizuka from his gun sight that she had a very evil smile on her face)
"Fire!" Miho ordered
*BOOM
(Hana fired at the order of Miho and the shell hit the side turret of the White Tiger but it wasn't HE or AP but it was a smoke shell. Both Ken and gero's vision was now covered with smoke and couldn't see anything)
"Ken punch through the smoke!"
"Roger!"
(As they got out of the smoke Gero was surprised that Shizuka's tank was nowhere to be seen in front of them. He then felt the gaze from left and right where Turtle and Anteater Team's tanks was aiming at him and had a perfect angle at their rear engine while Miho's Panzer IV was in front of them aiming as well)
"Shit! I fell for their trap! No matter which direction we drift to try and dodge the shells, our rear engine will get hit!" Gero said in his thoughts
"Round up!" Ono shouted
"No, there is a way! FIRE!"
*BANG *BOOM
(Gero shot their 88mm shell and hit the gun barrel of Miho's Panzer IV destroying it completely)
"FIRE!" Miho shouted
*BOOM *BOOM
(Two 75mm shells from both tanks traveled across the crater and was headed for Gero's tank but with his quick thinking he told Ken to do a very risky move and he rotated their gun turret 90 degrees)
"Ken! Lift up!"
(Suddenly the White Tiger lifted up again it's rear and did a front wheelie just like their fight against St. Gloriana. The two shells fired by Ooarai went past underneath their tank as a result)
"Alright nice one Ken!" Ono said
(But it was too early to celebrate for Ono saw the disturbed expression from Gero. They all felt an intense killing intent behind them and it was as Gero had guessed. It was coming from Shizuka who hid under the smoke shell that Miho shot first)
"She waited inside the smoke and predicted that we'd do a wheelie?!" Gero said in his thoughts
(The red Te-Ke now positioned itself behind the White Tiger who was exposed because of the wheelie and it's gun barrel was aiming for the tank's belly. At this moment Gero already was convinced they lost)
"Fire-" Shizuka said
"GERO-SAN!" a voice was heard in their radio
(Shizuka was also distracted because she saw that a Panzer III suddenly leapt from atop the crater where they came from. It was Sango coming to the rescue and after she landed her tank went straight ahead towards the red Te-Ke aiming to ram them)
*CRASH *RAM *BOOM
(As the Panzer III rammed the Te-Ke both their tank tracks got destroyed but Shizuka was still able to pull the trigger during the collision but her aim was thrown off and the shell hit the left tracks only. Shizuka then saw that the Panzer III was aiming at her and a flash happened)
*BOOM
(The 50mm shell buried deep against the light armor of the red Te-Ke and white flagged it. Sango just saved the White Tiger from being taken out. But again it was too soon to celebrate)
"Alright we got the princes of tankathalon!" Sango cheered
"Sango-san! Look out!" Hajime radioed
(Sango then saw the belly of the White Tiger falling towards them. They couldn't move because their tracks were destroyed and all she could do was stare at death. Even if the Panzer III was a medium tank it will still be crushed by the 54 ton Tiger tank's weight)
"KEN FORCE IT OVER!" Gero shouted
(Ken then swiftly stepped on the pedals to force their tank to tilt over but since their left tracks got hit by Shizuka it started to tilt to the right and as it fell over the weight of the tank pressed on the gun barrel and bent it until it snapped clean off)
*CRASH
(Everyone was surprised as to what happened and as the White Tiger went belly up the system detected sufficient damage for the white flag to pop on its belly)
"Kuromorimine Flag Tank has been rendered immobile! Ooarai Girls Academy is victorious!" Chouno announced
"Nii-chan..got taken out?" Alice was in distraught
(Loud cheers and applause was given to both schools for a wonderful match)
"THEY BEAT KUROMORIMINE!" shouted from the audience
"THAT WAS AN INTENSE MATCH!" shouted another person from the audience
(While everyone else was celebrating those that had witnessed what happened were nowhere near the feeling of celebration. Erika arrived on top of the crater and saw what had happened to their flag tank and she was filled with fear and worry. She immediately ordered Suzu to drive their tank into the crater. Both Sango and Shizuka then ran towards Gero's tank to see how they were)
"Gero-san! Everyone! Are you alright?!" Sango yelled
"Gero-dono!" Shizuka yelled
(They both heard a voice coming from inside the White Tiger)
"Shizuka-san and Sango-san? Are you both unhurt?"
"We're fine Gero-dono! But are you guys ok?!" Shizuka asked
"Uhmm..define the word 'ok'.." Ono said
"Do you feel pain anywhere?! Are you bleeding?!" Shizuka confirmed
"We're not bleeding don't worry!" Hajime said
"Then are you in pain?!" Sango asked
"First please tell me that our gun barrel is intact and still attached to our tank.."
(Both Sango and Shizuka looked towards the snapped in half gun barrel laying on the dirt)
"Well..it is intact.." Sango said
"But it isn't attached to your tank anymore.." Shizuka said
"Ohh..well shit.."
"Why?! What's wrong?" Sango asked
"When Chief finds out about this we will be in pain.." Gero said as a joke
"Geez..we're really worried sick here!" Shizuka said
"Ahaha sorry sorry..we're fine..just stuck.."
(Erika then arrived and parked their Panzer IV beside Gero's tank)
"Gero! Are you alright?!"
"Erika? Sorry about this..we got taken out.."
"I don't care you got taken out! I'm asking if you're alright!" Erika shouted
"Yes I'm alright..the boys are fine as well.."
"Thank God..don't worry we'll get you out there soon so sit tight!"
"Well we aren't going anywhere.." Ono said
"Ono-senpai!" Sheska shouted
"Hi Sheska..I'm fine here.."
"Geez..what the heck are you boys thinking?" Leila asked
"Oh nothing..just having fun.." Hajime chuckled
"Hey Ken-kun.." Suzu said
"I don't wanna hear it Suzu-san.." Ken pouted
"Ahaha I haven't said anything.."
"Not yet you haven't!"
(Erika then stood up and approached Shizuka and Sango to ask them what happened But both of them felt a great pressure coming from Erika and she was very angry)
"Care to explain how this happened?"
"Uhm..Erika-dono..it was an accident.." Shizuka was getting scared
"I can see that..I'm asking how it happened Shizuka-san.." Erika said in a scary tone
"Kommandant! It wasn't her fault! It was mine!" Sango said
"Sango? Tell me what happened.."
"I arrived at the moment where Gero-san was doing a wheelie with his tank and saw Shizuka-san right below them aiming at their tank's belly..I just kinda ordered to ram their tank out of the way to stop them from shooting our flag tank..but it just made things worse.." Sango said
"I'm guessing when you rammed Shizuka-san out of the way you took her place under Gero's tank and was in danger of getting crushed by them.." Erika said
"Yes..that's why Gero-san forced his tank to flip over instead of falling back down on us..I'm sorry!" Sang bowed
*HEAD PAT
(Sango suddenly felt Erika's hand on her hand and patted her to comfort her)
"I see..thank you for doing your best to save our flag tank..but please don't do reckless things like that anymore..I'd rather lose the match than have you get hurt for a win..I'm sure Bakatora would say the same.."
"Y-Yes Kommandant..I'm so sorry.." Sango was crying softly
(Miho then arrived with her crew to check out what happened to her brother)
"Eririn!" Miho called out
"Miho..congrats on winning!"
"Is Gero alright?!"
"He's fine, don't worry.."
(Miho then let out a sigh of relief knowing her brother was safe. Mako then walked towards the White Tiger to check on Ken)
"Ken-chan?" Mako said
"M-Mako-chan? Uhmm...long time no see?"
"Be quiet, I'm mad right now.."
"Yes..I'm sorry ma'am.."
"Geez..I told you to stop doing reckless stunts like this.." Maho got sad
"Sorry..I made you worry huh?"
"Please take care of yourself more.."
"I will..thanks Mako-chan.."
(After a few minutes of waiting the staff had arrived and un-flipped the White Tiger. Gero and his crew were finally able to get out)
*STRETCH
"Mmmm...it feels great to stretch my legs.."
"You sound like an old guy Gero.." Miho teased
"Hey that's mean! Congrats on winning Miho..again you've gotten stronger..all of you.."
"Thanks! You too! Looks like you trained your new members yourself from how good they are.." Miho said
"Ahaha was it obvious?"
"A little bit.." Miho smiled
(Gero then saw Sango and Erika approach them)
"Sorry..Gero-san..I forced you in a very difficult situation.." Sango said
"Don't worry about it..as long as everyone is safe..let me just ask you this.."
"What is it?" Sango asked
"Why didn't you just shoot Shizuka's tank from on top of the crater?"
"I lost confidence in myself..I got scared of missing my shot or hitting your tank..but it just made the situation worse.."
"I'm glad you are honest..but I'm angry because you belittle yourself too much..you have a lot of potential not as a tank commander but also as a gunner.."
"I'm sorry.."
"I'll only accept your apology if you promise me next time that when the time comes that you need to take a shot no matter how slim the chance may be..promise me you'll take the shot.."
"I will..I promise I definitely will take the shot next time.." Sango smiled
"Good..now join the others in cleaning up.."
"Jawohl!" Sango saluted
(Sango then left and then Shizuka and Rin approached Gero)
"What can I say? Amazing match..just what I expected from you.."
"Thank you Gero-dono! It was an honor fighting you! I had fun and learned a lot!" Shizuka bowed
"I had fun also..and I learned something as well.."
(Gero then approached both Shizuka and Rin. He placed his hand on both their shoulders and leaned in between them near their ears and whispered)
"Next time..I'll also use killing intent when fighting you..since you gave me such a spook this match.."
(Both Shizuka and Rin started shaking in fear in a very funny way because they got scared at what they did to Gero. They completely forgot that Gero can fight while emitting a heavy amount of killing intent if he wanted to)
"Uhmm..Gero-dono..that might be a little too much.." Shizuka said while crying
"Ahaha! Come on just a little bit won't kill you right?"
"No no no no..we'll definitely die!" Rin said
(Erika and Miho were just laughing because the great princess of tankathalon was shivering in fear and was begging Gero to go easy on her next time. Suddenly Duck Team and Tojo's Panther arrived)
"Duck Team! Where have you been?" Miho asked
"Well..we got lost during our fight against Tojo-san! It was very intense!" Noriko said
"I said keep them at bay but I didn't expect you to get lost along the match.."
"Ahaha sorry about that Gero-Taichou! I got too excited fighting Noriko-san and her crew!" Tojo smiled
(Miho was in shock because she didn't expect the new recruit of Kuromorimine can go toe to toe against Duck Team. Alice and Leopon Team also arrived back)
"Yo Alice-chan!"
"Nii-chan..sorry..I couldn't get their flag tank in time.." Alice got sad
"Oh come on, you gave it your best shot!"
"Their Porsche Tiger was too fast..I couldn't catch them with the Panther.." Alice said
"Ohh looks like you finally got your motor to go faster without heating up! Good for you Tsuchiya-san!"
"Yeah! The new members helped me get it done last week!" Tsuchiya said
"Cheer up Alice-chan alright? I'll take you to a nice place later.."
"Really? Yay! Thank you Nii-chan!" Alice smiled and blushed
"Looks like everyone has returned..let's clean up quickly then head back!" Erika ordered
"JAWOHL!" everyone responded
[Kuromorimine School Carrier - Tank Garage]
(After the practice match everyone then returned to their school. Gero and his crew were in for a surprise the moment they arrived)
*HIT *HIT *HIT *HIT
"Ouch!" Ken said
"It hurts!" Ono shouted
"Ow.." Hajime said
"Why'd you have to hit that hard Kuso-jiji!"
(Gero and his crew suddenly got big bulges on their heads because Chief Matsumoto Hit them on the head with a harisen fan because they broke again the gun barrel of the White Tiger and all four of them were sitting seiza)
"You know why! I can't believe you broke the gun barrel again!" Chief Matsumoto shouted
"Blame the ground for breaking it!"
*HIT
(Again Gero was hit with the harisen fan making it two painful bulges for him on his head)
"It's your fault so own it!" Chief Matsumoto said
(As Gero and his crew were crying while being scolded by Chief Matsumoto the others were laughing and giggling at them)
"So this is what Gero-san meant when he said they'll feel pain when Chief Matsumoto finds out.." Sango had a sweat drop on her head
"You know..seeing the five of them like this..they also look like a family.." Koume said
"Yeah..they say that the four of them together is the white tiger but I believe Chief Matsumoto is also part of them..the five of them completes the white tiger crew.." Erika smiled
"We're sorry Matsumoto-san..we got cornered so we had to.." Ono said
"I am in no need for excuses..you'll be helping me the whole day until night in restoring your tank and the others as well! No rest for you troublemakers!" Chief Matsumoto
"That doesn't sound bad.." Ono said
"Oh when I said the others I also meant the Ooarai Tanks.." Chief Matsumoto said
"You just had to jinx it huh?" Hajime said
"Shut up!" Ono got embarrassed
"Oh about that Chief..please excuse Bakatora from this..he has an important date later with you know who.." Erika said
"Oh..right..we can't have them canceling their date..you just got lucky! Now go and don't be late for your date!" Chief Matsumoto said
"Hey that's not fair!" Ono shouted
"Why does Matsu-kun get to leave!" Ken pouted
"Taichou is trying to escape his punishment.." Hajime said
"Don't worry I'll be back after! I'll help out as well! Thanks Erika! See you later!"
"Take care! Say hi for me!" Erika smiled
(Gero then left the garage to get changed leaving only his crew and Chief Matsumoto staring at both Kuromorimine and Ooarai tanks)
"This is going to be hard with just us.." Ono said
"Don't worry I got you guys some help!" Erika said
"Help?" Ken asked
(Somebody then entered the tank garage wearing maintenance clothes. It was Nakajima, Hoshino, Suzuki, and Tsuchiya coming to help with the maintenance. Everyone was surprised even Chief Matsumoto was surprised)
"Hello boys! Long time no see!" Nakajima said
"Nakajima-san! And the rest of Leopon Team!" Ono said
"What are you guys doing here?" Ken asked
"We got a call from your Kommandant about a job request for maintenance so yeah we're here to help!" Hoshino said
"And why wasn't I informed of this?" Chief Matsumoto asked
"We wanted to surprise you of course! And you'd probably decline the help if you knew!" Tsuchiya said
"That's right! You'd try and do maintenance on all tanks on your own!" Nakajima said
"I would do no such thing! I have the boys with me! Tsk looks like you three got lucky as well.."
"Thank you Kommandant!" Gero's crew thanked while crying
"No worries! I'll leave it to you Chief!" Erika smiled
"Yes ma'am! We'll have all the tanks ready by tonight!"
"Alright..see you boys! Leopon Team! Thanks again!" Erika waved as she left
"Thank you very much for choosing our services!" Nakajima and the rest bowed
[Somewhere in Ooarai - Ice Cream Parfait Shop]
"Irasshaimase! Table for four?" said the waitress
"Yes please!"
"Right this way!"
(Gero was together with Miho, Alice and Maho who just got back from work at SSS and they decided to have a date here at the same parfait shop that Miho and Gero went last time)
"Ohh so this is where you took Miho before.." Maho said
"Yup! Their parfait is very delicious!" Miho smiled
"Order what you like! It's on me!"
"Yay!" the three cheered
(All of them ordered what they wanted and ate peacefully. Gero ordered another Jumbo Parfait to win another Boko Bear for Alice this time. Alice was overjoyed and had a big smile on her face)
"Whoo that was yummy! Eating an ice cold parfait is just the best after a great match!"
"I heard you guys got beaten by Miho.." Maho teased
"Yeah..I got cornered and had to improvise..then we flipped.."
"That just shows how great a commander Miho-san is!" Alice said
"Geez you're praising me too much!" Miho blushed
*RING RING
(Suddenly Gero's phone rang and when he checked it he received a message from someone)
"Onii-chan?"
"Mail?" Alice asked
"Sorry sorry..need to get this..excuse me for a second.."
"From Erika?" Maho asked
"Might be! Be right back!"
(Gero then went out of the shop to check the message and it was from the Takeda Clan and it said)
"The moment that four souls have been chosen to fight, those lurking in the darkness will enter the light"
(As he read the code phrase sent to him he quickly understood what it meant. And the joyful expression Gero had became a serious and dark expression. He took a deep breath and his dark expression returned back to his joyful one. Gero then went back inside so that Miho and the rest won't get worried)
[30 Minutes Later..]
"It's getting late..time to head back.."
(Alice had fallen asleep on Miho's lap because she got tired of the match)
"Alice-san is sleeping soundly.." Maho smiled
"Yeah..she looks so cute!" Miho smiled
"Maho-chan..can you carry Alice-chan back to the carrier since it's close by while I escort Miho-chan back to her dorm.."
"Sure onii-sama.."
"You don't have to onii-chan! I can go home by myself!"
"Nope..I am not gonna let you go home by yourself and that's final.."
"Geez..alright then..bye bye onee-chan! See you again soon!" Miho waved goodbye
"Bye Bye! Take care Miho!" Maho smiled
(Maho then carried the sleeping Alice on her back via piggyback ride. There were two entrances of the cafe. Maho and Alice exited out the back because it was closer to the carrier while Gero and Miho went out the front entrance)
*KA-CHICK *KA-CHIK *CAMERA SOUND
(Yet again there was a suspicious person who was taking pictures of Gero but this time he was with Miho)
"Hmm..first it was the eldest now the youngest sister..from a scoop to a scandal!" said the suspicious person
[Miho's Dorm]
(Miho and Gero then arrived at her dorm after walking a bit)
"And here we are! I guess this is goodbye little sister!"
"Since you escorted me all the way here, why don't you have some tea before you leave?" Miho said
"Well since you offered might as well..Ojamashimasu!"
"Yay!" Miho blushed
*KA-CHICK *KA-CHIK *CAMERA SOUND
(Again the camera took photos of Gero now entering the room of Miho)
[One hour later]
"Thanks for the tea Miho-chan!"
"You're welcome onii-chan! So..see you again next time?"
"Yeah..see you again..I love you very much..you know that right?"
*HUG
(Miho then gave her brother a tight hug)
"Yes I do..I love you too onii-chan.."
*KA-CHICK *KA-CHIK *CAMERA SOUND
(And again photos were taken of both of them hugging each other. After the warm embrace Gero then proceeded to leave and went back to the carrier)
"Thank you for the juicy information..great White Tiger.." said the suspicious person with an evil smile
[Kuromorimine School Carrier - Tank Garage]
(After arriving back at the carrier Gero went straight to the tank garage since he noticed the lights were still on. What he found was his crew waiting for him)
"Tadaima.."
"Okaeri..how was your date?" Ken asked
"Fantastic! Where's Leopon Team?"
"They left already and took their tanks back to their carrier.."
"I see..you finished every tank?"
"Nope, there's one left.." Ono smiled
"Which one?"
(Hajime then took off the cloth covering the unfinished tank and it was their White Tiger)
"Chief said to wait for you so that all five of us can work on our tank.." Hajime said
"Nice..wouldn't want anything else! Where is he anyway?"
"I'm here! Help me with these!" Chief Matsumoto shouted
(Gero saw that he was pushing a cart filled with bowls. When they approached they all saw that it was bowls of newly cooked Ramen which was Gero's favorite)
"Ohh Ramen! Did you cook these Matsumoto-san?" Ken asked
"Yeah..eat up! You guys haven't had dinner yet, right?"
"Thank you very much chief!" Hajime smiled
"Itadakimasu!" all five of them said
"Mmmm~ it's yummy!" Ken said
"Yeah..the flavor is just right!" Hajime said
"And the noodles are cooked perfectly to the point that they soak up the broth!" Ono said
"I knew it..the ramen you make is just the best..nothing else can compare to how good it is.."
"Heh..praising me won't get you extras alright?" Chief Matsumoto smiled
"This will keep us warmed for the night for sure!" Ken said
"That's why eat up! Then after we'll get to work on your tank! We'll finish it no matter what!" Chief Matsumoto said
"JAWOHL CHIEF!" Gero and his crew said
Coming Up Next : Chapter 51 - The Truth
Author's Note:
How is everyone doing! What did you think of the match? The summer champions have proven their strength once again! Cornering Gero and forcing him to do a risky move which gave Shizuka an opening! But since they got White Flagged on their own I'd say they really didn't get taken out haha!
I personally found Tojo and Duck team getting lost the whole match funny while writing it XD
Shout out to : "Stormkev27" thank you so much for the follow and favorite!
Thank you for the wonderful support you all are amazing! As for the replies to your comments check the reviews section as always!
Again I uploaded a picture in the facebook page! It's Alice-chan wearing the Kuromorimine Tanker Jacket!
As always if you like what you see leave a Favorite, if you want to see a notification as I post a new chapter please Follow! If you have comments and suggestions leave a review for me to read! Thank you again and have a nice day!