Chapter 99 - Iron Rose
[Semisphere - Sahara Desert, Africa]
" ORETACHI WA DAREDA ? !"
[ WHO ARE WE ? ! ]
" J.N.S.T ! J.N.S.T !"
" ORETACHI WA NAZE KOKO NI IRU ? !"
[ WHY ARE WE HERE ? ! ]
" TATAKAU TAME NI !"
[ TO FIGHT ! ]
"ORETACHI WA NAZE TATAKAU ? !"
[ WHY DO WE FIGHT ? ! ]
" KATSU TAME NI ! "
[ TO WIN ! ]
" NIPPON ! BANZAI ! "
[ LONG LIVE JAPAN ! ]
" BANZAI ! "
[ LONG LIVE ! ]
" BANZAI ! "
[ LONG LIVE ! ]
" BANZAI !"
[ LONG LIVE ! ]
(Their loud roar echoed inside the biggest dome on earth and entered the hearts of the people. The audience erupted into loud cheers and big applause for them and began to root for them. All of the teams were intimidated by this act of Japan and they know that this will not be an easy win for all of them. This is the first time that the world has laid its eyes on the mighty White Tiger Team)
"That was some entrance! Let's go Japan!" shouted the announcer
[American Team]
(This team was led by Arnold as Commander and Megan as Vice Commander. Arnold has brown short hair while Megan has blonde short hair)
"Oh that's a nice cheer! We should've done that too, commander!" Megan said
"As if!"
[German Team]
(This team was led by Ilse and Ingrid as Commander and Beatrisa as Vice Commander)
"As usual the old guy is the loudest among them.." Ingrid said
"That's Gero-san alright!" Beatrisa laughed
"Erika-sama looks so cute in her uniform!" Ilse said with hearts in her eyes
[French Team]
(This team was led by Amandine as the Commander and Antoine as the Vice Commander. Amandine has long black hair while Antoine has black short hair)
"Looks like this tournament is going to be fun after all! Wouldn't you say Le Commandant?" Antoine asked
"We'll see what Japan has in store for us.." Amandine smiled
[Chinese Team]
(This team was led by Chen Guang as the Commander and Lei Shuchun as the Vice Commander. Chen Guang has black hair in an army cut while Lei Shuchun has brown long hair)
"That guy is too noisy, their country doesn't deserve to be present in this tournament.." Chen Guang said
"You're still saying that? It is not good to underestimate the enemy commander." Lei Shuchun said
[South Korean Team]
(This team was led by Nam Jii as the Commander and Gwon Soomin as the Vice Commander. Nam Jii has brown short hair while Gwon Soomin has short brown hair)
"A White Tiger tank..is that the guy that the coach told us about?" Gwon Soomin asked
"Yes, I think he's. The one called Baekho.." Nam Jii smiled
[Italian Team]
(This team was led by Faustino Milano as the Commander and Cosima Costa as the Vice Commander. Faustino has blonde stylish hair while Cosima has red long hair)
"Seems like a charming man doesn't he Comandante?" Cosima smiled
"I can already feel the mood of this tournament changing! I'm getting excited!" Faustino smiled
[Russian Team]
(This team was led by Yuri as the Commander and Belka as the Vice Commander. Yuri has black short hair while Belka has white short hair)
"Do we have any information on that guy?" Yuri asked
"No we don't Komandir, this is the first time we've seen him.." Belka answered
[British Team]
(This team was led by Charlotte as the Commander and Victoria as the Vice Commander/ Charlotte had short silver hair and she is also the princess of the royal family of britain. Victoria has blonde hair and ties it with a ponytail)
"They revealed one of their tanks to show off. I guess we don't need to worry about them.." Victoria said
"I wouldn't be so sure.." Charlotte said
"Why?"
"Look behind the tank..the woman with silver hair and blue eyes.."
(Victoria did what her commander said and saw Erika behind the white tiger tank. Her expression quickly went into a surprised one and understood why Charlotte was cautious.)
"That woman..why is she on the Japan team?!" Victoria reacted
"What's wrong, vice commander? Who's that person?" a tanker asked
"That white haired woman is.."
"The Iron Rose of Berlin.." Charlotte smiled
(The other countries also recognized Erika and who she was known for.)
"Iron Rose?" Yuri asked
"Yes..two years ago, we heard news of a very skilled tank commander in Berlin, Germany. So we decided to find out what the fuss was all about, then we discovered her.." Belka said
"She went against every tankery university in Germany, challenged them and destroyed all of them 20 against 1.." Megan said
"The tank she used was a mere Panzer III and the stories say that she couldn't be killed, not because of luck but for her maneuvers in the field.." Antoine said
"She fought under circumstances that her tank would've normally gotten taken out immediately, but it didn't." Lei Shuchun said
"Did her tank have any modifications?" Nam Jii asked
"None. It was a default Panzer III Ausf. J with no customizations on speed and maneuverability. She made it seem like a 23 ton tank was a damn race car." Soomin said
"She was nicknamed the Iron Rose. Her name is Erika Itsumi, the beautiful iron flower that never wilts even in the face of death." Cosima smiled
(All the teams started talking about Erika and the whole area was filled with whispers about her)
"Looks like the other teams have discovered Erika-san's presence.." Beatrisa smiled
"Yeah..they'll start to be cautious about her.." Ilse said
"Not knowing that the bigger threat they have to face is the happy go lucky fool on top of the tank.." Ingrid said
"It's all going according to Gero-san's plan then..the war hasn't even started and yet he has already diverted their attention. The White Tiger used the skill misdirection against their enemies. It was very effective!" Beatrisa laughed
"You play pokemon too much.." Ilse reacted
"Oh come on, that was a pretty good joke and an amazing game!"
(While everyone was talking about Erika, somebody was not fooled by Gero's misdirection. It was Charlotte, the commander of the British team. She kept her attention on Gero and his tank and knew that he is the biggest threat in the entire tournament)
"What's wrong, Commander Charlotte?" Victoria asked
"That guy is dangerous and that tank isn't normal..I can feel it.." she answered
"Even more dangerous than the Iron Rose?"
"I can't tell for sure yet. I'll have to find out when we meet on the battlefield.." Charlotte smiled
(All of the countries participating are now present and lined up. The next people the announcer welcome was the Tank Meisters)
"Let's give a big round of applause for the mighty TANK MEISTERS!" shouted the announcer
Tank Meister Alonso
German National Tankery Team Coach
Leopard 2 Main Battle Tank
Tank Meister Chouno
Japan National Tankery Team Coach
Type 10 Main Battle Tank
Tank Meister Bryson
American National Tankery Team Coach
M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank
Tank Meister Leo
French National Tankery Team Coach
Leclerc Main Battle Tank
Tank Meister Barrett
British National Tankery Team Coach
Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank
Tank Meister Bong-Cha
South Korean National Tankery Team Coach
K2 Black Panther Main Battle Tank
Tank Meister Lin Yu Jie
China National Tankery Team Coach
Type 99 Main Battle Tank
Tank Meister Dmitri
Russia National Tankery Team Coach
T-14 Armata Main Battle Tank
(The Tank Meisters now entered the staging area riding their tanks. The tanks they have were not WWII tanks but Main Battle Tanks. Everyone cheered and raveled at the sight of the strongest tank commanders in history of the sport)
"Look at those tanks! They both look cool and scary!" Kin said
"Those are MBTs or Main Battle Tanks! Far superior from our WWII tanks in firepower, armor, and maneuverability." Hajime said
"Oh I don't know about that.." Ono smiled
"Well Matsu-kun? Want to find out how strong the Tank Meisters are?" Ken said
"I really want to but if we do then our misdirection will be all for nothing..we'll have our chance after the tournament.."
(As the Tank Meisters passed every country they gave them a wave to boost the morale of the participants. After circling around every team they stopped at the respective teams that they coach)
"Now that everyone is here! We are excited to reveal the schedule of the matches! Please check the date of your match and who you will be facing!"
(The big screen in front of everyone turned on and revealed the schedule to all of the teams)
[Elimination Rounds Schedule]
Japan vs. Brazil
Britain vs. China
Finland vs. Italy
Germany vs. Russia
France vs. Bulgaria
Romania vs. Australia
South Korea vs. Canada
Hungary vs. America
"THE TOURNAMENT WILL BEGIN TOMORROW! FINALIZE YOUR PREPARATIONS! FURTHER INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR MATCH WILL BE GIVEN 24 HOURS PRIOR TO THE MATCH. EACH TEAM WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRACTICE INSIDE THE SEMISPHERE'S ALLOCATED AREAS! GOOD LUCK AND SEE YOU ON THE BATTLEFIELD! The announcer shouted"
[Semisphere - J.N.S.T War Room]
(Kaede, Shiori, Erika, and Gero waited in their war room for the Germany Team leaders to arrive. After a few minutes of waiting, Ilse, Ingrid and Beatrisa came through the door)
"Guten Tag!" the three greeted
"Ilse! Ingrid! Beatrisa Nice to meet you again!" Erika said
"ERIKA-SAMA!" both jumped and hugged Erika
"Erika-sama! Gero-san! Nice to see you again!" Beatrisa saluted
"You too Beatrisa-senpai! I'd like to introduce to you our commander and vice-commander! Yamato Kaede and Yamato Shiori!"
"Hajimemashite!" both Kaede and Shiori bowed
"Nice to meet you too! I'm Beatrisa Vize Kommandant of the German Team! These two runts here are Ilse and Ingrid the Kommandants!"
"Hallo! Nice to meet you!" the twins greeted
"Thank you for accepting our request for a practice match!" Kaede said
"You're very welcome! We can never refuse a request from Erika-sama!" Ingrid said
"Geez! You two are exaggerating too much!" Erika blushed
"Alright you two that's enough! Time to talk about the practice match!" Beatrisa scolded the twins
"We were thinking something simple like a Flag Tank Battle with 50 tanks? Or maybe a Last Tank Standing Match but with 25 tanks only? What do you think?" Shiori asked
"Let's do the Flag Tank one so that everyone can practice." Ilse said
"Understood!"
"Let's have it in the afternoon then since we have to reserve one of the practice areas beforehand." Beatrisa said
"Ehhh? But I want to practice now! Why do we have to do that?"
"I heard that there are only four practice arenas so the teams would be fighting over them. It happened last year and it turned into a nasty brawl." Ingrid explained
"Guess there's nothing we can do if that's the rule so suck it up Bakatora!" Erika said
"Fine, then let's head to the practice arenas to reserve one right away!"
(They headed towards the office area inside the Semisphere in order to reserve one of the practice arenas. They were nearing one of the offices they noticed that there was a small crowd of people. As they got closer they could hear voices arguing inside the crowd. They took a quick peak and it was the Tank Aces of America, Brazil, South Korea and Italy that were screaming at each other)
"I told you, we already reserved this arena for us. Take the afternoon schedule!" Cosima shouted
"And we're telling you that we want this morning schedule! We are not leaving until we get this practice arena!" Abilo shouted
"That's Abilo and Cosima, what's happening?" Beatrisa asked one of the spectators
"Italy and South Korea reserved the last practice arena for the morning but America and Brazil over there are trying to take it from them by blocking their way."
"Oh, good thing we're going for the afternoon schedule then." Ingrid said
"Let's just let them figure it out by themselves, I do not want to get caught in the middle of any arguments. Right Erika-sama?" Ilse said
(When Ilse looked beside her, Erika and Gero were already gone and headed for the people that are arguing)
"Too late.." Beatrisa said
"Erika-sama!" Ingrid shouted
(As the argument continued between the two Aces, another person approached them. That person was Eugene who was the Tank Ace of America and was growing impatient.)
"Enough is enough, our teams are going to use this arena to practice and that's final!" Eugene shouted
(Then the Tank Ace of South Korea joined in the fray sa well)
"Who the hell died and made you boss? Get lost!" Gwon Soomin said
(This enraged Eugene and pushed both of the ladies down. He lifted his arm and clench his fist at them then swung. Cosima and Soomin covered themselves to not get hit by the punch but to their surprise the punch never came. They looked up and saw Erika catching the punch of Eugene with ease. Gero was beside her and he offered both his hands to the two ladies to help them up)
"Are you two alright?"
"Y-Yes, kamsahamnida.." Soomin replied
"Who the hell are you?!" Eugene shouted
"I-Iron Rose.." Cosima said
(The American Ace tried to pull away his fist from Erika's block but he couldn't. He tried pulling as hard as he could but Erika's grip just kept on getting tighter.)
"I've always wondered what kind of people were the Tank Aces. Why am I not surprised that you were the type to shove women and raise a hand against them?" Erika said
"Let go of me!" Eugene pulled his hand once again but this time Erika let go of him and he ended up falling back on his ass
"Gero, can you start submitting the reservation for our practice game this afternoon? I'm in the mood for teaching lessons." Erika said with a serious tone
"Okay my love, just don't get us disqualified before the tournament starts alright?"
"I'll try my best, but that's entirely up to them."
"Alright then, if I'm not mistaken, you are Cosima-san and Soomin-san right?"
"Si, and you are?"
"I'm Gero! Nice to meet you! You see I want to make a reservation for our practice match but I have no idea how to do it. Can you help me?"
"S-Sure, but what about..the Iron Rose?"
"Oh don't worry about her! Erika will make sure that your practice schedule this morning will proceed as planned!"
"I understand, please follow us Signor Gero!" Cosima smiled
(Gero was then escorted by Cosima and Soomin to the office room to make the reservation for the practice arena)
"Alright! For anyone who wants to join my class in handling bullies, come join us over there!" Erika shouted
(Word spread all over the Semisphere to every team of what was happening and a lot of people were interested in watching)
"Did you hear? The Iron Rose of Berlin is about to fight the Tank Ace of America!" one of the tanker said
"Oh I gotta see this!"
(It didn't take long for the small crowd of people to become a big audience. Erika and Eugene were at the middle of everybody and were about to fight)
"Let me make one thing clear, you are going to lose this fight, and when you do, you will no longer bother anybody else about the reservations of practice matches. Get in line just like everybody else." Erika said
"You made a big mistake! I don't care who you are, you are going to regret this!" Eugene shouted
"I already regret it because this is such a pain in the ass for me, but I despise bullies so much, especially the type that harms women."
"Fuck you!"
"Let the class begin!" Erika said with a smile
(Eugen lunged forward and swung his right arm towards Erika to punch her but it was such a basic move and very easy to see that Erika was disappointed. She dodged the punch with minimal movement and landed a hard counter punch to Eugene's liver. This blow to his liver forced him down to his knees in excruciating pain and eventually had to lay down on the floor. Everybody watching was so shocked at how fast Erika's moves were)
"Lesson #1! No matter how buffed or how much muscle a bully has on their body. A swift blow to the liver will bring him down to his knees every time! It's not a matter of will power or mental strength, his body will shut down."
"Get up Eugene! What's wrong with you!" Abilo shouted
"He's going to be laying down for a while so save your breath. This punch to the liver is a lot better than a punch to his face. You see, when you get hit on the head, you get disoriented so your brain doesn't necessarily process the pain. But a blow to the liver is the complete opposite of that since your brain is clear as day to process the pain."
"ERIKA-SAMA YOU ARE SO COOL!" Ilse and Ingrid cheered out
"Watch out Erika-sama! Behind you!" Beatrisa shouted
(Eugene recovered from the blow to his liver quite quickly than an average person would and charged straight at Erika again. This time she grabbed Eugene's arm and just before he grabbed her and did a shoulder throw technique which flipped Eugene over her shoulders and slammed him on the ground. This shocked everybody again as they watch Eugene writhe in pain once more on the floor)
"Lesson #2! If you don't want to punch somebody then that's fine! You can just throw him on the ground like what I did now! That was a Judo throwing technique called Seoi-nage or shoulder throw."
"Looks like I was worried for nothing.." Soomin said as she watched from the sideline
"Told ya.."
(Eugene slowly got back up again but his legs were weak and shaking from the damage that he received just now.)
"I'm actually surprised you can still stand up." Erika asked
"T-There's no way..in hell..I'd go down..from someone like you.."
"Oh really?"
(Erika then lifted her right leg and did a nasty skipping side kick and landed a direct hit on Eugen's stomach and sent him flying across the floor and landed in front of the other American tankers watching. They were struck with fear and were unable to move from where they stood.)
"Lesson #3! Never feel bad for people like him. It doesn't matter if he's already beat up and weak. You put him down until he stays down. So that the next time he sees you, he won't see you as someone he can bully anymore."
(The whole room was just silent and staring at Erika)
"To those that are afraid of bullies or are currently being bullied, you don't need to master any kind of martials arts or learn a hundred different moves! You just need to learn a punch, a kick, and a throw! Aim for the liver and stand up for yourselves!" Erika said with a smile
"ERIKA-SAMA! WE LOVE YOU!" Ilse and Ingrid shouted again
"Since your pal over there is knocked out, I assume that you remember the deal? Tank Ace of Brazil?" Erika asked
"Y-Yeah, we won't bother anyone anymore. You have my word." Abilo answered
"Yeah well your word isn't worth for shit until you act on it, so we'll keep a close eye on you for now. Anyways! This was Itsumi Erika's Life Lessons Against Bullies! I hope you all learned something! Thank you very much for watching!" Erika said with a smile then bowed
(Soon everybody that was watching clapped their hands and cheered for Erika)
"Woo! Iron Rose!"
"That was amazing!"
"Please throw me on the ground as well!"
(As everybody was cheering, Gero returned to Erika and was very happy that everyone was cheering for her)
"Looks like you had fun with your lessons."
"A little bit.."
"Do you mind giving me one of those lessons later as well? But gentler?"
"Oh stop it you!" Erika blushed
"Come on, let's get back to the team, I've made the reservations for the practice match later at 3PM in the afternoon."
"Great! Let's go!"
[Practice Arena #7 - 3PM]
Germany vs. Japan - Flag Tank Match
Japan Team's Flag Tank - White Tiger
Germany Team's Flag Tank - Tank Ace Jagdpanther
"Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu! Let's have a fun and fair match!" Kaede said and bowed
"Likewise! We have been looking forward to this ever since we found out you guys will be joining the tournament this year!" Ilse said
"Please go easy on us Erika-sama!" Ingrid said
"That should be my line!"
"Beatrisa-senpai! Looks like we're the Flag Tanks! Let's have a duel!"
"Uhh I don't think that's how it works! The point of this practice match is to help all of our tank crews practice for the tournament! If we end up losing right away then what's the point?" Beatrisa said
"Oh right, you have a point!"
(As Gero and Beatrisa were enjoying their chat, the other three girls that are in love with Gero were staring and had very envious eyes)
"Look at him smiling all the way to his ears! Who is that woman?!" Kay reacted
"That's Gero-kun's senpai during college I believe." Darjeeling said
"I don't like it when she's getting all close to Ro-chan like that." Mika said
(Soon enough, Beatrisa noticed the icy glares she was receiving from the girls)
"Uhh, is it me or are those girls looking at me with scary eyes?" Beatrisa asked
"Hmm? Oh don't be silly! They're nice girls! I'm sure they just want to be close to you since you're the great Tank Ace of Germany!"
"I do hope so.."
(They now went back to their lines and were about to start the match)
"She seems like a nice lady?" Darjeeling asked
"Beatrisa-senpai? Yeah, she's a great person! Took good care of me during college!"
"You seem awfully attracted to her, Ro-chan?" Mika reacted
"I wouldn't say attracted, but she is beautiful!"
"Hmph! I hate you darling!" Kay pouted
"Eh? Did I do something?"
(Erika and Kaede were watching from the side and noticed how the other three girls were in bad moods)
"Uh oh, looks like they got a little envious of the German Tank Ace." Kaede said
"You're not?" Erika asked
"Not one bit."
"Good, this should be an interesting match!" Erika smiled
(The battlefield was a grassland with multiple big hills and pockets of trees all over. A bright green flare shot up towards the sky signaling the start of the match)
"Los! Los! Los!" Ingrid ordered
"All tanks forward!" Kaede ordered
"Roger!" everyone responded
"Listen up! This will be our first official international practice match and we're up against the German Tankery Team! I know that some of you may be nervous! Just remember the three years of training we received and we'll be fine!"
"Nervous? Who's nervous?" Erika asked
"I don't think anybody is! Alright! Let's do this everyone!"
"YEEEAAAHHH!""
(All tanks from both sides accelerated as ordered by their commanders. Everybody was pumped up and excited for the Kay, Darjeeling, and Mika were excited in a different way)
"Mika and Kay, do you read me?" Darjeeling radioed
"Yes.."
"What's up?"
"Do you fancy a stroll and pay a visit to the enemy team's flag tank?"
"I'm game.." Mika replied
"Aim for the target at the get go! I love it!" Kay cheered
"I can hear you clearly, you know?" Kaede suddenly butted in their conversation from the radio
"Ah.."
"Let me ask, is this for you? Or for the team?"
"It's for both, Kaede-san." Darjeeling answered
"Happy hunting then..Alice-san will take command of your platoon."
"Roger!" Alice answered
"Thank you very much!"
"Looks like you girls are about to have some fun!" Gero suddenly radioed
"Darling!?"
"Can I join in on you?"
"Nope, you stay right where you are Ro-chan." Mika said
"Ehh.."
"We can handle this one Gero-kun! Trust us!" Darjeeling said
"I do trust you! Well then, do your best and have fun! If you manage to be victorious then I'll give you three a reward!"
"Reward?!" the three suddenly blushed
"Yup! You can ask for ANYTHING you want from me."
"Anything..anything..anything..anything.." that one word echoed deeply inside their minds
"LET'S GO!" the three girls suddenly shouted and rushed off
"Look at them go.." Miho said whale looking through her binoculars
"What about me? Do I get a reward?" Erika asked
"I'm always giving you rewards.."
"Where do you want us to go, onii-sama?" Maho asked
"We'll be staying here, guarding the right flank of the main group."
"Oh..alright then.."
"Are you sure onii-chan?" Miho asked
"Yeah. What's wrong?"
"Nothing! It's just that we kinda expected you would want to charge straight at the enemy, you know, like you always do?"
"Not today, that's because we will be getting visitors real soon."
"Visitors?" both asked
(At that moment Miho and Maho suddenly felt chills down their backs and intense bloodlust from across the hill. They immediately ordered their tanks to take defensive angles as they waited for their attackers to arrive. Soon they saw two Tiger IIs with a gray paint job drive over the crest of the hill and they realized who had arrived)
"Those tanks are.." Miho said
"The Terrific Twins of Germany.."
(Right before their eyes, the twin commanders of the German Tankery Team has arrived and will be their opponents)
Coming Up Next : Chapter 100 - Friendly Match
Author's Note:
Hi all! Here is the fourth chapter of the final arc! As the title says, It looks like Erika has become famous for the last three years as the Iron Rose of Berlin! The flower that never wilts in the battlefield! All that experience she had fighting against Pandora helped her grow even more stronger!
Here we got introduced to the commanders and vice commanders of the other teams and also got a look at the Tank Meisters with their Main Battle Tanks! In the next chapter will be the practice match against Germany so stay tuned!