Chapter 100 - Friendly Match
[Practice Arena #7 - 3PM]
"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)
"Guten Tag! It's nice to meet you, little sisters of the White Tiger!" Ilse greeted
"We'll be your opponents for today!" Ingrid smiled
"Talk about high difficulty right off the bat.." Maho smiled
"Well then, we'll leave this situation to the both of you alright? Have fun and stay safe!"
"Ehh?! You're not gonna help us onii-chan?! Eririn!?" Miho shouted
"Since we trained with the twins and their team for three years, we already know how they fight so it wouldn't be fair!"
"Then what are you gonna do the whole match?" Maho asked
"We'll observe for now and see how the whole team has improved over the years! See ya!"
"Ilse, Ingrid, give it your best ok?" Erika smiled
"YES ERIKA-SAMA!" the twins responded with hearts in their eyes
"Get ready Miho!"
"I'll follow your lead onee-chan!"
(Their Tiger Is now accelerated and started to engage the Tiger IIs of the twins. Meanwhile Gero and Erika then headed out to higher ground to observe the whole battlefield)
"How did you even convince the twins to go along with this plan of yours?"
"I told them that after our first match I'll be taking them on a date around the city, they agreed right away." Erika smiled
"Of course they would.."
"Besides, this practice match is a great way to gauge our team's overall performance, having them go up against the second strongest tankery team in Europe is a blessing!"
"I suppose you're right, well then let's see how our team is faring shall we?"
(Both of them grabbed their binoculars and watched the battlefield before them. Gero watched as Mika, Kay and Darjeeling battled against Germany's Tank Ace, Beatrisa at the west. While Erika watched Kaede and Shiori's first command as the team's commanders at the south.)
[West Side of the Battlefield]
"FIRE!" Mika, Kay, and Darjeeling ordered
(Their tanks fired their cannons in unison targeting Beatrisa's Jagdpanther but she dodged the shots very easily)
"She's the Tank Ace for a reason alright! This won't be easy!" Kay shouted
"I never said it would be! Me and Kay will keep her busy while Mika flanks!" Darjeeling ordered
"Roger!"
(Mika's Type 98 Ke-Ni then accelerated to the left and hid inside a dense forest while Kay and Darjeeling kept on engaging Beatrisa)
"The fast one will flank while you two keep me busy huh? I'd say that was the most logical decision you can make right now." Beatrisa smiled
"Fire!"
(Darjeeling and Kay's Type 4 Chi-To tanks fired and two shells exploded on both side of the Jagdpanther blinding their vision all around)
"Now Mika!"
(Mika's tank then appeared right behind the Jagdpanther and was already aiming its cannon at its rear side. Just when Aki was about to pull the trigger, the Jagdpanther suddenly reversed and did a 360 rotation hitting the edge of their tank with great force which forced Aki's shot to hit the side armor and bounced the shell. After their tank stopped spinning the Jagdpanther was now the one aiming at the Ke-Ni's rear armor)
"Feur!" Beatrisa ordered
"Mikko!" Mika shouted
(The Jagdpanther shot its 88mm shell but Mikko was able to accelerate right away and barely dodge the shot. The shell exploded right behind their light tank as they created some distance.)
"Wow! That's really a fast tank! I underestimated its speed!" Beatrisa smiled
(The three of them then realized how Beatrisa's fighting style is very similar to somebody they knew very well)
"She fights like Ro-chan.." Mika said
"Yeah, she's the flag tank and yet she never tried to run away from us.." Darjeeling said
"The way she baits in her targets then aims for a counter is just like darling!" Kay said
"You've finally caught on, that's right! Surprise! I'm copying your beloved person's fighting style! Think of it as the one you're fighting is the White Tiger right now!" Beatrisa said with a smug smile
(Beatrisa then went on the offensive and started engaging Kay, Darjeeling and Mika all at the same time giving them such a hard time)
"That's the Tank Ace of Germany alright, the Vice Commander of Germany, Beatrisa the Copy Cat.."
"To be able to copy your fighting style even though you never rode a tank during our college years is an amazing skill.." Erika said
"She managed to copy that with just the videos of my previous matches..so scary.."
"The fact that she decided to use your fighting style right now just to piss off those girls even more, as usual her sadistic personality shows when she's enjoying.."
"Yeah, what about on your end? How are Kaede-chan and the rest doing?"
"They're about to meet the Black Panthers.." Erika smiled
[South Side of the Battlefield]
(On the south side of the battlefield, Kaede and the rest of the Japan Team were headed towards the position of the German Team. It was a quiet ride the whole time but all of them could feel it. They could feel the eerie tension as if they are being watched the entire time and yet they haven't even seen not one tank from the enemy team)
"All tanks halt!" Kaede ordered
"Should we send a scout? I hate that we're the only ones being looked at right now.." Shiori said
"No need, our stalkers are in front of us, we'll see them soon."
"Eh?! How do you know that?"
"Well, there are only three paths in this zone. One in the left, right, and here in the middle. On the left, Miho-san and Maho-san made contact with the Twins of Germany while on the right, Kay, Darjeeling, and Mika are engaging the Tank Ace of Germany. All that's left is here in the middle where if their tank column was going at their normal speed then they'd be approximately 400 meters and closing." Kaede explained
"All tanks take defensive positions! We've got incoming! All tank destroyers find a good vantage point!" Shiori ordered
"Commander, permission to split my platoon in two to find a flanking position." Alice radioed
"Permission granted, let me know when you're in a good position then wait for my signal." Kaede responded
"Will do! Rosehip and Tojo with me to the left, the rest go right!" Alice ordered
"Roger!"
(After the light tanks separated from the main group the ground around them started to rumble. Suddenly their position started getting bombarded by shells and white flagged Barley's and Carpaccio's tanks straight away)
"Straight ahead! Enemy tanks spotted!" Emi shouted
"What are those?!" Akane reacted
"Panthers! It's Germany's Black Panthers!" Jajka shouted
(Right in front of them were Panther G tanks with the black paint job. They were charging straight at them while firing their 75mm cannons with insane accuracy)
"Return fire! Stop their blitzkrieg!" Shiori ordered
(The Japan team returned fired and defended their position but the Panthers were fast and skilled in evading the shots by using the trees as cover. The panthers fired another salvo of shells and white flagged Anchovy's and Sudou's tanks)
"I can't hit a damn thing! The trees are a pain in the ass!" Saemonza complained
"Damn it! They're getting closer!" Alisa shouted
"Hold the line! Just a little bit more!" Kaede shouted
"In position!" Alice and Jouko suddenly radioed
"About time! All tank destroyers choose a target! On my signal!"
(The Black Panthers also spotted the Japanese tank destroyers aiming at them from above a ridge behind the main force of the Japanese team)
"Sir! Enemy TDs!"
"Doesn't matter! Take cover behind the trees!"
"FIRE!" Kaede ordered
(A Salvo of shells were fired by the tank destroyers and it did not hit a single Panther tank because their true target were the trees. The 105 high velocity shells that they fired were able to destroy at least three layers of trees because of their destructive power. Numerous trees began falling down on and exposing the hidden Panthers and now they no longer have any cover)
"Shit! This was their plan all along!" one of the German tank commanders reacted
"Pick your targets everyone! FIRE AT WILL!" Shiori ordered
(The Japanese team then unleashed a barrage of shells towards the position of the Black Panthers and white flagged seven of them right away. The Black Panthers now started to disperse and was trying to retreat but Kaede had no intention of letting them go)
"Now Alice-san!" Kaede ordered
"Roger!"
(All of a sudden the light tank platoon of Alice came out of the bushes from the left and right flanks of the Panthers taking them by surprise. They rushed their tanks straight into the Panther tanks and mixed in with them creating chaos and confusion)
"Aim for their tracks!" Pepperoni shouted
"One of the Panthers is stuck over there!" Noriko said
"Let's put it out of its misery shall we?" Shizuka smiled
(Noriko and Shizuka's Ke-Ni light tank then accelerated towards the panther while dodging the shells fired at them. They drifted in both directions and aimed their turrets at the Panther's rear armor then fired which white flagged it completely. The Panther commander then realized that the Japanese team was ready to fire another barrage of shells)
"Incoming barrage!"
"What?! Their own tanks are here! Are they not afraid of hitting their own?!"
(All of a sudden the light tanks of Alice's platoon hid themselves each behind a Panther and used it as cover surprising the Germans)
"FIRE!" Kaede ordered
(Another barrage of shells white flagged six more Panther tanks and not a single friendly fire hit happened. Just as the light tanks of Alice were about to create more chaos they were hit by a barrage of shells from their flank and the tanks of Shizuka, Rosehip, and Noriko got white flagged)
"What the hell was that?!" Tojo shouted
"Up on the ridge! Enemy Jagdpanther tank destroyers!" Marie reported
"They responded way quicker than I thought..I guess the Ace of Germany is now fighting alone over there." Alice said
"Jouko-san! Nine enemy TDs up the ridge about 800 meters out!" Pepperoni radioed
"I see them. Naomi, Sakuraba and Kallan switch targets, while others maintain fire at the Panthers. Fire!" Jouko ordered
"Sending!" Naomi shouted
"On the way!" Kal shouted
"Firing!" Sakuraba shouted
(The Ho-Ri tank destroyers fired their 105mm shells directly at the position of the Jagdpanthers and white flagged four of them. The Jagdpanthers then popped smoke and changed their positions)
"Enemy tank destroyers neutralized, you're clear for now." Jouko radioed
"Copy that! Appreciate the support! All tanks forward! Push them back!" Kaede ordered
(As the battle between Japan and Germany continues at the middle of the map, Gero was just enjoying the show while eating popcorn)
"Oh look at them go! They are holding their own against Germany's best!"
"We'll be in big trouble in the tournament if they can't.." Erika said
"What about your side? How're my little sisters?"
"About that.."
"What?"
(Erika was looking through her binoculars and was seeing something that she never saw before. Miho and Maho's Tiger Is were riddled with shell impacts and the paint job on their tanks are scraped all over)
"Both Miho and Maho are out of breath but luckily they aren't white flagged yet. The twins however haven't even broken a sweat."
"I guess three years of training under the Great Families weren't enough to catch up to those twins..I've said this before the first time I met those two, they're fucking monsters."
"They weren't this strong before, but I guess meeting you sparked something within them to get stronger.."
"So it's my fault?"
"Pretty much.."
"I hate you.."
"Love you too.."
(What Erika said was true, the twins wanted to get stronger after meeting Gero three years ago and wanted to defeat them. This was different from Miho and Maho because the three years of training they spent was meant for them to catch up to Gero and not defeat him.)
"Is this it? Is this what the sisters of the White Tiger can do?" Ingrid asked
"Honestly I'm disappointed.." Ilse said
"Damn it..how the hell are these two this strong?!" Maho said in her mind
"We're the three years of training worth nothing at all?" Miho said in her mind
"I expected more but I guess this just means that you still don't know what you're lacking.."
"Lacking? What do you mean..?" Maho said
"This reminds me, your brother almost died during a match right?" Ilse asked
(After hearing that question both Miho and Maho recalled that dreadful day where they were staring at Gero's lifeless body being resuscitated by Erika. They started breathing heavily and negative emotions started to form in them)
"It's not like I don't know how you felt during that time since my sister here got into a similar accident and almost died too. I remember being by her side the whole time and being all terrified of what will happen to her.." Ingrid said
"Enough.." Maho threatened
"But something about your brother's accident seemed wrong, so I've always wanted to ask you both this.."
"..."
"What the hell were you two doing during that time and why weren't you by his side?" Ingrid asked with a scary tone
(Miho and Maho were shaken to their core after hearing those words. They know more than anyone else how powerless they were during that time and that they weren't able to do anything for Gero)
"W-We..were.." Miho said with a saddened tone
"You did nothing for him, no, you couldn't do anything for him at all, right?"
"N-No..y-you're wrong.." Maho reacted
"You couldn't do anything because you were so weak..just like now.."
"W-weak.."
"That's right, you are so weak! At this rate the same thing will happen all over again.." Ilse said
"S-Stop it.." Miho said softly
"Your brother will get into an accident again.."
"Shut up!" Maho shouted
"But this time..he..will..surely..DIE.." Ingrid said
(At that moment Miho and Maho pictured a terrifying scene of Gero dead in front of them. Suddenly both of their shaking stopped and their breathing became normal. Their auras started to change into a darker and heavier one and the twins felt it.)
"Onii-chan will..die?" Miho asked
"Who will die? Onii-sama?" Maho asked
(The twin suddenly felt the first ever cold chill down their spines the moment they locked eyes with Miho and Maho. The light from their eyes was gone and only one emotion could be felt from them, and that was rage. A burst of heaving killing intent suddenly hit the twins which made them take defensive positions with their tanks. The killing intent was so heavy and dense that it reminded them of Gero's aura)
"I'LL KILL YOU.." Miho and Maho said with a very cold and serious tone
"Finally, you guys now have the most important thing that you were lacking in order to win.." Ingrid said with a smile
"The desire to truly kill your opponent.." Ingrid smiled
(Miho and Maho's tanks suddenly accelerated faster than before and tried to flank the twins from both directions. Their movements have become totally different from before and they move a lot more aggressively.)
"Now both of you are looking a little bit more like your brother!" Ingrid shouted
"Shut your mouth!" Miho shouted
"I was hoping that they would get a lot more careless after all of those taunts but the opposite happened. They're fighting aggressively and yet all their movements are calculated and not a single decision is half-assed." Ilse said in her mind
"We might've made a mistake here sis!" Ingrid radioed
"I don't think so, tankery wouldn't be half the fun if it wasn't this intense! This was the best course of action we could take while helping these two out!"
"Why are we helping them again?"
"So we could go on a date with Erika-sama you fool!"
"Oh yeah that's right! Let's do this!"
(As the battle between the twins and the Nishizumi sisters rages on, Erika couldn't help but smile)
"Looks like your sisters will be fine after all.." Erika said
"Of course they would, but I don't think it's going well for the other side though.."
(Gero was referring to the battle between Kay, Darjeeling, and Mika against Beatrisa the Copy Cat. Kay and Darjeeling were fatigued and mentally drained while Beatrisa still had a very nasty smile on her face)
"I messed up big time, I totally underestimated her." Darjeeling said in her mind
"What's wrong? Please tell me we're not finished! I'm just getting warmed up!" Beatrisa said
"What now Darjeeling?!" Kay radioed
"I'm thinking!"
"What a coincidence.." Mika suddenly said
(Beatrisa looked at Mika and saw that she wasn't tired at all and was even stretching out her body on top of her tank. Beatrisa suddenly felt something off about Mika. Something she couldn't fully grasp and was bothered by it)
"I'm also finished getting warmed up.." Mika smiled
"Mika-san?" Darjeeling asked
"I'll create an opening for the both of you so make sure not to miss it."
"Got it!" Kay answered
"Create an opening huh? Think you could win?" Beatrisa asked
"Yes, I do."
"Where is all that confidence coming from huh?"
"Hmm, let's just say that, I'm confident that nobody else in this world knows more about Ro-chan than me when it comes to Senshado." Mika said with an evil smile
"What do you mean by tha-"
"Tulta~"
(Mika suddenly ordered her tank to fire at Beatrisa's tank without any warning. This surprised Beatrisa but she was able to dodge with ease. She then looked at where Mika's tank was and once again she was surprised that her tank was no longer there)
"Where?!"
"Over here~"
(Beatrisa felt the cold gaze behind her back as she noticed that Mika and her tank were already behind them. The only explanation she could think of was that the speed limiters were removed from her tank and accelerated behind them as fast as possible)
"So fast! Rather than that, how did she know I would dodge this way?!" Beatrisa said in her mind
"Tulta~"
(Mika's tank fired but Beatrisa dodge again by having her tank reverse. The Jagdpanther then aimed its cannon at Mika's tank but the light tank suddenly accelerated and hugged the side of the Jagdpanther. This made it impossible for the gunner to aim properly since their tank doesn't have a turret and it needs to rotate its whole body in order to aim sideways)
"Again?!" Beatrisa was getting annoyed
"Tell me, Ace of Germany, are you scared right now?" Mika asked with scary eyes and a scary smile
"Get the hell away from me!"
(The Jagdpanther forced Mika's tank away from them by pushing it off with sheer power. The gunner fired its 88mm shell but Mika was able to dodge it beautifully.)
"Oh my, the look on your face is truly a treat to see, you like toying with other people but you hate being toyed yourself.." Mika taunted
"How is she suddenly able to read our tank's movements?" Beatrisa said in her mind
"I can read you like a book, you're wondering right now why I was able to predict your movements, right?"
"Heh, looks like you're more interesting after all, you should've fought like this from the get-go!"
"I didn't want to spoil your little fun of imitating my Ro-chan, I gotta say you got it about 90% right!" Mika said
"I'll try to do better next time then and make it a 100%!"
"Oh you're welcome to try but you can never be Ro-chan, but even if you manage to copy Ro-chan at a 100% copy rate, that would just guarantee my win even more.." Mika said
"You're bluffing again!"
"I told you before, nobody else knows Ro-chan more than me~"
"Wait.." Beatrisa came to a realization
"Have you finally caught on? Miss Copy Cat?"
"The reason you've been predicting my every move was precisely because I was copying Gero-san?" Beatrisa asked
"I wonder~"
"That doesn't make any sense-"
"Tulta~"
(Mika once again made a surprise attack and fired a shell towards Beatrisa but her gunner was able to react and fire a shell as well. The two shells collided mid-air and exploded but Beatrisa didn't expect the shell that Mika fired was a smoke shell. A huge cloud of smoke engulfed the area in between them)
"Driver forward! Punch through that smoke!" Beatrisa ordered
"Roger!"
(Beatrisa's Jagdpanther went into the smoke at max speed and just as they were in the middle of the smokescreen, Beatrisa suddenly felt a chill to her right side. She looked and saw Mika standing on top of her tank laying in wait for them. Mika ordered Mikko to turn off their engine and wait inside the smoke)
"See? I knew you were going to push through the smoke~"
"H-How..?"
"Tulta~"
(Aki fired their 37mm shell at the side of the Jagdpanther at point blank range but Beatrisa's driver was able to stop and drift in time to bounce off the shell. The Jagdpanther drifted to the left and tried to position itself to aim its cannon at the light tank but Mikko had already started their engine and did a simple 90 degree reverse turn and hugged the right side of the Jagdpanther again. Aki was already aiming their gun at the side of the Jagdpanther again and fired the shell which knocked out the side skirts of the tank.)
"Driver reverse and pop smoke!" Beatrisa ordered
"Is it me or all you've been doing now is running away?" Mika taunted
"Shut up! You just got lucky! This time I'll-"
"The move you just did was something Ro-chan did in the past during a practice match. The move before that was from a match during the Nationals. Everything you've been doing has been a move Ro-chan did before he left Japan three years ago. That's the reason why I know what you're going to do before you do it." Mika explained
"It's impossible to remember and memorize every single move a person does!" Beatrisa shouted
"Oh but it is, you just need to love that person to the point that you'll take notice of every move he makes. From the simplest movement of his lips to the complicated movements of his whole body." Mika gave a warm smile
"Sounds like a stalker to me!"
"Call it admiring someone from a distance~"
"That's what stalking is, you weirdo!"
"If you say so, well in any case you won't be able to win against me for as long as you are copying Ro-chan."
"Well then, in that case, all I have to do is stop copying him!"
(Beatrisa then ordered his driver to turn around and find some cover by the woods behind them. The reason for this is because Beatrisa needs some time to get into character after choosing a different person's fighting style. As they entered the woods Beatrisa closed her eyes and concentrated)
"And the trap has been sprung~" Mika said with a devious smile
(A shell landed a direct hit all of a sudden to Beatrisa's Jagdpanther and destroyed the right tracks completely. Beatrisa was so shocked and didn't expect it. She took a look at the sniper and it was Darjeeling's tank that took the shot. The person that saw through the weakness of Beatrisa's Copy Cat skill was no other than Assam. With her amazing information gathering skills and her dedication to watch previous footage of Beatrisa's matches, Assam discovered that every time Beatrisa's fighting style changed mid fight she retreated and hid for a couple of seconds before fighting again. Assam did not let this small window of opportunity go to waste and took the perfect shot to disable the tank of Germany's Tank Ace. Beatrisa's Jagdpanther crashed into a boulder and she noticed that Kay's tank was already aiming at the rear armor of their flag tank)
"That was perfect, it is my loss.." Beatrisa smiled
"Fire!" Kay ordered
(Just when Kay's gunner was about to pull the trigger a loud siren was heard in the practice arena. This siren signaled the end of the match but they were all surprised since both flag tanks haven't been white flagged.)
"Eh?! We haven't even fired yet!" Kay complained
"TIME UP! THE MATCH'S TIME LIMIT HAS BEEN REACHED! SINCE BOTH FLAG TANKS ARE STILL OPERATIONAL THIS MATCH ENDS WITH A TIE!" the announcer said
"HHHHHAAAAA?!" everyone reacted
Coming Up Next : Chapter 101 - Tiger and Princess
Author's Note:
Hi everyone! The Germany Team just proved to the JNST why they are the second best team in the tournament! The twins overwhelming the Nishizumi sisters with ease shows the gap in their skills! While Beatrisa the Copy Cat playing around with Darjeeling and the others by copying Gero's movements was an intense psychological attack until Mika turned the tables on her! The tournament hasn't even started yet and things are already heating up! Stay tuned for the next chapter!