Hanoashi let out a small sigh as she put on her Sensado uniform and left the bathroom, joining Hayle as they walked out of the changing stalls and into the classroom together. Hayle gave her a small smile as she joined Arisa's crew and Hanoashi smiled back before she joined Kay up at the front.
"Everyone may I have your attention please?" Kay announced, causing the girls to gaze up at her. "This is Hanoashi Amelia Katoni, our new transfer student, treat her well, alright?"
"Yes Kay," the class chorused.
"Hm...let's see here, any position you prefer?" Kay asked.
"Anything but gunnery is fine with me, considering that I was never any good at that one," Hanoashi admitted quietly.
"Hm, Asami, could she join as your radio operator?" Kay asked.
"Absolutely! Please come sit by us Hanoashi," A girl with medium length brown hair and blue eyes invited. Walking over, she sat next to the girls at the end, and watched.
"So, you just transferred?" Asami asked.
Hanoashi nodded. "Long story, but yeah," she admitted quietly.
"A bit of a shy one I see," a russet haired Japanese girl smirked.
"I'll warm up quickly," Hanoashi smiled weakly.
"Alright, it's time to decide on our team for the match against Ooarai!" Kay announced, causing the girls to gaze up at the screen.
"We'll be sending eight M4A2 Sherman, one M4A3 tank, and one M4 with a 76 cannon."
"They're not holding back," a girl whispered.
Hanoashi instinctively suspected that there was a spy among them the moment she heard those whispered words, but she couldn't tell who it was. Though the somewhat unfamiliarity of the voice suggested that while the probable spy was from Ooarai, it was not from the M3 Crew she had been apart of. Best not to rock the boat after what happened last time. Maus I can still feel the handcuffs around my wrist... she muttered.
"Any questions?"
"Um, so what's our strategy going to be?" A girl asked, raising her hand and Hanoashi, believing it to be the same voice from earlier, narrowed her eyes when she saw who it was. Yukari...she muttered inwardly. Yukaro told me about his sister, but what with me trying to keep the rabbits as I called them under control, I never have the free time to properly sit down and talk with her. Not that they'd be much of a reason to now given Yukaro abandoned me...she mused sadly.
"Ah, good question," Kay admitted. "We can't form full platoons with just ten tanks, so we'll be forming three tank platoons this time."
"How will the flag tank be defended?" Yukari asked.
"Nada," Kay nodded.
"I'm pretty sure the enemy has an assault three," Yukari brought up.
"No problem, we can wipe them out with one tank!" Kay chirped nonchalantly, receiving an ooh from the crowd.
"Overconfident much," Hanoashi muttered, mentally shaking her head. Yeah, but a good sneak attack from that tank destroyer could easily knock out our flag tank. Still..
"Wait, have I ever seen you before?" A girl asked Hanoashi, interrupting her thoughts.
"You, state your name and grade," Arisa asked, pointing at Yukari though she gazed briefly at the girl who asked Hanoashi if she ever saw her before.
"Um, the sixth armored division, Sargent oddball," Yukari panicked.
"It's an importer!" a girl gasped.
Hanoashi barely registered Kay's laughter as she leaped up after Yukari, rushing over the desk as she gave chase. The urge of excitement she used to feel when she drove for the Nishmarian T-50 light tank began to surge though. Yukari weaved and dodged, but Hanoashi followed, though she had to admit that this would be a rough chase, especially given that the Irish girl never really had that much stamina to begin with.
And what if you do manage to catch her? She couldn't help but wonder as Yukari blended into a crowd. You do know that means she might be held prisoner here until the match, right?
Hanoashi smirked at the idea of catching a prisoner as she blended into the crowd, trailing Yukari as she lead the Ooarai spy began to believe she had escaped. Hanoashi ducked behind a corner, smirking as Yukari walked right past her, before Hanoashi shot out her hand, grasping Yukari's wrist.
"Gah, caught!" Yukari cursed.
"Keep it down," Hanoashi hissed.
"Hanoashi...what are you doing here at Sanders?" Yukari whispered.
"Please tell me you and Miho let the school headmasters know about this spying missing," Hanoashi muttered.
"Um no, should I have?" Yukari asked.
"Yes! You could get pegged for trespassing," Hanoashi hissed, glancing behind her before dragging Yukari into a more secluded area. "Look, I'd rather not have anyone else go to prison like I did, so..."
"Yukaro was right?" Yukari gasped, her expression turning horrified.
"No, he's too much of an idiot to understand that his girlfriend, or ex girlfriend now, was framed for assaulting your former instructor," Hanoashi hissed.
"But your not in prison now," Yukari noted, her tone holding some relief, though her amber eyes still hid some of her fear.
"It really sucked. Thankfully they discovered that Ami was lying and the ministry of education transferred my scholarship from Ooarai to Sanders and gave me a consolation allowance for my room and board," Hanoashi shrugged.
"Oh...at least it worked out for you," Yukari smiled weakly.
"I guess it did," Hanoashi let herself relax and released her captives hand. To the brunet's credit, she didn't try to run. "How's the rest of the team doing?" She asked softly.
"Okay now that we have some basic training, you were right about how we really needed that safety training. Even with what little we got before Ami got fired, the M3 Crew ran out of their tank when they were under fire, of course with no valid reason to," Yukari snorted.
"I guess they got kicked off the team?" Hanoashi asked, her heart sinking a bit.
"Almost, Miho begged for them to have another chance for your sake, but...they really needed you as their commander. Poor Asuza is doing her best, but it's not easy. And Miho's still shaken up by both the accident last year and these two recent close calls it would seem."
"You have to go, now," Hanoashi whispered suddenly, developing a feeling that she was being watched.
Yukari nodded and ran off.
She watched her go, before turning gasping when she saw Kay gazing at her.
"You're an unusual one Hanoashi," Kay smiled at her.
"Sorry commander, I just couldn't..." Hanoashi paused, gazing down. "Not after what I went though in prison..." she whispered, shaking.
"I know," Kay reassured her, patting her on the shoulder gently. "I've never even been in toy handcuffs before, so I can't imagine what it;d be like to be in the real thing, serving time in a real prison. And to be frank I'd have let her go too."
"You're not mad?" Hanoashi glanced up at her.
"Not at all," Kay smiled. "But this stays between us, alright? I cannot guarantee the others wold be so forgiving, most are mad enough about it as it is."
"Alright then," Hanoashi nodded.
"Right, let's get you back to your crew. I've put your crew up as one for the match and Asami is beyond ecstatic for the opportunity every since she took over as commander of the tank last year."
"Thank you," Hanoashi smiled.
"No problem," Kay smiled. "But um...in return for not sending you to wash the tank with a toothbrush, do you got a nickname I can call you?"
"Blaze," Hanoashi smiled. "Maus it feels so long since someone's called me by that name," she added wistfully.
"Due to your bright ginger hair?" Kay guessed.
"It was still fairly red when I got it, but slowly turned into this ginger during middle school," Hanaoshi admitted.
"Well it suits you Blaze," Kay smiled.
"Yeah, kind of gets annoying when people start treating me like a tourist though," Hanaoshi muttered.
"I hear you," Kay laughed. "Believe you me, this blond hair of mine really stands out. Saetome really hates it as well."
"The blonde on my team?" Hanoashi asked.
"Ah, there they are!" Asami gasped, and Hanoashi looked up to see her crew running toward her.
"You catch her?" The Japanese girl with dark russet hair asked.
"She got close, that one is slippery," Kay laughed.
"Darn, capturing that spy could have really helped us with the match," she muttered.
"Relax, we have twice the numbers and good captains, and you have a worthy tank commander as well as a former team commander as the radio operator for your team, so you're in good hands," Kay laughed. "Anyways, let's head back to the tanks."
"Former team commander?" Asami asked.
Hanoashi let out a nod. "Yeah, I commanded the Nishmari middle school Co-ed team for two years," she admitted, growing a tad shy.
"How'd it go?" the russet hair bounced.
"Well enough, I managed to win the summer tournament last year," Hanoashi smiled.
"Impressive," Kay smiled. "That must have been hard."
"It was, four wins," Hanoashi breathed, her mind aching with how much effort it took.
"Just like us," Asami laughed.
"No, we have to fight each team individually, and if one has the most wins then that team wins outright. If there is a tie then rank is decided by points. It's why we got third place during my first year dispute tying with two wins."
"I hope we get at least a few wins this year," a Japanese girl with black hair and blue eyes sighed wistfully.
"Perhaps we will Yuna," Asami smiled. "Oh, right, we didn't introduce ourselves," she added. "I'm Asami, your tank commander."
"And I'm Yuna, your driver, we'll be next to each other in the tank, so let's get along alright?" The black haired girl bowed.
"Absolutely," Hanoashi smiled.
"I'm Polly, though I go by Riz," The ginger haired girl smirked. "I'm your loader." she added.
"We'll have to introduce you to Saetome and Byron when we get back," Asami nodded.
"Our gunner and tank respectively?" Hanoashi guessed.
"How'd you..."
"We gave our tanks names as well, and given that Byron is a guy's name..."
"Good eye, we name our tanks after boys, from a selected list of names," Kay smirked. "See there was a brief period of time when Sanders was co-ed, but the year after we switched to an all girl's academy the commanders of that year provided us with a list of boy names and began to name their tanks from that list, a tradition we proudly continue."
"When was this list given out?" Hanoashi asked, her heart beginning to sink a little in dread.
"Around 1971, why?" Kay asked.
That's around the time of the great Schism...Hanoashi croaked inwardly, but did her best to mask her dread. "Just curious," She lied, trying to sound like she was just curious.
Most bought it, Asami didn't, but as they began turning she gave her a small tug on the sleeve, and a reassuring smile. As a result Hanoashi relaxed. At least the one who saw through me understands... she added as her memory flooded back to when she had learned about the great Schism and what she later learned about Ooarai's part in it.
Back then, all academies had been co-ed, and the guys and girls got along. Some ended up dating, some were friends, most passively tolerated each other. Well, it was a friendly toleration, but still.
Unfortunately, around the late sixties, a wave of radical feminism roared in Japan, and while it was fairly small in numbers, it was deafening in impact. Eventually, it reached a critical mass within the Sensado community, and many of these girls stole assault rifles, tanks, aircraft, whatever weapons they could get their hands on and rent on a rampage. Mostly it was from Kuromorimine and St:Gloriana, as well as a few of the at the time large Sensado academies that no longer exist to this day.
Allegedly, once finishing their rampage on their respective school ships, these girls took to the skies and attacked other Sensado practicing sports. Ooarai in particular was hit had according to what little she was able to scrounge up about the school she had originally meant to be going to. They ended up losing many tanks including one of it's twin M3 Lee tanks. Among these loses also included a Panther, T-50, T-34-85, KV-1B 576r, M4A6, Char B2, P-40, Perishing, and a Churchill. Allegedly of the eighty-five crew members of the tanks there was forty nine who either did not make it or suffered life-altering disabilities.
In here lies the truth of why Ooarai had stopped doing Sensado, and furthermore why they hadn't picked it up until just now. There wasn't any names mentioned in the report, only that the tanks lost were covered up as being sold, and that the team and teachers abandoned the remaining tanks where they last stood as a monument to the losses. Well...there was one name mentioned in the report, but it wasn't one Hanoashi cared about to much given any lack of relation to it.
When Hanoashi had read that she had been horrified that she and the others on the Sensado teams had moved what was supposed to be monuments. Of course back then she was sitting in prison, reading a book series from a library on the history of the schools, which had a book on the great Schism. Why a prison library had such a book was beyond her, especially considering how much the Great Schism was covered up these days.
"Hey, Hanoashi, you alright?" Kay asked, interrupting her thoughts.
"Sorry, I'm alright commander, just disappointed in not catching that spy," Hanoashi admitted.
She gave her a knowing look in response but nodded. "They can be slippery, and it's not often that a spy even comes along like that these days. Hopefully we'll see more excitement from this spunky new little academy," she ended in a laugh.
"I think I've had enough excitement from that one for my lifetime," Hanoashi sighed. "Still, a part of me is excited to see how they fight first hand," she added.
"Same, though I meant what I said back there, we can wipe out their assault three with one shot," Kay smirked.
"Yeah...I have my doubts that they could even hit an apposing tank from far away," Hanoashi snorted.
"They hit a few during their practice match with ST:Gloriana," Kay smirked.
"Well..." Hanoashi droned. "Which one made the hit?"
"The assault three took out one, the Panzer IV D took out the other three," Kay nodded.
"Of course the Panzer IV D took out the other three," Hanoashi gaffed. "That one is lead by a Nishisumi and the instructor did nothing but put us in a position that'd only benefit her," she added.
"Um Hanoashi, you sound jaded," Polly noted.
"Sorry Riz...it's just that I began by going to Ooarai...and when I brought up that we on the Sensado team were being too reckless...urg..." she let out a shudder.
"So that's when you transferred here?" Asami asked.
"N...not exactly...I'd...rather not talk about it now...too...way too embarrassing..." Hanoashi stammered, remembering how she felt behind the prison bars for the first few days. Granted it was more like a glass wall with wire's crisscrossing though them, and thus felt more like a cage then a jail cell, but still.
Kay nodded. "Let's not dig into that, if she wants to tell us then she'll tell us in time," she noted smoothly.
"Thanks commander," Hanoashi flashed her a grateful glance.
"Sounds like you've been through a lot," Asami sympathized.
"I have, exhausted too by it, which is why I'm glad to be a radio operator, it'll give me a good opportunity to relax a bit more than usual."
"Ah, that is good, some people are bummed out when they get the RO role," Asami noted.
The walk to the hangers didn't take too long, and Kay left them to their devices. "So, you catch em?" Saetome asked as she crawled out from under the tank."
"She's way too through when inspecting the track and such," Asami noted, a hint of exasperation in her voice.
"I nearly died when I was six in a car crash, so you can't exactly blame me for being paranoid," Saetome muttered.
"I'm too scared to go to the beach on account of almost dying to a cone snail when I was six, so I can sympathize," Hanoashi chipped in.
"See, our new RO gets is and...wait...did you say cone snail?" Saetome gaped.
"Actually, I did flat-line a few times now that I remembered scared aunt Shelia and cousin Rikona half to death each time. But I pulled through," Hanoashi smiled. "Don't think Kuroguard was ready for me just yet though."
"You believe in an afterlife?" Asami inquired.
"Personally from what I've read and understand it's KJB or bust," Hanoashi shrugged. "But my mother was expelled from the Matsumino for marrying my father who came from a poorer family and as such I was still required to adhere to the book of proverbs, dispute not being a Matsumino myself," she added.
"Okay everyone, get in!" Kay noted, clapping her hands.
Hanoashi took a deep breath. "she's not Ami...she's not Ami...she's not Ami..." she breathed, shuddering as that was almost exactly what Ami Chono said back at Ooarai.
"You okay?" Asami asked.
"I'm fine, just taking things slow," Hanoashi reassured her.
"We can have you sit out of this practice session if being in the tank is going to give you a panic attack," Polly offered.
"No, I'm alright Riz, thank you," Hanoashi smiled reassuringly before dropping into the RO position. "Never done this myself, so I'm kind of excited."
"You do know what to do, right?" Asami asked.
"Yep, I had my old commander teach me the basics on all the positions back when I became commander of the T-50 light tank, though I gave that position up when we had what at the time I considered a more worthy girl join us."
"What made you decide that she wasn't more worthy?" Yuna asked.
"Long story that you'll get out of me later, right now I'm just a bit too rattled to relieve that day any more," Hanoashi noted apologetically, before shaking her head. "Scratch that, she and I were actually good friends, but the idiot lead her crew over a wood and wire-frame bridge during a match, while under fire. My protest over her actions lead to my...leaving Ooarai and later my transfer here," she noted. "Sorry...still struggling with the story."
"It's fine Hanoashi, we can tell it's not been easy on you lately," Asami noted gently.
"I was able to tell Hayle and my class when I first arrived here...but every since then it's got harder and harder for me to tell," Hanoashi confessed softly as Yuna started the engine.
"It can be that way, see I'm studying to be a therapist, so..." Asami trailed off. "Alright, it's a simple gunnery practice this time around, we'll have our last practice match a few days from now, our team vs the back up team and no stakes up," she added. "Yuna, take us to the range," Asami added.
"Yes commander," Asami smiled, kicking the tank into gear.
Hanoashi let herself relax a moment as the familiar rumble of the moving tank soothed her. I always loved going for these rides, she smiled before taking out the map.
"No worries Hanoashi-san, I know the way," Yuna smiled.
"Alright, but I'll study the map anyways, gotta to get used to this new position. Taught plenty of RO's, but never been one so..."
"Would you want to become a tank commander again?" Yuna asked as she avoided a tree.
"Not for quite a while, actually I'd rather just stay as the RO for the rest of my high school years. If offered I'd accept a command position if it was for the good of the team, but..." she trailed off.
"Same, I'd rather remain a driver. Commanding the crew...not too sure I could handle the pressure," Yuna noted softly, or softly compared to the engine noise.
"It can be very nerve racking, and it's all to easy to forget that it's a team effort and not just your own mental capacity. That's one area where the deputy commander whom I replaced during my second year had. She could do very well with commanding her own tank but had too much of an issue with commanding the entire team as a whole."
"Was she upset when she had to give up the deputy commander position?" Saetomi asked.
"Not at all," Hanoashi shook her head. "Actually, she was grateful to just relax and command her own team without all of that mental worry of multi-tank dynamics."
"Do you miss leading?" Asami asked.
Hanoashi shrugged. "A small part of me does, but team leadership is something I'm grateful to have left behind." She let herself sink a bit in relaxation. "This RO seat is comfortable," she sighed.
"It's the same as any other tank seat," Asami deadpanned.
"Meh, the T-50 seats were worse," Hanoashi noted. "But it's the idea of just having to do calculations and keeping up with positions while occasionally maybe giving advice that brings me this comfort."
"If you say so," Asami shrugged. "We're at the fields," she added.
"Alright, Riz, Saetome, have fun, I'ma chat with Pyro here," Yuna smirked.
"You can call me Blaze," Hanoashi laughed.
"Ah, good name," Yuna laughed. "Is that what they called you?"
"Because of my ginger, er...red hair back then," Hanoashi smiled. "It has a tendency to shine brightly in the strong sunlight, so one of my friends began calling me that and it stuck."
"I can tell it's natural," Yuna noted.
"Thanks, most folks just ask me if I dye my hair, gets annoying," Hanoashi huffed.
"What would you dye it?" Yuna asked.
"The good Lord gave me bright ginger hair and so I'm going to show it off with pride," Hanoashi announced boastfully, though her tone held a slight teasing to it. "But if I had to choose another hair color it'd be a medium to darker brown," she added more seriously.
"Clearly you don't want to though, right?" Yuna smirked.
"Nope!" Hanoashi smiled. "Though I'm kind envious of my cushion Rikona, she has the best hair in the world...so long and luscious..." she paused and sighed longingly.
"Eh...you sure she's your cousin and not girlfriend?" Yuna smirked as the cannon fired.
"Forgot how loud those were," Hanoashi grimaced. "Well...your not entirely wrong. While I only see myself being with a guy, Rikona would be very tempting if we weren't related. My father and aunt used to tease us that we'd be dating if one of us was a guy and we weren't related. And he's not exactly wrong."
"Maybe you're a little too close," Polly grimaced.
"No arguments there," Hanoashi shrugged.
"Um, Riz...shell," Saetome muttered.
"Oh, right!" Polly gasped.
"So...hobbies?" Yuna asked.
"Right now just video games," Hanoashi shrugged. "But I basically had to restart my life here at Sanders so I'm trying to rebuild slowly."
"Rebuild?" Yuna gasped.
"It's nothing," Hanoashi quipped. "Been playing the ever living dung out of Pokemon Soul Silver as of late," she added.
"Ah, you a Pokemon fan?" Yuna smirked.
"Just got into it, or the game I should say," Hanoashi smiled.
"I'm kind of what they refer to as a Gen Wonner," Yuna confessed. "Not that I'm arrogant about it, but..."
"Gen Wonner?" Hanoashi asked.
Yuna nodded. "Well...I'm not exactly a hardcore Gen Wonner, but anything past the third generation puts me off, and half of the second generation if we talk about the cards," she added.
"I don't get it exactly, but I think I sort of understand," Hanoashi shrugged.
"So what team do you have so far?" Yuna asked.
Noctowl, Jumpluff, Beedrill and Vulpix," Hanoashi shrugged. "I started out with Chikorita but discovered that I liked Hoppip a bit better, almost jumped back with Skiploom though."
"You give them names?" Yuna asked.
"Ayumi for Jumpluff, Asuza for Nocturnal, Karina for Beedrill and Saki for Vulpix. I...uh...named them after my crew mates in the M3 lee...Maus...now I'm worried about them," Hanoashi gazed down sadly. "I heard that they fled while under fire during their Gloriana match, not exactly happy with that action," she added after a firing shot interrupted her briefly.
"Dang it a miss!" Saetome hissed.
"Calm down Saetome, just take a deep breath and try again," Asami soothed.
"Why are my first two to three shots are always dead accurate and then they start missing?" Saetome hissed.
"May I look at the optics?" Hanoashi asked.
"Suit yourself," Saetome hissed, letting her take the place.
"Hmm...somethings not right here...I think..." Hanoashi mused.
"You think?" Asami gaped at her.
"I've never dwelt with a cannon this caliber before, but the sight angle is just a tad bit down..." Hanoashi reported.
"Let me look," Asami noted, peering into it. "Holy Maus your right...it's barely noticeable. You don't think..."
"Think what?" Saetome growled.
"That girl...I mean the spy, is she the type to sabotage a tank or do you know?" Asami gazed at Hanoashi.
The Irish girl relaxed when she saw that Asami's gaze didn't hold any accusation or suspicion toward her. "I only know Yukari by name, even though I dated her brother for a while," she confessed. "But if this is what is causing Saetome to miss then it's probably someone from our own team, not Ooarai's," Hanoashi added.
"But this has been going on since last year...meaning..." Asami noted.
"Did you or your previous commander do anything against another crew member? Voting against someone they supported or..."
"She wasn't very friendly towards Arisa, always muttering about her being on the edge and such. Here at sanders we vote on our new team captain and the second in command becomes the vice commander. They chose a deputy commander together, albeit they hold more of a ceremonial role for that year," Asami explained.
"Hm...might ought to bring this up to Kay, ask if there's anyone not involved in repair to keep an eye out on things covertly," Hanoashi nodded to Saetome, who swamped seats with her.
"I...I hope this is the case, I've been second guessing myself for almost a year now," Saetome confessed, her amber eyes troubled.
"Well, let's pack it up, Hanoashi, alert Kay that I need to speak with her privately when we get back," Asami announced.
"Understood," Hanoashi nodded pausing right as she was about to begin operating the radio. "What is the name of her team?"
"Alex," Asami noted.
"Right," Hanoashi noted, checking her frequency notebook and dialing in Kay's private frequency. "Byron to Alex," she announced.
"Oh, Hanoashi right? Kay says to call you Blaze but not sure if that's..."
"That's fine, it's my childhood nickname anyways," Hanoashi noted.
"Alright Blaze, what can I help you with?" The girl paused. "Oh, almost forgot, My name's Yuyan," she added.
"Nice to meet you Yuyan," Hanoashi smiled. "Asami just wanted me to let Kay know that she needed to speak with her privately," she added.
"Alright, I'll let her know," Yuyan noted, her tone a bit more serious. "Real quick before I hang up, how are you enjoying being a Radio operator?"
"So far, it's relaxing compared to when I was a team commander, so I'm appreciative of that," Hanoashi smiled.
"That's good! Welp, good luck and welcome to Sanders," Yuyan smiled before hanging up.
"Friendly ain't she," Yuna smirked. "We actually started in this tank last year, she did such a good job that Kay drafted her for her command tank," she added.
"Drafted?" Hanoashi asked.
"Oh yeah, almost forgot, in addition to voting our team commander and vice commander, they along with the deputy commander and any senor commander promoted gets to choose their own teammates, the only three exceptions are no friends, no first years, and no commanders," Asami nodded.
"I'm guessing Sanders has at least a few Senor commanders?" Hanoashi guessed.
"Yep! We sometimes have up to four, three third years and an honorary second year commander, though that's usually for when a second year proves themselves during the first half of the year...we haven't had any in quite a while," Asami shrugged. "To be honest I'd be thrilled if we could earn that spot, but it's no biggie if we don't."
"Anyways, want me to begin driving to the sheds?" Yuna asked.
"Yes please, the markers will understand," Asami shrugged.
"Better than wasting ten shots trying to hit a target..." Saetome muttered.
"We'll talk to Kay as soon as we get back," Asami announced.
Hanoashi closed her eyes and let out a small sigh. "Great, more drama," she muttered.