Chapter 12 - Calm before the Storm
[Team King - Meeting Room]
(Currently present is Miho, Maho, Erika, Anchovy, Nishi and Gero because he is the commander of the Boys Team)
"Good afternoon everyone!" Miho and Gero entered the room
"Oh Miho how are you?" asked Maho
"I'm fine onee-chan..you?"
"Great as well..hello Gero-kun we meet again"
"Yes Maho-san nice to see you again!"
(Gero gazes the room and saw Erika and approached her)
"Konichiwa itsumi-san"
"Hello again..excuse me I have something to do"
"O-Oh...okay.."
(A dark cloud appears over the depressed Gero while Miho and Maho saw the entire thing)
"He is being completely avoided.." both Miho and Maho thought
"That's right Miho do you have some time later we need to talk in private"
"Sure onee-chan after this meeting"
(Maho nodded and notice someone else enter the room)
"Nishizumi-chan!"
"Nishizumi-taichou!"
(Miho looked behind her and saw two familiar faces)
"Anchovy-san! Nishi-san!"
"You look well as usual, want some pasta?" asked anchovy
"Haha maybe later..Nishi-san how are you and the others?"
"We are doing fine, we learned so much in our last match together and hoping we will learn more again from you now!"
"Sure thing anything I can teach you, me and onee-chan will"
"Thank you very much!"
"By the way, who is that person sulking over there?" Anchovy asked
(Gero still having the dark cloud on his head)
"Come with me and I'll introduce you..Gero!" Miho said
"Hmm? Yes Miho?"
"I'd like to introduce you to my friends here"
"I'm Anchovy, Duce of Anzio High School! Nice to meet you!"
"Hello there! I'm Kinuyo Nishi from Chi-Ha-Tan Academy! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance!"
"Nice to meet the both of you also, I'm Gero Matsumoto, Commander of Shirokumo Boys High School Tiger Team"
"So you're the White Tiger that gave Saunders a run for their money…"
"Ahaha..yes that's me"
(Erika on the other side of the room was just minding her own work and not even joining the conversation)
"Well then looks like this is everyone, let's get this meeting started" Maho said
"Alright!" everyone said
"First we need to decide who is are main commander?" Maho said
"That's easy either of the two Nishizumi are capable commanders" Anchovy said
"I also agree!" Nishi said
"Personally I don't want to take command in this event because this is going to be my last for I will be graduating soon" Maho rejected
"Oh yeah that's right onee-chan applied already for a scholarship in Germany!"
"Yeah that's why I want to enjoy this event as much as I can so I decline being the commander"
"I see, well that's fine I suppose, then Miho will lead?" Anchovy said
"I also want to take a break in commanding I'm sorry.." Miho refused as well
"Well this is a problem cause me and Nishi can't command or it will be total chaos.."
"Uhm..can I say something?"
(Gero raising his hand in the group)
"Oh Whitey do you want to command?" Anchovy said
"No..no..no absolutely not.."
"Why not?" Asked Nishi
"I'm already half spent in keeping the boys in check so commanding 39 more tanks will be suicide.."
"Then what would you suggest?" asked Maho
"I want to suggest that Itsumi-san will be our commander then Miho and Maho-san will be the sub-commanders"
"Haaa!?" Erika reacted
(The room was quiet at what Gero said but suddenly..)
"I have no quarrel with that" Maho said
"I think that's a great idea!" Miho said
"Please tell us what to do Itsumi Taichou!" Nishi said
"To congratulate you here is some pasta!" Anchovy offered a plate of pasta
"Wa-wait a minute just wait! I haven't even agreed yet!"
"Why? Do you think you're not up for the job?" Nishi asked
"Well duh..Miho-san is a lot better than me and Kommandant is the same!"
"But both of them and everyone else trust you Itsumi-san" Gero said
"You all must be crazy!" Erika replied
(Erika looked at Gero with hateful eyes because of his suggestion then was about to leave the room)
"Wait Itsumi-san!" Gero said
"I won't...I won't be as nice as Miho-san or as good as Kommandant..so prepare yourself Shironeko!" Erika shouted before leaving the room
"Itsumi-san.." Miho smiled
(Maho saw Erika's face just before she left the room and saw an interesting sight)
"Hooo never thought I'd see Erika make an expression like that" Maho thought
"Eh? Shironeko? Who..me?"
"Who the heck do you think fits the name the most?" Anchovy said
"I get the white part but I'm not cat…"
"I think its a cute nickname Matsumoto-san!" Nishi said
"Ehh…"
"Isn't that great you get such a lovely nickname from your dear Itsumi-san?"
"Why are you saying that now Miho...geez"
(Everyone laughed at Gero meanwhile little did they know that Erika was just outside the door leaning against the wall with a confused expression)
"Just what is that guy even thinking!?" Erika thought
[Team King - Meeting Room - 30 Minutes Later]
"So what did you want to talk about onee-chan?"
"Miho..it's about Gero-kun…"
(Miho fell silent for a second before answering)
"What about Gero?"
"Have you ever felt like..you have met him somewhere before, a long time ago?"
"I did..the day he first came to our school..he patted my head and it felt so nostalgic.."
"Me too..yesterday when I saw him smile..I remembered a very similar smile when I was still a little kid.." Maho said
"Then I saw his back one time and I instinctively hugged him like it was a natural thing for me to do.."
(Tears started to fall down Miho's cheeks)
"Please tell me onee-chan..is he..is Gero..our Onii-chan?"
(Maho suddenly hugged Miho while she softly cried on her shoulder)
"Yes Miho..I have a very strong feeling he is our Onii-sama"
"Onii-chan!..our Onii-chan that suddenly left and never came back..!" Miho said while crying
"I know..I know..we asked okaa-sama but she said to forget about him…"
"Onee-chan..I want to hug him so hard..each time I see him"
"Me too Miho..we both have missed him so much.." Maho crying as well
"He doesn't recognize us does he?" Miho asked
"For some reason he has no memory of us.." Maho answered
"Does it have anything to do with that scar on his head?"
"I think so..he may have been caught in an accident that made him forget.."
(Miho has stopped crying now and found her resolve for her brother)
"Onee-chan...I want him to remember..I want onii-chan to return home to us.."
"Onii-sama will definitely come back..we just have to help him find his way back"
"Yeah..we will surely be together again!" Miho cheered up
"We also need to ask okaa-sama regarding this..but first we have to bring back onii-sama's memories"
"It's decided then..we better catch up with Gero and Itsumi-san before they start"
"Let's go Miho..to see our long lost brother!"
(Miho and Maho now went towards the tournament area with a new goal other than winning)
[Tournament Stadium]
"Good day to everyone! We will now have the event's coin toss stage to decide who will attack and who will defend!"
"Both team's commander and sub-commanders please go up the stage!" shouted the announcer
(The crowd cheered loudly when the commanders started to walk up the stage)
"For Team King! Their commander is Itsumi Erika of Kuromorimine! And what's this?! Her sub-commanders are none other than the NISHIZUMI SISTERS!"
(The crowds shouted and echoed all around them)
"For Team Queen! The commander is Darjeeling from St. Gloriana! And her sub-commanders are Kay from Saunders and Katyusha from Pravda!"
(Loud cheers and shouting came from the crowd once more)
"I didn't predict that you'd be the commander Itsumi Erika..I expected to fight with either Miho-san or Maho-san" Darjeeling said
"Yeah I didn't expect to be commander either so you and me both." Erika replied with a smile
"Ladies are you ready for the coin toss?" said the Staff
(Both Erika and Darjeeling nodded in agreement)
"Which side do you choose?"
"Heads" said Erika
"I guess I'm tails then" Darjeeling replied
"Alright..ready..go!"
(The coin is tossed in the air and dropped to reveal heads)
"Winner is heads! Team King will you attack or will you defend?"
"We defend" Erika said
(The audience once again shouted in cheers)
"There you have it folks! Team King will have the castle and Team Queen will try and take it from them!"
"Now it's time to choose a Perk for the team to use!" The announcer said
"Each perk has its own Pros and Cons so choose wisely! The meaning of the perk will only be revealed to the perk owner and only when the perk is activated can the other team read the definition"
"Please look at the screen folks to see the perks we have for the event!"
[Tournament Screen]
- Last Chance
- Revive a Friend
- Steal
- Extra Ammo
- Extra Parts
- Extra Fuel
- Portable Onsen
"There's a lot, huh…" Erika said
"Well then it will be Team Queen's turn now to pick first since Team King went first earlier." the staff said
(Darjeeling stared at the screen pondering on what to choose)
"I wouldn't blame her for taking time..not knowing what the perk does is making it hard.." Erika thought
"I Choose 'Steal' for our perk" Darjeeling said
"Team Queen has chosen 'Steal' therefore it will now be unavailable to Team King!" the staff said
"Well the it's my turn now.." Erika said
(Erika chose the perk that looked like the best for defense)
"I choose 'Second Chance' as our perk!"
"Team King has chosen 'Last Chance' both commanders may now look at the perk's meaning!"
(Erika and Darjeeling looked at their perks)
"Looks like I hit the jackpot with this Darjee-"
(As Erika looked towards Darjeeling chills ran down her body. She saw a devilish smile that she had never seen Darjeeling make ever before)
"What the hell is what that smile!?" Erika shouted
"Ara..is it wrong for a person to smile when amazing things are given to them?" replied Darjeeling
"..."
"Do you know this saying Itsumi-san?"
"A King is nothing without his Queen"
"Never heard of it before.."
"See you in the field Ō-sama (King).."
"Tsk..was that perk really that good?" Erika said in her thoughts
(Darjeeling left with that devilish smile and just went back towards her team. Erika did the same)
"Now that both teams have chosen their perks! The event has now entered the final hours of preparation! The event will start tomorrow at 12PM! See you there folks!" the announcer said
[Team King - Meeting Room]
"So what was the meaning of the perk you got us Itsumi-san?" Miho asked
"The perk is 'Last Chance' meaning you are given another chance after death"
"Pros : When a tank is white flagged you can choose to give it another chance and revive it or not. When a tank is revived it will take 1 hour before it can return to the game."
"Cons: You can only revive 15 from your forces and one revive per tank only and within the castle. If you want to revive outside the castle then one tank will be equivalent to 10 revives"
"Is what it means.." Erika said
"Wow this is a really good perk Erika well done!" Maho praised
"Yeah it will give us extra tanks to defend..it will be like 55 vs. 40 now" Anchovy said
"But the tanks that are white flagged outside will cost 10 per revive" Nishi said
"So we just need to stay inside then!" Anchovy suggested
"No..at some point we will need to go out and fight" Gero said
"Why is that oni-..*ehem..Gero?" Miho almost slipped there
"If we stay inside the whole time..they can just bombard the whole place and force us to use up all our revives"
"Gero-kun is right, we can't rely too much on the perk or it will be our downfall" Maho said
"Well then we'll save this perk for emergencies only" Erika ordered
"Roger that!" everyone agreed
"A great perk nonetheless, as expected of itsumi-san's sense of judgement!" Gero said
"Alright now let's talk about unit positioning" Erika completely no reaction
"Ughh..she is still ignoring me.." Gero is very sad again
(Miho and Maho laughed at seeing their brother get ignored)
"I say we position our long range hitters by the edge of the castle to snipe the incoming tanks, then keep the heavy tank within the castle as a final line of defense"
"Yes Kommandant!"
"As for the fast movers we can have them do recon for us and lay ambushes"
"Leave the recon to my fast movers taichou!" Anchovy said
"We'll have our Type 89B join you Anchovy-san for extra man-power" Miho said
"Kommandant can I entrust you to guide the long range tanks so they don't shoot each other?" Erika asking Maho
"Erika..I'm not the Kommandant anymore remember..you are!"
"Ehh..then Nishizumi-san?"
(Both Miho and Maho looked at Erika)
"Right...there's two of you"
"Actually there's three of us but of course he himself doesn't know it yet,," Miho said in her thoughts
"Erika you should just call me Maho..alright?"
(Erika blushing and a little embarrassed)
"W-well then..M-Maho-san"
"Yes Kommandant?" Maho replied
"Can I entrust you the long range tanks by the castle walls?"
"Sure..leave it to me!"
"Thank you very much! Then Miho-san please take command of the forces that will go outside the wall together with Nishi-san"
"Okay you got it!"
"Understood Taichou!" Nishi salutes
"I will be at the second level of the castle observing and will be giving orders as the situation flows. Make sure to keep an eye on your surroundings and your comrades! Understood?"
"Yes Kommandant!"
"Uhmm..Itsumi-san..what about me?"
(All of the girls look at the last person without a role)
"Ohh Whitey has no role yet Taichou.." Anchovy said
"..." Erika was thinking
"Shironeko will standby inside the castle and will not move until ordered otherwise"
"Ehh..but Itsumi-san thats- "
(Gero suddenly froze when he saw Erika looking at him with a fiery gaze)
"Is there some kind of problem with my orders?" Erika said in a scary way
"N-n-no ma'am! Please forgive me ma'am!" Gero responded
"Hey Erika don't you think that's a little mean?" Maho asked
"It will be fine..we don't need boys in Senshado..us girls alone can handle it"
(Everyone was quiet and had to respect their commander's orders)
"Itsumi-san..I think Gero would make a better asset outside the castle and not inside-" Miho said
"Miho.." Gero interrupted Miho with a smile
"It's alright...I'm fine with that...I trust in Itsumi-san's command"
(Except for Erika, everyone else in the room smiled at what Gero said)
"That's all for now! Go to your teammates and inform them of their roles and orders. That's all! Dismissed!" Erika said
"ROGER!"
"Hey Shironeko you stay for a second I have some questions for you!"
"What is it Itsumi-san?"
"Just do it!"
"Y-yes!"
(Gero looked at Miho and Maho for help but they ignored him as the doors shut behind them)
"You think onii-chan will be alright?" Miho asked
"Onii-sama will be fine..I think they'd make a good couple though.." Maho replied
"I thought the same also!" Miho said with a smile
"A White Tiger and a White Wolf.." Maho said
(Meanwhile inside the meeting room)
"What did you want to ask me about Itsumi-san?"
"Firstly..why did you decide to take up Senshado?"
"Well me and my friends heard it over the radio one day and I thought that riding a tank would be fun.."
"I see..then next is do you have any authority to command the Ooarai tanks?" Erika asked
"No..only Miho is the commander"
"Then in your match against Saunders why did you make that stupid attempt to destroy the super pershing with the Porsche Tiger?"
(Gero froze and flashbacks entered his mind of that dreadful moment)
"...thats."
"Not only did you disobey the order to retreat, you also weren't able to destroy the pershing, and you got the Porsche Tiger get destroyed…risking the crew"
"I know…"
"You boys are barbaric, undisciplined, and risk takers..I have no room for that in my army..do you understand?"
"Yes.."
"I will never accept you boys in Senshado..never.."
(Gero was just staring at the floor and had a gloomy expression that Erika noticed)
"Last question, why did you suggest that I become the commander of this team?"
"Well..when I heard that this will be Maho-san's last event in Senshado and she said she wanted to enjoy it as much as possible.."
"I thought that if someone could make this a fun event then that person would be you..Itsumi-san"
"Why me? Miho-san is far better than me.."
"I saw how you reacted when you heard Maho-san will be graduating..you looked very sad Itsumi-san"
"He was looking at me...this whole time in the meeting?" Erika thought to herself
"I don't know how long you have been with Maho-san but I know you didn't want to part ways.."
"..."
"You wanted to have fun together with Maho-san before she leaves..right Itsumi-san?"
"You're just imagining things…"
"I may be..but why did you look so happy giving roles and orders to them?"
"..."
"When I watched you in the match against Jatkosota..you gave commands that led the team to victory.."
"You don't call that a victory..almost losing against two tanks.." Erika said
"It was for me..cause I know you are a talented and amazing commander Itsumi-san"
"No...I'm not…"
"You are..and I believe in you..and trust you.." Gero said with a smile
"Say what you want I'll still won't accept you in Senshado" Erika replied
"Well..I said a lot of things to your question but my reason is actually pretty simple.."
"Simple how?"
"I wanted you to be the commander because.."
"You are just so beautiful when you command Itsumi-san and I always want to see you happy" Gero said with his best smile
(Erika was shocked and couldn't respond right away. She just stared at this foolish boy's smile)
"Well then Itsumi-san if that's all then am I free to go?"
"Yeah..dismissed.." Erika said while looking at the floor
"Thank you..Itsumi-san.."
(As Gero left the room leaving a very confused Erika inside she thought to herself…)
"Why...why do you do these things…?"
"I ignore you and push you away…
...I said horrible things and insult you…"
"Yet you smile at me and ...
..you said the words that I really wanted to hear the most right now…"
"I just don't understand you…
"Baka…"
(Erika was teary eyed and smiling with a blush)
[Team King - Outside the Stadium]
"Oh Gero is back.." Miho said
"Okaeri Gero-kun..how was it in there?" Maho asked
"Uhh..she told me that she won't accept boys in Senshado..twice.."
"Oh my...I think she hates you Gero-kun.."
"Ehh?! Don't say scary things Maho-san please.." Gero sobbing
"She did say it twice.." said Miho with a laugh
"Geez..not you too Miho!"
(Both his sisters laughed at him)
"But still…I won't give up"
"On what?" Maho asked
"I won't give up until she accepts me and looks my way"
(Miho and Maho are amazed at their brother being cool and serious)
"Who's gonna look at who's way?" a voice said behind the three of them
(Gero looks and sees the person he wants to look at his way)
"I-Itsumi-san? How long have you been standing there?!"
"I leave you for a couple of seconds and I see you flirting on not one but two girls!" Erika shouted
"Erika it's not like that…" Maho said
"That's right Itsumi-san we were just talking to Gero.." Miho said
"Geez...that's why boys in Senshado is unacceptable!"
"Uwahhh she said it three times now…poor onii-chan" Miho and Maho said in their minds
"Like they said I wasn't flirting or anyth-!"
"You better get yourself ready I'm gonna make you work the hardest tomorrow Bakatora!"
(Erika then started walking back to the meeting room)
"Bakatora?" The three asked with big question marks on their head
"Does she mean me?"
"Who else would fit the name.." Maho said
"Amazing his nickname evolved already…" Miho said
"Ehh, I don't know whether to be happy or not about that…"
"Trust me Gero-kun you should celebrate" Maho said with a laugh
(Miho and Maho laughed again at their brother's confused look. All of them now wait til the next day arrives before the match starts. 40 vs 40 tanks both defending and attacking. Everyone that will participate are now keeping check of their supplies and making sure everything is ready, some of them are nervous and some are excited. For all of them will now embark on a very new type of Senshado)
Author Note:
Hi guys here is chapter 12! Please enjoy!
Shout out to : "Astra pineapple" thank you for the Follow and Favorite! Appreciate it!
Shout out to : "Matsky" thank you for leaving a review! Glad you like the story!
Thank you everyone for the support! More chapters to come! So stay tuned!
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