Chapter 49 - Love Bite
[Kumamoto Prefecture - Nishizumi Household]
(It was now morning of the new week after the exhibition matches. Gero and Maho went out of the front gate of their house to go to school together. Miho wasn't with them because she had to leave earlier to catch the boat back to Ooarai)
"Okaa-chan ittekimasu!"
"Itterashai..see you at school..I'll be just finishing some stuff here before I leave.." Shiho said
"See you okaa-sama!" Maho smiled
(Maho then grabbed and hugged her brother's arm and walked like this for a while since she missed her brother and this was the first time they would walk together going to school. But they didn't know that a person was lurking in the shadows behind them and took pictures of both of them with a camera. The suspicious person was also able to take photos of Gero stepping out of the Nishizumi residence with Maho and was waving goodbye to Shiho)
"This is definitely going to be a very big scoop…" said the suspicious person
[Kuromorimine Shooting Range - Depth Perception Training]
(Everyone was now practicing with the new Panther A tanks. Rin and Sheska were still the ones that were guiding the team)
"Gunners at the ready! FIRE!"
*BOOM *BOOM
(A barrage or 75mm shells came crashing down onto the targets in front of them taking out every target)
"Stop daydreaming and RELOAD! "Sheska shouted
(Without a moment of delay the re-loaders quickly inserted the next shell into the cartridge)
"So how does shooting these beasts feel?" Rin asked
"It's amazing Rin-senpai! We'll be able to hit targets from far away with these!" Isamu said
"This is way different than the 38(t)..the 75mm is very destructive!" Rio smiled
"What about the reload speed? Is the shell too heavy?" Sheska asked
"It's twice the weight of the 37mm of the 38(t) but it's manageable!" Endo responded
"If we hadn't gone through the weight wrist band training that Gero-senpai had us do then we would definitely have a harder time in reloading!" Hanako said
"Senpaaaai why am I firing a 75mm Panther A? I want to fire the 128mm of my Jagdtiger!" Sakuraba was pouting
"No complaining now...you heard the order of Gero-san.." Sheska teased
"What order?" Endo asked
"During Perception Training all of you will be using the Panther A tanks only..which means Gero-san's Team and Sakuraba-san here will not be able to play with their new toys.." Rin teased
"Ohh! So that's why Toshi was very sad this morning…" Isamu said
"But don't worry because you'll be able to train with Gero-san at the Den with your new tanks so just be patient!" Sheska said
"Okaaaaay.." Sakuraba was still pouting
[Kuromorimine Driving Course - Spatial Perception Training]
(Just like before the tank drivers were practicing driving their tank around obstacles with blindfolds. The only difference is they're driving Panther A tanks now but surprisingly everyone was able to get through the course without a problem. Both Ken and Suzu were guiding them just like before)
"Alright! Good job everyone!" Ken shouted
"How does it feel driving the panther?" Suzu asked
"It feels spectacular, senpai! It's fast and every move it makes is precise!" Haruhiko said
"I agree! It's actually very surprising that I was able to get through the course that quickly! I struggled so much with the Panzer 38(t) before but with the Panther it was natural!" Chinatsu smiled
"I am also shocked..how did they do it almost perfectly on their first try? They should be having a hard time since the Panther is a lot bigger than the 38(t).." Suzu asked
"Well..to put it simply..the tank isn't the only thing that got big..but their sense of alertness as well.." Ken said
"Alertness?" Suzu asked
"When you drive a small tank at first..you feel light and think you can fit anywhere you want..but when you level up and now drive a bigger tank..everything changes drastically..the weight of your tank..speed of your tank..and of course the size.."
"So you mean..they are now paying attention to their surroundings even more than before?" Suzu said
"Correct..Matsu-kun made sure that everyone would be like this after the Spatial Perception Training.."
"How did Gero-kun know that they would be able to get this good? Lucky guess?" Suzu said
"Ahaha if you asked him that he'd probably say he got lucky..but this time he was very serious on their training..Matsu-kun said that if somebody started getting used to driving a bigger tank then suddenly drove a smaller tank..they would be overconfident and?" Ken asked
"And thus making more mistakes..those people would tend to overlook the small things around them and would do unnecessary moves that could endanger them..I understand now! So that's why both the newbies and the veterans took part in this training.." Suzu said
"Yup! You see..Matsu-kun doesn't just treat us as his comrades or teammates..he sees us as his family..and he'd do anything to protect us.."
"Gero-kun is really a great guy.." Suzu smiled
"He'd even become a demon if he had to.." Ken whispered
"Huh? What was that?" Suzu didn't hear
"Nothing! Come on let's have them do another round on the course then we'll call it a day after!" Ken shouted
"Alright! You heard him, everyone get ready!" Suzu shouted
"Jawohl!" everyone responded
[Kuromorimine Tank Garage]
(After their training Erika had then gather at the tank garage for an important announcement)
"Otsukaresama Deshita!" everyone shouted
"Alright good job on the training..all of you have grown since you first started here..I'm very proud of you all!" Erika said
"Thank you very much!" everyone said
"I'm so proud that I got us a practice match by the end of this week!" Erika said
"Ohh! So this will be our first match with our new tanks!" Tojo said
"I'm so excited! Who are we up against Kommandant?!" Sakuraba asked
"Hmmm? Oh none other than the 63rd National Champions.." Erika smiled
"Eh? Champions..you mean.." Rio reacted
"Ooarai?" Toshi suddenly said
"EEEEEEEEHHHHH?!" everyone suddenly reacted
"Yay! We'll get to fight Miho-san again!" Alice cheered
"That's a big battle right away!" Endo said
"Are we going to be alright?!" Chinatsu asked
"Everyone calm down!" Maho shouted
"The moment you find out it's Ooarai you all panicked.." Erika face palmed
(All of them got nervous and started to overthink what might happen during the match until they heard a sound of a loud whistle)
*WHISTLE
(The whistle definitely got their attention and everyone looked to see Gero and his crew enter the garage wearing the Kuromorimine Tanker Uniform)
"Geez why are you all getting scared about?"
"Because it's Ooarai!" Hanako said
"Didn't you guys beat them at the exhibition match? Why so worried?"
"About that..we almost lost to Ooarai.." Erika said
"Ehh? What happened?!"
"After your glorious win of 1 vs 15 against Red Wings..every school that we hadn't fought yet got so motivated and determined to win.." Mauko said
"Miho-san really went all out during our match and had us cornered.." Koume said
"We also got wrecked by that red Type 97 Te-Ke!" Endo said
"The great Princess of Tankathalon destroyed half of our forces.." Chinatsu said
"That bad huh?"
"Yeah but Alice-san was able to outsmart Shizuka-san and managed to take her out before we got wiped out..so we couldn't have won without her.." Erika smiled
"Thank you Kommandant!" Alice smiled
"Uhm Gero-Taichou! Why are you wearing the tanker uniform?" Tojo asked
"Great question! That's because today is the last day all of you will be wearing the training jacket!" Ono said
"That's right! From now on you'll all be wearing the Kuromorimine Tanker Uniform during training and of course practice matches and official matches!" Ken said
(After a brief silence everyone erupted into a cheer and the nervousness disappeared instantly. One by one Gero and his crew distributed the uniforms to the newbies)
"ALRIGHT! WE FINALLY GET TO WEAR THE TANKER UNIFORM!" Tojo shouted
"THANK YOU VERY MUCH GERO-TAICHOU!" Sakuraba shouted
"Ohh don't thank me..thank Erika because she said she wanted to give you guys a boost of morale before the national tournament starts.."
"THANK YOU VERY MUCH KOMMANDANT!" everyone said and bowed
"You guys earned it..well what are you all waiting for? Go try it on!" Erika said
(As ordered by Erika everyone got changed into their Kuromorimine Tanker Uniform and everyone was looking so great and had smiles on their faces)
"Oh my gosh this is getting me so hyped up!" Rio said
"Bring on Ooarai or whoever it is! I don't feel like we're gonna lose!" Tojo said
"That's the spirit!" Sango said
"I knew you'd look great in that uniform, congratulations Alice-chan.."
"Thank you Nii-chan!" Alice blushed
"Oh it's not over yet..Bakatora has a present for all of you, both newbies and veterans.."
"Really?! What is it?!" Mauko asked
(Immediately Gero and his crew brought out boxes and then opened them in front of everyone. They all say white Kuromorimine Tanker Gloves with the Kuromorimine Logo on it)
"Ta-dah! So guys, what do you think?"
"SOOO COOOOOL!" everyone reacted
(Everyone got a pair of gloves of their own and tried them on. Everyone was again happy and gazed on their new gloves)
"This is so awesome! It gives the feeling of really being in a team!" Mauko said
"Glad you liked it.."
"Where did you manage to have these made Gero-san?" Kojima asked
"Well..I made them myself.."
"EEEEHHH?!" everyone reacted again
"You made them senpai?" Sakuraba asked
"Yeah..look!"
(Gero showed his hands filled with bandages and band aids because of numerous trial and errors he did)
"It was hard at first but I was able to get good at it with a lot of practice! But I still managed to stab my fingers with the needle haha!"
"When did you do this? All by yourself?" Maho asked
"During the week I was banned from the Exhibition matches..I thought about getting you all gloves because I remembered Kal-kun's injured hand..and I didn't want that to happen to anyone here.."
"You were really worried about us huh?" Rin said
"I was..another reason is I wanted you all to have a memoir of us!"
"A memoir?" Suzu asked
"Well as you all know we of the white tiger crew are already 3rd year students and this is our last year of high school..this upcoming tournament might be our first and last one.." Ono said
"That's right..you'll all be graduating soon senpai.." Toshi said
"So these gloves me and my crew made is a symbol of us guiding you even if we are not here with you anymore! You can think of it as having a piece of our strength every time you use it in your matches!"
"Each and every one of you has a part of the great White Tiger!" Ken said
"So don't get all gloomy when you hear of our opponents! For the white tiger doesn't fear anyone!" Hajime smiled
"JAWOHL!" everyone saluted
(Everyone was very happy and got a big boost to their morale to what they received. Gero then approached Maho and Erika to give them their own pair of gloves as well)
"Here you go Maho-chan.."
"Thank you onii-sama..I'll take good care of it.."
"And this is yours Erika..this is actually the first pair I made that wasn't a total wreck.."
(Erika looked at Gero's hands that were covered in bandages. She then held his hands and blushed as she looked him in the eyes and thanked him)
"Thank you Gero..I love you.."
(Seeing Erika's cute face just made Gero blush and just smiled at his girlfriend. After this Erika dismissed them all to get some rest for another day of training tomorrow)
[Kuromorimine Tank Garage - The Next Day]
(Erika and Gero entered the garage to start another day of training before their practice match against Ooarai. Both of them suddenly saw Maho who was in front of a group of students that were wearing the Kuromorimine Training Jacket. Majority of them were boys and only a few girls)
"Maho-san these guys are?"
"Ohh nice timing..these are new members that joined us today..they said after watching Kommandant at the exhibition games they wanted to join as soon as possible.." Maho said
"I see..welcome to all of you..I'm Itsumi Erika.."
"Hi guys! I'm-"
"Itsumi-sama!" shouted a boy
"Kommandant! We joined because of you!" shouted another boy
(Gero's introduction was cut off because of the fanboys that were fawning over Erika. Gero was obviously surprised at the amount of attention his girlfriend was getting)
"Uhm..t-thanks?" Erika said
"We watched all your matches during the exhibition games and you were really amazing!" said a boy
"Thank you for watching and supporting us..I'm glad that we have great new recruits.." Erika smiled
(The new recruits were happy with what Erika said and got all excited and some of them even blushed. Suddenly one boy approached Erika and grabbed her by the hand. Erika couldn't react in time and when Gero saw this he got angry)
"Uhm Erika-san..this might be a bit sudden but I love-"
*BANG
(A loud noise suddenly echoed inside the tank garage that made the newbies cover their ears. Everyone looked and saw it was Gero that made the noise by hitting the side skirts of a tank with a wrench. He hit it is so hard that it made a dent)
"Hey what did you do that for!?" the boy said
"Oh forgive me for interrupting your sweet moment.." Gero said in a scary tone
(Erika suddenly broke away from the hands of the recruit and already knew what was happening)
"I-It's not like that Gero.."
"Hmmm? What's not like that?" Gero was angry
"Excuse me who are you anyways?!" asked another recruit
"That is your captain so show some respect!" Maho shouted
"J-Jawohl! Everyone got scared and saluted
"Since all of you had the guts to talk to me like that I guess everyone has the guts to run 10 laps around the field!"
(Gero said again with a scary tone and his aura was leaking that scared the recruits)
"WHAT?! ARE YOU DEAF?! I SAID RUN NOW!" Gero shouted
(Immediately the recruits started to run around the field as ordered leaving Maho, Erika and Gero at the tank garage)
"Who knew that there were still some people that don't know who you are onii-sama.." Maho said
"Maho-chan after they run give them some water then send them to the shooting range..have them practice with the 38(t)s.."
"Okaaay.." Maho smiled
"Uhm..Gero?" Erika was hiding behind Maho
"And you..come with me!"
(Gero then grabbed Erika's hand and took her into the garage where her favorite Strurmtiger was parked)
"Uh-oh..looks like somebody got jealous.." Maho said with a big grin
[Kuromorimine Sturmtiger Garage]
(After going inside the garage Gero then went up the Sturmtiger and got inside it)
"Uhm what are we doing here Gero?"
"Come here inside your favorite tank..I want to show you something.."
"What is it?"
"Just come here..unless you want to go and continue your sweet moment with that recruit then go ahead.." Gero said from inside the tank
"Geez ..like I said it's not like that.."
(Erika then proceeded to climb up her favorite tank and the moment she peeked inside the tank's cupola she was immediately pulled inside by Gero)
"Hey that's dangerous!" Erika got scared
"What's dangerous?"
"The way you pulled me in! And this position is even way dangerous!"
(Erika was referring to her position because she was now sitting on Gero's lap facing him with her legs spread in front of him as she was trying her best to cover it up. Both Erika and Gero were blushing so hard and were very nervous)
"What? Do you hate it?"
"I-It's not that I hate it..someone might come and see us.."
"Then we should be quiet..just like you said right? Flirting in secret?"
(Gero then placed his hands onto Erika's waists and that made her a lot more nervous. Erika on the other hand placed her own hands on Gero's shoulders and placed her face closer to Gero's. The tips of their noses started to touch and they were breathing heavily and their hearts were beating very hard for each other)
"Gero.."
(After saying his name Erika pressed in for the kiss and Gero did the same. It was a continuous exchange of kisses between the two. After a few seconds, they broke away from the kiss for a breath of air and looked at each other)
"That was..incredible…"
"Gero..I want more.." Erika blushed
(After seeing the cutest shy face of Erika he hugged her tighter than ever and kissed her once more. Only this time Gero also wanted more and he inserted his tongue along with the kiss. He thought Erika would get mad but she didn't and also returned the french kiss and both their tongues intertwined)
"W-What is this? This is way different than our past kisses..it feels..so..good.." Erika said in her thoughts
(After the french kiss they both broke away again to gasp for oxygen. They just looked at each other and was bright red)
"S-Sorry..was that too much?"
"N-No..but that was a first time for me.."
"That was my first too.."
"Geez..why are you even doing this?"
"Sorry..when I saw that guy hold your hand..I really really hated it.."
"In short you got jealous?"
"Yeah that's right! I get jealous too, you know! Do you hate that?"
"Nope..I think you're very cute getting jealous.."
"Hey I'm serious here.."
"I am too! You think I don't get jealous when Darjeeling or Kay gets all close to you?! I absolutely hate it!"
"I see..well I want you to know that you're the only girl that I love..no one else!"
"I know that! But still..us girls just can't shake that feeling of getting scared.."
"Scared of what?"
"That other girls would take you away from me..or you would get tired of me and just throw me away.."
(Gero then placed his hand on Erika's face to comfort her and to assure her)
"That will never ever happen..the only person I want to be with for the rest of my life is you Itsumi Erika..I am yours only..and you are mine.."
"Do you mean it?"
"Yes I do..I'll do my best to avoid getting too close to other girls so I also want you to stay away from other boys..can you do that?"
(Erika held Gero's hand that was touching her cheeks and nodded in response with a smile)
"What the heck are we thinking..getting in your favorite tank and started making out then arguing..this is so funny.."
"I know right? You think this can be called an argument?
"If it is then this would be our first..and it's a very very heated argument if I might add.."
"Then..do you want to continue this very heated argument?" Erika asked in a very seductive tone
"Yes I do..my Kommandant.."
(Both of them kissed again softly switching from normal kisses into deep french kisses. Gero then suddenly broke from the kiss and started to nibble on Erika's ears)
"Kyaaa~ n-not my ears…" Erika let out a small moan
"Not here? Then how about..here?"
(Gero then moved down to Erika's neck and started kissing her there as well. Erika just hugged Gero tightly as she let her boyfriend kiss her on the neck. Gero could feel Erika shake in excitement as she sat on his lap the whole time)
"I love you..so much Gero.."
"I love you too..Erika.."
(Gero and Erika were about to kiss again on the lips when suddenly a voice was heard by the garage entrance)
"Senpai!?" Sheska shouted
(Their heated argument goes into a stop as they were nervous that Sheska was about to find out what they were doing. Erika's quick thinking had her going up the tank's cupola to respond to Sheska before she get suspicious)
"H-Hey Sheska..what is it?"
"Ohh there you are senpai! Everyone is ready and waiting for you at the garage!" Sheska said
"I see..good work..I'll be there in a minute!" Erika said
"Jawohl!" Sheska said
(Erika then went down for a bit and told Gero the situation and he nodded in response. Erika quickly got out of the Sturmtiger and fixed up her crumpled up uniform from all the skinship they had and headed out the garage to meet up with Sheska)
"What were you doing there senpai?" Sheska asked
"Ohh I was just checking out the Sturmtiger's hull.."
"And? How was your favorite tank?"
"It was the best experience ever.." Erika smiled with a blush
(Sheska wasn't sure what she meant of course but she saw something weird about Erika but wasn't sure so she didn't say anything yet. Both Sheska and Erika then arrived at the tank garage where everyone was waiting along with the new recruits that just finished running)
"Alright looks like everyone is here! Today we'll be doing the usual training then tomorrow will be our practice match against Ooarai.." Erika announced
(But she then noticed that nobody responded to her and she saw that everyone was just staring at her. The girls were either blushing or were smiling. The boys were surprised and the recruits that idolized Erika were either crying or their jaws were dropped. Maho who was standing beside Erika was also surprised but soon had a big grin on her face)
"Uhm..what's wrong? What are you all staring at?" Erika asked
"Erika..this is what they were looking at.." Maho handed a mirror to Erika
(Erika was then shocked to see a love bite on her neck that Gero placed on her when they were having that heated argument inside the Sturmtiger)
"Th-This is.." Erika blushed and got flustered
"I knew it! A love bite!" Sheska shouted
"Oh my..looks like someone is marking his possessions.." Koume chuckled
"Hey I'm not a thing!" Erika said
"There's only one person that Kommandant would allow to make that mark.." Rin teased
"I didn't allow it! Well..I kinda did.." Erika defended
"Kommandant..don't tell us you're embarrassed?" Alice asked
(After giving it some thought Erika then didn't feel embarrassed by the love bite that Gero made but assured that her boyfriend is willing to show the public that she is his lover)
"Well..there's no use in hiding it so I'll just state the obvious..there is only one man that has earned my respect and my love..and that's the captain of the boys team..Gero Matsumoto..and he's the one that gave me this love bite..to those that think they have a chance with me well unfortunately you have zero so give up.." Erika said
(All those that know of their relationship just gave a big smile and those that got rejected just gave up. Leila then approached Erika and offered her a bandaid to cover up the love bite)
"Thanks Leila..but I won't be needing it.." Erika smiled
"I see.." Leila smiled
"Alright time to get serious! Man your tanks! Today will be the last day of practice before our practice match so we'll cram everything that we can! Is that understood?!" Erika shouted
"JAWOHL!" everyone replied
Coming Up Next : Chapter 50 - Summer Champions
Author's Note:
Hi guys! Just a little bit of fan service in the form of intimate french kissing by Gero and Erika in the Sturmtiger haha and Gero smoothly leaving a love bite on Erika as mark of his love! Next chapter will be a practice match against Ooarai so expect a battle! And it looks like someone is secretly taking pictures of Gero I wonder who they are?
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