As always the recording of the match provided some much needed clarity. Much needed for her anyway. As far as anyone else was concerned, they had won and that was all that mattered. But she needed to know how and why. It had nagged at her how the final minutes had played out and she wouldn't know peace until she was aware of events for herself. She sat impatiently through the opening sequences and she knew the others were enjoying her restlessness. They had snacks for this; much of them having been pressed upon them by Anzio before leaving. They would be eating Italian food for a week.

The others were astonished to see Yukari running up the slope to guide the T-50 along and they thought she was mad; that was evident. They were also uncomfortable seeing her hair plastered flat. Yukari was however the recipient of numerous pats on the back for what she had done.

Whichever sadist had put together the film had decided that the time spent huddled in their respective tanks waiting for the storm to pass was worth watching. As they couldn't see inside the tanks, it was literally ten minutes of footage of heavy rain falling on metal. And Anzu, the ultimate little monster, wouldn't let them skip ahead.

It was fascinating to see Anzio set their ambush. They had moved out at almost the same time that Oarai had and their plan had obviously been set before the match. They had anticipated them using the B1 bis as a shield and advancing aggressively at them. It was to be expected, given the disparity between the two sides. What Oarai hadn't anticipated was Anzio's use of wooden mock ups. She loathed herself even more seeing the things in detail. They were little more than photos on planks and yet they had deceived her utterly. They had made her think that was the planned ambush and that belief, the trust Miho had shown her in her declaration, this had confused her family's sixth sense.

The P40 had almost missed the Tanuki. Its shot had struck high on the turret which was why the lightweight tank had been thrown on its flank despite the long range. The Semovente that had struck the Panzer IV meanwhile had aimed too low and so instead of eliminating the tank, it had smashed the wheels before striking the armour. Enough to turn a kill shot into a hamstring. Perhaps the Duce had watched the recording already and had her troops out practicing their gunnery.

There was no need for Akebi to hone her gunnery skills. After eliminating the CV Wolf team had crippled, the footage almost lovingly showed off how Duck team had then pursued two more of the tankettes and taken them out in quick succession. The mud had thrown off her aim as the Type 89 and CVs moved erratically in it but she had fired four shots and two had connected, making Duck team the highest scorers of the match. Akebi's two kills of the moving CVs made her and Yukari's efforts with the machineguns look crude and clumsy.

The sadist editor did do a great job of showcasing just what kind of hell Oarai had subjected Anzio to with their bombardment. What really sold it was one of the observation drones being knocked out by one of their shell bursts, falling from the sky and still recording after landing; filming directly upward and catching the moment a tree was cut in two. They also got to see the moment the tree fell on the Semovente and knocked it out. It came down with enough force that without the inner carbon shell, the casemate would have been crushed. The tank destroyer was designed to withstand penetrating hits; not to resist a great weight falling upon it. The other Semoventes weren't crushed but they were buried by a thick layer of falling leaves and branches. A far nastier downfall than the persisting rain.

It was during this first bombardment that Anchovy had made her bold move. It was bold because she had no idea that the bombardment was intended to be prolonged. For all she knew they could have simply blinded them with smoke and debris and then advanced. If they had, it would have left the Anzio flag tank alone on the field.

Instead they had kept attacking the Semoventes while the P40 took a huge detour to circle around them. It had struggled up and down the slopes in the wet and they must have worried the whole time about being too late. The end of the first bombardment had seen them obviously panic and dash on, almost bogging the tank down in their haste before recovering and calmly extricating it before the second bombardment began. They had almost been in place when they had deployed the surviving CV and Miho had launched Duck and Wolf after it. At the moment, it would have looked like they planned to eliminate the CV and flank the pinned Semoventes while seeking the flag tank and leaving their best tanks ready to respond.

[][][][][][]

Miho was not enjoying the bombardment. There was a thrill when firing the canon and feeling the air come alive with its report. Repeated firings that filled the tank with the uncomfortable heat of a hot barrel as well as the pounding assault on the ear drums however weren't exciting. She had been in tanks for so many years that she rarely got a headache from the continuous firing but she couldn't suppress the anxiety she felt from it. This was true for most people she knew. The repeated booms of the guns thumped at the chest and had a cumulative effect on the nerves. That was one way soldiers got shell-shock. For most people. Not her sister.

It had been a relief to order the ceasefire although the peace that had descended had been almost as intense as the cacophony of the massed gunfire. When the smoke cleared, it unnerved her to see the destruction they had wrought upon the woodland. She had witnessed Kuromorimine raze buildings, entire derelict districts even, but it was different with living things. They had devastated a whole area of the woods. It would never be the same.

But, from the perspective of Sensha-do, they had eliminated one tank and pinned down the others. There was no reason not to continue and expend their remaining high explosive ordinance. Even if she didn't want to destroy more trees.

It was a relief when the CV showed itself. Activity meant action. It meant things were coming to a close. Anzio was either playing a bait and switch or luring them. Whichever it was, it would lead to the climax of the match.

The T-50 and Type 89 drew away and then at her command turned and sped into the trees. She waited, looking to her left where she anticipated the P40 but listening for if it was on the right; and firing on Duck and Wolf team. Both possibilities were equally viable. But the two tanks passed through the open ground and entered the trees unscathed. The P40 had to be to her left then, waiting for them to advance and presenting their flag tank. Almost a perfect repetition of their first ambush.

The hair on her neck stood up.

"Kame team!" She clutched her throat mic so tight she almost strangled herself. "Move! Move now!"

Yuzu might have been called a punchbag for the rest of the Student Council but no one could say she wasn't disciplined or a great driver. She responded to the command almost immediately and the 38(t) leapt forward and Yuzu correctly interpreted her frantic command to mean take evasive action.

"Usagi team, cover them!" Now she commanded her own tank. "About turn!"

Behind her, directly behind her, the P40 fired and its shot passed by the 38(t) and splattered the M3 with mud. The Anzio flag tank had circled around them. It was behind them. Behind them while the Semoventes were in front of them.

"Kaba team!" If the StuG tried to turn now it would present its long flank and be knocked out. It could only go forward. "Kamo team! She needed cover for the StuG. "Advance into the woods and attack the Semoventes!" She knew Erika would already be attacking and leading Duck team with her; a hammer and anvil. "Fire into the smoke! Don't give them a chance to recover!" Otherwise she would be the one caught in a trap.

That left her with the flag tank and Rabbit team. The M3 had already come about and the 38(t) had slipped once more into its shadow. It was further obscured as both of the M3's guns fired. They didn't even know what they were firing at but Azusa had them fire anyway, to draw attention and provide some smoke cover.

The P40 fired again and Miho located the Anzio flag tank's position. They were in the shadow of some trees, some six hundred metres distant and the dark green tank would have been in a perfect position to pick off their flag tank if she hadn't told them to move.

"Hana!"

"Wait!" Hana fired, and missed. But it was a ranging shot. It served as a guide for Rabbit team who found the target and fired and there was a flash as one shell connected and ricocheted off the P40's forward sloped plate, leaving a distinct mark. The P40's cannon spoke again and gave the Panzer IV's Ankou emblem a scar that made her shamefully think of Erika. With that thought, it seemed she heard the T-50's 45mm speak her protest for her. Hana had the range. She had the target. The shell that Saori had loaded for her sang from the Panzer's maw and seared across the cold muddy battlefield.

[][][][][][]

They had scrambled to avoid defeat twice and the second time saw them embrace the charge tactics of Chi-ha-tan. She, Nakajima and Yukari had defeated one Semovente at point-blank, been knocked out by another the same way and then that Semovente had been smashed by the B1 bis crashing through the smoke and giving them both barrels. The remaining Semovente seemed to have spotted the StuG coming toward it, because it had pulled itself out of the muck and thrown itself at it. The two tank destroyers had gone at each other like a pair of knights with lances, except theirs spat fire and shells. Quite literally point-blank.

Between the M3 and the Panzer IV, they had defeated the P40. It should have been easier for them and the P40 should have been able to eliminate their flag tank first. On paper. But she guessed that the adrenaline had gotten the better of them all. On paper there were so many things that should happen that didn't. After all, on paper it should have been impossible for Oarai's awkward line up to overcome Saunders Shermans.

They had won. Anzio's best Italian medium tank had met Oarai's mid-war German tank and America's second production medium tank and they had won. It was a victory but Erika didn't like the narrow margin with which they had attained that victory. There had been too many close shaves.

Everyone else however was happy with the win. Elated even that in their first tournament they had advanced to the semi-finals. The only people who might have concerns were the Student Council and she didn't feel like talking to them. She was sure that in time Anzu would send one of her summons. In the meantime, she had to let them all enjoy it and pretend that she wasn't being gnawed up inside. The Student Council let it lie too, continuing that session of Sensha-do with more gunnery practice rather than talking about what was to come.

She knew what was to come. Viking Fisheries always stuck rigidly to their plans and so they would be crushed by Pravda and its chibi captain. Viking's Hotchkisses, Panzer IIIs and SOMUA S35s and their rigid battle plan and tactics simply couldn't overcome Pravda's T-34s and the IS-2 they would field. Even if they adopted flexible tactics, the T-34s were simply unassailable by their short barrelled guns. A T-34's flanks were 45mm thick but their sloped shape made them even stronger and against low-velocity guns; invulnerable.

And this was what Oarai would face next.

[][][][][][]

Koume

Well, we beat Anzio. So knowing that Pravda will beat Viking, we'll face them next. I can't imagine the Kuromorimine alumni being impressed with a final against an unknown school though if Miho is our Captain, I guess that will be scandalous enough to keep them interested. If by some miracle we were to defeat Pravda, well I'm sorry you're training for a battle you'll never fight.

I don't imagine you could recover if the team saw or heard you'd been crying. Here I can do anything and no one cares. But for you? I guess until now I never really thought about just how much freedom I enjoy. I can laugh, cry and scream all I like and no one respects me any less. Sorry if that sounds unfair.

Miho's uncomfortable being hugged. I don't know if it's because she's uncomfortable being touched in general or because she's simply not used to it. I've had to get used to it. One of my crew is a big hugger and short of wrapping myself in barbed wire, I can't stop her. I don't think the barbed wire wouldn't actually work, except perhaps to snare us together.

Our match against Anzio wasn't elegant. Too much rain. Too much mud. They ambushed us. Tricked me. I saw tanks where there were only wooden screens. We won but it was very close. We were meant to be the strong side and still it was close. Our tanks have their strengths but mostly, they're old, obsolete models. They're fun to look at but against a professional team fielding multiple proven mid or late-war models? Saunders underestimated us. …Although now I think about it, Pravda's midget will take one look at them, laugh her head off and underestimate us even more. Her head's got to be twice as inflated after winning last year's final.

I applied for several jobs but they've all rejected me. Except one. You wouldn't believe me if I told you what it was.

I don't know if you'll read this before you face Continuation High so I won't offer you any advice. But I do know that as tricky as they are, once you pin them down, they run out of tricks to play. I should keep that in mind for my side.

All the best.

Erika

[][][][][][]

Anzu had arranged for a new engine for the Type 3 Chi-Nu. Where it had come from, no one wanted to ask. It was not a shiny new piece of hardware fresh from the factory but rather looked like it had sprung from someone's storage shed where it had sat for many years. It was not a rusty seized piece of junk like the engine they had found the tank with so it was a sizeable improvement; especially when the Automotive Club took it apart completely and worked every last component over.

The mystery of where Oarai sourced its equipment, spares and ammunition may have piqued Erika's curiosity but no one else wanted to look the gift horse in the mouth. They were far more interested in restoring the Type 3 and having a new vehicle to play with.

With the characteristic quirkiness of Oarai, the Type 3 and its team were dubbed Arikui; Anteater. With its long barrel and slim build, it was appropriate enough. It was also good that they got to be there as their tank was rebuilt, so they could properly familiarise themselves with it. It was no easy thing going from operating a Czech tank to a Japanese one.

Not that the Tanuki received any less love. With no official team, the second 38(t) was like a communal pet adored by all and everyone pitched in to restore it. It became common before the formal beginning of a class for the first person to arrive to take it for a spin in the courtyard and for everyone else to arrive to the clouds of dust this inevitably picked up. Momo's monocle glinted dangerously at this joyriding but there was no objection to the fuel use. It made Erika smirk imagining Momo being sent out at night to siphon the spare petrol from cars in town.

The Type 3 was the main priority but the mighty Porsche Tiger was an ever present concern. Getting sixty tons of tank out from below decks was no easy thing and so they were dismantling it completely. A growing pile of components was the only sign of the heavy tank's presence thus far.

Restoration was almost relaxing. Almost. But she couldn't ignore the nagging worries about the future. It didn't help that Yukari knew she was concerned and kept mouthing as she tried to think of a way to broach the subject. Ultimately she decided it would be easier to do it herself.

"You're not going to Pravda."

"Wha?" Yukari looked up with considerable surprise. She seemed to think she had missed a part of the conversation because of the abruptness of the statement.

"You're not going to Pravda to do one of your recons. Not this time."

"Why not?"

"Because it's Pravda. If you go there and they find you, they won't laugh it off."

"What can they do to me?" She asked cheerfully and as her hair seemed to have retained quite a bit of the body it had acquired in the rain of the Anzio match, she looked particularly naïve and innocent. It also gave Erika ammunition.

"They could shave your head before they send you home."

Yukari touched her hair unthinkingly. "They wouldn't do that… Would they?"

"They could just beat you up and I'll have a gunner trying to aim with two swollen eyes."

"They wouldn't do that."

"I would." Erika shrugged.

"No you wouldn't."

"I would have." It was as far as she would relent. She knew that if she had discovered a spy on Kuromorimine's grounds, she wouldn't have hesitated in giving them a good beating. Though now with the stakes for Oarai, she couldn't say she wouldn't do the same to a Pravda spy. Not that there was much stopping one. The hangar couldn't keep out the local cats let alone a human. There were a dozen of them now, napping in a patch of sunlight beside the Panzer IV… Where she now noticed Mako was also asleep, lying on the wheels of the tank. Perhaps the cats were protecting their queen… "You're not going to Pravda." She said.

"But we need to learn what we can about them!"

"There's nothing to learn. They'll have both types of T-34. They'll bring an IS-2 and they'll definitely have a KV-2. That midget of theirs loves the KV-2."

"She's not a midget." Yukari said reprovingly.

"She's a miserable little midget." Erika replied. "With a big fat head." It was vindictive for her to say this as she had no idea how Katyusha actually felt about the circumstances of Pravda's victory. But she did know how the school had behaved since and their egotism had been… Well… Not all that dissimilar to the superiority complex held by Kuromorimine for decades. But they had at least always won their battles cleanly. As cleanly as was normal for Sensha-do anyway.

Whenever Yukari was disappointed, she seemed to deflate and her hair seemed to droop. It was an annoying characteristic that always made Erika feel like a complete monster, whether she was telling the girl it was unfeasible for them to raise the funds to buy a Panther through bake sales and sponsored activities or that she wasn't allowed to play spy master at a school lacking a sense of humour.

"Oh, cheer up! You're going through to the semi-finals in your school's first year in the tournament in decades. You get to face Pravda." Sure, the reality was that she was facing the extinction of her school but she didn't need to know that. The shock would probably turn her bald and having dealt with a Yukari with huge hair, she was not prepared to deal with one without any hair at all. It was enough for one lifetime.

It wasn't in Yukari's nature to be depressed for any amount of time. She was too easily distracted by things she enjoyed and she was in a hangar full of tanks. It was her actual happy place. After barely two minutes of pouting, she saw Hippo team readjusting their schurzen and immediately went to have a closer look. The spaced armour of the StuG had played no role yet in their matches and it increased the weight of the tank destroyer but it did protect the vulnerable flanks from light gunfire. It also gave the StuG F a more formidable presence. The armour had a similar effect on Panzer IVs, giving them a boxier appearance that meant from a distance they were often mistaken for Tigers. Confusing a Panzer IV H or J with 50mm of frontal turret armour for a Tiger with 100mm could lead to a fatal hesitation. Not to mention the general terror the mere name Tiger generated. Even Sensha-do practitioners who well knew the flaws of the Tiger could still suffer from Tiger shock.

Tiger shock. She glanced at the pile of wheels and tread of the Porsche Tiger. She knew deep down that there was no chance of the proto-Tiger going into action against Pravda. The failed design had never worked properly to begin with and they would have had to work hard to get it properly functional; just like her T-50. But they had to dismantle a Porsche Tiger that had been taken apart to fit below decks and likely hadn't been put together properly then. Given the rarity of Porsche Tigers, the Automotive Club would have barely any reading material to familiarise themselves with and the Student Council wouldn't be able to source cheap spares for it.

No hope of taking it against Pravda.

Nakajima spoke of it as their tank and she knew her well enough to know that the challenge of taking the tank apart, recovering it, rebuilding it and learning everything about it down to the smallest bolt was what appealed to the four girls. But they still prioritised the Type 3.

She considered the medium Japanese tank. Sloped frontal armour that made it stronger than the Panzer IV though it had a far more conspicuous turret. A 75mm gun almost as powerful as the Panzer IV and StuG's 7.5cm cannons. The Type 3 was a powerful addition to their force. It could take on T-34s.

But there would still be many more T-34s than their own rag-tag force and with that bleak thought; she resumed brooding.

[][][][][][]

They had laid siege to Anzio's Semoventes via bombardment. After walking out on her parents, a different siege tactic had been applied to her. The tried and tested method of winning a siege. Attrition.

Life at Kuromorimine was a life of frugality. As such, her allowance had accumulated steadily. Enough for her live on at the start of her, for want of a less dramatic term, exile. But that money couldn't last for long. It might have lasted longer had she not been drawn into the social life of Oarai. Too many cafes. Too much cake and ice cream.

At first, any kind of work that required her to work with the public had been off the table because of her face. No one would say it to that face but she knew it was the truth. People weren't comfortable receiving hospitality from someone who had a frown carved into their cheek. Again, something they wouldn't admit to. For an employer, it was easy to brush off with an email stating 'However on this occasion, we have identified candidates whose experience better matches our requirements.' A meaningless statement that didn't change what she had seen in their eyes during the interview.

But there weren't many jobs available on the ship and so she had applied for everything. Applied, interviewed and been rejected as she had expected. She had applied for this job simply because it was there and the interview had seemed no different. Except, quite unexpectedly, they had called her back. A job which she thought her face would automatically exclude her from had called her back. She had been wrong.

As it turned out, having a scarred face while performing the role of Master of Ceremonies in a student hangout was actually an advantage. She was part-entertainer, part-bouncer and she could literally scowl rowdy girls calm. Unlike the Public Morales Committee; she was taken seriously.

She preferred the part of her job where she sang though. She knew that many of the girls who listened to her with stunned looks on their faces were thinking that it was incredible that a good singing voice could come out of a mutilated face, but she didn't care. Singing to herself had always been a comfort and since it had become common knowledge in the Sensha-do class that she liked to sing, and was good at it, she had become far more comfortable with it. Even Nakajima and Yukari teasingly telling her to sing for them in the T-50 was no longer a source of irritation but pleasure.

That didn't mean however that the sight of the entire Sensha-do class filing into the bar as she sang didn't irk her. It had been inevitable she knew but that didn't mean she hadn't hoped it would be a little longer before they came to see it for themselves. For just one week her karaoke job and school life had been separate. Now they were one and the same. She pointedly ignored them all, particularly the squeeing Ankou and Okami teams.

She finished her acoustic rendition of Britney Spear's Toxic and through sheer force of will stopped herself blushing at her Sensha-do classmates cheers and whistles.

"Thank you very much. If you think you can do better, step up. Just remember that management has banned the singing of Bohemian Rhapsody and Gangnam Style." As always this provoked a chorus of boos from the regulars. "Oh, 'boo!' yourselves!" She snarled and left the mic to general laughter. At first she had been worried when she had inadvertently told them off the first time but now they considered her dry and biting remarks a part of the fun. Kind of like how Nakajima and Yukari were immune to her yelling at them now.

Yukari was doing what Erika could only describe as fluffling. It was somewhat of a relief compared to Hana, Saori and especially Miho's smiles which cut her to the core. As always she didn't know how to react to affection and her first instinct was to attack. An impulse she had to fight hard to control by watching Yukari fluffling her hair into a cloud.

"You followed me." She knew that Oarai's chief spy would have been unable to resist finding out where she went after class. Yukari confirmed it by pulling her hair over her face. "And the rest of you?"

Anzu didn't actually appear through a portal of flames but it seemed that way from Erika's perspective as she seemed to spring up with a crack of her red twintails. "We thought supporting one of our fellow Sensha-do players would be a nice thing to do."

Erika knew that Anzu didn't do anything because it was nice. She did it out of cold calculation. In this case she knew that just like their swimsuit shopping trip and day at the beach, having the Sensha-do class go to a karaoke bar was a good way for them to relax and to enjoy themselves as a group. In vocal proof was Duck team unexpectedly being the first to grab the mics.

"See?" Anzu seemed to conjure one of her dried sweet potatoes out of thin air. "We've brought you a whole bunch of customers."

"Management is ecstatic." Erika deadpanned, noting her boss seemed alarmed by the sudden influx of students. Students trickled in and out with a solid base of regulars. She guessed a crowd of fresh meat only ever showed up when term started.

"Excellent!" Anzu beamed. "I'm going to make Momo sing!" She declared and disappeared as quickly as she had materialized.

"Well that I do want to see." Erika admitted and then couldn't ignore Miho any longer. "Take that look off your face, Nishizumi."

Miho tried, and failed. She could not contain an expression that Erika had trouble identifying and then realised was pride. Miho was proud of her. Again it triggered her fight or flight response and it was something of a relief that her first instinct was to run away in embarrassment; rather than punch Miho in the face. Her proud, happy, stupid face…

Fortunately, Duck team began to sing and were unexpectedly harmonious which gathered everyone's attention with their rendition of Bo Peep Bo Peep. For the regulars, the three tall girls and their petite leader in their volleyball uniforms were a peculiar sight. More peculiar than their scarred MC anyway. But then to the regulars, the 'normal' girls of Oarai, the entire Sensha-do club were peculiar. Funnily enough, Mallard team with their cloned appearance and their disapproving looks for this hive of indiscipline were the most 'normal' among them.

"Noriko-san has a good voice." Hana declared pleasantly and she wasn't just being polite. Noriko had the best voice of the Ducks, followed by Sasaki. For a quartet whose existence seemed to revolve around volleyball, they proved to everyone else and themselves once again that they could be more than that.

"She shouts enough." Erika said, a reflection of herself as much as Noriko.

Duck team sang, some of the regulars followed and then Yukari sang a rendition of 'We'll Meet Again' that was far more upbeat than the original and in Yukari's voice was very contemporary. Yukari was not a bad singer but her enthusiasm for performing the World War 2 British classic was so overwhelming that she threw out every word with gusto and unnecessary volume. Her puppyish excitement however made everyone smile, as always.

And then Anzu got her way and Momo was forced onto stage with a performance that was the polar opposite of Yukari's. She assumed the choice of song was Anzu's because there couldn't possibly be a more incongruous song for her to perform than Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance'. Erika thought that their culture's politeness was strained to breaking point listening to her deadpan singing and watching her twitching eye while the one beneath the monocle seemed to bulge out of her head. Everyone else was politely listening and fighting to keep a straight face. Anzu was behind Momo and grinning broadly while Yuzu had covered her face with both hands so only her eyes were visible. Eyes that said everything.

When she was done, Erika had to perform her duties and the anticipation was immense. She did not let them down.

"Thank you Momo-chan for that unique performance." In the corner of her eye, she saw Anzu and Yuzu restrain her. "I think Gaga herself would be speechless if she could have heard that." It was mean as most of what she said was and exactly what the regulars came for. The Sensha-do club lapped it up too, especially with Anzu and Yuzu restraining a furious Momo who obviously wanted to destroy them all. "Now who do we have next… Who shall sing for us now…" She looked around the room but she knew who she was thinking of. So did her target who shook her head desperately and tried to shrink into the background. Erika pointed her mic at her like a sword.

Her mother and sister would have been proud of her resistance but the youngest Nishizumi was no match for the combined strength of Hana and Saori, especially when the entire class of Sensha-do students began clapping for their Captain and they seemed not to notice her 'reluctance'.

As cruel as it was to bring Miho on stage, she wasn't a sadist. Along with Hana and Saori she took up a mic so that it was a group performance and the shy Captain had no choice but to participate. Hana and Saori were both talented singers it turned out and covered Miho with their own enthusiastic performance and standing either side of her.

What would Kuromorimine say if they could see the former Vice-Captain singing? Would Maho believe it? Probably. Would their mother? She would likely burn them all with a single furious gaze at such frivolity. It made her smile and she knew Miho wasn't thinking the same thing because if she was, she would have fled into the darkest bowels of the ship. Instead Miho sang while most of the blood in her body made its way into her face.

At least she wasn't naked.

[][][][][][]

The Nishizumi Death Glare did not sit well on Miho's face although she was doing her best to wield it. Erika gave her the walk home to try and master it. She did not succeed.

"You look peevish, Miho."

"Why did you make me sing?"

"Why did you come to watch me sing?"

"We wanted to support you at your new job."

"And I wanted to support your desire to do normal schoolgirl things, like singing karaoke with your friends and having a good time."

It was a genuine pleasure to watch Miho's face contort with conflict as she processed this. Miho wanted to stay annoyed with her but she couldn't deny that this evening had been the exact kind of social activity she had longed for during her time at Kuromorimine. "Why do you do nice things in such an evil way, Erika?" She asked plaintively.

It was actually a fair question and Erika couldn't say she had an answer. "What are you worried about, Miho?"

"It was… embarrassing." And she was embarrassed to admit to being embarrassed.

"Miho, you gave a motivational speech to your Sensha-do team in the nude. I don't think anyone's going to make fun of you singing."

Miho flushed a curious colour somewhere between red and purple. "See? Evil." She said.

"I'm just putting things in perspective." Erika replied breezily. "Besides, I think people are going to focus more on Momo's performance than anything else. Next time she shouts at them, they'll just sing back at her."

"What about you?"

"Fluffy and Jumpsuit already treat me with the utmost respect." Erika informed her acidly. "They all heard me sing when we were fighting Saunders. It's nothing new to them."

"That would have bothered you before."

"I think my pride is… Thin these days." As a driver at Kuromorimine, she had gotten stomach ulcers biting her tongue when she had been belittled by the seniors. She had raged against the smallest critique of her skills and insult to her honour. Now she was commander of a failed Soviet experiment, her driver lived to get her hackles up, her gunner was more than a little nuts and the rest of her team were about as far from professional in manner as it was possible to get. "I can't lose it over people knowing I have a job. Anyway, there's worse jobs than what I do. I could be making coffee or selling t-shirts."

Miho peered at her, trying to detect if she was lying but while Erika would have preferred her school life and working life to remain separate; there was enough going on that she didn't need to create more drama for herself. It wasn't maturity. Merely pragmatism. "What's going on with you, Eririn?"

"What do you mean?"

"Sometimes you're up, sometimes you're down…" She frowned. "Sometimes you're both at the same time."

"So are you. One moment you're happy, then you stare into space and sigh…" They had reached their doors. "We're both got good reasons to be melancholy, Miho."

"It's not that." Miho said and then gave her a look as she realised they were having the same conversation yet again. "You will tell me what's bothering you, won't you? When you're ready?"

It was the strangest thing but as Miho gazed at her, Erika found herself thinking of Maho. Every Kuromorimine student had lived for the moment they caught the Captain's eye, even though that eye seemed to look straight through them. Miho's gaze was similarly piercing but while Maho's was analytical; Miho's was empathetic. One sought vulnerability to exploit and the other wanted to help with that vulnerability. Two very different piercing gazes. She had always craved the attention of the Kuromorimine's Captain but the scrutiny of Oarai's was not what she wanted. "We'll see." This was the best she could offer her.

[][][][][][]

The sound of a Type 3's engine was somewhat underwhelming, Erika thought. It had a perfectly functional V-12 diesel engine but it just didn't sound powerful. She was too used to the purring of the German Big Cats, especially en masse. To the girls of Oarai however, the sound of the Type 3 spluttering to life was the most beautiful music. They now had nine functional tanks and eight teams. When the Porsche Tiger was rebuilt, it would be ten tanks and nine teams although those teams would be pared to the bone.

When Nakajima left for the Automotive Club's heavy tank, it would just be her and Yukari in the T-50 again. The 38(t) would be in a similar situation if Anzu continued her indolence; effectively leaving Momo and Yuzu by themselves. Nine teams and ten tanks… Even if they stripped people from other tanks to put the Tanuki into operation, they would still field one full third fewer tanks than the opposition in the next round and with the teams limited like that; their effectiveness would make it seem like even fewer vehicles.

But without the Porsche Tiger and with the new Type 3 superior to the Tanuki 38(t), it would be eight tanks and eight almost full teams. It wasn't a pretty sum. It was one she kept doing too, making herself miserable.

Yukari meanwhile was the soul of the team. Her squeal of delight when the Type 3 was brought to life was so enthusiastic it was undetectable to the human ear. That enthusiasm transferred to the most mundane of panzer maintenance and she scrambled from task to task like a scrappy puppy.

"Yukari seems happy today." Saori remarked.

"Of course she's happy." Erika replied. "She's always happy if there's a tank around. If she was a severed head in a jar she'd still have that grin on her face so long as she could watch Sensha-do. And she'd be ecstatic if we could give her a tank body for her jar that she could drive around and battle in." She smiled fondly, watching her fluffy gunner humming 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home' as she tinkered with their pernickety engine.

Erika suddenly realised that Yukari's humming was the only sound she could hear. She turned to find herself under the gaze of teams Anglerfish, Duck, Hippo and Turtle and all of them were smiling knowingly at her. Her cheeks flamed like a hotrod's exhaust.

"Shut up!" She snapped at the silent smirking girls.

Duck team practiced firing on the move and being a moving target. Hippo team trained for long range ambushes with Saemonza permitting herself only one shot per target to simulate such an ambush; she was determined to make her first shell be the killing blow. Rabbit team had decided they were going to master firing on two targets at once so that they could count as two tanks at once; their emblem had two daggers after all.

Meanwhile following their role in the bombardment of Anzio's defensive position, Sodoko had promoted herself to the role of Oarai's Captain of Artillery. In practice, this meant that Pazomi spent hour after hour sending shell after shell down the range, aiming to strike her targets from above. Sodoko had with a furious dedication become an expert on the dorsal armour of every armoured vehicle that was legal in Sensha-do. Her knowledge of that armour rivalled Yukari, except Yukari knew the thickness of all armour on all tanks. But Sodoko had become obsessed with the fact that a tank's top armour was often its weakest point and that her 75mm howitzer had the capability of dropping a shell on that armour. It was a sound enough theory but practical only against stationary targets at a range where the howitzer's trajectory was enough to strike the top rather than the front of the tank. And even then, it was still likely to be a glancing, non-penetrating blow if the angle wasn't steep enough.

But it meant that the reluctant commander of Mallard team had suddenly become heavily invested in Sensha-do. The two kills the B1 bis has claimed against Anzio had fed the ego of the beast and now her energies were directed into the effectiveness and efficiency of her team rather than on the non-regulation additions the other members had on their uniforms. She may have had a distinctly Kuromorimine air about her but Erika thought it was preferable to her previously sulky demeanour ever since she had been conscripted by the Student Council; and then smashed by Saunders.

Miho naturally kept her Anglerfish flexible; varying their independent training constantly. She would never say it but the Panzer IV F2 was their best all-round tank. It was fast, manoeuvrable and lethal at long range and in close quarters. While the Type 3 might have been able to rival it, the newly reborn Japanese tank was in the hands of their least experienced crew who were having to relearn everything they had learned in the Tanuki. The three gamer girls could be heard complaining about the difference in size and weight between a 38(t)'s 37mm gun's shells and those of the Type 3's 75mm. Momose also complained about the controls which were distinctly heavier than those of a 38(t). A Type 3 simply wasn't as forgiving to beginners as a 38(t) but the only team who would have taken to it easily were Duck team, familiar as they were with their Japanese tank but they couldn't be separated from their beloved medium tank. Even with cattleprods and tranquiliser darts.

In the T-50, Nakajima seemed determined to make their engine burst into flames as its predecessor had in their first practice match. The younger model was more robust but still prone to temper tantrums. One morning it refused to start and then hours later it came to life with no issues whatsoever. The Automotive Club modified it as much as they could within the bounds of legality which meant removing widgets, adding whatjamecallits and modifying the thingummybobs. Erika knew the actual terms for all these components but when Nakajima and her crew got going, she tuned out and heard only white noise.

While Nakajima modified the engine and put it through its paces, Yukari was doing the same as Duck team. The T-50 was a nimble machine and while it had excellent armour for a light tank, against its big brothers the T-34/76 and 85 it was vulnerable. The best response to that vulnerability was to take advantage of the T-50's agility. This meant they weren't aiming for knockout blows but rather to strike at vulnerable wheels and tracks. A T-34's tracks were just as vulnerable as any other tank of their class and while they could repair them in the field; it would drive them to distraction to do so. And there was only so many times they could replace broken parts. A disabled tank was still dangerous but if the fighting left it behind, it became impotent. If Duck and Wolf team were crippling tanks, it would put the opposing force in disarray.

The assumption was that they would face Pravda with no real belief that wouldn't be the case and while no one yet said it aloud, it was there. More than once Erika caught Yukari looking at her and her thoughts were transparent. She wanted to talk about the last time she and Miho had faced Pravda. They had talked about it before but Erika knew that it would still bring up issues for both of them. That much was inevitable. But Yukari was afraid to broach the subject and Erika wasn't eager to talk about it yet. The status quo at the moment meant that there were a great many things that they weren't talking about.

[][][][][][]

Erika sometimes wondered just how many people were following her on any given day. The Student Council seemed to have multiple informers while everyone else was insistent that they know every detail of her life. Miho was her neighbour, Hana had visited her in the gym and Yukari had followed her to her workplace before bringing the entire club with her. They were now regular customers. Just as they were at the Akiyama barbershop. The Oarai Sensha-do club took care of their own.

Anzu wanted another debrief or progress report or whatever it was that these meetings of theirs were. Whether they were a headache or not depended on what mood Anzu was in. Also whether or not Momo was present. Momo's determination and fanaticism were not dissimilar from her own but she lacked understanding of Sensha-do or any talent for it, making her demands of the team very trying. Anzu at least understood how impractical her insane scheme was and how woefully unequipped they were for it. In public, her telling Miho to win made her seem like a typical demanding boss while in private, she knew how unreasonable the order was. Momo however expected the impossible and didn't seem to understand that it was impossible. No amount of determination could change simple physics; like how much armour one of their guns could penetrate and at what range. No matter how much 'Guts' Duck team showed, their tank could not eliminate anything with more than 20mm of armour; even at point blank. They could smash treads, break wheels and disable cannons but they couldn't deliver a knockout blow. That was the harsh reality for their inter-war Japanese medium tank.

This was what Anzu wished to know about their new addition, the Type 3, and so she delivered the cold hard facts.

"80mm of armour penetration at a thousand metres. 50mm of frontal hull and turret armour. It's a good medium tank." She had listened to Yukari gush about it enough times. "Not the best medium tank but better than our light tanks. But they'll have many more better medium tanks."

"Pravda you mean." Anzu raised her hand to her mouth and then realised she wasn't actually holding one of her sweet potato slices. It was textbook addict behaviour. As was reaching into the bottom drawer of her desk for a stash.

"They haven't had their match yet, but they'll win. And they'll have a dozen T-34 medium tanks to our four. And one of those mediums is really a light tank and our heavy tank is really a medium tank when facing a T-34."

"How bleak." Anzu declared in the nonchalant tone only she could manage.

"Very."

"And the big beast?"

"They're working on it." It was a drastic understatement. "But they haven't even gotten the hull and turret out of the ship yet. And even when they do… It was never a design that worked properly even before a couple of decades left to rot. I don't know if they can fix it this year, let alone before the next round."

"So it won't be there to make Pravda think twice…"

"No…" An 8.8cm cannon would have made such a huge difference as well. "It would have made them cautious but it's not Pravda we need to worry about."

"No?"

"It's our side. They're all fired up. They overcame the might of Saunders and then they utterly destroyed Anzio. They don't remember the mud and the waiting; they just remember that Anzio didn't have a single vehicle left by the end." Erika couldn't help but narrow her eyes. "They've gotten cocky."

"So they're confident."

"They're overconfident. There's a huge difference and against Pravda, it's a big deal. Pravda likes to set traps and overconfident fools rush into them."

"You speak from experience?" Anzu asked impishly.

"Kuromorimine doesn't fall into traps; it springs them." The words came coldly from her mouth. Mechanically. And yet, as much of an aggressive boast as it was, it was also an accurate assessment of Kuromorimine's response to anything. If they were lured into a trap, they just ploughed on and out of it. "You can be perfectly overconfident if you've got the weapons and armour to back it up. And we don't. If you press-ganged us another team, we'd have nine functional tanks and three of them could be beaten with heavy machineguns. But we have eight tanks…"

"Are T-34s that powerful?"

"Saunders Shermans all have a critical weakness; flat angles. They're built like bricks and pretty much any hit in the flank by even a 50mm gun will kill them. But T-34s have sloped armour and even a high velocity gun like our Panzer IV and StuG's 7.5cm guns can have their shells deflected by it if they don't hit precisely. It's that chance that makes T-34s dangerous to them. It's not complicated; it's just maths. Our smaller guns can't penetrate them at all unless they're inches away. And then there's that T-34s have either the 76 or 85mm gun which can crack Panzers, Shermans and Cromwells easily. They're just good all-round medium tanks. There's a reason Panthers have sloped armour; they were copying them."

"But T-34s breakdown a lot I hear."

"The first models did. They overheated. Their tracks broke. The filters for the engines were pretty much useless so a little bit of dust could kill them. And of course, Soviet industry didn't produce good quality material to build them with…" Erika shook her head. "But Pravda uses later models and Sensha-do production tanks are made of high quality material. So we can't trust them to breakdown reliably like the real things did in their day. Look at our Type 89! It should be crawling along but we've made it into a speedster. It's the same with Kuromorimine's German heavy tanks and tank destroyers. In real life, more of them broke down from mechanical issues than from enemy fire. But Kuromorimine's Tigers and King Tigers are made of high quality metal so they don't regularly break their own steering under their own weight."

"Well that's inconvenient." Anzu sighed and then seemed to swallow her sweet potato slice whole. "So what do we have going for us?"

"The StuG and the Panzer IV. They can both crack a T-34 open easily. And the Type 3, if Piyotan can bring her gunnery skills up to a good standard."

"So it's three against fifteen then?" Anzu smiled bitterly to herself. "Those aren't pretty odds."

"No, they're not. And they'll have an IS-2 heavy tank. But our other tanks make for a good distraction."

"I always enjoy these cheerful conversations of ours, Itsumi." Anzu remarked. "Do you think you and Nishizumi can pull it off?"

"There's always a chance." She said for her benefit.

"Optimism, Itsumi? Your perky otaku is making you into a believer."

"Maybe I like Oarai." This she did believe.

"Of course you do. Everyone does! And you're really starting to fit in now."

"I still haven't forgiven any of you for coming to the bar."

"We've noticed." Anzu grinned lazily. "Momo loves watching you squirm."

"Of course she does. Are you going to make her sing again?"

"Oh, bet on it! It makes the whole class so happy seeing her perform."

"You're an evil human being."

"Yes." Anzu grinned.

[][][][][][]

Oarai didn't have the luxury of flying around the country to watch other teams compete, as much as they would have liked to spectate the Pravda-Viking match. Even though the inevitably of a Pravda victory was known to all, they were still tense waiting for the official confirmation. For Erika the only way to manage that tension was to beat the crap out of a punchbag until her hands were numb.

It wasn't just the Pravda-Viking match. The Kuromorimine-Continuation match had taken place today as well and she imagined that people would be taking note of who was spectating which match. Koume would be hard-pressed against Continuation's guerrilla tactics. Tempers always frayed when dealing with Continuation High. Kuromorimine engaged their enemies directly and the elusive nature of Continuation High and their stubborn refusal to be inviting targets infuriated the practitioners of the Nishizumi Style.

They would prevail though. There was no question about that. Maho could not be shaken by their tactics or provoked into rash action. Kuromorimine's advantage in armour and firepower would tell.

When Yukari's head popped out suddenly from behind the punchbag, it took all of Erika's discipline not to strike her down in surprise.

"Pravda won!" She declared, like such a thing was utterly awesome. Wryly Erika realised that from her perspective, it was. She would get to fight Pravda and therefore get to experience fighting two of the Big Four of high school Sensha-do. She didn't care if she won or lost.

"Of course they did." Viking would have been hard-pressed to beat them even without their rigid doctrine. It would have been a far more interesting match had Pravda faced Continuation High. The historical context of their preferred nations' tanks alone would have made it a bitter contest; even without the fact that many of Continuation High's tanks were repainted Pravda tanks on 'extended loan'.

"Fifteen versus our eight!" Yukari beamed. "It should be a great match."

"It'll be a bloodbath." Erika was certain that Miho's tactics would take a high toll on Pravda, even if she couldn't see any potential for victory. She slammed her fist into the bag and while she didn't flinch, she could see Yukari momentarily wonder if the blow had been intended for her. "If we fight in the jungle; that would give us the advantage. Pravda doesn't do well in the jungle, or the forest…"

"They're good in the desert though!" Yukari gushed happily. "I guess because it's like the Russian steppes!"

"Will you stop being cheerful about our miserable prospects?"

Yukari tried to look solemn but she could manage it only for a few seconds before lighting up again which made it very difficult for Erika not to actually hit her. How many times had she felt the urge to thump Yukari? She had lost track at this point. Her old self wouldn't have hesitated to skin her alive while these days when her driver and gunner aggravated her; the urge to maim came from an affectionate place.

"We're not going to fight Pravda for fun. This is a serious business."

Yukari hesitated and given her tendency to blurt whatever she was thinking as soon the thought formed in her head, seeing her think twice made Erika lower her arms from their fighting stance. "Because you want revenge?" She asked.

Erika gave her gunner a very hard stare. It had absolutely no effect because of all the times she had glowered at her in the close confines of the T-50. "I'd be lying if I said that wasn't part of it."

"You've been thinking about it ever since Anzio. Whenever we're in the hangar, you get this…Burning look." She seemed to shudder. "You were really happy before Anzio, and during! Now you're all…" Yukari made a few gestures that suggested strangling, clubbing and evisceration all at once. "Does winning mean that much to you?"

Erika looked at Yukari. She had an annoyingly earnest and honest face and her eyes rivalled Miho's in the sad puppy arena. It would have been much easier to lie to her if those eyes hadn't shone with trust. She sighed and removed her gloves which Yukari took as a good sign, which was painful.

"Yukari." Using her name instead of calling her Fluffy immediately put her on edge. "I'm going to tell you something. And you can't tell anyone. Anyone!" She raised a finger in her face. "Especially Miho! You tell Miho and they will never find your body! Understood?!"

Yukari nodded dumbly, rubbing her wrist and Erika had a pained memory of their first encounter which she had to put aside.

"The Ministry of Education wants to shut down the school, scrap the ship and send us all to other schools and bringing back Sensha-do is Anzu's insane scheme to save it by winning the tournament and making it too much of a scandal for them to close the champion school so we have to defeat Pravda and then Kuromorimine with less than ten tanks otherwise we're all doomed."

It was a weight off her chest. And her shoulders. And it eased the iron band that seemed to be a permanent fixture around her skull.

Meanwhile Yukari giggled. "What?" She asked, raising her hand to her mouth.

"If we don't win, all of this is gone."

"Stop joking." Yukari's eyes had become rather hard.

"I'm not joking. This is real."

Yukari nodded gravely, and then shrieked. She had made the sound before, when she was excited or frightened, but never this loud and Erika jumped on the spot as it smacked her like a whale's tail and the whole gym filled with the sound of a fluffy distressed gunner.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"Will you shut up?!" Erika snapped, out of the fright the cry had given her rather than anger.

"I have to tell someone!" Yukari gasped and turned to flee.

"NO!" Erika leapt on her without hesitation.

She was tired from beating the punchbag and Yukari's time as a gunner as well as her habit of collecting shells and wheels meant she was deceptively strong. They rolled across the floor and every time Yukari tried to scramble up, Erika dragged her back down with a great whoosh of flapping hair.

"Stay down!"

"It's too much! I need to tell!"

"You can't tell!"

"I can't take it!"

"You can and you will! Stop trying to run!" With a final effort, Erika pinned her face down on the ground, leaning her full weight between her shoulder-blades. "You can't tell anyone! No one can know! I shouldn't even have told you! Why did I tell you?! Oh fuck, what have I done…"

"They're going to close the school?" Yukari asked plaintively.

"Yes. That's what I know. That's what the Student Council knows. That's what's going to happen unless we pull off a miracle."

"It can't be done."

"I know."

"It can't be done. Not with the tanks we have and the tanks they have and how many tanks we have and how many tanks they have."

"I know!"

"And the tanks we have and the tanks they have-"

"Don't get hysterical again or I'll slap you!" Erika warned.

Yukari lay tense beneath her and then went limp. Even her hair seemed to droop. "They're going to take everything away?"

Erika what she meant. Her beloved Sensha-do club, her tank and the friends she had made. The life she now had. All gone. "I'm sorry."

"They can't do that."

"Yes, they can…"

"No! They can't!" With supreme effort, Yukari twisted under her so she could look her in the eyes. Her own were blazing. "I won't let them!"

"We can fight hard, Yukari. But we can't win. You know that."

"I know that we can!" With another fierce effort, Yukari seized her arms. "I won't let them take our Sensha-do away from us! I won't! You won't! I know we can do it, Itsumi-dono! Together!"

"Yukari, I…"

She stopped speaking at the sound of a foot tapping. They both looked up at a pair of trainers and then they looked up, and up, and up, up along legs that seemed to go on forever before finally there was a pair of folded arms and above them; the sardonic face of Kawanshi Shinobu.

"I heard screaming." The driver of the Type 89 declared. "And then it went very quiet, so I thought I should investigate. Now I feel embarrassed for intruding on this… Special moment."

All at once the lovers embrace the two of them were locked in became very apparent to both of them and in their haste to disentangle; more liberties were taken upon their personage. The fact she was a First Year and they were Second Years was completely lost on them as they scrambled to get up and then stood under the tall, lean girl's mordant gaze.

"That wasn't what it looked like!" Yukari squeaked.

"Right…" Shinobu replied.

"It wasn't!"

"I'm not here to judge." The volleyballer replied, judging them with a thin smile.

"Yukari was panicking and I was trying to calm her down." Erika heard her voice and then heard her brain asking if she could come up with a lamer explanation.

"By making out with her?"

"WE WEREN'T MAKING OUT!" Erika felt her cheeks flame at the declaration and that she made it in perfect unison with Yukari who likewise burned with embarrassment.

And Shinobu, typically the most level-headed and stoic of Duck team, giggled at them and that laughter hit Erika in an unexpected place. Moments before she had been baring the dark secret she had been keeping and now she was being teased, the way Nakajima was always teasing her. It was the banter she had come to enjoy. The experience of being a normal schoolgirl that Miho loved so much. And so she laughed. And the scandalised look on Yukari's face made her laugh harder which turned Shinobu's giggles into laughter as well which reduced Yukari to giggles which she tried to cover by hiding her face with her hair. She only succeeded in making herself look like an alpaca.

"We weren't doing anything." Erika said when she finally regained her composure.

"I know." Shinobu admitted. "But watching you both squirm was amazing." She gave them a little wave and walked away. She hadn't said whether this was a story she was going to share.

It took a few minutes before they could look at each other, let alone talk and Yukari summed it up very well.

"What do we do now?"

(10,478)

Didn't know how this one was going to end. I've been thinking a lot about the Pravda match and its consequences and how to go ahead with that match. I'm still thinking about it. I knew Erika would tell Miho or Yukari beforehand but I didn't know which. You can see the opportunity for Erika to tell Miho here, but I wasn't feeling it. I did feel it with Yukari though.

I hit 25,000 views the other day. Almost a year since I started writing this and it's now the longest single piece I've ever written. Never would have guessed that. I started this to take a break from my other writing.

Not sharing this update on the sub. Tired of the spiteful downvoting.

When I started this, it was remarked upon that I didn't include the exhibition match between Oarai and Maginot. As I hadn't read the source of this match, I didn't know it existed. It's always felt like a lost opportunity and I've always wanted to include another match against a different school so rather than leaping straight to Pravda, I may visit this exhibition match.

Next chapter will see a look at Continuation vs Kuromorimine.