"Come on again, full force. 1...2...3, pull!"
A loud metallic screech echoed across the school grounds as the girls and I pushed the Panzer out of the warehouse, I swear it was easier said than done. While I had training that required me to carry heavy things, an old, rusty, huge tank was something new, and I didn't want to scare the other girls by using magic or transforming, so we all had to push to get the old Panzer out.
"That's enough." I said tiredly as we all moved away from the armored vehicle to catch our breath.
"Do you really think we can do anything with this pile of scrap?" A girl asked tiredly looking at Miho.
"Probably." The brown haired girl said as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"Boys and Panzers are better when they're new." Saori said but then she fell silent when she saw me and her face turned red with embarrassment.
"Sorry Benja." The girl didn't mince her words but I shook my head with a smile.
"Don't worry, Saori. Although I would appreciate a less battered Panzer as well." I said looking at the vehicle in front of us. I trusted Miho, but repairing an old looking vehicle that was almost eaten away by rust would be almost impossible.
"Saori, I thought you thought that about handcuffs and tatami mats too." Hana said looking at the redheaded girl who raised her hands in defense.
"They're the same, really." The girl said seriously.
"Hey. Now that I realize it, there's only one Panzer." The girls and I were speechless upon hearing another girl's words and looked at the vehicle. It was true, inside there was only one Panzer, tools and old parts, there was no sign of any other Panzer inside.
"I don't think we'll all fit into one." A girl said looking at the Panzer as she imagined everyone struggling to fit into one vehicle.
"At least five will be needed for everyone." We all turned to see Anzu, who was looking at us with a calm smile.
"But where will we get more Panzers?" I asked, looking at the girl with curiosity.
"You'll have to search around the academy and even further." Anzu said nonchalantly, leaving us all in surprise.
"Look around? What do you mean by that?" A student asked in surprise while looking at the girl.
"It's been years since Panzerfahren was abolished in our school. However, the tanks from that time should be around here. Rather, I can assure you that they are here." Momo said seriously while looking at all of us.
"The tank instructor will come tomorrow, I advise you to start looking for the four remaining Panzers now." The girl with the monocle said seriously making a girl laugh.
"Where exactly do you want us to search?" A girl asked with a smile looking at Anzu's classmate.
"If we knew, we wouldn't need your help." That answer was a hard blow to everyone. Finding four tanks which were scattered everywhere throughout the academy, and worse, bringing them back before the next day was going to be quite a challenge.
"But, how are we going to find the missing tanks if you don't even know where they are?" another girl asked nervously looking at the three girls from the student council.
"Isn't there even a map?" another equally nervous girl asked.
"Nope." Anzu said with a smile, which disappointed us all.
"Alright, now that that's settled. Start searching for the remaining Panzers." Momo said seriously looking at us. Most of the teams had no choice but to reluctantly obey and begin their search.
"This isn't really what we should be doing." Saori said depressed looking at Anzu, who approached us.
"I thought we were going to drive around with a tank ready." The girl lowered her head, depressed as she pictured herself driving a Panzer around the school in her mind.
"The instructor tomorrow is really cool." Anzu said with a smile, which greatly caught Saori's attention and ours.
"Are you serious?" Saori asked curiously, making the girl nod.
"She is one of a kind, I will personally introduce you to her. Now go find that Panzer, you don't want to disappoint her or not?" Anzu asked with a smile looking at us.
"No!. Come on team, let's go!" Saori shouted with a huge smile before running out of the place while Hana, Miho and I followed her.
The girls and I had to follow Saori everywhere, her enthusiasm was really making her run all over the academy looking for our Panzer. Behind bushes, inside the gym storage room, and she even tried to open the other storage rooms, but she couldn't.
"I know what I said but. Where the hell are the Panzers!?"
The search ended in the academy parking lot, where Saori couldn't stand the disappointment any longer and screamed angrily and sadly at the last place she could think of where there would be a Panzer.
"Well, I don't think anyone would park a Panzer in the middle of a car park." Hana said with a nervous smile like Miho's and mine. The three of us struggled not to laugh at Saori's misfortune.
"And why not? They're both vehicles, right?" The three of us almost exploded upon hearing that but we had to make a titanic effort not to laugh.
"Why don't we check behind us? Maybe we'll get lucky there." I said with a nervous smile.
"Yeah, what else could we lose?" Saori said with a depressive aura before starting to walk. The girls and I were going to follow her, but I stopped short when I felt something behind us. When I turned around, I saw a girl who, upon realizing that I saw her, hid behind the tree.
"Benja, is everything okay?" Miho stayed behind me, leaving the other two girls to talk amongst themselves.
"Someone was following us." I said looking at the tree, which caught the girl's attention more.
"Please come out, why are you following us?" I asked looking at the girl who was hiding. Slowly we both saw her come out from the shadows, it was a girl with the same uniform as us, brown eyes, her hair shared the same color but was curly and short.
"Why were you following us?" Miho asked curiously, which made the girl nervous, who quickly bowed.
"Please excuse me! I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, it's just that, well." The girl was too nervous to speak and the words didn't come out of her mouth because of embarrassment.
"Are you coming to find a Panzer like us?" I asked curiously, trying to guess why she was following us, the girl only nodded her head, which only increased the awkwardness at the lack of speech.
"Don't you have a team?" Miho asked curiously, but the girl shook her head shyly. The brown-haired girl and I looked at each other with some uneasiness and pity before nodding.
"Hey, would you like to come with us to find a Panzer?" Miho asked with a nervous smile, which made the girl jump for joy.
"Are you serious!? Umm, I'm Akiyama Yukari, from the standard education class 2-A. I'm a rookie, but I'll do my best!" The girl in front of us changed her attitude, from a shy and nervous girl to a more confident and firm girl.
"We'll be happy to receive you." Hana said with a smile as the girl returned with Miho and me, accompanied by Saori.
"I'm Isuzu Hana." The black-haired girl said with a smile.
"I'm Takebe Saori!" The red-haired girl raised her hand with a smile as she introduced herself.
"And we are..."
"I already know you two." Miho and I were speechless as Yukari confessed that she knew us.
"You are Benjamin Escudero, and this is Lady Nishizumi Miho." The brown-haired girl said, although I was surprised that she knew my name, I was more surprised by the way she called Miho.
"I umm."
"It's a pleasure to meet you." The girl greeted with a military pose making us laugh shyly.
With time running out without stopping, we were all searching high and low for the missing Panzers, some looking for records of them in the library, others continuing to search around the Ooarai Academy. The girls and I, now with Yukari were now in the forests of the Academy, following a map we had previously taken from the library.
"Umm, Benja." I turned to see Yukari who was looking at me curiously.
"Yes, Yukari?" I asked curiously as we walked.
"I can't help but ask. How did you get accepted into this academy? I mean, I'm not saying you shouldn't be here, but I'm curious as to how you got accepted. Tell me, did your parents bribe Miss Anzu, or is it because you're cousin or brother to some of the girls on the student council?" The brown-haired girl asked curiously, but hearing this confused me.
"No, umm, I actually signed up when they went to my school and I agreed to be an exchange student." I said looking at the girl, I could see that she seemed very impressed upon hearing that.
"That's really impressive, I always thought that boys were strictly forbidden in this academy and in many others." Yukari said in surprise, but hearing that confused me even more.
"Why are boys forbidden? Is it because of the pervert issue?" I asked with some venom thinking that maybe they had the same problems as in Kuou Academy. But I saw the girl shake her head.
"Partly yes, but not completely. Nobody knows how it happened, but many years ago, this school was once a mixed academy for boys and girls, but one day, they say that all the boys were expelled and including the teachers and male staff were expelled from the academy, although many had rebellious or perverted backgrounds, others were more polite and disciplined, but still, they were expelled and fired." Yukari said with some seriousness, which caught my attention greatly.
"Did the director ever give a statement after that?" I asked curiously, but the girl shrugged.
"No one knows, everyone has tried to find an explanation for this, but no one has found one. Not only here, but in many important schools around the world, those who practice Panzerfahren decided to make that decision. It is a mystery that has never been solved, many say it was because of peeping tom students, others say it was because of staff cuts, but no one knows the real reason." What I heard left me with doubt. If this school was previously coeducational, and all male students are strictly prohibited, why would they have made an exception for me? Was it to try to save the Ooarai Academy?
"I smell something." I snapped out of my thoughts when Hana spoke, and looked at the girl curiously.
"What do you smell?" I asked curiously looking at the girl.
"It's a light scent, it's like rust and old oil." The girl said before looking at me. At that moment I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, the scent of flowers reached me, but then I smelled the scent that Hana said, surprising me.
"You're right, I smell it too." Saori, Miho and Yukari were surprised by what I said and watched as Hana and I started walking.
"How can they do that?" Saori asked surprised looking at us with clear surprise.
"It mixes with the smell of flowers." Hana said as she and I searched for the source of the aroma.
"Making flower arrangements for years must have sharpened your sense of smell? And Benja, how can you do the same?" The red-haired girl asked even more surprised making me laugh shyly.
"I always had a keen sense of smell, almost like a wolf." I said with a nervous smile. Miho could understand what I said and remembered when she saw me for the first time, surprising her.
"Perfect, Panzer vor!" Yukari shouted with a smile pointing to the front.
"The pants are for what?" Miho and Yukari fell on their backs like an anime while Hana and I almost had the same result.
"Panzer vor means Tank in front." The brown-haired girl said with a nervous smile before following the black-haired girl and me. The five of us went deeper and deeper into the forest until Saori saw something that made her laugh with joy.
"I see it!" We all looked ahead and saw there, covered in mud and dirt, there was a tank that like the first one we saw, had seen better days.
"It's a 38 (T)." Miho said amazed seeing the Panzer in front of us.
"It looks a little smaller than the last one." Saori said equally amazed.
"It has dents everywhere." Hana said, seeing the state of the Panzer.
"It seems that it was here for a long time, the moss is covering part of its machinery." I said looking at the plants on the vehicle before seeing Yukari lay down on the front of the tank with a smile.
"When I think of the 38 (T). I think of the main tank that served General Rommel's 7th Panzer Division, and finally supported the Blitzkrieg, it is agile and very reliable. Did you know that, the (T) stands for "Czekoslovakia", and does not refer to its weight!" Hana, Saori, Miho and I were stunned to hear this explanation, we never thought that Yukari knew so much information about a Panzer.
"You were very excited there." Said the red-haired girl, stunned like all of us.
"I'm sorry." The brown haired girl said embarrassedly, but she noticed that I shook my head with a giggle.
"Don't apologize, I think that was amazing, I never thought you knew so much about military tanks, I admit that I was very surprised." I said looking at Yukari with a nervous smile, surprising her and making her blush slightly.
"Umm, guys, how are we going to transport this to the academy?" Hana asked nervously looking at the Panzer. We all looked at the tank and a depressive aura covered us.
"My arms will break before we can even move it." Saori said looking at the vehicle.
"Let's go back and tell Anzu that we found the first Panzer." We all nodded at what Miho said before returning to the academy. If we had to carry a Tank, without my magic, and without using all my strength so as not to scare the girls, it would be a nightmare.
"Momo, do you have information on the other academies I sent Benja's documents to?"
"Not yet, and we haven't heard from the academic council either."
The three girls were sitting in the warehouse where the Panzer they showed us was previously, the girl with the monocle was checking a cell phone while the girl with pigtails was eating some candy and Yuzu was looking around.
"I'm scared that Monster High will find out about our deception, what if they send someone to get Benja back?" the girl asked fearfully but Anzu shook her head with a smile.
"Have you read his record yet? I'm surprised someone like him isn't involved in something like Interpol or some top secret security service." The girl with pigtails said with a carefree smile.
"But what if he is?" Momo's question was met with an annoyed sigh from Anzu.
"Are you still thinking about that supposed "responsibility" that Benja has? If he knows that, why would he request a transfer to our academy?" Anzu asked angrily. The girl with the monocle was about to answer but then they saw my team and I returning.
"I want to guess from your faces that you are not here to give up." Anzu said with a smile looking at us.
"No, we found a Panzer, it's ten minutes away in the forest of the academy." Yukari said while Miho handed the map with the location marked to Momo.
"Good job. We will send a vehicle to bring you here, now stay here while the other teams return with their Panzers." The girl with the monocle said looking at us.
"Umm, aren't they going to need help?" I asked with some curiosity and concern. Not only was I worried about their safety, but also that they would take too long.
"Do you want to bring out your prince charming side, Benja? I don't think they would care if a "hero" saves them." I stiffened upon hearing Anzu's words while the girls stared at me confused by what the student council girl said.
"It won't be necessary, but if you insist, if something happens, we will ask for your help." Momo said looking at me seriously making me nod silently.
"Very well, rest until the others return." Yuzu said before pointing at some chairs with a smile.
The search that at first was a headache, soon that frustration turned into happiness. A group of girls in PE uniforms, using mountaineering equipment, managed to find a Panzer hidden in a cave inside a mountain. Other girls were checking the lakes of the academy until they found a deep one, one of the girls dove into the depths under the watchful eyes of her team, the girl was swimming blindly until her hands touched something, after removing some algae, she smiled at the sight of a sunken Panzer. Finally, the last team, was jumping with happiness after taking a whole day to find the Panzer in an old barn at the school, the vehicle had become a perfect burrow for the rabbits there.
"I admit, they are amazing." I said smiling, marveling at the Panzers in front of me. If metal could talk, we would be in front of authentic war veterans.
"A Type 89, A 38 (T), A M3 Lee medium tank, A StuG III, Ausf. F, and last but not least, A Panzer IV, Ausf. D. How do you propose to divide them, Anzu?" Momo asked looking at the girl with pigtails.
"How about the teams that found the Panzers, keep their respective vehicles?" The girl asked with a smile looking at the vehicles.
"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Yuzu asked worriedly looking at Anzu.
"In that case we will take the 38 (T). Your tank will be the Panzer IV." Momo said as she turned to see us.
"Understood." Miho looked at the vehicle with us, it was clear that our Panzer was going to need a lot of work.
"Alright. Team A, you will drive the Panzer IV. The Type 89 will be assigned to Team B. Team C, you will get the StuG. Team D will get the M3. And lastly, the 38 (T) is Team E." Momo said looking at us and we all saw our respective Panzers.
"Tomorrow the instructor will finally come. So, you better get your Panzers presentable by then." Hearing that left us stunned. The tanks were almost in tatters and had to be ready by tomorrow.
"I wonder what kind of person the instructor will be." Saori said excitedly looking at us.
"It's so well made."
"It looks really good for the tank." the girls from team B talked amongst themselves as they watched the Panzer in front of them.
"The turret doesn't rotate, huh?"
"It looks like an elephant."
"More like a trumpet."
"Fools!" The three girls from team C were severely reprimanded by a serious shout from a girl wearing an admiral's cap.
"The StuG was a large tank, which repelled the Russian attack in the Winter War, apologize to the Finn right now!" the girl shouted pointing to the sky.
"We're sorry!" The three girls complied and bowed in apology for his words.
"He has two guns, doesn't he?"
"He looks so proud, and very strong." The girls of the D team were looking with a huge smile at the vehicle in front of them. Saori approached our Panzer, but when she touched it, she backed away instantly.
"It's sticky!" The girl shouted in disgust looking at her hand and then at the vehicle.
"It seems that we are going to have a lot of work." Hana said looking at the state of the vehicle.
"I'll go see it inside." Miho said before climbing up a ladder of the Panzer.
"I knew you were going to go in first!" Saori shouted with a smile looking at the brunette girl.
"Ugh, guys, you're going to want to see this." The girls and I heard Miho speak with disgust and we went up to see what was happening. When we arrived, we could smell a strong rotten aroma and we could see that the vehicle inside was in a worse state than outside.
"We'll have to clean it up inside and get rid of the rust. I can also see that the old coating is peeling off, so we'll have to paint that as well," Miho said with some nausea as she looked at the almost crumbling interior.
"I have one more surprise for everyone." We all turned to see Anzu, the girl started walking, we all looked at each other and then followed her.
We all returned to the Academy and the three girls from the council led us to a room that when opened we saw that there was a large space as well as books.
"This used to be the literature club, the girls and I took the trouble to clean it up so you can use this as a meeting room. You all will have to get to know each other so, enjoy your private club." Anzu said with a smile before giving the keys to Miho.
"We will be busy to help with the Panzers, I advise that you study and analyze the state of your respective vehicles and make a list of your Panzers and analyze their defects, good luck." Was all Momo said before leaving with Yuzu and Anzu, leaving us alone in the halls with a club just for us.
I couldn't feel more awkward. Miho and Saori volunteered to check on the Panzers, leaving Hana, Yukari, and I alone with the other teams.
"So. You're the guy they let in." I raised my head and saw the blonde girl wearing an admiral's hat.
"Umm, yeah, my name is Benja, I hope we can get along." I said timidly extending my hand, but the girl rejected it, slapping my hand away disdainfully.
"Don't shake my hand like we're best friends, kid. I'll only shake your hand when you earn it." the girl said as she adjusted her hat seriously.
"I can't believe they let a guy who doesn't know anything about Panzers in here, scum like you should die." a girl in a red scarf said angrily looking at me as she leaned near a window.
"Don't listen to them, kid, even though she also told you, you're wasting your time trying to talk to those two." I turned to see another girl, who had one eye closed.
"My name is Sugiyama Kiyomi, the girls you're trying to talk to are called Riko Matsumoto and Tatako Suzuki. Ignore the death glares they give you, they're like that with all guys, they don't like them very much." Kiyomi said while I felt somewhat uncomfortable with the cold stares of the girls.
"I already noticed." I said with some nervousness, it was like having Double and Doris in front of me before they were my girlfriends.
"Still, I think it's interesting that we have a boy among our ranks." I turned to see a girl with glasses and slightly disheveled hair.
"My name is Takeko Nogami, I hope we can get along." The girl said with a smile shaking my hand, but Riko pushed my hand away before I could touch the other girl.
"Don't touch him, Nogami. We still don't know if he's worthy of even being here." The blonde girl said with venom looking at me.
"But." The girl noticed me raise my hand with a nervous smile.
"Don't worry, Nogami. Still, I hope we can get along too." I said smiling looking at the girls. Kiyomi and Nogami nodded with a smile, while Riko and Suzuki looked away with disdain.
"I think it would be dishonest if we didn't introduce ourselves either." I turned to see a short-haired girl wearing sportswear.
"My name is Noriko Isobe, and these are my friends." The girl said before introducing other girls who were wearing gym clothes.
"My name is Taeke Kondou, nice to meet you." A girl with a red bow and short hair said.
"I'm Shinobu Kawanishi." Another short-haired girl said with a smile looking at me.
"And I'm Akebi Sasaki." A blonde girl with her hair tied up said.
"It's nice to meet you. Were you part of the sports club here before?" I asked curiously, making Noriko nod.
"Yes, but unfortunately they had to close the club because our teacher quit some time later, but that doesn't get us down, we'll fight until the club reopens!" The girls cheered in approval at Noriko's words which made me smile.
"I hope so, I was also part of a sports club before, the Kendo club, and many others, I hope to be able to join one day." I said smiling looking at the girls, who smiled at me.
"Now it's our turn." I turned around and saw a group of girls, however I noticed that some of them were very shy.
"My name is Azusa Sawa, come on girls, you have to introduce yourselves too." Azusa said to her friends.
"My name is Ayumi Yamagou." A girl with long black hair said with a smile.
"My name is Karina Sakaguchi, it's a pleasure to meet the first male student in our school." A brown-haired girl said with a huge smile.
"I'm Yuki Utsugi." A girl with short black hair said kindly.
"My name is Aya Oono!" A girl with pigtails and glasses shouted with a huge smile, making me laugh.
"It's a pleasure.."
"Hey, someone's missing." I couldn't stop talking when Azusa seemed to notice someone's absence.
"There she is." Karina pointed at a girl who was looking at me nervously behind a piece of furniture.
"Oh umm, this is Saki Maruyama, forgive her, she is very shy, especially with boys." Yuki said looking at her friend, who was trying to hide further behind the furniture.
"Still, I hope we can get along with each other, I feel like we'll be good friends." I said smiling as I looked at the girls. Most of them showed me a smile, while Riko and Suzuki remained expressionless with me.
"We're back." We all turned around and saw Miho and Saori entering with the dirty clothes.
"Umm, what's the report?" I asked with some shyness.
"You're not going to like it." Saori said with sadness in her voice before giving us the list. The moment we saw it, a depressive aura covered us all, the Panzers were in a disastrous state at 90%, while the only thing it had in its favor was that the steel armor was still in a good state despite its dents.
"And we have to have this by tomorrow."
"There's no way we'll have this ready by tomorrow."
"This is horrible."
The girls looked at the list in detail. Cannons were useless, steering was damaged by rust, the tracks were on the verge of breaking on their own, the gear wheels of the tracks were bent or corroded by rust, the mechanisms were in ruins and part of the navigation system was in urgent need of repair.
"We can't turn back." I said looking at the girls.
"Sorry to break your little illusions, kid, but these Panzers are almost scrap, how do you propose we repair them?" Riko asked seriously looking at me.
"I don't want to have to agree, but it's true, we won't be able to repair them in time for tomorrow." Aya said looking at me sadly.
"Still, we shouldn't give up, we're already here, Anzu counts on each one of us. Everyone here knows more about Panzers than I do, but what I do know is how to work as a team and always give 100%. We only have fourteen hours to finish the job, if we use everything we have a chance to bring these Panzers back to life, we just need to work hard for it." The girls looked at each other with some nervousness and some with concern not knowing what to say.
"I'll help you, Benja!" I turned around and saw Miho approaching with a look of determination.
"I'll help too!" Saori was quick to join in with a smile.
"Well, in that case I'm in too." Hana said with a smile looking at us.
"Me too!" Yukari shouted with a huge smile.
"Count us in!" The girls and I saw team B standing up with a smile.
"Us too!" Team D shouted with a smile, Saki didn't speak, but raised her fist as a sign of favor.
"Riko, Suzuki." Kiyomi looked mockingly at the two girls, who sighed and stood up reluctantly.
"Fine, but if this doesn't work I'll beat you up, idiot." The blonde haired girl said angrily looking at me.
"Excellent news!" We all turned around and saw Anzu with Momo.
"I'm glad you two are starting to get along, now everyone, it's time to go outside, we have Panzers waiting to be washed." The girl with pigtails said before showing us some buckets and the girl with the monocle some hoses.
The girls and I went back outside after changing into our PE uniforms. Each of us was with our respective teams washing the Panzers as best as possible.
"Shit, they're really dirty." Yukari said as she swept away the grime with the help of water that quickly turned brown due to how dirty the vehicle was.
"They've been left untended for years, I'm surprised they're not junk." I said as Hana and I used sponges to clean one of the sides of the cannon's cabin, but then we were surprised when Saori started to wet us with cold water.
"Saori, how cold!" The black-haired girl and I screamed at the same time while the red-haired girl laughed. I looked at Hana but then turned red when I could see her breasts and her bra under her shirt, making me quickly turn my head.
"I'll go wash the other side!" I shouted before going to the other side of our Panzer to clean while the girls looked at me somewhat confused.
"This is Takamatsu Castle Water Park!" Kiyomi shouted with a smile cleaning the Panzer with Suzuki while Nogami was meditating at the main hatch.
"Cross the Rubicon!" Suzuki shouted raising his broom like a sword.
"Drive out the barbarians!" Nogami said seriously. I couldn't help but laugh at this, I found it very funny the way they played around.
"What are you laughing at, idiot?" I was speechless when Riko spoke to me coldly and I could see that she and Suzuki were looking at me seriously while the other girls were looking at me in a calmer manner.
"I, umm."
"Don't you have work to do on your own Panzer? Focus on your own thing, idiot." The girl with the red scarf said, making me nod silently.
"And while you're at it, you better go get some water for yourself." Riko with a smile hit my bucket of water with her broom causing the water to fall.
"Hey, what's that for!?" Kiyomi shouted angrily looking at the other girls.
"No Kiyomi, it's okay, umm, sorry to bother you." I said shyly before taking the bucket and going to get more water.
As I walked I felt something fall, I looked up and saw that it was water, when I turned my face turned red hot when I saw team B and D playing with the water, but that wasn't the problem, the problem for me was that their bras were exposed and their breasts were covered by the water, making me cover my eyes in shame.
"I'm soaked."
"This rain is a blessing!"
"My bra is showing."
"Enjoying paradise, Benja?" I jumped when I heard Anzu behind me. The girl looked at me with a mocking smile while Momo looked at me seriously.
"It's not that! I'm just going to get water." I said nervously but then I noticed something.
"Where's Yuzu?" I asked curiously but I saw that the girl with pigtails started to laugh.
"Good question, Hey Yuzu, Benja wants to see you!" Anzu shouted with a smile looking at the warehouse. When I looked at the store my body glowed bright red when I saw the girl in a white bikini.
"W-why is she wearing a bikini!?" I covered my face in embarrassment. I didn't want to admit it, but Yuzu had breasts the same size as Diana's breasts.
"Easy, she lost a bet so she'll have to wash our Panzer in a swimsuit, I hope the sight doesn't bother you, Benja." Anzu said with a smile while Yuzu approached with her face as red with embarrassment as mine.
"Forgive me Benja, I surely look horrible." The girl said with embarrassment looking away.
"No, you don't look bad, you look, I think you look amazing." I said with a red face but that increased the awkwardness and embarrassment between the two of us, literally our heads were smoking.
"I'll go get some water." I said with embarrassment for having spoken out loud before leaving.
"I'll go clean the deck." Anzu couldn't help but laugh at the embarrassment between Yuzu and I as the two of us went to fulfill our obligations.
So we continued the rest of the day, I kept my head down to avoid seeing the girls, I was at least grateful that it wasn't Diana and the other girls, otherwise they would be perverted and perverse with me. Instead, the girls were just having fun and I would occasionally join in the fun as we continued cleaning the Panzers.
"We're done." Saori said tiredly with a proud smile.
"I told you we were going to make it." I said tiredly.
The work had been tedious and extremely late, the rust stains, the grime, the mud, the scum and cleaning the cannons had been a real challenge, now we were all standing as best we could, covered in dirt and paint after hours of work that took us all day.
"Congratulations everyone!" We turned around and saw Anzu and Momo looking radiant while Yuzu was very tired and still in her swimsuit.
"We'll let the Academy's car club take care of the repairs, everyone go shower and change." Momo said seriously looking at us. We all nodded and started walking to the academy.
"Aren't you excited to drive, Miho?" Yukari asked with a smile looking at the brown haired girl.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess so." Miho said in a dull tone, which caught the girl's attention.
"Are you okay?" The brown haired girl asked, making the brown haired girl laugh.
"Yeah, I'm just tired, that's all." Miho said with a nervous smile as everyone went to the showers.
"You told her, right?" Anzu asked, looking at Momo with a raised eyebrow.
"She wasn't happy at all, if that's what you were wondering." That answer was enough to earn a sigh of annoyance from the pigtailed girl.
"She'll accept it, trust me." Anzu said with her arms crossed, showing a serious face.
"And how do you expect that to happen?" Momo asked with a raised eyebrow looking at the girl.
"I'll think of something, now take Yuzu inside, before Benja comes and takes pictures of her." Anzu left with a carefree smile while Momo sighed and looked at Yuzu, who was barely standing with the help of the broom.
The good thing about being on a giant ship at sea was that the views were wonderful. After showering and changing, the girls and I agreed to buy food and drinks to celebrate that we would soon be driving the Panzers, but that also worried me, and it was because of Miho.
"Nervous, right?" I asked while the girl and I watched the sunset with sodas in our hands.
"You have no idea." Said the brown-haired girl, playing with her can in her hand.
"You didn't have to do this. I'm scared of what could happen to you tomorrow." I said looking at Miho with fear, she sighed, lowering her head sadly.
"I know, but, it's just that Saori, Hana and you looked so happy about this, and besides, you defended and protected me, never before did anyone care about what I felt or what scared me, but then you appeared and defended me no matter if you were expelled." The girl showed a sad smile, looking at her can in silence.
"Letting your fears rule you is easier than overcoming them. I know, I've always been afraid many times, I know how you feel." I said looking at the sunset.
"Really? What were you afraid of?" Miho asked curiously looking at me.
"At first it was simple things, the injections, the heights. But then I had bigger fears, every day I asked myself, am I really getting strong, I went through a lot in my life, I lived things I never thought I would live, if I'm really afraid of something, it's failing those I love, and losing my family." I said looking at my icoffin in silence with a smile.
"But as long as I keep my head held high, and my mind and heart firm, that fear is not an obstacle for me, it will continue to be a part of me, but I don't let it control me." I turned to see the girl with a smile.
"Maybe I don't know anything about you, and you about me, but I admire how you do this for us, facing your past traumas by participating in the Panzerfahren with us, that makes you someone incredible and very brave." I said smiling. Miho blushed deeply at what I said and smiled more freely.
"Thanks Benja, really, I don't know what I would do without the girls and you." We both smiled and clinked our soda cans in a friendly manner as we watched the sunset before hearing the rest of the team join us.
"Sorry for the delay, did we keep you waiting too long?" Hana asked as she stood next to me with a smile holding a can of soda.
"No, it's okay. Miho and I were just chatting." I said smiling as I looked at the girl.
"I wonder where the port is?" The brown-haired girl said looking at the sea.
"I want to see a mountain landscape, now. And buy some clothes too." Saori said with some tiredness.
"I think I heard we're going to disembark this weekend, right?" The girls and I stopped to think after Hana asked that question, although we didn't know exactly where, we were very curious to know where we would end up arriving.
"What port was it? I have a boyfriend in each port, I have to keep them away from each other." Saori said fearfully making Hana laugh.
"Are you talking about your favorite Curry restaurants?" The black-haired girl asked curiously looking at her friend.
"Excuse me." Miho and I turned to see Yukari.
"Could you please come here for a moment?" The brown-haired girl asked with some seriousness and shyness, which caught our attention.
"What's wrong? Is everything okay?" I asked with curiosity and concern looking at the girl.
"Yes, did something happen?" Miho asked in the same tone as me, this caught Hana and Saori's attention as well.
"Please come with me." We all saw Yukari walking, we looked at each other before following her, we couldn't understand what the problem was.
Throughout the journey, Yukari didn't say a single word about the problem, although it was awkward, we solved it by starting to talk about random topics along the way until we reached a store where outside I could see barrels, boxes and sacks.
"I've never seen this store before." Miho said as the five of us looked at the store in detail.
When we entered, Hana, Saori, Miho and I were surprised to see the store inside. Parts for Panzers, spare parts, uniforms and military clothing, pictures hanging from different moments of battle both air, sea and land, books on Panzer repairs and maintenance and even scale models of the first military tanks.
"It's incredible." Hana said looking at everything in amazement.
"It's really impressive." I said looking at the place. I never thought there would be a store like this.
"Aren't all tanks basically the same?" Saori asked curiously as the five of us looked around the rest of the store separately.
"Not at all! They are different worlds, each and every one of them has a different character and personality, and the driver makes a big difference too." Yukari said with a smile looking at Hana.
"Like flower arrangements then." Hana said with a smile.
"Yeah, and the girls have their own merits too. Go ahead, you can do it!" Saori said with determination looking at the two girls.
"I'm not sure if the two of them are up and running." Miho said with a nervous smile looking at the three girls.
"Hey, look at this!" The girls turned around and saw me standing next to a Panzer simulator.
"Oh, you'll love this, look." Yukari said before running to where I am while Saori and Hana accompanied her.
"You seem to know this game well." I said seeing how the girl had a good handle on the virtual vehicle.
"I come here every day after school, I don't miss a single second." The girl said before firing at an enemy Panzer, destroying it into pieces.
"It seems fun to be in action." Hana said with a smile as we see Yukari playing.
"But, I don't want to get scratches on my face." Saori said worriedly. The girl was now realizing too late that perhaps Panzerfahren wasn't such a good idea.
"Don't worry, Saori. I won't let anyone get hurt." I said smiling looking at the girl, who blushed and looked away.
"Benja, we're still getting to know each other." The girl said embarrassedly while Hana covered her mouth to keep from laughing and Yukari continued playing.
"Saori, I..."
"No! We're still young to get married too!"
"That's not what I meant!"
Miho was standing away from us, but she couldn't help but laugh when she saw Saori as red in embarrassment as I was while I tried to explain myself while Hana was about to burst out laughing.
"Who should take the glory?" The girl's attention focused on a television in the establishment where there was a reporter talking about a cyclist.
"The next topic to talk about, Panzerfahren. This afternoon, we had the honor of interviewing none other than Nishizumi Maho, who was chosen as the "Most Valuable Player" in last year's high school tournament and selected to represent the nation." The reporter's words powerfully caught Miho's attention, who now stared intently at the screen, not noticing Hana, Saori and I approaching from behind.
"Miss Maho, our viewers must be asking at home, what is your secret formula to win?" A reporter asked a cold and hard looking girl, wearing a black military uniform with red details.
"Never give up. And also, don't run away, no matter what happens." Maho said in a tone as cold as death staring at the camera.
Hana, Saori and I could see that Miho stepped back until she crashed into a bookshelf upon hearing those words, which worried us.
"I know! Miho." The girl came out of her trance and saw the redhead girl, who was smiling.
"Can we go to your house to hang out? Please." Saori said with a smile looking at the brown haired girl.
"I'd like to go too, if it's not too much trouble, of course." Hana said with a smile looking at Miho.
"Sure, of course." The girl said with a smile looking at us.
"Umm, hey." Yukari raised her hand making us laugh.
"Of course, you can come too, Yukari." Hana said with a smile, which made the girl very happy.
"Thank you very much!" The five of us left the place, but I stopped for a moment to watch the television where the interview was. I remained silent before following the girls. Why was Miho so scared of that girl?.
Night came to the city on the sea. When Miho opened the door for us, I could see that the room looked comfortable and nice with many stuffed animals that caught my attention, if Valentine was here, she wouldn't hesitate to steal the teddy bears.
"Miho, your house is beautiful." I said smiling looking around.
"It's not that tidy now, but it feels like home." The girl said with a smile as we left bags of food we had gotten on the way on a small table.
"They're very cute." Saori said, looking at the teddy bears that were on a piece of furniture.
"The room is very similar to yours." Hana said looking around. Suddenly we heard something fall and saw Miho.
"Are you okay?" Yukari asked as the other girl picked up a Manga from the floor.
"Yes, I'm fine." Miho said before putting the Manga aside.
"Alright, let's go make the food!" Saori shouted with a smile before handing a bag to Hana.
"Hana, could you peel these potatoes please?" The girl asked with a smile looking at the black-haired girl.
"Eh? Umm, okay." Hana took the bag before walking with Miho to the kitchen.
"I'm going to make the miso. I'll be right back." I said smiling before leaving the apartment.
"I'll take care of the rice!" The girls were startled when they heard something heavy falling to the ground, when they looked out they saw Yukari with her backpack on the ground, the girl suddenly began to take out canteens and military kitchen utensils, which took the girls by surprise.
"Really, do you carry that in your backpack all the time?" Saori asked looking in surprise at the brown-haired girl, who was unpacking her cooking tools normally.
"Exactly, anywhere and anytime." Yukari said with a smile as she continued unpacking.
"I'm back." Yukari and Saori turned around and saw me entering with traditional kitchen utensils and an apron.
"Benja, there was no need for you to bring things from home." Miho said looking at me in surprise, making me laugh shyly.
"Sorry, but I like cooking." I said smiling looking at the girl.
"Fuck!" We all turned around and entered the kitchen. Hana had a knife in her hand while one of her fingers was dripping blood.
"I'm so sorry, I've never used knives before." Hana said as she sucked the blood from her finger.
"Let me see, Hana." I said before taking her hand to see the wound.
"It's not a deep cut, you reacted in time when you were cutting yourself." The girls watched as I took alcohol and cotton out of my apron before helping to heal Hana.
"Benja, you didn't have to, ouch!" The girl couldn't continue talking when I touched her finger with the cotton.
"Don't worry, Hana, this happens to all of us. In the kitchen, I cut myself all the time by accident and even worse things, this is normal." I said before putting a band-aid around the girl's finger.
"Thank you very much Benja. I'm so sorry, I'm not good at cooking, flower arrangements are my only specialty." Hana said sadly looking at the potato she tried to peel, now with traces of blood.
"Don't say that, we all have our stumbles, you just have to keep trying, I'll teach you." I said smiling looking at the girl, a gesture that she returned. Miho couldn't understand why, but she felt something strange when she saw me helping Hana, she decided to ignore it believing that maybe it was her hunger.
"I'll help too." Hana and I turned around, and saw Saori wearing glasses, which caught our attention a lot but we smiled before nodding and resuming work.
Saori and I were explaining and helping Hana cook, Yukari was preparing the rice in her military utensils while Miho occasionally helped everyone in the kitchen. Now on the table there were meatballs, salad, sushi rolls, white rice and curry.
"All this looks delicious." I said smiling looking at the girls, who nodded.
"Very well, let's eat." Saori said with a smile looking at the food.
"Thank you very much for the food." We all spoke at once before starting to eat.
"This is very good!" Miho shouted with a huge smile while eating, making me nod.
"The beef stew is perfect, I love it." I said smiling while eating, Saori was blushing when she heard that and smiled.
"Beef stew is the best way to make a man fall in love with you." The girl said while eating calmly.
"Have you ever made it?" Hana asked, looking at her friend.
"It's all about practice, and if Benja says he loves him, then I'm in for a treat." I turned red at that, but then I remembered the numerous times Yukie, Momoyo, Kokoro, and Tatsu tried hard to make beef stew for me, and Magrit, though many times, the red-haired girl made harmless mistakes.
"I wonder if guys like beef stew a lot. Benja, what do you think?" Yukari asked, looking at me curiously while I was red hot.
"Well, umm, this beef stew is really good, and very tasty." I said shyly looking at the girl.
"So you fell in love with me!" Saori shouted looking at me in surprise, which made me even more nervous.
"Girls please, isn't that an urban legend? Benja only likes beef stew, there's no love spell in it." Hana said looking at Yukari and the redheaded girl, but the latter wasn't happy with that statement.
"It's true! I even read it in a magazine!" Saori shouted with seriousness in her voice looking at her friend.
"The flowers are beautiful too." We all turned to see Miho, who saw the vase on the table with some beautiful white flowers.
"I'm so sorry, but this is all I could do without needing help, instead Benja and Saori had to help me cook." Hana said, looking at the table with some disappointment in herself.
"Don't say that, Hana, you still need practice, but with time, you'll be a very good cook." I said smiling looking at the girl.
"Yeah, and this is great. They made the room look a lot brighter now." Miho said with a smile looking at the black-haired girl.
"Thank you very much." Hana gave us a big smile before going back to eating with us, enjoying a nice and pleasant evening among friends.
"See you tomorrow!"
"Good night!"
"Good night, girls."
The night sadly had to end, tomorrow we had to be present to receive the Panzerfahren instructor and we couldn't stay up all night, Miho and I went outside to say goodbye to the girls, who began to march to their homes.
"I'm so happy I transferred to this school." The girl said with a radiant smile watching our friends leave.
"Me too, Miho, I think I made a good decision coming here." I said smiling as the two of us began to climb the stairs. But then a thought crossed my mind, making my smile disappear.
"Miho. How do you think they'll react if they see this?" I asked fearfully as I let my Kitsune tails and ears out into the moonlight. Miho upon noticing that stayed just as quiet as I did.
"Shit, it's true." We both didn't know what to say about the situation, at some point, I would have to tell the truth to Saori, Yukari and Hana.
"We could try to tell them tomorrow." Miho said looking at me with soft hope.
"Yeah, maybe it will work. I just have to think carefully about what to tell them." I said looking at the moon with some nervousness.
"Benja, I accepted you as you are, I'm sure they will accept you as such too." The girl said with a smile looking at me.
"But what if they don't?" I asked with fear looking at the girl, who didn't stop smiling.
"Then it will be you and me against the world, if they don't want to be your friends anymore, then I will be your only friend." I blushed a lot when I heard that and Miho turned red when she realized what she said.
"Yo, rest Benja!" Before I could speak, Miho entered her apartment at high speed, leaving me outside with a red face.
"Yeah, umm. Rest, Miho." I said stunned and nervous at the same time before entering my apartment to rest.
Miho was in her bed, hugging her legs in embarrassment, cursing herself for saying that she might think wrong, but then she remembered Maho and the words she gave to the reporter.
"Never give up. And also, don't run away, no matter what happens."
Those words, as cold as ice, were directed at the audience rather than as an act of bravery and determination, but Miho felt that those words were directed at her with contempt and annoyance. The girl stood up and walked to the door. As she left, she saw the door to my apartment and approached to knock on it, but before she could do so, she stopped.
"No, not yet."
Miho turned around and silently returned to her apartment to go to bed.
"It's still too early." The girl whispered seriously and regretfully as she slowly fell asleep in her bed.
"I can't continue with this anymore."
"Nonsense, you can't say such things, once you get out of the hospital..."
"I don't want to touch a Panzer ever again!"
"...You don't mean it, you only say it because you almost drowned."
"No!. Mom and you can continue with this, but...I quit!"
"You quit, huh? And you know why you quit? Because you're a coward, a treacherous bitch."
"I'd rather be a coward than die in a damn two-ton steel coffin again."
A loud sound came from the loud discussion, a slap.
"You're a damn shame. It disgusts me that you're my sister."
"Maho."
"Go away if you want, I don't want to see your disgusting face again in my life, you dishonored the Nishizumi name with your cowardice."
"But."
"GO AWAY NOW!"
Miho woke up with a start, the girl had her heart racing as she slowly touched her right cheek. Tears fell from her eyes as she tried with all her might not to burst into tears.
"You did the right thing. You did the right thing. You did the right thing." Miho repeated those words over and over until her heart slowly calmed down.
How much time passed? Time passed and the pain of that slap was still present on her cheek, Miho sighed tiredly as she wiped away the few tears that had escaped from her eyes.
"There's no use crying now." The girl said before lying down on her bed, but when she looked at the clock, she was horrified.
"Damn!" Miho screamed before getting up but in a hurry, she fell to the floor when her feet got tangled in the sheets. The blow was so strong that I woke up on my desk with paper on my head and hair.
"Miho?" I said tired but when I saw my icoffin I screamed terrified.
In the house of the two, banging sounds, things falling and insults could be heard. Miho and I walked out at the same time, toast in our mouths before locking our doors before looking at each other in fear.
"We'll be late!" The girl and I shouted at the same time before running out with our coughs in our mouths.
"Damn, right now I wish I could fly!" I shouted as we ran down the stairs before running through the streets.
"Can you fly!?" Miho asked, looking at me in surprise.
"I'll tell you later, now we have to run!" I shouted as the two of us ran as fast as possible to school. But when we turned to take the next street, we stopped at the sight of a girl wearing the same uniform as us, but the alarming thing was that the girl seemed to be staggering from side to side as if she was going to faint as she slowly made her way to the street.
"Watch out!" I screamed before catching the girl just as she was about to fall.
"Are you okay!?" Miho asked as she approached where we were.
"Shit!" I immediately ran through the house, there were only five minutes left until I got to class.
"White cat." The girl said in a sleepy tone looking at me. When I heard that I noticed my tails and ears still exposed which scared me and I quickly put them away.
"Are you okay? You don't seem to be in good shape." I said nervously, wanting to quickly change the conversation.
"It hurts." Miho and I freaked out upon hearing that.
"What's wrong!?" The brown haired girl asked worriedly looking at the black haired girl, searching for injuries.
"Life is painful. I wish this was all a dream.." The girl said weakly before falling asleep in my arms.
"Hey." Just as I spoke, the girl stood up suddenly, struggling to stand firm.
"But I'm going! If I don't then...dream...dream..." Slowly the girl's voice was falling asleep and quickly Miho and I had to catch her, only to then hear snoring.
"Did she fall asleep?" Miho asked, just as shocked as I was.
"It must be a student who studied late, help me put her on my back." I said as the two of us slowly lifted the sleeping girl onto my back.
"Do you think she's okay?" The brown haired girl asked as she looked at the girl behind me.
"I think so, she doesn't seem to have any heart problems or any signs, she's just very sleepy." The two of us watched the sleeping girl as we slowly continued our way to school.
"I'm struck by lightning. Again, are you serious?"
At the entrance of the school, there was a short-haired girl with a clipboard and a ribbon on her arm that implied she was from the student council.
"We're so sorry!" The girl turned around to see Miho and me, carrying the girl on my back, but instead of looking worried, she was upset.
"What happened? What time did I get here?" The girl asked on my back, waking up from her sleep.
"Reizei. Today is your 245th day of being late. A record that shouldn't make you proud." The girl said seriously looking at the girl on my back.
"Why do they even have to come in the early morning?" The girl asked tiredly looking at the girl at the entrance.
"They always come in the morning. Don't blame me if you have to repeat the year for thinking. You're very lucky that your high grades allow you to be late." The girl said seriously looking at the black haired girl before writing down the name of the girl behind me.
"Nishizumi and Escudero, right?" Miho and I looked at the student council girl when she called us by our last names.
"If any of you two see Reizei on the street on the way to school, let her come on her own." The girl said seriously looking at us.
"It's okay." Miho and I spoke at the same time although with some concern looking at the sleeping girl.
"Sodoko..."
"Did you say something?" The student council girl asked seriously when Reizei spoke.
"Not really." The girl said before falling asleep on my back making the girl sigh.
"As for you two, for taking the trouble to look for Reizei and bring her here, I'll turn a blind eye for you, but next time you'll have a situation for being late." The girl said before letting us pass.
"It's like Karen, but a little firmer." I said quietly with a smile remembering the little bee at her job as hallway security.
"Excuse me." The girl said behind me as the three of us walked to the entrance of the academy.
"Don't worry, the important thing is that you're okay." Miho said with a smile making me nod.
"I promise I'll make it up to them." The girl spoke with determination, although her tone didn't help due to tiredness and exhaustion.
"We were worried, we thought you'd be late."
All the teams were gathered in front of the school warehouses where it all started, Hana, Saori and Yukari were worried while the other girls were doing their own thing.
"I overslept a little." Miho said with a nervous smile looking at the redheaded girl.
"Me too." I said shyly looking at the girls.
"The instructor is taking too long. Keeping the suspense is something adults do." Saori said looking around.
"Look over there!" We all looked ahead when Aya pointed to the sky, we all saw a cargo plane flying over the city and approaching our school before slowly descending on us, we could all see how they opened the cargo hatch and three parachutes came out, suddenly, a huge military tank landed hard in the parking lot and slid until it crashed into a red sports car.
"The principal's car!" Yuzu screamed in shock as she saw the lead vehicle.
"Bleibt Stehen." Anzu said nonchalantly as she looked at the still intact car. But suddenly, the Panzer began to reverse without noticing the other vehicle, crushing it like a tin can.
"Und Matsch." Momo said seriously while Yuzu was almost about to faint when she saw the vehicle now turned into scrap in just seconds. We all approached watching as the Panzer began to advance at high speed until it was positioned near us, slowly the door opened and we saw how a black-haired woman in a military uniform got out of the vehicle before taking off her helmet and looking at us with a smile.
"Good morning everyone!" The girl shouted with a smile while we were all still surprised.
"Please, everyone return to your seats, class will begin now." When we heard that, we quickly ran back to our places while the girl in the panzer got out before joining us, when she saw me, she became serious but then smiled again before walking to where we are until she stood in front of us.
"I've been tricked." Saori said with some sadness looking at the girl in front of us.
"She looks wonderful even if she isn't, right?" Hana asked with a smile looking at the girl.
"Guys. In front of you is Chouno Ami, from the Special Training Association." Momo said seriously looking at us.
"It's nice to meet you all." Ami said with a smile looking at us all, her smile wavered a little when she saw me but she recovered before I noticed.
"I heard that most of everyone here has never been in a Panzer before, but we're going to do our best to introduce you to the art of Panzerfahren." The woman said with a smile, but then she saw someone who surprised her.
"Wait a minute. By any chance, aren't you instructor Nishizumi's little sister?" Ami's question made Miho very nervous, those nerves worsened when all the girls looked at her.
"She's been a great help in our homework, tell me, how is she now?" The girl asked with a smile looking at the brown-haired girl, who was very nervous.
"She's fine." Miho said, trying to remain calm, but then she heard the other girls start talking to each other.
"Your sister is an instructor?"
"Is she famous?"
"She has her own tank at school. She's very famous among all the schools." Ami said with a smile, causing more astonishment in the other girls. The girls and I became worried seeing Miho so nervous.
"Instructor!" Everyone's attention was now fixed on Saori, who raised her hand.
"Are you very famous too?" The red-haired girl asked with some seriousness looking at the instructor, who stopped for a moment to think.
"Instead of popular, I would say that's exactly what I wanted. My accuracy with the cannon is 120%." Ami said proudly, leaving us surprised.
"120!? That's amazing!" I shouted in surprise. Precision like that I could only see in Overwatch's Panzers, although calling them "Tanks" would be somewhat ridiculous thanks to the vast technological improvements of the vehicles.
"You must be Benjamin, right?" I was speechless when Ami was now in front of me with a cold look.
"Yes, miss." I said with some fear looking at the girl.
"Instructor, for you." Ami corrected me sternly, leaving me more mute and nervous.
"Tell me, Benja. What was the main function of the Mark 1, and where did it come from?" The woman asked seriously, which made me even more nervous.
"I.."
"What are the names of the Panzers that fought in World War II?" Ami silenced me with another question while looking coldly into my eyes.
"Instructor..."
"Do you even know which was the first country to create Panzers?" The woman asked coldly. All the girls looked at this nervously, except Riko and Suzuki.
"Instructor!" The attention was now directed to Yukari, who raised her hand.
"What are you going to teach us today?" The girl asked curiously looking at the instructor.
"Alright, let's see. Today you will have a large-scale battle drill today." Ami said with a smile, taking us by surprise.
"Really? Bringing out our Panzers all of a sudden!?" Taeko asked in surprise, looking at the woman.
"Don't worry, it's all just practice. All you need to do is step on the pedal and pull the trigger." The woman said, still keeping her smile while the rest of us were nervous.
"Alright, everyone head to your starting points." Ami said with a smile before stepping aside, giving us the green light to get into our Panzers.
"And how the hell do you drive this thing?" Yuki asked looking at her team's vehicle.
"It'd be better to ask someone who knows about these things for help." Azusa said looking at her teammate.
"Wouldn't it be faster to look it up on the internet?" Aya asked before pulling out her cell phone as her team walked over to see what they could find.
"When we win, we can resurrect the volleyball club!" Noriko shouted seriously as she and her team joined hands.
"Remember the revenge when the Club's suppression was announced.
"Let's go!" The four girls shouted at once, with determination and seriousness.
"First battle, here we go!" Kiyomi shouted with a smile raising her fist.
"Let's attack in waves." Nogami said with a smile looking at his team's Panzer.
"Let's go with a Panzerkeil." Riko said with a smile looking at her team.
"We only have one tank, though." Shizumi said looking at the hat girl.
"Alright everyone, get in your Panzers." Ami said with a smile looking at us.
"Do you think we'll make it in?" Momo asked looking at her team's Panzer.
"Of course we will." Anzu said with a smile before walking to the vehicle, but when she tried to get in, she gave up halfway.
"Kawashima." Momo sighed somewhat annoyed before helping the pigtailed girl get into the Panzer.
"But, are we really going to be okay fighting without any kind of training?" Yuzu asked fearfully looking at Ami. I couldn't deny that I shared the same concern, although Miho may have experience, but the others don't.
"It's going to work, I assure you of that." Anzu said before climbing onto Momo's back and then getting into the Panzer.
"Alright everyone. Could all the teams please select someone for each role? They need a gunner, a driver, a commander, the fourth will be the loader and lastly, the fifth will be the radio operator." Ami said with a smile looking at us.
"I have no idea what the hell is going on!" Saori shouted looking at us.
"There are five of us in total. I don't think there's any problem with that, but how could we split up?" Hana asked, touching her chin thoughtfully.
"Excuse me." We turned to see Ami.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I'll need student Benjamin to stay with me for a brief interview, so it'll just be the four of you." The woman said seriously, looking at us, which now worried us a lot.
"But, what are we going to do? There are only four of them, we're missing someone." I said worriedly, looking at Ami.
"Don't worry Benja, we'll make a combination between the loader and the Radio operator." Miho said with a smile looking at me.
"Then you'll be the commander, I guess." Yukari said with a smile looking at Miho, who got nervous.
"What? No way!" The brown-haired girl shouted nervously as I got off the Panzer. I couldn't deny that I was upset about not being able to be at the practice, but I had to accept the instructor's orders to avoid problems.
"Aya, do you have something?" Ayumi asked curiously, before the girl with glasses could answer, her cell phone received a message.
"Someone answered!" The girls of the team approached to see the message.
"I can't answer that question if you don't tell me the model number."
"Check on the internet."
"Take off your clothes to start?"
A depressive aura covered the D team at the few answers they got and they didn't help at all. Meanwhile, the girls from my team were getting into the Panzer and were looking for their seats.
"This smells like iron." Hana said as she covered her nose. The smell wasn't unpleasant, just very strong.
"It's very hot and cramped here, how am I supposed to drive?" Saori asked looking at the little space there was.
"Alright then, everyone, Panzer vor!" Ami shouted with a megaphone while I was standing next to her.
"The time has finally come!" Yukari shouted with a smile, clenching her fists.
"Umm, how do you turn this on?" Hana asked, looking at the controls.
"First you have to hit the first power button." Miho said looking at the black haired girl.
"Is this it?" When Hana pressed a button a loud engine noise was heard that made me instinctively cover my ears because of the power of the Panzer.
"Yahoo, this is great!" Yukari shouted with a huge smile, but her mood made Saori uneasy.
"She's like a different person now." The red haired girl said, receiving a nod from Miho.
"She's on a Panzer ride." The brown haired girl said. Yukari then noticed the shocked looks of the three girls, and lowered her head with her face red hot.
"I'm so sorry." The girl said with shame, cursing herself for getting carried away by emotion.
"And now what?" Hana asked looking at Miho.
"If you step on the pedal now, it should move forward. The lever in front of you is used to steer and the right one is for shifting gears," the brown-haired girl said, looking at the black-haired girl. Hana looked at the huge, extensive control panel in front of her before looking at a lever that she tried to pull, but failed to move.
"It's too heavy!" The girl shouted before pulling harder, managing to move it, but when she did that, the entire vehicle stopped.
"What happened? Why did it stop?" Saori asked looking at Hana.
"What did I do wrong?" The black-haired girl asked fearfully looking around.
"Try to engage the clutch calmly, and then press the accelerator pedal." Miho said looking at the girl who was in charge of driving the Panzer.
"I got it." Ami and I watched as the other Panzers were leaving, but then we were startled to see how my team's tank began to go backwards.
"Girls, brake!" I shouted terrified. If the instructor wasn't with me, I would have used my magic to stop the vehicle that was approaching at high speed against the warehouse doors.
"Let's go backwards!" Saori shouted looking at Miho, who quickly approached Hana.
"The brake, step on the brake!"
"It's okay!" Hana stepped on the pedal just in time, stopping the vehicle that was just a few meters away from crashing into the doors.
"Okay, Hana. Let's take it easy, let's do it again." Miho said with a smile looking at the black-haired girl.
"Yes." The girl said with new determination before starting the Panzer again.
Ami and I watched as the vehicle slowly began to move forward as it should, managing to get out of the warehouse.
"My butt is shaking."
"The sound is incredible."
"This is great!"
I laughed shyly as I could hear the girls, I couldn't deny my jealousy at seeing them driving the Panzer and me not being able to be there to help.
"I got it! To make the tank move forward, you have to press the accelerator first." Aya said with a smile looking at Karina and Yuki who were below.
"What's the equipment?" The red-haired girl asked looking at the control panel. That made Aya pale, who had to search the depths of her Panzer again.
A loud noise caught my attention, and as I turned around, I saw Team B's Panzer crashing into a tree.
"We've been blocked!" Shinobu shouted as she tried to look through the scope.
"Shoot again!" Taeko shouted nervously, looking at her teammate.
"And how can we do that?" Akebi asked nervously and worried.
"With the Heart!" Noriko shouted, trying to keep her team calm, although she was also very worried.
Away from the academy, Yuzu was driving the team's Panzer while Anzu was eating in a carefree manner.
"President, we move along presidentially." Momo said looking at the pigtailed girl.
"Good job, team!" The girl shouted with a huge smile while Yuzu was panting with slight difficulty.
Elsewhere, the C team's Panzer was advancing smoothly until they reached a division.
"Where was it?" Nogami asked looking at the road.
"Festina Lente." Kiyomi said seriously looking at a book. Causing a sigh from the glasses girl as she searched for a solution to her problem on her own.
Despite the difficulties, my team was moving calmly through the forest while Saori guided the team, but then she was frightened to see that she was about to be hit by a branch.
"Wait, you're about to hit a branch! Left, Left!" The red-haired girl shouted before having to enter the Panzer to avoid the blow while the branch broke from the impact.
"I told you to turn left!" Saori shouted angrily looking at Hana.
"Forgive me, I didn't hear you." The black-haired girl said with concern and some tension while driving.
"The commander gives signals where he wants to go using his feet." Miho said looking at Saori with a smile, but that confused the girl.
"With your feet?" The girl asked with doubt looking at the brown-haired girl.
"Yes, you have to kick the driver's shoulder." Those words were enough to horrify Saori, who quickly refused.
"No way! I couldn't do that to my friend!" Saori shouted, looking at Miho.
"Kick me if you have to!" Hana shouted as she tried to see which way she was going. The redheaded girl was surprised to hear that and somewhat afraid, but hearing her friend's acceptance made her sigh with more confidence.
"Okay. To the left!" Saori shouted before giving Hana a strong kick in the shoulder, causing the black-haired girl to hit her face against the metal wall of the Panzer.
"Could you be more gentle, please?" The black-haired girl asked with some pain and shyness in her voice. Right now I regret not being more specific when accepting to be kicked.
Ami and I were now in a control tower, the woman was watching the advancing teams while I was worried looking at the forest.
"Alright girls, I think everyone has reached their starting points. There is only one rule, immobilize all the others. Don't hesitate, and blow them up, okay?" When I heard that I was horrified, although I was glad that the ammunition was not lethal, I was worried about the little experience the girls had with the Panzers.
"Panzerfahren, it starts with saying thank you, and it ends with saying thank you. Now everyone, say thank you." Ami said seriously through the communicator in her hand.
"Thank you!" All the girls spoke at once through the radio that was next to me.
"Alright girls, go with everything!" The instructor shouted with a smile before ending the call.
"Excuse me. With all due respect, new recruits are introduced to the basics of vehicle training, sending them into battle without experience is not right." I said looking at Ami, but then I was speechless when she looked at me coldly.
"I umm, I was just saying, it's not right for them to be in a battle with little experience in Panzerfahren, they could get hurt." I said looking at the woman, who started walking.
"Come with me." Ami said seriously, leaving me speechless. I timidly nodded and followed the woman, wanting to know where she would take me.
The walk was awkward and cold, as much as I wanted to talk, I didn't know what to say due to the coldness of the woman now in front of me.
"Come in." Ami said before pointing to the door of the student council office. I simply nodded and entered the room while she closed the door.
"I, excuse me, I didn't mean to sound rude earlier." I said in fear as I struggled to keep my magic from getting out of control. I watched as Ami walked past me and closed the curtains, leaving the room in darkness before sitting down at the office computer and starting to work.
"Sit down." The woman said, pointing harshly at the chair in the room, I nodded and sat down, somewhat nervously.
After a few minutes of silence, I saw Ami turn the screen, showing me the particular image that didn't last long, when it disappeared, I saw a group of girls in a room, all with their hands on the table except for an empty chair.
"Mr. Kodama. I brought it before you." Ami said seriously, leaving me more nervous and surprised at the same time as I saw a man holding a fan with the same logo as before, looking kindly at the screen.
"Greetings, young man. Your name is Benjamin, right?" The man asked with a kind smile, which calmed me down a bit.
"Yes, sir." I said a little more calmly looking at the screen.
"Perfect. We have a lot to talk about." Kodama said with a smile as he closed his fan.
"Do you think that will work?"
"Yes, now lower your voice, or he will wake up."
"Can I shoot now?"
"Pinkie, damn it, if you wake Benja up I'll..."
A loud bang is heard in the hallways.
"What the fuck!?" Rainbow Dash turns on the light, only to see Filia and the other girls.
"What the fuck are you doing here!?" Cerebella asked annoyed looking at the girls.
"That's what we were going to ask you." Applejack said seriously.
"Fuck, don't tell me we think the same." The group of girls turned to see Kara and the rest of the team.
"Yeah, it seems that way." Now the attention was put on Rias, who sighed.
"Explain yourselves, what are you doing here?" Rarity asked seriously looking at everyone.
"Isn't it obvious? It's our future husband's birthday, bitch." Clawdeen said seriously looking at the magenta haired girl.
"We have more right to this than you, we've been planning it for months!" Riko shouted seriously clenching her fist while the other girls nodded.
"Well...whoever enters the room first wins!"
The door was destroyed and the girls fell onto the pieces of wood.
"Happy birthday, love!" The girls shouted at once, only to be surprised when they noticed the empty room.
"Where's Benja!?" Anchovy asked in surprise but then they were even more surprised when a steel door blocked the entrance, trapping all the girls.
"Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday Benjamin, Happy birthday to you."
Some waiters slowly placed a cake in front of me while I was moved and happy.
"Girls, you didn't have to do this, you're going to make me cry." I said looking at Yuzu, Fluttershy, Aya, Dawn, Ravel and Selina, who were dressed elegantly.
"Are you kidding? It's your birthday, love, obviously we had to give you something wonderful for you." Selina said looking at me with a smile.
"You left me surprised, I thought you would be fighting like every day, but today you really left me speechless." I said looking at the girls, who laughed.
"Fighting on your birthday? We love you, but we're not wild enough to fight on your special day, sweetheart." Ravel said with a smile looking at me.
"Thank you girls, I'll go get the check. I want to enjoy my birthday with you, but where are the others?" I asked noticing the absence of the other girls.
"They'll be on their way, love. Please go get the check so we can continue our evening." Dawn said with a smile as I left. Once I was gone, Aya pulled out her phone and the girls saw the rest of the team trying to leave my room.
"Yuzu, I must congratulate you, locking those bitches in our boyfriend's room all night was a success." Selina said with a feline smile, making the other girl laugh.
"Thank you, Selina. But I must also thank Fluttershy, she was the one who gave the idea of the Kryptonite coating to prevent Kara from breaking the bars." Yuzu said with a smile, making the pink-haired girl laugh.
"Alright girls, Benja is ours, all ours." Aya said with a smile, making the other girls laugh.
"Alright girls. Where are we going now?" The girl with glasses hurriedly put her phone away before standing up with the other girls.
"Let's have fun, the night is young sugar cube, let's enjoy your birthday to the fullest." Ravel said with a smile making the girls nod.
"Let's go to Karaoke, it's been a while since we went." Selina said with a smile, making me nod.
"Sounds good, let's go." I walked to the exit without noticing the knowing glances from the girls before following me with flirtatious smiles.