Flyboys Chatper 3 Part 2

Daisuke knew it was now or never, because if he didn't pull up he would crash into the ground of the ship. So with that he pulled back on the stick and his plane began to level itself. The G forces pushed Daisuke into his seat, almost causing him to blackout from the blood leaving his head. But after a few seconds, his plane leveled out and he was now several meters above the ground zooming past the trees of the school's forest. As soon as the blood began to rush back to his head, Daisuke looked behind him and saw that the other planes had also pulled up, albeit higher than him. The Zero and the Fw-190 fired another burst each at him, but Daisuke barrel rolled to avoid the shots before straightening out and flying towards the very same creek Miho and the others were fighting at.

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The girls had managed to pull Hana out of the driver's seat and into the radio operator's seat as gently as possible. It wasn't easy, but they managed to do it without hurting her. But now they had another problem; with Hana knocked out they didn't have a driver and that made them an easy target for the other tanks. But they didn't realize that Mako was looking at the driver's seat quite intently.

"I'm really bad at driving a tank," Miho said with a sigh. "But I've got to do it."

But before she could get to the driver's seat, the tank suddenly moved causing the girls to jump in surprise. The tank then backed up away from where it had cut some of the support cables and straightens itself out on the bridge. The girls looked to see who was driving and to their surprise it was Mako. She was in the driver's seat driving the tank and reading the instruction manual at the same time.

"Mako, you can drive?" Saori asked her eyes wide in surprise.

"I just learned now." Mako answered plainly.

"Just now!?" Yukari asked in surprise.

"There's a reason she's top of the class." Saori commented with a relieved smile.

The tank continued to reverse just as the Type 89B fired its machine gun at their tank. The bullets simply ricocheted off the armor harmlessly. The StuG III and the Type 89B had not given up their efforts to take them down. But up ahead of them, the M3 Lee and the 38 (t) were traveling along the road that led to the bridge they were on. Like the other two teams, they agreed silently to take out the Panzer IV first.

"We're going backwards!" Saori cried out.

"I know." Mako replied.

Mako then adjusted the tank's drive and the tank began to move forward again, just as both the StuG and the Type 89 fired their cannons again and hit the bridge in front of them creating a smokescreen in front of the Panzer IV. The impact shook the tank a little and it in turned woke Hana up with a jolt.

"Are you okay?" Miho asked her in concern.

"Yes," Hana answered and then looked down shamefully. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Miho shook her head. "Just rest for a while." She then turned to Yukari. "Akiyama-san, rotate the turret."

"You got it!" Yukari replied as she began to rotate the tank's main gun towards the StuG III since it was the bigger threat.

"Hurry up and rotate it!" Saori cried frightfully as she watched from one of the observation holes near the top hatch. She then looked back at Yukari and said, "Shoot them before they shoot us!"

"Right!" Yukari answered just as the turret was aimed perfectly at the StuG.

"Prepare to fire!" Miho called out, prompting Mako to stop the tank. After a few tense moments, Miho then gave the order. "Fire!"

Yukari pulled the trigger and with a loud "thud" the main cannon for their Panzer fired the pre-loaded shell that they had loaded just before the match started. The recoil mechanism pulled back and expelled the shell casing harmlessly behind them. The shell they fired flew straight and true and struck the StuG III just inches to the right of the barrel of its main gun. The impact was strong enough that it damaged the tank destroyer to the point where a small hatch containing a white flag popped out indicating that it was out of the match. Smoke from the shot had filled the inside of the tank leaving the smell of gunpowder in their noses. But at the moment, the girls, minus Miho, were gobsmacked from what had just happened; even Mako was now wide eyed for the first time since Miho had met her.

"Wow…" Saori said in amazement while Miho reloaded the gun with another shell.

"My ears are ringing." Yukari said in shock.

"That actually felt…good." Hana said while hugging her chest with a twinge of pink coloring her cheeks.

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From the watchtower, the boys had seen the shot as well and were quite surprised that the Panzer IV scored the first kill with the first shot it actually fired during the whole match. They were quite surprised that after Daisuke had brought the dogfight down towards the ground and were now flying towards the fight the girls were having with the other three planes firing their weapons at him. They then turned their attention back to the girls and were surprised that the Panzer IV had gotten back on its feet, so to speak, and finally return fire against the StuG III and take it out with just one shot.

"A good hit," Ami said watching through her binoculars. "C Team is out of the match!"

"Alright!" Toshiro cheered as he and Goose shared a high five from their victory. "One shot one kill baby!"

Junichi, however, was not celebrating. "Don't start cheering too soon; they still have the other tanks to deal with."

Back with the girls, Miho turned to Yukari and said, "We'll take out the Type 89 next."

"Right!" Yukari nodded to her before returning to the sights of the main gun and readjusted her aim.

In the Type 89, the volleyball girls were starting to panic.

"They're turning around!" Noriko shouted. "Formation B!"

"Right!" The rest of her team answered her and fired another round towards the Panzer IV.

But the round flew harmlessly above the Panzer and their target returned fire. The shot hit dead center of the Type 89's front armor shaking the girls inside around. The damage was enough that a white flag similar to the one that popped out of the StuG III popped out indicating it was unable to continue fighting. On the other side of the bridge the 38 (t) and the M3 Lee had just arrived and were now training their weapons on Miho's tank. They didn't escape Saori's notice as she saw the tanks coming.

"Here come the others!" She gasped, prompting Yukari to turn the tank's turret at them.

From inside the 38 (t), Momo Kawashima was grinning menacingly as she had the tank's sights aimed straight at the Panzer IV.

"Fufufu…This is where you die." She said gleefully as she kept her sights set on her target.

A few seconds later, both tanks fired at the same time. But while the 38 (t)'s shot missed and cut another support cable, the Panzer's shot struck home and took the 38 (t) out, prompting it's surrender flag to pop out. Inside the same tank, only Momo was shaken up from the hit, but all three of the girls' student council girls were now dirty from the impact.

"Well, they got us." Anzu said nonchalantly with her hands folded behind her head.

"Momo-chan, you had to miss didn't you?" Yuzu said with a sheepish smile to the said girl, who was fuming from their loss.

"Don't call me 'Momo-chan!'" She yelled, shaking her fists.

Inside the M3 Lee, the first year girls had just witnessed Miho's tank take out all three of the other tanks with one shot each.

"Nishizumi-san is strong!"

"Let's run away!"

"Yeah!"

They tried turning their tank, but the treads suddenly got stuck in a patch of mud. The team's driver, Karina Sakaguchi sped the tank's treads, but it only made it sink deeper into the mud patch. It covered the right tread in so much mud that it jammed and snapped in half and overheated the engine, prompting the white flag of their tank to pop out. With that, all four of the other tanks were defeated, leaving only the Panzer IV still standing.

"D Team, M3," Ami's voice over the radio announced. "E Team, 38 (t), B Team, Type 89B, C Team, StuG III, all are unable to fight. The A Team in the Panzer IV wins!"

The girls all opened their hatches and looked out to inspect their work.

"We…we won?" Saori said, blinking her eyes in surprise.

"It looks that way…" Hana said in the same tone.

"Yeah!" Yukari shouted as she wrapped a surprised Miho in a bone crushing hug. "Nishizumi-dono got us here!"

"All teams are to remain in their tanks for the time being." Ami said causing everyone in the tanks to blink in confusion. "The boys' fighter planes are currently heading in your direction with the Zero, the Fw-190, and the Wildcat with their weapons firing at the Hayabusa."

"What?" Saori cried in shock. "You mean they're ganging up on Daisuke just as the others ganged up on us!?"

"I hear them…" Mako said suddenly, prompting the girls to be quiet.

Sure enough they heard the distinct sound of airplane engines coming towards them along with the sound of gunfire. All tank crews turned their attention to the left of the bridge and sure enough, they saw them. All four of the Oorai planes were flying towards them with the Ki-43 flown by Daisuke leading them with the A6M Zero, the F4F Wildcat, the Fw-190 all in hot pursuit and each of them firing bursts from their machine guns at him.

"Back in the tank!" Miho cried prompting the girls the duck back into their tank just as a few of the paint rounds struck the bridge coating splotches of blue, white, and black paint all over it.

Seconds later, the Ki-43 zoomed just meters above the bridge causing it to sway slightly from the tailwind making the girls inside the Panzer to scream in surprise. The other three planes zoomed after just over the other tanks creating the same wind to blow past the girls and it even knocked Erwin's hat to fly off. After it was all over, Momo suddenly popped out of the top hatch of the 38 (t) and shook her fist at them.

"HEY YA LOUSY FIGHTER JOCKS," She shouted at them. "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE FLYING!"

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Daisuke grunted as he continued to pull all the stops to avoid more gunfire from the other planes. He had managed to fly low enough that he could see some of the action below, but managed to stay far away enough to see Miho's tank take out the last of the tanks just as the others had seen him. When he saw the bullets from the other planes fly past him and hit the bridge he was flying towards, Daisuke immediately pulled up so that they couldn't fire at them again. But this was starting to frustrate him.

"C'mon," He scowled at the planes behind him. "They've got to run out of ammo some time!"

Inside their planes, Yoshi, Fredrick, and Johnny were all training their weapons on Daisuke's plane one last time, hoping to end the fight once and for all.

"I've got you now, Herr Nishizawa." Fredrick grinned as he pulled the trigger for his weapons.

"Sorry, pal, nothing personal." Johnny apologized as he pulled the trigger for his machine guns.

"This is it for you, Nishizawa-kun." Yoshi said with a grin as he pressed his firing trigger.

But nothing happened with either plane. Surprised, all three of them tried firing again, but nothing was coming out. They had wasted all of their bullets in giving chase to Daisuke.

"NOW!" Daisuke shouted as he suddenly opened up his plane's brakes, pulled back on the throttle lowering his speed, and pulled back allowing him to climb slightly just as the other planes zoomed past him. He then punched his speed back up, closed the brakes, and aimed his plane at the three pursuers and fired.

The paint bullets from his plane shot out and zoomed at all three planes as he adjusted his plane so that they would hit them all. Sure enough, green splotches of paint began to coat all three aircraft especially the Zero. Daisuke just kept firing until all remaining bullets in his plane had been fired. When it was all over, almost all four planes were just covered in different coats of paint, but the color that seemed to be the most dominant was green.

Daisuke then brought his radio to his mouth and said, "Ki-43, ammo depleted."

"Fw-190, ammunition depleted." Fredrick followed in a disappointed tone.

"F4F Wildcat, ammo depleted." Johnny said tonelessly.

"A6M Zero, ammo depleted." Yoshi added with a more dismissive tone.

"Confirmed," Major Akio's voice sounded over the radio. "All aircraft return to base."

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Almost a half hour later, all the girls were told to leave their tanks and return to the hangar just as the boys landed their planes. Then they taxied up to the hangar, they were greeted by their respective teams commenting them on their flying. But Daisuke was greeted with Toshiro grabbing him in a headlock and giving him a noogie while Goose patted him on the back and Junichi simply said congratulations to him. They then met with Miho's team and were introduced to Mako, whose full name was Mako Reizei; she was the girl Miho was dragging to the school that morning and had asked if he was Miho's boyfriend, which they both denied. They were all then told to line up just as Major Akio had arrived and stood in front of the classes with Captain Ami.

"Everyone, you did a good job! Very nice!" Ami said with giving them all a thumb's up.

"And gentlemen, you all did quite well in that dogfight." Akio said giving them a grin of his own. "I've seen plenty of pilots pull some crazy stunts, but that was just fantastic."

"We couldn't have asked more of you since you all moved and shot so well on your first try." Ami said to all of them before turning to Daisuke, and Miho's team. "Especially Team A and Nishizawa-kun." Her comment took them by surprise. "Good job, all of you." Everyone in Miho's team but her and Daisuke seemed to bask in the praise from their instructor.

"All you need to do now is practice your flying, your moving, and your shooting every day." Akio said to them all. "If there's something you don't know, don't hesitate to send us an e-mail.

"Everyone, bow!" Anzu called to them.

"Thank you so much!" All of the students said with a bow, which their instructors returned with a salute.

"Dismissed!" Momo called out and the students began to disperse.

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As the students began to leave, Ami and Akio couldn't help but watch Daisuke and Miho in particular. Akio couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness when he thought about Daisuke's father, Nobusuke, and the day he died. The fact that his son resembled him quite well made him think that he was looking at a ghost. But he also noticed how he was around a certain tank girl and it reminded him somewhat of how he and Ami were when they were younger.

"Isn't it a strange coincidence," He said gaining his wife's attention. "The fact that your instructor's youngest daughter and my former teammate's son are at the same school?"

"Mmm…" Ami mused with a nod. "It is, but I think it's more than that." This caused Akio to look at her and she turned to him with a smile. "I think it might be fate that those two are here."

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Miho, Saori, Hana, Yukari, Daisuke, Toshiro, Junichi, and Goose had opted to go to the local bathhouse so that they could clean up from the sweat they worked up from their classes earlier that day. They even invited Mako to join them, and to even Saori's surprise she agreed. Of course, being a bathhouse the two bath locations were separated so that both genders can have their own respective privacy. The bathhouse itself was massive with individual baths to a large hot spring. It had fountains shaped like anglerfishes and a closed off shower area so that those who come to the bathhouse can wash up before entering the bath.

"Sigh…That was more exciting than a guy telling you he loves you for the first time." Saori sighed in content, stretching her arms above her head.

"A guy has told you that he loved you?" Hana said in confusion.

"My dad always tells me that he loves me." Saori replied snootily.

"He sounds like a nice dad." Miho commented with a smile.

Hana then gained an evil glint and looked at Miho coyly. "Of course, I don't think I could compete with you Miporin."

"Huh?" Miho blinked.

"Don't be shy," Saori pressed, getting uncomfortably close to Miho. "Mako did say that Daisuke was your boyfriend," Miho's face went immediately red at that. "Is it true?"

"N-no! Daisuke-kun's not my boyfriend!" She denied, waving her hands frantically.

"But you want him to be, right?" Saori said slyly, making Miho gasp and her grin to widen. "I knew it!"

"S-Saori-san…"

Hana decided to change the subject quickly before Saori got any further, much to Miho's relief. "Anyway, I wasn't sure how things would turn out at first, but it was really exciting." She said with a delighted smile.

"Yeah, it was great!" Yukari pumped her fists.

"Yeah," Saori said closing her eyes in content. "But you know, I think Miho should be the commander."

"Huh?" Miho reeled back in surprise when Saori said that.

"We don't know much about tanks…" Hana said, bringing a finger to her chin in contemplation.

"And Nishizumi-dono sure knows what she's doing too." Yukari agreed easily.

"I-I do?" Miho was just surprised that they were all willing to allow her to be tank commander after everything. But she looked down dejectedly and said, "But I'm not that…"

"Please, take care of us…" Hana said with a slight bow to her.

"Please!"

"Please, take care of us, Nishizumi-dono."

Miho was silent for a moment before she gained a determined look and said, "R-right! I'll do it!" This brought a smile to everyone's faces.

"How else do you think we should split things up?" Hana asked now that she thought about it.

"Well, what do you think I'm good at?" Saori pointed to herself.

"Well…You can get along with just about anyone," Miho said looking at her friend. "So maybe you can be our radio operator?"

"That sounds nice!" Saori nodded in agreement. "I can type texts on my phone really fast too."

"I don't think that will do any good here…" Hana commented with a slight frown making Saori pout.

"So who else should do what…?" Miho said pondering what the other girls could do.

"Um, could I please operate the turret?" Hana suddenly blurted out surprising the others. She then shifted nervously in the water. "I haven't been able to forget that incredible feeling that made me go numb. Also, I think I'll become a stronger girl if I do it."

"In that case," Miho said with a smile. "You can work the turret."

"Then that makes me the operator!" Yukari declared, pumping her fist.

"That leaves us with only a driver now…" Miho mused as she tried to think of someone to drive the tank, but her thoughts were interrupted as the sound of water moving distracted her and the others to look and notice that Mako was getting out of the water and wrapping a towel around her body.

"Hey Mako," Saori indicated her. "You can drive our tank for us!"

Mako looked at them with her usual deadpan look and said, "I already took up calligraphy."

"Aww…"

"You could really help us our Reizei-san!" Miho pleaded to her.

"Please Reizei-san?" Hana begged.

"Your driving was brilliant!" Yukari commented, hoping that it would convince her.

"Sorry, not happening." Mako said, as she opened the door to the changing room and left.

But before she could go any further, Saori yelled, "Mako! You're not gaining points because you're late all the time! If you take Tankery you'll get all kinds of extra credit and stuff! You'll get held back!"

After a few seconds, the door reopened and Mako was staring at them with almost a glare at Saori before saying, "Fine…I'll do it. I still have to repay Nishizumi-san after all."

The girls were ecstatic at this but Saori murmured, "You just want the extra credit points."

"I'm just repaying a debt." Mako retorted.

"We have our five teammates!" Hana declared happily.

"Thanks for joining us!" Yukari said with a salute which Mako returned with a bow.

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Meanwhile, on the other side where the boys were bathing, Daisuke and the others could help but look at the wall that separated them and the girls. They had heard the girls' voices, especially Saori's when they were talking. Needless to say they were curious as to what the girls were talking about.

"Any idea what they're doing in there?" Goose asked, sitting next to Toshiro, who just shrugged.

"Who knows," He said. "Girls talk a lot when they're in private."

"Well, it certainly is not our business to eavesdrop." Junichi said with his own shrug, seeing as how he didn't have his glasses on to adjust and neither did Goose.

Toshiro then had a leery grin on his face and looked at the others. "Hey, wanna take a peak and see what they're talking about?" His question was answered when Daisuke hit his head with his fist. "Ow!"

"Absolutely not!" Daisuke shouted at him, clenching his fist at Toshiro.

"I am a gentleman," Junichi reprimanded him. "I do not participate in such vulgar activities!"

"I kinda want all my body parts intact Toshiro-san." Goose said with a nervous laugh.

"Party poopers…" Toshiro grumbled before slumping into the water.

While the boys' bathhouse wasn't as grand and fancy like the girls' bath, it was still bigger than the norm and had enough room to fit several men at once. Daisuke had to admit, he actually liked this bathhouse better than the few he's been to in his youth. It was certainly bigger and had much more comfortable water. Plus he was glad to get a bath after that dogfight he participated in. Something that intense did build up quite a sweat.

"Say Daisuke," Toshiro caught the attention of his friend. "That was some pretty cool flying up there."

"I'll say!" Goose joined in. "You flew like you were born to up there!"

"Oh, thanks guys." Daisuke thanked them.

"I'm serious, Daisuke." Toshiro said again, wrapping his arm around Daisuke and giving him a noogie, much to Daisuke's protests. "You were awesome up there!"

"That last maneuver you did was quite impressive." Junichi finally said with an impressed smile. "Where did you learn that?"

At this Daisuke finally pried himself free from Toshiro's grip and rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Actually, I kinda learned it from a movie I saw when I was a kid."

The boys all laughed at this one before Junichi finally stopped and looked at them. "Well, now that we've established who our pilot is, what will happen to the three of us?" He indicated himself, Goose, and Toshiro.

"Well," Daisuke said looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "My plane won't run properly without a proper technician or electrician. Plus I'll need someone who can load my weapons before takeoff."

"Well, I'm an expert on all kinds of aircraft," Goose said rubbing his chin. "Maybe I can be the mechanic?"

"That sounds good to me, Goose." Daisuke said with a smile.

"My dad taught me a good deal about electronics," Toshiro said. "Maybe I can be your electrician."

"Loading weapons can help my reflexes in kendo, perhaps I could do that." Junichi added his own bit.

"Then it's settled." Daisuke said looking at his three friends. "I'll be counting on you guys to keep my plane in tip-top shape."

"No sweat pal!" Toshiro said, patting Daisuke's back.

Daisuke said nothing for a moment before looking back up at the ceiling with a smile and said, "You know, I actually had fun." His statement made the others look at him. "Flying in that Hayabusa was really fun. I got to do things I had almost forgotten how to do since my dad died. I almost forgot what it was like to be up there flying through the clouds and seeing the world from up there." He closed his eyes almost imagining himself being back inside the cockpit of the Ki-43. "I actually missed all that."

His friends all looked at him with thoughtful smiles on their faces, almost imagining for themselves as to what it would be like to be in Daisuke's position.

"Hey Daisuke!" Saori's voice interrupted their thoughts through the wall.

"Yeah, Saori-chan?" Daisuke called back.

"Are you boys almost done?" She asked them.

"Just about!" Daisuke answered for them all.

"Good! 'Cause there's some place where we can all go before going home!"

The boys all looked at each other, curious as to what Saori had meant.

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Later the whole group found themselves in a home and garden store with Miho pushing a cart and the others walking with her. Saori had dragged them to the store in the hopes of making their tank more comfortable to ride in. She said that riding in the tank was a little uncomfortable after riding in it for a certain amount of time. They had already grabbed a few pillows for the seats and were looking to grab a few other things, much to Yukari's disappointment.

"I don't see why we had to come along," Toshiro said, with his hands behind his head. "We're not riding in the tank with you girls."

"No," Saori said, looking at them. "But don't you boys want to be comfortable on the ground while Daisuke's up in the air?"

"Well, I suppose when you put it that way…" Junichi said thoughtfully.

"Plus we can give Daisuke a cushion for his plane so he's a bit more comfortable." Saori added cheerfully.

"Pass!" Daisuke finally said, crossing his arms in an "X" shape. "I'm plenty comfortable in my plane, thank you very much."

"Aww, c'mon Daisuke!" Saori pleaded with him.

"The answer is, no!" Daisuke argued back.

"Fine…" Saori finally relented, making Daisuke sigh in relief. But it didn't last as she finally grinned. "Then you're buying dinner, Daisuke!"

"What!?" Daisuke yelped in shock making everyone laugh at his expense.

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The next day, the group of 9 friends came to class with a shock awaiting them. Almost all of the tank teams had painted their tanks in bright colors or in some fashion to make their tanks look more appealing. The Type-93 had been painted with kanji markings that said "fight" or "guts" along with a volleyball painted on the armor. The M3 Lee had been painted a hot pink color all around. The StuG III had been painted blue, red, yellow, and white along with the words "Veni-vidi-vici" painted on the front, emblems of certain figures in history, and to complete the look four Japanese style flags were posted on the tank destroyer. The Student council's tank stood out the most, it was painted a bright gold color.

The planes were the same colors they came as, but the boys had painted their planes a little bit. The F4 had its tail panted a crimson red, and the number 302 painted on the wings alongside the school's emblem. On the nose, was the image of a black anthromorphic cartoon cat carrying a cartoon black bomb was painted on it.

The Fw-109 was still in its black color scheme, but with the words "Team Oorai Luftwaffe" painted on the nose along with a yellow spiral painted on the tip of the propeller. The Zero was still it's white paint scheme with the school's emblem but with the image of an anime girl that looked almost like Anzu was painted on the nose. The kanji term for "Banzai" was also painted on the plane. The only plane that was not changed inside or out was Daisuke's Hayabusa; the only thing it had painted on it was the school's emblem on the wing and fuselage and its serial number stenciled on the left side of the tail.

Earlier, Miho, Yukari, Saori, Hana, and Mako had put the stuff they had bought the previous day into their tank. Each of their seats now had a cushion or two, along with a few other miscellaneous items to make the tank a bit more…homey. But needless to say, while most of the guys were gobsmacked at the paintjobs the girls did to their tanks, Yukari and Goose were completely livid!

"What the heck…" One of Johnny's mechanics said as he stared at the tanks in utter disbelief.

"Why did they paint their tanks like that?" One of Fredrick's mechanics said to no one in particular.

"Haven't these girls ever heard of camouflage?" Johnny added his own two bits.

With the student council, Yoshi and Anzu nodded to each other.

"Shall we give them a call?" Momo asked the two of them.

"Might as well," Yoshi answered with a nod. "We won't get a proper field test if we don't."

"Huh? What are you guys talking about?" Yuzuko asked in puzzlement.

"Give who a call?" Hayao asked himself. But neither of the other student council members answered them as both Momo and Takeo walked away towards the main building.

With our main group of friends, Saori was fuming at the sight of the other girls' tanks and how they all had been repainted in these flashy designs.

"We should've repainted ours!" She cried indignantly.

"Ahh! Those tanks are completely ruined!" Yukari cried.

"They're just asking for their tanks to get blown to bits!" Goose cried as he too was appalled at what the girls had done to the tanks.

"Well, this is the first time any of these girls have operated a tank so we can't blame them for wanting to be a little flashy at first right?" Daisuke reasoned a little but not wanting to be truthful with his statement. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard Miho starting to laugh. "Miho-chan?"

"Nishizumi-dono?"

Miho turned to them with an amused look on her face. "I'm sorry; I just couldn't imagine tanks being turned into something like this." She said with a laugh. "But it's kind of fun. This is the first time I've ever thought that tanks could be fun."

They just stared at her a little before they returned her amused look with laughs of their own.

"Well, when you put it that way, Miho-chan…" Daisuke said as he walked up to stand next to her. "I guess I could probably say the same about airplanes."

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Meanwhile, several miles away onboard another school warship, a young lady who had light blonde hair tied in a bun on the back of her head had answered an antique telephone while having tea and sweets with her fellow student council girls. On the other line was none other than Momo asking her if their school would be interested in having an exhibition match against their school alongside another school for their newly reopened tankery and dogfighting teams. This girl was known as Darjeeling, the captain of the St Gloriana Academy's tankery team.

"Oorai High School?" The girl asked in a prim and proper tone. "So you have reopened both your tankery and dogfighting classes? Congratulations." She paused slightly as she listened to Momo on the other end. "No, that's alright. We don't run away from a challenge, and I'm sure our counterparts in St Arthur won't either." She paused again. "But of course, I will personally tell Pat about the match myself. Goodbye." She then hung up the phone and turned to her two companions. "Well, ladies, it seems we have a match in a couple of days against Oorai High School. They had just restarted their Tankery Class and their Dogfighting Class. So we'll be teaming up with our old friends at St Arthur Academy."

"That's exciting news." A girl with the same hair style as Darjeeling said with a smile. "I'm sure Pat will be excited to face their planes."

"I will see to it that our tanks and their crews are ready." A girl who had even lighter blond hair than Darjeeling said.

"Of course." Darjeeling nodded before sitting back down. "In the meantime, I'll pay our friends at St Arthur Academy a visit in the morning." She took a sip of her tea and smiled, looking out the window. 'This will be an interesting match, I just know it.'

Darjeeling was right about one thing, the upcoming match between their schools would be an interesting one.