The Three and the rest of the Scientist has finally sat foot on a completely different world."Alright. You, Deploy that base right there" Shichiro ordered to a Scientist. Which the Scientist nods and took a palm-sized black cube with red linings out of his bag and put it on the ground. Then the Scientist pressed the circle on the surface, making it push down. Then, The whole crew steps back as the cube slowly turns into a small Depot.
"So this is how you start huh?" Maeru spoke up. "Yes, We will then send a few people to an expedition to explore the surroundings" Shichiro replied.
"Basically, The longer we stay in a place like this, the bigger our base gets" Shichiro explained to Maeru. "If you just had been on our side on the beginning, you would understand earlier" Shichiro added.
"Hrm.." "I already know that" Maeru annoyingly tells Shichiro. "I saw many of your bases on every different world and they"re all as big as your main base" She added. Shichiro remains silent, then the Depot has finished it"s transformation. The Scientist went to the Depot, while the three remains outside.
"Are we not going inside Shichiro?" Mark asked a question in English. "No, man They are just putting out things that is for later, For now they will handle and deploy temporary Supply Depots" Shichiro explained.
"Temporary? Why is that?" The two of them continues to speak in English. "You wouldn"t want to throw all the weapons at that one single building won"t you dude?" Shichiro asked. "Right, but are you really going to store up much weapons, so much that building is not enough?" Mark asked once again. "Yeah, we are going to start early" Shichiro answered. "d.a.m.n you guys are wild" Mark reacted.
"Then where are weapons coming from?" Mark asked AGAIN. "Of course from the portal, where else?" Shichiro answered. "Well i just thought that your weapons are going to be made by the same cubes" Mark stated. "No dude, We still haven"t researched about that kind of thing but were gonna try doing it on this world once we got bigger" Shichiro answered. "Oh, Then blah blah blah" blah blah
blah blah blah blah blah blah
On the other hand, Maeru stood still, crossed-arms with tapping fingers, long and bored face. "Patiently" waiting for the both of them to finish. Then she heard the portal went on again which she looks at, The two also saw it but return to their conversation.
(What"s this?) Maeru asked herself. A Quite-looking Female Scientist holding a rectangular crate step out of the portal. But the girl stopped right after stepping out of it to a.n.a.lyze the area. Which then a Male Scientist holding a normal crate went flying out of the portal, crashing to the girl who was standing in front of it and sending both crates flying.
Maeru quickly peeks at Shichiro"s direction to see if he notices the ruckus, But the two of them"s still busy talking to each other and looking into somewhere far away.
Maeru just frowns at this then looked back at the two Scientist from the portal. The once quite-looking Scientists now bursting with anger, looks like scolding the male scientist which he just scratches his head and grin at the Girl"s rage. After her outburst, the male Scientist just bows and quickly went for the Depot, The girl glares at the male Scientist until he"s inside the depot and out of her view, then let out a sigh.
Maeru went close to the girl. "Um.." The girl looked at Maeru with a troubled face. "Maeru-san?" The girl spoke. "U-Uh.." Maeru"s taken aback that the girl knew her name. "F-First of all, how did you know my name?" Maeru asked. "Oh, you"re that annoying girl who always interferes and beat us and humiliate our names on every world we go" The girl calmly told to Maeru. Maeru felt bad at what the girl has said and thought back when She used to side with the enemies and defeat the whole PTRD and make Shichiro apologized to the mess he made.
"Now why are you here? Why are you talking to me? Are you going to kill me?" Despite the dark a.s.suming of the girl, she said this on rather emotionless way. "I bet you have called your friends already and on their way here" The Girl continued, She"s about to say another word but Maeru interrupts her. "N-No, you"re wrong.." The Girl ignored this and continues. "I Bet Shichiro-san was only forced to make you his girlfriend because you"re forcing your way too much into him" Maeru was very surprised about the sudden reasoning of the Girl about her relationship towards Shichiro.
"No! That"s!-" Maeru shouted and stopped herself halfway. This made the two busy men looked at Maeru"s direction, The two girls also did the same, But Maeru"s wearing a worried face. after a few moments Shichiro told something to Mark then shouts to Maeru"s direction: "Maeru! Were going see the Supply Depots! Come if you want!" Maeru just waved and smiled, Then the two went on a Supply Depot which Maeru didn"t even noticed that it was already deployed by the side of the Main Depot.
The girl looked back at Maeru, which Maeru did the same. "You see that?" The girl took a quick look at Shichiro"s direction, then looks back to Maeru again. "He"s all kind to you, but deep down he"s annoyed by your presence" The Girl continued, while Maeru stood in silence. "I know you"re going to betray us half-way the battle" The girl kept going. "I should have warn Shichiro about th-" "Nope!" The girl was surprised on Maeru"s interruption. "I actually made a promise with Shichiro" The girl relaxes. "That i would go along with him this time, and he was happy to hear it!" She proudly stated. "He even hugged me warm to show how much he"s thankful to hear me say that." Maeru continued.
The girl smiled at her words. "I see". Which surprised Maeru by the sudden change of her aura. "He just wouldn"t do that out of the blue, doesn"t he?" The girl stated. "Plus he already told the whole organization about your promise" The girl continued. "H-Huh?! W-W-When?!" Maeru blushes deeply, making the girl giggle. "Secret" The girl answered while still giggling. "Hey now..." Maeru just sighs at this. Then the girl finally stopped and apologized: "Sorry about before, I was just making sure if you"re serious about your promise". Maeru quickly replied "No no, No worries at all ahaha!" shyly and scratches the back of her head.
"Alright, I must go, Maeru-san" The girl went to pick up her crate and about to go. "Wait! What"s your name?" Maeru stopped her. "Oh im sorry!" The girl bows a bit. "The name"s Hikagi, Maruyama Hikagi" She introduced herself to Maeru. "Nice to meet you, Hikagi-san!" Maeru happily mentioned Hikagi"s name, which Hikagi nodded while smiling. Then gone to the Depot.
Then Maeru suddenly notices that there"s already many scientist coming from and going back to the portal, The ones coming from the portal has crates on them while the ones going back are empty handed, So it was obvious that they have been delivering stuff for a while now. Maeru just watches the Scientists do their work until the last one goes back to the portal, Which for a few seconds the portal dies out. Knowing this, Maeru knew that"s the last and walked to the depot.
Then in front of the depot was a large door. It"s white and has black linings and screws and some russian writing in yellow, obviously for cautions. There"s a huge line in the middle, making it obvious that it slides and open in center. And near the middle line, There"s a gla.s.s in both side and inside of the gla.s.ses are mechanical stuff, seemingly part of the lock of the door. And to the right side of the door just below the gla.s.s are a keypad, and below the keypad are the usual green and red lights. The red is lit this time. Maeru wanted to guess the pa.s.scode of the door, but before she could press a number, the green light quickly blinks 2 times and the mechanic on gla.s.s from the left side of the door pushes up and the right side pushes down, and then finally the door splits in half and opened. It was the detector that quickly opens the door without the pa.s.scode, Maeru knew about this when the door blinked green and was quickly disappointed that she didn"t got to guess the pa.s.scode.
The cold from the AC of the depot greets Maeru. The Depot might looks small from the outside, but inside at least 50 people can fit without b.u.mping into each other everytime. Maeru was amazed by this and looked around the surroundings, Which was interrupted by Shichiro and Mark and few Scientists(?) in different suits. Black uniform with red lines and a visible red star on left side of the arm, Mark"s also wearing the same. And they are all carrying guns, from Rifles,Sub-Machine guns to Machine guns.
Maeru was surprised about seeing all the weapons. "W-Whoa! Are you going already?". "Yes, were not going to sit here all day" Shichiro answered, who"s holding two rifles. "But-" Before Maeru could continue, Shichiro handed her a rifle and said "Here". "Come on, we have the weapons for the scouting" Shichiro stated. "You call this scouting?!" Maeru complained. "And we have enough people to guard the camp while we are gone" Shichiro continued. Which Maeru looks outside and saw some Scientists still on their lab coats. Then she looked at the rifle she was gave to. While Shichiro and Mark and the Scientists walks pa.s.s her and went into a building.
"Ah wait!" Maeru quickly follows the squad. The building they went into"s way, way bigger than the Center Depot. Actually it looks like a building for storing and deploying vehicles. As there"s already one Jet on the top of it.
"W-Where did the Jet come from?!" Maeru thought they came from the Cubes, But She remembered Shichiro mentioning about the Cubes only able to deploy Small Temporary buildings. Then She quickly ran in front of the building, There the whole squad stood. Maeru looks inside the building, There"s a huge rectangular hole on the floor. But Maeru quickly knew that it"s an elevator floor. But she was bothered on how quickly the building gained a bas.e.m.e.nt for vehicles. Then a loud mechanic started to noise from the bottom, After a while a familiar Soviet IS-3 tank on the elevator floor started to rise from the bottom. It"s color is Dark grey with red stars on both left and right side of the turret. The Fuel tanks are even more reinforced, Besides the fuel tanks there"s no more any visible changes to the tank. As the floor reached the top, Few scientists went to ride the IS-3 and starts up the engine. The squad went sides for the tank to get out of the building. The IS-3 drives out of the building quick. And the elevator floor started to went down again.
"Huh.." Maeru look and observed the tank. Unlike the original Soviet IS-3, The Prohorovkan IS-3 have modified Engine and modernized cannon to match the modern tanks these days. The squad remains on the side while the elevator carry another tank. This time it"s a T-34-85. Of course, A Prohorovkan one, Grey paints and usual red stars and modified parts. Another group of people went to the T-34 and drive out.
(This is going to take a while) Maeru thought to herself. The elevator kept giving various modified Soviet tanks until there are just few of them.
"Maeru!" Shichiro called out to Maeru. "This one"s going to be the last tank, It"s ours" Shichiro stated. "Okay, where did those tanks come from?" Maeru asked. "I forgot to mention about Vehicle Cubes" Shichiro answered. "Oh then it is the same with the weapons?" Maeru asked another question. "I wish that is true, But if we fold the guns with same methods as how we make Building and Vehicle cubes, The cube for the guns would be very small, It"s stupid" Shichiro explained. "Later we will work on the Gun"s method that is, The method of folding is different so the cubes for it has the same sizes as the Buildings and Vehicle Cubes" Shichiro explained more, But Maeru didn"t bother thinking about it too much and just waits for their tank to appear.
Few moments later, The noise of the elevator can now be heard from the bottom, and then a German Tiger I starts to appear in view. "This is the last tank?" Maeru asked. "Yes" Shichiro answered. "But how are we all going to fit there?" Maeru asked again. "Huh?" Shichiro gave Maeru a questioned look then Maeru looks at the remaining Scientists to give him a hint. "Oh, you stupid. There will be five of us inside the tank. The others will be riding from outside, And the rest will ride the Jets" Shichiro explained. "Let"s go" Shichiro went for the tank with Mark and two Scientists on his trail. Maeru followed last.
Shichiro went for the hatch, The Commander. Mark went for the Hull MG, An a.s.sistant Driver. Maeru waited for the two Scientists to take their roles. The two picked Loader and the Driver. Then Maeru went for the Gunner. Then few of the Scientists went on top of the tank. From engine to turret near the hatch.
Maeru found a headsets beside her and wore it. Then she heard Shichiro"s voice: "Alright, can everyone hear me?". "What are these headsets? This doesn"t look like for war at all, did you stole these from gaming stores?" Maeru sarcastically asked Shichiro. "Shut up" Shichiro"s annoyed. "It"s better this way so your own tank won"t mess your ears" Shichiro explained. "And we have modified it so you can hear a bit from outside of your tank" Shichiro continued. "Yeah it"s really cool but You could have just taken a job from a call center you know?" Maeru teased Shichiro. "Shut the h.e.l.l up already" Shichiro annoyingly scolded Maeru. "Driver, Let"s go" Shichiro ordered the Driver, Then the Engine starts up and revs up loudly.
Then the tank drives out of the building. Then Maeru heard Shichiro speaking through the mic. "85, You"re on my left. IS-3, You"re on my right. The rest follow the formation" Shichiro ordered the whole group. "T-34-85, Roger" Maeru heard a respond with her headset. "IS-3, copy that!" A Cheerful Girl"s voice. (W-Was that an elemantary schooler?!) She asked herself. Then the rest of the tank also responded.
==
"Alright, On ward!" Shichiro shouted, Then the engines of the tanks roar.
-= SOMEWHERE, LARGE PLAIN AREA =-
Engines are roaring in a large quite plain, The radios and comms are quite. Then Maeru took the honors and spoke to her mic for the whole squad to hear. "So... Where exactly are we going, Shichiro?". "I don"t know either, We are exploring" Shichiro answered. Maeru understood this and became quite again.
"Come on, get out of here" Shichiro told Maeru. "Huh?" Maeru"s questioned. "There"s a hatch on top of you". Shichiro mentioned the hatch for Maeru, Then Maeru looked over her head and opened the hatch and went through. Now both of them are on the turret.
"Isn"t it beautiful here?" Maeru started a conversation. "Hm?" Shichiro looked at Maeru. "Such beautiful sight, The fresh winds, this Wide green fields" Maeru continued. "Yeah, No huge skyc.r.a.pers, No Vehicle smokes, Nothing at all. Just the sights and the beauty of the nature" Shichiro replied. Then both of them fell silent to feel the wind.
Just a second, Mark spoke up: "Wow how sweet, I wish i also had a girlfriend here to sit with me". "Eh?!" Maeru was surprised, however Shichiro was not: "It"s the environment were talking about, And you heard that?". "Yes, everyone heard it yeah?!" Mark asked to the comm. Then the whole group answered one by one:
"IS-3 heard it!"
"85, also heard it"
"T-50 here, Us also"
"SU-100 heard the sweetpeas"
"KV-1 crews are jealous".
"T-70 here, Shichiro-san is so romantic~"
"Shut up, Mitsuki" Shichiro shouted at the last respond and the whole group laugh.
-= LATER =-
"Everyone, Halt!" Shichiro screams through his mic, Then the whole group stopped. "What"s wrong?" Commander of the KV-1 asked through comm. "It"s a civilization~" A cute voice of the commander of the IS-3 answered. "A what? Like a town or something?" KV-1 asked again. "You dummy, why don"t you get out of your hatch and look for yourself?~" IS-3 told to KV-1.
Then the hatch of the KV-1 opens and a female commander pops and uses her binoculars.
Few kilometers away, A Village can be seen. The village is pretty big, but not too huge. It"s surrounded by Big walls made of stone.
"Hey Shichiro look, That"s our first gold" Commander of the T-34-85 spoke up. "Sure is" Shichiro replied. "Alright, Is everyone ready?" Then the whole group responded.
"85, Your command?"
"IS-3, Ready as always~"
"SU-100, Awaiting your command"
"KV-1 Stands ready"
"T-50, Engine screaming"
"T-70 will be always under your coommaand~"
"Alright" Shichiro looked back at the tanks, then went back inside his hatch, Which Maeru quickly did the same.
"Okay. everyone, Forw". "Wait!" Shichiro"s order was interrupted by Maeru"s shout. "The village looks nice, And this is the first time i have sided with Shichiro, so i wanted to walk around a village with Shichiro for atleast once" Maeru holds her mic close to her mic while looking at Shichiro.
"Oh! A Date i see!" A girl voice speaks through the comm. "H-Hey! That is not a date! Who was that?!" Maeru panicked, And n.o.body answered. "Who was it!" Maeru shouted.
"Now now Maeru, i agree. We should scout out the place first" Shichiro interrupts Maeru. "No, WALK the PLACE" Maeru corrected Shichiro. "Whatever" Shichiro responded. "Do everyone agree on this?" Shichiro asked the whole group, Then the commanders replied:
"Yeah that is fine"
"Fine by me"
"That"s right, We should SCOUT first"
"WALK." Maeru interrupts the answers. "SCOUT!" The commander started an arguement. "WALK!" Maeru holds her mic close to her mouth and shouts. "SCOUT!!" The commander shouts louder. "I know YOUR tank you little s.h.i.t, Don"t make me go there!" Maeru threatened her rival. "Oh yeah? then wh-" The commander was interrupted by Maeru"s shout: "You"re that piece of s.h.i.t T-50! I recognized your voice!". Then the comm became quite beside the whisper. "jesus.."
"So uh.. We need someone to guard the tanks, I"m definitely not going to give my tanks to these lowlife guys" Shichiro tells the whole group. "No worries, T-50 alone should stay here" Maeru speaks in dead serious tone. "No! Kuji and his crews should stay here!" Commander from the T-50 whines. "Huh?! The KV-1 got more crews they should stay here!" Kuji(?) whines back. The argument continued for 3 minutes. In the end, The T-70 and the IS-3 crews volunteered to take command and let Shichiro,Mark and Maeru go. They drove a bit closer so the village is walking distance.
-= BIG WOODEN GATE =-
The village is secured with a big gate guarded by two men in armor, wielding a spear.
The trio approached the guard which they quickly points their spear towards them. "Where are you from?!" A guard asked a question. "We are the scouts the Central has sent to expedition" Shichiro lied to the Guard. "Scouts? I never heard no Scouts!" The Guard threatened Shichiro by pointing his spear closer to his neck, But Shichiro stays still. "The Central has sent us secretly and-" Shichiro told to the guard then holds the spear and drag it even more close to his neck, looks directly at guard and continues his sentence: "And if you got me killed right now, You"d be on serious problem". Then the other guard puts his hand on his partner"s shoulder. "C"mon, They look serious enough. I"m letting them in" Then the guard relaxes and return to his guard posture.
Then the guard went to the side of the door. Then went back to his position. A few second, The door made a loud noise and opened slowly, but only a bit for the trio to fit enough. Then the two guard step aside then the guard said: "Welcome back to Tsuchiya, Our loyal Scouts! " Then the other one continues "Please kindly go straight to the Central and report back to the King right now".
"Yeah yeah we will do that" Shichiro responded to the greetings from the guards. Then the trio went inside and as the door closes back, the guard said to his partner: "Are they telling the truth? and they are wearing weird outfits too". Then his partner replied "You idiot, i thought you already understood. The king might let them wear different clothing so if there"s any chance they will be considered as Travellers from different villages, they could spy there and maybe take some treasures or new weaponry!". The worrying guard is still not quite convinced. "B-But don"t you think their clothes are a bit bizarre? Even the King never told us our village makes those kind of clothes?". "You heard the boy before, It"s SECRET. Maybe the creating of Scout"s clothes are also secret". The guard tries to rea.s.sure his worrying partner. "Besides, if they"re really spy, Wouldn"t the boy you threatened should be scared of your spear? You know, Afraid to die and fail his own village to get information from different villages". The Guard continues, Then his partner finally calm down and said: "Y-Yeah you"re right. Even his two companions didn"t even reacted to it".
-= TSUCHIYA VILLAGE =-
When the trio got in, A sign with "Welcome to Tsuchiya Village!" embedded on it welcomes them. "Wow! This village is still beautiful despite the walls!". Maeru"s amazed at the view of the village. "Hah, wow. I was expecting like a dirty village with full of soldiers guarding every corner of the village, but guess what" Mark was also amazed. "Yeah, this is really wonderful" Shichiro joined the two. The village is so lively with people chattering, walking and kids chasing each others, workers taking a brake from their works, you call it. Though people started to look at them because of their clothings. "Come on let"s go!" Maeru hurriedly walks in front of the two. "Fine fine, you lead Maeru" Shichiro answered, then Maeru leads them. Maeru just started walking and she got to look eye-to-eye with a cute girl with orange shoulder-length hair. Maeru waves at her, and which the girl did the same, then continued on their walk.
Maeru"s happily humming on their walk while the two follows her, looking around. Then Mark spoke up: "We need to find an Inn". Maeru heard this and looked back at Mark. "Seriously, We just started walking and you"re already tired? You should have stayed with the others, Shichiro and i should have come here alone. Right? Shichiro~". "Even if it"s just the two of us, I would be the one suggesting that" Shichiro answered, making Mark snicker. "Oh come on, you both are so boring" Maeru reacted and walks again.
They walked around the village for a while. The trio is visibly having fun, specially Maeru, They even found the inn in the process. They kept exploring the village until the two grew tired. "Hey, let"s find a place to rest" Mark suggested. "Good idea" Shichiro supported Mark"s idea. "Eeeeh..." But Maeru whines. "You guys are so easy to fall.. I wanna go back to that Bakery and buy the bread" Maeru continues. "Seriously Maeru, That bread doesn"t even taste good" Mark trashes Maeru"s idea. "It"s because YOU doesn"t even know what it is!" Maeru fought back. "It taste good right, Shichiro?" Maeru looks at Shichiro, Which starled him because he was just listening to their arguement. "I-I don"t know, was that like, a bread from h.e.l.l? "Cause i don"t know what it taste either" Shichiro answered. "Good grief... It"s a Banana bread you tiny brains, You were raised from the Surface and don"t even got the chance to know what is Banana bread?" Maeru insulted the two. "Well it"s better that way than losing your own world to you guys from h.e.l.l". Mark fought back, but Maeru didn"t react to this and stays silent, Even Shichiro"s quite and looks to the ground.
Mark quickly became aware of the atmosphere and immediately said: "N-Nevermind" then looks at the ground. The trio stood quite for seconds, then Shichiro laughs. "Heheh, Look at you, Instant regret!" Shichiro pointed at Mark, making Maeru giggle. "Come on don"t feel so bad, we just had remembered our fierce battle. It"s not like a complicated stuff right, Maeru?" Shichiro told Mark then looks at Maeru. "Right" Maeru responded. "Plus if i ever got defeated, They will never make it to the Surface because Mariyou-sama will kick their a.s.ses back half-way" Shichiro added. "Huh? We still haven"t met Surigawsan that day right?" Maeru questioned Shichiro. "Yeah but i bet she was watching us that whole time" Shichiro predicted. Maeru was ataken back at what he said, then she stretched her arms up and said: "Alright fine". The two looks at Maeru. "Let"s go find a place to rest" Maeru continued. "No, Let"s just teleport back to the group and rest in the tanks" Mark suggested. "I"m NOT going to sleep inside the tank" Maeru complains. "I didn"t say anything about sleeping inside" Mark responded. "Yeah, you could sleep on top of the tanks, It"s even windy back there" Shichiro supported Mark. "Yeah yeah , fine fine let"s go already" Maeru said then they went into an alleyway, holds each other"s hands then suddenly their body blinks with dark blue light and disappears, leaving black leaves with blue outline flying down on the ground they were standing.
-= LARGE PLAIN AREA, NEAR TSUCHIYA =-
Back to where the group is waiting. In front of the Tiger I, Dark blue light blinks then the trio appears. There are people on top of the tanks and there are some sitting on the gra.s.s, they all saw the trio"s arrival. "Oh look, They are back~" The small and cute girl from the top of the IS-3 spoke up. "Were back" Shichiro replied. "How"s the "scouting" go?" The girl sitting in the gun of the T-34-85 asked the trio. "It all went good, we had a good time" Shichiro answered. "Good for you, we all just sit here and there and talk" The girl from T-34-85 continues. "Sorry about that" Shichiro apologized. "Shichiro, i will just take a nap inside alright?" Mark told Shichiro. "Yeah sure, i"ll wake you up when we"re about to move" Shichiro replied. With that, Mark went inside the Tiger I.
"Alright Maeru, Step besi-" Shichiro looks at Maeru but She is staring at the girl from the IS-3. He also looked at the girl, to find that she is staring back to Maeru. Maeru notices Shichiro, but remains staring at her and asked: "Are you the commander of the IS-3?". "Yes, i am" The girl answered. "Your voice is soo cuute~.. What is your name?" Maeru asked again. "I"m Kurizawa Harumi, Is that all? Why do you have to stare at me like that?" Harumi complains at Maeru"s stare. Maeru puts her hand on back of her head and said: "Ahahah sorry sorry! I"m wondering if you"re still an elementary schooler". Harumi replied with a hmph: "Not telling you". Maeru was a bit disappointed by this.
"Alright, Are you done Maeru? I"m going to announce the attack" Shichiro then went in front of the convoy, Maeru followed him and went behind him. "Everyone!" Shichiro shouts. Then the crews from the ground stood up, The ones from inside of tanks all looks at him. "We will attack the village 3 hours later" Then all the crew responds with a Yes and went inside their tanks.Then a male crew asked a question. "Oh uhh Shichiro-kun? What"s the current time here?" "I don"t know, maybe around 9:00?" Shichiro guessed the time. "Well, you"re half right, but it"s 9:30 right now!" A female crew pops out of the SU-100 and shows them a clock. Satisfied with the answer, the male crew went back to KV-1. Shichiro too went back to the Tiger I"s hatch.
He then grabs his headset,wore it and said to the mic: "SU-100, You have the time, tell us when the time hits 12". "Roger that, Tiger I" SU-100 responded. Shichiro then hangs his headset back inside.
"Are you going to sleep inside, Shichiro?" Maeru asked Shichiro. "No, The hype"s keeping me up" Shichiro answered. "Hm, fine. Do you have a blanket or something i could use for bed? i"m going to sleep on the ground" Maeru asked Shichiro. "Ask around, you can also ask of each commanders their name so you won"t call them by their tank" Shichiro suggested. "No, I want you to lie beside me and tell the names while looking at the sky with me" Maeru tells Shichiro almost daydreaming. "Nah" Shichiro quickly rejects Maeru"s idea, which leads to Maeru visibly pouting. Shichiro quickly saw it and said: "Hahah, fine fine i"ll lie down with you". Then Maeru"s pout turns into a smile. She then went and climbed up to the IS-3 and knocked to the hatch, then the hatch opens. "What is it?" The commander asked. "Oh do you guys have a blanket or something to place to the ground?". The commander shakes her head. "Oh i see, thanks" Maeru told the commander, then climbed down from the IS-3, the hatch closed right after she step to the ground.
Maeru looked at the direction of the KV-1 and about to walk there. But Shichiro called her and shows her a blanket that is big enough for the two of them to fit. Maeru then went to Shichiro. "Where"d you get that?" Maeru asked Shichiro. "I had to check our tank again just to be sure" Shichiro replied then lays the blanket to the ground and lay down. Maeru did the same. Once she settled down, Maeru blushes deep. "So uhh... The names?" Maeru awkwardly asked Shichiro, who on the other side, totally relaxed and calmly looking at the skies.
"Right, so first. The commander of the Tiger I is Fujiwara Shichiro". "I-I know that! Idiot" Maeru stuttered, then Shichiro quickly added: "Your boyfriend". Then looks at Maeru, Maeru shakily looked back, blush deep and bit teased face and shaky lips. They stare at each other for 3 seconds before Shichiro looks back to the skies.
"Then there"s Kurizawa Harumi, She might be small and looking like a kid, but she has the eyes of the eagles, sharper than my blades. I handpicked her as my right hand when leading a tank division and she can handle the IS-3 just fine" Shichiro introduced the IS-3 commander to Maeru. "Yup! You already saw us talk right?" Maeru asked Shichiro, which he nods.
"Then here"s Yamaguchi Seiko, She likes the "85 and likes to hide and snipe from distances. You"ll never see her coming. She will destroy your guns first before shooting down everything else, She"s that girl sitting on the gun before" Shichiro introduced T-34-85"s. Maeru responds with "Oh".
"Then Matsuzawa Kaede of the KV-1, Always wanted to protect the light tanks. Even if it costs her life, she will be always willing to give everything for her allies to win. Totally reliable and good person" Shichiro introduced the KV-1"s.
"And Sakurasagi Minohara of the SU-100, also likes to snipe with her 100 mm Gun. Since both Yamaguchi-san and Sakurasagi-san likes the same idea, you can always see them together from far away, Though she got more kills because of her modified anti-tank gun, unlike the T-34-85"s modified 85 mm gun" Shichiro introduced SU-100"s.
"Then Katsuragi Shizume of the T-50, She dislikes Heavy tanks and rather drive with a light. Well, She used to be a Driver of the KV-2 and one day on the battlefield, they got tricked into going to an open field and their engine instantly got shot and she panicked and was forced to take the shots from the ambushing enemy tanks. Luckily enough, Their communication"s still working and quickly asked for air support". "Air support? Don"t you think they should have called for a tow out of there?" Maeru asked. "The commander"s enraged by the trick so they were willing to fight back, So the commander asked for a little help" Shichiro answered, Maeru responded with "oh", then Shichiro continues: "After that battle, Shizume directly requested to me to change her a.s.signed tank to light tank, But no one from light tank drivers wants to exchange with her, So i gave her a chance and made the T-50. She"s so happy about this. She had few battles as the driver of the T-50, then later got promoted into it"s commander" Shichiro finished introducing the T-50"s.
"Last but not the least, Takuyama Mitsuki of the T-70. You might think she only uses her sweet voice to attract males, but she"s good at managing her crew"s fighting spirit by her effective inspire. She will be always on charge on keeping a person intact if there"s anything bad happens" Shichiro finished introducing the commanders.
"So basically you"re the only male commander on this group?" Maeru asked. "Yes, don"t jump on conclusions yet. Remember that Miguhara is the one who set this group up" Shichiro answered. "I know! You Idiot!" Maeru responded. "So anything else you want to know?" Shichiro asked, but Maeru shakes her head. "Alright then, i"ll take a nap now". Shichiro said, then rolls to face Maeru. They both stare at each other for 3 seconds before Shichiro closed his eyes, she did the same after few seconds.
-= 3 HOURS LATER =-
Shichiro could hear a faint voice, Wondering who was it from. (The voice..... It"s calling me?). The voice keep getting clearer as it repeats, then "Hey! Shichiro! Wake up both of you!" Then Shichiro finally woke up and stood and realized that it was the female crew before. "Sorry we overslept, go back to your tank now" Shichiro ordered the crew. Then Maeru stood up and stretched her arms. "Come on Maeru, to the tank" Shichiro told Maeru, which she responded with rather sleepy: "Yees~" and lazily climbed up for the gunner"s hatch.
"Alright, is everyone on their tank?" Shichiro asked with his mic, which all the commander responds with a Yes."Okay...Bomber squadrons, awaiting your reports". "Roger that, Tiger I. The Jets are prepped and ready to fly, Awaiting your commands" A Male voice responded through the headset. "W-Wait, Somebody else is on our range?" Maeru is surprised. "Yes, I hope you saw the Jets back at the Factory. They followed us and stayed back a few miles before this place" Shichiro replied. "Then why didn"t i heard any noise?" Maeru asked again. "You don"t want to attract any attention, won"t you Maeru? Unless you wanted to side with them again, i will kill you right now". Shichiro threatened Maeru. "I promised you already! I won"t side with them!" Maeru shouted. "Also aren"t the tanks are also loud?". Maeru continued. "Our Jet"s are not from any real jets from our real world, Those are our Prohorovkan made, And It has a very, very loud engine, Trust me. It"s because of it"s powerful engine" Shichiro explained. "We use it"s loud roaring engine to scare off our enemies too, instead of copying the Jericho Trumpets of the German Stukas back in World war". Shichiro explained further. "Aaaand you still haven"t answered my question, on how did not i heard any noise" Maeru repeats. "Cloak" Shichiro replied. "Cloak? Like Invisibility?". Maeru asked, then Shichiro responded with a nod.
Shichiro then gets back at his mic. "Alright Bomber Squadron, You are clear to take off and engage the village" Shichiro commanded the squadron. "Roger that Tiger I, We are now taking off" The (a.s.sumably) leader of the squadron responded. "Alright, All Tanks. Once the Jets has flew by above us, We are moving" Shichiro talks to his group. "SU-100 and "85, I know your preferences, You two stay here and shoot from here" Shichiro told the two tanks. "Yeah! You got it!" "Glad you knew!" The two Commanders happily responded.
2 Minutes later, Loud Jet engines started to pa.s.s by, Five Jets has flew by above them. Then Shichiro shouts at his mic: "Alright! Were moving!" Then the engines started to scream and the convoy started to move. Just a few seconds, Several explosions can be seen and heard from the village. The convoy kept moving closer to the village, then Shots from the distance can be heard and hitting the big gates, It was from the SU-100 and T-34-85. After the few shots, The gate blew open. "Yaay~ Thanks for the a.s.sist!~" Harumi shows her appreciation to the two tanks. "No problem! Want us to destroy the walls too?" Minohara answered. "No, don"t. The gate"s big enough for them to come in and the wall"s debris might just block them" Seiko refused the idea. "If you say so!" Minohara replied.
The convoy are now getting closer to the village and the engines of the Jets still roaring by from above the village, flying away and coming back to bomb them again.
Few moments later, The convoy now is close to the village. "Oh G.o.d, i can hear their screams from here" Maeru felt bad at the screams and panicking of the Tsuchiyan residence. "I know right, They must have no idea what is happening right now" The Driver responded. "And i bet the they have no idea what to call those Jets if it were an evolved dragons or a flying catapults" The Loader jokes and the whole crew laughs. Then the convoy forms a straight line to get inside the gate, as when the IS-3"s going in line. "Oh look! They"re shooting the Jets with arrows, Haha!!" Harumi laughs at Tsuchiyan Archers from the towers in the corner of the walls, Then ordered the convoy to stop for a moment. "IS-3, Where are the those guys?" Seiko asked Harumi through the comms. "They"re in each corner of the walls, can"t you see the hilarious arrows flying?" Harumi responded. "Roger that, Permission to Fire at will at those Towers, Tiger I". Seiko requested at Shichiro. "Go on, "85. You two are free to fire at those guys". Shichiro allowed the two to fire at will. "Copy that, Firing at will" "Yeah! They"re going to taste a modern warfare!" The two commanders replied. Then later two shots came from the distance to the right Tower, destroying the walls and killing several Tsuchiyan soldiers. After a few seconds, Shots to the Left Tower this time and causing the same damage. Then the convoy continues.
"Bomber squadron, We are going in. Continue the bombing runs until out of ammunition, then go back to the base for resupplies, then order one of your pilot to come down and tell them to send Reinforcement to our location" Shichiro speaks through the comm. "Roger that, Tiger I" The leader of the squadron replied. "Alright, All Tanks. Fire at will!" Shichiro changed their rule once all of them got into the village. Obeying the order, The tanks shoots people onsight, shooting the houses with people in it, not letting one survive. Except the Tiger I"s cannon. "What are you doing, Maeru?" Shichiro shouted at Maeru. "I-I Can"t..." Maeru stuttered. "Huh?!" Shichiro shouted again. "I-I mean i.... Tsk..." Maeru stuttered but quickly looked through the scope, rotates the turret and shoots at the second floor of a building. High-Explosive was loaded to the gun so the 2nd floor was totally destroyed.
Then on the first floor, The main door wildly opens and a young girl, about 10 years old, with white hair, comes out of the door and fell to the ground, she was coughing from the smokes. Maeru quickly saw this and gasp. "Oh look, Maeru"s daughter"s here too!" Mark laughs at his own joke. Then Shichiro quickly opens the hatch and stood. "Shichiro?!" Maeru looked back at Shichiro, Then hurriedly look back at her scope. The young girl was still on ground and coughing, then few moments, The young girl slowly looks at their direction, then looks above them. The young girl"s eyes widen in horror, Maeru saw her face and quickly knew what"s going to happen. "Wait! Shichiro!". The young girl tries her best to stand up and turn away to run.
But a loud gunshot came from Shichiro"s position and the young girl got shot from behind and fells to the ground, crying loud as she holds her stomach. Maeru remained quite through the scopes, shocked. "Oh d.a.m.n! Maeru! your sibling got shot!" Mark shouted. "Shut it Mark. Driver, drive us on the side of the road. Tanks, go forward and make destruction, we got a business to take care of here". Shichiro ordered. "Roger that!" The Driver responded and drove to the side. "Alright! I"ll be your leader this time, everyone!~" Harumi took command of the tanks, Then the tank commanders responds with a Yes and drives past the Tiger I and the young girl.
"Alright, Crews get out of the tank" Shichiro ordered the crew to get out. Maeru heard this and gasps, then quickly went out of the tank. Maeru quickly ran to the young girl, worried, Shichiro went to the young girl too. The rest stays from the top of the tank. Maeru then looks at Shichiro. "What are you going to do?" Maeru asked. "I"m going to ask her something, step aside". Shichiro told Maeru, She did what she was told. Shichiro then rolls the young girl"s body with his feet to face him. Maeru is visibly uncomfortable by this. Then Shichiro forcefully held up the young girl by her dress, which the young girl holds his hands by her two small hands, crying even more. "Where are your parents?" Shichiro asked the young girl, Making her cry louder. "What? She still can"t speak a word?" The Loader watching from the tank insults the young girl. "I bet her parents abandoned her when the chaos st" Before the Loader could continue, A woman with long white hair, presumably the mother of the young girl, bursts out of the house and ran into the young girl, making Shichiro let go of the young girl. Then the woman hugs the young girl and looks at Shichiro, Crying and said: "Please don"t hurt my child". Then looks back at the face of the young girl, and looks down. "O.....Oh....Oh G.o.d..." The mother cried deeply. "Why? W-Why did you do this? We totally got nothing to do with you" The mother cries. Maeru is so sad about the situation. "W-We are sorry.. ah!" Maeru tried to apologize but Shichiro kicked the mother off the young girl and grabs the young girl again. "W-Wait!" The mother cried as she hurts from the kick. "This kid does not even speak!" Shichiro shouted at the Mother, making the Loader laugh from the tank. "She-She"s traumatized! She"s too young to understand all of these!" The mother shouted back at Shichiro. "Then we"ll MAKE her UNDERSTAND!!" Shichiro shouted louder and grabs a knife, Seitengewehr 98, from his pocket and stabs the wound from the shot of the gun, making the young girl scream loud and the mother hopelessly cry on the ground "Shi-Shichiro!" Maeru started to tears and covers her mouth in shock. "She"s still a child!" Maeru told Shichiro. "So what?" Shichiro looks back at Maeru with serious face, Maeru gasps at his face. Then Shichiro strongly removes the knife off the young girl"s wound, making her moan. The young girl"s no longer crying and just being attacked by frequent hiccups, her eye"s dead as the fish"s, just staring at the sky and no longer moving at all. Shichiro let of the young girl"s dress and gently grabs her by her two small shoulders and gently lay her down. Then slaps her faces: "Hey! Wake up you brat! You"re being killed and You are not even fighting back! Are you really giving up on life just like that?!". Shichiro"s scream makes the young girl snap back and slowly looks at Shichiro and cries.
Shichiro suddenly gasp quietly. He felt like this happened before. Shichiro suddenly has flashbacks of the same scenario, but the one he"s carrying at that time was his little sister. both of them was crying but Shichiro was filled with anger. Then Shichiro suddenly felt bad at the young girl and his face falls into sadness.
Before Shichiro could snap back, The young girl took a palm-sized stone from her pockets and smashed it on Shichiro"s face, but Shichiro quickly saw this and let go of the young girl to cover his face, then fell into the ground from the impact. Then the young girl crawls away from Shichiro, to the house.
Then a girl with a familiar orange hair ran from the house. Then rans into the young girl to pick her up. once she got the young girl, she looks at the group. She saw Maeru and gasps, Maeru also gasp at her. They stare at each other, and then: "Hey! s.h.i.t! She"s taking the girl away!" The girl with the orange hair heard this and looks at the tank, then quickly ran back to the house. "Wait!" Maeru shouted. Then Shichiro stood up to chase the girl at the house, but stopped at the doorway. "G.o.dd.a.m.n it!" Shichiro"s annoyed, then he ran back outside and looks at street. The mother is no longer in there. Shichiro just sigh. "Whatever, they will be bombed like the rest of them" Then Jets can be heard again flying by the village and explosions right after it, then a convoy of armored vehicles has entered from the gates including the SU-100 and the T-34-85 at the last. A male soldier from the leading vehicle went out to talk to Shichiro. "We are the reinforcement the Pilot of the Jet has called". "Great, Come on, Maeru. Let"s go back at the tank. You, Continue to the center of the village and try to capture their leader alive" Shichiro ordered the male soldier. Maeru quietly follows Shichiro back at their tank. Then the convoy started moving with the Tiger I leading the way.