I do not own Girls Und Panzer in any form. This is a work of fanfiction.
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This is a spinoff story from my other story Lily in the Panzer.
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Mako looked through her things for her best attire, wanting to dress nice for their date. "I don't have much of any date type clothes." She muttered to herself in the otherwise empty room. "I guess this will have to do."
She picked out a simple sky blue sun dress with black belt and Navy blue shoes to match. She showered, cleaning and conditioning her hair even more than usual. After drying and styling her hair, she picked out a gloss black hairband to go with everything else. She put on her knee high socks and shoes first, then her dress to prevent wrinkling it. A final light touch of some perfume and she was ready to meet her date.
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Midoriko was also preparing, but felt as though she had time, as Mako wasn't typically the punctual type. While in the middle of brushing her hair, there was a knock at her door. She quickly covered up and answered it, shocked to see Mako standing there. "Don't tell me that's what you're wearing." Mako chuckled lightly.
Midoriko was astounded at not only her punctuality, but her manner of dress for the evening. "You're here awful early." Midoriko said, inviting Mako to her room.
"I don't think I'm that early." Mako said, looking at the time on her phone.
"Well, I... forgive me for saying this, but I was expecting you a bit later." Midoriko continued as she walked into the bathroom to finish getting ready.
"I guess it is out of character for me to be on time."
"It's not a bad thing, though. I feel a little better, seeing you here on time. It feels like you really want to be here. I see you dressed nice, too. That looks good on you."
Midoriko soon stepped out of the bathroom dressed and ready. She wore a black vee cut shirt with hunter green skirt and black dress shoes. "Look at you, saying I'm the good looking one and you step out dressed like that." Mako said with a slight smile.
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They wanted to just go out and be together, no clear direction on where they were going. Along the way, they held hands as they walked. Their first stop was at a bookstore. Mako looked over the nonfiction section, Midoriko looked over the manga and light novel section. They made their picks and paid, then sat together to read a few pages before continuing.
Mako made a sizable dent in one of her books fairly quickly, much to the surprise of her date. "How can you read that fast?"
"I always have. Like with the driving manual for the Panzer, I read that in only a few minutes." Mako said, wondering what was taking her so long with the manga she purchased.
"But how though? It's just a little strange to me."
"I guess I'm just a fast reader. But I have a suggestion. How about after we finish a book or two each, we trade and read each others' books?"
"That sounds nice. I'd like to see some of the stuff you're into."
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Their next stop was at a JGSDF museum in town. They wanted to see what tankers from years back did, but they already had a pretty good idea of what they had to do, from history and tankery lessons as well as their matches. When they attempted to pay for entry, the museum staff would not allow them to pay, having been thoroughly impressed with their victory in the finals. Their first stop was in the section dedicated to the IJA (Imperial Japanese Army) from WW2. The first entry was the Type 89 Yi-Go, a tank that was just heavy enough for it to be classed as a medium and not light.
They were already familiar with the design, as Duck team operated the upgraded variant, the Type 89B Otsu. They read the information plaques and found that the IJA had deployed forces against the Soviet Army, Type 89 tanks in the mix. They started to feel thankful that they had the reinforcements required by the tankery committee, as they could see that the Type 89 was vulnerable to the 37mm and 45mm armor piercing rounds the Soviets used, and a good number of tanks used in the competition fielded guns much larger and harder hitting than the Soviet guns.
Part of the tour took them through the section with tank destroyers and the like, such as the Type 3 Ho-Ni III. Eventually, they made their way to the experimental or special vehicle wing. One of the entries was a scale model of the O-I Superheavy tank. Only one model had been constructed, with very thick armor, a gun to rival those used by the Maus and KV-2, two smaller turrets and machine gun mounts. "Can you imagine if we could use one of these in the tournament? We'd be almost unbeatable." Midoriko said with a smile.
"If we could get funding, we could have one manufactured for us." Mako responded.
"But the rules say that it has to have been built and started trials by the end of the war."
"But it did have at least one model built, trials begun before the end. We would just need a company to make one for us."
Midoriko cocked her head to one side, not sure where her date was going with it. "But wouldn't that violate the rules?"
"Nope. All the rules say is that the vehicles must be made with nothing more than the materials and technology available at the time of manufacture. So, as long as it's only made with the same metals, the same size and pressure gun, same welding or bolting, same engine and what not, it's acceptable. The rules don't say we can't use reproductions or models made after the war, as long as they're made the same way. I highly doubt all of the tanks used by Pravda and Saunders were all made before August 1945."
Midoriko thought about it for a moment. "You're right. As long as it's made exactly the way the blueprints say, we should be able to use it. Then the issue becomes funding. We'd need a good deal of money to get a project like this started."
"We could maybe see if someone would be willing to sponsor the program."
Next up in the museum was the final tank of the IJA, the Type 5 Chi-Ri. The only model known to have been built was captured by American occupation forces and sent to Aberdeen Proving Grounds for testing, but it was unknown if it ever reached its destination or if it was scrapped. All the museum had was another scale model. It was supposed to be a medium tank capable of taking on the Sherman, but it was cancelled due to material shortages brought on by allied bombing, then it would've appeared far too late in the war to have made a difference.
"I suppose we could also get one of these, huh?" Midoriko pondered.
"Same as the big one, if we could get someone to make it, we could use it." Mako answered.
"You sure do know your rules."
"I read over them whenever I can. I don't want to have any mistakes with the rules and be taken out of the tankery program. Plus, you're in it. I've got that much more of a reason."
Midoriko too Mako's hand and kissed it. "I may have underestimated you, in more than one way. Can you forgive me for how I've been to you?"
"We're already here on our date, I don't see how you would still need my forgiveness. Plus, you already held up your end of the deal and erased my demerits, so there's really nothing left to forgive."
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Finally, their date brought them to the local mall. The food court was their destination, drawn to it by the delicious smells of fried and baked foods. Mako stopped at a vendor that was frying Yakitori, Midoriko going for the Okonomiyaki. Hers was filled with pork and cabbage. They took a seat and enjoyed their snacks together, sharing bites with each other. Mako got the idea to combine them. She took a piece of her Yakitori and put it with a bite of the Okonomiyaki. The flavors blended pretty well, Mako's reaction prompting Midoriko to try it herself. She tried it and similarly liked the taste.
"What's next for us this evening?" Midoriko asked.
"Don't know. I've never been on a date before to know what to do, really."
"I'm surprised you've never been on any dates. You're sweet, polite, you've got good taste and you're... well, you're you. Anybody who wouldn't want to date you is crazy."
Mako smiled at what she heard. "You really think that of me?"
"I know it." Midoriko stopped, realizing what she said, then shrugged. "It's true, though. You give anyone a reason to want to date you."
Mako closed her eyes and pulled Midoriko in for a loving kiss. "You're a good kisser, too."
"I like kissing you, so I should be good at it, right?"
Accepting her response, she closed her eyes and kissed Mako in return.