It had been nearly thirty minutes and James still hadn't arrived at Room 109 for his period six History lesson. Kaito kept stealing glances at the classroom's clock and then turning to the empty desk beside him. Discreetly, he pulled out his phone and scanned the display. Nothing from him. He turned to a very anxious Koji.

"Where's James at?"

"I don't know!" Koji's hushed tones failed to mask his genuine concern. "Last time I saw him he was talking with the Student Council. He never came back into the form room after that."

"Do you think he got lost?" Kaito inquired.

"No." Tatsuo interjected. "He's not stupid, he's got a map anyways. Something's happened to him."

"What do you mean something's happened to him?!" Exasperated, Koji raised his voice.

"Mr Ishikawa, is there a problem?" The History teacher eyed him in an accusatory fashion.

"No sir, sorry." He replied meekly, shrinking back down into his seat. The trio seated at the back of the class were quiet for a moment.

"What do you think the Student Council said to him?" Tatsuo quietly speculated.

"I don't know." Kaito trailed off. He looked over once more at the empty desk. Inadvertently, he locked eyes with a person sitting on the other side of the vacant seat.

"Psst. Reo." Kaito spoke quietly but urgently. He put his pen down carefully before turning back to face him.

"Yeah?"

"When was the last time you saw James?" He pondered for a moment.

"Last time I saw him was at the end of lunch. He went into the Main Block toilets I think."

"Did he look alright?" Koji leant over. Reo thought again.

"No. Very pale… Although he is a white dude so that might just be…" Kaito turned away from Reo, ignoring him.

"I'm going to look for him." Before Koji or Tatsuo could protest, he put his hand up.

"Sir, please may I go to the toilet?" The short – sighted History teacher frowned.

"You should have gone during lunchtime Mr Yamaguchi."

"Sorry sir, but I really need to go." The old Professor sighed heavily, defeated.

"Alright, be quick." Kaito leapt out of his seat and speed-walked to the door. Koji suddenly threw his arm in the air.

"Sir, I need to go to the toilet too please." The teacher looked stunned.

"Mr Ishikawa, you have interrupted my lesson twice so far today and now you decide you wish to delay your learning further by taking a toilet break?!" He concluded his haughty tirade by casting an indignant glare at the offender.

"Please sir, I'm desperate. I haven't gone all day."

"Me too, sir." Tatsuo put his hand up too. The poor history teacher looked absolutely horrified at the mutiny occurring before him. Letting out a heavy breath of exasperation, he gave in.

"Fine, both of you go, but be quick about it." Both Koji and Tatsuo jumped up from their chairs and made their way out of the classroom.

"Hey, Kaito!" Koji called after him as they jogged to catch up.

"Where are we off to?" Tatsuo asked.

"We're finding James. Reo last saw him in the Main Block toilets, so we start by looking there."

And so the search party went on their way, beginning their mission to find their missing friend.

James had spent much of the past half-hour retching over one of the school toilets. After his meeting with the student council, he had immediately made his way to the lavatories. He hadn't had a panic attack for a long time since the incident. They were a rare occurrence for him now. Nevertheless, when he did get them, they were not pleasant, especially as he had a tendency to vomit uncontrollably. His primary objective had been to avoid refurnishing the school halls with the contents of his stomach. He now sat crouched over one of the toilets counting his breaths.

In. One. Two.

Out. One. Two.

This couldn't be happening. This had to be some sort of nightmare. The only reason he had come to this school was to escape Dogfighting. He had left England behind to give him an opportunity to forget the horrendous incident that plagued his mind daily. Every time the sport was mentioned the memory of that harrowing day reverberated painfully through his mind. James swore as he suppressed another retch.

All he wanted was to forget. He hated Dogfighting. What a stupid fucking sport. Why had he ever liked it? It was dangerous, violent and had very nearly cost him everything. It had ruined his life. Torn his friends away from him. Forced him halfway across the world in a futile effort to get away from its influence. Even now he couldn't escape it. He felt so utterly helpless.

"FUCKING STUPID!" Abruptly he cursed at the top of his voice, slamming his hand against the wall of the cubicle. The sound of the impact echoed around the sanitary, tiled walls of the room, progressively becoming weaker and weaker until it faded away entirely.

James slumped back against the door of the cubicle, pulling his knees up to his chest and resting his head on them. He felt involuntary tears begin to form in his eyes.

His Father was of an old-fashioned mentality and had always abhorred him crying. He had drilled it into him that it was a form of weakness; that English boys should always put on a stiff upper lip and soldier on. He hardly ever allowed himself to shed tears, but what was the point in holding back now? After all, his Father was over 6,000 miles away.

He began to quietly cry. Tears flowed in torrents down his face as he began to let it all out. All of that pent up rage, the pain, the unfairness of it, the effect of the trauma on his body and mind he now unleashed in the form of tears. He cried until his tear ducts were dry and his eyes were red. After what felt like an hour, he stopped.

Taking deep breaths, he made himself stand up. How long had he been here? He pulled out his phone.

15:46

He swore out loud. He had missed his entire History lesson, one of the few subjects he actually enjoyed. How was he going to explain this to his teacher? Excuses began to formulate in his mind ranging from illness to a failure to navigate the complex maze of Ooarai High School. To be fair, it was an enormous building. Slipping his phone back into his pocket, he turned to face the cubicle door. Feeling mildly rejuvenated after his crying session he calmed his shaking hands, unlocked the door and stepped outside.

He was immediately faced by a blonde haired boy with tear – stained cheeks and eyes tainted red.

Jesus, he looked awful.

James approached the mirror. Using the sinks below it; he began to wash his face.

Without warning, the door sprung open and three figures rushed in. He quickly recognised them.

"James?" Relief was visible on Koji's face as he caught sight of him. He strode over to him and pulled him into a bear hug.

"Thank god, I was fucking worried about you!" James felt his ribs being slowly crushed.

"Koji… too tight!" He croaked.

"Fuck's sake Koji let him go, you're killing the poor guy!" As the big lad released him, the smiling face of Kaito came into his view. Next to him stood Tatsuo with his arms crossed and what could be interpreted as a worried expression on his face.

"Where the hell have you been man? You've missed all of History." Koji was speaking again. He looked closer at James. "Wait…" His voice took on a more serious tone. "Have you been crying?"

"What… nah…" James trailed off, averting his face from Koji's view.

"Don't lie to me, your eyes are all red."

"James, what's happened? It's nothing serious is it?" Kaito appeared next to him.

"Ah, don't worry about it mate. It's just some stupid…" He was cut off by Tatsuo.

"You can tell us you know. We're your friends."

"Yeah, we look after each other." Koji added.

"Was it something the Student Council said to you?" Kaito looked inquisitively at him as he used the sink to stabilise himself. James realised he wasn't getting out of this room without having to explain everything to these three.

"The Student Council want me to take up Dogfighting." He attempted to speak flippantly.

"What?" Koji frowned in confusion. "Dogfighting? The one with the planes and…"

"Yes. The one with the planes."

"I thought Ooarai didn't have Dogfighting as an elective, same with that one with the Tanks." Tatsuo stated.

"Tankery. And, yeah, Ooarai don't have a team." There was silence for several seconds.

"Well… what's wrong with that?" Kaito began. "I've watched Dogfighting on TV before. Flying planes is pretty fucking cool, probably gets you loads of girls too." He and the other two chuckled light-heartedly; James found he could not.

"J, seriously, what's the problem? If I'm honest, I've always wanted to try out Dogfighting. We could all do it together. Imagine that. We could have our own squad. We'd be unbeatable!" Koji began to get very excited.

"It does sound pretty good." Tatsuo seemed to approve.

"Yeah. Let's do it J!" Koji affirmed. Kaito looked at James with a troubled expression.

"Koji. Stop. He doesn't want to." He turned back to the dismal visage of his friend. "James, what happened?" There was no point in trying to hide it now. Taking a deep breath, he began to explain.

"I come from a family who are pretty big into their aircraft. My father, my grandfather and so on all served in the Royal Air Force, and pretty much all of them were world class Dogfighters. Before I transferred to Ooarai I went to a school called St George's. It's one of the best Dogfighting schools in the world. Last year we made it to the finals of the International Championships representing the United Kingdom. I was in that team." James paused to take a breath and surveyed his three friends. Kaito and Koji were rapt. Even Tatsuo looked surprised. Kaito motioned for him to carry on.

"We were pitched against the Munich Academy. They're the best Dogfighting school in the world, they've been the international champions for seven years in a row. Their Commander is Reinhardt Schneider. He's the greatest schoolboy pilot the sport's ever seen." James realised he was digressing; he'd spent the last six months trying to forget everything he knew about Dogfighting. Now, everything was coming back to him. He may as well just get to the point. Clearing his throat he continued.

"During the finals… something happened. I… you see… I had… there was…" He began to stumble over his words.

"James." He looked up at Kaito who was watching him with a concerned expression. "Just take your time, ok?" He nodded and swallowed. This was the first time he had explained what had happened to anyone.

"I was performing an aerial manoeuvre when I collided with another aircraft." Images began to resurface from the depths of his subconscious. He could see vividly the moment he had collided with Schneider. He could practically feel the G-force as his Spitfire spun out of control. He remembered the moment before Schneider had bailed, the split-second in which they had eye contact, the loathing radiating from his eyes. The intricate scar formation running alongside his head began to throb with pain. Wincing ever so slightly, he carried on.

"The collision made us both enter a pretty much uncontrollable spin. In Dogfighting pilots rely entirely on ejector systems for safety. Whilst he managed to recover and bail out of his aircraft, I couldn't." He could see the expressions of the three boys darken as he went on.

"My ejector system failed completely, something that isn't supposed to be possible." In the aftermath of the incident, upon awaking from a medically induced coma, he had been told why his ejector mechanism had failed. During the collision, a section of the tail of Schneider's 109 had torn into the underbelly of the Spitfire, damaging the system to the point where it malfunctioned.

"I managed to partially recover from the spin and crash landed my aircraft on the English Channel. I was knocked unconscious during the landing. By the time I woke up my plane was already sinking." He steadied himself once again using the sink as support.

"I sunk nearly 300 feet. I was under the water for around a quarter of an hour before the rescue teams found me. By then I was completely fucked, no pulse, lungs full of water, shrapnel damage and a fractured skull. I was airlifted to hospital where I was placed in a medically induced coma. They resuscitated me nearly three weeks afterwards." James took a breath and looked up. All three boys looked appalled.

"I walked away from Dogfighting after that. I had to see a psychiatrist for a couple of months to help me cope with the…" He trailed off, his vision cast downwards. Once again focusing on his breathing, he continued.

"That was the reason I came to Ooarai in the first place. I knew I couldn't stay in England. I'd never be able to forget there. I couldn't transfer to America or Europe either, nearly everyone recognised me there too. Ooarai seemed like the best place. Isolated, no Dogfighting or Tankery teams, most of all, no-one who would know me. I thought I could leave what happened behind me, I wouldn't have to be constantly tortured by the memories of it every single fucking day. I could escape Dogfighting, you know, once and for all." James' breath hitched in his throat. Turning away from the trio in front of him, he leaned on the sink. He thought he had cried himself dry earlier, yet he now felt tears begin to form.

No.

He wouldn't cry, not in front of them. He couldn't show them how weak he was. They would think he was pathetic. Jesus Christ. Why the hell had he told them all of this? He'd kept it all bottled up inside him for over six months. Now, he was unloading all of it onto three people he had barely known for more than a day.

He was useless. Fucking useless. His once chance for a new start and he had gone and fucked it up. Now everyone would know who he was. Would these three even want to be friends with him after seeing him break like this? His father had been right, he was just so…

James' train of thought was cut off by the feeling of a hand on his with his shoulder. Slowly, he turned to see the face of Kaito. He looked at him sympathetically…

No. He wasn't looking at him with sympathy. It was something else.

Acceptance.

He looked as though he appreciated it, the pain, the trauma, the anger, the self-loathing. Instead of blind, ignorant sympathy, there was recognition and a desire to help. He looked over Kaito's shoulder at Koji and Tatsuo. Their expressions were empathetic, but simultaneously they were supportive.

"James." He looked back at Kaito who placed both hands on his shoulders. "I'm sorry about what happened. No one should have to experience what you did." He glanced at Koji and Tatsuo who looked back at him encouragingly.

"Listen, at Ooarai we judge people for the content of their character, not the events of their past."

"We think you're a great person J. That's why we took you under our wing." Koji said with a grin. Tatsuo rolled his eyes. So far these three had never failed to make him smile. Kaito spoke once more.

"If you don't want to do Dogfighting, you don't have to do Dogfighting."

"Yeah." Tatsuo spoke up. "It doesn't matter what the Student Council say."

"At the end of the day, it's your choice man." Koji added.

"We're on your side, whatever you choose." Kaito smiled.

James was silent, completely and utterly dumbfounded by the words of the three boys stood in front of him. Never had he been treated with such kindness, respect and decency in his entire life.

"Guys… you don't have to do this…"

"No, we do. We're your friends, we look out for each other, right?" Kaito reinforced. James suppressed a smile.

"Right."

"Just remember, you ever need to talk, we're here." He gestured to himself alongside Koji and Tatsuo.

"Cheers lads." James managed a smile. "Means a lot."

"It's alright, now come on, we have homeroom as our last lesson of the day. Let's try and actually turn up for that." Kaito winked at James before turning on his heels and walking towards the door. Koji and Tatsuo motioned for him to come with them.

Taking one last breath, James composed himself, and followed.

The four friends, having stopped by Room 109 in West Block to pick up their bags were making their way back to their Form Room in South Block. As they were already late for their lesson, they made no rush to get to their final period of the day.

The leisurely conversation they had on the way consisted mainly of Koji badgering James about his life back in England. Kaito and Tatsuo were clearly irritated at the interrogation occurring next to them, but James didn't mind. He appreciated how Koji took care to steer clear of anything related to Dogfighting.

"So you really went to an all boy's school?" He asked incredulously.

"Well… yeah." James admitted.

"What was that like? Did you still get girls? Actually, that's a good question, what are English girls like?"

"Oh my god. Koji. Shut up." Kaito lamented.

"What? I'm trying to expand my horizons!" Koji defended himself earnestly. Tatsuo scoffed.

"English Girls? I see you've raised your standards from last year Koji." Koji looked over at a very complacent Tatsuo in confusion. All of a sudden, he seemed to put two and two together, and a look of horror came over his face. Kaito burst out laughing.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Koji seemed to be struggling to mask his embarrassment.

"Oh, I'm sure you do big man!" Kaito slapped him on the back.

"Mr Ishikawa." Tatsuo spoke with mock formality. "Is the name… Sodoko familiar to you?" Koji's face darkened as Tatsuo spoke.

"We don't talk about that."

"Now this sounds interesting." James cut in, a grin on his face.

"Believe me, it is." Tatsuo said smugly.

"Nope." Koji put his hands over his ears. "Don't wanna hear it."

"It's fucking amazing." Kaito was in hysterics at the expense of his friend.

"The date was 28th November 2024." Tatsuo began to set the scene. "We were at a party…"

"Fuzakeru na Tatsuo!" Koji switched to his native dialect as he reached out and grabbed hold of Tatsuo. Despite his best efforts to evade him, Tatsuo could not escape the all encompassing bear hug of Koji Ishikawa. Regardless of the fact he was now trapped within Koji's vice like grip, Tatsuo continued.

"So Koji decided it would be a good idea…" He was speaking in between peals of laughter.

"Shut your mouth Tats." Koji barked.

"To get it on with a certain girl…" Tatsuo was interrupted as Koji put his hand over his mouth. He spotted a bin over by a set of lockers.

"Shut it or you're going in the trash."

"Sodoko!" Kaito wheezed, in absolute stitches.

"Koji was smooching Sodoko!" Tatsuo announced, having managed to remove his hand from his mouth.

"Right, that's it. You're going in." Koji declared, hoisting a hysterical Tatsuo over to the trash can. As he lifted him over the bin, Tatsuo managed to slip out of his grip, fleeing to safety behind James and Kaito.

"Sodoko!" Kaito and Tatsuo both jeered at Koji simultaneously.

"Look, we all make mistakes." Koji defended himself, trudging back over to the group.

"Who the hell is Sodoko?" James inquired.

"You haven't met her yet?" Tatsuo asked, incredulous.

"She's the President of the 'Public Morals Committee'." Kaito explained rather disdainfully. James spent a couple of seconds processing this. Suddenly, realisation came over his face.

"Is she like, very short with black hair?"

"Yeah." Kaito answered.

"Her name doesn't happen to be Midoriko or something?" He asked. Kaito and Tatsuo's faces lit up, whilst Koji groaned.

"Yes! Midoriko Sono!" Tatsuo burst out laughing.

"He's met her!" Kaito nudged a very surly Koji.

"Yay." He mumbled unenthusiastically.

"No way! She's the one that did my tour on induction day." James looked over at Koji. "And you…" He dissolved into laughter, the idea of Koji and "Sodoko" being too much for him to handle. Koji turned to Tatsuo.

"I want you to know that you're a terrible human being."

"Aw, don't worry Koji!" Kaito gave him a friendly nudge as they continued walking. "It's all in the past." Koji grumbled something obscene in reply.

"Yeah." James was still recovering from his fit of laughing. "I understand mate, I've made some questionable decisions in the past too."

"Please feel free to share them, maybe I can learn from your mistakes." Koji answered.

"Unfortunately for you my slightly overweight friend." Tatsuo began. "I think you're a lost cause."

"Oh I'm sorry Tats, I didn't realise you were the girls guru round these parts." Koji replied sarcastically. James smirked. He already felt so much better. He was so lucky he had found these three.

Having arrived five minutes late for Homeroom, the four friends made their way to their desks at the back of the classroom. Sitting down, Koji opened up his bag and proceeded to empty its contents out onto his desk.

"Jesus Christ, do you understand the concept of filing?" James gawped at the chaotic mass of paper stacked on his desk. Koji shrugged in reply.

"Nah, too much effort."

As he began to sift through the profusion of paper, a single sheet slipped out and careered downwards to the ground, settling at James' feet. Picking it up, he recognised it as the Mandatory Elective form. It had a number of different options including calligraphy, judo, aikido, flower arrangement, incense and so on. Two immediately caught his eye, namely because they were situated in the middle of the paper and written in brash bold lettering.

Sensha-do

Hikoki-sen

James did not struggle to recognise the Japanese terms for Tankery and Dogfighting. He forced the momentary feelings of dread from out of his mind. He had already established he would never be doing Dogfighting again. What was the point in acting like this everytime he caught wind of anything to do with it? He was in the process of handing the paper back to Koji when he noticed something. In the box adjoining the Dogfighting option, there was a large, black cross. His heart sank.

As Koji took the paper back off him, he noticed James' sudden change in demeanour.

"You alright J?" He instinctively glanced at the sheet of paper he had just been handed. It did not take long for him to connect the dots. He sprung into action, taking a pen out of his pocket and drawing a thick line through the cross. He observed the paper closely, looking for something in particular. He appeared to find it, and drew a cross next to the Judo option. He looked back up at James with a grin.

"You ever done Judo before man?"

"Koji…" James lowered his voice. "Honestly, you don't have to…"

"Of course I do." He quickly became serious. "Mandatory electives take up half your school life. What kind of friend would I be if I left you on your own doing something like ninja?" He stressed the final word with disgust.

"What's wrong with ninja?" James asked.

"Only weirdos do ninja." Tatsuo joined the conversation.

"Yeah, don't do ninja." Kaito advised.

"See what I mean." Koji gestured to the others as if to prove his point. James shook his head.

"Koji, look, I don't want you backing out of something you want to try just because of me. I would feel like shit if you did that. I would much rather you just do what you want to do. If you fancy Dogfighting, you should sign up for it, I reckon you'd like it." Koji looked down at the sheet and then back up at James, as if weighing up his options. After several seconds, he uncapped his pen and drew a second cross in the Judo category, reinforcing his decision. He sat back in his chair and looked back over at him.

"Sorry J, but you're doing Judo with me." James felt bewildered.

"I don't understand… You wanted to do Dogfighting, why are you changing your mind now?"

"Three reasons. One. You're not doing it."

"That's not a valid reason."

"Yes it is, you're my friend, it wouldn't be the same without you." Before James could reply, Koji carried on.

"Two, my parents would probably disown me." James frowned at him, confused.

"Koji's family have a long tradition in Judo." Kaito explained. "He's actually pretty good at it. He won a regional competition last year."

"But I hate it." Koji interjected. "The rules are so strict and it's so repetitive. It's just boring." He sighed. "Still, my parents are pretty adamant that I carry on the family tradition." He spoke of Judo with a noticeable lack of enthusiasm. "Anyways, reason number three is that… well… I kind of have a thing about heights." There was silence for a moment as everyone stared incredulously at Koji who sat twiddling his thumbs. Then, all four of them burst out laughing. James was about to make a retort when the announcement system crackled to life.

"Calling all Students. Convene in the Gym. I repeat, Convene in the gym." He recognised the voice as belonging to one of the Student Council Members. He turned to his friends.

"That's uhhh… Momo something?"

"Momo Kawashima." Kaito corrected him. "Or as we like to call her." He turned to Koji. "How would you say it in English?"

"Bitchface." Koji said matter-of-factly. James chuckled.

"Looks like we should make our way to the gym then." Tatsuo yawned stretching out in his seat. Standing up, they filed out of the room alongside their classmates and began to make their way to the Gym in Main Block.

Walking into the gym, James surveyed the enormous crowd of pupils. His eyes soon came to rest on a head of auburn hair. He made his way over to Miho and sat himself down next to her.

"What do you think this is all about then?" He whispered to the girl on his right. When this elicited no response, he turned to look at her.

"Miho?" He prompted. The girl started, abruptly turning to face him.

"Yeah?" Her voice cracked. Her eyes were slightly red.

"Hey, are you alright?" James examined her, concerned.

"Yeah. Fine." She nodded, put on an obviously false smile, and turned back to the front. Although she endeavoured to make herself appear relaxed, her eyes betrayed her. She looked as though she had been on the verge of crying. She hugged her legs to her chest tightly, making her look small and dejected.

Kaito came and sat down next to him, followed closely by Koji and Tatsuo.

"Fucking Student Council. They always do this." Kaito groaned. James didn't hear him, he was too busy looking at Miho.

"James?" Kaito gave him a friendly shove, getting his attention. "You good?"

"Yeah." He answered, not taking his eyes off Miho. Kaito followed his gaze.

"You thinking about her?" He gestured at Miho who was now conversing with Hana and Saori.

"Yeah." There appeared to be something wrong with her. Everything she did was lethargic, devoid of the usual cheerfulness that had accompanied her personality earlier in the day. Kaito suddenly elbowed him.

"What kinda things man?" He gave him a wink. It took James several seconds to realise what he was insinuating.

"Kaito. No. I know what you're thinking."

"What? She's nice! Nothing wrong with it." He grinned.

"Yeah, and I've hardly known her for longer than a day." Kaito rolled his eyes and mumbled something incoherent in Japanese before pulling out his phone. James turned back to Miho once more. She stared ahead at the empty stage, almost unblinkingly. He couldn't help but notice how vulnerable she looked. Despite not knowing what was wrong, he desperately wanted to make everything alright for her.

He looked more closely at her, no longer caring if he got caught staring.

There it was again. That feeling of familiarity. He had definitely seen this girl somewhere before. But where? He racked his brains, but to no avail.

Why? How on earth did he, James Wright, having lived in England his entire life, recognise her, Miho Nishizumi, who had been on the other side of the world to him? He thought over the name in his head.

Then, it hit him.

Nishizumi.

He silently swore in disbelief. How had he been so slow? He realised now that he knew that name all too well. In fact, he had heard it many times before. This was down to one particular reason. There was another person who also possessed that surname.

Maho Nishizumi.

The mere action of saying her name in his head actually sent shivers down his spine. Jesus Christ. He didn't even do Tankery and that name still unnerved him.

She was the stuff of legend in schools all round the world, universally hailed as one of the best Tank Commanders the sport had ever seen. James had been around enough girls from schools such as St Gloriana's, Queensland, Saunders, BC Freedom… he could go on and on. All he knew was that that name struck fear into the hearts of even the most skillful Tank Commanders.

Maho Nishizumi.

The Overall Commander of the Black Forest Peak Girls' Academy.

James was now certain of where he knew Miho from. He remembered very well that bitterly cold day in the February of last year. It had taken place in Southern Poland, on the outskirts of Krakow. That had been the location of the School's Tankery International Championships Final.

He had gone along with Connor and his family who had somehow obtained tickets to watch the match. It had been the renowned Black Forest Peak Girls' Academy versus the infamous Pravda, a Russian school known for its enormous arsenal and brutal tactics. Despite not sympathising with either of the teams, he had ended up rooting for Pravda, as they had the status of the underdog.

He remembered the match as being one of the most intense things he had ever witnessed. The ferocious battle culminated in one of the biggest upsets in the history of Tankery. Pravda beat the Black Forest Peak Academy.

This had been down to an incident that had occurred in the closing stages of the match. Whilst navigating a particularly narrow pass overhanging the tumultuous Vistula River, a section of the path had come loose causing one of the Black Forest Peak's Panzerkampfwagen IIIs to career downwards into the dark, unforgiving waters below, its crew all still trapped inside.

James had been shocked to see such an enormous machine sucked mercilessly under the frothing rapids. He was even more shocked when he saw the Commander of the Black Forest Peak's Flag Tank, a Tiger I, scramble out of her vehicle and begin running down the steep incline in order to rescue her drowning teammates. He had not been able to see what happened next, all he knew was that the Black Forest Peak's Flag Tank had been decimated by a shot from the powerful 122mm main gun of one of Pravda's IS-2s.

Pravda were victorious. There had been an uproar. The Black Forest Peak Academy had won the International Tankery Championships for the past nine years running. They were denied a record ten consecutive victories, all because the Commander of their Flag Tank had deserted her vehicle in order to help her teammates.

The concept that this very person was sitting directly next to him was almost implausible to James. Yet he knew it to be true.

"Miho." He spoke. As if awoken from a trance once again, she turned to him, a neutral expression on her face.

How the hell was he going to ask her this? It was obviously a sensitive subject for her.

"I was just wondering… you know… were you… do you have a…"

James was interrupted by an authoritative voice that boomed throughout the gym. Standing on a raised platform at the very front of the room were the five members of the Student Council. The voice of Momo Kawashima speaking in her native dialect reverberated off the walls of the room, silencing all. Eventually, she finished her monologue, turning on her heels she led the rest of the student council to the side of the stage where they stood to attention.

James turned back to Miho in an attempt to regain her attention, but her eyes were dead set on the stage in front of her. The room darkened as a large projector screen was illuminated. Kaito leaned over to him.

"Bitchface is now going to show us a nice briefing on our mandatory electives." James attempted to smile at Kaito's sarcastic tones.

Kanji letters appeared on the screen. As usual, he was completely unable to decipher their meaning. Kaito proceeded to give him a running commentary.

"That says 'Introduction to Sensha-Do'." He whispered.

James recognised the traditional Japanese term for Tankery. Koji appeared to notice this too.

"Sensha-Do. That's the one with the tanks isn't it?" James nodded. A female voiceover in Japanese emanated from the speakers situated around the gym. Photos of various Tanks appeared on the screen. James recognised the celebrated British Mark IV, a World War One era tank as one of them

"She's talking about Tankery being a part of Japanese culture." Kaito was translating for him once more. "She says it's enjoyed by girls from many nations all around the world." This was evidently a very old introduction video. Nowadays, whilst Tankery was still a girls dominated sport, boys teams were very common.

The screen depicted a number of girls in uniform lined up. The video jumped to five girls stood in front of what looked like a variant of the Panzer III. Kaito was talking again.

"Apparently it's a strong yet delicate art that makes girls and women polite, modest… yeah, you get the idea." He didn't sound convinced.

"This sounds like bullshit." Tatsuo murmured, his frown becoming more prominent as the video went on.

"The Tanks are cool." Koji remarked. James grunted in acknowledgement. Whilst he appreciated the incredible engineering and skill it required to operate a tank, he didn't really buy into any of the ideas that Tankery somehow made you a better person, the same went for Dogfighting. In many people, these sports brought out the worst in them.

The Panzer III displayed on the screen came to abrupt stop. All of a sudden, an enormous roar resonated around the hall as the main gun was fired. This caused a cacophony of shocked murmurs and awe-struck whispers. James glanced to his right. Hana and Saori appeared entranced by the screen in front of them. Miho on the other hand, was trying to ignore it. Hugging her legs up to her chest, she rested her head on her knees. He could see her eyes were squeezed shut.

He couldn't help but sympathise with her. If he was right about who she was, then their situations were admittedly similar. He desperately wanted to comfort her. To shuffle over and wrap his arms around her, tell her that everything would be alright, make her feel safe once more. But that would be inappropriate. He restrained himself.

As he looked back up, the induction video was coming to a close. The hall was filled with excited murmurs as it finished. James couldn't deny, whilst Tankery as a sport had never appealed to him, driving a Tank would be a pretty cool experience, he could definitely see why it was so popular.

The whispers were suddenly hushed as the projector whirred up once more. On the screen, one word.

"Dogfighting."

James let out a weary sigh, letting his head rest in his hands. Even now, he just couldn't escape it.

The video was evidently made much more recently in comparison to the Tankery induction. The voiceover was in English and the picture quality was much better. In fact, James was pretty sure he had seen this before somewhere on YouTube.

The voiceover was done by Alfred Wiley, a professional Dogfighter who had captained the United States team to victory in the 2021 Dogfighting World Cup. Alfred Wiley was one of James' heroes; well, he had been. It had become extremely difficult for him to look upon any aspect of Dogfighting favourably after the incident. The video began with a P-51 Mustang flying next to a Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor. James couldn't help but appreciate the stark contrast between the WW2 era single engine propeller aircraft and the sleek, futuristic frame of the twin jet engine fighter currently used by the USAF. Both were marvellous feats of human engineering. The F-22 was particularly admired. It was the aircraft flown by Alfred Wiley himself in the World Cup Final in Russia where he had successfully shot down four German Eurofighter Typhoons.

The video continued as the smooth American drawl of Alfred Wiley emanated from the speakers.

"Dogfighting. The greatest sport the world has ever known." James clenched his jaw. He looked to his left. Kaito, Koji and Tatsuo were all completely absorbed in what was unfolding in front of them. He glanced over his shoulder, catching sight of Reo. His face, illuminated by the screen, bore a wide-eyed expression of wonder. He turned back to the front. In his peripheral vision he could see Miho looking at him out of the corner of her eye. He concentrated on the screen.

Had she experienced a similar epiphany to him? Did she now realise who he was?

The induction video, obviously aimed towards a younger, American audience, depicted a dogfight between a Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero and an American Vought F4U Corsair, which had been one of James' favourite aircraft. He had had the opportunity to fly one once whilst in America visiting his friend Jason Styles. It was one of the fastest aircraft he had ever flown, with a top speed of over 720 kilometres per hour. Alfred was speaking again.

"Fast, Intense, Exhilarating. Dogfighting truly is an art which requires skill, precision and above all, determination." As he spoke the video cut to various different aircraft. For a moment, the screen was graced by a Supermarine Spitfire. James sharply inhaled as he observed the beautiful aircraft soaring majestically through the air.

Alfred Wiley was speaking again, but he had tuned out. He could almost feel the raw power of sitting in the seat of a Spitfire, that terrifying yet invigorating feeling of riding some sort of beast. His mind cast itself back into the cockpit. He could see vividly his gloved hands pulling down on the trigger, he could hear the roar of the Browning machine guns as crimson fire exploded from their muzzles. He could feel the savage effects of the g-force when he would roll the plane or suddenly pull out of a dive. He could recall the awe inspired by the beauty of the sprawling skies when cruising aimlessly at 20,000 feet.

James suddenly felt a pang of regret.

As soon as it was there, it was gone. The video cut to a group of boys around his age wearing Flight suits, their masks hanging casually off of their helmets. They looked like they were from a mix of schools, James recognised the Nevada State High symbol on one of them.

"Just remember, if you put your mind to it, anybody can be a pilot. Try Dogfighting today for the experience of a lifetime. I'm Alfred Wiley, thank you for listening."

The video finished displaying a montage of Dogfights between various different aircraft accompanied by a cinematic orchestral piece. It made for quite an impressive spectacle, to the extent that when the projector was shut off, the excited murmurs from before rose to delighted exclamations, especially from the male students.

The noise died down once again as Momo strode back to centre-stage, followed by the Student Council members. She spoke rapidly in Japanese. Suddenly, she switched languages and began to speak in English.

"For any new Students, you may not know, but a few years ago it was announced that the final of the 2025 Joint Tankery and Dogfighting School's World Championships would be held in Japan." James couldn't but feel as though this was directed at him. As Momo finished speaking Touma took over.

"As such, the Ministry of Culture has requested that all schools strengthen their Tankery and Dogfighting teams to allow for Japan to have the greatest opportunity possible to be represented at the Finals." Suddenly Anzu took over.

"So, we've decided to end our school's current hiatus of Tankery and Dogfighting. If you choose it as your elective you'll get a bunch of cool benefits. Vice President?" She turned to Yuzu who began to read off a number of perks given to those who chose Tankery or Dogfighting as their Mandatory Elective.

"Those who perform well in the course will receive 100 meal tickets, 200 free passes if you're late, and finally three times the credit you'd receive in another class."

"Doesn't this seem a bit like bribery?" James whispered to Kaito.

"Yeah…" He didn't really seem to be listening, staring straight ahead at the stage. Switching back to Japanese, the Student Council began to talk once more. James began to zone out. He suddenly realised how tired he was. He had hardly slept at all last night. Resting his head on his hands, he closed his eyes.

James was awoken by a hand gently shaking his shoulder.

"James, wake up." He started.

"Yeah?" He scrambled to his feet.

"Briefing is over. Come on, you want to walk home together? Hana and Saori said they know some good places to get food." Miho gave him a warm smile.

"Food sounds great." He turned to look for his three friends, but they were nowhere to be found.

"Kaito, Koji and Tatsuo are talking over there by the way." Miho pointed at a group of five people conversing. "Seems like they're all crazy about Tankery and Dogfighting." James caught onto the miserable undertones in her voice.

"Oh. Well… That's pretty cool." He put on his best impartial voice. Miho looked up at him apprehensively.

"James, can I ask you something?" Oh God. She knew. Contrary to his actions earlier, he really did not want to have this conversation now. Fortunately, he was saved by Koji.

"Hey J, Miho! Come on, we're getting food at Atari-Ya." Silently thanking him, James turned back to Miho.

"Come on then, I'm starving."

Atari-Ya appeared to be some sort of Japanese Fast-Food chain, dealing mostly in Sushi. James sat next to Koji who was on his third dish already. Without warning, Saori exploded with excitement.

"You know what. I think I'm in!" The whole table turned to her in bemusement.

"In what?" Tatsuo asked.

"Tankery!" There were various murmurs of acknowledgment around the table as Saori continued. "I read in a magazine that modern guys like girls that are strong and dependable, and if Tankery is popular, it'll make you popular too!"

"I can second that." Koji added, mouth full of sushi.

"Yeah, he needs someone to make him food 24/7." Tatsuo remarked.

"You should take it too Miho. Your family does it right?" Saori gestured at Miho with her chopsticks. This confirmed James' preconceptions about her.

"Uh… I don't know…"

"Wait, Miho, you do Tankery?" Kaito asked, surprised.

"Not really. Not anymore." The girl answered, looking very interested in her glass of water.

"That's so cool! You should totally do it." Kaito reiterated Saori's point.

"Uh… yeah." Hana appeared to recognise that Miho was uncomfortable.

"I understand." She began, neatly putting her chopsticks down. "It's difficult isn't it? It may not seem like it but I'm in a similar situation. My family's history is in flower arrangement." James wondered if Miho had told Hana and Saori about her experiences like he had with his friends. It appeared as though they knew about her family's affiliation with Tankery, but not much more beyond that.

"Oh, really?" Miho asked, very glad to change the subject.

"But Tankery does seem rather wonderful don't you think?"

"Huh?" Miho looked bewildered at this sudden change of temperament on the part of Hana.

"The truth is, I've always wanted to do something that keeps me a little more active than flower arranging." She took a deep breath. "I'm going to do Tankery too, I've decided." Miho gasped, seemingly astonished by Hana's choice.

"What?"

"You should do it with us Miho. Teach us everything you know." She bowed politely to Miho. Saori leaned over and put her arms around her.

"If you take it, I bet you'll be able to make it to the top of the class in Maths no problem!" The ginger-haired girl suddenly appeared to have an idea.

"Hey!" She turned to the boys seated around the table. "You guys should totally do Dogfighting!" Kaito, Koji and Tatsuo shifted uncomfortably in their seats, casting glances over at James, who was managing to maintain an expression of indifference.

"I mean the World Championships is Joint Tankery and Dogfighting, so we'll all be together!" Saori looked like she was about to explode with excitement.

"Yeah… Well…" Kaito began, looking warily at James. "I mean, Koji has a… really bad fear of heights."

"Yes. It's awful." Tatsuo followed.

"Come on guys, it's not that bad!" Koji replied indignantly. "What I said earlier was…" Kaito gave Koji a dead-set look, using his eyes to gesture to James. He caught on.

"I mean… yeah, my fear of heights, awful, can't do anything… no way. Not for me." He laughed nervously.

"Yeah, and it wouldn't be fair if we all did it and he didn't. So we're going to do Judo." Kaito concluded. Saori looked disappointed.

"Oh… well I guess that's ok."

James felt terrible. He was certain that his friends had become captivated with the idea of Dogfighting, and that they wanted to pursue it.

In his mind, the only thing standing in the way of them and Dogfighting was him. He was depriving them of that experience, just because of some stupid accident he had had.

He was just thoughtless. He didn't deserve them. They hadn't even known him for longer than a day and yet all three of them, Kaito, Koji and Tatsuo were willing to cast off the opportunity to Dogfight so that they could be with him.

He was so selfish.

The sun was setting by the time they had said their goodbyes and parted ways. James and Miho were walking by the lamppost where they had met that very morning. So far, they had walked in silence, neither of them daring to speak. James was desperately trying to find a way of phrasing his situation to her. His train of thought was unceremoniously broken as the girl with the auburn hair stopped in her tracks. He halted and turned to look at her. The street was almost deserted.

"Miho? What's wrong?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" She looked at him unhappily. James didn't answer. "I know who you are." He looked down at his feet, unable to reply.

"James." She strode over to him until their faces were mere inches apart, forcing him to look at her. Her gaze was unnervingly intense. That was the Nishizumi in her.

"Why are you lying to everyone?" She pressed on.

"I'm not." He grunted in reply.

"Then why are you lying to me?" She gestured to herself as she spoke. Once again, he didn't reply. "You were so genuine and nice to me this morning. I thought I'd found a friend. Now I find out you were lying the whole time?" Her bottom lip quivered ever so slightly.

"Miho… please, you don't understand…"

"You think I don't understand?" All of a sudden, she looked furious. "You think I don't understand? Why do you assume you know how I feel? You don't know anything about me."

"Oh, is that right? You honestly think I'm that stupid." James felt himself becoming irritated with this girl now. "So am I wrong in saying that you're Miho Nishizumi, sister of Maho Nishizumi? Am I wrong in saying that you went to the fucking Black Forest Peak Academy? Is that incorrect information Miho?" James spoke through gritted teeth. "You accuse me of lying? Not only are you one of those German scumbags, you're a hypocrite too."

"I left Black Forest Peak. I'm not one of them, I was never one of them." She shook her head in exasperation. "You think you know me James. You think you know what I've been through… you have no idea."

"Hold on. You think you've had it bad?!" He burst out in sarcastic laughter. "You don't have a fucking clue mate. Why do you think I travelled halfway around the world to a school where I can't even speak the bloody language? Because I wanted to experience the culture?" He spoke mockingly.

"No. You came here because you're scared." The smile faded from James' face.

"What?"

"You left St George's for the same reason I left Black Forest Peak. You're running away from something…" She paused, staring searchingly into his eyes. Her light brown orbs shimmered in the low-light, as if speaking to him with a voice of their own. He fought to stop his lips from trembling.

"James, I know how hard it is. What happened in the final against Pravda…" He could see how hard she was trying in order to keep her composure. She swallowed and continued. "I was disgraced. My friends, my mother, my sister, everyone. I brought shame upon the Nishizumi name." For a second, Miho broke eye contact, looking sadly at a point over his shoulder. Her eyes sparkled with a mournful beauty. She suddenly seemed to remember what she was doing.

"Look. I came here for the same reason as you. To escape. You don't have to hide it from me James. It seems like we have a lot in common." She smiled sadly. He did not. "I understand what you're feeling. I know how much it hurts." She looked him dead in the eye. "James… Let me help you."

He couldn't bear it. It was all coming back, the scars inside his mind were fresh and oozing with painful memories.

He knew she was right. He was running away, desperately attempting to forget. He had woken up everyday since the incident and told himself it would all be fine. But he lied to himself, just like he lied to everyone else. It wasn't fine. He couldn't go a day without reminiscing some aspect of that appalling experience. Now, he had finally found someone who had experienced something similar. Someone who understood the pain, the anger, the helplessness, all of it.

Yet for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to let her help him.

Miho was strong. A lot stronger than him. She had the mental resilience to recognise what troubled her. She knew what she was running away from. She was aware that her relationship with her mother had deteriorated to the point of non-existence. Miho was not afraid to openly acknowledge her pain.

James was. He knew he was trying to get away from Dogfighting. He knew that the experience of the Final was eating away at him daily, slowly but surely eroding his mental stability. Despite this, he consistently tried to convince himself otherwise. Opening up to Kaito, Koji and Tatsuo earlier in the day had been one of the hardest things he'd ever done. He didn't know if he could do it again, even if it was with Miho. In the heat of the moment, he spoke.

"No."

"What?"

"No." He looked down at her resentfully. "I told you, you don't understand. You think our experiences are comparable? Give me a break." Miho looked taken aback.

"James, I…"

"Yeah, I get it. You lost the final for your school, I was there, I saw it. How awful Miho. How terrible, you lost a Tankery match. What a traumatic experience." His voice was thick with sarcasm. "Unbelievable." He whispered under his breath as he turned away and began to walk off.

"Did you even listen to anything I just said?" Miho called after him. Stopping in his tracks, he turned back to her.

"Yes I did. Look, I'm very sorry about what happened to you Miho, but the fact is what happened to me in that final was ten times more fucked. The last thing I need is you thinking you understand everything." She appeared shocked.

"How can you say…" Suddenly, he exploded with anger.

"Because I nearly fucking died!" She winced. "When they found me trapped in that fucking cockpit three hundred feet underwater my heart had actually stopped. And you know what?" She could see he was on the verge of tears. He lowered his voice. "It eats away at me, everything that happened in that match, it plagues my mind every single fucking day and night. So you know what Miho? Why don't you just accept that you will never understand what I went through and mind your own fucking business."

She stared at him, crestfallen. After a long silence, she spoke.

"I guess I was wrong." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "You're just like all the others, aren't you? You don't care about anyone but yourself." She looked up at him spitefully. "People like you are the reason I came here."

"Well I guess it's all my fault then." James began to turn away, but not before he insulted her one last time. "After all, I should have known better. Why did I think I could be friends with a Nishizumi?" He spat the surname as if it was dirt in his mouth.

It was dark as he walked off.

The light upon the lamppost flickered into life, casting a soft orange glow on everything that dwelt beneath. The street was silent as the tendrils of lamplight caressed the auburn hair that had fallen across her face.

And so she stood.

Utterly alone.

Author's Note:

Thank you so much to everyone who have shown their support to this story so far. I very much enjoy writing these chapters and am excited to get into the good stuff which is fast approaching. I would really like to hear any criticisms or suggestions that you guys have, so reviews would be very much appreciated! Once again, thank you.

M