Chapter 2

I'm not sure what annoys me more. Miho, or how...how...

Blowing out an annoyed sigh, Erika scowled at the girls all around her. A truly fierce scowl that had all cowering before her! Or, perhaps, just trying to get away from the angry looking girl with silver hair. You know, one or the other. Not that it really mattered anyway. She just was showing her annoyance with the situation.

Kuromorimine this was not.

Not one of the girls around her acted remotely like she expected. They were all so...gossipy and cheerful. Not that her old school wasn't like that, but to this extent...gah. It didn't help that the person she expected to be like that was, well, not acting like that. Miho had been nothing but quiet.

"So, Miho," Erika turned her head, looking down on the girl clinging close to her side. If she were any closer, they'd be walking into the school as one person. "Where is the student council anyway?"

"Um...I think they're..." Miho seemed unwilling to point it out. If she even did know.

Erika could only shake her head in response, "Right. I'll just find my own way there."

"Itsumi-san! Wait!"

Miho's voice faded somewhat, as the taller girl broke away and started marching through the halls of Ooarai's main school building. She had settled on being more annoyed at the school than Miho. It was just wrong to see the girl, who Erika had always seen as overly cheerful, so depressed and vulnerable and quiet. And...so unlike Miho Nishizumi.

After dragging the reason out of her the previous night, Erika had a bone to pick with this school's student council.

How dare they try and force her to do something she doesn't want to do!

Of course...it completely failed to register on the steaming teen, as she nearly ran over a pair of girls waving at Miho, that she did the exact same thing the previous night!

Erika was too angry to really care, or notice that the two girls- Saori and Hana, from Miho's greeting -began to chase after her. Her steel-grey eyes were entirely focused on the signs above her head, slowly guiding her to the council room. She was mentally going over exactly what she was going to say to those girls every step of the way. Try and force Miho into something?

"Over my dead body."

It didn't even occur to her to question when she became so protective of the girl who had saved her life.

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When she finally tracked down the student council, Erika found herself staring down- quite literally -at an unassuming looking girl. A redhead who looked fresh out of middle school, not someone in charge of a school ship. A girl with a monocle and a scowl that she probably thought worked miracles.

Erika rated it a two compared to her own.

And an apologetic girl with more chest than spine. This was the council that had Miho poking her head around the taller ex-Kuromorimine student's shoulder? That had two of Miho's, evidently new, friends holding the nervous girl's hands? This?

She couldn't help it. Erika laughed.

"This is the Student Council?" She turned to look at Miho, raising a single eyebrow in a mix of derision and plain amusement. "You know, Miho, you made them sound a lot scarier than they are. This is nothing to The Commander."

Miho squeaked, "But Onee-"

Tuning her fri...comrade...out, Erika turned back to the council. "So, you're the ones who tried to force Miho into Sensha-do?"

"Yeah." The little redhead was the first to reply, showing absolutely no real emotion as she lounged out in an office chair. She practically dripped disinterest, dropping a dried potato into her mouth. "What of it? We need her on the team."

"I understand this school hasn't bothered with tanks in years," Erika's own voice was slathered in condescension. Two could play at that game, the teen giving a little shrug of her shoulders as an amused smirk crossed her lips. "But you must be really desperate to try and force a girl onto the team. Can't find anyone else, eh?"

The redhead just waved a hand, as monocle-girl stepped up to bat. "Nishizumi is the only experienced tanker at this school. She has to join the team. There isn't any other choice."

"The school is doomed without her!" That was the third girl, tears in her eyes.

Erika rolled her eyes, "First: if anyone is going to get Miho in a tank, its me. Second: If you need an experienced tanker that badly, just have me do it. I'm every bit as good as she is."

There was silence after that. Miho's friends stared at Erika. The Council stared at Erika. Miho just blushed bright red. And Erika felt her temper begin to flare up.

"What? Did you not hear what I-"

"Who are you again?"

That question came from the redhead, who was simply staring at Erika with an extreme lack of interest. Her dull eyes seemed to rove over the girl, without a hint of recognition.

It had Erika twitching, even as Miho slowly backed away from her.

"Miho? What are you doing?" A voice asked behind Erika.

A softer voice joined with its own question, "Is something wrong?"

Whatever Miho said was lost, as Erika directed the full force of her glare at the student council. Was this some kind of joke? "My name is Erika Itsumi. I was Miho's second in command at Kuromorimine. You won't find someone better than me!"

"Never heard of ya." Redhead actually smirked at her. "Now, if you don't want to get expelled, you should stop getting in the way. Nishizumi needs to join the team."

"Expell..." It took everything Erika had to stay in place. She practically vibrated on the spot. "Are you threatening me?"

"We don't make threats." Now the girl with the monocle was smiling grimly. "The president is serious."

Hands clenching in the sheer fabric of her skirt, Erika felt her legendary temper bubbling fully to the surface. If they were serious, she could be serious too. Her grey eyes narrowed to sharp flint, as the girl began to open her mouth to fire back at the council. Damn the consequences. They thought they could just threaten her? Who did they-

"Itsumi-san..." Miho's soft voice whispered. Her small hand grabbing Erika's arm, forcing her attention away from the council.

"Miho?"

The shorter girl shook her head, a sad smile on her face. Determination in her eyes.

Erika knew that look. She saw it rarely, but when Miho looked determined...well. She almost lived up to her sister. And it always served to defuse Erika's temper, since she knew the situation would be solved. Sometimes. Okay, every once in a while.

Still.

Miho stepped forward to look at the Student Council, her back squared as tightly as the girl could manage. She took a deep breath, her face flushed pink, before she said, "I'll take up Sensha-do!"

The council wore triumphant smiles. Miho's friends stared at her like she'd grown a second head. And Erika just laughed softly under her breath. She knew Miho couldn't stay away.

Now if only it hadn't required dealing with people she was starting to loathe.

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"Soooo, you went to Miho's old school?"

Erika nodded her head, idly spinning a spoon in her soup. After dealing with the council, she had followed Miho and her friends around until lunch. A lunch they were taking outside, nary a girl in sight beyond their little group. The sunlight beating down on her was relaxing in a way, after the stuffy council room. Plus it left some shadows from the building behind them, for some shade.

It didn't do much to hide the curious look directed at her by the girl named Saori, though.

"Yes. Miho and I were at Kuromorimine since Middle School," Erika dropped her spoon and raised a questioning eyebrow. "She didn't tell you?"

Miho flushed beside Erika, and whispered a soft, "I told them I came here alone..."

Technically she wasn't lying. I came here after her. Still, was she that desperate to forget everything?

Filling a dull pang of annoyance at the girls at the old school, even at The Commander, Erika sighed heavily. "You did, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have told them about me...Kameradin."

As Miho shrunk into herself again, the silver-haired girl focused her attention on the girl's new friends. Saori was easy to peg as a cheerful girl who probably lied a bit about her adventures with men. Hana was...more difficult. On the surface, she was just any other pampered society girl. All poise and grace that would fall apart the moment anything happened.

Erika knew the type.

On the other hand, and this applied to Saori too, they stood up for Miho. Erika had a feeling they would have done the same thing she did back in that room, if she hadn't been there. That was enough for her to give them the benefit of the doubt. For now, at least.

"Since it's going to come up, have either of you ever been in a tank?" Erika already knew the answer, of course.

"Nope!" Saori practically chirped.

"Unfortunately, no," Hana was softer and more apologetic. She brushed a bit of hair from her face, and smiled at Erika. "Though I hope to learn how with this elective. It seems so...exciting."

That's one way to put it...

Grimacing slightly, Erika nodded. "Amateurs then. Well, we have to start somewhere I guess." It took everything she had to not sound condescending or obviously look down on the girls. Ooarai wasn't Kuromorimine, she couldn't treat them like it was. "Do you know what tanks the school has at least?"

Neither of them needed to say anything, with the expressions they were giving her.

"Ooarai hasn't had tanks for years," Miho spoke up, her voice a little stronger now. Perhaps because Erika was clearly restraining herself for her sake. "That's why I came here, remember?"

"I know that!"

Or, rather, she had known that in advance. But it hadn't really hit Erika before now. Well, she wasn't going to be able to command these girls. Even if they scrounged up enough tanks- and she had one herself arriving soon, thankfully -they couldn't rely on the Nishizumi Style. Miho was forbidden, and Erika couldn't make it work with cast-offs.

Not even she was that arrogant, thank you very much.

"Itsumi-san...back there..." Miho seemed to not care about that though. Her eyes were shining as she looked at her old friend, "No one ever stood up for me like that. Onee-chan and everyone else just expected me to do what they wanted."

"I doubt The Commander did," Erika rolled her eyes. But she didn't snipe or snap at the girl by her side.

"You have no idea." It was a joke, a weak one, but a joke nonetheless. Miho's voice was stronger than it had been since Erika had arrived at this school. "Thank you...Itsumi-san."

Erika was going to reply, when Saori stuck her head in. Her hand patted Miho on the back, while she grinned at the taller girl. "Yeah, thanks for that back there! I can't believe the Student Council was so harsh on Miho. Who do they think they are?"

"Saori-san, please..." Hana seemed more resigned than surprised. Her smile was real though. "Don't get so close to Itsumi-san like that." Holding to her own words, the elegant girl got to her feet and bowed slightly in Erika's direction. Her long hair may have covered her face a bit, but the smile she wore carried through anyway. "Still, thank you for your help. Miho is a good friend, and I hated seeing her sad like that. You are a very good friend to her, coming all this way, Itsumi-san."

It was strange. Erika couldn't help a faint blush crossing her own cheeks now. No one had ever really treated her like this before. Not that she went out of her way to be a good friend, but still! It was different!

"I-"

Luckily, she was saved from responding by Miho. By her comrade grabbing her hand, and smiling up at her. "Thank you for coming back for me, Itsumi-san. It really means a lot to me!"

Erika didn't know how to respond to that other than to grumble and turn her head, to hide the blush gracing her face.

I was going to get to the actual tanks this chapter. But this seemed like as good a place as any to end it, short or not. And I am trying to focus less on word count these days, and more on letting the chapters flow. However long they end up being.

Hopefully that works well enough.