Dein Weg ist Mein Weg

Chapter 27: The Return

"Maporin! You're alive! And you're back!"

"Hey, get off me! Of course I'm alive. And stop calling me that! My name's Maho, nothing else."

A feeling of calm entered Ami's heart as she neared the garage and heard Maho's annoyed arguing with Miss Takebe. After the two weeks of absence from the team's training sessions, though they hadn't been much more than lectures that the Nishizumi-heiress could probably recite from memory, she had feared that Maho wasn't going to return to the team. Which would have been a damn shame. Through her upbringing and prior experience at Kuromorimine, Maho was easily the most skilled and experienced tanker on the team, and even if she didn't seem able to see it herself, she was most certainly the one most suited to command.

"Miss Nishizumi," Ami said with a smile as she arrived at the gathered team. "How good to see you again."

"Captain Chono," Maho answered with a nod, wriggling free of Takebe's clinging grasp. There was something different about her, even if Ami couldn't quite put her finger on it. Maho's tone was as dour and serious as always, but there was a hint of something else there as well. A conviction, a confidence, a burning passion. Ami didn't know what it was, but it was clear enough in Maho's eyes that it couldn't be argued with.

"I see you've applied some of your other talents." she glanced over at the Panzer IV, making note of the incredibly well-drawn phoenix painted on the side of the turret. It wasn't difficult to recognize Maho's handiwork, even if the detailed and realistic style did clash somewhat with the more cartoonishly drawn symbols on the team's other tanks. "Nicely done, I like it."

"Thank you, Captain."

Ami nodded once more to Maho, before clapping her hands together and calling out to the gathered members of the team. "Alright, everyone! I know it's been two long weeks of waiting for you while the tanks were being repaired, and that you're all excited to get to work with practice. So let's not dilly-dally any more than we have to. To your tanks, please, and we'll begin out on the range in ten minutes."

The hustle and bustle of activity quickly took the spot of the silent standstill that had up until now grasped the garage, as the team dispersed and headed towards their respective tanks. All except two. Azusa and Maho remained in place for a few seconds, a single unbreaking glare shared between them across the yard, until Azusa finally turned towards the M3 Lee and walked away, her hands having balled into fists.

"Well then, Maho. Shall we get going to the observation tower?" Ami asked from behind her, even as Maho let her scowl follow Azusa's path into the garage. "Maho? Everything alright?"

"Yeah," Maho muttered as she turned around to face the advisor. "Everything's just peachy."

Ami didn't believe her, but she chose not to say anything. "So. Shall we get going?" she asked again, nodding towards the observation tower.

Maho paused for a moment'and looked down at the ground, remaining still and silent as she stared at her open palm. "No..." she said quietly as she closed her hand around nothing. "You go. I'll be of more use out on the field."

Ami gave Maho another look, but in the end just nodded and began making her way to the observation tower. Maho, for her part, turned towards the Panzer IV, and steadied her breathing as she stepped over towards it. She had done this procedure more times than she could count during the past week, but it was still a struggle.

Even as she reached out her hand towards the armored beast for what must at least have been the hundredth time in not even a tenth of the number of days, she felt the invisible wall trying to push her away, and even when she had broken through and grabbed hold to pull herself up and on top of the tank, the phantoms playing games in the shadows of her mind did their best to dissuade her.