The Tigers of Chi-Ha-Tan ReRise Volume 4: The Scars of a Warriors Past

Ideals Are Peaceful, History Is Violent

The night and clouldless sky hung over the school carrier Akagi, the residents of the carrier mostly resting in their beds as another beautiful day out on the sea was over. The only ones out on the streets or working at this hour were the police and the Akagi ship maintenance crews, working tiresslely to keep everything aboard running a peak efficiency, their work mostly never seen from its residents, yet was always greeted warmly by them with warm meals and snacks as a small thank you forr thier labor and service.

While their hard work was going unseen, another worker was having their work go unnoticed, though their work was not on keeping something complex as the carrier itself running smoothly. Instead, they were working on how to keep their Sensha-do team running effectively, even as all of their companions were resting in their dorms, this young lady would continue her work to make sure the flame of their dream for the top kept burning brightly.

A soft yawn escape Nishi's lips, while at the same time leaning back against the office chair to give her back a much-needed stretch. Next, she raise her arms above her head, crossing them over to give them a much-needed stretch as well from the tiring work set before her. As Nishi's yawn came to an end, she open her eyes to look down at the desk in front of her, which was covered from end to end by neatly piled papers.

That battle between Kuromorimine and BC Freedom was intense

Nishi thought, as she had been replaying the match in her head that she had watched earlier that day. Seeing the mighty Panzers for Kuromorimine be pushed to the edge was gut-wrenching for Nishi at least, as she come to have great respect for Erika and knew from experience how difficult it was to take over a team suddenly. Yet Nishi's fears were dashed, as Erika and her remaining members snatch victory from defeat, much to the enjoyment of the Chi-Ha-Tan girls.

Now Nishi was going over her notes of the match, in the office that once belong to her, but was no longer the case, as she wasn't the commander anymore.

Wanting to take a little break from her note reading, Nishi turn her eyes to look around said office, which was located in their academy's Sensha-do club. It was reserved for the commander of the club to use solely, to which Nishi had been using it since last summer when their team fell apart and she was thrusted into the commander position to keep their club from completely falling into disarray after their upperclassmen quit.

Now, this room was Miho's, but sadly she wasn't here to use it and lead the team. The more important part though was she wasn't here with her tankery family who miss her dearly. That very sentiment was shared by every girl's mind in the club from tank commanders down to the bow gunners, and even the mechanics. With Miho's absence making Nishi, just as she had done before, take over and try to keep the team focused on the job at hand.

Seems like a lifetime ago when I come into this very office to talk with my upperclassmen Ako as a first-year. She always made time for me, I miss her...

Nishi's thoughts turn to her former commander last year, Ako Furusawa, the first girl to ever attempt to change Chi-Ha-Tan's culture. Yet, was met by resistance by the second years, who challenge her every decision. Through it all though, Nishi became Ako's shadow, following her around after school and in the club, trying to learn as much as she could from the modernist ideals of how tankery should be or how Ako had thought they should be.

However, Nishi also learn the reason why a change wasn't big in Chi-Ha-Tan Sensha-do culture, which dated back to the end of World War 2, to which Ako one day laid out to Nishi the reason for this.

Somewhere around the mid 1950's when Sensha-do was a novel idea gaining favor with the government as there was a need to bring up national depression through means of a sport and replace their current national sport in Yumi no michi, or way of the bow, which work in the same way of team battles with girls using bows on horseback or on foot. It had been a very popular sport since the Edo period and had carried on till the end of the war, where it was soon to meet its replacement.