Girls und Panzer: Downfall

Changes

Here we are, at the end. This is the last chapter of this story. Publishing my work piece by piece was one hell of a trip down memory lane for me, since GuP was also the first anime I watched. But you all aren't here to hear me rambling on about my memories or whatever, so I'll leave you to the story. Enjoy!

P.S. a sequel is going to come...

The room was dark, and quiet. A girl in bed. A girl standing next to her. Her face wet with tears, her hopes demolished.

"I'm sorry…"

She walked out of the room quietly and carefully, trying to make her way out of the hospital as soon as she could. She wouldn't have liked to run into anybody. She couldn't bear having a conversation with one of her friends at that point. Unfortunately, just as she stepped through the exit, she felt a hand tightly gripping her shoulder from behind. She gulped, feeling a chill down her spine, and turned around.

"M-Michael…"

"You…you lose the finals for us, also making her fall in the river…AND THEN YOU JUST LEAVE, LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED?!"

The girl stepped back, terrified. Michael had a bandage wrapped around the back of his head, but he was wearing his tankery uniform, so his hat hid it a little bit.

"No, it's…I mean…I can't take this anymore…"

"What exactly can't you take?"

"Kuromorimine, that's what! You're-"

"This isn't about me. You, on the other hand, are a dirty turncoat and a liar. And most of all, you're a damn coward. NOW GET OUT OF MY FACE, AND NEVER SHOW YOURSELF IN KUROMORIMINE AGAIN!"

Miho, devastated by Michael's words and by the fact that he'd probably started hating her, turned on her heels and ran away, crying. The boy, on the other hand, headed to the cafeteria, to eat something and get his mind off everything else. He didn't feel like doing anything at all, he just felt empty and useless. On his way to the cafeteria, he caught a glimpse of a girl standing behind one of the main buildings on her own: her long light blonde hair was unmistakable. She was wearing Kuromorimine's school uniform. Michael decided to approach her: he took a deep breath, adjusted everything that came to his mind on his uniform and sighed to himself.

"Okay…"

He approached Erika, hoping that she wouldn't run away or punch him in the face. Every step, he felt his feet slowly becoming heavier, as if he were sinking in quicksand. Surprisingly, Erika did not react badly. Once their eyes met, their exhausted and bloodshot eyes, they nodded to each other as a polite but informal greeting.

The commander of Kuromorimine's Königstiger was leaning against the wall of the building, with her arms crossed. Michael stood next to her, hands in his pockets, thinking about how to start a reasonable conversation. Luckily for him, Erika anticipated him.

"First she loses the match for us, making Akaboshi-San, your girlfriend, risk her life. Then she destroys what we were striving for, our tenth victory in a row. And then…she leaves the school."

Erika's voice was exactly like Michael's had been in the previous days: completely hollow.

"Just…hey, listen."

Michael positioned himself in front of Erika, trying not to react in any way when he saw just how much she must have had cried.

"What?"

"Let's both admit it, there's no point in hiding it: we're both feeling like shit. And…it's not right to send everything to the dogs for this. She's leaving? Well may she be our guest. We'll...we'll work this out, somehow."