"Nishizumi-san, please tell me you remember Yuuma-chan!"
Miho blushed and edged backwards as Issei leant forwards slightly towards her. He probably didn't mean it, she thought with one part of her brain. Issei was honestly rather blatant about when he was, um, appreciating the girls in class and at the moment his eyes were fixed on hers. "Uh, I'm sorry, Hyoudou-san. I don't know everyone's name yet. Perhaps if you had a photo of her...?"
"I did! I swear I did!" The boy's voice rose gradually in volume. "But she vanished from the photo!"
"um..."
"Leave Nishizumi-chan alone," ordered one of the other girls.
The boy turned to her and made to put his hands together in plea - although the stump of his left arm rather undermined the gesture.
"No!" she snapped back. "Argh. You don't have a girlfriend, Hyoudou-san, and if you keep going the way you have, you're not going to have one."
Issei cast a last, pleading look at the next girl who shook her head gently. This final rebuff finally appeared to sap his spirit and the boy's shoulders slumped in defeat before he retreated to the back of the classroom.
"Eeee..." The first girl said. "I thought when we had war wounded sent here they might be cute, but the way those guys act... They're not boyfriend material."
"Hyoudou-san seemed distraught, Saori-chan," her companion pointed out. "Are you alright, Nishizumi-chan?"
Miho bowed to the girls. "Thank you. Hyoudou-san was being... very intense."
"He is!" Saori sat down opposite Miho. "I suppose if any of them was going to get a girlfriend it'd probably be him but there's no way that'd happen without me hearing about it. I know everyone, don't I Hana?"
The tall, dark-haired girl smiled. "That's true. Do you mind us sitting with you, Nishizumi-chan?"
"N-no. Please do."
"Great! So what brings you here? I heard you did your first year on Schwarzwald - hardly anyone ever transfers schoolships!"
"I..." Miho had been thinking off and on about how to explain that. "Um. My mother didn't want me to stay in the same school as my sister."
"Oh..." Saori frowned. "How come? I don't have a sister. Don't you get along?"
Miho coloured and she was about to try another evasion when the classroom door slid open to admit a tall - very tall - blue-haired girl. There was a muted gasp from Saori as the girl was followed by a boy, quite a handsome one with blond hair. He had the sleeves of his uniform shirt rolled up and a cheerful look on his face.
"It's Saji-san!" Saori hissed to Miho. "He's the only boy on the student council. And he's single!"
The two new arrivals scanned the room and then settled on the trio of girls, smoothly crossing the room - other students politely giving way - to approach them.
Saori's eyes grew wide. "He's coming here. Hana, does my hair look okay?"
Saji-san grinned as he reached the table and just as Saori was about to dissolve into a puddle and embarrass herself, they looked past her and the tall girl bowed slightly to Miho. "Nishizumi-san, the Student President requests your presence at a meeting. Please come with us."
The girl looked uneasily at her companions. "But... history class starts in a minute."
Saji waved his hands dismissively. "You're excused. Besides, if you did the class about the liberation of Gallia in '44 last week then this'll be pretty much the same. Just put in Venezia instead of Gallia and Romagna instead of Britannia. Wonderweapon goes awry, 501st Joint Fighter Wing saves the day."
"Ah... actually I think we are doing the liberation of Gallia this week."
"Well you can catch up next week when the class covers the liberation of Venezia then."
"We can take notes for you," offered Hana kindly.
Miho nodded hesitantly and repacked her bookbag, hanging it by the side of her desk. Saori gave her a thumbs up. "Good luck," she beamed, apparently having recovered from having Saji essentially ignore her wishful looks at him.
"Why does Sitri-san want me at a meeting?" Miho asked hesitantly.
Saji shrugged. "She didn't tell me. Do you have any idea, Tsubasa-chan?"
The girl shook her head. "I'm not sure. Perhaps we'll find out why the Principal and other administrators have been out of touch this week."
Miho had never visited the Student Council rooms and she didn't now - the meeting was in the Principal's office. It was a large room - at least as large as a class room - with the Principal's desk positioned with the windows behind it. About a third of the room was taken up by couches and soft chairs around a low coffee table but the meeting obviously wasn't going to be around the table because Student President Sitri Sona was sat behind the desk.
The relatively short Fusan witch might have looked presumptious sitting behind the large desk but she didn't, she looked in charge, reminding Miho of her mother.
"Nishizumi-san." Sona nodded coolly. "We're waiting for two more people. Thank you Genshirou, Tsubaki. You can return to class now."
The sharp tone sent the two retreating and Miho was left standing alone in front of the desk. There was only one adult present, a grey-haired Fusan woman wearing a tracksuit top over a a one-piece swimsuit. She wasn't the only one with bare legs - actually Miho realised she was the only person in the room wearing a skirt.
Of course, she realised. Sitri-san isn't just a student. She's one of the Air Defense Witches. The other girls must be too.
The older woman was the only one armed though - she had a bokken in a bag across her back. After a moment, Miho decided this must be the school's reputedly formidable kendo coach.
The door opened and two more girls. Both were embarrasingly well-endowed compared to Miho, a buxom redhead and another Fusan.
"No problems," Sona asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Just a minor matter," the redhead replied with no sign of repentance at being tardy.
Sona nodded. "Most of us know each other. For the sake of exceptions, I'm Kaigun Taii Sitri Sona, the Student President and in the absence of the administration, I'm responsible for Oorai."
A bespectacled girl standing next to the desk bowed slightly. "Kaigun Chui Shinra Tsubaki. Student Vice President."
"Major Gremory Rias, Head of the Occult Research Club and chief Night Witch," the redhead introduced herself with a friendly smile.
The black-haired girl with her also smiled although it seemed a little less friendly. "Rikugan Chui Himejima Akeno. Rias-sama's second."
Eyes went to Miho. "Ah... Nishizumi Miho, second year. Um. I volunteered for the Naval Infantry?"
"Nishizumi-san recently transferred from Schwarzwald," Sona clarified.
"Welcome to Oorai!" The speaker was the oldest of the girls present, with short dark hair and features that were mixed asian and european. "I'm Rikugan Chusa Chono Ami, commander of Oorai's Strike Witch Wing." She gave Miho a thumbs up. "I saw the finals!" Then a frown crossed her face. "Wait, naval infantry? Aren't you -"
Sona cleared her throat. "We'll get to that in a moment."
Miho shrank in on herself.
"I'm Chono Mio," the room's only adult introduced herself. "I teach kendo." Then she grinned unexpectedly. "My granddaughter told me all about you, Nishizumi!"
Ami humphed and leant forwards slightly, shielding her mouth from Mio. "She's also a Kaigun Shosho."
Mio laughed - almost cawed. "I'm retired and that was a long time ago."
"This is your application for the Naval Infantry, Nishizumi-san." Sona placed it on the desk in front of her. "I understand you were part of Schwarzwald's Panzer Squadron in your freshman year. And a member of the Junior Division of the Tankery Club before that."
"Yes," Miho admitted in a small voice.
"And a part of Schwarzwald's competition team, who have taken the international trophy seven years running and were only narrowly defeated last year in the finals."
Miho's affirmative was almost inaudible.
Sona nodded sharply and tore the application in two. "You may be aware Oorai doesn't have a competition team for tankery. This was primarily because we didn't have much of a Panzer Squadron." Her lips thinned. "Or any Panzer Squadron, it seems."
She held out one hand and Tsubaki put a second piece of paper in it, along with a red and gold collar patch, decorated with a single silver star.
"For reasons I may not disclose today, this must change. You are hereby assigned to our Panzer Squadron with the rank of Rikugan Shosa."
"Congratulations!" Mio cried out and with another crow of laughter, slapped Mio hard on the back.
Miho woke up in the school medbay.
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.
Miho blushed and edged backwards as Issei leant forwards slightly towards her. He probably didn't mean it, she thought with one part of her brain. Issei was honestly rather blatant about when he was, um, appreciating the girls in class and at the moment his eyes were fixed on hers. "Uh, I'm sorry, Hyoudou-san. I don't know everyone's name yet. Perhaps if you had a photo of her...?"
"I did! I swear I did!" The boy's voice rose gradually in volume. "But she vanished from the photo!"
"um..."
"Leave Nishizumi-chan alone," ordered one of the other girls.
The boy turned to her and made to put his hands together in plea - although the stump of his left arm rather undermined the gesture.
"No!" she snapped back. "Argh. You don't have a girlfriend, Hyoudou-san, and if you keep going the way you have, you're not going to have one."
Issei cast a last, pleading look at the next girl who shook her head gently. This final rebuff finally appeared to sap his spirit and the boy's shoulders slumped in defeat before he retreated to the back of the classroom.
"Eeee..." The first girl said. "I thought when we had war wounded sent here they might be cute, but the way those guys act... They're not boyfriend material."
"Hyoudou-san seemed distraught, Saori-chan," her companion pointed out. "Are you alright, Nishizumi-chan?"
Miho bowed to the girls. "Thank you. Hyoudou-san was being... very intense."
"He is!" Saori sat down opposite Miho. "I suppose if any of them was going to get a girlfriend it'd probably be him but there's no way that'd happen without me hearing about it. I know everyone, don't I Hana?"
The tall, dark-haired girl smiled. "That's true. Do you mind us sitting with you, Nishizumi-chan?"
"N-no. Please do."
"Great! So what brings you here? I heard you did your first year on Schwarzwald - hardly anyone ever transfers schoolships!"
"I..." Miho had been thinking off and on about how to explain that. "Um. My mother didn't want me to stay in the same school as my sister."
"Oh..." Saori frowned. "How come? I don't have a sister. Don't you get along?"
Miho coloured and she was about to try another evasion when the classroom door slid open to admit a tall - very tall - blue-haired girl. There was a muted gasp from Saori as the girl was followed by a boy, quite a handsome one with blond hair. He had the sleeves of his uniform shirt rolled up and a cheerful look on his face.
"It's Saji-san!" Saori hissed to Miho. "He's the only boy on the student council. And he's single!"
The two new arrivals scanned the room and then settled on the trio of girls, smoothly crossing the room - other students politely giving way - to approach them.
Saori's eyes grew wide. "He's coming here. Hana, does my hair look okay?"
Saji-san grinned as he reached the table and just as Saori was about to dissolve into a puddle and embarrass herself, they looked past her and the tall girl bowed slightly to Miho. "Nishizumi-san, the Student President requests your presence at a meeting. Please come with us."
The girl looked uneasily at her companions. "But... history class starts in a minute."
Saji waved his hands dismissively. "You're excused. Besides, if you did the class about the liberation of Gallia in '44 last week then this'll be pretty much the same. Just put in Venezia instead of Gallia and Romagna instead of Britannia. Wonderweapon goes awry, 501st Joint Fighter Wing saves the day."
"Ah... actually I think we are doing the liberation of Gallia this week."
"Well you can catch up next week when the class covers the liberation of Venezia then."
"We can take notes for you," offered Hana kindly.
Miho nodded hesitantly and repacked her bookbag, hanging it by the side of her desk. Saori gave her a thumbs up. "Good luck," she beamed, apparently having recovered from having Saji essentially ignore her wishful looks at him.
"Why does Sitri-san want me at a meeting?" Miho asked hesitantly.
Saji shrugged. "She didn't tell me. Do you have any idea, Tsubasa-chan?"
The girl shook her head. "I'm not sure. Perhaps we'll find out why the Principal and other administrators have been out of touch this week."
Miho had never visited the Student Council rooms and she didn't now - the meeting was in the Principal's office. It was a large room - at least as large as a class room - with the Principal's desk positioned with the windows behind it. About a third of the room was taken up by couches and soft chairs around a low coffee table but the meeting obviously wasn't going to be around the table because Student President Sitri Sona was sat behind the desk.
The relatively short Fusan witch might have looked presumptious sitting behind the large desk but she didn't, she looked in charge, reminding Miho of her mother.
"Nishizumi-san." Sona nodded coolly. "We're waiting for two more people. Thank you Genshirou, Tsubaki. You can return to class now."
The sharp tone sent the two retreating and Miho was left standing alone in front of the desk. There was only one adult present, a grey-haired Fusan woman wearing a tracksuit top over a a one-piece swimsuit. She wasn't the only one with bare legs - actually Miho realised she was the only person in the room wearing a skirt.
Of course, she realised. Sitri-san isn't just a student. She's one of the Air Defense Witches. The other girls must be too.
The older woman was the only one armed though - she had a bokken in a bag across her back. After a moment, Miho decided this must be the school's reputedly formidable kendo coach.
The door opened and two more girls. Both were embarrasingly well-endowed compared to Miho, a buxom redhead and another Fusan.
"No problems," Sona asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Just a minor matter," the redhead replied with no sign of repentance at being tardy.
Sona nodded. "Most of us know each other. For the sake of exceptions, I'm Kaigun Taii Sitri Sona, the Student President and in the absence of the administration, I'm responsible for Oorai."
A bespectacled girl standing next to the desk bowed slightly. "Kaigun Chui Shinra Tsubaki. Student Vice President."
"Major Gremory Rias, Head of the Occult Research Club and chief Night Witch," the redhead introduced herself with a friendly smile.
The black-haired girl with her also smiled although it seemed a little less friendly. "Rikugan Chui Himejima Akeno. Rias-sama's second."
Eyes went to Miho. "Ah... Nishizumi Miho, second year. Um. I volunteered for the Naval Infantry?"
"Nishizumi-san recently transferred from Schwarzwald," Sona clarified.
"Welcome to Oorai!" The speaker was the oldest of the girls present, with short dark hair and features that were mixed asian and european. "I'm Rikugan Chusa Chono Ami, commander of Oorai's Strike Witch Wing." She gave Miho a thumbs up. "I saw the finals!" Then a frown crossed her face. "Wait, naval infantry? Aren't you -"
Sona cleared her throat. "We'll get to that in a moment."
Miho shrank in on herself.
"I'm Chono Mio," the room's only adult introduced herself. "I teach kendo." Then she grinned unexpectedly. "My granddaughter told me all about you, Nishizumi!"
Ami humphed and leant forwards slightly, shielding her mouth from Mio. "She's also a Kaigun Shosho."
Mio laughed - almost cawed. "I'm retired and that was a long time ago."
"This is your application for the Naval Infantry, Nishizumi-san." Sona placed it on the desk in front of her. "I understand you were part of Schwarzwald's Panzer Squadron in your freshman year. And a member of the Junior Division of the Tankery Club before that."
"Yes," Miho admitted in a small voice.
"And a part of Schwarzwald's competition team, who have taken the international trophy seven years running and were only narrowly defeated last year in the finals."
Miho's affirmative was almost inaudible.
Sona nodded sharply and tore the application in two. "You may be aware Oorai doesn't have a competition team for tankery. This was primarily because we didn't have much of a Panzer Squadron." Her lips thinned. "Or any Panzer Squadron, it seems."
She held out one hand and Tsubaki put a second piece of paper in it, along with a red and gold collar patch, decorated with a single silver star.
"For reasons I may not disclose today, this must change. You are hereby assigned to our Panzer Squadron with the rank of Rikugan Shosa."
"Congratulations!" Mio cried out and with another crow of laughter, slapped Mio hard on the back.
Miho woke up in the school medbay.
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.