GuP: A Saga of Jouko

Prologue: The Shooting Game

Upper Lapland

"A bit more to the right, always mind the wind." The dead tree was over a kilometer away, it was relatively small and hard to hit. However, Jouko had been practicing with her father's rifle for the past 6 months after she had turned 7. She had always admired Simo Häyhä, the great Finnish sniper of the Winter War, how despite his use of iron sights was able to rack up so great a kill count. It turned out he was a good friend of her grandfather as well, and had trained her father in the ways of sniping, and now it was her turn to continue the tradition. She had also expressed interest in going to Japan, to try out the martial art called "Sensha-do", to see if she could emulate her hero with tanks. "Focus, Jouko, this is your longest shot yet." Snapping back to reality, she took careful aim for a few seconds, moved her rifle a degree to the left, and fired, a loud crack echoing through the thousands of trees surrounding them, accompanied only by each other and the animals curiously peeking from a distance, now frightened away by this sudden burst.

Seconds that felt like eons passed by, but looking through the scope, Jouko watched as the small twig in the distance snapped in half, a subtle "tick" coming seconds later: the sound of the poor thing snapping. Pats on the back came from her father, proud of this achievement, as in the past months, Jouko had shown improvement in shooting targets from longer range, now, she had hit the kilometer-long shot at last. But, there was still one challenge her father had for her. "Now, let's see if we can do it using the good old iron sights." Pulling another rifle from the bag, this was the same gun, albeit without a scope and with iron sights, like how Simo did his sniping job. "My grandfather's friend Simo always used iron sights, he feared a scope would expose his location: even with that, 500 enemies fell from his bullets. It's important to get used to this, should you find yourself in a similar situation." Jouko took one long look at the rifle. No scope, just the iron sights, 100 times harder to hit the target, at least to her. But, Jouko was prepared. She had worked with iron sights before, except not at this distance, but she was going to give it her best shot. 

The two trudged through the thick snow, leaving prints of contrasting sizes behind them. Spotting another dead tree around the same distance off, Jouko tugged on her father's hand, and indicated its position. Both assumed sniping positions as the father pulled out his old pair of binoculars, watching closely for the tree to snap. Holding her breath and memorizing her previous pose, she angled her rifle ever so slightly downwards, and, after waiting for the wind to die down, gently pulled the trigger. The bullet whizzed through the air, and landed mere inches left from the target. Instinctively, Jouko swiftly reloaded and after taking careful aim, this time more to the right, she fired again, and this time the bullet hit its mark. It more than pleased her father. "By Mannerheim, excellent shooting, dear, you are a fast learner!" She smiled, and after packing everything back into the bag, the two traveled back home.

Jouko's family home
The family gathered for dinner, and after excitedly boasting of her achievement earlier that day, she brought up her interests of going to Japan to take up Sensha-do. "Simo, but with tanks, mother! Think of it!" Both parents considered this approach, and there was much deliberation behind Jouko's back after dinner. 

"We can't afford to lose her, she'll be in a completely different environment and... please, Aiko, let her stay with us, it will be unsafe for her to go alone." 

"Maina, she wants it so much, I know you and I don't want to see her sad. Besides, it is a great way to help nurture her on becoming the perfect woman for her adult years."

"Aiko, I don't know. The thought of not being able to see her in person for so long... hurts me."

"Well, Maina, I think we should honor her wish. Besides, she said she wants to become Simo, but with tanks. I feel that's a good way to honor our late friend."

Both parents announced their decision to Jouko on a Monday breakfast, shortly before she was to go to school. 

"We've decided to let you go to Japan for high school. Sensha-do seems a very giving opportunity for you to grow to become a strong woman, and that's what this family is all about. For now, though, focus on your studies and feel free to roam the forests for training your skills. Your grades are good so far, which we are proud of." Jouko readily nodded. "And, I'm sure Simo will be very proud of you." This further increased her excitement. Only 6 more years, then she'd be heading off to Japan. Each day passed with growing excitement, she dreamed of doing Sensha-do once she had learned what it was. 

Years passed, as Jouko continued to mature, improve, and expand on her sniping skills. She remained transfixed to her studies when not busy sniping, or hanging out with her friends. She knew her parents weren't really concerned about keeping those grades high, and they were content as long as she didn't fail, but Jouko wanted to make sure she didn't get anything below a B. Everything was going great in this regard, and each day she continued to grind on learning Japanese to prepare for her journey to Japan. Her fellow female friends were excited upon hearing of her move, among the most prominent were Löfström, a very strong, tough girl who was known for putting dents in the thickest of tree and emerging without a scratch on her knuckles, Frisell, an eloquent communicator and very skilled in conversation, and finally Hannes, who knew her way in navigation and exploration, as well as hoping to be a taxi driver once she grew up. These three had collectively decided to join Jouko in her journey to Japan, something Jouko was very grateful for.

One morning, Jouko was taking a peaceful a jog through the forest with her trusted iron sights rifle, looking for more dead trees to practice on. She had just graduated 8th grade with flying colors: she had been tied for valedictorian with another bright student, but voluntarily allowed that student to be valedictorian, being the humble girl she was. Before this job, however, she had been given a helmet by her father, for some reason. As she made her way to a mountainous area, she was listening to some pieces by Sibelius when she felt something whizz by. Instinctively, she packed her phone and earbuds into her pouch, and ran to find suitable cover as more objects shot through the air, some coming inches from her. So that's the fuss about the helmet. Searching for a plate in her sack, she lifted it above her head, and a few seconds later, felt impact. It did not shatter the plate, but merely crack it. It's very far away then, and it feels it came from the west, she thought. Taking her rifle, she loaded a dummy bullet. Taking aim in the general direction of where she felt the shot come from, she saw very subtle movement in the far distance. Aiming accordingly, she fired a single shot. A few seconds passed before she caught sight of the object shooting upwards, giving a thumbs-up. Standing up to move, she was met with another bullet. It whizzed by her, but feeling its direction, she aimed more to the right, and seeing more movement, fired. The figure sprung up as well, and another thumbs-up could be seen. Too easy. 

The family sauna