GuP: A Saga of Jouko

Chapter Eight: From the Halls of Saunders to the Shores of Ooarai

With the first round dealt with and moving on to face their opponent in the next round, spirits in Continuation were running high. Saunders was up next, but they already had experience from the other tournament to fight against them. However, for some reason, Jouko was sidelined yet again. Although she wasn't omitted from the match entirely, she was relegated to waiting for Mika to lure Saunders to her position before giving Saunders a run for their money. Jouko had several questions, but she had full faith in her commander. After the pre-match formalities, Jouko ordered the Sturmi to head to its assigned location somewhere in the forest, right next to the airstrip of the match venue. All she had to do now was wait for the perfect opportunity. As the wait dragged on, however, thoughts began to form in her mind.
 Perhaps we're getting a little too overconfident? Maybe the officials want to make the match more balanced? Was there some ulterior motive behind this? What was going on? Jouko couldn't think now. She had to focus on her objective and pray her team would do their job.

The Sturmi could see the match from their vantage point, looking on as the other tanks popped out in ambush against Saunders' tanks. Unfortunately for them, Saunders was able to counter and destroy nearly all of them, save for the BT-42, Continuation's flag tank. At one point, Saunders' flag tank came close to being knocked out, hadn't it been for another tank that absorbed the shell for it, something reminiscent of the 62nd Tournament. Now, with all but two of Continuation's tanks destroyed, every Saunders tank was on the BT, evading as many shells as possible and using its speed to the uttermost effect. As Jouko saw the tanks approaching her position, she readied the gun and began to calculate the trajectory of her shell. As long as that Sherman didn't move at the last second, the match was as good as won. There was no wind, so there's no need to adjust the her aim. She would be shooting downwards, so no need to adjust the gun to point upwards either. With everything set, she waited for the order.

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"Alrighty, we almost got ya!"
Kay could smell victory close. That flag tank was evading much of their shots, but with a dead end incoming, the match was as good as won. That stubborn BT would be trapped, and be blown apart by the combined firepower of Saunders' tanks. Alisa could smell victory as well.

"Semifinals, here we come!"

However, Naomi sensed something was off. There were still two Continuation tanks left, but there was only one that was visible, that being the flag tank.
"Where's the other tank?"
Then, she realized the worst. Grabbing her radio, she began transmitting to Alisa.

"Alisa, pull back, you're about to-"

"Sorry, can't year ya over the sweet sounds of that flag tank going up in smoke!"

"Alisa, for goodness' sake-"

Kay dismissed Naomi's doubts. "Oh, don't be such a killjoy, Naomi, what could possibly go wrong at this po-"

Impact.

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To the average spectator, it would seem all hope was lost for Continuation, as nobody knew what had happened to the Sturmi, let alone know where it was. Had it been destroyed? Was it lost in some one-on-one duel like last time? Or was it simply lost in those forests? The BT, seemingly hopelessly, desperately tried to avoid incoming hunks of fast-moving metal that spelled Continuation's end as it drove closer to a dead end, a hill bearing forests. Mikko was doing her best, hoping that she had closed the distance.

Indeed, Mikko had successfully accomplished her objective of luring Saunders' tanks. It was Jouko's turn to do her objective as well, and all it took was a single word to come out of Mika's mouth.

"Jouko."

Without further hesitation, Jouko pulled the trigger and shot a shell straight at the Saunders flag tank. It took around 2 seconds for the shell to travel the distance, but once it hit, it hit the mark. With a perfectly placed shot, the Sherman was immobilized, and a white flag popped out. The rest of the tanks stopped as they collectively tried to piece together the puzzle of what on earth just happened. Peering out of her cupola and looking through her personal binoculars, Jouko amused herself to watching the flag tank's commander shouting and shaking one of her tank crew as everyone else watched in bewilderment, before several faces turned towards her direction.

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"WHAT WAS THAT?! WHY WOULD MY FLAG TANK'S WHITE FLAG SUDDENLY POP UP FOR NO REASON?!?" Alisa was upset. Very upset. They were just about to deal a knockout blow to that stupidly evasive flag tank when all of a sudden, her tank just happened to explode for no reason and have a white flag pop out. She was violently shaking her loader, known for wearing a helmet, over, what was to her at least, this critical malfunction of her tank. "THIS IS LIKE WHEN HE DUMPED ME OUT OF NOWHERE RIGHT AS WE WERE GETTING TO THE GOOD PART!!!"

Kay, hearing a shell impact the flag tank behind her, turned to see what was going on. To everyone's surprise, it was up in flames, and a white flag was fluttering in the breeze. Did this mean they just... lost? It couldn't be, they were so close to getting that flag tank. "Naomi, about that other tank..." Naomi's voice was enough to warrant an "I told you so" tone. "Should've listened, apparently we drove right into Jouko's trap." Kay was not pleased, but of course she didn't take the loss too seriously. "Don't worry, everyone, there's always next time. Y'all fought well today."

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"Victory for Continuation High School!"

Those words could not have been more musical to the ears of Continuation's students. For the first time in its history, Continuation had moved to the Semifinals. Every single tournament before this they had either been knocked out in the first round or made it up to the Quarterfinals. This was new, the school's lifelong goal of reaching the Semifinals in a Sensha-do tournament was finally reached. Morale was at an all-time high for everyone, and after the match, Rumi again met with Jouko to congratulate her on the school's victory. She had been watching the match with fellow All-Stars student Megumi, formerly from Saunders. "Jouko, words cannot express how lucky Continuation was when you came." Rumi and Jouko shook hands, and Megumi came to talk next. "Continuation's gotten better since last we met. Disappointing Saunders lost, but given you were on the field it wasn't that much of a surprise. We almost had you this time, though." Jouko responded, "Yeah, I guess you did." It had been close, but this was truly a glorious day for Continuation High School, but they still had to finish the tournament.

"Well, golly. Should've taken Naomi's notice about the other of your remaining tanks to mind. Nice shooting there, girlie!" Jouko accepted Kay's praise, and met Naomi for the second time. "Well, it seems we've been outplayed again. It's always you that changes everything around. Good match, we almost had you there." Both girls shook hands, and Jouko walked to talk with Alisa. However, before she could offer a handshake, "Leave me alone! I'm hiring better tank crews next time!" Confused, Jouko didn't bother with asking why, before Kay arrived to answer the unasked question. "She thinks something malfunctioned with the tank, but it's not too surprising given how surprising your snipe was." Sharing a short laugh, Jouko left after shaking hands one last time to have the debriefing with Mika and the rest of the team.


"Well, it looks like our next opponent is Ooarai Girls' Academy, winner against Chihatan in the Quarterfinals." This was probably going to be their hardest fight yet, given Ooarai's teams had shown improvement over the team's existence. However, Jouko had read the details of Ooarai's match against Chihatan, how Nishi had aimed to take out Anglerfish Team, the tank used by Miho and Ooarai's best tank, in order to disorganize and demoralize them. They had indeed managed to take out Anglerfish, but too late to really make an effect as moments later the Hetzer, Ooarai's flag tank, appeared to deal the killing blow on Chihatan's flag tank. Now, Jouko was going to fight against her new friend from another school, but she understood that if Continuation wanted to move to the Finals and possibly win the entire tournament, she had to fight for the school without any biases towards her opponents. But, it was exciting to finally fight against Miho's school.


Meeting before the match, Jouko shook hands with Miho alongside the other commanders, wishing her good luck in the oncoming match, a match that had stakes, again, unbeknownst to Jouko and Continuation.

"Well, Miss Nishizumi, we're fighting at last. I hope this match will be a great one for the both of us. It's always a great honor to talk to you in person."

"Good luck, Jouko. It's great to finally be able to see how you fare against Ooarai. Let's have some fun, hopefully. Oh, and by the way, I'll be expecting some surprises, so don't disappoint."

"Oh believe me, expect some coming your way."

After conversing a bit further, both sides bowed, wished each other a good match, and ran to their tanks. Before the match, Jouko informed Mika of her plan. "I'll take position on those hills outside the town. Try to lure that flag tank to those fields next to the hills, and I'll be seeing us at the tournament Finals."

As the Sturmi moved towards its position, Jouko brought out special speakers and her phone. After scrolling through several pieces, she began to play the Sibelius Violin Concerto on the phone. The rich, lush sounds, combined with the venue's all too familiar landscape of Finland, provided Jouko with great nostalgia and a longing to return soon to her friends, her family, and her hunting matches with Aarne and Antero. It made her shed a few tears even, something that surprised her teammates listening along, as Jouko never cried before, at least they didn't see her cry before, although this wasn't the first time Jouko had played Sibelius during matches. Hannes, after several minutes of driving, politely interrupted her meditations. "Commander, we're ready." Frisell began to deliver the radio reports to Jouko, who was looking outside the cupola for the enemy flag tank. "Continuation is engaged with Ooarai inside the town... several Continuation tanks immobilized with no visible Ooarai casualties. The enemy's Panzer IV just took two of our tanks out in one shot!" Jouko was impressed. Anglerfish was truly living up to its reputation. "Two Ooarai tanks were separated from the main group, heading towards our direction. One of them is the flag tank." Soon, two tanks appeared in view of the Sturmi. Dropping back down, closing the hatch, and calculating for her shot. The BT-42 was nowhere in sight, but there was no announcement that the match was over, which meant it escaped into the woods. The two tanks she saw were Ooarai tanks, one of which was the flag tank. It was perfect; even though Mika wasn't there to lure them in, it seemed like the wind was in Continuation's sails today.

As Jouko prepared for the kilometer-long shot, an unexpected development happened. The tank next to the flag tank suddenly changed positions with the flag tank, veering to their right as the flag tank moved behind and to the left. This messed up Jouko's bullet path, but she couldn't reposition now. Upon taking a closer look she noticed the insignia of Anglerfish Team on the side of the escorting tank. It wasn't the flag tank, but it was their most important tank outside of the flag tank. If she wasn't going to be able to hit the flag tank, at least she'd mess up Ooarai's chances of winning by taking out their best tank and their best commander all at once, and giving Continuation a much-needed advantage over their opponents. But then again, wouldn't that be too boring, or anticlimactic? After all, she did want to face Miho in a 1-on-1, given how legendary the both of them were at this point. But her rules specifically stated not to engaged in prolonged actions against a single enemy. So, Jouko decided to just take it out, and maybe duel Miho sometime after the tournament.

Taking aim, she waited for the perfect time to fire, as the Concerto's 1st Movement swelled in intensity and speed, and the Panzer IV closed the distance towards the path of her shell. Gently tugging the trigger, the propellant was ignited, and the shell shot out of the barrel, making its way with supersonic speeds towards the Panzer IV.

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"2 o'clock. There's something one kilometer ahead."
"A scout?"
Mako alerted Miho of a strange anomaly in the distance, the latter first thinking it was a scout tank as she tried to get a better look. Moments later, however, Miho realized her misjudgment. "Mako, put us ahead of the flag tank. Saori, tell Anteater to move behind us, quickly!" Watching with relief as her orders were followed, she swiftly switched her sight back to the forests to the right of her. Awaiting the worst, she watched as a tiny flash came from the forests to her right, and for a few seconds saw the shell shooting straight towards the Panzer. She knew there was no time to react, and braced for the explosion. After seconds of anticipation, impact. The engine disintegrated in a brilliant bright burst of flame and metal, forcing Miho to slowly drop back into the tank.

Crouching below the hatch, Miho asked for everyone's status.
"Is everyone alright?"
"Reizei here, I'm fine, but the tank isn't. Our engine's out, we're slowing down..."
"Takebe here, I'm doing fine, but shaken a bit."
"Isuzu here, my mind's going in circles... I'm gonna be sick..."

The sound of the white flag popping out alerted Yukari.
"Nishizumi-dono, is this truly the end?"
"Well, judging by the fact a white flag is sticking out, it looks like it is."
"No, I meant for Ooarai. You were the one to lead us to our victories, and we were usually the ones to carry our team to said victories. Now, with us gone, does Ooarai still have a chance?"

After several seconds of thought, Miho gave her response.
"At best, it'll be a more uphill battle. Momo-chan has hopefully been learning these past few matches, so I have faith. Even if she cannot command, Azusa is there to step up. She's been improving ever since our battle against St. Gloriana, same with Rabbit Team. I'm sure they'll do us well.

On the other hand, though, if the team can't work together well enough, then this will be our school's first-ever tournament loss. We still have a chance, except very slim, obviously, but let's put our faith in our teammates. After all, we did win the 63rd Tournament despite being amateurs."

As Yukari sat back in her loader's seat, a bit uplifted now, Miho gave one last order.
"Saori, transmit one last communication informing our team that we're out of the match now, then cut communications. All we can do now is wait and hope Momo-chan can lead Ooarai to victory."

Saori turned the frequency to transmit to the others, and broadcasted her fateful message.
"To all tanks, this is Ankou Team. Our engine has been disabled, and we are knocked out of the match. We are cutting communications after this message has been sent. Good luck to all of you, and make us proud!"

Turning off the radio, Saori made a simple nod to Miho, silently informing her that the message was broadcast, before turning off the radio for the final time.
There was not a dry eye in that Panzer IV.

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"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'VE BEEN KNOCKED OUT?!?!? ANKOU TEAM, ANSWER ME!!!"
Momo couldn't believe her ears. Saori had just informed them that Anglerfish was out of the match in a sudden, unexpected development. Just after transmitting the message, they had cut communications. "Well, as far as we know, that's what just happened. Don't worry, you'll do fine." Anzu reassured Momo, but deep inside she knew how bad the situation turned against Ooarai. With their best tank and best commander gone, how would they be able to win the match? Momo was losing her mind, though, and it looked like she was about to suffer a mental breakdown if she wasn't relaxed soon, and at such a crucial point in the match.

"OUR BEST TEAM IS GONE, AND YOU THINK I'M GONNA DO FINE WITH THIS NEWS?!"
"Relax, Momo-chan, it doesn't help when you're losing your mind, especially not in these circumstances." Yuzu's soothing voice bore some success in calming the panicked monocle-wearing authoritarian, but there was no denying everyone in Ooarai was distraught. "I-I... can't lead in these circumstances... maybe I should just repeat a year..." Anzu was not having any of it. "Come on, you're really gonna back out now? You haven't even done any real commanding for the team yet, and once we get knocked out not only is everyone gonna be saying you repeated a year on the mention of your very name, they're gonna be singing about how useless of a 'commander' you were in this tournament. You really want that?"

Momo was speechless. It was already bad that much pressure was now on her, but being mocked for being a useless figurehead of a commander? Being made fun of for repeating a year was enough, she couldn't afford to get mocked even further than that. "I... alright! I'll try to lead us to victory, at least make sure I show good leadership even if we lose. I'm... I'm stepping up!"

"THAT'S THE SPIRIT! Let's show those doubters out there how good of a commander you really are! Go give us a great inspirational speech, commander! We're all listening closely to you now."
With Anzu and company encouraged again, Momo made her first radio message; this time, as the team's actual commander, no Miho to babysit her anymore. Switching frequencies, she transmitted a broadcast to all tanks that were scattered across the battlefield.

"A-Attention.. a-all tanks..-"

"C'mon, show some enthusiasm! You're not Mako Reizei!"

"We may have lost our best tank, but... but that doesn't mean we've lost!"

"That's it, Momo-chan! Inspire our teammates!" Yuzu joined in encouraging Momo.

"As commander of the Ooarai Girls' Academy Sensha-do Team, I-I will step up to lead us to-to victory! We'll show those Continuation cowards what we're made of!!"

Cheers and salutes came through the frequency as they received the message. Anzu had a little problem with it, though. "Nice speech, Commandant, but a bit too harsh on our opponents, wouldn't you say?" Momo couldn't help but blush in embarrassment, maybe she should control her tone towards her opponents next time.

"What are you going around blushing for? Focus on commanding!"

Snapping back to her commander role, she again transmitted a radio message, this time to Anteater Team. "Anteater, this is Turtle. How are you doing there?"

Nekota soon sent a response: "We're fine, commander, but shaken a bit... I couldn't help but watch that Panzer slow down and stop, like me on World of SPG when my engine-"

"Ok, good enough!" Momo switched frequencies to all tanks again. "All tanks, commander reporting, regroup at coordinates... umm... Anzu, the map!" After being tossed the map, Momo spent several seconds trying to find a suitable rally point for the scattered team. "Uhh... coordinates D-15! We'll meet you there!" Shouts of "Yes, commander!" were heard over the frequency as Yuzu began to drive towards the aforementioned location. With Momo finally playing a bigger role, her confidence was starting to return. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all. Maybe she did have a shot at leading Ooarai to victory not just this match, but the entire tournament.

Then again, things would've been easier, much easier, if Ankou Team were still around...

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The Panzer IV, pride of Ooarai and home to one of the best tank teams and commanders in Sensha-do, gradually slowed to a halt as smoke billowed from what used to be its engine, and coming to a complete stop, a white flag emerged from one of the hatches, signaling that it was now knocked out of the match. Not only was the flag tank left defenseless, Ooarai was now left without its star team, left to win an even more uphill battle than previously. The crowd sat stunned. The last battle Ooarai fought they were lucky to have that Hetzer deal a killing blow to the flag tank right after Anglerfish was taken out. Now, with Ankou gone just as the match got underway, did Ooarai have any likeliness of winning anymore? They were their greatest weapon, after all.

"Commander Nishi, Ankou has been knocked out in a dishonorable manner by Keizoku!"
Fukuda couldn't believe her eyes. Sure, they had knocked out Ooarai's best team in Chihatan's match against them, but they were knocked out moments later when the enemy Hetzer came in and ambushed the flag tank, winning Ooarai the match. "Indeed, now Ooarai is left alone without their best commander, and their flag tank is isolated. Things will be much harder for them now. Maybe charging really isn't the best option every match given what happened here..."
"What now, Nishi-san, do you think Commander Momo will do Ooarai justice?"
"Tamada-san, we will have to wait. Let us hope that Commander Momo will courageously lead Ooarai to a glorious victory!"

"Cowards, I tell you, cowards! Which dishonorable filth would DARE knock out so great and honorable an opponent in such a-a... CHILDISH and CHEESY manner?!?"
"Anchovy-san, calm down, please. This doesn't necessarily mean Ooarai is out of the match-"
"Those Jatkosota imbeciles think they are so smart in being so cowardly... and look, even then they lose 7 tanks to only one for Ooarai! Bah, what a joke. Don't you agree, Pepperoni?"
Pepperoni was unable to respond. Anchovy was getting very patriotic for Ooarai again, as she had been during the other matches she was spectating. The other Anzio girls were equally surprised, as this had never happened to Ooarai this early before.

Katyusha was sitting with her teammates, watching on with her vice-commanders and teammates on board an IS-2. 
"Hmph, that Jouko is at it again. It must be that Jouko again, there's nobody else the great Katyusha knows in Jatkosota who can make shots like that!"
"[It seems Ooarai's advantage is gone now, Nishizumi was an important asset to her school.]"
"[Da, Nonna, but that only makes things more interesting to watch. We shall see how Ooarai operates without their primary guide.]"
"How many times must the Great Katyusha tell you, speak only in Japanese!!!"
Nina and Alina didn't have much faith for Ooarai either, now with their best commander off the field.
"Do you think Ooarai can win, Alina?"
"I'm afraid not, Nina, without their best commander, they will be disorganized, and once Keizoku strikes, they won't be able to hold for long."

Overall, nobody held out much hopes for an Ooarai victory. The loss of Miho was too great a burden to climb, unless they could actually do it under Momo, or someone else who could step up.

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Jouko sat in her seat, dissatisfied. Miho was truly cunning even to her last action, and her objective of a swift victory for Continuation was gone. Now, they would have to fight a prolonged engagement, unless she could manage to immobilize that flag tank before it reached the other Ooarai tanks, but it wouldn't be as hard with Miho and Anglerfish Team out of the match...

Right?

Jouko thought no. Ooarai's other teams were showing improvement over the past few matches, and knew that they might as well be close to having Anglerfish's skill. The Panzer IV was the only tank they had knocked out so far, and already 7 Continuation tanks had been knocked out. Sure, three of those were from Anglerfish with an impressive ricochet shot, but there was still other teams to worry about, especially Rabbit Team. Originally seen as cowardly first-years, they had developed a reputation that could live up to their mascot. There was also Hippo Team, using the same tank as she was. Jouko knew that this was going to be a close match despite the numerical advantage. Quality was winning, and Jouko needed to help turn it around soon in favor of Quantity. She ordered Frisell to report about their success.

"All tanks, this is Frisell. Ankou Team is knocked out. Repeat, Ankou Team is knocked out."
Shouts of joy and excitement were heard over the radio as the news made its way to the rest of the team. This was a much-needed advantage for Continuation, especially after their losses in and around the town. Watching as the Type 3 Chi-Nu drove away from the Panzer's wreckage, Jouko gave her next orders.

"Hannes, get us out of here, and chase after that flag tank to make sure it doesn't rejoin its comrades. Frisell, inform the team of our coordinates and that we'll try to knock out that flag tank as best we can. Löfström, get ready to reload as quickly as possible."

"Sturmi crew, work as hard as you possibly can, I'm relying on all of you."

---

"We're going to win this match, no matter the cost."


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(AN: Originally I wanted to end it here, but after some shower thoughts convinced me otherwise I decided I'll instead end it in chapter 10, and leave a note on chapter 9. Thanks for reading, I hope you guys enjoyed it so far, and I'll see you all in Chapter 10!)