Girls und Panzer: Downfall

Benched

"It's a shame we got benched for the match against Jatkosota, huh?" 
Michael sat down on his tank's turret and stretched his arms out. He was a bit disappointed by that, but he cared more about his school's success.
"Well…yeah. But I also don't mind staying back and watching, especially after having seen what happened to you, Michael-San." The girl said, giving Michael a wink. The boy, on his part, nodded and shrugged casually.
"I guess…but I need to remind you that you are the commander of a Panther, Koume-San. Not many guns can cause a strong blow to your tank, while in my case…well, a Panzer IV is cute and cuddly compared to a Panther." Michael joked. 
"Yes, that's true, after all. Why did you choose a Panzer IV though? We had lots of other tanks you could have chosen from, like…a Jagdpanzer, a Jagdpanther, or even a Panther! Why a Panzer IV, Michael-San?" Koume asked with a smile. She was very interested in that boy, who seemed to be so reserved and yet so sociable at the same time.
"Well…I wanted to experience what it was like being a Panzer IV commander, facing bigger and badder enemies, or something. I mean, I managed to get hurt pretty "badly" while using tanks as a sport. Imagine if we were using live ammo…I would have been dead a lot of times, and I've only been here for a few months!" Michael explained.
"I guess you're right, Michael-San. Anyway, I gotta be going, my crew's waiting for me. I'll see you around!" 
Koume gave Michael a wave and walked off, leaving him with a bitter taste in his mouth. He would have liked her company for a bit more time, but he accepted the fact that Koume was probably popular and had many friends, unlike himself.
The match was about to start, but Michael wasn't in the mood to watch it. At least, not immediately. He needed some time alone. 
"Ah...wo bist du?" He muttered, referring to somebody in particular. Michael had always been kind of reluctant to think about her mother or sister. They had their own life somewhere else, and frankly he didn't respect his mother's decision at all. He almost hated her. She'd taken his sister away, who'd always been his best friend, and she'd also disappeared as a mother and wife, leaving him and his dad alone. He'd always seen that as a gesture of hatred and betrayal, nothing more. But he knew his sister had nothing to do with it, or so he thought. 
"Vielleicht eines Tages..." Michael muttered to himself as he adjusted his hat on his head. He ran a few fingers on the scar on his forehead, and smiled back at the day when he'd gotten it. It wasn't a long time before, but it felt like that.
"Commander?" 
Michael was stripped away from his daydreaming as the voice of one of the two twins ringed in his head. He looked below him and saw her looking at him with a cute smile. 
"What is it…" Michael asked, stopping before saying the twin's name because he'd realized he still hadn't figured out which was which. 
"The match is going to start any minute. Are you coming?" She asked cocking her head. 
"Uh…yeah, let's go."
Noriko and Noriyo were almost identical. Blonde hair, green eyes, and the same physique. There were almost no differences between them. That's why Michael still struggled to tell one from the other. For the moment, though, he wasn't worried about that. He jumped down the Panzer IV and headed to the others with the twin. 
"By the way, Commander, if you're still having trouble to distinguish between me and Noriko, I'm just a slight bit taller. Keep that in mind!" 
And with that, Michael realized two things: one, the twin with him in that moment was Noriyo. Two, she'd read his mind. But he was happy about that, since he'd been given a hint to help him distinguish Noriko from her sister.
"Ah...well, thanks, Noriyo."

_-_-_-_-_-_-

After the match…

_-_-_-_-_-_-

"You all did extremely well in the match today. Special compliments to the vice-commander and Itsumi for keeping their cool and managing to turn the tide of the battle. We will be leaving to go back to Kuromorimine in two hours, enjoy yourselves until then. Dismissed!" 
The students bowed and broke the lines, then everybody went their separate ways. Somebody had to see a friend from Jatkosota, for example. Miho didn't though, she had to see a friend from Kuromorimine. She went around and looked for the Panzer IV, finding it near a lake shore. There was a guy sitting on top of the tank's turret, looking at the big and wonderful nothing ahead of him.
"Hey Michael!" 
The boy turned around, his expression lighting up, and jumped down the Panzer IV, heading to Miho. 
"Hey there. Congrats on your victory." Michael said quietly, taking a glance at the small lake behind him. It was completely surrounded by pine trees, the water reflecting the orangish sunlight against the grass, which was covered in dew.
"Thanks!" 
"The way you shot that Finnish abomination of a tank while it was flying was awesome by the way." Michael pointed out, referring to the amazing shot that Miho's gunner had landed on the BT-42 while it was in the air.