Girls und Panzer: Downfall

Holidays

"Please, be over already…" 
Michael was starting to fall asleep. He'd been sitting in an overly heated classroom all day, and it was getting to his head. 
"Don't tell me about it…I've been waiting all day…" 
Michael then remembered the person sitting beside his was a friend of his, and shook his head, almost to wake himself up. He looked into Koume's big blue eyes and smiled, exhausted. 
"I just don't think I can take any more of-" 

Drrrrrrring! 

For Michael, the sound of the bell was a blessing from the sky. He couldn't believe his second period at Kuromorimine was already over. The two stood up, along with all the other students in Kuromorimine, and rushed out to the yard to celebrate. Smiles were printed on everybody's face, good feelings were in everybody's hearts, as the second period of the school year was starting to come to an end and Christmas was just around the corner. Overall, in Kuromorimine Academy, the morale was skyrocketing. Michael had never seen so many happy students all together. He thought that since Kuromorimine was a strong and powerful school, it made everybody who was part of it proud of themselves, and it made them happy to be together with their friends and colleagues. Kuromorimine had always been one of the best schools in Japan, both for its students' performance and for its ambience. Michael, after so many years of feeling stranded in the world, had finally found a place where he felt he belonged, a place he could've called home. A few flakes of snow were starting to fall, getting Michael in the Christmas mood even more. 
"So, Koume-San, what are you gonna do for Christmas?" Michael asked at some point, looking up at the sky, with the joyful chatter of his schoolmates in the background.
"I'll go back home to spend the holidays with my parents. How about you?" Koume said. 
"Same here. Where do you live exactly?" Michael asked casually, just to keep the conversation going.
"Nagoya. You?" 
"H-hold up, did you just say Nagoya?" Michael stuttered. He was shocked to say the least. 
"Yes, why?" 
"I live there too, that's why!" Michael shouted in response. Koume widened her eyes and smiled incredulously, blinking a few times to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
"Where exactly?" 
"Near the castle." 
"I live near the Toyota museum!" Koume answered, thrilled. 
"Oh my God…we live so close to each other!" Michael exclaimed. He still couldn't believe Koume was his fellow citizen. 
"So I guess we'll be taking the same train to go back!" Koume continued. 
"Yeah…and, like…we also could…hang out sometime, if you want…" Michael said, cursing himself for being so socially awkward. Koume blushed a little and smiled kindly. 
"I'd love that, Michael." She said, thinking Michael was cute when he blushed. Little did she know, Michael thought the same about her, but at that moment Koume wasn't his crush. He had another person in mind, or so he thought. He really wasn't sure about who he liked.
"Either way, I can't wait to be back home." Michael said, switching the topic.
"Me neither. I can't wait to see my family again!" Koume said, not remember Michael's family was split in two. 
"Yeah…" 
Michael looked down and tried to keep his cool, and tried not to think about that night when Greta had texted him. 
"Oh, I shouldn't have said that…I'm sorry…" Koume muttered, realizing her mistake. Michael looked back up and shook his head. 
"It's fine. Let's be happy and grateful that the holidays are here, and let's forget all the bad thoughts, huh?" 

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

A few days later…

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

The train was already there, waiting for Michael and Koume. She'd already jumped on and was keeping Michael's seat warm as well. Michael was exchanging a few more words with Miho. 
"So, have fun with Koume…" She said, not being able to hide a bit of sadness in her voice. She was going to miss Michael, for sure. She was maybe also a bit jealous of him, so she was a bit reluctant to let him go home for two weeks, with Koume. 
"I will." 
Michael then smiled warmly and took a deep breath. He gave Miho a hug, complimenting himself for having finally found the courage to do that.
"Michael…" 
Miho kindly hugged him back and closed her eyes. She wouldn't have let go for anything, but unfortunately she had to hold back on her emotions. 
"Take care. I'll see you after the holidays." 
Michael gave Miho one last smile after breaking away, and stepped on the train, where Koume was waiting for him. 
"Are you ready for the trip, Michael-San?" 
Michael nodded, then sat down. He was more than ready, especially because he would have gotten to spend two weeks together with his friend.
"You can just call me Michael, it's fine." He mused. 
"A-are you sure?" 
"Yeah, why not? I've never been very good with Japanese titles, plus...I'm not Japanese, or at least not completely." He explained, shrugging. 
"But that's a thing only very close friends do…you must surely have friends at home who are better than me…" Koume muttered, a bit insecurely. She was convinced that Michael was very popular back home, and that he had a lot of friends.
"No, I don't. You know, Japs can be very mean towards foreigners. Think about…hmm…oh yeah, the way they massacred Chinese people in the Second World War without thinking about it twice. I was always kinda discriminated because I was a gaijin." Michael explained nonchalantly.
"Oh…I see…are you really sure calling you Michael is alright? I wouldn't want to be of disrespect to you and-" 
"It's fine, really. Don't worry." 
Koume was still a bit reluctant, but Michael's genuine look and the fact that he was always honest convinced her. 
"Alright…Michael. You can call me Koume as well if you want!" 
"Great then, Koume. What are you…" 
Michael stopped leaving the sentence unfinished, because he saw Koume looked like she was in a kind of trance. She was blushing visibly and her eyes were stuck on Michael's. 
"Uh…Koume? Koumeeee…" 
"Ah! Y-yes, sorry, I was a bit lost in my thoughts…" She answered, stuttering a bit and blinking a few times consecutively.
"Alright then. Aren't you excited to be back home?" Michael then asked, thinking it'd have been better to change the subject. 
"Yeah, I'm so excited! I've missed my…" 
Koume stopped and bit her bottom lip, looking down. She'd remembered about Michael's family situation again, and she didn't want to shove it in his face that she had a happy and healthy one. 
"Ah, I know why you stopped. I think. Don't mind about me, be happy for what you have!" He said, reassuring Koume a little. 
"But your family…you're always got something bad about your life, in one context or another…I feel like I'm…" 
"No no, it's cool. I always try to be happy for what I have, and not sad for what I don't have. Think about my sister right now. She doesn't have a dad as awesome as I do. And plus, she's in Pravda. Wasn't it a very strict and hard school?" 
"Yeah…but so is Kuromorimine…" 
"I don't think that. I've heard stories of students being bullied, beaten up, and some of them even ended up in the hospital. So what I'm about to take from thid here is that Pravda is a very mean and cold school. Kuromorimine might be strict, sure, but there's no such thing as bullying here. Right?" 
"I guess you're right…" Koume commented. She was always feeling reassured by Michael's upbeat and positive attitude. She wondered where it came from. The two stayed in silence for a few minutes, until the train started moving. 
"Michael…can I ask…where do you find it to always be so kind with others?" Koume then asked, finally deciding to speak up. Michael scratched his head and shrugged. 
"I don't know actually…I just…I think I'm kind with you because you're…" 
Michael once again left his sentence unfinished and blushed a lot. He'd never felt that way talking to somebody in all his life, but again, his feelings were very confused.
"Because I'm…?" Koume continued, pushing Michael to speak up. 
"...well, it's because you're like...you're special to me. And so is Miho, and my crew. You are my friends here, and to be honest, you're my only friends. There's nobody I wanna see at home, except my dad." Michael said, without breathing once. After he was done he took a very deep breath and smiled casually. 
"And so are you…Michael."