this story takes place prior to the events in Little Soldier Lost.

Winter had arrived, and it was the time to take over the role of seasonal overseeing from the Aki Sisters. Melancholic as it seemed, the avatars of autumn had understood the role and acknowledged the role of one Letty Whiterock as the avatar of winter. She, too, understood that when the time comes she too would have to leave. There was nothing she or the sisters could do regarding the four season; all they could do was to agree upon the common fact that nothing lasts forever. Winter replaced by spring, spring taken over by summer, summer giving way to autumn; the wheel will keep on turning for so long as time governs.

“Letty! Letty!”

She turned around and couldn’t help smiling. The ice fairy was, and always will, full of energetic as she had noticed.

“Do you have the time?”

Correcting the scarf that almost slipped off her neck she allowed the ice fairy to approach her. “Well, well. You seem to be in trouble, Cirno. Tell me what it is.”

Cirno took the time in recollecting her breath, and when she did she tugged the woman’s sleeve. “I found something! Well, it’s not really something, but I found it! I want you to take a look!” she said and pulled the sleeve, as if it was an urgent matter. “Come on!”

She had to laugh. “Alright, alright, but stop pulling me around.”

“But I have to, or she will be freezing to death!” Cirno urged.

Freeze to death? She? That’s certainly unexpected from the ice fairy, Letty thought. “Alright. Take me to where you… found this something.”

“This way! Follow me!” She followed Cirno’s lead until they arrived at a river. There she pointed at an object half-buried in a snow. “There it is! I saw it while flying across the river this morning!” Cirno exclaimed.

Curiosity kills the cat, as she recalled the proverb, but this demanded investigation. She approached the object and noticed something that looked like a gun barrel sticking out of the snow mound. She touched the object and felt a stinging coldness emancipating from it. She pulled away and dipped her hand into the snow; she felt something hard, flat and cold coming into contact with her palm. She gave it a knock and heard clanking sound from beneath the snow. “Hmm…” She waved her hand, and at once the snow mound was blown away by unseen force, revealing to plain sight a vehicle.

Battle tank.

The first words that appeared inside her mind. She was both amazed and curious; she had never seen anything like this before in her life. What’s more, although she couldn’t identify the vehicle she knew for certain it didn’t come from Gensokyo. There was only one name that came into mind, but that could come later.

She inspected the vehicle closer. Its worn condition suggested to her it had been left to the mercy of Mother Nature for as long as she could imagine: the treads were detached from its chassis, the barrel she had previously touched was covered in solid ice, and its hatch was nowhere to be seen. There was also a hole of sort at the flank, probably caused by something penetrating the vehicle but she couldn’t tell what kind of attack that had created it.

“Cirno, is this the thing you’ve wanted to show me?” Cirno was too busy digging through the snow not far from the mysterious object to even notice the question, and she was more than amazed to see the level of enthusiasm the ice fairy was showing. Usually she would be freezing frogs or messing with the shrine maiden throughout winter but today she seemed to be interested in something.

With a heroic cry of sort Cirno shovelled the last layer of snow and cried excitedly as if she had hit a jackpot. “I found her! I found her!” She pulled the person out of the snow, groaning once as she had to apply some strength to bring the person to the ground. “Letty! Letty! Come take a look!”

She approached Cirno and looked down at the person. It’s a girl, she thought. She looked like as if she was hibernating but there wasn’t any sign of breathing. The girl also had strange outfit of sort donned about her petite body, decorated in black crosses here and there, although it was torn in some places. There were also bruises on her face and her upper body, suggesting that the girl might have gone through some hardships before the discovery. What attracted her attention the most, however, was a strange apparatus strapped across her back; it almost looked like the gun barrel only much smaller although it relatively outsized the girl.

“I never met this girl around. Perhaps she just recently arrived, but…”

She knelt down next to the girl as to check her condition all while Cirno was watching in interest. She hushed the ice fairy when Cirno asked whether the girl was dead or not; she was no medical person but she could tell whether someone was dead or not. She pointed to the weak heaving on the girl’s chest and Cirno cocked her head leftward.

“That shows us that she isn’t dead,” she said with a wink.

“What are we going to do about her?” When the snow lady gave her a smile Cirno felt her face flushing red and turned away. “It’s… it’s not that I wanted to give her shelter or something! I just found her but I didn’t know what to do about her!”

She chuckled. “I never thought to see Cirno’s caring side today.” The comment only made Cirno blush more furiously and she flailed her arms, telling the snow lady to shut up.

“Umm…” The attention was diverted towards the mysterious girl. They watched as the girl’s eyelids fluttered before they became wide open. For a while she wriggled and turned about on the snow before she put her hand on her waist; a pained gasp escaped her lips and her face contorted in unease.

“Letty, she looks she’s hurt,” Cirno said in concern.

The woman nodded and reached out towards the girl. As her hand was about to touch the waist the girl’s eyes stormed wide. She jumped off her feet, ignoring the injury she had, backed off from the couple and aimed the gun barrel at them. “Who… who are you?!” she barked, her voice obviously pained due to the wound.

“Hey! Don’t act rude at us!” Cirno replied. “We just saved you from the cold weather, so be thankful!”

“We didn’t mean to act hostile towards you, so please calm down,” Letty assured.

The girl squinted at them. “Don’t… lie at me! You tried to harm me!” She fiddled with the gun barrel and, to the couple’s shock, fired a shot at Letty. The injury caused her to misfire and the projectile passed over her head rather harmlessly into the snowy skies.

“How dare you attacking Letty!!” Cirno cried out and shot icicle spears at the girl in retaliation. Letty tried in vain to stop the ice fairy from attacking the girl and she had to sigh when she found herself becoming a reluctant witness in the ensuing battle between Cirno and the mysterious girl.

“Oh dear…”

And so she stood there, looking skywards as Cirno shot ice projectiles at the girl, who in spite of the “injury” still managed to sustain the damage her body was absorbing. The girl retaliated by firing another shot from the gun barrel that, to her dismay, still missed her target. Cirno buzzed around the sky, continually bombarding the girl with streams of ice and snow, and again the girl took in the damage before counterattacking.

“You know how to fight, but!” Cirno lifted her hand up high. “Are you able to survive the perfect freeze!?” Letty gaped; the stance and the declaration were the starting of a spellcard battle! Did the mysterious girl know anything about spellcard battle?

“Cirno! Stop!”

“Snow Sign! DIAMOND BLIZZARD!”

At once endless barrages of ice and snow orbs showered the girl, its intensity as ferocious as Cirno’s intention of defeating the girl. Letty could only watch helplessly as the girl was beaten to pieces, never given any chance whatsoever to fight back. Cirno was so absorbed in winning the battle she had forgotten the girl’s condition, and she was all too thrilled in grabbing the victory for herself.

The spellcard ended. The girl crashed into the snow next to the tank and, lying in the ground, she could only growl in anger as Cirno landed on the gun barrel and stood there in victorious pose. “You cannot defeat me this easily, for I am Cirno, the strongest in Gensokyo!” the ice fairy declared and pointed to her opponent. “Go train yourself for another hundred years before you can beat me!”

The girl stood up. In spite of her body riddled in ice and snow, Letty could notice the girl’s refusal to surrender. “Never…! The soldier of the Fatherland never learns to give up…” She lifted the gun barrel back and aimed it at Cirno, obviously surprised she could still get back on her feet. “I’ll crush you with this… this…”

Her knees wavered. For a second or two she lost grasp of the gun barrel that dropped into the snow with a soft thud, and she let out a pained gasp before she descended into the ground. Or not, as her fall was broken after Letty hurled towards her and pulled the unconscious girl into her arms.

“Hah! She’s just too stupid to challenge me!” Cirno bolstered.

“Cirno…” Letty frowned. She was unimpressed, despite the urge to complement Cirno for the effort. “It was an unfair fight.” She cuddled the girl tenderly. “This girl didn’t stand a challenge against spellcard or danmaku battle; you should’ve known.”

“But Letty! She tried to hurt you!” Cirno protested. “You saw that… whatever she had done coming, didn’t you?”

“Maybe…” She then smiled to herself. “But the fighting spirit… I have to admire it. And she looks cute in the determined face, too.”

“Jeez! When I thought I could make you feel proud…” Cirno shrugged afterwards. “Oh, well. That was a boring fight, anyway. I’m off to freeze some stuffs. See you later, Letty!”

The woman just nodded, and the ice fairy flew off to somewhere in the frozen field. She turned her attention back to the girl, who was by now dozing off in her arms. Deciding it was best that she took care of the girl Letty lifted her in her arms and turned to a direction. “Looks like I have an extra job to do this winter.”

Heres hoping that Alek meets her at somepoint.

CAN LOVE BLOOM ON THE BATTLEFIELD?!

>>17537
Sacchin would not take too kindly to that shit.

>>17537
>>17543
But will the unnamed girl and Sacchin meet and understand their love towards their significant one?

Writing Chapter 2 as we speak. Also, I think I need a proper title for this side-story (as well as giving our Panzertouhou a name). Have a fully armed Ran in return.

>>17544
I suggest we name her Yekaterina.

Katya~

>>17551
And man am I stupid, maybe I should learn to read. Obviously the girl is german. Scratch that name her:

Anne-Marie Braun

>>17551
>>17554
>Fatherland
>Soviet
I am disappoint.

On another note: I'm assuming based on the matching turret that this is a Panzer IV based Touhou? Or am I just reading into it a bit too much?

>>17556
My first thought when the chapter was written was the Tiger Tank but I was too busy working on the story to even think of the details. To make things more interesting, she had taken part in the Battle of Kursk.

>>17555
Thanks for the suggestion.

I'm having a bit of problem in the introduction scene between Letty and the girl I'm writing right now. I'm not entirely familiar with the WW2 German tank division (or whatever people may want to call) as of Battle of Kursk, so suggestions and/or advices are very appreciated.

Sage for not actually updating. Have another Letty as an apology.

Update will be ready in seven minutes. Please wait warmly...

The interior of the room was quiet throughout the rest of the day. The unconscious girl was sleeping soundly beneath the comfort of the blanket, attended by Letty after the ‘snow lady’ had brought the girl to her rather humble home. It was rather strange for an avatar of winter to live at a place this cosy, warm and comfortable, but Letty had nothing to complain over it. She had lived this laid-back lifestyle for many years and had no intention of changing it.

As she kept attending the girl, questions emerged. Who was this girl? Where did she come from? How did she end up in the snowy field? Was she related to the armoured vehicle? If she was, how?

The girl stirred. Letty’s attention was directed at the girl and she waited as her ‘guest’ opened her eyes. Weakly the girl rose from her back and looked around, seemingly confused over the new environment she was in, before she turned to Letty. “Ah, so you’ve woken up.”

“…it’s you…” she mumbled.

Letty chuckled. “Of course it is me. Who else you might be thinking of?” The girl tried getting off the bed only to have Letty halt her midway. “You still need to rest for a bit longer. I was surprised it took you… earlier to wake up.”

“…but the girl… she defeated me…” Letty grinned; she must be talking about Cirno, yet she said nothing about it as she let the girl continue with her mumbling. “I… I need to reclaim my victory…”

“It can wait, the rematch,” Letty told the girl. “Right now, all that’s important is for you to get enough rest and recover. Is it alright with you?” The girl put a hand over her waist. She winced. “I take that as a yes. So would you like some drink? Hot chocolate is perfect to warm your body during winter.”

The girl could only nod. “…please do…”

Letty excused herself and headed to the cabinet, humming folklore hymn as she did. It took only a few seconds and she returned to the girl with the beverage still freshly made. “Here. I know it’s not really the best I could offer, but at least it will warm your body.”

“…thank you…” She took the drink and was hesitant for a while before she took a sip of it. She noticed the long, caring gaze Letty was giving her and blinked. “Is there… something on my face?”

“Oh, it’s just that you look cute when you were unconscious.” The answer made the girl pout and this prompted Letty to apologize. “I’m sorry if it offends you.”

“…how am I supposed to be cute? I’m a soldier, and there’s nothing cute about being a soldier…” she mumbled.

“But you are,” Letty pointed. “You were cute in that face when you told Cirno you wouldn’t give up.”

The girl paused. This time she blushed and was trying vainly to suppress it. When she realized it was futile she frowned. “T-thanks… it was the first time somebody has ever said that to me…”

“I’m equally glad as well. Now go on; drink up before it gets cold. It’s the only hot chocolate left, so don’t waste it.” The girl nodded and drank the beverage, taking care of not accidentally burning her tongue in the process all while Letty remained seated.

“Say, we haven’t done proper introduction, have we?” The girl paused and gave Letty a confused look before she nodded. “Alright, then. Tell me what your name is, where you come from and what you did before you come here.”

“2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich, Waffen-SS.” There was a hint of pride coming from her eyes as she began the introduction. “I had been honoured to be chosen as the Fatherland’s best soldier for my inception, and I was proud to have served him well. He had also chosen me to spearhead the assault at Kursk, and it was the best moment in my life.”

“My, what an introduction,” Letty said with soft claps. “So what about the vehicle? How is it related to you?”

“Why, that is me,” the girl giggled. “Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausführung H, or Tiger Tank for easier recognition. I am the best armoured fighting vehicle in the war, and hearing my name is enough to make the enemy cower in fear.”

Letty scratched her chin; that was strange, to have a girl claiming herself as the battle tank, but explanations for that could wait. “Well, I suppose you could get credits for the introduction, but I’m wondering if you have any real name,” she continued, her smile never failed to leave her face.

The girl blinked. “Real name?”

Letty nodded. “Shouldn’t every cute girl have one?”

The girl frowned. She blushed again, her fingers fiddling with one of her twin-tails. “I… I don’t have one… they never gave me one in the first place, so…”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Then why don’t you tell me the first thing that came in your mind?” The girl stared at her in confusion, and Letty gave her a nod of approval. “That’s right. It doesn’t matter what it is. A name is a name, right?”

“A…” After fighting over her hesitation she pressed on. “…Anne… Anne-Marie Braun.” The moment she spoke the name she breathed out in relief, as if she had been freed from restrictive chains that had bound her for life. “…it feels so strange… telling my name to a stranger in this strange place…”

She later giggled. “…yet it feels so good… I don’t know why…”

“I know, right?” Letty smiled. “Pleased to meet you, Anne. I’m Letty.”

The girl returned the smile. “It’s an honour to meet you as well, Letty.”

-------------

Note: after some considerations regarding the armoured vehicle (which included the Elefant and the Landkreuzer), I decided to go for the Tiger I for the fact that I created the Panzer Touhou with combat experience. It doesn't mean that the rest won't be featured in this story, but the decision has been made. And I apologize for any errors in this post.

Also, I find it strange to have this written and posted in /eientei/ yet it has Letty as featured character.

Sorry for the lack of update in this thread, so here it is (and I have to bump it at the same time, too).

-------------

“Letty! Why are we taking her for a walk?”

Letty just smiled. “Why, Cirno dear, it’s for her own good,” she said, her finger pointing skyward as she did. “Can’t afford to lock her indoor for the rest of the winter, can I?” She, then, pointed at Anne the Tiger Tank girl who was captivated by the amount of snow that stretched before her. “Besides, she needs some bit of exposure to this place before she can call it home.”

“I don’t see any reason behind that, Letty!” Cirno’s response only made Letty giggle more, and seeing the snow lady in such reaction was more than enough to fluster the ice fairy. “Hey! Don’t make that kind of face at me, will you? It’s not that I’m upset over your decision to let her stay with you…”

“You were, though,” Letty pointed. “Remember the last night when you came over, when you said the girl had no right to stay over?”

“I didn’t remember saying such thing!” Cirno protested.

Letty sighed. Now was not the right time to argue over the matter, she realized, so she wagged a finger at Cirno. “Now, now, Cirno. Why don’t we talk about it later and meet Anne? She looks like she needs some companion.”

“Whose side are you on?” Cirno asked.

“Nobody, of course.” The answer left Cirno perplexed but she said nothing as she followed Letty’s lead. As they approached Anne they could see her standing next to a frozen lake, seemingly amazed by the sight before her. Letty stepped forward and gave Anne a slight pat on her shoulder, startling her a little. “Enjoying the sight?”

The girl nodded. “It’s… my first winter experience,” she answered, her palm open wide to accept a falling snowflake. “How beautiful… I wish I could savour this scenery back at my place.”

“It indeed is.” Letty took a spot beside Anne, while Cirno proceeded to approach the lakeside.

“So what is this place exactly?”

“You’re in Gensokyo.” Letty collected some snow in her hand to be made into a ball. “It’s the kind of place where anything you can and want to imagine exists. Dragons, fairies, ogres, deities, demons, superhuman, you name it. We have it all.”

“Gen…So…Kyo…” Anne pronounced the name, proving to be as hard as adjusting herself in the snowy environment. “Then how come nobody over my place has ever heard of it?”

Letty smiled. “That, Anne, is because it has been sealed from the outside world for many years. Finding it is hard enough, and getting out from it is… well.” She gave the snowball to Anne, in which she confusedly accepted the ‘gift’. “Let’s just say that only the lucky ones get the chance to discover this hidden place, and you are among the luckiest.”

“You don’t seem to be freezing,” Cirno chided.

Anne fumed at the remark. “I am built to withstand any and all kind of weathers! Don’t underestimate my ability, ice girl!”

“But you still lost the fight!” Cirno stuck out her tongue at Anne to infuriate her. “I am the strongest in Gensokyo! There’s no way a… tank girl can defeat me!” A splat on her face, and Cirno was knocked off her feet and fell onto the lake’s frozen surface.

“Oh, my,” Letty gasped.

“H-Hey! What was that for?!” Cirno demanded.

Anne smirked, the snowball Letty had given to her absent from her hand. “One should never let their guard down in the face of advancing enemy. That’s the very first lesson we had been taught.”

“I-I-I’ll show you, tank girl!!” Cirno tossed snowball at Anne, which hit her on her face. Anne retaliated by throwing more snowballs at the ice fairy, and before long the two girls were engaged in an intense snowball, dodging and counterattacked while chasing each other across the field. Letty found herself unwilling witness again, and could only watch from safe distance as Cirno and Anne exchanged shots.

“Letty!!” Anne ran towards Letty, her steps hampered by the thick snow and the gun barrel that almost slipped off its shoulder strap. Amidst heavy snowball barrage she managed to reach the snow lady and hid behind her. “Cover me! She’s going to attack me with heavy artillery!”

“Hey! That’s not fair! Using Letty as a shield, that’s cheating!!” Cirno protested.

Anne stuck out her tongue at her opponent. “Cheating? What cheating? I don’t see anything wrong with using somebody as a shield!”

“Yeah, but you’re using Letty!! Come out and fight like a real warrior, you coward!!”

“I’m not a coward!!” Anne replied.

“Oh, yes you are!” Cirno proceeded to taunt Anne, and this was more than enough to make her abandon the cover and silence her with a dense snowball strike. “Damn it! You just want to mess with me, tank girl!” She pounced at Anne and tackled her hard, tumbling and rolling about in the snow while struggling to gain dominance in the wrestle.

“So refreshing…” Letty burst into a fit of laughter, and the reaction caused both girls to look at her in confusion. “So refreshing! Ah~ it’s been a long time since I had last seen this~ seeing two girls fighting over simple things~” She calmed down, although her body was still shaking from the laugh and was covering her mouth with her hand. “Oh, dear… silly me, I shouldn’t laugh at you girls…”

“Jeez! Look what you’ve done,” Cirno mumbled as she sat back.

“What? I didn’t even do anything,” Anne interjected.

“You made Letty laugh at us, that’s what,” Cirno answered.

“It was your fault!” Anne answered and pushed her roughly into the snow.

Cirno snapped. “Why you…”

Letty smiled, even as the girls resumed their argument although without physical interaction. Maybe, she pondered, [i]maybe they’ll become good friends after knowing each other better.

“Girls!” Cirno and Anne stopped arguing and turned to her. “We have more places to visit after this. Are you coming with me or not?”

Anne quickly stood up and ran towards Letty. “Coming!” She paused, turned back at Cirno, stuck her tongue out at the ice fairy, and left the frustrated tomboy behind.

“Wait! Don’t leave me behind!!” Cirno shouted and chased after them.

Before I proceed with the actual update, allow me to bump this thread with update of its own.

----------------

Chapter 04

Winter was fast approaching its midway, and Anne had begun to familiarize herself with Gensokyo and its environment. With the help of Letty, she was also able to learn the unique danmaku technique, a feat nothing short of wonder considering how she had been in the sealed land for only a mere few days. It was essential that she adopted the skills and mastered them if she was to survive the unforgiving wilderness, and her determination in mastering the skill did nothing more than to amaze Letty.

Right now she was taking a break and sitting next to the lake. She had come to grasp the danmaku technique and was able to fire a variety of shots from the gun barrel, ranging from air burst to cluster munitions. It was a tiring ordeal, since every shot fired meant the recoil would mean she had to for another shot. She was also unable to manoeuvre while firing danmaku, a setback that had frustrated her from the start of the training, a setback that haunted many of her fellow ‘sisters’ from the first day of operation.

“Tired already? Where’s the spirit you had shown me earlier?” Letty shouted from the other side of the lake.

“I’m not tired!” Standing back on her feet she took aim at Letty and fired a cluster danmaku at the winter lady. Letty merely smiled and allowed the projectiles to come around her and she did something that amazed Anne as it was infuriating: she grazed through the danmaku stream, flying through the air as if she was dancing. She had never seen the manoeuvre before, and seeing it performed by Letty was the most awe-inspiring thing ever to take place before her.

SPLAT.

A snowball hit her face, and Anne fell onto the snowy ground. “H-hey! What was that for?” she whined while rubbing her face off the snow smear.

Letty smiled. “That should teach you not to drop your guard.” Anne blushed at the remark. To think she had been taught of the fundamental lesson in battlefield survival, the irony behind it was as cold as the snowfall. She made a pouting face that only served to make the snow lady giggle.

“Don’t be that dense.” Letty landed on the lake’s frozen surface. “Everyone’s a beginner. You’ll get used to it if you’re patient,” she said as she approached Anne.

“But that doesn’t change the fact that I have been-” A quick poke on her puffing cheek, and Anne’s face turned redder. Letty giggled again and poke Anne’s other cheek, and this time the Tiger Tank girl became extremely flustered. “Stop poking my cheeks! It won’t make me anymore cuter!”

Letty laughed and extended her hand forward as to give the girl a soft pat on her head. “Sorry, Anne, but I just can’t resist doing it.” She continued ruffling Anne’s hair, occasionally brushing it off the falling snow and removing a strand of hair from her face. “So, Anne, are you ready to practice a bit more?”

“Yes, I am.” Letty stood up, helping her in getting back on her feet. “Please teach me about the manoeuvre you had performed a while ago.”

“Grazing? That shouldn’t be hard to accomplish.” Letty made several snowballs out of the element and asked Anne to stand a few paces to the front. “It’s very easy, since you only need to read your opponent’s attack pattern and seize any advantage to slip through all openings. You’ll find it helpful in spellcard battle should you encounter one.”

Letty motioned her hand. Slowly the snowballs floated off the ground and encircled the woman before they were thrown at Anne. At first the Tiger Tank girl dodged, her movement dampened by the weight of the gun barrel, but as the intensity of the snowball barrage increased she began to see a pattern emerging from it and executed the intricate manoeuvre.

The shootout ended. Anne fell onto her bottom, tired, but her face was showing a degree of confidence that made Letty smile. “Lovely.” She moved her hand again, only this time she created mists instead of snowballs. “I’m going to throw these at you. Don’t take them for granted; you’ll end up in a world of hurt if you aren’t careful. You ready?”

Anne stood back. “Readier than you’ll ever think,” she nodded.

“That’s the spirit.” Letty brought her hand forward. The mists shot danmaku in various shapes and forms, and Anne applied the knowledge she had acquired to graze through the formation. Slowly, but surely, she began to grasp the essence and beauty of grazing and she was amazed to know she was doing what she had thought was an impossibility.

She miscalculated her steps while out-turning an orb. A soft bang, followed by a pained yelp, and the Tiger Tank girl was knocked off her feet and fell into the snow. The distressed Letty quickly discarded the danmaku and rushed to aid Anne. “Are you alright?”

In spite of the injury Anne still managed to smile. “It’s just a scratch. I’m built to withstand even the worst of damages,” she stated. “I certainly didn’t see it coming. I should be more careful.”

“The training ends for now.” Letty helped Anne getting back on her feet and tidying her messed hair. “I must say that I was surprised when you asked me to teach you about danmaku.”

“A soldier has to do what she has to do to survive the battlefield,” Anne answered.

“Anyway, I’m going to the Youkai Mountain for quick visit to someone. Want to go along?”

She shook her head. “I think I want to stay here for a while.”

Letty smiled. “Well, suit yourself. You know where to go in case the weather turns rough, right?” Anne nodded. “I’ll see you later at the shack.”

“Take care, Letty.”

Letty departed and headed to the said location, leaving Anne behind to enjoy the white scenery. For a while she stood idle in the middle of the whiteness before she giggled and tip-toed along the snowy ground, as if dancing. Not even the weight of the 88mm barrel could hinder her from enjoying the scenery as she wanted, and enjoy was all she could do to kill the time.

“My, who do we have here?” Anne halted and turned to the direction of the voice. Amidst the snowfall she spotted a woman in brightly coloured outfit, her parasol opened to protect against the snow. Her appearance seemed to be out of place, considering that her outfit wouldn’t protect her from the coldness of the winter. She couldn’t tell it, but there was something about the mysterious lady that emitted an aura of intrigue and fear.

And she must ask.

“Who are you?”

"It was a cold, and snowy day..."

>>18868
And then Anne was a Solo Wing.

===========

“Who are you?”

The newcomer smiled. The parasol that had been sheltering her from the snowfall was stirred to allow some snow that was settling to slide down onto the ground. She brought it back over her head and walked towards Anne, and she halted just a few feet away from the Tiger Tank girl.

“I should be asking you the question, dear,” the green-haired woman replied, her hand twirling the parasol’s handle slowly in her hand. “Especially.” She grinned, and Anne could not help feeling browbeaten by it. “Since your presence in Gensokyo has spurred a lot of attention.”

“Attention? But I’ve been in this place for only a couple of days.” Anne counted her fingers, only to shrug the numbers. “I guess. But what you do you mean by-”

The woman held a finger, as to tell Anne to keep quiet. “Where has your politeness gone to, dear? Shouldn’t you first introduce your name to me?”

“Ah! I’m sorry.” The girl corrected her posture and gave the woman a salute. “Anne-Marie Braun, 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich, Waffen-SS. I’m currently training under Letty’s supervision as her apprentice.” The woman’s smile dropped, worrying the Tiger Tank girl. Was there something wrong with the introduction?

“That’s nice,” the woman spoke. “I didn’t know the woman takes anyone as her underling, apart from the fool ice fairy. How sad.” A sudden gust was blown onto the duo. Anne recoiled at the unbelievably bone-chilling wind, but the woman stayed still, seemingly unaffected by the wind. “Well, if it isn’t the Yuki Onna herself,” she mocked.

“Why, thank you very much, Sunflower Extravagance,” Letty replied as she appeared next to Anne.

“Letty! I thought you’d be away for a while,” Anne said.

“I was, until I saw her coming at you.” Letty turned her attention towards the woman. Her eyes narrowed. “You better have a reason for looking for this girl, Yuuka.”

The woman laughed. “Don’t be rude at me, Letty. I was just walking this road when I saw her,” she replied. “Can you say ‘fate has decided that our roads cross’?”

“Nonsense,” Letty said. “Just tell me what’s really brought you here. You aren’t supposed to be out here.” The tone in her voice changed. “Are you?”

The woman smiled. “Alright. You win. Hmm, can’t always take heart-warming joke into account, can you?” She turned to Anne. “But first, a proper introduction to the girl. Yuuka Kazami is the name; imprint that firmly in your head, Anne. You will have to remember it the next time we meet.” The soft-spoken command did its trick in prompting Anne to prop a salute, and Yuuka chuckled at the gesture. “I like that kind of formality. And she even spoke about being an apprentice of yours, Letty. Is it true?”

There was a faint hint of smile coming from Letty’s lips. It wasn’t really visible, but Anne could spot it. “Maybe.”

“What’s with the lifeless response? Come on, Letty! Heat up for a bit!” Yuuka interjected. “Or is it because you’re still lamenting over the defeat last season?” Her lips curled up into a scoffing smile, and she gingerly licked her upper lip. “It was a good thing it didn’t last all the way through midnight, because I would have gone deep and hard with you.”

Letty sighed. “Forget it, Yuuka. I lost, you won. You don’t have to be so picky about it,” she said.

“Just admit it, Letty,” Yuuka spoke. “You actually loved the moment I gave you the touch, didn’t you?”

Anne blinked. She didn’t follow the entire conversation, and as she was looking back and forth between Letty and Yuuka, she found herself caught up in a deep trench of confusion. “Can anyone give me SitRep?” she demanded, only to find herself being stared at by Yuuka.

“Oh? I like that confused face of yours. So cute.” Yuuka smiled. “I tell you what, young girl. Why don’t you come over and stay with me? Maybe you’ll know everything better.” She walked towards Anne until her face was an inch over her face, and the girl shivered when she felt Yuuka’s warm breath on her cheek. “Just. You. And. I.”

“Sorry, Yuuka, but this girl stays with me.” So saying Letty approached Anne from the behind and wrapped her arms about the girl’s shoulder, therefore pulling her away from the green-haired woman. “I found her first.”

“Wow, that’s fast. Hmm… maybe we should have a competition here to determine who more worthy of looking after her is,” Yuuka suggested.

“Don’t even think about it,” Letty threatened, her smile remained intact.

Yuuka chuckled. “Really now?”

Anne released from her arms, Letty begin to confront Yuuka. “Get out of here, Yuuka. You don’t belong here,” she snarled.

The woman pouted. “Jeez, you are indeed cold. No wonder why you have so few companions in your lifetime.” She chuckled, probably to herself as far as Anne could tell, and excused herself as she headed back to the road she was from. “Oh, I just want to tell both of you this before I forget.”

“Which is?” Anne asked, her curiosity rising up a level.

“Watch out for the border granny. I heard she has her eyes fixed on you, so be careful.” Anne gulped, and this made Yuuka smile grimly. “I did tell you you’d attract a lot of attention, didn’t I? And don’t ever come to me if you fail to take the message, although…” Her smile turned a little sadistic, enough for the girl to twitch. “I don’t mind having you crawl to my lair and beg for your soul while giving my foot a proper cleaning.”

Letty stepped forward, her speed of which startled Anne since she didn’t see it coming. She was even surprised as the spirit of winter produced what looked like a trident and aimed its three-point tips at Yuuka’s neck. “That’s enough,” she uttered.

The woman smiled. “Easy there. It was, at best, a joke.” She used the parasol to lower the trident, so its tips were pointed towards the soil.

“Nothing from you is to be treated as a joke,” Letty replied. “Now leave, before I start to lose my patience. And I mean it.” Yuuka smiled at the command and nodded in acknowledgment. Then she turned to Anne and gave her an assuring smile before she walked off. For a minute or two, none of them was saying anything until Letty let out an exasperated sigh. “Good lord, that Yuuka.”

“Letty?”

The woman said nothing, choosing instead to discard the trident into snow and stare into the wintery skies. There was something saddening about the gaze as Anne found out, but she couldn’t tell.

“Anne?”

“Uhh… yes?” Letty fell silent; it was as if she was avoiding conversation by looking into another direction. Anne’s attempt to call her out seemed fruitless, and only when Cirno appeared and tackle Letty did the mood change.

“Letty! Here you are!” excitedly the ice fairy shouted as she gave Letty an embrace. “What are you doing here with the tank girl?”

“Oh. Hello, Cirno,” Letty greeted. “We’re in a middle of our sightseeing. Want to join us?”

“Sightseeing with Letty? Hooray!” Cirno cheered and hugged the avatar of winter again. “But can I have danmaku duel with the tank girl? Can I? Can I?”

“It’s Anne, you…” Anne paused; she didn’t want to start the argument with Cirno regarding her name. “Just call me whatever you like.” And she chose not to argue; her mind had been focused on the crisis between Letty and Yuuka, as well as the sudden change of mood the snow lady had displayed. The revelation that her presence had caused a stir in Gensokyo also disturbed her, and she must find a way to resolve all issues.

I know she's unique and all, but why would they care about an old, forgotten, worn down tank named Sacchin?

>>19529

It's very rare that a tank plops down in Gensokyo and becomes a youkai. There's also the possibility that this was a side effect of Yukari bringing Yuri over if this is the same universe.

>>19537
>This story takes place prior to the events in Little Soldier Lost.
Same universe, probably not a side effect though.

>>19538

It might be this incident that inspired Yukari to bring Yuri over, but I wonder if he might run into the little Tank Girl or not; only the end this story can tell.

>>19529
>>19537
>>19538
>>19553
Interesting point.

Morning arrived. It was, at best, gloomy for Anne as she was standing outside Letty’s shack, her battle armour fully covering her petite figure, the 88mm fully slung across her shoulders. She realized she would betray Letty’s trust by abandoning her post, but she couldn’t help it. For a week, Letty had practically avoided all questions about her relationship with Yuuka and the sunflower lady mentioning how Anne’s presence had caught Gensokyo’s attention, focusing instead on helping the Tiger Tank girl with advanced danmaku and spellcard techniques.

Today, she hoped, she would find an answer to put all the questions to rest.

Standing firmly in the snow, she gave the shack a quick salute. “Please forgive me, Letty, but I must seek the truth.” She paused. “Even if it’d evade me forever.” With that done she turned around and headed to a direction, to where she trusted her feet to lead.

Or not, as she found herself confronting Cirno near the river. Trying her best to be as friendly as she could, Anne smiled. “Good morning, Cirno.”

“Where are you going to, tank girl?” the ice fairy asked. “Didn’t Letty ask you not to leave without her… what was that word again? Permission?” Furiously she shoved her fingers through her hair. “Argh! I must remember!”

Anne frowned. Cirno had a point there, but does that mean she wanted to be kept in the dark? “I will be alright,” she spoke. “Please tell Letty that I’ll be home before dinner.” Just when she was about to leave Cirno called her again. “Yes?”

“Can I come with you?” Cirno asked.

“Thanks, but I can look after myself,” she assured. “I’d rather… keep you out of trouble.”

Cirno folded her arms across her chest. “Hmph. Whatever you say, tank girl.” She later smiled. “And trust me on telling Letty about it. She’ll understand.”

Anne sported a salute. “Thank you very much, Cirno.”
-
-
She was stumped. Where in the name of the Fatherland was she?

This was certainly a strange place. To begin with, she was standing at the foot of a mountain, and the forest looked as if they had been ripped off their leaves. She shook her head in disbelief; of course they were, for this was winter, the coldest of the four seasons.

That wasn’t the point!

The real issue, she insisted, was how she was supposed to walk when she had no one to ask the direction. She sighed in regret; if only Cirno was here to accompany her. Maybe she could just wander around aimlessly, hoping to have her path crossed with someone else’s. Or maybe she could just walk around and wholeheartedly enjoy the scenery.

“Hello.” She turned around and was greeted with an image unlike anything else: a woman in deliberate swirl-decorated red dress and bows (one of the bows was tying her aquamarine hair under her chin). There was something about the woman that the Tiger Tank girl could not tell, especially the ribbon that was wrapping her left wrist. “You seem to be new around here.”

“Uhh… yeah, I kind of got lost,” sheepishly Anne admitted. “Actually, I just came here from over there,” and she pointed to the direction of the Misty Lake. “I thought I could take a walk around… what is this place, anyway?”

“You’re at the Youkai Mountain, and this area is the Great Youkai Forest,” the woman answered. “You said you came from the Misty Lake, yes? Do you happen to know Letty?”

“Yes, I do. In fact, I’m staying with her, why?”

The woman giggled. “An acquaintance of the avatar of winter, I see. I bet the sisters of autumn won’t be happy if she shows up here.” She approached Anne and extended her hand towards her, but the girl winced. “Oh, my. Am I scaring you? Don’t be afraid; my intention is only to help you.”

“I-it’s not! I just have this funny feeling…” Anne murmured.

The woman smiled. “It’s alright. As the goddess of curses, my presence always brings fear and uncertainty to the ordinary people.”

Anne blinked. “A what?”

“My name is Hina Kagiyama, pleased to meet you.” She made a light bow. “And you are?”

“Anne-Marie Braun, 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich, Waffen-SS, the best of Fatherland’s most elite. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss-” The goddess named Hina started spinning on her feet just ever slightly, yet even this was enough to mesmerize Anne. It was as if she was dancing on the snow, and she could not think of why a goddess of curses would be spinning…

Well, why not trying it out?

Rising into the air (it was fortunate for her to master the skill from Letty) Anne watched as the goddess hopped and spun from tree to tree. Following her suit, she started rotating, the cumbersome weight of the 88mm barrel preventing her from keeping herself balanced. The scenery in front of her warped to a blur as she allowed herself to pick up speed and spin, using the 88mm barrel to gain momentum. This wasn’t bad at all! Breaking into a grin, she spun faster and faster. Spin spin spin spin spin spin spin spin-

Thump.

Her back slammed into the trunk of a tree. The impact wasn’t hard, but she was too disoriented to focus on keeping herself airborne. Just as she was about to crash, feeling nauseated enough to vomit, a pair of arms held her up by her arms. She looked upward and saw the goddess smiling at her.

“Be careful. You’ll get dizzy and sick of you spin like that too much,” Hina said as they made a slow descent into the ground, although Anne could not help noticing a hint of mischief emancipating from her. “Oh, sorry about earlier. I tend to spin even when I don’t need to.”

“…it’s more of a dance to me,” Anne shrugged. “…thanks, though.”

Hina giggled. “You are such a sweet girl. But I must wonder; judging from the name, you must be an outsider, and humans are supposed to avoid me because of my role.” She paused, only to let Anne off her arms. “And yet you don’t.”

“I don’t know…” Anne frowned. “How am I supposed to fear a goddess of curses when… you don’t look like one? I mean, you spin and don’t get dizzy from it, and you wear ribbons. That’s… cute, I think.”

Hina laughed. “How flattered I am~ you really are something.” She smiled again. “Yes, I am indeed a goddess of curses, but my duty is to carry away illness and misfortune. In other words, I help people by carrying curses away from them.”

“That’s nice, I think,” Anne murmured.

“Hmm? What’s the matter, Anne? You don’t seem to enjoy my presence,” Hina inquired.

“Please don’t get me wrong!” Anne protested. “It was just that… Letty refused to tell me what’s going on between her and the sunflower lady.” The Tiger Tank girl took a deep breath. “…I met Miss Yuka last week, and she said that my presence has stirred everyone’s attention. She even told me to be careful of the border granny.”

“That’s interesting,” Hina said. “May I know why?”

“I don’t know, and it’s been bothering me ever since.” Anne bit her lower lip. “How should I say this? I woke up in the middle of winter, me and my body-”

“AAAAAAA!!” Anne and Hina turned around, and in an instant a girl came out of nowhere and pounced at the Tiger Tank girl. “You! Why do you smell of Letty?!” the blonde shouted as she pinned Anne into the snow. “You don’t belong here, so get lost!!”

“Let me go!” Anne whined.

“Never!!” The girl withdrew a burdock root and lifted it high over head. “I’m so angry right now, and I need to vent that off onto someone!”

“Here Eye Come To Save The Day!!!” The ice fairy kicked the blonde girl off Anne and cast Icicle Fall onto the offender before giving her a chase across the forest. “Let her go, you stupid goddess of autumn!”

“Anything but the icicle!!” the girl whined and crouched to protect her head from the ice barrage. “Ah!! Minoriko, help me!” In no time the owner of the name showed up and dragged the unlucky girl out of the Icicle Fall although she, too, fell victim to the spellcard. “Not you, too, Minoriko?”

“I am the strongest fairy in Gensokyo!” Cirno’s voice echoed through the snowy land as she cast more Icicle Falls onto the sisters. “Come and weep at my power!!”
-
-
“I don’t even need your help,” Anne retorted.

“Hah! Don’t be so cocky just because I saved your ass once,” Cirno exclaimed smugly after she took care of the Aki Sisters. “Besides, you should thank Letty for sending me to find you.”

“She… did?”

“Of course!” Cirno bolstered. “And you owe me for that, too.”

The sisters of autumn groaned in defeat. “It’s hopeless… Letty’s gotten herself a youkai as an ally…” the maple-leaf-motif girl whined. “We can never overpower winter, Minoriko! We are doomed!”

“Keep yourself together, Shizuha!” the other girl begged. “We still have autumn with us! Get over it!”

“Youkai?” Hina turned towards Anne. She reached for the girl and put her hand upon her scalp, patting her for a few times. Then she pulled away. “I see. No wonder you don’t exhibit fear towards me. I should’ve known earlier from the moment we met.”

“Wait, wait! What’s going on here?” Anne asked. “I’m a youkai? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m sorry, but I cannot answer that question,” Hina apologized. “If you want to learn more, may I recommend Keine Kamishirasawa?”

“Who is that?” Anne asked.

“She teaches history at the human village’s school,” Hina answered. “Your ice fairy friend should know her well.”

“Just leave that to me!” Cirno said. “Icky-Keine and I are close friends!”

“Thank you very much,” Anne said and saluted the goddess before she took off with Cirno. She later turned around and faced the goddess. “Can we meet again, Miss Kagiyama? I really enjoy your company. Plus, I want to know how you don’t get dizzy from that spinning.”

“Why, you are more than welcomed, Anne,” Hina said with a smile. “Oh, about that spinning?” She placed a finger in front of her lips, almost invitingly. “That would be… a goddess’ secret,” she said with a wink.
-
-
“Okay, Anne, listen closely because I’m going to say this only once,” Cirno said as they made a soft touchdown on the snow. “We are going to visit the human settlement, so… Uhh, can you do something about that?” Confused, Anne asked if Cirno was referring to the 88mm barrel. “Of course I did! Can you shrink it? Or hide it? Or whatever to make people suspect us less?”

“I… I’ll try.” Closing her eyes Anne concentrated her efforts on the barrel, and sure enough it underwent a transformation that took both girls by surprise. Under their observation, the barrel (along with the armoured plates that had kept Anne off the elements) disassembled, dissolved into the air and materialized to form a briefcase.

“How did you do that?” Cirno cooed.

Anne was uncertain about it, either, but decided not to worry about it. “At least I did hide it from plain view, didn’t I?” she asked the ice fairy as she fetched the briefcase.

Their trip was as lively as the ice fairy, and Anne could not help becoming amused by Cirno’s antics. In spite of the preliminary grudges she had against Cirno she was feeling comfortable with her company, and she also found herself spending the time chatting with the girl. Not that she wanted to complain, since she had never felt this lively before in her life.

“This trip is getting boring…” Cirno mumbled. “Why can’t we do anything fun?!”

“You tell me,” Anne said. “You’re the one who suggested that we walk.”

“What? You want me to- Ah! I know!” Cirno started running down the alley, so fast that Anne had very little time to pursue the ice fairy. “Loser has to buy me ice-cream!” Cirno shouted. “Bet you can’t outrun this fairy, can you?”

“Cirno, wait up!” The ice fairy was running too fast for Anne to catch up, and she was left alone in the field. Looking around she noticed she was in another location, and it was nowhere near the Great Youkai Forest or the Misty Lake. Maybe this was an unexplored area, she thought, and she could find Cirno later. Settling down, she walked down the lone path, wondering of what she should do to kill the flowing time.

She halted. Her eyes spotted something, almost indistinguishable from a distance, and yet she recognized it as the silhouette of a human. She approached the shadow, struggling to wade through the knee-deep snow, and as she managed to come close an acrid stench invaded her nose.

Blood?

She followed the foul smell and came across the human she had seen earlier. She was aghast; hanging from the branches of a tree nearby was the body of a man, his head jerked back and his lifeless eyes staring down at her. The corpse looked like it had been completely ravaged and torn apart, with one leg clearly broken in half, the fractured end of a white bone jutting out of the thigh.

The most shocking of all was that uniform.

It belonged to the 2nd SS Panzer Division, so that meant this man…

She shook her head. No. He wasn’t one of her crews, and yet to see one of the people that had been taking care of her in Gensokyo, what would this encounter mean?

“Oh? A free meal?”

Anne turned towards the voice, just in time to see a shabby man wearing a dirty kimono leap down to the ground, presumably from a tree.

“That guy tasted so bad I had to let it rot a few days first,” he said with a sneer. “Also, his words confused me a little. Third Reich? Panzer Division? What the hell are those?” He narrowed his gaze to Anne. “You look somewhat softer. Maybe a bit cold, but your flesh will be more delicate to feast on.” He licked his lips as he finished saying this.

“Uhh… who are you?” Anne asked, not knowing what he was talking about.

“Damn, you’ve never heard of a feral youkai, haven’t you?” he spit out in a disgusted, if not amused voice. “Whatever. I’m in a good mood today, so why don’t you nicely give yourself in and let me finish you off?”

“Nein!” Anne clutched the grip of the briefcase. “A stranger is scary enough, but a stranger that eats people? You’re horrible!!”

“Then it can’t be helped.”

He growled, hunching over like a wild beast. His skin grew darker and darker, and began to sink, his body growing slimmer and slimmer, as though all the fat and muscles were being absorbed into the bones what now stood before the Tiger Tank girl could only be vaguely called a human, with pitch-black skin, glowing red eyes, two prominent, pointed fangs and a disproportionate, skeletal body.

“I guess I’ll have to take you down by force, instead!!” he cried out in a distorted, echoing voice.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Author’s note: well, I’m not going to drag this story to the point it’s becoming a nuisance to read, so I’ll have this little adventure wrapped up in two or three chapters. Besides, with Yukari eager to tell Yuri the fate of our Tiger Tank girl…

>>19900
Yay, more Anne!

>>19900
>Besides, with Yukari eager to tell Yuri the fate of our Tiger Tank girl…
You're going to kill her, aren't ya? Please don't! I want an epic Russian sniper vs German tank (girl) fight.

>>19906
Aya...just because he said fate doesn't mean it's positive or negative.

Remilia isn't always bad.

>>19906
No worry about that; Anne's going to be alive and well, although this update may say the otherwise.

Note: this is the continuation of the last chapter.
-
-
The youkai attacked.

The initial move was an arm thrust, and Anne had to duck low as the youkai aimed it at her head. The youkai and drew back his fist again, ready for a second attack. This time the German tank was ready, and she rolled out of the way as the youkai’s hand reached out for her, shooting out even faster than before. She got back on her feet, just when the youkai pounced at her, his claws extended forward.

“Stay wherever you are, bitch!!”

A loud bang. The youkai snarled in annoyance, for the attack had been blocked by the steel-reinforced briefcase. In the confusion that was taking place Anne pushed the hand forward, spun on her feet, and slammed the metal object into the youkai’s face. The youkai reeled in shock and pain, and another swing of the steel bag into the face knocked him away from the girl.

“You really have the gut to fight,” the youkai growled. He hesitated, only to fix the dislocated jaw, and he was grinning sadistically as Anne watched the process in horror. “I guess I’ll be enjoying this for a bit longer.”

“You won’t be able to get me,” Anne said defensively.

The youkai snorted. “We’ll see.” He pounced at Anne, aiming its claws at the girl once again. Anne dodged the attack but the youkai was quicker and twisted to send his arm crashing into her midsection. The blow sent Anne crashing through the woods, crashing through many layers of vegetation before her flight was stopped dead by a boulder. The girl cried out in pain, feeling several of her internals creaking and cracking in metallic noise.

“That was sooner than I thought,” the youkai said gloatingly as he approached Anne. “But whatever.” She attempted to lift herself up, struggling to move her limbs, and the process irritated the youkai as he grabbed the girl by the neck and lifted her off the ground.

“Persistent, aren’t you?” he scoffed. “This is why I hate having to fight for my meal. I’d rather have it readily surrendering to its demise so I can finish it quickly.” He threw Anne onto the boulder, her body stumbling like ragdoll as it crashed. “But you’re fun. Why don’t we play along for a bit longer?”

“Leave! Anne! ALONE!!”

The youkai turned to the voice and found himself barraged by icicle fall so angry he had to leave Anne. He looked at the direction of the attack and saw Cirno charging forward, ice sword in her hand. The sword was slammed onto the youkai’s forehead, shattering on impact, although it was enough to daze the creature. The ice fairy produced an ice spike and drove it through the back of the youkai’s hand, pinning it against the ground.

“The fuck!!” He ripped back his hand, pulling the spike out from the ground as his arm contracted back to its normal size. He hurriedly removed the spike from his hand, tossing it aside while blowing on the wound it left behind. “Fucking fairy. Who the hell do you think you are?”

By now Cirno had stood in front of Anne, accompanied by a green-haired, side-tailed, nervous-looking fairy. “I am Cirno, the strongest in girl Gensokyo!” she announced, one arm stretched in front of the Tiger tank girl and one hand pointed towards the youkai. “You think you can lay a finger on her? You have to get through me first!”

“Stand back! You’re preventing me from having my lunch,” the youkai roared.

“I won’t let you hurt her!” Cirno replied.

“Then you die with her as well.” Rearing up, the youkai launched himself at Cirno who had summoned another ice spike in defence, but his approach was short-lived when his normal arm suddenly exploded. “Uwarghhhhh!!” he howled in pain as he crashed into the ground.

“What did you just do, Cirno?” the fairy asked.

“I didn’t even throw this spike at him,” the bewildered Cirno replied. “Wait! Could that be Anne’s doing?”

The two fairies looked behind them and, to their amazement, saw Anne standing on her ground, her hand pointing at the youkai in a gun gesture. Blood was flowing down her face and onto the snow (or was it blood, as it had the smell of burnt carbon); the dress was torn apart, exposing her skin to the cold air; her eyes appeared empty, as if something had possessed her. As if she was changing to someone not her.

“Come with us, Anne! We better leave the youkai and get someone to deal with it,” Cirno said, yet the tank girl wasn’t saying anything. “Anne? Come on! Do you want to fight that thing again? You aren’t like the shrine maiden!”

“Stand back.”

Anne waved her hand over the briefcase, and it disassembled to form the armoured plates and the 88mm gun that automatically attached themselves on her. Now fully armoured and armed the Tiger Tank girl marched towards the youkai, ignoring Cirno and her fairy friend who could only watch in confusion.

“You little shit…” the youkai cursed.

She halted, only to stare at him in silence. Then, in an instant, she appeared before him, the speed of which caught the youkai off guard. “What the fuck?” Surprise turned to fear and next to anger as the youkai took a swing at her with his undamaged hand.

And it was blocked.

“Fuck!”

Before he could recover from the swing, Anne made a spin and swung the gun barrel upward to the bottom of the youkai’s chin. Blood spilt out from the youkai’s mouth and nose, his teeth smashed and broken. Following up, she delivered a clothesline to his neck, knocking the air out of him. Doubling back to wind up for the next attack, she took aim and opened fire a point blank, launching the youkai up into the air.

Following up after the youkai, Anne further attacked him with a rising knee to the abdomen while simultaneously slamming the gun barrel on his back. The sound of destroyed vertebrate was visibly heard, before it was drowned by the youkai’s anguish cries as he fell towards the earth. The girl would not allow that to happen as she was already waiting below, and the moment the youkai got close she thrust the gun barrel upward, impaling him in the process.

“Ugghaaaaagh…” he groaned, blood leaking from the mouth, nose and the lower entrance. The sight was repulsive, but she did not care. The youkai was an enemy, and destroying an enemy was her task.

The youkai took a last sight on the girl. “You… you aren’t a human…”

She brought the gun skyward.

“What…the fuck…are you?”

She closed her eyes.

“I am me.”

And she fired.

Round after round of anti-armour munitions shot through the youkai and into the air, the recoil of each shot pressed the girl deeper into the soil. His screams were drowned out in the thundering gun blast, but that wasn’t enough. With a final upward jerk of the gun fired a shot that completely turned the youkai into tiny pieces.

The ordeal was over. The gun barrel falling into the snow with a loud thud, Anne looked up into the snowy skies and then at the fairies. An empty gaze was what was coming from her, and the eyes closed as Anne began to collapse.

“Anne!!”

Once again, her descend was broken as Letty appeared before her, allowing the girl to fall onto her arms. The snow lady did nothing afterwards, opting to hold the unconscious girl close to her, and there was no smile carved upon her face either.

“Foolish…” She started to cuddle the girl. “You don’t have to do this.” She closed her eyes. “You don’t have to.”

The snow started falling down to the land…
-
-
Wish I knew some German...

>>19933
>Wish I knew some German...

Wolfenstein 3D is your friend... in some sense.

Also, nice update, Serial.

Nichts falsch mit dem Lernen einer anderen Sprache, aber ich würde davor, ein klassisches Spiel, Sie in Ihren Bemühungen der Verwendung der deutschen Sprache Beihilfen zu beraten.

Nur so ein Hinweis auf, dass

>>19937
may have typed it wrong but the meaning should still be there,,,

>>19936
>>19937
Haha, thanks.

------------

“Is she going to be alright, Miss Letty?” asked the green-haired fairy.

The silver-haired woman was done changing Anne’s clothes. “She should’ve been more careful out there. That youkai had almost killed her because of her negligence.” She tucked the sleeping tank girl in a blanket, arranging the cover in such way it would keep her warm. “Seriously…”

“But you saw it, didn’t you? How she fought the youkai?” the ice fairy asked.

The woman remained silent. All she did was to correct the blanket, continually rearranging it until Anne snug perfectly beneath. Then she headed for the door. “…Cirno.”

“Uh, yes?”

The avatar of winter corrected the golden lapel that was slipping off her chest. “There’s something I need to do first. Can you look after her while I’m gone?”

The ice fairy pounded her chest in confidence. “Just leave it to me!” Only when Daiyousei reminded her that the tank girl was sleeping did she cover her mouth in shock. “Silly me. Of course I’ll look after her, Letty. You can count on me.”

Letty thanked the fairies and left the lair to head to the place she first found the abandoned tank. There she discarded the snow mound that had covered the war machine and took a deep look on it. Its condition was as sad as she could imagine, and the weather only made it worse. She could only wonder of how it could survive the land’s extreme harshness.

If only she could believe this machine wasn’t Anne…

“You aren’t going to tell her the truth, are you?” She turned to the source of the voice and could only frown. “Or is it because that old memory is still haunting you? Admit it, Letty; the boy couldn’t survive Gensokyo because you refused to let him go.”

“What do you know about him, Yuuka?” Letty spoke.

“Why, I was THERE when he was dying in your arms,” the sunflower lady scoffed. “I pitied you back then, because you kept believing that he would survive despite the injury he got.”

“He was a human. It’s only natural that he… would succumb to the weather,” Letty spoke.

The sunflower lady sighed. “And now you want to repent for your wrongdoing by taking Anne? I know you don’t want to see history repeating itself again, Letty, but forget it. I can smell a powerful youkai from within the girl.” She smiled mockingly. “You should’ve let me look after Anne. You know I’m better with it.”

Letty approached the tank. “And what would you do about her?” she asked as she gave the war machine a gentle touch.

“To make her accept her youkai self, of course,” Yuuka answered. “What else you think I might do? Turning her into a monster?”

“I’ll kill you myself if you turn her into one,” Letty murmured.

Yuuka whistled. “Now that’s something I don’t get to hear from the Yuki Onna.” She turned around, as if something had alerted her. “I guess she’s already arrived at your place. Why don’t you give her a warm welcome?”

“…”

Yuuka growled at the response. “Come, on, Letty. I bet Anne’s begging for you to show up right now.” When she noticed something amiss Yuuka could only smile and approached Letty from behind before giving her a soft embrace. “Jeez. Hundreds years have passed, and you’re still the same Letty as before,” she said as she began holding Letty close.

“…shut up, Yuuka,” Letty murmured.
-
-
She opened her eyes. Moaning once, she looked around and saw herself being covered in quill. She realized she was back at Letty’s shack but she couldn’t remember what had happened before that. Looking around her she saw Cirno and Daiyousei preparing something, and a purple-clad woman sitting next to the bed she was in. Who was this newcomer?

“Well, well. To finally see you waking up…” the woman uttered. “I guess my year-long patience is finally paid off.”

“Who are you…?”

“Oh, silly me for not introducing myself,” the woman quietly giggled. “The name’s Yukari, Gensokyo’s other guardian a.k.a. your lovely host. That winter woman was supposed to greet me, but the nine-ball said she went out.”

“Who are you calling me nine-ball, border granny?!” Cirno shouted.

“Cirno, you might wake her up,” Daiyousei reminded. “Lower your voice, please.”

Anne tried to get up but fell back onto the bed. “Easy there. You still need to recover the lost strength,” Yukari reminded.

“So you’re the… border granny Miss Yuuka had mentioned the other day.” When she noticed Yukari’s eyes narrowing at the moniker Anne sunk into the blanket, trying to hide her embarrassment. “Well… she called you that, so…”

Yukari chuckled. “You are forgiven, dear,” she said. “But next time address me properly, okay?”

Anne could only nod. “So you said that I finally woke up, so what year I am in?” she later asked.

“Hmm…” Yukari’s eyes wandered out of the window, not noticing that Daiyousei was preparing tea on the bedside table. “You’d be in the year two-double-O-seven. That would be… sixty-two years since you were brought here.”

“I was brought here?”

Yukari nodded. “You were the only one who managed to be saved, unfortunately. The rest of your sisters either perished in the battlefield or were captured by the enemy.”

Now she was getting more curious. “Does that mean you know what’s happening to me? Or my sisters and the Fatherland?” Anne asked.

“I suppose I could spill you the cold, hard truth, but first.” Yuuka opened the fan and flapped it diligently in her hand. “Any inanimate object - be it a battle tank or this chair - will gain its sentience if given enough time to develop its inner strength. With sixty years of time behind your belt, I guess that means you’re qualified as a youkai.” She smiled, even clasping her hands to enforce the emotion. “That’s right! A tank youkai! How about that?”

A what? She could not believe it, neither were Cirno and Daiyousei. “That has to be a joke, hasn’t it? I’m a soldier, for the love of the Fatherland! I’m not a youkai… whatever you want to call!” she protested.

“A battle tank, yes, but your worldly body has existed long enough for it to acquire a humanoid appearance,” Yukari said. “Letty should realize this fact when she found you buried in the snow. Besides.” Her eyes narrowed again, their gaze making Anne sink further into the blanket. “You wouldn’t be able to transform your armours and gun into briefcase - and beating that feral youkai - if you were a human.”

She became confused. “I don’t get it.”

“Hmm~ how should I explain this~” Yukari giggled. “Well, you’ll learn about it sooner or later, but I’ll answer your question about your beloved Fatherland.” She paused, only to let Daiyousei serve her with tea and cookies, and she thanked the fairy for the hard work. “World War Two ended in nineteen-forty-five. Your Fatherland was, sadly, defeated and got divided among the victors.”

“That’s impossible!!” Anne rose from the bed. “The Fatherland is unbeatable! His army is the greatest in the world!”

“Anne, don’t force yourself!” the frantic Daiyousei reminded.

Calmly Yukari finished the tea and set the empty cup aside. “Too bad, because his downfall was caused by the Fuhrer’s own incompetence as military leader.” She took a piece of the chocolate chip cookie and bit it. “He should’ve concentrated on cutting Churchill off from his American ally, but instead he turned to the East and tried to beat Uncle Stalin. It backfired miserably.”

“That’s wrong! Totally wrong!” Anne replied.

“Hey, be grateful he didn’t ask for your country to be nuked,” Yukari said. “That would be nasty.”

Anne clenched the piece of blanket in her hands. She was angry, and this was visibly shown from her reddened eyes. How could she, a proud soldier of the Third Reich, accept the damned fate of the Fatherland? She, the crème de la crème, the most elite of elite, continually tried to convince herself it was a lie.

“Anne, you should be grateful that Gensokyo becomes your resting place,” Yukari continued. “Had I not found you stranded at the Black Forest, you’d be stripped off your armours and handed over to collectors. Worse yet, they’d turn you into scrap metal. Here, you can exist for as long as you want because you’re no longer needed in your world.”

“But why me?” Anne asked. “Why just me and not anybody else?”

Yukari chuckled. “I don’t know. Maybe it was the case of love at first sight.” She offered the Tiger tank girl a piece of cookie. “Want to try?” Reluctantly she accepted the offer and munched the cookie.

“I had no idea Letty would find you first, to be blunt,” Yukari continued. “Because as a youkai, you’d be expected to be independent and roam the land freely. Of course, in this place where interaction between human and youkai is a delicate matter, you have to be careful not to tread on the wrong track. Have you met any human yet?”

Anne shook her head. “Letty said I’m not ready yet,” she said.

Yukari smiled. “I see. Well, take your time, because someday you will meet a human, and you can’t avoid it for the encounter has been fated.”

Anne just nodded and kept munching the cookie. “Say, Miss Yukari.” The girl lowered the hand that was holding the cookie. “Why Letty never tells me about her relationship with Miss Yuuka? Every time I want to ask, she always avoids it. Is there… something between them?”

“Ah, a good question.” Yukari seeped the tea. “You see, Anne, it’s not just the relationship between two friends. It’s their connection to the four seasons, and the role they play. One is warm, and the other one is cold. You know cold and warm don’t mix well, right?” She finished the tea, which was quickly refilled by Daiyousei. “I suppose she isn’t going to show up anytime soon, so would you like to hear a story?”

inb4 we're turning Anne into the Ultimate Weapon

Well a daughter can't help to love a father no matter of stupid and twisted he is. This applies to Anne and WW2 Germany.

>>19971
Sure they can avoid loving a father that's like that. Hell, especially if he's like that.

Anne wasn't abused by her father, though (to carry the metaphor on), so her feelings are a bit more understandable.

>>19933
>anti-armour munitions
SATA, I am dissapoint.

You should've had her use the Gr.39 HEAT rounds instead, an AP round VS a soft target will not only cleanly slice through soft targets, it will keep going, the warhead not detonating.

Eventually, that round will fall back to earth and hit something, possibly detonating in the process.

Yukari should also tell of the modern Germany, unified and powerful, and still making excellent sisters for Anne.

>>19998
Sorry, that was my lack of munition knowledge. I'll amend it in the next update.

The embrace tightening, Yuuka began cuddling the avatar of winter in her arms, paying no attention to the weather or the surrounding environment. Letty remained motionless, although she did shift her body to make herself comfortable, and she lulled to the calm hum of Yuuka’s almost motherly lullaby.

After what seemed to be an eternity Yuuka let go off Letty. “My, I must have surely acted out of character, haven’t I?” she remarked with a giggle. “Cuddling one of my mortal enemies and sharing our warmth together. I should be more careful next time.”

“You started first,” Letty retorted.

“But you’re fun to cuddle,” Yuuka said and gave Letty’s nose a playful poke. “Plus: you’re so warm, and I like that.” The comment did its trick in flustering the Yuki Onna, and seeing the reaction made Yuuka chuckle. Leaving Letty to regain her composure she approached the decommissioned tank. “It’s strange, though, that something like this can obtain a spirit of its own,” she spoke as she placed her hand on the tank’s frontal armour.

“I don’t know,” Letty answered. “It’s not my job to tell.”

“Maybe Yukari has a reason on why she brought her here,” Yuuka continued and brushed a spot on the tank turret, as to sit on it. “And while we’re at it, Letty.” Letty looked up at the sunflower lady, curious of what she would say next. “Spring is almost coming. Are you sure you don’t want to tell Anne the… truth?”

Letty frowned. “I suppose, but would she be able to live through the four seasons in Gensokyo?” she murmured.

Yuuka puffed at the remark. “Aw, you know you can always rely on me~!” teasingly she said. “I promise I won’t turn Anne into a bad girl.” When she saw Letty’s eyes narrowing at her Yuuka could only laugh. “Come on, Letty! That girl can fend for herself. What makes you so reluctant to let her go?”

“That’s because…” Letty trailed off, her sight thrown high into the grey skies. She stayed idle, allowing some of the snow to set in on her head and the sunflower woman to watch in intrigue. She closed her eyes, brought her hands upward and brought them close to her chest.

“…because I want her to stay… with me…”

-x-x-x-x-x-

The tea session continued, even after Cirno had left, saying that she had some frogs to freeze. Only Daiyousei chose to stay and listen to the story Yukari was narrating, and the fairy was as interested in the premise of the story as much as Anne was.

The story went that after World War Two, Germany got divided by the victorious Allies to become West Germany and East Germany, respectively. Furthermore, Berlin also got divided into half, which would be followed by the erection of the Berlin Wall to further separate western democracy and eastern socialism. Communism had lasted for a good half a century, Yukari told the girls, and it should have seen the dawn of new millennium had the people not become upset with the system.

“The communist leaders believed in equality among people, and they expected their subjects to contribute everything to the country,” Yukari said. “Yes, communism is a failure in one way or another, but the idea of being “One and Many” has piqued many interests for years. Besides.” She covered her grin behind the fan. “Would you rather leave your neighbour to starve to death while you greedily fatten yourself with the wealth you’ve gathered?”

“That’s nasty,” Daiyousei remarked. “Miss Keine always tells us to be kind to our neighbours.”

“Not many people outside there would bother helping each other, sadly,” the lady of boundaries continued. “Now where were we? Ah, yes, the tearing down of the Berlin Wall.” She smiled, as if remembering something from the past. “The year was nineteen-eighty-nine. I was there when Reagan told Gorbachev to tear down the wall during his speech. It was chaos, if you like, what with the Glasnost movement that was sweeping across the communist bloc.”

“What’s so important about it?” Anne asked.

“Aw, I thought you’d figure it out by now!” Yukari growled. “You see, Anne dear, the Berlin Wall was the symbol of separation between the democratic West and the socialist East. People wanted to tear it down because they were hungry for freedom.”

“What were you doing back there, Miss Yukari?” Daiyousei asked.

“Just checking around,” Yukari answered. “And it occurred to me that Germany had started building world-class battle tanks, so I decided to indulge my curiosity.” At once Anne’s eyes sparkled, and Yukari smiled, knowing that she had struck a goldmine. “Well, it seems I have found a rather interesting topic to discuss. Now where to start~”

Yukari snickered. Her hand conjured up something before it reached for a gap that materialized next to Anne. Slipping into it, she fiddled with the gap for a while before she pulled out a picture. “Took this during my recent visit to Germany.” She showed the girls the picture of her dressed as businesswoman standing in front of a battle tank. “The people who designed it called it Leopard, but I decided it was too generic of a name, so I called it Claes.”

“Why would you give something a name?” Daiyousei asked.

“Because it’s cool, that’s why,” Yukari answered. “Hang on. I have something better to show you.” She took another picture from the gap and showed it to girls; it was the same picture but this time there was a young woman in full military uniform standing next to Yukari.

“That’s Claes? She looked pretty,” Daiyousei said.

Anne was more intrigued by how a battle tank could acquire a humanoid appearance. “What did you do to… err, give her a body?”

At that notion Yukari leaned forward and poked her nose ever slightly. “Only Yukarin knows the process, dear~” she answered playfully.

“Sorry,” the flustered Anne apologized.

“No need to,” Yukari dismissed. “I liked Claes for many reasons. She was fun to talk to, and she pretty much liked her status as Germany’s top fighting vehicle. Pity you didn’t get to meet her in person.” She smiled. “Now that we’re talking about Claes, I suppose you could become her and the rest of her sisters’ senior, since you came out before her. How about that?”

Anne blushed. “But I’m…”

Yukari looked at the clock. “Oh, dear. Looks like I’ve overstayed my visit. Can’t afford to stay here any longer~” She munched the last of the cookie, sipped the last drop of the tea, and stood up, even as the gap reappeared beside her. “The cookie was excellent. Make more of them next time, okay?”

“Will do, Miss Yukari!!” excitedly Daiyousei answered. “And thanks for visiting!”

“No problem, dear.” Yukari halted as she was about to enter the gap. “Anne.”

“Yes, Miss Yukari?”

“Come visit me next time,” she said. “There’s something I want to show you before spring arrives.” Bidding the girls farewell, Yukari stepped into the gap and disappeared from sight. For a second, all Anne and Daiyousei could do was to stare at each other, and then at the empty dishes and the chair.

“Can I help you with the dishes?” Anne asked.

“But Anne, Miss Letty said you need to take a lot of rest,” Daiyousei reminded.

“I know, but then again.” So saying she jumped off the bed and carried the dishes to the kitchen. “I don’t want to burden my host. Surely there’s something I can do to repay her deed, isn’t it?”

“Uhh… alright,” Daiyousei reluctantly agreed. “But don’t push yourself too much. Take some rest if you feel tired, okay?”

Anne smiled. “Danke.”
-
-
Well, yeah, I decided to give this side story a known timeline, so for those who are curious Anne woke up in Gensokyo between February and March 2007 (I imagine the events in Mountain of Faith took place in autumn the same year). Yuri arrived in Gensokyo in October 2009, so there’s a healthy two-year gap between these stories.

Now you wish housewife Daiyousei had made you cookies, too.

This update was full of D'AWWWWW.

Especially Yuuka x Letty. Good lord.

>>20052
Well, I hope you liked the interaction between Yuuka and Letty (and the whole update in general), because I wasn't quite confident of my writing skill when it comes to heartwarming situation. I have plans for more Yuuka x Letty in the future, though.

Picture slightly related.

Very cool. I do have a question though about Anne meeting Claes: will there be any friction due to differing values, considering both the time difference, along with the fact modern Germany is almost fanatical about not allowing any form of Nazism to exist in Germany? From what I remember, it's practically illegal to express any support for Nazism.

>>20073
Correct-a-mundo.
No swastikas.

>o for those who are curious Anne woke up in Gensokyo between February and March 2007 (I imagine the events in Mountain of Faith took place in autumn the same year). Yuri arrived in Gensokyo in October 2009,

So Claes is a Leopard 2A6. Alrighty then.
That will be an interesting meeting, discussing eRHA, guns, and maneuverability.

"Hey, Germany still uses the MG42 as a coaxial gun?"
"Anne, that's not an MG42, it's an MG3..."
"No, it's definitely an MG42!"

>>20073
I doubt Anne knows anything of Nazism's fully extent. She was just a mere tank just as many men were Mere Germans, not so much nazis. It wasn't until you got around the SS and such that you encountered them.

“2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich, Waffen-SS.”

I'm pretty sure she knows more than most think.

>>20080
I'd actually appreciate some official commentary on this.
Is Anne a heartless, Jew-killing Nazi?

It's funny, but I can't find any references to any major battles in World War II that involved the Black Forest. Was Yukari meaning the Ardennes Forest?

>>20083
Does it have to be a major battle? Maybe her regiment was garrisoned there.

>>20073
>>20081

I can see the problem here as well. I haven't figured out on how to address it, although I can imagine Yukari revealing to Anne the true colour of Nazism and what the Nazis did to the Jews.

>>20076
> Claes and Anne
> MG3, not MG42

Now I can't stop imagining Anne flailing her arms about, all while trying to maintain her defence about the infamous Hitler's Buzzsaw.

Well Anne can say that at least the MG42 uses a bigger round than the MG3.

“Why are you taking us here? You know some of us can’t stand the cold.” Wriggle sneezed and wrapped her arms about her body. “To think I could enjoy my hibernation in peace…”

“But someone has to do it!” Cirno exclaimed. “Letty said the tank girl wants to restore it back to working condition, so yeah!”

“Why us, though ♪” Mystia asked. “You could’ve asked the kappa to repair it, you know ♪”

“I’m cold~” Rumia uttered and proceeded to embrace the shivering Wriggle. “Let’s huddle each other~”

“Forget about the kappa, guys!” Cirno jumped onto the turret and spread her arms wide. “There are four of us here! We should be enough to dig this thing out of the snow, so give me some hands!”

“We don’t get it, Cirno,” Wriggle said as she started feeling comfortable in Rumia’s arms.

“None of us here know how this thing works in the first place, anyway ♪” Mystia added.

“Come on, guys! Once we do this, the tank girl will-” Cirno toppled off the turret when a hand stuck out of a gap and pushed her into the snow. It took her a few seconds before the ice fairy jumped out of the snow and pointed her finger at the perpetrator. “I knew it! You always try to mess with the strongest, aren’t you?!”

Yukari merely chuckled at the response and whipped open her fan, as the upper half of her body was popping out of the gap. “Can’t this Yukarin have fun with you? Boohoo~” Another gap appeared above Cirno and dropped a snowman onto her, completely burying it in the structure. “How unsatisfactory~ Yukarin was expecting Nine Ball to retaliate~”

She turned her attention to the rest of the group. “Now, now, girls, I don’t mean to make fool of you,” she said as she landed on the tank’s turret.

“You know anything about this weird thing ♪” Mystia asked.

“Of course I know,” Yukari answered. “But I’m curious about what you girls are going to do with it.”

“Cirno said the tank girl…whoever she is wants to restore it,” Wriggle said. “She had better done it fast, because I’m freezing out here…”

“Wriggle is cold~?” Rumia tightened her arms about the bug girl’s waist. “We can always hold each other to keep us warm~”

Yukari laughed. “Anne said that? That’s nonsense~!” By now Cirno had emerged from the snowman and screamed outrage, but her anger went unheeded as the lady of boundaries kept laughing. “Why on earth would she ask a bunch of… cute girls to retrieve her worldly body?” Mystia and Wriggle shrugged off her shoulders, while Rumia still remained clinging onto the night bug. “Hmm~ I suppose I should ask her after this.”

“Oh? What do we have here?”

The group turned to the voice. It was Letty, and she was accompanied by Anne as they walked towards the wreckage. “Good timing. I was going to visit the Yuki Onna after this.” Yukari jumped off the tank and approached the visitors. “Hello, Anne. We meet again~”

Anne made a salute. “Good morning, Miss Yukari.”

“My, always with that kind of formality~” After throwing the tank girl a smile, Yukari turned her attention towards Letty. “Do you mind if I borrow Anne for a day?”

“Your request intrigues me, Yukari,” Letty said.

“Oh, don’t be so paranoid. It’s just a semi-formal trip around Gensokyo,” Yukari spoke. “I’m sure she could use the time to get acquainted with the population.”

“Assuming you aren’t going to kidnap her, that is,” Letty uttered.

Yukari laughed. “Silly Letty, I only kidnap youthful, energetic and promising boy~” she said with a foxy glint in her eyes. When Letty remained mildly hostile about the request Yukari smiled and pointed the fan at Anne. “Well, why don’t we ask Anne about it?”

Anne blinked. “Me?”

“Yeah, you!” Yukari poked Anne’s cheek with the fan. “I’m so bored, and I want to bug that cutie Reimu right now! But I can’t do that alone, so yeah~!” She sounded strangely cheerful today, Anne thought but she dismissed the thought and told Yukari she had another plan to do with Letty. “Aw, Yukarin is sad~” the blonde woman growled.

“Anne, why don’t you go with her?” Letty spoke. “I’m sure you’ll find anything interesting along your trip.”

“But what about my body?” Anne asked and pointed to the stranded tank. “We can’t just leave it out here, can we?”

Letty, instead, smiled and gave Anne’s hair a playful ruffling. “Be careful out there, okay?” The ruffling thrilled Anne and the girl giggled childishly as Letty poked her cheek. “And you, Yukari. I’m entrusting you to look after her.”

“Of course, you can always count on me~” Yukari answered and opened up a gap.

The ruffling stopped, and Anne had to take some breather after the exhilarating experience. She smiled, as so was Letty. “I will, Letty.” Just as Anne was going to approach Yukari Letty called her, and the tank girl turned back at her. “Yes?”

The woman approached her. Then, after taking something out of the pocket she knelt in front of Anne and pinned the item on her chest. Anne examined the item and discovered it was a brooch similar to the one Letty was wearing. “It’s so beautiful,” she murmured in awe. “But why…?”

The question was silenced as Letty put a finger upon the girl’s lips. “Consider it a lucky charm.” Then she did the unexpected by bringing Anne towards her and brushing her soft, moist lips upon Anne’s forehead. She let go off her, smiling to see the tank girl blushing brightly.

“Ah, umm… thanks, Letty,” the flustered Anne said.

“Now, I suppose Yukari’s getting tired of waiting already, yes?” Letty turned to Yukari, who merely chuckled dismissively at the question. She turned to Anne and gave her another ruffling on the hair. “Enjoy your trip, Anne.”

Anne nodded. “Ja!”

-x-x-x-x-x-

Anne was perplexed. Her first assumption was that they would travel with gaps, but the lady of boundaries wanted to try something different for a change. Not that Anne wanted to complain, since she had many questions to ask Yukari about the affair of the outside world in the years after World War Two. The lady of boundaries was just too pleased to fulfil the tank girl’s curiosity, even hinting that she would take Anne for a tour to the outside world in near future.

“Miss Yukari, I think we’re heading to a wrong direction,” Anne asked when she noticed they were flying due northeast. “And I thought we’re going to visit Reimu.”

Yukari’s expression became unreadable, if only for a second. “Whoever said we’re going to visit Reimu’s place?” She opened a gap in front of her. “We’ll use this as a shortcut. Hop in.”

Anne obliged and followed Yukari’s lead, and the trip through the gap brought them to an unrecognizable place. Everything looked grey and devoid of life, and the gloomy atmosphere had begun to worry the tank girl.

“Where are we?”

“People at your world would call it junkyard. Here, we call it The Graveyard of the Abandoned.” Yukari landed on a patch of grass and gestured at Anne to land next to her. “Even in Gensokyo there are things unwanted and unaccepted by people and youkai alike. Whenever that happens, they are sent here, to the very edge of the border where only a few can reach.”

“That’s… cruel,” Anne murmured.

Yukari whipped open her fan. “Well, can’t really help it when you have lots of things pouring in from the outside world, and nobody wants to take care of them.” She pointed at an object and told Anne to observe it. “Like that, for example.”

“What is that?”

Yukari smiled. “Do you want to know, Anne? That’s…”

[ ] “…Crusader. The United States Navy called her the Last Gunfighter. Sort of.”
[ ] “…Schwalbe, the Third Reich’s last line of defence. It was a technological leap forward, but it came a little too late to save the Fatherland.”
[ ] “…Dora**, the largest artillery piece the world has ever seen. And that’s her older sister Bertha.”
[ ] “…Yamato and Musashi. Twins, whose destiny was to rule the Pacific. They had longed to live together, but it was a dream unfulfilled.”
[ ] “…Sacchin. A certain Russian ace found his way to Gensokyo, and…”

**800mm Dora/Schwerer Gustav K railway gun.
-
-
Well, I think this is the only time in this story we get to pick a vote in order to continue. Take note that the (F-8) Crusader is an anomaly in the WW2-exclusive list, but only because I love the fighter. And it doesn’t matter which war-machine girl Anne gets to befriend (because Anne will get a companion by the end of this side story) unless Anon wants to see the return of Sacchin.

Picture not related.

[X] “…Sacchin. A certain Russian ace found his way to Gensokyo, and…”

I will be DAMNED if we forget Sacchin again!

Another vote, because I think I know what will happen anyways...
We're gonna lose Sacchin again...

[X] “…Yamato and Musashi. Twins, whose destiny was to rule the Pacific. They had longed to live together, but it was a dream unfulfilled.”

[x] “…Yamato and Musashi. Twins, whose destiny was to rule the Pacific. They had longed to live together, but it was a dream unfulfilled.”

>Sacchin
We should find a way to bug him to start writing again. Even Harker's faster than him.

[X] “…Sacchin. A certain Russian ace found his way to Gensokyo, and…”

We're getting Sacchin.

[ ] “…Sacchin. A certain Russian ace found his way to Gensokyo, and…”

No contest.

[X] “…Yamato and Musashi. Twins, whose destiny was to rule the Pacific. They had longed to live together, but it was a dream unfulfilled.”

[X] “…Yamato and Musashi. Twins, whose destiny was to rule the Pacific. They had longed to live together, but it was a dream unfulfilled.”

And what about their younger sister, Shinano?

>And what about their younger sister, Shinano?

Right, almost forgot about the battleship-turned-into-aircraft-carrier. The vote has been called, so I'll start writing.

>We should find a way to bug him to start writing again.
I miss Alek and his Revolution-inspired spirit ;_;

[x] "...Yamato and Musashi. Twins, whose destiny was to rule the Pacific. They had longed to live together, but it was a dream unfulfilled."

It fits, since the Germans and Japanese were allies at the time.

// continuing from the last update //

“That, my dear,” Yukari spoke. “Is the Yamato-class battleships; to be more specific, Yamato and Musashi.” She paused, as to let Anne examine the spectacular sight of the battleships whose structures stretched across the junkyard. “They were twins, raised together by Imperial Japan and destined to rule the Pacific. And together, since they had long wished to live together in peace once the war ended, but…”

Yukari jumped off the grassy patch and hovered over Yamato’s frontal turret, Anne closely following her lead. “This is your time to make some friends. What do you say, Unbeatable War Machine of the Third Reich?”

Anne blushed over the remark, yet still she managed to smile. “I’m flattered, Miss Yukari.”

The unlikely couple landed onboard Yamato and observed the superstructure up close. “It’s huge,” Anne could only comment as she looked up at the massive barrels.

“Girls dig in big gun, you know. They love it big, huge, thick, hard and-” The comment made Anne blush more furiously than before, and Yukari just chuckled. “With weapons this magnificent, the Imperial Japan had intended for their war machines to be more superior to their American counterpart,” Yukari answered. “Of course, it didn’t stop the fact that Japan had lost their advantage, thanks to the United States’ control of the air.” She paused, as if she had been notified of something. “Cover your ears, dear.”

“Eh?”

The triple barrels fired. The shockwave it generated knocked Anne off her feet and threw her far across the deck. Intriguingly, the shockwave did not affect Yukari in one way or another; it should have destroyed her hearing, or at least caused her to tumble due to the blast.

Reeling from the shockwave Anne turned to the voice and saw two girls popping from behind the turret. One of them was donning a pair of goggles and holding a wrench in her hand; the other was fixing her glasses while giving her partner an annoyed glare. They were later engaged in a conversation of sort, and neither had noticed Yukari’s or Anne’s presence yet.

Yukari walked towards Anne, and she looked up at her. Opening her mouth she tried to speak but all that came out of her lips were empty words. In addition, her ears were ringing violently she could barely hear anything and keep herself in balance. It was only when Yukari prodded her finger on Anne’s temple she regained her communication mechanism and yelled out loud:

“What in the name of the Fatherland was that for?!” It did the trick because the girls turned to the voice. “At least please warn us before firing those things first…” She stood up and tried to walk, only to stumble onto Yukari as she wasn’t able to keep her balance. “…so dizzy…” Anne weakly murmured. “Can’t… keep…”

“Ah! Sorry about that!!” the ponytailed girl replied. “We were testing our anti-air capability, and didn’t know you’re here! You alright down there?” Anne remained mum, and the girls stopped working on the turrets. “Shouldn’t we stop the test and help her out?” she asked her partner.

“Forget it, Yamato. It’s your fault for overloading the blast chambers with gun powders.”

“My fault? Hello, Mushy-Mushy! I was going to spend my whole afternoon sleeping, and you just had to ruin it!”

“Do not call me Mushy-Mushy, Yamato. You have been warned.”

“Oh yes I will, Mushy-Mushy!”

“Just because you’re my older twin doesn’t mean you have the right to tease me as you please.”

“Admit it, Mushy-Mushy. You’re just jealous because I was more-”

A gap appeared above the twin sisters, and Yukari’s hands reached for their collar and lifted them off the ground. Anne just watched in amusement as Yukari’s arms fiddled in the gap before her, shaking the girls as they dangled in the air. “Good girls are supposed to behave accordingly, aren’t they?” the lady of boundaries spoke. “Now, I’d love it if you stop arguing for a minute and help me with Anne.”

“Let us go, Yukari-sensei!” both the girls pleaded and cried out when Yukari’s hands yanked almost uncontrollably. “Please stop! We’re afraid of height!”

“So much for the might of the seven seas.” Yukari let go off the girls, and they dropped onto the deck with a loud thud, landing on top of one another. “Alright, girls. Get your ass up and give me some hand. My friend over here needs her optic, armour and gyro fixed ASAP.”

The girls were quick to get back on their feet and saluted Yukari. “Yes, Sensei!” They rushed towards Anne, who panicked when they started examining her. “Have faith in us, my friend. We’ll restore you to working condition in no time,” the glassed girl spoke as she put her hand on Anne’s left flank.

“B-but… I…” A pained gasp escaped her lips when the goggled girl grabbed her chest, squeezing the mound underneath her mouth. “What… you…”

“Sis, it appears subject is suffering from mild internal injuries,” the girl spoke as she kept fondling Anne, much to the girl’s distress. “May I suggest taking a dip in warmth, soothing pond of refreshing mineral oil?”

What?

“Good idea.” The glassed girl stepped backward, fixed her glasses and threw her hand forward in dramatic fashion. “Yamato! Set boiler pressure at 85 percent! Set course at bearing 115-270!”

“Aye-aye, captain!”

Oh dear…
-
-
“Ahn~ nothing more refreshing than a hot spring bath~” Yukari moaned in delight when Yamato have her back a soft scrub. “Oh, yes. That spot, Yamato~ give it some scratching~ mmm, that feels good~ do that again~”

“Yukari-sensei likes it,” the girl giggled. “Though why doesn’t your friend want to talk with us?”

Yukari threw her sight at Anne, who was sulking in the isolated corner of the hot spring. The woman grinned; the poor tank girl had to go through all forms of ‘questionable’ and ‘embarrassing’ moments as the twin sisters insisted to repair her damages through physical examination. She knew Anne was mortified by having her modesty tarnished by the more aggressive, curious Yamato.

“It seems you girls have simply.” A pause, then Yukari continued. “Broken her.”

“Impossible. The repairing procedure was a complete success,” Musashi uttered. “We have even fixed her optics and gyroscope as you had requested. Hell, we were grateful to resupply her ammunition.”

“It didn’t help that you had molested her in more than one way.” At the mention of ‘molest’ Yukari saw Anne dipping her face deep in the water, trying in vain to hide her embarrassment. “You should be more careful of stepping into someone’s privacy.”

“Aw! But it was just physical examination!” Yamato protested.

Anne stood up. Yukari and the twin sisters turned to her, but she paid them no attention. It didn’t matter. She was broken, humiliated, mortified, and with her chastity hanging in balance she wasn’t sure if she could befriend the twin sisters.

“Please… excuse me for a while.” Taking the towel and covered her body with it Anne stepped out and left the hot spring. “I need to be… alone.”

Yamato tried to stop her before Yukari told her to stay put; a brief explanation made the girl nod in acknowledgment. “Sorry for doing this and that to you, Anne!” she shouted. “No more physical examination, we promise!”

“You could’ve approached her and issued an apology instead of shouting it out,” Musashi chided. “That was rude, you know.”

“Oh, shut up, Mushy-Mushy,” Yamato dismissed.

“Stop calling me Mushy-Mushy,” Musashi retorted.

“But your name is such a tongue-twister it hurts,” Yamato replied.
-
-
Anne took a deep breath in relief; sure, the thing about the twins’ physical examination was questionable but at least she was grateful her body was back in working condition. No longer feeling dizzy and troubled, she left the dressing room (and the battleship Yamato altogether) and went for a stroll around the junkyard. Everywhere she went she was greeted by fairies and other sentient objects, most of which were thrilled by her presence and started following her around. None of the critters did anything to bother Anne so she welcomed their presence

Eventually her trip ended when she reached the end of the junkyard. This particular area felt incredibly different from the rest of the Graveyard, and it was even more isolated Anne thought she was venturing into a prison within a prison. Treading the route carefully, she noticed that all her companions have abandoned,

She spotted a girl. Curiosity arose; who might this be? Slowly she approached the girl, who seemed to be busy playing with a torpedo while leaning against a ship that listed on its starboard. Its flattop deck was largely intact, and heavy numbers of anti-aircraft batteries could be seen riddling its upper structure. A pair of catapults extended from the front tip of the deck, and several arresting cables could be seen across the backside… an aircraft carrier?

“Hello?”

The girl turned around. From her eyes was an expression of shock, followed shortly by delight. She dropped the torpedo, stood on her feet and walked giddily towards Anne, which quickly turned into a bunny hop. “I have never seen you around. Are you new?”

“Err… no, I’m just visiting this place,” Anne answered.

The young girl stopped, and she was now standing a few feet in front of Anne. A closer inspection revealed that the girl shared many features as Yamato and Musashi, up to the same red/white sailor uniform and the Imperial Navy patch on her right shoulder. The only difference was that her skirt was cut high, its frills were just enough to cover a portion of her thighs before the rest was covered by a pair of black thigh-high socks. Her hair, too, was tied in twin-tails, which added to the girl’s little sister vibe. The most intriguing aspect, however, was a structure attached on her right shoulder that served as a shield of sort; hooked on the surface were miniature carrier-borne fighters, fully armed and ready to launch.

“Visiting? You mean… you come here to visit me?” the girl asked.

Anne just nodded. “…sort of.”

The girl gasped. “Really? That’s great. I haven’t had any playmate for years, and you’re the first one to ever come here.” She later giggled. “And I’m surprised; my sisters said people aren’t supposed to be able to find our hideout.”

“Hideout? You mean this whole place is your… hideout?”

The girl nodded. “Now that you’re here, do you have the time?” she asked. “I’m bored, and my sisters are too busy fixing their ships to even care of me.” She covered her mouth, as if she had forgotten something. “Oh, I think we should introduce each other. What’s your name?”

“Anne… Anne-Marie Braun.”

The girl grinned. “I’m Shinano, Warship 110. Pleased to meet you, sis.” To Anne’s intrigue, the “flight deck” shield split up into two, the other half dematerialized to form armour plating that attached themselves on the girl’s body. Then Shinano became enveloped in darkish red energy as she rose from the ground and floated over the listed warship. Sensing threat Anne quickly deployed her weapon and held her ground.

“Oh~ that’s great~ I guess I can ask you this question, sis~” Shinano asked, even as the miniature planes were launched off the deck and swarmed her en masse.

Anne looked up. “Shinano, I don’t have time for this!” she shouted. “Can’t we settle down and-” And that was when she saw a dark, malicious grin carved on the girl’s lips.

And she was giggling sinisterly.

“Would you like to play with me?”

Sacchin was a close call, I know, but alas. Poor Sacchin getting forgotten again ;_;

Also, inb4 delicious EX Boss loli/little sister.

>>20218
No one have forgotten her

Though the little sister has Flandre vibes.

>>20218
>implying Yamamoto would shoot AA shells from the main cannon.

>implying the smaller cannons are able to generate such noise.

>her skirt was cut high, its frills were just enough to cover a portion of her thighs before the rest was covered by a pair of black thigh-high socks
>twin-tails
If Shinano's a tsundere, she'll have grade S Zettai Ryouiki.

>>20220
>Though the little sister has Flandre vibes.
Well, how would you feel if you were sunk by a single submarine before you were completed, then ignored by your older sisters?

>>20221
Is there something I have left out?

Have a Yukari (and another abandoned tank).

>>20249
No, not really, its fine. Those two just caught my eye.

>>20249

SATA, it's beautiful...
I wish I had a semi-intact T-72 under one of my trees!


...Why are you guys looking at me like that?

Also, that's another GySgt Anon. I don't know that much about naval weapons.

>>20249
Usually the ships have smaller guns that fire AA shells and machine guns for this.

>>20271
But what from I've seen at wikipedia:

>The main guns were also capable of firing 1,360 kg (3,000 lb) 3 Shiki tsûjôdan ("Common Type 3") anti-aircraft shells.
>A time fuze was used to set how far away the shells would explode (although they were commonly set to go off 1,000 metres (1,100 yd) away).
>Upon detonation, each of these shells would release 900 incendiary-filled tubes in a 20° cone facing towards incoming aircraft; a bursting charge was then used to explode the shell itself so that more steel splinters were created, and then the tubes would ignite. The tubes would burn for five seconds at about 3,000 °C (5,430 °F) and would start a flame that was around 5 metres (16 ft) long.
>Even though they comprised 40% of the total main ammunition load by 1944, 3 Shiki tsûjôdan were rarely used in combat against enemy aircraft due to the severe damage the firing of these shells inflicted on the barrels of the main guns; indeed, one of the shells may have exploded early and disabled one of Musashi's guns during the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea.
>The shells were intended to put up a barrage of flame that any aircraft attempting to attack would have to navigate through. However, U.S. pilots considered these shells to be more of a pyrotechnics display than a competent anti-aircraft weapon.

Unless Auntie Wiki got me wrong in this one.

Sage for not updating, although I have plan for posting Anne and the battleship sisters' profile once it's done.

>>20281
Its not wrong, its just that they werent commonly used.

Bumping. This is the preliminary work of Anne and Shinano's profile (I'm working on Yamato and Musashi at the moment, so yeah).

Name: Anne-Marie Braun
Species: youkai
Abilities: (undecided)
Age: 60
Occupation: undecided; tank commander?
Location: Misty Lake
Description: short brunette hair, dark brown eyes. Wears slighly discoloured SS uniform decorated with medals. She carries a mobilized 88mm gun on her back, which switches position to her right arm in combat. Her cheek bears a scar from previous encounters with Allied tanks. She also a silver badge resembling Letty's golden lapel.
Spellcards: (undecided; Anon is free to contribute)

Name: Warship 110 Shinano
Species: (undecided; would have gone with ship ghost, unless Anon has better suggestion)
Abilities: *manipulation of kinetic energy
Age: 60
Occupation: unknown
Location: Graveyard of the Forgotten
Description: long black hair tied it ponytail; scarlet eyes. Wears red-white sailor uniform with an armband stitched on the left sleeve with the word "Imperial Japanese Navy" written on it. Her skirt is cut high, its frills just enough to cover a portion of her thighs before the rest was covered by a pair of black thigh-high socks. Black shoes with chrysanthemum decoration on them. The flight deck shield is attached on her right shoulder, and can be deployed into body armours during combat.
Spellcards: (these are the twos I have come with so far)
+ Battle Formation [Torpedo Bomber Kamikaze]
+ Battle Formation [Cartwheel Massacre]
Both cards fully utilizes Shinano's 'carrierborne warplanes' danmaku, for the record.

*this ability is taken from a page in Jojo's Bizzare Adventure (forgot the guy's name, but he fought Mista and his stand Sex Pistol in the chapter).

Feel free to add/criticize/contribute/whatever that fits.

>>20314
Someone who knows German should help me translate them into German. Just putting up what I have in mind.

For Anne:
Long Barrel [Barrier Piercer]
Secret Technique [Blazing Trail]
[The Heart of Reich]

>>20345

Langen Barrel [Barriere Piercer]
Geheime Technik [Spur Flammende]
???? [Das Herz des Reiches]

Forgive me as it's a rough translation and myself not having used it in so long...

>>20387

I'm also the same gentleman who provided the, sowjetisch Musik in that other thread of S-ATA. I even have... german military music however I'm somewhat hesitant in sharing it considering the content as I merely have it for collecting/archival purposes. Nothing more.

>>20345

I don't even know what this thread is all about, but here you go:

Langrohrgeschütz [Barrierendurchbohrer]
Geheime Technik [Flammenspur]
[Das Herz des Reiches]

"Barrier Piercer" is kinda awkward, but I guess that word's gonna do it. Good thing you can stick together almost any noun in german.

>>20388
>german military music
I wouldn't mind listening to it.

>>20345
>>20387
>>20393
I love you guys (in a brotherly way, that is). Have a Shou.

>>20398
That picture brings new meaning to the phrase "Put a tiger in your tank".

>>20398

Generous Music Anon here~!

Check out my variety music thread on /words/ for the stuff; its temporary so...

>>20401
Thank you very much.

No update for this sidestory and the LA for now, though, so yeah.

>>20387
>>20393
Well, they sound awesome. Thanks.

>>20398
Just helping on what I can manage =w=b

Something’s wrong. Something has to be definitely wrong.

She was brought here to this place by Yukari on the account of visiting its inhabitants, and never had the attention of fighting anyone. At least, that was what she had first felt after getting molested by the sisters, but it wasn’t such a case. They were just being playful, and she could forgive them for that, but this.

This?

To be standing in the middle of a graveyard, facing an innocent girl with an unexplained power, whose smile was as malice as it was childish?

What kind of madness was she into?

“Aw, why haven’t you started?” Anne looked up Shinano, who was giggling as her hand was twirling her hair. “Well, I guess I could start the game right away~”

“Shinano!!” It was too late, because the girl already shot airplane-shaped danmaku at her direction, all of which were glowing in the same reddish colour. Applying all knowledge she had acquired from her training with Letty Anne grazed the initial attack, all while keeping an eye fixed on Shinano.

The attack dissipated, and Anne immediately took cover behind a scraped bomber to recover. She peeked from behind cover, seeing that Shinano was still hovering in place. “Ooo, nice~ nobody has evaded my kamikaze danmaku and survived.” The girl brought her palm forward. “However… can you keep up with this?” Another set of airplane danmaku was shot, all of which destroyed the barricade in single strike, exposing Anne to the elements.

“Screw this!”

Rolling to the side to evade the attack, Anne trained the 88mm gun at Shinano and fired a shell at her. The projectile hit Shinano on the left shoulder but, surprisingly, she didn’t flinch despite the fact that she got hit by an anti-tank round. In fact, as the tank girl was about to find out…

“Cool~! You even gave me something to play with~”

Giggling Shinano showed Anne the shell that, to her shock, had remained intact despite being lodged between the crevasses of the plated armour. Fiddling with the projectile, Shinano pulled it out of her shoulder without much difficulty and let it go.

It floated.

How in the name of the Fatherland did she make the shell float?

Undeterred Anne fired two more shots at Shinano in quick succession, each producing enough recoil to push her several feet backward. To her frustration both shells froze as soon as they made contact with Shinano, and she was terrified as the girl’s smile grew playfully sinister.

“Hmm~ I wonder what I should do with it~ oh! I know!”

She descended to the open ground, leaving the three shells to float above, and started meddling with several steam locomotives before she lifted one of them off the ground, an effort made ridiculously easy considering her size compared to the machines. Then, just like what she had done with the projectiles, she made the object float and hopped onto it, repeating the procedure with the rest of the junks until a steel obelisk was formed. She sat atop of the structure, legs dangling and kicking the empty air while looking at her opponent.

“How about a game of spellcard, sis~?”

Anne cursed under her breath. Now that Shinano mentioned it, spellcard was the only thing she had yet to master, and giving the condition of the battleground she had little to no time to create any.

“I guess that meant ‘yes’ to me.” Shinano stood up, opened her hand and allowed several airplanes to come close to her. “I win, and you will have to obey me. You win, well…” Grinning, she closed the palm. “Battle Formation [Fighter Bomber Kamikaze].”

The airplanes were hurled forward. Anne took aim, hoping to read their vector and, perhaps, shoot them before they got close. Instead, the planes dropped bombs, forcing her to graze the projectiles while outrunning the planes that started diving towards her in suicide attack. More and more ‘torpedo bombers’ were released, intercepting Anne’s escape route and dropping more bombs onto her while self-destructing around the Tiger tank girl.

One plane exploded near Anne, slightly denting In frustration Anne retaliated by firing a high-explosive shell at Shinano, hoping that it would knock Shinano off the tower, ending the spellcard and the unwanted duel. It backfired horrendously; the shell had been stopped dead by the unidentified ability, and the girl giggled as she put the unexploded projectile next to the other threes.

“You’re pretty good~” she said, faking surprise. “You’re the first to defeat my first spellcard.” Conjuring her hands, she summoned fighter planes and commanded them to fly around her in circular formation. “Let me see if you can beat this. Are you ready, sis?” Anne stood firm on the ground. Seeing this made Shinano grin widely and snapped her fingers.

“Battle Formation. [Cartwheel Massacre].”

The fighters dived towards Anne, one after another unleashing hell – bullets, bombs, torpedoes, all. And Anne was putting forth her best efforts to survive the spellcard, like what she had done during the first: dodging, grazing, outrunning, shielding, everything she had learned. Having heavy armour helped her in some way it gave her the ability to absorb projectiles she didn’t manage to dodge, although its weight hampered her movement, making her easy target for Shinano’s danmaku.

“You’re so boring!” Shinano said when the spellcard entered cool-down period; by this time, Anne was hiding behind a makeshift barricade, using the opportunity to recollect her strength lost during the evasive manoeuvre and evaluate battle damage. Fortunately the armour was made to take even the most severe damages, and she felt she would be ready to defeat the spellcard.

“I want to see your spellcard, too! Show me one, please?” Anne remained stationary; she wasn’t sure of how to respond to this. Sure, she could lob a few more shots at Shinano to distract her, but that would add more shells to her inventory, and she had no idea about what the aircraft carrier girl would do about them.

She heard a saddened sigh. Holding the gun barrel in her arm for quick firing, she peeked over the barricade and saw Shinano discarding the spellcard. “I guess sis doesn’t like my Battle Formation spellcards.” Stepping down the tower she produced a spellcard and lifted it over her head. As the spellcard dispersed, the unexploded shells descended towards Shinano, together with the locomotive tower that disassembled, and rotated around the girl. One of the shells halted in from of Shinano, who started tapping her finger on it in slow, rhythmic motion. Anne kept watching, as Shinano continually tapped shell, humming alongside the musical sound the tapping was producing.

The tapping stopped, the shell having now vibrated vigorously, and Shinano aimed it at Anne’s barricade. “But I think you’re going to like this~” Anne held her breath; if it was another Battle Formation (despite what Shinano had said earlier) she knew she would be able to handle it well.

She was wrong.

Very, very wrong.

“Terminal Velocity [Kinetic Penetrator].”

The shell was released. In an instant it impacted the barricade, pierced through, and left behind a cluster of energy orbs that detonated around Anne. Completely taken off-guard, she had no time to react and was engulfed in the explosion that followed. She fell onto her knees, stunned and too shocked to apprehend what had happened.

Shinano smiled grinned at the sight and brought one of the locomotives to the front. “I knew you’d like it~” she said and tapped the object. “Maybe we can stay together and play as much as we can~”

Anne groaned. Trying her best to hide her pain she stood back, her stance so unsteady she had to use the gun barrel as support. Throwing her sight at her adversary, she could see Shinano’s grin growing huger and maniacal, like nothing she had ever seen before. With her body still recovering from the explosion, she realized she would have no chance to survive if she opposed Shinano’s childish wish and had no choice but to play along with her.

It was going to be a long, long day in the graveyard…

=======

Posting picture because Flandre is seductively sexy in this one.

Sorry for the lack of update (and Anne) for this story. I really am.

In return, have this (kind of wonder if this is what Letty usually listens to while skating on the Misty Lake).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpOdsttjVO0

Anne sheltered herself behind a steel barrier. The spellcard battle had drained most of her strength, leaving her with only enough to take some air. She had barely survived the Terminal Velocity spellcard without taking a shot, and she had to; she never wanted to fight back, and she would never bear herself to hurt Shinano, the little girl she had wanted to make friend.

“Hey~ hesitation during a battle will only cause you death~” Shinano tossed an 18-wheeler at Anne, and the tank girl reacted by firing a high-explosive shell at the vehicle. It exploded, and Anne used the opportunity to flee. “You can never run away from me~” Shinano flickered, and in an instant the only escape route was sealed off, denying Anne anymore chance to run away. It was clear that this girl wanted the playtime to prolong, and there was no way Anne ignore it.

Shinano hopped off the tower and approached Anne, taking the shells along. The tank girl backed off only to be blockaded by a train car, and she could only watch in terror as Shinano tiptoed all the way, almost as if she was expecting a trick up Anne’s sleeve.

The tiptoeing stopped, only because Shinano was within a breath’s distance from Anne. The aircraft carrier girl smiled and made herself float off the ground, so she was at the same eye level as Anne. Leaning in, she brushed her nose along the tank girl’s collarbone down to her half-exposed chest, murmuring something Anne could not apprehend. For a while she stood rigid, fearing a sudden, violent repercussion from the close-contact examination; fortunately it didn’t happen as Shinano pulled away and stared at her.

“I can smell murder from you, sis~”

Anne blinked. What in the name of the Fatherland was Shinano talking of?

“Your body… it has the smell of the innocent’s blood~” Shinano leaned in again, this time brushing her lips up and down Anne’s neck, nipping at it almost deliberately, giggling when she heard the tank girl moaning in distress and pleasure. “…it tastes even good~ wonder if I can feast on it~”

“No!!” Forcibly Anne kicked Shinano away and armed the 88mm gun. She had it enough with her chastity being violated, and her body trembled at the thought of losing her modesty to Shinano. “I won’t let you do it as you please!!”

“Big Sis is so shy~” Shinano giggled. “Maybe she’s afraid of confessing her murder to me~”

“I’m not a murderer!!” She fired a shell at point blank; to her horror Shinano intercepted its flight path with her palm. She attempted another shot when Shinano counterattacked flung the unexploded shells at her. One after one the projectiles hit her with great force, and Anne’s cries of pain went unheeded as a shell exploded on contact with her left flank, and the force of the explosion sent Anne flying across the graveyard before she crash-landed.

“Awww… Big Sis’ already beaten,” Shinano pouted. “You aren’t fun. I was expecting you to keep up a bit longer…” She knelt beside the tank girl, now heavily damaged, and lifted Anne’s face so she could stare into her eyes. “Do you concede?”

“Never…” Anne replied. “Never in a million years…!” With the remaining strength she had gathered Anne pushed herself away from Shinano yet she was too weak to even move an inch; the extent of damages meant she was unable to repair her armour in time.

Shinano frowned. “I suppose I should do this, then.” Licking her lips, she bent forward and seized Anne’s mouth in a kiss, pinning her on the boulder with chains to prevent her from moving. The chains, then, tightened around Anne, causing her to let out an agonized moan that only made Shinano kiss her deeper. Her mind became fuzzy, her body weakened, and her resolve deteriorated.

The kiss disengaged. Shinano pulled away from Anne, now fully drained off her strength, and she licked her lips seductively. “You’ll never escape from me anymore,” she whispered into Anne’s ear. “You are now mine.”

A sudden gust of snow blanketed the area. Then a shower of ice and snow bombarded Shinano’s position, and in the confusion that was taking place a trident was slammed on the boulder, freeing Anne from the chains; the girl limply fell into the ground before a shadow snatched her ad carried her to safety. As she finally regained consciousness, she opened her eyes and could hardly believe what she saw.

Her saviour, a silver knight in shining armour, warm as the spring breeze and strong as the mountain.

“Are you alright?”

The girl barely had the strength to speak, and opted to cling on to her saviour. The woman, then, turned herself to face Shinano; the girl’s expression was of shock, then resentment and finally anger. “You… why must you interrupt my playtime?!”

“How foolish.” Letty she slowly stood up, carrying Anne in her arms as she did. “A good girl isn’t supposed to harm her friend and then claim it as her property. Didn’t your sisters teach you about this?”

“Don’t talk of my sisters!!” Letty glared at her, a cold, unforgiving gaze that would make even the hardiest knuckleheads back off in terror. “Who… who are you?!” Shinano shouted.

“I’m Anne’s guardian,” Letty said and turned away. “And I’m taking her home.”

-x-x-x-x-x-

// previously… //

“You don’t understand!” Yamato shouted. “Shinano is… Shinano needs someone to look after and we can’t be her babysitter around the clock. Anne’s our only hope, because-”

“She’s staying with me.” Letty’s answer was simple, and it was as harsh as the coldest winter. “You expect me to let my responsibility be abused by someone she has wished to make her a friend?”

“She has to! Nobody has the capability to treat our sister better than she is!” Yamato protested. “Even with our combined strength, we haven’t been able to contain her…”

“Then you have failed as her sisters.” The remark made both Yamato and Musashi hang their head in shame, and they were unable to find any words to defend themselves. Seeing the dilemma the sisters were facing Yukari stepped forward and put her hands on their head to comfort them.

“You can’t push an immovable mountain even with an entire army standing behind you,” she spoke.

“But what must we do?” Yamato asked. “Once Shinano starts playing, nobody will be able to stop her. We… had to seal her away because of the reason…”

“I suppose our Letty here has a backup plan should everything goes south,” Yukari said as she turned her attention at Letty. “Whatever your plan is, Anne’s expected to be in bad shape by the time you’ve walked her out. I suppose you won’t mind letting her attend her until she recovers, yes?”

“…very well.” Trident in one hand, Letty walked into the direction of the forbidden area, but paused a few feet away from Yukari. “What are you going to do with Anne after that?”

“I’d ask you the same question,” Yukari answered. “But I suppose the two of us have already known the answer, so it’s pointless. But Letty, you know you can’t keep her forever, especially since your time is almost up.” She snickered. “Or would you like me to remind you of ‘that memory’?”

Letty’s response was swift as she thrust the trident at Yukari’s direction, almost hitting her neck by a hair’s width. “Oh? A very sensitive person, I see,” the lady of boundaries commented and lowered the weapon with the fan. “You aren’t the avatar of winter for nothing.”

“Don’t think you have the advantage just because you have greater power than I,” Letty hissed and lowered the trident. Yukari merely smiled, and this disgusted the avatar of winter to such an extent she simply ignored her and headed to Shinano’s hideout. The lady of boundaries chuckled, her smile quickly hidden behind the fan she brought to her face.

“Well, let’s see what you’re going to do with Anne after this.”

-x-x-x-x-x-

“No!!!” Shinano stomped the ground, and immediately Letty was surrounded by circular wall made of debris, and it started closing in. The avatar of winter remained calm, even when Shinano appeared above her. “You’ll never take her away from me! She’s mine! All mine!!”

“Letty…”

The woman looked at Anne. “Yes, dear?”

“…please… don’t hurt her too much…” the tank girl pleaded.

The avatar of winter said nothing, but then she nodded and kept Anne steady in one arm. Then she looked at Shinano, already engulfed in suppressive energy that didn’t even make her flinch. “I suppose a little discipline will keep her silent for time being.” She summoned a spellcard and let it float close to her face. “Hang on tight. This will get a bit chilly.”

Seeing Letty’s action the twin-tailed girl became pissed and took out her spellcard. “I will destroy you for taking her!!!” Shinano screamed. “Battle Formation!!”

“What a foolish child.” Bringing the card closer, she gently blew on it. “Mystic Table.”

The card dispersed.

“「Table Turning」”

And the graveyard was instantly blanketed in sheer coldness.

-x-x-x-x-x-

So yeah, that’s one cliff hanger for this chapter. My apology if it didn’t come out as intended. Also, Shinano being a tsundere? I created her with the idea of a “possessive, selfish little sister with yandere-like quality” in mind.

Also, [Profiles] after this.

[PROFILES]

Anne-Marie Braun
Name: アンネ-マリエ ブラウン (Anne-Marie Braun)
Species: Youkai
Abilities: restoration of battle damage
Age: 60
Occupation: undecided; tank commander?
Location: Misty Lake
Description: short brunette hair, dark brown eyes. Wears slightly discoloured SS uniform decorated with medals. She carries a mobilized 88mm gun on her back, which switches position to her right arm in combat. Her cheek bears a scar from previous encounter with Allied tanks. She also wears a silver badge resembling Letty’s golden lapel.
Relationships: Letty Whiterock (mentor); Cirno (friendly rival); Daiyousei (friend); Yukari Yakumo (unknown); Yamato (unknown); Musashi (unknown); Shinano (unknown).
Spellcards:
+ Langrohrgeschütz 「Barrierendurchbohrer」 (Long Barrel 「Barrier Piercer」)
+ Geheime Technik 「Flammenspur」 (Secret Technique 「Blazing Trail」)
+ 「Das Herz des Reiches」 (「The Heart of Reich」)

Yamato
Name: 大和 (Yamato)
Species: ship ghost
Abilities: unknown
Age: 60
Occupation: mechanic
Location: Graveyard of the Abandoned
Description: Silvery blue eyes, long black hair that reaches her waist. Wears red/white ‘cabin boy’ uniform with sailor hat and green scarf. Stitched on her right sleeve is an Imperial Japanese Navy patch. Has a pair of goggles on her head and carries a wrench in her hand.
Relationship: Yukari Yakumo (teacher); Musashi (twin sister); Shinano (younger sister)

Musashi
Name: 武蔵 (Musashi)
Species: ship ghost
Abilities: unknown; super-accurate long-range attack?
Age: 60
Occupation: weaponry officer (I don’t know the term for personnel responsible for warship’s onboard arsenal, so yeah)
Location: Graveyard of the Abandoned
Description: Silvery blue eyes, long black hair that reaches her waist. Wears red/white ‘cabin boy’ uniform with sailor hat and green scarf. Stitched on her right sleeve is an Imperial Japanese Navy patch. Wears glasses, and is never seen without her sextant.
Relationship: Yukari Yakumo (teacher); Musashi (twin sister); Shinano (younger sister)

Shinano
Name: 信濃 (Shinano)
Species: ship ghost
Abilities: manipulation of kinetic energy
Age: 60
Occupation: unknown
Location: Graveyard of the Abandoned
Description: long black hair tied in twin-tails; scarlet eyes. Wears red-white sailor uniform with sailor hat and armband stitched on the left sleeve with the word “Imperial Japanese Navy” written on it. Her skirt is cut high, its frill is just enough to cover a portion of her thighs before the rest is covered by a pair of black thigh-high socks. Wears dark brown shoes with chrysanthemum decoration on them. A flight deck shield is attached on her right shoulder, and can be deployed into body armour during combat.
Relationship: Yamato (older sister); Musashi (older sister).
Spellcards:
+ Battle Formation 「Fighter Bomber Kamikaze」
+ Battle Formation 「Cartwheel Massacre」
+ Battle Formation 「Tank Hunter」
+ Terminal Velocity 「Kinetic Penetrator」
+ Terminal Velocity 「???」
+ Terminal Velocity 「???」
+ 「Death From Above」
+ Main Rule of the Battlefield 「Survive」

Note:「???」denotes that I haven’t come up with proper name for the cards.

>>20749
>Also, Shinano being a tsundere? I created her with the idea of a “possessive, selfish little sister with yandere-like quality” in mind.
I was only making an observation about her appearance. Of course, I'm starting to wonder how this side story would have gone if I hadn't mentioned Shinano.

I'm surprised that Yukari hasn't introduced those three to the scarlets... then again maybe it's better that way. Shinano and Flandre playing will be destructive.

>Occupation: weaponry officer (I don’t know the term for personnel responsible for warship’s onboard arsenal, so yeah)

Gunnery Officer?

>>20757
Weapons Officer, actually, though everyone below him are called gunners.

>>20755
>Shinano and Flandre playing will be destructive.
>Shinano and Flandre playing
>Shinano and Flandre
>Shinano
>Flandre

Oh Gods, stop giving me ideas Anon!

// night time, Mayohiga //

The red-white batted an eyebrow, even as she was being briefed on by Yukari regarding Anne and the situation that was taking place. Yuuka kept herself silent, opting to fix her gaze upon Reimu, paying no attention to the story Yukari was laying out or even Chen that wanted to get her attention.

“This situation has me intrigued,” Reimu uttered. “And to think that you’d summon me all the way here just to tell me that…”

“Now, now, Reimu. Who’s going to look after her if I were to visit you?” Yukari giggled. “Besides, you should come see us once in a while. It’s a good workout.”

“Figure of speech; Yukari I know is way too lazy to even stay awake throughout winter. Also…” Reimu glared at Yuuka. “Why is she here?”

“Come on, Reimu,” the sunflower lady smile with a grin. “You don’t like me being here? With you? Together?” She inched herself towards Reimu, brushing her hand upon the girl’s palm. “Reimu is just being shy~” she whispered into the shrine maiden’s ear. “Let Yuuka take care of you.”

“Cut that out; you’re giving me the creeps,” the shrine maiden snorted. “Anyway, let me get straight to the point: sixty two years ago, you brought that tank to Gensokyo and left it near the Misty Lake. Now it has gained bodily appearance, turning itself-”

“It’s a girl, Reimu, not a thing,” Yuuka told her. “And she has a name: Anne.”

“Whatever,” Reimu shrugged. “So the girl turns into a youkai, and is currently living with Letty.” She paused as to drink the tea served by Ran. “Why couldn’t you just bring Letty here and let me talk to her?”

“Unfortunately, Reimu, Letty’s line is out of service,” Yukari spoke. “Not even my ability could detect her whereabouts, but I suppose it’s to be expected, what with winter almost at the end of the road.”

Reimu sighed. “I don’t like the direction of this conversation, but forget about it,” she said. “What’s so special about that… Anne that has attracted two youkai women and a Yuki Onna?”

“Hmm, good question.” Yukari put down the empty cup to be refilled by Ran. “It was the case of love at first sight for me. For Letty and Yuuka… you had better ask them yourself.”

“You see, Reimu, that girl has the potential of becoming a powerful youkai,” Yuuka said. “That is, if we’re given the chance to nurture her. Too bad Letty wouldn’t share her with me. Sigh…”

“A powerful what now?” Reimu inquired.

“Can’t tell you, dear. It’s a woman’s secret,” Yukari said with a smirk, causing the shrine maiden to sigh rather amusedly.

“Anyway, what’s going to happen to her when spring arrives?” Reimu asked. “I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty damn sure that girl’s going to need someone to look after for the rest of the year.”

“Let me take care of it,” Yuuka said. “Letty and I share something in common, so convincing her to let me look after her should be a cakewalk.”

“Okay, it’s your call.” Reimu sighed again. “To think that I’d have to stay up at this hour just to listen to your nonsensical plan…”

“Why, Reimu, you can become her teacher, too~!” Yukari exclaimed. “I can imagine Reimu using every trick up her detachable sleeves to teach Anne everything about shrine maidenhood. In more than one possible way.”

“That’s one teasing too much, Yukari,” Reimu snorted. “Stop that.”

“Aw~ Reimu is mad at me~” the lady of boundaries wept. “Yukarin is now a sad panda~”
-
-
The gathering ended not too long afterwards. Reimu returned to the shrine, while Yuuka headed back to the Sunflower Field. Everybody else in Mayohiga was preparing to sleep, except for Yukari who wanted to attend Anne for a bit longer. She wanted to, for she had promised with Letty to bring her back to the Misty Lake before spring ended.

“So tell me, Miss Yukari,” Ran said after she attended Chen to sleep. “Why you decided to bring her to Gensokyo? Off all things I can imagine, you just had to take in a battle tank. The next thing I know, you’d bring in a nuclear bomber.”

“Hmm~ that’s a good idea,” Yukari said. “Maybe I could bring *Valkyrie in and introduce her to Anne. Or even Aya; that tengu will surely love her record-breaking speed.”

“Good grief,” Ran groaned.

“Ran, Anne is more than just a battle-hardened war machine,” the lady of boundaries continued as she softly brushed her hand through Anne’s hair. “She’s a gentle-hearted girl, very nice to talk to, and she’s quite cute, too. I was just surprised…” Yukari paused, as to move Anne a bit so her head was resting upon her lap. “…that Shinano had brought up the most taboo of all words.”

“The smell of the innocent’s blood,” Ran spoke.

Yukari nodded. “Anne is still a weapon, and it’s her human users that determined how it was to be used. Sadly… such users happened to have committed the most atrocious crime the humankind had to see.”

“In a way or another, she was a victim,” Ran said.

“Pretty much.” Yukari continually caressed Anne’s face, occasionally giving her cheeks a supple pinch that caused her to flinch in her sleep. “She couldn’t be blamed if she insisted that her Fatherland would never harm his people, because that’s what she’s strongly believed in. But I suppose that it’s only a matter of time before she has to digest the indigestible truth. Oh, she’s waking up.”

The two women watched as the tank girl slowly opened her eyes, and Yukari smiled as to greet her. “Hello, dear. How’s your sleep?” she asked.

“I felt so comfortable…” She looked up and blinked a few times, before she bashfully smiled. “Your lap is so warm… I could stay like this forever…”

“That’s so cute of you,” Yukari said and poked her nose in turn. “Anne, let me ask you this question: have you wondered if Yamato and Musashi knew they’d lost the war?”

“I certainly hope so,” Anne murmured, shifting her head so she was resting more comfortably. “Why do you ask?”

“The sisters realize the fact,” the lady of boundaries answered. “They knew that once they were commissioned, they would step into a war they would never win. Yet they pressed on, because they couldn’t afford to let down all those men and women who had committed themselves for their cause. They kept going and fought their battle, because they had readily accepted their fate and were prepared for whatever it took.” She smiled. “Just like you.”

“That’s… flattering, I think,” Anne replied.

Yukari’s smiles faltered. “The same cannot be said for Shinano, unfortunately.”

“Why?” Anne asked.

“Anne, that girl strongly believed that her country never lost the war. Even to this day, she’s persistent that Japan is the leading superpower of the world.” Yukari signalled at Ran to leave them alone, and the shinigami nodded. “For sixty years Yamato and Musashi had tried to convince their beloved little sister of the truth, and for sixty years they have failed.”

“So the reason Shinano is left alone in the graveyard…”

Yukari nodded. “Such a sweet, innocent girl Shinano is. Too bad the military had to stain her with their corrupted ideology, similar to what the Fuhrer and his cronies did to your Fatherland.”

“I… I don’t know what to say.” Anne lifted her hand and brought to towards Yukari; hesitant for a while, she took Yukari’s hand and clenched it tightly, taking it to her chest. “Miss Yukari…”

“Hmm?”

“Am I a murderer?” Yukari shook her head. “Then why Shinano said I had the smell of the innocent’s blood?”

Yukari’s expression became unreadable, like the last time when Anne reminded her about visiting Reimu. “The Fuhrer had thought that he and his people were the “supreme race”. I’m not going to go for the details, but you will understand soon.” The woman later returned the clench. “Anne, every ethnic, every group of mankind, when faced with certain difficulties, they’d do whatever it took it maintain their survival, even at the cost of others.” She threw her sight outside. “Sadly, that’s what the world has turned into ever since the war ended. An endless cycle of revenge… such a delicious irony.”

Anne frowned. “…I’m not a murderer…”

“You’re not.” When Yukari pulled her into an embrace Anne could only cling onto the woman helplessly and started sobbing beneath her nightgown. “You’re a soldier, bound to order and duty. You have your own code of honour, just like the sisters,” she said as to comfort the girl’s heart.

“But… what about…”

“Anne, I can assure you that you aren’t a slaughterer.” She cuddled the girl and gave her a soothing rub on the back. “I know, because that’s how I felt when I first met you.” Yukari leaned forward and brushed her lips upon Anne’s scalp. “You’re still sleepy, are you not?”

The Tiger tank girl could only nod, as she started relaxing beneath the arms. “I hope so…” She closed her eyes. “…so warm… it feels so good…” Then she fell asleep, sleeping peacefully within the warmth of the motherly embrace. Smiling Yukari brushed her lips upon Anne’s scalp and hummed a lullaby into the girl’s ear.

“Goodnight, sweet princess,” she whispered. “Have a pleasant sleep.”

*North American XB-70 Valkyrie, for your information.

We’re almost at the end of this road, folks. Hang on tight. Also, hooray for motherly Yukarin and her warm lap~

Sorry for the lack of update for this story, since I have been occupied with the main story (as well as the /at/ one-shot I wrote). I can't guarantee you when this side story will finish, but it will.

This reminds me: should anyone want more of Anne's adventure after this story ends, do you like to see it written normally or in CYOA format?

>>21141
Hmmm...

This is plenty nice, but A CYOA would be better...

But you already have one going, on the same board.

I vote for a CYOA, maybe sometime after you finish LSL?

>>21141
I like the CYOA format. Looking forward for it.

Two weeks had passed since the graveyard incident. Two weeks, which she felt were flowing too fast for her to cope with. Two weeks, which she wished she had spent more sensibly, instead of having to be grounded to allow her battle damages to be restored. Fortunately with the company of Cirno and Daiyousei, she could, at least, do something resourceful.

“Anne, can you show us a trick?” Cirno asked while the trio was seated near the lake.

“Umm, what kind of trick?” the Tiger tank girl asked.

“The one you used at the Youkai Mountains! You know, when you turned your stuff into the briefcase?” the ice fairy asked.

“Oh, you mean like this?” She moved her finger across her shoulder armour and it transformed into a crane, which made Cirno both amazed and excited.

“Do some more! Do some more!” Cirno urged. Anne was too happy to oblige, so she took the entire armour off her body and transformed it into a doll. She even made the fairies open-mouthed by making the little companion march across the snow and threw a few salutes at them, even humming Königgrätzer Marsch for realism. The doll took a bow, the fairies clapped their hands, and it returned to Anne afterwards.

“I wish I could do this with ice and snow,” Cirno said.

“So have you given it a name?” Daiyousei asked.

“I don’t know,” Anne shrugged as she patted the doll. “Why don’t you give it a name? I’m not really good at naming things, you see…” She let the doll approach Daiyousei, in which the fairy picked it off the ground and let it dance on her hands.

“Ah!” Cirno seized Anne’s hand and dragged her away from the lake. “I just remembered! I haven’t introduced you to Keine! Come on, Anne! You, too, Daiyousei!”

“Cirno

They had just left the Misty Lake when they stumbled across Letty. “Hello, girls,” the woman greeted them. “I see you’re heading somewhere. Taking Anne for a walk?”

“Indeed we are!” Cirno declared. “I promised her that day I’d introduce her to Keine!”

“Do you have something with Anne, Miss Letty?” Daiyousei.

The woman shook her head. “It’s fine. Have fun with your friends, Anne,” she said.

Anne nodded. “Will do, Letty.”

The trio headed to the Human Village and headed straight to the school, but were told to visit the Hieda Residence as Keine was having a meeting with the chronicler Akyuu. As they headed there Cirno used every opportunity she had lecturing Anne on how to properly behave in Keine’s presence, much to the tank girl and Daiyousei’s amusement.

“Anyway, once you meet her, you should first greet her and then take a bow,” Cirno spoke at the end of the briefing.

“I know that, but why should I bow to her?” Anne asked.

“That’s because she’s the teacher of this place, you dimwit!” Cirno barked. “Didn’t your place have someone doing similar work as Keine? Besides, I bet nobody has a hat as silly as hers.”

“Now whose hat is silly?” The girls stopped dead on track, and they looked at the source of the voice. “Seriously, lacking sense of respect for your teacher even when out of class.”

“Nobody said your hat is silly, sensei!” Cirno bolstered. “Or must I prove my innocence with Icicle Fall?” The moment Cirno mentioned Icicle Fall the woman grabbed the ice fairy by the head and head-butted her so hard the shockwave knocked the snow off their feet.

“Seriously, this Cirno. She just can’t- oh, hello there,” Keine greeted Anne. “I didn’t believe we have met before, did we?”

“Anne-Marie Braun, 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich.” Anne gave the teacher a salute. “It’s an honour.”

“Hello, little soldier,” Keine said with a smile. “My name is Keine Kamishirasawa, the guardian of this village. Are you going to see me?”

“It was Cirno’s idea in the first place,” Anne said and pointed to the fairy-shaped crater. “But she didn’t say anything specific.”

“Oh, that’s why.” Keine giggled again. “Well, if that’s the case, why don’t the three of you come with me to Akyuu’s place? I’m going to visit my friend there, but I suppose I could use some company.”

“We don’t mind, so long as we get to do something,” Anne shrugged. “Besides, getting grounded for two weeks has taken a toll on me. Letty said it’s for my own benefit, but I want to move around.”

“My, sounds like you need to attend one of my classes,” Keine said. “Well, you don’t want to stay frozen out here, right? I can ask Akyuu to treat you with the best tea and cookies.”

“I like the idea,” Anne said.

“Cookies~!” Daiyousei cheered.
-
-
This should do it for now. Part II will be ready in a few days.

And before I forget...

>>21142
An Anne-centric CYOA sounds promising, but I'll focus on completing LSL first before I can work on it.

>>21155
I hope we get more chances to have Anne and Yuri meet up.

>>21154
“Cookies~!” Cookie Monster cheered.

>>21162
Goddamn it nostalgia. I laughed.

-x-x-x-x-

“But what about Cirno?” Anne asked.

Everybody turned to the crater. “Knowing her, she’ll forget everything that’s happened to her,” Keine said. “Come, girls. We can’t afford to make Akyuu wait. She’ll probably get bored already.”

After a quick trip across the village they arrived at the Hieda Residence. There they were greeted by the said resident, who, to Anne’s surprise, looked nothing like she had had expected of a chronicler. She stared at the girl, long enough to cause Keine to laugh. “Of course, you might be confused by how long she looks,” Keine spoke. “Anne, I’d like you to meet Akyuu Hieda, the ninth Child of Miare.”

“Your friend, Miss Kamishirasawa?” the girl asked.

“Pretty much,” Keine answered. “She and Daiyousei are coming with me today.”

“Pleased to meet you, Miss Hieda,” Anne spoke. “I’m Anne-Marie Braun.”

“Hello, Miss Braun,” Akyuu said. “Please, come in. I’ll prepare you tea while we’re at it.”

“Ah! Can we have cookies, too?” Daiyousei asked. “Miss Keine said she’d promised to treat us with those, so…”

Akyuu giggled. “Of course. Hot tea with cookies are winters’ best serving, aren’t they?”

The girls followed Akyuu and entered the room. Anne was fascinated; she remembered seeing the interior design during her brief stay in Yakumo Residence, and seeing endless arrays of scroll along the way to the living room made Anne wonder if this Akyuu was as important as her role would be. “Ah, sorry for the mess,” Akyuu apologized. “I had to reorganize the files yesterday and forgot to return them afterwards.”

“You know, Akyuu, you could hire someone to look for you,” Keine said.

“I know, but I don’t really have the time for that,” Akyuu answered.

“Well, why don’t we ask our little soldier here?” Keine asked and glanced over at Anne. “While we’re at it, what do you do apart from playing with your fairy friends?”

“Well, I…” Anne coughed before she continued. “I stay with Letty. I don’t have anything much to do along these two weeks, to be honest. Letty said it’s for my own good, since…” She frowned. If possible, she preferred not mentioning the incident at the graveyard.

“Since Letty doesn’t want her to get hurt, that’s why,” Daiyousei spoke. Anne looked at her in bewilderment and the fairy only offered her an assuring smile. “Besides, she’s entrusted Cirno and I to look after her, though Cirno can get… pretty reckless at time,” the fairy continued with a giggle.

“Miss Braun, what did you do for a living, actually?” Akyuu asked. “I don’t suppose a regular girl like you would have a reason to stay with the Yuki Onna.”

“I’m a soldier,” Anne answered. “To be more specific, I’m a member of 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich, soldier of the Third Reich.” She smiled. “I’m proud to serve the Fatherland.”

“A-ah, a soldier, then? I’m sorry for doubting you earlier,” Akyuu apologized.

“You know what, why don’t you let Anne work with you?” Keine suggested.

“Ooh~ good idea,” Akyuu hummed. “What do you say, Miss Braun?”

“I suppose I can work with you, but I have to discuss with Letty first,” Anne said.

“Take your time, little soldier. We still have lots of time to spend,” Keine said.

The discussion continued, even when Akyuu excused herself to prepare tea and cookies for the guests. Anne used the opportunity to know the village guardian and her chronicler colleague more, as well as getting familiar with Gensokyo and its environment. She was amazed by the professionalism level Keine was displaying

“Here we go~!” Akyuu arrived at the living room. “I just have to reheat the cookies since I made those this morning- HYAH!” The girl fumbled on her feet, toppled forward and let go off the tray. “Oh, no! Not the tray!!”

As if on reflex Anne rushed forward and snatched the tray before it spilled its contents onto the floor, balancing the tray in one hand as she caught Akyuu in the other. “That was close!” she gasped. “Are you alright?”

“A-ah, thanks for saving the meal,” the flabbergasted Akyuu said.

“My pleasure.” She let go off Akyuu and put the tray on the table. “Glad that none of the cookies are spilled.” None of the tenants were saying anything, and Anne was puzzled until Akyuu pointed her to Keine’s amused grin and Daiyousei’s gasp. “Umm… what’s wrong?”

“My, we’ve only known each other for only less than an hour, and the little soldier has already showed her chivalrousness,” Keine stated. “And to think that she’d show it in front of Akyuu of all people~”

“A-ah, Miss Kamishirasawa, can we not discuss about it right now?” Akyuu asked, even as she was blushing brightly.

“Uhh… can anyone give me a SitRep?” Anne asked.

“Why, little soldier,” Keine giggled. “I think it’s better if you ask Akyuu herself-” She wasn’t allowed to continue when the chronicler tackled her and tried silencing her, much to the village guardian’s dismay.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Another short update for this story, so yeah.

On related note, hooray for Akyuu~

Their business with Keine and Akyuu done, the trio continued their trip and headed to the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Along the way Anne was entertained by Cirno’s spirit as she told her the stories of the scarlet devil, although the tank girl couldn’t help wondering if Cirno was lying when she boasted that the vampire feared fear for being the strongest fairy in Gensokyo.

After a somewhat lengthy flight over the lake they made a touchdown on the shore. Anne spotted a guard near the entrance gate and realized that she was falling asleep. “In the middle of winter?” She approached the guard and tried waking her up; it was worthless as the guard was sleeping dead.

“Aw, jeez! She’s sleeping!” Cirno moaned. “I was thinking of playing with her today.”

“Shouldn’t we at least wake her up?” Anne asked. “I mean, she’ll expose herself to danger if she sleeps during work.”

“Meiling? She’ll be alright, for sure!” Cirno exclaimed. “Anne, Daiyousei! Give me some hands! I’m going to make a snowman out of her!”

“What are you girls doing here?”

Everyone turned to the voice. “Hello, Sakuya! We’re taking her for a trip around Gensokyo!” Cirno declared and pushed Anne towards the maid. “This is Anne! She’s my friend. Go on, Anne! Say hello to Sakuya.”

The tank girl gave Sakuya a salute. “Anne-Marie Braun, 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich.” The maid was looking at her impassively, and this started distressing Anne until the maid signalled at her to approach her. To her surprise the maid pulled her into her arms and started hugging her, and she muffled in shock as her face was pressed beneath the maid’s chest.

“Poor thing,” Sakuya sighed as she rubbed her cheek against Anne’s scalp. “To be forced to befriend a fool… you must have been complaining over this harsh fate…” After a few minutes of over-the-top affection she let go off Anne and corrected her composure. “My apology for the behavioural misconduct. I was informed that you would show up here.”

“I would?”

Sakuya nodded. “Mistress has been looking forward for your arrival. Please follow me; let’s not make her wait.” Anne was hesitant as she turned back to Cirno and Daiyousei, the former telling the latter to bury the sleeping gatekeeper in snow. “Don’t worry about them; they can take care of themselves.” The maid shook her head afterwards. “Assuming that Meiling’s going to wake up.”

Just as Anne was about to walk past the gate she spotted the sight of a girl leaving the mansion with a rabbit girl closely following her lead. “Who are they?” she asked.

“That’s Her Majesty Kaguya Houraisan, and the rabbit that’s following her is her servant Reisen,” Sakuya answered. “They were invited to the mistress’ tea party, though I didn’t expect to see them going home early. I wonder why.”

“But Princess, I haven’t finished eating the truffles Koakuma made yet!” the rabbit girl yelled as the duo took off.

“Silly Udonge, there’s always time for truffles,” the princess replied. “Now we must make haste, for the warm mattress awaits no one!”

Sakuya chuckled. “Ah, that should explain why.”

The duo entered the mansion and headed straight to the library where a group of people was gathering around a purple-haired girl in pyjama-like clothing. She appeared to be in distress, Anne noticed. “Please wait here while I notify Mistress of your arrival,” Sakuya said and approached the group.

Anne paid no attention to the group or the maid. Rather, her focus was shifted towards the library. She noticed that the library occupied an unusual amount of space for a mansion, meaning that the architect must have applied special designing that gave any visitors an illusion of space. This kind of environment demanded an exploration, so she left the girls behind and headed towards the western area. Unlike the section where the girls were congregated this particular area was empty and dark, and there wasn’t any sign of life wherever the tank girl was headed to. She couldn’t wondering if the mansion was built for symbol status, or whether

“Oomph!”

She collided into someone. Both of them fell onto the floor with a reasonable thud that echoed across the library. Anne looked at the person she had bumped into: a young blonde woman wearing a white coat over a red dress, holding some manner of stringed instrument in her hand. Standing up she approached the woman and offered her a hand.

“Did I hurt you?”

The person looked up at her. “Oh, gosh. I didn’t notice you while looking for the music score,” she said and took Anne’s hand. “I’m fine, really, but thanks for the help.”

“No, it was my fault for not watching my direction,” Anne stated as she pulled the woman from the floor. As she stood up and dusted her dress clean Anne took a close examination on her figure; she couldn’t tell due to the elaborate clothing, and that was… good?

“Well, I guess I’ll just have to ask Patchy about the music score,” the young woman said. “Thanks again for the help.” She bowed to Anne and made haste to the main area, leaving the tank girl behind. That was a bummer; at least she should tell her the name.

“Oh well.” She turned around and inspected the bookshelf, its height almost impossible to reach without proper vaulting technique. She wondered if anyone could jump from one shelf to another without slipping and crashing into the floor.

Something caught her eyes. It was a book title, and her finger ran across the bindings until she found it. Carefully she took the book out and read it. She was astounded; it was the story of a wooden puppet boy brought to life by a fairy and living through the harsh life of humankind. Her curiosity got piqued by the premise of the story so she sat down and read the book, using the shelf as leaning post.

“Hello~”

She turned to the voice. It was a girl with eccentric wings decorated with eight crystals of various colours. “Umm… hello?”

The girl smiled and knelt next to Anne. “What are you doing here?”

“I was… invited here,” Anne answered. “The maid asked me to wait while she consulted her mistress, but I got distracted and went here instead.”

“Ah~ Big Sis’ guest?” the young girl said. “Well, that’s fine, because I was thinking of asking you to play with me, but…” Anne flinched; certainly this girl was no Shinano, but the aura that emancipated from her as she mentioned ‘play’ was enough to remind her of the incident at the graveyard. No, no! No time to show your weakness here. Stay frosty, soldier!

“Hey. You’re scared.” Anne shook her head. “Don’t lie to me. I know you are.” The girl inched closer towards her, until she could feel her warm breath against her cheek. “It’s not that I’m going to rip you apart if you tell me the truth.” Anne shivered; the sudden change of intonation brought into her an unknown fear of death and destruction, and the fact that this girl was showing off a pair of fangs in menacing manner had almost brought her down into submission.

“Right?” The dark mood disappeared, and so was her smile that appeared afterwards.

The tank girl frowned. “I’m sorry…” she apologized. “I’d really like to, but this girl had hurt me during our playtime. And…” She bit her lower lip, trying not to remember Shinano’s sinister smile as she proclaimed Anne as her belonging.

“She hurt you?” the girl asked again. Anne just nodded. “Why would she?” The tank girl shook her head, saying she had no idea. The girl frowned into a deep thought, murmuring something in low voice that was too incomprehensible. Anne winced when she smelt the strong chemical aroma of the crystal, and she thought she was going to pass out until the girl grabbed her hand.

“But let’s forget about her right now,” the girl continued. “That book… it looks interesting. Can I read it with you?”

“W-why, yes, sure,” Anne stammered.

“Thank you so much~” The girl sat down and rested her back upon Anne’s arm, as she looked at the page Anne was reading. “My name’s Flandre. What’s yours?”

“Anne… Anne-Marie Braun.”

“So, Sis Anne, what are we going to read?” Flandre asked.

Anne checked the front page. “Pinocchio.”

“Oh~ the story where the puppet got his wished granted and turned into a living boy, right?” Flandre asked. “I like him. Kind of wish he’s real, so I can play with him.”

Anne smiled. “I know.”

-x-x-x-x-

“But Lady Remilia, I didn’t know she’d disappear without a trace,” the distressed Sakuya said as the party returned to the library. “I must apology for my lack of attention.”

“Silly Sakuya, you should be more watchful of our guest,” the blue-haired vampire scoffed. “And to think I’d have to conduct a search operation and lead it myself… this is fun!”

“Urgh… I should’ve stayed behind instead of joining you guys,” the librarian moaned, coughing and wheezing as she was struggling to keep up with the team.

“Anyway, why you decided to drag Satsuki and I along?” the non-amused Reimu demanded.

“Why, search operation is best done when we have many members!” the vampire proclaimed. “With shrine maiden, perfect maid, locked librarian and healer as team-mates, the success rate of this operation is a guaranteed 100% success!”

“But in the end we failed,” Reimu chided. “Nicely done, Remi. Nicely done.”

“Can’t agree anymore,” Rin nodded.

“Now, now, Reimu, you don’t have to be that blunt,” the vampire insisted.

The group halted when Koakuma waved at them and asked them to follow her to the west section. Hurriedly they rushed to the area, and what lay before them made them smile in relief. Koakuma signalled at them to lower their voice as she approached Anne and Flandre, both of whom had fallen asleep in peace and oblivious of the situation that was taking place, and started attending them.

“Look at that,” Reimu sighed in amusement. “All our time wasted looking for them all over the mansion, and she’s inside this library, sleeping. With Flandre, of all people. Seriously; why does the Scarlet Devil want this tank girl as much as the Yuki Onna is?”

“Should we wake them up first?” Sakuya asked.

“I think it’s best that we leave their slumber undisturbed,” the Kirin nurse suggested. “I bet they’ve grown tired from reading the book the girl’s holding.”

“And look; they’re even holding hand,” Reimu pointed out. “How sweet.”

A smile crept across the girls’ face as they noticed it. They decided to let the girls sleep in the library and entrusted Koakuma to look after them until they woke up. “So, Milady, what do you think?” Sakuya asked.

“I like that girl,” the vampire answered. “I knew my hunch was right when Yukari told me about her. Sakuya, have the preparations ready. We’re going to welcome her to the Scarlet Devil Mansion and make her a member of our family.”

“It shall be done,” the maid nodded.

“The decision’s already made, eh?” Reimu asked.

“Of course; it’s for the girl’s own future, too,” the vampire answered.

Well, we have befriended a Kirin nurse and the walking weapon of mass destruction, and survived in the end. Good job, folks.

One more chapter, and this side adventure will be complete.

>Kaguya
>Dragging Reisen away for the sake of a warm mattress

This makes Kaguya sound worse than she was at the time... almost like fanon Kaguya.

I lost the password, so here's the edited version of the update (sorry that it took so long, too).

-------------

Their business with Keine and Akyuu done, the trio continued their trip and headed to the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Along the way Anne was entertained by Cirno’s spirit as she told her the stories of the scarlet devil, although the tank girl couldn’t help wondering if Cirno was lying when she boasted that the vampire feared fear for being the strongest fairy in Gensokyo.

After a somewhat lengthy flight over the lake they made a touchdown on the shore. Anne spotted a guard near the entrance gate and realized that she was falling asleep. “In the middle of winter?” She approached the guard and tried waking her up; it was worthless as the guard was sleeping dead.

“Aw, jeez! She’s sleeping!” Cirno moaned. “I was thinking of playing with her today.”

“Shouldn’t we at least wake her up?” Anne asked. “I mean, she’ll expose herself to danger if she sleeps during work.”

“Meiling? She’ll be alright, for sure!” Cirno exclaimed. “Anne, Daiyousei! Give me some hands! I’m going to make a snowman out of her!”

“What are you girls doing here?”

Everyone turned to the voice. “Hello, Sakuya! We’re taking her for a trip around Gensokyo!” Cirno declared and pushed Anne towards the maid. “This is Anne! She’s my friend. Go on, Anne! Say hello to Sakuya.”

The tank girl gave Sakuya a salute. “Anne-Marie Braun, 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich.” The maid was looking at her impassively, and this started distressing Anne until the maid signalled at her to approach her. To her surprise the maid pulled her into her arms and started hugging her, and she muffled in shock as her face was pressed beneath the maid’s chest.

“Poor thing,” Sakuya sighed as she rubbed her cheek against Anne’s scalp. “To be forced to befriend a fool… you must have been complaining over this harsh fate…” After a few minutes of over-the-top affection she let go off Anne and corrected her composure. “My apology for the behavioural misconduct. I was informed that you would show up here.”

“I would?”

Sakuya nodded. “Mistress has been looking forward for your arrival. Please follow me; let’s not make her wait.” Anne was hesitant as she turned back to Cirno and Daiyousei, the former telling the latter to bury the sleeping gatekeeper in snow. “Don’t worry about them; they can take care of themselves.” The maid shook her head afterwards. “Assuming that Meiling’s going to wake up. Come with me.”

The duo entered the mansion and headed straight to the library where a group of people was gathering around a purple-haired girl in pyjama-like clothing. She appeared to be in distress, Anne noticed. “Please wait here while I notify Mistress of your arrival,” Sakuya said and approached the group.

Anne paid no attention to the group or the maid. Rather, her focus was shifted towards the library. She noticed that the library occupied an unusual amount of space for a mansion, meaning that the architect must have applied special designing that gave any visitors an illusion of space. This kind of environment demanded an exploration, so she left the girls behind and headed towards the western area. Unlike the section where the girls were congregated this particular area was empty and dark, and there wasn’t any sign of life wherever the tank girl was headed to. She couldn’t wondering if the mansion was built for symbol status, or whether

“Oomph!”

She collided into someone. Both of them fell onto the floor with a reasonable thud that echoed across the library. Anne looked at the person she had bumped into: a young blonde woman wearing a white coat over a red dress, holding some manner of stringed instrument in her hand. Standing up she approached the woman and offered her a hand.

“Did I hurt you?”

The person looked up at her. “Oh, gosh. I didn’t notice you while looking for the music score,” she said and took Anne’s hand. “I’m fine, really, but thanks for the help.”

“No, it was my fault for not watching my direction,” Anne stated as she pulled the woman from the floor. As she stood up and dusted her dress clean Anne took a close examination on her figure; she couldn’t tell due to the elaborate clothing, and that was… good?

“Well, I guess I’ll just have to ask Patchy about the music score,” the young woman said. “Thanks again for the help.” She bowed to Anne and made haste to the main area, leaving the tank girl behind. That was a bummer; at least she should tell her the name.

“Oh well.” She turned around and inspected the bookshelf, its height almost impossible to reach without proper vaulting technique. She wondered if anyone could jump from one shelf to another without slipping and crashing into the floor.

Something caught her eyes. It was a book title, and her finger ran across the bindings until she found it. Carefully she took the book out and read it. She was astounded; it was the story of a wooden puppet boy brought to life by a fairy and living through the harsh life of humankind. Her curiosity got piqued by the premise of the story so she sat down and read the book, using the shelf as leaning post.

“Hello~”

She turned to the voice. It was a girl with eccentric wings decorated with eight crystals of various colours. “Umm… hello?”

The girl smiled and knelt next to Anne. “What are you doing here?”

“I was… invited here,” Anne answered. “The maid asked me to wait while she consulted her mistress, but I got distracted and went here instead.”

“Ah~ Big Sis’ guest?” the young girl said. “Well, that’s fine, because I was thinking of asking you to play with me, but…” Anne flinched; certainly this girl was no Shinano, but the aura that emancipated from her as she mentioned ‘play’ was enough to remind her of the incident at the graveyard. No, no! No time to show your weakness here. Stay frosty, soldier!

“Hey. You’re scared.” Anne shook her head. “Don’t lie to me. I know you are.” The girl inched closer towards her, until she could feel her warm breath against her cheek. “It’s not that I’m going to rip you apart if you tell me the truth.” Anne shivered; the sudden change of intonation brought into her an unknown fear of death and destruction, and the fact that this girl was showing off a pair of fangs in menacing manner had almost brought her down into submission.

“Right?” The dark mood disappeared, and so was her smile that appeared afterwards.

The tank girl frowned. “I’m sorry…” she apologized. “I’d really like to, but this girl had hurt me during our playtime. And…” She bit her lower lip, trying not to remember Shinano’s sinister smile as she proclaimed Anne as her belonging.

“She hurt you?” the girl asked again. Anne just nodded. “Why would she?” The tank girl shook her head, saying she had no idea. The girl frowned into a deep thought, murmuring something in low voice that was too incomprehensible. Anne winced when she smelt the strong chemical aroma of the crystal, and she thought she was going to pass out until the girl grabbed her hand.

“But let’s forget about her right now,” the girl continued. “That book… it looks interesting. Can I read it with you?”

“W-why, yes, sure,” Anne stammered.

“Thank you so much~” The girl sat down and rested her back upon Anne’s arm, as she looked at the page Anne was reading. “My name’s Flandre. What’s yours?”

“Anne… Anne-Marie Braun.”

“So, Sis Anne, what are we going to read?” Flandre asked.

Anne checked the front page. “Pinocchio.”

“Oh~ the story where the puppet got his wished granted and turned into a living boy, right?” Flandre asked. “I like him. Kind of wish he’s real, so I can play with him.”

Anne smiled. “I know.”

-x-x-x-x-

“But Lady Remilia, I didn’t know she’d disappear without a trace,” the distressed Sakuya said as the party returned to the library. “I must apology for my lack of attention.”

“Silly Sakuya, you should be more watchful of our guest,” the blue-haired vampire scoffed. “And to think I’d have to conduct a search operation and lead it myself… this is fun!”

“Urgh… I should’ve stayed behind instead of joining you guys,” the librarian moaned, coughing and wheezing as she was struggling to keep up with the team.

“Anyway, why you decided to drag Satsuki and I along?” the non-amused Reimu demanded.

“Why, search operation is best done when we have many members!” the vampire proclaimed. “With shrine maiden, perfect maid, locked librarian and healer as team-mates, the success rate of this operation is a guaranteed 100% success!”

“But in the end we failed,” Reimu shrugged.

“Can’t agree anymore,” Rin nodded.

“Now, now, Reimu, you don’t have to be that blunt,” the vampire insisted.

The group halted when Koakuma waved at them and asked them to follow her to the west section. Hurriedly they rushed to the area, and what lay before them made them smile in relief. Koakuma signalled at them to lower their voice as she approached Anne and Flandre, both of whom had fallen asleep in peace and oblivious of the situation that was taking place, and started attending them.

“Look at that,” Reimu sighed in amusement. “All our time wasted looking for them all over the mansion, and she’s inside this library, sleeping. With Flandre, of all people. Seriously; why does the Scarlet Devil want this tank girl as much as the Yuki Onna is?”

“Should we wake them up first?” Sakuya asked.

“I think it’s best that we leave their slumber undisturbed,” the Kirin nurse suggested. “I bet they’ve grown tired from reading the book the girl’s holding.”

“And look; they’re even holding hand,” Reimu pointed out. “How sweet.”

A smile crept across the girls’ face as they noticed it. They decided to let the girls sleep in the library and entrusted Koakuma to look after them until they woke up. “So, Milady, what do you think?” Sakuya asked.

“I like that girl,” the vampire answered. “I knew my hunch was right when Yukari told me about her. Sakuya, have the preparations ready. We’re going to welcome her to the Scarlet Devil Mansion and make her a member of our family.”

“It shall be done,” the maid nodded.

“The decision’s already made, eh?” Reimu asked.

“Of course; it’s for the girl’s own future, too,” the vampire answered.

>>21366
>picture
>F. Scarlet
I can't help but think of Shadow Teddie's Vampire Kid's Korner.
"Meiling, What other vampires begin with F?"
"Fscarlet."
"Excellent."

Anne stayed on the lakeside. This morning she decided to watch Letty skating on the ice, instead of talking the walk around the area. Cirno was nowhere to be seen in the area, and neither was her greater fairy companion, but Anne had nothing to complain about their absence. As long as she got to be with Letty, her life would be complete.

“Today will be a special day,” Letty spoke. Anne’s heart skipped; she didn’t know what the Yuki-Onna was talking of, but hearing it from Letty made her blush slightly. “So are you ready?”

“Eh?”

Letty smiled at the reaction. “Isn’t it obvious? You lost to the graveyard girl because you didn’t have a spellcard at your disposal.” Anne frowned. The mention of her losing to Shinano was painful, and the injury became more severe when the aircraft carrier girl wanted to claim her as her own. “I understand that you haven’t created one, so I have decided to assist you.”

“T-thank you, but… why so sudden?” As she looked at Letty she could notice the hint of sadness coming from her smile. “Letty?”

“You know that spring’s going to arrive, right?”

“Why? Why the question- oh.” She frowned. “So the reason you wanted to train me…”

“Hey, now.” As Letty pulled the girl into her arms Anne immediately clung onto her. “I know it’s going to be very hard for you, but if I don’t pass the torch to the next runner, who else will?”

“You could’ve told me about this earlier…” Anne murmured and buried her face beneath the Yuki Onna’s clothes. “I’m going to be alone again…”

“I’m sorry,” Letty spoke and tightened the embrace. “But you’re not anymore. You have Cirno, right? You can play with her for the rest of the year. Of course, you have… Yuuka and Yukari; they’ve agreed to look after you on my behalf.”

“But I want to stay with you…” Anne mumbled.

“I’m afraid I cannot help you with that, dear,” Letty answered, even as she gave the girl a comforting pat on the head. “Well, we don’t have time to lose, so what will be your decision?”

Anne let go off the woman. “You have to tell me the rule,” she spoke after taking a few steps back.

// Girls Are Explaining… //

“So I must have my own reason to make my spellcard work?”

The woman nodded. “The graveyard girl used her spellcard on you because she had a reason: to have you as her own possession.”

“But how should I know my own reason when I don’t have one in the first place?” Anne asked.

“For that, you have to ask yourself.” Letty whipped out the trident and readied her stance. “But first, you have to experience the hardship of surviving a spellcard. Are you ready?”

Anne gulped. She was unsure if she was ever ready, but judging from Letty’s sincerity it would be a shame to turn her down. Taking a few more steps into the snow she had the briefcase transformed into the battle armour and brought the 88mm gun into battle position. “Ready when you are.”

Letty swung the trident over her head. “Cold Sign [Lingering Cold].” The moment the spellcard was declared the whole battlefield was filled with heavy streams of snowflakes, all aimed towards Anne’s position. The tank girl readied her position, and then the memory of the danmaku lesson kicked in: she eased her body and let it graze the first stream. She took a few steps and grazed the second stream, all while keeping an eye over stray danmaku.

“Good. Keep up the effort,” Letty commented and increased the intensity of the danmaku pattern.

Anne kept grazing, over and over again repeating the manoeuvre that brought her across the battlefield. Yet she knew she could not be grazing the spellcard forever, and she had to come up with a spellcard to counter it.

She found a gap between the danmaku streams. Perfect! She gave the gun barrel a hard slap and aimed it at Letty. “Langrohrgeschütz 「Barrierendurchbohrer」!” The barrel fired, and a bright yellow orb rocketed towards Letty in faster-than-sound speed. It flew past her head, frustratingly missing her head by an inch, but it did stop her spellcard duration.

“Nicely done, Anne,” Letty complimented calmly amidst the interruption. “I would like to see more of your spellcard.”

“It’s just a warm-up.” She took aim and opened fire; again the yellow orb found its way towards Letty, but this time it left behind a trail of air-burst danmaku. Again, Letty took a step to the left to evade the energy orb but was caught unprepared when the air-burst danmaku started detonating. Anne hoped the air-burst would slow her opponent down, enough for her to deliver the coup de-

“Hmm~”

-to her aggravation, Letty grazed the explosion, its size of which could easy rival her… she shook her head; no time for silly comparison. More importantly, as she noticed, Letty wasn’t even putting effort in the battle, judging from the way she handled her spellcard.

Was Letty making fun of her capability?

Anne shook her head. No, no! It couldn’t be that! Letty wouldn’t do such thing.

Then why?

The grazing stopped. Letty made a landfall and landed not far from Anne. “I guess both of us survived our spellcards without taking a hit,” she uttered. “Not bad for a starter.”

“Letty…”

“Yes, dear?”

“You aren’t taking this seriously, are you?” She stooped her head. “Why, Letty? Why?”

“Anne, if I were to take it seriously.” So saying the temperature around the lake dropped to unbearable level; the hinges on Anne’s battle armour got covered in frost although it quickly dissipated. “Gensokyo would be no more; everything on, around and underneath it would cease to exist under the blanket of eternal coldness. You must know, Anne, that my power is governed by the stability of this region. Everyone has to learn their limit.”

“But Letty, I won’t know my own limit until I surpass it!” Anne protested.

“Which is why Shinano has to be imprisoned in the graveyard,” Yukari spoke as she appeared behind Anne. “Anne, Letty had to use her full strength just to stop the girl, practically freezing her and the graveyard in the process. And that was because Letty had to protect you from the girl.” She gave the tank girl a pat on the shoulder. “You should learn to acknowledge your limit, as well.”

Anne bit her lower lip. She could care less of Shinano. She could care less of her limit. She could care less of Yukari’s reasoning. All she wanted to was to complete this training and spend the last moments of winter with Letty however she liked. All she wanted to-

“I HAVE FOUND YOU!!”

Everyone looked upward, to the voice that boomed across the lake. “Great. How did she escape the ice prison?” Yukari muttered.

“You!” Shinano screamed and pointed the flight deck at Letty. “Return Anne to me or suffer the consequences!”

“Forget it, Shinano!” along came Yamato’s voice as she and her twin sister chased after her. “You couldn’t beat Miss Letty the last time! Just leave Anne alone, please!”

“I don’t care!” Shinano shouted. “I want my belonging back and I want it right now!”

Letty could only shake her head. “Never thought to end this season with a bang,” she uttered, almost to herself. “Yukari, will you do me a favour?”

Yukari giggled. “You shouldn’t ask, Letty. I know what you want.” She waved the fan into the air, and it only took a second before the entire lake was enveloped in rectangular barrier, separating Letty and Shinano from any interference. “Now everyone doesn’t have to worry about collateral damage.”

“Thank you, Yukari.” Letty ascended off the frozen lake and rose to the sky until she was facing Shinano. “I’ll accept your challenge. If you win, you can take Anne away and leave this place.” Anne shivered; this wasn’t what she exactly wanted to hear. “If I win, you have to leave her and never bother us again.”

Shinano’s tantrum ceased. She glowered at Letty, her eyes full of hatred and anger. Then she spat to her side in disgust. “…fine. I accept your term.”

“Let’s make this quick, shall we? Two wins each,” Letty spoke.

“Then I shall begin first! Battle Formation [Cartwheel Massacre]!”

>>21449

“Battle Formation [Cartwheel Massacre]!”

Airplane-shaped danmaku were released and began encircling Letty, unleashing hell of bullets, bombs, torpedoes and suicide bombing at the Yuki Onna. Anne noticed that, unlike the last time, Shinano’s spellcard was fuelled with anger and desperation, and the aircraft carrier girl seemed all too eager to defeat her opponent.

“I found it!!” Shinano charged towards Letty, trying to tackle the woman. To her frustration, Letty blocked the tackle with the trident, and Shinano tried pulling back only to find herself stuck. “Urgh… let go off me!!”

“Watch, Anne,” Yukari uttered. “Watch what happens when Letty gets really serious.”

“Cold Sign [Lingering Cold].” Not a moment too soon the bounded arena became full of snowflakes, and the temperature dropped so low Shinano’s airplane danmaku essentially froze in midair. Still keeping the flight deck connected to the trident Letty brought Shinano into the snowflakes’ trajectory and all hell broke loose as the snowflake danmaku bombarded the aircraft carrier girl from all directions.

The onslaught ended as fast as the snowflakes were melting. Letty let go off Shinano and just watched as the twin-tailed girl dropped into the lakeside. “One victory for me,” she spoke. “Surely you still have enough strength to continue this battle, right?”

“Never underestimate the might of the Imperial Japanese Navy.” Shinano quickly jumped back into the air. “I’ll make you regret this, Yuki Onna.” The flight deck transformed into a set of anti-aircraft guns and battleship cannons that got attached to Shinano’s arms; the rest of the component transformed into a pair of wings attached onto her back.

“「Death From Above」”

Streams after streams of 40mm, 57mm and 16-inch rounds were fired, and Letty found herself in tight situation as the danmaku exploded around her. Shinano, then, proceeded to zip around the battlefield, constantly firing explosive danmaku at Letty’s position, trying to overwhelm the Yuki Onna with superior firepower. Some of the rounds exploded on contact with the lake’s frozen surface, while others that missed disintegrated on contact with the barrier. The ferocity of the battle could be felt by the inhabitants, as already several individuals started appearing near the barrier.

“What the heck is going on?” the not-amused Reimu demanded.

“Nothing very particular, Reimu dear,” Yukari spoke. “Just two women settling their problem on item possession. It should end anytime soon.”

“Mistress got angry at the noise and demanded that I assess the situation,” Sakuya spoke.

“She has to do it, hasn’t she?” Yuuka uttered.

“Seems like she is,” Yukari told her.

It was as if the spellcard duration would last indefinitely, as it had taken longer for Shinano to make it last. Her face was already showing signs of strain, and her aims were veering way off-course. Yet she had no intention of calling it quit, nor did she intend to win.

“Shinano, you have to stop!!” Yamato shouted. “You’ll hurt yourself if you keep using the spellcard!”

“Listen to us, Shinano!” Musashi pleaded. “We can visit Anne anytime you want! Just stop this already!”

The sisters’ pleas went unheeded. Shinano fired a shot from the 16-inch gun at Letty, and she fired another shell to be rode on as she headed straight at Letty. The manoeuvre caught Letty off-guard, and she wasn’t prepared to take the head-on tackle as the girl knocked her off the air. The Yuki Onna managed to regain her composure only to find herself in Shinano’s line of sight.

“I don’t care of the rules anymore,” Shinano murmured. “I don’t care of anything! Just give Anne to me, and I’ll let you go.” Seeing Letty’s refusal to answer made the girl grin sadistically. “Well, I guess that means I have the authority to eliminate my enemy. Say your last prayer, Yuki Onna.”

“You won,” Letty uttered, almost as calmly as before. “I concede defeat. Now please take Anne and leave. You have what you want.”

“I won’t. Not until you disappear from my sight,” Shinano spoke. “Not until I see no traces of your existence. Like what they had done to my existence, I shall do the same to yours.”

“You have no idea of what you’re doing, Shinano,” Letty uttered. “You have no idea.”

Shinano’s eyes widened. “Then you die. 「Death From Above」”

In an instant Letty got bombarded by the girl’s weapons. The shockwave of the explosions did more than enough to dent the barrier as cracks started forming on the walls, and everyone could feel the intensity of the bombardment. When it was over a few seconds all they could see was only piles of snow and a crater.

“Bloody hell, is it over?” Reimu asked.

Yukari shook her head. “No, it isn’t. Look.”

All eyes followed the direction of Yukari’s fans, and they could not believe what they were watching. Kneeling in defensive posture, holding a shield in direction of the artillery bombardment was Anne. Nobody knew how she managed to get into the barrier, but it seemed she had managed to shield Letty from the attack.

“Are you alright, Letty?”

“Anne, your armour.”

She looked at the shield she had used. Its damage was too massive for the quick regeneration to take effect - in fact, it started to disintegrate and fall into the snow. “It’s just armour; I’ll get it fixed.” She rose on her feet and looked up at Shinano, whose face was showing a mixture of shock and disbelief. “Shinano. I appreciate your intention of becoming my friend, and I really hope our next meeting won’t have to be like this.”

“But.” She aimed the 88mm gun at the girl. “You have violated one of the main rules in the battlefield: you do not - I say it again, NOT - harm the enemy who has conceded defeat. As a fellow soldier, I’m disappointed in you.”

“Sh-shut up! You don’t know how I feel!” Shinano barked.

“I do, Shinano,” Anne uttered. “In fact, I know how you feel very much.”

“You… you vile!” Shinano opened fire, and Anne quickly took the brunt of the bombardment with the shield. She deployed the rest of the body armour to fuse with the shield and stood her ground, and amidst the confusion and chaos she still managed to ask Letty.

“Letty, remember when you said I must have my own reason?” She threw the Yuki Onna a smile. “I think I do now.” She jumped out of the protective shield and charged towards Shinano, armed with only the 88mm gun to protect herself from the spellcard.

“You… get away from me!!” In frantic Shinano fired a volley of 16-inch guns at Anne, yet the tank girl was moving too fast for her to take proper aim. She started panicking when Anne had jumped towards her, and before she could react the tank girl thrust the tip of the gun barrel onto her armour.

“Langrohrgeschütz 「Barrierendurchbohrer」!”

Round after round of high-explosive munitions shot through Shinano, each shot destroying each piece of the girl’s armour into smithereens. Her screams were drowned out in the thundering gun blast, which was also affecting Anne in some way. When the spellcard ended Shinano was hanging on the tip of the gun barrel, left only in her sailor uniform, torn in every place imaginable. She wasn’t allowed to speak as Anne pulled the gun barrel out of her torso, a gap left behind in the process, and she dropped limp into the frozen lake.

“It’s over…” Anne murmured and returned to the ground. Weakly she headed back to Letty, her face and body battered due to the artillery bombardment she had to endure, but she still managed to smile at the Yuki Onna. “It’s over, Letty. You don’t have to-”

“Anne! Behind you!”

The moment she turned around a gun turret was smashed onto her body, pinning her on a boulder. Shinano had resurfaced from the lake, and her frozen face contorted in an expression full of hate, anger, and envy. Her steps were uneven as she approached Anne, and her left arm looked as if it was going to detach from the shoulder. Oils and other fluids were flowing out of the chasm on her torso, bringing along vile stench of carbon and flesh.

“If I can’t get what I want,” the aircraft girl uttered, as dragging the flight deck across the ground with her undamaged arm, “then I’ll make sure nobody else will…”

Letty groaned. She had to stop Shinano from hurting (or killing) Anne but her time was running out, and her remaining strength was only barely enough to keep her presence. Outside the barrier Yamato and Musashi were begging Yukari to end the fight, saying that Shinano had reached the limit of her strength, and any more battle would spell the end for Shinano.

Shinano’s steps stopped dead on track when a wall of vines stood erect between her and Anne. “Where has your mannerism gone to, little girl?” Yuuka asked. “Seriously, have you taken no lesson on kindness?”

“I don’t know what your intention is,” Reimu uttered as she joined force with Yuuka, with sealing needles in hand. “But this must end now.”

“Mistress will not take this issue lightly, especially if she knows the future member of the Scarlet Devil Mansion is harmed,” Sakuya said.

“You’re alone, aren’t you?” Yuuka asked. “I know you do, because you wanted Anne for yourself, but that doesn’t mean you have to be selfish.”

“Shut up, all of you! Shut up!” Shinano cried. “You don’t know who you’re talking to!”

“Oh, I see you’re such a bigmouth.” Yuuka spun the parasol’s handle beneath her hand. “Girls, how about we show this little girl a lesson on who’s the real powerhouse in Gensokyo?”

“Do whatever you want, Yuuka,” Reimu shrugged. “I’m freezing out here already.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Sakuya said.

The three women turned their attention at Shinano. At once the aircraft carrier girl flinched and stepped back in terror. “What… what are you going to do?” Her question was ignored as Yuuka, Reimu and Sakuya walked towards the girl. She stumbled into the snow and was frozen in fear as the trio made their advance

“Please no!!”

A soft pat on her hand made Shinano freeze. She slowly lifted her head, and she could not believe what she was seeing. “It’s alright, Shinano,” Anne spoke as she kept patting Shinano’s hair. “It’s alright. You don’t have to be afraid.”

“Anne… Anne!!” Shinano flung herself onto Anne’s arms and cried bitterly on her. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you!!”

Letting out a weak laugh Anne turned towards the trio. “I thank you for your concern, but I can take care of this situation myself,” she spoke. “Shinano’s a victim of her own loneliness, just like I have been.”

“Huh, I didn’t expect to see this kind of ending,” Reimu sighed.

“How anti-climatic,” Sakuya commented. “But I suppose it’s for Anne’s own good, too.”

“All’s well and it ends well,” Yuuka spoke.

After a few minutes of cuddling Shinano Anne stood up, and she smiled at Shinano as she walked towards Letty. “Let’s meet Letty and apology to her, shall we?” Shinano just nodded and weakly held onto her. “We’ve made her overstay herself for too long, so…”

Her knees weakened. Anne shuddered, wavering on her feet, and a soft thud was heard as she fell into the snow. The commotion quickly got the attention of Letty and Shinano, as they had realized the extent of damage Anne’s body had endured throughout the battle.

“Anne? Anne! Wake up!” Panic struck Letty and Shinano as they were desperately trying to bring Anne back, and yet even with Yamato and Musashi helping she wouldn’t respond. “Oh, God! Anne, don’t die on us! Anne! ANNE!!”

You'd think it's over for Anne, wouldn't you Anon?

>>21450
She'll be all right.

I hope.

A month had passed since spring arrived. The incident with Shinano had caused delayed the season’s arrival, but it had no major impact on Gensokyo’s stability as Yukari told everyone who was involved. It was a relief to Anne that Reimu decided not to reprimand her or Letty for the incident, although she did give Shinano and her twin older sisters a harsh lecture on behavioural conduct (with the help of the village guardian Keine).

Letty’s departure was, at best, depressing, since she knew she would not be able to spend her quality time with the Yuki Onna for the rest of the year. She had to relent when Letty assured her Yukari and Yuuka had promised her to look after Anne, both of whom had kept their promise to the avatar of winter.

Yet none of those were of her major concern today.

A party was to be held at Hakurei Shrine, and from the information she got from Yukari’s fox familiar it was to commemorate her arrival in Gensokyo. It was to be a special event for the tiger tank girl, as Ran suggested, so she was asked to dress up for the occasion. Anne’s heart thumped: how many more girls she would meet at the party?
-
-
She was done with the uniform and her Panzer Division badge. All that was left was the silver brooch she had left at the table before taking her shower. She returned to the table and found the jewellery near an unfolded letter. She read the letter, giggled at its content and put it back on the table.

“Anne! Are you done?”

“I’m coming!” Fixing the silver brooch on her uniform she left the shack and met Cirno and Daiyousei. “Sorry for the delay. Shall we go?”

“Let’s race!” Cirno exclaimed and took off. “You can’t outrun me this time, Anne! I have the speed!”

“Really now?” She transformed her battle armours into jet-pack and grabbed Daiyousei’s hand. “Hang on tight.”

“Wait, Anne! I’m not even ready yAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”
-
-
The three of them had arrived at the Hakurei Shrine. The tank girl had won the race and was treated with ice cream by the disdained Cirno. “That’s cheating,” Cirno growled. “You used wings to win the race!”

“Excuse me? I can’t hear you over how delicious this ice-cream is,” Anne uttered and took a lick. She giggled when some ice-cream smeared her face and scooped it with her finger. “Mmm~ want to try?”

“No thanks,” Cirno huffed. “Oh, look! The three fairies are here! I’m going to meet them for a while. See you!” The ice fairy left, and without anything to do (apart from Anne stealing a bite off Daiyousei’s ice-cream, much to the great fairy’s dismay) the girls headed to the main crowd who didn’t yet realize their arrival.

“Hello, Anne~” They turned to the scarlet vampire and her maid. “I was thinking that you’d show up late. Did you get held back?”

Anne gave the vampire a salute. “Oh, no. We arrived just in time for the gathering,” she spoke. “Where’s Miss Yukari? She told me to meet her here.”

“She might be sleeping as always,” Reimu said as she showed up next to the vampire. “Good grief. Of all things Yukari wanted to do, she had to suggest welcoming party to this girl. When I thought I could sleep for the entire day…”

“Now, now, Reimu,” Remilia spoke. “At least she had agreed to let Flan play with… who’s the girl again, Sakuya? Shinano! Of course, of course! How can I ever forget her? She’ll keep Flan and Patchy busy for time being.”

The mention of Shinano worried Anne so she asked Sakuya whether anything had happened. “Don’t you worry too much, Miss Braun,” Sakuya told her. “Miss Shinano has proven herself a worthy playmate for Mistress Flandre, and everyone’s been impressed by her ability.” Anne’s mind reeled; she could only imagine the amount of destructions the two ‘little sisters’ would cause and the amount of headache they would give to their older sisters. “Besides, it’s nice to see Shinano having to control her tantrum when she has a walking time bomb as a companion,” the maid continued with a cackle.

“A what?” Daiyousei asked.

“Enough with these chatters, guys,” Reimu shrugged. “Yukari isn’t going to show up anytime soon, so Anne will have to start the party without her.” Anne blinked at the mention, and this reaction caused the shrine maiden to tap her head with the tip of the gohei. “Didn’t she tell you about the speech?”

“Aw, Reimu, that’s not the way to greet newcomers~!” As Remilia started pestering Reimu with her charm Sakuya led Anne to a small podium erected in front of the awaiting crowd. Anne looked at the crowd; safe for Yuuka and Satsuki (who were smiling at her) there were a lot of faces she didn’t recognize, and she was worried if their presence would overwhelm her.

“They want to hear your inspiring speech, Anne,” Sakuya whispered as she pushed her forward. “You can do it.”

She looked at the perfect maid and the greater fairy, the former giving her a wink. Then at the shrine maiden who was helplessly trying to avoid the vampire. Then at the crowd, who instantly started cheering for her, especially this two-horned girl who chugged a mouthful of alcohol into her throat. She took a deep breath. She was never a good public speaker to begin with, but she knew she couldn’t afford to let her audience down. She put her hand on the silver brooch; she hoped Letty would give her strength for the speech, wherever the Yuki Onna might be.

She let go off the brooch. She looked up at the audience, and with a loud, clear and confident voice, she began.

“Greetings to all. My name is Anne-Marie Braun-”

“Hello, Anne!” the crowd replied in unison.

A smile crept upon her face. This could be the beginning of a wonderful life…

// THE END OF LITTLE SOLDIER LOST SIDE STORY //

-----------

Decided to make the epilogue short (if the quality doesn't reach everyone's expectation, I apologize). If anyone wants to see Anne appearing in LSL main story, kindly let me know in the main thread or here.

YES.

>>21553

>Decided to make the epilogue short (if the quality doesn't reach everyone's expectation, I apologize).
s'ok.

>If anyone wants to see Anne appearing in LSL main story, kindly let me know in the main thread or here.
Yes please.

Well anything that begins must have an end, and so does the story. By far this is one of the threads that made me visit the /eientei board often.

I was a good read overall, and I am looking forward to see Anne in LSL. Or CtV, for that matter XD

Keep up the good work, cap'n.

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.

>>21558
On Anne appearing in LSL, I'm all for it.

But she's too much of a little sister to stick her in CtV.