The chapter begins with Leopon and Anteater team joining, with a panel each for introductions. Fans of those teams may be disappointed, since their screen time here is reduced even further. Interestingly enough, they also receive letter designations- G and H, respectively- in spite of, along with Mallard Team, having joined after the letters were retired for team names.
The team discusses how 50 members of the disciplinary committee went looking for tanks, and mentions that they found the Porsche Tiger and Chi-Nu. Of course, they fail to mention that the Porsche Tiger had been found before the match with Anzio, but not used until now. Yukari goes into another Panzer High.
Meanwhile, a helicopter makes its way over to Oarai Academy, with Erika in the pilot seat.
Oarai then installs the upgrades that make the 38(t) and the Panzer IV into the Hetzer and the Panzer IV Ausf. D, respectively, with Miho and Yukari viewing and commenting on the work.
From off panel, Erika then greets Miho by mockingly referring to her by her title as Black Forest's old vice-captain. Yukari immediately recognizes Erika as the new one, even though this is apparently the first time they've met.
Erika then accuses Miho of stabbing her old school in the back, and insinuates that Miho wanted a promotion. The latter is the farthest thing from the truth, and Miho's lack of ambition should have been obvious to Erika in the short time that they knew each other.
Yukari begins to protest, but Erika angrily shouts at her to stay out of it, since she's an outsider. Yukari stops talking, albeit without an apology this time. As much as I find Yukari's support for Miho touching, I'd like to reiterate that she often fails to stand her ground when confronted with opposition.
Erika then mentions how Miho appeared at the tournament drawing, which happened off-panel between Chapter 5 and 6, and how it caused a stir amongst her teammates. Erika then tells Miho off for even believing that the school would go on without her. Erika says that Maho had the unenviable task of helping the team recover from the loss, and Miho appears guilty over making her sister go through all that. This is an interesting concept, and I do believe that Miho had reservations about leaving Black Forest.
Erika does, however, point out that she got something good out of everything that happened; the position of vice-captain. But then she adds her belief that that Miho's departure impacted Maho, and refuses to forgive her, vowing to crush her in the finals.
Yukari comments about how Erika must truly love Miho's sister, which is an interesting idea. Erika can be argued to be jealous of Miho, both for getting the position she wanted and being closest to Maho.
Miho suggests that Erika is correct, and she did fail to think about what would happen to her old school after she left. Yukari tries to change the subject by saying that traditions and winning streaks mean little compared to people's lives, but Miho says that it isn't even the main problem.
Miho mentions a friend named "Yui-chan," (Note that Miho addresses most of her friends from her high school years by their first name and "-san", which is somewhat more formal, so I wonder what this says about her relationship with this girl), whom she saved from the tank. She says that Black Forest's discipline was strict enough to prevent outright bullying, but the people from the tank that had fallen in were ostracized, as they were scapegoated for the loss, and eventually transferred out. Miho then began to despair, as she believes that she didn't truly accomplish anything.
This is an interesting look at Miho's reasons for leaving her old school, one that could have been explored in more depth save for the return of Koume. Of course, I do tend to believe that people like Erika are not necessarily representative of the entirety- or even majority- of Black Forest.
Yukari then comforts Miho, saying that all her friends cherish the Miho that they know. Miho then breaks down in tears and thanks Yukari.
The scene in which Miho gives a brief speech before the finals follows, although Miho seems somewhat more animated and emotional than she did in the anime.
Next Installment: Miho meets with some of her old opponents, and an old friend.
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