And now you face the latest of your woes: Natsumi Ogawa. She stands weakly, leaning against the door she threw you through. The broom closet is dark and damp, the only light coming from the sizable gap between the door and the floor.

"We need to talk," she says quietly. Her voice lacks the forceful professionalism you've come to expect of her, though given how badly shaken she seemed when you last spoke with her, that's not surprising.

You watch, waiting as she slides down the door, joining you near the floor. Her head hangs low, looking between her legs at the ground. As time passes, she says nothing.

Dammit. Despite grabbing you and dragging you through the halls, it looks like you'll have to make the first move.

[ ] What's up?
[ ] Force her to move first.
[ ] Other.

>>21797596
>[x] Other.

"What's so important that you have to drag me into a broom closet?"

>>21797674
This as I have no better way to bring up the point.

>>21797596
"Somethin' on your mind?"

>>21797596
[x] What's up?
Ha ha time for despair!

We're in Australia? HAHA, we are already dead.

>>21798057
We're hiding underground in a military base.
It's helping a little.

>>21798084
Guess we're just lucky that Australia itself hasn't decided to swallow us yet.

File: 1354153992230.jpg-(123 KB, 768x1024, a1luF.jpg)

The natural question bubbles to the top of your mind. Why did she bring you here? What's going on? Several minutes pass...then several more...and nothing changes. Your curiosity is finally unbearable.

"Why did you bring me here?" you ask in what you hope passes for a polite tone.

"…" Ogawa answers with silence. She stares at the floor, tracing a line with her finger.

Come on. Sure, you've triggered some shit for her, but nothing to deserve this bizarre torture. "What did you want to talk about?"

"…"

This is getting old. You get up and make for the door, reaching for the handle. If she doesn't move, you'll just force the door ope—

"...My sister," she says at last.

"Your sister?" You remember her. Not well, but you do. Harumi Ogawa. Part of the first group of "Subwitches." She was abrasive as you recall. She didn't get along well with you, either. Rae was friends with her, though, and Yetta seemed to at least be able to tolerate her. Still, she was a Witch. It's hard not to wish she was still around. Who knows how she died, or even if she did at all?

"My sister," she affirms.

[ ] What about her?
[ ] I remember her.
[ ] Other.

>>21798150
[] I remember her.
[] What about her?

>>21798150
"...You want to know what happened to her?"

She's probably going to ask for something like that.

>>21798150
>[ ] I remember her.
Even if we didn't get along with her well.

>>21798150
[x] I remember her.

>>21798150
>[x] I remember her.

File: 1354155592042.jpg-(2.03 MB, 3229x2479, substriker-drawfag.jpg)

"I remember her. Not well, but I do." She embodied everything that you take issue with in regards to Witch privilege. You remember her.

"You taught her?" Ogawa asks, still tracing that line. No, it's a circle now.

You nod. "Not much. They put me in charge of updating the others on the units. Apparently I had tested the latest model of Substriker at the time." You sigh. "I was the most familiar with the production model, though that's not saying much..."

Ogawa stops her tracing, clenching her fingers into a fist. She struggles for several moments before speaking again. "You taught her well?"

[ ] Yes
[ ] No
[ ] Other

>>21798696
"As best I could."

>>21798696
[x] Other
I taught her enough to be a test pilot. We were never supposed to take the damn things into combat. Not so soon. Not without orders, against an enemy we had no intelligence on, in a theatre with no allies to assist us.

>>21798939
Second.

>>21798939
third

>>21798939
+1

"As best I could, Nat—Lieutenant." You shake your head. "No one knew exactly what combat role we'd be taking. We weren't even supposed to be engaging in combat. She wasn't prepared to fight. Neither was I. No one was."

"…"

"We knew how to move around, we knew how to pull the triggers, but we didn't know how to fight." Why was it that you all went out anyway? Your mind flashes back to the frantic rush of the Tullibee. A small Martian test fleet. The element of surprise. Curse Commander Brindupke, didn't he have enough sense to know it wasn't supposed to be a combat op? And he sent out Harumi Ogawa and Rae before Yetta and yourself were ready! Just what—

"Chief," Natsumi Ogawa says softly, finally looking up.

Ow. What's hurting you? You glance down at the source of the pain. Your fists are clenched tightly, nails digging into the soft skin of your palms. With a start, you stop breathing so heavily, so angrily. Dammit. Now you're losing control of yourself, too.

"Sorry..." you say quietly, looking away. She didn't need to see that. She didn't need to know you're so...not in control of things.

[ ] Regain your composure
[ ] Be more frank
[ ] Other

[x] Be more frank

Being honest is best and it might help her to see that Cookie is only a bit above the other trainees in many ways.

[ ] Be more fronk

>>21799290
[x] Be more frank
The whole thing was one big fuckup.
But it was one we could have prevented if we'd payed more attention and tried to get to know Harumi better.
So if Natsumi is looking for someone to blame, the only person still alive who had any sort of responsibility is right in front of her.

>>21799290
[] Be more frank.
The truth will set you free.

Does cookie know that Ogawa the elder basically bullied the sub's captain into attacking?

>>21799391
Fuck that shit. That whole debacle was Ogawa's fault for being an arrogant, reckless cunt. She forced an engagement, and it got her and the sub killed, and her team captured.

The only one culpable here is that fucking Nip bitch.

>>21799564
Brindupke ordered the attack though.

>>21799506
Good question

>>21799391
I can't say Cookie is responsible as she was merely reacting the best she could.

>>21799290
[x] Regain your composure

>>21799506
No, but she can make assumptions.
>>21799564
>>21799602
And Cookie could have stopped it all by saying 'No'.

>>21799641
Ogawa and Caulders were already launched when she got to Brindupke

>>21799658
Oh okay. Go ahead and tell Natsumi that.
I'll be over here ready to watch the fireworks.

>>21799602
Only after Ogawa basically strong-armed him into it.

By the time cookie could do shit about it, Ogawa was gallivanting off to get herself and everyone killed in TRU HONORABU SAMURAI FASHION.

>>21799699
Once a girl realizes her idol was basically human trash, she can start surpassing that idol.

>>21799884
Or she can undergo a complete emotional breakdown.

>>21799884
That's assuming the thing doesn't royally break her. We have to remember that Cookie and Co. are stuck in an asshole's project and stuck with various undesirables. And makings sure the younger Ogawa doesn't break is the first step towards fixing the others.

>>21799906
>>21799938

Bloody hell. Personell management is so much easier when you can just shoot problems to make them go away.

...But she doesn't need to see a fake you, either. No false words. Get to the point. Be frank. Keeping aware of your breathing and your fists, you begin again. "We weren't ready to attack. Everything was screwed up. I hadn't even been made aware of the attack until after they launched." You close your eyes, remembering. "I rushed to catch up with them..." The scenes play back as still images in your mind, snapshots of a frenzied scramble. Grabbing your gear. Getting suited up. Entering the launch tube. Jumping into battle.

Yetta falling behind.

"Chief?" Natsumi Ogawa asks, an action of concern so unexpected it nearly shatters your tenuous hold over yourself.

Nothing. It's nothing. Bah, you can't even convince yourself. "We almost lost Yetta. I thought she'd have died. How could anyone survive that? Stuck on a submarine as it gets torpedoed..."

Time passes as you both don't dare say a word. The occasional sound of footsteps passing the closet are the only sensations your ears pick up, other than your breathing. Its rhythm betrays your emotions....and she hers.

"Do you know what happened to her?" she asks.

[ ] We can guess
[ ] We have no idea
[ ] Other

>>21799982
Well, if we killed Natsumi her problems would go away...

[x] We have no idea, but it'd be a miracle if she ended up alright.

>>21800105
Her sister going MIA is what started the problems.

>>21800046
[x] We have no idea
We asked Socks about it, and he said he wasn't informed, as I recall.

>>21800046
[x] We have no idea

>>21800046
No idea, can only guess.

If we ever capture the Garbinger we might be able to find out what's going on.

>>21800274
>Garbinger
I am now imagining a Martian wearing pointed orange shades.
oh god why

>>21800046
We don't have confirmation, but,
>[ ] We can guess

You shrug. Socks only knew of four captured Witches. Not five. Technically, that means that Harumi Ogawa might still be alive, but...they did record "losing" one while capturing. Still...

"We four were the only ones captured. Caulders, Falkowska, Kellos, and myself. Your sister...is unaccounted for," you say carefully.

"So she is dead, then," she says with surprising bluntness. She says nothing else, returning to her circles on the floor. No. Squares now.

"Lieutenant—"

"She is dead. She would allow herself to remain captured. If they had her, she would have made herself uncontainable. They would either let her go or kill her. She would not be captured." She takes a moment to trace another square. "She would not flee, either."

"I—"

"She is dead!" she yells, slamming her fist into the cold, hard floor. You can feel the vibrations from the impact. There was magic behind that one. "She is dead. Dead! Dead dead dead dead dead dead—"

"Nats—"

"Failure. She is a failure! They were right!" she screams, a painful loudness filling your ears as her rage increases.

[ ] She was not a failure.
[ ] So? Does that make you a failure, too?
[ ] Other

>>21800862
[x] Other
TACTICAL BEAR HUG

[x]other
"It's hard to say if she was considering the situation. But you are not her; you are your own person with her own thoughts and mindset. Is that why your performance started slipping, because of pressure caused by this? If so this is a failure on their part, not yours."

This is my shot at it, I don't think the matter of Cookie and Co. having a chance of survival due to being capture should be brought up.

>>21800862
[x] So? Does that make you a failure, too?

>>21800862
How does being dead make you a failure? Lots of people die in wars. I mean she was kind of a failure but Natsumi doesn't know about that, does she?

>>21801248
Dunno I think it was a dick move to reward Natsumi ever so faithful following of "fighting to the death" with being called a failure. I think most of her reckless stems from that Bushido mindset.

>>21801269
Yeah, I'm going to go with >[x] She was not a failure. Even though she'll probably think we're just saying that and something else might be more effective. Hard to know what to say in this situation really.

>>21801317
But i think pointing out that she is not her sister should be important as I think it's all the talk about her sister being a failure that wrecked her.

>>21800862
>[X] She was NOT a failure.

>>21800862
[] She was not a failure.
We may not have gotten along, but she wasn't a failure.

>See valid points of discussion and a write in
>bandwagon a choice without much note or remarks anyways

So typical and so disappointing, /tg/.

>>21801520
It's cool that you're upset that people aren't supporting your write-in but it was basically the "So? Does that make you a failure, too?" option anyway.

>>21801631
It attempted to address the matter of if her sister was one or not in a fashion as one can't say yes or no to the question so easily. And ignoring the point of "You're not her sister" would likely undermine our attempt.

>>21800862
[x] Other

"Fuck that noise, she wasn't a failure."

File: 1354165719081.png-(148 KB, 472x294, rageface.png)

"She was not a failure," you say quietly.

"How many Witches have died in this war!?" Ogawa demands. "I can count them on my fingers, they number so few! They live on, fighting, contributing! My sister is gone. She can no longer help. She has failed!"

You stand up and walk over to her. With restrained anger, you grasp her shoulders. "She. Was. Not. A. Failure."

Ogawa bats your hands away. Or tries. Your grip is strong. She grasps your wrists, squeezing and pulling at them. "She is! She is! They were right!" she yells.

"Because she died!?" you yell in return, a booming voice that echos in the closet and overwhelms the Japanese Witch. "That's why she's a failure!?"

Ogawa's momentum is lost. Her rage no longer sustains itself as she only manages to mutter a faint "Yes."

"She died fighting! She brought herself to the enemy! That's failure!? Are you daft!? A man jumps on a grenade, saving his platoonmates but dying. He's a failure!? Someone stays behind, fighting the flames in a boiler room so that everyone else can escape his sinking ship. He failed!?" Your hands squeeze almost dangerously tight around her shoulders. "If my brother died in the line of duty, that makes him a failure? Is that what you're telling me, Natsumi!? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE TELLING ME!?"

>>21801770
Her grip on your wrists weakens as she turns away, unable to answer you.

"Men and women die every day in this war! Those people are heroes, Natsumi! Not failures! We give them medals for their sacrifices! We remember them, we hold them dear to our hearts as we do what we must for this war! It sucks! No hiding it there! BUT WE HAVE TO WIN, AND SOMETIMES THAT MEANS PEOPLE DIE! THEY'RE NOT FAILURES!"

Your rant finished, you slowly regain control of yourself. Again, you watch in detached fascination as you return to normal, your emotions receding. After some time, you notice the tears in Natsumi's eyes.

"…"

"...People don't die because they're failures. People don't live because they're successes," you sum up.

"...But I don't want to die...!" she chokes.

You're at a loss for words. What do you say?

>>21801781
"That makes two of us. But if it comes to that, I plan to go down fighting. Chin up, Ogawa. You're a Witch, and that gives you a leg up in this war. Tell you what, you watch my back and I'll watch yours. We'll both make it home okay."

>>21801781
"Neither do I, and neither did Harumi. You don't go to war wanting to die. You don't go to war wanting to make someone else die. You do it to protect those you care for, those back at home that can't fight for themselves. When the time comes, I sure as hell don't intend to go down easily, and these far too few weeks of training for your and the other girls is to help you do the same, but... there's something missing."

>>21801781
Well, fuck.

"I can't promise you that you will stay alive, Natsumi. But that's why there's the training. Gives us a better chance to survive, to live. And you'll need the training to prove your sister wasn't a failure."

>>21801781
Nobody does, Lieutenant. But we don't get to make that call. We can only do the best that we can with what we've got, and hope that we at least made the most of our lives. that's life.

We're in a pretty shitty situation, I won't lie or sugarcoat it. That's why it's even more important that we work together, because that's the only way any of us are gonna have a chance of surviving. You want to prove you aren't a failure? Help me turn this group of castoffs into something resembling a team. We don't have a whole lot of time, but we can at least be more prepared than we were then.

File: 1354167654600.jpg-(450 KB, 1117x735, 1348709196495.jpg)

"Do you think anyone ever does?" You release your grip on her shoulders, taking a step back to give her some room. "No one goes to war wanting to die. We're Witches; we get to survive when others don't. But we we don't make it all the time."

"…" She seems to regain some shred of her composure.

"If it comes down to it, I plan on doing the most I can before going." You give a bitter laugh. "I guess that's part of what this is. This whole training farce. It's a shit situation, certainly. Two weeks of crash course training from someone who doesn't even know how to fully use these Substrikers herself."

"What!? But...!" she exclaims, surprised.

"I have one successful combat mission in them. It was a hell of a mission, but that still puts me at only two total." You sigh. "This war's doing things to people. I can't sugarcoat it at this point. That won't work. We're going to end up in those subs with scarcely any idea what we can or will be doing in these things."

"...We're going to die..." Natsumi whispers in defeat.

"No. We are not going to die."

She perks up at your words.

"There's one thing we don't have yet. One thing that might be able to make this situation manageable."

"What?"

"Each other."

Natsumi's face twists in confusion, all traces of her stony persona lost. "What?" she repeats.

>>21802260


"Camaraderie. Sisterhood. Trust." You watch as she processes your words. "We don't have it, and we're going to fall apart without it. Your sister wasn't a failure, but she pushed forward on her own, leaving half of us behind. I...I guess I didn't give her enough reason to trust me or...or like me or something," you say, trying to fight back feelings of guilt, "so she went off without enough people behind her. We don't have that bond either."

"...We're all training together," she protests feebly.

"And would you trust anyone here with your life? Do you feel attached to them?"

"…"

"That's what we need, Natsumi. That, or a miracle. Can you help? Can you try?"

"I—I don't know—!"

[ ] Think on it.
[ ] Press her while she's vulnerable
[ ] Other

>>21802264
[x] Other
"Please."

>>21802290
Seconded.

>>21802290
This, soft coercion would work best here.

>>21802290
[x] Other
"Please."

can't think of much better.

>>21802264
[X] Press her while she's vulnerable

We COULD let her think it over, and hopefully have her bail on us of her own volition so we won't have her as a problem anymore.

But we're going to need everyone we've got to make this unit a success, and she's the most competent one around. We need her. ON YOUR FEET SOLDIER

File: 1354169262321.jpg-(1.39 MB, 1920x1200, 1272124299762.jpg)

You need this. They need this. Images of these girls getting...hurt...because they lack any and everything they could have used to survive flash through your head. Ogawa has to help. She has to, and yet...

"Please," you ask, unable to force yourself on her, no matter how much she and the others might need it.

For the first time, Ogawa looks you in the eye. The two of you stare at each other, silent words passing between you. Concerns, worries, possibilities...they flow from you to her. The timeless moment passes. Her lips begin to move.

"...Ok."

Those two syllables ring like heavenly bells in your ears. Unable to contain yourself, you leap upon her, squeezing her in a hug. "Thank you! I'm sorry, Natsumi, about so much but there's only so much I can do. I'm just a person but I'll do my best and please don't be like you have been or break down like I helped you do and—"

She hugs you back, stopping your words in your mouth. "I'm...I'm sorry..." she whispers.

The two of you exit the closet some minutes later, collecting yourselves.

"Oh, was I supposed to see this?" asks a voice. Victor. He holds a massive collection of papers under his arm. He looks the two of you over. You're both kind of a mess at this point. What do you answer?

[ ] Yes
[ ] No
[ ] Other

>>21802700
inb4 all the wrong conclusions and/or references to miso soup.

>>21802700
[x] Other
Don't get jealous, Victor, there's plenty of Cookie to go around.
So how's that report coming along?

>>21802700
>>21802700
"Victor, get your mind out of the gutter. Just had a heated discussion."

I'm tempted to make a joke about Castle Barin but it wouldn't fit at all.

[x] Other
"Merely a makeshift private discussion about training. Any progress on that report?"

>>21802700
"See what?"

>>21802700

Eye Victor and grin wickedly.

"I think we found our third..."

Advance on him with an evil, predatory gleam in your eye. SEE IF HE RUNS. If he does, TROLL SUCCESSFUL. If he doesn't, SEXYTIMES. (Or not. But still.)

>>21802915
>Victor
>Running from anyone but MacArthur

File: 1354170255937.jpg-(117 KB, 759x720, 1353554012745.jpg)

>>21802926

Shit, you're right. That's what makes him SO HOT.

File: 1354170600456.png-(7 KB, 194x272, boner.png)

>>21802945
>cookieXvictor

>>21802700
...Generic flirtatious quip like the other two or three already here.

File: 1354171717045.jpg-(12 KB, 256x273, descartes711.jpg)

He looks at both of you with that confident stare he's had since he was assigned here. It's almost annoying. "Why? Would you like to join in on our private meetings?" you ask, trying to catch him off guard.

Victor shrugs. "Not really, unless you're offering. Are you?"

You blink. "No," you say automatically.

"Then none of my business."

Ogawa shifts uncomfortably at your banter.

"Remember, Nat—Lieutenant. It's important. Might be our only chance at salvaging this situation," you tell her. She nods. "Alright. Get back to training."

She heads back.

"So," you ask Victor, "how's all that paperwork coming along?"

He shifts his weight, supporting himself on his other foot. "Well, I got a bunch of info on Ogawa," he says, gesturing to the giant stack of papers. "Still need them?"

"...Not really, but drop it off at my office anyhow. Might come in handy."

Victor nods. "How about that meeting incident form?"

"Yeah, get that done and sent in."

"Sure thing. Anything else?"

You think for a moment. "You."

Victor, completely unphased, shrugs as he sets down his things. "That closet is big enough, right?"

Damn him. Damn him to hell. "I'm kidding," you say, taking a step back and running into the closet door.

"Very well then. Have a good day, Chief," he says, picking his things back up. As he walks away, you almost swear you can see a smirk on his face.

Damned pencil pushers.

NEXT TIME ON SUBMERSIBLE WITCHES: We increase the thread count by one.

Wednesday, 8PM EST.

>>21803287
>descartes
> As he walks away, you almost swear you can see a smirk on his face.

Oh my g-

>thread over

So this... this is what it feels like for people when I NEXT TIME?

It - it doesn't feel good!

>>21803299
Ain't karma a bitch?

>>21803299
Welcome to our world.

>>21803299

Payback, bitch, so on and so forth.

good thread Kotters. looking forward to the next

Good thread, Kotters. Looking forward to the next one.

>>21803299
>So this... this is what it feels like for people when I NEXT TIME?
No it's better because we know we'll find out what happens next wednesday and can look forward to it whereas it's been like a month and a half since your last NEXT TIME and we have no clue with your crazy update (non)schedule.

"Excuse me, but where can I find Major Tex Hill?" Witold asked a passing mechanic.

"The Major? You must be new here. I'll take you to his quarters." The young Burmese man, simply attired in a singlet and shorts, breezily answered.

What a strange place Kunming Air Base is, Witold thought to himself as he followed the mechanic. Unlike the RAF airbases back in Britain and Poland, there were no stone barracks. Just dirty, ramshackle brick-and-thatch buildings.

“Major Tex lives there.” the mechanic pointed to the only brick building in the base. It was also the same building he had exited not too long ago. “The Major tends to hit Club Cathay after a sortie or in his free time.”

“Club Cathay? I presume you mean the officer's mess.” Witold replied. “Well, that’s the mess, yes, but we’re on combat alert. It’s closed. I’ll take you to him.” the mechanic replied.

>>21803299
Except when Kotters says it we know he's coming back.
At least you aren't Panzer.

>>21803342
Zing.

“Major Hill? Someone is here to see you.” the mechanic announced.
“Oh, who is it?” Major David Lee “Tex” Hill, a strapping young man in his twenties, asked as he sat down. He was wearing his combat aviator outfit, a long-sleeved khaki number. He had just finished walking the unit’s pet leopard.
“He’s new. Just came in.”
“Well, alright then.” Tex stood up. “Let’s meet our new guest, shall we, Miss Kitty?”

--------------------------------------------------------------
"What the hell. A leopard?" Witold remarked at the sight before him: a young man walking what seemed to be a wild creature.

"What, Miss Kitty? She wandered into the base one day and decided to come back. The unit adopted her. It's my turn to walk her." Tex answered. "In any case, who are you?"

"Witold Urbanowicz, formerly of the Polish Air Attache, currently in the 14th Army Air Corps, 23rd Fighter Squadron as a guest of General Claire Chennault."

"Urbanowicz, Urbanowicz... Oh. You're the general's guest. For THAT problem." Tex mused.

"Yes, yes. That old problem. Bit hard to do much without help. Witch community and all that rot."

"A tough nut to crack, that one. They've mostly taken to training themselves, without much luck. It'd be a miracle to have a squadron combat-ready."

"Indeed."

"Well, Miss Kitty needs a few more rounds, so why don't I show you around the base."

"Much appreciated. but seriously, a leopard?"

"We also have a friendly bear cub that moseys around every so often. Friendly sort, those creatures."

"Really now."

Writefag here.

Sorry about missing last week. Got laid low by DARK SPIRIT STREP THROAT.

Sorry about missing the descriptions. I'll add Witold's in Chapter 2.

File: 1354172402347.jpg-(22 KB, 456x600, the Muse sends planefag a sign.jpg)

>>21803342

My day will come.

>>21803429
Hopefully sometime before 2013

>>21803429
Now when you say that... Is it the day we've all been waiting for, or are we all fucked?

>>21803429
I've had to kick your ass how many times and you still haven't written anything?

File: 1354172520422.jpg-(237 KB, 500x685, 1343961463474.jpg)

>>21803429
And with a bit of luck we might be alive to see it.

>>21803394
>DARK SPIRIT STREP
Oi. Faggit.
Mechs when?
Also I miss Sergei.

>>21803486
Oh wait, that's some other guy I'm thinking of.
Would you mind passing that message long for me?

>>21803486

When I murder Ghost and make Kota my anal bitch.

Also known as...

"LOLNOPE"

>>21803486

Also I am not the MechEngineer guy.

>>21803557
Yeah, see >>21803543
Sorry about that. Opening a dozen or so tabs and ctrl-f'ing through them can lead to confusing yourself over which is what.
But I know you know the guy I'm thinking of. He doesn't run MechEngineer either; it is something far more sinister.