[March 2nd, 1999]

The sounds of treads rolling through the dirt road in a thick forest is all that can be heard by the commander. He keeps his head on a swivel, looking for any sign of disturbance, but finds nothing. The engine sighs and wanes as the hulking beast lumbers forward, crushing a fallen branch, creating a loud crunching sound. Other than the sound of his tank, the commander perceives nothing else.

Sighing, he takes off his Tanker's hat and runs his hand through his brown hair. This would place him in the hall of fame. All alone, surrounded on all sides by the enemy, and with no one else but his crew left standing, his name will be remembered if he survives this match. The first boy ever to partake in the Annual Senshado Tournament. He is determined, his resolve is absolute, and his nerves are as hard as steel.

His name is Mouri Ren.

Placing his Tanker's hat back on his head, Ren scans the area yet again, for what could be the ninth time. Anything can pop out from anywhere. Ren has in his control the last surviving tank for his team, and he's outnumbered four to one. While most would see these odds and expect him to lose or give up, Ren knew better. If he played his cards right, he could still win this.

Boom! The sound of a cannon bursting as it sends its payload away rings in Ren's ears. The shot whizzes past his tank, hitting a tree. Ren turns to the source. An enemy Tiger, with its gun on him. Ren orders his gunner to aim at the tank and fire, and with help from the driver manoeuvring the tank into an optimal position, a round is sent towards the Tiger. A white flag pops from its turret. A knockout.

One down, three to go.

And wouldn't you know it? He had already spotted the next Tiger. Most likely moving to a new position after seeing its comrade fall victim to Ren's gun, leaving itself vulnerable. Ren's loader punched another shell into the breach of the cannon, and his gunner lobbed yet another shell of hate to the target, hitting it dead on, and forcing the white flag to emerge. 'I can do this, I can do this. I've taken out two out of the four tanks already, just two more...'

"Just two more..."

Finally, the forest ended as Ren continued along the road. No sign of the enemy as of yet. Beyond the forest was a grassy plain with low rolling hills. Perfect for skirmishes.

Eyeing a vantage point on a hill, Ren advanced towards it, his head constantly swivelling left and right. The treads lumbered the beast forward, and stopped when it was at the top. Ren was exposed, but he could survive anyway.

Taking out a pair of binoculars, Ren peered them down, taking into account anything he saw. If anything were to change, he'd know where to fire. For the next few moments, nothing changed, but Ren noticed something. A lone tree had been snapped, and judging by where it fell, Ren found the culprit.

A sudden boom from his gun signalled the firing of a round, hitting the enemy Tiger, and disabling it for the rest of the match. He could do this. One more, just one more.

'Do you really think you can do it?'

Ren's hands were shaking, with his breathing getting jagged.

'A guy? Doing Senshado? Please, don't make me laugh!'

Now he was sweating, his heart pumping even more every passing moment.

'You'll never do Senshado.'

Ren shut his eyes, trying to ward off the voices, but to no avail. He didn't want to listen to them. 'But what if they were right? What if I really wasn't cut out for this?'

No! He could do this, he knew he could. He knows he can win this. It's just one tank. One more kill, and it's over. Ren opened his eyes, and his face was plastered with an expression of horror; the last Tiger, its gun aimed directly at him. Ren couldn't do anything, no matter what he said to his crew or anything, it was all too late as the Tiger's round made its way straight towards him...

Splat!

"Hey! Stop that!" Ren yelled, picking the spit wad off his face and taking off his 'Tanker's' hat. Made out of an old fur hat, it was wrapped with cardboard painted black to make the headwear look a little convincing.

The boy who shot the spit wad blew a raspberry and ran off, leaving an angry child pretending to be a Senshado athlete in a dirty cardboard box. Ren got up and carefully threw his leg over the box, being careful not to tear it. The box was coloured on with green marker and crayon, and had a paper towel roll taped on the front of it. It was Ren's pride and joy. He always would bring it to the Nursery and spent most of his time inside it. Unfortunately, Ren's fascination with Tankery only made him a target for teasing from the other guys at the Nursery. It was a sport that has been advertised and promoted to death for girls to become better and stronger women, something that was a turn off for most guys.

Ren ignored the other boys who were obviously making fun of him and went back into his own little world. He was Ren Mouri; ace tanker, and no one could stop him. He will do Senshado.

He will do Senshado.