"Things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end, if not always in the way we expect" - J.K Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

1/LT Kaori Arima

The fact that we and our attached National Guard partisans had been supplied coffee candies as part of our ration helped matters further for the rest of the night until when dawn broke out, we were free from these narrow streets after blasting our way across walls to one that is accessible to our armor, luckily with less casualties than we expected with things like a piece of camping mats over our heads.

"Do not ever lose this." that's what my instructors told us when in our first night time field exercise back at officer training, they gave us cadets the same thing. "Tie this over your head ."

Turns out that alongside our own heat-reflecting camo it help reducing our heat signature at night, something that Chinese swarm drones were watching intensely.

Joining us were our own Type 89 troop carriers as well as British Boxers, including an assault gun variant with 105mm tank cannon and a 35mm anti-aircraft/anti-drone version.

Even with the British get their own MREs, as good hosts, supply drones delivered some of our own offering for them to taste, to the point that they gave their own for us in exchange. I was one of the few that were lucky as Captain Nicholson gave his own ration, a quintessential pork, sausages and beans, while he got a Japanese bento-like menu for himself.

Some of the Brits folded their hands, few with signs of the Cross before digging in, meanwhile most of us would say say "thank you for the food" but with me and few others did the same thing as our not-so-new European ally.

Sure, the British offerings are quite plain compared to my Japanese tongue, but with our situation so far, any complaints are bound to be silenced.

"Do you know I was one of the pallbearers for the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second?" I could hear that intense conversation between Capt. Nicholson and Lt. Kaori about their past.

"That must be a great honor; you people are royal guard units after all." Kaori quipped.

"The honor to put our Sovereign to rest is a moment of a lifetime that we, Household Division, are to never forget."

"You know, no such thing as too much AA." quipped SFC. Nakashima to me as he was eating bacon given to him by another British royal guardsman. "Along the usual drones and fast jets, there also confirmed encounters with Ka-52s of the Chinese Navy around Tonda River banks... and those things hit hard, multiple friendly armor were lost from those things."

Tsubaki interrupted. "Wait... Russian Ka-52s? are you sure, Nakashima-senpai?"

The 42 years old senior NCO replied. "Yes. Ivan sold them some Hokums (1) when the development of their own shipborne version of the Z-10 - also designed by Kamov (Design Bureau) - stalled a couple of years ago, and we all know that they are supplying both our allies - I am talking Indians, Vietnamese, Malaysians, etc... and the Chinese camp, particularly Myanmar, at the same time."

"Just like the Israelis I suppose." replied Sgt. Morishima. "Some friend told me that." Nobody asked him further about that, as chow time was quickly concluded with a roaring whistling noise.

"Incoming"

"Take cover!"

"Hurry up and move, lads and lasses!"

Mortars, whose unusually fast rate of fire and near precise accuracy allowed us to figure out that those things were jeep-mounted SM-4 82mm caliber, a development of Type W99 that was a license produced Soviet-era 2B9 Vasilek automatic mortars were shelling us.

"They must be preparing for another counterattack, now with this update..."

"What update, Lieutenant?" asked Pvt. Mizutani.

"Yamaguchi was liberated." I showed my tactical tablet to the curious soldiers, that depicted the video of raising of both Blue Sky, White Sun, and a Wholly Red Earth flag of the ROC and our own Nisshoki at Yamaguchi city center. "Regimental command had asked me to tell this a couple of seconds ago to you people. This means we had cut off part of the Reds here in Shunan. And you see, we are here, in one of the main roads leading to Suonoda Ferry Port - still under Chinese control. They might try to break out with this counterattack, and intel said that we are 'giving them space to evacuate'." I grinned on the final sentence. "I don't know why they decided to do this in the morning, not a couple of hours ago... In addition, we have a Stryker battalion of the American 25th Infantry Division, ETA 30 minutes to Shunan. Everyone, let's go!"

"Banzai!" the lead partisan, a fellow named Yukio Nakamura, cannot contain his joy, "Soon our factories will be ours again!" before rallying his men to cover us with fire, alongside Mizutani who went down to a ruined car to set up position for her G28, covered by PFC. Yamaguchi's 7.62mm Minimi fire, with small explosions nearby from detonating drones from both sides, just in time as a sharp crack from the sharpshooter killed a concealed Chinese.

"Enemy forward observer is down"

No moment to rest, as from several manhole sewer pipes the cover went open. One of them was unlucky to be in my direct sight. Before the Chinese soldier managed to fire his DJZ rocket, my 6.8 slug put an end to such attempt.

Meanwhile, counter battery from British and Italian mortars hounded the Chinese, forcing them to evacuate.

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1/LT Kousei Arima

As the morning rises, the Captain had ordered the tanks to advance to any infantry positions requiring our help according to what the regiment demands. 

Case on point; our fellow tank company team Janken, now supporting the Indian 47th Brigade on our far left flank up north as they were advancing towards Tokuyama railway station in the city's dock area alongside our 100th Foreign Infantry Regiment. Meanwhile Team Inu were reinforcing the rest of the 32nd Infantry that were in our right flank, positioned around Tokuyama Hospital.

Over the comm, "Wait until the convoy pass, then we go loud."

"Solid copy, Kirin 6." The proper reply over the constant electronic and diesel engine whine...

"Be advised, UAV confirmed hostiles, ZBD and ZTZ and some trucks..."

Then Minato squawked. "Eyes on hostiles. Identify ZTZ-96s and ZBDs." Followed by Toyosaki's third platoon that further solidified our discovery. Horokeu's 2nd platoon had taken position as well.

I smiled as my sight caught the juiciest of all targets here... a tank with multiple antennas that would be a command vehicle.

"Target acquired sir!" Kitazawa replied upon the usual identification brevity. The Hitomaru's turret rumbled as it turned to track the target,

"All Kirin callsign, Fire at will!" Kawashima ordered so for the two platoons.

"Hai!" I hooted into the cross-com and barked "Fire!"

As one, everyone opened fire on their target of choice, and in case of mine, the dart penetrator did it's magic as usual. That poor tank was trying to pull back upon discovering my unit, but it's too late.

"Yatta, Direct Hit!" I called as the unlucky command tank burst in a shower of sparks and the turret exploded and flipped high in the air before crashing into a ruined store building.

"Load Sabot! Driver, switch position!" I barked as Watari stepped on the pedal We took up a new firing position in an alley that was enough for tanks to pass. There, we camped inside a ruined house that obscured some of our features.

"Up!" Kitazawa reported.

The turret turned and elevated to the next target, another ZTZ.

"Bring her up about ten degrees-"

"Target acquired!" Kitazawa said.

"Fire! Fire Sabot!"  I commanded.

"On the way!" 

We remained in our position around until the rest of the convoy was destroyed or forced to turn back, before the companies split up, with my platoon head for the mechanized platoon position, this time with a single anti-aircraft Type 23 Heavy given to us, citing UAV and Helicopter threat...

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1/LT Kaori Arima

06.33 JST

"Nice hit!"

At this moment, it's been clear that multiple attempts of breaking out was underway. Overhead, few shells from our artillery screamed, targeting Chinese concentrations around part of Shunan that were still theirs, as well as those who managed to break out from Yamaguchi.

I am staring at a destroyed ZTQ-15 light tank, courtesy of Private First Class Umi Ochiai - one of the replacements that we got from Yuu City, assigned to 3rd squad that were now being led by Leading Private Tetsuo Kimura.

Yes, you are right, one of the Panzerfaust bearers in that squad was a girl, and she scored.

A second Panzerfaust fire from one of Tsubaki's soldiers knocked out one ZBD-04 that was firing it's 30mm coaxial cannon at us that costed the British one of their Boxers. It's wingman went back before the vehicle suddenly appeared on the corner ahead, luckily that said vehicle was one armed with an autocannon, that ripped through the side armor of several retreating Chinese vehicles.

Just another harmonious symphony of armor and infantry in play, added by occasional artillery streaked in. That would be friendly artillery wearing the holed up Reds down.

Deprived on their armor, what was left of Chinese regular infantry and their Foreign Legion were not willing to quit, yet.

"Shoot that bastard!"

"Changing magazine!" hollered Tsubaki as she smoked one IAIB NCO that was trying to rally his pinned down legionnaires thanks to our volume of fire.

"Ma'am, look out!" Suddenly Uesaka pushed me down and he ducked himself. Turned out that one of the Reds had fired it's 35mm grenades at targets of opportunity that turned out to be me.

"Argh!"

"You're alright?"

In a flash there was a Private Fukae Sawachika. The pain was not like what I felt before, with musty and wet sensation from my back and side meant that there must be blood trickling from there.

"Cover the Lieutenant!" I could hear Morishima's command as well as the thud of cannons from our armor.

I removed my vest with Sawachika's help.

"Four holes, one is quite deep... this is going to be painful, chuuchou."

He took out a knife and sterilized it by the means of a multi-purpose lighter and jabbed it slowly inside the stricken part, poked and prodded it until it went loose and out. Then he applied coagulant powder that quickly stopped the bleeding before applying the band aid.

"You're good, got to go ma'am!"

I know that this won't be my time yet, anyway. Anymore pondering was interrupted with roar of jets. Unfortunately for us, it was hostile as a Boxer AA and Martlet/Starstreak MANPADS that the British were carrying opened fire, alongside other systems.

"Shite, enemy jet drones!"

"And Flounders!" cursed another British soldier. "How come they got past our planes?" In their wake, they left destroyed vehicles and several wounded and dead with two GJ-11 stealth drones went down in flames.

"More armor!" shouted a Japanese soldier.

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1/LT Kousei Arima

Please let her be okay. I mumbled as our escort Type 23 AA went on by it's own and opened fire on what turned out to be Chinese jet drone formation coupled with manned fighter bombers that they called the JH-7.

A further response to the attack was multiple missile launches over the horizon overhead - possibly from our F-35s or American F-22s doing CAP with their unmanned companions.

But what we were going to engage was another round of Chinese attempt of breakout/counterattack, and our mechanized platoon was heavily engaged alongside a British company, according to their last transmission, and some of their armor were lost.

"Target, tank, 1 o'clock!" It was Hanazono that found her prey first, and opened fire.

To my disappointment I were unable to got mine, as the convoy chickened out after realizing that they were outflanked.

"Thank you for coming, Kirin Yellow actual out!" It's enough for me to know how Kaori and Tsubaki were doing.

When the clock struck 8 in the morning, we're racing towards the Tonda river bank, and with the reduced Chinese jamming, we could clearly hear messages from the 31st and 32nd Infantry and the ongoing gunfight.

"Eagle 6 here" Okazaki piped in. "Due to the importance of the port area, fire support options are limited to mortars and suicide drone swarm. I repeat, fire support is restricted."

Clear enough, as we're approaching industrial area with factories like the Nisshin Steel plant and Idemitsu Kosan oil facility.

"Sir, if you don't mind," said the gunner as the tank rolled slowly for the river bank. "Did you know that workers in that area were sabotaging their equipments to deny it's use when the Chinese came?"

"Yes" I answered, even with my focus on the overall situation. "And some of them were nowhere afterwards, or those who escaped manage to join the resistance."

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A/N: The closure is approaching, people! Hope you enjoy!

(1). Hokum is NATO reporting name for Russian Kamov Ka-50/52 attack helicopter.