:: Oh! Hello Anne! You woke up! .... H-heh? I-I don't understand you, th-the sound you make is all messy...OW! D-DON'T KICK MY NOSE, IT HURTS!... Heh? Wh-where did Big Sis go? She's in the city right now. Sh-she said something about updating her character sheet, or whatever it is... I-I don't know the details... hmm? Y-you're bored, i-is that wh-what you're saying...... Want to play with me? ::
[https://66.media.tumblr.com/572f45ad3ccb6622a0d8a75591cbb043/tumblr_pnr1czw6jv1wqnuuso1_1280.pnj]
<< ????? Used DROP KICK on Nello. Dealt -80 Bludgeoning Damage and -1000 Emotional Damage. >> << Nello's Health is now 470 / 550. Please move to a safe distance. >> << ????? Used DROP KICK on Nello. Dealt -80 Bludgeoning Damage and -1000 Emotional Damage. >> << Nello's Health is now 390 / 550. Please move to a safe distance. >> << ????? Used DROP KICK on Nello. Dealt -100 Bludgeoning Damage and -1200 Emotional Damage. >> << Nello's Health is now 290 / 550. >> << WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU! MOVE TO A SAFE DISTANCE ALREADY! >>
"OW! A-ANNE! STOP, THAT HURTS! I-I THOUGHT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE FUN!"
[TGBYHN____YESQAZIKM!]
"GUBYAAAGH! S-STOP THROWING THINGS AT MY NOSE! I CAN'T MOVE THAT FAST!"
Nello the Tank was invincible.
Do you not see the incredible amount of muscle-armor that he carries on his massive body. Every side of him was shielded in 40 - 43 mm metal plating, which would render a bullet from a pistol or rifle completely harmless. The only thing that could punch him and deal serious damage would be a round from a tank, a tank-killer, a lucky artillery round, or a grenade... Take your pick.
Landmines also work, but he's not stupid. He can tell between regular dirt and freshly upturned dirt.
However, despite his high level of invulnerablily, today - he felt incredibly vulnerable.
Maybe it's because a certain ghostly looking girl was tossing fist-sized rocks at his turret head, with the speed, precision, and grace of an our-world baseball pitcher.
... D*mn, look at her go.
[QAZEDC_____SPITBALLTGB____!!!]
"Wh-what do you want me to do again?—GUBYAAAH! MY EYE! IT HURTS! STOP THROWING THINGS AT ME! I-I DON'T KNOW HOW TO PLAY THIS GAME CALLED BALL BASE!"
[WSXYHN____SIGHUJMEDC____BORINGQAZOKM]
The Hologram Girl that was Pastrache's living Diary A.I. frowned. Standing no taller than the said Half-Elf's hips, the little girl made from a ghostly blue projection kep tossing the fist-sized rock up and down in her hands. She then had this serious face on, spit some kind of cyan plasma into her palm, rolled the said rock around, and tossed.
A perfect pitch. Clocked at 108 miles per hour.
[https://i.gifer.com/W0QN.gif]
*BONK!*
"GBFFFF! M-MY NOSE! TH-THAT'S MEAN! A-AND IT'S ALL STICKY FROM YOUR SPIT! EEEEEEW!"
[TGBEDC______USELESSQAZ]
To summarize, the Hologram Girl was bored.
Normally Pastrache would wake her up at ungodly hours in the morning and in the morning, or in the night, so the Half-Elf could dump her emotion onto the little artificial intelligence and feel better about herself before starting the day.
Obviously, the Hologram Girl was not satisfied with her dead end job. However, given her credentials as being an advanced holoprojection, her career options were... limited. (#StayInSchoolNoMatterWhat)
Whenever she was not being used - recording-wise - she would automatically activate herself to kill some time. Normally, she would wander around Pastrach's room, reading her comic collection and forgetting to sort them back on the shelf. Sometimes, she would try to pick up a hobby that often leads to leaving the Half-Elf's room in a total mess.
In particularly, she had become interested in this simple sport we call baseball. (#NotIndoorFriendly)
That was why for the last two hours, she had been trying to train the T-34 tank in the art of baseball--Er, the fantasy version of the game. Deep down, she hoped to bring about a second Babe Ruth in this world.
All he had to do was swing his barrel to hit the ball. It was that simple to start with. But so far, he had yet to hit the ball with his nose, not his head.
Disappoint~~ed!
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdEQmpVIE4A)
[EDCWSX___CURVEBALLQAZ__!!!!!]
"Wh-what? GUBYAAAAAH! M-MY ANKLE! I-IT'S BROKEN! I-I THINK YOU REALLY SNAPPED AN AXLE IN MY FEET! I-IT HURTS!"
[................STUPIDUJM__AGAINPLM__!!!!!]
"OW! S-STOP IT!"
While the T-34 Tank was rocking around on the spot he stood at to receive the pitch, the Hologram Girl kept shaking her head. As much as she wanted to tell him 'you need to swing your bat, not just stand there son' like a normal coach would... Unfortunately, due to her being a Living Recorder system, she really doesn't have a say in the matter.
Rather, she had no working voice box to properly teach Nello how to become a batter.
Charades and Body Language could only go so far, especially when you're dealing with a former Soviet tank who could only rotate his trurret in a 360 angle.
"...Sniff... I don't like this game anymore... Sniff."
[WSXEDC_____COWARDQAZ.]
"S-stop calling me names! I-I really don't know how to play Ball Base! I-it's too hard!"
[RFVTGB____EXCUSESUJM____!!!]
"...Sob... Can we play something else?"
[YHN___HELLNOEDCTGB___!!!!]
Nello let out the sound of a sobbing child. As he had no face, no shoulders, not even tears, all he could do to portray his emotions was drop his 3 meter cannon barrel into the ground... and maybe his DT anti-infantry machine gun too.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
That's as mopey as a tank could get.
As one could see, the Hologram Girl didn't take to this form of giving up that well. She would storm up to the T-34 Tank that was three times her size, grab the cannon's muzzle, and haul it up so she could glare down the barrel.
Like a coach grabbing his star player out from the dumps and shaking him by the collar to wake him up.
Then, begins the inspiration speech that would win the Oscar Awards.
[USLESSQAZ____STUPIDWSX____NOTALENTPLM___NOTHINGWSX!!]
"Uwaaaaaah... Big Siiiiiis! You're diary is bullying me agaiiiiiiiiin!"
[.................SIGHYHN.]
Realizing how difficult it is to say an epic emotional monologue when her voice sounds like a radio that can't decide on the right frequency, the little Hologram Girl herself gave up. She let go of the tank barrel, pushing it away as if a face that didn't want to see her, and curl up at the base of the lake shore.
A tough coach turned little girl crying by the river.
...Now, whether or not her childhood sweetheart would appear to cheer her up, and make a promise to marry her when they grow up, that's left to be determinated at a later date.
"...Hey...Anne. How come you're crying?"
[EDCRFV___NOTNAMEPLM___SOBYHN.]
"...W...was it something I said?"
[YES___BASTARDEDCYHN!]
"... I-I'm sorry... for whatever I said that made you feel bad."
[YHN__LAZYUJM___SOBEDC!]
"....Hey, Anne... why do you really like this game so much?"
[.........SNIFFTGB...]
"H-how did I know?... Um... Well, I saw how serious you were whenever you threw the ball. I know you're not doing it to tease me like a bully but... the way you throw it was... incredible."
[..............NOFLIRTWSXUJM_____SNIFFQAZ...]
"You're very good at hitting me with the ball. I mean, you seem to know where to throw with such accuracy... Have you been practising a lot?"
[.............................................................................NOSY...SNIFFTGB...]
"... I see. So you've always been playing this since you were little... Wow... I wish I could be as good as you."
[.......................______????]
The Hologram Girl was confused. Not because of the comment the Tank made to her... but rather, she was wondering why the ground was shaking.
When she turned to see what it was, Nello had just rolled over to park himself next to her on the same shore bank. His 3 meter cannon and machine gun were both staring at the lake, full of Diamond Salmon and Maple Mallards.
"Is it because... you're always alone... when Big Sis is is busy with other things?"
[......... N...NOTGB...SNIFFUJM...]
"I see. So, whenever Big Sis is out doing something else, you would always practise throwing the ball like that... No wonder you're so good. And it's super fast, like a bullet! I-I didn't even see it until it hit my eye!"
[........................WSX____SMOOTHTALKERYHNTGB]
<< ????? used PUNCH on Nello. It was Super Effective! Dealt -100 Piercing Damage! >> << Nello's Health is now 190 / 550. DEXTERITY temporarily decreased by 5 points. >> << For the Love of Goddess, Please move to a Safe Distance and seek counselling.
"OW! WH-WHY DID YOU PUNCH MY LEGS LIKE THAT!? TH-THEY'RE REALLY SENSITIVE! I-I THINK A WHEEL CAME OFF!"
The Hologram Girl muttered under her breath, pulling back her tiny fist from the many gears and axles that made up the Tank tracks. Despite how angry she looked, she no longer looked like she was crying. Even her sniffling had stopped.
"... Anne?"
[NOTNAMEYHNWSX____STUPIDQAZUJM.]
"Can you teach me how to throw like you do? It's, really cool."
"............................................................................................................................................."
"... Hmm? Anne? I-is something wrong? Why is your entire body turning from blue to red? Do you feel si--GOW! D-DON'T KICK ME IN THE STOMACH! TH-THAT'S SUPER SENSITIVE!"
[https://66.media.tumblr.com/572f45ad3ccb6622a0d8a75591cbb043/tumblr_pnr1czw6jv1wqnuuso1_1280.pnj]
<< Passive Healing Skill activated. Nello's Health will refill by 50 Points per 30 minutes. >> << WARNING! Your cannon is obstructed. Please clear the barrel before firing the weapon. >>
"A-Anne. Wh-what are you doing? Th-that's my nose! S-stop! I-it's too deep!"
[______PERFECTWSX___!!!]
Before we end off on the matter, there was one thing the Hologram Girl had to figure out.
The entire time, she had been training the T-34 Tank to swing his cannon like a bat. She was hoping he would become the next something on par as the next Babe Ruth. She realized, this vehicle had zero talent in following simple instructions.
Even his timing with his swing always had a 10 second delay after the ball hits his 'face'.
But, she wanted to know...
... Could he be the next great Pitcher? The second Bob Gibson?... There was only one way to find out.
And it involved stuffing a polished lake rock right down the poor tank's 'nose'... What? He has no hands to work with!
"...I-it's itchy in my nose... and it smells wierd. Did you clean off that rock before you put it in my nose?"
(#ChildrenDontTryThisAtHome)
[..........YESTGBQAZ]
"I feel like you're lying."
[SHUTUPWSXQAZ____THROWPLMRFV___!!!!!]
Ending on that note, the 'coach' gave her instructions and prepared herself. To fit the role, she even ripped off a thick branch, shaved down some minor shrubbs and twigs, until it was nothing but a big stick you can hit bears with.
For some reason, she held it over her shoulder like a baseball bat... Oh...oh no.
Little Hologram...Don't do it.
"...I... I don't get it, I.... Uuh....Aaaah.....Aaugguu.....Aaahnn..."
[....HURRYTGB!]
"Aaaaaaaah..............................Phew---BAKUCHUUUUUUUUUUU!"
[https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EAUMieP3eD4/WvC6c1q-oaI/AAAAAAABL5M/1qTttw2-iYspjI0wIRWKHJJWfvhYAovzQCKgBGAs/s1600/Omake%2BGif%2BAnime%2B-%2BSword%2BArt%2BOnline%2BAlternative%2B-%2BGun%2BGale%2BOnline%2B-%2BEpisode%2B5%2B-%2BLLENN%2BBullet%2BTime.gif]
[................................WHATQAZ?]
The Hologram Girl didn't understand what happened. The minute she heard the sound of a gun shot in the distance, something whizzed by her ear, its shockwave drilling a hole through her astral blue hair. The strange whistling sound came so fast, she didn't get the chance to start swinging her makeshift bat.
10 seconds later, the sound of grinding wood and falling splinter echoed behind her. She turned around.
[.........................................................................]
20 trees are dead. Each and everyone have a large chunk bitten out from their base as if swallowed by the mouth of a wood-loving beast. Chomp, chomp, chomp. All done in single swift bites. Clean cut.
When the trees realized half of their bodies were missing, gravity started to push them over and they fell lifeless across the ground in criss crosses.
[.........................................................................QAZ__?????]
"Sniff...Sniff...Aaaah. I-I can breath again...But it still smell of pond scum...uuuuugh."
Hologram turned back to the T-34 Tank. Nello simpley coughed out a small puff of smoke and steam from the end of his barrel. Not sure what to do next, he looked left and then right, before setting his 'eyes' on his coach.
".......Is that what you wanted me to do?"
[............................PERFECTYHN__!!!!!]
The Hologram Girl gave a thumbs up. In her eyes, she could see her growing dream team walking onto the fields of a major World Series game.
Please sponsor her.