Dein Weg ist Mein Weg

Chapter 20: The Devastation

The sun was rising over the sea as Maho looked out from the bow of the school carrier. The gentle morning breeze was fresh and warm, carrying the smell of the sea with it, and the majestic colours painting the sky made her feel warm inside. Every shade of orange, red, and yellow she could imagine and more covered the horizon, tapering off into a clear blue sky above, with only the bustle of the city behind her and the cries of seagulls overhead disturbing the moment. She drew a few deep breaths, simply taking in the morning. She was finally free. Kuromorimine and her mother's training was a distant memory, driven from her mind. There was no rain, there were no tanks, and there was no one who knew who she had once been. She had started a new life, and she would live it to its fullest. She was happy, and she was at peace.

Through the relative peace and quiet, she could hear faint footsteps drawing closer to where she was standing. That was fine. With a morning this beautiful, it made sense that others would want to enjoy it as well.

"Here for the view?" Maho asked without turning around. She was too enchanted by the sight to do so, as she looked out from the very edge of the ship.

"No," a cheerful voice answered, and suddenly the scene began to shift. The gorgeous sky began to hide behind dark clouds, the seagulls fell silent, and the warm breeze was replaced by a cold and stinging rain. As Maho looked down at her arms, she saw that her bright and colorful clothing had changed as well. Somehow, for reasons passing her understanding, she was once again dressed in the black and red of Kuromorimine.

"I'm here for you, Nishizumi," the voice said with sinister glee, and as Maho turned around in the rain, which cut her skin like razor blades, she saw the Student Council President grinning at her.

"What do you want, Pipsqueak?" Maho growled at her, but instead of recoiling or taking a cautious step back, the twin-tailed girl instead laughed and took another step towards Maho, closing the distance between them to mere centimeters.

"I already told you, didn't I?" she asked, looking up at Maho with that happy yet insidious smile of hers. Maho was about to ask what she meant, but before she could do so, the pipsqueak answered her own question. "I want you, Nishizumi."

With that, she put a hand against Maho's chest, and pushed. Maho's view shifted from the president to the dark and cloudy skies in an instant, and she was falling. At first she didn't even realize what had happened, only staring blankly up at the grey rain-clouds above her rushing away from her as the freezing rain cut across her face and the wind rushed past her ears. In the edge of her vision, she could see the hull of the school carrier rushing past her as the colossal ship sailed further and further away from her.

She didn't scream as she fell. She barely reacted at all. She simply felt cold and hurt and angry as she kept falling, for what felt like an eternity. All throughout her fall, she knew she was falling towards her destruction, and that it was the pipsqueak who had pushed her. But what could she do, except await the moment when she would hit the water and be crushed by the waves? A few moments more, and there it was. She smashed into the water's surface with the force of a meteor, and immense pain shot like lightning throughout her body, as if she had just fallen onto concrete. She tried to look up, to gasp for air, but there was only darkness as she sank into the murky abyss that was her watery grave.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────

The world was silent and dark, but light slowly seemed to simmer back into her vision as Maho opened her eyes. Her head felt like it was being crushed under the treads of a Maus, and as she gathered her strength to sit up, it became clear why she was so weak. Her body was covered by small cuts and bruises, and her black uniform and red skirt were torn and rumpled. She gritted her teeth as she pulled herself up against a nearby wall, just sitting there for several minutes, drawing heavy, painful breaths. Every breath felt like inhaling acid, and her chest stung as she struggled against the pain.