"Avanti Anzio! Alla vittoria!"
"Avanti Anzio! Alla Vittoria!" came the answer from the rest of the team, and Anchovy gestured dramatically before herself with her riding crop. The air filled with the pitter-patter of the tankette-dominated force's engines rumbling to life as she saw the tanks under her command begin to speed away among the trees.
"Pepperoni! Carpaccio!" she called over the radio, neatly folding the riding crop in under her shoulder as she did so. "Execute Operation Macaroni. Lock their forces down and take them out."
"Yes, Duce!" Pepperoni cheered.
"Affirmative, Commander," Carpaccio answered calmly a second later.
"And don't any of you get any ideas," Anchovy continued, now addressing all of her subordinates, "If anyone takes out their flag tank, I'll make sure you're cut off from snacks for the rest of the school year. If you spot them, report it, but don't you dare take a shot. Nishizumi's mine!"
She could only grin with satisfaction as her forces disappeared through the forest and cliffs. She had been looking forward to this moment for months. The moment she would enact her revenge and take down Maho Nishizumi.
Ever since the pictures and low-quality recordings of Ooarai's match with St. Gloriana had come out, the only thing she could think of was getting to return the pain and hurt she had been dealt in kind, and now, her moment was here.
"Ready or not, Maho, here I come," she said softly to herself. "Avanti!" She added loudly as she knocked on the roof of the turret, and the P-40 began to roll away down the road before it, heading towards Ooarai and victory.
──────────────────────────────────────────────────
"Operation Meistersinger von Nürnberg is now in effect. You know what to do."
The rumble of engines stirring to life filled the air as the rest of the team began to move out under Erwin and Azusa's command, and Maho followed them with her gaze as the mismatched tanks of Ooarai's forces rolled out and disappeared among the trees. But the Panzer IV remained behind, and Maho said nothing further, instead just looking solemnly up at the sky above.
"Uhm... Maho?" Saori asked after a moment. "Shouldn't we... get moving too?"
"No... not yet," was the only reply Maho gave. There's something left for me to do first... she thought, before closing her eyes.
She tried to see. Tried to see the path of the rest of Ooarai's tanks as they moved unseen across the battlefield, tried to hear where Anzio's forces lay hidden among the trees and cliffs, tried to feel the vibrations of the V-12 engine in Anchovy's P-40. But she saw nothing.
All she could see was the ornate paper walls of her mother's study. All she could feel was the stinging cuts of the carved bamboo, the scars on her back singing out in vicious pain as burning agony began to build within them.
And all she could hear, was the voice of her mother and herself, chanting and repeating in unison inside her mind, tempting and calling for her to join in. Just like they were supposed to, and just like they always did
"A Nishizumi doesn't hesitate."
"A Nishizumi doesn't break."
"A Nishizumi doesn't cry."
"When a Nishizumi has the target before them, they fire."
"When a Nishizumi fires, they hit their target."
YOU ARE READING
Dein Weg ist Mein Weg
FanfictionA terrible accident. A school on the brink of closing. A team with an impossible goal. The tale of a disgraced daughter from a great family, and a reluctant return to the sport she abandoned. It's a story you've been told before, but never like this...
