Time: 7:45pm Location: The Koutetsujyo's deck Destination: Yashiro Station
❝ 𝓦e took minor damage to the water tank. ❞
Yukina concludes the inspection, breath remains captive in the catacombs of her chest as she regards her superior with a pellucid gaze.
❝Suzuki-san will be attending to the reduction of leakage, but we won’t be able to commence until the mending is complete. ❞
Her brow corrugates, bracing to a beat of contemplation; pertaining the possibility that their state of inactivity could be prone to an inevitable peril. The engineer cants her head, scouring the surrounding area; impervious gaze sears into the purportedly limpid landscape.
❝ 𝓟lease have the Bushi be on guard while the Hayajiro is idle, Ayame-sama. ❞
❝ 𝓨ou mean, the Kabane? They are corpse that prey on human. ❞
Irradiate optics purloin a glance to her newest acquaintance, Yukina scrutinizes the solitary female━ discerning that there is one subsidiary detail that must be addressed with haste.
❝ 𝓟lain sword won’t cut it. Not through their heart cage, I’m afraid. You will need to coat the blade with a metallic layer to enhance its durability. ❞
for a moment, everything was simple. the eternal black comforted her as she drifted to sleep. forgotten dreams played in her head, though, a few were memorable… why you may ask ? because they were her nightmares. that day when everything was lost but, she gained power. that day when the kabane attacked her family and everyone in the village. it was a bloody scene. everything was painted in blood a massacre of villagers played the tunes of screaming in the harmony of the kabane’s cries. ever since that man had saved her, she fought to be strong, and forcefully abandon those who die or just accept their fate but, deep down, she wanted to run away from this hell of a reality and go back to being the sweet innocence she had once had. a soft voice whispered her to awake. that’s right. her name was mumei. the name that everyone has been calling her ever since she came aboard.
❛ shitori station… ❜ eyes fluttered open, doing a short reality check. this wasn’t a dream. she was still alive. she lifted the upper part of her body; scavenging the area. this hard metal floor. there was no doubt that she had was still on the koutetsujyo. ❛ ahhh, yukina… it was you who woke me up… thank you. ❜
𝓨ukina’s expression wanes at the extrinsic frailness in the girl’s cadence; her impassive physiognomy dilute due to a stretch of unabated concern. Perhaps exhaustion has simply simply begun to debilitate Mumei’s convoluted mind? Thin lips pulled taunt into a perplexed frown, Yukina can almost decipher the faint resignation within her octave before she conjurers up enough will power to transpire the overdue query into a discernible vocalization.
❝ Mumei… Is something the matter? ❞
𝓢he approaches the girl attentively, delicately seizing her wrist to proffer a container of blood into Mumei’s dainty hand. The conductor’s emerald gaze scrutinizes the Kabaneri’s, desperately trying to suss out a hint of reason in the younger’s glazed hues.
Yukina offers byway of consolation, though Ayame was never one to squander time as her tender fingers have already fashioned a makeshift bandage across Yukina’s prone chest. - - - }
❝ 𝓘t’s not as bad as it looks. ❞
She retracts a tenuous hand, nimble digits splaying across the broad plane of her own afflicted thorax in an endeavor to convey her recuperated condition.
The wound itself turns out to be shallow, despite the deceptively heavy blood flow from the puncturing dart. Yukina employs a reassuring simper, demonstrating her now subdued perturbation. - - - }
Yukina protests weakly, gathering up her dignity and meeting his eye–– seeing that the mischief within them had dulled considerably. Faltering, she checked herself; lowering her own defenses ever so slightly. - - - }
❝ 𝓘 simply cannot leave my duty unattended. It is my job as a conductor. ❞
❛ is that so ? i’ll be at the back of the room if you need me. ❜ a delicate yawn indicative of her fatigue; hooded eyes decorated the frame of her crimson irises. arms stretched in the air, avoiding stiffened muscles and a twinkle of bells followed her as she walks towards a sheltered, dark corner. it was perfect for a moment of a nap.
Gloved appendages inconspicuously navigate machinery domain until chilled lever is predictably encountered. Yukina establishes a taunt jerk upon the pull cord, bellowing a shrilling whistle to alert the station in sight. She discerns a prompt reply. - - - }
❝ 𝓢ignal tower confirmed! ━━Terminating speed! ❞
Yukina’s sturdy frame pivots on the stool she’s perched upon, espying Mumei tentatively through her weary visions. Having been engrossed in the strict maneuvering duty, it requires her a fleeting moment to register the girl’s balled-up form.
Verdant hues scrutinize the juvenile Kabaneri in whirling disorientation and two brawny shoulders loft before she turns fully, clasping her knuckles over a prominent knee. - - - }
❝ ℳumei… san? We have reached the Shitori station. ❞ A meek voice slurred.
