Chương 67: Mumei is Mine! Ayame is Protected by Me!
Survived, didn't we?
Standing on top of the carriage, Kurumi looked up at the first glimmer of dawn in the sky. The distant morning mist shimmered in ethereal, purple hues. Even under the shadow of war, the sky held a rare beauty.
Returning to the Kotetsujou's control room, Kurumi settled down beside Mumei, drawing cautious, awed looks from the samurai around her as she gave a soft yawn.
"Mm... Staying up all night is bad for a girl's skin."
"Kurumi-nee…"
Kurumi gently patted Mumei's cheek, feeling its soft, cool smoothness beneath her fingers. She reached out, undoing Mumei's face guard and forehead protector. "Mumei... I feel like sleeping for a bit."
"Then rest, Kurumi-nee, I'll keep watch." Unmasked, Mumei shook her head to clear it.
"Mmm… but you see, I like holding onto something while I sleep," Kurumi said, giving her a sly smile.
"B-but... I'm not sleepy at all!"
"Well, if I don't have something to hold, I just won't sleep well." Kurumi's lips curved upward as she added, "And if I don't sleep well, I won't be in a good mood."
"And when I'm in a bad mood, I might not feel like giving people things."
She leaned closer and closer, her eyes narrowing like a fox's.
"F-fine..."
Kurumi wrapped her arms around Mumei, pulling her close and slipping off the bothersome leather armor. Then, cuddling her tightly, she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.
Held snugly in Kurumi's arms, Mumei looked up, brows knitting together in silent thought. She was certain of what she'd seen beneath Kurumi's bangs—her eye, a golden iris, like a clock's face.
Kurumi-nee... was she even human?
"So honestly, it's just unfair," a bleary-eyed Kurumi grumbled, yawning as she stood atop the mountain fortress.
"She always calls us in to do these things. Actually, she only calls me." She muttered with visible resentment—she was the one who liked to relax the most, and her original knew it. But she always got pulled in.
"Your allowance is gone…"
"Your games are gone…"
"No vacation next time…"
"Tch. Landlord tyranny!" The more she thought about it, the more it soured her mood. "With that last brat, I could at least get in a few rounds. But with little Mumei, there's no touching, not even a brush."
Looking out over Aragane Station, now swallowed by a red-black tide of Kabane, a smile played on her lips.
"Fine, soothe my anger."
A gleaming, red-gold rifle with a faintly golden glow rose in her hand, its fearsome, upturned wings encasing her slender wrist, emitting a faint, steady light.
"I am the Lord of Black Heaven."
Her delicate body began to rise off the ground, floating silently as she looked down at the swarming Kabane below.
Behind her, a massive shadow, the form of a vast bird, appeared from thin air, staring indifferently at the world beneath it.
The Kotetsujou had already left Aragane Station behind. In a rare moment of calm, everyone aboard took the chance to rest.
A piercing cry suddenly echoed from Aragane Station direction, clear and chilling, resonating through the air.
The sound jolted everyone awake.
"What...what was that?" the samurai muttered, exchanging nervous glances.
The sound shocked Kurumi awake, and her grip tightened around Mumei, a scowl darkening her face. The look was enough to keep Mumei quiet, lying obediently in Kurumi's arms.
Kurumi, still suffering from a case of early-morning grumpiness, gave a cold smile. "Sneaking off for a nap, are we? Fine... you're finished..."
Aside from the restrictions on using her firearm, Kurumi's power was otherwise unfettered, leaving her free to equip her full arsenal.
Her Lord of Black Heaven series, all seven items, were donned perfectly by the relaxation-loving "Kurumi Clone."
Prey-Isys, the shadow of the vast bird, manifested at her back, a force powerful enough to move planets with only half of its true power.
"I am...the Lord of Black Heaven."
As she spoke, she raised the rifle in her hand, its upturned wings spreading wide.
The massive bird took flight, its dark aura casting a shadow over Aragane Station's skies.
Violet ripples spread outward from Kurumi's hand, slowly expanding. Kabane caught in the ripple disintegrated into ashes, vanishing in dark clouds of smoke.
In mere moments, the entire Aragane Station was purged of Kabane.
The black leather boots of the "relaxation Kurumi" touched down, her gaze settling on the horizon.
"It's all taken care of."
But for some reason, a strange, foreboding feeling lingered.
Leaning against the wall, half-asleep, Kurumi opened her eyes and found herself blocked in a small corner with Mumei. Kurusu and a tall, burly samurai had effectively cornered them, and Ayame anxiously tugged at their sleeves, her face tense.
They were both holding steam rifles, eyes locked on Kurumi and Mumei.
"Oh my, are you here to stand guard for me?" Kurumi raised a brow, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.
"Miss Tokisaki..." Ayame gestured cautiously toward the unconscious Mumei, cradled in Kurumi's arms.
"Hm?" Kurumi looked down and noticed the exposed back of Mumei's slender form. There, her Kabane-like glowing heart pulsed with each breath.
Kurumi's lips twitched into a smile.
"Oh, so that's how it is."
"Just as I thought! You knew the Kabane would attack because you're one of them, aren't you?" Kurusu leveled his rifle at Kurumi.
"If I remember correctly, I told you I don't appreciate people pointing guns at me."
Clink—
A black chain shot out, wrapping around the rifle, and with a hard tug, Kurumi sent both rifle and Kurusu crashing to the ground. She hugged Mumei close as she got to her feet, planting her foot firmly between Kurusu's shoulder blades to keep him down.
"Kurusu!" Ayame rushed over, anxiously grabbing onto Kurumi's sleeve. "Miss Tokisaki…"
"Oh, relax. I won't do anything to your little boyfriend," Kurumi teased, watching Ayame's cheeks flush a deep red.
"H-he's not my boyfriend!"
"Mm-hmm, whatever you say," Kurumi chuckled.
"Hey, you, big guy." Mumei crouched down, poking Kurusu's face with her short rifle. "I'm not a Kabane."
Kurusu propped himself up on his hands, but try as he might, he couldn't lift himself from under Kurumi's boot. He glared up at Mumei.
"A Kabane shouldn't pretend to talk like a human!"
"Kurumi-nee, he's being mean!" Mumei looked up at her.
Kurumi pressed down a little harder, pinning Kurusu flat again.
"Gah!" Kurusu let out a strangled gasp. Ayame immediately pulled at Kurumi's sleeve, worry etched into her face.
"All right, all right…" Kurumi stepped back.
Ayame helped Kurusu to his feet, and he gasped for breath as he tried to steady himself.
"We really aren't Kabane. But we're not exactly human either."
Mumei glanced at Kurusu.
"We're Kabaneri—somewhere between humans and Kabane."
"We..." Kurusu repeated, turning to look at Kurumi.
"Hey, what are you staring at me for?" Kurumi yawned. "I'm not Kabaneri."
"We... means there's another Kabaneri aboard the Kotetsujou," Mumei explained.
"Who?"
"That green-haired steam engineer—you must've noticed him." Mumei slipped her leather armor back on, covering the bright, burning heart on her back.
"Him again..." Kurusu muttered, lapsing into silence.
As Mumei gathered her things, she couldn't help but think quietly to herself.
"Kurumi-nee isn't Kabaneri... but... she definitely isn't human, either."
The side door of Kotetsujou's front carriage stood wide open, sunlight streaming in warmly.
Kurumi lounged comfortably there, one leg propped up and the other dangling lazily over the edge. A gentle summer breeze swept over her, lulling her eyes half-closed with drowsiness. Resting her chin on Mumei's forehead, her hair tumbled forward, a few strands tickling Mumei's amber eyes.
Puffing out her cheeks, Mumei blew upward, trying to keep the bothersome hair away.
"Don't squirm," Kurumi chided, reaching a hand to cover Mumei's mouth, accidentally brushing her full, puffed-up cheeks and slipping her finger inside.
Her fingertip dipped into the warm, soft space of Mumei's mouth, slightly damp.
"Oh?" Kurumi opened her eyes, smiling mischievously, giving her finger a small wiggle—only to have it caught in a firm bite.
The little "kitten" glared up with a scowl, her nose wrinkling in defiance.
Kurumi carefully withdrew her finger, the sunlight glinting off it, then wiped the slight moisture on Mumei's smooth, delicate cheek.
"Kurumi-nee!"
Watching the tiny "kitten" nearly bristle with anger made Kurumi's eyes sparkle with amusement. It was… fun, just like teasing a kitten.
Pulling Mumei's cheeks up, down, left, and right, she tugged and teased.
"Mmf! Mmm!"
Kurusu, however, remained entirely uneasy about the non-human Mumei.
"Kabane are humanity's enemy," he muttered. Regardless of what she claimed about "Kabaneri," everyone had seen the Kabane heart pulsing in her chest.
There was no way he could trust a Kabane onboard.
But, as Ayame had pointed out, both Kurumi and Mumei had saved their lives.
And most importantly, he couldn't beat Kurumi. In fact, he doubted he could even beat Mumei.
Besides, even if he tried to refuse, they'd likely insist on riding this train anyway.
But first, he decided to go fetch that steam engineer from the rear carriage.
Leaving a "Kabaneri" where he couldn't keep an eye on him was far too risky, like a time bomb waiting to go off.
With a few samurai armed with steam rifles in tow, Kurusu strode purposefully toward the rear carriages.
The serious looks on their faces silenced the murmurs and grumblings of the civilians, who had been complaining about the lack of food.
Kotetsujou did not carry much in the way of provisions; each civilian received a small dumpling twice a day—barely enough to stave off hunger.
In truth, Ayame's allowance of any food at all was an act of mercy. According to the elders, simply allowing these "useless sacks of rice" onboard was already the greatest mercy they could offer.
Finally, they found the engineer in the fifth carriage and knocked him to the ground with a blow to the head. With a hard shove, they threw open his cloak.
Underneath, they saw the dark red veins spreading across his skin, with an unnatural, metallic tint to his complexion.
"What the hell!" the engineer shouted, stumbling back to his feet.
Kurusu, barely containing his anger, grabbed him by the arm, then spun him around and drove the rifle butt hard into the back of his neck.
"Ugh!"
The engineer, Ikoma, collapsed to the floor.
"Ikoma!" shouted a pudgy boy at his side, reaching down to help him up.
"What are you doing?" the boy demanded, stepping in front of the samurai to block their way.
"What do you think we're doing?" Kurusu sneered, shoving the boy to the ground as he ordered the samurai to restrain both of them.
When Kurusu and the other samurai returned with the two steam engineers, they found Kurumi lounging in apparent bliss, dozing in the warm sunshine.
He ground his teeth in frustration, but what could he do?
Ikoma, the green-haired steam engineer, was beginning to wake up.
He looked at the samurai around him.
"Hey! What are you trying to pull?"
"You don't get it? You're a KA-BA-NE!" Kurusu sneered, pressing the rifle hard against Ikoma's throat.
"I'm not a Kabane!"
"Like anyone's going to believe that with a body like yours!" Kurusu's voice was ice-cold.
"…" Ikoma was silent, glancing away.
"Hey, how many times do I have to say it? We're Kabaneri, not Kabane," Mumei said grumpily, hopping down from the side door and cracking her knuckles.
"Kabaneri? You just expect us to believe that?" Kurusu glared at her, but his gaze soon faltered under Kurumi's watchful, smirking eyes. He froze, clearly recalling the bruising he'd just endured.
"We...?" Ikoma, still lying on the floor, looked up at Mumei.
"Huh?" Mumei tilted her head before nodding with a smirk. "Are you really that slow?"
"Yes… us."
At that moment, a group of grumbling elders burst in from the neighboring carriage.
"Hey, Ayame!" They hustled in, arms crossed. "We hear you've let a Kabane onboard."
The five elders formed a circle around Ayame—one of them was even still nursing injuries from Mumei's earlier blow.
"They're not Kabane," Ayame said firmly, furrowing her brows.
"What, just because they say they're not?" The head elder pointed accusingly at Mumei. "Word is, that little girl there has a Kabane heart beating in her chest."
"Tch." Mumei shot the elders a look of disdain, then turned to head back to the open side door.
"If they really want to prove they're not Kabane, we'd have to inspect them thoroughly," one elder leered at the two girls nestled in the corner. Both looked worlds apart from the weary performers at the local kabuki theaters.
"Oh?" came a silky, dangerous voice from above.
Kurumi looked down at the elders, her crimson eyes blazing with a hellish glint. The sight paralyzed the loud-mouthed elder, as he imagined for a split second mountains of corpses and rivers of blood—a vengeful demon returned from the depths of purgatory.
"You... want to inspect me?"
"N-no, you misheard me!" The elder hastily backtracked, realizing that this was not a girl he could afford to offend.
Kurumi's voice dropped to a cool laugh. This guy was as good as dead.
"Ayame makes her own decisions. Got that?"
"Y-yes."
"Then scram."
"Yes, yes…" He scurried off with his entourage.
"Brother…what are you doing?" asked one of the other elders, looking at him in confusion.
"Idiot! Just follow me," he muttered, scrambling out. At the carriage juncture, he noticed a few disheveled civilians sneaking toward the front.
He did nothing to stop them, merely smirking, waiting for the spectacle that was bound to unfold.
Ayame was no longer as easy to manipulate.
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