Edit: 3/4/2017: I've removed the story telling part because it really doesn't serve any purpose other for the lawlz and did some editing that I've neglected when I first wrote this story. Hopefully, it'd be more readable but no promises. Do enjoy.
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Chapter 1
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"The end." A eighteen year old male concluded his story as he controlled his small wooden puppets on hand to make a bowing gesture in his makeshift wooden stage for his show.
The children in front of him was either clapping excitedly or was on the ground laughing so loudly that he wondered if people in the Koutetsujou's other compartments could hear them. The sight of the happy children brought a small smile to his face. It was the best he could do to keep the dark atmosphere away, at least for a short while.
The group of people were surrounded by boxes that was stacked to the point there it could almost touch the roof of the train compartment that they were in. Only a small hole in the wall was left so that people may enter and exit the box barrier, though the adults would need to crawl order to get in because of their height. The entrance was left small for that very reason as it could slow down unwanted trespassers.
The male himself was standing behind a makeshift stage made from any wooden materials he could get his hands on, most of which wasn't even his to take but who needs to know that tidbit. Both his hands was holding onto wooden handles that had strings dangling down and attached to both the puppets that's currently on the stage. One resembles a blond female knight while another was a redhead dude with a chef hat.
The eighteen year old looked rather well off for a person living in a world that's filled with zombie like monsters. But despite being a civilized person, he managed to pull of a homeless vagabond look because of how untidy he looked. His soft, brown, medium length hair was rather disheveled and unkempt, making him look like he had just got out of bed and didn't bother to comb it. His eyes was kept half lidded, never once fully opening during the entire time he was telling his story. It would give others the impression of a lazy person instantly when they saw him but he wouldn't care. He enjoyed the reaction the children of various ages was showing in front of him with mirth shining behind those half hidden green orbs of his.
He was clothed with a completely plain and casual looking blue shirt covered with a black robe and black trousers. But they were baggy, almost like they're one size too big for him and the sleeves of his robe was long, reaching to cover half of his palm and If he were to clench his fist, his hands would be hidden under his sleeves. It looked impractical and could easily be caught in gears if he were to handle any machinery but he wore it anyway because it was comfortable. He also have black boots on by the way.
"So, I take it that you kids enjoyed this story?" he asked the children in front of him, wondering just how they would react to his heavily edited version of a war from a time long past.
The group of five kids in front of him let out a chorus of 'yes's happily save for one twelve year old that was sitting on the back of the group who just nod her head, her child rubbing against the head of another child that's sitting on her lap, causing the child to giggle at the ticklish sensation.
The girl was petite looking with short brown hair tied into a twin pony tail and reddish-brown eyes that seem to be watching the puppets with interest. She has a bright pink, kimono that's a bit too short when it comes to skirt length and it even had flowers decorating it. There's a yellow obi tied around her waist and her feet had wooden sandals on with soles that looks like a knife. It made him wonder just how she keeps her balance with them on, the damn thing looked like it was meant to be a wield as a weapon. What stands out on her though, is that indigo ribbon tied around her neck.
"I was really surprised by how Arthur, or rather Arthuria was actually a woman." she commented, her voice had a hint of awe in them while her eyes were wide with surprise as she recalled that crucial detail of the plot. Like he'd said, a very heavily edited version of what had actually transpired.
"Maa~ at least I finally got a reaction out of you Mei-chan." the male, a.k.a Nakaru-nii by the kids, said with a smug grin plastered on his face. "I was beginning to think that you weren't even remotely interested with it when you look so bored during the start of the story."
"Your story does have a lot of holes in them though." Mei-chan pointed out before she narrowed her eyes at him. "And my name is Mumei. Stop shortening people's name just because you can't remember it fully."
"Well what do you expect? It's a children's story, not one made to entertain adults that just love needless drama in them." Nakaru slightly tilt the handle in his hand and the puppet Arthuria made a dramatic shrug of her shoulders. "And none sense, I have a very good memory." Nakaru huffed while puppet Arthuria crossed her arms and let out a huff in an offended manner.
"If I'm not wrong, you got my name wrong for five times today before you simply decided to shorten it." Mumei raise her hand and spread her fingers to show the number of times Nakaru had gotten her name wrong as she tilt her head slightly to the side. "And yesterday you got it wrong ten times before you gave up."
"I'll call anyone whatever I want." Nakaru childishly blow a raspberry at the girl even though he's way too old for that while he made puppet Arthuria's shoulders shook with her arms still crossed, giving the impression that she's doing a haughty laugh.
"Ne-ne, Nakaru-nii." A younger girl in the group that's currently sitting on Mumei's laps suddenly spoke up. Nakaru turn to raise an eyebrow intriguingly at the girl as her wide, sparkling brown eyes gaze into his half-lidded ones. She had her tiny hand raised to grab the attention of the person she was calling and was swinging it around. She also sorta look like an overexcited chipmunk that had it's mouth stuffed with food and high on coffee with how chubby her cheeks looked with her baby fat and how she just couldn't seem to sit still.
Puppet Arthuria points a finger at the girl while Nakaru spoke. "What is it Ponytail-chan?"
"Now he's just forgoing the name completely and labeling people by their hairstyle. It's like he's not even trying anymore." Mumei murmured wryly from the side but Nakaru pretended not to hear that and continue on.
"Is there something you need?" Nakaru asked in a soft and gentle tone like how one would when speaking to children….or with adults if he wanted to piss them off. "Is it a potty break? You know you could have just gone instead of asking." Seeing that they had been here for who knows how many hours it's not weird for him to come to that conclusion. Now that he thought about it, how long had they been here anyway? Surely it couldn't have been more than two hours right? Right?
He narrowed his eyes as he tried to look outside of the boxes that surround them to see where the sun was at. But he had no such luck as the boxes were stacked too high for him to see over them even if he stood up. One of the design flaws that he'd overlooked when he was stacking the boxes up to make his box fort he suppose. Oh well, not everyone's perfect. He should fix that later….if he could still remember it by then.
Ponytail-chan, or Pony-chan for short, real name Mizuri, shook her head quickly, her brown ponytail started flailing around along with her movement, almost swatting Mumei's nose in the process if she didn't move her head back in surprise.
She let her hand down and place both her hands firmly on her lap, clenching them into tiny fists as she put on her serious face which, by the way, only made her look like a chipmunk that had just discovered a pile of nuts free for the taking. Her nervousness was showing on her face as everyone's attention was now focused solely on her. She appears uncomfortable with all the attention on her but she soldiered on and spoke up.
"Is magic real?" She asked anxiously. Mumei raise an eyebrow at her but didn't say anything. Nakaru thought that it was a seemingly innocent question, one befitting for a curious child her age who's still easily marveled by the things she see. Guess the part where Arthuria managed to blast hordes of demons away with just a swing of her sword got her very excited. But the way she asked it… it made Nakaru think that she almost wanted it to be real.
There any many ways to approach this and if not handled carefully, it might leave him with a disappointed child or one with their dreams shattered. But it would seem that while he's busy thinking up a suitable answer for her question, the others in the small group of children had already voiced out their own opinion on the subject.
"Pssh, as if. Magic isn't real at all." The boy that was five or something said in an offhanded manner as he lean back and place his hands behind him for support. Then he immediately turn to Nakaru for confirmation with a skeptical look on his face. "It's not real, is it Nakaru-nii?"
Nakaru's only answer to his question was the cryptic smile he gave and it only serve to make the boy annoyed at the lack of answer he was getting. Ah kids, they're always so fun to mess with. He would mess with the kid more by but first he needed to answer Mizuri's question. After all, it's rude to keep a lady waiting.
Nakaru lower the puppets down, making sure that they're sitting properly with their backs resting against each other so that they wouldn't slip and fall. He place the handles away before standing up from behind the stage. His movement draw the eyes of the children as he stood to his full height. Being the eldest around means that he easily towers over the kids, standing at a hundred and seventy five centimeters or something. He never really checked because he's usually….busy with other things so he couldn't have know how tall he really was.
He started walking over to the girl with a slight slouch in his posture, looking every bit as lazy as he always did while he move slowly over with light steps. As he approaches, Mumei couldn't help but notice that she couldn't hear him coming at all even though he's right in front of her. It made her somewhat queasy that a person who looked like he would rather laze all day instead of doing anything productive to be able to move so quietly. Maybe he was so lazy that he couldn't even put effort into walking? That would be a more plausible explanation for it. She briefly wondered if the loud rattling the locomotive was making was masking his footsteps.
Nakaru kneel down in front of the girl, gathering curious looks from everyone. He regarded Mizuri with a small smile on his face as he spoke. "Do you want it to be?" he asked mysteriously as he tilt his head slightly to the side, his bangs falls along due to the laws of gravity that sometimes wouldn't be obeyed as his hair would be standing up instead.
Mizuri slowly nodded.
"Weeeellll, before I tell you, can you tell me why you wanted to know that?" Nakaru couldn't help but asked as he scratch the back of his head. The mind of a child functioned differently than an adult's after all. They're rather easy to misunderstand them if you don't ask properly.
"If magic is real then maybe we don't have to fear the Kabane anymore." she quietly murmured as she looked down at her clenched hands.
Ah, it would seem that his description of magic was a bit too good to be true. She wouldn't be wrong that they wouldn't have to worry about the Kabane anymore if Magic is real. But then they would have a new set of problems to deal with. Mainly humans. Greedy, selfish Humans that would do anything to get what they want if they could do the feats mentioned in his stories. Then it'll be humans fighting against humans instead of the Kabane. But she didn't know that yet and probably never will since Humans are too busy dealing with the Kabane to squabble among themselves for too long and eventually leading humanity into extinction. The ignorance of innocent youth he suppose.
"But magic isn't real at all, right?" Another boy spoke up sounding hesitant, almost as if he's trying not to get his hopes up but it looks like deep down, he wanted it to be real just like Pony-chan. He needed to do something to keep their hopes up. Hope itself is, after all, a dying beacon of light in this world. With so many Stations being overrun by the Kanabe as time passes it's a miracle that the Humans still continue to fight on despite the odds. The beacon's flames was slowly smothering away with each passing day as the people grew more desperate and paranoid. Nakaru's going to do what he does best to keep it lit, even for a little bit longer until a hero arrives to rekindle the flame.
"Don't be so negative Bush-kun." Nakaru turn towards the boy and chided playfully at him, waving a finger while shaking his head with a disappointed look. Bush-kun was named that because his hair kinda make him look like a bush to his eyes. A brown coloured bush to be exact, that's cladded in a green robe with it's sleeves ripped off. Bush-kun just pouted at him, for the nickname or for chiding him, he'd never know.
"Well Pony-chan," He turn back to the girl. "Magic comes in many forms. But in the end it really depends on your perspective." Nakaru started to explain to them. "If you believed that it's real then it'll be real and if you don't, you'll probably go through your entire life without ever experiencing something magical. Most people generally don't so don't worry too much if you never did." he gave a nonchalant wave of his hand. "If you think like that Bush-kun then even if something magical were to happen right in front of you, you'd probably think of it as something you'd see everything without realising the things happening behind the scene. If you keep an eye out where ever you go, you'd find little details that you've never really noticed before happening all around you."
"Then...how will we know if it's happening right in front of us?" Bush-kun asked curiously, crawling over towards where Nakaru and the two girls are. The two girls were gazing at Nakaru with interest, waiting for his answer eagerly. The rest of the kids were slowly edging closer and closer to the older male, wanting to hear his answer for themselves too.
"Hmm~" Nakaru let out as he rub his chin slowly with his eyes closed, his head slowly tilting to the side as he thought about the boy's question. If his hands weren't moving at all, the kids around him would thought that he had fallen asleep while thinking.
Nakaru opened his eyes, though they were still only half opened, and turn his head to face Bush-kun. "Ne, Bush-kun. What is magic to you?" Nakaru asked with a raise eyebrow.
"Hm?" Bush-kun was surprised at the sudden change in subject but he answered it anyway. "Being able to shoot things out of your hands!" He excitedly replied as both his hand shot up into the air.
"I see. But for me, magic is more simpler than being able to shoot beams out of your hands. In fact, you don't have to do anything at all to experience it." He told them with a nod of his head as he sits down on the ground, getting odd looks from everyone with what he had just said. "For example, Imagine walking by a field of flowers that stretches out into the horizon with the sun setting just beyond." Nakaru opened his arms for emphasis, his sleeves were pulled back a little when he did so and Mumei noted something on his lower part of his left palm but he let his arms down and it was covered by his sleeve again.
"Then imagine a sudden strong gust of wind blew by. The flower's loose petals would be blown off and fly into the air no?" he said, getting nods from the kids. "Now imagine what it would look like. You, walking through the field with the petals dancing in the air all around you under the blue and golden light of the sunset, illuminating the world around you with it's soft orange light."
The children all thought about it themselves. Mizuri closed her eyes and scrunched up her face as she visibly put in effort into imagining the scene. Bush-kun closed his eyes too, place his index finger on the side of his head and frowned, his eyebrow twitching ever so often as he put that mind of his to work. The rest of the kids were thinking hard to picture the scene too. A few seconds passed by in silence before someone broke it.
"Wah~." Mizuri let out her breath in amazement with her eyes still closed, cupping her small hands together near her chest as a smile graced her lips. "It'll be pretty to see." she sighed happily.
"I don't get it what's so pretty about it." Bush-kun said with a frown.
'Boys will be boys I suppose' Nakaru resisted the urge to roll his eyes at himself in amusement for stating the obvious. "Isn't that by itself a magical moment? It's one you couldn't have experience if you're too busy with life. You'd probably swat the petals away in annoyance because they got in your way instead of enjoying the sight." He smiled slightly to himself.
The kids uttered out their complains since they probably was hoping for something more than just a talk. Oh well, can't please everybody. At least some agreed with him. The rest didn't but it didn't matter to him because what mattered most is that he totally bullshitted his way out of the girl's original question.
He couldn't have just told them that it's not real now could he? He's not that cruel to crush a child's dreams like that. No, he's going to keep them as innocent as they were for as long as possible. Children should be spending their childhood happily and carefree as they could.
"Don't be so disappointed." Nakaru raise both his hands in a placating gesture with a sheepish smile on his face. His eyes dart from one to another to note their expression. They're definitely not happy, that's for sure. "If you want to see one right now, I do know a magic trick that I've learned from somewhere. Do you wanna see it?" he added quickly in hopes of cheering them up.
And cheered up they did. In fact, they were so excited with the prospect that Nakaru actually knows some sort magic they immediately clamber up from their sitting position and dart to sit around Mumei just so they could get front row seats for the show. Mizuri just bunker down on her lap and stare at the older male with wide, sparkling eyes. Mumei just looked amused at everyone's reaction.
"Well then, observe!" Nakaru announced cheerfully as he lift up his right hand and pull back his sleeve slightly to reveal completely empty palm. He spun it around, showing both sides of his hand before turning his palm towards them. "As you can see, I have nothing on my hand right now right?" He told them as he let his free hand rest on his knee as he prob his right elbow on his other knee, using it to lean in. He even spread his fingers and wriggle them around for the kids to see. The children just stared on, completely immersed with what Nakaru was doing. Mumei just rest her chin on top of Ponytail-chan's head as she held her close, her brown eyes was staring at the appendage Nakaru was holding out with an intense focus.
She was so focused on it that she's emitting a cute 'Jiiii~' sound for some reason. In fact, everyone had the same amount of focus as they silently stared at his hand. The scene in front of him was so adorable that he couldn't help but want to get a painting of it. But first's things first, the magic trick.
Forcing back the laughter trying to escape his throat at the amusing spectacle, Nakaru continue on with what he was doing.
He pressed his thumb and his middle finger together with his index finger was stretched out while the remaining two was reeled in, showing them a gesture where one is about to snap one's fingers. Then he slowly move his hand in front of Mizuri's face with deliberate slowness.
Of course, because of their age, his audience became impatient. Some were complaining angrily at him for dragging it out for no reason but Bush-kun and Ponytail-chan weren't. Instead they got more excited that they're almost shivering giddily on their spot. Mumei had to keep the girl on her lap contained while watching him with the eyes of a hawk, completely and eerily still. He would have nightmares for weeks if he woke up to Mumei staring at him like that when he's sleeping.
Nakaru suddenly snapped his fingers together. If one were slow down time, they could noticed that the moment his thumb slipped past his middle finger, some sort of spark was generated. In a split second, his entire hand was engulfed with a cloud of smoke that burst out of nowhere.
The children was startled and shouted in surprise at the unexpected appearance of the smoke. Bush-kun fell over to his butt and made a pained whine before he crawled back up and rubbed his delicate rear. Mizuri tensed in fright the moment the thin cloud of smoke appeared but calmed down instantly when she realised that nothing bad happened. Mumei just narrowed her eyes at where Nakaru's hand used to be.
When the smoke gradually dispersed what everyone saw could only leave them jaws hanging with a dumbfounded expression on their faces. Nakaru was suddenly holding onto a thornless stem of a small red rose which evidently wasn't there before.
The kids got over their shock and started clapping animatedly. The area was filled with the sound of their clapping and excited voices. Nakaru just grinned in amusement at how easy it was to get them riled up with something so simple. Mumei however seem to be remaining silent on the matter. He wondered if she had seen though the trick, if so then why didn't she out him? Oh well, at least she's not going to spoil it for them.
Nakaru tuck the flower behind Mizuri's ear, earning a surprise yelp from her as he slowly adjust it so that it doesn't fall. "There you go~, a beautiful rose for a cute little girl." he teased the child as he let go of the rose. He was greeted with the sight of a lightly blushing Mizuri as she hides her smiling reddish face with her hands as she squirms on her spot in order to appear as small as possible on Mumei's laps.
'D'awwwwww' Nakaru smiled as he resisted the urge to pet the girl in front of him. The strange urge that suddenly appeared from nowhere was forced back when the other children started complaining how unfair it was that only she got it. 'Oh well, can't please everyone.' He mentally shrugged and lightly coughed into his hand to get the kid's attention.
A lone eye peak out from between Mizuri's fingers as she gaze at him. "Since it's yours now you better take care of it okay? Don't worry about it wilting since it's not real." Nakaru told her and she quickly nods, her hands were let down as she smiled brightly at him.
"You said it's fake right?" Mumei unexpectedly spoke up, drawing attention towards herself. She had lifted her hand from Mizuri's stomach and was touching the rose that's acting like a beautiful accessory for Ponytail-chan. "Then why does it feel and smell like a real one?" Mumei asked in genuine curiosity as she continue to prod the rose, being mindful not to move it from it's place behind Mizuri's ear.
"Eh? Really?" The ponytailed girl exclaimed as she blinked and blinked again before gingerly reach out her hand to touch the rose. She could feel the soft petals but she really couldn't tell if it's real or not since she had never seen or touch a rose before and so chose to believe in the words of Mumei. "How?" She just question the older male, her childlike wonder and amazement clearly showing in those round eyes of hers as they stare into his.
A lazy grin made it's way towards Nakaru's face as he lift his hand up towards the little girl's face. "Magic." He answered mysteriously as he poked her nose. The sudden contact caused her to scrunch up her nose in reflex before she pout cutely at him. The grin on Nakaru's face widened considerably at the sight before he pushes himself back up from the floor. "Alright then, now who wants to play with the puppets?" he continued bit more louder than before so that everyone could hear him.
Predictably for Nakaru, the kids immediately shot their hands up and demanded the goods to be handed over to them or face the wrath of the bundle of giggles. He also predicted that he couldn't have possibly handle that much cuteness in one sitting so he wisely did the only thing that would save him from moe overload. Mizuri had already scamper up from Mumei's laps the moment he said that and latched onto his leg, hopping excitedly in place as she pleaded for the Arthuria puppet with wide, craving eyes. The rest look like they wanted to join in too.
"Alright alright, go take your pick, the rest is in the box behind the stage. Just remember not to break any of them." Nakaru chuckled at their antics as they made a mad dash towards for the puppets in the box. "Woah, watch it there Bush-kun, you almost stepped on my toe." Nakaru yelped in alarm as he shift his foot away from the impending heel that was about to step on it.
"Sorry!" Bush-kun shouted as he ran towards the box.
"Heh, kids." Nakaru shook his head with a slight smile on his face before turning his attention towards the only person that hadn't move from her spot with a raised eyebrow. "So you're not going to join them Mei-chan?" The question was directed towards the twelve year old who was still sitting with a rather mischievous look on her face. It's one that reminded him of a child that caught his or her friend doing something they shouldn't and wants to snitch on them to their parents.
"That's a neat trick." She commended with a slight nod. "You coated your hand with some type of power that created that smoke didn't you? And while everyone's stunned by it's appearance you took the chance to take the rose out from within your sleeve." She said straightforwardly in a way that a person would when they had caught a swindler swindling them red handed but in a more flippant tone than a furious one.
He should be surprised that his trick was found out but he really wasn't since the person who discovered his trick was Mumei. "Arara, so you saw through it." Nakaru rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "You must have some good eyes if you could see through that trick in those short few seconds. But firsts things first, thank you for not ruining it for the rest of the kids." He bowed his head slightly towards the young girl before lifting himself back up, still slouching a bit like the lazy bum that he is.
"From the way the spark was generated I'm guessing that it's gunpowder isn't it? I'm surprise that it didn't explode like it's suppose to." She remarked with a small smug huff.
"You're a scary girl Mei-chan, to be able to guess what I have on my hand just like that. But sadly you're only half right." Nakaru informed her after giving her a dry laugh. "It's a modified version of gunpowder. Instead of exploding it just creates smoke. Very useful for obscuring other people's vision or when you need to get their attention away from something." 'Or for getting when they're distracted.' he added in his mind as he explained what it does casually to her. He moved to sit down a few meters away from Mumei and lean against the box wall.
The sound of the railroad that the Koutetsujou was traveling on was as clear as ever but to those that had been in the locomotive for a long time had long since learned to filter out the sound. "Well then, is there any reason why you aren't joining in with your peers?" Nakaru asked the girl next to him with a curious glint in his those emerald orbs of his as he turn his gaze towards the girl.
Mumei pulled her legs towards her chest and hugs them, letting her chin rest on her knees. Nakaru was once again reminded that she seriously needs to change the length of her Kimono because for fucks sakes her panties are almost showing. Is she even wearing them at all!? Who the fuck bought it for her for crying out loud!? A pervert? A lolicon!? Shouldn't she at least have someone that she's usually around that would tell her about something like that!?
"My peers...huh..." Her words came out somberly as she stare at the kids. They were acting out their own play with the puppet they have in hand. It's rather amusing to watch as they didn't have the fine control over them as Nakaru does and the puppets would sometimes do something that they didn't intended. The kids would be either laughing or fuming at how awkward their puppets look with tangled limbs. "Ne, there's something that I don't get. Why you would go out of your way to do something like this when you wouldn't get anything in return at all?" She shifted the subject rather abruptly as she gestured at the mass of laughing kids but Nakaru didn't mind. Everyone have their own problems that they're dealing with on their own so it's understandable. He would ask what's wrong but It didn't feel right to butt in on her personal matter right after meeting her for a few days.
"Well, someone's gotta keep the children's spirits up and their imagination alive." He answered with his usual lazy drawl, leveling his gaze at the children. Wait a god damn minute, did Bush-kun just accidentally snapped the neck of one of his puppets? He did! And now he's stashing the corpse! Someone's just committed murder and his friends are helping him disposed of the body by opening a box for him to stuff it in!
Oh well, at least they're easy to make. He'd have to lecture the kids afterwards about things like breaking other people's properties and trying to cover up the act instead of just admitting the crime….later, if he could remember it.
"They're the seeds of a new generation after all. I'd like to think that it's part of the job for the older generation to keep their imagination alive and their minds more open to newer things for their growth. Don't want them all to grow up into paranoid little buggers like those Bushi that you see wandering around the compartments with their ever so twitchy trigger fingers and distrustful stares. They say that it's their duty to 'protect' us" Nakaru said as he lift his hands up to do some finger quotes. "And we should be honored to even receive their protection. If things keep up as they were then we would actually need protection from them instead of the Kabane." Nakaru finished with a sigh.
At that moment, emotions were running rampant behind Mumei's eyes, flickering wildly like an untamed beast but she forced them down and it was gone just as suddenly as it appeared. Nakaru noticed it but didn't point it out. It would seem that she had met her fair share of paranoid Bushi if her reaction anything to go by. "What I'm doing to the kids is called indoctrination Mei-chan." he told her, changing the subject in hopes that she doesn't think too much about the past. Also, he had no idea if the word was supposed to be used this way but hell, it sounded way better than brainwashing.
"Indoctrination?" She echoed with a tilt of her head, her eyebrow crooked up as she displayed her confusion at the word with a puzzled look.
"At the risk of sounding repetitive, yes, indoctrination." He deadpanned. "It's a way to instil or mold other people's attitudes, beliefs and behaviors so that they would grow up differently. What I'm doing to the kids right now is to giving them a more positive atmosphere to grown up in and a different mindset that other children have." He gestured at the children, Mumei's eyes followed. They were laughing together happily as they played with the toys that Nakaru lend them. They seem to be acting out a tale of epic proportion born from the well of their imagination. "From what I've seen all my life, the adults have implanted the fear of Kabane into the minds of their children since they first appeared. And in turn, they became afraid of the so called Kabane that they've never seen before, their minds would make up things to fill the image of the monsters that they have been told about. Sooner or later, because of the suffocating and oppressive atmosphere they live in they would start seeing things that aren't really there at all. That fear will cause many problems in the future, mostly it would just lead to paranoia or utter distrust of others. But we can prevent that." Nakaru let loose a long, tired breath. His hands were playing with the edges of his sleeves, rubbing his thumb and index finger between the oddly smooth fabric and enjoying the sensation.
"It's an unsavory way to do things but it's the only way I know how to counter another their parent's propaganda. Well, they Kabane are dangerous that's true and they should be aware of just how so but they could've done it in a less terror inducing way. And they say I'm the one scaring their delicate minds when they've been doing it longer than me." Nakaru murmured as he lay his head against the box wall and let his eyes rest as he closed them.
Mumei raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You said it like they've been doing it for a long time." She pointed out.
"Why Mei-chan." Nakaru dramatically gasped in shock as he snap his head towards the girl next to him, his eyes opened half way to show emerald orbs. "Didn't you know that we all grew up being brainwashed? It just takes either a very cleaver individual or one too hardheaded to be effected to noticed it." he told her confidentially. "Or in my case, being an idiot did the trick." he added with a laugh, trying to lighten the mood. Mumei clearly didn't look amused and opt to stare at him with narrowed eyes.
"There was also a time where I tried to rid their fear for the Kabane by replacing it with something else by telling them a horror story." He continued despite the lack of response from the girl while crossing his arms in front of his chest, nodding to himself as he recalled the events of the past. "It worked...a bit too well." he let out a humorless laugh as the memories of the aftermath replayed itself in his mind. Oh, the chaos that he sowed was truly a sight to behold. He lost count of the cots that was wetted because the kids wouldn't dare leave it in fear of being caught by said monster's tentacles.
"What do you mean?" Mumei asked, genuinely curious if her tone was anything to go by.
"I was completely forbidden from telling another horror story for the rest of my life." Nakaru admitted rather proudly as he grinned broadly.
"Why? How come?" Mumei questioned, using a disinterest tone but her curiosity was clearly showing in her eyes.
"It was too effective and the kids had nightmares for weeks so their parents blamed me for it, not that they were wrong to do so mind you. Now I can't utter the word 'Slenderman' without any repercussions." Nakaru told her as quietly as he could as he shift his eyes to observe the kids in the distance for their reaction as he knew that the name he had uttered out could be heard no matter how quietly he tried to say it.
Instantly, the moment the word Slenderman came out of his mouth. A bunch of the older children in the group let out frightened yelps and dropped the puppets they were holding and cluster together defensively, each looking out for each other as they shiver in place like hamsters in an orgy. Heh, hamster orgy. He let out a slight chuckle at the thought.
Yep, they're the victims of said story.
"Oh come on guys." Nakaru whined at them disappointingly. "It's been two years already. I've told you that Slenderman isn't real, I've just made it up." Of course, their shivering intensified the moment the name was mentioned again and Bush-kun even let out a high pitch, girlish scream as he throws himself onto the floor and tries to make himself as small as possible with his hands over his head.
Ah yes, he might have gone a weeee bit overboard with it back then. To be honest, he wasn't really thinking that far ahead yet. Who knew that a tall blank faced man in a suit with tentacles sprouting form his back could be so terrifying for the kids. Live and learn he suppose. At least the younger ones are completely scar free…-ish.
"And this is why I can't tell good horror stories anymore." Nakaru pouted sadly. He still have so many horror stories stored up too and he never even got to tell his favorite one. Mumei just shot a disbelieving gaze at the huddled up kids. The younger ones just watched in either amusement or utter confusion at their behavior, wondering just what on earth were they doing right now.
For a while the Nakaru and Mumei didn't talk, contented with watching the children's playtime once the hamster orgy finally ended and the kids calmed down from their fright. It's like a switch had been flipped because one second they were cowering in fear then the next they were playing together again once they were coxed out of their defensive shell by the younger ones.
"This is how children should be, spending their childhood without any worries….minus the part where they were deeply traumatized by you know who of course." Nakaru remarked after the silence between the two stretch out for some period of time, nodding his head in satisfaction that his hard work to keep the children in high spirits seem to be paying off without any major problems.
The time when the Bushi came and did an investigation on him because they though he was trying to infect the kids with his ideology didn't count. It was a messy affair that ended with him drinking them all under the table as they drunkenly told each other about how sad their lives was and bonded over the beer. How it ended up that way could be left for another time.
Mumei seem to be thinking about what he had said. "I guess so." Mumei eventually muttered out, her eyes seem to grow duller as she continue to observe the over energized pile of bubbly laughter. Just watching them go at it is enough to make Nakaru feel tired out. How and where did those kids even get their energy from is a complete mystery to him.
"Anyway, I just realized something." Nakaru put on a serious expression as he rubs his chin in deep thought...or at least as serious as he could get with how sleepy he always looked. "Don't you want to join in with them?" he asked curiously.
"Hmm..." She hmm'd out as she closed her eyes to think, prompting Nakaru to raise an eyebrow. "No." She just answered, causing the male to let out a sigh. Looks like his plan to get her to mingle with others failed.
When he had first saw her a few days ago in the stable compartment playing with the horses by herself, she looked contented with being alone. It was a sad sight to see, a lone little girl who had no friends. She looked like she's capable of handling herself but there's no reason why he shouldn't lend a hand in keeping her company for a while. Also, Her eyes had the look of someone who was used to seeing people die in front of her….yeah, that might be the reason why he thought she needed to be with someone in her age group to keep her from falling too far into the dark side.
That's why he invited her to join the show and be with the rest of the kids. There's also another reason too but that's something he shouldn't really say. At least she's been joining in everyday without him having to find her and drag her here.
Of course she was wary of him at first, who wouldn't be when a complete stranger just asked you to come with him. He would be too if something like that happen to him. Hell, he'd be downright terrified if a male showed up out of nowhere that is nterested in him and is trying to get him to a scheduled location somewhere just so they could be alone together.
But it's alright, he have something to save his ass for a situation like that. That's where the chastity belt that he has comes into play. With it tightly secured around his rear, he knew that he's ass would be safe from any unwanted advances. How and why he has one in his possession to begin with is something he didn't feel like sharing. At least not yet anyway.
"Oh well, it's your choice Twintail-chan." Nakaru shrugged nonchalantly.
"Have you forgotten my name completely now?" Mumei pointed out incredulously, her eyebrows seem to be twitching for with some emotion that Nakaru couldn't figure out or rather, didn't care enough to pinpoint what it was.
"Psssh, of course not." Nakaru quickly look away with a brief flash of amusement on his face. "I told you that I have a great memory didn't I? And it's only been….like half an hour since the last time I said your name. Why would you even accuse me of something like that Pink Kimono-chan?"
"One," Mumei lift up her hand and point out her index finger. "it's only been two minutes and two," Mumei stick out her middle finger. "you've never even said my name correctly even once since we met and three, I'm starting to think you're getting people's name wrong on purpose." Mumei finishes with all three of her fingers pointing out.
"Nonsense." Nakaru let out a huff as he cross his arms, looking mildly offended but Mumei could tell that he was faking it. "I would never forget a person's name so easily Jailbait-chan."
"Jailbait?" Mumei echoed in confusion as she had never heard that word before and is trying to comprehend what it means with her limited knowledge.
"Yeah, I'm not going to risk explaining that to you." Nakaru cast a wary glace towards the entrance to the box fort that they're in, looking as if he's ready to bail at any moment's notice as if expecting Bushi's to come running in again just to arrest him for being a pedophile. Yeah, he was accused of that too….plenty of times….how he ended up crossdressing with the dude of all things afterwards is something that he's still trying to figure out himself.
Oh, by the way he had neglected to mention that Mumei reeked of iron. The odour was really faint and you'd need a very good nose to smell it. But since he's got said nose and is really close to her, it was like her entire body was coated with molten iron. But he didn't tell her to get a bath because she reeked, it seem to be a rather rude thing to say to a girl after all.
"Why no-"
"Otou-san, let's play together!" Mizuri shouted out from the side excitedly, unknowingly interrupting Mumei as she lift up the Arthuria puppet in her hands towards him.
"Ah." Bush-kun exclaimed as he point his finger at her. "Mizuri called Nakaru-nii tou-san again." He pointed out teasingly with a laugh.
Mizuri seem to have realized her mistake and hides her blushing face behind the puppet as she looks down in embarrassment. Nakaru had to fight back a frown from forming on his face, causing Mumei to look at him curiously.
Nakaru supposed that it's inevitable for that to happen since he had been looking after her since her real parents died because of the Kabane. She would have shared the same fate too if he wasn't nearby to drag her completely patrified form away after witnessing the sight of her parents being vigorously bitten apart by the Kabanes.
The Station that they were in were completely overrun with no hopes of ever reclaiming as the Kabane keep growing in number as the crawl in or were reanimated from the fallen. They never did discovered how they got in the damn place before half the place was overrun. And so, in the middle of the night filled with screams, gunshots and the eerie moaning of the Kabane, another Station had fallen into the hands of the monsters that roamed the world.
Mizuri had the eyes like the rest of the orphaned kids that had seen their family die in front of them, blanked, hollowed and so utterly lifeless. He was charged with taking care of the kids mainly because everyone else were too busy moaning at the loss of their love ones or watching their home for many years get torn down. It took a while for him to even to get her to talk again. As time passed she seem to have recovered to some degree and started acting like a proper child again.
But one day, out of nowhere, she called him Tou-san and it cause him to froze completely. He unexpectedly felt a sense of dread and sorrow wailing up from his heart as she called him that. He had been looking after her for months, taking care of her needs and even keep her company so that she would grow strong enough to move on with her life. He had thought that once she's over the deaths of her parents and is willing and able to face the world head on again he would let someone who's willing to look after a child to adopt her.
So far she's the only orphan from that Station that he couldn't get away from him while the rest had already found new families. Whenever someone was willing to adopt her she would stubbornly cling to his leg and shake her head furiously before looking up at him with wide moist brown orbs that seem to be screaming at him not to abandon her.
He had been trying to convince her that no, he's not her father but there's still time where she would slipped up and call him that every once in a while. He couldn't tell whether she's subconsciously replacing her real dad with him or it's something else entirely.
All he know is that he's really not ready to be a parent. Nor was he ready to explain to her that he probably wouldn't be around anymore in the future. There's something he needed to do, the chances of him surviving that task is close to nil. He didn't want her to experience the loss of a father again so the only thing he could do is to discourage her from ever thinking of him as one but so far no luck on that part.
Nakaru pushes himself up from the ground with a grunt as his legs almost fell asleep while he was sitting too long and he could feel the pins and needles jabbing themselves in his calf. Oh god, the pain and annoyance it's causing.
"Sure, sure. On my way." He called out to them, causing the kids to cheer happily. "Come on, Mei-mei-chan." He called out to the girl as he jerk his head towards the kids' direction. "No harm in joining in a little childish fun." 'If I'm going to have to suffer the wrath of the kid's endless energy then I might as well drag someone to hell with me.'
Mumei looked conflicted at the invitation the male was giving. On one hand she really wanted to play with them but on the other, she wandered if they would actually accept her into their group.
But Mumei's conflicting thoughts were interrupted when a female voice spoke in a disapproving tone was heard from the entrance to the fort. "Nakaru, stop running off from your duties just so you could play with the kids." The voice cause everyone in the box fort to snap their head towards the entrance to see who the unexpected visitor was.
A hand that's being covered by a green glove entered their sight as it shot out form the entrance and grabbed onto the side of it. Soon a head full of strawberry red hair followed as well as the woman's body that was slowly making it's way through the small entrance made for the very purpose of slowing adults down when entering.
"The fort of Awesomeness has been invaded! Everybody run! Run like your pants is on fire!" Nakaru practically screamed out in panic, his eyes widen from it's half open state by a few millimeters. It got the rest of the kids worked up too as they quickly stood up with excited look of their faces. It would seem that they see it more of a game instead of a life threatening situation like Nakaru. Mumei just sat on her spot and watched the proceeding as it wasn't the first time that it had happened.
"But Nakaru-nii!" Bush-kun shouted as he look around. "We can't! The only way out is being blocked!" he pointed at the direction the strawberry haired woman was coming in from.
"Curses! I knew I should have made an escape route when I was constructing the Fort of Awesomeness." Nakaru smack both his palm onto his face with a groan before dragging it down and pulling his face while he's at it.
He clapped both his hands together to get the kid's attention. "Alright, new plan. We plow through the wall with our bodies." He said in complete seriousness. Mumei and the rest of the kids just look at him like he's an idiot and they may not be far off too.
"Or you could just go to work and stop finding excuses not to." The female voice suggested monotonously and Nakaru's head immediately snapped towards the source. In front of him, blocking the entrance with her lithe physique cladded in her engineer uniform was a girl that looked the same age as him. One of her hand was placed on her hips as she stare at him with a rather aloof yet natural expression. Her bright green eyes started looking around the place and a slight frown married her face.
"You've moved the supplies without permission again." She stated as her eyes once again zeroed in on the male, causing him to squirm under the pressure of her gaze.
Nakaru gave her a slightly strained smile as he rub the back of his neck in a sheepish manner as he tried not to meet her gaze. "Oh, don't worry about that. I remember where I took them from and could easily put them back."
The woman only raise an eyebrow slightly at Nakaru's claims that seem to be conveying skepticism. Her expression remained completely flat and mostly unreadable to those who were looking. But for Nakaru, he could tell what she was thinking just fine and this particular expression means 'Stop bullshitting me'. Thus, he look down at his feet in shame and prod his fingers together with a small pout on his lips. "Alright fine, I might have not been paying attention when I was moving them so I'll need to refer to the list when I'm returning them back in place." he finally admitted.
"Just remember to do it before we reached the Station." She informed him with a small sigh, lifting her hand away from her hips so she could cross her arms in front of her chest. "Anyway, the sun is starting to go down and you were suppose to be at the kitchen compartment helping the rest half an hour ago." She reminded him.
"Wow, it's that late already?" Nakaru tilt his head towards the side, trying to look over the wall of boxes before a look of realization struck him like a sledgehammer and he snap his head around to face the girl again. "Wait, shouldn't you be like, manning the Koutetsujou? If you're here then that means….Oh my God! We're all going to die! Yuki-chan finally had enough and decided to let the Hayajiro move on it's own so it could crash!" Nakaru paled significantly as the look of pure horror entered his face with both his hands slapped onto the side of his cheeks.
Before panic could arisen in the form of children running around like headless chickens, the strawberry haired girl dismissed his claims with relative ease while using that cold, unamused tone of someone who is accustomed to his behavior. "My shift was already over so you don't have to worry about the Koutetsujou being unmanned." She told him, causing Nakaru to let his hands down and look away with a pout.
"Yuki-chan's being a spoilsport again." He muttered unhappily, looking down with a dejected look and causing Mizuri to let out a giggle as she was standing right next to him and could hear him clearly. "But I don't wanna work." Nakaru's head shot up as he whined childishly. Then he crouch down in place and slowly move behind Mizuri as thought that he would remain unseen if he did so even though it's pointless as he was several size too big. Mizuri just spread her arms out protectively over Nakaru with a determined look on her face, acting like she's the barrier that would protect him from the woman in front of her.
Mumei had long since forgone any attempt of understanding what's happening in front of her and thus, treated everything as if was a circus act while she sat comfortably on where she was and enjoyed the show happening in front of her.
"Everyone has to pull their own weight here. You know that."
"But I am pulling my own weight. Otherwise I would be a crumpled heap on the ground as I wasn't exerting any strength to pull myself up." Nakaru said defensively as he prop his head over Mizuri and rest his chin on top of her head, his pout still in place as he regarded Yuki-chan with a look of mock dissatisfaction. Muzuri just squirmed in place at the ticklish feeling she got whenever Nakaru moved his jaw.
"Don't get all technical with me." Yuki-chan chided in a motherly fashion, using her finger to wave at him with a warning edge entering her tone, just like a mother would when she's scolding her child. Even so, she didn't look remotely annoyed at Nakaru's behavior but it's really hard to tell what's she's thinking with her face being so stoic all the time.
"You'll have to drag me there kicking and screaming. But, if you wanna get to me first then you'd have to get through my 'Moe Guards'" Nakaru declared with a haughty laugh before hiding his head behind the child shield in front of him.
"Don't worry Nakaru-nii, we'll protect your from Yukina-nee." Bush-kun laughed as he stood in front of Mizuri while facing Yukina, getting cheers from the rest of the kids as they joined in the fray, using their body to make a protective wall between Nakaru and Yukina.
"EI~!" Mizuri yelled out a cute battle cry as she thrust puppet Arthuria in front of her to act like a shield as if it would come to live at any moment just to defend her and Nakaru. She stared at Yukina with grim determination burning brightly behind those brown orbs of hers.
To her credit, Mumei didn't even seem surprise at what's happening in front of her. She only blinked before turning her attention towards Yukina to see what she would do in response to get past the wall that the children made with their bodies.
Yukina made a move to walk forward and the children responded by mashing together closer so that there's no gap for Yukina to slip through. Yukina paused, surprised at how a couple of children could move so coordinately and completely in sync with their movements. It was almost like their desire to stop her from dragging away their only source of entertainment away from them had pushed them into working together at a level that suppressed even a well trained army.
But even so, every army has it's own weakness and Yukina knew just what theirs were.
The corner of her lips twitched ever so slightly and a sly smile would have made it's way onto her face but it vanished instantly before it could even properly form as she hides her amusement masterly behind her usual face of indifference. But Nakaru and Mumei saw it before it was gone. The former did mainly because he had been around her for years and is able to read her facial expressions like a pro so every tiny movement on her visage could rarely escape his sight while the latter managed to catch a glimpse because she had good eyes. Needless to say, Nakaru had a feeling that he had just walked into a trap he had set himself.
"If you kids are so reluctant to let Nakaru cook for us then I suppose we'll just have the plain old food rations for dinner again." She told them, placing a hand on her cheek while trying to sound dejected as she put on a sad frown, slightly shaking her head in disappointment.
A series of sharp gasps echoed throughout the compartment as the children stared at her with wide, unblinking eyes and some with unhinged jaws. A look of pure shock flashes by their expression as if they have been told that their favorite pet just died. The realization that the consequences that their actions will cause had effectively stunned them and made them doubt whether they're doing was the right thing or not.
Bush-kun took a step forward and spoke on behalf of the group. "You mean the salty and yucky one?" he meekly ask, although there's a trace of disgust in his tone as he recalled the so called food ration he had to eat before. And boy do they taste bad. The other children had similar reactions to it as some of their faces scrunched up in disgust or stick out their tongue at the memory of said food. Mizuri just shuddered, hugging the puppet closer to her chest as she tires to suppress the image that almost popped into her head.
Nakaru could sympathize with them as he had ate the food before and he wasn't impressed with the taste nor texture. Hell, it's all brown and gooey and closely resembles fresh horse dung and it really kills your appetite just by looking at it. Whoever invented it really should have thought about making it better looking before introducing it to the world.
Hold on a minute, he was the one who created it so that people could survive longer during Hayajiro rides when they're extremely low on supplies. It could be preserved without fail and could be given in large servings because of the texture and there would still be plenty for everyone.
Hmm...he could had made it with better flavoring but oh well, like he'd said before, nobody's perfect. Let's not mentioned it to the kids so they don't turn their hatred for the food onto him.
Even Mumei shuddered at memory of the food that everyone had at least tasted once in their life during a Hayajiro ride. It's only serve during the most desperate cases when the food supply was running dangerously thin and they had to mash it all together so that everyone would have something to fill their belly and survive until they reached the next Station.
Nakaru blinked as he remembered that the food supply even running low at all so they shouldn't even be serve that food ration from hell yet. Oh no, so this is what Yukina was planning all along!
Just when he's about to point out that they aren't even low of food supplies, Yukina nodded to Bush-kun's question before he could. The children saw Yukina's reply and another chorus of shock gasps filled the air, cutting Nakaru off before he could say anything.
Then there was silence. It stretched out for a couple of minutes as the children put on their best contemplating faces filled with wisdom or something. Nakaru sure as hell couldn't tell but hell, they all looked cute while doing so.
"Ano...guys?" Nakaru called out hesitantly as they were staying frightening still for a while now.
The children immediately turn around to face the male. Said male took a step back with the feeling of foreboding crawling down his spine. Their eyes were all glimmering with regret and determination as they continue to stare at him. Mizuri stared at her maybe father figure with sad eyes as she steel herself to do something she would normally be against of. Nakaru just gulped as cold sweat started pouring down his back as he saw how cold the kid's eyes became, almost as if they were hardening themselves do something that would plague them with guilt later but must be done as it was absolutely necessary for their survival.
Somehow, in those few minutes the children managed to converse among themselves with their recently acquired telepathy and they all come to the same conclusion on what must be done.
"Gomennasai, Tou-Nakaru-nii." Muzuri spoke up as she stare at him with eyes filled with shame and regret. Then, before Nakaru could react, she quickly leaped and latched her body onto his leg like a Koala, holding on with a death grip like her life depended on it.
Nakaru almost lost his balance at the unexpected child tackle but was able to regain his balance in time due to sheer dumb luck. But it didn't do him any good at all as the rest of the kids took that as the signal to move.
They all ran towards him like a horde of hungry Kabane, their eyes glimmering with primal hunger in them as they each latched on to every limbs the older male have, trying to drag him down to the ground or to keep him in place. Bush-kun gleefully leaped and wrap his hand around Nakaru's neck before the rest of his body collided with his chest. Nakaru let out an 'oof' as the air in his lungs were knocked out of him but even so, he remained standing like an unyielding wall.
Nakaru could feel his muscles screaming at him as if they have been forced through a meat grinder. Trying to stay standing when you have multiple heavy children attached onto you like body armor could do that to your muscles. His eyes twitched and he gritted his teeth as he tried to balance himself with the new weights all over his body. He could feel himself being pulled down by the kids but he stubbornly forced his body to stay standing. His muscles ached as they strain themselves to the very limit to obey his command.
"No fair Yuki-chan. You can't just turn them against me so easily like that." He grunted out in pain and annoyance at how little effort it took for the woman to get the kids to betray him. Then he let out a surprised chocking sound as Bush-kun started swinging around like a monkey, using his weight to pull Nakaru down.
"But you were resisting." she commented offhandedly with a roll of her eyes. "And you totally set yourself up for it too." she added, her face remaining completely indifferent to the scene in front of her. Despite not having any changes in her expression, Nakaru could tell that she's looking all too please with herself as she said that. It's showing in her eyes! He could see the telltale of amusement dancing behind them!
Eventually, after a few seconds of struggling to stay upright, Nakaru's stamina was reaching it's limit and he knew that falling is inevitable for him. But before he buckled from the weight pulling him down, he shot his entire body back so that he would collapse backwards instead of forwards in an attempt to land on his back. That way the kids clinging onto his body wouldn't be squashed by him.
His back met the cold metal floor with a soft thunk that came along with a couple of children's squealing in surprise or fright. Nakaru kept his teeth clenched tightly so that he doesn't bite his tongue and forced back a cry of pain that was threatening to escape his throat as the pain erupted from his back like a bag of fireworks had being set off there.
"The pain...it hurts…." Nakaru's voice was weak and strained as he lay on the ground with flailed limbs, each with a child attached that didn't seem to be willing to get go of him anytime soon.
Without him noticing, Yukina had already made her way in his view as he was staring into the ceiling. She slowly crouched down next to his head with both hands placed gingerly on her knees.
Two set of green eyes stare into each other. One stared flatly while the other was half hidden by the owner's eyelids.
Yukina crooked an eyebrow. "Do you yield?" she asked in an oh so smug tone that only Nakaru is able to detect.
"I'll never surrender!" Nakaru declared, somehow managing to pull of a look of utter defiant without even looking like he's being serious as his eyes bore into Yukina's.
Yukina just nodded with a look of understanding. "I see. If that's the case then I suppose that it's time check if you're still as ticklish as before." she pondered innocently as she took out a feather from one of the many pockets that her engineer uniform provided and twirl it around in her fingers right in front of Nakaru's face for him to see.
Nakaru just stared at the object with a calm and tranquil gaze, his face giving no indication that he's even remotely frightened by Yukina's offhanded threat. He just stared and stared, the gears in his mind churning ever so quickly as he tries to process the chances that he would have in surviving if Yukina ever carried out her threat.
Then, he just turn to look at the woman. "I'll gladly go to work." he told her in a tone filled with defeat, his furious resistance from earlier gone without a trace as if it was never there to begin with. The children all let out cheers in delight as the finally let go of his aching limbs that had their blood circulation nearly blocked because of how tight the kids were latching on.
And so, in the span of a few seconds, Yukina managed to make Nakaru's resolve to be lazy crumble like wet tissue paper and Mumei still have no idea what's going on in front of her but she was amused with the spectacle so it didn't matter to her much.
Nakaru finally stood back up while being flanked by kids at both side while Yukina stood right behind to prevent him from running away. Mizuri was holding on to his hand tightly so that he wouldn't have a chance to run forward instead. She even used her puppy dog eyes for extra measure just to keep him from resisting his fate. Nakaru look to his sides before cranking his neck to check behind him only to be greeted with a smirking Yukina. He rolled his eyes at her before looking forward again. "So now she smirks." he muttered under his breath in annoyance.
Nakaru let out a long winded sigh that managed to convey how troublesome he thinks the entire situation was to him before slouching in defeat. To Mumei, it almost look like he's a prisoner who had given up all hope of ever escaping as he's being escorted to his cell.
Before they head out Nakaru suddenly perked up in realisation. "Oh yeah! You kids better stay with your parents tonight." he informed the confused looking children with caution laced heavily in his tone. "You too Pink kimono-chan. I don't know who you're with but I think it's best if you stay with an adult just in case." he turn his head around to tell Mumei.
Of course, said girl was confused like the rest of the kids at the sudden warning that came from the male. She also didn't miss the sudden narrowing of Yukina's eyes as the smirk that she had turned into a thin line.
The slight tugging on Nakaru's sleeve cause him to look down only to see Bush-kun pulling on it with a confused expression plastered onto his face. "Why?" he asked curiously while simultaneously voicing everyone's question that was on their mind.
Nakaru crossed his arms and tilt his head as he put on a thoughtful look. "Well….I have a bad feeling about tonight." was all he said somberly before he started walking away towards the exit, dragging Muzuri with him as she's still holding onto his hand with a puzzled expression married her face. The kids that was left behind just stood where they were, feeling every bit confuse as the other next to them as they look at each other for any inkling of what Nakaru was talking about. Then, Bush-kun realised that their prisoner had just escaped from their circle and is making a mad dash towards the exit while carrying Mizuri over his shoulder. To his surprise, Nakaru managed to slide through the small exit and continue on without being slowed down.
"He's getting away! Get him!" Bush-kun yelled in panic, his voice loud enough to cause an echo throughout the compartment and prompting the other children to snap out of their confusion before they all started running after the man with a childish battle cry.
However, their chase got interrupted when they got stuck after they all tried to go out through the exit at the same time. Now the only way out is blocked and their prisoner is getting further away and with a hostage to boot. Who knows what kind of vile words and sweet promises he would whisper into her ear just to turn Mizuri against them. He could be giving her those mouth watering sweets that he so rarely make and usually only give out in special occasions just to secure an alliance with Mizuri to ensure his successful escape. If so then they must have those sweets! It's a matter of life and death for them!
Bush-kun deemed it necessary to ram himself into the blockade so that the path would be cleared and they could pursue their target. He quickly move a few steps back from where he was standing and place both his hands on the ground to get into a running start position.
He shot forward like an arrow with a yell.
Instead of pushing the kids out of the exit however, the entire wall collapse when Bush-kun ram into the others. The kids were freed from the blockade and fell onto the floor but the boxes fell with multiple clunks echoing the compartment. Fortunately no one was hurt during the entire scuffle and they quickly stood up once there isn't any danger of being hit by the falling boxes.
With the path now cleared, the children charged forth with renewed vigor and the same form of primal hunger shining dangerously in their eyes when they attacked Nakaru. They move down the path, mowing down anything that stood in their way without mercy (not really) and disappeared into the distance in hopes of catching the disheveled looking male before he got into one of his many hiding places that he had concealed all over the Koutetsujou. From what they knew of him so far, Nakaru could hide right next to you and you wouldn't even notice unless he wants you to. He's like a ninja when he wants to be.
So far only Yukina-nee could find him whenever he got into one of his hiding spots. So whenever the kids or adults wanted to find him because they needed him for something, they had to look for Yukina first because she's the one that's most likely to be able to find the guy. It's like she had a six sense specially tailored just for hunting him down.
Yukina followed slowly behind them and Mumei managed to catch a glimpses of worry that made it's way onto her face as she strode out of the box fort, clearly in deep thought.
-0-
Mumei was left alone in the compartment, sitting quietly in place with her knees pulled up to her chest with her head resting on it as she continue to watch at the general direction that everyone had gone with an unreadable expression on her face.
She couldn't help but think that it suddenly felt so empty in here even though it was so lively no mere moments ago.
She continued to stay there. Just watching the empty corridor without any focus as the Koutetsujou continue to emit rattles in a rhythmic manner. Eventually, she stood up and dust herself off before walking the same path the rest took.
She moved through compartments after compartments. Strolling pass crowds of people that loiter around as they mind their own business without paying any attention to her and she did the same.
The Koutetsujou would most likely arrive at Hayatani Station at night but her destination is the Station after that one so she still had ways to go before she reaches it. She'd probably reached there tomorrow afternoon so until then she'd just have to wait patiently and find something to do until then.
So far, joining the group of children in the storage compartment had been very entertaining if not a bit headache inducing during the beginning. What caught her interest the most was Nakaru. He was a total enigma to her. She had even sneak around just to observe him for the whole day just to get a grasp of his character. And after days of watching and studying she had to be frank and truthfully admit that she had no idea what to think of him in the end.
From what she could tell, he acts like a fool but is actually smarter then he lets on. He's often seen being lazy but from the signs that was left around him, she could tell that he'd been working hard on something when no one was looking and would pretend that he wasn't when someone came by. She wouldn't be surprised if he worked late into the night too. He was seen to be very apathetic and listless when dealing with other people or his superiors save for the strawberry haired woman that came by. But when he's with children, it's like his personality did a one eighty turn and he's suddenly all energetic...or at least as energetic as he could be with how lazy he always looked.
It was surprised to her that he actually took his time to be a teacher of all things. When she first met him a few days ago she was actually expecting some sort of trouble when she followed him. To her surprise however, when they arrived at the storage compartment there was already a bunch of kids waiting for him.
He introduced her to them (with a nickname of course, because he never got her name right) and told her to sit where ever she wants. She did what she was told because she was confuse at the gathering of children and curious about what's going to happen.
It started off simply at first. Nakaru told the rest of the kids to revise what they had already learned while he focused on her just to catch her up with what the rest already knew. The knowledge that she had acquired during those lessons were interesting and somewhat useful. He had taught them all how to read and write, did some crazy experiments with them which usually ended up with something exploding and everyone getting covered in soot or mind-bogging them with new and exciting facts that seemed unlikely to be true until he proves it for them.
Though most of what she had learned from him was not really necessary for someone like her. She didn't need to know how snow was formed or why the sun sets to kill the Kabane after all.
Today, things were different. She was expecting to sit though more of Nakaru's strange lessons today but one thing led to another and it turned into story time. Then he surprised her again by bringing out a wooden stage out of nowhere and a box full of puppets from somewhere.
Mumei pivot herself on her heels to the side so that she didn't crash into a person that was coming her way. Once the person passed she continue to walk down the corridor with a light skip in her steps as her mind wandered off.
For some reason she kept thinking about what Nakaru had said earlier and there's nothing she could do to satiate her curiosity. She could find him or rather, find Yukina so that she could find him for her, in order to ask more but she didn't want to risk being dragged into another study session. He'd probably tell her to recite the multiplication table from memory again. Who on earth made math so hard in the first place? Isn't math suppose to be only adding and subtracting? Why were there letters being added? Why do you need letters in math? Isn't it suppose to be only numbers? Just thinking about what she was forced though yesterday give her the shivers. Because of the memory, numbers and equations started flying around her vision, telling her to solve them like the ghosts of the dead haunting a person.
Nakaru can be very strict when he wants to be.
In the effort to stop her mind from overheating at the sudden resurface of mathematical equations that crashed into her mind like an overbearing tidal wave, she quickly move her hand to her side. There was a small brown pouch hanging on her obi by a rope.
She took it on her palm and gingerly pry it open with her index finger and thumb so that the contents doesn't fall out. Inside the pouch are small colourful spheres, so tiny that you could fit dozens in your hand before it started to fall off because of the lack of space. It's called sweets or candy, whichever you prefer to call it and Nakaru was the one who made it. She didn't know what it was or how it was made but it tasted sweet and it's chewy too.
It was also the thing that he used to bribe her into coming with him in the first place.
She happily took one from the pouch between her fingers and toss it into her mouth. She begin chewing on it and had to suppress a squeal of delight. 'Hmm, taste like apples.' She concluded. The fun part about eating those sweets was figuring out which colour means which flavors.
A smile formed on her lips as she place the pouch back on her hips but a sudden stray thought knocked that smile off with ease and a frown took it's place.
She had a mission to accomplish…. is it really alright for her to indulge herself in these silly little things? Would it make her weak if she said that she actually enjoyed spending time with the rest of the kids?
"Mumei, where have you been?" a males voice called out to her, startling her and knocking her out of her thoughts. She failed to realized that she had already reached the Stables and turn to meet the one calling her.
In front of her was a tanned man, completely draped in white with a cowl on his head. He held a staff that had a cord connected to it that goes to his back where a portable boiler was kept hidden under his shawl. The staff could be used as some sort of repellant for the Kabane as it could shoot high pressure steams from the end to push them away. He is Shimon and he's, in a way, her handler. He also looks very unhappy that she had ran off again.
"The storage compartment." She answered him truthfully in a nonchalant manner.
A hand slowly made it's way towards Shimon's face as he rubs his temples with a sigh. "Again? Mumei, while I can't stop you from doing whatever you want but please do remember who you are and what you're suppose to do. Distractions could be deadly in our line of work after all and it will reflect badly on our reputation if something were to go wrong. While I still have my suspicion on Nakaru and is somewhat skeptical about him, the only reason why I allow you to be with him was because he doesn't prove to be a threat so far."
"I know that." Mumei look away with a pout. "But we're not doing anything important besides sitting around now are we?" Shimon just sighed again before turning around to walk back to where he was sitting before.
A sudden thought struck Mumei just as Shimon was moving away. Since he's an adult so he should know the answer to what Nakaru had said that had been plaguing her right?
"Ne ne, Shimon." Mumei called out in a tone filled with childish curiosity.
"What it is?" He asked in a patient tone as he turn back to face her.
"What does jailbait mean?"
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Chapter end
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