I decided to do something a bit different for this chapter and that is I decided to put the main focus on the railyard. Seeing as without it the girls wouldn't get their supplies, they wouldn't be able to sortie and they would be stuck on their own on the island.
A few things to note, is that the ranking system for the locomotive's is completely made up. The DMU's that are mentioned exist in real life however Nihonmatsu railyard does not, I pretty much chose a place that was close to Niigata and also that was almost midway between the west and east coast of Japan and went from there.
With that out of that way, enjoy the story everyone.
Time: 16:00
Date: 7th september
Location: Train yard
Ever since my first sortie 2 weeks ago things have been pretty hectic, what with running around as my workload had been increased, the amount of individual and group sorties I had been sent on, as result of this I had started to become like Sendai as a result coming from the amount of work I had to do.
As for the cores that I had found on my sortie, Mom did exactly what she said she was going to do and sent someone over to pick them up. It was a really nice surprise to see Max was the one picking the cores up, as it gave me and auntie a chance to catch up with her. But she couldn't stay long and pretty soon she was back on her way to the mainland.
Luckily for me the past couple of days the amount of work that I had to do has lessened somewhat but I still was running around like a headless chicken. Another thing that had come about to to my work was that my stress levels had skyrocketed making me extremely cranky. So I decided to distance myself from the rest and find something that could hopefully alleviate my stress.
Oh boy did I find it, in an unlikely place I might add, and that place was at the train yard. The place was empty, barring the KiHa 25, due to the the rest of them being maintained on the mainland, at least if I remembered correctly.
Luckily I had found documentation that described what rolling stock what he had currently at the base and I was surprised at what we had stationed here. There was 1 ET122 DMU, 2 KiHa 75 DMU's, 1 KiHa 201 DMU, 1 KiHa E130 DMU and lastly, as I walked around and found the longest lane, a 6 car KiHa 283 DMU for which I assumed was used for when the base went on holiday as the base needed maintenance.
But I did take notice of the overhead lines running down the length of the lane and this got me curious and so I looked outside of the shed and saw that the line was indeed electrified to which I assumed all the way to the mainland. Thankfully the line was switched off when I went and checked the circuit breaker. I then went back and dived into the paperwork.
After reading the information my inner train nut went absolutely ballistic with excitement, so I immediately grabbed my laptop and found all of the manuals that I needed especially in order to learn how to drive and maintain the trains again, since the previous driver had unfortunately quit her job in order to look after her family. So Auntie was currently looking for another driver to hire but had no luck at the moment.
A few hours later and my research was finished with a mass of paper notes detailing everything that I relearned about the DMU's. Luckily through my research times had changed as I had found out that all of the trains used the same shibata style connector so they could connect to each other if needed.
Seeing as it was getting late and it was almost time for dinner I put everything away in an open draw and decided that tomorrow I would make this place, my relaxation zone.
After a quick bath in order to get rid of the grease and oil that had somehow gotten on me, I went to dinner and chatted with Inazuma and her sisters before heading to bed to sleep.
The next day
Time: 07:00
Today was going to be a good day for me seeing as it was my scheduled day off and I knew exactly how to spend it and so off to the rail yard I went and set to work on cleaning the place up a bit seeing how bad of a state it was in.
That really didn't concern me though as getting this place up and running was really important, the parts warehouse was a nightmare to fix and it took me the better part of four hours in order to categorize everything for the different trains. Seeing as it was now lunch time I took a break and got some food out of a mini fridge that I had found and stocked the previous day.
Once I had finished eating I decided to perform some maintenance on the KiHa 25 that was still sitting outside since the shopping trip 2 weeks ago, so I opened the shutter door and drove the train into its specific maintenance lane and powered it down. It was then that the checks began, It took a few hours full of changing parts and swearing as I hit myself with a hammer multiple times before I finished.
The training that I had previously undertaken had really paid off and I was eternally grateful to my uncle for teaching me the tools of the trade with regards to train maintenance at his rail yard on the opposite coast. Luckily the KiHa 25 was one of the ones that I had learned to maintain, in fact now that I think about it every train here, barring the 283, I have worked on and knew the full workings of them both inside and out.
It was then as I was taking a break from filling out a maintenance report when a knocking sound could be heard as a voice spoke up.
"Anyone in here?" the voice yelled
"In here Tenryuu" I yelled back getting up off my seat heading over to where she was to find out what she wanted. when I got over to her I was surprised at the large group that was there.
"Auntie, Ryuujou, Inazuma-san what are you all doing here?" I asked puzzled
"Izumi, what are you doing here and why are you dressed like that?" Aria replied to my question with a question
"The train yard is the place I've been going to relieve myself of stress" Auntie looked down as I said that "Don't worry auntie I'm okay, anyways to answer your second question as to why I look the way I do right now is due to the fact that I had just finished giving the KiHa here a once over and changing out some parts, basically I was performing maintenance"
Silence then descended in the room as the group took in the information before auntie spoke up.
"You can perform train maintenance!?" she yelled in surprise
"Ara, ara did Kaa-san not tell you auntie" I replied
"Tell me what?"
"That I'm an official and fully licensed class 4 maintenance engineer as well as a class 2 Train driver, even though I'm a Kanmusu now" I said grinning, this pretty much caused Ryuujou and Auntie to go wide-eyed in shock as their jaws hit the floor whilst the others had no idea what I was on about.
I managed to pull out a couple of seats at this point as I saw that the rest of Inazuma's sisters had come in wondering where she had gone. I then got everyone seated whilst I asked Tenryuu to help put my Auntie and Ryuujou on the chairs. It was then that the two of them snapped back to reality.
"Explain yourself Izumi, Now!" Auntie said in a serious tone
"Very well, back before I became a Kanmusu from the age of 11 to 17 both me and sis were living with uncle Yoshi due to mother having to stay at her then current base at all times during that period. So whilst sis did the normal things a girl her age would do, such as going out with friends. I became enthralled in the world of trains which gained the interest of uncle and as a result I was put to work learning all the tricks of the trade both from the maintenance side and driving side of things" I took a swig of my drink at this point due to my mouth being dry.
"It didn't take me long to get the hang of things and by the end of that year I had already performed and completed my first overhaul of a single car emu, which greatly impressed uncle so he encouraged me to take the class 1 engineers exam after christmas, which I passed with flying colours. Over the years after that I passed the class 2,3 and 4 engineer's exams as well as 5,4,3 and 2 Driver's exams which took place on the testing tracks outside the maintenance lanes." I once again then took a swig of my drink.
"Sadly those fun times came to end, as both me and sis had to move back nearby the main HQ with Kaa-san due to the fact that the Kanmusu program had started. So moved back we did and here I am a few months later as a kanmusu speaking to you wonderful ladies, Now is there any questions?" I said being finally able to take a break from speaking.
Once again silence had taken hold as everyone else present soaked up all of the information that I had told them. It was then that Tenryuu then decided to speak up
"What does the ranking system mean, I don't quite understand it"
"Good question, the ranking system determines what a person is allowed to work/drive with, why maintenance is in descending and driving is in ascending order I have no idea but here is what each rank entails, 1:5 is for Electric Multiple units, 2:4 is for Diesel Multiple units, 3:3 is for Hybrid units, think of a hybrid car on the rails, and lastly 4:2 is for locomotives designed for freight use and that is the level I'm currently on at the moment"
"Well what about the 5:1 rank then, what does that entail?" Ryuujou asked
"Ah, that is the highest rank on both sides and is designated for High speed trains, or HST's for short, like the 283 that is stationed here. Sadly however I can't go near it."
"And why is that" Ikazuchi asked
"I'm not qualified to work or drive an HST, so I would have to take the corresponding training and exams and if and when I pass then I will be able to work with the 283 properly and safely, does that satisfy your question Ikazuchi?" I replied getting a nod of understanding
"How long would it take you to become qualified?" Tenryuu asked once more
"Thanks to uncle I can take an express week long test, most of it for the maintenance part and 2 days of driver training due to my extensive background in the area" I replied
"So once that test is passed, you will be able to maintain and drive any train here on the base?"she asked once more
"Pretty much, yeah" I replied
"So that time you looked up the manual for the 25…" Inazuma said
"I was brushing up on my knowledge" I replied getting a smile from her in return.
Wow, I mean just wow. What Izumi had just told all of us, showed me just how much that I didn't know about my niece. But I was thankful that she did, as it came to me that Izumi was the answer to a major headache I was having.
It was then that I got up off my seat, walked over to Izumi and held her hands.
"You, Izumi are the answer to all our problems" I said starry eyed
"Uhhh…. auntie you're freaking me out"
"She's right, Izumi-san with your qualifications we can call off the search and basically give you the position" Ryuujou said
"EHHHHHH!" she yelled in surprise
"Please, Izumi I've been racking my brains out with Ryuujou to find a suitable driver and maintainer but found no one that can fill the position. But now you have told us about your background in the area you pretty much have both positions filled, so please my dear save us from this nightmare hunt"
After seeing my Auntie in this state only once before this and even Ryuujou had a pleading face, it didn't take me long to make a decision.
"Alright, alright I'll do it" I said with the two of them cheering "But on one condition"
"And what is that"
"Please stop with the cheering, my ears are starting to hurt" They immediately calmed down.
"Okay, now that we have you on board Izumi we'll go over the paperwork tomorrow but we have a very important job that is coming up soon that we need you to take care of" Auntie said
"And what is that"
"We need to you to go to Nihonmatsu railyard and pick up our DMU's that are stationed there, they have been fully maintained and looked after. It should take you roughly a week to bring them all home. You will have to make your own way to Nihonmatsu unfortunately, although accommodations have been acquired for you during your stay up there, Do I make myself clear" she finished saying
"Yes Ma'am" I replied saluting.
At this point I was salivating at the prospect of going to Nihonmatsu railyard, it was pretty much a train junkie's wet dream and I get to go there on official business, man I couldn't wait.
It was then, thanks to my roaring tummy, that it was noted that dinner time was approaching quite quickly so everyone decided to disperse and I immediately headed to the bathhouse to get clean again.
It was then off to the mess hall and I was feeling so good that I challenged Akagi to an eating contest and much to everyone's shock I utterly destroyed her by consuming 12 kg of food beating my previous record that I had set at main HQ.
Akagi was a bit upset about losing but I assured her that I wouldn't try it again it was just that I was in a really good mood at the time and that's why I did it. She understood and hugged me which felt really nice, her hugs really reminded me of Yoko and how much I missed her. After that it was time for bed.
The next day
Today was literally full of paperwork, man I hate paperwork, consisting of everything and anything that was related to both of the jobs as well as registering my qualifications to signify that I could work freely on the base. The whole thing took all day, so lunch was skipped and when we finally finished we had skipped dinner too. At this point we were starving and didn't feel like cooking so the three of us headed into town went all out at a really nice traditional sushi bar.
After we got back Ryuujou asked to stay in my room seeing as the Battleship dorm was closer than the Aircraft carrier dorm to the train station. I was happy to let her since I had a big bed and so the both us got changed, she had to borrow a pair of PJ's, and as soon as we hit the pillows we were out like a light.
4 days later: 13th September
Time: 07:00
Time was slow for the next couple of days and it was killing me, but thankfully the day I was to go to Nihonmatsu railyard had come. I decided to wear some normal clothes that I wasn't afraid to get dirty, there was no way in hell I was going in my proper outfit. I also made doubly sure one last time that I had everything packed properly as well as all of the appropriate paperwork and my ID in order to present to the main desk at the railyard.
I left Sado Island, at 09:00, via a track car that had come to pick me up taking me again to Hakusan station. Saying goodbye to the driver I headed inside, and since Kanmusu are exempt from paying fairs, I hopped on a train for a short journey to Niigata main station.
Once I arrived at Niigata I went over to platform 4 where I would start my journey to Nihonmatsu. 4Hrs 40mins and 3 trains later I arrived at Nihonmatsu station and the first thing I did was text my Auntie to let her know I had arrived safely. Seeing as I wasn't going to the railyard until tomorrow I decided to get a bite to eat and go check into the hotel that I was to stay at during my time here. The rest of the day was spent by me checking over everything once more before I hopped in the bath, ate some dinner and then went to bed.
Next day
I woke up bright and early and I hopped in the shower, I then had a nice filling breakfast before getting dressed and leaving the hotel. I called for a taxi and went over to the main entrance to the railyard.
As I entered I went wide eyed in shock, there were model trains everywhere, a functional scale model of the railyard to the right side of the lobby with a gift shop to the left. After I snapped out of it I went further into the building and found the main reception.
After introducing myself and stating my business to the lady sat at the desk, she went and contacted the various people, whilst this was happening I looked and and I saw something that made my jaw drop in shock. On the TV was a presentation on what was available on site and low and behold there was the 283 under the training section. This made me get really excited but I had to calm myself down as the lady, who was named Miya, had come back.
She had some bad news and that was that I couldn't see the manager of the place due to some emergency problem that had cropped up and it would take a few hours before I could see her. I was a bit upset at hearing this but Miya offered to show me a waiting room where I could relax for a bit. Looking away for a moment something caught my eye, there was a bunch of people congregating in the lobby and I realised a tour was about to start, I was not going to pass this chance up.
So I told Miya I was going on the tour, to which she gave me a complimentary ticket as a way of saying sorry for the delay, before coming back and heading into the waiting room later on.
The tour was amazing, getting to see everything this place had to offer luckily I had brought my camera as I wanted to go sightseeing during my time here in Nihonmatsu. I did get to see the simulator room, which once again got my excitement to spike. Once the tour had finished of course. I had to then buy some lunch at the cafeteria that was on site, before hitting the gift shop and buying a few things with my own personal funds. After everyone else had left I went back to Miya and she showed me the way to the waiting room were I decided to take a quick power nap.
Okay now that Miss Izumi was situated in the waiting room, I now had to go off and see if Chian had dealt with her problem yet. Luckily I knew exactly where to find her, so of I went to the maintenance sheds and lo and behold there she was barking order whilst waving a giant wrench around.
"Finished with your problem Chian?" I asked walking up to her
"Yeah, thankfully" she replied
"Well, if that's the case Miss Izumi is waiting for you in the waiting room"
"That's the one from Sado Island isn't it" she asked
"Yes"
"Well, shit. Today can't get any worse now can it" Chian said banging the wrench off a spare piece of rail
"Just tell her the truth and don't beat around the bush" I said trying to placate her
"Yeah you're right. Let's go then" Chian said putting the wrench back in it's place before leaving the area with me close behind.
A knock on the door awoke me from my slumber and immediately got me alert.
"Sorry for the wait Miss Izumi" Miya said
"It's alright" I said, Miya then opened the door and entered the room with a ponytail wearing bluenette wearing overalls following closely behind. The two then sat themselves down.
"Miss Izumi, this is our site manager/owner Chian Yamakawa" Miya pointed out
"Nice to meet ya kid" Chian said in an upbeat tone whilst extending her hand to which I readily accepted.
"Now let's get down to business, I'm sorry to say that there is a serious problem" Miya said causing me to become very worried
"Sorry to say this kid but you ain't taking your trains home anytime soon" Chian spoke
"And why is that" I nervously asked, Chian sighed before replying
"We had a powercut a few days ago and the emergency diesel generators kicked in, however the idiot in charge of them forgot to turn them off after the power came back on, leaving us with a very little amount of fuel left and our next fuel supply drop isn't until the middle of next week, on top of that the 283's engines completely packed up rending the train inoperable and not mainline worthy. Thankfully we found another train, a 285 emu, but that needs maintenance too "
Hearing this news shocked me silent, without the fuel it put a major spanner in the works for getting the trains home safely and on time and I hated to be late. Even more worrying was that a train couldn't be used anymore. I was grateful to Chian for finding another set that we can use plus I remembered that the electrics were already installed back at the base.
Whilst I was pondering on what to do Chian stepped out for a few minutes to take a call and get us some drinks. She came back in soon after it was then after racking my brains for a few minutes that an idea popped into my head.
"THAT'S IT!" I yelled startling the other two.
"What's it?" Chian asked
"I have an idea on how to make this work"
"And what would that idea be?" Miya asked
"Before I lay out my idea, can I ask you for a favour?"
"Speak" Chian said curious as to what I was proposing
Seeing this as a chance to train for the 285 instead of the 238, seeing as I needed it. I pulled out some documentation and my ID and handed it to Chian before I asked…
"If I pull this off, I would like to undergo training to advance my rank to 5:1 so that I could then be able to work and drive on the 285 that will now be used on the base"
Both Miya and Chian then left the room to discuss what I had asked of them and 30mins later they came back.
"So" I asked
"Is it true you were trained under instructor Bolter" Chian asked
"Yes, he was my uncle and I had trained for 6 years under him" I replied
"YOUR UNCLE!" they both yelled as I nodded in response
"Wow, I mean just wow, well this recommendation letter definitely came from him, seeing how hard I had to work get mine and how rarely he gave them out, I can only see that you are telling the absolute truth" Chian said
"T-thank you" I replied blushing.
"Now, if you really can pull this off I will gladly train you, but I will not go easy on you just because you are instructor bolter's niece"
"I expected no less" I replied shaking her hand
"Well let's hear it then"
"Okay, during the tour earlier we passed the entrance to the maintenance sheds I noticed a small battery shunter in its charging station and two DE10-3000 series locomotives sitting in one of the sidings and as we passed I could smell fresh fuel coming from the diesels, so I assumed that they had been recently refueled am I correct in saying that" I asked
Miya then picked up a tablet and then checked something before speaking….
"You're right they were refueled just before the power cut and have been awaiting use"
"Good, and I know from the research I did back at the base all of the DMU's and the DE10's here share a common trait and that is they all use the shibata connector is that correct?"
"Yeah you're right, even the 285 uses it" Chian spoke this time
"Well then here is what we do, we use the Battery shunter to move all of the DMU's onto a separate track and hook them all up together, whilst I prep the DE10's and once that's done I'll hook up to the front and then take the whole lot back to base, refuel the diesels and then come back and that is my plan" I said quickly taking a swig of my drink. It didn't take long for the two of them to burst into laughter.
"That Izumi, is the most fucking awesome idea that I've heard in a long time" Chain said wiping away a tear
"I agree, why didn't we think of this ourselves" Miya said calming down
"Well, let's get started then but seeing as it's starting to get late we'll line up all of the DMU's today and then you'll hook up the DE10's and take the whole lot home tomorrow, is that okay with you Izumi?" Chian asked
"Perfectly fine with me" I replied
"Good, let's get to it then"
We all then left the room and headed towards the maintenance sheds, where I got a surprise coming in the form of Miya getting changed and getting down and dirty herself.
Luckily there were two Battery shunters and between me and Chian doing the shunting and Miya taking care of the track switching, we finished the job in two hours just as the sun had set beyond the horizon.
After putting everything back where it belonged and the sheds being securely locked up before the night crews came a little later on. Chian invited me out for dinner along with Miya, to which I went back to the hotel, had a quick shower and got changed.
I then locked up before heading to a nearby restaurant to meet with them and had a really nice meal. We split up after that and I immediately headed to bed excited for what was to come the following day.
Next day
I awoke very early to a call from Chian, as I had given her my number last night, and quickly made my way over to the railyard and set to work on cold starting the DE10's whilst Chian and Miya gave the coupling on the DMU's a once over. I had gotten the two diesels started up quite quickly and moved them to the front of the the train coupling them up and making sure the connection was good.
An hour later Miya came over and gave me the all clear to use the mainline and so soon after I departed. Seeing as this was new experience for me I took it nice and slow at first before raising the speed. Because it was very early in the morning the line was relatively clear, of course I had to stop a few times to let the Shinkansen past and seeing that blue blur blazing past my window was an amazing experience.
As my journey continued I watched as the countryside pass me by and to be honest with you I would gladly drive trains any day of the week if I wasn't a kanmusu at the time. A little while later my journey came to a halt as I had to wait just outside of Echigo-Oshima station for a broken down train to be moved, it didn't take long before I was on the move again.
About 30mins later I reached Hakusan station, luckily Chian had phoned ahead and managed to get the station master to give me the use of the centre line in order to switch the DE10's from the front to the back but I had a time limit of 15 mins to do so and I cleared that easily heading off once more to Sado Island.
I texted ahead to ask Auntie and Ryuujou to meet me at the station and when I arrived they were shocked at what they had saw and the fact that it had been two days since I left. They immediately demanded an explanation, so whilst each DMU was being refueled and put away in the sheds, I explained over lunch what had happened as well as handing over the paperwork for Ryuujou to sort out.
I then refueled the DE10's and got ready to set off again, but not before Mamiya-san came over and gave me a large bag of sweets for me to share with Chian and the other as a thank you for their hard work.
"Okay Auntie, Ryuujou, Mamiya-san I'll see you all in a week and a half" I said waving out of the window
"See you soon Izumi" They all said waving back as I left the station once more.
The journey back was a bit different seeing as I had to take the longer route due to how busy the other line was becoming but I didn't really care and took the more scenic route taking pictures on my phone along the way. When I did finally made it back and put the diesels in their proper sidings a grinning Chian was waiting for me and she immediately dragged me off and started my training as she promised to do.
As she was dragging me I passed the massive bag of sweets to a giggling Miya and told her what to do with them and she nodded still trying not to laugh at my predicament.
Week and a half later: 25th september
Man I never would have guessed that Chian could be such as slave driver, you see my training was ramped up from the get go starting with my brain being stuffed with every bit of information of every nook and cranny that comprised the 285, boy did that make my head spin. This part took a three days and once the written portion of the exam had been completed I was dragged off this time by Miya and the physical portion of the exam began.
I had to perform the 285's maintenance by myself, bloody hell that was a nightmare to accomplish as the 1st day comprised of finding all of the problems, 2nd day was fixing the problems and on the third day was making sure that everything was working properly. After that I was sent out of the shed leaving Chian and the adjudicators to go over my work with a fine tooth comb.
Whilst I was doing the maintenance I surprised at the interior of the train, I mean anyone would if they had been on a train for the first time. The interior was really well laid out and quite well presented.
Anyway the next day was luckily for me a day of rest and relaxation, which I pretty much used up by staying in my hotel room lying down on my bed trying to alleviate all of the joint pains and muscle aches that I had accumulated.
Once I went in the day after it was straight back into the fire, as I was thrust into the training simulator and I was put through anything and everything they could throw at me in the simulation preparing me for real world conditions. The next day ended up pretty much the same way but at least there was some good news the fuel tankers had arrived early and the railyard now had a full supply of fuel again. However as a result Miya had come up with a devious idea for the final test the next day.
And oh boy I was surprised what that final test was going to be, you see there was a tour already starting when I arrived next day and as a special event for the day, there was going to be a few go arounds of the testing track in the recently maintained 285 they had on site. As they headed off to start the tour Miya smirked at me as she passed by with Chian laughing uncontrollably at my misfortune to which I grabbed a piece of bauxite from my bag and started nibbling on it.
I then went and got properly dressed before heading out to the sheds and starting the 285 up before driving it up to the testing track platform where Miya and guests were waiting for their ride. To say I was nervous was an understatement I mean this was this was my first time driving a HST and on top of that I had passengers on board.
Thankfully though as I started getting into the trip my nerves calmed down and I pretty much drove the 285 as I did in the simulator without any incidents occurring. I then dropped the passengers off then headed back to the sheds. Chian then came up to me and congratulated me on a job well done, she told me to go and get some dinner and come to her office afterwards.
And this is where I am right now sitting in the cafeteria eating some food, before long I had finished and had made my way towards Chian's office. Once I reached it I knocked on the door.
"Come in" I say and so she did
"Ah Izumi right on time, please take a seat" so she did and by the looks of it the couch was comfy to her
"Do you know why you are here?" I asked, she shook her head in response
"Well do you want to tell her Miya"
"Very well, Izumi due to your outstanding performance throughout all of your tests over the past week and a half, coupled with the great reviews from the passengers earlier today. Over careful consideration between me, Chian and the various adjudicators who presided over your exams." she started to get nervous
"We have decided to grant you a promotion to the final rank of 5:1, congratulations Izumi" At this she burst into to tears of happiness that she had finally done it, Izumi had gotten full qualifications for both maintenance and driving.
"Wipe those tears away Izumi, not many people have achieved what you have done today be proud of yourself kid" I said handing her some paper towel
"There much better, now come on we have a party to get to" I said dragging her off once again.
That night at the party, was a night to remember filled with lots of yummy food, great music and a lot of fun party games. It went long into the night and at about 1am she decided headed back to her hotel where I presumed she passed out on the bed, due to how tired she looked.
Next day
I woke up pretty late in the day at around 1pm as I really needed the rest. Seeing as this was the last day of me being here in Nihonmatsu I decided to do one last round of sightseeing and buying some souvenirs, before heading back and packing up making sure I had everything before leaving the hotel.
I arrived an hour later at the railyard and saw a spectacular sight all of the locomotives at the yard had been lined up in rows with 285 in the centre maintenance bay all ready to go. I walked up to Chian and Miya on the platform.
"Well this is it Izumi, it's time for you to go" Chian said giving me a hug
"Yeah it's a shame I have to go, but we will keep in touch with each other right"
"We sure will" Miya said giving me a hug.
After one last group picture I boarded the 285 and headed to the cockpit, setting up my camera as I wanted to record this moment. I then started to move out of the sheds.
"Everyone salute" Chian roared with a procession of an innumerable amount of horns and whistles going off at once, hearing this made me burst out crying as I let off a whistle blast of my own as I picked up speed and headed out of the railyard and onto the mainline.
"Fair winds and following seas Izumi" Miya said as I went out of sight.
I had finally stopped crying and started to focus on the main task at hand which was to get back home, the longer way mind you. So I decided to text my auntie ahead of time saying I was on the way back.
Meanwhile at sado island train station
It had been a few hours since I had received the text from Izumi and both me and Ryuujou were waiting at the station for her to come into view.
"Where is she" Aria said worriedly
"Calm down she'll be here…. wait a minute do you hear that" Ryuujou said as her ears picked up something
"Hear what?" It was then a High pitched whistle could be heard in the distance
"That doesn't sound like a DE10, nor the 238" We then got our answer as the train rounded the corner and to our surprise it was a brand new locomotive with Izumi at the helm.
She pulled into the station, powered down the train and jumped out and yelled
"Surprise!" but all she was met with was silence before I ran up and bear hugged her.
"Congratulations Izumi"
"Yeah congratulations" Ryuujou said hugging me from behind
"By the way Izumi where's the 238 and why is this loco here" I asked
"I will tell you in a bit" she replied smiling
After the hugging had finished, she took her stuff out of the train and put it away in in the sheds. Izumi then went and put her stuff in her room before meeting us in my office where she went on to explain everything that had happened during the remainder of her time at the railyard.
Once I finished explaining, Auntie decided to throw a huge party to celebrate my promotion. But the party didn't last as long as the one yesterday thankfully and pretty soon I was sleepy as all hell.
So after I said goodnight to everyone I went straight to my room and drifted off into a peaceful sleep, grateful that things would go back to normal but nothing would ever make me forget the fun times I had at Nihonmatsu railyard.