Shiro was busy at the Kappa Valley works, he was shunting some coaches into a siding. When Cobol came up to him.
"Hello Shiro" Cobol greeted.
"Hello Cobol, what brings you this way?" asked Shiro.
"Just some general maintenance."
"Your engine's been acting up again. Hasn't it?"
"You guessed right, Shiro. Say, what are you doing with those coaches."
"These are going to be scrapped."
Cobol looked shocked, "Scrapped? What for? Those coaches still look pretty useful."
Shiro laughed uneasily, "Yes. Ever since that accident at the Hakurei Station, the Scarlet Controller's been meaning to take these wooden ones out of service."
The accident between Cobol and Kenta at the Hakurei Shrine station had only happened a year ago, but still had an impact on the engines. To this day the engines are still feeling the effects of what had happened. It always felt like it happened yesterday.
"But what are these coaches being replaced by?" asked Cobol.
"One made from steel. Nitori says they're more sturdy and don't cave inward like wooden coaches do." replied Shiro.
"Yeah, I know." said Cobol, sadly.
A kappa walked up to Cobol. "The works are ready for you now, Cobol." she said.
"I best be going Shiro."
"Goodbye, Cobol!"
"Goodbye, Shiro!"
That night at the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu Hakurei was fast asleep, until she heard the sound of a railway locomotive coming from the station. She slowly brought herself to sit upward in her futon.
"Shrine trains? This late at night?" she said to herself.
She got out of bed and walked out of the shrine and out towards the station. A thin mist covered the ground. When she got to the platform, she saw a lone composite brake coach, standing by on the platform.
"I thought Remilia said she was getting rid of these." she wondered.
She was about to knock on the door, when she saw that her hand phased through the coach door, like if it wasn't really there. Reimu walked over to the back of the coach and she saw the ghostly figure of a kappa, acting as the guard of what seemed to Reimu was a nonexistent train. She stared at the coach, until something in her head told her that something bad was going to happen.
She jumped as she heard the screeching brakes of an oncoming train. Reimu ran to the back of the platform and braced the wall of the station building as the screeching became louder and louder. With a loud crash! The coach crumpled down to half its length.
"Where's the engine?" thought Reimu.
She walked slowly and carefully to the edge of the platform and jumped down onto the track. She looked down the crushed half of the coach. She saw a kappa, gasping for air, tears running down her cheeks. Reimu saw that her abdomen had been crushed by wood and that a rod of steel from the frames had pierced her chest. The kappa soon stopped breathing and her eyes dilated, before her restrained body went limp. Reimu found that her hands had covered her mouth in shock. The kappa's blood soaked clothes caught Reimu's attention, and those eyes. The kappa's eyes, were wide open, almost staring into Reimu's soul.
Reimu walked backwards until she tripped on a tie and landed, butt first onto the ballast. Then, without any warning, the kappa dematerialized, followed by the rest of the coach, fading into nothingness.
The following morning, Cobol pulled into the Hakurei Station with passengers and donations to the shrine. He saw Reimu sweeping the platform with a look of dread on her face.
"Hello, Rei-" Cobol couldn't finish, as Reimu screamed and burst into tears.
"Reimu? I also said-"
"I didn't do it! I didn't do it!" she screeched in between bursts of tears.
"Reimu? What happened?"
"The kappa! I saw her! I saw her dead body, right in front of me! I did nothing and she...she...she...", Reimu's crying made her voice unintelligible.
Reimu got up and tried to recompose herself, but was too spooked to do so.
When Cobol got to the big station, he saw Shiro and Hiroto, discussing Marisa and Alice's new kid.
"Did you hear about Reimu?" asked Cobol.
"I did see her." said Hiroto, "She seemed very...strange today."
"What happened?" asked Shiro.
"She wouldn't say. She started crying when I said 'hello' to her. She kept on saying 'I didn't do it!' and 'The kappa! I saw her!', I honestly don't know what she's going on about. Do you?"
"If I knew anything, I think she saw a ghost!" said Hiroto.
"Hiroto! Ghosts are everywhere! Have you been around the Sanzu before?" said Shiro.
"I've been there once, it was terrible." replied Hiroto.
"I can attest to that." commented Cobol.
"I'll see if I can investigate." said Shiro.
It was getting dark, when Shiro was in the yards. The yardmaster walked up to him, "Take this load to the Hakurei Shrine, someone who brew sake loaded a few tankers for a donation."
"I wonder how she's going to unload it." replied Shiro, thoughtfully.
Shiro was coupled to the tankers and soon made his way towards the Hakurei Shrine station. It was dark when he neared the station, a foggy mist soon rolled in front of him. Shiro thought it was odd, but didn't thing much of it.
Reimu was waiting at the platform, she didn't see Shiro, but rather looked at something that Shiro soon noticed.
"Oh, I missed a coach." he said to himself.
"Let's fetch it for our return journey home." his driver replied.
Shiro left the tankers in a siding and went to get the coach. He backed down and left enough distance for his driver to couple up the coach. But when his driver tried to grab the coupling chain, her hand went right through it.
"Oh no." her driver said.
She ran back into the cab and told the firewoman what conclusion she came to.
But before they could do anything, Shiro and his crew heard the loud screeching of an engine trying to stop at full speed. It louder until they heard the coach get smashed and the coach even hit Shiro's buffers, giving him a slight push.
Reimu continued to stare deeply at the now ruined coach. Shiro gave one glance at the back of him, "It's a ghost!" he cried.
Shiro moved himself so he could see the back of the coach. He nearly coughed up boiler sludge. When he got back to the sheds, he told the other engines and soon the story spread. The story of the dead kappa's ghost soon reached the Scarlet Controller.
Cobol saw her, thinking of what to do on the platform.
"Excuse me, Remilia? Could I be of some help?" he asked.
"Is it about the ghost Reimu sees every night?" replied the Scarlet Controller.
"Yes, I think I have a plan." Cobol told her of her plan.
Soon, the following night, Cobol brought down a train of wooden coaches to the platform, bringing with him, Yukari Yakumo, and her friend, Yuyuko Saigayouji.
"So when does this 'ghost' come?" Yukari asked Reimu.
Reimu, mumbled something and pointed at the end of platform. Yukari swore she heard Reimu saying very softly, "Right about now."
A misty fog rolled in from nowhere and like clockwork, a composite brake coach appeared.
"Quick!" shouted Cobol.
Yuyuko jumped down between the real and the corporal coaches and she, being a ghost herself, was able to grasp the chain and couple up the coaches.
She jumped back onto the platform, and yelled back to Cobol that she coupled the train. Cobol quickly tooted his horn, and almost like magic. The ghostly figure of the kappa stepped out of the coach. She starred at the shrine maiden and two youkai, and then back at the train. She grabbed her flag and whistle. She then waved her flag and blew her whistle, and went back inside of the coach. Cobol's engine had been left running and he quickly pulled away the coach.
Just before the sound of brakes screeching was heard as just as the coach left the platform, the coach suddenly faded out of existence. The spirit of the kappa, was finally, at rest.
Reimu fainted and promptly fell unconscious on the platform. Yukari and Yuyuko picked her up and brought her into safety of her shrine. Cobol was already on the loop and was taking the coaches back to the siding where they would be finally cut up.
The next day, Cobol waited at the station platform, he was tired from last night's experience and hadn't got much in the way of sleep. Hiroto came back from the Hakurei Shrine.
"How's Reimu?" yawned Cobol.
"Reimu seems to be much better now that ghost had went away." said Hiroto.
"That's good." replied Cobol.
Cobol, then fell soundly to sleep.