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prose_alchemistTitle: Cleanup
Author:jordannamorgan
Archive Rights: Please request the author’s consent.
Rating/Warnings: Very mild PG for mentions of blood.
Characters: Ikoma, Kajika, Takumi.
Setting: General.
Summary: Killing Kabane is not the only job Ikoma is best suited for.
Disclaimer: They belong to Kabaneri Committee and other relevant parties. I’m just playing with them.
Notes: Written for the prompt word “Deck” atfan_flashworks.
“Kabane on the tracks ahead,” Yukina’s tinny voice rang out through the speaking tubes down the length of the Kotetsujo. “Brace for impact!”
The warning sent the train’s passengers scrambling to seize the nearest handrail or bunk frame. As Ikoma abandoned the game of shogi he and Takumi had been engrossed in, he saw Kajika gathering her orphan wards into a huddle against the rail they clung to. She tried to wrap herself around them in case their hands slipped; but she was a small girl, and those growing kids were a handful. Quickly he crossed the car to join them, linking hands with her to brace the children securely between the rail and the two young adults’ outstretched arms.
He just had time to see the grateful smile Kajika flashed at him before the impact came.
It was a rough one this time. The shogi board and its pieces went flying as the entire massive train lurched violently. For several seconds after that first and strongest blow, multiple less severe shudders continued to ripple through the steel beneath their feet… and by counting those unsettling bumps, Ikoma could tell roughly how many Kabane the Kotetsujo had struck.
Eight… maybe nine. Probably a good-sized horde to hit that many on the tracks at once.
When the jolts had ceased, Ikoma released Kajika’s hand, and they both drew back from the impressively unfazed children. “Everybody okay?” he asked just to be sure, and was rewarded with a small chorus of affirmations.
“Good.” With a last reassuring nod at the children, Ikoma turned to look for Takumi—who at that moment was already collecting the scattered shogi pieces with a very disgruntled look on his face. He had been winning, after all. “We can start another game later, buddy. Right now I’m going to see how much cleanup the prow deck needs after all that.”
“ ’Kay,” Takumi muttered absently, distracted by his efforts to fish the tiny wooden tiles from underneath a bunk.
Kajika, on the other hand, gave the Kabaneri a bemused look. “You mean you’re gonna clean up the—you know—by yourself?”
“Sure.” Ikoma grinned at her and shrugged. “I used to do it all the time at the Aragane depot. It’s no big deal.”
“Yeah, but…” Her frown deepened. “You’re the one who fights the Kabane. It doesn’t seem right that you should also be doing the job of cleaning up—” A swift glance at the children who were now gamely trying to squeeze under the bunk and help Takumi retrieve the shogi pieces. “…Their mess. Especially when you’re not even the one who made it.”
Ikoma’s grin turned into something warmer. He leaned close to her, and spoke a little more confidentially.
“There’s a more important reason. Kabane blood can’t infect me anymore—so if I can clean it up and keep anyone else from being exposed, then it’s best for everyone. Right?” His smile widened. “Besides, the weather is pretty today. I want to make sure the deck is clean and safe for you and those kids to get out and enjoy it.”
With that understanding, Kajika’s expression positively melted.
“Oh, Ikoma,” she sighed and smiled, her voice quivering with sympathetic respect and gratitude for her friend. “You never stop looking out for us, do you?”
The blush that crept into Ikoma’s pale cheeks lingered on his face all the way up to the prow deck.
© 2024 Jordanna Morgan
Author:
jordannamorganArchive Rights: Please request the author’s consent.
Rating/Warnings: Very mild PG for mentions of blood.
Characters: Ikoma, Kajika, Takumi.
Setting: General.
Summary: Killing Kabane is not the only job Ikoma is best suited for.
Disclaimer: They belong to Kabaneri Committee and other relevant parties. I’m just playing with them.
Notes: Written for the prompt word “Deck” at
fan_flashworks.“Kabane on the tracks ahead,” Yukina’s tinny voice rang out through the speaking tubes down the length of the Kotetsujo. “Brace for impact!”
The warning sent the train’s passengers scrambling to seize the nearest handrail or bunk frame. As Ikoma abandoned the game of shogi he and Takumi had been engrossed in, he saw Kajika gathering her orphan wards into a huddle against the rail they clung to. She tried to wrap herself around them in case their hands slipped; but she was a small girl, and those growing kids were a handful. Quickly he crossed the car to join them, linking hands with her to brace the children securely between the rail and the two young adults’ outstretched arms.
He just had time to see the grateful smile Kajika flashed at him before the impact came.
It was a rough one this time. The shogi board and its pieces went flying as the entire massive train lurched violently. For several seconds after that first and strongest blow, multiple less severe shudders continued to ripple through the steel beneath their feet… and by counting those unsettling bumps, Ikoma could tell roughly how many Kabane the Kotetsujo had struck.
Eight… maybe nine. Probably a good-sized horde to hit that many on the tracks at once.
When the jolts had ceased, Ikoma released Kajika’s hand, and they both drew back from the impressively unfazed children. “Everybody okay?” he asked just to be sure, and was rewarded with a small chorus of affirmations.
“Good.” With a last reassuring nod at the children, Ikoma turned to look for Takumi—who at that moment was already collecting the scattered shogi pieces with a very disgruntled look on his face. He had been winning, after all. “We can start another game later, buddy. Right now I’m going to see how much cleanup the prow deck needs after all that.”
“ ’Kay,” Takumi muttered absently, distracted by his efforts to fish the tiny wooden tiles from underneath a bunk.
Kajika, on the other hand, gave the Kabaneri a bemused look. “You mean you’re gonna clean up the—you know—by yourself?”
“Sure.” Ikoma grinned at her and shrugged. “I used to do it all the time at the Aragane depot. It’s no big deal.”
“Yeah, but…” Her frown deepened. “You’re the one who fights the Kabane. It doesn’t seem right that you should also be doing the job of cleaning up—” A swift glance at the children who were now gamely trying to squeeze under the bunk and help Takumi retrieve the shogi pieces. “…Their mess. Especially when you’re not even the one who made it.”
Ikoma’s grin turned into something warmer. He leaned close to her, and spoke a little more confidentially.
“There’s a more important reason. Kabane blood can’t infect me anymore—so if I can clean it up and keep anyone else from being exposed, then it’s best for everyone. Right?” His smile widened. “Besides, the weather is pretty today. I want to make sure the deck is clean and safe for you and those kids to get out and enjoy it.”
With that understanding, Kajika’s expression positively melted.
“Oh, Ikoma,” she sighed and smiled, her voice quivering with sympathetic respect and gratitude for her friend. “You never stop looking out for us, do you?”
The blush that crept into Ikoma’s pale cheeks lingered on his face all the way up to the prow deck.
© 2024 Jordanna Morgan