As you guys can see from previous chapters, I'm not good with overly descriptive details and mostly straight forward writing.
I've ran into a problem where I don't know how to properly transition scenes and wanna ask, is how I'm doing alright or do I gotta change it up?
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"Get me the master key to the koutetsujou."
"But… Miss Ayame has it."
That's right. Kaelis hadn't taken it from her after it was given back by Akouji after the whole situation was resolved.
As he saw no need for him to take it because she wouldn't use it without his input on the matter.
"Have you lost all your powers? Is she stronger than you?"
She gasped as she understood the implications of his words.
"No, she's not, but… what about Kaelis? I… won't be able to bypass him." mumei stammered out.
"Don't worry. I'll have someone handle him. Just do as I say, Mumei."
She looked as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself. After a short pause, she simply nodded. "…Okay."
"Excellent. Then there's no problem," Biba said with a faint smile before turning away.
His footsteps faded into the distance, leaving Mumei standing there, conflicted and uneasy about what she had just agreed to.
…
Inside the koutetsujou, a certain compartment was filled with barred kabanes.
"L-Lord Biba! What sort of place is this? Just what do you intend to do with us?"
Two men were chained to metal frames, their eyes wide with fear.
Biba, who had been staring intently at a glowing blue membrane, finally turned his gaze toward them.
"I'm sure you remember what you've done… and why you tried to have me killed. I have just one question…"
He thrusted a sword inches away from the man's face.
"…Ten years ago. Who made the call? Who abandoned us among the kabane and left us for dead?"
He went on with interrogating both men and after a while fed them to the kabane.
"Nghh…"
Inside the koutetsujou, while Kaelis and the others were simply waiting for Biba's move, Ikoma kneeled, groaning.
"Ikoma!?"
"Oi, Ikoma! What's going on!?"
"You good kid?"
Through the pain in his chest, Ikoma managed to voice out.
"The kabanes… they're here!" He pointed. "Up there!"
They all looked to where he pointed.
"You mean…in the locomotive area?" Ayame's head tilted.
From their position inside the train, the spot he indicated was the car directly in front of them.
The pain eased just enough for Ikoma to stand again.
"No… huff… they're way up front! In the kokujou!"
"That guy Biba must be up to something sketchy," Kaelis interjected.
"For someone so skilled and capable to just let kabane into his train… that's unlikely."
"!!!"
Everyone immediately became alert.
"I'll go check it out," Kaelis said, before heading for the top.
Everyone else made their way towards the other cars I behind, hoping to guard against Biba's actions.
Only Ayame remained in the command car.
"I'll just finish up these papers," she muttered, turning back to record the supplies.
A few moments later, the door opened with a soft knock, and someone stepped in.
"Hm? Mumei? Do you need something? I haven't seen you in a few hours."
"Mhmm," Mumei confirmed. After a brief pause, she said firmly, "Give me the master key to the koutetsujou."
Ayame froze, caught off guard by the sudden demand.
"The master key—the one you keep around your neck," Mumei repeated, her voice sharper this time.
"But… why? Why do you need the master key?" Ayame asked cautiously.
"So… you won't give it to me?" Mumei's tone carried a hint of aggression now.
"Whose idea w—nevermind," Ayame muttered, already figuring out who was behind this scheme.
"Just give it to me!" Mumei snapped, suddenly pulling out a kunai.
Ayame gasped at the sight of Mumei drawing a weapon.
"You know Kaelis won't like this," Ayame warned. "He already went to meet your brother."
Mumei hesitated for just a moment, her aggression flaring as she stepped forward. "Just give me the key, quickly!"
But before she could act, a calm voice interrupted, "Here it is, I've got it."
Both girls turned toward the doorway and saw the redhead, Yukina.
Yukina walked up and handed Mumei the master key.
"I had to finish some work with the couplers, so I borrowed it," she explained. She then turned to Ayame. "Is that okay?"
"Eh? Huh?" Ayame's mind scrambled. When did she get a key? I have the key, right!
The sudden chain of events rattled her brain.
But she quickly caught on. "Umm… that's fine," she said, quickly recovering.
With the "key" now in hand and her objective nearly complete, Mumei dashed out without a single glance back.
She knew Kaelis was likely with her brother at this very moment, and she was fully aware of the enormous strength gap between them.
The odds of her brother surviving a scuffle with Kaelis were slim at best.
"Quick thinking there, Yukina. But what was the key you gave her? It's not an important one, right?" she asked, although glad danger was averted, she was concerned.
As soon as Mumei was out of hearing range, Ayame turned to Yukina and offered a quiet compliment.
It turned out that Yukina had overheard the entire exchange while coming down from the locomotives and had seen how quickly the situation was spiraling out of control.
With sharp thinking, she had come up with the idea of using another key to trick Mumei—who had never actually seen the master key before—effectively averting a potentially dangerous confrontation.
By playing the part of being clueless, Yukina reinforced the illusion that she had no idea what was going on.
This gave Mumei the genuine impression that Yukina really had the key and was willingly handing it over to her.
Though the plan could have backfired if Mumei had been familiar with the master key and kept a cool head, her worry for her brother pushed her past caution.
"It's just the keys to the boiler room so it's no problem. But… what was that all about?" Yukina asked, curiosity mixing with concern.
Ayame considered the situation before speaking.
"Mumei was probably sent by her brother to take the key from me. I don't know why, but Sir Kaelis suspected he was up to something."
"And it seems he was right," Yukina added, finishing her thought.
"Yes…"
—
"Yo!"
"What is it that you need, Kaelis?"
He stood behind Biba, hands on his hips, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
It didn't take long after leaving Ayame and the others for him to reach Biba's quarters.
"Nothing much. Just a question—or two. Maybe more, depending on your answer," Kaelis replied casually.
"Ask away. If it's within my abilities to satisfy your curiosity, it's my pleasure," Biba said with a confident nod.
Kaelis nodded, noting Biba's cooperative demeanor.
"First question—how come my subordinate, Ikoma, sensed the presence of kabane coming from your hayajiro?" he asked, his tone calm.
Chapter 31 end.