"I know that every time you unleash your Kabaneri limitations to fight, you go to a secluded place to rest alone. Every time you deal with all the Kabaneri by yourself, it's because you want to shoulder everything. Besides mastering the Kabaneri's power, you don't trust anyone else. Whether it's those who ignore you, Ikoma who also became a Kabaneri, or me who doesn't treat you as a friend, you haven't trusted anyone."
"Is this because you're afraid of losing something again?"
"Mmm..."
Tsukiyo clenched her teeth. Whether in the past or now, she always acted alone whenever she encountered Kabaneri.
Every time after eliminating the Kabaneri, she would always run to a deserted place to rest alone, just like a small Animal licking its wounds.
Tsukiyo didn't retort because of the phrase "afraid of losing." She recalled how her former classmates were ruthlessly abandoned because they were deemed worthless.
Ever since her mother died, Tsukiyo had been terrified of losing again; she was afraid of being abandoned once more.
Tsukiyo didn't really know what she was protecting. She was just using the power of a Kabaneri to play an indispensable role in the team.
As long as she displayed her strength, she wouldn't be abandoned, and she could use the Kabaneri's power to protect everything she currently had.
However, simply equating killing Kabaneri with her reason for existence was truly a pathetic life.
"Trust me, you need to rest properly. After you talked to that old man yesterday, you didn't come to me for blood. You're very tired now; don't fight anymore."
In the deep pit below the boiler room, a huge dark shadow was slowly moving upwards. This mass of shadow was formed by countless Kabaneri gathered together.
These Kabaneri were climbing up the walls towards the boiler room. Tsukiyo's fighting had attracted all the Kabaneri from below.
Just as Inaba Tsukiyo was giving Tsukiyo a pep talk, Ikoma and the other steam mechanics arrived at the boiler room.
They had already activated the device, preparing to lift the observation deck that was blocking the track.
Before the observation deck could be lifted, the Kabaneri from below had already climbed up.
Inaba Tsukiyo didn't have time to help Tsukiyo with her ribbon. She rushed out with her dual guns, buying time for Ikoma in the control room.
Tsukiyo's mind was in turmoil. She had to do something to distract herself; she didn't want to think about those things.
"This idiot!"
Helpless, Inaba Tsukiyo could only follow Tsukiyo to deal with these Kabaneri.
Tsukiyo had been fighting for longer than she could. Her stamina was no longer sufficient for agile movements.
If it were just ordinary Kabaneri, it would be fine, but among these Kabaneri, there were also Weapon Skills Kabaneri mixed in.
Due to her lack of stamina, Tsukiyo didn't even notice a Weapon Skills Kabaneri skilled in combat approaching. She was grabbed by the leg by the Weapon Skills Kabaneri and thrown into the pit.
Fortunately, Tsukiyo wasn't thrown directly into the pit; it was a slope. Although she suffered some minor injuries, her life wasn't in danger.
"As expected... a troublemaker. All of you, get out of my way!"
With one move, Inaba Tsukiyo dealt with all the surrounding Kabaneri. The Weapon Skills Kabaneri that attacked Tsukiyo showed no intention of attacking Inaba Tsukiyo or Ikoma in the control room; it jumped directly towards Tsukiyo's location.
'Finishing blow? Does it think Tsukiyo is too strong and needs more Kabaneri to deal with her?'
Aren't all martial artists supposed to be muscular, head-on types? The first part is correct, but what about the second part?
Could it be that after becoming a Kabaneri, their originally negative intelligence was boosted due to the double negative effect?
Without time to think, Inaba Tsukiyo jumped down, running rapidly down the slope. She arrived just as the Weapon Skills Kabaneri was about to attack Tsukiyo.
She directly pierced the Weapon Skills Kabaneri's heart from behind with a single sword, then kicked the Weapon Skills Kabaneri, which had returned to a normal state, away before coming to Tsukiyo's side.
Tsukiyo was lying on the ground, not moving at all, as if she were asleep. No matter how Inaba Tsukiyo shook her, she didn't wake up.
After checking for any Kabaneri markings, Inaba Tsukiyo prepared to carry Tsukiyo back to the boiler room.
Many Kabaneri had already gathered here; staying any longer would only complicate things.
Just then, the boiler room suddenly emitted a huge noise, and at the same time, large amounts of high-temperature gas sprayed out from the building's cracks.
The commotion caused by the boiler also began to disintegrate the surrounding structures. The iron bridge connecting the tracks and the operation bridge collapsed, and the boiler room exploded violently.
The huge tremor from the explosion caused a large number of shattered rocks to roll down.
Inaba Tsukiyo, who was about to carry Tsukiyo up, faced the massive number of shattered rocks. She changed her mind, turned, and ran towards a nearby opening.
However, this opening collapsed due to the explosion, and the steel bars and huge rocks from above fell towards Inaba Tsukiyo.
Before her brain could even process it, Inaba Tsukiyo reflexively threw Tsukiyo from her arms, while she herself was submerged by huge rocks and building debris.
After a while, the unconscious Tsukiyo finally woke up. Although her mind wasn't very clear yet, she stood up and looked around.
A large-scale collapse had completely trapped them here. Tsukiyo found that besides some minor scratches, she was otherwise fine.
She remembered that she was trying to prevent Kabaneri from entering the control room, but because she used her power for too long, her movements weren't as agile as usual.
The moment she exposed a weakness, she was attacked by a Weapon Skills Kabaneri and eventually lost consciousness.
Wait a minute, if things really developed as she thought, then her situation should be very dangerous.
Kabaneri can also be attacked by Kabaneri. Unconscious, she had no ability to resist. With so many Kabaneri around, logically, she should have died.
"Could it be... that Tsukiyo saved me? But, where is she now?"
If Inaba Tsukiyo brought her here, then where was she now? What exactly happened?
Tsukiyo anxiously looked around and finally found traces of Inaba Tsukiyo not far away in the rubble.
However, Inaba Tsukiyo's situation was not good. She was pinned under a pile of rubble, her lower body completely crushed, and she was unconscious.
"Tsukiyo!!!"
Tsukiyo rushed to Inaba Tsukiyo, checking her condition. When she found that Inaba Tsukiyo was still breathing, her tense heart calmed down.
Because of the support from the two pipes, Inaba Tsukiyo wasn't directly crushed, but she was severely wedged by the rocks.
Her back was already stained with blood, indicating she had suffered considerable injuries.
"Why... why is this happening? Is it all because of me?"
She knew Inaba Tsukiyo's strength very well. In such a collapse, Inaba Tsukiyo's speed would easily allow her to dodge.
It must have been that she was holding the unconscious Tsukiyo, and when the collapse happened, she pushed Tsukiyo out, so she didn't have time to leave and ended up being crushed underneath.
But... why? Why would she go to such lengths for her? They had only just met, and no one would say anything even if she abandoned her.
Survival of the fittest—this had always been Mumei's belief. But Inaba Tsukiyo was by no means weak; she was very strong, much stronger than Mumei.
And what was the result? To save Mumei, she let herself be pinned underneath. She wasn't a Kabaneri; Mumei could recover even if injured, but what about Inaba Tsukiyo?
"Why? Why are all the people who care about me like this? Is it because of me? Because I bring disaster? Both Mother and Tsukiyo—they only ended up like this because they tried to save me."
Back when she became a Kabaneri, the other people at the station thought she was a Kabaneri, but her mother adamantly refused to believe it.
In the end, to protect her, her mother was shot dead by a steam gun.
She had finally found someone who cared about her, someone she could trust. Why did it turn out like this? Why? Why on earth?
"Get up, Tsukiyo. Don't leave. Don't leave me like Mother did. I won't push myself anymore. Don't leave me alone, okay?"
Tears flowed uncontrollably, like a child afraid of being abandoned. Mumei grabbed Inaba Tsukiyo's only exposed hand and pleaded.
More than being abandoned, she feared the death of those she cared about. She didn't want anyone she cared about to die, especially not in front of her.
"Don't just assume someone's dead, you… you…"
Suddenly, Mumei heard a weak voice.
With teary eyes, Mumei looked at Inaba Tsukiyo and found that she had somehow woken up, looking at her somewhat weakly.
"You said not to push yourself, but aren't you in a dangerous situation right now? You haven't had any blood since yesterday. You fought for so long just now; it must have been very taxing, right?"
As she spoke, she raised her bleeding hand to Mumei, saying softly,
"It's a bit dirty, but I still need to rest for a bit. You can use this blood to sustain yourself for now."
"You… you… are you an idiot? You're in such a dangerous situation yourself, why are you still thinking about me? Clearly… clearly I'm the one who caused you to be like this? Why are you still helping me in the end? I'm a Kabaneri; even if I'm pinned, I have healing abilities. You're human! With such serious injuries, what are you going to do!?"
"Heh heh~ Human? Indeed, in your eyes, I am human. But now is not the time to talk about these things. You're already starting to feel overwhelmed, aren't you?"
Red lines had already appeared on Mumei's body, a sign of impending Kabaneri transformation. If she didn't drink blood soon, it would truly be too late.
Having no choice, Mumei could only carefully grab Inaba Tsukiyo's hand and suck the blood from it.
Soon, Mumei stopped sucking. She didn't know Inaba Tsukiyo's condition. How much blood had she lost? Was her life in danger?
She had to find a way to move the stones pressing on Inaba Tsukiyo. Mumei had seen many people crushed by boulders. Although they survived, their bodies developed problems due to being compressed for too long.
"Hey~ Tsukiyo, can you tell me why you do so much for me?"
"A reason? I want to save you. Does that count?"
"Indeed, you are an idiot, Tsukiyo."
"A lovable idiot."
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