Chapter Text
“Seele, stop throwing those legos!”
“But they’re lego bombs! They're supposed to be thrown!”
“That doesn’t mean you’re allowed to throw them at other kids, Seele.”
Himeko watched the girl grumble to herself, probably about how mean and unfair she was being, before crossing her arms and plopping herself onto the floor, angry scowl on her face.
Himeko sighed, rubbing her very, very, tired eyes as she tried to think of a way to appease the girl.
“What if I help you set up a target range, hmm? That way you can still throw your ‘bombs’ without hurting anyone.” Seele looked up at her, face scrunched in thought. “I’m sure if you stop throwing things at other kids, Bronya would love to play with you.”
“Mmm, okay.” Seele mumbled. “But only if Bronya plays with me…”
“I’m sure she will.” Himeko said, with a small smile, before walking off to the other car to go fetch the other girl.
The Astral Express Daycare was, obviously, a daycare but what made it special was the fact it was set up in a once long abandoned train station, even having a decommissioned train on its rails. The station itself acted as an office and drop off, while the train and its several passenger cars acted as the actual daycare, the inside of the train decorated so that it looked like the train was flying through space, custom futuristic looking furniture and the windows painted to display stars and galaxies.
The daycare was a fairly popular spot for children to be taken care of when their parents had other things to do, with several high profile individuals using their service, and even a local orphanage dropping their kids off when the head of the orphanage, Natasha’s medical services were required elsewhere.
Himeko, quite frankly, loved the place having helped Welt, the owner of the establishment and a family friend, refurbish the old train station into what it was now when she was a teenager. What could she say, the retro station, the space theme, being able to help those who needed help, could anything be better?
Today, yes things could absolutely be better. Due to her staying up so late waiting for Kafka to get back she not only woke up exhausted but also didn’t have time to grab her usual cup of coffee. Needless to say she was more than a little out of it, but she was trying her darndest to be on her best behavior, the last thing she wanted to do was take out her exhaustion on the kids.
After she had brought Bronya over to Seele and helped the two set up their throwing range, Himeko took a seat on one of the plush couches to keep an eye on the pair.
As she stifled a yawn though, she felt a small tug on her sleeve.
“Miss Himeko?” Himeko looked down to see March 7th looking worryingly up at her, “Are you okay.”
“Of course I am, March.” Himeko assured. “Just a bit tired, nothing to worry about.”
March 7th was one of Welt’s foster kids, the poor girl having been found in a blizzard with no memory, and even stranger absolutely no record of her existence anywhere they looked. She had picked the name herself after waking up, and after a bit of time in Natasha’s orphanage was taken in by Welt.
The old man (really he wasn’t that old, but with his graying hair Himeko thought it was appropriate) also had another foster child around March’s age, Dan Heng. He was a vidyadhara child who recently went through a rebirth. What was strange with him was that the vidyadhara community usually took in the newly reborn, but Dan Heng was handed off to Natasha instead. Add that with the odd looks the boy got from Jing Yuan, a parent who had recently started using their services for his own boy, and Himeko could guess his past life wasn’t well liked.
It didn’t matter, her and Welt treated him like he was their own and did their best to instill in him that he was his own person. Whatever his past life could have possibly done Dan Heng wasn’t responsible, and that sure as hell wouldn’t make them care any less.
“Are you sure?” March pushed.
“I’m sure, March. If I ever felt bad I promise, you’d be the first to know.” Himeko swore, “Now how about you go play with Pom Pom for a bit, hmm? I’m sure our conductor is getting a bit lonely all by himself.”
All worry seemed to disappear from the girl’s face, being replaced with a beaming smile. “Okay!”
Himeko watched March run off (she’d be sure to give Pom Pom extra treats later. March was a sweet girl but she could be overwhelming at times), and stifled another yawn. She rubbed at her eyes, gods she needed sleep. Or caffeine. Preferably the second right now, if she was being honest.
“She is right, you know. You really do look like you could use a break.”
Himeko looked up to find Welt smiling sympathetically at her, before taking a seat next to her.
“And I really am fine. I just stayed up a bit too late studying.” Himeko said, shaking her head. Not technically a lie, and she’s been told those are the best types. “Besides, Gepard is on his break right now and I don’t feel comfortable without having at least one person to watch each car.”
“Well Gepard should be getting back anytime soon… But I won’t push, I know better than to fight you on something like this.” Welt acquiesced, earning a small laugh from Himeko.
“So, is there a reason you came to talk to me, or did you just want to see my exhausted face?” Himeko teased.
“Just wanted to tell you it seems we’ll be having someone new joining us soon.”
“Really?”
Welt simply nodded, “A girl and her mother came to vet the Express before deciding if they’ll be using our services or not. I let Herta give them a tour and thought I’d give you a warning.”
Himeko couldn’t help the small chuckle that came from imagining Herta giving a tour. Herta was one of the professors at her college and was admittedly more than a little full of herself. The only reason one of Herta’s puppets was even stationed at the Express was because Herta thought she should pay Himeko back after helping her with many of her experiments. And her form of help was usually just having her puppet stand in the corner not doing anything till an argument broke out or the children started playing with something sharp, which was admittedly better than nothing.
“So anything I should be worried about or…”
“Well, I thought it’d interest you to know the mother said they were recommended to the Astral Express Daycare… by you in particular.”
Himeko’s brain froze at that, trying to think of who it could possibly be. She doesn’t exactly go around advertising her involvement with the Express, after all most people she knows wouldn’t be interested in it anyway. But that’s when a memory from last night popped into her head, a memory of her telling--
“Miss Himeko!”
Himeko looked up at the familiar voice to see Stelle trotting up to her, Kafka sauntering behind her without a care in the world.
Stelle stopped a few steps in front of her, the girl's voice returning to its usual softness to greet her with a “Hi, Miss Himeko” and a small wave.
“Hi sweetheart.” Himeko said, trying to hide her surprise. “Are you doing well?”
Stelle gave a small nod, eyes lighting up ever so slightly as she said, “Mama got me blueberry pancakes with extra syrup for breakfast.”
Himeko gave a small smile and nod, before her gaze was pulled back to Kafka. The woman in question was instead staring amused at her daughter. The pair seemed to have a silent conversation in front of her and Welt after that, Stelle looking around the cabin, before turning her gaze up to her mother with a head tilt. Kafka stared back for a moment before crossing her arms and nodding, leaving the Stelle to explore the train car by herself.
Kafka watched her daughter wander off for a moment, before she finally returned Himeko’s gaze.
“Fancy meeting you here Red.” She said lazily, “You look like hell by the way.”
“Very funny Kafka…” Himeko huffed, before returning her face to a more neutral expression. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, I don’t have any jobs today and figured I might as well check the Express out.” She shrugged, “Nice place you got here, love the aesthetic.”
“Glad you like it,” Himeko said, the whisper of a laugh in her breath “Like I said, I’m sure Stelle can make some friends here, and you wouldn’t have to worry about her being… locked out again.”
Kafka hummed to herself. Himeko felt her face heat up slightly as she watched the other woman give her a once over, her smirk growing slightly.
“You on break soon?”
“I-” Himeko shook her head, “Why are you asking?”
“Well I saw this cafe across the street, and given you look two minutes away from passing out I figured you could use the pick me up. Besides, I still owe you for watching Stelle.”
“I already told you what I want in return for last night.” Himeko tried to argue, “Besides I’m perfectly fi-”
“Sure you are…” Kafka chuckled, “Besides that favor is for keeping your mouth shut. This is completely different.”
Himeko was frozen, trying to think up a response, till Welt interjected.
“Go on Himeko, it won’t hurt to take a break just a little bit early. I'll watch the kids in this car while you’re gone, most parents don’t show up around this time anyway. Besides, like Miss Kafka said, it looks like you could really use the coffee right about now.”
Himeko sighed. It’s not that she didn’t trust Welt with the kids, Welt was in fact fantastic with children. The problem being that 1. The man was a child at heart and while that meant he naturally got along great with kids it also meant he could at times be pulled so far into one group's little world that he’s too distracted to keep a proper eye on everyone, and 2. He was meant to be manning the front desk today for parents coming to drop off or pick up their children…
Still…
“Alright…” Himeko finally relented, “Coffee does sound great right now, Kafka.”
Kafka’s smirk grew once again, this time her eyes seemingly shining through what Himeko was sure were contacts, staring straight into Himeko’s own eyes.
“Well, let’s get going then darling.”