Title: Fellowship
Author: jordannamorgan
Fandom: Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress
Characters: Ayame, Kurusu, glimpses of various characters.
Setting: General.
Rating: G.
Length: 1,393 words.
Summary: Aboard the Kotetsujo, Ayame’s people were building something special.
Notes: Also submitted for the prompts of “Partnership” at genprompt_bingo and “Home” at smallfandomflsh.



Ayame might never have said it in so many words, but her favorite part of the day was her morning inspection walk down the length of the Kotetsujo.

This daily routine was established quickly after the fall of Aragane Station, once the passengers were finally able to settle into life on a train. It was something her father would never have done. Back home, Lord Kensho had preferred to govern at a distance from the people, basing his decisions on the reports of nobles and elders who dealt more directly with the citizens; but now he and many of those trusted advisors were gone, along with hundreds of other men, women, and children. Among the survivors, there were few families that had not lost at least one person. With such grief and trauma so recently behind them, Ayame’s gentle heart had yearned for a more personal view of the people’s recovery and morale.

Kurusu protested at first, albeit rather halfheartedly. Even so, at her insistence he dutifully escorted her through the train cars, his eyes watchful and his hand resting with deceptive leisure upon the hilt of his katana. He behaved as if Ayame was a young fawn walking innocently through a forest of wolves. Although the fall of Aragane was no one’s fault—its root cause was simply a freak accident, not any mistake in procedure or judgment—the warrior seemed to feel that some grieving and frightened people would need no reason to lash out at the surviving leadership. If one mere soul was embittered enough to blame Lord Kensho for not foreseeing the unforeseeable, and transfer that blame from the unreachable dead man to his daughter, her inspections made her an easy target in the close quarters of the train. The flash of a blade could end her life before even Kurusu had the chance to react.

…And that was aside from her leniency towards the Kabaneri that caused some true unrest and distrust among the passengers.

Still, although not without further tragedy, the survivors of Aragane had weathered those terrible early days of their journey. The Kabaneri proved themselves as invaluable defenders, more than worthy of the offerings of blood they required to survive in turn. Ayame gained the respect of the people, and even more importantly, that of the remaining Chiefs who were used to Kensho’s iron hand. The once sharply divided social classes who now found themselves thrust into tight confines together were learning to coexist…

If not something much more extraordinary than that.



“Good morning, Miss Ayame!” called out Lady Yuka. The widow of Lord Kensho’s personal physician who had been killed by the Kabane, the gray-haired noblewoman had learned much from her late husband over the years. At the moment she was occupied by her efforts to examine a farmer’s squirming young son. “You’ll be glad to know Akio’s cough is sounding much better. I don’t think there’s any need to worry about contagion. All the same, I’d welcome a chance to gather some medicine soon.”

Ayame smiled, reaching out to ruffle Akio’s unruly hair. “I’m sure we can arrange that in the next few days. I’ll ask the Kabaneri to be alert for any safe areas where we might find what you need—but even if they don’t sense Kabane nearby, it’s dangerous to leave the train for long outside of a station. Are you really sure you want to keep taking that risk?”

“No one can identify medicinal plants from descriptions better than I can spot them with my own two eyes,” Yuka retorted wryly. Her expression softened as she turned her gaze to Akio, resting a hand on his shoulder. “Besides, I’ve lived a good long time. What matters most now is making sure young ones like him can grow up healthy… Now, you go along back to your lessons, Akio.”

With a dismayed sigh, the boy trudged off toward the rear of the train car, where Kajika was giving a writing lesson to her orphan wards and a handful of other children. Ayame followed, receiving happy greetings from the steamsmith girl and her little students as she passed.



In the next car, a very different lesson was taking place: Kibito was instructing Ikoma in hand-to-hand combat. Meanwhile, Mumei looked on from the sidelines with her mouth quirked in a frown, as if somewhat skeptical of the bushi’s fighting style that was more studied and methodical than her own.

“Good morning,” Ayame said cheerfully to the train’s Kabaneri guardians, following up the greeting with the same careful question she asked them each day. “How are you both feeling this morning?”

“I’m good—ah!” Ikoma grunted, swiftly ducking beneath the unexpected strike Kibito aimed at him while he was distracted. Seizing Kibito’s arm, he pivoted sharply on his heel—and the much bigger man was plainly surprised to find himself thrown across the entire cleared space at the end of the train car.

Kurusu stepped forward, reaching out to help Kibito up. “It serves you right for using dishonorable tactics,” he chided his best friend, but there was the faintest suggestion of a rare teasing smirk on his lips.

“Aren’t you the one who likes smacking people in the face during training?” Mumei retorted.

Ikoma rolled his eyes. “Not nearly as much as you do…”

“I’m sure being prepared for the unexpected is important,” Ayame observed with a chuckle. “By the way—Ikoma, Mumei? Lady Yuka is hoping to gather medicine soon. I’d appreciate your help in finding a safe area to leave the train.”

“Will do,” Ikoma agreed with a nod. “I’ll check with her and find out what kinds of plants she wants. Once we know that, Mumei and I can watch for the right habitat that’s clear of Kabane.”

“Thank you both,” Ayame replied sincerely, and left the Kabaneri to their exercise with Kibito.



Farther down the train, she came to the steamsmiths’ workshop. There she found Takumi and Sukari in the process of coating a katana with Kabane heart cage metal, while its bushi owner Hatori observed intently.

“It’s good to see that we’re continuing to upgrade our weapons,” Ayame noted with approval.

Takumi grinned. “Yeah, thanks to Ikoma. He’s making sure we get the chance to harvest the heart cages—even though Mumei complained about the extra work of fighting more Kabane.”

Kurusu studied the newly coated blade as Sukari brought it up hissing from a bucket of cold water, fiery red-gold veins now gleaming along its black length. “It’s a worthy weapon for you, Hatori.”

“I’m honored to have it.” Hatori ducked his head. “I don’t think I could ever put it to such effective use as yours, but I promise I’ll do my best to make the most of it.”



In the last car of the train, townswomen were busy cooking the passengers’ food for the day, filling the air with enticing aromas. As Ayame had come to expect, she was eagerly greeted, and samples of the day’s rations were quickly pressed upon her. It was almost an escape when she and Kurusu retreated to the outer deck, taking a moment to refresh themselves in the sunshine and open air.

“It’s remarkable,” Ayame mused, chewing thoughtfully on one of the sweet dried berries a woman had given her. “The Kotetsujo is so different from what we knew in Aragane.”

“Living aboard a train could never be easy,” Kurusu responded dryly.

“That’s not what I meant. Although Father educated me well, and even let me train in archery, he really did keep me sheltered in many ways. I never got to see the townspeople and steamsmiths going about their daily lives like this. Watching firsthand what they do for us all is very eye-opening.” The girl smiled at her loyal bodyguard. “And I think it’s not just us gaining new perspectives. Everyone aboard has come together in ways I couldn’t have imagined—ways that never could have happened at Aragane, or any other station. As much as I regret the losses we’ve all endured, the bonds we share now could never have been formed otherwise. Aragane was our home, and always will be, but… the Kotetsujo has begun to feel like a home, too.”

Kurusu said nothing, but from the fleeting glimmer of softness in his eyes, Ayame knew that the feeling was something even he understood.

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2023 Jordanna Morgan