I opened a shop on the Astral Train-Chapter 54

Inside the train.

Kevin and Kevin were both seated in front of a short table, with the ever-energetic March 7th slurping down a bowl of noodles beside him.

March 7th leaned in, grinning. "Hey, Kevin, ever wonder why noodles always taste better when you steal a bite from someone else's bowl?"

Kevin raised an eyebrow. "You wouldn't dare do that..."

She smirked, eyes gleaming with mischief. "I think I would....!"

Before Kevin could react, March 7th expertly snatched a few strands of noodles with her chopsticks and stuffed them into her mouth. She made an exaggerated moan of satisfaction. "Mmm! Yup, definitely tastes better."

Kevin sighed dramatically, but the corners of his mouth twitched upward at March's action's. "You do realize we're eating the same noodles, right? From the same pot?"

March 7th waved a hand dismissively. "Doesn't matter. The forbidden bite always tastes the best. It's the thrill, Kevin. You should try it."

He rolled his eyes but, with a quick flick of his chopsticks, stole a bite from her bowl in retaliation.

March 7th gasped, clutching her chest as if wounded. "Betrayal! Kevin, I trusted you!"

Kevin chewed thoughtfully. "You're right. Tastes way better."

March 7th gawked at him before breaking into laughter, nearly dropping her chopsticks. "See? I Told you its better!"

Their laughter echoed in the train car, the warm, simple moment adding another memory to their travels.

Meanwhile...

Yuri found himself standing beside Himeko, looking out at the endless sea of stars. The quiet hum of the train mixed with the occasional clink of glass as she swirled a drink in her hand.

Yuri glanced at Himeko. "Something on your mind?"

The sourc𝗲 of this content is frёeωebɳovel.com.

Himeko exhaled, her gaze distant. "Ever feel like no matter how much we move forward, we're still... stuck? Like, the more we see, the more we realize how much we don't know?"

Yuri chuckled softly. "That's funny to hear from you."

Himeko leaned against the railing, as she took a sip from her glasss "Tell me Yuri. What keeps you going? You always seem so sure of yourself at all points."

Yuri smiled before speaking. "I wouldn't say I'm always sure. But I believe in moments. Moments of connection, moments of joy, moments where we laugh over stolen noodles. They remind me why we keep moving forward. It's not about knowing everything—it's about experiencing something."

Himeko was quiet for a moment, letting her words sink in. "That's... a pretty good answer."

Yuri smirked. "Of course it is! I'm a genius!."

Himeko laughed before speaking once more. "I also find the stolen noodles comment to be quite interesting...I wonder if that's going on as we speak..."

"You just reminded me! Let me go say hello to them."

As Yuri walked away, Himeko stayed behind, watching the stars drift by, feeling just a little lighter than before.

"Moments..."

Meanwhile, Yuri had been going down the train, when the sound of raucous laughter caught his attention. He sighed. That could only mean one thing: March 7th was up to something. Again.

He arrived at the dining car to find March 7th and Kevin in the middle of what could only be described as a full-scale noodle warfare. March 7th had a pair of chopsticks clutched like daggers, while Kevin was shielding himself with a bowl lid, ducking as a rogue noodle strand flew past him.

"So...what happened here?" Yuri asked with a confused expression on his face.

March 7th pointed dramatically at Kevin. "He dishonored the sacred noodle code!"

Kevin, still holding up his makeshift shield, deadpanned. "She started it."

Yuri pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do I even want to know what the 'sacred noodle code' is?"

March 7th nodded gravely. "It's an unspoken rule that the first bite stolen must not be avenged, lest it escalate into all-out war."

Kevin gestured at the flying noodles. "Guess what happened."

Yuri sighed, rubbing his temples. "You two are actual children."

March 7th gasped. "Take that back!"

Kevin smirked. "We prefer 'youthfully spirited.'"

Just as Yuri was about to deliver a stern lecture, a particularly slippery noodle strand went airborne and smacked him right on the forehead. Silence fell over the room.

Kevin and March 7th froze. Yuri reached up, slowly peeled the noodle off his face, and took a deep breath.

"Now usually....Ah whatever...You guys should run now."

March 7th shrieked and bolted first, laughing as she dashed out of the dining car. Kevin followed, grinning despite himself as Yuri stormed after them.

"Come back here and clean this mess up!" Yuri bellowed, chasing them down the halls.

"You're gonna have to catch me first!" March yelled out while laughing.

"I guess that means you're also gonna have to catch me Yuri?! Sorry about all this!" Kevin yelled out only a little behind from where March was at.

"When I catch you guys...It's so over..." Yuri yelled.

The chase continued through the train, dodging startled crew members, vaulting over couches, and even sliding under tables in their desperate bid for escape. March 7th, ever the instigator, managed to throw one last taunt over her shoulder. "You'll have to catch us first!"

Kevin groaned. "Why are we still running?!"

March 7th grinned. "Because it's fun!"

Yuri, determined, yelled back. "Because if I catch you, you're both on dish duty for a month!"

Kevin paled. "Okay, yeah, keep running!"

Himeko, sipping her drink as she watched the chaos unfold from the lounge, smirked. "Some things never change."

Seele, passing by with a raised eyebrow, nudged Himeko. "Are we going to do something about this?"

Himeko shrugged. "Nah. This is entertaining."

"Well...If they come by over here..."

Seele pulled out her Scythe.

"A price...will be paid..."

Himeko merely laughed.

"I am truly surrounded by insane individual's she muttered to herself as she took another sip from her glass.

Seele continued to mutter about a price being paid for a Scythe and rambling about something related to "blood for the blood god"