SO, before I begin, I just want to say that I have watched the anime, but I'm only in volume 4 of the manga. I really needed to get this out of my head and onto the internet... for some reason before I lost my mind. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
Asagiri Gen traveled swiftly across the dense forest of what was once known as Japan, his feet carrying him quickly but quietly as not to alert any of the predators lurking in the foliage of his presence as a potential meal. It didn't seem all that long ago that Tsukasa Shishio had awaked him from his stone slumber, and now he had been sent on a mission to search out a man named Senku whom Tsukasa had murdered in his attempt to thwart the arrival of scientific advancement in this world once again claimed by nature.
You see, Tsukasa's vision was a simple one. He thought that the world would be a better place if those filled with greedy desires were left to crumble in their stone prisons. This Senku person had been killed for this very reason. Ironic, seeing as he had awakened Gen who considered himself very greedy in that he only ever looked out for himself. Well mostly himself. There was one person who he held above even himself. And this is where Tsukasa had made a grave mistake in sending Gen on this mission.
The words had flowed so sweetly from Tsukasa's lips.
"If Senku is still alive, it is possible that he is accompanied by a young woman named Akihana."
Gen's breath had hitched in his throat, but he had kept his composure. He was a magician and mentalist after all. Misdirection and misconception were his weapons of choice.
Akihana.
He refused to let hope bubble up in him at the velvet name caressing his ears. It could very well be that this Akihana was an entirely different person and that his bright flower still slept coldly in stone. He sought out Taiju and Yuzuriha first, being careful that no one of importance saw him as he was well aware of the circumstances that brought the two into Tsukasa's empire in the first place.
"Akihana? What about her?" was Taiju's question when asked about the girl.
"Oh, I was just curious," Gen had remarked with an air of nonchalance. "Tsukasa had mentioned her is all."
Yuzuriha had been wary of him but gave in to his request. "She woke up before either of us. She was in the gardening club in highschool. Her knowledge of plants and their medicinal properties helped us when we got scraped up too bad. And she was an excellent cook, too."
The hope in his heart rose to the surface, trying to suffocate him with joy. It could just very well be her, but the words that had come from Taiju's mouth pained him to his very core.
"She said she would rather die than live as a part of Tsukasa's empire."
Gen had rushed off into the woods shortly after that.
It did not take him long to find this village, rushing into a clearing full of people eagerly surrounding what looked to him like a food cart. The familiar smell of ramen wafted over to him, tantalizing his taste buds. He sat quietly for a short while, watching the people of this tiny village enjoy their meals.
A familiar laugh caught his ear and that's when he saw her. Eyes as bright as amber honey and hair as black as night. She bore the evidence of her petrification on her face just as he did. A delicate line beginning in the hollow of her collar bone before trailing up the nape of her neck, encircling her ear and finally resting as a swirl on the apple of her left cheek. 3700 years had done nothing to dull her beauty.
He slipped carefully into the throng of villagers, deftly picking up a bowl of ramen and seating himself on a rock to continue to observe everyone in silence. It was as a little girl wearing the rind of a watermelon on her head questioned one of the villagers about how many bowls of ramen he had had that Gen decided it was time to reveal himself. He also just couldn't wait any longer.
He smirked, slurping up more of the noodles into his mouth. "Makes a man thirsty. What I wouldn't give for a cola right now."
Akihana froze in the middle ladling broth atop another bowl of noodles, noticing out of the corner of her eye that Senku had also paused in shock. She turned slowly, her heart thudding in her chest. She knew that voice. Akihana lifted her eyes and met the gaze of the one person she had only dared to hope to see again. And there he was standing in front of her, outwardly changed, but still as cocky as always.
She smiled brightly. Not even 3700 years could keep them apart.
The story behind Akihana's name: SO IT IS IN MY UNDERSTANDING (but I could be entirely wrong) that "Aki" is a Japanese name that means bright, and "Hana" means flower, so I just shoved them together so that her name would mean bright flower... y'know... because black nightshade grows in the sun so it's a bright flower. It's STUPID I KNOW, but let me be corny.
So that's the end of the prologue. I know I'm technically starting this in the middle of the story, but don't worry. It'll all make sense I promise. Everything from here on out should be fairly chronological, starting with how Akihana and Gen meet. :)
I hope you enjoyed! And I hope you all stay safe in quarantine!