With the early morning dew hitting her nose, Ayane woke up and began a start to her day. Walking out of her hut, she looked out to see several thousand pieces of broken stones.
Looking down at them, she looked over at the deeper part of her home to see almost perfect assembled stone statues. It had only been a week since Ayane separated herself from Senku and the gang, and during that time she had been hard at work doing what Senku had asked her to do.
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"Listen…" Senku spoke as Ayane still embraced him after telling him half of the formula to the revival fluid. "I want you to try and assemble as many broken statues as possible. Do you think you can do that?"
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Hearing heavy footsteps approach, Ayane ripped a vine and a large vine sheet swung down covering the hole that was made. Just as she turned around, she noticed Tsukasa standing just a mere foot behind her.
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"Are you alright?" He asked in a concerned voice.
"Just tired. Come on." Ayane replied as she led Tsukasa away from the vine curtain.
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Pulling out a wooden box, Ayane handed it over to Tsukasa.
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"There should be enough for at least 20 people. Don't go overboard." Ayane ordered. "Afterall, I can only do so much with the amount you bring me."
"Should I bring larger amounts from now on?" Tsukasa questioned seeing as how Ayane was doing most of the work on reviving everyone.
"No." The raven-haired girl answered as she turned around to look at the rising Sun. "We can't bring suspicion to the forest…By the way, any word from Gen?" Ayane changed the topic.
"Nothing yet, but I believe we should be hearing something soon." Tsukasa replied. "Why?"
"Oh, it's just…No, nothing. Just forget it." Ayane picked up a bag and began to walk away. "I'll be back in a few days." Without another word she walked into the misty, early forest without fear.
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Walking with a lot on her mind…
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Ayane paid no mind to the bear that walked just several feet to her right. Looking over, she noticed the thick brown furred creature shake its head as it continued to strut along the path it knew. Smiling sweetly, Ayane continued to walk with her forest buddy.
Walking out of the forest, she looked at the horizon before her that she's come to know very well. Sitting herself down, Ayane felt the calm wind blow from under her.
Closing her eyes, she listened to the sounds of nature before speaking to herself.
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"I wonder…are they doing alright?" Ayane asked herself as she looked up towards the early morning sky. Laying on her back, Ayane smiled. "I'm sure they're alright."
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In the Village…
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Screaming in pain and exhaustion, Senku, Kohaku, Chrome and a girl wearing a green pumpkin on her head named Suika, began to attempt to put air into a makeshift furnace. After several seconds, Suika stopped from exhaustion and fell back. Seeing this, Taiju rushed in and began to pump in more air than anyone else.
Watching the entire event unfold before her, Yuzuriha chuckled embarrassingly, while Hansuke slept on her leg. Looking down at the wolf, Yuzuriha smiled.
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"To think that in just a week we'd be doing something like this. Isn't this unbelievable, Hansuke?" And like the wolf responded to her questioned, Hansuke huffed before rubbing his head on Yuzuriha's leg.
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10 minutes later…
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Walking up to Chrome's shed, Kuro saw a peculiar sight. Senku, Kohaku, Chrome and Suika all sprawled on the ground like they just had a meeting with death, all the while Taiju continued to pump as much air as he could all by himself.
Shaking his head, the raven-haired boy walked up. Hearing footsteps approach from the distance, Senku looked at Kuro.
Rubbing his forehead in disbelief, Kuro spoke up.
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"Can I ask what you are doing, Senku?"
"Trying to build a magnet." Senku spoke through his breaths.
"A magnet?" Kuro repeated as he looked at the furnace which Taiju was currently pumping furiously with air. "With the furnace?" The boy pointed.
"We're trying to melt the black sand." Kohaku spoke as she stood up. "But it's difficult."
"Yeah, of course it is." Kuro answered, catching Senku's attention. "Manually pumping with something as inadequate as a bag isn't going to get you what you want. What you want…"
"Is a device that can move on its own without the need for human power." A feminine voice spoke up, causing Taiju to stop pumping and forcing Senku to take his attention off of Kuro and towards this new person who spoke without delay. "Isn't that right?" The woman smiled straight towards Senku over her shoulder, her faded shoulder-length raven black hair hiding her face from his sight.
"Yup. 10 billion percent." Senku replied as he began to see that not everyone in the village was a complete idiot. "But how did you know?"
"Mother, you should've sent a signal ahead of time so I can at least prepare of your return." Kuro spoke up.
"Oh, Kuro." Kuro's mother giggled as she stood up and turned around to show her face. "You know I'm not one for customs."
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Upon seeing her face, Senku froze. Despite the woman clearly being in her early to mid-30s by looks alone, her face resembled that of someone he knew well. Turning around to see not only Senku's shocked face, but Yuzuriha's as well, Kuro introduced the Ayane look-alike.
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"Senku, this is my mother, Anri. But you can just call her An." Kuro introduced his mother Anri as she stood up and walked behind Kuro.
"Kuro…did you say Senku?" Anri questioned the validity of son's words.
"I did. Why do you ask mother?" Kuro, now curious as to why his mother asked about Senku's name, turned to face the woman fully.
"It's probably my imagination." Anri answered as she began to walk away, but not before offering a word of advice. "Try using the river. I'm sure the speed of the water can help you in greater ways you'd never expect." After leaving a smile for the leek haired color boy, Anri picked up her bag and walked off towards the village without another word.
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Still in a daze from seeing another Ayane, Senku began to hold back his laughter. Now curious as to why the man before him was chuckling, Kuro questioned Senku's odd actions.
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"Is something wrong, Senku?"
"Hey, Kuro?" Senku then asked his own question. "Do you know the name of your ancestor? And if so, the name of their family?"
"Why are you asking me that?" Kuro was startled by the sudden question, but ultimately answered. "My ancestors name was… Masahiro, I believe. And his children's names were Keiko and Michi."
"I mean extended family, like nieces or nephews?" Senku reiterated his question.
"I'm not too sure as to what you mean, but if you want concrete answers then speak with my mother. She may have the answers you're looking for." Kuro replied with extraordinarily little confidence to Senku's questions.
"Anri, huh?" Senku spoke to himself as he looked towards the village.
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As the Sun began to set…
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Seen sewing without rest, Ayane was so focused that she paid no mind to the darkness that began to encroach upon her. It was only when it became increasingly difficult to see where she was sewing that Ayane realized the day was coming to an end.
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"I guess it's time to wake him up." Ayane said to herself as she stood up and pulled out a cup of revival fluid. "Well, let's not let him wait any longer."
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After placing what seemed to be the final pieces to a stone statue and placing clothes, a simple vest that exposed his chest with thick pants, on the man, the raven-haired girl splashed on revival fluid and waited. The second turned to minutes, then the sounds Ayane enjoyed hearing began to resonate in the still night air.
As the statue cracked with an X across the man's chest and a line that extended under his right eye to beyond his neck, the stone began to fall off, allowing his right eye to look out onto the new world.
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"Good morning, sir." Ayane said before thinking again on her words. "Well, it would be morning in America, but well nonetheless…Hello, Mr. Oliver." Ayane smiled as the rest of the man's stone prison fell off showing who the man was.
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His hair was a dark brown, with his eyes being the same. His skin was a dark Caucasian. His body was lean but slightly muscular and stood at about 6 ft. And upon seeing Ayane, the name named Oliver smiled.
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"Hey there, squirt." His mid-deep tone of voice spoke with joy. "Where's your family? Especially that uncle if yours. I still have a beef with him."
"Don't know." Ayane replied as she turned her back to him. "Ever since that day, I've never seen them since."
"Hmm?" Was all Oliver replied. "So, how long has it been?" The man asked a he looked around only to see areas he did not recognize.
"It has been roughly 3700 years since humanity was turned to stone." Ayane answered before turning around and extended her arms out. "And the person you see before you is the first one to wake up from the stone."
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As Oliver' eyes widened, he began to laugh as if he knew where the conversation was headed.
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"If your laughing, then that means you understand what I need, right?" Ayane's voices went from confident to embarrass the more she spoke.
"Yup, I am your one and only gun expert, as well as a U.S. Army Vet. You need guns, right?" Ayane nodded as she handed him a bag. "What's this?" Oliver asked as he began to inspect the bag.
"There's a village about 3 days to your right." Ayane pointed. "That village was created by Byakuya Ishigami. I have sent my allies there, as well one more. Go there and you can create your guns."
"Alright, but I don't have to leave right away, right?" Seating himself, Oliver pointed to the ground in front of him and waited. "Let's catch up, shall we?"
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After an hour of speaking…
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Ayane was fast asleep on Oliver's left as he looked up towards the sky.
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"You try too hard, Lil' Shiori. Trying to live up to your sister's reputation and trying your best to be independent. You're just a child, so it's fine to act like one." Looking back up towards the night sky and chuckling to himself, Oliver sighed. "Masahiro…your niece is trying her best. Wherever you are at, I hope your proud of her."
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As the Sun rose on the new day, Ayane, known by Oliver as Shiori, smelled something burning. Upon smelling smoke, she rose quickly and armed herself, only to startle Oliver when he noticed how quickly she got up.
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"I'm guessing being awake for 5 years really does do some good, huh?" Oliver joked around as he began to put of the fire.
"It's not as good as you make it out to be." Then, glaring at the old man before her, Ayane pointed at him to emphasize her point. "This is all your fault, since you did teach me about survival instincts."
"Why thank you." Oliver took the young raven-haired girl's words as compliments. "I knew they could come in handy one day."
"Yeah, and it's a day I never thought would happen." Ayane replied as she stood up.
"Shiori." Hearing her true name, Ayane looked over at Oliver who stared at her with a serious expression. "Don't keep lying to yourself, alright? It's only going to hurt you more in the end."
"I know. But..." Holding onto her shoulders, Ayane felt herself having a mini panic attack, only to feel Oliver's hand on her shoulder. "Mr. Oliver?"
"Take your time. There's no need to rush." Were the last words Oliver spoke as the two embraced and went their separate ways.