18th Shot: Senku Department Store

To finish everything in a matter of days was similar to how workers getting into personal war because of deadline involved–as the team members spinning threads non-stop, Yuzuriha also did the same but with the cloth-making machine. Splitting works in this condition was the best choice. After hours of hours of effort, they need some rest as well because continuing without energy recharge was basically suicide.

Stretching her arms over her head, Shinko could feel her stiff joints cracked. The young woman sighed in relief after finishing another batch of threads–now her basket was full with bundles of them stacked on one and another.

When she craned her neck up, shades of orange decorating the sky greeted her. Even as the sun dipped into the horizon little by little, they were nowhere near done–it would probably stay that way for the next few days. So far, this is the most grueling work she had ever done.

"Shinko-chan," a voice called out to her. Turning to look over, she noticed Minami standing behind her–arms across her chest as she sporting a look of disapproving. "You have to rest. You're still healing, remember?"

As Ukyo's temporary replacement, Minami took it to herself to keep an eye on the young woman almost naturally. Every now and then, the reporter checked on her and asking if she's hurting or not, or even telling her to take a break even if it's just a matter of minutes.

She chuckled in reply. "I'm planning to. If I work even longer, I think I will break my back."

Without a doubt they halted their work to fulfill their essential needs–dinner went along almost too quickly considering many of them just straight up inhaled their food out of starvation and in dire need of calories. The night was slightly different this time–usually Kohaku would sit with them and they had pleasant chat as they eat, Chrome would brighten up the night with his excited yells and exclaims.

And Ukyo usually sitting close to her, telling her about his day or if anything interesting happened he would share it with her.

However, knowing the three of them were out venturing for signs of oil field, it felt like they're missing something. What are they doing now, currently? Did they have a good rest in the Ishigami Village?

Mulling over it would be endless, it's best to just call and ask right away–Shinko settled for the plan. She could do so maybe a little late knowing as long as people are awake it means work. What she predicted was true–after dinner, some of the team continued making more strands of threads whereas Yuzuriha continued making cloth with the machine. The cycle went on until the moon rose so high and stopped only when Ruri informed them that it was time to rest.

Everyone basically collapsed after that before retreating to their respective tents. Yuzuriha bid her goodbye sluggishly before dragging her steps to their shared tent–promising her that she would be there soon because she had some things to do still. Once she was done tidying up the threads and spindles, she tucked them away in a safe place.

She did return to the tent soon after, but only to picked up spare blankets before she stepped out for the second time. Wrapping the blanket around her to keep her warm from night's chilling breeze, Shinko climbed to the cliff where Senku placed their phone in order to get more signal. Each step she took, all she could feel was excitement–she knew it was only for a few hours but she couldn't wait to hear anything from Ukyo.

But why chose to call him in the middle of the night? She thought the day was important–when the sun is up, the only thing that should be shared via their phone is important information. There's no time for idle chats–time is precious especially knowing they're currently chasing it in order completed their ship.

Shinko kneeled in front of the phone when she arrived–reaching for the speaker, she turned the switch on. She was grateful that Senku only fixed the ringing one-way, so she didn't have to disturb anyone with shrills from the bell. For a few seconds, there were only silence before her ears caught faint crackling and then followed by an extremely familiar voice.

"Hey,"

She couldn't help but smiling widely. "I thought you're asleep, Ukyo-san."

There's a simple chuckle in respond of her statement. "I've been tossing and turning for a while now. Pretty much awake."

It felt a rather strange for her–usually she could just call for the young man or approach him in case she wanted to share something with him, however they were now separated by quite a distance. Even so, with just hearing his voice gave her comfort.

"Then, you should go to sleep," Shinko remarked. "You and the excavation team must have been walking here and there. It must be exhausted."

Ukyo lightly snorted from the other line. "Are you telling me to ignore your phone call when I'm practically waiting for it the whole day?"

Since when did Ukyo become this blunt? Her heart started to race without her consent–rushing blood up to her cheeks until she could feel it become warmer each second passed. It reminded her about what he did previously as well–their forehead resting on each other-

"Shinko?"

That's right, she's still on an ongoing call with him–because of sinking too much in her thoughts she forgot for a second. "Y-Yes? I'm sorry."

"It's okay, are you tired? Should we continue this tomorrow instead?"

"No, I'm alright," she immediately denied–she's as healthy as she could be, maybe a faint throbbing or ache here and there but nothing serious until she should have a bed rest. However, she couldn't just say that she's spacing out from remembering Ukyo's gesture while the said young man practically was on the other side of the line. "Enough about me. Do you find something interesting today?"

She was thankful that Ukyo didn't ask further. He chuckled instead, and it sounded melodious for her. "Shizuoka now has Niagara Falls in it, but I guess you already knew from Senku. Right after, we're going back to the Ishigami Village. What about you?"

"Senku-san we have to make a hot air balloon in order to make a new map," Shinko giggled as she started her own portion of story. "We can see better from the air, so that's it. Today we're starting to make some cloth. It will be done maybe around three days."

"I can guarantee the work is hellish."

"Your thoughts are right on spot. We're dying right here since we're making the thread literally from scratch using flax."

"I'm happy to be away from there now, I changed my mind."

"Then don't go back here. Stay there. I hate you."

She could say that lightly because it literally has no bite in it, it's far from serious and she knew Ukyo understand because she could hear him laugh in respond. Their chats resumed for a while and Shinko enjoyed every second of it. Ukyo told her how Chrome fell from the cliff when they're searching for oil around the waterfalls, how the villagers welcomed them warmly.

In return, she told him the process they've been through in making the cloth–but before she got into that, she explained that there's finally currency called Drago existed in the Kingdom of Science, how Senku rigged the whole currency value with Gen to gather unimaginable amount of flax.

It was warm, full of laughs and giggles every now and then. Aside from it all, knowing Ukyo was safe and well from their excavation was a huge relief–it might as well serve as the main point of this call, to know how he's doing while he's away.

And she hoped it will stay that way until they could meet again.

.

.

Ukyo declared himself as the biggest liar of the century at this very moment–the lies that rolled off his tongue was so smooth he didn't believe it came from him. While half of his mind was cursing his entire being for throwing a huge lie, half of it was screaming in victory because he didn't embarrass himself in any sorts of way.

Tossing and turning? Huh, what a bull–he practically sat close near the phone and stared at it for hours ever since they arrived at Ishigami Village. He swore if he boring his eyes a little longer, he would definitely set their only communication device on fire somehow just from the intensity.

He found himself waiting eagerly for Shinko's call.

And he never thought it would bring him immense happiness when he heard the first ringing of the phone echoing through the night. It took him a great amount of effort to prevent himself snatching the receiver in a flash.

Heart pounding against his ribcage was driven by excitement alone, it was hard to hold himself back from smiling widely. Him patiently waiting finally gave him something wonderful in return. After a few seconds of controlling his composure, he finally spoke to the receiver. "Hey."

"I thought you're asleep, Ukyo-san."

Exaggerating he may be, however every person has their own way of experiencing happiness–even the smallest thing could bring blossoms of glee and brightened up your day in no time. That's what Ukyo was feeling currently–a simple phone call from Shinko instantly getting rid of his anxiousness and exhaustion.

But it also served as a reminder for him about the stretching distance between–it would take another few day for them to reunite, maybe a little longer depending on the terrain's condition and Senku's additional plan. Searching for an oil field in Japan's wilderness after 3,700 years was far from easy, everything changed and the world they once knew was no more.

This day is only just one of the next following day–however, he could think of that later on. Now, all he need was to focus on enjoying every last bit of the phone call before they have to wait for another day to continue.

Ukyo didn't have much to share, especially knowing it was impossible to went out on a search without a map. Him and the excavation team just scanned the area for some time before deciding to return to the village–waiting for Senku's further instruction.

"When the balloon's finished we could go from here to the village in a shorter time." Shinko mentioned. "It took quite a long walk there, right?"

"Yeah, maybe a long a day or two at most. But for someone who has unlimited energy like Taiju maybe only five hours." he chuckled at the end, knowing it's definitely possible for someone who's at Taiju's caliber.

He could hear her snorted across the line. "No one is the same level as Taiju-san when it comes to stamina."

Just like that, their conversation flowed smoothly and almost seemingly endless.

They mainly talked about what happened–honestly Shinko did the most of the talking and Ukyo didn't mind at all. Her explaining about how cloths were made, the currency that suddenly boomed in their kingdom, Senku's latest cloth-making machine, and many others.

Resting his back against the wooden walls of Chrome's hut, finding peace just from hearing her voice and comprehend each word. Every time she giggled, his heart fluttered and tingled with warmth–he could even hear her never-ending smile through the phone.

Ukyo was beyond relief hearing her well and healthy–she enjoyed her time, there's no pain hidden underneath her tone. For him, it is the utmost happiness because that's the only thing he ever wanted for her–to be healthy and happy.

"As much as I want to continue this, I think you should sleep," he stayed true to his words–as much as he wanted to hear her more, he couldn't let her get through the night without sleep when there's a grueling work await the next day.

Shinko hummed in agreement. "I guess so, tomorrow we're going to continue making cloth. I hope I could call you again soon, Ukyo-san."

"I'll be waiting. Take care, okay? I'll see you soon."

"You too, Ukyo-san. Have a good night."

And he would, especially having her wished so for him. As soon as the line cut off and silence engulfed the place, it was time for the ex-sonarman to retire for the day. Lying down on the makeshift mattress made from thick animal skin, he sighed in content–it felt good to have his mind free of worries.

That night, Ukyo could lie down at ease and accepting comfortable sleep without hesitation–reminiscing a day where he and Shinko could stay relaxed under cool-shade of trees and surrounded by fields of flowers.

.

.

They worked hard to their bones–a convincing enough testimony Shinko could come up after experiencing it herself and she guarantee a thousand percent of honesty. The cycle went along like this; from when the sun rising early in the morning until it dipped back to the horizon, the threads keep coming while Yuzuriha brought them together into long cloths.

Don't worry, they got few hours rest of course–it's impossible to went through it all without energy. It kept repeating itself for at least another two days, rendering the handicraft team worn out and ghastly.

Even between their busy hours, Shinko made sure to at least have a moment to call Ukyo each day. Hearing his voice was an encouragement for her and listening to the stories he has was something she waited for a whole day.

Now currently, she was placing the completed cloths that Yuzuriha deemed suitable into stacks on the ground. Each long fabric even had a color on its own now since Nikki suggested they dyed them after putting so much effort in making them. It kind of reminded her about different varieties of color you could get on your clothes back in the modern time.

Their clothes are mainly in earthy and nude color considering it was made wholly from animal skin–that, and they don't have time to be concerned about other colors anyways. It was a refreshing sight so see so many colors they could get from natural dyes.

"Wow!" Minami squealed, holding on a fold and brought it closer to her chest–it was a pure delight for her to see cloth after so long.

"They're so pretty!" Suika exclaimed, holding onto one–relishing the different type of material in her palm.

"As expected from the handicraft club!" Senku praised, looking pleased with the high-quality cloth made by spartan handicraft club truly. "Just a little bit more 'till we have all we need!"

Yuzuriha chuckled tiredly, leaning her whole weight against Shinko who giggled and wrapped her arms around her in return. "But we've also got tons of failures mixed in there, too. They're too loose and ventilated."

"We couldn't use them for a balloon to keep air in it." the pink-haired young woman added.

Gen hummed in understanding while he took a look at the fabric himself. Soon, he narrowed his eyes and began cackling lowly–something she learned that it's a sign there's a skeevy plan he had in mind. Her prediction was spot on after hearing roars of determination coming from the caves above after the mentalist paid them a quick visit.

"What kinda crap you spewing, damnit!?" Senku snapped in disbelief from the sudden change of situation. "I mean, you did get them all worked up, but where are we gonna get that kinda money!?"

"You bribed them with Dragos, huh?" Shinko deadpanned, staring emotionlessly as Gen's successful attempt in riling them up using their currency. Capitalism at its finest–even after 3,700 years.

"Don't worry, we'll soon have more than we know what to do with." Gen snickered suspiciously. "After all, we've got all that cloth that's too ventilated, right? So we'll make some merchandise and just sell it in the Senku Department Store."

"You're building a store in this stone era…?" Shinko questioned in disbelief.

"I'LL MAKE THEM!" her heart almost jumped out from her chest from Yuzuriha's declaration full of excitement–not just her both Senku and Gen also snapped their head in respond, probably not expecting her to agree in a matter of milliseconds. "I WANT TO MAKE THEM!"

If there's a literal projection to show human emotions, then she could probably see million of sparkles shining on her chocolate eyes to the point of blinding–she literally radiated eagerness. Once her tired and slouched figure immediately re-energized and stood up straight–previous exhaustion from pulling an all-nighter was gone like a vapor.

The brunette snatched her hand in a firm grip, staring straight into her eyes unwavering. "HELP ME, SHINKO-CHAN!"

The said young woman was taken aback–stiffened from the abrupt attention she received. However, she still tried to at least gave Yuzuriha an answer. "A-Alright…?"

It is said that everyday people learned something new somehow, it's impossible to live a life devoid of education–either formal or informal. No matter how small it is or how trivial it is, it's still could be categorized as learning. This time, Shinko successfully learned that any word which still held any sorts of relationship with fashion is a trigger for Yuzuriha.

And Taiju was quick to made her wishes come true by building a personal tent. Inside, the brunette gestured her to gather a few supplies including breathable cloths which was some sort of their failed product, more threads, needles, sewing kit, some papers and stationery for designing.

After she managed to find them all, Yuzuriha immediately pushed her outside with a thank you along the way and slammed a warning upon the tent. It was quick to know that the warning wasn't meant to be played around or there will be consequences.

"She's turned into a warrior wild beast…" Kinro muttered in disbelief, hearing giant commotion coming from the little tent

"Err… your personality's flipped, hasn't it, Yuzuriha?" Yo stuttered.

"Has it?" Taiju questioned, bringing some refreshments on a tray for the said brunette. "She's always been like that when she's working on crafts!"

"You're probably the only person who's completely used to this, Taiju-san…" Shinko replied, smiling sheepishly.

Her diligence and experience in arts and crafts club from school earned her the ability of piecing together clothes in an absurd amount of time–she practically had her attention shifted for a bit and then Yuzuriha's head popped out the from tent, giving her a huge smile.

"It's done, Shinko-chan!"

"That fast!?"

"Yeah! Can you help me with the clothes? Oh, and call Kinro-san, Ruri-san, Suika-chan, and Kaseki-jiisan too!"

"O-okay,"

Thankfully none of the mentioned person questioning her motive in suddenly calling them out of blue–sure she got confused looks, at least from both Kinro and Ruri. For Suika, the little girl practically skipped by her side as she held her hand along their way to approach the tent–she was so sweet it made Shinko's chest twisted in softness.

"Is there anything else I could help?" she offered after Yuzuriha finished distributing her designed clothes she deemed suitable for each individual she gathered.

"Yeah, you!" the brunette trusted her finger until it almost made in contact with Shinko's nose, it forced her to take a step back. "I have the perfect type of clothes for you!"

"W-Wait-!"

Needless to say, she was dragged into the tent a second later by the said brunette–her completely ignoring her protests on the process.

.

.

Suddenly, there's a fashion show on the road after Yuzuriha declared that she was finished with her masterpieces–it even had audiences who were curious about the brunette's handcraft. More modern clothes displayed did bring a fresh breeze and became a sight to see after living a primitive life for almost a year.

The first one to be up was Ruri–wearing an ethnic design of sleeveless top and long skirt. Noticing the faint flush adorning her cheeks, it was clear she's not used to this type of clothing and the attention she's gaining as she adjusted her skirt.

"'The ethnic ambience of this set-up pairs well with the stole, and gives a boost to elegance'." Shinko read out-loud the sentences written on the paper descripting the personality and uniqueness of the set up. She admitted that she's both utterly confused and amazed on how on earth Yuzuriha could finish this all in only half a day.

"What the heck is that poetry!?" Yo's eyes widened. Yeah, apparently, the fashion show also included some poetry in the introduction–everything was well prepared down to the detail like the usual fashion show.

Next was Kinro, who cladded in a modern kind of manly attire–turtle neck underneath a clean linen shirt, outer blazer, and followed by fabric pants fitting perfectly on his legs. He stood awkwardly according to a pose Yuzuriha told him to do.

'With the addition of the knit top and accessories to a traditional style that fixates on a slim silhouette, this creates a look of casual, mature calm.'

"Isn't this incredible?" Gen commented, sweat running down his temple. "Yuzuriha-chan made all of this with hemp cloth."

The Suika who had to remove her melon headwear in order to fit into the clothes–collared shirt under neath a sweatshirt and added with high-waist skirt that stopped upon her knees.

'This fitted mix combines girliness with a dash of street style.'

"Suika-chan you look adorable!" Shinko gushes, which made the said little girl grinned sheepishly from the praise.

"It's crazy expensive!" Mirai shrieked as she read the tags attached on each clothing.

"But I kinda want it…" Nikki muttered, looking at the wide selection of clothes dreamily.

Last is Kaseki, donned in three-piece crisp suit, a neck tie wrapping under the shirt collar, and cuff-links on the sleeves glimmered against the sunlight–completely formal and classy, something you've usually seen in high-end parties or meetings.

'This special three-piece suit is for dressy occasions conceals a rock-like spice.'

"And Shinko-chan you look absolutely stunning!" Minami squealed in glee, referring to the outfit she was currently showcasing. It's a simple dark colored vintage dress with white collar shirt and ribbon tied around it.

"Thank you, Minami-chan," the said young woman thanked the reporter, reaching for the back of her neck with a grunt. "But some of my hairs are stuck-"

It was difficult to untangle the knot just by feeling it around, she needed assistance. When she's about to asked some help from Minami, certain hands beat her to it and quickly manage to loosen the knot which stuck somewhere around the collar.

"What are you? Some kind of 18th century run-away?"

Shinko almost scoffed as soon as she heard the extremely familiar voice. Throwing a glance over her shoulder, she was met with the sight of ruby red eyes along with white hair and green tips.

"Are you somehow insulting Yuzuriha-chan's design?" she retorted back, even though it had no bite to it. "But thank you for helping me, Senku-san."

"It's irksome to see you trying," the scientist replied, snorting in amusement. "Better get it done before you're thinking of cutting a chunk of those hairs."

Shinko chuckled at his come-back which he never forgot to add some teasing for her. Ever since their conversation in the cave a few days ago involving Tsukasa, a kind of light friendship formed between the two. Senku started to trust her to some duties and often took charge in his place when he's doing another business.

It was an honor earning the scientist's trust in quite a short time, that's why she tried her best to keep it that way–helping him here and there, trying to ease the heavy burden he has as the only source of modern humanity this world has. Senku always has big responsibility resting on his shoulders and without a doubt, he knows about it too.

Though, that doesn't mean he will mention anything about it straightforwardly. Most of the time it's kind of up to her and her accuracy in reading the young man.

"Aside from that, business is booming," Shinko commented, averting her gaze towards lining racks of newly stitched clothes under the brand Haute Couture Yuzuriha–people rummaging through them just like what they usually did in a modern department store.

"The Senku Department Store is the first super high class luxury goods store," Gen remarked, approaching the place where Senku and Shinko stood. "So, it may take a little while to sell everything."

"It is quite expensive," the young woman agreed, looking at the price tag still attached on the sleeve of her white vintage shirt.

"Well, I normally would've liked to have given them to the people that worked to make the materials," Senku commented, his arms across his chest. "But we've got a greedy bastard who doesn't care about anything but money among us."

He's not wrong about that–in fact, he hit the spot.

"HAHAAA!"

Ryusui already went on ahead and bought all sorts of clothing from Yuzuriha's brand in that single moment–there were literally mountains of paper bags stacking behind him and a few more dangling on his grip

"Didn't he realize that he's tightening the noose around his neck…?" Shinko muttered underneath her breath.

"It looks like he did," Yuzuriha laughed nervously as the two witnessed how Ryusui's triumph expression turned stiff and unsure–his instincts are not wrong, but it's already too late for that seeing both Senku and Gen cackled like villains in the background after receiving mountains of cash.

"Well, moving on from that," the brunette threw her arms around Shinko. Thankfully, the young woman moved in reflex instantly to prevent them from toppling to the ground. "You look gorgeous! I really hope Ukyo-kun could see this!"

"I wonder what he would say too," Shinko smiled in return–the kind of smile Yuzuriha noticed reserved only for the said young man. Her eyes even softened a bit and Yuzuriha's eyes didn't miss it. It took her whole will not to scream.

"He will straight up tell you that you look astounding!" Minami exclaimed, hands making gestures to emphasize her words. "We know Ukyo-kun is a gentleman, but he's a complete prince only to you. Especially after what happened two days ago."

The light teasing couldn't be called light when Shinko's face instantly flushed bright red almost to the point of being a twin with boiled crab–which made both Minami and Yuzuriha burst out laughing.

"I-It's not funny!" Shinko whined in embarrassment, covering her face with both hands.

"Hey, I begin to wonder, Shinko-chan," Minami remarked, poking the young woman's cheek lightly. "Do you like Ukyo-kun? You do right!? Oh gosh, you do!"

"Stop it, Minami-chan!"

.

.

From the sidelines, Senku and Gen watched as the young women having their conversation animatedly–well, for Yuzuriha and Minami at least while Shinko was busy trying to not answer their questions or deliberately changing their topic with flushed face.

"That reminds me," Gen hummed, unfolding a piece of paper he pulled out from his sleeve. "This supposed to go with Shinko-chan's dress. I guess people are already excited over the variety of clothes so this is forgotten."

Senku took a glance, eyes skimming over the sentence written in black upon the material.

'You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful.' - Amy Bloom.