Shishio Tsukasa's body sat in front of the tree, covered by the vines. "He was called the strongest primate high schooler. Shishio Tsukasa."
The stone around his body started to break after being given miracle fluid. "As long as we're together, the three of you will not be in danger again." The lion lunged forward, Tsukasa taking the animal head-on. He then moved his fist at rapid speed. "From now on, I'll take care of all the fighting."
Senku looked up at Tsukasa with a smirk. "But I have a nagging feeling that the new guy may be a little bit too strong." Tsukasa just glanced back with a smile of his own. Sumi handed him the knife and he kissed her hand, Senku turning away with his arms crossed. He looked visibly annoyed while not wanting to watch.
Senku sat on a rock while Tsukasa was standing in the ocean. "Tell me something, Senku. Are you planning to bring back all the greedy black-hearted adults who ruined the world we came from?" He approached the scientist, the sun behind him. "We live in the stone world now. A paradise that has been ruined by greed, that Sumi doesn't need to follow your orders. I think we should only revive the young and pure-hearted, and make sure we keep this world natural and not owned by anyone. While I make sure you don't keep Sumi on a leash anymore, by having her stay by my side," He placed his hand on a statue. "This is our chance to purify humanity. To purify a mutual friend of any pain so that she knows she's appreciated. The way I see it, science is the only thing that binds you together. And it would be beneficial for all of us if she became stronger with me…as my bride. Don't you agree with me...Senku?"
Sumi watched them in disgust after hearing this.
Tsukasa stared at Senku and Sumi, the former chuckling while opening an eye. This guy's gonna be trouble. And where is he getting the idea that Sumi is some damsel in distress? But if we hadn't woken him up right then, we would've been lion chow for sure. The situation forced our hand. Now he tells me he only wants to save the young and keep Sumi by his side instead of mine. I doubt he'll do anything rash until he learns how to make his own revival potion. So no matter what, I have to stay tight-lipped about the miracle fluid in the cave, and make sure that he's not left alone with Sumi.
Sumi had her eyes narrowed at Tsukasa from his proposition. She couldn't believe he not only wanted to kill statues, but try and save her? And she almost forgot he wanted to marry her. On top of all that, she knew him back when they were younger! She didn't need anyone making choices for her regarding to her survival. Senku was right to be suspicious, his idea of humanity is nothing like ours. Even if she didn't know him from her past, as in if they had never met, that didn't excuse his mindset. Tsukasa was definitely someone to stop before it could get worse. We can't revive every single person with someone like him around. He saved our lives, but he's in no way trustworthy. As long as he doesn't know about the revival fluid, we should be fine.
There was silence between all of them, Sumi standing to the side of them. And yet to anyone else, she was basically standing in the middle of them. It was awkward because of the tension but also because it felt like she was caught up in their feud. As in right now…Tsukasa would ask her to choose between the both of them. Tsukasa gave Sumi a gentle smile, unaware of what she heard. She didn't respond, knowing of his intentions. He didn't take his eyes off her at all and she knew he was staring. She also knew that she and Senku had the same idea, and to not say anything about the revival fluid. He didn't have to look at her to know what her stance was on this either. Tsukasa was looking at them, ready to do what he needed to stop them just like those lions.
"HEY!"
They turned to the side, seeing Taiju running up to them. He had a big smile on his face. "Awesome news, everyone! Check this out, you see?!" He held up a jar of nitric acid from the caves, marked 'for Yuzuriha.' "I got a whole pot full of miracle fluid from the cave. And that means we can use this stuff to finally bring back Yuzuriha!"
Senku looked at him with wide eyes, both of them horrified by his terrible timing. Sumi dropped to the ground in disbelief. Out of all of the times you wanna do something for romance, it had to be right now?! She thought to herself with white eyes. If Tsukasa wasn't here, she'd be supportive immensely. But this was probably the ONE time she couldn't share any encouragement for it. Taiju just stared at them in confusion.
"So what's this miracle fluid you're talking about?" Tsukasa finally spoke curiously as Sumi got onto her feet. Both Senku and Sumi looked at him in alarm. He was frowning right at them, and the black-haired scientist clamped her mouth shut. Senku let out a small chuckle, cracking his neck as usual.
"We won't waste our breath trying to explain the science behind it," He responded, walking past Tsukasa. "Showing you is ten billion times faster." Sumi followed him silently, annoyed by Taiju now. Tsukasa narrowed his eyes a bit, wondering if she had actually heard what he said about her earlier...she hadn't said a single word to him after all. "I hope you realize what an honor this is," He looked over his shoulder with a smirk. "You're getting to witness humanity's revival first hand," He then chuckled and Sumi took the lead. Senku held her shoulder to stop her and she glanced up at him.
"Follow my lead on this, okay? I won't make you do anything you don't want to," He whispered and she nodded, knowing the double meaning. She knew that he wouldn't let anything happen to her, and that Senku acknowledged she made her choice when it came to being his science partner. Even when he scolded her, she never felt inclined to back out of being his partner. When he did it, it was because he cared about her safety, not because of any feeling of being superior. She couldn't help but think just how much of their bond Tsukasa had his judgement clouded on.
"Okay, Sen. But we can't say anything to Taiju just yet. He's too swayed by Tsukasa," She glanced up at the green-haired scientist. He nodded in agreement at her.
"We'll distract him when we have the chance and go from there," He whispered, and both of them felt Tsukasa's eyes baring into their backs. Thankfully he couldn't hear them otherwise they'd really be in trouble.
Once they were back at camp, Taiju put the finished dress Sumi made over Yuzuriha's stoned body. "Okay, Yuzuriha," He smiled happily at her, blushing a little as he held her against the tree. "I promised we'd save you, and it's happening for real this time."
Sumi smiled from behind at his expression. She then glanced at Senku pouring the revival fluid into a larger pot with tiny stones. Then it went into a small bottle. "What the hell? For some reason, we don't have enough revival fluid for even one person."
"Crap!" Taiju exclaimed in disbelief, dropping Yuzuriha. Her body landed with a small thump. "Did I really get it too soon?" Sumi blinked at Senku, knowing that he wouldn't let there be only enough for one. She realized that this was what he meant when he told her to follow along.
"Yup, too bad. We'll need a bigger quantity," Sumi confirmed while folding her arms underneath her chest.
"Just grab some more," Senku stood up while looking back with an amused smile. "We'll hang back and play 20 questions or something while you're gone," He then looked over to Tsukasa putting away a spear. "But do try and make it quick, would ya, big oaf?"
"I'd like Yuzuriha revived as soon as possible so I can stop pricking my fingers all the time," Sumi held up two bandaged fingers. But also, they didn't want to be alone with Tsukasa for very long considering their last conversation.
"Of course!" Taiju answered eagerly to them. "Be back before you know it! Full steam ahead!" He ran off, and Tsukasa was silent for a bit. He then reached out his hand, Taiju gasping in alarm to be grabbed from behind. Sumi smirked while staring at them.
"I'm the fastest, so it makes more sense for me to go," Tsukasa spoke to him calmly. "But I'll need to know exactly where to find this miracle fluid."
Senku chuckled as he fell for their tactic, looking up at him. Yup. I knew he couldn't resist taking the bait. Once he finds the source of the miracle fluid and decides to keep it for himself, there's a ten billion percent chance he'll stop our plans of bringing everyone back. Tsukasa was off in the forest to search for it.
Senku let out a yawn next to the pot. He then stretched while looking at Sumi. "Tsukasa's gone, isn't he?"
"Yeah," Taiju looked over his shoulder. "Like a bolt of lightning. Never seen a guy move so-"
"Sumi," Senku interrupted the black-haired scientist. "Can you smell him anywhere?"
She looked up towards the sky, Taiju looking confused as she closed her eyes. She took a moment to take a long sniff for his scent. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes again to look at Senku. "No, he's really gone."
"Good," Senku lunged forward to grab the jar of revival fluid. He and Sumi started pouring nitric acid and the liquor. "Let's make some revival juice! We'll bring her back asap. Before he has a chance to return." Meanwhile, Tsukasa had already found the cave, looking at the jar being filled. He looked up and noticed the bats hanging from the ceiling.
"Bats..." He let himself catch a drop of nitric acid. "Touching it turns my finger yellow," He then lifted his finger to sniff it. "I see...so the miracle fluid is nitric acid." He then walked out of the cave to make his way back to the camp. He came across a family of statues, all four hand in hand. He looked at the two petrified children that had smiles on their faces. Then he looked at the parents, who were the same way. They must've been really happy together before everything happened. He smiled, wondering what it was like before they were petrified...
"What's going on?" Taiju asked his friends back at the lab. "You literally just said there wasn't enough revival fluid! And Sumi said we needed more anyway."
"Do you really think we would set out a collection pot that was the wrong size?" Senku replied back while stirring the two liquids together. Taiju flinched in realization that this wasn't something they would purposefully get wrong.
"No, you wouldn't! Then why did you guys send Tsukasa out to get some more?" He asked them again and Senku glanced behind him.
"It's a calculated risk. We wanted him gone before we revived Yuzuriha. Even if it meant revealing the location of the cave. Sumi and I agreed that she'd play along with it because if she didn't, that might've tipped him off."
"Telling him the location was the only way to get him out of here so we could buy time," Sumi stated next to Senku, her hands on the table.
"Why would you guys want to get rid of Tsukasa?" Taiju wondered with a frown. "He's like totally awesome!"
"That's why he's too much to handle," Senku sounded a bit annoyed, surprising Taiju. "He wants to remake this world into a place where only the strong survive. He also wants Sumi as his bride because he thinks that he's protecting her by bringing her into his world. And that kind of thinking doesn't move me one millimeter."
Tsukasa punched off the stone head from the beach, where it rolled in front of Senku. Sumi gasped in horror from her spot.
"Huh?!" Taiju exclaimed in shock about Sumi. "M-Marry Sumi? Is that really what he said?"
"Yeah, that's another reason why I don't wanna see his scumbag face right now," Sumi gave a large sweat drop before closing her eyes, annoyed. "Guy's too warped in his mind to believe that I would want that kind of society to begin with. Science is more my game, and I'm not interested in being tied down to someone who thinks the weak don't deserve to be revived."
"Heh heh heh," Senku chuckled, though silently relieved that she was there to see what Tsukasa did. He wasn't sure how much longer he could stand Sumi getting flustered over the man's flirting. "But a civilization-building game gets me excited."
"We've gotta act quickly, Taiju," Sumi turned to him. "Because we can no longer trust Tsukasa."
"...Yeah, okay," Taiju gave them a look of agreement and understanding. "No need to explain. It's cool. I trust you guys to make the right decision. Something happened while I was gone, huh?"
"...You're right," Senku had a shadow over his eyes. Sumi looked away knowingly, frowning deeply. "Shishio Tsukasa is an awesome guy."
Tsukasa looked at the family, a shell necklace over the little girl. He then grabbed the head of the father, smashing the statues in pieces, all of the older people. "Who happens to be a murderer," Senku finished as Tsukasa walked away, leaving the pile of stone pieces behind.
Sumi and Taiju stood in front of Yuzuriha in front of the tree. She held out the jar of revival fluid to him with a smile and he gave her a grateful look. "Yuzuriha," Taiju spoke up emotionally, as the moment had finally come. He was finally going to save the person he had been yearning for over 3700 years. "Sorry to keep you waiting, but I'm here. Just like I said," He choked up, Sumi standing behind him. She gushed while watching them, waiting in anticipation. He slowly reached out to her, his hands gripping the jar. "I'll help you."
The two heard footsteps, but Taiju didn't turn around. Sumi turned to the side in confusion as Senku was approaching them. He was running as fast as he could, sweat going down his face. "Did you forget that we're in a hurry, you big oaf?!" He exclaimed urgently, coming to a stop next to Taiju. He pushed down the jar while gritting his teeth, and it spilled all over Yuzuriha. Sumi and Taiju's mouths dropped as they did not see that coming at all.
"Sen!" Sumi shouted at him in disbelief. "Why did you do that?!"
"You just dumped it?!" Taiju turned to him with wide eyes. "We should be more like, you know!"
"Thanks for ruining it," Sumi's lips puffed up in a pout, looking away. Senku just gave her a blank look for her expression. However, nothing seemed to be happening with Yuzuriha. The liquid dripped down from her face, but the stone hadn't reacted at all. Taiju then started to panic, thinking something was wrong.
"Wait, why is nothing happening? Don't worry, Yuzuriha! It's fine! Is this fine, guys?!" He kept checking over her in concern. Senku glanced up at Yuzuriha.
"Don't worry, everything's fine," Sumi attempted to assure her friend. "Remember when we revived Tsukasa? He took some time as well."
"As my science partner correctly put it, the reaction isn't instantaneous. The petrification is much like cryostasis. The stone shell acts as a protective coating made from trace metals in the body. An unknown process caused them to phase shift, and they took on a petrified state," Senku explained, but it still didn't make things very clear for Taiju.
"You lost me, Senku! It's so complicateeeeed!" He complained as his head was spinning trying to understand it. Sumi let out a small giggle.
"What he means is, when you're petrified, the shell around the body coats the skin. But when everyone was petrified, there was a change between being just stone to petrified after 3700 years. The thing is, we don't know what process it was," She explained as best as she could.
"Tch. That's my theory at least," Senku continued, smirking at Sumi with his hands on his hips. "Based on an entire year of painstaking experiments. Anyway, our point being. If just one part is exposed to the nital and begins to break down..." As he was speaking, stone breaking was heard. Taiju watched Yuzuriha closely as this happened. "It initiates a chain reaction that ripples across the organism's body," He gasped as more cracks appeared over her body. "And the petrification is undone."
Taiju gasped as cracks went along Yuzuriha's face.
"It's like this, Yuzuriha!" He stared at her patching up the tree. "I've kept this inside me for five years." She smiled at him, and then he shielded her from the green light. She hung onto the tree while watching him. "I'm gonna tell Yuzuriha!" He then slowly turned to stone before breaking free. "I'm gonna survive this, even if it kills me!" He let out a scream once he was out of the stone.
"I was able to stay alive because of you." He looked up at her trapped in the leaves and vines from the tree. He then kneeled while still wearing his grass cover-up. "Sorry. But I just couldn't protect you." Tears streamed down his face while looking up at her. He remembered the day they both wanted to take a petrified bird to the vet, but the office was closed. He looked towards the ground while clutching his fists. 'I've loved you. For hundreds...and thousands of years."
The stone pieces broke away from Yuzuriha, Taiju staring at her in awe as it was beautiful. Sumi pressed her hands together in front of her mouth as she tried not to bawl. Once the stone was away, Yuzuriha's body fell backwards. Taiju lunged forward to catch her in his arms, Senku just watching silently. For Sumi, it was like watching the end of a romance movie. "Yuzuriha!" Taiju cried out in tears. "Please, open your eyes."
She then regained consciousness, opening her eyes as they glittered. "That you, Taiju?" She asked him in a soft and quiet voice. He fell to his knees, still holding her in his arms.
"I'm sorry," He immediately apologized, Sumi shedding a happy tear. "I didn't mean to make you wait 3,700 years." Senku was still silent, looking away while his eyes were crossed. Sumi glanced up at him and gave a small smile. Their hard work making the revival fluid was finally a large advancement towards their goal. "Forgive me."
Senku glanced down at his science partner, recalling what she said about her own crush. "Even if I use it, it could never happen. He's...not really into the whole romance thing," Her voice echoed in his head as she continued looking up ahead while crying, a smile on her face. She was referring to the love potion, but that would absolutely apply to the revival fluid as well.
"Hey, Sumi," He finally spoke and she looked up in confusion. "Maybe if we find your crush and revive him, you could profess your love too."
She blinked and then processed what he said. Considering that they were dealing with a murderer who wanted to marry her...now just wasn't the right time to tell him the truth. In which that her crush wasn't someone who was currently petrified, but alive right next to her. She gave a weak smile, closing her eyes.
"I appreciate that, Sen. But the thing is...it's not that simple for me," She turned towards back their friends, and he raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I'm borrowing your phrase, but it wouldn't be logical right now for me to do that."
"...You really believe that?" He asked after a few seconds, closing his eyes. "Even though I won't advocate for your cause like Taiju, we could at least try finding him so that we can plan to revive him."
"No..." She murmured, placing a fist in front of her heart. "No, that won't be necessary," She gave a hopeful sad smile. "We have other things that require our focus. I can wait as long as it takes before I think about a relationship. Just having him in my life...is all I'll need for the time being."
Senku opened his eyes as she wiped away her own, staring at her. He blinked as he couldn't believe she was willing to put it on hold despite how much she wanted it. He felt...he felt a pang in his chest as he didn't say anything else, not even commenting regarding who she was referring to. He let out a small chuckle, a hand on his hip.
"You really admire this guy, huh? I can't say I'm moved, but if that's what you want, I won't stop you."
She gave a small hum in response, not bothering to reply. At least he didn't seem to suspect that technically, she wasn't telling him the whole story. Everything was true, but not the part about it being someone they needed to revive. She needed more time before she could really tell Senku what she really meant by it.
Yuzuriha's vision was a bit blurry, seeing Taiju sobbing as snot came from his nose. "What's...going on? It's like I've been asleep forever..." She murmured, a small smile on her face. "But still, I...I feel like you saved me. You did, right?" Her smile turned softer as her eyes closed. "You saved me from something. Oh, wow. Thank you..." He gasped, squeezing his eyes shut from her gratitude, trying to recollect himself.
"It wasn't me. Senku and Sumi did all the work," He explained as he wiped his eyes with the back of his wrist. She stared at him, sitting on her knees. "They spent a whole year working on that revival fluid."
Senku let out a chuckle to cut in. "Pardon the intrusion on your big moment," He stepped up to the duo. "But you all need to make a decision before he gets back." Sumi raised a brow while glancing at him. He held up two fingers. "There are only two options, so choose carefully." All of them stared attentively. "Plan A: The three of you run away this instant and find a new place to live. The farther the better. Plan B: We join together and fight to stop Tsukasa's murder spree." Tsukasa as he spoke was running back to camp, and there would be no way to know when he'd arrive. "Using the weapons of civilization."
"Come on, man!" Taiju exclaimed immediately after hearing this. "Obviously, we'll stay and fight by your side! I mean really, what kind of people do you think we are?"
"Exactly!" Sumi gestured to Taiju, pumping her fists with a smile. "You really think we'd just leave you to deal with Tsukasa on your own? We're a team, remember. This is no time to run off like babies and do nothing!"
"Mm-hmm," Yuzuriha agreed while getting onto her feet. "I have no clue what's going on, but I'll help however I can!"
"I'm not making any assumptions or trying to be nice," Senku waved them off. "It just seems logical to give you the chance to flee."
Sumi sighed, looking up at him. "It's like you said, Sen. We don't have any power dynamics between us. You and I are both on the same level," His eyes widened slowly as he knew what she was referring to; his talk with Tsukasa. "Just because we're friends doesn't mean we leave each other behind. And you're seriously asking me of all people to hide? When it comes to science, it's both of us against him, and you know it. So I guess you'll just have to put up with me," She smirked, crossing her arms.
He stared at her as he didn't know until now that she had heard what he said about the girl. He closed his eyes after seeing her determined face. She wouldn't back down just because he asked her to. He should've known that from the start. Considering the person they were trying to fight against, he knew that Tsukasa was going to fight to have her by his side. But hearing her decision to continue fighting because of their partnership...well, he just chuckled in amusement. It couldn't be any more clear to him that she knew how much he respected her as a person, and she wouldn't take that for granted.
"Geez, so stubborn. Alright, Sumi," He agreed with a smirk of his own towards her. "I can't argue with your logic this time." The two looked at each other knowingly that in his own way, he wasn't gonna win that argument. Especially considering how long they had known each other.
"Listen, Senku, Sumi! If Tsukasa is killing people, we've got no-"
"So I'm killing people?" Tsukasa himself interrupted him as he had returned. Taiju gasped while Sumi and Senku had their backs turned to him. "Huh. I'd say that's a matter of perspective." His appearance had caught them off guard, to say the least. His eyes darkened while looking at them, no inch of gentleness from before. "I call it culling them," He spoke, not even hiding this side of him anymore. "For the benefit of the new world."
He threw his coat to the grass. He then walked towards them, ready to fight them if necessary. Sumi shivered a little as his eyes locked on her, remembering what his intentions with her were. Taiju then stood in front of the others to protect his three friends.
Senku just smirked at him, sweating. He's not even trying to hide his murderous intentions in front of them. Which means anyone who gets in his way... He stood a bit closer to the pots nearby. Sumi sniffed something and clamped her mouth shut. She already knew there was something sticking out in the pots nearby the minute she caught whiff of it. Taiju gasped as he saw Tsukasa's fist clenched, as it was hiding something. He let go of it to reveal broken pieces of a petrified person. Sumi and Taiju stared at the pieces in horror that he was still killing them. If he was already being this terrifying...how far would he go to have her by his side?
"Senku, Sumi," Taiju started off, getting their attention. Although he was just as terrified of what Tsukasa had done with the statues. "If things go bad, please take care of Yuzuriha. I'm gonna stop him! Right here and now!" He moved his feet and yelled while heading for Tsukasa before they could say anything. Sumi looked at him with wide eyes while Senku gritted his teeth, his eyebrows furrowed. Taiju didn't really need to throw his life away for his friends, twice now. And this definitely wasn't the right time to do so.
You pea-brained idiot! Senku thought while Yuzuriha let out a gasp. This guy killed a freakin' lion with his bare hands! You're ten billion percent screwed!
Senku grunted in frustration, turning around and running off. Sumi looked back at him knowingly. Now I've got no choice but to bust out my secret weapon. He reached into a pot to pull out the bow he was crafting the other night. The arrow was already loaded into it. Senku fired it, Yuzuriha gasping while looking back. It easily zipped past Taiju to head for Tsukasa dead on. By shooting at him now, I can at least break up their fight!
Even with this accuracy, however, Tsukasa stomped his foot, spinning around and catching the arrow mid-air. He didn't even break a sweat doing so. He then tossed the arrow as the end of it struck the ground from his throw. He spun around a couple of times before using his knee to kick at Taiju. He used his arms to block the blow, but Tsukasa's strength still sent him flying backwards. His hand had smoke coming out of it, as well as some scratches. Tsukasa opened his eyes in surprise that Taiju was still standing. He stared at his opponent silently for a few seconds.
"Nobody has ever taken one of my kicks full force and remained standing before. It's true, but what's even more interesting is the feeling I get that you actually refused to attack me just now. Why is that?" He spoke up in confusion.
"I don't hit anyone!" Taiju shouted in fury while staring him down. Sumi stared at Tsukasa as well, knowing that if she tried fighting him with her bare hands, she'd lose instantly. Using the spear wasn't gonna do anything, the bow proved that. And not to mention, she had to remember what he had done already. But then again, she wasn't as insane as Taiju was to even face him. "You can hit me or kick me or whatever the hell you wanna do!" He then opened up the front of his shirt to reveal his chest. "But I'm telling ya! You gotta stop breaking those statues!"
His three friends behind him were...baffled to say the least at this. The girls sweat-dropped while Senku took everything in him to not yell at him for his choice. Everyone was silent for a few seconds and Tsukasa crossed his arms, processing it himself.
"Taiju...let me make sure I understand you. You'll let me pummel you as much as I like so I stop breaking those statues. That's what you're saying, right?"
"Yeah! Exactly!" Taiju shouted and Sumi sighed deeply, pinching her nose. As much as she wanted to not scream at him, his plan was also fundamentally flawed. And yet he didn't see the issue with letting Tsukasa kick his ass, despite seeing him kill a grown lion.
Tsukasa put a hand over his mouth, sighing as he was just as baffled as the other three now. "I don't understand. You aren't making any kind of deal." Senku just chuckled while staring at them. Sumi stared at him in disbelief. "But if you insist on getting in my way-"
"I don't care how many times you wanna come at me, I'm not gonna stop trying to stop you!" Taiju screamed to interrupt him.
"No...no, just stop," Sumi quietly pleaded, waving a hand in front of her neck while shaking her head. This was just getting worse and worse... "Stop it."
"That girl you just revived," Yuzuriha flinched at being addressed. "What if I told you I'd kill her instead?"
Sumi snarled at him threatening her. Taiju froze and then stood in front of Yuzuriha immediately. He held up his arms to shield her from him. She looked towards the ground with a crestfallen look on her face. I get it now. This is why Senku was telling us to run away before. Senku stared at the now-enemy, saying nothing. Then Tsukasa looked at Sumi next.
"Sumi," She narrowed her eyes at him. "I know you were there at the beach that day. Whatever you heard from my conversation with Senku...I believe what's best for you is to come with me," He offered and she gritted her teeth, clenching a fist. "We can be more powerful together. Senku is wasting your potential. I can give you more than what he's willing to offer you. It's just like I said to him. He doesn't see you as his equal. I have all you'll need so that you're taken care of," He extended a hand, the scientist turning to her with wide eyes. He didn't expect him to actually tell Sumi all this. "So please-"
"I think that's enough, Tsukasa," Sumi interrupted while looking downwards, her eyes being unseen as a shadow loomed over them. Senku looked at her silently. "I know you think that having Senku in my life holds me back...but I've been through too much with him. To the point where I could never abandon him. Science isn't the only thing we share, but considering what you've said, I don't have the need to give a damn to try and convince you. So tell me all you want, but my answer will remain the same: I won't join you."
His eyes widened from her rejection, staying silent as he continued looking at her. She kept her fist clenched and Senku pulled her to be behind him so Tsukasa couldn't see her. He now looked a bit angry as no one made the next move, the three men holding their stares against each other. However, after a few seconds, Taiju let out a choking sound. Blood exploded from the side of his head as apparently that kick did do some damage. Then he fell onto his back, passed out.
"Huh?! No, Taiju!" Yuzuriha cried out while bending down to him. Tears were in her eyes while looking over the man. Senku and Sumi walked over for a better look.
"Seems like it did hurt him. He's bleeding like a stuck pig. He'll need a couple of days to sleep it off," Senku commented as they stared. Sumi sat down in front of Taiju to examine him better. She held his head on her lap, peeking down at the wound. She let out a few hums while checking him over, moving his head around gently while holding it.
"It needs to be cleaned off and then bandaged. Otherwise it'll get infected and then it'll get worse from there once the blood reaches his brain activity."
"Yeah," Tsukasa agreed, staring at Taiju. "So let's not fight each other. You just protect your girlfriend and quit worrying about some random statues." Yuzuriha looked up at him while Senku was turned away from him. Sumi continued looking at Taiju, not daring to turn towards Tsukasa. Not after all he had done and said. "Meanwhile, I will do what I need to do," He picked up his coat off the ground, looking towards Sumi. "Sumire...I wish things could've turned out better between the two of us. You've become someone I truly admire. I hope one day you can see things in my perspective."
Sumi gripped the grass underneath her as she didn't respond, a shadow over her eyes again. Tsukasa didn't wait for a response either as he wasn't going to give up on her, or his vision of a world without the older generation. He then turned around to leave, grabbing his spear and leaving them behind.
"Stay out of my way," He called out without looking back. Once he was gone, Sumi let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding.
"I have never felt this visibly sick in my life," She admitted, almost wanting to gag.
Senku chuckled while looking at her, hands on his hips. "He really thinks you'd join him, doesn't he?"
"Give me a break. I can understand why he wants to revive the strongest, but that doesn't mean I agree with it. He's an opportunist at this rate, and he took his to have a world in his image after being revived," She shook her head slowly. "And according to him, I'm an opportunity as well."
Senku didn't say anything, keeping his gaze at the area Tsukasa disappeared into. He narrowed his eyes as he didn't agree with Sumi being an opportunity for Tsukasa. He then turned to the arrow that was still stuck in the ground. "That arrow I shot was moving at over 200 kilometers per hour."
"That's crazy. He just grabbed it..." Yuzuriha murmured as she looked at the arrow, still at Taiju's side.
"He took down a lion by himself. I don't think it'd be out of the ordinary for him to grab it," Sumi pointed out and Senku sighed, turning to Taiju. He gestured for Sumi to move and she put his head back down safely, standing up.
"Nap time's over!" Senku then started stepping on him. "Rise and..."
"What are you doing?!" Yuzuriha protested at this, concerned for Taiju still. "You said he needed to sleep for a few days!" She pointed out while the green-haired scientist was still urging him to wake up. Sumi let out a giggle and she turned to her. "Sumi, you're just letting this happen?"
"Give me a freakin' break!" Senku replied while still stepping on him.
"When you know someone as long as Sen, you pick up on a lot of stuff. Taiju's actually okay," She held up a finger with a small smirk. "Tsukasa wouldn't fight against someone with an injury. Despite him being a murderer, he's still at least merciful."
"Is this it? You're just gonna lose that easily, ya big oaf?" Senku continued and Taiju regained consciousness immediately.
"No way! Not me!" He jumped onto his feet, to Yuzuriha's surprise.
"Oh wow! Are you really okay?" She wondered with white eyes.
"I'm made of stronger stuff than that!" He then pumped his fists. "And I'm still crazy-full of energy!"
"Well, thank goodness," Yuzuriha sighed in relief, a hand over her heart.
Senku smiled a little down at Sumi. "Nice job adding in the brain as a factor to convince him," He patted her head and she rubbed the back of her neck with a blush.
"Well, I just figured it would throw him off even more," She laughed a little. "Thank goodness for my experience in the medical field."
Taiju gasped as he realized something. "We gotta stop him! Before he can murder anybody else!" He was about to run off but was stopped by Senku grabbing him by the belt. Sumi stood up to grab it as well since Taiju could easily break out of that.
"Wait, ya big oaf!" He called out, both of them sliding against the ground a bit.
"I won't give up that easy!" Taiju tried even more to break free from them.
"We're not going to if you just listen to us, please!" Sumi shouted while squeezing her eyes shut trying to hold him off.
"Don't you understand what just happened? He showed us we can't stop him with brute force!" Senku added before they let go. The belt snapped against his back and he stood up, crossing his arms with a frown in defeat. Sumi sighed with her hands on her hips, closing her eyes. She opened them back up to look straight ahead at him.
"Look, as much as we all wanna stop him, we've all seen what he's capable of by now. So attacking him head on right now is a ten billion percent death sentence!" Sumi held up a finger. "Taiju, please don't tell me that you actually wanna do that to yourself?" She raised a knowing brow and he knew what she was getting at. If he were to go now, he would die and then Yuzuriha wouldn't be able to handle it.
"Still, we gotta do something," He stated as Senku walked past him. He picked up the arrow still in the ground, pulling it out. The tip of it was covered in dirt.
"In the stone world, there's only one sure-fire path to defeating a monster," He started off and they stared at him. Sumi had a small feeling of what that could be. He turned around to give them his trademark smirk. "Advancing civilization, and crafting weapons of science."
The four were in the treehouse as Senku and Sumi were breaking clay pots from the shelves. They tossed them onto the ground, even stomping on them for small pieces. "Uh, that seems wasteful," Yuzuriha spoke up as the other two watched with wide eyes.
"The heck are you guys doin'?" Taiju wondered in confusion.
"Staging a scene, obviously," Senku answered them, wiggling his foot. "This way it'll look like he freaked us out so badly, we just took some food and ran off."
"Although I hate breaking stuff that we put our backs into making the first three months I was here..." Sumi pouted with big lips.
"Whaddaya mean by that?" Taiju was even more confused. "Are we really gonna give up?"
"No, but it'll look like it," Senku chuckled while looking up. "If we can make some weapons of science before he realizes what we're really up to, then victory is ours. But if he gets wise to us? Game over. The race is on, you guys."
"These weapons are gonna take time, and if Tsukasa returns before we finish, it won't be enough to fight back. So we gotta take everything we can, essentials only," Sumi smiled while clapping her hands together. "Alright, now let's get ready to disappear into thin air!"
They stood outside with their belongings, Taiju carrying the most. Senku tied something to his waist as Sumi checked everything in their bags. "We're gonna hunt for materials to make weapons," He explained to all of them the plan. "Starting at Hakone! Just think of it as a big, 80-kilometer adventure!"
"That's like two full marathons!" Taiju smiled as they were walking in the forest. "We can knock it out in five hours." Senku raised a brow, glancing back at him.
"Maybe a freak of nature like you can," He remarked while the girls smiled at them being like brothers. Cherry blossom petals fell around them, getting their attention. Yuzuriha looked up, reaching out a hand.
"The cherry blossoms seem different somehow," She commented while catching a petal. Senku was holding one between his fingers as well to examine it.
"Because the ones we're used to, called Prunus Yedoensis, aren't self-pollinating," He explained to her.
"And that means...?" She trailed off while looking at him.
"They must've gone extinct right off the bat."
"When self-pollination ceases, it means that specific tree can't grow anymore," Sumi told Yuzuriha, closing her eyes and enjoying the scent of the petals around her. "The seeds for those kind of plants are limited enough as is. So the ability of the Prunus Yedoensis to adapt to the stone world disappeared probably in the first few years or so of everyone being petrified. A shame, really."
Yuzuriha glanced at some petrified people nearby, and eventually, they reached the edge of a cliff. Trees and mountains were everywhere, along with some cherry blossom trees. The petals kept flying as Taiju looked up, gasping. Sumi glanced to Senku, giggling as he was exhausted.
"Man! What an amazing view!" Taiju exclaimed as they took a few seconds to look.
"It's perfect," Senku smiled a little, pulling out a sextant. Sumi took out her own and they closed one eye each to examine the skies.
"Uh, what are those things? Scopes?" Taiju pointed at them in their hands.
"It's a sextant," Senku explained while they still looked. "It's been 35,970 seconds since sunrise."
Yuzuriha flinched with white eyes. "You just spit out that number out like it was no big deal."
"Well, while he was a statue, he counted for hundreds of billions of seconds," Taiju informed her to explain it better. "So he's pretty good at it by now. Sumi did the same thing, though she kept losing count."
Sumi almost dropped her sextant as her eyes went white, letting out a small choke. "Mm, thanks for the reminder, Taiju..." She stated in a strained voice.
"Relax, it's no big deal, just trial and error," Senku told her while they both kept looking. "A sextant is supposed to tell you your exact location based on the time. Unfortunately, this one seems to be total garbage. Getting anything, Sumi?"
"No, nothing. I don't get it," She blinked in confusion while looking at hers. Senku let out a sigh.
"But without GPS, these are all we've got. I'm guessing we're around Kamakura, but I'd love to know our true coordinates."
"It could really help if we had something to distinguish this area apart from everything else," Sumi stated as Taiju looked around.
"Think there's still any buildings we can use as landmarks?" He questioned while checking their surroundings.
"They've all crumbled after this long," Senku answered, Sumi shaking her head. "There's nothing left."
"Same thing goes for any signs that would tell us where we are. Unless somehow a building got preserved underneath all the stone and flora, which seems very unlikely at this point in time," She added as Yuzuriha saw something in the distance. She gasped, getting Taiju's attention.
"Hey, is something the matter?" She didn't answer and instead turned around. She ran off towards the forest. They decided to follow her to see what was going on.
Isn't that...? Yuzuirha wondered to herself, still not saying anything. Sumi got a whiff of something and she gasped, realizing the same thing as her friend. Yuzuriha then noticed something up ahead. "It looks like there's some kind of clearing in the trees up ahead!" She told the three and they finally came to a stop at an open field. "Kamakura's landmark's still standing..."
Taiju looked up, letting out a laugh. Sumi beamed at what they were looking towards, as she knew she smelled the stone. Senku breathed heavily, but had a smirk on his face as it finally hit them where they were. "Our location...is 35 degrees, 19 minutes north by 139 degrees, 32 minutes east." They stared silently at the statue in front of them, the petals flying. The statue had lost some pieces due to the passage of time, but it was still mostly intact.
Yuzuriha was on the shoulders of her dad, smiling and pointing up ahead. "Look, you see?" She and her parents stood in front of the statue.
It seemed that not even the stone age could move the statue...Yuzuriha started to shed tears, and Taiju noticed it. "Hey, what's wrong, Yuzuriha?! Did someone make you cry?" He looked around for someone, even though it was just the four of them. "Was it me?!"
"I'm not crying!" She held out her arms. "I mean, I am, but it's not that kind of crying," She said while tears were still coming out of her. "Cause it's not anybody's fault, okay? It's just..." She looked back at the statue. "This is a lot for me to handle. I haven't been up for a full day, and none of this feels real to me yet. But seeing the Great Buddha of Kamakura like this...makes me realize that we really are in Japan, and thousands of years have passed by without us." She remembered all her friends at school, who she didn't know when she'd see again. "I thought about my mom, and my dad, and everyone else...and I just..."
Sumi clamped her mouth shut to process what she just said. She could see what she was getting at, but...for her at least, she never really came here with her parents. She remembered how hard things were at home...how she could never sleep at night. She sometimes used to drag Senku out here just to see the cherry blossoms, and she loved it. But when Yuzuriha mentioned her parents, she just...couldn't help but think of how things were going in her own home. A single tear escaped her eye, flying past Senku.
He glanced at her in confusion before realizing what was going on. He opened his eyes wide staring at her. Seeing her here, now, with the cherry blossoms...it reminded him as well of her insisting on going here with him. And it was a distraction he thought he didn't need every single time. But...it was never annoying to him, quite the opposite. Her skirt danced with the wind, her hair and bow doing the same next to him. And while the trees looked as they usually did...Sumi didn't to him, he couldn't look away from her because of how she looked in the petals. And the cherry blossoms never mattered, it was the time he spent with her that did.
He let out a chuckle, deciding that it was time to go instead of dwelling on the past. He walked past her, standing between all his friends. "Come on, there's nothing to worry about. We're gonna beat Tsukasa before too long, then saving humanity is right around the corner." He turned to Sumi, patting her head. She blinked, looking up at him in confusion. "Right, Sumi?"
She slowly smiled at him, using the back of her wrist to wipe at her eyes. "Yeah..." She let out a small sniffle.
"Is everything alright, Sumi?" Yuzuriha asked her in a bit of concern, wondering why she was crying too.
"I'm okay," She gave a soft smile to her.
"Senku's right, ya know!" Taiju smiled in agreement with him. He then ran a few steps towards the statue. "Thank the Great Buddha here for showing us the way! He's still standing strong after thousands of years, just like a god!" He then turned around to them. "Or like a Buddha! Well, anyway, it's a true inspiration!" He then laughed confidently, hands on his hips.
"Well yeah, the statue's made out of bronze," Senku stated matter-of-factly. Taiju slid over to his side. "The chemical compound's resistant to corrosion."
Sumi giggled as Senku just didn't really share the same mindset as Taiju's right about now. Since, well, he was a science guy. Trying to believe in something like that just wasn't his style of putting it. He thought logically, not emotionally.
"Look, though! There's no trees or plants or anything growing around the Buddha! Kinda like he wanted us to find him so he made it super easy!" Taiju gestured to the statue behind him to try and get the point across.
"Well, yeah. It's leaking copper ions like crazy. And those are toxic to most kinds of vegetation..."
"Copper is odorless, but I recognized the trees around it," Sumi stated; even if she could smell the statue, it had been over thousands of years, so it probably wouldn't even be there anymore. Senku smacked a fist against his palm.
"That gives me an idea, though! We'll use bronze to make mirrors," He zipped over to the statue, holding a stone axe. He grinned widely as he was ready to start hitting the statue with it. "Time to give those crappy sextants some upgrades! I just need some of this, so..."
"No, stop!" Taiju cried out in horror while holding his head. "That is like, so wrong!" He rushed over to stop Senku, who was cackling like a madman. "Don't hurt the Great Buddha!"
"You're too superstitious!" Senku argued back, the two girls glancing at each other. Then they started giggling as it felt like old times to watch them bickering.
"He'd want us to survive anyway!"
"I believe in science! We need the resources, you dumb ox! Don't you wanna live?"
Later, the sun started to set as they continued on. Sumi grinned playfully at an exhausted Senku once again. If she could, she'd get him a bottled water. They eventually took a break to set up camp. That night, Yuzuriha helped Sumi make soup for all of them, which they enjoyed by a fire.
"What the hell are you doing?" Senku asked as the stars were out, and Yuzuriha was asleep. Sumi was to the left of Senku, also looking at their friend. The two were snuggled up in sleeping bags. Taiju was protectively holding a spear, not planning on going to sleep apparently.
"Guarding us against predators. And Tsukasa might come after us, too," He answered, Senku flinching a little while looking at him in shock. He then closed his eyes.
"Sorry, man, but if the lion killer finds us, we're screwed. So stressing about him is illogical," He remarked, causing Taiju to turn around to them.
"Seriously?"
"Take it from me, Taiju," Sumi spoke up quietly. "If Tsukasa really believes that we need a couple of days, he's not gonna just show up only after a day. So I wouldn't worry about him. Besides, I don't smell any animals in the area, so I think we'll be fine for tonight."
"Are you sure?" He raised a brow and she pointed at her nose.
"Keen sense of smell, remember? The only thing I smell at the moment is your fussing," She told him and Senku snickered a little.
"Ha! I knew I picked the right person to be my science partner. Just go to sleep!" He then laid down on his side. "You need rest to do your job, you big oaf. Just ask Sumi, you think I'd let her training at night routine slide at this rate?" At this point, she had almost gone back to sleeping regularly. She hadn't trained ever since finding out about Tsukasa, though she needed to. She had to keep up her fighting skills so she could face more potential threats—though definitely not a lion.
"That's because you're mean," She pouted from her spot, and he waved a hand.
"If you wanna call it that, be my guest," He then pointed to the girl without looking at her. "You go to sleep too or I won't let you do your job either."
She huffed and closed her eyes, though a small smile was on her face for him being so thorough in that she got some rest.
The next morning, they traveled on a small raft on the river. The sun was shining down on them while Taiju was pulling the raft. Senku chuckled at him. "Looks like our big water buffalo is actually struggling a little bit."
"Don't worry about me! I got this!" Taiju called out, looking back at his friends. "There's still plenty of juice left in the old tank. We'll be just fine," He then noticed something from Yuzuriha. "Hey, Yuzuriha, your toe is still kinda rocky-lookin'." Her big toe was covered in stone.
"Yeah, I know. Not gonna lie, it's not great," She smiled with a blush on her face. "But I don't want you to worry about me."
"I could've looked it over for you," Sumi offered to her while rowing from behind. "You guys do know I have medical experience, right?"
"But I am worried, tho-" Taiju tripped and got a mouthful of water.
After that, they arrived on land. Taiju poured some revival fluid onto Yuzuriha's toe. "That's cold!" She cried out and then shook her foot a little. "Feels like the pain is finally starting to go away." Taiju waved Sumi over to check on her foot.
"Whoa! Does the revival fluid have some kind of healing power, too?" He asked as Sumi held her friend's foot, examining it. Senku cracked his neck from side to side.
"Though that would be amazing, it's just cracks filling in. Another part of the de-petrification process," He pointed to the side of his head that had a crack over it. "I mean, we're still alive, even with these cracks in our faces."
Taiju rubbed his own. "Yeah, that's true," He murmured, though in the case of Sumi and Yuzuriha, they just had it over their bodies instead of faces.
"I guess when you pour the revival fluid on a petrified person, it substitutes cracks instead of skin," Sumi rubbed her chin in thought, sitting on her knees with a small hum. "Huh, maybe because of passage of time, the stone doesn't account for every skin cell. But the nitric acid can only do so much in the body," She touched the crack on her neck. "Though I have to wonder if because of gender that those cracks aren't on my face or Yuzuriha's."
"Heh," Senku grinned at the black-haired scientist. "Interesting theory, Sumi. You might have a point there."
"And I noticed gaining hair can be part of it too sometimes," Sumi continued, and they all blinked. "I mean, look at the both of us, you have an extra strand of hair," She pointed up at Senku, as he only had one forelock before petrification. "Meanwhile, mine grew out and gained curls, and my bow also got longer," She held up her curled ends; her hair did used to be just to her shoulders, not her waist after all.
"Oh yeah! I didn't even notice your hair grew out, it was shorter before," Yuzuriha said in realization. "It looks really cute, too!"
"Ten billion points. I didn't think anyone would notice that detail," Senku let out a small chuckle at her observation.
Sumi stood up with a smile. "Your foot will be fine, Yuzuriha. I don't see any reason why you shouldn't be able to walk."
"Thanks, Sumi," She smiled gratefully at the girl.
"So let's keep going, shall we?" Senku was about to leave when he stopped to look over his shoulder with a smile. "Soon we can soak in some real rejuvenation fluid."
Yuzuriha's eyes widened and then smiled. "I just remembered something that's in Hakone!" Taiju beamed at her.
As the sun set again, Tsukasa had made it back to their camp. He stared inside as they were gone. "The room's been torn up," He looked at the ground to see footprints. "And there's all these footprints. Seems like they panicked and ran away," He touched the footprints, and he grinned, because he wasn't so convinced. He got onto his feet, looking up ahead. "Yeah. That's exactly what they want me to believe. I'm no fool. I know Senku or Sumi aren't the kind of people to turn tail and run." He recalled all the petrified birds. If they really ran away like they wanted him to assume, they would've taken everything. There was something that didn't add up for him, though.
But why would he lie about Taiju being down for the count, and then secretly head west? And why would Sumi state the risks of leaving the injury untreated if they were going to leave? He flinched and looked towards the sun as it hit him. It's obvious. Senku and Sumi are planning on using their knowledge of science to make weapons to fight me. But where'd they go?
Taiju led the way, Yuzuriha behind him. And once again, Senku was trudging alone at the rear end. He gasped as he came to a stop. "We made it to the goal, guys! Hot springs here we come!"
Sumi gasped and then smiled excitedly. "A hot spring! Very relaxing on the body, I might add."
"Wow!" Yuzuriha admired their surroundings. "And the view of Mount Fuji is incredible!"
"It's great, yeah," Senku spoke up while panting. He then stood up with a smile. "But you three better not forget the real reason that we traveled all this way."
Taiju turned to him seriously. "So what's this weapon of science?"
Senku and Sumi glanced at each other, chuckling in unison. They then looked back to Taiju with smirks, Sumi having a hand on her hip. "Oh, just one of the greatest inventions in human history," He held up a fist.
"Smartphones?" Taiju wondered and Sumi let out a psh.
"You know, I gotta praise your one-track mind on something that still doesn't exist," She couldn't help but comment with a small smile. "But no, still not those. You're dialing it way too far. And yes, that pun was intended."
"You do love your smartphones," Senku pointed his hand forward so that it was a finger gun. "Wrong. The gun. We're gonna make some gunpowder." He then pretended to fire. "The stone age was two million years ago. Gunpowder was invented fairly recently, in comparison. About 700 AD. Basically, we're gonna warp ahead 1,998,700 years. A giant leap in civilization. Time to get excited, you guys."
Tsukasa's eyes widened as he realized where the footprints were headed. "Hakone. If they make gunpowder, I don't stand a chance. Senku and Sumi can do it," His eyes were almost covered in black, his hair lifted around too to make him scarier. "So I have to stop them before that happens."
"Lucky for us, Japan is full of volcanoes," Senku used his stone axe against the wall. "Go to any hot spring and there's a plethora of sulfur just waiting to be taken. And that's the main component of gunpowder," He explained to his friends while Sumi sat next to him. He then grabbed some of the stones that remained. He chuckled while holding them up. "We're about to create our ultimate weapon against Tsukasa. Some black powder should do the trick just fine," He then dropped them onto the ground.
"Time to start advancing civilization!" Sumi cheered while pumping a fist.
Angel: Someone asked what my favorite openings and endings are, and I'll answer it since I love the music. From top to bottom, first it's a three-way tie between Good Morning World, the first opening, Wasuregataki for season 3, and the second half opening of season 3. I don't think I could choose between the three of them though, they all slap. If I have to choose, just look at the second half of season 3's opening. Made me cry when I heard it, and I immediately wanted to get it on Spotify. Sangenshoku from the second half of season one is my second favorite. And Paradise from season 2 is my least favorite. It's still a good song, but it's a bit slow for my taste.
As for endings, Yume no Yo na would be another tie with Where do we go and Suki ni Shinayo for just the visuals, I adore all three. Even if it wasn't for the visuals, I'd still love Yume no Yo na because it's so soft and nice to listen to for me. Where do we go, I love the song and visuals just as much. And plus it's got a nice beat to it. Suki ni Shinayo wins massive points for the sand art aspect of it. Voice would probably be my second favorite, the song's nice. Life is a catchy song, but it doesn't speak to me as much as the other endings.
Oh, I forgot about Good Morning New World! I mean, I like it well enough, but it would go above Paradise and under Sangenshoku. I don't listen to this one that often for me to love or hate it.