The day had finally come as Senku stood on top of the tank. "Alright! It's time to get our mission to save Sumi and Chrome into full swing!" He announced to all of the villagers. "Our plan is simple: here goes. First, we use the powered up Steam Gorilla to break down Chrome's bamboo prison. Then, we run. That's all!"
Everyone gave a sweat drop at the back of their heads. "That is pretty simple, alright," Suika commented with one eye smaller than the other. That was how baffled she was.
"Indeed," Gen gave a small smile, hands in his sleeves. "But it needs to be quick before they find out. And our precious Steam Gorilla's meant for one-time use. Senku doesn't have much ouble-tray letting go of things except for Sumi of course." Suika then nodded in agreement, a small knowing smile on her face.
They heard something and turned to Kaseki bawling his eyes out. He was latching onto one of the wheels. "We can't crush our adorable Steam Gorilla!" He cried out in dismay.
"We don't have that much time, though," Kohaku pointed out, walking up with a straw hat in her hands. "It's Chrome, you know. He's gonna start running his mouth before too long." She could just picture it now.
"I'm a scientist! Rainbow Flames!"
"Just because Sumi's there doesn't mean she can always stop him. Especially since he's guarded. But truth is, we may be already too late on that," She said after thinking about it and Ruri gave a small knowing sigh.
"Yeah, that's a very good point..." Senku agreed with the blonde. He then faced everyone with his hands on his hips. "So let's get ready to set out ASAP!"
"YEAH!" They all cheered happily, talking in excitement.
Meanwhile, at the Tsukasa Empire, he was in the cave. A blonde woman and a red-haired man were standing in front of him, Hyoga, and Ukyo. The archer kept a straight-laced face so that he wouldn't give himself away that he was allying with Sumi. Plus, if there was any information he could get from this, he could tell her. "Senku's not the type to abandon his friends. And neither is Sumire, for that matter. I have no doubt he'll use science to develop a way to save Chrome." Chrome looked out from his cell while Sumi was keeping an eye on the guards. "Maybe even build a steam engine to stage an assault. And I have no idea if Sumire's came to the same conclusion herself." Ukyo blinked in silence since...he knew she did.
He gritted his teeth a little as he doubted that she didn't. But his gut was telling him something else...that she really wasn't doing that. She already had been here for a few days...so maybe he just had to give it a little more time so they could grow closer. "That's why we'll all counting on your strength."
"You need...my strength?" The red-haired man asked slowly with a grin.
"I interviewed you back in the pre-stone days," The blonde woman gave a small fond smile. He gasped as he didn't even realize it until now. "At the police martial arts academy? You completely aced the baton category. You were a crazy police officer who's crazy strong."
"So..." Tsukasa started off to him. "I'm asking you to oversee the prison and all traps surrounding him."
"And we'll need you to keep a look-out for Sumire herself. If you see her anywhere near the prison, you have our permission to throw her into her own cell," Hyoga spoke up, Ukyo and Tsukasa gasping for different reasons. Ukyo flinched and sweated nervously as Hyoga stared at him in silence. "Wouldn't that be a fitting punishment?"
"No," Tsukasa closed his eyes and Hyoga gripped his staff tightly. "She hasn't made any significant moves, so why should we start now? If she does happen to show, treat her like anyone else here...with respect. She knows she can't do anything without any of her tools...so don't hurt her," He glared at the man, since he knew he was capable of harming Sumi, and after what happened with the arrow, he didn't need that again. The man gave a big grin in response. "Well, Yo?"
"You bet, yo. Oh yeah!" He laughed while the blonde laughed a little too. "Just leave everything to Yo! I could use the prisoner as bait to take down this Senku guy and his entire gig of baddies, too!" He spun his baton around rapidly, the woman clapping. "And don't worry, I won't hurt your woman."
Tsukasa gave a pleased smile at him. Ukyo silently sighed in relief at this. Although he was a bit disgusted to hear Sumi referred to as such...he just hoped that didn't become a regular thing.
We'll bust myself out before Senku gets here, with the power of science! Sumi and I got this...cause I'm Chrome, the bad science user! He grinned widely while gripping a bar in front of him. Sumi frowned to herself at all the traps. She'd have to get him over those too... Hmm...how the hell are we gonna do that, though? Tsukasa's guys took away all our science stuff we had on us when Sumi and I got caught! He sighed while bending down in front of the door. He picked up a rock and then started hitting the wall with it. The walls and floors are way too hard to dig through. He then started rubbing the rock against the rope. I guess I could spend a few days grinding down the rope that holds the bamboo bars together?
One of the guards immediately noticed him and glared. Chrome whistled while walking away. Sumi sighed to herself, looking away. We already considered grinding down the rope, and he can't dig himself out...not with his low upper body strength. If you grind down rope with rock, the guards will notice you, idiot...
No, that's never gonna work. Now what would Senku or Sumi do in this situation? He then remembered what Senku would do while he calculated, and held two fingers near his head. The two of us gotta formulate an escape plan... Chrome let out steam from his nose and then went pale as nothing came to mind. Damn it! That won't work either! I can't just imitate Senku.
"And boom!" Chrome turned around in alarm from Yo's voice right outside. Sumi blinked and then peeked around the corner to see him. He had used his baton...to flip one of the guards rapidly in mid-air. Her eyes widened at this and Yo stood up straight.
"What'd you expect me to do, give you a slap on the wrist? You ruined the trap, and the guilty ones always gotta pay for their crimes..." Sumi realized that it was the same man who had broken off the stone from one of the traps. Yo spun his baton with a smirk. "But, that's enough," He approached the guard with a small smile, though the guard was now a bit intimidated by him. "We're all good, okay?"
"Yeah, I'm sorry, Yo..." He mumbled, and Yo moved the baton at the side of the man's head. He swung it back and forth.
"No need to apologize, I said. We're good," He assured, though the guard was still sweating in fear of what he could do to him. "In fact, if any of these boneheads try to give you grief about it, I'd be happy to have them pay!" He then laughed while stretching his arms.
"This guy is crazy," Sumi murmured to herself while sweating. "He must've been assigned to Chrome's prison...damn, it's gonna be even harder to break Chrome out with this guy on him..."
"I like this new world," Yo smiled a bit while looking out to the sky. "It's simple."
Two businessmen were talking in a home, a fountain right outside. "Thank you for helping us wipe our slate clean, sir," The one with glasses nodded repeatedly.
"Oh, sure, fine," The other man remarked nonchalantly.
"I couldn't imagine going to prison for something harmless," The one with glasses smiled happily. "Like tax evasion." He laughed it off before bending down and picking something up. It was revealed to be a box, and he held it out to the man. "These are for you."
He took it and opened the box to reveal steamed buns. He picked one up as underneath them was a bunch of money, and he grinned widely. "These steamed buns look awfully tasty...let's toast, I'll pour you a drink." He held out a bottle and the bespectacled man held out his glass.
"Thank you very much, sir."
"And boom!" Yo suddenly opened the door, some of the wine spilling from the bottle. He was wearing a cop uniform.
"What the?!"
Yo laughed while staring them down. "It looks like I found a couple of baddies!" He grinned while wrapping his arms around them. Then a bunch of federal agents came rushing into the room.
"Grab 'em!"
"Move, move!"
Yo took out his baton and then stuck one against the face, drawing blood. "And boom! Boom!" Once all of the agents were defeated with ease, the two men were running away from the scene. One of them drew out a gun, his hands shaking. He fired it and ended up hitting Yo across the cheek. He yelped in fear as the bullet had hit the wall next to Yo's head. The cop grinned as the man was getting away. He then pulled out his own gun, and shot at the man...killing him.
Yo sat in front of his bosses as he was detailing what happened. "The baddie ran away...so I shot him! The way I look at it, I did nothing wrong," The two were baffled from hearing his story. "I mean, who wants to go through some big pain in the ass trial anyway? He's a bad guy, so just kill him!" He pulled out his baton to point at the commissioner. "Boom, right?"
He recoiled back in shock and then growled. They didn't want the suspect murdered, they just wanted him put away because that was the way they did things. "You're fired!" He growled at Yo in anger.
Yo just gave a proud smile. I kinda had no future in the old world...so hooray for the reset, you know?"
Uh oh...is that guy the prison boss? Bad news for me and for Sumi. We can't make any moves while he's around.
The guard then stood up as Yo gave a small grin. "Because in the stone world we're in, I can make it to the top!" His grin widened as he put an arm around the guard. "You see, how things work now...Tsukasa, Hyoga, and Ukyo are the three kings, right? Except that's like completely wrong! It's the four kings, with myself included! Which means, I gotta put on a good show so I can take my throne!"
"Oh wow," Sumi gave a big sweat drop hearing this. "Considering what he's up against, I doubt he'd make it..."
Yo then gave a bashful chuckle while pressing his fingers together, swinging back and forth. "And once I'm at the top..." He clasped his hands together while thinking of the blonde woman he was with earlier. He then puckered his lips and Sumi turned away, gagging while pointing to her tongue. Ukyo then approached her from the left.
"Oh, there you are," She commented as he stopped in front of her.
"Anything new?"
"Oh, just this new guy in front of Chrome's prison, unfortunately..." Sumi sighed and he looked over her shoulder to see Yo there. "We've gotta be really careful from now on with him guarding it. Hey, he was revived after you were, wasn't he? Can you tell me anything about him?" She stood up, hand on her hip.
"I see you're already familiar with him..." Ukyo gave a sigh with a sheepish smile on his face. "That's what I came here to talk to you about. His name is Yo. From what I hear, he used to be a police officer until he was kicked off the force. And he's really good with a baton, just like you with science and me with my hearing."
"Oh no," She muttered in a bit of dismay. "There's no way I can compete against that if I wanted to force myself through..." Even if she wanted to, she still had the traps to consider.
"I don't think you'll have to," Sumi turned around to Ukyo in confusion as he tipped his hat. "I was in the meeting where he was assigned to Chrome. Tsukasa wants him to leave you alone, so you can walk around all you want here. But I'd still keep my guard up. He's really unpredictable."
"Huh. That works out for me," She gave a small grin, though it did raise the question of why Tsukasa was just...allowing her to walk around without any issue. She had no idea if he knew she was aware of Senku's plan; and considering the amount of security, she really hoped he didn't. Then again...his emotions towards her did cloud his judgement. If she had to guess, he was probably debating what was going on in her head, and she'd rather keep it that way. She hummed while turning to him. "Thanks for the information, Ukyo."
Yo looked up as he stopped thinking about the blonde, noticing all of the awkward looks he was getting. "Uh..." Yo cleared his throat and instead became his regular self again. "So then! I'll use that primitive guy to lure...Senku, was it? Right into a pit trap! One wrong step and boom! There he goes with all his bad buddies! I'm gonna make this plan work, you hear? If it's the last thing I'll ever do."
Chrome gritted his teeth, Sumi biting her lip nervously. "Not so loud," The guard warned him, and Yo just looked at him in confusion. "All I'm trying to say...is I'm pretty sure he heard that whole thing," He pointed right at Chrome.
"So what?" Yo glanced to the side as he felt a presence there. Sumi and Ukyo both flinched in alarm.
"You think he knows we're here?" Sumi whispered to him.
"Let's make a run-"
"Hey!" Yo popped in and noticed them, the two jumping up in alarm with wide eyes. "It's one of our leaders Ukyo and our guest!" He grinned while wrapping his arms around them. "Get a kick out of this, why don't you?" He led them over to Chrome, who blinked in shock to see the two. They could only stay silent and go along with this so Yo wouldn't get suspicious of them. "It's not like he could talk to his buddies or anything, and Sumi can't do anything," He let go of the two and they watched him get closer to Chrome. He bent down to the brunet. "Don't sweat it. Besides, he's just a monkey boy."
Chrome growled while actually putting on a monkey face. He then let out a growl. "Who do you think you're calling a weak twig-armed, bean-sprout looking dumbass monkey boy?!" He snarled in defense.
"What? I didn't say all that," Yo said in alarm, both Sumi and Ukyo laughing nervously while sweating.
"Monkey boy...? So original..." Ukyo deadpanned at this.
"This is why you never insult your prisoners..." Sumi mumbled while looking away.
"You're gonna regret this, you hear me?!" He screamed to them and Sumi picked at her ear. She then frowned a bit towards Chrome. At least he was okay, but now they had an obstacle to deal with. Damn it... He then sat down a rock. These people may see me as some kind of moronic, primitive guy who doesn't know anything. But they'll be sorry when Sumi and I use science to bust out of this cage!
"Ah, this has been fun," Yo smacked Sumi and Ukyo from behind and then guided them away. "We'll take it from here, guys. Feel free to stop by whenever you want!" He waved them off and they walked away. Sumi let out a deep sigh once Yo wasn't in earshot.
"He really wants to prove himself, huh...?" She asked and Ukyo slowly shook his head.
"Even if he could, it won't change anything...he's too much of a dreamer to ever really make the ranks. So what now?" He turned to her and she rubbed a temple.
"Well, Chrome's a scavenger type. So he'll find a way to get materials sooner or later." Ukyo was talking a nap while Sumi and Chrome continued sending messages to each other. "I told him to get as many plants as he could once he convinces a guard to let him out to take a piss."
Chrome extended his hand out through a gap in his cell. The guard nearby was taking a nap and he woke up, seeing Chrome gripping his pants. "He'll have to play the part so that one of them knows he has to use the bathroom..." Chrome looked desperate while whining. The guard stared at him, knowing what Chrome needed. He then nodded in agreement as the sun started to set.
No matter how long we try to think of some genius plan, I'm just not as smart as Senku or Sumi. His hands were tied while being led out into a grassy land, one guard both in front of him and behind him. Like Sumi said, first I need to gather up materials. That's always been my specialty. Less thinking, more action: search! I gotta follow her instructions. That's where my science begins.
"And then Chrome will take it from there," Sumi explained to Ukyo at their meeting point. "I told him to grab anything he can find. I know he'll come up with what we need given the type of flora that tends to grow around here..." She placed a hand on her forehead, looking towards the grassy field.
"So what's up, man?" Chrome jeered as they came to a stop. "Do you really wanna watch me go take a dump or something?"
"Shut up!" He snapped while looking away. "Just do it, okay?"
He chuckled while walking off into the bushes. The two guards were sitting on a rock, their backs turned. Chrome whistled to himself and looked around rapidly. He then started stuffing whatever he could get into his pants, just like Sumi said.
"How do you know for sure he'll grab the right item?" Ukyo wondered as she was sitting on the rock.
"It's Chrome. He'll find it, I have faith in his searching skills. He always manages to find anything we need," She gave a small smile, sighing knowingly. "Although he'll definitely get distracted by other stuff first..."
Chrome was returned to his cell, looking down at his pants. Alright. This is my loot. Now let's see... He took the plants out of his pants to examine them. Is there anything I can use to help me escape? Gotta remember what Sumi told me over Morse code. He had gathered dead Sheperd's purse, dandelions, sorrel, dried branches, and dried shiso. He then realized something from the pile. "Aw, yeah! Check it out!" He smiled while holding up a four-leaf clover. "A four-leaf clover! Ruri and I used to hunt for these things like crazy! Those were good times..." He then tossed it onto the ground in anger. "Who cares?! How am I supposed to escape with this?! It's just grass and twigs!"
He gasped as a guard was glaring right at him. He turned around to see Chrome casually whistling as he moved around, hands behind his back. The guard then grunted and turned away. Chrome looked up once the coast was clear, sighing in relief. He then looked to the branches. Twigs... He rubbed them together onto a log. This'll work. If I can set fire to the ropes binding the bamboo together, I'm out. He rubbed the twig furiously against it, but then he fell down, his body pale as he didn't succeed.
I can't! There's no way I'm starting a fire with these tiny sticks! Fire...damn it! He let out a deep breath while sitting up, and then remembered the battery he threw for the smokescreen. If only I had that battery...but they took it away when I was captured.
Sumi looked across to Chrome's prison, sweating a little. "It might take another day for him to realize it...but even then, ever since Yo, he's ordered the guards to start taking shifts so that they're awake now. So sending a message will definitely tip them off," She murmured to Ukyo as they had been out for at least an hour into the night and nothing had changed. Ukyo stared up ahead as something came into mind.
"You said he needed wires, right?" Ukyo spoke up and she glanced towards him in confusion.
"Eh? Yeah, but I don't have those on me. And if we steal back my belt now, Yo might notice if he's keeping an eye on Chrome. He'll know how to make sodium hypochlorite, but without those wires, there's no chance of escape," She frowned towards the prison.
"...Will you excuse me, Sumi?" He asked suddenly and she blinked towards him. "I think I'm gonna head to bed. You should too."
"I'll be fine," She waved a little. "Almost everyone's asleep, so me being gone isn't gonna raise any red flags since they don't care if I'm walking around. I'll be there soon." He nodded in agreement and walked off. She sighed with a fist to her cheek. Their deadline could be any day now before the tank came in...so she really hoped they'd make it in time...but how?
Chrome was asleep in his cell, and so was the guard. Snot was coming from Chrome's nose when suddenly, a battery was slipped in from the window. It rolled until it hit Chrome in the face gently. He opened his eyes and sat up, yawning while rubbing his eyes. He then looked at the battery and spit in shock. Steam came out of his nose in excitement, snatching it and putting the thing into his pants.
The guard lifted his head, looking into the cell. Chrome was fake snoring to give the illusion that he was still asleep. The guard then closed his eyes, Chrome looking towards him to check. Badass! Where'd the battery come from? He then thought of Taiju and Yuzuriha as models, just like Ginro did. Of course! It was Taiju and Yuzuriha! Sumi must've gotten in contact with them! Thank you guys so much for sneaking this in for me...! The battery made it look like he had a bulge in his pants, though... Now let's do this...oh wait! I can't send a message to tell Sumi to move in on the plan! Damn...I'll have to find her on my own.
Chrome watched the guard closely. Gotta operate under the cover of darkness. He started unraveling the wire. Hook the positive and negative ends together, and... He had the battery attached to some bamboo. He then slowly held out a wire to the battery, causing a spark. Two guards turned around as Chrome screamed from the flames. Sumi looked up and then flinched in alarm from the color up ahead, standing up.
"Wait...that's coming from...!" She murmured in realization.
"I saw a flash!" A horde of them immediately came rushing over. "It's a fire!"
"I smell a match!"
"And what was that sound?!"
Chrome blinked incredibly by how fast they were moving. Yo spun his baton to knock Chrome backwards. He fell onto a rock as Yo smirked at him. "Yo, monkey boy. Did you honestly believe we wouldn't notice a fire?" He then stood up, looking at the scorch marks from the battery, which wasn't tied to the bamboo anymore. "But still, you were able to light it. How?"
"Huh? And why the hell would I tell you?" Chrome retorted back to the redhead. "Don't underestimate science users!" He gritted his teeth towards Yo. This is bad. This jerk's gonna find my battery...
Sumi bit at her thumbnail nervously while looking up ahead. I know they saw the flash from his cell...he must've thought that if he lit the battery, he'd escape. But that's not how this is gonna work...if they find the battery, it's all over! I've gotta get down there and see if Ukyo's still awake! She ran down the rock to reach the grass as fast as possible.
"Hm..." Yo gave a look of thought. "Ah, rubbed some sticks together, did ya?" He noticed the branches inside of Chrome's cell. "Too bad. It must've been hard work."
Whoa, I got lucky. That was close. I'm so glad I brought the stuff Sumi told me to get in here...
Yo then started laughing, Ukyo listening in from the side. "Hang on, let me make sure I got this straight, okay?" He put his hand over his face. "When you say that you're a science user, that's all you were talking about, you primitive monkey boy? That's so freaking pathetic!" He then stopped laughing, Chrome staring at him in shock. "...No, I shouldn't laugh. It's not your fault you're a caveman. Sorry...truly." But he couldn't hold it and laughed out loud again. "But if you didn't know, rub some wood together, it gets hot. Rubs good and boom! Science, it's powerful stuff! I'd never underestimate...science."
He and the guards bust out laughing again just as Sumi arrived next to Ukyo. She blinked as she heard the laughter. "Eh? What'd I miss?"
"Not much," Ukyo gave a sheepish look, clearing his throat. "Anyway...Chrome's safe. He's thrown them off his trail." She let out a sigh of relief, a hand on her throat. Though she had to wonder how he even got the battery...
"I can't stop laughing! I'm sorry, you're so funny, monkey boy!" Yo cried out and Sumi gave a big sweat drop. Chrome gritted his teeth, letting out steam from his nose. He opened his mouth while clenching a fist. He really wanted to scream back at them, but he couldn't...because then he'd be blabbering his mouth.
To hell with this jerk! For your information, I used a metal battery, dude! How's that for primitive, huh? Chrome then flinched as he got an idea. No...science is not for bragging. Gotta keep my eyes on the prize. Matter of fact, I'll make 'em think I'm some backwards dummy. He then grinned while holding up two fingers. "Alright, I'll show you guys some badass science! Don't wet yourselves. First off, did you even know that you can boil down seawater to get salt? Cause I bet you had no idea!"
"Ehhh..." Ukyo and Sumi gave sheepish looks while hearing this.
"Is that true?" He whispered to the black-haired woman, who closed her eyes.
"I mean...yes...but we live nowhere near a coast, and it's not the only step you have to make..." Her eyebrow twitched and then she caught onto what he was doing. "Oh, I see what he's doing! He must be making them think that he doesn't know anything about science so that he won't blab anything useful."
"I guess even he knows he has a big mouth..." Ukyo murmured awkwardly as they kept watching.
Yo was the first to start laughing, followed by the others. Chrome gave himself a proud smile. "You just blew my mind! You're a scientist after all!"
"Aw, man," Yo waved to the brunet. "Good luck with that. A seawater prison break. It's gonna be something!" He left Chrome alone.
"What a dope!"
Seawater...prison break... That gave Chrome an idea. "We'll separate the saltwater with electricity, and we've acquired sodium hydroxide! The Yakuza used it to melt enemy corpses!" He remembered Senku saying when they had started work on the sulfa drug. Then he remembered Sumi mentioning it in the last message she gave him. Chrome dropped his fingers, looking at the cell door. That's right! Sumi said I needed sodium hypochlorite, which I might be able to melt the ropes. That must've been why she told me to get it. I imagine that wouldn't be too tough. But if Sumi had some on her, she would've already used it...meaning that she must've ran out. He looked at the battery in his hand. I've got electricity. All I need now is saltwater. Senku and Sumi used seawater, but I won't be getting any of that in here.
"Salt water?" Ukyo blinked as he and Sumi were heading back to her cave. "How will that help?"
She gave him a small smile. "When you separate salt or sea water using a battery or stored electricity, you make sodium hypochlorite," She held up a finger. "It reacts violently with strong acids or with water. And it's capable of melting stuff."
"How's he gonna get it though? He doesn't have access to that..." He sweated a little and she chuckled.
"That's not a problem for Chrome," She gave a confident smile. "Your own body pulls sodium from your bloodstream along with extra water just by producing sweat glands. So when you produce a lot of that, you get sodium and water together. The thing is though, you only produce about 40 to 60 millimoles per liter of sodium per sweat drop, so he's gonna need lots of it."
Ukyo gasped at her deduction as she placed her hands on her hips. "And right about now, Chrome knows the same thing, so our escape plan will be put into action by tomorrow morning! And I'll be waiting for him!"
Chrome took off his clothes, and dropped them onto the floor. There is one sure way to get saltwater. He started jumping up and down excessively, downing some water. He then ran in place, drank some move, and moved around wildly. Once having some more water, he squeezed his sweaty clothes into a bamboo pipe, only a few drops going in. He then did the same process, two guards staring at him in confusion.
"Uhh, the hell's he doing?"
"Who cares?"
Chrome continued this process as Sumi stood in front of Ukyo once they reached her cave.
"It's been fun, Sumi," He held out his hand. "This is where our alliance ends. Be careful out there."
"...Thanks, Ukyo," She gave a small smile and shook his hand. "You were a really big help to me and Chrome. Maybe one day he'll see it the same way."
"Yeah. Maybe," He agreed and left as she walked inside to go to sleep.
By the time the sun set the next morning, Chrome had a whole pipe full of saltwater. Sumi was already waiting by the entrance of where he was being held. Unfortunately, she had to leave her science equipment and whip behind, since they'd have no time to grab them.
Chrome was panting heavily as he took off his rope headband. He had the battery in his pocket and held out the wires. He glanced back at the guard, and then smiled widely to see Sumi's hair peeking out from the distance. He put the wires in the salt water and took a deep breath. We can pull this off... He then thought about Senku and Sumi in the water, as they had taught him so much. Now all of that was coming tenfold into this escape. Soon, the water sparked and steam came out of it. Chrome grinned while pumping a fist.
Once his headband was back on, he whistled while inching over to the door. He watched the guard that was still asleep, hiding the sodium hypochlorite behind his back. He then poured it over the ropes, still whistling as he did so. The ropes then broke off seconds later and he grabbed one of the bars. How do you like us now? I'm melting through the fibers using a chemically decomposed liquid. He pressed against the bar until it broke, the rest of the bars falling off easily. Sumi beamed happily as she heard the sound. This is how old Chrome and Sumi do a scientific prison break!
Once Chrome was freed, it alerted the other guards. Sumi came running in and Chrome tossed her a bar. She caught it and the two of them took down a guard together. Sumi then kicked one and Chrome swung his bamboo at the second. "Bad news! There's a huge bear in the jail cell!" Chrome called out to the ones outside, getting their attention. The bear was a lie, but I threw him off. Gen really taught me the value of a bluff!
"Nice one, Chrome!" Sumi smiled at him as they ran.
"This is the moment we've been waiting for!" He said with a big grin as they made it out into the outside. "Just one second is all we need..." The two then jumped out of one of the holes, shocking the guards. "To get the hell outta here!"
Sumi flipped into the air as they landed on one of the traps. The end of their poles got stuck into the tips for a few seconds so they could vault over them with ease. The two landed and then slid to a stop, the guards shocked that they got over the trap. "Surprised, huh? I pole vault all the time whenever I go out scavenging," He revealed to them as Sumi smirked.
"And I sometimes do it whenever I'm looking for herbs in the forest!" She chuckled, Ukyo watching the two from the side of the prison with a small smirk. They looked up ahead, noticing all of the lighter spots in the ground.
"You and I both know exactly where to move, don't we?" Chrome grinned as he didn't need to ask her if she could tell. She hummed in confirmation while gripping her bamboo close. The two nodded in unison and then skated past the traps.
"That primitive dude knows where all the traps are!"
Yo barged past the guards, looking up ahead in shock. "Yo, sir!" He saw the prison cell completely destroyed, to his disbelief. His eyes bulged out at the sight.
"What the hell?! He's out? How did he break through the bars, and all at once?" He then bent down to notice the burned rope. "The rope, it's melted! Crazy! Did he use science? That same monkey boy who was rubbing sticks together did this?!" He then gripped the rope in realization; only one person would know what to use if it took Chrome a while to figure it out. "Sumi! They must've been working together, but how'd they do it?! She wasn't anywhere near his prison for days!"
The guards started to run after the two. "Stop, you!" The two then flinched in alarm in front of a trap, not wanting to step on one of them. They already saw Yo punish one for revealing it, so they didn't want the same result.
"Aw, too scared to chase us?" Chrome looked over his shoulder as he and Sumi ran down the path. "Must be because Yo beat the ever-loving crap out of the guy who ruined that one trap. That's what happens when you punish mistakes too hard!"
"Wow, they're really terrified of him. Then again, he does have crazy skills with a baton," Sumi glanced at him.
Chrome looked up at the smokescreen. "The guy used our smokescreen to his advantage."
"I stole this handy little strategy from Ukyo," Chrome revealed to her and she glanced at him. She then gave a small smile that he was using what he learned well. "Learn the enemy's traps, and turn 'em back against them!"
"We're not out of this yet," Sumi told him as she smelled something.
"Yeah, this is bad," Chrome agreed while looking back again. "That Yo guy's after us cause he's scared of taking a beating himself!"
"Well, and because he wants to impress the three commanders, which is probably never gonna happen," Sumi panted out next to him. Chrome gave a small chuckle as he remembered Yo fantasizing about the blonde. "Let's run faster!"
Yo growled while charging forward. "Whoa! I see your point!" Chrome exclaimed as they picked up speed. Yo let out an angry yell while chasing them, easily catching up to the two. "Damn! He's crazy fast!"
"Must be the adrenaline of being pissed off that you escaped! He also could've figured out that you had help!" Sumi gritted her teeth while looking over her shoulder.
"You stupid monkey boy! And you sneaky, spry little thing! I'm trying to make it all the way to the top of the stone world, you hear me?! HEY CHROME! SUMI!" He had a crazy look in his eyes looking at the two. "I don't care if you live or die, but I'm not gonna let you get away from me!"
"Never call me that again, and if you even try touching us, I'll drop kick you off this cliff!" Sumi screamed at him, disgusted by what he said about her. The two pushed past some bushes, coming to a stop at the same cliff Chrome almost died from. "Uh-oh," She gasped as she slid to a stop next to him. They both looked down as it wasn't a safe drop, and they'd be washed ashore.
Bad news...it's a dead end!
Even if I jump and land on that pathway with Chrome, I don't have enough momentum with Yo right behind me. And that wouldn't stop him anyway.
Yo caught up to the two, and they readied their bamboo. I guess we'll just have to fight! Chrome swung his bamboo, but Yo ducked his head with ease. Before Sumi could react, Yo smacked his baton across Chrome's face.
"Chrome!" She shouted before growling and spinning her baton in front of Yo as he was about to strike her next. She swung down her leg to knock him off balance, but he used that to land on his hands. She gasped and once he landed on his feet, he charged right towards her. Because of the bamboo being too weak, it wasn't enough to fend him off as he yelled, smacking her hard using her own weapon. She grunted as she landed roughly on her back. Chrome then kneeled, wiping his mouth with the back of his wrist.
"Yo, you really are morons, huh?" Yo smirked down at them. "You must be if you think that two people with bamboo poles has any chance to cop with modern-day combat training. And here I thought you were the smart one, Sumi." She gritted her teeth up at him as he unfortunately made a good point. There was no way she could go up against someone as unhinged as he fought. Not with a bamboo pole, anyway. "I promised Tsukasa I wouldn't hurt you, but that all changed when you tried to fight me off. I'll give you guys a choice. Do you wanna go back to the cell with the crap beaten out of you with Sumi watching? Or do you just want me to just throw your dead body back in there?" Yo had a dark look in his eyes looking down at them. "You two screwed up. But I'll forgive you...we'll work it out somehow," He tapped his baton against his hand.
"Chrome..." Sumi panted out from the ground. "You might as well...tell him what's going on...before we die..."
"...I don't care...it's the same to me either way...cause honestly..." He grinned while looking up at Yo, Sumi slowly sitting up. "I've only got a few days left to live." Yo blinked in confusion, gasping as Chrome hunched over. He held his nose as blood dripped from it.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" He got his answer a few seconds later as Chrome vomited up blood right in front of Yo. He recoiled back in shock, sweating profusely. Sumi looked devastated for him, patting his back.
That can't all be from a cut in the mouth! This guy is seriously throwing up blood! And Sumi must've known about it the whole time given her face!
"I caught it in the village..." Chrome spoke up weakly. "A while back...I tried to keep it quiet...but I didn't want them to worry about me..." Yo was shaking as Sumi looked up at him. "But it's too late for me...pneumonia...and with you bastards without science...this disease is a real death sentence."
"It's true...I've done all I can from my end...but there's nothing we can do for him now. Trust us, you don't wanna get anywhere near him...and pretty soon, I'll be catching it too...goodbye to science for me," Sumi said while closing her eyes with a heavy sigh. Chrome then spit blood into Yo's mouth and he screamed in alarm, recoiling back in disgust.
"Hey, no, stop, you're getting it all over me, you dirty little caveman!" Yo tried to shield himself, but it was too late. He gave sounds of disgust as the two sat there.
"Here's the thing..." Chrome started off as they stared. "We may not have modern-day combat training...but I've mastered one move," He took the bamboo tube as Sumi grinned, taking her own. "And here it goes!"
"And I've got enough training in combat to at least do this against you!" Sumi slammed down the pole, raising up her lower half of her body. It felt like eggshells cracking to Yo as Chrome hit him in the junk with his bamboo tube. Sumi then followed it up with kicking him in the face with her foot hard. Yo's eyes bulged out as he fell in pain, a scratch mark on his cheek. He held his lower area, shaking on the ground. He then let out a painful sound as Chrome and Sumi ran off without a care.
"Yeah!" The two smiled while high-fiving each other for their teamwork.
Kohaku was watching the Tsukasa Empire to see if there was any more activity. She was laying flat on the tall cliff, surveying her surroundings. There was a straw hat on her head. She then saw something up ahead, recoiling her head back while gasping in shock. What she saw was Chrome and Sumi walking towards the location.
"No way..." She murmured in disbelief. She then brought the two back to the others, and they all cheered to see them alive.
"Chrome and Sumi are free, you guys!" Suika cried out happily as the two waved to their friends.
"You two broke out of there by yourselves! Way to go, you both!" Kaseki chimed in while waving his hands.
"I'm impressed you guys knew how to find our camp so easily," Kohaku commented while supporting them.
"Honestly, we didn't know where the hell it was," Chrome remarked and she glanced at him in confusion. "We just went in the direction we saw Suika go when she was scouting. Hoped you'd be able to see us with the telescope. But also, Sumi guided me when she saw your camp from a high point the first night we were there."
"Another excellent job by the Great Detective Suika," Gen smiled down at the bashful girl as everyone else was proud of her.
"Sumi!" Everyone exclaimed happily and she waved with a beaming smile, glad to see them too. Then her eyes went big as they all started rushing over to her like a stampede. She held up her arms, waving her hands rapidly at the group.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" She cried out but they all tackled her happily. "Ack!" They all surrounded her with happy tears in their eyes as they hugged her, and she attempted to calm them down. The black-haired scientist didn't think it'd get this emotional... "Okay, guys, I get it, I was missed! But can you please get off me?" She called out nervously from all the attention. Senku just chuckled while watching.
"Alright," He stepped over to the group. "Let up before she gets crushed."
They moved away and she stood up, dusting herself off. Senku silently eyed the bandage around her left arm. "I should've expected that being the village chieftess..." She gave an awkward laugh.
"Heh," He gave her a small smirk. "Glad to see you're back in one piece."
"Hmm," She gave him a small grin in response.
"But I'm curious," Gen looked over to the two. "How did you two manage to break Chrome out of his cell bars?"
"Oh, that? With my awesome science-I mean, our awesome science," Chrome corrected himself as Sumi gave him a small glare. "It was like seriously bad. I made that melty chemical stuff with some salt water and a battery. Sodium hydroxide, right? Sumi told me everything I needed." All of them except Senku and Sumi gave sounds of awe.
"That's awesome!"
"That is not what I told you," Sumi deadpanned, sweat dropping towards him.
"It's actually sodium hypochlorite," Senku corrected while digging his pinky into his ear. "You're close. But that's what you must've made in there instead. Since you didn't have any kind of membrane in the saltwater. It's what folks in my day called bleach."
"Power's up, you're cleaning!" Gen exclaimed joyfully, earning a laugh from Senku.
"It's a perfectly useful base. Great idea to use it, too. It melted right through all the cellulose in the weeds they made the rope from. Can't think of a better way to break out of a bamboo prison," He gave a smirk towards Sumi and Chrome. "Awesome job, you two! I'll give you ten billion points for your strategy and for your teamwork!"
Sumi smiled at him happily while Chrome gave a proud look. "I had to both spy on his cell and do some science work in order to coordinate with him. We spent our nights messaging each other so that no one would be none the wiser."
"Huh?" Ginro blinked in confusion from the crowd. "Message? But how could you two message each other without using the cell phone? Did you...whisper to him during the night?" He doubted she did, it wouldn't have been very effective.
"Oh yeah!" Sumi smiled in realization that she didn't explain how. "I made an LED light out of paper, some light bulbs, and a battery," She held up a finger. "Had to use up all of my sodium hydroxide to do it, but I had to if I wanted to plan his escape. Then I used my leftover paper to make a key for Chrome so he could know how to use it with his light bulb. You would've loved it, Kaseki."
"Ho ho!" Steam came out of his nose in excitement.
"Yeah! I don't know how she pulled that off since they took our equipment, but it was pretty bad!" Chrome grinned; he did know, but he couldn't exactly tell them. She already had gotten enough of a lecture from Senku just for going, so he'd spare her this time.
"You made an LED light...?" Senku blinked in shock at her. "Like in photography and then used that for Morse code...?" He gave a big grin as he would've came up with that as well. And it was the best way to plan out the escape instead of the two just guessing. He then grabbed her waist and spun her around, to the shock of everyone else. "Ha ha, ten more billion points for you, Sumire!"
"Uh..." She blinked down at him while holding his shoulders and he froze, realizing what he did. He cleared his throat and put her down. He looked away with a slight blush on his face. "I would've done the same thing..."
"Hang on," Gen spoke up, though was smirking towards them. "Speaking of sodium hydroxide, wasn't that...?"
"Yeah, while you two were doing all of that...we were using an alkaline solution to melt down cellulose for making paper," Senku confirmed to the two.
"Ha!" Kohaku smiled in amusement. "That's amazing! So Senku, Chrome, and Sumi were all basically using the same type of science!"
Ruri then noticed something on the corner of Chrome's lip. Her eyes widened a little. "Hey, Chrome...you're bleeding," She said in concern. Chrome briefly smirked before covering his mouth with his hand. He then bent over as blood was oozing onto the ground. Suika started panicking as Ruri came to his side. "Oh no! That's like what happened to me!"
"Poor Chrome must've gotten pneumonia while he was in there!" Suika cried out and they all looked down at him in concern.
"That's terrible!"
"Chrome..."
He let out a few coughs before he looked up and grinned. "Just kidding!" He said playfully, confusing almost everyone as Sumi giggled.
"I don't understand...you're okay?" Suika asked while Senku examined the 'blood.' He rubbed his fingers together and then gave a big smile.
"You have a lot of plants, too," Senku pointed out when he and Sumi had acquired Chrome's shed.
"I try them on myself...and I keep the ones I think are good."
Senku let out a joyous chuckle as he knew what was going on. "Did you really use fake blood to make those guys stop chasing you?"
"You bet! I knew Professor Senku would understand," Chrome boasted as Sumi turned to him with a grin, hands on her hips. "That was part of our plan too. Sumi had me get some plants so that we'd fend them off since we'd get chased. Queue up some sorrel...and mix in a little shiso..." He recalled when out in the flower field with Ruri, he did the same thing to make her think he was bleeding. "And boom, fake blood!"
"We couldn't take on that many guys, I was already injured and one of them was crazy strong and fast," Sumi explained with a small smile. "Plus I didn't want Chrome to get hurt if I fought them myself. So I told him to find what he could out there by pretending he needed to use the bathroom."
Senku chuckled again to them. "That's awesome! Course shiso turns red mixed with oxalic acid and sorrel."
"Uh-huh," Chrome smiled, hands on his hips. "My science is from experience. Both you and Sumi."
"Not bad at all, Chrome. You're a real science user," Senku held out his arm. Sumi, standing next to him, smiled and did the same.
"And we make a great team, you and I!" She added in as they all bumped their arms together.
"Yeah! Thanks for never giving up on me, Sumi!" The others all cheered while surrounding them.
"I'm so happy that he doesn't actually have pneumonia!" Suika said in relief, tears from the corners of her eyes.
Ruri sniffed her fingers from the red water. "This red water smells familiar to me..."
"It's just like plum pickled in shiso..." Gen commented while examining it himself.
Yo looked up to the sky, his lips puckered as it was sour. "This stuff's just umeboshi?! Damn that monkeeeeeeeeey!" He cried out in agony that he was fooled by the both of them.
Sumi then started walking off to a more private spot, and Senku followed her. "See? Told you I can handle Tsukasa," She smiled proudly and came to a stop. "Now, let's get myself and Chrome cau-"
Senku grabbed her arm, shocking her. Before she had time to react, he then pulled her backwards so that she was hugging his body. He wrapped his shaking arms around her waist tight, his head on her shoulder. He had kept it in for so long, and she could tell by the way he was holding her. "Don't ever give yourself up like that ever again. You know how much I kept stressing over whether or not you were still alive?" He tried to keep his voice calm, but it still broke a little. And feeling her warmth was definitely helping, though not too much.
She stood still for a few seconds and then her eyes softened, hugging him back. "I didn't think you'd be so pent up about it," She said a bit teasingly, though on the inside, she was really happy that he was the one who initiated contact. Because he usually never hugged her, and it showed her just how much he was thinking about her safety.
"Don't ever say that about me again," He retorted back with his eyes closed.
The others smiled as they watched from their spots. Sumi then pulled away a few seconds later, her arms crossed. "It was a risk...but I took it. If it's to help the Kingdom of Science, I have to test my limits, right?" She gave him a small smile.
"Yeah..." He stared at her arms underneath her chest, trying to deduce something. His eye twitched while examining her, but he couldn't see her hands. He could've always done so later, but he just had a burning desire to know right now. She doesn't look or act like she's married...then again, she could just be hiding it and I can't see...if I move, she'll ask what I'm looking for.
Sumi blinked and then noticed his direction, looking down at herself. She flinched in alarm, blushing darkly as his eyes to her looked like they were on her chest. "W-What are you looking at?" She covered it while backing away and he looked back into her eyes, confused.
"Uh?" He had no clue that she wasn't thinking of her hands. And she didn't want to embarrass herself or him by asking...but she had to know what he was looking for and why.
"Senku...were you looking at...my breasts?" She asked while smoke came from her ears.
"What?!" He blushed while stepping away from her a bit, an arm in front of his mouth. "No!" He denied to her immediately, trying to find a way to explain it. If he told her, she might freak out on him and then probably get mad. And yeah, he was always blunt, but this type of situation was...different for multiple reasons. The biggest one being he didn't want to pass it off by just checking her out, because that'd be too soon if she figured out his feelings.
"So you switch to lying? Good to know," She deadpanned, biting her lip. She looked away while closing her eyes, trying to calm her rapid racing heart. Thank god he couldn't hear it right about now, or he just wasn't focused on it. "But seriously, what were you looking at?"
"Y-Your hands..." He stammered while looking away from her, a hand in front of his face in embarrassment. The last thing he wanted to talk about was this of all things...
"Okay, why?" She questioned again, raising a brow at him.
"Nothing!" He insisted and she gave him a pout, annoyed. The two didn't lie to each other, so it had to be something he didn't want her to know about if he was acting like this.
"What are you guys talking about?" They blinked and turned to Gen, as he had been standing there for who knows who long. He was sweating a little from the two of them as it felt like something was going on. "All I understood was breasts and hands..."
"Just Senku being a pervert," Sumi grumbled, rubbing a temple as a red mark was near her forehead.
"I was looking at your hands!" He insisted to the black-haired scientist.
"Why would you be looking at my hands?!" She exclaimed as her eyes turned white, her teeth looking like a shark's.
"Science, why else?" Senku turned away while digging a pinky into his ear.
Sumi dragged her hand down her face, letting out a long and tired sigh. This wasn't getting her anywhere... "Sen, this is ridiculous. Obviously you were looking for a reason. If it's not because you're being a pervert, then just tell me what it is." He had no problem telling her that her ramen wasn't great the first time he tasted it. So she had no idea why this was any different.
Gen blinked at the two of them and then remembered something. "Ah...does this relate to what Kohaku said?" He gave a small sweat drop, his hands in his sleeves.
"Yeah..." Senku closed his eyes and Gen turned to the confused Sumi.
"Okay, our dear Senku was just worried if you were...in a certain situation," He started off slowly to her.
"Situation...?" Sumi emphasized for him to go on while raising a brow.
"What I meant was...actually...married," Senku finally explained while clenching a fist and looking away.
"...Eh?" Sumi looked at them with wide eyes. "Mmm..." She sweated profusely from just thinking about it. As in, actually being in Tsukasa's arms wearing a wedding dress and then the two of them settling down...
"B-But...when he was looking...you didn't look married, so..." Gen stammered as he felt a bit awkward.
"Ohh, you were looking for a ring..." She then towered over the two angrily with white eyes. "Because that makes it better!" She then sighed heavily, turning around with her back to them. "I'm not married. If you must know, it didn't get that far. Or maybe he didn't wanna do it during a war, I'm not sure. Why did you need to know if he did?"
"No reason," Senku said quickly while whistling a bit.
"Kohaku reminded us..." Gen answered, earning a glare from Senku.
"Why do you keep telling her the truth?"
"Because you're being too ecret-say to someone you've known for over 3700 years!" Gen hissed at him and Sumi just sighed slowly, pinching her nose. "I do have to wonder...are you 100 percent sure you're not?"
Sumi flinched and then looked over her shoulder while glaring at him. "Do you not believe me?" A shadow was over her eyes, as well as having stars in them to make her look terrifying. She then pulled out her whip to show the both of them.
"We believe! We believe!" Gen was shaking and then turned to the rest of the villagers. "Everyone, it's okay! Sumi's still single!"
They all cheered happily, confetti being thrown around. "Thank goodness!"
"That means she and Senku still have a chance!"
"Oh my god..." Sumi deadpanned at their behavior, embarrassed.
"Not what we're supposed to be focusing on!" Senku yelled at the crowd, a slight blush on his face. He let out a sigh; he was just glad that Tsukasa didn't actually try anything other than what Taiju and Yuzuriha said.
"Sumi..." Gen frowned and she turned to him as Chrome approached, also frowning. "I must apologize for what happened," He then got on his knees, bowing in front of her. Chrome did the same, confusing the scientists.
"We both should, actually."
"Eh? Apologize? For what?" Sumi asked them in confusion.
"That arrow..." Gen then looked up at her. "If it had gotten anywhere into your heart...that would've been on us."
"We're just lucky it only got your arm..." Chrome murmured and she placed a fist in front of her heart. "We're so sorry..."
"Gen...Chrome...no," She responded, shocking them both. "I didn't do it just for you to feel guilty towards someone. I did it because you're my friends."
"He could've killed you! And then Senku would've killed us..." Gen looked away, Senku giving a small grunt. He wouldn't have killed them...he would've gotten revenge, for sure, but he wouldn't have gotten that far.
"A guy not even trying to kill us turns around and murders me?" She rolled her eyes to the back of her head. "Come on. You gotta realize how that sounds."
"But if we were more careful-"
"Guys, no," Sumi interrupted Chrome again seriously. "How can you think you're responsible? I got hit in the arm. So? That doesn't mean anyone needs to blame themselves. It's just a matter of Ukyo's crazy skills of archery. And besides...I could tell in his eyes that he didn't mean for this to happen either. So if you still feel like you need to have my forgiveness, don't," She gave both of them a small smile. "That's what I really want from you."
"Thank you, Sumi!" They both cried out happily.
Sumi gave them a small giggle, Senku giving a small smirk. "Although…I should be the one apologizing. I promised I wouldn't get hurt…and I broke it. I'm sorry, Senku," He blinked at her saying this as her eyes looked sad. "I know that was what you asked of me so I could go…"
He looked away from her; he didn't want her to feel like this just because of an arrow or that he was...slightly stressed over her. She had more important things to worry about. And after he knew the story, he couldn't really be angry over it. It seemed like an accident if anything. "Naaah…I don't think I care one millimeter about that after hearing why it happened. But you're perfectly fine, right?"
Sumi looked up in shock as she blinked. "Well, yeah, it only grazed me. It didn't go entirely right through my arm."
"Then you stayed alive. I'll check on that arm later," He patted her on the head affectionately. She giggled and the two shared a high-five, like the ones they gave their friends. "We're almost in full swing, everybody!" He announced as they faced the crowd.
"Just a few more steps and we'll approach our biggest challenge the village has ever faced!" Sumi smirked towards them, hands on her hips.