Angel: When I meant Sumi's not a real person, I meant that she is an OC, and not an actual character in the anime. Trust me, she's not a ghost or anything like that. But also, season 3 is already written and edited except for the last episode, and therefore I'm not gonna spoil anything lol. You'll just have to wait and see what happens~!
The ship Perseus continued to sail along the ocean sea in its grandiose. The ship then sailed past an island. "We may have been hit by the petrification beam thousands of years ago..." Senku started off and then chuckled. He was in the control room with Sumi, Chrome, Kohaku, Ukyo, Magma, Gen, and Taiju. "But we're not gonna take it lying down forever. It's finally time to get started on reviving humanity. All 7 billion of us."
"After 3 or so years of Senku and myself being revived from petrification, we're finally starting our goal," Sumi smiled down at the map. "It feels so long ago that we both declared to be the ones to restart civilization. Every single person will be back on Earth in due time..."
"Really?!" Taiju asked them in excitement.
"How many millions of liters of revival fluid do you think that'll take?" Gen wondered to the duo.
"And how would we get any?" Kohaku pointed out to them. "The miracle cave was our only source, and it's a pile of rubble!"
"Well, we don't plan to rely on nature's miracles anymore," Senku told her, Taiju, and Gen.
"Huh," Taiju looked away, rubbing his chin. "Now that I think about it, the cave only gave us a small drip of the stuff. Enough to revive one person every few days. Trying to bring back all of humanity like that would take forever!"
Senku and Sumi both chuckled from his statement. "Why do you think it took months for Tsukasa to revive 32 people? Even if he could revive all of the strongest people on his side, it'd take years to even get halfway through," Sumi pointed out while holding up a finger. "Just because it was the only process of getting revival fluid, doesn't mean it was the most ideal one."
"Exactly," Senku smiled a bit at her. "Which is why we said god-tier. Our target is something that'll give us an unlimited supply of revival fluid. And we're gonna find it on the Treasure Island, where the 100 Tales began. Fittingly, in a treasure box."
"A treasure box on a Treasure Island?!" Chrome exclaimed in excitement, clenching a fist. "That's bad!"
"Yeah, it is," Sumi giggled a little at him.
"What is it and where exactly?" Gen deadpanned a bit at the duo. Trying to find a treasure box on an island would probably take them hours. Especially since they wouldn't even know where to look once they got there. They had no idea what it looked like or where Byukaya's team could've hidden it.
"Ha ha!" Ryusui laughed from the ship's wheel. "I like it! Fits the theme of adventure perfectly!"
Magma then cackled out loud. "There's not gonna be anyone on the island to stop us. This'll be easy," He bragged while looking away.
"Alright...let's get to that island and find the treasure as soon as possible. Byukaya and his buddies left it for us, and we're damn lucky they did," Senku told everyone as Sumi smiled at up ahead.
"And wherever they are now, we're really grateful to them for all they've done..." She said a bit wistfully. Though at the back of her mind, she had a feeling that this wouldn't be as easy as Magma wanted to believe...and considering the luck she and Senku shared, it was very possible.
3,700 years ago, several years after humanity's petrification...
A seagull flew overhead on Treasure Island, followed by others. Byukaya held up a diamond ring between his fingers. He smiled at it, Dalia and Yakov looking pleased with themselves. They had just used it for making the record for Senku and Sumi a few days ago. Shamil walked by and noticed the trio, turning to them curiously.
"What's that?" The blond wondered to them.
"Oh," Byukaya looked up with a smile. "Can't you tell? It's their wedding ring, duh. The one we used to carve out the recording, remember?"
"Ha! Though, to be fair, at this point it's not much more than a tough rock," Dalia waved it off.
"Yes, we might as well leave it behind with the rest," Yakov suggested and Byukaya flinched in realization. He then gave a big grin on his face looking at it.
"It's one of humanity's treasures...and I'm gonna leave it behind for my future daughter-in-law!" He placed the ring down, to their utter shock as he chuckled. "The look on Senku's face would be priceless once he figures out I left it for him to propose to Sumi!"
"Ha ha, I'm sure they'd really appreciate that...someday," Yakov laughed a little nervously. Given what Byukaya had told them of the two, he found it unlikely that Senku would even think to do it by the time they woke up...or even use it for that. Since it was diamond, he could hoard it for another science use.
"Along with all these other precious rocks and such, your diamond ring will take a long nap in our treasure box," Byukaya planted it inside, Connie and Lillian looking it over with smiles.
He walked onto the beach, as he was the only survivor now amongst the first six. He watched as children played with their parents on the sand. A scared child hugged her mother. "There, there. Everything's going to be okay." Byukaya had a small smile on his face at how the little society had grown in the past few years. And they had learned so much from him.
"What's this?" A little girl asked her mother, holding up a shell.
"A seashell. Grind it up and you can use it for all kinds of amazing things." Byukaya's smile turned fonder at this.
'They'll wait for the right time...' And so, the Soyuz spaceship stayed where it was for many years, flora growing onto it. Then the 100 tales were passed down in Ishigami Village from priestess to priestess, onto their daughters. "And someday, they'll land in the hands of future scientists..." And one of those very priestesses was the mother of Ruri and Kohaku.
It was a late night as Senku and Sumi sat down in front of Ruri, after one long day of construction for the ship. "It's about time, Ruri," He smirked up at her, holding Sumi's hand. "Tell us the stories that have endured for 3,700 years. We wanna hear all 100 of these tales."
"There's something we'll need for them if we wanna revive everyone else," Sumi spoke up with a small smile. "And plus, I have to admit, I am genuinely curious after we've heard a few of them ourselves."
Ruri nodded at them silently. Meanwhile, in the village, people were having dinner, meat specifically. Gen approached Kohaku, both of them holding their meal. "Have you seen Senku or Sumi this evening?" He wondered to the blonde.
"They're staying over at my sister's place tonight," Kohaku informed the mentalist.
"Huh?!" Ginro popped up between them with tears in his eyes, thinking Senku was lucky to be alone with not one, but two women. "But that's not fair!"
"Come on," Kinro walked up to his brother. "You're jumping to conclusions and upsetting yourself again, relax."
"Besides, I don't think that would be on Senku's mind or Sumi's," Gen chuckled in amusement. Senku didn't have interest in Ruri like that, or for that kind of desire right now since he didn't want to give Sumi a baby or any diseases anytime soon. And Sumi wouldn't even go through with anything, she'd just faint and that'd be the end of it.
"Very well, then," Ruri spoke up as a candle was between them. "But...I hope you two are prepared for this."
"Huh? Prepared?" Senku recoiled back in confusion.
"As in, like sleeping-wise? I mean, we have our sleeping bags with us," Sumi blinked, glancing behind her.
"The 100 Tales begin...with story 1." As she spoke, an owl closed their eyes. Then the sun came up, and two birds were in a tree. Gen walked up the stairs to Ruri's hut, holding three cups of tea.
"Those three have been talking all night. I don't think they took a break, so I wonder how far along they are," The mentalist murmured curiously, and could hear Ruri talking. "Probably nearing the end. Ah, sounds like a story about poisonous wildlife," He then smiled happily as he reached the top. "It's amazing to think how these tales helped the village survive. And it wouldn't have happened without Senku's father or Lillian. Talk about a legacy."
Senku and Sumi looked very out of it as their eyes were white, snot coming from their noses. "Hang on...we need a break...we..."
"The next of the 100 Tales is number 8," Ruri revealed, to the shock of Gen.
"You're still on single digits?!"
"Thanks, Gen," Sumi sighed in relief while sipping her tea along with Senku.
"Now we know why you asked if we were prepared," Senku stated a bit out of breath. "Maybe you got pneumonia from tiring yourself out reciting all of this stuff..."
"I'd be surprised if anyone could do all of that and came out unscathed. Maybe Taiju, but I don't think he'd be able to remember all of it. My brain is still feeling fried over here..." Sumi murmured a bit tiredly.
"Yeah, it's not an easy job," Ruri gave them a small smile. "That's why the priestess devotes her entire life to it."
"That could very well be Sumi's job to take," Gen commented and Sumi's eyes went white.
"No, god no. I am flattered, but I'd be dead trying to even remember even what she's told us. I don't know how she does it myself to be honest with you..." She replied with an awkward smile. "Being village chieftess and a leader for the Kingdom of Science is enough…"
Senku then put down his cup. "We wanna hear any parts about rocks and minerals," He got to the point, since if they listened to any more Tales, it'd take even longer.
Byukaya looked up to the moon. 'We'll want a story about minerals, too. Someone might come along who takes an interest in rocks and collects them. You can do so many things with them, they'll be useful to have around."
"Just about every villager is named after a rock. So I'd bet there are stories about them in the 100 Tales, to teach people about their value," Senku pointed out as the sun started to set.
"Kohaku, or amber, a translucent gem that glimmers with the color of the sun." Gen was already asleep while the other two listened. Sumi glanced down to the mentalist and smiled, patting him on the head. "Kin, or gold, a same that also glistens with the sun. All within the treasure box." Senku and Sumi stared at her, Gen sitting up awake. "Diamond, a transparent gem, one that is incredibly strong. Also within the box."
Senku then looked up as the sun continued to set, a small smirk on his face. "What about platinum?"
"Platinum's rare...but I have no doubt that Byukaya collected that too," Sumi gave a small smile.
"Yup, platinum," Senku confirmed for everyone. "It's an ultra-rare metal that's even harder to find than gold." At this point, Kokuyo, Yo, Ginro, and Kinro had entered the room. "And we just need a tiny piece of it. It's a catalyst, one that can make boatloads of nitric acid. With that, we'll make a machine that can pump out an endless supply of revival fluid."
"And the ingredients will be much simpler to make the revival fluid with this new set-up," Sumi smiled with her hands on her hips. "But the more platinum we have, the better. This is for 7 billion people, after all. The one key item we could've used all this time...is just waiting for us on the island."
"Wait, all of that with just one piece, really?!" Taiju exclaimed in disbelief. "You weren't kidding when you said this was god-tier!"
"You don't have any platinum in your prized rock collection, do you, Chrome?" Kohaku smiled while turning to him.
"Nah, sure wish I did!" He gave a big smile. "Bet it'd save us a ton of time and effort right about now. If I had one tiny flake of the stuff, we'd be in business! We'd have been reviving people this entire time!"
"Not quite," Senku gave him a small smile. "We've actually had the option of using poop to make this stuff for a while. Though it would've taken forever and produced practically none."
"Plus some of the ingredients aren't easy to get if you're not by a lake of sulfuric acid, which you need in order to make it," Sumi added, her hands on her hips.
"So what? We'd at least have some by now if we had started a year ago," Kohaku pointed out to them.
"There's this thing called Dunbar's number to consider," Gen spoke up while joining them, getting their attention. "The long and short of it is, the maximum number of people the human brain can remember is 150. That's how big a group can get with all members knowing one another. It's a concept used when putting together military units, as a matter of fact. Now, it's time for a pop quiz, kids!" He suddenly looked like the host of a game show. "Can anyone tell me the total population of the Kingdom of Science at the moment?"
"Uhh," Yo rubbed his chin in thought. "The Tsukasa Empire is just over a hundred, I think."
"And about 40 of us are originally from Ishigami Village," Kokuyo popped up behind him.
"Okay then," Ginro attempted to calculate it into his head. "If we crunch those numbers, we get..."
"About 150," Kinro answered for his brother while adjusting his glasses.
"Ding, ding!" Gen grinned widely at them. "Bingo! As I once told Senku and Mire-chan, it'd be eally-ray ad-bay if we had more than that. We'd fall apart."
"That's some pragmatic thinking, I have to admit," Ukyo spoke up in a bit of surprise. "That's our mentalist."
"Ah, your praise is appreciated!" Gen responded to this happily. "But it doesn't change the facts, unfortunately. If we'd been making revival fluid, we'd have a very limited number of people we could bring back. The populace would disagree on who was the right pick. Our kingdom would crumble as differing factions formed a fight. It'd basically be Tsukasa vs. Hyoga all over again."
"And considering how many admirers I apparently have, I do not need that again," Sumi smiled awkwardly at the mentalist. Plus, they had other bigger things to move onto, so being in another war to decide the future of humanity was something that they definitely wanted to avoid.
"So we held off," Senku smirked while clenching a fist. "But, once we find that platinum...there won't be any kind of limit on the number of people we can revive! We'll get to save all of humanity from petrification!"
"Platinum," Ruri recited from the pagoda. "Also called hakkin or shirogane. A sand that sparkles like the moon. Sleeping within the treasure box..."
"Okay, but where on the island is this treasure box?" Chorme couldn't help but question.
"And, even if Senku's dad or Lillian did set aside those stones for us...how could they have survived on a deserted island for thousands of years?" Ukyo wondered as well.
"Oh, that? The answer's obvious! They're sleeping inside one of the most advanced machines known to man!" Senku answered for the two. "Built to withstand the heat of re-entering Earth's atmosphere. It might as well be the toughest treasure box in existence."
"Although this did mean that they were single-use, and it would've been destroyed trying to re-enter the atmosphere with it," Sumi then smiled, holding up a finger. "But it saved mass compared to other designs!"
"Oh!" Ukyo smiled in realization. "If I follow you two, that means it's..."
"The Soyuz spaceship!" The two revealed in unison.
"So in other words, if we can find that spaceship and the treasure box inside, we'll have all we need to save humanity?!" Taiju asked the two scientists in excitement.
"Uh-huh. That's exactly what we just said, so thanks for listening!" Senku replied to him in a sarcastic tone.
"Oh, Taiju..." Sumi gave a small awkward smile, sweating a little. Sometimes he could be a little slow on the uptake... "But yeah, that's pretty much it," She shrugged a little at him.
"Don't get too excited," Gen remarked with a blank look. "We don't know where it is."
"Ha!" Kohaku gave a closed-eyed smile while pumping up a fist. "We certainly have a good number of people to help with the search, though!"
"But after a few thousand years, who knows what kind of condition the island's in? Guess we'll have to see it for ourselves," Senku replied while a man was watching them from the entrance. He then turned around and walked away.
"This is awesome!" Taiju cheered happily to the group. "Treasure hunting on a treasure island?! I am so in!"
As the ship continued to move, Gen was listening to the same man watching them from behind in the doorway. "Alright," He then peeked in towards Sumi and Senku. "Hey, Sumiku, are you guys free at the moment~?"
Senku grunted a bit from the nickname again. Sumi just gave a small whine in embarrassment that he said this out loud, as the others were smirking towards them. "You really love using that on us, don't you? But yeah," Senku answered in a bit of irritation. The two walked up to the duo in the hall.
"Barring from that embarrassment, what is it?" Sumi replied, hands on her hips.
"This gentleman from the power team is here. He says he overheard us before, and has some valuable information he'd like to share," Gen informed as the man looked pretty awkward standing there. Sumi blinked at him rapidly, tilting her head. Senku's eyes wavered a little staring at the man.
"It can't be..." However, the man's name couldn't come to mind and Senku recoiled back in alarm. "Wait, who are you? Seriously, I can't remember your name at all!" Taiju didn't seem to know it either looking at the man, although Sumi wasn't as confused as the other two. Instead she had her hands on her hips, staring at him curiously. Everyone stared at the man, as they didn't seem to know it either. If they did, they would've already said it. Sumi slowly raised a brow, paying attention to the X mark on the man's head instead of hair.
"Of course you can't remember it. He doesn't have a name," Kohaku explained to the green-haired scientist.
"I was wondering about that when making the crew manifest," Ryusui spoke up next. "I wrote no name as a placeholder."
"That's...fine," The man finally spoke up slowly. "Call me whatever you want to. So, what I wanted to tell you...is I'm not from Ishigami Village," He revealed, to the shock of both Kohaku and Chrome.
"Wait, what?" Chrome furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "What does that mean? Where'd you come from?"
As he spoke, Sumi grinned in realization, though no one had yet to notice it.
"...Back when I was a baby. I just washed up on the shore one day." The baby was in a basket, all alone and crying while laying on the sand. A blonde woman ran up to him. "By a stroke of luck, a villager found and took pity on me." She looked around, not seeing his parents anywhere. "She adopted me and claimed I was her own." He could still remember that day as he looked up. "My real name would've been out of place in Ishigami Village. So I've lived without one. My name is actually..."
"Soyuz," Sumi finished with a smile, getting their attention as she pointed at him. They looked at her in shock, including the now-known named Soyuz himself. "Your name is Soyuz."
Everyone stared at her with wide eyes, letting out gasps. "Wait, what?" Chrome murmured in confusion that she knew it, despite the rest of the villagers not recalling it at all.
"You actually know it?!" Taiju exclaimed at the black-haired woman.
"How...how did you know my name?" Soyuz's eyes glistened at the woman.
"Hm," She hummed as she crossed her arms, stepping up to him. "As a village chieftess, I make it a priority to know every single name from Ishigami Village. Helps build relationships with them if I get a sense of who they are. I asked Minami to do some digging on you. I can't get to know someone if I don't even have a name, now can I? But now everyone knows a little more about what you have to offer as a person," She gestured to everyone behind her with a small smile.
"You're the only one...who looked into my name?" He then bowed to Sumi, alarming her. His head was facing the ground in front of her. "Thank you, village chieftess! I hereby dedicate my life to serving you! I'll stay by your side until I die, as your knight!" He looked up with happy tears in his eyes. No one even asked his name, or looked into it. So the fact that someone he hadn't even talked to before could recall his name...well, it really moved him. Especially since she went out of her way to look into it just because she wanted to know more about him, just like she did with anyone she met.
"Oh, no, please don't cry!" She waved her hands rapidly down at him, sweating profusely. "And don't worry about dedicating your life to me, please! You have more things to live for than serving me," She gave an awkward smile.
"Yeah, and I'm not too keen on you sticking to her like glue 24/7! She doesn't need a knight," Senku retorted with his arms crossed. She snarled at him with white eyes, a red mark near her forehead staring at her boyfriend.
"Hey! You're making it worse!" She then turned back around to Soyuz, waving off the formalities from him. "The village chieftess thing is too formal for me personally. I'm not royalty over here. If you'd like, call me Sumi. Please, go on with life normally. I don't want you to give your whole life for me because...well, Senku holds my life. So don't worry about me, okay?" She gave him a soft smile. If she already didn't want people to treat her differently because of her mom, it was the same thing here with Soyuz. A name meant more to him, and she could understand, but it wasn't really warranting him being her slave for the rest of his life.
"...If that's what you wish," He stood up and bowed his head to her. "Thank you...for actually looking into it. You don't know how much that means to me, Sumi..." He stated while keeping his emotions in and she gave a grateful smile.
"But wait, as in the Soyuz?" Chrome stared at the duo in shock. "The spaceship treasure box that's the whole reason we're headed to this island? And how come you didn't mention the name until now, Sumi?"
"Yeah..." Soyuz responded breathlessly to the brunet.
"Even if I had known the name from the start, it wouldn't have made a difference back then," Sumi crossed her arms looking at him. "We didn't have the ship back then, so it wasn't like getting the platinum was a priority," She reminded them; knowing the name sooner wouldn't have changed their progress. No one even knew who he was, and making the revival fluid wasn't at the top of their list back then to head for the spaceship. Not that they had a way to even reach it anyway. Chrome sighed in defeat as she had a point.
"And maybe I can take you there...to my home," Soyuz looked up a bit wistfully. "And to the spaceship with the treasure inside."
Kohaku and Taiju beamed at him, the latter laughing. Senku gave a small chuckle. "Well, I'm glad we took the time to hear you out. And that Sumi actually went out of her way to learn of your name; I should've expected that knowing her," He gave her a small smile and she returned it. "I don't know whether it's good or bad, but I do know this new information you've given us is ten billion percent the truth. The treasure island...isn't deserted."
Once he revealed this, Taiju and Kohaku gasped in shock. "You mean there are more survivors out there besides us?" The blonde wondered in disbelief. "And they're on the very island we're heading to now?"
"Yeah," Senku gestured to Soyuz with a small smirk. "Thanks to this dude's surprising revelation, plus his very existence, we can be sure of it."
"He couldn't have been born from the island if there weren't people living on it. That means there's at least a good amount of people on the island," Sumi crossed her arms with a small smile. "And they could've been living there for years, maybe even as long as we were petrified."
"This would've been easier if it were uninhabited," Ukyo remarked while tipping his hat. "Would've made for a smoother search effort."
"It's quite unlucky," Gen remarked with an awkward smile. "Though fortune doesn't usually favor Senku or Sumi, so whatever..."
"Psh. She's lucky enough to get someone like me to be her boyfriend," Senku commented playfully, hands on his hips. Sumi flinched in alarm while glancing at him, a bit annoyed that he even said it to begin with.
"Ha ha, hilarious," She deadpanned while rolling her eyes. "I'm so dying out of laughter right about now. Real funny, keep it up."
"Thanks," He grinned just to get her to pout, which she did as she grunted like a child.
Chrome the whole time just looked lost trying to process all of this new information. "Okay, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I'm not quite following this. If there are people on this island, then where the heck did they come from? Wasn't every person turned into a stone statue?" He pointed out and Sumi blinked at him.
"Have you really not figured it out by now?" She wondered and he looked even more confused from her question.
Ruri had listened to Senku's explanation of the theory of people being on Treasure Island. "Then they're technically distant relatives of the people of Ishigami Village, correct?" She asked cautiously after hearing him.
"It's just a theory, but Sumi and I are pretty much ten billion percent sure," Senku answered the blonde.
"When all of humanity was petrified...Senku's father, Sumi's mother, and a few other astronauts were in space. They happened to avoid the disaster by pure chance." Byukaya held the dead Lillian in his arms, and then looked up to several shooting stars in the sky. "And their descendants...became the inhabitants of Treasure Island. Within the 100 Tales is a wish, the founder's will passed down...they wanted us to reach Japan someday..."
Sumi gave a weak smile. And within Japan...they wanted them to reach Senku and Sumi if the 100th tale was anything to go by. Who were still petrified at the time, counting seconds throughout the years...Well, Sumi kept losing consciousness, but they had hoped that the two were de-petrified at that point...
"Huh. I wonder just how many of these island-dwellers tried to make it to Japan, only to die at sea," Ryusui couldn't help but comment.
"Well, we know one crew had the great determination to make it to the mainland. Pretty impressive," Senku spoke up as Sumi gave a small smile.
"And it only took years and years to even accomplish that feat!" She spoke up cheerfully.
"Ah! Those must've been our ancestors who started Ishigami Village!" Chrome cried out in realization.
"Of course. No one's dumb enough to bring the whole group on a dangerous trip," The green-haired scientist smiled at him knowingly. "I'm sure some of the tribes stayed behind on the island." Back then, after the founders had died, several of them had went off to leave, while the others remained because they didn't feel the need to go.
"Oh, I see," Soyuz said in realization. "Those who stayed gave birth to the current group on the island. On...my home."
"Hundreds of generations did for people to still be alive today as we continue to sail the ship towards the island," Sumi stated while rubbing her chin. "I wonder just how many remain now if there was only one group that left the island." If it was more than one, it would explain why Ishigami Village was bigger before Kohaku was born. Then again, if they continued to keep leaving, why hadn't they seen any of them? Maybe the current generation just chose to stay.
"We can only hope they're friendly and not aggressive," Gen remarked with a small smile.
"If they're anything but welcoming, our mentalist will handle it," Senku corrected him and he glanced at the duo.
"What would you guys do without me?" He asked a bit wearily.
"Well for one, our lives would be less entertaining, and we wouldn't have been able to get to this point if you had sided with Tsukasa the whole time," Sumi reminded with a small smile, hands on her hips. "Besides, with you around, it'll at least be easier to smooth things over if they don't take kindly to visitors."
"Aw, Mire-chan. Always making people feel appreciated!" Gen gave a small grin towards her.
"Ah, we can just wipe 'em out if they start giving us any trouble," Magma had a gleeful smirk on his face. "We've got enough fighters to do it!"
"I keep telling you, you can't go around attacking people you disagree with, okay?" Taiju frowned in disapproval at the beefier blond.
"Magma, if one drop of blood is found on these people because of you, I swear to god I will destroy you!" Sumi shouted with white eyes, shaking her hands in exasperation.
"Ha!" Magma wrapped his arm around her shoulders, bringing her close. She looked annoyed as their cheeks were pressed together. "Just like Taiju, huh? What, are you just saying that to get me to back off?" He dropped her onto the ground and she landed safely. "I like a woman who challenges me. All that's left to do is to get rid of the scar."
"Dude! Did you forget who you're talking to?" Taiju hissed a little in protest.
She blinked at that last part, scoffing in amusement to herself. "Nonsense. All women are beautiful, scars and all," Ryusui replied while glancing at Sumi with a small smirk. "Don't know why you keep pointing that out."
"Cause he can be an absolute dumbass," Senku looked amused as well as he knew what was gonna happen next.
"So what? Compared to all the other beauties, she's only got half of what they offer. And she knows it!" Magma cackled as Chrome silently shook his head at his behavior. The brunet was just lucky he knew better with Kohaku or Sumi to not piss them off anymore. Especially the latter considering what she had done in the past to other people.
Sumi smiled sweetly and then pulled out her whip. She tossed it around his waist and then threw him hard into the hallway. He yelped in pain as she then waved her arm rapidly without even looking back, leaving him with multiple head bumps on his head. He groaned while leaning against the wall. "I like it when you're not putting your sleazy hands on me! So don't do that again, kay? And stop telling me about my scar to my face since you like talking about it so much!" Sumi replied cheerfully with her hands behind her back as if she had done nothing to begin with. Magma didn't even respond, smoke coming from his head as he looked like a zombie.
"Heh! Would've been even better if you really let him have it," Kohaku scoffed in amusement, her arms crossed.
"Yeah, no. I think I'll let Taiju or Nikki handle any more dumbasses who can't take no or a shut up for an answer. I really wish I could understand why I keep getting those..." She looked annoyed with a sweat drop at the back of her head.
"Maybe Taiju should accompany Magma at all times for the sake of diplomacy. And so he can not get himself killed around Sumi..." Ukyo sweated while looking back at the doorway. "This is exactly why you can't piss her off...because Scary Sumi is something none of us can really go up against." Only Senku could really calm her down when she was like this—when he wasn't enjoying it, that is.
"...I just had a scary thought," Chrome spoke up seriously to everyone as something terrifying came to mind. "Is it possible Why-Man is from this island?" Gen and Kokuyo looked on edge from the question, the mentalist recoiling back and sweating.
"It makes sense, considering the overall scarcity of humans out there..." The mentalist contemplated and then Kokuyo grabbed Soyuz by the shoulders, looking angry.
"Why did you keep such information from us for all this time? Why wouldn't you just tell us you weren't really one of us? You had years to do it!" He gritted his teeth at the man, who then whimpered while looking ashamed of himself.
"Kokuyo, please!" Sumi stepped up to him with a small frown. "He at least had the courage to finally tell us! If he had said something back then, what would it have really done? We didn't have the Perseus to locate the island, or even know about the threat of Why-Man at all! We were too focused on building our Kingdom of Science and the war against Tsukasa and Hyoga. Are you really gonna be upset with him over something he felt like he couldn't share with anyone for his whole life?"
Kokuyo stared at her and then frowned at what she said. She once again made a good point; even if they learned Why-Man existed earlier, it was the same thing of Sumi potentially knowing of Soyuz's name the whole time. It wouldn't have done much. "No...I'm sorry, she's right. We're grateful that you confessed at all..." He shook his head, gaining a headache as he held his head. Kohaku gave a small hum as she patted his back in sympathy.
"Could they have sent that signal, though?" Ukyo looked away while debating it. "Forget the know-how, would that small island have the resources for it?"
Ryusui laughed while looking up ahead. "If they had access to that kind of tech, they wouldn't have stayed in such an isolated place!" He snapped his fingers. "They wanna see what exists beyond the horizon! They wanna see every part of the world! Learn everything about it! That desire, is something humanity can't possibly resist!"
Soyuz stared at Sumi and Senku. "I've always...wanted to know too," He spoke up in a bit of wonder and they looked at him. He faced towards the ground. "If I'm not...if I'm not one of the other villagers...who am I?" Soyuz took a small boat out to sea from Ishigami Village. He then endured a storm. "I'd set out to sea with only hazy memories to guide me. But storms would push me back." He looked up as lightning struck above him. "But even if I found out...what's the point? It won't mean anything now..." He sniffed while trying to keep his emotions in. "And yet deep down, I...I still just want to know."
Sumi gave a soft smile while stepping up and patting him on the back. "Yeah...that thirst for knowledge is powerful. It's the driving force behind science," Senku revealed, the man gasping with tears welling up in his eyes.
"Look at that. Well, I guess you've always been a member of the Kingdom of Science, eh Soyuz buddy?" Gen gave him a small smile.
"Even if you didn't care back then, you still wanted to solve the mystery of who you are. I can relate to that," Sumi spoke up gently, smiling gently. "After all, if I didn't question why all those violet flowers got planted in the graveyard back at the village...I never would've found out the truth of my mom adopting me. Or dedicating her final, most popular song to me. I guess your thirst for knowledge makes you a full-fledged member of us, huh? Even if it took a while for us to finally know the truth about you."
He looked up happily, a tear falling down his cheek, and only one. Sumi patted him on the back while Kokuyo nodded in agreement, some tears in his eyes too. "Uh, back then, I couldn't find the island no matter how much I rode..." He looked up with hope on his face. "But now...with this ship of science, we can!"
"It's smooth sailing so far," Kohaku gave a small smile. "How many more days do we think it'll be until we get there?"
"Should only take us a few more hours," Ryusui informed the group as Sumi looked at the map.
"That soon?!" Gen screeched with his eyes wide.
"Yup! Travel's pretty quick once you have the right equipment, land or sea!" Sumi gave a bright smile towards him.
Kohaku scoffed while standing at the front of Perseus. "This journey was brutal for our ancestors, but we're not even breaking a sweat!" She remarked while Chrome looked down at the ship in awe.
"Perseus, you're so bad!" He exclaimed while excited.
"It's all because of the hard work Senku and the science team put in!" Taiju spoke with a bright smile.
"That's for sure," Yuzuriha nodded in agreement with a smile of her own. "They really made a behemoth, didn't they? I'd kinda like to know how it's put together," This got the attention of everyone around her: Kohaku, Nikki, Sumi, Senku, Ryusui, and Kaseki. The latter four had their ears bulging as they overheard what she just said.
"Careful, Yuzuriha," Kohaku warned with an uneasy look, while Nikki was a bit less so. "Show too much interest in their little pet project, and those guys will jump at the chance to gush."
"If you're anything like me, you don't wanna hear it," Nikki told her, but it was too late.
"Excuse me," Kaseki spoke up as the four stood in front of her. "I couldn't help but overhear! Did you express interest in a boat tour?!"
"Ha. Well, if you're that insistent about it," Ryusui scoffed a little.
"There's so much science stuff in here, it's gonna blow your mind!" Senku bragged while waving a finger.
"I'm so glad you wanna explore the ship!" Sumi smiled, grabbing Yuzuriha's hands. "You're gonna love it, Senku and I both spent countless hours coming up with the design." Although some of that time was pretty awkward since that was after the whole kiss drama. She gave a sheepish laugh remembering working separately with him in the observatory for what felt like decades...
"You gotta know who you're dealing with. These kinds of people are always dying to showing their creations to anyone with a passing interest..." Nikki replied, closing her eyes.
"Now you're their captive audience until they're done," Kohaku said wearily, but Yuzuriha wasn't fazed at all.
"That's no problem!" She smiled at the duo, causing utter bewilderment from the two that someone could actually handle or understand science talk. One of the very few, actually. "I once sat through a five-hour rocket lecture Senku sprung on us. This is nothing new." And when he gave that lecture back while they were still in school, Sumi had written notes, Yuzuriha had listened attentively, and Taiju...had fallen asleep. "Not to mention when you have a best friend like Sumi, you get used to it. I always actually didn't mind when she spoke about science, she once showed me all of her quiz books when she started being Senku's science partner."
"The power of a tried and true veteran!" Nikki exclaimed as she and Kohaku were still shocked.
"Heh. She's heard me explain lots of things to her whenever she asks if I learned anything new, and sometimes came with me to visit my grandma at the hospital. Plus I went through my own lectures with Senku, so it's not like she's the only one," Sumi gave a small smile. Senku chuckled a bit from the first time he gave one, she had written all over her arms and even her face because she knew he'd quiz her on it. The amount of ink on her face was hilarious to him, to say the least. But she did end up passing his quiz, so he had to admire her dedication on some level, even if it was dumb to what she was willing to do just to please her former teacher.
Francois opened the door, gesturing Yuzuriha inside. Ryusui laughed as she stepped down the stairs. "Ha ha! Let's start the tour! We'll show you every inch of the science vessel Perseus!" He then snapped his fingers.
"Wow, these stairs are so steep!" Yuzuriha admired them in front of her.
"When you're descending them, you should always grab the handrail from below. Otherwise you'll fall when the ship rocks forward. Sea-faring pro tip," Ryusui said while pointing up at her. Meanwhile, there was a specific room to hold Homura and Hyoga now, and although Yuzuriha couldn't tell, it was being guarded.
"There are so many curved pieces to this ship," Kinro commented while standing in the sleeping area with Kaseki, which had five-level bunk beds. Ginro was currently sleeping in one; and as a joke, they made a heart-shaped bed for Sumi and Senku, which ended up not getting used. He found it 'ten billion percent unneeded' while she was just embarrassed when it was presented to them by the others. Which did disappoint a few of their supporters, but then again, it was Senku and Sumi... Above the sleeping area was the greenhouse to hold goats, and to grow various fruits or vegetables for food.
"Whoo-hoo! We love that you're a straight shooter, Kinro, but if the wood on this boat were as stiff as you, we'd be in trouble! The curves would help it bend instead of break!" The craftsman commented while Kohaku slid down a zip line. Nearby was the navigation system, consisting of an antenna, radar, and GPS.
"Are those the new eyes of science?" The blonde asked in curiosity.
"Whoa-ho!" Yo was standing near it, holding a fishing pole as he had just caught one. "This is the perfect spot for fishing!"
"All the ship windows are big enough for a person to fit through," Ukyo explained to Taiju and Gen. "In case of an emergency."
"What?!" Taiju shouted in shock looking through it. "Can we really fit through this tiny circle?!" Below them was the engine room.
"Well, maybe you and your muscles would have a difficult time..." Gen pointed out to the brunet.
"Whoa!" Chrome exclaimed as there was a mobile lab in the upper right corner. Sumi and Senku were showing it to him. "There's a whole lab in here!"
"Yup. It's the lifeblood of the kingdom, after all. Plus it's on wheels, so we can roll it out wherever we make land when the need arises," Senku responded as Sumi's eyes shined.
"It's got everything we have from the lab in the village, and my medical equipment and herbs!" She stated in a cheerful tone. "It's even got some minerals from Chrome's shed, it's so freaking cool~!"
Senku, Sumi, and Chrome were in the control room when they heard noises from right outside. They turned their heads to see several men sick and lying all over the ship's deck. "Never knew what it was like to get...seasick," Yo groaned while leaning against a structure.
"I think I'm gonna throw..." Ginro didn't even finish his sentence as he threw up rainbows, laying his body over the edge of the ship. Kohaku and Nikki were unamused as they didn't feel seasick at all, and found it a bad impression of their team.
"Oh, pull yourself together, you're pathetic," Nikki grumbled down at Ginro, hands on her hips.
"You're not making the people of the water look very good here, Ginro," Kohaku deadpanned at him.
"I can't blame them," Ukyo closed his eyes in acknowledgment. "It's their first time on the open seas."
"And considering we're in for a long trip, that's gonna be an issue if we don't fix this, huh?" Sumi gave a sheepish smile, sweating a bit. "But come on, guys, give them a bit of leeway. Not everyone is able to handle the water."
"Says the one who can't handle seeing people nude," Magma deadpanned and she raised up her hand to smack him upside the head in silence.
"Whoops!" Senku had a devious look on his face. Sumi glanced at him blankly. "Guess the two of us forgot to whip a seasickness cure in advance! Welp, it's no problem, that's what the lab's for! Let's see..." He placed a finger on his cheek in thought. "What was it? Some scopolamine? Yeah, that oughta dull the automatic nerves and get them back on their feet," He then held up a white flower. "The Devil's Trumpet, datura metel."
"Oh!" Taiju popped up nearby curiously. "So is that some kind of medicine-making flower?"
"Nope," Senku gave an evil grin, a shadow over his eyes. "It's as poisonous as it gets."
"IT'S WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Taiju shouted in shock.
"Yeah, don't let its beauty fool you," Sumi stated while preparing their equipment. "It packs a mean punch to both humans and animals, so I don't recommend getting near it."
"I could say the same about you," Senku remarked with a small smirk and she blinked, turning to him. "Anyone who tries to flirt with you or gets you angry gets their ass kicked."
"First of all, not everyone gets that reaction. I'm not a savage," Sumi defended while crossing her arms. "And second...aww, you're so sweet," She hugged his neck, kissing his cheek affectionately. He just gave a small chuckle in response.
"Senku, are you actually happy when Sumi does that?!" Taiju yelled and she covered her ears.
"Taiju, volume please," The black-haired scientist warned a little.
"Pfft," Senku simply scoffed in response. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm fine with her showing affection in small doses, but it won't change me one millimeter," He then turned away as he had a small blush over his cheeks, meaning that he was lying. He then went back to the task at hand and a liquid was now part of a chemistry set-up. "Just separate the water-soluble components from the oil soluble ones, and boom. We've extracted ourselves some medicine."
Senku and Sumi were both holding the medicine and a tablespoon. "Even a tiny dose works wonders," Senku explained to a dead-looking Ginro. "But mess with the stuff, and it'll legit kill you. So don't touch it, okay?" He fed some to the blond.
"Sorry that we took a while and that you suffered. Seriously, not even that, it can cause a lot of toxic effects. Vision problems, nausea, vomiting, and seizures are just a few of them. So don't ever get too curious with this." Sumi warned while holding up a finger, feeding Yo. Ginro perked right up as he looked perfectly fine now.
"I feel great!" Yo shouted happily as he and Ginro jumped into the air.
"Like I can take on the world!" The blond cheered along with him.
"Go lie down," Senku deadpanned at the two while holding some wood. "On second thought, if you've got energy to spare, then get to work."
"Just because we're on a ship doesn't mean you can get off scot-free, especially in the Kingdom of Science..." Sumi murmured a bit awkwardly while looking away.
"And you better not be taking on too many things," Senku turned to her warningly and she shook her head with a fond smile.
"No, I haven't. Everything I've done has been with you or the other four of the Kingdom of Science's Generals," She answered with a knowing expression. Senku stared at her in silence, as she knew that he didn't worry. But he also didn't want her to get overworked or disorganized like last time either. Which she appreciated, though she wouldn't tell him that out loud. He probably wouldn't care, or he'd laugh it off. Besides, she had a feeling that he knew exactly what she wanted to tell him.
Senku gave a small hum, patting her on the head. "Good. Ten billion points for not pushing yourself too hard."
"The lab can double as a sick bay," Ukyo commented as he and Soyuz stared at it. "Not bad for the stone world. I bet Sumi loves it so much, she'd never wanna leave it," He chuckled at the thought.
"I'll bet a ship like this could make it through the craziest storm without that much trouble," Soyuz commented while admiring the lab.
"A storm, eh?" Ginro bragged with a smile. "You really think us people of the water are scared of that?" He actually sounded brave for once.
"That medicine worked wonders. Looks like Ginro's back," Gen smiled with his hands in his sleeves.
"Keep tempting fate, and we actually will get hit by a storm," Senku remarked at Ginro's claim.
"Yeah, I wouldn't brag about that because we all know how you'll be during one," Sumi gave an awkward smile towards Ginro. "And it wouldn't be a good look on you since the possibility is inevitable on a months-long sea trip."
Senku and Sumi were in the lab a little bit later, making more medicine for seasickness. "We'll keep a lot of this on hand in case more and more people get sick," Sumi held up a jar of the medicine up with a small smile. "The last thing we need is for everyone to fall ill during our first days overseas. If we get too many people coming in here, I wouldn't be able to keep up with it all."
"Yeah, we need all of our crew healthy so that they can get to work," He murmured and she chuckled at his mindset. She then looked away, remembering what he said earlier to Taiju about her physical attention.
"...Senku. If...if there's something between us that you don't like...you'll tell me, right?" He blinked while glancing at her and she rubbed her arm slowly. "I don't wanna force you into anything, you know? We're in this together."
"There's no reason why I wouldn't like it if it was with you..." Senku admitted slowly with that same blush over his face. He attempted to cover it up, but she noticed it anyway and giggled. She certainly did like it when he was flustered or embarrassed because she found it really cute to see that side of him.
"Hm. Thank you for saying that. I just want things to be natural that we're both comfortable with," She confessed while putting away the jar onto her shelf of medicine.
"Heh. I still sometimes don't understand how anyone could be involved in something like this, even the big oaf," Senku closed his eyes with a small smile. "But I do know that I did make the right choice. Even when you kept believing I used a love potion on you," He chuckled and she turned around to him, horrified with white eyes.
"Ahhh! I forgot all about that. Are you mad at me? I'm sorry..." She cried out sadly while leaning against the table nearby. "It's just that I know you could've if you wanted to for science even though you said you wouldn't..."
"Eh?" He stared at the woman and then fully turned to her with a small smirk. He was gonna make her eat those words. Senku slowly walked over, leaned up towards Sumi and kissed her. She flinched as he placed one hand on the table to stabilize himself. She wrapped her legs around his torso and he picked her up even with his flea-like strength. He placed her onto the table and nestled his hips in between her legs. She giggled as she held his face while kissing him and he caressed her hip with one hand. He hummed and ran his other hand through her hair, pulling her closer to deepen the kiss. As they continued kissing, she let her legs wrap around again and he glided his tongue across her scar. She let him in, tilting her head to the side as their tongues raided each other for dominance. Sumi then pulled him even closer to her, her cheeks flushed as she mewled in delight.
They parted for air and then slammed their lips together. Both of them let out a small hum into their mouths, the two breathing heavily into each other's mouths. He took her hand into his, placing her it on his chest. She smiled into his mouth while feeling his chest beating fast just like hers. She cupped the back of his neck, her fingers going through his hair. In turn, he wrapped his arm around her waist tight, the other around her back. Senku suddenly leaned his head further into her touch. The back of her head then bumped into the shelf behind her thanks to this.
"Ow!" She whined out while pulling away, rubbing the back of her head. He blinked and then groaned, his hand in front of his face.
"Heh. Sorry, I may have the physical strength of a water flea, but that might've been overdoing it..." He chuckled a bit, as he now felt embarrassed. He stared at her, her hair now a bit messy from him playing with it, her face very flushed. "Still got a lot to learn, huh?"
She blinked while looking down at him, his arms still wrapped around her body. Sumi then let out a chuckle, her eyes closed as she giggled. She rested her face into his shoulder. "More like we need to pick a better place to do stuff like that," She laughed out loud and he did the same, rubbing his thumbs against her hips.
"Well, it wasn't terrible, so ten billion points," He patted the top of her head. "That was a little awkward, though. I'll be more careful next time."
"You're so mean..." She gave him a pout while looking up. He just gave her a soft smile in return, a slight blush on his face.
"Just trial and error, like usual. Can we give it another go?" He rubbed his hand down her waist, causing her to let out a slight breath of air. She hummed as her answer and he leaned in towards her.
"Like a person wrong, the sea can be fickle," Ryusui was staring up ahead. "The weather can change at the drop of a hat." As he spoke, there were gray clouds up ahead, lightning rumbling. Senku and Sumi heard it, gasping as they looked up towards the ceiling.
"We're in a storm! Let's go!" He said urgently as he pulled away from her, adjusting his shirt and then hair. He then ran towards the door.
"Alright!" She jumped off the table, running behind Senku while fixing her hair at the same time. He then turned around to her, coming to a stop. "Huh? Sen, we-"
He leaned down rapidly to kiss her, holding her hand. She looked at him wide-eyed as she wasn't expecting a kiss all of a sudden. She returned it while curling her fingers into his in delight, closing her eyes. He pulled away a minute later. "To answer the question you had before...No, not mad. The opposite, actually. Do I really need to use something so inane on you?" He smirked and then left, leaving her stunned. She stared after him and after a few seconds, she gained a small smile, blushing.
Ginro screeched as he held onto the wood, water flowing down the ship. "I've never seen such a drastic shift before!" Kinro exclaimed in shock. Ukyo stepped out onto the deck, holding onto his hat.
"At least on land, there were trees and hills to block some of it!" He called out and Ryusui let out a sharp gasp. Chrome and Kohaku turned around to him, Francois standing behind the captain. They were alarmed as they thought something was happening.
"Ryusui, is something wrong?" The blonde asked first.
"Ah, this storm's bad news, huh?" Chrome added with panicked eyes.
Ryusui...was looking at a tea cup, with some green tea in it and some milk on top. "I've seen you've made a green tea latte with goat milk, Francois," Ryusui smiled as he was impressed. "Nice presentation," As the saucer slid, he caught it as the storm wasn't even fazing him, nor was it on his mind.
"How are you calm?!" Both Kohaku and Chrome shouted at him.
"Heh. I've weathered countless storms in my time on the open seas," He turned to them with a small smirk. "As long as I'm steering the ship, this is nowhere near dire. No need to freak."
Senku and Sumi came in screaming with bulging eyes, their clothes soaking wet thanks to the storm. "They're freaking, alright!" The two yelled at the duo, who came to a stop while dripping water onto the floor.
"We're fine," Senku told them seriously, gritting his teeth. "But everyone's gotta listen! We're not in trouble, but it's still all hands on deck!" He then gave a big smirk. "This is a big opportunity. Since we don't know if the island's inhabitants are friends or foes, we'll use this storm to sneak up on 'em! And if all goes well, we can do a little spying with our new eyes of science before making contact!"
"This is what we can show this storm what the Kingdom of Science pulls off when we're a working unit!" Sumi grinned while pumping a fist. "Of course we'd hit a storm eventually. And if we're able to get some intel on them, we can go on from there to see if this will be an easy path to the treasure box on the island!"
Ryusui let out a laugh while Francois held up his latte. "All crew, to your stations!" He announced and everyone raced off. Kohaku used the telescope above, Ukyo on radar and sonar, and some people pulling some equipment back. Ryusui gave everyone instructions while they sailed in the storm. The captain chuckled with a small grin at what was awaiting him. Chrome and some other crew members gasped, Soyuz looking up ahead with wide eyes. In the distance, amongst the fog, was the island they were looking for.
A baby Soyuz blinked at it while he and his mother were looking at it. Tears came to his eyes as he finally had made it back...finally had arrived at where he could potentially find out who he really was. "I could never forget...this is it, no doubt," He spoke with some snot in his nose, and he sniffed. "This is my home! The island where I was born!"
Senku chuckled at the sight, his arms crossed as Sumi smiled, hands behind her back. "We're finally about to see it, Byukaya. Your Treasure Island. And no matter what ordeals await us there...that's reason enough to get excited."
"After thousands of years of waiting for us to discover what's inside...we're finally gonna uncover the long-awaited treasure box. The one you, Mom, and your team spent most of your lives building together," Sumi placed her hands on her hips, looking on proudly. "Time to test our limits with this challenge in front of us and uncover what's been hiding there for 3,700 years!"