2 weeks before the Perseus' departure
At the Tsukasa Empire, Chrome was confused in the lab. "Eh? So what's the deal here?" He wondered while standing behind Kaseki. Kohaku was looking at a tray filled with green stuff held by Senku. "Why do you have a tray full of soggy wheat?"
"Looks sprouted to me!" Kaseki pointed out to them.
"That's ten billion percent fine. We'll take this, and then dry it out in the oven," Senku held out the tray to the furnace with a mischievous look.
"I thought you just soaked the stuff!" Kaseki yelped at him in alarm.
"What are you even trying to do?" Chrome wondered, as once again, he had no idea what this was for.
"It'll become clear soon. Patience," Sumi gave them an amused smile.
"We've gotta knead it and get rid of the hulls!" Kohaku had a perky grin on her face while doing so; it felt somewhat familiar to when they made ramen for the first time. "Then I get to beat the heck out of it, ha!" And she did just that gleefully while using a big hammer.
"Mix it in hot water, and filter!" Senku continued as they were using a machine to do so, and it let out steam from the beat hulls.
Kohaku smiled happily towards a large barrel of something. "You get wheat juice! Aka wort."
Chrome and Kaseki looked at the blonde in disbelief at how quickly it turned into wheat juice.
"It's sugary and found in fermented beverages. That's why it's okay if your wheat is soggy and sprouted, the grains can be malted or unmalted!" Sumi smiled while holding up a finger. "It'll improve flavor, clarity, and inhibit bacteria growth."
"Toss in some humulus lupulus, they're hops that grow wild in Japan, and boil. And then we just let our yeast buddies do their thing!" Senku revealed to the two, as they already had barrels to fill the mixture with. "We'll leave it ferment on its own and become alcohol. The yeast will even carbonate the stuff for us!"
"You'll want hop that's rough on the stems and lobed leaves, and ensure that they're getting 6 to 8 hours of sun a day. Vertical space for growing them is also a must because they can be over 25 feet and weigh over 20 pounds," Sumi explained while smiling next to Senku, glancing back at the barrels. "Considering the trip we're going on, people are gonna get restless without some extra relief. The restaurant is great, and we have extra amenities, but sometimes, men just want a good beer..." She shrugged casually with a defeated sigh. No one wanted to know what would happen if they didn't bring it with them...
And so, with that process, they had plenty of it for the crew. Almost everyone on board enjoyed a drink, except for a select few. Ginro let out a happy sigh from the taste of his mug.
Ryusui moved his hand over his chin to wipe the excess beer. "Ah, nothing like a good beer! Hits the spot."
"Back in Ancient Egypt, beer was so valuable they used to pay their pyramid-builders with it," Senku stated while they watched Ginro and Magma enjoy some beer together. Kaseki also had a mug while Suika watched him curiously. "It's perfect after a hard day's work."
"You're not wrong," Ryusui then chugged his own mug, letting out a laugh. "That's good stuff!" He noticed that Senku didn't have a drink. "Wait, hold on. You're not gonna have any?"
"Ah, I think I'll pass for now," Senku waved a hand; really, he just didn't want to drink, even if he was technically of age. He just found an impaired mind to be distracting. "It's fine. I'm not the only one," He looked to Chrome looking out to sea. "We've gotta have some sober folks to make sure the ship doesn't sink or something. But luckily, not everyone is a fan of drinking, anyway." Ukyo and Gen weren't having any either. Gen preferred to do the tricking, not be a victim if he let himself get drunk. And Ukyo wasn't a drinker himself. Senku then gave a small chuckle.
"I'm not really old enough to be drinking alcohol," Suika ran up, pointing to herself as she felt a bit left out.
"Yeah, guess you are a little young, and we both know who would kick my ass if I even considered it, which I'm not," Senku patted Suika on the head a little.
"Heh. Don't let it get you down. But when it's time to have fun on my ship, you gotta promise that you'll have fun with us!" Ryusui smiled a little towards the girl and Senku for their bond. "No exceptions allowed, you hear? Francois!" He lifted up his hand to snap his fingers.
"Yes, sir," Francois smiled while gesturing to themselves. "So I shall make some special non-alcoholic cocktails. It would be a blow to the entire crew's morale if we were to let those who don't imbibe felt left out."
"Can you really do all that?!" Gen yelped towards the butler with wide eyes. "On this tiny shipboard bar?!"
"Expect nothing less from Francois!" Ryusui spoke up with a confident smile. Senku was standing next to him with the same expression.
"Ha ha. Let us know if you need anything!" He offered the butler and Chrome popped up in front of them.
"Whatever you want!" He smiled in excitement to do more science stuff. "The science team's on it!"
"You're as kind and generous as always," Francois gave them a happy smile. "And since you're offering so magnanimously...although, I do have to bring forward my concerns for Sumire to you all," She glanced towards the door where Sumi left, and hadn't left from since.
"Is she okay? She's been like that for a while now…" Nikki murmured while approaching them, staring at the door with the others.
"Mm. Not even her bestie could help…I feel so amed-shay…" Gen bowed his head sadly.
"Gen, do me a favor," Sumi interrupted with a look of annoyance on her face. "Please shut up," She then stormed off past him, to his bewilderment.
Chrome, Gen, and Ryusui hummed in thought, as she hadn't acted so defensive before...clearly it was still a touchy subject. Suddenly, Senku felt a tug from his clothes, glancing down to see a worried Suika. "Is...is Mom gonna be okay?"
"She'll be just fine, Suika. I'm sure you can make yourself useful to help her," Senku gave the little girl a small smirk.
Suika's eyes shined a little behind her mask. "I'll make sure she's always happy!"
"Gum syrup, eh?" Gen asked curiously while looking at something Senku was doing. Kaseki and Chrome surrounded him. Sumi was to Senku's left side in silence, hands behind her back.
"We're making it from wheat," Senku told the mentalist while running his hands through a mixture. "Once you wash the wheat flour, the gunk that collects down there at the bottom is starch." He then held a tube over a glass cylinder with an innocent smile. "The secret ingredient...is sulfuric acid!"
"How nice," Gen smiled as he remembered about it, as they hadn't used the component in a while. "Our old friend Sulfrina!" He then realized what he said, looking freaked out. "You're gonna put that in a drink?! That stuff is super poisonous, Senku!"
"Heh. It'll melt your teeth if you drink it straight," Senku gave a small smirk.
"Which I hope no one attempts, even if out of curiosity, not worth it," Sumi gave a blank look. "Besides, we wouldn't be doing this if we didn't have a good reason."
"Which is why we boil the crap out of it!" Senku finished as Sumi was preparing a flask over a burner, looking expressionless. Her nightmares were really starting to get to her now...
"Oh, yeah!" Kaseki looked back to the boiling sulfuric acid. "Of course, you wouldn't use that without some sort of scientific trick hanging to neutralize it. Gotta learn the value of patience, Gen!"
"Be careful with that flask and how close you're holding that, Violet." He glanced at her and blinked from her expression. Kaseki, Chrome, and Gen eyed her in confusion, wondering what was on her mind.
"Get the hell off."
Senku being so angry since he had to watch...it was like experiencing getting her lip scar all over again, except on a different scale.
"Hey...HEY!"
She blinked as she turned to Senku staring at her, looking a bit annoyed. "You got something in your ears? I said you need to keep the heat consistent or else it's gonna break," He scolded, hands on his hips.
"Right..." Sumi did a double take, realizing that she was supposed to be working. "Sorry, I blanked out there for a sec," She cleared her throat, shaking her head to restart her mind.
He raised a brow, leaning against the table and crossing his arms. "...You wouldn't be keeping anything from me, would you? Because that's definitely not part of the long-term experiment we've been a part of for...hmm, yeah, 2 years now?"
"Like what?" She moved away the beaker to stare at him. Chrome blinked while looking over to them.
"Violet," The green-haired scientist gave her a serious expression. "I'm not the overbearing, overprotective type that's blind to how you take care of yourself. But if there is something you wanna tell me, I'm all ears to whenever you want to. I didn't choose to involve myself in these...feelings of ours for you to jerk me around like this."
"There's nothing you already don't know, not that I'd wanna say it in earshot anyway," She glanced her eyes briefly over to the others.
"Oh, them? They don't give a damn, and I don't either," Senku picked at his ear, all of them staring at him in disbelief. He then gave a smug smirk. "I can do what I want with my lover anytime because that's my right as part of our deal!"
"Dude! So blunt!" Chrome looked at him wide-eyed.
"Ho, ho! So bold. Ah, young love," Kaseki smiled at the two of them.
"Well, aren't you happy?" Gen deadpanned a little at the bragging.
"You really love driving that in sometimes surprisingly enough," Sumi shook her head slowly. "Anyway, I'm fine, everything's fine, so I wouldn't worry, okay?" She went back to her work, Chrome, Gen, and Senku glancing at each other in silence. They could tell that something was still off...she didn't even get embarrassed by what Senku said. But they backed off for now, since she was in denial.
Sumi handed over the powder she was burning to Senku, who put it into the mixture. "Dump in some toxic witherite."
"That's poison too!" Kaseki and Gen screamed in unison.
"It's probably just the name that sounds scary, right?" Chrome smiled hopefully, since that was what it was like when they made Ruri's medicine. "I mean, there's no way Senku would be putting straight up poison in our drinks. Especially without Sumi's approval."
"Nah," Senku contradicted while stirring, looking unashamed about it. "It's straight-up poison."
"BUT WHY?!" Gen, Kaseki, and Chrome all freaked out on them.
"Would you scaredy-cats just shut up already?!" Senku retorted back to the trio.
"Jeez, feels like deja-vu when Kohaku interrogated us about the antibiotics," Sumi muttered while rubbing a temple. "Stop freaking out, he's not gonna poison us."
"We've been making sugar and stuff with this for a while now," Senku reminded as he poured in something to a bowl. "Mix it up, check the PH, filter it, and it's harmless. That's how science works! Of course, if you don't know what you're doing...you'll die."
"Yeah, so no one try this at home, kay?" Sumi grabbed the bowl, pouring it into a bottle for Senku to hold up.
"After that's done, you've got gum syrup!" He revealed and allowed Chrome to take a taste. He opened his mouth, allowing a drop to hit his tongue. His eyes then widened before he looked up at the ceiling from the overwhelming taste.
"So sweet!" He cried out in response.
"Well, it is a sweetener," Sumi revealed, crossing her arms. "It's silky for cocktails and can be used in coffee and other drinks. It won't overpower the flavor of any of those, and instead enhances them. Simple syrup can work just as fine, but gum syrup is more viscous and slightly less sweet. I'll keep making more for Francois so they can have a good amount in the future."
Senku stared at her suspiciously. She hasn't left the lab in hours...probably just wants time to process her thoughts. At least science is always a good distraction...
A goat bleated as Suika was milking it as requested by the science team. She then gave it to Chrome so that it could be heated in boiling water. Taiju walked over to examine the milk. "Warming up a bottle of milk, huh? Doesn't seem like it's gotten much hotter than bath water..."
"Yeah, that's kinda the whole point," Chrome smirked while pointing at the basket. Sumi walked over to test it and make sure it was ready.
"Whoa!" Taiju shouted as the heated milk was now more of a yogurt texture. "Dude, you made yogurt!"
"Mix some filtered yogurt, add gum syrup, a little bit of lemon and voila!" Senku explained as Francois held up...a lactic drink. Suika watched as the butler started to mix, closing the shaker. She shook it gently, Suika watching in awe. Francois then poured out a drink into a glass, planting a little watermelon-shaped head like Suika's. Francois placed a straw in the drink, pushing it to the little girl.
"I hope you'll enjoy this!" They spoke softly as Suika stared.
She then moved her head forward, taking a sip. The little girl gasped sharply, waving her hands happily. "Wow! I've never had anything like it before in my life! It's super sweet, a little bit sour, and 100 percent yummy!"
"I added some apple juice to this lactic drink," Francois revealed as Yuzuriha stepped up behind the little girl.
"Apple, huh?" She smiled at the choice. "Good idea."
Kaseki laughed in amusement as he walked over, examining the drink. "I love the little cucumber on the rim! It looks like an even tinier, cutier version of your helmet, Suika!"
"It's not just a decorative garnish," Francois gestured to the drink. "Once you're about halfway finished, drop it into the glass and give that a try."
Suika flicked the cucumber into the drink, and took another sip. She flinched and then smiled happily. "The flavor changed and now it tastes like a watermelon! It's really yummy! And refreshing~!"
"That's cool," Yuzuriha smiled a little, looking to Senku. "How'd it go from apple to watermelon?"
"Well...it's from mixing gourd family plants with fruit juice," He explained simply, and wasn't going to go into much detail.
"Your pure smile like radiate sunshine," Francois smiled down at the little girl. "Interacts with your helmet, showcasing your effervescent charm. A cocktail especially for Suika, the 2Side Sunshine!" Francois then flipped a bottle, catching it from behind and flipping it into their hand.
"Francois looks like a bartender in a movie the way they're throwing the drinks around!" Yuzuriha gushed while watching Francois flipping the bottle into the shaker. They threw the bottle into the air, moving the shaker to the other hand and poured another drink. The butler then shook up another drink, with people watching. Gen and Tsukasa were sitting at the bar.
"I would bet there's some scientific reason it makes the drinks mix better!" Chrome smiled cluelessly, since...he didn't know how bartending worked.
"Would ya now?" Senku replied sarcastically to him.
"It's nothing of the sort," Francois contradicted both Chrome and Yuzuriha.
"Are you serious?!" The duo yelped towards them in unison.
"It's simply for flair. It treats the guests' eyes in addition to their palates for a more complete experience."
"Wow, talk about mastering the art of hospitality..." Chrome murmured, wondering just how much training Francois had...Yuzuriha slowly nodded in agreement.
Francois then placed a red-colored drink in front of Tsukasa, who was wearing haute couture from the Sumiku Department Store. "This cocktail is for Tsukasa," The Grenadine & Tonic drink was a red color with an ice cube in the middle. "Watch as the red of the pomegranate under the scientific glow of the blacklight...changes like the gentle flame smoldering inside of Tsukasa's heart," They turned on the blacklight, which changed the color of the drink from red to blue.
"It turned blue?" Chrome wondered in awe of how it was possible.
"It's glowing!" Suika pointed out as it was like looking into the sea.
"So pretty!" Yuzuriha gushed towards the drink.
Tsukasa took a sip and then smiled with a small chuckle. "Very good. Thank you."
"And now for Gen. An innocent look," Francois stated and Gen looked on with a small smile. "Heights a mature spicy kick," They poured a drink of Spicy Cola, with a lemon garnish.
Gen took the first sip and let out fire from his mouth. "Ha ha! Now that's what I call a Spicy Cola!"
"And for you, Kohaku," Francois placed a drink for her too, causing her to smile. Like Senku and Gen, she preferred not to drink and let herself get carried away. Her specialty drink was a Spicy Cinderella, which had ginger ale, fruit juices, and ginger itself.
"Ha! Humanity really is something," Kohaku smiled in amusement at her cup. "We have the imagination and knowledge to create amazing things from natural ingredients!"
Senku next to her let out a chuckle, getting her attention. "Yeah, but you do realize that everything in our world is natural."
"And this one," Francois smiled while holding up a green, white, and brown drink, the colors layered on top of each other. "Is a cocktail crafted for the one and only Senku." His was a three-layer tea latte. "Whipped matcha, milk, and hojicha tea syrup. The layers represent science, and the way that it constantly builds upon itself," Francois gave a fond smile while watching Senku pick up the drink.
"Since I'm gonna drink it all together...can't I just stir it up?" He wondered if he could mix the layers together so it wasn't overpowering.
"I thought you might suggest that," Francois held up a stirring spoon just for him. "I believe the layers of flavor will blend together elegantly." He mixed them together to create a white-greenish drink. "The scientific achievements working in concert, to become a mildly sweet latte."
He took a sip and let out a small breath as it was very good.
"Senku," Tsukasa approached him, glancing to where Sumi was. "Sumi's behavior seems to be that of a tortured soul…something did happen, didn't it? Maybe in her past? The tenseness, the rigidness, the look she has recently. Is it because of your relationship?"
Gen blinked, eyebrows furrowing a bit as people were starting to catch on...and knowing Senku, well...
"Her dad was an abuser. Resorted to drugs constantly. But I don't think that's it. She had years to get over that," He dug his ear with his pinky. He then flinched as he remembered what happened with Ibara. "Mm…" Given what Yo said during the poker game...that's more than likely the answer here.
"…Is it a secret between you? If so, I won't pry about your private lives," Tsukasa's eyes then softened at him. "Senku…I wanted to offer an apology."
"Huh?" Senku blinked at him in bewilderment. "What the hell for?"
Tsukasa bowed his head in response. "I can't forgive myself for what I've done to Sumi. Having to use my blade against her in your presence…and probably giving her self-confidence issues...it wasn't my intention to leave her with emotional scars—"
"Heh heh. Get up, would ya?! If I had a problem with that, would I have revived you? Sumi herself hasn't even thought about that," Senku chuckled in disbelief, to the shock of Tsukasa. He then gave a small smile that the two were happy together regardless of what happened. Well...relatively speaking at least.
"Then I'm glad there's no hard feelings between the three of us," Tsukasa hummed a little from the response.
"Oh! We should get Mom a drink too!" Suika suggested with a small smile.
"Ha ha! Nothing like a personal cocktail to bring up her spirits!" Ryusui snapped his fingers with a grin. "Let's bring her out!"
"I'm on it!" Suika rolled away towards the lab.
"Make it non-alcoholic, would ya?" Senku glanced over to Francois. "I don't think impairing her mind is gonna improve her current state."
"Understood," Francois bowed as Suika came back while dragging Sumi.
"Alright, alright, what's the rush?" She gave a small amused smile, but it looked kind of forced. Which didn't go unnoticed by Senku.
"You gotta watch Francois real close, okay?" Suika smiled eagerly up at her, pushing her to a seat.
"Alright, alright," Sumi decided to go with it as she sat down, looking at the butler, who did some more bartender tricks. The black/red haired scientist blinked while watching them prepare the drink.
"For Sumi, strawberry soda for her sweet demeanor. Then of course, cotton candy, and an edible violet flower garnish for her namesake," Francois gestured to a strawberry-colored drink in a glass, with cotton candy in the soda overflowing the cup a bit like an explosion and on the side was a small violet flower. "The Cotton Candy Violet! Both showcasing her side of science and caring nature."
"Whoa, so pretty," Sumi murmured as she took it into her hands and had a small sip. She blinked, her eyes shining at the cup. She also brightened up once having the drink. "Mm! It tastes like strawberry cream almost!"
"Place the violet flower into the drink halfway," Francois smiled, gesturing to the garnish. Sumi placed it in the glass, stirring the drink as it turned blue. She then had another sip, humming happily as she blushed a little.
"Now it tastes like a blue raspberry whip, very tangy and silky!"
"I added a little sweet cream as well," Francois bowed a little to her.
"Thank you, Francois! I love it," Sumi smiled towards the drink.
Senku smiled, hands on his hips while watching her enjoy herself. Suika beamed happily to see Sumi enjoying it. The woman then turned to the mentalist nearby.
"Listen, Gen, I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier. No hard feelings?" Sumi wondered while biting her lip.
"Hm?" He gave a playful smile at her. "Oh, that? Water under the bridge, Mire-Chan! Though I could be willing to forgive you more if you make me lots of cola!"
"Absolutely not," Sumi denied with an innocent smile, catching him off guard.
"Whhhy?!" He cried out upon hearing this.
Ginro approached Matsukaze, who was alone and not near the bar. "Come on, Matsukaze, have a drink with us~!" Ginro implored, still drunk himself while holding two beers. "We wanna hear all those cool stories about your past. That's your master? Tell this guy how awesome I was back then!"
"His master from back then? Not you," Kinro deadpanned towards his brother.
The warrior looked a bit forlornly having to remember. "My master...he had a powerful spirit up until the very end." Ryusui looked up from his drink, Senku and Sumi listening attentively. "Then it happened...without any kind of warning."
The green lights from the Medusas shined in the sky towards the island. "They rained down suddenly. Perhaps someone's voice commanded them. Or perhaps they were responding to our curses. I cannot say." One of the devices landed on the ground, to the shock of the chief. "But it didn't take long for people to understand how these terrible weapons worked..."
A village was suddenly attacked by the chief, all of them holding Medusas. Instantly, people were petrified.
"Should these fall into the wrong hands, chaos will run rampant!" Matsukaze's master shouted urgently to the people. "Find them all and destroy them immediately!"
One of the warriors holding a Medusa staff shouted while running forward. The master held out his hand, letting out a gasp as his hand was turned into stone.
"MASTER!" Matsukaze shouted as he ran over instantly. Before the master could be petrified...the warrior sliced off his arm, preventing him from being a statue. However, the master would not survive long due to the amount of blood loss.
"Matsukaze...there's no saving me now," His master murmured weakly while on the ground.
"Please, master...you shouldn't say such things," Matsukaze pleaded as he did the best he could to patch up the sliced off arm...but there was nothing else he could do.
"Listen...I've been thinking," The master spoke up while looking up to the sky weakly. "Why did the heavens curse us with this petrification weapon? At first I thought it was divine punishment...but it's strange. If the ultimate goal was to turn everyone to stone...it would've only taken one device to make it so." Matsukaze gasped as he realized...that the devices couldn't do so in one fell swoop. "It makes no sense. Had they been designed for us...? Why are they so easy to use? Were they intended to be treated as weapons? To wield against each other?" He looked up at his bodyguard with tears streaming down his face. "It's quite upsetting, infuriating! And I want the heavens to suffer for it, Matsukaze! I want the gods to know that we humans aren't so foolish. That they shall never make a mockery out of us...!"
Matsukaze stared at his dying master, vowing to uphold that promise for him...the invaders all ran up with yells towards the two. The warrior silently grabbed his sword, charging towards the army. He then started to slay them, swinging his sword around to put them down instantly. He let out another yell with blood on his face, his hair tie falling out of place. He was then surrounded by his victims... More Medusas were thrown into the sky, glowing.
'I cannot escape my fate...' He thought, knowing that there was no way to dodge them. He held up his hand. 'Therefore, I must ensure...future generations know what brought this calamity' As he turned to stone, he carved the Medusa into his stoned arm as the green light approached him...and then he was a statue.
Sumi's eyes saddened as Senku and Ryusui stared in silence. If they hadn't found him...they wouldn't have known more about the Medusa. But he still had to go through all of that to get to this point... "I'm well aware...that I could never erase the stain of my failure to protect my master. Nor the bitterness in my heart by defeating Why-Man."
Ginro felt bad while Sumi approached Matsukaze, a hand on his shoulder. "I know it hurts still...but I'm sure that he knows you did everything you could. Back then, you didn't have the means necessary to heal him...I'm sorry if we pushed you to share that," She gave Ginro a small glare and he flinched.
"No, don't apologize," Matsukaze bowed to the woman. "And I thank you for your kind words...but still, I must go on."
Francois approached, holding out a dark-green drink with foam at the top. The warrior turned to them in confusion. It was a matcha beer just for him. "Beer with matcha. The bitterness that comes with maturity...will someday mellow into something more palatable. Please enjoy."
He took the drink...had one sip...and then passed out on the ground. "He's a lightweight?!" Everyone except Francois and Senku freaked out at the sight. Sumi yelped and bent down to the man, shaking him gently.
"Ah, Matsukaze! Maybe we shouldn't give a man who was petrified for thousands of years beer..." She rubbed the back of her neck. "Probably left him more sensitive to alcohol with that much time being a statue..."
Matsukaze was unconscious on the ground, most likely a while. He could hear clanks, causing him to gasp sharply as he woke up. He sat up in alarm, a blanket over him. He looked up ahead to see Tsukasa watching Kinro train with Kohaku, and was guarding Matsukaze too. The warrior then remembered what happened.
"Kinro, Tsukasa, you guys take him somewhere safe. Since he didn't finish the drink, he should be back to normal after a good rest," Sumi opened up Matsukaze's eye with her fingers to examine it. "His pupils aren't too dilated, but he might start acting tipsy, so watch out for that..." The two nodded and dragged him away.
"I failed him..." Matsukaze murmured as he wasn't entirely unconscious. "I must make myself stronger..."
"Yes," Tsukasa agreed, causing the man to gasp. He then released himself from the men.
"Tsukasa! Let me borrow your chest!" Matsukaze touched his chest since the man had the fur cloak.
"Sure," Tsukasa nodded a little as he didn't seem to mind.
"I beg you...Tsukasa..." Matsukaze leaned into his chest, falling towards the ground.
"FORGIVE ME!" Matsukaze shouted in embarrassment, bowing to Tsukasa. "I was intoxicated and out of line!"
"Yeah," Tsukasa once again had no problem with it. "I think we could all benefit from more combat training."
"Wait, we're actually gonna wake this guy up?" Chrome asked Senku and Sumi skeptically. They were actually sitting behind Matsukaze, having brought another statue out. "I dunno..."
This got the warrior's attention as he turned to the trio. Senku let out a signature chuckle. "Relax, we have a gun now. Besides, Tsukasa's here to keep him under control. It's not hyperbole to say that the future of humanity is at stake. I don't think he'll do anything stupid."
"Well yeah, but weren't you concerned last time we brought him on board?" Kohaku wondered while staring at Sumi.
"Meh, I'm not as worried now, some people have done far worse," Sumi muttered, crossing her arms. She then gave a big sinister smile like Senku would, looking a bit murderous and evil. "Besides, Sen said that I could do whatever I want with him if he goes too far! It's not like he'll take over the ship without someone stopping him!"
"Nice to know she hasn't forgotten what he did..." Kohaku gave a small smile, agreeing with her friend.
"Quite frightening..." Matsukaze looked at her wide-eyed.
"Heh heh heh!" Senku laughed in amusement, looking towards Tsukasa. "You're our battle specialist, Tsukasa. And that means if you think you need him, then I'm sure we do."
Tsukasa smiled a little for the trust Senku put in his judgment. "I know hand-to-hand combat. And Sumi is quite excellent with long-range. And he's the most qualified with weapons, so we need his help."
And so...they revived Hyoga himself, as they found his statue and took him with them before leaving Treasure Island. Everyone stared at him, as the vibe was almost similar to when they revived him the first time.
"We're asking you, Hyoga," Tsukasa approached him carefully, frowning deeply. "Help us. You can train him in modern-fighting techniques. Matsukaze will improve exponentially. I would ask Sumi, but I don't wanna take her away from her scientific tasks."
He opened his eyes, staring at them in silence for a few seconds. He hadn't forgotten allying with them on the island. "I will agree to that, on one condition."
"Heh. Oh yeah? Are you looking to get some kind of pardon for offing ol' Tsukasa and whoever else-"
"No, I won't ask for that," Hyoga interrupted Senku, to his surprise. Sumi blinked while glancing up at her lover. "It would be an injustice...and no system of law would offer it to me. My condition is 2 revivals. The right to awaken two people."
Senku gave a small smirk, having a strong feeling of who he was asking for. Sumi let out a disgruntled sound while looking away. "Not a fan of where this is going..."
The first person to be revived was Moz, who would also be monitored because of his...desires. The second was Homura herself. She turned around and looked up ahead. "Hyoga, it's you..." She murmured happily to see him, as they hadn't seen each other in months.
Hyoga nodded silently and then tossed a staff to Moz. He caught it and spun it swiftly, swinging it down. "Now what was that? The Owari Kanryu-spear technique? Maybe I should give this practice thing a try for once. There might be something to it..."
"No, there's something else to do first," Hyoga looked over his shoulder at Matsukaze.
"Mm. There certainly is..." He glanced over to see Minami, Yuzuriha, and Sumi. "There's some good-looking girls here. I'd like to start by getting more acquainted with them. Especially Sumire. We never really sealed our deal, huh?"
She flinched in disgust, remembering that he sliced her top open... "Yeah, you see this distance?" She pointed to the weapon in his hand. "That's as far as you're allowed near me. Don't think I forgot the fact that you came after us and that I gave you a warning, you perverted prick."
"I honestly don't care if I have to fight all of you. Because I'll have to send you all straight to hell with no mercy!" Sumi spoke with an edge to her voice.
"Aww, you're no fun. You won't even let me get in another sneak peek~?" He teased, pointing his weapon at her chest.
"I could just as easily turn you into a statue again if you keep up the macho flirting act on my lover, kay?" Senku replied back in annoyance, catching Moz off guard.
"All that time, you had a lover? Ah...so you were tricking me when we made that deal," He narrowed his eyes a bit, staring at the two. "You don't even seem like a couple to me."
"I don't have to prove a damn thing, but I will admit I did trick you! Too bad for you your last moment before being petrified was me kicking your ass! And I'd do it again," Sumi smirked while crossing her arms, angering Moz that he got played.
"Now Moz, I expect you to behave properly, especially around Sumire. I wouldn't doubt the bond she shares with Senku either. After all...over 3,700 years of knowing someone is nothing to scoff at," Hyoga glanced over his shoulder towards the two. Sumi blinked in a bit of surprise that he was defending them. Moz himself felt the same as her and then faltered, knowing that if they knew each other that long...then there had to be some truth to it.
Soon, Hyoga and Matsukaze were training hard against each other. Kinro, Tsukasa, and Homura watched while Ginro was in hiding.
"Kinro!" He called for his brother. "Come here!"
"Mm?" Kinro turned to him in confusion.
"Man, if you ask me, those guys are super scary!" Ginro cried out in fear while leading his brother away somewhere. "There's no way I'm throwing myself in the middle of that! Mm...so I was thinking, we, uh..." He didn't finish the question as he looked up and Kinro gave a small fond smile.
And so, the two trained together like they used to do. "You know what, Kinro? They say...bitter defeat always turns...into a mellow thingy," Ginro stated while they sparred.
"What did you say?" Kinro had no idea what his little brother was talking about.
"Oh, it's like something Francois said earlier," Ginro remarked as their blows were loud.
"Is it?" The two brothers grunted from the strikes.
"Kinro, behind you!" Ginro tried to distract him to win, but got hit instead. "OW!"
Ryusui was now putting on a theater, kind of like a slideshow. The audience was Minami, Kohaku, Gen, Suika, Ginro, Kinro, and Ukyo. "In the early middle ages, these brave warriors ruled the northern seas. They are...the Vikings! Displaying extremely impressive nautical skills, the Vikings arrived in the Americas 500 years before Colombus!"
"Now that's amazing," Ukyo murmured in fascination after hearing this. "How did they do it so long ago?"
"Yeah!" Ginro shouted in disbelief as he couldn't picture it. "It's not fair! How were they able to get around so easily?! It's not like they had signs to follow!"
"The sun could've acted as a big sign," Kinro murmured, looking up curiously if it was even possible at the time.
"That's true, but what about when skies were cloudy?" Kohaku pointed out, since there was no tech capable to help with navigating.
"Did they have some kinda weird trick they used?" Suika wondered while looking up as well.
"They did, and it's the stuff of legends!" Ryusui smiled as he showed a picture of Senku and Sumi this time with a device. "It was said that Vikings had a tool that would reveal the position of the sun under any weather condition! They called it a sunstone. You see, it was incredibly difficult to determine your bearing and position while traveling across the high seas!"
"So it was crazy hard for the Vikings to do, but we're supposed to take the most complicated way to get there, aren't we?!" Ginro gave a big pout.
"Well, we don't know still what exactly Sumi's route is," Kinro reminded his brother. And speaking of Sumi, she approached with Senku, who was holding cups of tea. The woman was also holding the map of their actual route.
"Heh heh. Nah, it's like stupid easy now. Cause thanks to science, and old professor GPS, we always know exactly where we are," He stated, glancing down at the map. "Even though the route is still within my gr-" He tried to snatch it and Sumi moved away with a small smirk. Gen blinked as she seemed to be doing much better.
"Uh-uh-uh," She waved a finger as Senku looked annoyed. "If I show you now, you'll try to get me to change it!"
"Which way have we been going, actually?" Kohaku couldn't help but ask.
"She told me the route after her win, so only I know," Ryusui answered from nearby the globe, looking unfazed.
"Alright, I guess I'll cave," Sumi stepped up, showing her map...revealing that she had combined both Ryusui's and Senku's routes into one. So they were first on a curve, and then a straight line up ahead.
"You used both their routes?!" Everyone else yelped in disbelief at her, Senku looking at her in shock.
"What the hell? Did you forget that we had a deadline?" The green-haired scientist narrowed his eyes a little.
"Most corn seeds can remain viable for a few weeks in soil, so ten days isn't gonna change much," Sumi remarked, feeling confident that they would get the corn in time. "Sweet corn is annually planted, so its growth cycle is 60 to 100 days. I had to combine the routes in order to keep the peace!" She gave a playful smile. "And that's why you don't try to...sway me into your decisions, because I do not need to go through that ever again." She coughed awkwardly as she didn't wanna say seduce with Suika in the room.
Senku blinked and then let out a chuckle. "Well, I guess you taught me a lesson. Alright, noted, I don't have the hormones necessary to try again anyway. Sides, I have other ways of getting other faces for entertainment."
"Hey!" She glared a little while covering Suika's ears.
"Heh...I guess Sumi really did get the upper hand on both of them, huh?" Ukyo gave a sheepish smile.
"Looking back on it now, she just wanted them to stop arguing, so I guess it's a good compromise," Kohaku smiled a bit for Sumi's choice of route.
"I do have a question about the GPS," Gen spoke up awkwardly, though smirking a bit while finding his two scientist friends adorable. "Although it does sound like an amazing idea, what is stone world GPS?"
Senku let out another chuckle. "It's coordination with Ruri and the others back in Japan."
"Wow, look at that!" Mirai gave a look of awe as several hourglasses were moving sand into them back at the Tsukasa Empire. "What's the deal with all these hourglasses?"
"Don't forget the sundial too. These will help us transmit the time in Japan as accurately as possible," Ruri explained to the little girl; Senku and Sumi gave their side extensive instructions for how to use both of them. And they trained them too until they got it right. "To our friends on the ship!"
"Transmit from Ruri?!" Ginro gave a small smile as he, Kohaku, and Minami looked a little too happy...
"It's finally happening!" Minami gushed for more couples...
"Expressing her feelings for Chrome across the ocean!" Kohaku was on the same page as them.
"What are you idiots talking about...?" Chrome muttered as he and Senku weren't so amused.
"I think it's better if you don't catch on..." Sumi murmured while staring up ahead awkwardly.
"We're ridiculously far away," Senku deadpanned at the trio. "It'd be impossible to have a conversation."
"Plus, we're not risking using the phone again if Why-Man can intercept our calls twice now," Sumi shuddered as she remembered the last call. At least that she couldn't get nightmares from because she was more pissed than anything else...
"Then how do we get the message?" Gen wondered, since they didn't have any other means of communication.
"Well, they won't be verbal, but we can receive faint short-wave signals," Ukyo replied while he was writing on paper. He was in charge of writing them down since he was the sonar operator. "So they send one every hour, right on the hour." A little bell rung to signal that they had a new time. "There we go. And that means...it's 10 AM there!" He revealed from his notes.
"And as long as we know the hour, all I have to do is count the seconds to make sure we stay accurate!" Senku gave a confident look, crossing his arms.
"How could I forget we have Senku the human stopwatch?" Gen stared at him a bit anxiously, remembering how Senku knew what day he woke up. "As one of our captains..."
"I still don't really get how knowing what time it is helps us figure out where we are!" Suika looked very confused, and Yo and Gen weren't too different either. "Especially out in the middle of the ocean!"
"It's okay, Suika. The modern grown-ups don't really understand how any of this stuff works either...not even Mire-Chan can do it all since she kept losing count as a statue," Gen murmured in agreement with her.
"Sen is basically a walking satellite if you wanna look at it that way..." Sumi gave them a sheepish laugh.
"Sumi!" Kinro approached her and bowed, to her confusion. "I apologize for what Ginro said last night. When he said that, he-"
"I didn't mean to, Sumi! I was just really drunk, I didn't mean to hint about your experience in your private matters with Senkuuuu!" Ginro cried out, hoping that she wouldn't kill him, because he knew what she could do when provoked.
Sumi looked a bit panicked as her hair stood on end. Because immediately, Ibara touching her chest flashed in her head. "Really, it's fine, you two," She waved a nervous hand, as she really didn't want the reminder. "I'd rather just forget it."
Senku, Gen, and Ryusui stared from her reaction, wondering if she was thinking about what they suspected again...Kinro stared at her too as he didn't think much of it, but some others were very confused by how she was playing it off.
Kinro then gave her a small nod. "As you wish...if there's anything we can do to atone for-"
"No, no need for that, just...don't," Sumi then turned around and speed-walked towards the door. She flung it open and dashed out of the room.
"What's with her?" Ginro blinked in confusion, Senku furrowing his eyebrows.
I had my suspicions...but I've got a conclusive answer now. The avoiding the topics about it, the fear, being on edge...and her eyes are tired too. Meaning that she's had trouble sleeping, probably for a few days now. She didn't even have her usual look when we made the gym syrup, and she loves chemistry. She seemed...more distracted than anything. Not to mention the negative reactions to certain simple words or phrases. Now the question is...how do I get her to admit it?
"I've never seen Sumi like this before," Ukyo murmured from his spot.
"Should we go talk to her?" Kohaku offered, only to be stopped by Gen.
"Mire-Chan, similar to Senku, doesn't seem like the type to admit things to just anyone. Not unless she chose to," He reminded the blonde, who stared at him in confusion. Gen knew the last thing Sumi wanted was to keep talking about it...but he wasn't sure how he could help her when she didn't want to hear it either.
Once she was in an empty room, Sumi pressed her back against the wall, panting heavily. Damn it...why can't this end? Why do I have to keep going through this? I have way more important things to do around here... She placed her hands on her knees, her chest heaving. Sumi suddenly felt like she was gonna throw up, covering her mouth while she felt like she couldn't breathe. No...I don't wanna keep living like this...but it's like the events are constantly on loop. And I can't get them to stop. Her heart was racing, she was trembling, and she was starting to feel dizzy...
Why can't I gain control of this? Why did I have to let it happen in the first place? Maybe then I wouldn't have to feel like this... She squeezed her eyes shut, biting her quivering lip. All she could think about currently was Ibara's hands...the look Senku gave...her pleadings for him to stop. My chest hurts... She placed her hands over her racing heart, sweat dripping down from her face.
No...I won't be able to breathe if I don't do something about this now. Breathe, Sumi...breathe in... She took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Breathe out... She did this a few more times until she felt her heartbeat slowing down to normal. Once she confirmed it was, her vision started to come back. Then her knees gave out and she sat on the ground, her eyes wide as she let out a shaky breath. She panted slowly while swallowing her small amount of nausea, processing what just happened to her...
Why...? Why can't this just stop? She landed on her side slowly, tears falling down her face. I can't even close my eyes for too long without thinking about it...what do I do? Telling other people...it might be too much to handle. I don't wanna be pitied...but I can't keep this up for the rest of my life either... She gave a sullen expression, wishing that she didn't have to go through this...
Earlier...when I had that drink, I was fine until now. So maybe...I just need more time? The black/red haired scientist let out a sigh as her eyes faltered, hoping that this didn't happen again...
Kaseki was using the sextant in front of the sundial. "Right now, the sun's at its highest point in the sky!" He reported to his science buddy.
"Meaning that it's 12 o'clock our time!" Chrome revealed with a small smile.
Ryusui spun the globe around. "The time difference gives us our latitude. And the height of the sun, our longitude. And what that tells me is that the Perseus is currently...here!" He pointed to a spot right in the middle of their route, to their shock.
"I don't get the technical stuff," Taiju appeared in front of them with a smile. "But I got the last part! Cause if we know our longitude and latitude, we'll know exactly where we are!"
"Traveling with science is amazing!" Suika gushed, holding out her arms. "As long as we can see the sun, we'll know everything we need to!"
"Yeah!" Senku gave a big grin. "Should the skies ahead be nice and clear, it's smooth sailing all the way to the USA!"
And then right after was a storm...Kohaku, Gen, Suika, Senku, Chrome, and Ryusui were not pleased by the dark clouds above their heads...
Raindrops started to fall onto the deck as the water rose. "You just had to say it, didn't you?" Gen retorted to Senku in exasperation. "Oof...I mean, it's like before you were born, you decided to max out your stats and intelligence, grit, and willpower. But ended up having absolutely nothing leftover for luck..."
"Ooh!" Kaseki looked disappointed by the storm just as Sumi stepped out onto the deck in alarm. "There's no way we'll be able to see the sun through all of these thunderclouds and rain!"
Ryusui let out a small frustrated sigh while looking out the window with Senku and Sumi. "Which means we'll just have to rely on my sailor's instincts during the day..."
"And if this keeps up, we're gonna lose an awful lot of time..." Senku sighed, also not too happy about this either.
"I know I merged both routes just to prove a point, but I didn't anticipate this..." Sumi frowned a little, unaware of Senku and Ryusui staring at her. She had little stains on her clothes, but they couldn't tell if it was rain or sweat...
"Without the sun to guide us, we'll just be sailing around in circles..." Suika murmured in dismay, looking out the window too. "If only we had something magical to help. Like that sunstone thing from the Viking legends..."
Chrome turned to her and gasped sharply from the suggestion. He chuckled and ran off, getting her attention.
"Aw yeah!" Chrome held up a rock with a white center in it. "We got this bad rock out of the skarn deposit. AKA nature's treasure chest! Do you mind using your gorilla power to chisel out this middle section for me?"
Kohaku had her lips curled while doing so. "Are you thinking there's a beautiful gem hidden deep inside or somethin'? As long as you send it to Ruri, I'm all over it!"
Suika was shaking because like old times, Kohaku did not let Chrome get away with the gorilla name...
Once Kohaku was done, there was a transparent rock remaining. "I dunno. Looks kinda pretty," Suika noted as the two stared at it.
"Just a whitish, normal-lookin' rock, huh?" Kohaku was a bit disappointed it wasn't a diamond or something Chrome could give to her sister.
"You know, that was my first thought too," Chrome smiled while holding it. "But check it! When you look at stuff through the translucent part..." He demonstrated for Suika, who was shocked to see two different reflections of herself.
"Looks kinda weird! Like you can see it twice!" From her end, she could see two reflections of Chrome, even though he was holding it in front of his face.
"Huh," Kohaku rubbed her chin in bewilderment. "Well, I guess that's pretty fascinating and all...but I'm not convinced that Ruri will think too much of it."
"Huh?" Once again, Chrome had no idea what she was talking about. "I never actually said a single thing about her...anything cool has a chance of turning out to be something totally bad someday. So I check out everything that I can get my hands on. And that's what it means to be a real science user!"
"Now, look," He told the two while now back outside. "You can see the mark twice through the rock," He had attached the rock to a staff. "A little bit off-set. Okay, so which way would the sun be...?"
"You won't be able to see it through the rain clouds..." Suika reminded her friend as she and Kohaku watched.
"Yeah, that's perfectly fine," He closed one eye to get a better look. "Because if we get the angle just right and point this baby at the sun...see?!" The markings were now aligned while pointed at a specific spot. "It lined up! The two marks look almost exactly the same! N-Not that I know why or anything..."
Kohaku used her eyesight and then blinked in shock. "No way..."
"Yes way!" Chrome grinned...as in the direction of the rock was the sun peeking out from the clouds. "Now we can know where the sun is at...even when it's cloudy!"
They then showed the stone to Senku and Sumi to get their take on it. "It's calcite, so duh!" He looked at it in excitement, Sumi blinking in awe that they even had it on hand. "It acts as a natural prism, splitting rays of light in 2."
"That's thanks to its property called birefringence, splitting light into 2 beams. People have even said in the past that a sunstone gives physical/emotional healing, but that's just a myth," Sumi explained, though didn't look too excited since she was still getting over what happened earlier...
"So when they line up...it'll show us where the sun is hiding away?" Gen examined the sunstone in confusion.
"Yeah," Senku clarified with a small smirk. "That's pretty much the whole idea."
"Heh. It makes sense to me now," Ryusui looked up in understanding. "Apparently, when they investigate Viking wrecks at the bottom of the ocean...they often discover a huge amount of calcite. Although it's always been a mystery as to why they were carrying it with them. But this must be it!"
"Maybe it wasn't some sort of legendary magic item," Ukyo tipped his hat with a small smile. "But an incredible real invention! That was the sunstone."
"Ha ha!" Ryusui held out his hand. "Right you are! And now, over 4,000 years later...our crew is sailing across the ocean to the Americas! Just like the Vikings of old! With help from the incredible real power of science!"
Chrome smiled happily that he invented something new to help. Sumi and Senku stared at him.
"What's next on our science journey?" Chrome ran after Senku before the Grand Bout.
Senku gave a small chuckle as it felt like so long ago that Chrome was a novice...but now, he was well on his way of being a great scientist. Sumi gave a small hum, hugging herself. Seeing Chrome reminded her of when she first started with Senku...it was some small comfort, at least.
And so, using the sunstone, Ryusui's steering, and Ruri's messages, they were on their way. While out in a cold area, Suika pointed up ahead. The Perseus passed by a glacier, to the awe of Yo, Ukyo, Yuzuriha, Suika, Matsukaze, Ginro, and Kirisame. Then whales appeared soon after, shocking them even more. Ukyo continued to write down the times, while Senku, Sumi, and Ryusui helped with navigation.
Later, Sumi was reheating for the lactic mixture for Francois, unfocused once again...
"I said you need to keep the heat consistent or else it's gonna break," Senku scolded, hands on his hips.
However, thanks to her lack of proper sleep, her eyes were faltering a little. She then flinched while looking up at the flask, trying to stay awake. Senku and Chrome were gathering ingredients behind her, so they hadn't noticed yet.
Then she thought about her panic attack...and how she could barely get through it on her own. I have to do something about this...it'll get too distracting if I don't get it together. Come on...focus... Her hand holding the flask was shaking a little. God damn it...my skin is crawling thinking about how to make it all stop...
She unknowingly squeezed the flask so hard while in her thoughts that it actually exploded onto her hand. Chrome and Senku looked at her wide-eyed. "Agh!" She stepped back while wincing in pain, holding her wrist as she squeezed her hand shut.
"Sumi, are you okay?!" Chrome yelped as the two immediately rushed to her side.
"Mm...ow..." She hissed, slowly opening her palm to reveal glass pieces stuck in them, her hand smoking a bit thanks to the sulfuric acid.
Now Senku knew that something was definitely wrong. Sumi would never make a mistake like that ever. Sure, she had mishaps like when her hair exploded, but she was never this unfocused to not notice the heat was affecting the glass.
"I'll take care of it, Chrome," Senku gave the brunet a look to leave them alone. Chrome nodded in understanding and left the mobile lab. "Come on, idiot," He pulled her over to the other room to access the medical equipment. He looked for cotton balls, tweezers, a cloth, and alcohol. Sumi took a seat on the table, frowning as she looked at her hand.
Great. First my sleep, then during the day, and now my work...ah, it's getting worse. There's no way that someone doesn't suspect something... Her eyes softened at the fact that she was keeping this to herself. And it wasn't like she wanted to, but she was just...scared and she didn't know how to get past this. This wasn't an easy fix either, not if it was to the point of injuring herself.
Senku came to a stop in front of her, staring down at her for a few seconds. He gently grabbed her wrist and she didn't protest. Nor did she look at him while he took out the tweezers. "Clearly something is bothering you if you didn't notice that the glass was melting to the point of combustion," He pointed out as he plucked the glass out of her hand quickly. She bit her lip from the amount of pain. "And I can't exactly ignore it," He then stared at her seriously, narrowing his eyes. Whatever it was, she was going to tell him, and she was going to tell him now. If something like this happened again, it was going to get worse. "So spit it out."
"...Nothing's wrong, Senku," She glanced away from his eyes; she couldn't look at them too long or else she might cave. "I hurt my hand, so can we please not?"
"I've known you too long, violet. That's a bunch of crap," He gritted his teeth, remembering all the signs he noted so far. "It's Ibara...isn't it?"
"Uh!" Sumi turned back to him wide-eyed. "No!" She stared at him defensively, and he looked back at her, both of them not backing down from their intentions...he wanted answers, but clearly she wasn't going to give them.
Even I'm not immune to this behavior...I gotta think of something to make her talk. Violet...you've gotta let me in.
Homura was using the telescope...when she noticed something up ahead, gasping sharply. "It's land."
Kohaku then opened the door, interrupting the slightly tense atmosphere. "Hey, there you guys are, Homura said-" She then blinked as she saw what was going on. "Uh, Sumi, what happened?!" Her eyes widened at Sumi's hand.
Sumi continued to stare at Senku before she jumped off the table. "Nothing, just a lab accident," She gathered the cleaning equipment before storming past Senku and Kohaku. "I've got it from here."
"Ok...ay?" Kohaku stared at her in confusion, turning around to Senku. "What's that all about?"
"Just Sumi being childish as usual. I wouldn't read too much into it," Senku was looking a bit irritated that he didn't get the truth out of the woman...Kohaku stared between him and the departing Sumi, wondering if there was something going on that she didn't know about...
He stepped out onto the ship, with Sumi sitting on the mast looking out. Her eyes widened towards the sight, the others gasping in realization. "Finally!" Suika cheered and was the first one at the front of the ship. "We're here, guys!"
"OH, YEAH!" Everyone on deck cheered as they gathered around to look for themselves. "WE MADE IT ALL THE WAY TO AMERICA!"
Sumi's hair blew next to her as she looked out to the land... I really hope this helps for what it's worth...
Gen had his back turned while a spotlight was over him, seeming to be doing something. He then turned around with a smirk, revealing a card.
(Light shines just beyond blind faith)
A card spun around, showing Senku in front of the Medusa, space, and the Kingdom of Science flag. He was working on an experiment. More cards fell behind him.
(As if it had been waiting all along)
Gen revealed a card in his left hand, which was Sumi's card. Behind her was a field of violet flowers blooming, the woman having her eyes closed, her hands over her chest. Behind her was a puffy piece of cotton candy, and Ibara as a shadow looming over her head, reaching out to her...and she looked traumatized with one tear going down her cheek.
(Creation surpasses imagination)
Gen turned around the card in his right hand, which was Ryusui's. He was sitting in front of a ship's steering well, his fingers pressed together from his right hand. He also had a map in the other hand.
(And starts wandering on its own through the mind)
Gen then shuffled the deck.
(Synapses pulse and ripple)
Chrome's card showed him out treasure hunting, having supplies and everything. Gen reshuffled the cards.
(Relaying messages without rhyme or reason)
Ukyo's card showed him with a bow and arrow in hand, standing in front of a radar and the ocean floor. Then Kohaku's card was her in front of a lion, a wheat field, and her shield.
(Eyes keenly fixed upward)
Tsukasa's card was him holding a shell necklace, surrounded by clouds and green foliage.
(The wind is blowing)
A wind came in to blow away all of the cards on the table, the Sumi and Senku cards surrounded by them.
(Steering the course)
Gen had his hands out like he was seeing the bigger picture and then glanced to the side.
(Wandering endlessly between zero and one)
Senku was walking towards the left while surrounded by falling cards, placing his hands on his hips.
(Searching, searching for)
He started to skip a little bit, and then Gen was upside down, walking towards the right.
(Turning zero into one)
He placed his hands into his sleeves, skipping along as well. And this time, he had shoes like Senku's instead of being barefoot.
(Carving an unknown path)
Sumi was walking towards the front, looking a little lost. She placed her hands behind her back, looking towards the ground with her eyes closed.
(Moving, moving on)
She skipped along just like Senku and Gen.
(Before becoming rigid and fixed)
She and Senku suddenly crossed paths, and they looked towards each other in surprise. Before either of them could say anything, Gen ran in from the right, causing them to look at their friend. He pointed towards the left in excitement.
(You can go anywhere)
Gen pushed the two of them to run further away, the trio disappearing into the wave of cards.
(Rollin, rollin')
Senku smiled up towards the night sky, hands on his hips.
(Rollin, rollin')
He blinked in confusion as Sumi turned around while in front of the moon, looking like she was a ghost. She beamed while holding out her hands towards him. She faded back to normal as she fell towards Senku.
(Rollin, rollin')
Senku reached out to catch her, hands on both her hips. She smiled while her hands were on his shoulders. The two looked into each other's eyes almost the moonlight.
(Rollin, rollin')
He put her down safely, and they looked back up to the moon together with smiles. He still had his arms around her.
(Rollin, rollin')
However...they weren't alone as they were surrounded by all of their companions laying on the ground, most of them having fun, taking in the sight, or fighting on the Perseus.