The scouting team and the battle team were getting as far away from where they got shot while still using their vehicles. Both were damaged thanks to the machine gun, but they were at least still functioning. In the back of the battle team's boat, Kohaku was keeping watch just in case. Senku and Sumi were at the rooftop, some of the roof damaged as well thanks to the bullets.
"You mean to tell me there's another super scientist like you guys here on the other side of the world?" Taiju asked the duo in disbelief. "And they were able to find a way to revive on their own too?!" To him, it was unheard that someone was even on their level...his friends were the smartest people he knew, therefore he never questioned if anyone else even could revive on their own in the same exact way.
Senku gave him one of his chuckles. "Pretty much. You realize neither of us have a monopoly on science, right?" He had a small smirk on his face. "The world's been sharing that knowledge since the beginning of time," The man then picked at his ear. "So anyone who's interested can join the club."
"Honestly, it doesn't surprise me that someone other than the three of us did revive on their own. The world was full of 7.8 billion people, after all, so it's not unheard of," Sumi gave a small shrug, looking a bit annoyed. She more so had a problem with the fact that whoever that was last night targeted them with a freakin' machine gun... Most likely, they don't have access to revival fluid...the same type of cave we had before doesn't seem to be a common thing. So manufacturing their own revival fluid is impossible. Did all of them wake up on their own through sheer brainpower?
"Someone else went from a stone axe all the way to a freakin' machine gun," Gen spoke up in fear of what this meant for them, matching some of Sumi's thoughts. "And you're chalkin' it up to a simple interest in science?! Even you've got to admit how crazy that sounds, Sumiku!"
"I'm not saying that I'm not worried about their interest at all, this scientist is no beginner if they have actual guns. It just means we have a lot on our plate to overcome. Unexpected, yes, but impossible, no," Sumi placed her elbow on Senku's shoulder casually, a hand on her hip.
"For now, it's all just conjecture," Ukyo spoke up while looking through the periscope. "We won't know anything until we make contact. The only thing that's for certain is that there's a scientist out there who appears to have revived on their own. And, of course..."
"They're advanced," Senku finished for the sonar operator, unfazed. "Their scientific progress seems to be just a hair further along."
"That much is clearly evident, to the point where they see us as a threat," Sumi spoke up, crossing her arms.
Gen and Taiju gasped sharply at the thought of someone progressing just like the two scientists did, but on a much larger scale and in a different country...Ukyo was frightened by the thought as well.
"Well, that's true on the military front, at least," Senku acknowledged, since they didn't have much information to go on.
"Hm," Ryusui gave a small smile. "And most importantly...whoever they are, they're eager to see us dead and gone!"
The others all stared at him in silence, knowing that this was much different than the Why-Man trying to petrify them...this scientist wanted them all dead, regardless of their intentions. Ukyo looked at the ship captain nervously and then gasped. He looked further up ahead, looking more on edge.
"That's engine noise! Behind us!" He reported to the others.
"They followed?!" Kinro gritted his teeth, already on alert.
"Can't be," Kohaku spoke up, still looking towards the back. "I've been keeping a close watch on our surroundings," She couldn't see anything, she would've already told them if someone was tracking them down. "I haven't seen anything that looks like a boat. And besides, we've been traveling pretty fast all night. There's no chance they could've caught up to us that quickly!"
Ukyo went up to the roof to take a look for himself. Senku held onto Sumi as they watched him join them. He then let out a gasp. "It can't be...I hear it up there!" He looked up and Sumi caught a whiff of something.
"...That's fuel from above. And it's not from us," She murmured in shock to Senku and Ukyo, getting their attention.
Tsukasa gasped as he looked up. "Crap! No way! Incoming!" Yo shouted to everyone else with an anxious look on his face.
Senku and Sumi gasped sharply as they looked up...to see an actual airplane in the sky. The two continued to stare as it was approaching them from up ahead. Not only that, it was armed, and was a medium size. Senku and Sumi continued to stare in bewilderment, their eyes shaking...
The airplane gave off a noise as it continued to fly down, floating above water and following them. The duo couldn't believe what they were looking at, as if they were in a trance or something. "Senku! Sumi! Hey, Senku, Sumi! SENKU! SUMI!" Taiju shouted, getting their attention. "What now? Should we wave hello or somethin'?"
"Pretty sure now's about the time we should be waving the white flag!" Gen cried out, not wanting to die. "Maybe we could become pals and talk it out!"
"Ha! Befriend someone who opened fire the moment they saw us?" Kohaku scoffed at the thought.
"Yeah, I don't think I'm getting a friendly vibe here," Sumi glanced down at Gen. "So that would result in an automatic fail."
"I hate to say it...but I think they're flying low because they intend to attack us!" Ukyo gritted his teeth at the airplane's height.
"Ha ha!" Ryusui just let out a laugh. "I'm putting the pedal to the metal!" He then pulled the levers forward to accelerate. "Full speed ahead!" The mobile lab sped up, the mini-boat following after them. However, the airplane still had eyes on both parties. The mobile lab continued to speed up, Tsukasa swerving to catch up. The mobile lab did a hard turn, but the airplane was still following them. The pilot was revealed to be the same person that attacked them with a machine gun, putting something in his mouth.
He lit a match, putting it to a cigarette. He then blew out some smoke, looking out from the front of the plane. He swerved to reveal another machine gun, keeping his sights on the two groups. The attacker flicked a lever, with the gunshots hitting the water to head for them.
"Get ready!" Kinro shouted to the others, Ginro looking up with fearful tears in his eyes. Hyoga moved a lever as Yo and Moz looked up nervously. The bullets continued to follow them until they hit the boat, knocking them off course. Ginro yelped while hugging his seat, Matsukaze swooping in to catch him and jump away. The gunslinger continued to fire at them without hesitation, making holes into the mobile lab. It then circled back while both vehicles were now off balance. The airplane moved up towards the sun as the mobile lab slowly came to a stop on the water. The battle team were knocked off the boat, but were still alive as they surfaced.
Ginro popped up with tears flying from his eyes. "Owwie! Man down!" He panicked towards Matsukaze, who had a graze on his left shoulder from the flying bullets.
"It's just a scratch. I'll survive it," He confirmed that a bullet didn't actually hit him, trying to calm down Ginro.
"Matsukaze, no! My loyal attendant got hurt protecting me...!"
"Calm down, he said it's not serious," Kinro scolded his younger brother. "And you're not the one who's injured. Have some dignity, plus Sumi can look it over for him."
Yo was panicking and firing from his own gun into the sky. "Hurry up! Fall already!"
"You're wasting ammunition. It's an impossible t-"
"Well, unless you got a better plan, shut your piehole!" Yo interrupted Hyoga, as like Ginro, he didn't want to die either. "This guy has us pinned down here!"
The airplane was circling around in the air again from a far distance. It then disappeared into the sun, Kohaku gritting her teeth. "What is it doing now?!"
"It's pretty obvious they won't give up until we're sleeping with the fishes!" Gen recoiled back with a frightened expression.
Kinro gritted his teeth, his glasses glistening a little. Yo tried to get a look for the plane, but with the sun concealing it for now, it was difficult. The airplane was then descending down towards them. Senku opened his eyes, placing his fingers in front of his face. Sumi closed her eyes in thought as they quickly thought up of a plan. The two then glanced to each other and nodded. Senku rushed towards the back door, opening it up and grabbing the water into a flask. Sumi poured some dirt into it, and then tied cloth around the flask. He corked it shut and started to shake it with a nervous chuckle.
"You never know when something will come in handy! Always be prepared, kids," He recited as the two definitely had a plan.
"What's that bottle for?" Ginro was still scared as he peeked in from the roof.
"Damned if I have a clue!" Chrome confessed while tying a knot into a rope. "We'll ask them later if we survive!" As curious as he was about it, he felt like it was something that would help...hopefully.
"Oh, trust me, it's a good thing if we time it right," Sumi winked up at the two.
"That's not reassuring coming from either of you!" Ginro yelped down at the black/red haired scientist. The fact that she added that timing thing didn't really make things better.
Senku stomped a foot and then held up his arm. "KIRISAME!" He screamed while throwing the bottle over to her. She flinched as she saw it coming and held out her hand to catch it. "You're up! We're counting on that throwing arm!" Considering that she threw the Medusa multiple times while being their enemy, she was the most trustworthy when it came to this task. "What do you need?"
"Stable footing, a rope, and for that thing to stay as steady as possible! That'll be enough!" She answered, flinching in shock as she was immediately given the rope that Chrome was tying earlier without question. She gasped a little for their intuition, Chrome giving her a small smile.
"I'll make sure it stays up in the air!" Sumi shouted as she took out her whip, jumping onto the roof of the mobile lab. She reached the edge and eyed the airplane closely. Let's see...the average length of a whip is around 48 inches or 120 centimeters long. Mine is most associated with a bullwhip clocking in at 10 feet, or 304 centimeters. And the average wingspan of an aircraft is 30 to 40 meters. No way I can reach that from down here until the right timing... She held out her hand to measure out how far up the plane was as it was flying down. The woman then gave a small smirk to herself. It's a good thing that I've picked up on Sen's counting abilities enough to pull this off.
"It's coming back!" Kinro yelped from the water. Kirisame tightened the rope to the bottle given to her. She stepped on someone's back as the machine gun was still pointed at them. Kirisame had her shoes off for more stable footing, standing on Taiju's back. He was being supported by Kohaku and Kinro. She spun around the bottle at a rapid speed.
Closer... Sumi narrowed her eyes as she waited for the right moment. And in 3...2...1! Once the airplane was close enough, she spun her whip into her hand, recoiling back her hand and throwing it. She managed to capture one of the wings from the plane, sliding forward a bit while keeping a tight grip. The pilot looked down at her in bewilderment, wondering what was going on.
"NOW!" She screamed while looking down towards the others. Kirisame tossed the bottle, letting go of the rope. The pilot gave a sharp gasp, Sumi still clinging onto the plane. The bottle hit the plane, engulfing it in smoke to damage the engine. This caused the plane to go out of control and Sumi let out a yell, swinging to heave it over their heads and towards some trees. She let go of the whip as smoke came out the back, watching the plane fly past them.
"Well, well...they got my engine knocking with just one little shot and the strength of that woman..." The plane continued to fly downwards, and...the pilot smirked instead of being upset. "Hm...impressive." He started to soar down towards the forest, and then crashed into the trees. They could see the flock of birds flying away from the area of the crash.
"And that's the end of that. For now," Sumi sighed in relief, wiping her forehead with her wrist. Although it did give her hands a bit of a burn hauling that past them...
The battle team all cheered from the water, aside from a bashful Kirisame. "Do I even want to know?" Gen felt like he shouldn't even get the answer as to what was in that bottle.
"Let's just say that it's not lethal, but definitely packs a powerful punch as we just demonstrated," Sumi smiled while looking over her shoulder.
Senku just gave a smirk in return, noticing Sumi's hands. "Hey! Your hands still functioning?" He called out as she stepped up.
"A bit calloused, but yeah," She smiled with a thumbs up.
"Don't go throwing planes with machine guns next time, kay?" Senku picked at his ear and Sumi raised an amused brow.
"Interesting that you have to even tell me this..." She remarked, but decided not to argue.
"Aw, now isn't that sweet? Senku does show concern for someone he loves," Gen playfully teased, earning a tsk from the scientist, who decided not to comment.
Meanwhile, the plane that crashed was now stuck in the trees. The pilot took a deep breath, staring at what was left of the aircraft. "They threw acetylene gas at you," His boss realized what the plane was hit with after hearing the story. "It's harmless to humans, but can stall an engine at just one percent concentration."
"Yes...it was a truly elegant countermeasure," The pilot agreed with him, the mask opening up like a mech and then moving down. "Ah...so it's one of those pyro-whatever weapons. I feel like I learned about those..."
"Pyrophoric," His boss corrected the man.
"It slipped my mind," The blond gave an amused smile from his purple lips. "Extended petrification will do that."
"It can be compounded from a simple mixture of water and calcium carbide. Calcium carbide can be made by cooking coal and seashells-"
"I don't need all the details," The pilot interrupted while putting a cigarette to his mouth. "That'll suffice." He lit another match to put to his cigarette. He gave an amused smile, with his petrification scars underneath his eyes and moving all the way down to his jaw. He let the match die out and then tossed it. "It seems they've got one too...their very own genius scientist...or perhaps even multiple," He murmured while standing in his suit of metal in amusement, thinking of what Sumi did to the plane. "Someone who's just like you..."
With the others, the mini-boat was being driven over to the mobile lab. Both vehicles had taken a bit more damage than the last assassination attempt. "What if those creeps come back here with reinforcements, huh?! We should run while we still can! Step on it!" Ginro tried to tell them as Sumi was pulled back inside the mobile lab by Senku.
"Run from a fight?" Ryusui popped up between the two with an innocent look.
"No chance in hell we're running! Things just got exciting," Senku had the same exact expression.
"What about protecting your girlfriend?!" Ginro pointed up at Sumi, who recoiled back a bit with wide eyes.
"Please don't bring me into this," She deadpanned in annoyance at him trying to use her to weasel out of their current situation...
"Those expressions!" Gen was still pretty anxious like before. "Grody..."
"Huh?" Kinro stared at the trio in confusion.
"It's never a good thing when all three of them are on the same sick page as each other..." Kohaku murmured with a knowing look. "Yup, those three are definitely up to no good..."
"Even you agree with them, Mire-Chan?!" Gen yelped at his best friend as she didn't seem to be against the idea either.
"They shot at us unprovoked and scared Suika. I want their ass!" Sumi grinned a little too maliciously... "So no chance of me changing my mind on that front!" Gen let out a yell of terror upon realizing this fact...
I almost forgot...she gets pretty fired up once people are in danger... He recalled when she saved Ukyo from his wounds during the Stone Wars. Or when she threatened Ibara's troops without any hesitation...
They managed to reach the location of the crash. "We saw where the plane crashed, and I'm sure you can guess what's coming next," Senku spoke up to everyone. "We'll need to get there before they call for backup, so we should hurry like our lives depend on it." As he was talking, the others were searching for clues.
Kohaku touched a tree and then looked up. She jumped and grabbed Sumi, placing her friend on her back. Sumi blinked, but didn't protest as she held on tight, getting the same feeling of when they were a team on Treasure Island. Kohaku flipped, landing on a tree, and used the surrounding ones to keep herself and Sumi in the air. She jumped up a bit higher towards some branches, gasping as she could faintly see something. And sure enough, up ahead was what was left of the plane. She managed to reach it and landed on top of a branch.
"No sign of anyone in here! They must've retreated," She reported to the others as the pilot was long gone. "Too bad, was looking forward to squeezing some information out of 'em..."
"Considering the track record from just a day, I was thinking more on the lines of torturing them..." Sumi then let out a sigh of disappointment.
"Just based on what's happened so far, anything you can interpret from this guy?" Senku glanced to his girlfriend curiously from down below.
"Hm," She rubbed her chin in thought, looking back at the empty seat. "Well, obviously, old enough to both pilot a plane and carry a gun. Could be someone like Yo was if that's the case, but not police. That would put him in his 20s, maybe late 20s if he knows to carry more than enough ammo on him. Definitely doesn't bother asking questions first, but also observant. If he could obscure my line of smell the first time, that was probably part of his strategy. And since he's already shot at us twice...he's not gonna stop until he confirms we're dead," She narrowed her eyes fiercely. "He's most likely working for the scientist, and is pretty loyal to that scientist to target us nonstop..."
"How do you know it's a man?" Chrome blinked up at her.
"Well, if the occupation matches, women only make up a small portion of military if that is where he's from," Sumi gave him a small shrug. "Plus, he attacked first, which a female doesn't usually do. Take Kirisame, when Kohaku was in disguise, she made herself known first and then spoke before attacking her."
"She does make a good point," Kohaku murmured at Sumi's deduction.
"What about leaving behind that thing?" Senku pointed up to the plane.
"Oh, that? Well, if he's so willing to just leave it here and disappear, it probably means that he's got more. Otherwise, he would've taken the time to haul it with him if he really cared about preserving it," She was going to mention that it was kind of like when they suspected only having one Medusa. But then it would remind her of Ibara, so she would rather refrain from bringing that up. "Even if that did mean slowing him down."
"Meaning, that drop's all ours," Her boyfriend replied gleefully upon hearing the news.
"True. Finders keepers!" Ryusui remarked in the same exact way.
Kinro, Ginro, Yo, and Chrome all yelped towards the duo's attitude... "Ahh...so that's what you were after," Gen murmured knowingly while Taiju rapidly hit the tree with an axe to get the plane down.
And soon, they were hauling back the plane themselves with the mobile lab. "Yes, we gladly accept this! In the name of goodness and righteousness!" Senku chuckled in excitement, moving his head back and forth.
"Commandeering valuable resources from our enemy!" Ryusui had a big smile on his face. "Now that's good strategy!"
"And even though they won't miss it, it's definitely a big scientific contribution to the Kingdom of Science!" Sumi grinned widely, rubbing her hands together.
"Why do you think you need to lie like that?!" Gen accused all three of them. "Admit it, you guys just wanted to score that plane! Seriously, though, it was all over Senku's face when he first saw that plane...his eyes were glittering! And I could hear his heart screaming, this is exhilarating! Get excited! Meanwhile, Mire-Chan was definitely in awe. And I knew she was thinking, we're surpassing our limits!"
Senku gave a big smirk recalling his reaction. "Yeah...guilty as charged." He didn't even have to look at Sumi then to know what she felt.
"Not to mention, the more Mire-Chan spends time with you, the more like you she's becoming...it's honestly unnerving how much you influence her. And yet this is the same person who had to fight you off from seduction..." Gen pointed out to them.
"Pfft! What's that one quote? Time is precious, make sure you spend it with the right people?" Sumi gave an innocent shrug. "Not exactly something that Sen and I have lacked compared to other people. Besides, he's not immune either to my own influences."
"Heh! Only you would say something so ridiculously sickeningly sweet," Senku scoffed, but didn't look bothered by her claim either. Sumi blinked at his comment and then pouted, blushing in a bit of embarrassment. But that last word did make it better at least, so she wasn't going to get pissed off for him teasing her.
As the mini-boat got closer, Kohaku took another look at the plane. "Ha! Senku, Sumi, I found something I think you'll both find very interesting on this 'airplane' that we commandeered."
"Ha ha!" Ryusui laughed, pleased with their discovery. "Hidden treasure!"
"You're right," Tsukasa peeked at the plane, which had remains of leaves and pieces of corn on the bottom. "Those are corn kernels and leaves."
"It adds up..." Ukyo looked away in thought. "In order for them to send an airplane after us...they'd have to have a runway nearby. A level and open field somewhere not too far away."
"Ah! Right, yeah!" Taiju beamed a little in realization. "You mean they have a cornfield runway!"
"Makes sense why I haven't been able to sniff the cornfield out, then," Sumi blinked as she glanced over to Senku and Taiju. "I'm guessing that if it's an aircraft the pilot was flying, the runway would have to be 1,000 and 1,200 feet long. With all the trees around us, there's not enough open space around here to accommodate that. So it's gotta be somewhere far enough that I can't track it down."
"In theory..." Tsukasa started off, getting their attention. "We should retreat at once. It's the most logical move after an ambush. Yet there's too much to gain from pursuing them, even if it means risking our lives..."
"We're pursuing?" Gen called out from the back door of the mobile lab. "Tell me who!"
"Do I have to spell it out?" Senku turned around to him. "We're tracking down the enemy pilot, of course. We're in the market for a cornfield, like theirs. Grabbing that would give us years of planting and growing. Don't forget why we made this journey! We're here for one reason: to find corn and save the entire world!"
"He's our best lead right now, so it's important we find that pilot," Sumi smiled, crossing her arms as she approached Senku. "We haven't let anything stop us before, and we're not gonna do that now. Even if we have to push past their defenses, we can't let that corn go to waste. We all didn't come here just to give up, did we?"
Everyone smiled towards their leaders, knowing that they couldn't leave empty-handed. Especially since Senku and Sumi were curious as to who this other scientist was.
"Yeah, fine, we're all aware of that part," Gen blinked, still having some reservations. "Who's going?"
"Hm. We're bringing back the same strategy we used during our war with Tsukasa," Sumi smiled in amusement, looking towards Gen in particular. "You know what that means~!" She sung a little, causing him to be a little on edge. He did not like that look she was giving him.
Gen was left flabbergasted as he, Chrome, and Kohaku were all alone in the forest. Chrome was carrying their cell-phone. Even though Why-Man could intercept their calls, it was also their only form of communication. So they would be using it sparingly for now.
"I'm the seasoned explorer, Gen's our mentalist, our gorilla-" He shook his head rapidly, cutting himself off. He did not want to know what Kohaku would do if he finished that sentence. "Uh, Kohaku's strong with great sight! We're an unstoppable tracking trio!"
"And our ace team's small enough to easily evade the enemy!" Kohaku remarked while smiling just like Chrome was.
"I knew they'd pick me...!" Gen cried out in dismay from the front. "Why did I even bother asking...? Mire-Chan's lucky that she asked me personally, not that I had a choice...why isn't she here?! She'd be able to smell the cornfield!"
"Senku said he needed her back with the others, but if you ask me, he probably wants to put her to work," Chrome shrugged a little at him.
"Or maybe he just wants some alone time," Gen pouted, but he was gonna tease them a lot when he was back. "Not air-fay that because they're dating, she has more leverage than I do right about now when it comes to stuff like this..."
Sumi let out a sneeze while looking through shelves from the medical area. She blinked and then glanced out the window. "Oh, must be Gen complaining that I gave him work that he thinks I should handle..." She muttered knowingly, giving an innocent smile. "I think I should hold back on telling him that I just wanted to be here with the plane!"
The trio walked into the forest together. "Aw, man...are we sure that this is the right way?" Chrome murmured while glancing around, since most of the trees looked the same. They'd probably be going around in circles at some point...
"There can be no doubt, Chrome," Gen spoke up, getting the explorer's attention. "Rest assured..." The two glanced down to see Gen moving away part of a bush. On the ground were some footprints not belonging to them. "Lookie here~"
"That's the enemy's footprints!" Chrome yelped at the sight. "Damn, Gen, your skills are super bad!"
They continued to move further down a cliff, relying mainly on the footprints. They could be found either in the rock or grass, so thankfully they weren't obscured. "Come on, man!" Gen cried out in exhaustion as they had been following the footprints for a while. "You don't need a mentalist! This pursuit is too easy! You could get behind without little ol' me...!"
He then caught eye of something and gasped sharply. Chrome and Kohaku came to a stop. Hold on...something isn't right here. They're trying to lure us in... Gen realized that they had been following the tracks for a while now. Unlike Amaryllis, who was on a relatively smaller island and had no chance to really get away...in America, the area was much more vast. Meaning a lot more opportunity to set a trap, especially since they were dealing with someone who was able to track them down twice. Our enemy means business. He then gave a small smirk.
"What an asshole move," He commented about the situation they were in. "Do you really wanna play this game with a mentalist of my caliber?"
"The poker game was actually legit," Gen informed Ukyo on the Perseus. "I was really trying to win, but I ost-lay. I'd be lying if I said it didn't bum me out...that one stung, especially coming from Mire-Chan. Just a little."
"I can't pass up this chance to redeem my reputation..." He had a sleazy look on his face; that was the main reason. Another part was because...the enemy would hurt his friends, and because he was a mentalist, he would be able to get out unscathed. Trying to save all of them, though...that was a tall order. Back on Treasure Island, Moz definitely felt like a lesser threat than someone who had a gun and excellent marksman skills. "It's go time...don't you dare even take one step ahead of me, got it, Chrome, Kohaku?" Both of them blinked at their friend in confusion for his instructions. "All you've gotta do now is follow my lead. Don't worry, I'll leave a nice trail of flowers behind me just for you."
And with that, he left them behind. "O...kay?" Chrome stared after him in bewilderment. They could only just stare at the mentalist walking further away...
Gen continued walking into the forest, leaving behind flower petals just like he said he would. Specifically, they were over the footprints. As he walked, he continued to follow the trail. Each footprint he passed by, he left behind his trail. Luckily for him, Gen had an abundance of flowers in his inventory. He glanced around cautiously, stopping near some trees. He looked up...as the footprints actually ended in front of a pile of bushes. Up ahead, he could see a cliff, but not the cornfield runway...that probably would've been too easy.
He cleared his throat, waving a surrender flag. "Hello, new friends! I'm just wondering, is anyone there?" He called out nervously, hoping that his tone wasn't too noticeable. As soon as he asked the question, rustling was heard and something fell in front of him. The mentalist freaked out at the sight of yellow shining eyes from a dark shadow. However, as the sun shined on him, it was revealed to be the pilot from before. The mask opened up like last time, revealing the top of his head. He also had the machine gun in front of him...
Gen gave a baffled sound, wondering if he was already going to die, or if the pilot was actually listening to him. "Uh...so, who are you? Where do you come from?! I didn't sense your presence at all!" He was kind of faking it, but at the same time, the sudden appearance did actually catch him off guard. He then flinched as the gun was pointed right at his face. "Yikes! Guns down! I'm asking you nicely!" The mentalist yelped while holding up his hands in surrender.
He stood still as he was patted down to ensure that he wasn't armed. "Is this a pat-down? You have my word that I'm utterly and completely unarmed!"
"That's true," The pilot spoke up, causing Gen to gasp since he had never heard the man's voice until now. "No weapons to speak of," The blond put a cigarette to his mouth, lighting it once again. He then let out a puff of air. "Even so, you're armed with your fair share of tricks. Who are you?" He looked down at Gen with an amused smirk.
Gen looked up slyly, knowing that the man in front of him acknowledged that he was definitely not stupid. Gen then threw up a bunch of flowers with a big smile on his face.
"A magician?" The pilot guessed, and was sort of correct.
"Something like that, yeah!" Gen responded to him gleefully.
"Ah, I can tell from your body," The pilot put the mini gun away. "Seems only your fingers are adequately developed," He then turned away in thought. "At the very least, it's clear you're not a warrior. Unlike those friends of yours who are obviously masterful samurai...including that woman with the whip. I feel like I should know her, but I can't recall." Gen gasped sharply from that last part, deciding to keep his mouth shut. Obviously, Sumi didn't know him, and unlike Tsukasa, she didn't recall ever meeting someone like him...not only that, if her profile of him was anything to go by, he was much older than her. Even still, he had to be careful when talking about her just in case. "I was hoping to snuff them out with a preemptive strike. Alas...anyway, I have a lot of questions for you," The man then started to walk up the cliff, Gen blinking in alarm. "Bet you have some yourself," He spoke while still smoking his cigarette. "Come along. Meet my leader, the doctor."
Gen stared after him, wondering if this was another trap, or for real. Either way, he couldn't pass up the opportunity being offered...even if it was coming from a man he was still terrified of for weapons alone. He silently followed, keeping his distance for precaution. They headed towards the mountains specifically.
Soon, they were walking underneath a stone arch, both of them silent. Gen had a feeling that now was not the time to be asking all the questions he had. Plus, he was intrigued as to where they were going. They continued walking down the mountainous area until the man came to a stop.
"We've arrived," He announced, Gen immediately being hit with the sun. He looked up...seeing the ocean up ahead, surrounded by trees. However, he could also see a HUGE area of grass that looked different from the surrounding area. He couldn't tell if it was the corn or not since they were on top of a cliff.
So this is the enemy base...impressive.
The two continued walking down the rocks...and passed through the cornfield that the others were looking for. Gen looked around him with his eyes wide. He didn't think he'd find this much corn... So much yellow gold! Senku and Mire-Chan will flip when they set eyes on this cornfield we've been searching for! And this is definitely too far away for Sumi to find by smell... He imagined that all the rocks and trees were obscuring the corn too much for her to get a whiff, even by chance. The mentalist then heard something, blinking as he looked to the side. Just past some corn, he could see a tractor being moved. Are those...tractors?! He then came to a stop as there was a fence up ahead. And past that fence were some cows as well. Cows?! Holy mother of milk, they're even dairy farming! It was almost like an actual real farm, had the world not been petrified... The pilot continued to lead him while Gen was still examining everything around him, seeing the theorized runway. Whoa...there's that runaway we see arised about. By the looks of it, there's more than one plane. And, well, there was Mire-Chan's assumption that he would've taken the plane if there wasn't multiple here. I'd be surprised to find out if she was wrong. But he'd never show me their fleet, would he?
He didn't think he'd be considered that trustworthy right away, given that he just met the man. Even if he was showing the mentalist their base, showing off too much would be a risky move. The two then stopped in front of a huge building that kind of looked like a factory, castle, and mansion all rolled into one. "Wha...? It's huge..." Gen murmured at the sight in front of him.
"That's not where we're going," The pilot walked off, confusing the mentalist. They walked up a ramp, with something next to them. Gen looked at it for himself, and it looked like a huge structure.
Is this a...factory? He thought as the noises coming from it did sound familiar.
The pilot tossed off his armor, revealing a black bodysuit with gloves, a back holster, knee pads, and greaves. Along with that, he also had a knife around his belt, and a pistol. He glanced around the room while the cigarette was still in his mouth. "Yo, Xeno," He called out as Gen followed inside. "Knew you'd be here. I have good news. I'm happy to announce the new world has its first guest," He approached someone with white hair, and the wall was...covered in glass beakers from a giant bookshelf. Not only that, there was a lab table in front of Xeno.
He held up a test tube with red liquid in his hands. And he also had gloves with metal claws attached, kind of looking like Ibara's claws.
I'm getting serious Sumiku vibes. No, actually... Gen walked forward, surrounded by beakers. This guy is an adult. He felt like that made the most sense if they had this much equipment. Meaning he's the professional version. Gen gave a nervous smile while watching Xeno put down the test tube. A real scientist...
Xeno glanced over his shoulder, looking very menacing already. And without a word, Gen's shoes were removed, and his leg was put into water by the pilot. "Aah! Good grief! What are you doing to my tootsies?! And what is that stuff, some kind of horrible mystery chemical?!" Knowing Senku's tendency to produce...dangerous chemicals even if for good reason, he was terrified that the stuff would melt his bones off or something.
"Calm yourself, it's only some saltwater," The man informed while holding his leg down. Then Gen's hands were thrown into the water as well, and he was forced to sit down. He could only look in bewilderment, as he had no idea what was going on...
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance..." Xeno stepped up to the mentalist, causing him to look up. Already the claws were terrifying as the scientist was tall, looming over him. His thick eyebrows narrowed, with his giant petrification scars over his forehead like an actual X. "I suppose it's time for introductions..." He moved away some curtains, looking over his shoulder. "Perhaps I should start with the man who has the peculiar habit of inhaling noxious gas for fun," He gave an amused smile.
"Drop it already," The pilot called out, as his smoking habit was something he always had. Not to mention, if his boss really had a problem with it, he would've stopped smoking a while ago. "You know it's just tobacco..."
"That's Stanley Synder," Xeno introduced him, Gen looking up at him in alarm. "Former soldier. Actually, still a soldier, in my employ."
Before Gen could think that Sumi was on the right track again, he yelped as a wrist was pressed against his neck. The other hand was brought to his face, Xeno looking scary as hell right about now. "And I am Dr. Xeno. Now, tell me who you are, and where you're from."
Has he never heard of personal boundaries? Gen thought, hoping that this wasn't going to be 24/7... And why touch my neck?
"Sure thing," He gave an anxious grin. "I'm Asagiri Gen, I was something of a magician back in Japan."
"Japan?" Xeno sounded interested to hear it, looking over to Stanley. "Well now! Did you hear that, Stan? How marvelous. These fine gentlemen made such a voyage in the stone world as to make even Colombus blush..."
Gen looked over his shoulder, seeing a bunch of dials and outputs and coils from an intricate machine...his eyes then shook as he had a feeling of dread within him. Is that what I think it is...? He then eyed each dial. Breath rate...perspiration...EG rating. It's a polygraph? He rigged up some kind of lie detector! He was kind of impressed that it existed in the first place, since it had to take a lot of parts, tests, and material. As he listened to the beeps behind him, he looked up with a smirk, because...they definitely underestimated him. So you want to play the lying game against a mentalist, do you? He was so glad that they didn't seem to recognize him, nor did he disclose that he was a mentalist.
"The Kingdom of Science is awful!" He cried out with fake tears coming from his eyes. "They work us all to the bone there! And our genius scientist leader is a brutal task master! If you must know, that's why I fled!"
Xeno glanced at the polygraph as one dial moved all the way to the right. "He's astoundingly unflinching..." He noted while looking at Stanley. "He speaks so smoothly, it's almost elegant."
"You mean he's telling the truth? What a swell guy," Stanley remarked with a bit of sarcasm.
"We'll see," Xeno smirked a little, eyeing Gen closely. "I'd say he's either honest to a fault...or we've stumbled upon the world's most convincing liar. Don't you worry. I happen to love both of those types..."
A sweatdrop landed in one of the water buckets as Gen had to rethink his strategy now. But he didn't agree to come alone for no reason... I'm going to go undercover and infiltrate this place, Senku and Mire-Chan. How does taking the whole she-bang for ourselves sound? The entire revival fluid factory, that big-ass cornfield, and everything else too...
"Right. So we just need to take out this alleged genius scientist..." Stanley murmured in thought, internally freaking Gen out.
"Tell me your scientist leader's name," Xeno demanded of the mentalist in front of him.
Gen kept an innocent look on his face, but he was still panicking. Well...looks like we're officially ewd-scray. Senku's brainy, but let's be real, they'd tear him to shreds in a fight! And Mire-Chan's strong, but against a soldier's marksman skills? I can't even mention her, because I don't know how they'd react if Stanley somehow does know who she is. So I can't allude to the fact that it's not a one-man's job...
Sumi was patching up Matsukaze in the mobile lab, putting alcohol on his wound. Luckily, they had managed to stash some away in case they did get injured. She didn't think it'd be like this, though...
"Aren't you worried about Gen?" Suika blinked up at her curiously, holding out some gauze as she was being a nurse essentially.
"Heh. Worried?" Sumi smiled down at the little girl. "Knowing Gen and his tricks, they're going to test him first. And when they do, he's not going to give anything away too explicit. Or the fact that he's a mentalist. So, he'll say someone else is behind everything in order to throw them off. Especially given our opponent and their skills..."
We need someone tough and sturdy. But beyond that, it's gotta be someone who would volunteer in their stead... Gen thought while trying to come up with a good answer...
"And that's why..." Sumi looked up with a small knowing smirk. "When asked, Gen is going to answer someone who is the exact opposite of me or Senku. Probably someone from our battle team if I'm trying to think like him."
"The genius in question..." Xeno and Stanley waited in anticipation for what he would say. "Goes by..." Gen took a breath, knowing that he was making the right choice...hopefully. "Taiju! Dr. Taiju!"
"Exhilarating!" He could imagine what Taiju would have to say, since he knew Senku's phrase well enough. "Get excited!"
"But it is Gen, so are you sure you can have faith in the right answer?" Suika tilted her head curiously.
Sumi then flinched, her head sinking a little in realization. Gen was a good liar, but...it was usually in the expense of someone else. "Well...he does try to put me in situations I disagree with, and he likes to tease me a lot...but that doesn't mean I don't trust him," She looked back wearily as she tied gauze over Matsukaze's shoulder to help keep pressure on the bleeding. If he's smart, he'll keep my name out of it, because I'm not gonna do any flirting for his sake again.
"How's he doing?" Senku approached from behind and she stepped back, looking over her patch job.
"He'll make a full recovery, it's just a graze," Sumi reported with a satisfied smile. "No actual bullet went through just like Kinro told me. It would've exited through the shoulder if that was the case. I think it just happened to barely go past his sleeve to scratch him."
"THANK YOU, SUMI!" Ginro shouted from outside, earning a blank look from the black/red haired scientist. He waved his hands happily as he made no effort to hide how relieved he was for his safety. "I'm safe now!"
"You know, you could show more concern about him rather than yourself right now..." She deadpanned, knowing fully well that part of him just wanted to ensure he still had a bodyguard...
"I thank you kindly," Matsukaze bowed to her and she gave a small smile in return.
"No trouble at all," Sumi gave a small wave as they watched him leave.
Senku glanced at Suika and Sumi, both of them starting to clean up. He remembered when he saved them, even though he wasn't like Taiju. But...something in him just felt like he had to do it. Heat of the moment was probably the right term for it. "Are you two...alright?" He coughed a bit awkwardly as he glanced away. Both Sumi and Suika tilted their heads in unison at him, wondering what he was thinking about.
"...Oh!" Sumi blinked in realization of what he was referring to. "You mean the shootout! Suika was a bit shaken up, and I'm relatively okay. Thank you...for protecting the both of us earlier."
"Yeah, thank you!" Suika smiled up at Senku gratefully.
"Heh. Don't expect me to return the favor," He waved a hand, both of the two glancing to each other with small knowing smiles. "I'm still not diving deep into any emotional sappiness here. It just so happens that if you two were to keel over and die on me, I won't be able to put you to use anymore! That's what the Kingdom of Science is all about, after all."
"Uh-huh. If you say so," Sumi smirked, crossing her arms. Even if he keeps denying this stuff to me, he still ends up doing it. I think it's just a matter of him still getting used to acting that way, doing things that were unlike him. So I'm not going to say anything because I know he does mean well.
"What about...what we discussed?" Senku implored to his girlfriend, who stared. Suika stared up at the both of them as Sumi didn't react at first. But then she gave a small terrified smile.
"It's...still at the back of my mind, but weird to say, I'm glad that this war between scientists is happening right now. Otherwise, I'd have a much harder time dealing with it. So I'm fine right now, Sen," She reassured and he hummed, not wanting to push it right now when they had much more important things to do. About her...mental health issues.
"What are you guys talking about?" Suika couldn't help but ask the two.
"You'll know when you're older," Senku placed a gentle hand on top of her watermelon mask.
"Like, as old as he is," Sumi gave him an amused smile.
"You're almost as old as I am, hag," The green-haired scientist smirked towards her.
"Hey! You're lucky only you can get away with that," Sumi gave a big pout, crossing her arms. "Otherwise you'd be ten feet under."
"Heh heh," He chuckled from her reaction. "All part of the lover's package, which all started because you tried so hard not to pursue it."
"You confessed to me, remember?" Sumi replied back in a playful tone.
Suika glanced between the two, giggling to herself. She was glad that both of them could still joke around normally like they usually did.