Angel: Someone asked if I could do Spy x Family, which I have seen, but I'm not entirely sure I'd write it. While I'm on the subject of other anime, there's also My Hero Academia and Black Clover-which I would have to rewatch over 300 episodes in total for both anime to write them. Even if I do consider them, it'd take a few years to even get to them because I'm behind enough in other projects. Maybe if I ever go back to watch them, because I'm really behind in Black Clover. I cannot promise anything is all I'm saying.
Nowhere to turn
Nowhere to hide
Nikki looked towards the ground, letting herself cry in sadness that she'd never be able to hear Lillian perform again. "I know Lillian's really gone now...and that's the truth."
Someone to find
Gen had a sad expression on his face, as he could sympathize not only with her...but the fact that Sumi could never call Lillian her mother to her face. See just how happy she might've been to hear it for the first time.
Senku seemed to be thinking the same thing as Gen as he had a grave expression. "You're right...she is," He whispered and she sniffed, looking up.
I know that times are tough
"But she can live on forever all because of you," She said with happiness lacing her tone. "You brought this piece of her back to life through this song..."
Senku stepped up to the record player. "However, I'll make this one promise to you, okay?" He took the record into his hand. "I will protect this final song, by using the power of science...I swear on my life."
Nikki smiled with fresh tears down her eyes. Gen gave Senku the microphone, and he walked towards the window. "To bring more of Tsukasa's troops over to our side, I'll need this record. Which means Sumi and I have gotta protect the thing with our lives. Sounds like you'd give your life to preserve this song," He then let out a chuckle. "So I'd say we're on the same team."
"By Sumi...you mean Sumire?" She asked slowly, to the shock of the others. "Sumire Maeda?"
"Yeah...yeah, that's right," Senku opened his eyes. "And...and she found out Lillian was gonna adopt her...before the world collapsed."
"So then...she would know Lillian's songs..." Nikki murmured in thought while closing her eyes. "Every single one of them. Please, whenever I ask...would she sing one?" Another tear fell from her eye.
Senku closed his eyes, his arms crossed. "...As someone who's known her for over 3,700 years...yeah," He opened them back up knowingly. "Yeah, she would do that if you ask her. But the three of us share the same goal...don't we?"
Nikki grabbed the front of her cloak, and threw it off of her. She had a big smile on her face. Taiju and Yuzuriha looked happy behind her. "That works for me on both ends! You, Sumi, and I have a deal! Whatever you're planning to do next, consider me on board!"
Taiju let out a happy yell. "Thanks so much, Nikki!" Yuzuriha said in relief and Taiju held up his arms.
"We did it! It took a year, but we finally got ourselves a real ally in the Tsukasa Empire!" He cheered out loud happily.
Nikki the Guard has joined the party!
As the song ended, she smiled brightly, her eyes shining as she felt like she could trust Senku's word.
Gen and Senku were in suits, sitting in an office. The green-haired scientist was just digging his pinky through his ear while Gen looked unsure. Nikki then placed her hands on the table in front of them, and Gen flinched. She glared at them seriously.
"Senku, Gen!" She started off with passion. "Pay attention. Your scheme to convert the Tsukasa army with a diva's sweet voice isn't bad. But there's one big flaw. I've graded your Lillian impression, which is crucial." Senku blew at his pinky while Gen looked a little frightened towards the blond. She paused before slamming the table in half, causing both of them to shake in fear. "55!"
"Wow! That's pretty harsh, ma'am!" Gen shrieked at her while looking at her with white eyes.
"Gotta take the input of a superfan seriously," Senku commented; although he at least knew that Sumi approved it. Nikki smiled while giving them a thumbs up.
"Leave it to me, though," She assured the two of them. "Once I help you brush up, no one'll tell the difference!"
"Alright then!" Senku agreed cheerfully from the microphone. "Sounds like a plan to me."
"Oh, man!" Gen complained next as the trio stared down at the phone. "This is gonna be utal-bray!" He had a feeling it was gonna be the same amount of brutal labor they did when they started out...and he was not looking forward to it.
"Don't forget, I'm on your side now," She gave them a small smile. "I'll take good care of you," Her face then turned serious. "We're not in the clear, though. There's one major obstacle." Senku blinked in confusion at her. "I'm sure you guys know how strong Tsukasa is, but he's not our only worry. He's surrounded himself with some really powerful people. It must be a part of his grandiose vision for the world, because he's gathered lots of capable folks from all over. I mean, they don't all worship at his feet or anything like that. But once they get a taste of his power and charisma, they'll pretty much do what he asks of them without question. Inside his inner circle, there are clearly two guys at the very top. I guess you could call them his right and left arms. But in any case, he considers them his most capable allies. You've already had a run-in with one of them."
Senku dug into his pinky knowingly. "Hyoga," He stated correctly, looking away as he remembered Hyoga's fight with Sumi. If he came across her again...
"Yeah. The problem's gonna be the other guy..." Nikki continued as Ukyo was looking out to the smokescreen from on top of a rock. Magma, Chrome, and Sumi were still in the smoke. She had stood up at this point as they were still trying to hide from him. "The greatest obstacle to our plan...is definitely...Ukyo." He had an arrow in his bow, ready to fire if he heard any of the three.
"Ukyo, huh?" Yuzuriha murmured as she trailed a bit. She and Taiju were both familiar with him, but they had actually never spoken.
"The bow and arrow guy," Taiju looked down at her.
"Yeah," Nikki confirmed for them all. "If we just play that same record over and over again...well, let's just say it won't exactly be music to his ears. Even if we play it over the phone, we're not gonna fool him. He'll notice something's up."
"Right, okay," Taiju squeezed his eyes shut in thought. "Then, so if we play it a bunch, we're in trouble," He then gasped in realization. "Then we'll just have to not play it a bunch of times, huh?"
Both Nikki and Yuzuriha gasped at him, sweating from his suggestion. Nikki then hit him repeatedly with her fist, giving him a wink. He had sweat drops at the back of his head while Yuzuriha looked on in silent shock. "Taiju! Look at you, using your brain. Nice job, way to go!"
"Uh, he's got a point," Yuzuriha chimed in a bit nervously. "Instead of trying to fool them one by one, maybe we should do it as a group! When Ukyo's not around."
Gen was also sweating just by hearing his name, and...because of what happened with Sumi. Senku turned to him curiously. "Who's Ukyo?"
"He's a former sonar operator on a submarine," He explained to the scientist. "He's got azy-cray good hearing. Which is why Tsukasa woke him up," He then looked out the window. "Matter of fact, he had Chrome, Sumi, and Magma down when I came back. I really hope they made it out safely...and...well, he's the one who hit Sumi."
Senku gasped with wide eyes, Taiju and Yuzuriha doing the same. "What?! Are you saying he got Sumi with one of his arrows?!" He exclaimed into the speaker.
"Is she okay?" Yuzuriha asked in immediate concern.
"We managed to patch her up, but she wanted to stay there to speak with Tsukasa...to try and get him to back off of her," Gen explained to the three, to their shock. "I'd imagine she hasn't done so yet if they're still hiding from Ukyo..."
"Should we meet up with her and update her on the plan?" Nikki blinked down at the microphone. "And maybe I could watch her like I did with our friends?"
"No," Senku answered with his eyes closed. "If you guys are all seen with her, it'll tip off Tsukasa that Taiju and Yuzuriha really are spies. Stick with the plan of bringing groups over to the phone. I'm sure she'll figure that out on her own too..." He looked towards the window as well, hoping that she would make it out okay.
Back at the field, the smokescreen was still up. Chrome was sitting amidst it, some arrows nearby as he looked dead. His whole body wasn't moving as it was pale as the snow. Magma clenched a fist, looking towards him. "Chrome...I'll see to it that your death was not in vain," He growled a little, Sumi giving him a sweat drop. Ukyo prepared another arrow, fired it, and it hit Chrome's crotch area, but never actually hitting anything at all. A bird flew away as several arrows were around the brunet, but not once was it close to actually hurting him. He gritted his teeth and then looked up.
"Shut up, man! I'm not dead yet!" He hissed back at Magma. "The guy didn't land a single damn hit on me!" He gripped the arrow and Sumi gave him a nervous look.
"Would you want him to?" She whispered back in disbelief to him while Magma laughed.
"Wow, you're still alive, huh? You looked so pale and stiff, I was sure you'd croaked!" He mocked a little.
"No, I just got kinda freaked out and shut down! Because my ally used me as a meat shield!" Chrome looked at Magma angrily. The blond just gave him a smirk while Sumi sighed, hanging her head at the two.
"Well, at least you're okay," She said while still holding her arm. The hole was still present, and she just hoped that someone at the Tsukasa Empire had something she could use to further seal it.
"But thanks to you, I know exactly where he is," Magma declared, and Sumi glanced towards him in confusion. "That punk Ukyo is gonna pay!" Chrome was confused as well before Magma ran off screaming, to their surprise.
"Get back here, you dummy!" Chrome held out a hand, gritting his teeth.
"There's no way he'd find Ukyo in this smoke or beat him. He's already got one of us down," Sumi frowned towards Magma.
"The arrows are coming from all directions," He spoke up to her. "He's been moving around, so we can't pinpoint his location," He then looked towards the smoke, Sumi doing the same. "The guy used our smokescreen to his advantage. Ukyo's bad for sure. If we go out, stupid Magma's no match for him."
Magma lunged forward to who he thought was Ukyo, but it was just a log, and he sliced it in half. An arrow was fired, and it landed right next to his foot. He gasped while looking at it, gritting his teeth in the direction it came from. "Okay, there you are!"
"We've gotta figure out how to stop Ukyo so that Magma doesn't get accidentally hurt like I did," Sumi told Chrome and he looked up, thinking silently.
Think scientifically. If he can shoot at us from practically any direction, that means he has a complete spatial understanding of where we are. Due to his bad sense of hearing. If that's the case, why did he barely miss almost every single shot? It's not just because we're so lucky. He then chuckled as he looked up. "It must be because you don't want us dead, huh Ukyo?" Sumi blinked and turned to him, standing up. "You're not even trying to kill us. You're trying to catch and interrogate us."
"And when I got hit, you gave the gauze out because you wanted to help me," Sumi chuckled, giving a smirk similar to Senku. "I know Sen would say this is exciting, but really, the solution here is pretty simple." Chrome dug into his pants, ripping out part of his underwear.
"And that means..." He tied it to the arrow, both him and Sumi holding it up together. "If we wanna make sure we all get out of here alive, then this is what we've gotta do!" He declared and they waited in anticipation. At first, nothing happened until Ukyo popped in out of nowhere behind them, his weapon pointed at them.
Eventually, the smoke cleared out, and Magma looked around as he couldn't see Ukyo, Chrome, or Sumi. "Aw, damn it, Chrome and Sumi. Where the hell are you guys?" He then turned around, giving a sound of surprise to see that the two were tied up. Ukyo was holding onto them from behind, leading them up a steep path. Chrome whistled as Sumi had her eyes closed. "Oh, you stupid bastards!" Magma screamed, stomping his foot. The two didn't respond to this at all, since if they did, Ukyo might capture him too. Then again, he should've been able to hear the man. Maybe he was just content with having the both of them hostage.
Sumi glanced over to Magma, the look in her eyes telling him to go back to the village. 'Go now to the village before I kill you myself if you charge in,' She mouthed to him so that Ukyo wouldn't hear anything if he did care about Magma.
The two glanced back at the archer suspiciously, trying to figure out what his deal was. Eventually, Ukyo stopped, tugging the ropes in front of him to stop the two. They glanced back nervously, wondering what he was gonna do. He simply chuckled and reached behind them.
"You know what, forget the rope," He then started to untie them both, Sumi blinking down in confusion. He had a shadow over his eyes as he did so.
"What are you doing?" Chrome wondered in utter confusion as the ropes dropped from their bodies.
"We all know that you're both not gonna run away," Ukyo spoke up to them. "I mean, you did raise the white flag, after all," He then tipped his hat upwards. "You were both trying to save your friends with that maneuver, weren't you? The big brute and the one who took off?" They both raised a brow that he knew of them escaping, yet wasn't inclined to stop Magma or Gen from making it back. "After all that smoke cleared, I would've had no choice but to shoot the meathead," He gave the two of them a smirk, and they were both thinking on the same page.
Yup, I was right. He's not out for blood. He wants information.
But even if he wanted to interrogate us, why set us free? He's still gonna bring us to Tsukasa and Hyoga. What is he planning?
"Pretty impressive decision-making in the heat of the moment," Ukyo spoke up again, Sumi walking to the right side of Chrome. "You two should consider it a win."
"Uh, yeah, you don't say," Chrome rubbed the back of his neck, surprised by the compliment. Sumi flinched and then elbowed him.
"Chrome!" She warned her friend quietly, glaring over her shoulder at Ukyo.
No! No, no, no, no! He's trying to flatter us so we'll talk. Bad. We are not falling for that crap! Chrome then placed his hands behind his back, whistling so that he would stay quiet. Sumi sighed in relief at this, sagging her shoulders.
I know you like to talk a lot, Chrome, but remember who you're talking to! It would be terrible if you gave away too much so that they can use it against us. She gave a big sweat drop while Ukyo just gave a little smile behind the duo. She gave a little sigh and looked up towards the clouds. Senku...
"Okay, we're here," Ukyo announced while leading them both into a cave. The two looked around, seeing all of the intimidating people staring at them. Both of them weren't afraid, though, and when Sumi laid eyes on Hyoga, she immediately flinched, gripping her fists. Chrome gritted his teeth at him, and then let out a small gasp. Sumi had a shadow over her eyes while turned away so she wouldn't have to lay eyes on him. Tsukasa stood up and approached them from out of the shadows slowly. He could tell that Chrome was friends with Sumi and Senku right off the bat. Especially since Sumi had her hand on Chrome's shoulder, gripping it. Chrome silently glanced at her as he couldn't tell what she was feeling right now...fear, dread, sick...maybe all of them. She said she wasn't scared, and she still wasn't, but seeing him again definitely changed her whole attitude.
"...Sumire..." Tsukasa breathed out to her and she bit her lip.
"I know who you are..." Chrome spoke up bravely to him. "Yeah. No introductions needed. Cause I could tell right away. You've got a different aura. So, we finally meet in person. I've heard a lot about you, Tsukasa!"
He smirked a little at him, still staring at Sumi. She didn't dare look at him in the eye. "Heh. I like your spirit, man. You're one of Senku and Sumire's new friends, aren't you?" She took a deep breath and stared at him furiously, a look he thought he'd never see again. "It's like this, Sumire. Clearly the two of us can't stay apart," Her eyes widened as Chrome was absolutely floored. "I've done everything I can to ensure you're comfortable here. That's why you came back, isn't it?"
"Tsukasa, stop," She closed her eyes while waving a hand if he dared to even come close to her. "What you're saying is what you think is going on. And we've had our problems, but I did not come back for you," She denied quietly and he flinched, his eyes wide. That small shred of hope was just completely shattered now. Hyoga looked on in silence as he couldn't help but find this pathetic.
"When...when Ukyo found you-"
"I was with my friend. No one else was with us before you even knew I was here," She spoke up confidently, her expression showing to him that her feelings towards hating him hadn't changed at all.
"...What are you trying to tell me?" Tsukasa boomed a bit and she clenched a fist, letting go of Chrome. "Did you come back here to spite me?" It was dead silence now as the air was now tense, just like it had been before...and he didn't like it at all. He thought things had changed since he last saw her...but that wasn't the case.
"If you know me as you say you do, I'm not giving you that answer," She opened her eyes. "Look, I have my own purpose here and so do you. No need to discuss anything about what our strengths are," She crossed her arms, frowning deeply at him.
"So...even being honest doesn't sway you," He murmured as he was trying to process all of this. He took a deep breath and then turned back to Chrome. "We can talk later. Introduce me to your friend." Sumi recoiled back a bit in disgust from his warm tone as it was creeping her out.
"Oh yeah!" Chrome jerked a thumb to himself. "You're damn right I am! My name's Chrome. I'm a scientist from Ishigami Village!" After saying this, it was completely quiet in the cave. Sumi bit her lip as she hoped that Magma had made it back at this point...
The blond ran towards the village, and Kinro was looking through the telescope. "Someone's here," He gasped once he saw who it was.
An exhausted Magma sat in front of everyone, drinking some water. He had just told them of what happened. "Oh no!" Ruri gasped in worry.
"You mean Chrome really got caught by the Tsukasa Empire?!" Suika exclaimed in a panic. "And Sumi gave herself up so she could protect him? And got hit with an arrow?!"
Magma put down his water cup. "Sumi's fine, we patched her up. Told me to come back here when she and Chrome got hauled off."
"And you listened to her?" Ginro asked in disbelief.
"Hey, even if I could've told her otherwise, you think I wanted to piss her off? She can get psycho when she is! So what's the plan now, twig?" He looked towards Senku, who stayed silent. His hand was shaking before he made it into a fist. He was trying not to let his concerns show on his face...that Sumi would be able to handle Tsukasa. But for how long, he had no idea...he just had to trust that she'd keep her promise that she'd stay alive. Of course she'd stay behind…
Kohaku growled and started running off, while wielding her katana. She wasn't going to just sit around and form a plan, she had to go rescue them. "Kohaku!" Ruri shouted, but her sister didn't listen to her. "She can't rescue them all by herself!"
Senku was walking over to the observatory. "Always ready to fly into action," Kaseki commented at this.
"Stop Kohaku!" Kokuyo pointed towards his daughter.
"How would we do that?!" Ginro retorted back as Senku climbed towards the shed. "She's the fastest one in the whole village! Nobody's gonna catch up to her."
Senku let out a breath, holding up the telephone and microphone. He then directed it towards the window. "Get back here! Right now, lioness!" He said nonchalantly, and that got her to stop. She turned around to him with bulging eyes.
"I'm not a lioness!" She snapped at the green-haired scientist.
"Whoa, she stopped!" The others all exclaimed in unison.
"Father, let me go!" Kohaku protested as Kokuyo locked her arms from behind, preventing her from leaving.
"Don't be a fool! You think you can charge into enemy territory all by yourself?!" He scolded the woman.
"I gotta do something! We can't abandon Sumi and Chrome! They're one of us, Sumi's our other leader!" She protested and Senku was climbing up to the roof of the shed. He then chuckled while grabbing the flag.
"If she can't do it on her own, then how about all of us go together?" He looked over his shoulder while removing the flag. All of them looked up at him in shock.
"We all go?" Ginro mumbled nervously, Senku raising the flag.
"The Kingdom of Science is mobilizing our army! Now that Homura the scout has been taken care of, there's no reason for us to wait any longer," Homura was in the roof of a hut, eating foxtail millet ramen. It was also fortified, and she was stripped of any potential weapons, so she wasn't breaking out anytime soon. "So let's move out and set up camp near the Tsukasa Empire." People started gathering things from the shed and the lab. "From there, we'll have a better shot of getting Sumi and Chrome back in one piece."
All of their equipment was placed outside, though Ginro still wasn't too excited. He was trembling in fear with white eyes. "This is scary. I don't wanna go near the Tsukasa Empire, you guys! Hey, how about we just hold our ground here and wait instead? That's not a bad strategy, huh?"
"Winter will be over in a couple of weeks," Kohaku reminded him in a grave tone. "If we just sit here and wait, they'll march over and wipe us out."
"She's right," Senku agreed with the blond. "Offense is our best defense in this situation."
"I know! I thought the same thing too!" Ginro spoke up bravely.
Kinro popped up behind him. "Oh really, Ginro?" He asked the blond skeptically.
Gen then looked towards all of the equipment. "Are you planning to bring all the science gear with us, Senku?"
"Odds are ten billion to one without it. We'll need everything we've got if we wanna get Chrome and Sumi back and go on to defeat Tsukasa," He explained, carrying a clay pot. He glanced away as he remembered the last time he saw her...when she hugged him. He should've returned it if he knew that they were gonna imprison her...even if that wasn't his style. But with Sumi, she was the one that brought out that side of him.
"But all this stuff's so heavy...!" Suika struggled to carry one herself.
"If we can't carry it there...what then?" Kinro pointed out, earning a chuckle.
"Not gonna be an issue," Senku replied, and they heard the sound of sawing wood. Gen looked over his shoulder to see Kaseki using a hand saw to make a large wheel. He fully turned around in confusion and examined it. The wheel then spun around, and he put it all together.
"There's no way!" He shouted in disbelief, but Senku's smirk only confirmed it.
"We're gonna make a car!" Senku exclaimed in excitement.
"Ack!" Sumi suddenly flinched with white eyes and Chrome turned to her. Tsukasa blinked and she sweated a little, as she just got a pang in her heart for some reason. She couldn't be able to fully explain why, though. She just knew it had something to do with Senku.
"You okay, Sumi?" Chrome leaned in a bit towards the black-haired woman. He kept his eye on Tsukasa.
"Yeah, I just...felt a weird thump of betrayal, though I don't know why," She whispered a bit awkwardly, tears streaming down from her white eyes.
"Here we go," Gen started off as the road map was getting drawn. "Eriously-say?"
"Heh heh...get excited, everyone!"
"I mean, yeah, of course I'm excited, but I'm amazed how you can still manage to have this kind of fun given the circumstances," Gen commented as they imagined Senku driving the car, with Kohaku, Gen, and Kaseki in it.
They watched him drawing like a little kid in front of a bunch of scrolls laid out on the ground. "Whoo hoo! Is that some kind of crazy schematic, or what?" He wondered as Senku then paced around, and laid on his back, looking at a drawing.
"So many lines and circles and triangles, it's making my head spin!" Suika commented as Senku was drawing, and then he held his head with a groan. He went back down to the paper, a light blush on his face in delight.
"I don't think I've seen you get this excited, Senku. It's almost like you're being Mire-chan, isn't that cute?" Gen chuckled a little and Senku flinched. He blushed further as this might've been how Sumi acted if she knew about it. He was just gonna chalk it up to great minds thinking alike...although he did miss her childness right about now. He then laughed it off, turning to Gen.
"Well, I've never built a full-sized car," He replied to the mentalist. "But this is like a giant mini four-wheel drive mobile," He then pointed at a diagram. "Alright, we're gonna with this. It's like ten billion times more primitive than what Sumi and I used to use in our old model rockets, but it'll work for what need. It'll run on a wobbler engine!" As if he was demonstrating to them, his head wobbled around, Kohaku, Suika, and Gen letting out gasps of horror.
A pot was boiling with water. Senku was sitting in front of it, surrounded by Gen, Kinro, and Ginro. "Just gotta throw this into boiling water...honeycomb," He held one up, and Gen looked up with a small sigh.
"Yeah...the honeycomb saga." Gen looked up at Kinro, who was holding Ginro on his shoulders since the older brother was taller. Gen was just watching from behind, as it was autumn. "We had to gather it in order to make plastic for the cell phone." The bees from the tree came flying out soon after. "And we got attacked by a ton of bees. It was the orst-way. We looked like human marshmallows after that." Gen, Ginro, and Kinro came back to the Kingdom of Science...covered in bee stings. Kinro was holding a basket full of honeycomb. "And then we ended up not even using it for the plastic, so it felt even orse-way." Sumi stepped up apologetically from the shed, guiding them over to the lab to treat them.
Senku chuckled at the memory. "It was just a by product of gathering honey, anyway. We didn't need it because we ended up with a simpler shape for our cell phone. But our parts this time around are gonna be way more complex. Your sacrifice wasn't in vain. Besides, thanks to Sumi, you guys were fine in days even though she had a bunch of other work that needed to be done." That was around the time Senku took her off the lightbulb project, so she had to power through his list the next day. "Boiling that honeycomb into a block gives us beeswax."
Gen looked at the yellow cylinder in Senku's hands. "Uh, like a candle?"
"It's also what you used to make crayons and lipstick and stuff," Senku explained to the mentalist.
"Huh? And we're gonna make an engine out of it?" He asked curiously, earning a chuckle. The scientist looked back at Kaseki, as they were near the generator. He was carving the beeswax while it rotated at the workbench.
"Whoohoo! This baby doohickey makes the carving go nice and smooth!" He exclaimed in excitement.
"It's a water wheel lathe, basically a rotating cutter," Senku told the both of them. "We'll make our intricate parts with this."
Gen then held up the engine. "But the wax just seems so fragile and bitter to me. Will it really work?" He raised a skeptical brow.
"Yeah, won't be a millimeter of trouble," Senku turned to him, wearing protective equipment for the furnace. We'll use plaster to form a mold around the parts we make from wax. And then, pour melted brass into the mold."
"Ah, so we aren't actually using wax parts," Gen said in understanding. "Should've been obvious."
In one of the huts, Magma and Kohaku were dismantling a stove. Suika and Ruri were watching them. "Do we really have to tear down the nice stove Senku and Sumi made for us?" She asked in worry, sweat flying from her head.
"I realize winter will be over soon, but what's he need it for?" Ruri spoke up next.
"I don't have a clue," Magma glanced up at her. "Senku says he wants it for something, though."
He and Kohaku then dragged it out towards outside. "He was so happy about it, then he said something like 'science is all about recycling', whatever that means," Kohaku told them as they continued walking.
"Not sure, but I can picture him saying it," Ruri replied in a sheepish tone.
Once he had the stove, Senku placed something made out of brass on top of it. "We're putting the whole stove on the car. Pretty simple, really," He held up a finger as Kaseki listened to his lecture. "Just heat up some water, and you've got steam." Kaseki nodded his head in excitement. "See, Kaseki, we're gonna attach the little part you just built right there on the end. The steam will push it downward. Works like a reverse pump." Kaseki nodded again, getting more excited by the minute. "Put that reverse pump onto a disk, and it'll push, turn, and pull. That's the wobbler engine!"
"Ha ha!" Kaseki raised up his arms as his shirt came off, steam coming from his nose. Gen and Kohaku stood nearby, deadpan looks on their faces.
"You guys are having the time of your lives over there, aren't you?" He murmured while Senku laughed, wiggling his tongue.
"Looks to me like they totally forgot that the whole point of building this thing was so we could move everyone closer to enemy territory and rescue our friends," Kohaku deadpanned towards the two, hands on her hips. "And Sumi's the one who Tsukasa really wants, isn't she? On that note, you don't seem too concerned about her, Senku."
Senku chuckled while turning to her. "Don't worry about it. Cause Tsukasa's guys probably all think Chrome's just a wimpy villager," He turned back to what he was working on. "I'm sure they're taking good care of him as a hostage. As long as he keeps his mouth shut, he'll be fine. As for Sumi, she's got fighting experience. She can take care of herself. And I know that she'll be keeping watch on him for us."
Kohaku crossed her arms with a small frown, wondering if he really didn't notice the glaring problems here. "...But it's Chrome. And the woman Tsukasa wants to marry."
"Eh?" Senku looked up in shock as it was finally hitting him.
"As long as he keeps his mouth shut, he'll be fine and she can take care of herself?" That frown was still on her face. "But it's Chrome and the woman Tsukasa wants to marry! He sliced her face too. Which means what exactly?"
"Ha, she said it twice," Ginro gave a small smile. Once the details sunk in for them though, they all turned pale, staring towards Kohaku.
"Let's pick up the pace like now!" Senku exclaimed in a slightly panicked voice.
"Should've known..." The others murmured in unison at his reaction.
"Ho ho, we've got a lot of work to do!" Kaseki laughed a little.
Back at the Tsukasa Empire, people were murmuring amongst themselves outside. They had heard the rumors that they now had hostages. "What's up? What's going on?"
"The top three guys are in there. Ukyo, Hyoga, and Tsukasa."
"Who's the dude with the headband and the hot chick?" One of them asked and Ukyo snickered to himself as he had heard. He already knew the scientist wouldn't be interested at all. Sumi raised a brow and he looked away, giving an innocent look. She huffed a bit and turned away.
"So why did you make the decision to tell me that you're a scientist?" Tsukasa started off to Chrome. "Senku and Sumire must have explained the situation, so I'm sure that you know that was a risky move."
"You bet I do!" Chrome spoke up with a confident look. "And I know that you're a science-hating jerk who can't take a hint! Sounds like you need to be taught a lesson to me," He replied and Sumi leaned into his ear.
"Where are you going with this?" She whispered in confusion since she doubted anything he did would sway them...
"And I...can teach you how cool science is! I know you're ready...cause first...we've got Rainbow Flames!" He finished and Sumi flinched in shock, her whole body pale. She then started sweat dropping with wide eyes.
"Ahhh...Chrome, why?" Sumi muttered in disbelief next to him. This was honestly a little embarrassing, especially since Tsukasa, Ukyo, and Hyoga all had blank looks towards him.
Minutes later, they were at a high cliff by a waterfall. Chrome was hanging from the end of Hyoga's spear without it breaking since he was light enough. Sumi was struggling between two men holding her arms, though for some reason, she hadn't had her science equipment or whip taken away. She was right next to Tsukasa, so she was front and center of the whole thing.
Chrome was silent as he had a wide-eyed look. Crap. I messed up, like bad. I should've pitched ramen or cotton candy first.
"Would you like to tell us what really brings scientists like you two here? Of course, if you don't, she'll just watch you end up dead," Hyoga questioned and Sumi gave him a snarl, gritting her teeth. Chrome continued to keep his mouth shut, and so did Sumi.
Sumi and I can't tell them we came here to bring a cell phone...this is it. I'm really gonna die. This is bad. Sumi, when I die...don't mourn for me. You understand that this is a sacrifice for science.
Tsukasa really didn't want to do this, especially in front of Sumi. He didn't need to kill her friend. In fact, he admired them both, especially since Chrome claimed to be a scientist. When in reality, Tsukasa knew from his interaction with Kohaku that he didn't know a thing about science at first. "Now Chrome...it's not that I'm completely opposed to a scientific civilization. I mean, we have fire and tools here of course. Those are excellent ways to use science. You have no idea how things were before. The world Sumi and I lived in was tainted by powerful forces who used weapons of science for unspeakable crimes. It's why we need restraint. A miraculous and beautiful world was purified by someone—for some reason. And now Senku is trying to tarnish it and Sumire again."
"No he's not!" Sumi shouted next to him and he turned to her. "He's trying to bring back the world as it was before! There aren't just evil people from the old world. Good people exist, Tsukasa. Senku hasn't tarnished me in any way. Why do you think he is?"
"Because I've seen it," He retorted back as kindly as possible and she blinked. "He's limiting your potential by having you stay with him. You have a bond with him that doesn't benefit either of you, you're both diametrically opposed as individuals. He thinks that you're a child in a woman's body."
Sumi looked at him, horrified. She had no idea if he was just imagining that or if they did something to have him believe, and he just took it too far. Or maybe it was jealousy that he was saying all of this...it would make sense, but still...how was she going to get him to stop if this was his mindset about her and Senku?
"This is a golden opportunity," Hyoga spoke up next. "The perfect time for you and Sumi to join us, Chrome."
"If you bring us Senku's head," Tsukasa offered and Sumi gasped sharply. "I promise you'll have all the colored fire and science tricks to keep you happy. Plus, my guarantee that all the people in your village will be safe. And that you won't have to worry about Senku putting you down, Sumi."
She made her hands into fists as she didn't answer him. She clenched them so tight her veins could be shown, and her nails dug into her skin.
"Well, that does sound a hell of a lot better than dying," Chrome mused and she blinked at him. He then smirked as he already knew his answer. "That is what you want me to say, right? Just drop me, hurry it up."
Sumi gasped sharply as her eyes glistened from what he said. "No, don't listen to him!" She shouted, but was ignored.
"So be it," Hyoga then dipped his spear and let him fall.
"CHROME!" Sumi screamed and broke free, racing past everyone. They all let out sounds of shock as she had tears flying from her eyes. She immediately jumped off the cliff, grabbing onto Chrome. The amount of force from being grabbed moved them closer to a tree. Sumi grabbed onto the top of it with her whip, and Chrome looked up in surprise.
"Sumi, you can't hang onto us both! Go ahead and drop me!"
"No way!" She screamed and he flinched in shock. "As long as I'm here, I'm not letting you die..." She said while her voice was wavering, and her eyes shook. "You're my friend, and I have to ensure our survival together. That means neither of us are losing our lives today!"
He looked at her in silence and Tsukasa waved a hand. Ukyo pulled out an arrow, fired it, and pinned Chrome to the tree. Sumi looked at it in shock, and another arrow was fired, the same thing happening with her hood. Chrome gasped at this as they were still dangling from the tree. Both of them were in shock as Sumi looked up towards the cliff. Tsukasa turned away, gripping his fingers into a tree.
"Even in the face of death...he never flinched or lost conviction. And she easily potentially sacrificed her life to save him, without a second thought," He pulled the tree from the stone and then yelled. He threw it at the tree they were hanging onto, and it landed below them. The force was enough to knock them both backwards to land on the tree he threw. Both of them looked at it in confusion.
A bridge...?
"There's no point in pushing them any further. He won't turn for neither carrot nor stick. And I already know Sumire's choice...she's made it before, and she'll continue to do so..." He narrowed his eyes a bit towards her.
"Then it seems we'll just have to guess as to why they've come here," Hyoga turned around to Ukyo. "Ukyo, where did you find them again?"
Ukyo turned his head to the spearman, both of them flinching. Oh, man. Ukyo knows we were up to something at the gravesite. It won't take long for them to go check it out and find the cell phone! Damn it, this is bad! Shit! We're screwed, shit!
Sumi bit her lip in thought, a sweat drop going down the side of her face. What can we do? We can't move and go stop him. If Tsukasa and Hyoga find the phone, they'll destroy it immediately and then we won't have an advantage in this war!
Ukyo just smiled in response and then turned to Tsukasa. "They were at the miracle cave, just scouting it all by themselves. Well, Sumi snuck up on me, and that caused me to hit her with my arrow," Tsukasa's eyes widened at him in silence. "It was a mistake on my part. I'm sorry. I'll bet they're after the nitric acid."
The two looked at him in shock for lying to their faces, and they could not figure out why. What's going on? Not that we don't wanna live, but...why would he lie to Hyoga and Tsukasa? Man...I've got a bad feeling about this Ukyo guy. Is he trying to start a revolution or something? Like, take over the Tsukasa Empire?
Why would he tell Tsukasa about my injury? He could've just said nothing because he could've been hurt if Tsukasa decided to get angry. Does he feel any remorse for what happened and decided to own up to it? Sure, he was behind it, but that only happened because I saved Gen and Chrome...
Ukyo just had a mysterious look on his face and Tsukasa slowly sighed. "I appreciate your honesty, Ukyo. I'm glad that it wasn't a fatal blow. We're so lucky that she's here with us..." He gave a soft smile and Sumi shivered. "Take him and have Sumire be brought to the infirmary to inspect that wound. We can't let them be around each other...once she's back up, take away her equipment and anymore weapons she could have."
Sumi pressed her lips together while glaring towards him. They worked hard to make her katana, and now she had to give that away.
"Are you sure about that?" Hyoga turned to him. "She's a prisoner just like him."
"No..." Tsukasa closed his eyes. "Not to me, she isn't. She's...different, we have history...and she just needs time. And we can't ignore her injury if we want her to live." Hyoga stayed silent while staring at Tsukasa, as he felt...a bit annoyed by the special treatment Sumi seemed to be getting here. "Once she's gotten comfortable...I'd like to have a proper talk with her. Let her roam free here."
"Are we really allowing someone of her caliber to walk around without restriction? Not even a guard? Her fighting-"
"I know how capable she is," Tsukasa interrupted Hyoga while opening his eyes and staring up ahead. "But she wouldn't leave behind Chrome if she decides to run if saving him is anything to go by. Not if we promise to not harm her friend," Hyoga and Ukyo were shocked by this, to say the least. "I don't...I don't want a negative partnership with her."
Hyoga gripped his staff, but stayed silent. Ukyo did too as he let out a quiet gasp, looking back towards Sumi and Chrome. She must mean a lot if Tsukasa was doing all of this for the sake of...not having her hate him, despite all he had done.
After placing the wax parts into molds, they had poured in the molten brass to set aside. They were then removed from the mold, and everyone gasped at the parts laid on the ground. "It's just a big model kit," Senku soldered them together with molten iron. "All we gotta do to assemble it together." Eventually, the locomotive was assembled.
"Ho ho!" Kaseki exclaimed with wide eyes.
"What is this thing?" Magma questioned, stunned by the sight.
Ginro let out a scream as it was labeled 'Senku 1.' "Yay! Now all of us can go and rescue our friends!" Suika cheered while waving her arms.
"It's like we've built a living creature..." Kohaku murmured in awe, smiling. "It's incredible!"
Steam engine acquired!
Gen let out a chuckle. "A living creature, huh?"
"She's never seen an object that moves on its own," Senku commented while looking up. "It makes sense to me." Smoke came from the smokestack. The engine began to spin, the gears rotated, and the engine moved on its own.
"It's finally here! We're in the Industrial Revolution!" Gen stated as they imagined themselves riding an actual train, with clothing that matched the era. And of course, Senku was the train operator.
"The Kingdom of Science Railway line...is up and running. Now full speed ahead!" He pulled the string to honk the horn. "And straight to the Tsukasa Empire!"
The Tsukasa Empire was...way different than Sumi expected. She'd been to the miracle cave, the cooking grounds, and the field that she was in when they were found. People paid no mind to her, thankfully, since Tsukasa said to treat her like she was one of their own. Which was a bit weird...she hadn't seen her friends, and it was better off if she didn't. She had to pretend that they weren't here, no matter how much she wanted to see Taiju and Yuzuriha.
"Hey, Sumi," She flinched from the familiar voice, glancing over her shoulder. Ukyo was standing there not too far away. His hat was hiding his eyes, so whatever his expression was, she couldn't see it. "Why don't you and I talk?"
She blinked in utter confusion at him approaching her like this. What could he possibly want with me? Is this because he spared me and Chrome? Even if it was that option, she couldn't take her chances with anyone from the Tsukasa Empire. "...What's there to say?" She asked bravely and he didn't respond as she turned around fully. "I just met you properly, and you were shooting arrows at the four of us before. So your moves right now are to interrogate me or try to figure me out to your advantage."
Ukyo didn't respond at first and then he gave a small chuckle. "You are as smart as I've heard. You and I have quite a bit to discuss, actually."
She raised a brow, wondering what exactly he wanted to tell her. Should she trust him, or just leave? Something told her that if she didn't listen, something could happen. Not that he'll hurt her, but he'd use this against her later...so she had to play this risky card and interact with him for now until she could figure out what he was up to. She sighed and silently nodded. He waved his hand and the two walked away from the people lurking around. Sumi stared at his back, wondering if she was already regretting this decision. He could be leading her to a prison or into a trap...but then again, if he wanted to trap her, he wouldn't have lied to Tsukasa and Hyoga. He was definitely much different than them...
He led her to a field and then turned around once he knew they were alone. "I wanted to know...how's your arm feeling?" He asked after a few seconds.
She blinked in confusion as he seemed genuinely concerned about it. "Uh? It's...fine?" She responded slowly and he gripped his bow. She eyed his hand closely. His hand is shaking as if he's afraid to use it again, and he hesitated to do so earlier...I already know he doesn't want blood on his hands...so this reaction can only tell me one thing. She looked up at him with an unreadable expression. "...That was the first time you've hit a human with one of your arrows, wasn't it? Before Chrome and I surrendered."
He gasped from her being able to deduce it and then looked towards the ground. "Yeah...I didn't think you'd jump in the way to help your friends. Makes me think what else you're capable of underneath that supposed kindness of yours," His voice sounded a bit strained and she flinched from that last sentence. The word supposed tipped her off a bit, and the longer she stayed here, the less she'd be willing to trust that this still wasn't some sort of trap.
"Well then, we can only speculate," She let out a small sigh. "Was that all? I have business to attend to," She glanced over her shoulder towards the Tsukasa Empire. She had to start thinking of how to get Chrome out of there before it was too late. But they snatched all of her science equipment, and if she left for long periods of time, it'd get suspicious. If Taiju and Yuzuriha were being watched, why would I be any different? It could be Ukyo or someone watching us right now. If that's true, I need to figure out how to contact Chrome without anyone knowing, but how?
"You mean your friend up there?" Ukyo asked and she flinched, turning back around. He had a small grin on his face looking at her, and it made her alarmed. She couldn't tell if he meant it yet or not... "I can help you with that."
She blinked incredibly at his offer, as it wasn't malicious or scheming...he was actually being genuine. Yet he was present when she and Chrome got captured, and watched Chrome almost die. It was like he wanted to do things his own way without anyone being tipped off... "Is this a ploy to trap us? I'm not risking my friend's life if this ends up being a trick," She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Her whip would've been really helpful if they hadn't taken that away too...
"No...no tricks here," He gave a small chuckle and to prove it, he took off his bow and arrow. He placed it in front of her and she gasped, looking at him wide-eyed. He then looked away from her in thought. "It's just...you and I share the same goal, believe it or not. To have people live. And I've seen that in you." And by that...he meant by what Sumi did to rescue Chrome. "I don't know this Senku like you do, but…he wants the same thing...doesn't he?"
Sumi didn't respond to this as she was still in shock. Was this really happening...? Someone from the Tsukasa Empire was...actually being nice? She had no idea what his thought process was, but it was very surprising to her...but she still had to keep her guard up. Chrome's life was in her hands now that they were both here. If this ended up backfiring, that would be on her and she couldn't do that to her friend. Even if that meant she was successful getting him out. She already saw him almost die, after all. What was stopping Ukyo from allowing Tsukasa and Hyoga do it for real?
"Tell you what," Ukyo gave her a small smile, tipping his hat. "First things first, we'll get you into contact with Chrome. Then we'll take it from there. So, what do we need?"
She bit her lip while trying to come up with the best way to proceed. If she said she'd ally with him, she'd get Chrome out. And if not...it could prove fatal to the both of them in the long run. That meant that she would have to trust him...She placed her hand over her face, raising a brow at him. If Senku were here, he'd probably scold her for what she was about to do. But...her determination to save Chrome meant trying everything she could. Even if this partnership was a very risky one. I really hope I don't end up regretting this decision...
"...Alright, Ukyo," She let out a slow sigh, putting her hand back down. "I'll need you to get me some things from my equipment. I need two light bulbs, two batteries, and a high place where I can see Chrome without being spotted. And I'll need as much grass and sodium hydroxide as you can get me. Ah, but this high point needs to be so that they can't recognize this invention. I'll have to wait until everyone's asleep."
"Leave it to me," He smiled while walking past her. She stared after him that he wasn't confused or asking why she needed this stuff. "But I wouldn't worry about the others. I'll be there to guard you and alert you if people are on their way so you can hide. Meet me near the prison tonight once everyone's asleep. Looking forward to working with you...Sumi."
Her mouth was slightly open that he was acting like this. "...Just who are you, Ukyo...?" She muttered to herself.
Sumi bit her lip while waiting outside Chrome's prison, which was an area in the mountain, only with bamboo to restrict him as a cell. He wasn't asleep, but he wasn't looking towards outside either. She paced around while biting at her lip. This was still a risky alliance, and Ukyo's complete agreement to contributing was still throwing her off. She had no idea what to make of it and she really hoped that this still wasn't a way to get her imprisoned too. But she couldn't smell anyone around her, so that part remained true for now. Plus unlike Chrome, she had a cave that didn't have any bars to sleep in... Sumi looked towards Chrome's prison with a frown.
"We'll get you out, Chrome...I promise," She whispered in determination. She sniffed something and then turned around to see Ukyo approaching. He looked a bit exhausted carrying her science belt, a pot of grass, and a pouch full of something.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," He breathed out once he reached her. "I didn't know what kind of grass you needed, so I had spent a bit of time finding the longest and cleanest ones." She blinked from his explanation and he turned away without waiting for a response. "Well, time to go," The two walked away from the prison, Sumi a bit uneasy.
"...Why'd you bring my belt? Won't Tsukasa take that away?" She wondered and he glanced over his shoulder.
"Oh...I didn't know where you kept your sodium hydroxide, so I brought the whole thing. For precaution, we'll bring it back once we're done," He told the woman as they continued walking down the path. He led her to a rock not too far away as once they reached the top, she could still see the Tsukasa Empire. But the people guarding it almost looked like ants. "Here's the place. They won't be able to recognize you from here," Ukyo put the equipment down, wiping his forehead.
"Perfect," She smiled a little while bending down. "We're far enough that they won't be able to tell. And I can see Chrome," She took a spare light bulb she had from her equipment, as well as a battery from the pouch. Ukyo watched as she tied the lightbulb tightly to the top of a long stick with one of her bandages. She then tied the battery to the lightbulb in the middle of a long stick, connecting the wires to the lightbulb. She gasped happily once it turned on and he looked over her shoulder. "I'm building a little LED light, it's what they used in photography for ambiance light," She explained while tying another lightbulb to another battery. She wrapped the wires around the lightbulb so that it looked like a little backpack.
"Hmm? How does that help?" Ukyo blinked in confusion as he watched her take the grass.
"First, we take this grass and fill it with water and sodium hydroxide," She explained instead of answering the question. She smiled in relief to see some sticks and a log nearby. Sumi took them into her hands and used the smaller one against the log to make a fire. Ukyo blinked at watching her work as she put the pot on top of the fire. "So now, once the mixture is all gooey, we take this..." She placed the sticky grass into a bowl, laying it on top of each other. She took the boulder to press it and then let it dry. She smiled with her hands on her hips, Ukyo gasping. "And now we have good old paper!"
"Paper...? Just like that?" He murmured as she took it into her hands. She bent down and bit off her skin from her thumb, starting to write in blood.
"I'm using this paper to write out a key for Chrome. The rest will be for the LED light so that it's more clear from this far out," She explained and he flinched in shock as he realized what she was doing now.
"Hold on! Don't tell me-"
"Yup," She smiled while glancing back at him. "I'm using Morse code to communicate with Chrome! He should be familiar with it once he has that key," She looked down at the key as it was finished, along with a message on top. "Now we just have to finish the LED light and we'll be all set."
Both of them crafted wooden grids resembling squares. Once they were done with that, having made four, Sumi added paper to the top of them that were cut out. She then applied a glue-like substance to all of them from the stray pouch Ukyo got. Once it was dried off, she tied the four paper grid squares together around the light bulb to make it into a make-shift LED light. She also had a clicker and smiled proudly at their materials.
"Right..." She murmured while standing up, looking out to the prison. "I'll need to get it from Chrome at this distance. If I try dropping it off now, I could be spotted..." She flinched and glanced over her shoulder at Ukyo's bow, since he could get it over there easily. "...I'm gonna need your archery skills if I'm gonna pull this off, Ukyo. Can I rely on you?"
He blinked and then smirked, rolling up the paper and tying it to his arrow. "Heh. You bet. You've really impressed me, you know? Let's just hope he knows how to read it." She blinked in shock from what he said and he fired the arrow. Chrome blinked as he saw something approaching, yelping and ducking for cover. Once the arrow landed above him, he looked up in confusion.
"Huh? Ukyo...?" He reached up to grab the arrow and plucked it, seeing the paper. The makeshift light Sumi made for him was also attached. He unraveled it and read the message on top.
Read this key and then look up. Send a message so I know you got it. He blinked and realized that the letters and dots meant he was supposed to connect them together for sending out the message. Sumi...alright! You must've made this so we can communicate our strategies at night, huh? Hell yeah!
Sumi looked towards the prison in worry as they had gotten no response yet. "What if the light bulb went out...?" She murmured in worry; she had them for a while now, so keeping their power at this point might've been a stretch...or maybe something happened to the note. "And you're sure it landed above him?"
"I never miss with my arrows unless it's on purpose," He told her as they kept watching. "Wait a little longer. I'm sure he'll come through."
A few seconds later, both of them were shocked to see a light flashing from Chrome's prison. This is bad, Sumi! Chrome sent over with a smirk on his face, using the wires to send out his light. Sumi gasped happily at him for it working.
"You actually did it," Ukyo smiled a bit at her. "Good work."
"Couldn't have done with you," She said softly and he blinked. "You really did come through for me, huh? Thanks, Ukyo." She didn't wait for his reaction and then used the clicker attached to the light to send out her message.
"I'm forming a plan. Hang in there, we'll get you out soon," Chrome murmured while looking up ahead, gasping a little. "We? Does she mean...she's working with Ukyo?" He wondered in disbelief to himself. He would say to not trust Ukyo, but then again, he had helped her out twice now. And he knew that Sumi didn't need the warning...so he'd just have to trust her judgment. If Senku could put his whole faith into her, then he would have to do the same.
"I have an idea," Ukyo spoke and she looked up. "Your friends, Taiju and Yuzuriha…they're involved in some way too, huh?" She stayed silent because it would be risky to admit or deny anything. "Why don't I bring you to them? They could be a big help."
"Whether that is true or not, I can't," She stated with keeping her eyes focused up ahead. "It's too risky to involve them with this. Tsukasa will know that something is up—"
"And then he could kill them," Ukyo finished for her and she flinched. "It's like I said before. I wanna help you. I won't tell anyone that they're spies. You really care about your friends, huh? Always thinking of the best way to protect them without even worrying about yourself."
Sumi didn't respond at first and she gripped the LED light from her right hand. "...Well then, Ukyo. It's time to come up with our plan to bust out Chrome," She turned around to him. "Whatever happens after that...you don't need to join our Kingdom of Science. But I will be very grateful if this alliance goes well."
He gave her a small smile, standing over to be at her side. "I'll think about it. With the two of us working together, I know we'll do it."
"Just wait until we form our strategy, Chrome. I'll contact you every night," Sumi's hair flew around as they stood together, the moonlight reflecting on them both. "I swear on my life I'll bring us back to the others safe..."