Jyūoku yawned. The Ginrou boy showed up again, smelling like tears. They had a productive day of foraging. Mugwort, wild radishes, wild chervil, raspberries, blackberries, mulberries, wild garlic, wild leeks, matsutake, fiddlehead ferns, and shimeji mushrooms. Lotus, mint, and butterbur still evaded her.
Jyūoku - "I don't mean to be rude, but how long are we staying out here? I'm freezing my ass off. I want to see my Sen-chan."
She was starting to get pissed.
Gen - "Apologies dear Jyūoku-chan. Ginrou-chan will carry the deer back to the village."
Ginrou - "What?! Why me?!"
Gen - "Because our lovely Jyūoku-chan can't navigate through the dark, even with my help. Kinrou-chan will have to carry her."
Ginrou - "Oh yeah, I forgot she had the fuzzy eye sickness. Don't worry Jyūoku! Senku can make you glasses, like he did for Suika and Kinrou!"
Jyūoku was swept off her feet suddenly. She panicked and held onto her bag tightly.
Gen - "It's okay, don't panic Jyūoku-chan. We're just going back to the village."
Jyūoku laid her head in the crook of Kinrou's neck. She was more tired than she thought.
<~>
Senku - "Onee-chan! Where's that old man?"
Nine year old Jyūoku was in the kitchen preparing to make ramen for dinner. Even at eight years old she was a better cook than her father, Tall too, at five foot three inches. Senku was the opposite, smaller than most of his age group at two foot three inches. Jyūoku loved their height difference and it only made her baby him further. Senku didn't mind as long as their father didn't try to do the same thing. Jyūoku was his favorite so she got special treatment and while he loved his father dearly, he would never get the same privilege.
Jyūoku - "He went to the store, Sen-chan. I needed some miso paste and some shiitake to finish dinner."
Senku - "I like teriyaki shiitake."
Jyūoku put the lid back on her pot and lifted her three year old baby brother on her hip.
Jyūoku - "Did you get into my candy drawer again?"
Senku averted his eyes.
Senku - "No..."
Jyūoku - "Then why is there chocolate all over your tiny cheeks?"
Senku - "What?!"
Senku rubbed at his face to try and hide the chocolate, but only smeared it more. Jyūoku laughed and sat Senku on the counter near the sink. A wet rag was gently rubbed over his face to clean up the melted chocolate.
Senku - "Onee-chan, I want grilled onions with my ramen today."
Jyūoku - "I thought you didn't like onions~"
Senku - "Hmph, I like Onee-chan's cooking so I will like Onee-chan's grilled onions!"
Jyūoku - "Okay, sweet boy."
Senku jumped off the counter and ran to the fridge and started trying to pull the fridge open. Jyūoku crept up behind him and picked him up from behind while tickling his sides. Senku screeched and tried to squirm away from his big sister's merciless tickling. She eventually did have mercy and lifted him to sit on her shoulders. She took an onion and two cherry tomatoes from the fridge.
Senku - "Snack"
Jyūoku - "Yum yum."
They both munched a tomato while Jyūoku sliced the onion and started frying them in a buttered skillet with some black garlic and a bit of dried seaweed. Senku tried to watch her cook from his new perch, but he couldn't help but rub at his eyes.
Senku - "Hey, Onee-chan?"
Jyūoku - "What's up, Sen-chan?"
Senku - "Wake up."
Jyūoku - "What?"
Senku - "Wake up, Nee-chan. Wake up!"
<~>
Senku - "Wake up already!"
Jyūoku sat up suddenly and her and Senku's heads collided with a solid and very painful thud. Senku ended up on his back. Jyūoku saw five blurs that she identified as people. She recognized the colors of three of them as Yuzuriha, Taiju, and Gen, but the other two were mainly blue. Senku though, she could recognize her precious baby brother with or without her glasses. Senku was holding his head after she headbutted him.
Jyūoku - "Sen-chan!"
Senku was yanked off the ground and into a tight hug. He was situated in Jyūoku's lap with her arms wrapped around his shoulders. Senku hugged her back which only made Jyūoku tighten her hold on him. After a minute of silence the woman spoke up.
"So who is she again?"
Jyūoku pulled away from Senku and let her baby brother get to his feet. He helped her get to her feet and handed her a pair of basic wire frame glasses.
Jyūoku - "Thank you, Sen-chan. Are these new friends of yours?"
Jyūoku put on her new glasses, pleased to finally see Senku clearly. Taiju and Yuzuriha ran up to her and hugged her just as tightly as she did Senku.
Senku - "Jyūoku. This is Kohaku and Chrome; valued members of the Kingdom of Science."
Kohaku - "I found Senku after Tsukasa left to create his Empire of Might. He helped me and so I brought him back to Ishigami Village. Turns out -"
Jyūoku - "Ishigami..."
Senku - "The astronauts aboard the Soyuz repopulated after they returned to Earth. Byakuya was one of the founders and thus, is this place's namesake. I won the grand bout, which decides the chief, so I'm now the chief of Ishigami Village."
Jyūoku - "Can't think of a better chief than the smartest boy in the world."
Jyūoku hugged Senku from behind and placed her chin on his head. She had to corral all of his hair behind his head so it wouldn't go up her nose or in her mouth.
Chrome - "Not to be rude, but who are you?"
Jyūoku - "Sorry. My name is Ishigami Jyūoku. I'm Sen-chan's older sister."
Gen was smirking behind his sleeves, Chrome was slack-jawed, and Kohaku held a look of shock. Jyūoku smiled and started to leave the hut.
Senku - "Jyūoku, wait up. I'll give you a tour of the village."
Jyūoku waited dutifully at the bottom of a ladder. The building she was in had a telescope on the roof.
Jyūoku - "Sen-chan, what's the date?"
Senku - "March 15, 5740."
Jyūoku - "I missed your birthday...Sorry little brother."
Senku - "There's always next year, so don't worry too much about it. So this is the observatory and my room. I guess it's your room now too. Next door is Chrome's abundant collection of rocks, metals, and other valuable loot. It's like a boss dungeon chest in there!"
Jyūoku - "Sounds like your kind of treasure trove."
Senku - "You know it! Over there we have the furnaces for metal crafting and glass blowing."
Jyūoku - "Is that a ramen stand?"
Chrome - "Heck yeah! Senku made us all ramen and it's super bad!"
Jyūoku - "Aww, Sen-chan! You made ramen from scratch? Where'd you find wheat for the noodles?"
Senku - "I didn't. I made the noodles from foxtail millet."
Jyūoku bonked Senku's head while stifling her laugh.
Jyūoku - "While it is an unrefined flour, the noodles made from it would be super brittle with a horrible texture. Still, I'm still so impressed! That's my sweet little genius for ya!"
Senku - "Yea-yeah. You were foraging? Suika can show you through the forest. You two will bounce off each other nicely."
Jyūoku - "Suika?"
Suika - "Yes! Hi big sis Jyūoku! I'm Suika and this is Chalk!"
A little child with a melon head popped out from behind Senku's legs. A small white dog was by their feet.
Jyūoku - "Hello Suika, pleased to meet you and Chalk."
Yuzuriha - "Senpai! I made you a proper basket! These were used in the past when people would forage in the wild. And it gives you a lot more space for more goodies."
Jyūoku - "How sweet, thank you Yuzuriha. I'll be sure to cook up quite the feat when I return. And with my glass I can find a bit more than before."
Jyūoku slung her basket on her back and started walking towards the wooded area in front of her.
Jyūoku - "Oh, before I forget. Sen-chan!"
Senku - "Yeah? What is it?"
Jyūoku - "If you don't take a bath by the time I return, I'll wash you myself ike when you were a baby. You smell horrible. See you in a few hours, baby brother!"
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