"It's such a weird story that I have no idea what it means." Suka said while [Y/n] looked in concern at Senku's unreadable expression.
"Yeah. All of humanity turned into stone thousands of years ago. You know those stones statues we see all over the place? Those are all human. Six people, including Senku's dad, survived because they were above the sky. Everyone in Ishigami Village is a descendant of theirs, thousands of years later." Chrome said, and Kohaku blushed.
"Does that mean we're all related to Senku?" Kohaku asked, and Senku chuckled.
"Byakuya and I aren't blood relatives. So only legally. Besides, we're hundreds of generations apart. You can't call us relatives." Senku said, in a-matter-of-fact tone.
"Hey! What are you doing? This is your day!"
"We have a new village chief." Some villagers shouted.
"Shall we all go feast together?" Ruri asked, and [Y/n] nodded.
The village was rather lively. Everyone was happy that the village has a new chief and Ruri was better.
"Am I really the Goddess of Knowledge in that story? I'm not quite goddess-like at all." [Y/n] muttered while sitting between Chrome and Kohaku.
"Ruri-nee always said the goddess has beautiful [h/c] hair and [e/c] eyes. The goddess was really intelligent as well. She had the answer to anything you asked her, but she always felt lonely." Suika, who was sitting next to Kohaku, began.
"When she and a young boy became friends, the goddess vowed that she and the little boy would always be together, so she can use her knowledge to help the boy in any way she could. The more time they spent together; the more they fell in love with each other." Kohaku continued.
[Y/n] blushed a bit, "Love, huh...?"
"The goddess felt ashamed that she had fallen in love with a mortal, so she'd locked her feelings away. It hurt, but she endured the pain. But it went too far, she used the knowledge that she possessed about mortals to hurt the man to make him hate her."
[Y/n] gasped a little, now invested into the story.
"But the man was rather intelligent as well and saw right through her plans. Little to the goddess' knowledge, the man went to the woman that gave the goddess all of her knowledge and professed his love for Sakurai. He wanted to be a god, so he could make Sakurai happy for eternity." Kohaku explained, and [Y/n]'s face reddened even more while imagining Senku in Greek-God clothing, "The woman was convinced gave the man the power to become a god. Once the god found Sakurai, he confessed his love for her. His words were described to be so heartwarming, gentle and sweet that it brought the goddess to tears. She admitted that she loved him as well, but she couldn't be with him because he was a mortal. The god explained to her what he had done so that they could live happily for eternity. And so, they did. They became God and Goddess of Knowlege."
[Y/n] smiled a bit then looked down at her lap, "That's...a lovely story."
'It's sound's a lot like Senku and I. Has Byakuya been making up these stories of us...?' [Y/n] thought and looked around.
But she couldn't find Senku. [Y/n] stood up. "I'm going to find Senku." She said and left. She jogged towards the bridge to see Ruri walking back to the village. "Ruri-san, have you seen Senku?" [Y/n] asked.
"He's at the village's cemetery." Ruri said while pointing in the direction she just walked from. "Take care of him, okay?"
[Y/n] nodded then ran off. Once she got there, [Y/n] walked closer and could see a tear roll down Senku's cheek.
A pain shot through [Y/n]'s heart. Senku was always there to dry [Y/n]'s tears; now it was time for her to do the same. [Y/n] wrapped her arms around Senku's torso. Senku's eyes widened as [Y/n] squeezed him.
"Byakuya-san...did all of this for you, Senku." [Y/n] said, gently, and Senku gripped her hand then turned around.
"We would have been screwed without his science gift. I'm happy to receive it, thousands of years later." Senku's voice cracked.
[Y/n] smiled softly at him. "You can let it out, Senku. I'm here for you even if you don't want me to be." [Y/n] said, gently and tears filled Senku's eyes. He hugged [Y/n] and cried, silently, on her shoulder. A single tear fell from [Y/n]'s eyes as she rubbed Senku's back. He was trembling, trying to regain his composer.
Senku sighed and pulled away from the hug while his arms were still wrapped around [Y/n]'s waist. [Y/n] smiled at Senku while placing her hands on both of his cheeks. She used her thumbs to wipe his teary eyes.
"Pops took care of you until the bitter end." [Y/n] said, softly. Senku chuckled.
"Are you still going to call him by that lame nickname?" Senku asked, and [Y/n] giggled.
｡･:*:･ﾟ★｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
"I'm home, and [Y/n]'s with me so you better have some pants on, Old Man." Senku announced throughout the apartment as he took off his shoes at the front door. [Y/n] took off her shoes as well. The two teens heard rapid footsteps. Byakuya slid around the corner into view.
"My future daughter-in-law!" He cheered, causing Senku to blush, and [Y/n] to smiled, nervously. Byakuya hugged [Y/n].
When she first met Byakuya, [Y/n] was terrified of his electric personality, but, now, she's gotten used to his teasing, hugging and loud talking. [Y/n] quite enjoyed him.
"Congratulations on becoming an astronaut, Byakuya-san." [Y/n] said while patting his back.
Byakuya pulled away and shook his head. "No, no. It's not Ishigami-san, not Byakuya-san..." Byakuya's look turned serious. "It's Pops!"
"Eh?"
"Seriously?!" Senku yelled while separating his dad from [Y/n].
Byakuya held his stomach while he laughed at his son. "S-Senku...your face...is red." Byakuya said, between breaths then fell on the floor while continuing to laugh.
"You're going to break a hip." Senku muttered while [Y/n] had a worried expression.
"Sorry, sorry." Byakuya said as he got up, "Well, Yoko and I are good friends, and I've known [Y/n] all of these years, so she feels like a daughter to me. It's only natural that she calls me, Pops." He said, "Even if she doesn't become my daughter-in-law." Byakuya fake cried.
"You're unbelievable." Senku muttered. [Y/n] smiled a bit as she tucked her long strands of hair behind her ear.
"Okay." [Y/n] said, pushing her glasses up, "I'll call you 'Pops'."
Senku looked at [Y/n] in shock. "Seriously?"
"Yes!" Byakuya cheered while clutching his fists together. "What am I?"
"P-Pops!" [Y/n] cheered with him.
Senku face-palmed then sighed. Byakuya smiled, proudly. He loved teasing his son. It's a rare occasion that he gets to see his Senku's face turn a bit red over his HUGE crush on his best friend. Then an idea hit Byakuya.
"[Y/n], come here, please." He said with a smile and waving her closer to him. [Y/n] walked over to him, and Byakuya whispered in her ear.
[Y/n]'s eyes widened a bit. "Really?" She said, and Byakuya nodded. "Senku is pretty odd, so I'll keep that in mind."
"What did you just tell her?" Senku asked while glaring slightly at his father.
"Nothing you need to worry about~" Byakuya sang.
Senku grunted and grabbed [Y/n]'s hand and dragged her to his room, so they could work on their research. Byakuya chuckled as he walked towards the living room area. "Ishigami...[Y/n]." He muttered then grinned. "I like it."
｡･:*:･ﾟ★｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
[Y/n] smiled at the memory. "Now and forever." She said. Suddenly, she remembered what Byakuya told her. She leaned forward, using her hands to bring Senku's face closer, and kissed Senku on the cheek.
Senku's eyes widened. Blood rushed to his face so fast that it made him light-head. [Y/n] pulled away with a reddened face as well and a smile.
"Pops once told me that a kiss on the cheek would make you feel better. Let's head back to the village." [Y/n] said and grabbed Senku's hand then led the way back to the village.
Senku stared at their entwined fingers as they walked through the forest. Senku smiled a bit. 'Still teasing me, even after biting the dust, Old man.' Senku thought to himself. 'It did help with my selfish desire. Just a bit.'
[Y/n]'s mind began to wonder back to the tale the Kohaku told her. In her heart, she wanted that fantasy to come true, but in her mind, she knew there were too many complicating that could screw up their happily ever after. [Y/n] didn't want that pain for her or for Senku.
'Even if that tale was about Senku and I...' [Y/n] thought.
'But, even if I feel so strongly about her...' Senku thought.
'...I absolutely can't tell him/her that...'
｡･:*:･ﾟ★｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
Soon, [Y/n] and Senku made it back to the bridge. "Sorry, I only drink cola." They heard Gen's voice, "I wouldn't be able to talk business if I got drunk. Now that the whole village is in one place, I have a message to deliver." Senku walked forward, letting go of [Y/n]'s hand.
"Yeah, let's hear it, mentalist." Senku said while walking closer to Gen, "What happened in the Tsukasa Empire?" He asked.
Gen's look turned scary. "They're coming. Tsukasa and his army." He said, and [Y/n]'s eyes widened in horror. Senku chuckled.
"It's finally time to show them the power of the kingdom of science." Senku said.
[Y/n] clutched her fist and her scared expression turned to one of determination. "Yes!" She cheered.
"This is exhilarating." Senku said.
"More ridiculously strong men like him are coming?" Kohaku asked.
"Probably, yeah. He's been reviving a ton of people." Gen said.
Senku chuckled. "We've come to an all-out war between the kingdom of science and the kingdom of might."
"Tsukasa-chan isn't the only one who's really bad news, though. If he or Tsukasa-chan were to show up, frankly, you'd all have to run. That man who was revived the other day is Hyoga-chan. I told them I'd go as a spy and lead the way, and left. But, I could only buy so much time-"
"Guys!" [Y/n] turned to see Ginro running towards them, "Bad news! The enemy is here!"
Everyone panicked. "Is Kinro fighting them?" [Y/n] asked in a panic while Ginro nodded.
The kingdom of science rush to the scene. "They're attacking us already?" Gen questioned then his eyes widened in horror. "This is seriously bad! The guy Kinro-chan is fighting is Hyoga!"
Hyoga's spear spun and stabbed Kinro in the abdomen, knocking him off the bridge. [Y/n]'s eyes widened. 'No...'
"Kinro!" Her voice screeched.
Kinro grabbed Hyoga's ankle. Kohaku tried to charge into action, but her father stopped her. "Stop, Kohaku!" He said.
Hyoga aimed his spear to Kinro's face. [Y/n] was frozen. She was out of ideas to help Kinro. "Now! Cut the bridge down! Ginro!" Kinro yelled.
[Y/n] looked around. "There has to be something, anything! I can't let Kinro die!"
"Think about the children! We have to cut it down! Come on, hurry!" Turquoise yelled at Ginro.
Ginro slowly walked towards the ropes and began to cut it. "They're right." He muttered, "I have to do it. I have to cut the bridge down to save the village."
[Y/n] looked away with tears in her eyes.
"That's right. I can no longer be saved." Kinro said, and Ginro stopped. He then started to cry. "I can't do it. How can I do it? Kinro would die if I did that! I can't do it, Nii-chan!" He sobbed.
Senku thought for a moment then took the iron tube from Kaseki. "What are you doing with the iron tube?" Kaseki asked as he watched Senku put some dirt in it. [Y/n] looked at him.
"Who would have thought we'd be using the last of our gunpowder for a bluff?" Senku questioned to himself.
'Is he...making a fake cannon?' [Y/n] thought.
Once everything was in place, Senku lit the "cannon" and aimed it at Hyoga.
"Magama-chan!" Gen said and signaled Magma, who threw the rock toward Hyoga. It missed, of course, but Gen positioned Senku's arms to make it look like he redirected the blast.
"Hyoga-chan, everyone! Retreat!" Gen yelled in a panic then ran. "This village has guns!"
Hyoga stared at Senku for a moment. "Which means you must be..." He muttered.
Senku chuckled. "You guys waited too long. We already finished building the kingdom of science." He said.
"Oh? I'm sure Tsukasa-kun will be pleased." Hyoga said then his gazed turned to [Y/n]. "...Very pleased."
[Y/n] glared at him.
"Yeah, tell Tsukasa that Ishigami Senku and Sakurai [Y/n] are still alive. Tell him we've built about ten billion rifles with the power of science." Senku said.
After Tsukasa's army retreated, [Y/n] and Kohaku rushed to help Kinro while Ginro followed them, sobbing.
"Kinro's dead!" He sobbed.
"I'm still alive." Kinro said, weakly, "Don't go killing me off, Ginro."
Kinro closed his eyes while panting to catch his breath.
"Kinro...." [Y/n] muttered. Kinro's eyes widened a bit. Next to him, he saw [Y/n] sitting on her knees with tears in her eyes.
"[Y/n]..." Kinro muttered, weakly.
"Thank goodness you're alive..." [Y/n] said, gently, "I don't know what I would have done if I had to witness a friend like you die."
Kinro smiled at her, but before he could say anything, Senku shoved a glass funnel in Kinro's mouth. Then, Senku took a test tube from one of his bags and poured the mixture into Kinro's mouth.
"Antipyretic analgesic acetanilide. We made some while we were making the sulfa drug." Senku said while pouring the rest in then he grabbed some white powder and threw it on Kinro's wound, hard. This shocked Ginro, [Y/n], Kohaku, and Chrome.
"Rub that on your wounds, and you should be better by tomorrow." Senku said with a glare and threw some more while Kinro groaned in pain.
"You're just pulling that out of your ass!" Chrome yelled.
"You have to be gentler, Senku." [Y/n] scolded.
'Don't tell me he's jealous?!' Kohaku thought to herself as she watched Senku throw more even harder.
The next morning, Kinro was up and moving around in an attempt to show his friends that he was alive.
"I'm all better." He said as he attempted to climb the ladder. This took Ginro, Kohaku, [Y/n], and Chrome by surprise. But, the pained look on his face said it all.
"Wait, no. He's just acting tough! He's still nowhere near okay!" Chrome yelled.
"You shouldn't push yourself, Kinro." [Y/n] said.
"I'm the guard! I can't be sleeping forever. There's no telling when those bastards will be back in full force." Kinro yelled while [Y/n] sighed.
"But, you're bleeding again." She muttered.
"How are you so strait-laced?!" Chrome yelled again.
"Of course he's strait-laced. He's Kinro." Ginro whined.
"That's not necessary, though. We can predict when they'll be coming." Senku said with a smirk, "They'll wait around for a storm because they're afraid of guns we don't have. Gen will talk then into it."
"But, before we can come up with a plan, I suggest we made Kinro a pair of glasses." [Y/n] suggested.
｡･:*:･ﾟ★｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
"Here you are, Kinro." [Y/n] said as the handed him the finished pair of glasses. He put them on. "Oh, damn! He looks so badass!" Chrome cheered.
"He looks good."
"That cures his fuzzy sickness?" Turquoise questioned.
"I'm impressed that this sorcery-I mean, science." Kokuya said.
"I'm glad Kinro doesn't have the fuzzy sickness anymore." Suika said while smiling through her new mask.
Kohaku smiled at her. "You had a new one made for you, too, huh?" She asked.
"This just feels more right for me!"
"That's not all the scientific battle prep we're doing." Senku said as he set down a basket of coal.
"The man in the black mask is quite formidable. Do you have some way to use science to fight him?" Kohaku asked.
"Yeah. You and the battle team are going to be in tears when you see it." Senku said, and whispered the plan to Kaseki.
"Say what? That sounds awesome!" Kaseki said. This made Kaseki so excited that he burst out of his clothes. All of the girls covered their eyes.
"Let's hurry up and get started. Don't waste time! We're racing against the storm." Senku announced.
"Right!" Chrome and [Y/n] said.
"All hands on deck, Ishigami Village!" Senku said.
As the men pumped the furnace, [Y/n] helped haul more coal. "Get it up to 1,200 degrees with pine coals. When the flame turns purple, it's ready." Senku instructed.
Once the metal was heated, [Y/n] pulled it out of the furnace and placed it on a stump, so Kaseki could pound it with a hammer.
"Smack the hell out of the metal to get rid of impurities. And then fold it, fire it up again, and hit it some more." Senku explained.
"It's called 'orikaeshi tanren'" [Y/n] said as she watched Kaseki pound the metal for the second time.
"We're powering up the iron by doing it over and over. You do this brutal, slow work at least ten times." Senku said which shock Chrome.
"Oh, damn!"
"At least, that's how you'd make a real Japanese katana. But, twice is enough." Senku said.
"It is?!" Chrome asked.
"We have modern science to thank for that. We looked at the crystalline structure of the metal and realized it was basically done after two folds. We aren't katana artisans. We're going for speed. Any step science lets us skip, we skip." Senku said.
"What's more important is the quenching. The blade forms into martensite when it's well-done, and the parts with plenty of clay paste become semi-ferrite." Senku said as Kaseki heated the sword. Chrome and Kohaku watched in confusion.
"I don't know much about the science, but the point is...The blade is made strong for cutting, and the back is made flexible for parrying. Is that right? That's so cool!" Kaseki said, and Senku chuckled.
"You can count on a craftsman to learn quickly. It's the difference between the two sides that makes the Japanese katana the most powerful blade int the world." Senku said.
｡･:*:･ﾟ★｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
Soon the storm was upon them. Strong winds blew through [Y/n]'s short [h/c] hair as she stood on a branch of a tree. She could see Tsukasa's army coming in the village direction.
"It's time." [Y/n] muttered and jumped down. She ran back to the village and noticed Senku was in position. Senku looked at her with widened eyes.
[Y/n] made a new and better bow that matched her arrows that now had metal heads. The sack of arrow was attached to her lime green belt on one side of her waist while her new katana was attached to the other side of her waist. She looked like a warrior.
"They're coming." [Y/n] said as she walked past him. Senku turned and grabbed her hand as his mouth hung open slightly. He was in awe.
Speechless.
Senku never thought he'd see the day that [Y/n] looked so...fearless.
His mind was completely blank. The only thing he could think of was telling her how he felt. But there's no way he could tell her that.
[Y/n] cupped his hand in hers and gave him a reassuring smile. "No need worry about me, Senku. I'll be all right." [Y/n] said and let his hands go. She hid behind a bridge post. Once she peeked around, she could see the Tsukasa army ready to attack Senku. That was her cue.
[Y/n] took her bow from across her body and aimed the arrow at the man in front of Senku. The arrow missed Senku and hit the man in the arm. His scream of agony signaled everyone else to charge in.
"J-Japanese katanas?!"
[Y/n] took her sword and charged into battle as Senku chuckled. "These are the most powerful weapons in the stone world." Senku said as [Y/n] cut through one of the men's spears.
"The blades of science." [Y/n] said as she stepped back.
"I like it. The kingdom of science is very proper." Hyoga said.
"They might be a little ugly, though." Senku said.
"Damn it. How do these exist in the stone world?"
"We're in trouble. Their weapons are far stronger."
The men were scared and backing away. "Our weapons are broken."
"It's not just your weapons, You're minds are broken, too. Though I'm sure that's what Senku-kun's trying to accomplish by showing off his katanas." Hyoga said and charged at them, "But, your katanas are no match for my kudayari and my Kanryu-style spearmanship!"
Hyoga's spear spun round and round, cutting Magma. Then he went for Kohaku.
"Kohaku-chan!" [Y/n] called and stepped in the way. [Y/n] barely had time to block it, but the spear did cut her hand. [Y/n] glared at Hyoga.
"Magma, Kohaku, and Kinro-chan are the strongest ones in the village." Gen said as he popped out of the bushes. "Take down those three and you win, Hyoga-chan!"
"Thank for the intel, Gen-kun. Not that I couldn't have seen it myself." Hyoga said.
"What the hell is that Gen bastard doing? Is he an enemy?" Magma asked.
"Did he betray them to betray us? That bastard." Kohaku muttered.
"No. He's secretly telling us that it'll take all three of us to take him down." Kinro said.
"Then, let's go, Kinro, Magma!" Kohaku said, but Magma charged into action without thinking.
[Y/n] sighed and face-palmed. 'That meathead.' She thought.
"Whatever. We'll fight together, whether he likes it or not. We'll use Magma's big body as a decoy while you send me up, Kinro." Kohaku said, and [Y/n] nodded agreement. She stepped back near Senku.
Kinro and Kohaku charged in after Magma. Kohaku jumped into the air and used the tip of Kinro's sword as a boost. The attack didn't faze Hyoga at all. He just directed his spear up towards Kohaku. Until suddenly Hyoga's spear broke.
"His spear tip..." Kinro muttered.
"...suddenly broke off." Ginro muttered.
Hyoga looked at the spear. "A cut that's too precise to have been made with stone tools and too well-hidden to see...With enough force, it tears apart. It's almost like magic, isn't it?" Hyoga muttered.
"Seriously?!" Gen pretended to be shocked, "Who would have done such a thing?"
"Gen-kun, I like you. You're very proper...as a dirty bat betrayer." Hyoga said, and Gen had little tears in his eyes.
"What are you talking about, Hyoga-chan?! Why would I do such a thing?" Gen whined, and Hyoga looked at him.
"Well, damn." Gen dropped the act. "You had me figured out already. That's my Hyoga-chan."
Gen disappeared in a burst of flowers then reappeared on the bridge post. "Do you know this flower? It's not supposed to bloom in the shade, so it's perfect to use as a secret signal. It's called black nightshade. I used it on the stage a lot. It's one of my favorites. In floriography, it means 'liar'" Gen said and toss the little blade to Senku.
Senku caught it and chuckled. "You're a pretty good swordsman, mentalist. It cuts exhilaratingly well, doesn't it? This is the blade of science." Senku said.