64. If Only
07-07-2024
A/N: I am honestly thinking of going back to a bi-weekly schedule because of college, but I will think about it more after this chapter is posted. I'll let you guys know when I decide :)
Anyways, THANK YOU FOR 100K READS GUYS!! Honestly, I never thought that I'd hit the triple digits again, it makes me so happy I could cry o(ï¼Ð´ï¼o)
Morse code translations at the end.
Q: No questions this week!
-----
"So, how are we going to tell Senku that we found the treasure that he needs?"
You and the spy team were with the rest of the selected women, practicing how to be proper members of the harem. An old woman was teaching lessons and was extremely strict with the girls who did not follow directions or do things properly. For the first lesson, it was to walk steady with bamboo poles on top of your head, making sure that it wouldn't fall off.
"I could use my ring to message him during the day, but I have no idea when he is going to call us or be around for me to deliver the message," you explained with a sigh.
Then Ginro, who was struggling to keep the pole steady, asked Kohaku, "What if you just risked it all and screamed really loud, like how you did when we were on the boat?"
"Are you dumb? If I did that in the palace, they'd skin me alive in questioning," the lioness replied. Unlike the blonde boy, she and Amaryllis were walking with grace and poise, the bamboo pole still on their heads.
The island girl added, "We finally managed to sneak in. If we did that, it'd go to waste!"
"Hey, you four!" You heard a voice call out. It was the old woman who was teaching the etiquette lessons to everyone. "Feeling chatty, are we?! You ladies are still in training, got it?! You've got one week to learn proper posture and manners before joining the harem for real, so commit yourselves!"
You smiled pleasantly at the woman. "Of course, ma'am! We would never step out if line!"
She then let out a huff and started walking away to tend to the other women. Ginro shivered as he spoke up, "What a scary lady..."
You shrugged. "There are teachers that are way scarier...just take shishou for example."
"That woman looked as though she was going to kill you every time you trained with her, (Y/N)..." Kohaku mentioned with sweat dripping down her temples.
"Exactly! Scarier!"
Suddenly, you and Kohaku heard a static through the earpiece. As it cleared, you heard your partner speaking through it, "Can you two hear me? (Y/N), I need you to start flashing your ring so we can send you something neat."
You took your ring out and started heading to a spot with direct sunlight. As you walked to the edge of the palace, you started moving your ring underneath the sun, subtly shining it toward the forest ahead.
"Hehe, nice job, slowpoke. You might see it coming your way...a science mouse!" Senku exclaimed.
Much to your and your friends' confusion, all of you saw something tiny and black running along the pathways through the palace. It ran past the guards and warriors, startling them along the way. Kohaku made her way to catch it as swiftly as possible, even if she did anger the old woman.
"Hey, no stepping out of line!" She cried as the lioness returned to her spot with something in her hands.
You and Amaryllis blocked the woman. Your friend had "tears" in her eyes as she spoke, "B-But there was a big, mean mouse, and we were so very scared..."
You continued with a frightened look on your face, "We are so grateful to Kohaku for catching it and saving us!"
The old lady raised an eyebrow before turning away once more. "Bah, fine! But continue your training! You need it!"
As she walked away, you and the two other girls gave each other a thumbs-up in unison for teamwork. Kohaku then revealed the "giant mouse" in her arms, and you saw that it was just an RC car with mouse-like cosmetics on it.
"If you are in trouble or when (Y/N)-chan can't code, use this to send us an SOS letter," you heard Gen speak through the earpiece.
Then, you immediately remembered to let them know about the treasure. You started flashing your ring, using the word SOS in Morse code.
･･･ã¼ã¼ã¼ï½¥ï½¥ï½¥
"Eh? You're already in trouble? What happened?" Gen questioned as his voice showed a hint of worry.
･･㼠･ ã¼ã¼ã¼ ･･㼠ã¼ï½¥ ã¼ï½¥ï½¥/ ･ã¼ã¼ï½¥Â ï½¥ã¼ï½¥ï½¥Â ï½¥ã¼Â 㼠･･ ã¼ï½¥Â ･･ã¼Â ã¼ã¼
"EHHH?! Already?! How did you find it--"
The mentalist was then interrupted by the sound of a struggle in the background. Soon, you heard your boyfriend's voice through the earpiece.
"Nice! Before you answer anything else, I need you guys to confirm something for me. Is it encased inside of a concrete ball?" Senku asked.
Before you could reply, two guards were beginning to head your way. You took your ring off and swiftly shoved it into the little pouch you had. Suddenly, they stopped in front of you and your friends, who were a bit confused as to why they were there.
"The Minister requests your presence, blessed (Y/N)," says one of them. "You must come with us."
You raised a brow upon hearing that, but you didn't deny the request. "Of course. However, I'm not officially part of the harem yet. Why does he want to see me?"
The other replied, "We don't know. All they ask is for your presence to be shown before the minister, Kirisame-sama, and Moz-sama."
You widened your (E/C) eyes, seeing now that you either have an opportunity to see Kirisame or that you've been found out. Either way, this was a chance you couldn't let go of. "Alright. I will follow you as you go ahead."
They then turned in the direction of the minister and started walking off. You quickly turned to your friends and mouthed the word "Letter" to them so that they'd message the science team without you. When you leave, they are very confused as to what a letter is, but you had faith that they'd figure it out on their own.
But it did not matter right now. You were already passing through bridges and paths to enter a large hut for a meeting, though, it wasn't the one where the master had stayed. The guards had motioned you to enter as they stopped, and so you went in to see Ibara sitting on a throne-like chair, and Kirisame and Moz were standing by his side.
"Ah, welcome, blessed (Y/N)-chan," Ibara greeted you with a close-eyed smile, his hands up with welcome. "Come in, come in! We have a bit to discuss."
You walked in a bit closer, stopping just a little bit away from them. "Greetings, Ibara-sama. I was told that you requested my presence."
"Yes, yes, of course. The reason being is that the villagers in your village have stated that you are a strong girl who uses 'blessings,' though it could be sorcery if fallen into the wrong hands. I want to see that strength, and maybe consider whether or not you should join the harem," the old man explained to you as his eyes peeked through his lids.
"If you wish to see that, I can gladly demonstrate my strength," you nodded. You figured that Ibara was testing you for something other than what he explained, but you had to prove yourself.
Ibara then looked over to both warriors--Moz had looked incredibly eager to fight you, while Kirisame was waiting for a command. The old man then motioned for the woman to step forward.
"You can spar with Kirisame-chan and we will test your strength here," said the minister.
You were a bit taken aback by his declaration about the location. "Here? But this place isn't suitable--"
"Don't worry! You will be okay, especially since you were chosen by the heavens above, right?" Ibara smiled to himself as he replied. "You may begin at any time."
You wanted to protest, since it was such a small space to fight, but you couldn't. So, you got into a defensive stance to prepare for the woman's attack. You couldn't use your weapon, so all you could do was use your hands to fight.
Suddenly, Kirisame began to lunge with no warning. She threw left and right punches, which you had to block to avoid a direct hit. When you were able to block her attacks, you also took the opportunity to use your flexibility with dance to avoid her as well.
"Ohhh, so graceful...!" Ibara commented as he watched the fight.
"Heh, her dodges are nice, but she hasn't even started attacking yet," Moz added.
Soon, Kirisame start to use her legs, which were much more powerful than her arms. It was same technique she was using when she was fighting off Kohaku a few days ago.
Thank God Nikki taught me some judo! You thought to yourself. Ahh, if only I could use my weapon though!
You took any open chance you got to grab her and start flipping her, which she would counter by moving her entire body. You'd end up punching her back or kicking her, which she'd also block as well. You had to admit that she was strong, maybe even stronger than you, when it came to hand-to-hand combat.
Unfortunately, because of that strength, there was only so much you could do with no weaponry. Blocking such heavy attacks gave you bruises, and dodging caused your stamina to be expended. Kirisame seemed to notice this as well. The girl, quiet as she was, began to use more force and faster attacks. At this point, you needed to be resourceful. Then, she was about to strike on the head until you took a handful of petals hidden within your sleeves and threw it in her face, causing her to falter. When she hesitated, you took your chance and jumped her, making sure to lock her in place by grappling her arms and legs.
Moz whistled as he saw that the fight was over. "God damn."
"Wonderful! That was a beautiful spar," Ibara exclaimed as he stood up from his chair. "Very nice, very nice!"
"Ibara-sama, was it fair for her to use her sorcery on me?" Kirisame questioned from underneath you. You quickly got off of her, then held your hand over her for the girl to take.
"Of course. I never stated any rules," he replied as Kirisame stood up by herself, ignoring your aid. He then turned to you. "Thank you for the demonstration. I will think about today's spar and call for you to have a one-on-one discussion with me about this soon."
"I see...then I will head back. Thank you for today, Ibara-sama," you said with a nod and headed out.
"Goodbye, (Y/N)-chan!"
As you left to head back to your sleeping quarters, you felt their gazes boring holes into the back of your head, causing a bit of unease as you left. But you also began to think to yourself. As you were in the fight, you studied her to see where she could have hidden the petrification device. With her strange clothing, you couldn't exactly pinpoint to where it was. The whole fight between you and Kirisame wasn't exactly in vain, as you knew how strong she was now.
"Ah, (Y/N)!"
You looked up and saw your friends heading toward you. You didn't even realize how far you'd gone until you heard their voices.
"What happened? Are you okay?" Kohaku asked you.
"You've got some bruises on your arms...and legs too!" Amaryllis worriedly exclaimed as she saw the red blotches on your extremities. "What happened?"
You sheepishly replied, "Ah...I sparred with Kirisame. She's really strong, and I couldn't find the petrification device on her..."
"You what?!" Ginro cried out. "Why?! Are they going to come after us now?!"
"No, but I'll explain everything later. Did anything interesting happen when I was gone?" You wondered.
"Yes. Senku quickly sent some devices for us to open up the treasure. He instructed me how to use it while you were gone, and Amaryllis and Ginro distracted the guards when I did it," Kohaku explained to you. "You didn't hear anything?"
"No... I'm surprised I didn't hear his voice...maybe I was too far away..." you replied as you looked back at the place where you had came from.
"Well, either way, we finally have a way to get the treasure. Senku said it'd be ready by tonight, so we can go look!" Kohaku informed you.
~~~
It was already dark, and it was lights out for the harem. Once the coast was clear, you and Kohaku had left the sleeping quarters to head to the master's tree, where the treasure was laid. There, you saw that the stone was broken apart, and glass laid between the crevices of the rock.
"What did you even use to break it open...?" You questioned the girl.
She answered with a smirk, "Senku gave us something called a silent bomb! It would explode without making any noise!"
"Whoa, cool!" Your eyes widened with interest. "I wish I could've seen it. But let's hurry and take the treasure before we get caught!"
Both you and your friend quickly took the chucks of rock apart. It would make a lot of noise if you did it hastily, so you had to be careful. However, when Kohaku was taking apart the concrete, one of the pieces had fallen and you heard the sound of glass shattering underneath.
"Oh my god, Kohaku!" You shouted in a whisper, looking down into the concrete bowl.
"Sorry, sorry!" She frantically apologized, then picked up the contents of the shattered treasure. "It's just sand! Oh my goooood, what did I do?!"
You took a good look at the sand and widened your eyes as you saw how it sparkled. This was not ordinary sand. It looked like it was gold. "Hurry and scoop it up! The sand is the treasure!"
She started to scoop it up quickly into a pocket she made with her dress, "Here, I can just grab some of this sand into my clothing while you put it into your tiny one--"
Soon, you heard the guards coming your way. They had probably heard the sound of shattering glass and stone created by the lioness. You and Kohaku quickly scooped up the dust, though you felt something strange within the pile as you dug through it. You immediately grabbed it and shoved it into your pouch before climbing up the branches and getting caught.
"We did it! We got the treasure!" Kohaku exclaimed as the two of you climbed up.
"All we need to do is send it by mouse and Senku can do the rest," you said with a grin.
The two of you headed back to the harem quarters with the sand. There, you were greeted by Amaryllis and Ginro, who waited patiently for your arrival.
"Did you get the treasure?" Ginro questioned with anticipation.
Kohaku nodded. "Yup! It's all right here!"
You and the lioness showed off the sand that you got. But both of your friends were not impressed. "The sand is the treasure...?"
"Yes. I'm sure it's not sand, since it sparkled like minerals. Either way, this is what Senku needs to revive the others," you told them. You then turned to the blonde woman, pointing at the pouch. "Kohaku, put the rest of sand in here and we can use this to send it over to the science team using the mouse tomorrow."
She did as she was told and dropped it into the pouch as told. You mixed it up a bit to make sure it was in properly while Kohaku had begun preparing the mouse. As you put your fingers in, you remembered that you picked up something else when gathering the treasure. You pulled out the item you felt from the pouch and saw that it was rolled up. Upon closer inspection, you noticed that there was writing on it, meaning there was a possible message from the Soyuz space team. You headed outside to get more light from the moon, and carefully unrolled it to read the written words on the laminated paper.
"My two greatest treasures," you silently read it to yourself. You wondered what it was, then flipped the paper around.
Widening your (E/C) eyes, you saw that what was in your hands was the last colored photo from the old world. You held your breath as you hesitantly brought your other hand up to trace your fingers across the lightly faded hues, studying the details in the picture. A series of different emotions that you couldn't even describe welled within you as your hand began quaking slightly--your lips trembled, trying to hold in the flood that was beginning to rise.
"What is that, (Y/N)?" Kohaku asked as she came up from behind you, along with Ginro and Amaryllis. You couldn't look at them in the eye, but she noticed the paper in your hand. She took one look at it, and an expression of surprise appeared on her face. "Is that a picture? It has color on it!"
"It has Senku and (Y/N) on that thing! How is that possible?" Amaryllis wondered as she looked over your shoulder. You had forgotten that she had never seen a photograph before and this was her first time seeing one.
Ginro added with a teasing tone, "That's a picture from a long time ago, right? You guys looked so in love~"
You turned toward the group, holding the tears back. With a strained smile and doing your very best to keep your voice steady, you said, "Yeah...we do, don't we?"
"What is happening in this picture, (Y/N)?" Kohaku queried happily.
You slowly replied, "It... was the day Senku and I perfected the dance for my birthday... I-I thought I'd never see this photo again..."
It was a photograph of both you and Senku--arms enveloping each other in the rain at the end of your dance. The two of you were smiling softly at each other, soaking wet, with not a single care in the world. It was the epitome of endearment captured in a single moment in time. A treasure to behold.
Amaryllis softly squealed, "Science can make super detailed drawings in color for moments like that? That's amazing!"
"I wonder who took this picture! Maybe it was Yuzuriha! Or Taiju!" The blonde woman snickered.
"This picture...was taken by Byakuya-san..." you informed them as your speech got quieter after each word you dropped.
All of them immediately noticed your change in tone and knew you needed time to yourself. Kohaku spoke first, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder, "Hey, we'll be heading to bed now! When you're ready, just join us, okay? We'll be waiting for you, always."
Your eyes slightly widened at her kindness toward you. "Thank you, Kohaku."
They all quickly walked off to the huts where the harem had stayed, leaving you alone on the planks of wood at the edge of the palace.
You lowered your head to look at the photograph once more as your ears had tuned to the sounds of your surroundings. As soon as your body relaxed, teardrops rolled down your cheeks and splattered against the print. The drops would slide off due to the old lamination onto the floor. You tried to wipe your tears away using the back of your hands, but the dam was already broken. Your cheeks darkened in color through flourishing emotions, and your heart could only beat so fast.
If only you could turn back time so you and Senku could enjoy your old lives again.
If only you could turn back time to see the old man alive and well.
If only you could turn back time so that you could tell Byakuya, in-person, "thank you for everything."
But alas, you were stuck at "if only." You and Senku were never going to see him again. Through soft hiccups, you gently spoke as you looked up at the stars above,
"Thank you, Byakuya-san."
-To be Continued-
A/N: I hope you enjoyed! I also hope you guys aren't upset about me posting so late, but college work really kills your motivation.
Morse Code Translations:
[･･･ã¼ã¼ã¼ï½¥ï½¥ï½¥] : SOS
[･･㼠･ ã¼ã¼ã¼ ･･㼠ã¼ï½¥ ã¼ï½¥ï½¥/ ･ã¼ã¼ï½¥Â ï½¥ã¼ï½¥ï½¥Â ï½¥ã¼Â 㼠･･ ã¼ï½¥Â ･･ã¼Â ã¼ã¼] : Found platinum