65. Understood
07-21-2024
A/N: I had to listen to the Infinity Castle Theme from Demon Slayer just to push me through this chapter because DAMN that song is SO GOOD.
Q: Do you guys like OC fanfics? I've been thinking of writing one in the future when this one is done.
-----
"Hey, did you see them this morning?"
"Yes! Something strange is happening on the island!"
You were walking amongst the women, who were preparing to be a part of the harem, when you heard them speaking amongst themselves like school girls. You immediately recognized the behavior when you saw them huddling together in their groups and cliques. Even after thousands of years, the ability to gossip had never faded away. It was quite amusing, in your opinion, but you were grateful to have a source of intel on the inside.
"What do you mean by 'strange?'" You heard the girls continue.
"The minister and his left and right hands keep going to the village at the end of the island to investigate some weird boat!"
"Oh, I've heard of that! They've already petrified everyone on board, but I heard that some of them escaped! They say they've infiltrated the palace!"
You widen your eyes when those words enter your ears. With a "worried" look on your face, you approached them with your hands behind your back. "Are you sure they've infiltrated the palace? Who said that?"
The girls jumped when hearing your voice, but let out a sigh of relief escaped their lips when they saw it was just you. "Oh, it's just you, blessed (Y/N). I only heard Oarashi-sama speaking about it."
"Really?" You tilted your head to the side as you placed a hand under your chin, urging them to continue. "What did he say exactly?"
"He said that he and the minister were going to retrieve something from the ship and gather the harem...but we're not sure what it is," one explained to you as she perked her head upward to recall previous events.
Another added to her statement, "They also mentioned going back again but taking someone else with them."
You blinked when the girls had finished, but gently gave them a small smile. "I see. Thank you girls for the explanation. Here's a gift for your troubles."
You flicked your hand to show them the beautiful jasmine flowers that you had plucked somewhere nearby.
"Wha--are you sure? Certainly, the master would love to have these flowers more than us!" The girls were flattered.
"I assure you--you are more delightful than the master himself, just like these flowers," you told them with a poised look.
In appreciation and admiration, as well as flustered expressions, they took the plants from you and continued on their way. As they had left out of sight, the smile on your face had faded into a serious frown, and you went off to find the rest of the spy group.
At the same time, different thoughts played out in your head. What gave Ibara the idea that there was an intruder in the harem? Did they hear you and Kohaku taking the treasure? But they didn't see you! You made sure that the two of you safely escaped without any witnesses. But it didn't matter now. You and your friends had to be careful--you especially. You had a feeling that Ibara didn't request your presence before just because he wanted to. He had ulterior motives.
"Oh, (Y/N)! Over here!" You heard someone calling out to you. Turning toward the voice, you spotted Amaryllis and the others heading your way.
You walk up to them, and they all notice the firm expression you had. The island woman questioned, "What happened?"
"Ibara knows that someone has infiltrated the harem. He doesn't know that it's us, but we need to be on guard," you tell them with warning in your voice.
"How does he even know? We made sure we were quiet!" Kohaku exclaimed with disbelief.
"It doesn't matter now. They are going to gather the harem...probably for questioning, I'm not sure." You let out a sigh as you placed a palm over your head.
Ginro had fear in his eyes as he closed his body off in a guarded position. "If that's the case, shouldn't we just escape then? It'd be safer to run away than stay and get petrified!"
"We are staying here for Senku," you sternly told him. If you left now, your mission for your boyfriend would be in vain, and you'd struggle trying to get the weapon itself.
Not even a second later, you and your friends heard the old woman who trained the pre-harem women calling out, making sure all of them gathered together. The four of you skimmed over each other before joining the other harem members at the foot of a large tree. In front of that tree, Ibara was waiting with his guards, including Oarashi.
"Attention all! I have a most terrible announcement to make!" Ibara started. His narrow eyes opened slightly to scan the women before him. "There may be an intruder among us...and said intruders need to be dealt with."
The old man took a step to the side to reveal a stone statue tied against the tree with rope. At that moment, you saw that the statue was none other than Ryusui himself, who had a horrified look on his face as his position had him in the middle of running away. You and the rest of the spy team stood in shock but kept your emotions on the down low so that you wouldn't get ratted out. You felt awful, knowing that he turned out that way because he chose to save you.
"If you're not a friend of this statue of a man here, then you should have no problem destroying it, right...?" Ibara seemed to be taunting your group with just the sound of his voice. He held up a stone hammer as the first girl had walked up to take your friend apart.
As more girls went up, Kohaku seemed to be on the verge of running up and stopping them from destroying his statue. You had to hold her by the wrists to prevent her from doing anything stupid, and your other friends were convincing her to stop.
"You've got to endure it, Kohaku!" Amaryllis cried out with fear.
Ginro added, "Kohaku-chan! Keep it together, please! Think about it! He's not dead, even if he is broken! We can put him back together and use the revival fluid, then he'll be good as new!"
"Ginro is right for once in his life! Keep it together!" You told the girl. "If you do something now, our mission will end up as a failure!"
"But--"
"Slowpoke, lioness, I have another job for you," you heard Senku's voice through the earpiece. Both you and Kohaku had stopped moving to listen carefully, the line getting shorter as you moved forward. "The old man took the sailor this morning, probably to where you guys are. If you see him, break him apart into nice, fine pieces. We'll send some mice over to pick him up. But make sure all of the pieces are easy to put back together, especially since we don't have Yuzuriha to help us."
You and Kohaku took a glance at each other before nodding in agreement. The blonde woman walked up to the statue and you followed behind. She stopped before it and inhaled deeply as she stared at Ryusui.
"Oh, you're name was 'Kohaku-chan', I believe? Go on now," said Ibara as he saw her, then spotted you right behind her. All you did was show him a smile before returning to the rock on the tree.
"What's wrong? Aren't you gonna break it?" Oarashi's eyes widened in surprise when he gazed at your friend. "Don't tell me you're the intruder..."
Suddenly, Kohaku jumped forward and kicked Ryusui in the head, snapping his forehead off like he was nothing. She continued to break him apart with grace, shocking everyone around you to the core. You had a close-eyed smile on your face as you saw all the clean pieces of rock hitting the floor. The lioness looked back at the warriors before the harem and spoke loudly, "I've destroyed it as ordered! Any problems?"
"N-No! I think it's fine..." a foot soldier told her with a strained grin on his face.
"My, my, what a mess!" you came up as you started picking up all of the rock pieces. Amaryllis and Ginro followed suit as you continued, "We'll tidy this up for you, Ibara-sama!"
The old man let out a sigh as he was beginning to leave, then stopped as if he had remembered something. He faced you and had a wide smile as he started, "Oh, (Y/N)-chan! I have a request for you, and it has something to do with the intruders that we may have running around here."
Your heart seemed to stop as you were picking up the rock pieces. Quickly handing most of them off to your friends, you stood up to walk away and responded, "What is it that you need me to do?"
The feeble man swiftly placed a hand on your lower back, causing you to flinch at his surprisingly rough touch. It made you extremely uncomfortable, as it was nothing compared to how gentle Senku was when he did it. He leaned down with a smile and playful tone, "I need you to accompany me to the giant boat at the end of the island for the next few days. With your help, we could find clues about the intruders, especially if you talk with the people in your village... The master highly suggests that you agree to come."
A bead of sweat rolled down your head as you gulped. Mirroring his lively expression, you answered, "Of course...but why me?"
"Let's just say that I am being verrryyy cautious, and I can't let a wonderful girl like you out of my sight, especially one who has been blessed by the Gods above and was personally chosen by the master himself..." he replied, but you noticed his eyes looking darker than usual.
You could tell that this man was way smarter than he appeared to be. He may not know that you are one of the intruders, but there is always a possibility that he knew that something about you was off. The man then continued, "...however, with your strength, we could eliminate the intruders, who have made the island unsafe! Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
Clutching your friend in your arms tightly, you nodded. "Alright. I will first help clean this mess up, and I will join you later."
"Good girl! I knew you'd make the right choice," the minister cheerfully exclaimed before letting you go. "We will head out to your village later today. Moz-kun will help guide you. Understand?"
"...Understood," you stated as the man then walked away with the soldiers and Oarashi following behind. A shiver went down your spine as you thought about how that dirty, old man touched you. Oh how you missed Senku. You wished to see him again and embrace him once more.
"What was that all about?!" Kohaku blurted out as she approached you. You noticed that she was already carrying a mouse in her hand. Amaryllis and Ginro were also preparing to send a few of the stone fragments through the device.
You replied with a frown as you started walking toward the quarters you stayed in, "The minister is taking me to the boat. He wants me to help them find the intruders...he also said that Moz is going to guide me back there."
"What?! No, you can't go, (Y/N)!" Amaryllis cried out as she figured out what you were insinuating.
Furrowing her brows, Kohaku grit her teeth together and started seething with anger, "Why that mother fu--"
"I think all the 'magic' I did, as well as the judo techniques Nikki taught me, set him off a little, so he's keeping an eye on me," you told her, then turned to look into her bright blue eyes. "I'm going to use this opportunity to explain everything that we've discovered here to Senku, or at least someone on the science team. I can also gather info from them too."
"Won't that make them suspicious of you if you try to leave?" Ginro questioned you with worry. "Can you take me with you?"
"I'll figure something out. And no, you stay here, Ginro," you said as you flicked his forehead, then placed the fragments that you were holding in the mouse Kohaku was holding. "I'll be alright. Just send Ryusui out of here."
-Senku's POV-
"AHHHH!"
Senku turned his head toward Suika, who was sitting in front of the mice sent over from the spy team. He spotted the stone fragments that were delivered, and a large grin appeared on his face.
"That must be the first batch!" He cried with a grin on his face. Holding the fragments in his hand, he wickedly stated, "We're taking advantage of our pals getting petrified for 'operation chop-chop escape!'"
"I knew you were all about just being logical, Senku-chan, but still! This is borderline madness!" Gen cried with a worried expression on his face. Suddenly, in the corner of his eye, the mentalist spotted a hint of movement coming through the bridge of the palace. "We have to hide!"
The three of them shuffled out of the way to hide within the greenery. As they hid, they spotted a familiar figure walking behind a warrior of large stature, with a frown on her face. It was none other than Senku's lover herself.
"What is (Y/N)-chan doing outside of the palace?!" Gen whispered frantically as he placed his hands on Senku's shoulders.
With furrowed brows, the scientist replied honestly, "I don't know. But by the looks of it, she had no choice."
"Suika wonders what they're talking about..." the little girl wondered as she stared at her friend, who seemed to be speaking to the warrior about something seriously.
The three of them moved closer as they continued on their way, making sure that they were to hear anything that comes out of their mouth.
"Before we head over to the village, tell me, (Y/N)-chan. Where did you learn to do those tricks with your hands?" The warrior asks her with a smirk on his face.
She sighs as she crosses her arms, "I've already told Ibara-sama before that I've been blessed from the heavens above."
"Sure, sure, but you can't do any of those flower tricks without a few up your sleeve, right?" He chuckled, causing (Y/N) to narrow her eyes as she stared at the back of his head.
The swordswoman firmly tells him in a calm voice, "But you can't really explain it, can you?"
"I can't explain how you do it, but the missing flowers in the garden can." The man then turned around to look down at the girl, causing them to stop in their tracks. "This little act of yours is quite cute, but it'd be even cuter if you dropped the whole 'angelic' persona."
"What makes you think it's a persona, Moz-sama?" She asks as she gazes at him.
Both Senku and Gen widen their eyes upon hearing that name. The way Haru described the man to them, it looks like they were right about Moz being an absolute unit. He was going to be a problem.
"Just a hunch." Just like the problem he was, Senku saw Moz take his hand and place it under the girl's chin to tilt it upward. Senku kept himself composed as he watched what was happening in front of him. Though, in reality, he wanted to intervene. "Maybe if I do this--"
The girl then turns her head away as she lightly slaps his hand away from her face. The green-haired boy felt a bit of relief, seeing how she wasn't going to deal with that kind of shit, even in the harem. As (Y/N) did that, she then spots the little science team hiding in the forest, widening her (E/C) eyes in realization that they'd been watching the exchange the whole time.
"I don't want you to touch me, even if I am in the harem. I do not belong to you, and I'm not a toy." (Y/N) strongly asserted herself to Moz. Her tone may have been firm, but she still kept her composure.
"Heh, that's my girl," Senku mutters to himself as a satisfied smirk curls onto his visage.
"Good for (Y/N)-chan, but hopefully, he doesn't do anything bad to her..." Gen quietly commented.
The warrior stares at her with amusement, then a wide grin grows as he speaks, "I got it, I got it... but that's better. You really are cute this way."
"Stop stalling and lead me so I can head to my village and talk to them. If we can do this fast enough, I will help you on the boat. Do you understand?" she chastised him, but emphasized a few words, hoping that the science team would get what she was saying. They fortunately did.
"Yep, yep, got it," Moz replies nonchalantly as he turns around to lead her once again.
(Y/N) then turns her head toward the science team with a hopeful gaze as she continued walking. With a grin, Senku responds as if his partner could hear him,
"Heh, understood, slowpoke."
-To be Continued-
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I would've made it longer, but for pacing reasons, I'm going to try make the next one longer!
Also, as I've stated on my profile, and the title of the fic, I'm doing bi-weekly updates again because college is killing me.