Perfectly Balanced [WEEKLY UPDATES]

Chapter Four: A Signal Beyond

4. A Signal Beyond

09-01-2022

CW/TW appears later.

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The four of you had finished making gunpowder but needed to put it out. All of you used the water from the hot spring to put out the smoke and fire, but you noticed something coming from the forest ahead of you.

It was smoke.

"Senku, Taiju, Yuzuriha, look up ahead!" you cried out, pointing in the direction of the plume.

Senku's eyes widened as he saw it. "A smoke signal!"

"It couldn't be Tsukasa, since he's in the opposite direction...and it's too coincidental if it was a mountain fire," you thought out loud, then quickly faced the scientist. "Senku, do you think--"

"Yes. Exactly. Now, this is exhilarating," he answered with a nervous chuckle.

"Well, what should we do? Put it out or keep it going?!" you frantically questioned him. A smoke signal meant that there were people other than you, but sending another signal would alert Tsukasa of your location.

"Burn it! Send a beacon!" He ordered. Your friend threw some of the gunpowder into the flames, along with creating two more signals. "Throw everything that can burn into the fires! We're going to run out of gunpowder!"

Taiju began to run off and cried, "I'll go gather some wood!"

"We'll get some together!" you added, and Yuzuriha nodded, running with you to find some dry wood in the forest.

You found pieces of wood quickly and began to collect them. Yuzuriha was collecting some nearby. However, you felt something was going to go wrong. Your gut had tightened, and you immediately dropped everything you had in your hands, taking the bokken from the sheath you created out of lion skin. Pointing your weapon forward, you listened closely to the sounds around you. Then, you heard heavy footsteps heading towards your friend.

"Yuzuriha!" You called out to her as you ran forward. "Get out of the way!"

"(Y/N)-chan?" you heard her call as you saw the primate approaching.

You swung your weapon, putting your other hand on the flat side of the wood to push a spear out of the way before it had touched your friend's neck. Tsukasa was on the other end of the spear with his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes sharply looking into yours. He was powerful, with you using all of your strength to protect Yuzuriha as she hastily moved out of the way. You have to thank Senku for carving you such a sturdy weapon.

"This is not how I wanted to experience you fight for the first time, but damn, you're much stronger than I had actually thought," you smirked. "I would've hesitated to do this but I can't let my friend die, now can I? All this adrenaline is rushing through me right now. How amusing~"

The primate looked amused at the fact that you were blocking his spear. "Your strength is as impressive as Taiju's. Unfortunately, since Senku has successfully created gunpowder, either both of you die, or you can join me and abandon science for the sake of this world's future and the young."

"For the sake of this world's future? What kind of future doesn't have all the things we had? Science and scientists were involved with nearly everything good in the world!" You explained to him. "Don't you want entertainment back? Music? Technology? Things to help make life easier?"

"To get those back, we would have to release the corrupted, older generation, who will also bring back all the bad things science has brought," Tsukasa retorted. "I only want the young and pure to rule the world."