The Archer (Dr. Stone X OC)

Chapter 15

-Arisa POV-

She told us the story about how Senku was as a child, how he met his sister, me...
How we helped Byakuya pass the JAXA test and became an astronaut.
I smiled, remembering how we used to steal the doll from the biology room. How we tested on Taiju.
And how Byakuya actually went to space, 5 years later.

-Flashback-

Senku and I were watching the live broadcast.
"There's also an astronaut from Japan" said the journalist.
"Hey, are you terrestrial TV?" we heard Byakuya ask. "Either way, this is live right?"

He grabbed the microphone.
"Senku, knowing you, you probably aren't watching the broadcast" he said. "But I know Ari is! But, just in case... I'm going to bring home tons of scientific gifts for you. Just wait!"

"Oh, shut up" said Senku and I chuckled.
"Shoot, I gotta go. They're going to leave me behind" said Byakuya.
"Typical Byakuya" I laughed.

-End of flashback-

"The man who started the first generation of Ishigami Village..." said Senku. "Was Byakuya Ishigami. My father"
"So, Byakuya and the other astronauts weren't petrified, because they were in space" I said. "They managed to land on earth, and started this village... you're joking..."

Ruri told us how Byakuya saw the world getting petrified, how they landed on earth... how they made the village...
'That would mean... Byakuya... is dead... has been... for thousands of years...'

I held my hand in front of my mouth, I was about to cry...
"It's such a weird story that I have no idea what it means" said Suika.
"Yeah, all of humanity turned to stone thousands of years ago" said Chrome. "You know those stone statues we see all over the place? Those are all humans. 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"

"Does that mean we're all related to Senku?" asked Kohaku.
"Byakuya and I aren't blood relatives" said Senku. "So only legally. Besides, we're hundreds of generations apart. You can't call us relatives"
"Hey! What are you doing up there? This is your day!" shouted someone outside.

"It's a celebration! We have a new village chief!" shouted someone else.
"Shall we all go to the feast together?" asked Ruri.
Senku saw that I was about to cry and laid his hand on my shoulder.
I took a deep breath and forced the tears to stay down.

~

Ruri took Senku and I outside the village.
"The story ends with a message from Byakuya" she said. "I thought you two should be the only ones to hear it"
"I figured it'd be something like that" said Senku.

She told us how Byakuya made the stories, how his comrades died...
"Just as Byakuya had hoped, someone took an interest in rocks because of his stories" said Ruri.
"And that's Chrome" said Senku.

"Yes" smiled Ruri.
"The old man wasn't totally useless after all" said Senku.
We arrived at a cemetery... and we climbed to the top.

"This is the village cemetery" said Ruri. "It's said that these are the graves of Byakuya and the other founders"
"They bit the dust 3700 years ago" said Senku. "Even if the story was legit, you won't find a single bone"

"And the last of the Hundred Tales, the hundredth story..." said Ruri. "Is a message from Byakuya"
"Hey, Senku, Arisa" I could just hear Byakuya say it. "If you're listening to this story, it means you've broken through the petrification, maybe thousands of years from now. I'm doing great. I mean, I'm already dead by now, but... you know. Senku, I promised you a science gift, and that gift is the friends that the Hundred Tales will connect you with. The world was pretty fun, even after the collapse. With your science, your sisters' and your friends' help, I'm certain you can build a world that's even more fun. You won't lose. You'll rebuild civilization, from scratch if you have to, and you'll save all of humanity. Senku, I know you can do it. Senku, Arisa, take good care of each other"

I saw Senku bolting his fists...
"I'm going to look around before I go back" he said to Ruri.
"Okay" said Ruri. "I'll be back at the village"

"Yeah" said Senku and she left. "I see, that was thousands of years ago, huh? That was when we were still alone in the darkness, I was counting hundreds of millions of seconds. That takes me back. Man... that really takes me back"

I fell on my knees and began to cry.
Senku kneeled besides me and took me in his arms.
He was crying too...

I held onto Senku, he rubbed my back, comforting me...
"He's gone" I whispered. "He's really gone..."
"I know" said Senku.