The Archer (Dr. Stone X OC)

Chapter 16

-Arisa POV-

"Our weapons are broken!" said a guy.
"It's not just your weapons. Your minds are broken too" said Hyoga. "Though I'm sure that's what Senku's trying to accomplish by showing off his Japanese katanas"
His spear began to turn...

"But your katanas are no match for my kudayari and my Kanryu-style spearmanship!" he said.
He managed to kick the katana out of Magma's hand, I blocked his attack with the two knives.
"Magma, Kohaku, Ari and Kinro are the strongest ones in the village" said Gen. "Take down those four and you win, Hyoga"

"Thank you for the intel, Gen" said Hyoga. "Not that I couldn't have seen it for myself"
"What the hell is that Gen bastard doing?" said Magma. "Is he an enemy?"
"Did he betray them to betray us?" asked Kohaku. "That bat bastard!"

"No" I said. "He's secretly telling us that it'll take all four of us to take him down"
"Then let's go, Kinro, Ari, Magma!" said Kohaku.
Magma had already taken Ginro's katana and began attacking.

"He's not even listening!" I shouted.
"That's Magma for you!" said Ginro.
"Whatever. We'll fight together, whether he likes it or not" said Kohaku. "We'll use Magma's huge body as a decoy while you send me up, Kinro"

"I'll make him move backwards if necessary" I said.
I put my knives away and took my bow and arrow.
I saw Kohaku jump upwards, but Hyoga could follow.

I shot an arrow right at him, so that his mark would change and not hit Kohaku.
He moved to the side and his spear broke, without hitting Kohaku.
"A cut that's too precise to have been made with stone tools, and too well-hidden to see..." said Hyoga. "With enough force, it tears apart. It's almost like magic, isn't it? Gen, I like you. You're very proper... as a dirty bat betrayer"

"What are you talking about, Hyoga?! Why would I do such a thing?" said Gen, but he soon changed his expression. "Well, damn. You had me figured out already. That's my Hyoga"
"Th-They even cut through Hyoga's spear!" said a guy.

"Damn it! It's useless! Run for it"
"We did it!" said Ginro.
"Remarkable athleticism, coordinated teamwork, and dirty betrayal..." said Hyoga. "And the scientific knowledge to create guns, metal bows and Japanese katanas. You people truly seem to know the proper way to do things"

I began to hear something... fire...
"It would have been even more proper if you had realized that all of this was a distraction" he said and I turned around.
The buildings were on fire...

"So, that's what they were after..." said Senku.
"Get everyone to safety!" shouted Kokuyo.
A girl with a torch in her hand walked closer to us.

"Say hello to my right hand, Homura" said Hyoga. "She can properly handle herself, unlike these men and their melted brains"
She passed everyone in an instant...
'Gymnastics'
They went away, and we helped the villagers evacuate.

~

We all gathered at the science shed.
"This is what they wanted" I said. "All of us in one place"
"Can you see them?" asked Senku.

"Yes" I said. "They're in the forest, watching us"
"You can see that?" asked Ginro.
"Arisa has insanely good eyesight" said Senku.

"There's no guarantee they'll attack head-on" said Kinro. "Keep your senses spread out in every direction!"
"Can we really protect a group this big?!" said Ginro.
"Shelter the children in the science shed! It's our only hope!" said Kohaku.

"Wait!" I shouted when I heard footsteps, Homura came and made fire again.
Homura was gone as quickly as she came.
The others put out the fire quickly.
"Suika did what?" I heard Kohaku ask.

"I-I tried to stop her!" said Ginro. "She was heading up the mountain to the hot springs!"
"Senku, go, quickly!" I said. "The gas! With this wind..."
He and Kohaku took the gas masks and ran towards the hot springs.

~

"We can always rebuild the lost buildings!" said Kokuyo. "We've repelled the attackers without a single casualty! Ishigami Village has won this battle!"
I was glad when they came back safely...

~

We started rebuilding the village the next morning.
"What are you going to do now?" asked Gen. "Tsukasa's finally about to find out that you're alive"
"Yeah, and he'll also figure out that we can't produce the gunpowder for guns fast enough" said Senku.

"Wait, we can't?" asked Ginro.
"What do you mean?" asked Kaseki.
"Listen up. The revival fluid that Tsukasa's guys have been cranking out is actually pretty easy to make" said Senku. "But we haven't revived a single statue. And that's because we don't have the nitric acid we need. We could make some from dung or sea shells, but it'd take an insane amount and too much time. No nitric acid means no gunpowder either. Tsukasa is smart enough to figure that out easily. We don't even have any leftovers in our gunpowder supply"

"There's so much science lingo, I'm not quite following..." said Kohaku.
"Break it down more simply, would you?!" said Kaseki.
"He's trying to say that even if we have guns, he knows we can't really use them" I translated.

"And knowing Tsukasa, he'll have a full army built up, ready for a huge invasion" said Senku.
"The more time passes, the more fighters they have after all..." said Gen. "Which doesn't apply to our gunpowder"
"S-So what are we gonna do?!" asked Ginro.

"That should be obvious" said Senku. "We attack them first. With one of our fun scientific inventions"
"I agree" said Kohaku. "Waiting will put us at a disadvantage. So the only option is to strike first!"
"We've gotta put that weapon of science together first though" said Senku.

"What is this weapon you're talking about?" asked Chrome.
"Go ahead and cry tears of joy!" said Senku. "It's time to break out the real modern tech! the scientific advancements we've recreated from the stone age will finally reach all the way into modernity! This is the stuff that won wars in modern times. The strongest weapon in two million years of human history..."

"You... don't mean nukes, do you?" asked Gen.
"Nope" said Senku. "The strongest weapon in two million years of human history: communications technology. We're gonna make cellular phones, right here in the stone world!"
I saw the colour draining from Gen's face and I laid my hand on his shoulder.

"You'll get used to it" I said.
"A cellular phone?" said Magma. "What's that? Some kind of fish?"
I explained to the villagers what a phone was.

"You can talk to someone..." began Ginro.
"From really far away?" said Suika.
"That is definitely sorcery!" said Magma.

"Is such a thing really possible?!" asked Kohaku.
"Oh man! I wanna know how that works!" said Chrome, even Kaseki was excited.
"And that'll be our weapon?" asked Kohaku.

"You bet it will. Communications can completely turn the tide in a battle" said Senku. "Suppose we have a double agent who leaks intel to us in real time... tells us where there aren't many fighters for example. If we coordinate our efforts the right way, we might be able to dismantle the Tsukasa Empire without bloodshed"

"But who would be our double agent?" asked Ginro.
"They're already out there" I said. "Two of them: Taiju and Yuzuriha!"
"Granted, this time it'll just be a regular phone, not the smart kind" said Senku.

"We can do this!" said Chrome. "We were able to make sulfa drugs, and they took a ton of work too!"
"Uh, listen..." said Gen. "You guys clearly aren't aware of this, but this road map is full of implausible things"

"Nothing implausible about it" said Senku. "No matter how far off the goal may seem, if you stick to the rules, you'll get there ten billion percent of the time. That's how science works. We have a few months to finish it"
"What do you mean?" asked Kohaku.

"That's how long we have before Tsukasa's full-on assault" said Senku. "What's your take, mentalist?"
"Let's see... thinking like Tsukasa" said Gen and his voice changed. "We control the revival fluid. The more time that passes, the greater our advantage in manpower. Yes. But it's Senku we're up against. If we give him too much time, he'll start mass-producing gunpowder"

"Your voice imitations are way too accurate" said Senku.
"First of all... aren't Taiju and Yuzuriha in danger if Tsukasa finds out you're still alive?" asked Chrome.
"Won't they be killed?" asked Kohaku.

"That won't be an issue for two reasons" I said. "One, Tsukasa probably thinks I was the one who revived Senku on my own. So it's possible Yuzuriha and Taiju didn't know Senku survived. And second of all, they are potential hostages to them. They won't waste that"
"The rules of the game are simple" said Senku. "We're going to make cell phones in order to take Tsukasa down with a pre-emptive strike. Our deadline is spring"

~

"It sure makes a difference having so many people to help" said Chrome, everyone in the village was working together.
"It's all because Senku won the seat of the village chief" said Kohaku.
"Good news indeed" said Senku, who was out of breath already. "We're taking on the huge task of making cell phones in the stone world. There's a mountain of hurdles we need to clear"

"Oh yeah!" said Chrome excited. "That cell phone thing! Tell me how it lets you talk to people really far away! C'mon, tell me! Hurry up!"
"How does it work?!" even Kaseki joined the excitement. "Hurry up and tell me!"
"Give me some space!" said Senku. "You're getting way too excited"
"Your own fault, Senku" I said and went away.

"Ari, I'm telling you, your brother has lost it" said Gen suddenly.
"You just figured that out?" I chuckled. "There has been something I wanted to ask you, why do you call me Ari?"
"That's what Tsukasa told me" he said and I frowned.

"That's weird" I said. "He only heard that nickname from Senku a few times... I wonder why he told you that was my name"
"What is your full name?" he asked.
"Arisa" I said. "But Ari is fine, I was just wondering. Now, what made you think my brother lost it?"

He pointed at the craft team.
"He's going to make cotton candy" he said and I chuckled. "You don't think he's lost it?"
"If you grew up with Senku, you understand a little bit how he thinks" I said. "It's probably just for testing something, and in the meantime, making cotton candy"
In the end I was right, it was to test it before trying it with the gold to make golden strings.

~

I was laughing, seeing Ginro and Kinro pulling the rope from one side to the other.
"What's that fluffy stuff?" asked Kohaku.
Senku put a stick in it and it became cotton candy.
He gave it to everyone in the village, who loved it, like it was heaven on earth.

"They've never had any actual candy before" said Gen.
"Yeah. It's just cotton candy, but for someone who's never had it before, it must be a mind-blowing pleasurable drug" said Senku.

"Gotta thank Homura for making the materials for us by starting that fire, huh?" said Gen.
"Gen..." said Senku. "Do you know what kind of woman Homura is?"
"What's going on? Do you get curious about girls too, Senku?" said Ginro suddenly. "Do you have a thing for petite girls?"

"No, I don't think that's what he meant" said Chrome.
"You guys don't know Senku very well" said Kohaku.
"We're being watched" I said. "All of us. By that Homura chick"

"I'm sure we are" said Gen.
"Oh, we know where she is" said Senku. "Arisa can see her"
"She can?!" said Chrome.

"Yeah, she's up in that tree in the distance" I said. "I mean, with pink clothes, you kind of stand out in all that green"
"I don't see a thing..." said Ginro.
"Well, Homura respects Hyoga like crazy" said Gen. "She'd never disobey him if he told her to watch us. So she won't cause us any trouble if we leave her be, but I don't think we could get her to switch sides or anything"