Perfectly Balanced [ON-GOING]

Chapter Twenty: To Have and Hold

20. To Have and Hold

3-18-2023

A/N: Thank you for the nice and funny comments in all my previous chapters. It makes me happy to know some people still enjoy my work.

They give me a reason to keep writing.
ε=ε=┏(・v・)┛

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"Your name's are Ishigami Senku and (Y/N) (L/N)."

You and Senku looked at Ruri with immense unease. How did she know your full names, and why is the village named after Senku's last name?

"Let's talk away from the villager's eyes and ears. I will provide more answers and tell you everything," said Ruri, and she turned away to walk up the steps of the Chief's hut.

The two of you followed her and walked inside the hut. You froze in your tracks when you saw a familiar symbol above the Chief's throne. How did you not notice it before?

"Senku..." you tugged on his sleeves and pointed at it.

The moment he looked up, his crimson eyes widened at the sight of it. A triangle pointed downwards and an arrow pointed up on top of it. A smile curved upwards on his face, and he approached Ruri. "Ah, now it all makes sense. If everyone on Earth turned into stone, then who the heck started this village? And why do Ruri and Kohaku only look half-Japanese? The mystery's been solved!"

Chrome, Kohaku, Kinro, Ginro, and Suika were surprised, but then they had confused expressions on their faces.

"Nope, sorry. I still don't understand a thing," Kohaku apologized.

"Ah! Do you mean that it's no coincidence that you and the village share the same name? But Ruri knew about Senku and (Y/N)?!" Chrome told all of you.

You nodded. "Yes. She probably knows because of two characters in your folklore, which is us."

"Yes," Ruri asserted.

Now Kohaku and Chrome's eyes were as wide as plates. The brunette blurted out, "Folklore?! That folklore?! Like the stories with Momotaro and his gorilla?!"

"You mean the one the priestess' pass down to every generation? The One Hundred tales..." The blonde lioness mentioned.

The priestess closed her eyes and began explaining, "The story that mother told me tells of great strength and great heart. The 100th tale of the One Hundred Tales. It's called 'Ishigami Senku.' The man who started this village... Our founder was--"

"Ishigami Byakuya. My...father," Senku interrupted. His eyes had a solemn look to them, as they appeared slightly glassy. You knew exactly what he was feeling at the moment. The feeling of missing a parent so dear to you. If you could, you would do whatever you could to give him comfort, but you needed information first.

Ruri then began to explain the story of how this village started. As she was explaining it to all of you, you could recall some of the details as though it was yesterday.

-Flashback-

"Run!"

A smaller, younger version of you, Senku, and Taiju were running through the halls of your elementary school when the school day was over. The three of you were carrying a large anatomy model, after stealing it from your science classroom. Your teacher had unfortunately spotted your thievery, and you were doing your best to escape the school before getting caught.

"This was a bad idea, Senku!" You cried out. "Couldn't you have bought one yourself?!"

"Kukuku, no can do! The old man's got teacher's pay, so we gotta make do with this one!" The little scientist replied with a smile.