Together - A Senku Ishigami Love Story (Dr.Stone)

Chapter 11

How long had she been walking along this damned beach? Tachi's hand rose to shield her aching eyes from the fading sunlight. She wasn't foolish enough to walk along the waterfront, not with the ever present risk of sunburn, and so stayed close to the treeline, hidden beneath the still close to bare tree branches, the leaves still in the process of growing in. She was well into her second day of walking, but still refused to give up on her chosen direction, she had stood by the seaside enough times to remember that the prevailing wind blew from the east, and so east she walked, against the dry breeze which blew the occasional grains of sand up and passed her dry cracked lips into her mouth. She would walk for another 3 days at most before she turned back and searched for her landmark, a stack of stones she had built the first night she had spent on the shoreline before she had began east. Once she got back to there she would walk west for 5 days, and if she didn't find anything she could come back, she could follow the river back to Chrome... She clicked her tongue, disappointed in herself, her grip on her pack tightening, no doubt, not now not ever, she was going to find them, she wasn't even going to have to turn back, she had already chosen the correct direction. A sigh escaped her and her pace slowed slightly, her eyes settling onto the fallen tree in the distance just behind a rock formation. On approach she could see it had been there for quite some time, the surface blasted smooth by the sand, she set herself atop it, slouching over slightly and resting her forearms onto her thighs. She didn't recognise this, it was just a good place to stop and rest. The tree would provide her with some firewood, and the rock formation would shield her from the winds, the last of the suns rays began fading away and she rose her head in time to watch it disappear into nothing, her surroundings falling into a shadowy dusk, the froth of the waves crashing onto the white sand barely visible. Her hand rose to run along her sweat covered neck, it was tempting to keep walking, but she doubted she would find a better spot than this to stop for the evening.

Leaning forward she removed her shoes, her calloused feet glad to be free of the sweaty confines of her leather sandals. They ached from the continuous rubbing, and with a tired huff she pulled herself up, walking slowly towards the water. A quiet hiss fell through her chapped lips as the salt water entered into the small friction burns, but the water was so soothing she was able to see past it, closing her eyes and tiling her head upwards, eyes closing over for a few short moments. It was easy to remember things like this, the feeling of the cold water lapping over her toes, the sea breeze tickling her skin, the fresh smell of the sea invading her nostrils. A small smile grasped her lips, her eyes opening barely to gaze outward into the darkened waters before her. Grandma Muryo would have loved this, the open sea all to herself? She would have crafted a boat and gone out in search of true adventure. Tachi chuckled quietly, Grandma Layla would have loved it to. She always said the worst thing that had happened to them was the internet after all. This world, this basic, free, sweat of your own brow world? This would have been for her. Her mother would likely have flourished here to, she was a strong woman, born and raised on the same ranch Tachi was, she was a hard headed, take-no-shit kind of person, no one got in her way, her husband though, was quite different. What would her father have done? Died in a week, that's what, and her brothers...what would have become of Yoshio and Hiroaki? Yoshi was older, he was stronger, he may have been OK but what about Hiro? He was still just a kid, if he had awoken on his own... she closed her eyes again tightly, banishing her own thoughts before they could go on. There was no point in worrying, crying, not now. Yet she couldn't stop the sombre expression which gripped her features, the empty feeling which rose up from the suddenly icy waters and flowed through every vein in her body, a hopeless darkness winding it's thick arm around her torso and crushing her chest. She retreated from the waters in silence, her body suddenly heavy, footsteps laboured. It was easier not to think about it when she was with others. Senku, Taiju, Chrome, people she trusted, those who made her feel wanted, needed.