Steps to survival

Chapter 32 : Got Them This Time!

Ginro whimpers and squeaks sentences that aren't even audible, I can feel my joints stiffen and a drop of sweat trickles down to my collarbone.

"What are you planning to do with an iron tube?" I heard Kaseki half-whisper. I glanced over my shoulder, Senku was crouched down and I get a hint of what he's up to, he starts pouring the gunpowder into the pipe and chuckled tensely.

"We're down to the last of our gunpowder. Who would be thought that we'd be using it for a bluff?"

"How can I help?" I blurt out and feel my pulse quicken from the adrenaline. Though Magma had a broken left arm, he still had his dominant one. It took a bit of coaxing from Gen but he eventually agreed to go along with our plan, which could either work or go really bad.

Senku lifted his makeshift bluff and raised it with his strained arms. "Magma, now!" Gen half-shouted and flagged him. The rock was hurled through the air and the moment it was in sight of the enemy a loud boom echoed across the area.

As planned, Gen wrestled Senku weakly for the 'gun'.

"Hyouga, quick! Take everyone and get out of here!" He glanced at me and subtly winked at me before dashing over the bridge frantically.

"We need to retreat, now! This village already has guns!" In reaction the three brutes at the other end ran back into the shadowed trees, cursing angrily. Hyouga, on the other hand still had his eyes squinted closed and were oddly calm.

"A working firearm. Which means you must be him," the white-haired man concluded.

"Heheheh. It was very considerate of you guys to give us time to finish preparing," for the first time ever, I saw Hyouga's startled eyes open. "The Kingdom of Science is ready." Wait, wait. Did he seriously just say 'we're ready'. He's joking right, what if they come back? We're obviously underprepared for this, hell we have nothing, nada!

"Huh. I'm sure Tsukasa will be simply delighted to hear that," the man replied easily.

"Pass on the message for me. Tell Tsukasa Ishigami Senku is still alive, and let him know we're waiting for him with the ten billion rifles we made using the power of science," and with that, they fled.

"Hmm, I bet you'd never imagine that you'd declare war if you were still in high school would you?" I cursed and finally let out a deep breath I didn't realise that I was holding.

Kohaku, Ginro and I hauled Kinro onto the bridge, he was falling in and out of consciousness.

"Ah! He's dead! Kinro's dead!" Ginro fell to his knees and dramatically held up his hands in agony, all while Kohaku and I dragged him up by the hands and onto his stomach and he managed to keep himself up.

"If he is dead, which he's not, he would've fallen to his death off of the bridge already," I snapped.

"Yep. I'm still alive. Don't go killing me off, Ginro," Kinro groaned and flopped over onto his back, panting in his dazed state.

I swear Senku could've been a ninja or something because he managed to sneak up behind me silently and shove a glass funnel into Kinro's slightly parted mouth. He made my body jolt and I almost managed to flaw over the edge of the bridge.

"Damn it, Senku. Put a bell on it!" I groaned, making Kinro chuckle dryly. Senku shrugged and continued to pour a clear liquid into the funnel.

"Acetanilide, an antipyretic and an analgesic," he explained with a cork in between his teeth, I reached out and took it out of his mouth so that he could speak clearly, he nodded at me.

"We had to whip up a batch in order to make the sulfa drug. And now, a pinch of this!" He raised his fist and threw it back down, a salt-like consistency was thrown down over Kinro's injured torso.

"Rub some of this in your wounds and you'll be fine by tomorrow. Probably. Here, have some more!" He threw more onto him. If there wasn't any context you would be thought that this was a baptism.

"That soon?!"

"You're making that up aren't you?" Chrome looked from him to me, I shrugged.

"If he gets enough rest, that could be that case," I rubbed my temples, just before he could throw more, I caught Senku's wrist and plucked the jar from under his arm and properly tended to our wounded guard.

"God save any of your future patients," I shook my head, making the tense air grow a bit lighter.

The next day, we all watched over Kinro carefully, he was climbing up the ladder to the science shed.

"It doesn't hurt at all now," he said calmly. Lie, his arms were shaking slightly, his form was rigid, it was obvious that he was still in pain. A second later, his face becomes sour. Knew it.

"Nope, come on. Get down soldier," I sighed.

"I can't guard the village if I'm bedridden for some minor injury. There's no telling when those bastards come back to attack us in full force," he said, making his wound to reopen and start bleeding onto the ladder.

"You won't be able to guard at all if you keep being too stupid. What use would a wounded guard be? None." I spit and unfolded my arms.

"You're so dedicated!" I heard Chrome exclaim.

"Course he's dedicated. He's still Kinro," Ginro somewhat pouted.

"Yeah, Kai's right. But he's got it wrong, though. We can predict exactly when they'll be coming back," Senku's voice rumbled through the window of the shed, we still heard it though.

"They'll time their attack to occur during a storm 'cause they're afraid of out nonexistent rifles. Gen will talk them into it," he concluded. I guess that makes sense, but sometimes we underestimate how smart these people can be. Ne, I guess we'll have to wait and see.

We all later gathered around Kinro as he put on his new glasses, they weren't too bad? It kind of made him look a bit older than he actually was but otherwise, decent.

"Aw man, he looks like a badass!" I could already guess who said that. People were whispering all sorts.

"I like them."

"And those should cure his fuzzy eye sickness?"

"Sorcery or science, whatever you call it, it's impressive," the ex-chief nodded in approval. Then I heard a small voice talk from behind me.

"I'm so glad Kinro won't have to deal with the fuzzy sickness anymore," Suika clenched her fists happily. Kohaku and I turned around to face her fully.

"Oh, hey. You got some new glasses too, huh?" Kohaku asked politely.

"Sure did! Different than Kinro's, but this just feels more right for me, y' know?" She said cheerfully.

I'm just glad everyone's in a better mood now, it's not as tense. And I'm thankful.