Chapter Text
The great detective Suika tries to move as she hears Gen and Minami speaking above her, and the outlines of other people behind them. Unfortunately for her, after the strange green flash, none of her limbs cooperated.
"Suika's… a magnifying glass?" She watches Gen squint and lean down, and his face looks weird and round, like she's seeing him really up close! She tries to talk to him, to ask him if he can help her, but she can't get out a single noise.
Suika lets out a hum in her head. She would say the hum out loud if she could speak, apparently, but she's stuck as this magnet frying glass or whatever Gen called it! She thinks and thinks. How can she turn back to a cute, ordinary, detective girl? After all, how is she supposed to solve this mystery if she can't even move? If she can't interview anyone? Everyone's counting on her to solve it!
She squints (in her mind, in reality she hasn't moved one bit) to look closer at Gen. When she focuses, she thinks she sees something. In fact, something seems to be glowing by Gen's head! She focuses, and sees her vision zoom in on it.
It's a leaf again! In fact looks like the same leaf from the other day, the mysterious one she saw in Gen's hair before she discovered Flute's body! But why is it glowing?
She gasps again (in her head, once again). This must be a hint!! Whatever green light turned her into this, it gave her the ability to see hints to solve this murder! Now she just needs to figure out how to turn into an ordinary girl again.
And then, all of a sudden, she remembers the stories that Gen and Nikki and all of the other modern people have told her, about the real life magical girls who could transform into magical outfits to fight monsters! That's it, maybe she needs to do the same thing they did! She's fighting some sort of monster, right? Fighting whatever monster could kill poor, innocent Flute, and turn them into a statue!
With that, she gains the determination she needs. Nikki said the transformations were really sparkly, right? Lots of sparkles, and ribbons, and girls glowing in a shimmering light! She imagines holding a glittery pen in the air, and calling out "Suika, transform!"
In her mind, she sees a magnifying glass, sparkling and glowing in a light green shade, and watches as arms grow out the sides, and it gets bigger and bigger and bigger! And then, legs grow, and it starts looking just like Suika! Her clothes appear on it, and they're blue and shimmery and super pretty! And then, she watches as she does a little spin and a pose, showing off her outfit!
"Suika! How did you do that? I saw you turn into a magnifying glass in front of my eyes!"
Suika blinks, and she's suddenly out of that shimmery place, and she's laying back in the crowd again. Everything is super duper blurry, and she instinctually squints to try to make out each shape. She thinks it's Minami in front of her, and she definitely Gen standing next to her— that white and black split is unmistakable. "Where's Suika's helmet?" she asks. "Suika can't see without her helmet!"
She hears someone hiss, and as she feels around, she feels the wet feeling of a watermelon on her finger. She sighs. "Are the glass thingies broken?" she asks. It's easy enough to make a new watermelon head, if her glasses are broken, she'll have to ask Senku to make her a whole new pair.
Luckily, Gen grabs the pieces of glass, and sets them in her hand, where she can feel that they are whole and unbroken. She lifts them to her eyes, and finally, she can see. She watches as part of the crowd leaves, satisfied that she's been found, while the others stay close.
"Suika-chan? Gen asks again, crouching down to her level. "Are you okay?"
Suika nods vigorously. "Yeah! And Suika found a clue!" She watches as both Minami and Gen gape at her, and as more people gather closely.
"Suika-chan, what on earth are you talking about?" Gen asks. He puts his hand on her forehead, as if checking to make sure she's fine.
She holds out her right arm and points an accusatory finger at him. "You!" she cries out. The right side of her vision goes blurry, but justice is more important! "You're very suspicious, Gen!"
"Me?" Gen says, incredulous. "Suika-chan, you were just somehow turned into a magnifying glass! Frankly, I'm ready to take you straight to our dear Senku-chan to try to figure out what on earth happened!"
"The leaf!" Suika points to Gen's hair, where the leaf is still sitting. "It was there the other day, right before I found Flute's body. And the same exact leaf is sitting there now?"
Almost in a daze, Gen reaches up to his hair, and pulls out the leaf. "When on earth did this get in here…?" he asks quietly. "I didn't even feel it."
"And that's the proof! You turned poor Flute into a statue, and then you tried to turn Suika into a magnet frying glass!"
"A magnet frying— Suika-chan, what on earth do you mean?" He opens his mouth as if to continue, but then the leaf floats up, as if being carried by a gentle wind. And then, it simply floats in the middle of them.
"Hey! My name is Mecha Senku!" it says. "I have some sweet science facts to tell you all. For example: Gen's symptoms he's been experiencing lately, along with many of the other members of the Kingdom of Science, are because of a mysterious case of pregnancy! So if you see anyone with a collection of marshmallows, you know why!"
She watches Gen gasp, and a few others in the background like Magma look down, mouth gaped open, apparently to surprised to speak.
"Sorry, what? The leaf is talking, and saying I'm pregnant? And also says he's… Senku-chan?"
"Not Senku, I'm Mecha Senku!" And then, the leaf flies closer. "I'll continue to stay by Gen's side, for the immediate future."
"A Senku sticking next to Gen?" A voice, who Suika thinks might be Zero, calls from the crowd. "This is a total Sengen moment!"
Gen, for once, looks at an entire loss for words. So do many others in the crowd.
"You hear that, folks!" Minami yells out. "A mysterious outbreak of male pregnancies is happening to some of the very residents of the Kingdom of Science! And not just that— I'm getting reports that the same is happening to some people in America, as well as a remote island on the outskirts of Japan! Whatever this is seems to be affecting the entire world!"
"What are you even talking about?" another voice calls from the crowd, but it's brushed off as Minami keeps on talking. Suika tunes her out to slink into herself a bit. She thought she was onto something with the leaf that glowed when she was a magnifying glass, but it wasn't anything that could solve any of the mysterious happenings.
But then, she perks up with a sudden realization. "Gen!" she says as she leaps to her feet. He seems to startle in place. "Since the suspicious things about you weren't actually suspicious, you are now going to be Detective Suika's assistant!"
Gen stares at her, looks down, and seems to come to a decision after a couple moments with a sigh. "You know what, whatever keeps me from having to examine whatever the fuck just happened here. So, Suika-chan, where to?"
"We have to go to a place with a ton of suspects," Suika responds, determined. "Lets find where everyone else is!" She skips back to the village, and with a blink, she looks back to see Gen following, hands tucked in his sleeves like always. She smiles, pleased, and follows the scent of the hints to solve this mystery!
After she gets a new watermelon mask carved, with Gen helping her find the perfect size, she can now hunt for the real criminal freely!
When she finally finds a group, it's in a little part of the woods, just outside of the village, in a clearing surrounded by beautiful flowers. There, Nikki, Taiju, Yuzuriha, Ruri, Ukyo, Tsukasa and Francois are all gathered together, sitting at a table and sharing tea.
"This is totally fishy!" Suika whispers to Gen. "Look at how they're gathering, they must be telling each other secrets!"
"Or they're just having a nice tea party," Gen whispers back. "Look at them, there's utterly nothing suspicious there. See, you can see Francois-chan pouring them tea. And look at how tiny that teacup is in Tsukasa-chan's hand, it looks absolutely ridiculous."
Suika squints. No, her suspicion senses are tingling— something isn't quite right here. But what?
"Gen," she says, serious. "Suika's going to turn into a magnet frying glass again. When Suika does, Suika wants you to hold me up so Suika can watch them, and see if Suika can see anything suspicious. Suika thinks that the clues to solve the murder will glow when Suika looks!"
"It's magnifying— wait a second, Suika-chan, you can turn back into it?" Gen says, voice growing louder into a cry at the end. Suika frantically shushes him, waving her hands.
"Well, Suika doesn't know for sure! But Suika needs to try, for Flute's sake!" She carefully sets down her watermelon mask so it won't break again. She then closes her eyes, and imagines doing another magical girl transformation, with a spin to finish it all off. And then, with a blink, she's suddenly much smaller, and everything is zoomed in much more, and— oh no, she's falling!"
"Ah! Suika-chan!" she hears Gen whisper yell, and suddenly, hands are grabbing her as she hears him let out a muffled oof.
"My haori is dirty now…" he whines quietly, but he dutifully sits back up and holds Suika up. If she could, she would thank him! But right now, she's a magnet frying, or magnifying, or whatever, thing that she can find hints with! Gen slowly moves her to look at the tea party, like a dutiful assistant.
There's something strange there— there's a few glowing things around Francois and Ruri, and something by Tsukasa's teacup, but what she's really drawn to is the bright glow next to Taiju's ears, and the even brighter glow behind Yuzuriha's back. She squints in her head, and transforms back. Gen gasps, and she lands on top of him in a pile of clothes.
"Gen! I was right, there's something very suspicious about them! Taiju and Yuzuriha!" She leaps out of the bushes, and points a finger at them. "Taiju! Yuzuriha! You two are suspicious, you must answer my questions!"
Everybody except Ukyo and Francois leaps a bit in their seats. That makes sense, cause Ukyo hears everything, so he definitely would have heard them there, and Francois knows everything, so it's no surprise they didn't know. She shakes her thoughts off. "Come with me! I have to interview you two to clear you of suspicion!"
Both Taiju and Yuzuriha give each other a look, and then they follow behind without question. They must be intimidated by the great detective Suika, and know they need to obey her immediately! She hears Ruri and Ukyo whispering, and Ruri giggling, but that doesn't matter— all that matters is solving this mystery!
When she's gotten them in the bushes, they both blink at Gen. "Gen-kun? What are you doing here?"
"Ah, Yuzuriha-chan and Taiju-chan! It seems like I've been dragged into our dear Sherlock Suika-chan's mystery solving. Her Watson, of sorts. And she thinks the two of you are suspicious!" He finishes with a clap of his hands.
"Us?" Taiju and Yuzuriha say in unison, looking at each other. Yuzuriha clears her throat. "Why do you think that, Suika? If it's about the goat, then—"
"No, it's not the goat!" she exclaims. "Taiju! You have something glowing on your ears, and Yuzuriha, you have something glowing on your back! And it's mighty suspicious, it must be a clue!"
They both give each other alarmed looks. Suika watches as they have a silent conversation with their eyes, like some of the couples in the village seem to have. Then, quietly, Yuzuriha leans down, and whispers in Suika's ear.
"I can tell you, Suika, but we should go a little further away." She glances back. "I don't want anyone else to overhear."
Suika nods seriously. This will help her solve the mystery, she knows it!
So they walk, and Gen complains, but Gen always complains so she ignores it. Finally, they've gotten far enough where they're probably out of Ukyo's hearing range, and Yuzuriha begins to talk.
"Suika," she says. "This might come as a shock, but…" she inhales, but doesn't continue. Then in a burst, Taiju yells.
"Yuzuriha and I aren't human!"
Gen gapes. Suika blinks. Yuzuriha looks sheepish.
"Well, we're not entirely not human, either! We're just sort of… well, Taiju-kun, should we show them?"
Taiju gives a determined nod. Show them what? Suika tilts her head.
Taiju covers his ears with his hands, and then pinches them really hard, as he pulls away his hands, Suika can see that they're waaaay longer, and pointy! They extend as far as Taiju's hand comes, before finally stopping as they bounce, as he pulls his hand away. And then Yuzuriha, she pats her back, and then brings her hands down and pats lower, and then pulls them back, and following are something that— well, they look like butterfly wings, like the purple and black ones with the white dots that Senku calls the Sasakia charonda, and then that Gen had immediately corrected it, calling it the purple emperor or something like that. But these are completely transparent, and tinted a yellow that shifts to pink, and it looks like one of those shiny rocks.
"What the fuck?" Gen yelps, a loud shout that rivals even one from Taiju.
"Ah! Gen, language! Don't curse in front of Suika!"
"Yuzuriha! Taiju!" Suika finally exclaims, ignoring Taiju's outburst. "I've heard about this in stories! Yuzuriha, you're like a fairy from the Pixie Hollow Never Land place! And Taiju, you're like an elf from those Lord Rings movies!"
"You're so smart, Suika!" Taiju exclaims. "That must be why you're such a good detective!"
"Taiju-chan's an elf? There's an elf, and not our resident Legolas, Ukyo?!" Gen exclaims, even louder than before.
"We're sorry that we didn't tell anyone!" Yuzuriha cries out. "But neither of us have ever told anyone, even Senku-kun! Although, he might have already figured us out by now… But still! We've only told the other person, when we found out the other was just like us when we were kids!"
Suika nods, seriously. "I can keep a secret! But does it do anything else other than giving you pretty ears and wings?"
Yuzuriha blushes. "Well, I suppose that it helps me sew faster whenever I get into one of my fits! I tend to imbue a bit of magic into those without thinking. And Taiju, you can do stuff too, right?"
"Yeah! It's the reason I can farm so well, I can also talk to the plants to hear what they want!"
"That's so cool," Suika exclaims, but then looks to the ground. "That must have been hard, then, right? Not being able to tell anyone what's really happening to you?"
"Oh, well…" Yuzuriha trails off. "I guess it has been a little lonely, not being able to explain everything to everyone. But I do have Taiju, and Taiju has me, right?"
Taiju grins and gives her another nudge of her shoulder, which causes her to stumble a bit. Still, they both smile.
Suika grins too, but then she hears a sniffle behind her. "Gen?" she asks. "You're crying? Are you okay?"
"Oh, I'm just fine! I just," and then he lets out another sob. "I'm so sorry that you feel like you couldn't tell us! My dear Yuzuriha-chan, Taiju-chan, I hope you never felt excluded!"
"Uhhh, Gen-kun?" Yuzuriha asks hesitantly. "Are you… alright?"
"Oh, that's probably because he has something growing in his belly now," Suika says matter of factly. "Same with a bunch of other people, but Suika knows exactly who yet. Maybe that'll be the thing that the great detective Suika will figure out next!"
"I…" Yuzuriha trails off. Taiju looks absolutely flabbergasted. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Come on, Gen, let's get you laying down," Suika sighs. "You gotta keep your energy if you're growing something in your belly! That's what all the others at the village always say, anyways."
"I'm sorry, can we— I— huh?" Yuzuriha stammers, but Suika ignores her in favor of patting Gen's arm sympathetically. He's really learning, because he follows along without any complaint, leaving behind a flabbergasted Yuzuriha and Taiju.
"Suika-chan, let's rest now," Gen whines. "We can nap in one of the village huts."
"Suika wants to get to Senku!" She retorts. "He was out all day on the balloon, and detective Suika couldn't report anything back! So we have to deliver today's report!"
"Oh yeah, he was, wasn't he…?" Gen sighs. "You couldn't pay me to ever get on that hot air balloon."
Suika ponders this, then perks up. "Oh! Detective Suika knows what we need to do next!"
"What's that?" Gen says, almost absentmindedly, almost placatingly.
"You're gonna come with me to go up the hot air balloon, and Suika will turn into a magnifying glass and look over the whole Kingdom of Science!"
"Didn't you hear me when I just said you couldn't pay me to get on that thing?!" Gen cries out.
"What are you yelling about, mentalist?" Senku says, poking his head out of the lab. "Keep it down."
"I— you— she—" he splutters. He stares at the both of them, before, in a huff, he marches right past Senku into the lab.
Senku stares at him as he walks by, then looks to Suika. "That's not anything like how he usually acts," he states. "What got him all pissy?"
"He's got something growing in his stomach, so he's experiencing mood swings, Suika thinks." she states. "That's what all the ladies who have babies have to deal with at first."
Senku's brow furrows, but he doesn't say anything about the thing growing in Gen's belly. Instead, he says, "Well, he's acting entirely irrational. I'll have to study him later."
"Well, he's pretty busy being detective Suika's assistant right now," she responds. "I get first dibs with him."
Senku snorts in response, and holds the curtain open so that Suika can make her way into the lab as well. There, in the very corner, Gen's already curled up into a ball on a pile of blankets.
"Told him so many times that no one can sleep in here…" Senku grumbles out. Still, he doesn't make any move to wake Gen back up. "Oi, you've been so busy solving all those crimes. You should take a nap too."
"Suika doesn't need a nap!" Suika immediately retorts, eyes wide. "Suika has to solve the mysteries that keep popping up!"
"You need your Watson for that though, right?" Senku responds, walking back over to whatever vials he always works with on his desk. "Tell you what, go lay down in that pile over there, and if you can stay up while I tell you about all of these formulas, I'll make you some cotton candy."
Suika lights up. Cotton candy! And that'll be easy enough, it's always so fun to listen to Senku's science facts! This is the easiest way that Suika could ever earn cotton candy!
But as she lays there and listens to him drone on, she feels her eyes close without permission. She needs to stay awake, because there's so much that she needs to do, like go on the hot air balloon, and maybe figure out what other shiny clues might have been at the tea party earlier, but instead, she falls right to sleep.