Chapter Text
The quiet was deafening, to say the least.
The victory against Stanley and Xeno didn’t end in hurrays, or even shouts from Chrome, but instead resulted in wavering and teary-eyed smiles from those of the Junior Science Brigade. The triumphant buzz felt like static in their bodies, though however quickly neutralized from the images of the wounded and bloodied at the end of their fight.
The fight didn’t end in the corpses of friends and foe alike on top of one another, due to the petrification device, luckily, but the war ended as quietly as it came:
Silent, but devastating.
But yet again, it was another win for the Kingdom of Science. It was, just another war in a new life. Another war that resulted in kids growing up even sooner than need be.
The grievances that one can assume the leader of the (now enlarged) Kingdom of Science have thought of were many, with multiple ideas going from 100 to 0.
For Senku, leader of the foes-turned-allies, the thoughts he processed haunted his mind like a whisper in the night; hauntingly clear and taut. The ideas bounced around like an invasive species, taking every ounce of energy he had left and sapped it into the over thinking of regrets he had. From preventing his friends getting hurt, to how they could’ve ended everything more peacefully, the whispers of “what ifs” came in like a thundering storm.
Unfortunately, most of the Kingdom of Science already helping the wounded, that left Senku to his own devices. He quickly calculated what the outcome of the battle has become; for a third of the Junior Science Brgidage and one eighth of Stanley’s men, they were hurt during battle. The thought dizzied Senku with the feeling of grief and looked down in shame.
Kohaku, Ryuusui, and more were only few of the injured. Many had wounds either from the bullets fired at them or the tactics that Senku used to defeat the attackers.
‘Damn it,’
Those two words echoed in Senku’s head like a mantra. ‘We should’ve prepared more, not keep our sights on the petrification only,’ Senku complained even more in his head. He sighed, feeling the exhaustion wash over him.
Solemnly, Senku lifted his head up and stared at the moonlight gleaming down in him. Lifetimes ago, his face would've been in glee at the luminary view, but after thousands of years, it just feels to that of a faded photograph with tears at the edges. The oldest friend of Senku, the Moon, let its tears of light fall upon the face of the crest fallen teen.
Cold shivers went down the green-white haired teen’s spine, shaking his frail body. He tilted his head slightly down and took cold glances at the adults around him. Senku’s eyes showed wheels turning, going round and round.
However, in the middle of the cogs in his head turning, the warmth of another body became more noticeable next to Senku. For a moment, he keeps the glance at Stanley’s men before switching directions to the man beside him. Finally, ruby red eyes landed on grey ones.
“Say, Senku-Chan, don’t you think you should be more positive? You must lift the spirits of everyone, especially after this ar-way,” the dual toned man spoke with a melancholy. The calm grin rested happily on the man’s face while the sleeves of his arms folded over one another. For the first time since the fall of Tsusuka’s Empire of Might, the man spoke in true and honest smiles without any devious intentions.
A smile forms on Senku’s face from the man speaking. The red eyed teen stuck a finger in his ear, and turned his head toward the crowd of members of the Kingdom of Science. The harden stare of his eyes soften like butter on a summer’s day at the sight of everyone getting more conscious on their win with one another. Senku removed his finger from his ear and opened his chapped lips, saying the one thing the mentalist hoped he’ll say:
“Yeah, mentalist, I think that will be a good idea.”
The smile on Gen’s face grew wider with glee and coughed a little. He raised his arms and opened his mouth to elated speaking to the crowd before him, a loopy grin on his face: “You guys are being such downers, let’s celebrate before Senku forces us to do labor once more.” After that sentence, his grin slipped a bit at the thought of labor. Whether honestly down by it or faked, a few chuckles were milked out of the crowd from some of the older Kingdom of Science members while team NASA was left confused.
Among the laughter and/or confusion, a loud snap cut through the sound of the group. With shaky legs from the fight and in homemade crutches, Ryuusui hobbled forward towards Senku and Gen.
His triumphant grin shone as his left arm tilted his captain’s hat up, completely ignoring the wound on his right arm and leg from saving Suika; with a little bit of a teeter, Ryuusui proclaimed, “Exactly! We shouldn't let come minor injuries prevent this happy celebration!” The exclamation made everyone, even those who just joined the Kingdom of Science, smile with bits of glee and poorly hidden happiness.
Ryuusui turned around to the crowd before speaking once more, “Now, go on and let’s start this party, shall we?” Cries of cheers left as everyone started to get to work, with everyone moving about to do different tasks.
Those who were left uninjured hurriedly got the supplies needed to throw a banquet, including the usual (and unsightly display) of enormous alcohol barrels and Francios’ delicious. The injured of the group went off to help with the best of their abilities. Surprisingly, even Gen went off to “help” as his excuse to leave Senku with his thoughts once more (though Senku knew better than that). People of the team NASA group simply didn’t feel comfortable with the sudden acceptance of them within the Kingdom of science.
With the group of NASA employees and trained fighters standing there, Senku looked towards their direction with a hawk’s precision. The look towards the group provided the identification of everyone who was there at the opposite standing, giving the uncertainty of wether or not the former opponents will cooperate. Finally, Senku ended with a harden gaze at the Commander of the group, finding the steely eyes of Stanley staring back at him.
The eyes of Stanley held no malicious intent, however, instead the glare of morbid curiosity was held in the sniper’s irises. The look confused Senku, for what was Stanley doing or planning? Then it hit Senku; he knew exactly what the blonde was doing. Taking the cue that perhaps the glare wasn’t in ill intent, but rather the curiosity of Stanley between another person behind Senku. Senku turned around with a grimace.
‘Let’s hope I don’t die from a stray combatant,’ was the only thought Senku had while he sweat dropped. Senku focused on the person coming behind him out of the shadows. The approaching foot steps were light and delicate, while the hands messing with the cuff links on the arms of said person were lit up by the starry sky.
At last, the person spoke to Senku, finally relieving Senku of most of his worries: “Dr. Senku, that game of cat and mouse we played was truly... elegant.” With that ending note, Dr. Xeno Wingfield came out as his claws glimmered in the night sky. He raised a hand up and flexed his palm at the purr of his catch phrase.
Senku’s eyebrows creased at the smiling face of Xeno, as Xeno stood next to him. Senku stuck his hands on his hips while Xeno crossed his arms. The Moon shone on the two once more, accentuating their cracks on their faces. With a silent huff, Senku turned his head to the side, slightly moving his body, too.
Yet, with Xeno calming Senku slightly, that didn’t quell all of his worries. With this, a lull in Senku’s voice was evident when he chuckled, “Xeno, I suppose this game of chase was.” The unspoken words from the younger hung heavy among the scientists.
‘For you, at least.’
Xeno, upon hearing these words, had his usually confident smile dropped a bit as he stared at Senku: “What do you mean? Wasn’t it fun? Wasn’t it elegant? We’ve made lot of discoveries along the way and solved part of the petrification problem.” The tension between the two stood strong between the protege and teacher. Then, a bark of Senku’s laughter seemed to get caught in the wind, leaving Senku’s hair flying around his face.
“Do you think seeing my friends die is fun? ” the green haired man spoke in a calm tone. The man with the x-marked scar simply let his eyebrows drop and bowed his head.
A thin crease formed upon the former’s face as he spoke, “Senku, I’m so sorry. The pain I caused must’ve been unbearable for you.” The NASA scientist lifted his head and lowered his gaze from looking at his protege.
“I know you are, thats why I don’t hold it against you, Dr. Xeno.”
The quiet pain in Senku’s voice shone through. Xeno lifted his eyes slightly in shock, not understanding how Senku can be so forgiving. The claws on the white haired man clunked with his hands clenching. The silence of neither of them speaking lasted for exactly 36 seconds, as Senku counted, leaving the loose idea to hang in the air. With a tiny smile, clouded by the trauma in Senku’s eyes, Senku raised a finger to his ear once more and spoke, “Anyways, Xeno, I think we have a party waiting for us. I believe we should go before they start questioning where we are.”
And with that final declaration, Senku wandered off into the crowd, leaving Xeno to ponder what he done to deserve forgiveness so soon.
Little did Xeno know, the emotional turmoil that Senku faced for the past years unpetrified hasn’t concluded in the slightest, and the build up off all of this might leave more consequences to face even after the forgiveness of Senku. To the original death of Senku, his revival, and all the wars fought in the span of his awakening, all at the age of 20.