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A day of hard work was always followed by a rewarding and filling meal. It was something of an unspoken rule in the kingdom of science, and with the capable François in their numbers now, the rule was thriving more than ever. It was not just foxtail ramen anymore- their resources and kitchen had leveled up (not to mention their population), and their meals were growing in richness and variety. This time, it was stew. Senku sat by himself, calmly savoring his meal in the dwindling light of the evening, until Ryusui Nanami decided to plant himself, his own meal in hand, right in front of the scientist.
“So, tell me about Snow White,” he said, exclaimed really, with no preamble whatsoever.
“Um,” was Senku’s answer, as he swallowed a chunk of meat, “It’s a german fairytale about a girl getting fed a poisoned apple by a jealous old hag, or something.”
Ryusui laughed and boldly sat beside Senku, way too close, forcing him to slide back to maintain enough space to be able to lift his spoon.
“Nice try, but no, no,” he continued “I mean the Snow White you have sequestered in a cold coffin by the falls.”
It took Senku’s brain a moment to catch up, enough that his next bite awkwardly flopped back into his bowl.
“You mean Tsukasa ?”
“That one! I’ve heard many a story from the rest, but you’ve been awfully quiet- I want to know what the chief has to say about the frozen princess.”
“I told you-”
“You aim to revive him by getting a hold of the secret of petrification, yes! But-”
“- and why are you calling him that? ”
Ryusui disregarded his interrupted sentence and grinned like the cat that ate the canary, as if he’d been waiting for this moment the whole night, despite having arrived less than five minutes earlier.
“Why! Don’t you think it suits him quite well? A princess of unparalleled beauty, fair as snow, laying in wait in an icy bed. There’s even offerings around him, brought by a lonely dwarf- a very young and beautiful one!”
Senku cringed.
“What kind of reasoning is that…”
“You don’t agree?” Ryusui leaned forward once again, “Don’t you think that thinking of it like that adds a bit of romanticism to the situation?”
Senku huffed and focused back on his food. He had no opinion on fairy tales or princesses, but he supposed it was not an entirely outlandish comparison to draw, given the circumstances. The world they were living in itself, returned to the stone age, was like something out of a story. If Ryusui wanted to go further and act like they had a princess to rescue in Tsukasa it was none of Senku’s business. Still, he frowned into his plate. Something crawled uncomfortably under his skin.
“It is a wonderful analogy, although there is no actual snow in ‘Snow White’,” his musing was interrupted by François, seamlessly appearing at Ryusui’s side with a tray of tea, as though they simply belonged there since the beginning, “if you mean to include the frost, may I suggest the Snow Queen, instead?”
“Ah, François!” Ryusui simply took his cup of tea, entirely accustomed to suddenly-appearing butlers “Wasn’t the snow queen a villain, though? But perhaps it would fit, I hear our snowy princess was not exactly all roses and rainbows…”
“You are correct,” François nodded, “the titular Snow Queen is an antagonist in her tale. You could make comparisons with the queen herself still, but I was proposing we consider the boy in the tale, rather than the snow queen herself.”
“The boy…?”
François politely extended their tray, with one steaming mug remaining, to Senku, waiting until he’d picked it up to neatly tuck the tray under their arm and turn to face Ryusui once more.
“Yes, the little boy in the story. Briefly put, he’s a young man who, due to a magical mirror shard caught in his eye, only sees the heinous parts of the world and eventually is trapped in the snow queen’s castle, with no path to follow. He is only free of the curse thanks to his friend, a girl with whom he had a sibling-like relationship that manages to dislodge the shard that had clouded his vision, bringing hope back into his heart.”
“I see… You make an excellent point, as always, François, that is an apt and insightful comparison,” François bowed with a small smile, but Ryusui did not seem satisfied and hummed, considering “It’s a shame to not make him a beautiful princess, though…”
“I understand.”
No, Senku thought to himself, there was nothing understandable about it. François’ proposal was appropriate enough, considering Tsukasa’s circumstances and what had brought them there. So much so, in fact, he had to wonder when and where they had gotten all the information for the accurate insight.
There really was no need to make him a princess, none at all.
“A real shame…” Ryusui kept muttering.
Senku took a hearty sip of his tea, (impeccable, as expected, even better than brews you could find in the old world) and considered the vine that seemed to have wrapped around his chest.
It was, he supposed, somewhat similar to the feeling that had briefly possessed him when Tsukasa had been laid, weakened, on the floor, at the mercy of Hyoga’s spear. Wasn’t that strange, he mused. True, Tsukasa was currently somewhat vulnerable, just like back then, but there was no threat, not even the slightest hint of danger. Ryusui’s ramblings were, perhaps, a little tasteless and crude, but while he could be annoying, it was definitely not something life-threatening. So, Senku wondered, how come he was feeling so strongly something akin to the protectiveness he’d felt back then?
“Oh? What are you guys talking about?” Taiju’s voice, boisterous as it was, demolished his train of thought. He and Yuzuriha had approached them with their own dinners in hand, Taiju carrying both plates and Yuzuriha with water skins and a basket of bread.
“Hmm, we’re discussing what fairy tale best suits Tsukasa-chan.”
Senku found himself jostling a second time, but this time his thoughts had been interrupted by a less loud, and closer voice. Gen, the sneaky bastard, was sitting but a metre away from him, his own dinner seemingly finished, casually tapping a half-finished bottle of cola.
When had he gotten there..?
“Ohh! Sounds interesting!” Taiju exclaimed, and promptly sat down, Yuzuriha following right behind him.
Now they had a little group of five and a half (François was like a shadow, sometimes there and sometimes not, so quiet it was hard to notice them walking around, still occupied with various tasks), sitting in an awkward semi-circle, seemingly discussing the logistics of Tsukasa and fairytales. Not quite Senku’s ideal plans for the night, but he supposed it was entertainment as good as any.
“If we’re talking Tsukasa, then… Hm…” Taiju frowned in intense thought, “It’s got to be that…”
“That?” Ryusui and Gen asked, clearly unprepared for Taiju’s own brand of genius. Senku and Yuzuriha watched.
“...That! Tarzan!”
“Ta..?”
Senku’s laughter rang so loud and clear it probably reached through the rest of the village.
“Taiju-chan, that’s…” Gen seemed to be the first to recover, “Well, I understand where you’re coming from, but that’s not quite what we were going for…”
“Huh? But it fits him really well! Don’t you think?” Taiju asked, latching onto Senku with his eyes, “You said something like that too, right? That he really was King of the Jungle!”
“Well, well,” Senku said as his laughter finally died down, “It’s not a totally unfitting story, but… Tarzan isn’t even a fairytale, big oaf.”
“Huh?"
“Are you...thinking of Disney?” asked Yuzuriha.
“Huh?”
Ryusui, who had been quiet in thought until then, simply stared at Taiju, “No, no, I see the point, but really… Tarzan….”
“Well, since we’re living in the wild woods, Senku-chan being our only saving grace from being just a step away from monkeys, we’re all a little bit like Tarzan, right? ...Physique aside.”
Taiju furrowed his brows and hummed deep in thought, “You’re right…” he muttered, “but I still think it’s a really good fit!”
“Again, it’s not even a fairytale.”
“So, are we counting Disney movies now?”
“That would add some more options to our pool,” Ryusui nodded, “A Disney princess…”
“Again with the princess deal…” Senku grumbled.
“What do you think, Yuzuriha?” Taiju asked with a grin, “You have watched them all, right?”
“Eh? Yes, but that’s…” she muttered, “It’s a hard question… Tsukasa-kun, huh? Maybe… Peter pan?” she smiled a bit awkwardly and fiddled with her plate.
Senku was the first to speak up, with a grin that pierced harder than her needles.
“Because he’s a child that refuses to grow up leading a group of lost brats? Not bad, Yuzuriha…How unexpectedly cunning of you...”
“N-no! That’s not what I meant at all..!”
“What a lively group, mind if I join?”
Senku stopped his laughing and teasing to turn towards the newcomer. Ukyo. He had probably heard their entire conversation until now, with how loud they had gotten.
“Don’t let me stop you. If I had that power this place would be empty.”
“Good timing, Ukyo-chan! We were just running out of ideas,” Gen said, pouting, “You’ve been by Tsukasa-chan’s side longer than most of us, maybe you have a new suggestion for us?”
“I’m afraid I don’t have anything to say,” was Ukyo’s response, “Though if I may make a different kind of comment… I think it’s surprising how little The Lion King suits him.”
“The Lion King, huh?” Ryusui said, crossing his arms, “It sounds like it should fit him, but…”
“Right?” Ukyo chuckled, “Somehow, I can’t see it work at all.”
“Well…” Yuzuriha spoke up, but seemed to lose her steam, “You could say he’s kind of like a king… but I suppose that’s about it.”
Senku thought Tsukasa, if anything, could be compared to the villain in that movie, but it was not a point he was thrilled to bring up. He doubted anyone else wanted to, either.
“If anything,” Gen added, with unexpected seriousness, “The Lion King would suit Senku-chan.”
“Really?!”
Despite his interest in the conversation being quite significantly lower than Taiju’s, Senku still found himself raising an eyebrow at Gen.
“Maybe it’s a stretch...But if I had to choose someone…” Gen continued, thoughtful, although Senku was sure he had no more thinking to do, “It’s not quite a kingdom, but Senku’s father in the sky did leave him some land, right~?”
Taiju pouted, “I suppose…”
Ryusui wasted no time in demanding an explanation, derailing the conversation.
“I see…” he mumbled, after an abridged version of events Senku unwillingly found himself dragged into narrating, since Gen couldn’t keep from unnecessary dramatics, “Is that really enough to say it fits, though?”
“Well… I did say ‘if I had to choose someone’...” Gen whined, “Plus, I’d say Senku-chan has the ‘wild child grows into leader‘ role down pat!”
“Hey, what did you call me..?”
Gen ignored him.
“Making it out in the wild with peculiar friends, until he stumbles across a lioness and discovers the place his father left him, which is in need of help… Why, Senku-chan even won the position of chief fighting against those, hm, impure of heart,” he added, determined to make his point, “And he even got killed by a lion-slayer, although that’s not part of the story…”
For a moment, their corner at the clearing became unbearably silent.
“Tsk, not like I stayed down, anyways.”
“But man! You scared us!” Taiju said, laughing loud, in contrast with his words.
“Yeah! Don’t pull anything like that again, Senku-kun!”
“I make no promises.”
The mood turned back to friendly banter, and Gen clapped his hands to command attention.
“We’re in agreement, then?” he asked, wrapping up the dramatics, “‘Lion King’ Senku has a nice ring to it, don’t you think~?”
“He looks more like a cockatoo, honestly,“ Ryusui commented, but didn’t argue more.
After that, the matter of the lion king seemed to be brushed aside. Senku thought Gen looked way too pleased, with a smile that made it feel like he’d just gotten away with a scheme, but decided he didn’t care to dig.
His thoughts had trailed off, dragged into old memories, of volcanoes and a shore.
If there was any tale that, despite not “fitting”, would have made for a poetic comparison for Tsukasa, Senku thought, it would have to be the little mermaid. The universe loved irony, after all.
“Still, speaking of, it would have been nice if we could have nominated the little mermaid for Tsukasa-chan, don’t you think?”
“Uwah…”
Senku found himself grimacing. Either the universe loved messing with him as much as it loved irony, or the mentalist’s skills were ten billion percent too scary.
“That’s right…” Ukyo said, with a tint of sadness, “I hear Mirai-chan is rather fond of it.”
“A beautiful mermaid, tempting sailors… I see it.” Ryusui declared, apparently still refusing to leave that track.
Senku cringed again.
He was not blind, after all. He did not concern himself with those things, but he did have some understanding of societal values of beauty and he was certainly observant enough to notice that Tsukasa would excel in a competition of beauty with the same prowess he would in a fighting tournament. It was merely a fact, one he’d briefly acknowledged then discarded, as he had no use for it. But somehow, other people acknowledging it too and saying it out loud with clear appreciative intent was not something he’d been prepared for.
Why he needed to be prepared for that in the first place was a question he’d ponder later. For now...
“Just wrap it up, already.”
“Hm?”
“You keep talking about beauty, it’s-” he shifted in his seat, a poor mask for the uncertainty he’d let slip in his voice, “it’s not something that matters, is it? He has many other qualities to remark on.”
“And what’s wrong with choosing beauty?” he asked, “Especially since I didn’t get to meet the man myself… All I have to know him is your words, but beauty is something I can see for myself!”
Senku huffed, but had to concede the point.
“You know, I hear a lot of complaints,” Ryusui grumbled, poking Senku’s cheek, “but no solutions. Aren’t you the resourceful man, Senku?”
Senku held back the impulse to bite his finger.
“That’s right!” Gen sing-soed, “You sit here and grumble, but I’ve yet to hear a suggestion~ Surely it’s not too hard a question for you, is it? But it’s alright if you can’t think of anything.”
Gen smiled at him, outwardly gentle, but anyone that knew him could smell the cunning oozing off him.
“I am curious to hear what you’ve got to say about it,” Ukyo said, and Senku shot him a glare. He hadn’t even made a real suggestion himself.
Unfair.
“Well, what do you think, Senku-chan? Which fairytale suits him best?”
“What an irrational conversation…”
Still, there was no point to a half-assed answer.
He had not particularly enjoyed the suggestions so far, but he could see where they had come from, and the relation they drew. It was easy to look at the past and say, oh, it reminds me of that story, but was that really accurate? Thinking of the past, their conflict, or even further back to the life Tsukasa had 3700 years ago, was it not unfair? If he had to choose a stupid metaphor for Tsukasa as he saw him, he would rather have it be based on the man in the present, frozen as he was. The question to ask himself, then, was not one of feats, events or history. The right question was:
Who is Tsukasa? The most basic staple in his being, what he represented, at his core.
For many, he was a fighter and a leader. For some, even a paragon. For others, a man to rely on- and for a few, an object of bitterness. A beloved memory, a sign of hope, an unbelievable tale or a lost little boy. For Senku…
For Senku, he was the appendix in his guts.
Inevitably a part of him, always present and attached to his delicate, soft insides. A dangling piece of meat that had left past scientists questioning its merit. He carried the extra weight, knowing it had its use, but acknowledging it as expendable. It had to be. It was capable of blowing up in his face, but he just had to trust it wouldn’t, and be prepared if it did. Extraction would be the standard solution, but there was no one to perform surgery on him in this stone world, their best shot in lieu of medical operations the restoration effects of depetrification. He wondered if it would repair ruptured appendixes in full, leaving them good as new, with no need for removal. He would rather not deal with the hassle of an opened stomach.
He’d placed those hopes in an improvised freezer.
The expectant stares on him were but a couple of seconds away from turning awkward, so he wrapped up his thoughts and sighed. He thought the comparison was good, and especially apt considering how thinking of Tsukasa was usually accompanied by a persistent tingling in his guts. Sadly, he didn’t know of any fairy tales about viscera and rearranged bodies, so he had to settle for the next best thing.
“...Obviously, he’s Sleeping Beauty.”
“How bold!” Ryusui exclaimed in his poor ear, “I didn’t take you for the type to focus on his attractiveness like that! And after you criticized me for it! Don’t tell me, Senku, that you’re actually-!”
“ Shut up! It’s not like that at all!”
“Aah~ I think I understand,” it was Gen who stopped their banter before it could take off again, “Snow White was poisoned and laid in her coffin in grief, right? And the boy in the Snow Queen’s castle, even Peter Pan… They were all in their situation because of some curse. Sleeping Beauty was cursed by an ired fairy, but the curse was meant to kill her, and a good fairy used her blessing to change it to a deep sleep instead. Snow White and Sleeping Beauty both lay in wait for someone to wake them up from their slumber, but Sleeping Beauty’s sleep is not a curse, rather, it’s actually her salvation.”
The group fell into silence, taking in the explanation Gen conjured.
“...Which, of course, would make you the Good Fairy, Senku-chan~!”
“Hmph.”
“That’s right!” Taiju shouted, going so far as to get up from his seat in zeal “We’re not grieving for Tsukasa at all! It may be hard, but his sleep is not a sad thing! Senku protected him, and now it’s our job to see it through to the happily ever after!”
“Enthusiastic as ever, are you, big oaf…”
While less loud and boisterous, everyone seemed to share the sentiment, smiles on their faces and atmosphere back to easy camaraderie, free to banter. Nobody seemed to have any complaints about Senku’s verdict.
“And then, the sleeping princess will be woken with true love’s kiss…” Ryusui mumbled, “Is that role taken yet?”
“Are you volunteering, Ryusui-chan? Ah, but didn’t the princess sleep for over a hundred years in the tale? Think you can hold on that long?”
“Not a chance!” he laughed, “I’d be a shriveled up old man by then at best! So, let’s hurry up and wake our princess before that, okay?”
With that exclamation and some more of Taiju’s enthusiasm the conversation moved on to the building of their ship and the upcoming journey ahead, leaving the topic of Tsukasa and his tale behind. Still, in the privacy of his own mind, Senku ruminated on it a little longer. Life was no fairytale and Tsukasa was no fragile princess, but Senku had still promised him a happy ending, and he was not fond of breaking his word. But, Senku mused as he nursed the remains of his cooling stew, since this was not really a fairytale, no matter the comparisons drawn, they were not bound by their narrative rules. Senku’s Gen-assigned role as Good Fairy did not disqualify him from also playing the prince. He did say he would save Tsukasa with his own hands, after all. He could not bring him back with just a kiss-
-but, he thought, he might like to give him one anyways.
What a strange way to realize, and what a strange time. He had no way to know when he would actually be able to test his theory in the flesh, find out the answer to so many things he suddenly wanted to know about Tsukasa, about them.
Still, he was looking forward to it. Even if it did take a hundred years.
“Eh? What are you smiling about, Senku-chan~?”
“I’m laughing at you,” he said, barely above a whisper, “what a bunch of excitable fools.”
It almost felt like home.