Work Text:
"It should be straight up ahead through that mountain pass, just another kilometer.”
“I’m sooo glad we have a compass, otherwise this would be so much harder!”
“Kohaku drew a pretty accurate map of the area Chrome was describing to us the other day, we’ll find it in no time," Senku says between labored huffs and puffs, struggling to walk in the humid air. Hair sticking to his face, Senku can hardly stand it. His companions, meanwhile, look like they're taking a casual stroll through the woods, and not for the first time in his life he curses his own genetics.
"I'm glad I was able to come with you two," Ukyo smiles bright, chipper as can be considering he only recently recovered from a spear to the chest. The wound had thankfully been shallow, but it was still tricky to patch up. He was moving fine and breathing well, no signs of infection, and that's all anyone could ask for. Ukyo himself certainly didn’t seem as concerned as everyone else had been.
“Me too, Ukyo-Chan! Otherwise I would be doing all of this hard work alone,” Gen sighs deeply, making Senku roll his eyes, but it tugs a smile out of him anyways. Ever the jokester, that one. "Still, it’s really nice out here! So quiet and pea- OWCH-! ”
The pair in front turn to the sound of a heavy thunk as Gen falls to the forest floor face first with an undignified sound.
“ I take that back, I take that back! Help!- ” he groans dramatically. Ukyo gets to him first, helping him right himself and quick to check Gen over for injuries.
"Shit, mentalist, you okay?" Senku asks with only mild concern. If he had room for theatrics, the mentalist was probably fine.
“I'm okay, just a little rattled," he nods, brushing himself off and picking a leaf out of his hair. Ukyo kneels in front of him, flexing Gen’s ankle gently to make sure it's not sprained while he leans against the nearest tree trunk. Senku figures he probably tripped on a protruding tree root, maybe a small stone or a piece of a statue- it certainly didn't help that the mentalist wouldn't wear any goddamn shoes. The trio turns to look in unison, and to his surprise-
"Hang on, is that-?"
"A fan blade?!" Gen exclaims, crouching down next to Ukyo to inspect the object.
"A fan blade ?" Senku says, approaching with skepticism, only to be proven wrong when Ukyo reaches out and brushes dirt and undergrowth away from the object to reveal grimy metal. "Holy fuck!"
"Senku-chan, how did this survive so long?!"
"It looks like an industrial sized blade, the rest is likely buried under this tree," Ukyo marvels at the discovery.
Senku crouches down with them, touching the dulled down blade with wide eyes, taking in what they've found. It had corroded significantly with time and long exposure to the elements, but it's more intact than he expected. Almost as well preserved as the bronze Buddha statue he had found with Taiju and Yuzuriha what felt like a lifetime ago. But what's more fascinating to him is what it's made of; "Good job mentalist, you found titanium!"
"Titanium?!" the others exclaim in unison.
"Titanium can survive intact for this long?" Ukyo asks, surprised.
"Absolutely! Titanium provides superior corrosion resistance and mechanical stability, that’s why it’s great for industry and technology. Since this blade is large enough to have been in industrial use, it corroded slower and was easier to find than if it were the size of a household fan," he explains, flicking the blade with his fingers and satisfied at the dull metallic reverberation. Glancing up, Senku takes in how huge a tree it's been buried under all this time. "The tree ten billion percent protected it from the elements as it grew over the blade."
"That's amazing! Up until now, I haven't seen or heard of anyone finding objects from the modern world, other than the Buddha of course," Gen chuckles in amusement, recalling the story Taiju told to anyone who would listen with great enthusiasm.
"Titanium is a poor conductor when compared to something like copper, but this is still useful as hell!" Senku laughs heartily, excitedly marking its location on the map Kohaku had drawn them. They had come out here looking for a persimmon grove Chrome talked to them about, looking for anything they could plant back at the farms and be ready for harvesting come wintertime, but this was equally as valuable.
“I wonder how long from now we will be reviving archeologists and historians, I'm sure they will be able to uncover even more amazing marvels,” Ukyo says with a hopeful voice. “There's no telling what could be buried beneath our feet!”
“I'm sure they would have a field day! That is, if Senku-chan doesn't find and melt everything down first!” Gen snickers behind his sleeve.
“Oi, that makes me sound so cruel!” Senku laughs. “I’m not that heartless!”
“So mean, Gen!”
“I only tease!~”
As they take off again, buzzing with excitement from their discovery, Senku can hear his friends murmuring to one another behind him and he has to shake his head in disbelief.
"Do you think he'll make us indoor fans if we ask really really nicely, Ukyo-chan?"
"Ah, that would be so nice. I miss air-conditioning.... He'll probably make us work extra hard for a luxury like that, though. Not that I mind of course."
“So typical of you, geez. This summer is particularly hot! I can hardly sleep at night, that sounds like a necessity to me, don’t you think?"
"It's embarrassing to admit, but I miss the sound it makes most of all!"
“Oh man, I can't wait to get the villagers on our side about this!”
“How do we even explain how a fan works to them?”
“We can figure something out! I’m a great storyteller, you know. And you've been teaching at the school, you can come up with something clever.”
“You're definitely giving me too much credit.”
“I'll say or do just about anything to escape this heat!”
Modern people sure were spoiled. Still, it’s not a bad idea. Senku thinks he doesn't mind exploiting it a little bit.