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Senku stared at the empty paper in front of him and tapped his pencil.
Write your memoir! Minami had told him. People will go crazy for it, and you’ll get the funding for your shuttle!
But that meant writing. Which he didn’t like to do. His least favorite part of doing actual science with actual scientists was the reports.
Minami had suggested he write it on paper first, since he got distracted at the computer. So here he was. In front of some paper. Some very blank paper.
“Senku?” Suika asked, peeking in from the lab. “How’s it going?” He glared at her and she giggled. “That good, huh?” She walked over. “Is it just knowing where to start?”
He groaned. “I don’t know. I don’t know how to tell stories.”
She tilted her head. “Why don’t you pretend you’re writing it to someone, then? Pretend it’s one of your friends and you’re writing them a letter about what you’ve done.”
He sighed. “Well, it’d be a place to start, which is more than I have now.” He tapped his pencil a few more times. “Yeah, okay. Thanks, Suika.”
“Good luck, Senku!”
So who could he write to? Who would listen?
Actually, he didn’t want to send this letter, just use it as a reference, so maybe it would be better to address it to someone who didn’t care much about reading.
Lioness—
He sighed. Was he really doing this?
Then he started writing, telling ‘Kohaku’ the story of how he’d woken up, the experiments he did, how he’d survived on his own, and then with Taiju, and then Taiju and Tsukasa, and then with Yuzuriha as well, and then all alone again.
It’s a good thing you lit those fires, lioness. Saved me from years of slaving away on my own.
Did I ever tell you how excited I was to see you? Sounds weird. But you were a person I hadn’t woken up—I wasn’t alone, there were more people somewhere. But you were stuck under a tree.
Remembering it now, I know what the look on your face was at first. You were scared of me. You’d seen me die, right? Then you attacked Tsukasa—brave lioness, you didn’t even know me, why would you avenge me?—and he trapped you, and then I showed up inexplicably. Maybe you thought I was some kind of angel of death.
But you trusted me quickly. I thought you were just naive at first, but I saw how long it took you to warm up to Gen, to Ryusui, to Tsukasa. They had to earn your trust over a long time. It took maybe a week for you to trust me. Maybe even one evening. You slept with your daggers the first night, and after that, you didn’t have a problem with me. You took me to your village, was ready to fight Kinro and Ginro to protect me, introduced me to Chrome and Suika. Did I really make that much of an impression?
Hard and fast, in every way. Maybe you really did fall in love with me! Ha, don’t hit me or anything, I’m joking.
You know the rest of this story. You were there every step of the way. But I’m writing everything, so bear with me.
He wrote about their road map to making antibiotics, about winning over the village.
You told your dad you trusted science, and you trusted me.
I don’t think you realize this, but you’re probably the only reason anyone in the village listened to me. Except for Chrome, but he was just excited to have another ‘sorcerer’ around. Everyone else followed your lead—they gave me a chance because you trusted me. Why aren’t you the chief? Maybe I can get that switched. Hold an election or something. You won the first Grand Bout, didn’t you? Yeah, you’d make an awesome chief.
Wasn’t the primary goal of the chief to protect the priestess? No one’s done a better job at that than you. And your care extends far beyond that—the village would be lucky to have you in charge.
Then he wrote about the ‘war’ against Tsukasa’s Empire, of all that followed, of waking up Ryusui.
I saw you slide down the deflated hot air balloon, lioness. You’re as playful as a kitten sometimes.
Also, completely insane. When we were looking for resources, you were hanging off the bottom of the basket by one hand. No safety measures, not even a rope. You’re strong enough to trust your own body, but seriously, that actually made me nervous.
Building the boat, finding resources.
You and your eyesight saved us once again. I was so sick of looking at those blurry-ass black and white photos. I couldn’t tell what was happening in them most of the time. I was about to hurl them all into the furnace and invent some wild new power source, because it would have taken me just as long as finding that stupid oil field.
But you glanced at them all, picked one up, and bam—found it. It was so obvious in retrospect. I think I’d actually looked at the right photo already and dismissed it as another patch of evergreen trees and rocks, but looking at it again, it wasn’t the right shape or texture at all. Should’ve had you on it from the start.
You know, it’s an easy trap to fall into, thinking someone is all muscle and no brain. But you figured out multiplication on your own, because it made your life a bit easier. You knew something in the spring water was healing, probably from resting there yourself, so you brought some to your sister every day for years. And you started using a bit of physics in your fighting and agility, launching yourself at just the right angle to get us up that cliff, using maximum momentum to get the Medusa away from us on the moon. It was instinctual, too. I bet if you wanted to, you’d make a good scientist yourself. But you like fighting and protecting people, and you’re good at it—keep it up, lioness!
Then Treasure Island.
That was one wild adventure, huh? At least on our end. You never talk about what the harem was like. I guess I don’t blame you. It sounds creepy as hell.
Do you even realize Moz keeps trying to flirt with you? I hear some of what he says to you, but I think it goes over your head. I don’t think you’d notice that anyone liked you unless they told you to your face, and even then you’d probably misinterpret it. You are one pragmatic woman.
I’m glad everything worked out, though. There’s so much of our journey that I just try not to think about, because thinking about it just gets me worked up again. Hearing that you and Ginro had been petrified…all I could think of was them smashing you to bits and throwing you in the ocean. You risked everything to get the platinum to us, to find out information that would help us.
Also, seriously, you need to learn to write. Do you remember that note you scribbled out in blood? As fun as it is playing long-distance high-stakes pictionary with you, I’d rather not do that again.
Then to the Americas.
Where the hell did Yuzuriha get that fabric to make us all outfits just for a poker game?
Also, do you still have that dress? Yuzuriha made sure I got the matching suit back. Just wondering.
And all the rest of the world.
There was so much we did, so many places we went. More than I’d dreamed of as a kid, and I have a pretty good imagination.
And to space.
I’m glad you came with us to the moon. Even if you did almost kill us on accident.
It’s alright. I didn’t think to have us petrified beforehand and almost killed us that way. Being up there without our electronics was terrifying. Luckily Ryusui is completely off his rocker.
Ah, but you’re too trusting of me, lioness. The voice copying mine—I didn’t hear it, you know, asking you to let the Medusa free. I believe that you did, though. Why-Man can do weird stuff with radios. But you heard me ask you to do something and just…did it.
I’m still upset about that. By no fault of my own, you can’t trust my voice like you did before. I asked Why-Man to modulate its voice so it’s not a copy of mine anymore, so it shouldn’t happen again.
And when we got back, you fell asleep during the award ceremony! You’re impossible. Even Stanley was paying attention—but you just passed out standing there. Did you even hear the speech they gave after the fact? They were very complimentary of you. As they should be. Not many people get recognized internationally as a hero. Kind of a big deal.
But you’ve never cared about fame. You just want to improve yourself and take care of the people you love. A lioness through and through.
Then the development of the time machine plans.
Our campaign to get Chrome to actually propose worked out, even if he did end up just blurting it out over a buffet plate instead of taking Ruri for a romantic walk or something. Idiot. She doesn’t seem to mind it, though, or his fussing about her pregnancy. Their kid is either going to be the most active or most calm person ever.
Then the space elevator, and finding Byakuya. Which brought them to the present.
My old man likes you. He says you’re a spitting image of Lillian with Darya’s attitude. Good idea to have him teach the village kids, by the way. They look like his kids and grandkids, like all the people he grew to love, and he always comes home smiling.
You know, I’m not really saving the world anymore. Science always improves lives, but I think the world has got it pretty much under control now, reviving and rebuilding. I think all of us working together will be enough to get the world back and better than ever.
Which means I have some free time, lioness. Some time to focus on other things.
He stopped writing, pencil hovering over the paper. He’d told his story. No need for anything else. Especially not for this letter he’d never send.
And now he had something to work from to make his memoir.
He stacked up the papers he’d written on and stuck them under a paperweight, then got up and stretched. Time for some food.
People wanted to ask him about things at lunch, so he ended up staying out about three hours. When he came back, it was to Kohaku sitting in his chair, in front of the stack of papers. His blood ran cold.
“Don’t you know it’s rude to snoop?” he said, walking forward.
She smiled that smug cat-like smile at him. “I don’t know what you mean.” Her big blue eyes blinked up at him innocently.
He’d never been on the receiving end of one of her kitten-eyed looks. It was…cute. If you liked that kind of thing. He cleared his throat and looked away. “Why are you here?”
“What, I can’t visit a friend?” She stood up and walked over to him, and he was hyper-aware of her every move. She put her hands behind her back and leaned close—she smelled like island flowers. “Are you doing anything tonight?”
“Doing anything? Just…dinner, home. Normal stuff.”
“Want to come with me instead? I have something fun I want to show you.”
He glanced at her. Had she read his letter, the letter he’d never send? He’d probably die of embarrassment if she had. But she wasn’t saying anything…and he hadn’t been lying, in those last few lines. He had some time for other things. “Yeah, I could go. When?”
She stepped closer. He didn’t lean away, but he could feel the warmth of her just millimeters away. “You know me…hard and fast.” A shiver did not run down his spine. That would be silly. She moved to look him in the eyes. “Whenever you’re ready, Senku, I’ll be waiting. Don’t take your time, though!” And left.
He closed his eyes. Was he ready? And then he smiled. Ready or not, Kohaku was waiting. He wouldn’t make her wait any longer.