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Chapter Text

Senku didn’t often entertain fantastical hypotheticals, but he made an exception right now.  If he could go back and remake any decision in his past, it would be reviving Akatsuki Hyoga.

The world somehow felt like Senku had been dropped into an anechoic chamber and a reverberation room at the same time.  It didn’t take long after breaking out of the stone for him to realize he was the only human in this new world.  The loneliness and emptiness of it all was suffocating.  On the other hand, he had just spent the last 3700 years in an elaborate anti sensory tank and every single rustle of a leaf was so loud .

In fact, when he first broke free, he could do nothing except lay there and welcome oxygen into his lungs as he tried to take in the unfamiliar surroundings and restabilize himself.

But he had other things to worry about than how quiet or loud the world was; he had to find clothes, shelter, and food first.  It took some time, more than he would like to admit, but all he had to work with was theoretical knowledge, he’d never actually trained or practiced extreme survival skills.

Once those were taken care of, he could start trying to figure out how he escaped the stone while nobody else seemed to be even close.  Were there signs if someone was about to break free?  If you lost consciousness, were you technically dead?  Did he survive because he never fell asleep?  There were a million questions floating around and Senku didn’t have the facilities to begin answering any of them.

As he continued to build a respectable way of survival, he discovered that nitric acid had something to do with breaking people out of stone, though it didn’t seem like it was the only ingredient.  He also found the statues of his friends.  

Yuzuriha was safe, the roots and vines of the tree she was against protected her from any erosion from the elements.  He left a note in the bark next to her, in case she woke up or anybody else did.  Humanity’s best hope was going to be for the first survivors to stick together.

He got lucky with Taiju.  The oaf’s statue was mostly buried and it took Senku quite a bit of effort to dig it up and drag it to the nitric acid cave.  Taiju was like Senku: stubborn.  He had been about to finally confess to Yuzuriha, and put Senku out of his misery listening to the two of them pine over each other, when the light hit.  There was no way Taiju was just going to give up without fulfilling his mission.

He didn’t need to find Tsukasa’s statue.  Tsukasa found him three months after he first broke out of stone and instantly placed himself in the role of hunter and protector, which suited Senku just fine.

Things were a little awkward for a while.  Yes, they had been friends before the light hit, but it had only been for a few months.  Just long enough for Byakuya to all but adopt the fighter after hearing his tragic backstory and for Senku to start researching neuroscience in an effort to find a way to heal his sister.  In those few months, Senku had learned that Tsukasa had a chip on his shoulder for most authority figures due to his own homelife and experiences as a child.  Between Senku’s logic and Byakuya’s personality, that chip had started to shrink.

Soon though, they fell into a comfortable routine.  With Tsukasa around, Senku found he was able to sleep a little easier at night.  He didn’t feel quite as vulnerable to the animals of the forest as he did before.  Tsukasa also turned out to be a more accomplished hunter than Senku, so food was more plentiful as well.

Senku knew the man was strong, but never quite understood how powerful he could be when he wanted to.  Afterall, the only time he was ever anything close to violent was in the ring.  Every other time, he was a gentle giant.

Then one day, while Tsukasa was out gathering building materials, a pride of lions decided it was time to give the weird bipeds a try as a snack.  Senku had found himself backed up against a tree, staring death in the face, when Tsukasa came barreling back into camp.  A single punch at the alpha male flung it into a nearby tree, killing it on impact.  At the show of strength, the pride slunk away.

A quick check proved Senku to be shaken, but uninjured. Senku allowed himself a breath of relief and a quick thanks to his friend before the two of them went about collecting the hide and meat from the lion.  

It was unlikely the two of them would be able to consume the entire thing before meat started to go rancid, but it would last them a while if they smoked and salted it correctly.  Not that the smoke or salt would help with the taste.  Senku knew from experience that lion meat tasted awful, but it was better than letting food go to waste.  

Tsukasa had taken to wearing the lion pelt almost like a cape during the day and using it as a blanket at night.  He had offered to share it with Senku, but the scientist refused.  To the victors go the spoils after all.  Besides, the pelt was far too large to be practical for Senku.

Together they had managed to create a more structurally sound shelter high in a tree to avoid ground predators, an actual building dedicated as Senku’s laboratory, and a system of hunting and gathering that sustained them well enough that they were able to smoke and preserve some food for tougher times.  They were also able to stitch together more clothes out of the hides from their catches for anyone else who happened to wake up as well as preparing for the coming winter.  Yes, winter was months away, but it never hurt to be prepared and this new stone world required them to make use of everything they could.  Nothing should be wasted if it could be helped.

Another three months and Taiju revived on his own as well.

With Taiju’s endurance, even Senku’s research seemed to pick up the pace.  Soon, they were fermenting alcohol in an attempt to make nital.  None of them had any experience though, only Senku’s knowledge of what should happen, so it took quite a bit of trial and error.

The process took them straight through winter.  Wine from wild grapes was slowly being dripped into a collection container and then taken immediately into the lab for Senku to purify and mix with the nitric acid from the cave to make nital.  It was a long, tedious process to get the right ratio, and it would have been so easy to give up and move on, but there was nothing else to work with right now, so Senku kept tinkering with the ratios until finally, a single feather was freed from stone.

This, of course, meant that Yuzuriha could be revived without having to rely on whatever miracle broke the three of them out of stone initially.  Tsukasa agreed to wait at camp while Taiju and Senku went to get her, and that was when the trouble started…

Or rather, when the lions, who’d been deterred from hunting them since Tsukasa punched that one into a tree, decided to try again.

“Shitshitshit!” Senku panted as they ran for their literal lives.  They had a spear and a knife with them, but neither of them were skilled with such weapons.  It would only hold the lions off for so long.  “Of course this would happen the one time we went out without Tsukasa!”

“Senku!  This way!” Taiju led them down a steep path, not even struggling to carry Yuzuriha’s statue with them.

Senku followed without hesitation.  Taiju had explored the area far more than he had and likely knew of a shelter or a shortcut.  What he did not expect was for Taiju to lead him to a statue of a man, a few years older than them, with a contemplative look on his face.

“I recognized him,” Taiju explained.  “He trained at the dojo I passed to and from school everyday.  I don’t know his name, but I know he’s a good fighter, especially with a spear!”

Well, wasn't that convenient?  Taiju just happened to know about a statue of a guy who was good with the only weapon they had with them and that statue just happened to be near where they were being attacked.

The lion’s growls got louder as the pride slowly surrounded the pair.

“Yeah, okay,” Senku agreed, on the edge of panic, “Yuzuriha will have to wait.  Let’s wake this guy up.”

Hyoga was a mad-man.

It took about a week for Hyoga to show his true colors.  Just enough time for them to collect enough nitric acid from the cave to revive Yuzuriha.

He didn’t know if he should be angry or glad that Hyoga didn’t really seem to care much about the science of the formula, but the calculating look in his eye did not go unnoticed by Senku.    Once the man started spouting things off about “selection” and “superior genetics”, he started planning their escape.  They would have to be careful and stealthy with their plan.  Hyoga’s spear skills were on a level all their own.  Tsukasa was technically stronger, however, confidently beating the spearman required his own weapon, which broke during the last hunt and they hadn’t gotten around to fixing it yet.

“We’re headed to Hakone,” Senku explained as they made their way south-west.  They were far enough away from the camp now that he felt safe sharing his plans openly.  “It’s our best shot of getting materials needed to make weapons to match Hyoga’s strength.  If we minimize our rest stops, we should be able to make it in about three days, two if we really push it, but we have no idea how the terrain has changed in the last 3700 years.  We may have obstacles we have to find ways around, and our best GPS is a sextant that isn’t the most accurate thanks to the materials I had to build it with.  In any case, the farther we can get today, the better off we’ll be.”

“Why don’t we just remake Tsukasa’s sword?” Taiju asked, not even struggling with the heavy load he was carrying.  

Senku had managed to put together a bug-out bag filled with necessities and as much as he could feasibly take from his lab.  They had left in a hurry, trying to make it seem like they had panicked and ran while Hyoga was away from the camp.

“Because I got lucky finding the size stone I did that didn’t actually shatter if I tried to hit something,” Tsukasa explained, “I’m not saying it’s impossible to remake, but it would take time that we don’t have right now.  And there would be no guarantee that it wouldn’t shatter again if I fought Hyoga, so I’m assuming Senku has a plan for something a little more permanent?”

“Yeah,” Senku nodded, “It’s dangerous in the wrong hands, and I’d rather not have to make it, but it’s going to be our best bargaining chip: gunpowder.”

“What’s all the way in Hakone that we can’t get anywhere else?” Yuzuriha asked.  “Not that I’m opposed to getting as far away from Hyoga as we can, but he’s just chasing us, right?  It’s not like we can run forever.”

“Sulfur!” Tsukasa realized, “We already have, or can easily get, all of the other ingredients.  The natural hot springs in Hakone should have the sulfur we need.”

“Ten billion points to Tsukasa,” Senku chuckled, “That’s exactly right.  We’ll use our gunpowder to force Hyoga into a truce to stop his ‘selection’.”

It turned out that it would take them three days to reach their destination.  The ground was treacherous and uneven, and they ended up traveling slower thanks to Senku’s low endurance.  Still, Senku estimated that they had been able to cover 30 of the 80 kilometers to Hakone that day.  If they kept the same pace, then they would be able to make it to their destination by the afternoon of the third day.  

Despite Senku’s insistance that they didn’t need a night watch, Taiju and Tsukasa traded out shifts just in case, which turned out to be a good idea, unfortunately, the attack didn’t happen until after the sun rose and their guards were down.

It was early the third morning that Senku froze when he felt the tip of a spear at the back of his neck.

Shit.  Hyoga was faster than he thought.  He was alone right now, as the others were taking their turns at morning routines or gathering breakfast.  They had made it over halfway to their destination but it was already game-over.

“I believe I misjudged you, Senku,” Hyoga said dangerously, “I would have never figured you for a runner.  I understand that you may not agree with my views yet, you may even be worried that you would have no place in my new world.  I know you are capable of creating more than primitive pots and weapons, aren’t you?  Your success in creating the revival fluid was more than dumb luck, wasn’t it?”

“Heh,” Senku let out a nervous laugh, not daring to make any sudden movements.  He would almost rather face the lions again.  At least the lions wouldn’t drag things out or take sadistic pleasure out of it.  “We had to start somewhere.”

“Senku!” Tsukasa crashed into the clearing and stopped short .

Hyoga quickly grabbed Senku and changed the grip on his spear so that it was now pointed at his jugular.  Senku was well and truly a hostage now.  This was not ideal at all.  Not completely unexpected, considering Hyoga seemed a bit on the insane side, but definitely not where Senku wanted to be.  Even if Senku could reach the small knife in his pouch without Hyoga noticing the movement, it was unlikely that he’d be able to do anything with it without risking a blade piercing his throat.

“Leave him alone, Hyoga,” Tsukasa demanded, but didn’t advance.  He was afraid that any step forward would be the step to drive the blade into Senku’s throat.

“And give up my advantage?  My, my, Tsukasa, I had no idea you were so soft.  If your goal is to truly fight me and try to stop me, then what would be the life of one man to keep you from that goal?”

“SENKU!”

“Senku!”

Taiju and Yuzuriha ran into the clearing, stopping when Tsukasa put his hand out as a warning to stay back.  The two looked horrified as they took in the scene before them.

“That’s right,” Hyoga crooned, “There’s no sense in wasting the only life that knows how to break people from stone.”

That wasn’t exactly right, but Senku wasn’t in the mood to be offering that information.  Tsuaksa definitely knew the formula and Taiju knew at least the ingredients but not the details of how to mix it.

“Senku, you have my word of honor, tell me the recipe to revive people from stone, let me ensure that only the elite repopulate this new world, and I will not harm your friends.  They will be welcome with open arms into my empire.”

“You can’t!” Yuzuriha cried, “He’ll kill you!  Please, Senku!  Don’t give him what he wants!”

“Do it,” Hyoga hissed, “Or I shall cripple you and run them through slowly until you do.”

Monster had seemed like an appropriate word to describe this person, but it was starting to seem a little weak.

Senku looked up at his friends.  They all looked horrified, but ready to fight, and if necessary, lay down their lives.  He met Yuzuriha’s eyes and held one finger at his side.  He knew she saw it because her eyes got wider and the tears flowed more freely.

He took a deep breath to steady himself and turned his head as best he could to his captor.  “If I do…you will kill me?”

“Yes,” Hyoga stated without remorse, “I would offer you a place in my empire, but you have already run from me once and I do not trust you to not plot against me in the future.  Better the life of one man than the life of three, correct?  The few are sacrificed for the good of many.  It is only proper for it to happen this way.”

Senku scowled but did not let it deter him.  During the last week, he’d noticed one glaring weakness Hyoga had, not that the spearman would see it as such, and he planned to use it to his advantage.  “As someone who values manners and propriety, when you do, make sure it is one strike.  There is no honor in making me bleed out here in the forest, left for the animals to scavenge.”

“Of course,” Hyoga agreed amiably, “I will grant your last request with a single blow to the back of your neck, your cervical plexus.  You will die instantly, without pain.”

Tsukasa’s eyes went wide and flitted to Senku’s neck at Hyoga’s words.  As a fighter, he knew exactly where that point was and what would happen if it were shattered.  Hyoga did not lie.  Death would be instantaneous for Senku…no hope of any lifesaving measures could bring him back from that.

“Senku, don’t!” Taiju yelled, “You can’t die!  What about your goal of reviving all of humanity, huh?  How are you going to do that when you’re dead?”

“The recipe for revival fluid,” Senku forced himself to shut out the protests from his friends.  Assuming Hyoga kept his word, this would be the best case scenario.  There was still a chance.  “Is nital.  A mixture of alcohol and nitric acid.  Filter the nitric acid from the cave and mix it with alcohol you distilled from grapes.  As close to 96% as possible.  The ratio is 30% miracle water, and 70% alcohol.  If you’re off by only a few percent, it won’t work, so perfect it using a petrified swallow’s feather.”

“You are an honorable man, Senku,” Hyoga praised.  “You held up your end of the bargain, and so I shall hold up mine.  May your next life bring peace.”

“NO!!!”

That was the last thing Senku heard before there was a sharp pain at the back of his neck and then…nothing…

Chapter Text

Hyoga let Senku’s body drop unceremoniously to the ground in front of him.  Tsukasa didn’t know what was worse: watching his friend be murdered, or seeing Senku’s lifeless eyes stare past him into nothing.

“Tsukasa,” Hyoga addressed, “I thought you and I could find some common ground in our goals, but it appears that will never happen.”

Tsukasa only glared at the man.  Yes, he too believed that not everyone should be revived like Senku wanted, but to determine a person’s worth based off of what Hyoga thought they could offer a new society?  No thank you.  He regretted all the conversation he’d had with the man now, sharing his opinions on who should be revived first.

Before he met Senku, and subsequently Byakuya, he was of the opinion that all adults were greedy and what was wrong with the world.  He knew better now.  Seeing a good parent, one who quickly accepted Tsukasa into his home as easily as he breathed air, had really opened his eyes to how his own upbringing had skewed his perspective on things.  Tsukasa had only known Byakuya for a few weeks when the man was able to visit on a short break from astronaut training, but it was enough.

“There is no use in fighting,” Hyoga cautioned, taking Tsukasa’s glare as a sign of aggression, “While you may stand a chance against me with no weapon, are you confident you could stop me before harm comes to your friends.  I am a man of my word and I promised Senku I would not, but if you choose to attack me, I will do what is necessary.”

Thunder rolled quietly in the sky.

“You and I will never get along,” Tsukasa growled, “Allow me to take Senku’s body and bury it.  I will live my life away from you and survive on my own.  Promise that Taiju and Yuzuriha will be taken care of in the empire you create.”

Taiju looked like he wanted to argue, but didn’t for the sake of Yuzuriha crying into his chest.  Tsukasa tried to give him a look that said ‘Trust me.  I’ll get you out later.’ but wasn’t sure he succeeded.

“I have nothing to fear from you so long as I have your friends,” Hyoga agreed, “I will allow it.  I will also allow Taiju and Yuzuriha to create a memorial in my empire to honor their friend’s sacrifice.”

“Please,” Yuzuriha begged quietly, tears spilling from her eyes, “Let us at least have our final good-bye?”

Hyoga considered it for a moment before backing away.  “I will allow you five minutes, and I will afford you the luxury of privacy for your prayers to the dead.  However, do not think I will not be watching closely.  Any attempts of planning to fight again will result in your deaths.  Do not dishonor your friend’s sacrifice.”

Rain started as Taiju and Yuzuriha knelt, absolutely heartbroken, next to their friend.  Their lips moved in what could only be assumed as a prayer.  Nothing could be heard over the sound of the pouring rain.

Tsukasa carefully picked up their bug-out bag and gathered the all-too-still Senku in his arms.  He shot one last withering look at Hyoga, changing to concern when he met Yuzuriha and Taiju’s eyes.  Taiju nodded firmly, holding Yuzuriha close.  They would be fine.

Without any more ceremony, Tsukasa walked away.  He wasn’t foolish enough to completely drop his guard, especially with his back to Hyoga, but most of his attention was focused on getting both him and Senku as far away from the madman as possible.

If what Yuzuriha said was true…just maybe all hope was not lost.

As soon as he was out of the line of sight of Hyoga, Tsukasa started sprinting.  The longer Senku was dead, the less chance this had of working.  The heavy rain washed away his footprints almost as quickly as they were left.  Hyoga shouldn’t be able to track him.  Not for quite some time anyway.

He found a modicum of shelter under a large tree.  The tall roots and full canopy provided a break from the wind and rain.  All the safety lessons about not standing next to trees during storms were racing through his head, but what choice did he have in this world?  Besides, it wasn’t like this was the only tall tree in the area.

He carefully laid Senku down and started to examine him.  Carefully and meticulously, he checked over Senku’s body for any bit of stone left.  He figured it had to be small to have been kept hidden for so long.

Surprisingly, he found it pretty quickly.  Just a small patch of stone at the base of his neck, almost hiding in his hair.  No wonder Senku had subtly manipulated Hyoga into striking there.

He rifled through the bag and found the last remaining dose of revival fluid.  Within moments of Tsukasa emptying the vial onto Senku’s neck, the last bit of stone broke and fell away.  He laid the scientist back down, one hand searching for a pulse and the other waiting for a breath.

He held his breath, waiting to feel something .  A few anxious moments passed and Tsukasa felt the fragile hope he’d held on to start to slip away.  He was about to pull away when he felt something under his fingers.

Stunned, he focused harder and sure enough, he felt a pulse under his fingers, stronger this time and accompanied by a breath against his hand.

Holy shit!  It worked!

Senku still wasn’t awake yet, but he had a pulse and was breathing!  Tsukasa let out his own shaky breath and sat back.

In another universe, perhaps one where it had been Tsukasa who betrayed them, one where Taiju and Yuzuriha had escaped alongside him, Senku might have woken to Taiju crying and screaming his name, mirroring his own relived memories.  As it was, he woke to the quiet, concerned, yet unmistakably relieved, face of Tsukasa. 

“You’re awake!” he exclaimed quietly.  The storm was subsiding so he had to be careful with his volume lest Hyoga heard it.  Sound tended to carry in this new world without the buffer of buildings or city noise.

“Yeah,” Senku sat up, feeling the back of his neck and looking around, “I guess Taiju and Yuzuriha weren’t able to get away from Hyoga?”

Tsukasa shook his head worriedly.  “Hyoga only let me go because we disagreed on fundamental philosophies and knows I won’t attack him so long as he has Taiju and Yuzuriha.  I also think he could ease a guilty conscience, if he even has one of those, by letting me take you away; it wouldn’t have been very proper to leave a body without laying it to rest.”

“I’m glad the revival fluid worked, at least,” Senku looked towards the sky, trying to figure out how much time had passed.  He wasn’t happy that he’d lost count of the seconds while he was dead, but he could always restart tomorrow morning. “How’d you know to use it?”

(Flashback)

The three of them knelt by Senku’s body, hands clasped in silent prayer.  Tsukasa could help but blame himself for failing to keep his promise and keeping the scientist safe.  Logically, he knew that he couldn’t change the past, but his mind wouldn’t stop telling him the “if onlys”.

“Take the bag with you,” Yuzuriha whispered, interrupting his thoughts.  Her eyes were still closed and looked the perfect image of someone at a funeral. “Take Senku away from here and use our last bit of revival fluid.  He has a bit of petrification left, I’m not sure where, but using the fluid should heal him, like it did my foot.”

That raised so many questions, but hope bloomed in Tsukasa’s chest. If what Yuzuriha said was true, then they had a chance. It also meant that Senku had contingency plans in place for who knows what circumstances. 

“He knew this could happen, didn’t he?”

“Yes.”

Tsukasa looked over at Taiju, who was a blubbering mess.  If Senku were to tell anybody his plans, Yuzuriha made the most sense.  Of the three of them, she was the one he’d known the longest who knew how to keep a secret without accidentally blabbing about it.

“I’ll take him and revive him,” he promised, “And then we will come for the two of you.”

“Take care of him, please,” she requested, tears freely falling down her face.

“Of course.  You have my word.”

(End flashback)

“Yuzuriha filled me in,” Tsukasa explained, “While we were pretending to pray over your dead body…Hyoga, for as crazy as he is, respects manners, so he didn’t eavesdrop.  Right now, you are safe.”

“Yes, and Yuzuriha and Taiju are prisoners of Hyoga’s new empire.”  

“We can go back,” Tsukasa offered, “If you stay back, I can fight Hyoga and together we can rescue Yuzuriha and Taiju.”

“No. With Yuzuriha and Taiju hostage, we will never win with brute force, not without casualty.  We need a plan to make sure we win, keep everyone safe, and reclaim the miracle cave.”

“The longer we wait, the more people Hyoga will revive,” Tsukasa reminded him.  “The best time to strike would be now.”

“While this isn’t the best case, with the two of us working together, we can build up a Kingdom of Science, recapture the Miracle Cave, rescue Taiju and Yuzuriha, and stop Hyoga completely.  Ideally all without bloodshed.”

“That’s a rather ambitious list,” Tsukasa cocked an eyebrow, “And yet, I believe you can do it.  In the time that I’ve had to know you, I’ve never known you to do anything by halves.  You are amazing in that way and I respect you for it.”

Senku shot him a strange look.  Tsukasa was being unusually blunt.  Well, that wasn’t fair; Tsukasa was always blunt, but that comment was out of the ordinary for him.  “A man who compliments another to his face is either flirting or scheming.  Which is it?”

“Neither,’ Tsukasa answered quickly, “Just stating a fact.”

The look on Senku’s face was skeptical at best, but let the matter drop.  “In all honesty, Taiju and Yuzuriha ending up in Hyoga’s empire was not necessarily unexpected.  There were lots of things that could have happened when we revived Hyoga, and I had some contingency plans in place.”

“Plans you didn’t share with anyone but Yuzuriha.”  Tsukasa pointed out.  “I could have protected you better if I’d had an idea of what to expect.”

“I wouldn’t have shared them at all if I thought there was a greater chance for things to happen differently,” Senku assured, “The more people who knew about it, the greater the chance for Hyoga to catch wind and cut off our escape entirely.”

“I hate when you give sound logic like that…”

“Get used to it,” Senku chuckled, “We’re building a Kingdom of Science to take on Hyoga, and science is built on sound logic.”

“Here,” Tsukasa held out the bag, “We should eat something before we continue seeing as how we didn’t get breakfast this morning.  You’ll understand if I’m not going to let you out of my sight to hunt for fresh food right now, right?”

“Yeah.”

Senku started digging through the bag for their preserved food.  There were plenty of things they’d managed to salvage from the camp: a few bottles of nitric acid, his winter clothes, Tsukasa’s lion pelt, their sleeping bags, a few soap blocks, and a carefully cut piece of leather…

Frowning in confusion, he pulled it out to take a better look at it.  It was too small to act as a blanket and yet too big to serve any other functional purpose that Senku could think of.  There was a strange pattern running across the leather, splotches and lines ran across the whole thing.  On one side of it, someone, probably Yuzuriha, appeared to have tied some smaller strips of fabric that dangled freely.

“Heh, of course she thought of something like this!” Senku laughed, finally recognizing it for what it was supposed to be.  Even here in this stone world, Yuzuriha’s creativity wouldn’t be stopped.

“What is it?” Tsukasa asked curiously.

“What every good kingdom needs.” Senku tied it to a tall branch he found nearby. “A flag!”

Hyoga was reclaiming the Miracle Cave now that he knew the formula for revival fluid, so Senku and Tsukasa chose to continue to Hakone.  Black powder was still going to be useful for their inevitable confrontation with Hyoga.  They’d been walking maybe only fifteen minutes before Tsukasa broke the silence.

“Hey, Senku?”

“Hm?”

“That revival fluid is powerful stuff.”

“Yeah,” Senku agreed, rubbing his neck again.  After a year of feeling the stone there, it was a little strange to be without it.  Much like the unfamiliar feeling of a new haircut.   “Surprised even me with how strong it was.  I honestly wasn’t entirely sure my plan would work.  But that’s not why you brought it up.”

“No.  Do you think it would work for Mirai?”

“Sure,” Senku was well aware of Tsukasa’s little sister and her medical condition, “I don’t see why not.  Based on the data we have now, it seems the petrification and revival fluid will heal any previous injury, except the marks we carry because of erosion.  I don’t know how long it will be before we can get the cave back though.  Are you okay with waiting that long?”

“I would wait another 3700 years if it meant my sister could be healed,” Tsukasa said passionately.

“You have my word, Tsukasa, when we reclaim the revival fluid, Mirai will be at the top of the list.”

“Thank you.  I’m sure Byakuya is at the top of your list, huh?”

Senku’s steps faltered a moment as the question sank in.  “Unlikely that he’s in any kind of condition to bring back,” he muttered mostly to himself, but Tsukasa still heard it.

“What do you mean?”

“Byakuya was in space,” Senku reminded Tsukasa, staring wistfully at the sky.  “Either he escaped the light, in which case he’s long since dead, or he was petrified in the space station like everyone else.  Even if that happened, there’s still no chance because without people to take care of and repair the ISS, it would have reentered Earth’s atmosphere and burned up.  His statue would have broken into thousands of pieces on impact and eroded away by now.”

“...I’m sorry,” Tsukasa whispered.  Because what else was there to say to something like that?  

“Don’t be.”

The two lapsed into silence as they continued their trek.  The makeshift flagpole was proving to be very useful as a walking stick for Senku as he struggled up some of the hills.  Tsukasa didn’t say a word, but made sure he was nearby in case Senku fell.

By evening, they reached their initial destination.  Senku tried not to be put out by the fact that without Hyoga, they would have been here a few hours ago with a batch of black powder already made.  No doubt that with that weapon in their arsenal, they might have stood a chance when they were attacked.

“Go take a rest in the hot spring,” Tsukasa offered quietly, “It will help make sure your muscles don’t cramp up after everything that happened over the last few days, especially this morning.  I’ll set up camp and we can collect sulfur tomorrow.”

There was no rush to make the gunpowder, so Senku accepted the fighter’s advice.  He carefully got in one of the springs and watched as Tsukasa laid out the bedrolls and built up a fire.  They weren’t being pursued anymore, so there was no risk of giving away their position.

Senku’s thoughts wouldn’t stop.  They needed a plan to stop Hyoga and rescue Taiju and Yuzuriha.  Gunpowder was a good start, but unless they could make actual guns, then all it was good for was large explosions and those were risky.  Besides, Hyoga had the revival formula and would no doubt start reviving people, people who would no doubt share his ideology, as soon as possible and that just added a whole other level to the problem.

The Kingdom of Science needed people to match or they wouldn’t stand a chance.  The problem: they had some nitric acid, but it was needed for gunpowder and even if they used it for revival fluid, it wouldn’t be enough to counter the army Hyoga no doubt would revive.  There were other ways to make nitric acid, but they took a long time to actually get a usable yield.

He leaned back and looked into the starry night, easily picking out the North Star.  What was the best course of action here?  Option 1: they find a safe place and start farming nitric acid from waste.  Option 2: they wander around and hope to find another bat cave that produces the same quality nitric acid as the Miracle Cave.  Option 3: there were others who had managed to break free from petrification and had formed a colony somewhere and could be persuaded to join the Kingdom of Science.  Option 4: they ignore every other option and launch a surprise attack on Hyoga before he could make a dose of revival fluid..

Senku knew Option 3 was the least likely on the list, but would certainly be the safest and fastest of the options.  Option 4 had already been eliminated earlier in the day.  No force on Earth could make Senku take such a risky gamble, especially when lives were at stake.  Options 1 and 2 were technically feasible.  They could farm nitric acid in tandem to searching for a new natural source.

Tsukasa slipped into the spring across from him, his clothes folded neatly at the edge.

“What are you thinking about?” Tsukasa quietly.

“Where we go from here and how we can actually accomplish everything,” Senku answered just as quietly.  The night was quiet and it felt like their voices would travel for miles.  “Unfortunately, everything I can think of either relies on luck or needs more time than we have right now…”

“Which plan do you have that is the closest to guaranteed success?”

“The one that is going to take years .  Less if we happen to get lucky in a couple of ways, but either way, Hyoga will continue to grow his Empire and become even more of a threat.”

“That’s going to happen anyway,” Tsukasa reminded him, “Unless we take a risk and mount a surprise attack with the gunpowder before he has time to revive anyone, but that would put Taiju and Yuzuriha in danger.  So, we take our time and build the Kingdom of Science.  One step at a time.”

“Heh, you’ve got a good point.  Though you might not be so optimistic when you hear what we’ll have to do.”

“Hm?  And what would that be?”

“We have to make a nitric acid farm.  It will take a long time, but in a few years, we’d be ten billion percent sure to get the revival fluid.”

“How do you farm nitric acid?”

“Poop.”

The water around Senku rocked as Tsukasa sat forward quickly.  “You’re joking,” he said, eyes wide.

“Nope,” Senku closed his eyes, “Not all science is glamorous.  We’re just going to have to suck it up and deal with it until one of three things happens.” He held up one finger at a time as he ticked them off.  “One: we actually succeed in making nitric acid and start reviving people, but even then we’d have to keep it going to raise our numbers.  Two: we find another cave with bats that’s producing the quality of nitric acid we need.  Three: we find people who have revived on their own, like us, and recruit them to join us.”

“Two of the three sound like wishful thinking.”

“Yeah, so really, we’re stuck with the first scenario and maybe we get lucky with one of the other two.”

The fire grew dimmer as it started to run out of fuel.  There were trees nearby, but they would have to split up to collect more wood, which neither of them were particularly fond of right now, especially since it was dark out.

“We should head to bed,” Tsukasa stood up.  “We can collect sulfur in the morning and find a place to build a decent shelter…away from wherever we make a poop farm.”  His nose wrinkled in disgust at the thought of the smell alone.

“Yeah,” Senku also climbed out.  “We’re lucky it’s spring again so it doesn’t get as cold at night.  Shelter is more against animals and storms until winter comes ‘round again.  One or two nights under the stars won’t kill us.”

Tsukasa worked the fire a bit to get it going again.  It wouldn’t last too terribly long, but long enough to provide protection while they fell asleep.  Suddenly he froze, staring at something in the darkness.

“What is it?”  Senku asked, tensing up.  There was no way that Hyoga had followed them here, that would be illogical.  The real danger right now was lions, who were primarily nocturnal hunters.

“Look,” Tsukasa whispered, pointing into the night.  “There’s a glow.”

“ What ?” Senku breathed, following Tsukasa’s finger.  

Sure enough, there was a faint glow down in the forest.  He held his breath, waiting for the glow to grow brighter, indicating a forest fire rather than a built one, but it didn’t.  If anything, the glow grew dimmer, as if it was dying out.

“There’s someone else!” Senku barely whispered, “This is exciting!”

Chapter Text

Senku had wanted to go out and find the mystery person right away.  Option 3, their easiest and best chance, had now become an actual possibility!  However, Tsukasa had been firm about staying put and looking for them in the morning, citing that they had no idea if they would be hostile or not and that they would have a better chance during daylight.  Reluctantly, Senku agreed.

When morning came, they quickly packed up and headed out as soon as Senku had collected a couple jars of sulfur.  Once again, the day found the two of them hiking through the trees.  Fortunately, it only took them thirty minutes to find an abandoned campsite.  Unfortunately, all that was there were the ashes of last night’s fire and some disturbed earth that indicated somebody slept there.  

Tsukasa took initiative to look for any signs as to which direction their quarry went.  Perhaps not the best mindset to think of the person they were trying to find in hunting terms, but it was kind of what they were doing, wasn’t it?

“The ashes are cold,” Senku reported from where he knelt.  He had a contemplative look as he rubbed the ashes between his fingers.  “Whoever was here must have left hours ago.  Well, no use in letting perfectly good charcoal go to waste!  We’ll need it for more than gunpowder eventually.”  He pulled out another clay jar to collect the materials seemingly oblivious to his surroundings.

Tsukasa rolled his eyes at the antics.  Only a day had passed since Senku was killed by Hyoga after letting his guard down, and here he was doing the same thing all over again.  It was like the scientist invited trouble at every turn.  Hopefully it wouldn’t turn into a trend.

“Go ahead and mix it up,” Tsukasa invited, “Whoever was here didn’t leave any clues about which direction they went, so we have no hope of catching up to them.  This is as good as any to set up a new shelter.  The trees have good structure and the hot springs aren’t that far away.”

Senku looked up at the trees to observe them himself.  “Yeah,” he agreed, “And if we get lucky, maybe whoever came this way will be back and we can get answers then.”  He capped the charcoal and put it away.  “You go cut down a tree and I’ll set up some pulleys so we can haul it all up.”

“Just like before,” Tsukasa smiled.  He could almost pretend that things were the way they were half a year ago, when it was just the two of them trying to survive the new world.  “You take care of the science, I’ll take care of everything else.”

Chrome trudged through the woods, on the search for more materials for his warehouse.  The cure for Ruri’s sickness lay somewhere in his stockpile, he just knew it!  And he would keep learning more and more sorcery until he finally unlocked all of its secrets.  He wouldn’t stop until Ruri was well again!

Kohaku had mentioned that she saw a couple of strange people near the hot springs collecting some kind of mineral, but that they were gone by the time she got there.  It was hard to escape from Kohaku’s eyes, so those people she saw must be bad news.  The chief had cautioned against anyone trekking too far away from the village, but Chrome just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to look at whatever mineral was there.  He knew about the weird yellow rocks that smelled bad, but maybe there was something else he’d overlooked before.

He wasn’t an idiot, however.  Of course he brought some of his sorcery materials with him as a means of defense in case he happened to come across whoever, or whatever, it was Kohaku saw.  There was a rumor, more of a joke really, going around the village that perhaps the stone statues that were everywhere had come to life.  If that were true, then that would be some bad sorcery going on there and Chrome would need every trick he knew.

Suddenly, he heard voices through the trees.  Stashing his basket, he crept closer, hiding behind the trees and bushes to get an idea of what kind of people these were.

There were two people there.  One looked about Chrome’s age and the other just a couple years older.  It was clear the younger, and subsequently shorter of the two, wasn’t nearly as strong as the taller, older guy.  In fact, Chrome thought he looked rather weak, no stronger than the older children in the village.  As if in defiance to that thought, the man started to haul a large, squared-off log effortlessly upwards into the tree where it looked like they were trying to build a hut.  They certainly looked human and not at all like stone statues, but maybe that was part of the sorcery.

“You got it, Senku?” the taller man called up.

“Yeah, don’t worry,” Senku replied, laying the log on the platform and working to untie it.

Chrome looked closer and saw the rope Senku had used to lift the log was wrapped around several round things suspended higher up in the tree.  Was that what was making it so easy?  What kind of sorcery did this guy know?  It was like nothing that Chrome had ever seen before.  He leaned in closer, trying to get a better look at the device.  

A twig cracked under his foot, causing both men to freeze and look in his direction.  Chrome was confident they couldn’t see him, but still froze in place.  Maybe they would think it was a passing animal or something and then he could get away and warn the village that strangers with weird sorcery were building a hut nearby.

“Tsukasa…” Senku said quietly, only a hint of apprehension in his voice.

“Yeah,” the tall man said, picking up a large sword that Chrome had missed in his preoccupation.  “Stay there.”

Chrome couldn’t tell if Tsukasa (that was probably his name, right?) was talking to Senku or him, but soon found it didn’t matter.  As he was debating whether or not he’d be able to get away, the decision was taken from him by a sudden sword pointed at his face.

“Who are you?” Tsukasa demanded, the light in his eyes promised pain if he didn’t like the answer.  “Why were you spying on us?”

Senku watched from his perch as Tsukasa brought back an actual human being!  A single glance, however, told him that this person didn’t have any cracks, so this person was likely a descendant of someone who revived rather than someone from their time.  Knowing Tsukasa likely already got some answers from him, Senku shot him a curious look.

“He says his name is Chrome,” Tsukasa answered the unspoken question.  “That’s all he said so far.”

Chrome was staring up at the pulley rig with a strange combination of awe, curiosity, and suspicion.

“Yo,” Senku greeted, sitting on the edge of the platform.

“What is that?” Chrome asked in lue of returning the greeting, “What kind of sorcery did you use to make that wood so light?”

“Sorcery?” Senku frowned.  This guy didn’t recognize a simple pulley?  Definitely not a revived person then.  Perhaps his parents or grandparents simply never made one and so never passed down that knowledge?  To be fair, two million years of human achievement was not something the typical person could just whip out at a moment's notice.

“Yeah, sorcery!” Chrome declared, pointing his thumb at himself.  “My name is Chrome!  I am a genius sorcerer!  No one beats me when it comes to sorcery!”

Senku clambered down the tree to stand eye-to-eye with the other teen.  “I’m Senku,” he introduced himself, a finger in his ear, “I’m a scientist.”

“Ha!  Sounds like weak sorcery to me!” Chrome laughed.  “I’ll make a deal with you.  I challenge you to a sorcery battle!  If you win, I’ll answer all of your questions and surrender all of my materials to you.  If I win, answer all of my questions and go far away from this place!”

“You don’t seem to be carrying much with you,” Tsukasa observed, “‘ All of your materials’ doesn’t seem like a good deal.”

“I only carry essentials with me,” Chrome said smugly, “I have an entire storehouse full of materials that I’m willing to wager.”

Senku’s eyes lit up.  “An entire storehouse you say?  Let’s do this then.”

Chrome grinned with confidence, clearly under the assumption that Senku had fallen for a sucker’s bet.  “All I need,” he said, “Is a fire!  I have everything else I need right here!” He gestured to some of the small pouches on his belt.

While Chrome went about setting up a fire, Tsukasa moved around to stand next to Senku.  He watched Chrome carefully, ready just in case the boy tried to either attack or run.  It worried him that whatever this guy was doing required fire, but Senku didn’t seem bothered by it.  In fact, he had made himself comfortable on the ground.

“Behold!” Chrome proclaimed, arms spread wide over the large fire he built, “My Rainbow Bridge!  Watch as I manipulate fire!”

He threw in a handful of something that turned the flames bright yellow.  Another handful turned them bluish-green.  Yet another handful turned them purple.

Both Senku and Tsukasa were unimpressed with the display.  Both of them were expecting something… more .

“It’s okay to cower before my sorcery!” Chrome laughed, mistaking their lack of reaction, “Just think, if I can manipulate fire like this, what else could I do?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Tsukasa looked at Chrome through the fire.  The stare was intense enough that Chrome took a step back.  “Even I know what just happened.  It’s the basic flame test we did in chemistry class.  The yellow flame came from salt, the blue from some kind of copper compound, and the purple…”  Ah, shit.  He couldn’t remember what made a purple flame.

“The purple was sulfur,” Senku picked up where Tsukasa trailed off, “The copper was probably something like copper sulfate…well, I guess you wouldn’t know that.  Are they blue crystals you found in a cave?”

For a moment, Chrome seemed unfazed at the quick dissection of his sorcery, but quickly lost face.  His jaw dropped and his eyes looked like they wanted to bulge out of his skull.

“It’s flashy, I’ll give you that,” Senku stood up, “But as Tsukasa said, it’s basic chemistry, not sorcery.  Got anything else for us, genius sorcerer?”

“Of course I do!” Chrome seemed offended at the question, “That was just a warm-up!  I’d be disappointed if that was all it took to defeat you!  The next thing I have can be weaponized!  This is smaller than the one I have back at my storehouse, but it’s far more portable.”

He pulled out a small ball which he began to rub furiously.  After several minutes of this, he looked up at them confidently.  “Either of you care to test the effects of this?”

Tsukasa narrowed his eyes, but moved forward, standing imposingly in front of Chrome.  To his credit, Chrome only looked slightly nervous as Tsukasa towered over him but pushed forward with his plan and reached out to touch the fighter.  A small, static shock jumped between Chrome and Tsukasa.  Chrome looked victorious at the success, but Tsukasa hardly looked bothered.

“Is that all?” he asked, “I’ve gotten worse shocks off of my doorknob in the winter.”

“That’s a sulfur ball!” Senku exclaimed excitedly, plucking the small sphere from Chrome’s hand.  “You threw some of that sulfur from earlier into a bot and stuck it in a fire until it hardened and then chipped the pot off.  Not bad!  It’s a 17th century invention, I’m impressed you managed to make it.  But why rub it with your hands when rubbing it with leather will give you ten billion percent more power?”

He quickly took their Kingdom of Science flag and rubbed the ball vigorously with it.  Within a minute, his hair was starting to stick out more than usual.  Casually, he touched Chrome, who yelped at the much stronger electric shock.

Suddenly, Senku looked contemplative.  “Chrome,” he said seriously, “How did you come up with all of this?  Did you gather all your materials yourself?”

“Of course I did!” Chrome sounded offended, “I find all sorts of things and smash them, mix them, burn them, and when something happens, that’s sorcery!”

“Oh I have so many questions for you,” Senku chuckled, “But I think we have to finish this up, don’t we?”

“Fine!  One last battle.  The winner of this will be the final victor in our sorcery battle.  But be warned: nobody has ever been able to best me in this type of combat!  I challenge you, to an arithmetic battle!”

“Did you have to crush his spirit so soundly?” Tsukasa asked Senku as they followed Chrome back to claim their prize of a storehouse of materials.

“Huh?  I didn’t go that complex.”

“Senku, you started to go into Calculus .”

Senku shrugged without remorse.  In his opinion, Chrome really had it coming for declaring such a competition.

The walk wasn’t bad, even for Senku, considering it was mostly downhill.  As they walked, Senku took advantage of the other part of their deal to ask Chrome all of his questions.

They learned that Chrome had come from a village not too far away.  He lived just on the outside of it since the villagers didn’t want his experiments around their houses.  The real reason he was out and about was because another villager had reported seeing strange people collecting something from near the hot springs a couple days ago and he wanted to see what he could find for his collection.

Then he shared why he had started learning ‘sorcery’ in the first place.  The daughter of the chief, a priestess named Ruri, was sick, and had been for some time.  The villager who had spotted them was her sister and regularly brought healing water from the hot springs back to the village to try to help.  Chrome was confident that somewhere in his storehouse was a cure for Ruri’s illness.

Silence fell on the group after that.  Senku appeared lost in deep thought as he walked.  In fact, at least twice Tsukasa had to redirect him before he walked into a tree.  He muttered to himself occasionally, but it wasn’t anything Tsukasa could make heads or tails of.

Finally, after just an hour the village came into view.  It was an impressive sight.  The village seemed to exist across a couple of islets connected by bridges.  There were several houses, complete with thatch roofs dotting the edges and people were out and about washing clothes, cleaning fish, and doing whatever else needed to be done to keep the village functioning.

Senku and Tsukasa stared in wonder at the thriving village.  These people didn’t seem to have any scientific or technological advancements.  In fact, they were doing things the way that their ancestors did thousands of years before Senku was even born.  Originally Senku had hypothesized that they were descended from somebody who had managed to unpetrify and come up with the revival fluid solution on their own, but Chrome had already disproven that with his ‘sorcery’ talk.

“If Hyoga ever found this place…” Tsukasa muttered.

“Yeah,” Senku agreed, “He’d either take it over completely or kill everyone here.  We’ll have to be careful if he ever comes sniffing around.”

Suddenly Senku was yanked backwards and Tsukasa took up a protective stance in front of him.

The attack came from out of nowhere.  There were two spearmen guards at the bridge and were clearly hostile towards strangers.

“Relax!” Chrome hurried to stand between them, “They’re not going into the village!  I’m just taking them to my hut.”

“Chrome, they are outsiders ,” the taller of the spearmen growled, narrowing his eyes at the duo.  “What would the chief say to you showing them even where our people live?  You’re already on thin ice with all of your sorcery.  Don’t let yourself be exiled.”

“Chrome!” a woman stalked across the bridge angrily.  There was a shield and two knives strapped across her back.  “Where the hell have you been?” she demanded once her feet were back on solid ground.  Chrome was quickly backing away, hands held up in surrender.  “Do you have any idea how worried Ruri was when she learned that you had left the village after the chief forbade it?”

“I’m fine,” Chrome assured, “I just wanted to see if there were new minerals out there that I hadn’t found yet!”

The woman suddenly turned to Tsukasa and Senku sharply.  Tsukasa pulled Senku further behind him, certain that she was about to attack.

"Explain yourselves," she demanded of them, doing nothing more than point her knives at them.  "Where did you come from and what do you want with our village?"

The two exchanged a look.  This was going to be a long conversation.

A couple hours and a golden spear later, Senku, Tsukasa, and Chrome sat in the storehouse completing an inventory of all of the things that Chrome had collected over the years.  Well, more like Senku and Chrome fawning excitedly over everything while Tsukasa watched a little fondly.  

They had shared Hyoga’s betrayal and subsequent attempted murder of Senku, which was not as easy for Tsukasa to talk about as it was for Senku.  Tsukasa figured that for Senku, the event wasn’t that bad.  A little like going to sleep and then waking up.  For Tsukasa, Senku’s lifeless face still haunted him at night.

The woman, Kohaku, had decided to stick with them after hearing their story.  Going so far as to volunteer to go after Hyoga then and there, but the idea was quickly shut down by Senku explaining that they needed to build up a Kingdom of Science before they could take on Hyoga again.  

The guards, Kinrou and Ginrou, weren’t swayed nearly as much, but agreed that so long as Senku and Tsukasa didn’t try to enter the village, then they wouldn’t bother them.  Rather, Kinrou had promised that.  His brother, Ginrou, had spent most of the time cowering behind Kinrou.

Suddenly, Senku straightened up.  “Chrome, you said that you collected all of this to try to cure Ruri’s illness?”

“Yeah,” Chrome confirmed, “Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find anything yet.”

“You’ve got some things here that are used in traditional Chinese medicine, which I’m impressed you have, but I guess it’s not enough?”

“No.  Nothing I’ve tried has helped,” Chrome admitted.  “The chief is very protective of his daughter, so it’s difficult to even get her anything that might help.”

Tsukasa looked at everything that surrounded him, a little helplessly.  If this were the modern day, it would be so easy to get her the right medicines, but here, when they were surrounded by nothing but plants and rocks, it was borderline dangerous to experiment.  The wrong mixtures, the wrong plants, could poison or kill quickly.

“Senku,” Chrome asked desperately, “Do you have any sorcery that would let us cure Ruri?”

“It’s almost impossible to say,” Senku admitted heavily, “Not without examining her first.  There are medicines that can treat just about anything, but we don’t have the ingredients to make any of them.”

“Just tell me what you need, I’ll find it!”

“I wish it were that easy…Chrome, I think we should tell you everything.  Everything that happened 3700 years ago that caused the collapse of humanity.”

Together, Senku and Tsukasa told Chrome about their time.  All of the technology, medicine, mechanical marvels that were lost when the light hit.  Tsukasa shared the story of Mirai, how she was far sicker than Ruri, and how doctors were able to keep her alive until they could find a cure.  Senku shared how humanity made it into space and how that led to people all over the world being able to connect with one another.

The story was a bit melancholy, yes, but neither of them were expecting to look up and see Chrome in tears.

“What the hell?” Senku muttered, leaning back.

“It’s just sad!” Chrome defended himself.  “All of that work.  Everything that humans built, little by little, over millions of years, just wiped out!  Who did this?”

“That’s the question,” Tsukasa agreed.

“And it hasn’t been wiped out,” Senku chuckled.  “It’s still right here—” he gestured to his forehead, “—and within the hearts of every human.  The things might not be here physically, but humanity got there through their ingenuity, and that’s something nobody can wipe out.”

“Senku!” Chrome said determinedly, “You said that there was a way to make medicine to help Ruri, just that we didn’t have what we needed right?  Is there a way to get it?  I’m joining your Kingdom of Science if there is a way to do it!”

Senku chuckled.  “There is, but it’s a hell of a long road.”

The group climbed back down the ladder so Senku could draw out the map for them in the dirt.  He first explained that there were two roads they could take: one that simply, but relied entirely on luck, and one that was a surefire way, but was complicated and would take a while.  Since science is about predictable results, they were going to go down the complicated route.

The series of events Senku drew out made even Tsukasa’s head spin.  It was a daunting task and there was a lot that they would have to find or make in order to get this to work, but Senku was positive that it could be done.

Of course, this just set fire to a new round of science questions from both Chrome and Kohaku.  Senku was always excited to share his knowledge about science with anyone who would listen, but the questions just didn’t stop, even long after the sun had set.  Tsukasa helped when he could since a lot of their questions were things that they had been taught when they were young, but the constant stream of enthusiastic questions was exhausting.

“That’s so bad !” Chrome exclaimed, “You mean to tell me that it’s the Earth that spins?”

Senku laid back, completely spent.  "Yes."

“Then how is it that I’m not being flung off this branch?” Kohaku asked from up in the tree.

“Because of gravity,” Tsukasa answered tiredly.

“You know, I’ve always wondered why that one star never moves,” Chrome pointed to the brightest star in the sky.

“Yeah, that’s the North Star,” Senku explained wearily, “It always points true north, so it’s a good thing to keep in mind.”

His answer had finally produced a different response than more questions.  Chrome took out a bucket of water and was watching something in it, but both Senku and Tsukasa were too tired to care.  Maybe they had finally run the question-well dry.

“Huh?” Kohaku looked up, “It seems a bit off from true north to me.”

“That’s not possible,” Senku denied, closing his eyes, “The margin of error—” He sat up suddenly, eyes wide.

“Senku?” Tsukasa also sat up, worried about whatever it was that Senku realized.  

“The Earth’s axis has tilted!” the scientist gasped, “Slowly but surely over the last 3700 years the axis has shifted so now the North Star doesn’t even point north anymore!  No wonder my sextant didn’t work right!”

“The Earth does that?” Tsukasa asked, “I was under the impression that the axis was fixed.”

“Nah, the axis was moving, even in our time,” Senku explained, “But the amount was so miniscule that we wouldn’t have noticed a difference in our lifetime, but we’ve hurdled through time 3700 years to see shifts and changes that would have otherwise been too subtle to notice.  Fuck,” he ran a hand over his face, “Any real scientist would have mocked me for my oversight.  How hopeless am I that I didn’t even stop to consider what kind of scale we’re working with here.”

“You're not hopeless, Senku,” Tsukasa comforted, “They probably wouldn’t think about it either.”

Kohaku and Chrome were also quick to offer their reassurances.  While it was nice that they cared enough for essentially a stranger to do so, it wasn't necessary.

“Don’t worry, I’m not down on myself,” Senku assured, “It’s just hitting me just how long 3700 years really is…”

Senku grew quiet again, staring up into the sky.  Tsukasa had been struggling since he revived with exactly how much time had passed.  It was hard to forget when there was absolutely no signs that humanity once covered the earth with the exception of all the statues everywhere.  Senku was awake the entire time, counting out the seconds.  For the scientist to be as sane as he still was, there had to be a disconnect between conceptually knowing how much time had passed and fully coming to terms with just how long it was.

Tsukasa wondered what else was different about the night sky.  He'd never really paid attention to it before, and certainly didn't bother to learn anything beyond some basic constellations.  A thought suddenly occurred to him.

“Hold on,” Tsukasa said, “How did you know the North Star didn’t point north anymore?”

“Oh!” Chrome crowed, “You guys don’t know about this stone?  I found it over on a bald mountain.  If you dangle it or float it in water, it will always point north!”

“You found a magnet?!” Senku’s excitement returned in force, ignoring Chrome’s disappointed cry that of course they knew what it was.  “Good work!  With this stone, we can take our first step in making the sulfa-drug for Ruri.  Get excited!  We’ve got some backbreaking work ahead of us!”

Chapter Text

As promised, gathering the iron sand in the river was backbreaking work, but it was well rewarded with bags full of iron sand, a strange rendition of Momotaro, and a new member added to the Kingdom of Science.

Suika, though just a 9-year old child, had already proven to be a valuable asset.  She made gathering the sand much easier since her short stature allowed her to work more efficiently, plus she seemed to be able to disappear into the watermelon rind she wore on her head in order to do reconnaissance.

Case in point, she had just brought back valuable information from the village about what they could do to try to sway some of them to their side.  After all, they needed far more manpower to smelt the iron and shiny spears would only get them so far.  Even Tsukasa was completely winded after the first round of pumping air into the furnace. To be fair, he had been away most of the morning retrieving their things from the campsite and dismantling everything he could, just in case Hyoga came looking for him.

(Flashback)

“You actually plan on letting me out of your sight?” Senku jeered playfully when Tsukasa informed him of his plan, “I was under the impression you were my watchful guardian.”

“I promised you that you wouldn’t be in danger…I’ve already failed to keep my promise once.  There will not be a second time.  But you are not a child in need of a constant babysitter.  Now that we have people on our side, at least one of which is a competent fighter, I do not mind running short errands.”

“Still sounds like you’re leaving me with a babysitter,” Senku said blandly.  “And you shouldn’t feel guilty about the whole ‘Hyoga killing me’ thing.  He would have found a way, and any other way could have ended up with either other people injured, or him killing me in a way that wasn’t reversible.”

“...You’re taking your death awfully well,” Tsukasa looked away, “I expected you to have nightmares or anxiety, but you’re here acting as you always have.  Your sleep wasn’t any more disturbed than normal.”

“You were watching me sleep?” Senku pulled a face, “Gross dude.”

“Only when you say it like that.  I’ve just noticed on nights when I’m on watch duty.”

“Wait…” Senku straightened and looked Tsukasa in the eye, “What do you mean I don’t sleep ‘any more disturbed than normal’?”

“You don’t know?” Tsukasa sounded confused, “Senku, you take forever to actually sleep, and when you do, it’s restless.  I’m pretty sure I’ve heard you counting a few times too…”

“I guess 3700 years of doing nothing but counting will do that to you,” Senku shrugged.  So he had some trauma from that ordeal, big deal.  It wasn’t like there was a therapist he could see in this age.  The best he could do was try to move on and try not to let it affect his work.

(End Flashback)

Beyond the furnace they had managed to build, Senku and Tsukasa also started work on a lab building, one with a back room, that they would sleep in with the plan of letting Chrome have his hut to himself again.  They didn’t get far today, but they did get to use some of the materials Tsukasa had managed to haul back, so they had a bit of a jumpstart.  It should only take another day or two with everyone helping to get it done.

Now though, the sun had set and they were all sitting around a campfire eating the village staple: grilled fish.

“So, Great Detective Suika,” Senku teased the child who had come back from her reconnaissance mission saying she had information they would want to hear, “What do the villagers want?  Hopefully things that we can provide with science.”

“Well, the three sisters, Ruby, Garnet, and Sapphire, they want boyfriends !” Suika reported happily.

“Science can’t make that!” Senku exclaimed, incredulously.  Seriously, there were so many other things to worry about in this world than boyfriends or girlfriends.  It was one thing to 

Suika continued, “They said they want a ‘hottie’, a ‘strong man’, and a ‘good provider’.”

Kohaku turned to Tsukasa, “I think you fit the bill there.  Want to go give it a shot?”

Tsukasa scowled at the suggestion.  His managers had tried to set up fake relationships before to try to boost his image and he’d shut it down each time.  He wasn’t about to put up with it in this world. 

“No.”

Kohaku shrugged and turned to Senku.  “You’ve got a certain charm about you, though I don’t think you fit the description of ‘hottie’ or ‘strong man’.”

“Thanks,” Senku said blandly, “Why are you picking on us?  What about Chrome?  At least he’s from this village and more likely to be accepted.”

“Nah,” Kohaku waved off, “Besides the fact that Chrome doesn’t really fit the description those girls gave, he wouldn’t have much luck since his sorcery scares most of the villagers.  Besides,” her voice dropped to conspiratorial levels, “Chrome’s got a thing for Ruri, even if he’s too young to realize it.”

Well that was certainly interesting information that could be used later.  Senku tucked that little tidbit to the back of his mind until they got past this obstacle.

“What about the ‘provider’ bit?  We might have a chance with that.  What’s that really about?” Senku asked.

“Tasty fish!” Suika chimed, “And speaking of food, the village glutton, Ganen, was complaining about having to eat the same thing every day and wants something new to eat!”

Senku perked up.  That was something they may be able to pull off.  And if they were successful, they had a chance of pulling in the entire village!

“Food?” Chrome scoffed, “I thought we were looking for a solution with science.  What’s food got to do with that?”

“Everything!” Senku declared, “Food is science.  The problem now becomes, what can we make with the resources we have?”

“In our time, there was a whole field of study dedicated strictly to ‘Food Science’,” Tsuaksa added, “Those were people who found ways to improve our food products and made sure what we consumed was safe, healthy, and tasted good.”

“Science can do that?” Chrome asked, amazed.

“Sure,” Tsukasa shrugged, “I don’t know the details of any of it myself, but I had met one when I was trying to adjust my diet for my fights.”

“What do you mean?” Kohaku looked interested, “What you eat can affect how you fight?”

“More just affect your health and recovery between training and fights.  Protein is important.”

“How do you find ‘protein’?” she asked eagerly.

“You already get plenty in the fish you eat,” Tsukasa assured, “If you lived in our time, you’d probably be making waves in the Martial Arts world.”

“That’s high praise coming from the Strongest Primate High Schooler,” Senku informed Kohaku, “This guy was pretty famous for his fights.”

“You and I should spar!” Kohaku jumped to her feet.  “There aren’t many people willing to face me in the village, so I can only hone my skills so far.”

How could Tsukasa deny that?  He would also benefit from a sparring partner to make sure his skills did not deteriorate.  “Later,” he promised.

“Suika?” Senku suddenly sat forward, “What is that you’re playing with?”

Suika had been playing with a small white dog she had named Chalk and waving around what looked like a piece of grass.  It was almost like the toys people would buy for their cats.

“I call it ‘Dogtail’,” she answered, “It’s Chalk’s favorite toy.”

“Not ‘Dogtail’,” Senku corrected, his face lighting up with the promise of success, “This is Foxtail!  With enough of this kind of grass, we should be able to make a delicious dish from the past that will ten billion percent blow your minds!  Get excited.  We start gathering our materials in the morning.”

Tsukasa frowned in thought, trying to figure out what on earth was going through Senku’s mind.  “What are we making?”

“Ramen!”

“Senku…” Tsukasa croaked, “...This is not proper…”

“Yeah,” Senku agreed, equally put off.  They had spent most of the night and all morning working to grind the millet into flour to make the noodles. “But what did we expect from foxtail millet?  In any case, it will work, and it tastes better than that lion.  We need the villagers on our side, and there’s nothing that motivates people more than food.”

The two looked over at Kohaku, Suika, and Chrome.  They looked like they were experiencing true bliss at the new food.

“At least they seem to like it.”

“I was always taught in science class that you can’t call anything a trend with less than three data points,” Tsukasa grimaced through the taste, “I think the two of us can be considered outliers since we developed different flavor palettes.  Do you think the rest of the village will like it as much as those three?”

“Three data points isn’t much to draw any conclusions from,” Senku corrected, “But it’s all we’ve got right now.  Let’s get started on bulk production!”

Senku, not someone to do things by halves, built an entire cart to serve the ramen from and even had Suika show off her musical talents with a shell to lure the villagers across the bridge.

Though there was some trepidation at first, after the first bite, the ramen was a success.  The villagers were milling about, enjoying the new flavors and textures.  Their level of enjoyment was bordering on the edge of obsession that Senku shared with his dad over ramen.

Through all of the chatter, Senku caught something that shouldn’t have been there.

“This is making me wish I had something to drink.  Like a cola .”

Senku’s eyes widened at that.  Nobody in the village would know what that was, which meant…it was someone who had revived.  Maybe even sent by Hyoga as a scout.  If it was a scout, then they were likely tracking down Tsukasa, terrible on its own, but it would be disastrous if they recognized Senku and reported back.  

Perhaps Hyoga was suspicious enough to send somebody to double check that Senku was in fact dead.  A paranoid leader made for a dangerous opponent and unfortunately, paranoia and Hyoga got along like a house on fire.

“Senku.” Tsukasa said tensely.  He noticed the same thing and came to the same conclusion.

“I know,” Senku answered, just as tense.

“Keep your head down.  He can’t know who you are or that you survived Hyoga’s murder attempt.”

“He somehow approached without us noticing.  Even managed to get some food.  The fact that we’re noticing him now is because he decided to draw attention to himself.  He could have just made his observations and left and we would have been none the wiser.  He’s here for a reason.”

“That’s not an excuse to be careless.”

“I’ll be careful,” Senku promised.

“Is that a friend of yours?” Kohaku asked quietly.  She also noticed the out of place language and the way the two of them tensed up.

“No.”

“Hmph,” she set her war face and turned to the guards.  “Kinrou.  Ginrou.  There is an enemy among us.”

In an instant, the three warriors had him surrounded, blades pointing at several vulnerable parts of his body.

“Who are you?” Kohaku demanded.

“Please!” the stranger pleaded, “I’m sorry I intruded here.  Can please put away your weapons?  My hands are shaking so badly that I fear I may spill this delicious ramen.”

Bullshit .  Senku, Tsukasa, and Kohaku all had the same thought.  The hand that he held the bowl with was certainly trembling, but his other hand wasn’t.  Ginrou, on the other hand, was more than willing to take the stranger’s words at face value and quickly volunteered to take the ramen off his hands.

As the person turned around, recognition lit up Tsukasa's face.  He moved forward to rescue their invader, brushing slightly against Senku with a subtle hand movement as he moved as a signal to let him take the lead on this.  Senku immediately caught on and turned back to the cart, though his attention was on the interaction about to take place.

“You are Asagiri Gen,” Tsukasa said with a bright smile that he usually reserved for interviews to enhance his 'gentle giant' image to the public.  Two could play the manipulation game.  “We did that TV show together.”

Kohaku, Kinrou, and Ginrou all turned to each other confused.  "What's TV?" Ginrou whispered, only to receive shrugs in return.

“Tsukasa- chan !” Gen exclaimed, quickly ignoring the deadly weapons pointed at him, “How wonderful it is to see a familiar face!”

“You know him?” Kohaku checked.

“Not well,” Tsukasa admitted, “In our time he was a magician, an entertainer.  Wrote some trashy psychology books too.”

“I had no idea you had read my work, Tsukasa-chan,” Gen said brightly, “But calling them trashy is a bit harsh, don’t you think?  Also, magician?  Hardly.  Please, call me a mentalist.  In any case, I apologize for inviting myself to your ramen, I was just so hungry.”

“That’s fine,” Senku finally spoke up, “Everybody who got food will work it off.”

There was a loud groan that went up from the crowd, but beyond minimal complaining, everyone agreed to put in their share of work for the food they ate.  While the villagers, plus Gen, got started pumping air into the furnace.  Tsukasa pulled Senku aside, his face furious.

“Why would you draw attention to yourself?  He was definitely sent by Hyoga for one purpose or another, and if he recognized you and reports back that you are here, Hyoga will stop at nothing to make sure you’re dead a second time.  He might even launch an attack on the village and wipe out everyone.”

“I agree, he was sent by Hyoga,” Senku said, “But if he was here to verify if I was dead or convince you to go back and join Hyoga, he wouldn’t have bothered drawing attention to himself.  He would have either turned back the moment he saw me, before we even realized he was here, or he would have been up front with you about going back.  Probably use Taiju and Yuzuriha as incentives.  There’s another motive here, and I intend to find out what it is.  We might even be able to sway him to our side.”

“You are far more trusting and optimistic than you should be, Senku,” Tsukasa growled, “But for now, I will trust your judgment.  It has gotten us this far.  But I will keep a very close eye on our visitor.  The moment he tries to escape, I will not let him.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

They had upgraded the air pumps to their furnace to something more efficient than the leather bags they tried to use before.  Though the bamboo pumps worked better, that didn't make it any less laborious.  Even the villagers, who led labor heavy lives, were soon exhausted.  Asagiri Gen, a pampered celebrity, had no chance.

Once Gen was properly tired, and unlikely to be able to play mind games, Senku approached him.  There was something he needed to know.

“How are Taiju and Yuzuriha doing?”

“ Huff … huff.. ” Gen panted, trying to catch his breath, “Who?”

No.

Horror washed over Senku.

No no no!

Gen definitely came from Hyoga's empire, there was no question of that, so how was it that Gen never met them?  With the rate the Miracle Cave produced nitric acid, it was impossible for Hyoga to have revived too many people yet.  Were Taiju and Yuzuriha no longer with Hyoga?  Did they somehow escape?  Did Hyoga keep them imprisoned and Gen just never came across them? Or was it worse?

This was never the most ideal plan, but what choice did they have at the time?  Either Senku temporarily died, or everyone else would.  Maybe he should have listened to Tsukasa and gone after Hyoga right away after waking up.  Instead he’d stumbled upon a scientist's playground and had spent the past weeks teaching and entertaining these people.

“—hale.  Take a breath for me.  Come on, Senku.”

Senku blinked.

How’d he end up on the ground?  Tsukasa was knelt in front of him, holding up one of Senku’s hands to his chest and exaggerating his breathing.

It was then he realized his breath was coming out as fast pants.  Oh.  He was hyperventilating.  He tried to suck in a deep breath, but his chest wouldn’t fill properly.

“Good,” Tsukasa encouraged, despite Senku’s failure, “Keep going.”

Senku did as he was told.  It took a couple more tries, trying to match Tsukasa’s breathing.

Finally, he managed to take a full breath.  The sudden influx of oxygen made him light-headed, but he could breathe properly again.

“Sorry,” he gasped out, “Sorry.”  It had been a long time since he’d had a goddamned panic attack.  He hated them so much.  There was no logic to it, so why did his body insist on putting him through it?

“Don’t apologize,” Tsukasa said quietly.  “You’re fine.  Just breathe.”

Senku looked past Tsukasa to see Kohaku and Chrome frantically worrying, wanting to do something, but unsure what would help.  Glancing around, it appeared all of the villagers present were in the same state, even Gen.  Tsukasa must have ordered that the forge keep going though, because there were still some people pumping in air.  Well, actually Gen looked more freaked out than everybody; like he never intended his answer to have such an effect.  More than anything, now that he’d calmed down, Senku was embarrassed to have such an extreme reaction in front of so many people.

“I’m very sorry, Senku- chan ,” Gen apologized, sounding far more genuine than anything he’d said so far, “If it helps, I’ve never heard Hyoga admit to killing anyone other than you .  Though you seem remarkably not dead to me.”

“Heh,” Senku pushed his way back to his feet.  His legs still felt a little shaky, but Tsukasa helped steady him.  “So you do know who I am.”

“Of course,” Gen collected himself, “Hyoga- chan tells the story of how he killed you to everyone he revives, as a cautionary tale against defying him.”

“How many people has Hyoga revived?” Tsukasa asked.

“That would be telling,” Gen chastised, “Afterall, you’ve deduced that I am currently working for Hyoga-chan’s empire.”

“Currently?”

“Well, I am a shallow man, my allegiance can be bought.  I will always choose the side that benefits me most.”

“Since you haven’t gone running back to Hyoga yet, something here must have caught your attention,” Senku concluded.

“Ding ding!  Hyoga- chan cares only for those he feels will further his vision.  He claims that petrification was a way for humanity to start over; for only the strong elite to survive.  Though I do question a couple of his choices, including myself.”

Hope began to blossom in Senku’s chest.  It was possible, bordering on likely, that Gen just didn’t know the names of everyone Hyoga revived.  Taiju and Yuzuriha might still be okay!

“You don’t exactly seem very strong,” Kohaku observed, “I’m fairly certain even the children of the village could take you down.”

“Well that’s just insulting,” Gen moaned, “But probably accurate.  I think Hyoga- chan revived me for my persuasion abilities.  It seems to be my main job: convincing the new recruits that it’s worth sticking around.  There’s a few more of us without muscle jobs.  We have a person in charge of cooking, a person in charge of sewing, a person in charge of organization.  Hyoga- chan seems to understand that a society built on nothing but muscle is doomed to fail.”

“Go back,” Senku said sharply, “You said sewing ?”

“Hm?  Yes,” Gen’s smile was just as sharp, “Meatheads don’t tend to be very good at making things.  We need somebody to keep us clothed and warm, especially when winter hits.”

“Must be Yuzuriha,” Tsukasa whispered.

Senku nodded in agreement, relief starting to trickle through, though he was careful not to let it take over.  There was still the possibility that Hyoga had revived a different seamstress.

“Though I think the only reason she was kept around in the first place is that one of Hyoga’s men, one with an insane amount of endurance, laid a claim on her.  Seems to me that he only sticks around as long as she’s safe.  Some tension there, to be sure, but they seem to respect each other enough that it’s not an overt problem.”

The relief that flooded through him nearly knocked him back to his knees, but he was able to stay on his feet this time.

“Definitely Taiju,” Tsukasa agreed with Senku’s obvious relief.

“Oh those two are your friends?” Gen looked surprised, “Well, worry not, they are doing quite well.  I am sorry for causing you such distress.”

“You couldn’t have known,” Senku dismissed, “I shouldn’t have assumed you’d know their names.”

“It was a fair assumption,” Tsukasa argued, “Hyoga can’t have revived so many people that he didn’t have a chance to meet everyone.”

Kohaku crossed her arms and glared at the mentalist.  “How about you tell us why Hyoga sent you here?”

“My job was to track down Tsukasa-chan and determine if he was a threat to Hyoga and, if possible, try to persuade him to join ‘civilization’.”  Gen rolled his eyes at the word, as if he didn’t believe it.  “Imagine my surprise when I not only found Tsukasa- chan, but an entire village and a man who is supposed to be dead!  Honestly, Tsukasa- chan is better off here if he wants civilization.  At least you people have decent food.”

“Yeah,” Senku chuckled, “We’d appreciate if you didn’t tell Hyoga I am still alive or that Tsukasa is here.  If not for me, then for the sake of this village.”

“There are many things I could tell Hyoga,” Gen mused, “The question is which one will benefit me the most?  I am an extremely shallow man, you see.”

“So you’ve said.”  Senku didn’t buy that for a minute.  He’d seen the worry and regret on the mentalist’s face while Senku was recovering from his earlier panic attack.  The cold, selfish persona was just a front; a survival tactic.  “How about I show just what we’re going to make with this iron we worked so hard to get?”

“Oh?” Gen looked intrigued, “What would that be?”

Senku smirked.  “A power plant!”

Chapter Text

The task would have been impossible even before the light hit and turned them all to stone.  The idea of building a power plant in this stone world was laughable, or it would have been if they had time.  Instead, Senku was working them to the bone to try to beat the storm.  According to Senku, they needed the lightning in order to create the strong magnets that would create the electrical current for the, well power plant wasn’t quite it anymore, it was going to be more of a generator .

The storm had already caused the villagers to panic; Tsukasa could hear the yelling to take shelter from the “wrath of gods” from across the bridge.  When Senku took a plank from the bridge to create a mold for the melted copper, was it any wonder that it only made matters worse?

“Shit!  It’s Magma!” Kohaku growled.

“Yeah?  Who’s that?” Senku grunted, far too occupied in rushing the wires to bother to look up.

“The village brute.  Not many oppose him because of his strength, so he gets away with almost everything.”

“So tell him to fuck off!”

“He’s not a man to be reasoned with!”

Tsukasa grabbed his sword and started towards the bridge.  “I’ll take care of him,” he said darkly, “You keep working.”

“Don’t kill him!” Senku called the reminder after him.  

While it might be justified since this person was attacking them out of nowhere, it wouldn’t help them get the village on their side.  Tsukasa looked down at his weapon before sighing and burying the tip in the ground as he continued forward.  It didn’t matter if he had a weapon or not, nobody would be getting past him to get to Senku.

“Who are you supposed to be?” Magma drawled at Tsukasa.  He was trapped on the bridge as Tsukasa stood at the end of it.  “Are you the sorcerer that Kohaku brought back?”

Tsukasa glanced at the two people Magma had brought with him, neither were a threat.  Both looked like they just followed Magma in hopes of leeching off of his strength.  One was short with greedy eyes that kept glancing at the large fighter for cues on what to do.  The other was much taller, but wore a cocky expression that was clear hadn’t been earned.

Lightning struck again.  Close enough this time that Tsukasa could smell ozone.  Nobody should be out in this weather.  If Senku weren’t already elbows deep into this project that required the lightning to work, they too would be hiding from the storm, but trying to drag Senku away from science was nearly impossible.

“Turn back and take shelter in the village,” Tsukasa warned him.

“EH?  So you did summon this storm!  I’ll kill you and save the village from your sorcerer ways!”

Kohaku was right, this man couldn’t be reasoned with.  Tsukasa reasoned that it was not that he was too headstrong to listen to reason, but that he simply had about the same amount of mental cognizance as the Hulk.  If Magma started yelling “smash”, then Tsukasa might just decide to put the guy out of everyone else’s misery, diplomacy be damned.

When Magma threw the first punch, Tsukasa had to refrain from rolling his eyes.  This guy was supposed to be the strongest fighter in the village after Kohaku?  That punch was so telegraphed that a child could dodge it, which he did.

He ducked under the punch and came back up with an uppercut.  It certainly caught Magma off guard, but he still managed to dodge most of the impact, only getting a glancing blow to the chest.  Magma stumbled back, shock written on his face at how quickly Tsukasa moved.

The two lackeys took a step back, but only because they really had nowhere else to go.  If they had been on flat land, no doubt they would have tried to surround him.  Tsuaksa couldn’t blame them, however.  They couldn’t possibly know who he was or his reputation in the past.

“You got lucky there!” Magma proclaimed, “But your sorcerous ways won’t save you from me!”

Tsukasa didn’t deign to reply to the obvious bate.  He kept his hands up and his center of gravity down.  Fighting on the bridge wasn’t too different than some of the drills his coach had had him do in the past; working straight line attacks with the goal of trapping his opponent against the edge of the ring.

It became clear very quickly that Magma was outclassed, but this was not a man who had much experience with that and the resulting manic flailing forced Tsukasa to take more of a defensive strategy than an offensive one.  Magma became increasingly frustrated as none of his strikes landed.

“My, my!” Gen trilled from behind Tsukasa, balancing precariously on the post holding up the bridge.  “Such violence here!  There’s an old saying: pick flowers, not fights!” With a flourish, he produced two fistfuls of flowers.

“Two sorcerers!” Magma exclaimed, stumbling backwards.  “I should have known it would take more than one of you to summon a storm this strong.”

“You have it all wrong,” Gen smiled, “Tsukasa-chan isn’t a sorcerer, and we did not summon this storm, but I will use my sorcery to make it vanish.  Like so—” With a flick of his wrists, the flowers disappeared from view.

To any person from the 21st century, it was obvious that the mentalist had simply utilized a magician’s technique known as the “back palm”.  To these villagers though, the trick was pure magic and it was enough for Magma and his companions to back up.

“Impossible!” the short lackey exclaimed.

“Go back to your houses,” Gen smirked, “The storm should pass soon.”

Magma and his goons may be stupid, but they weren’t going to risk going up against blatant displays of sorcery.  Physical attacks, sure, but not sorcery.  With a glare that said he really wanted to attack Gen, but wouldn't, based off of how he couldn’t even land a hit against Tsukasa, Magma jerked his head and sulked back across the bridge.

“You should head back to Senku-chan ,” Gen smirked, “With how fervently he was working, I’m sure they are about ready to head out.”

Tsukasa glanced at Gen for a moment.  Why had Gen placed the title of “sorcerer” on his back?  That would do nothing to help Senku’s pursuit of building the Kingdom of Science and put a target on his head.  Sure, it had been helpful, but that didn’t mean that Tsukasa was going to trust him just yet.  However, he had a point, so he simply nodded his thanks and hurried back to where Senku was just finishing wrapping the iron bar in copper wire.

“Good timing,” Senku looked up with a confident smirk, “We need to hurry to get this to the top of the bald mountain before the storm lets up.”

They made it to the top of the mountain just in the nick of time.  A bolt of lightning struck just as they finished tying the iron to Kinrou’s spear.  The lightning worked just as Senku said it would and transformed the bars into powerful magnets, but it also turned the spear to ash.

For as much as the guard insisted he didn’t care about his gold spear, he was sure upset that it had been destroyed and that he now had to make due with a mundane one again.  Ginrou hadn’t been shy about ribbing his brother about it and had taken to asking Senku for a silver one instead.

Senku, of course, had ignored this and went about giving instructions to make the generator for their power plant.  It involved melting more copper and pouring it into a large, circular mold, hammering it thin, and coating it in lacquer, along with more copper wires.

They were almost done with the project when Tsukasa noticed Senku’s hands were turning red and his face was starting to swell due to the lacquer, but he kept going like he didn’t even notice.  What was he thinking?  There were no epipens in this time.  If his throat swelled like the rest of his face, it might as well be game over.

Tsukasa didn’t hesitate to pull the scientist away.  Senku had the gall to look offended.

“What?” he demanded.  His voice was deeper than usual too.  It was a good thing that Tsukasa pulled him away when he did.

“You’re clearly having an allergic reaction to the lacquer,” Tsukasa narrowed his eyes.  Thinking back, he remembered the Senku’s fingers were red when he was working with the lacquer-coated copper wires used to make the magnets.  He could only assume the reaction wasn’t so bad then since it had been raining and washing away most of the contamination. “Were you going to keep going until your throat swelled shut and you couldn’t breathe?”

“I can breathe just fine,” Senku struggled in Tsukasa’s grasp, “It wouldn’t kill me.  Just make things uncomfortable for a while.”

“No matter.  Kohaku!” he called the other warrior over, “Take Senku to the river and make sure he washes off whatever lacquer residue is still on him.  Monitor his swelling and his breathing and let me know if they get worse.  I will take over coating the wires.”

“What the hell are you going to do if they get worse?” Senku challenged, but didn’t get a reply before he was dragged off.

Kohaku happily manhandled Senku all the way to the river, completely ignoring the constant stream of mutters that he was fine and this was completely unnecessary.  Truth be told, she was worried when she noticed Senku was starting to swell up, but she had thought it might have just been something that happened to people in Senku’s time since he didn’t even seem to notice it.

By the time Senku returned, looking far less puffy than before, nearly everything was done and the only thing left to do was assemble it.  He was still pouting and grumbling about the whole thing.  Tsukasa didn’t feel sorry for him one bit, going as far as to still not let him even handle the pieces they had made.  Sure, it took longer to assemble this way, but at least the scientist wasn’t risking his health with an allergic reaction again.  

Night had fallen by the time everything was ready.  They had convinced Kinrou and Ginrou to spin the disks in tandem to generate the electricity.  Tsukasa had volunteered, but it was better to have two people who were used to working in sync with each other.

Senku dragged Chrome to the roof of the science hut with the coated wires and a bamboo filament he had made while giving assembly instructions.

“Chrome,” he said, unusually somber, “Are you afraid of the dark?”

Silence fell across the area, broken only by the guard brothers cranking the generator.  Tsukasa’s own breath caught at the question.  He didn’t think about it before Senku asked the question, but now that the idea had been voiced, he realized that ever since he’d been petrified, the night made him jittery.  For Senku, who was awake in the darkness for thousands of years, was it any surprise that the scientist had developed this fear?

“Huh?  Yeah, of course,” Chrome answered, bewildered, “It is dark, afterall.”

“In our time,” Senku continued softly, “There was no darkness.  We conquered the night.  Edison’s light bulbs lit up every corner of the world.”

The warm light from the filament washed over the clearing and Tsukasa could almost feel the tension in his shoulders that had been present ever since the sun disappeared, being lifted away.  Based on Senku’s expression, he was experiencing a similar feeling.  He wondered if the other people who’d been revived held the same unease.

“Electricity!  In this stone age,” Gen sighed next to him.  “If I wasn’t here to witness it, I wouldn’t believe it.”

The light faded as the filament burned out, but for once, the darkness did not seem so oppressing.

“You won’t get this with Hyoga’s kingdom,” Tsukasa said calmly.  “Consider that before you decide to betray us.”

“Oh, Tsukasa-chan ,” Gen chuckled as the fighter walked away, “It’s not a matter of who has the cooler stuff.  It’s a matter of who can offer me an easier life.  I am the world’s most shallow man, afterall.”

Everyone except Gen sat up in the science hut as Senku and Tsukasa filled everyone else in on everything Hyoga had done, including the murder of Senku and why.  Suika started crying and clung to the scientist’s arm, who simply patted her head comfortingly and assured her that he wouldn’t let Hyoga do that again.  Not to him or anyone else in the village.  Tsukasa was quick to back up those promises.

Something told both of them that the closest thing the young child had to any kind of older influence was Kohaku, and besides her, likely had little positive interactions due to her clumsiness.  The fact that Senku had easily accepted her help for the Kingdom of Science and even offered her praise for the things she did quickly solidified her allegiances to him.  Was it any surprise that she’d grown attached so quickly?

“Hyoga only got away last time because he had a weapon and mine had broken,” Tsukasa explained, “There wasn’t a way to incapacitate him without me or my friends getting seriously hurt or killed.  Now that I have my sword again, it will be different.”

“And Gen is on his side?!” Chrome exclaimed.

“That remains to be seen,” Senku chuckled, “At most, we can say that Hyoga was the one who revived Gen and sent him here.  We can only hope that what we’ve shown him is enough to sway him to our side.”

There was a sudden commotion from outside and alarmed shouts reached their ears.  All at once, they rushed out to see what had happened.  Nothing was amiss in the clearing, but there was an unease in the air that hadn’t been there before.  However, it didn’t take much searching beyond the treeline to find the cause of the disturbance.

“Gen?” Kohaku whispered in horror.

The mentalist was lying on the ground, covered in blood, with a spear still sticking out of his chest.

“Gen!” Chrome shouted, “Gen! Can you hear me?”

“No,” Kohaku answered for him, “He must have been killed instantly.”

“No!” Senku said sharply, swiftly kneeling down by the mentalist’s side and removing the spear.  “Look!”

Inside Gen’s coat were several packets of fake blood.  Enough to cover all of his vital areas in case he was attacked.

“Not bad, Mentalist,” Senku praised the unconscious man.  He was still terribly injured, but his tricks kept him alive.

Tsukasa quickly scooped him up and rushed him back to the science hut, cursing that they hadn’t finished the lab yet.  It would be so much easier if he didn’t have to climb a ladder while carrying someone, but at least all of the supplies they needed would be readily available.

“Starting tomorrow, you are going to start learning how to fight,” Tsukasa informed Senku.  “This could have very easily been you and I’m not going through… all that again.”

“Not really much of a fighter,” Senku pointed out, incredulously, “I doubt I’ll be much good beyond stumbling around blindly.”

“You’ll learn,” Tsukasa said firmly, “At least enough to defend yourself and get away until one of us can help you.”

Gen let out a shuddering breath, leading Senku to believe that he wasn’t completely unconscious; probably hovering somewhere on the line though.  That was good though, it showed he still had strength and resolve left in him.

Once up the ladder, Tsukasa gently laid Gen down while Senku and Chrome started mixing together different herbs.  Kohaku took Suika to get some water to wash the mentalist’s wounds.  

Tsukasa took up a guard position outside in case his attackers decided to come back.  He contemplated just how this could have happened, and what he could possibly teach Senku so he could defend himself.  Or rather, how to get Senku to take the training seriously.  Perhaps he could offer a trade of information: Senku teaches him good first aid for the stone world and Tsukasa teaches him some survival fighting techniques.  It might work if it was presented like that.  Senku craved knowledge more than anything, so Tsukasa would have to lean into that.

Kohaku returned with a bowl of water, Suika nowhere to be found.  “How’s Gen?” she asked as she approached.

“Alive,” Tsukasa glared at her, “Where is Suika?”  Seriously, there was just a murder attempt on someone close to this group.  It wasn’t safe for any of them to be far away.

“She went to see if she could learn who did this,” Kohaku answered, not faltering from the glare.  “Don’t worry about her.  Suika is amazing at hiding and gathering information.  She won’t be caught.”

“Hmph,” Tsuaksa grunted, but didn’t say anything more on the matter.  The children from the village were not nearly as soft as the children of the past.  They were born into a world where only the strong survive.

Sometime later, everyone but Senku and Gen exited the hut.  A quick glance inside told Tsukasa that Senku was still awake by Gen’s side, mixing up what was likely another batch of whatever paste they had spread on Gen’s wounds.  Senku glanced up and saw Tsukasa watching him.

“Go get some sleep,” Senku told him.  “The attackers were clearly after Gen and they believe they killed him.  Ten billion percent there won’t be any more attacks happening tonight.”

“So long as you do the same,” Tsukasa nodded.  “Let somebody know to take over for you if you think he needs someone to sit up with him.  Don’t stay up all night.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Senku rolled his eyes.  “He’s past the danger zone, he just needs to allow his body to heal.”

Tsukasa narrowed his eyes at Senku’s brush off, but retreated all the same.  It was late and they all needed to sleep if they were going to keep advancing towards making the sulfa-drug.  Now that they had some semblance of electricity, who knew what Senku was going to do next?

Chapter Text

“Gen’s gone!” Chrome yelled from the empty science hut.  “He must have taken off in the middle of the night back to Hyoga!”

Tsukasa’s face turned thunderous.  He grabbed his sword, intent on tracking Gen down and murdering him.  Kohaku looked like she wouldn’t be far behind him.

“Relax,” Senku picked his ear idly, “I’m pretty sure we’ve done enough to sway Gen to our side, but even so, if he never returns to Hyoga, he’ll only send more people here.  It’s better to let him report back for that reason alone.”

“Senku,” Tsukasa growled, “If he reports that I, or even goes as far to mention you, are here, nothing will stop Hyoga.  Gen is too dangerous to gamble on!”

“Gamble?” Senku smirked coyly, “The only thing I’m gambling is the mentalist’s lying skills.  Our time is better spent finishing the lab and taking on the next step of our road map.”

“So he’s decided to join us?” Kohaku sheathed her weapons.

“What he tells Hyoga depends on how serious he was about the deal we made last night.  No use worrying about it now.  Let’s finish building the lab.  We’ll need a place to put everything we’re about to make!”

With five of them working, having roped Kinrou and Ginrou into helping, the lab was finished by noon.  It would have to be insulated later, but it was functional and gave Tsukasa and Senku a new place to sleep other than the crowded science hut.

As they broke for lunch, Suika rolled into camp.  “Suika found out who attacked Gen!” she reported, popping out of her melon.

“Oh?” Senku grinned, “The Great Detective Suika at it again?  Alright then, tell us what you know.”

“It was Magma,” Suika continued, “Suika heard him bragging about it to Mantle in the woods.  He said that now that the sorcerer was dead, Tsukasa wouldn’t be as strong and neither would Kohaku.  But Suika doesn’t understand that.  Tsukasa and Kohaku are super strong all on their own, and Senku says sorcery doesn’t exist, only science!”

“Weak men often look for something to blame other than themselves so they can live in the delusion that they are strong,” Tsukasa answered her.  “Magma couldn’t land a hit on me earlier, and then Gen showed up and called himself a sorcerer.  I’m not surprised that Magma decided that Gen had given me some kind of ‘super strength’ with magic.”

“It goes deeper than that,” Kohaku crossed her arms, “He’s been out for my blood for just about a year.  At last year’s Grand Bout, I beat him in a fight and therefore took from him the chance to become chief.  Father wasn’t happy about it, because even though there are no rules against it, women don’t compete in the Bout.  I had no choice!  Magma was plotting to stage Ruri’s death once he became chief so he could make room for whatever woman he wanted!”

“That’s…a lot to unpack,” Tsukasa hedged.  “Let’s start with: what’s the Grand Bout and what does it have to do with becoming chief?”

“Oh, I forgot you guys wouldn’t know.  The Grand Bout occurs when the priestess turns eighteen, anyone over the age of fourteen can participate.  The winner of the Bout marries the priestess and becomes chief of the village.  It’s been that way for as long as our village has existed.”

“So what happened when you won?” Senku asked, “Obviously you couldn’t marry your own sister.”

Next to the bridge, Ginrou lamented the loss of forbidden love, or some such nonsense.  His implication was, frankly, disgusting, and his attitude was quickly adjusted by a knock to the head, delivered by his brother.  The guard had a strong moral compass, and even though the backbone of his conviction lay in the “rules”, he was slowly starting to come around to Senku’s side.

“There is another Grand Bout scheduled, next month in fact,” Kohaku said, “I intend to enter again, if for no other reason than as a means of keeping Magma’s slimy self away from Ruri.  Father can only disown me once, so I have nothing to lose.”

“Having a chief like Magma would be bad!” Chrome protested the very idea.  “The village would be destroyed with him in charge!”

“It would be bad for the progress of our antibiotic and the future of the Kingdom of Science too,” Senku looked thoughtful.

“Kohaku,” Tsukasa said suddenly, “What do your rules say about outsiders participating in the Grand Bout?”

“There’s nothing specific about it…”

“Then the more people we have from the Kingdom of Science, the better,” Tsukasa said definitively.  “We can stack the odds in our favor simply by submitting several contestants.”

“Look at you, Mr. Strongest Primate High Schooler,” Senku teased, “Never thought I’d see the day when such an upstanding fighter would rig a fight.”

“Not the fights,” Tsukasa denied, “But we can force the fights so that either Kohaku or I can take Magma out of the running and leave room for…say someone who genuinely cares for Ruri, to marry her.”

Kohaku marched over to Kinrou and Ginrou, who tensed at the impending confrontation.  “Kinrou, Ginrou, you care for Ruri, yes?”

“Of course!” Ginrou professed profusely.

“Obviously, she is our priestess,” Kinrou replied, far more properly.

“Then, will you enter the Grand Bout, and marry her ?”

Kinrou contemplated the question for a moment.  “I’ve been watching everything that you guys have been doing for months now, and I know that Senku and Tsukasa are not bad guys, even though they are outsiders, so what are you really trying to accomplish with this?”

“We want to save Ruri’s life!”

The declaration worked as intended and both guards were quick to accept the task set to hand.  With a nod and a promise to train with both of them later, Kohaku walked back to the others.

“Now that that’s settled,” Senku said idly, “It’s time to make the next building block in civilization: glass!”

“What does that have to do with civilization or making the sulfa-drug for Ruri?” Chrome asked, eager as always to learn some new science.

“Most chemicals would react with the clay pots we currently have,” Senku explained, “In order to not have that happen, we need to store it in glass.  Besides, it’s the perfect opportunity to see what’s under here!”

In a swift movement, Senku snatched the melon off of Suika’s head.  Everyone seemed appalled by the action, going as far as rebuking Senku for the callous move, until he pointed out that she wasn’t wearing it to hide any of her features.

“Suika wears this helmet because she has the fuzzy sickness and can’t see well without it,” she explained, “But for some reason, when she wears this helmet, everything is a little bit clearer!  Suika wishes, just one time, that she can see how everyone looks for real.”

A somber mood set over the group and Suika bared her heart and perceived weakness and defect.  Suika may see Senku as an older brother figure, and certainly Senku returned the settlement, but he wasn’t alone.  As time went on, Suika reminded Tsukasa more and more of Mirai and couldn’t help but have a soft spot in his heart for her.  In fact, he was very sure that if the village did anything to harm the small child, he would raze them to the ground without hesitation or remorse.

“Listen, Suika,” Senku knelt in front of her as she scrubbed at her eyes, “You’re only problem is that you’re nearsighted as hell.  It’s not a weakness and there is certainly nothing wrong with you.  In our time, poor eyesight didn’t even slow anybody down because science had created a solution:  glasses.”

“Eh?  Science can give people eyes?” Suika quietly wiped her tears.

“Science can do so much more than that,” Tsukasa stooped down next to Senku, “My little sister, Mirai, was clinically brain-dead, but science was able to keep her alive until they could find a cure for her illness.  A little fuzziness in your eyes is an easy fix.”

At least he hoped Senku had a solution and he hadn’t just given this poor girl false hope.  Fortunately, Senku nodded right along with him, gentle confidence exuding from him as he comforted this child.

“You have a sister, Tsukasa?” Chrome asked, “You haven’t mentioned her before.”

“Because she’s still petrified,” Tsukasa admitted, “She’s safe from Hyoga, wherever she is, and once we reclaim the Miracle Cave, we’ll be able to find her and revive her.”

“And in order to do that, we have to first cure Ruri and sway the villagers to join the Kingdom of Science,” Senku stood up.  “Let’s go, Suika.  The first thing we’re doing with glass is fixing your eyesight!” 

Always eager to help, and even more eager at the prospect of seeing clearly, Suika happily followed Senku as he explained what they were looking for.  The quartz they needed for glass making was surprisingly easy to find and purify.

Even molding it to make lenses was a relatively simple process.  The hardest part was cutting the glass to the right prescription.

Soon though, they were leading Suika to a field not too far away, her helmet tucked safely under Tsukasa’s arm.  She held onto the hem of Senku’s clothes, just to help her not trip on obstacles she couldn’t see, but was trying to look around at her blurry surroundings all the same.  Tsukasa walked right behind her, ready to catch her if she did happen to trip.

“Suika,” Senku said softly when they reached their destination.  “Can you see what’s in front of you?”

“Huh?” Suika squinted, “A bunch of sunflowers?  It’s not like Suika can’t see at all you kn—”

Tsukasa took the cue and carefully put the melon back on Suika’s head, cutting off her incredulous protest.  The two stood in silence while Suika saw the world clearly for the first time, letting her have time to take it all in.  Tactfully, they ignored the tears falling from under the mask.  The full beauty of any flower would be enough to bring anyone to tears if they had never truly seen it before.

Slowly Suika turned towards them and broke out into a brilliant smile.  “You two look even better than Suika imagined!” she laughed, “Suika’s happy that she finally got to see you!”

They returned to camp, Suika pointing out the details in everything as they went.  Tsukasa ended up putting her on his shoulders so that she wouldn’t trip and fall since she was interested in everything except where her feet were.  That just started a whole new round of observations, from the individual hairs on his head, to the details of the color of his eyes, to the cracks on his face.

Senku laughed his ass off as Tsukasa grew increasingly flustered at all of Suika’s comments.  That is until Tsukasa put the girl on his shoulders and she started doing the same thing to him.  Then it was Tsukasa’s turn to laugh.

The light atmosphere lasted until it came time to put their non-existent glass blowing skills to work.  Senku knew the theory behind it, and tried to pass on that knowledge, but it was clear that working with glass was a carefully honed craft that couldn’t be applied with theory alone.

“Those craftsmen in our day made this look so easy!” Tsukasa panted, out of breath from trying to blow the glass correctly.  Everything they tried to make came out wonky, wobbly, cracked, or some combination of the three.

“Craftsmen?” Chrome suddenly took off towards the village without another word, leaving everyone to wonder what was going through his head.

When Chrome returned, he was leading an old man who he’d tied up.

“What the hell?” Senku muttered.

“Chrome,” Tsukasa looked between Chrome and his prisoner, “Who is this?  Why did you tie him up?”

“No!” the old man cried, “I want nothing to do with your sorcery or the outsiders!”

“I tried asking nicely, but he just wouldn’t listen!” Chrome defended, “This is Kaseki.  He’s been a craftsman in the village his whole life.”

“He’s the one who crafted my shield!” Kohaku added, “He’s very skilled, but he certainly won’t help if he doesn’t want to.  We can’t force anyone to do anything.”

Senku chuckled.  “Don’t worry about it.  Kasaki, you just sit there and feast your eyes on this, because I guarantee that it will get you excited!”

Sure enough, as Senku, Chrome, and Tsukasa tried to work the glass once more, Kasaki started hopping in place, begging for a chance to work with the new material.  Just like that, the Kingdom of Science gained an expert craftsman who easily molded the glass into the shapes Senku requested.  

Soon, the lab was full of beakers, flasks, test tubs, and jars.  They had even been able to make a glass topper for the table that could be disassembled and moved if needed.  It was better than anything they could have dreamed of in this stone world.

There was only one concern Tsukasa had now that Senku had a proper lab again.  “You are going to leave the lab occasionally, right?”

Before the petrification, if Tsukasa ever wanted to find Senku, the lab at school or the lab he had in his room were the most likely places.  During the first few months after breaking out of petrification, Senku still spent most of his time in the lab they had built there.  Though he frequently had to leave for survival purposes.  

“We don’t even have all the chemicals we need to stock it yet,” Senku pointed out, “Which, now that we have our glass jars, we can finally gather the rest of the ingredients to make the sulfa-drug!”

“Senku, why are you making a silver spear for Ginrou?”

Tsukasa leaned over the scientist’s shoulder curiously, wiping the sweat from his forehead after a vigorous sparring round with Kohaku.  Senku had refused to elaborate just yet on what they needed to collect, so the two fighters decided to use the time to train.

“It will guide us to the most dangerous piece on our road map,” Senku answered easily.

“So not because you bought his bullshit excuse about it helping him fight better?”

“I know I’m clueless when it comes to combat, but I’m fairly certain that a silver spear would not enhance performance.”

“You wouldn’t be clueless if you actually practiced what you’ve learned.”

Senku up at him, annoyed.  “I warned you I was hopeless when it came to stuff like that.  I won’t last long in a fight no matter what kind of tricks you try to teach me.”

“I don’t need you to win ,” Tsukasa crossed his arms, “I need you to survive until help can reach you.  But you want a science approach?  You know what adrenaline can do to the body in an emergency.  I want to give you the tools for your adrenaline to use to get you out in one piece.”

“The short training sessions I have time for aren’t enough to build any kind of muscle memory, much less strength, so the point is moot!”

“Maybe not now , but as we get more people in the Kingdom of Science, you’ll be able to spread out the work and have a bit more time.  Besides, some training is better than no training.  It’s like the fire drills we did in school!”

Suika rolled up to Kohaku, no longer stumbling over her own feet thanks to the glasses they had fit into her helmet.  “What are Senku and Tsukasa fighting about?”

“Senku doesn’t want to learn how to fight,” Kohaku told her, “Tsukasa wants Senku to be able to defend himself if he’s ever attacked again.”

“Suika thinks Tsukasa is right!” Suika declared, loud enough to be heard by the bickering duo, “Suika doesn’t want anything bad to happen to Senku!  Senku gave Suika the ability to see clearly and a bunch of other cool things!”

“Well?” Tsukasa crossed his arms victoriously.  There was no way Senku would refuse Suika like that.  So what if it was playing dirty?  It would keep the scientist safe.

“... Fine ,” Senku surrendered, “After we get this done.  Collecting our next ingredient may very well kill one of us.”

“I still get my silver spear, right?” Ginrou checked.

“Of course,” Senku answered, no trace of humor.  “But don’t think I’m doing this out of the kindness of my heart.  This is going to serve as our sensor, and you, Grinrou, will be our bodyguard!”

Stars entered Ginrou’s eyes as he imagined himself as the strong hero of the story.  His enthusiasm didn’t wane for hours, long after they had set out in search for…whatever it was.  Ginrou proudly marched in front, chanting and waving his spear about.

Finally, Senku had enough.  “Ginrou,” he said sharply, grabbing the spear and positioning it out in front of the group, “You need to focus.  This spear is the difference between life and death for us.  If it ever starts to turn black, we need to turn and run, or else we’ll be dead in seconds.”

“What?!”

“We are looking for sulfuric acid, and in nature, it is often accompanied by hydrogen sulfide gas.  Hydrogen sulfide reacts instantly with silver to create a silver sulfide residue.  So long as that spear stays silver, we are safe.”

That was perhaps the wrong thing to say to Ginrou, but Senku needed to impress on him the seriousness of his role.  Unfortunately, it caused Ginrou to fail at his job in an entirely different way.  Now he trailed behind the group, taking very slow, shaky steps, with his eyes locked on his spear.

Eventually, Tsukasa had had enough of the antics.  He loomed over Ginrou, “Either give me the spear and go home, or take your place at the front of the group.”

Ginrou held the spear protectively in his arms and reluctantly moved in front of everybody, though he continued at his slow, nervous pace.  Suddenly, Kohaku and Chrome covered their mouths and noses, waving the air in front of them.

“Ginrou, what the hell did you eat?” Chrome gagged.

“What?” Ginrou sniffed the air and copied their actions, “I didn’t fart!  Maybe it was one of those two!” He pointed to Senku and Tsukasa.

Tsukasa looked mildly put off by the smell, but he was trying to remember where he had smelled it before.  Senku, on the other hand, appeared happy about it.

“Relax,” he said nonchalantly, “That rotten odor you’re smelling tells us that we are on the right track.  At these levels, the gas is harmless. As we get closer, the smell will grow stronger, and may even change when concentrations get higher.”

“I thought it smelled familiar,” Tsukasa said thoughtfully.  “They put that in the gas jets in the labs, didn’t they?”

“Ten billion points, Tsukasa,” Senku smirked, “They also fed it into homes that used gas stoves or gas heaters.  That way it was easy to detect if there was a leak and the building could be evacuated before levels reached harmful levels.”

“So why do we need my spear?” Ginrou quivered.  “You can just smell your way there.”

“The spear will let us know where the toxic levels are,” Senku answered, “At those levels, it would be likely we wouldn’t even be able to smell it anymore.”

“The gas smells so strong we won’t smell it?” Kohaku asked in disbelief.  “That seems impossible!”

“Many things in science seem impossible, but the fact that they exist proves that they’re not.  It just takes time and careful experimentation to find the rules about what makes it that way.”

“Science is so cool!” Chrome cheered, starry-eyed over the new facts he was learning.

“Yes, yes,” Tsukasa began to herd them all forward again, knowing full well that Senku would happily get distracted talking about the chemistry of the gas, “We need to keep moving if we want to collect the acid and make it back to the village before nightfall.”

Finding the sulfuric acid had been surprisingly easy, however, actually collecting it was going to be a challenge.  It was nestled in a deep crater on the mountain, meaning the deadly levels of hydrogen sulfide were guarding the treasure jealously.  There was no way to get to it without the high risk of death.  A single accidental breath would be the end of them.

“We’ve got to make gas masks!” Senku declared.

“Will that work?” Tsukasa checked, “What are the odds we make it out of there alive with gas masks?”

“Hard to say with the materials we have to work with.  There’s no telling just how effective they will be, and we don’t have time for trial and error.”

“Then we brute force our way to it!” Kohaku said fiercely, “I can hold my breath and with my speed—”

“—you still wouldn’t stand a chance!” Senku snapped.  “The gas masks are our only way forward,” he took a deep breath and continued, more subdued, “But, because they will be so uncertain, we will not risk everyone.  Only two of us, maybe three, will try to collect the sulfuric acid.”

Senku brushed off any questions or objections after that, and instead focused on building the gas masks with Kasaki.  Though it took time, the apparatus as a whole was fairly simple.  While Kasaki took care of the filter tank, Senku set about molding leather to fit the contours of his face.  It was important that there were no gaps for the poisonous gas to leech through.  Of course, padding could be added to allow for variations in face shape, but the tighter the seal, the better.

Kohaku managed to drag Tsukasa away to train with her, Kinrou, and Ginrou.  There was nothing better to do right now as Senku had, uncharacteristically, shooed away extra help on this project.  

It worried Tsukasa that Senku was quiet throughout the entire design process, only giving Kasaki the instructions he needed to do his part.  Usually Senku was sharing details and background science about everything they made, so the silence was unsettling.  In fact, Senku looked as though he was lost in thought for most of the afternoon.

When the first one was done, Chrome raced over excitedly.  “This is amazing!” he examined the contraption, “Now it’s time to make one for me!”

“No,” Senku corrected, “You won’t need one, because you are not going.”

“Huh?”

Tsukasa abruptly left his sparring match when he heard that and stalked over.  “So who is going, Senku ?” he growled in a way that made the present villagers shudder.

“Me and Ginrou,” Senku finally admitted.

“M-me?” Ginrou stuttered.  “I-I can’t go back there!  You said yourself that it wasn’t safe!  I don’t want to dieeee!” He started wailing at the prospect.

“You’re not going down into the basin,” Senku assured, “I just need you to act as the sensor again.  You can stand above where the gas has settled while I get the acid.  The gas mask is just an extra layer of protection for you.”

“No! Nonono!  I refuse to go back there!  You can’t make me!”

“Then don’t,” Tsukasa glared, shutting the guard up, “I’ll take the silver spear and go with Senku, which was going to happen anyway, right ?”

“No.  If things go terribly wrong, then you are the best chance for the village against Hyoga.  Not to mention rescuing Taiju and Yuzuriha.”

“Why aren’t I going with you?” Chrome asked, offended, “Seriously, if anyone is to collect sulfuric acid, it should be the two science users!”

“That’s exactly why you’re not,” Senku argued, “If something happens to me, then you are the future of science.”

“Bullshit,” Tsukasa growled.

Senku looked unbothered and stuck a finger in his ear.  “Eh?  Which part?”

“All of it.  You’re not leaving failsafes here just so you can be reckless,” Tsukasa poked his chest, hard enough that Senku stumbled backwards.

“That’s not what I’m doing!” Senku finally got defensive, glaring back at his friend.  “It’s simply the smartest option!”

“What?  Just like letting Hyoga kill you was the smartest option?”

“It was!”

The villagers could do nothing but stand by helplessly as Senku and Tsukasa’s argument grew.  It was their second argument this week, and this one was already worse than the first.  Heck, the first one was humorous compared to this.

“Senku and Tsukasa are fighting again,” Suika whispered nervously.

For as long as she knew them, the two hardly ever fought about anything, and if they did, it didn’t last long.  They could work off of each other effortlessly and worked together flawlessly. That was what made them such great partners, in Suika’s opinion. 

Kohaku knelt next to her.  “It’ll be alright,” she assured, “Those just have to get it out of their system.  Even the closest of friends have to argue sometimes.  They’ve been here for months without disagreeing with each other, so I’m not surprised this is finally coming out.”

“Besides,” Chrome knelt on the other side, “From the sounds of it, they didn’t fully deal with Hyoga killing Senku before, and it’s not healthy to hold those kinds of things in.  That kind of stuff tends to explode if you ignore it.”

“You mean that Tsukasa’s still mad about Senku dying?” Suika asked.  “What about Senku?  What does he have to be mad about?”

“Probably being forced into that situation and leaving his friends behind,” Kohaku theorized.

“Oi!” Senku called over, annoyed, “Are you done trying to psychoanalyze us?”

“Are you done fighting?” Kohaku retorted, not bothering to ask what ‘psychoanalyze’ meant.

“No,” Tsukasa answered, “But we’ll drop it for now, but Senku will take somebody capable with him to get the acid.”

“I never said I would go alone!” Senku pointed out, but was only met with a glare from Tsukasa.

“Kasaki will have one more gas mask ready before tomorrow,” Tsukasa continued, “So I propose an old method of picking who will go: we draw straws.  The shortest straw goes with Senku.”

The next day found Senku and Chrome setting out with their gas masks to collect the sulfuric acid.  They waited until they were just about to descend into the crater to actually put them on.

“Make sure you stay calm and regulate your breathing,” Senku instructed, checking all of the hoses to make sure there wasn’t a gap.  “If you start freaking out, then the charcoal will do jack-shit to protect you.”

“Yeah, sure,” Chrome agreed, his voice slightly high-pitched as Senku tightened some of his straps, “Just stay calm while wandering down into the death gas.  That might be easy for you to say, Senku, but unlike you, I don’t have nerves of ste—”

He cut off his tirade when he saw Senku’s hands trembling as they ran through all the checks.  Senku was just as nervous, but was forcing himself to push through.

“Now comes the true test of our gas masks,” Senku straightened up and adjusted the bag that held their collection jars.  “Let’s go!”

Chapter Text

Now that they had acquired sulfuric acid, creating the rest of the chemicals needed to complete the road map was simple, and soon, they were only three compounds short.

“Alcohol is key to making these three,” Senku explained, pointing it out on the road map.  “Fermenting it will be the longest part of that process.”

“Well then, we’d better get started on that!” Chrome marched out of the lab.

He only made it a couple of steps before encountering Kasaki.  “I don’t mean to eavesdrop,” the old man chortled, “But if it’s alcohol you want, then all you need to do is win the Grand Bout next week.  They always present the winner with tons of wine!”

Senku looked thoughtful.  “We were already planning on stacking the odds in our favor for the Grand Bout, but it was only to keep Magma away from Ruri.  Now that our goal is shifting towards winning—” his gaze drifted over to where the warriors were sparring, “—I think we should continue to fix the whole thing to ensure we win.”

“ You want to enter the Grand Bout?” Chrome exclaimed.

“Why not?” Senku chuckled, “It’s not like I’m going to win, but I can either tire out one of the opponents for us, or just drop out to let someone from our side advance.  Plus, if we win, we get an entire village to join the Kingdom of Science!”

“...Do you think I should enter too?”

“Why not?  The more people we can stack in our favor, the better.  You might get lucky and win.  Then you’ll get to marry Ruri,” Senku teased as he strolled past him, ignoring the sputtering denials from Chrome.  “Oi!  Tsukasa!  Today’s your lucky day!  Teach me how to fight!”

Tsukasa immediately halted his match and looked exasperated at Senku.  Kohaku and Kinrou seemed shocked by the sudden declaration, and a little suspicious.

“For weeks I’ve tried to do exactly that and you’ve been as stubborn as a mule the entire time,” Tsukasa pointed out, suspicious of the sudden shift in attitude, “What changed?”

Senku outlined his plan to the other fighters and the reasoning behind it.  Of course, Mr. Rules-are-Rules objected to the idea of manipulating a sacred event in such a way, but was immediately outvoted by Kohaku, who was willing to do anything and everything to help her sister.

“You understand, that if you’re serious about this, we are doing things my way,” Tsukasa raised an eyebrow at the scientist.

“What are your terms?” Senku asked, ready to bargain.

“We will train every morning, and you will give your full attention and effort for the duration.  I don’t train quitters—”

“Have you actually ever trained anybody?”

“—so you will not simply yield in the Grand Bout.  You can bow out if you are seriously outmatched, but otherwise, I expect you to try.”

Senku blinked at the surprisingly reasonable terms.  He was expecting some kind of hellish boot camp with little to no time for science.  With what Tsukasa proposed, he would have most of the day for lab work and recovery.  The only downside was that Tsukasa would be furious if he executed his first plan and lost on purpose to further the Kingdom’s quest for alcohol and manpower.

“That sounds just fine to me,” Senku smirked.  “I’m in your hands, Tsukasa-sensei .”

The smug look Tsukasa gave him in return suddenly made him very nervous.  He had a feeling he was going to pay for teasing him just then, if not for all the times Senku had vehemently denied the very training he was now asking for.

“There are five days before the Grand Bout,” Tsukasa turned away to return to his own training, “We start in the morning, so rest up.  You’re going to need it.”

The training Tsukasa had put him through was tough, but catered specifically to him, so it wasn’t nearly as bad as he feared it would be.  By the time the Grand Bout arrived, Senku felt far more comfortable in combat than he thought possible.  He still lost terribly against skilled fighters like Kohaku and Kinrou, but he could hold his own against Ginrou and Chrome!  At least, a couple of minutes before he was knocked on his ass and humbled.

The day finally came, when Senku and Tsukasa set foot into the village for the first time since their arrival five months ago.  Kinrou and Ginrou made a show of uncrossing their spears to let them pass peacefully.  Afterall, the rules of the Grand Bout were immutable and any outsider that wanted to participate would have to be allowed.

Villagers whispered amongst themselves at the new faces.  Several of them had already seen them before, when they were put to work in exchange for ramen, but there were still those who were clueless to the identity of the outsiders.

Suddenly they were approached by a young woman who looked so much like Kohaku that Senku reasoned this must be Ruri.  “Excuse me,” she said sweetly.  It was clear she held power in the village by how quickly the other villagers fell silent as soon as she began to speak.  “Which one of you is Senku?  I need to ask, what is your last name?”

“What?” Senku gasped.  It felt like his feet had suddenly taken root with the earth.  Beside him, Tsukasa also froze with surprise and suspicion.  There were no last names in this world, so for her to even consider asking…

“Oh!” she misunderstood his surprise, “A last name is one that—”

“I know what it is,” Senku cut her off.  The question was how did she know what it was?

Before either of them could continue the conversation further, Ruri suddenly collapsed in a coughing fit.  It was the first time he’d actually be able to see the illness that plagued her, and just this sign alone, had his mind narrowing down the possibilities.  The priestess was quickly set upon by her…helpers? Bodyguards?...and returned her to the hut that was elevated above the rest.

“Well, that was interesting,” Tsukasa muttered.  “What do you make of it?”

“I think we’re going to have to win this thing if we want any kind of answer,” Senku chuckled nervously.  “You and Kohaku are our best chance at that.  If we get lucky, the two of you will end up in different brackets, maybe even fighting Magma in the first round.”

If Tsukasa believed in jinxes, he would say that Senku jinxed the results.  Not only were he and Kohaku put in the same bracket, they were paired against each other right off the bat.  They were the second fight to go, but it was not ideal.

Even worse—

“First match!” the judge, Jasper, called, “Senku versus Mantle!”

Senku entered the arena, hand clenched around his padded weapon tightly.  There had only been a 28.5% chance for him to be paired with anyone outside of the Kingdom of Science, but it could be worse.  He could be fighting Magma in the first round, like Ginrou was, but Mantle wouldn’t hold back any more than Mantle would.  In fact, Magma was looking rather pleased about the whole line up and had whispered something to the short man before he entered the ring.

“Fight!”

Almost instantly, Senku was being barraged with a flurry of attacks.  He was forced to go on the defensive, trying to simply avoid being knocked out of the fight within the first ten seconds.  Not that it would matter in the grand scheme of things.  Mantle would definitely lose his next fight no matter what, but Senku’s promise to Tsukasa was to at least try , so he wouldn’t let himself be beaten quickly.

On the sidelines, the villagers cheered Mantle on as he continued to push Senku back.  From his training, at least Senku could remember not to back up in a straight line but rather try to circle around.  He wasn’t an experienced fighter though, so he definitely got hit, mostly on the legs and arms, but at least he was able to block or dodge the worst of it.

Senku forced himself to think as Mantle refused to relent even for a second.  Mantle’s attacks appeared random, but few things truly were.  Humans were creatures of habit and repetition, so somewhere Mantle was repeating himself, he just needed to figure out the pattern. 

Though fast, Mantle was telegraphing all of his moves, even the feints.  Senku started paying attention to where the attacks were coming from.  Right, right, left, feign left, right, left, right, right.

So far all Senku could tell was that Mantle favored his right side.  Perhaps that was enough.

“Senku!” Tsukasa called from the sidelines, “You’re overthinking!”

Was it that obvious?  That had been one of Tsukasa’s complaints as he was tutoring Senku.  Senku tended to over analyze everything in a fight, too distracted by the physics, trajectories, and patterns to effectively form a counter strategy in a timely manner.

And then he noticed Mantle’s footwork.  The man had clearly spent so long focused on what could only be described as a blitzkrieg, that he was stumbling over his own feet, only carried forward by the momentum of his strikes.

Knowing this, combined with the fact Mantle favored a single side, Senku realized that Tsukasa was absolutely right.  He was overthinking this.  The moment the next attack came from Mantle’s left, his weaker side, Senku sidestepped and tripped Mantle.

Mantle went sprawling in the dirt at the unexpected move, but Senku didn’t let him have a chance to recover.  By the time the short man had turned himself over to sit up, Senku already had his weapon against his chin, preventing him from getting up.  

It was inspired by an old science trick from the old days where you prevented a friend from standing from a chair by simply holding a finger on their forehead.  That trick worked because the friend had all their weight leaning backwards and they couldn’t use their hands, so it took little to no strength to keep them down.  This one simply worked because there was a pressure point right on the chin, which also used minimal to no strength to prove effective, even with the use of hands.

The crowd hushed in surprise at the sudden turn of events.  Mantle tried to stand, but all Senku had to do was apply just a little pressure, and his efforts were thwarted.

After several failed attempts, Jasper had no choice but to reluctantly declare, “Mantle has been incapacitated.  Senku advances!”

Senku quickly retreated to the sidelines, already feeling the bruises forming on his arms and legs.  In fact, there were already shadows of the future bruises appearing on his pale skin.  Despite that, he felt as though he had just gotten a glimpse into Tsukasa’s world.    Now that the stress of the fight was past, endorphins flooded his brain at his win.

The bracket was being updated before the next match was called.  It allowed a brief reprieve between matches, which would be very helpful going into the finals.

“You did well,” Tsukasa praised.

“Had to hold up my end of the bargain,” Senku grinned tiredly, collapsing on the ground next to him.  “I’m not looking forward to having to face you or Kohaku.”

“At least we won’t be out to hurt you,” Tsukasa pointed out and then frowned at the bruises already visible.  “It’s too bad we don’t have ice readily available.  It would help with some of that bruising.”

“I’ll be alright,” Senku assured, “Just sore for a few days I think.”

Off to the side, Ginrou was muttering to himself, trying to give himself a pep talk.  “If Senku can beat Mantle, then maybe I have a chance against Magma!  Yeah!  Just got to trip him or something.  I wonder if there’s any science to make me stronger in the next five minutes…”

“Do you think Ginrou stands a chance?” Senku whispered to the fighter.

Tsukasa shook his head.  “The best we can hope for is Kinrou moving forward against Chrome to face Magma in the second round.  He’s the best chance on that side of the bracket to keep Magma away from the final match.”

“Second match!” Jasper called, “Kohaku versus Tsukasa!”

The fight between the two warriors was certainly better than Senku’s fight.  Tsukasa and Kohaku seemed to exchange equal blows all while covering far more ground.  Neither seemed to dominate the ring and control flipped back and forth between them.

Though thoroughly energized by the impressive fight, the villagers seemed to have a hard time deciding who to cheer for.  Kohaku was one of theirs, but she had been disowned for throwing off the results of the last Bout and they were worried about what would happen if she won again.  On the other hand, at least Tsukasa was male, and clearly strong and capable, but he was an outsider.

Kohaku’s downfall came as she attempted to flip over Tsukasa to try to catch him from behind.  Unfortunately, Tsukasa was quick to knock her out of the air and pin her to the ground.

Whispers rippled through the crowd as Jasper declared Tsukasa the winner.  Everyone remembered how Kohaku had beaten Magma before, and now this newcomer had relatively easily beaten her.  In a show of comradery, Tsukasa offered his hand to help his opponent up from the ground, lighting the fuse to a second round of whispers as the two made their way back to the sidelines together.

Magma, on the other hand, looked victorious and vindicated at the result.  “Hahaha!  I knew a woman couldn’t be that strong naturally!  Since I killed their sorcerer, they’ve returned to their normal strength!  I will obliterate them all!”

Tsukasa had to quickly grab Kohaku’s arm before she could lunge at the walking piece of personified misogynistic trash.  “Don’t worry,” he said quietly, “Even if he makes it to the final round, I’ll be there waiting for him.  He won’t win.”

As they walked away, they heard Mantle plant the idea that perhaps sorcery was still at work, because how else could an outsider have taken even him down.  Magma was quick to agree to that, rationalizing that there must be two sorcerers.

“What if Senku wins your match?” Kohaku hissed at him, but followed him back to the sideline all while shooting daggers at Magma.

They were close enough that Senku was able to catch the tail end of that.  “The chances of me actually beating Tsukasa are about the same as me giving up science,” he rolled his eyes.  “That fight is just going to be for show.”

“But you will try your best,” Tsukasa warned.

“Yeah, yeah,” Senku waved off.  “I really hope I never have to do any of this again though.”

“In a perfect world, you wouldn’t have to do it ever,” Tsukasa retorted, “But this is the farthest thing from a perfect world.  I’m glad that you at least know as much as you do now.  How you survived three months on your own is a mystery to me.”

“Third match!  Ginrou versus Magma!”

“Haha!” Magma entered the arena, cracking his knuckles in anticipation, “Let’s get this over with!”

Ginrou followed, significantly slower and trembling from head to foot.  Of course, being the kind of person Magma was, that only made the large man smirk wider.

“Fight!”

It turned out that Ginrou’s cowardness actually came in handy here.  The moment Magma rushed forward, Ginrou turned tail and ran, expertly avoiding all of Magma’s attacks as if he had eyes in the back of his head.  Now if only he would launch a counter attack.

After a couple of minutes of trying to catch Ginrou, which appeared to be like catched a greased pig, Magma finally managed to land a solid hit.  Unfortunately, the strength of that hit flung Ginrou backwards and off the edge of the island.

“Ginrou!” Senku and Tsukasa cried, rushing over just in time to see Ginrou hit the water.  Tsukasa started looking for the safest and fastest way down.

“Relax,” Kohaku grabbed his clothes to keep him from doing anything rash.  “Everyone falls into the water at some point.  Ginrou is a strong swimmer, he’ll be fine.”

Sure enough, Ginrou was swimming his way towards shore, none the worse for wear.

“You guys are insane to be able to brush off a fall from this height,” Senku laughed nervously.  “The surface tension of water is nothing to laugh at.”

“Surface tension?” Kohaku cocked her head.

“The force that holds water together,” Senku explained in simple terms, “It’s what lets water form drops instead of just falling apart on surfaces.  Impact water at high speeds, and it takes a fraction of a fraction of a second for the surface tension to break and let you through, and in that brief moment, if you’re not trained on how to enter the water safely, it’s like hitting a solid surface.”

“Huh,” Kohaku said thoughtfully, looking back over the side.  “We’ve never had that problem.  But maybe it’s because being in the water is almost second nature to us.  We learn how to swim and be around water from the time we are babies.”

Ginrou had made it to shore by now, so the group moved away from the edge and rejoined the crowd.  Magma was looking particularly proud of himself for his victory and was leering at Kinrou and Chrome sadistically.  

Seriously, what the hell was wrong with this guy to take such pleasure in grievously injuring, or even killing, his opponents?  If the entire village were like that, then it would be understandable as a learned, acceptable behavior.  As it was, however, the villagers, though suspicious of the outsiders, weren’t violent, so who taught him that these actions were okay?  Probably because he proved his strength from an early age and was praised for it.

“Fourth match!  Kinrou versus Chrome!”

Senku pulled his attention away from trying to unravel the village’s homicidal maniac’s psyche to focus on this fight.  Whoever won, would have to face Magma in their next match.

Kinrou and Chrome took their place in the middle of the arena, determination plastered on their faces.  Both of them wanted nothing more than to be able to save Ruri and would do whatever it took to make that happen.

The fight was certainly interesting to watch.  At least in this fight, the villagers were able to pick sides and were cheering loudly for their favorite to win.  Kinrou was clearly the stronger fighter, and as such would make the stronger chief, but everybody seemed to know that Ruri had a soft spot for Chrome, even if she wouldn’t admit it due to her station.

It was a little strange though.  There were several strikes from Kinrou that should have made contact, but were either thrown short, or just off to the side.  Nothing so obvious as to make it look like the guard was trying to throw the fight, but certainly unusual for an experienced fighter like Kinrou was.

“He’s nearsighted !” Tsukasa suddenly gasped.

Senku looked closer and saw that Kinrou was indeed squinting, much like a person would when they weren’t wearing their glasses.  It didn’t appear to be anywhere near the degree of Suika’s nearsightedness, but apparently enough to throw off his depth perception.

“Why didn’t he say anything when we made Suika’s glasses?” Senku asked, baffled at the idea that somebody would rather go through life with blurry vision.

“Kinrou’s too proud to admit anything that would be seen as a weakness,” Kohaku answered.  “If he really can’t see well, then it explains a lot about his fighting style.  He’s always had a problem with pulling his strikes.”

“Kinrou has the fuzzy-sickness like Suika?” Suika asked curiously.

“Looks like it,” Senku answered, “We’ll fix that once this is all over.”

“Suika can help!” she jumped up and pulled her watermelon off her head.  “Kinrou can use Suika’s glasses!”

Before Suika could throw the helmet into the arena with nothing but good intentions, Senku snatched it from her grip and set it firmly back on her head.  “The rules say no outside help,” he reminded her, “Besides, his eyes are probably different than yours.  The way we made your glasses might actually make Kinrou’s vision worse.  You can share your insight with him when he’s done with his fight.”

It turned out the fight wouldn’t last much longer.  Just one more mistimed and misaimed attack from Kinrou was enough for Chrome to take the advantage and knock Kinrou back.

The crowd cheered as Jasper announced that Chrome was advancing to the next round.  Up in the elevated hut, Ruri looked both pleased and worried at the outcome of the match.  It seemed the crush went both ways there.  How fortunate.

“Congratulations, Chrome!” Suika greeted them as they rejoined the group.  “Kinrou, you should get glasses!  They’ll help you!”

The sudden declaration startled Kinrou.  “What are you talking about Suika?” he denied, “My vision is fine.”

“Well, better than Suika’s anyway,” Senku allowed.  “You should have said something while we were making Suika’s glasses.  It wouldn’t have been that much extra work to make another pair.”

“I —”

“Don’t bother trying to talk your way out of it,” Tsukasa cut him off.  “I’ve fought many nearsighted people in my life, and when they choose not to wear their glasses or contacts, they squint exactly like you do.”

“Contacts?” Suika looked up.  Tsukasa quickly knelt down to explain the concept to her, and why it was impossible in this world right now.

While he was distracted, Kinrou addressed Senku.  “I appreciate your concern, but really, it’s fine.  I’ve managed to deal with this my whole life and it’s really not that bad.  Besides, I don’t want to walk around with a watermelon on my head.”

Senku chuckled.  “You don’t need to worry about that.  Glasses come in all shapes and sizes.  We will come up with a more traditional design for you.  Not bulky or obtrusive in any way.  You are part of the Kingdom of Science, and the Kingdom of Science looks after its citizens.”

The semi-finals went about as well as they imagined they would.  At least the results of the match were what they predicted.

Tsukasa had used his fight against Senku as another training spar for the scientist as it would likely be his last opportunity to train him for some time.  Senku did fairly well, but only because Tsukasa didn’t immediately flatten him the moment Jasper began the fight.  The fight lasted a few minutes before Tsukasa decided that Senku had fully upheld his end of their bargain and ended the fight.

When it came time for Magma and Chrome’s match, that was when the trouble started.

“I don’t know how I didn’t see it before , sorcerer ,” Magma proclaimed, launching an attack the moment Jasper started the fight, “The first sorcerer I killed was merely a decoy!  You, Chrome, have been a known sorcerer for many years and now you consort with outsiders.  I bet it was you who gave Kohaku her abnormal strength!”

“It’s science ,” Chrome corrected adamantly, doing his best to block and dodge the attacks.  “If I could give gorilla strength away, why wouldn’t I start with myself?”

The fight continued in the same vein.  Magma continued to accuse Chrome of sorcery and Chrome continued to deny the claims while trying to dodge and counter Magma’s attacks of brute strength.

It became more and more difficult for Chrome as the fight went on because Magma was landing more and more hits on him.  His face was swollen and bloody.  One of his fingers was held gingerly off of his weapon and was slowly turning purple.  He had been hit in the legs too, so his movements were slowed as he tried to limp around the arena.

At one point, Chrome’s eyes actually rolled up and he began to fall.  However, before he could hit the ground, or anybody could see that he’d passed out, Magma launched another series of attacks, keeping him airborne and in enough motion that it was difficult for most people to tell what was going on.

There were no coaches in this world to throw in the towel for their fighter.  Somebody would have to intervene.  Tsukasa was about to do so himself, but was quickly held back by Senku.

“If you interfere in this fight, you’ll be disqualified,” Senku said seriously, “You’re the last chance we have to win this thing.”

“My, my,” a familiar voice crooned from behind them.  Whirling around, they saw Gen standing behind them..

“Gen?” Kohaku gasped, “What are you doing here?”

“I bring news from Hyoga’s Empire,” he said innocently, “But the more pressing matter is Chrome- chan .  I think Magma -chan needs a reminder why it’s a terrible idea to kill people.”

“Heh, do what you want, mentalist,” Senku grinned and Gen disappeared in a swirl of flower petals.

He reappeared at the top of the chief’s hut, a wicked grin plastered across his face.  It would certainly be easy to mistake him as a vengeful spirit if such things even existed.

“Magma- chan !” he called, drawing the man’s attention.  Once Magma realized who he was, his face turned white.  “Thank you for killing me!”

“The sorcerer!” Magma gasped, horrified.

“How is he still alive?” Mantle whimpered, just loud enough for Gen to hear him.

“How?  With sorcery, of course!” Gen answered impishly.  “I’ve come back to return the favor!”  A series of, frankly, ridiculous movements later, and another flurry of flower petals, Gen announced, “I’ve cursed you, Magma- chan .  The next time you kill, your life is forfeit.  Your life-force is now intertwined with whomever you perceive to be an enemy!”

Magma glanced at Chrome, who was lying still on the ground before looking over at the judge.  “This must count as outside interference,” he argued, “The outsiders have brought this upon us.  They should have never been able to enter the Grand Bout!”

“Sure,” Senku agreed, picking at his ear, “But only if the curse is real.  Otherwise it’s just a taunt.  Perfectly allowable by the rules, right?”

Before Jasper could think of a response to either of them, he was set upon by Kohaku.

“Jasper, what the hell are you thinking?!” she rebuked.

“Kohaku!” Kokuyo growled at her.  “Is it not enough that you insist on making a mockery of the Grand Bout by entering yourself and delaying the priestess’, your sister’s , marriage?  Must you also make a spectacle of yourself by interrupting another fight?  I have already disowned you for your actions at the last Bout, do not make me exile you!”

“Chrome has been unconscious for the entire beat down Magma was giving him and Jasper was just letting it happen!” Kohaku growled right back.  “What kind of honor is there in intentionally beating a man who can no longer fight back?  If the sacred judge can’t do their damn job, then I will do what it takes to keep my people safe!  And if that includes letting an outsider cast a ‘curse’ on Magma to keep him from killing whoever he pleases, so be it!”

The chief’s eyes flicked over to where Kinrou was carrying a bloody, beaten, and boneless Chrome out of the arena.  He was forced to reluctantly admit that his wayward daughter had a point.

“Jasper,” Kokuyo called down, “Fix your eyes and focus on the fights.  This is a disgrace to the Grand Bout.  Declare the winner and continue to the final match.”  Jasper didn’t bother to argue with the chief, but nodded his understanding and declared Magma the winner.

On the sidelines, Senku was quick to apply some Stone World first aid to the other scientist.  There wasn’t much he could work with on his person though.  Everything was back at the lab.

“Ginrou and I will take him back to his hut,” Kinrou offered, “We are more than familiar with how to treat these kinds of injuries.  You guys focus on supporting Tsukasa.”

“I think I shall accompany you,” Gen rejoined them.  “If the last match is between Tsukasa- chan and Magma- chan , then the winner has already been decided.  I ought to leave right now anyway.  I am not a competitor and I’m sure Kinrou- chan is not too happy about my intrusion.”

“You saved Chrome’s life,” Kinrou answered, “Just this once, we’ll let it slide.  Tsukasa,” he directed at the fighter, “when you win, the rules state that you will become the village chief, and Ruri’s wife.  Rules are rules.  It no longer matters to me that you are an outsider.  You will have my support when you win the village for the Kingdom of Science.”

Tsukasa nodded his understanding at the guard.  “Take care of Chrome.  Don’t worry.  Magma won’t win and will pay for what he’s done.”

“Final match!” Jasper declared, “Magma versus Tsukasa!”

Magma grinned confidently at his opponent.  “You got lucky before,” he said, “But even if I couldn’t kill your cheating sorcerer, I certainly beat him enough to break whatever enchantment you got from him.”

Tsukasa glowered at him.  His expression was dark enough that Magma took half a step backwards.

“Do not speak to me of cheating when you have no honor yourself,” Tsukasa growled.  “Your opponent was finished and no longer able to fight back, yet you decided victory wasn’t enough.  You tried to claim his life in the only way that would not have you labeled a murderer and have you kicked out of your village.”

A murmur rose up from the spectators.  From the snippets he could hear, they agreed that Magma had gone too far and reluctantly acknowledged that the outsider had a point.  Some murmurs were filled with uncertainty about what would happen if Magma actually became chief.  How many of them would he kill just to get his way?

“EH?” Magma challenged, suddenly uncomfortable with the attention on him. “What does someone who relies on sorcery for their strength know about honor?”

Tsukasa settled into his fighting stance, his padded weapon to the wayside.  He didn’t need it to take down the coward in front of him.  “If you truly believe my strength is not my own, then you will have no trouble defeating me.”

“BEGIN!” Jasper called.

Quick as a flash, Tsukasa flew forward, past Magma’s hasty defenses, and landed a strong punch square in his face.  Magma flew across the arena, landing heavily on his back, but the blow wasn’t enough to knock him out, only stun him for a moment.  And stunned Magma certainly was.  He stared at Tsukasa in shock of the power he had just demonstrated.

“Get up,” Tsukasa said darkly, looking down at Magma.  “Or are you so weak a single punch would take you out?”

The taunt worked.  Magma got to his feet and ran at Tsukasa, yelling with his weapon raised, aiming for a solid strike to Tsukasa’s head.  Tsukasa, light on his feet, easily avoided the attack and countered with a strong kick to Magma’s ribs.

Again, the kick sent him flying across the arena.  This time, it took Magma a bit longer to find his feet.  

“Pathetic,” Tsukasa scoffed, “Even with your strength, you lack proper training.  I took down men your size while I was still a child.  You wouldn’t last a day in the fights that I made a living off of in my day.”

“You just got a couple of lucky shots in,” Magma wiped his face, glaring at his opponent, “Don’t get cocky.”

With that Magma charged forward again.  And again, his weapon was raised high as if going for an overhead strike.

Tsukasa was no fool, however.  Magma’s eyes gave him away as he kept glancing towards Tsukasa’s side.  Two could play the fake-out game, and Tsukasa had far more experience at it.  He raised his leg, as if to kick him again, and Magma’s face split into a wide grin.  Clearly hoping to catch him off balance, Magma used his momentum to swing his weapon towards Tsukasa’s ribs.  Tsukasa also changed his attack, from a kick, to a low sweep.

In a split second, Tsukasa had ducked low under the strike and swept his leg under Magma’s feet, sending the man sprawling on the ground once again.  This time, however, Magma seemed incapable of holding onto his weapon and it went spinning through the air.  Tsukasa deftly caught it.

With one foot planted firmly on Magma’s chest and his own weapon to the downed man’s throat, Magma was sufficiently incapacitated with just a few blows exchanged.

The entire village stood stunned at the results.  Up in the hut, Kokuyo had dropped his cup and shattered it at his feet.  Ruri appeared to be somewhere between relieved she didn’t have to marry Magma, and unsure about having to marry an outsider.

It took a few moments before Jasper managed to stutter the announcement, officially ending the match and the Grand Bout.

“T-Tsuaksa wins!”

Chapter Text

Everything was on fire.

It happened so suddenly.  One moment they were enjoying the feast, celebrating Ruri’s recovery and Tsukasa’s ascension to chief on the far island, and the next, Tsukasa was in the middle of a fight with Hyoga and the village was burning.

How did Hyoga even get this far into the village?  Tsukasa had met him head-on at the first island, the one that held most of the houses.  Senku’s eyes slid over to the bridge at the entrance to the village and saw the bloody body of Kinrou precariously close to the edge.  Ginrou had left his brother in order to raise the alarm, but Hyoga was clearly too fast.

Around him, children screamed as the houses burned and started to collapse.  Ruri was giving orders for everyone to evacuate to the clearing that served as the base for the Kingdom of Science.  Senku knew should be joining them, giving instructions and leading the way, but his feet were frozen to the ground.

Suddenly Tsukasa and Hyoga were fighting in front of him.  How did they make it all the way to the far island already?  Neither of them paid him any mind, even as his body refused to listen to his brain and move.

Looking down, he saw his feet encased in stone again.  Stone that was slowly creeping up his legs.  That didn’t seem right, but he couldn’t figure out why.  He was helpless as buildings collapsed around him and the smoke grew thicker.  It was a wonder it wasn’t affecting his breathing yet.

The sound of flesh being pierced made its way through the fog that was overtaking his brain.  Tsukasa was impaled on Hyoga’s spear, hanging limply even as the spearman effortlessly carried the heavy man over to the edge and fling him off with the same disdain as someone would treat a bug on the bottom of their shoe.

“TSUKASA!”

The scream tore itself from Senku’s throat, the first sound he was able to make since the whole thing started.  Finally, Hyoga turned his attention to the scientist.

“You should have never attempted to defy me and stayed dead,” Hyoga growled at him.  “In fact, your plots against me and my ideals for this new world have cost your friends their lives.”

Hyoga gestured to Senku’s right.  With great effort, Senku turned his head only to immediately wish he hadn’t.  Taiju and Yuzuriha were being dangled over the cliff edge by one of the large brutes Hyoga had brought with him.

“Senku!”

“SENKU!”

They both called out for him, but the stone had made its way up to his chest.

“Taiju!  Yuzuriha!” he cried helplessly.  

He should have accepted Tsukasa’s offer and gone after them once he’d been revived the second time.  Yes, the risk for injury had been high, but at least they would all still be alive.  He could do nothing but watch as the brute callously flung them to the water below.  He couldn’t even reach out in a feeble attempt to grab them.

“Why are you still alive?” Hyoga brought his attention back.  “It is not proper for the dead to rise and stir up trouble.  Your friends will continue to perish until you learn your lesson and stay dead.”

Screams suddenly erupted from where the villagers had gathered.  Senku’s eyes snapped to where there was now smoke rising from their science base.  He could only listen in horror, as his mind provided names and faces for each scream that carried through the night.  

Ruri.

Kohaku.

Chrome.

Suika.

Ginrou.

Kasaki.

He swore he could see a river of their blood flowing from the clearing.  It made him sick.

“Senku!”  

The stone was starting to creep across his face and the seconds started taking over.  This time at least he knew a bit about what was happening; that it wasn’t permanent, but that did very little to sooth his panic.

Any number of things could happen while he was trapped.  Hyoga likely would destroy his statue, or at the very least, drop it into the ocean, never to be recovered.  Even if that didn’t happen, Hyoga would have influenced the new world to the point where it would be unlikely he would be welcome in it.

“Stay in the stone, Senku,” Hyoga whispered as one of his eyes was covered.  This would likely be the last thing he ever heard. “Go to sleep.  See how comforting it is?  How tiring it must be to count for eternity and hope fruitlessly.  Not to worry.  I will make sure you join your friends.  Permanently this time.”

Senku’s vision went black.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

“Senku!”

Five.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

Byakuya appeared in front of him, wearing the most disappointed look he’d ever seen on the man.

“Dad,” he choked out.  “Dad, I —”

“Was my gift not enough, Senku?” he asked, “How could you have already lost it?  How will humanity be saved if you can’t even save one village?  They are more blood to me than you.  You let my grandchildren be slaughtered, Senku.”

The words were cutting.  They were nothing like Senku had ever imagined Byakuya was capable of saying, but maybe it was deserved.  He screwed up so badly that maybe he deserved whatever weird form of disownment Byakuya was giving him.

“Dad, please!”  But the vision of Byakuya had already faded away.

“Wake up, Senku!”

Wake up?  He was trapped in stone.  There was no way out without the revival fluid, and anyone who knew the formula and was brave enough to go against Hyoga to use it on him.  Byakuya was already disappointed in his failure.

Hyoga promised to make him join his friends.  His statue was probably under hundreds of feet of water.  Even if he could break out on command, there would be no way for him to survive long enough to get to the surface.

“You’re dreaming, Senku!”

Dreaming?  He checked his mental clock.  When he did, it surprised him.  It told him it was 3:37 in the morning, but the stone had only encased him 72 seconds ago.  It had definitely not been that late when Hyoga attacked, so what happened?

“You’re okay.  Just a nightmare.  Wake up!”

Fractures of light appeared before his eyes and all at once, everything shattered—

Senku woke with a gasp.  Heaving his great gulps of air as if he’d been drowning.  Large hands helped him sit up as he worked on catching his breath and regaining his bearings.

He was in the back room of the lab.  There was an oil lamp burning, casting shadows on the wall.  Nothing here was destroyed or burned.  He wasn’t trapped back in stone.

“You’re okay.  Just keep breathing.  It was just a nightmare.”

Finally Senku recognized the hands as belonging to Tsukasa, but before he could protest being treated like a child, a cup of water was pressed into his hands.  Senku drank deeply, but was careful not to drink too fast.

“The village?” he finally managed to ask.  He couldn’t see the compound from here, so he had no idea if it was covered in blood or not.  The fact that Tsukasa was here and not dead in the ocean was a pretty good indication that the villagers were fine , but he wanted to be sure.

“Nothing that isn’t rebuildable,” Tsukasa assured patiently.  “Hyoga never actually showed his face.  The only people to attack were the ones he sent in as scouts.  His lieutenant, Homera, was able to sneak around, however, and set fire to some of the houses and a bridge.  The only person hurt was Kinrou while he held off three men until I got there, and he’s recovering well.  We’ve already started rebuilding.”

The assurances helped calm Senku’s nerves, enforcing that it was only a dream, likely caused by the stress of several events, but he had to be sure.  He got to his feet and made his way to the open clearing.

Everything was where it should be.  Nothing was burned or broken.  There weren’t pools of blood everywhere.  In fact, the cool, peaceful night air was a stark contrast to his nightmare.  Tsukasa stepped beside him, offering silent support and 

A villager Senku hadn’t caught the name of yet approached them.  “Everything alright, chief?”

“Yes, everything is fine,” Tsukasa reported, “Go back to your duty.”

As the villager walked away.  The past couple of days came rushing back to Senku.  There were small hints of truth in his dream.  Ruri had been cured by their sulfa-drug and Tsukasa had been officially named the chief of Ishigami Village, who in turn declared Senku the deputy chief and science commander.  Learning the name of the village had been shocking enough to them, but then Ruri shared the last story of the Hundred Tales; a story named after Senku himself.  

It turned out that Byakuya and the other astronauts had escaped the petrification when it hit, and when they got back down to Earth, they found the entire population petrified, so they worked on leaving a legacy so the human race would live on.  In the story, Byakuya had left a message for Senku, something that Ruri shared privately as she led him to his father’s grave.  The village was the gift of science he promised to bring back from space before he left, so that part of what dream-Byakuya said was true.  Everything else though was his own stress manifesting as lies in his dream.

Then came the attack.  Only a few men appeared, but it was enough to overwhelm Kinrou while Ginrou ran for help.  Tsukasa managed to drive them back, with Gen following as their inside-man, but they fully expected Hyoga himself to appear once he learned that Tsukasa had become chief to the village Gen reported.

Senku’s eyes fell to the forge and the rack of cooling swords nearby.  Their best hope was to make more advanced weapons that Hyoga’s people would have.  Hopefully, that would be enough of an intimidation tactic to get Hyoga to leave them alone, but if not, then they would be the best hope against the master spearman.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Tsukasa broke the silence quietly.

“It was just a dream,” Senku dismissed.  “Seems that nightmare you’ve been waiting for finally happened.”

“One hell of a nightmare…”

“Yeah.”

The two fell back into silence as Senku busied himself checking on things in the clearing, assuring himself that nothing as bad as his dream had dared to manifest itself.  It wasn’t very scientific.  Logic dictated that he knew the difference between his dream and reality, but the action brought him comfort.  Tsukasa shadowed him, but gave him his space as he did his thing.

When Senku was satisfied that things were as they were supposed to be, he plopped to the ground and leaned back to look at the stars.  Usually they brought him comfort, but right now, all he could hear was his father’s disappointed voice.

“He’s proud of you, you know?” Tsukasa sat next to him, “Byakuya, I mean.  You were his entire world, and it’s evident how much he loved you by how hard he worked to make sure you were taken care of when you broke out of the stone.”

“Sentimental old man,” Senku scoffed, “He was always so emotional.  Hard to believe JAXA actually accepted him into the astronaut program.”

“Weren’t you the one to send him the application when it opened?”

Senku looked at him, startled.  “Who told you that ?”

“Byakuya,” Tsukasa admitted freely.  “He knew it was you considering how much work you put into helping him pass his physical test.”

“When the hell did he have time to tell you all of that?”

“We talked more than you think.  Though, mostly he just talked about you.”

“Creepy.”

“He was your dad.  He was allowed to be proud of you and brag on your behalf.”

Senku pulled a face at that, but didn’t retort.  As embarrassing as Byakuya was, he was always a constant in Senku’s life, and that itself was comforting.  The way Byakuya somehow managed to pepper in sage wisdom while acting like a fool was, reluctantly, endearing.  Senku wouldn’t trade his dad for the world…except somehow, that’s what happened.

“You were counting,” Tsukasa suddenly said, “Just before I was able to wake you up.”

“I’m always counting,” Senku shrugged.  He was basically a human clock at this point.  It didn’t matter if he was awake, asleep, or in the middle of a project, the numbers were always there.  Occasionally loud enough that they threatened to drown out everything around him, but he was pretty good about not letting it slow down his work.

“Yeah, but this time it was desperate.”

“...I dreamed I was petrified again.  That’s all.”

Tsukasa shuddered at the thought.  He remembered the fear that ran through him when it first happened.  The world went dark and silent, he couldn’t move his body, couldn’t call for help.  It was a fate he hoped none of them ever had to suffer again.

The two sat in silence until the sun started peeking up from the horizon and the villagers started stirring.  If any of the villagers noticed that their new chief and deputy seemed more tired than usual, nobody said anything.

Hyoga didn’t make his appearance for several more days.  Long enough for them to provide katanas to all of the village fighters.  Even Senku carried a small blade attached to his belt.  Tsukasa had insisted he carry some kind of blade with him in case he ran into trouble without someone around to help him.

The weather was gloomy as a storm moved in when Suika rolled into camp urgently.  “There’s a masked spearman heading this way!” she announced, “He’s leading the same people from before plus Gen!”

“That’s Hyoga,” Tsukasa informed her, picking up his large sword, specially made for him.  He turned and dropped his lion pelt over Senku’s head, hiding his signature hair and cracks in his face.  “Keep that on and go hide,” he instructed, “Hyoga cannot see you.”

They had discussed this plan of action before, and while Senku understood the need for it, that didn’t mean he had to like it.  Nevertheless, he retreated to the backroom of the lab with Ruri and the children.  It was going to be the safest place for them if Hyoga chose violence like his men had.  The shade on the window was mostly closed, but it provided enough of a view for Senku to keep an eye on what was happening. 

Tsukasa stood at the bridge, the warriors of the village stood on high alert, listening for anyone approaching from the trees.  After a nerve racking fifteen minutes, Hyoga finally emerged from the forest, backed up by several large men.  Gen trailed along at the edge of the group, looking rather pleased with himself.

Though Hyoga carried his weapon and appeared with such a threatening force, he did not make any aggressive movements.

“Tsukasa,” Hyoga greeted cordially.

“Hyoga.”

“When Gen told me about this primitive village, I suspected you might have made your way here.  Why you chose to be around brain-dead primitives though, I’ll never understand.  Why don’t you come join me in a more civilized society.”

“You mean submit to your idea of a perfect world,” Tsukasa narrowed his eyes.  “I prefer it here.  The lives these villagers lead is simplistic, without the corruption of our modern day society.”

“I never thought you would pity the simple-minded,” Hyoga sneered, “With the company you kept before we parted ways, I pictured you as someone who appreciated higher levels of thinking.”

“I think I would rather stick with the people who have survived 3700 years without technology, than to be around people who have never been without indoor plumbing,” Tsukasa retorted.  “At least most of life here isn’t trial and error.”

“It’s not all bad.  We eat well and have several amenities that put us on track for building a perfect world.”

Tsukasa merely tightened his grip on his weapon, wondering where this was going.  Hyoga was not one for idle chit chat.  He had to be phishing for some kind of information, something that would give him an advantage.

“Tell me,” Hyoga said, “How did this village gain steel ?  The news only a few days ago was that stone weapons were still being used here.”  At this, he sent an accusing glare at Gen.  “I wonder what else I have not been told.”

“Hyoga- chan , are you accusing me of withholding information from you?” Gen asked, appalled.  “I swear I knew nothing about this.  They must have kept it hidden from me!”

“Steel is not difficult to make,” Tsukasa answered, jaw set.  “Even the ancient Vikings had rudimentary versions of steel by forging their iron with bones.”

“You’re forging iron?”  Another glare at Gen, who had the grace to look sheepish.

“Again, it’s not hard.”

“Gen,” Hyoga turned to the mentalist.  “You have been in this village several times now.  You told me you gained their trust, and you expect me to believe you knew nothing about these developments?”

“Haha,” Gen chuckled nervously, “I suppose I’ve been exposed.  It was nice while it lasted.” In a flurry of flowers that came from only Gen knew where, he disappeared from Hyoga’s side and reappeared behind Tsukasa.  “Having seen the best both sides have to offer, I’m afraid this is where I throw my lot.  Besides, Tsukasa and I have a professional history.  We work well together.”

In the back room of the lab, Senku tapped his finger anxiously as Hyoga and Tsukasa tried to feel each other out.  They were ready for battle, but Hyoga was always one to play mind games.  He watched as Gen’s cover was apparently blown and he officially declared his stake in this conflict.  Hyoga didn’t look particularly happy about this, but neither did he look as murderous as he expected.  Senku’s eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out what Hyoga was planning and how he’d be able to let Tsukasa know once he figured it out.

Suddenly, there were muffled screams of surprise behind him and a great shuffle of feet backwards.  Slowly, Senku reached for his weapon, glad Tsukasa had insisted on it and glad that the lion pelt disguised his movements.

“Shhh!”  Senku froze at the familiar voice.  He couldn’t be here.  He couldn’t recognize Senku or his loud mouth would immediately draw Hyoga’s attention.  “I’m a friend of Tsukasa.  Hyoga thinks I’m spying for him, but I’m here to warn you.”

There was no way around it.  Quick as a flash, Senku whirled around and clamped a hand over his friend’s mouth and pinned him against the wall before he even recognized who did it to him.  He surprised himself with his own speed and strength, but living in the stone world for a year and a half, along with training with Tsukasa, had to have some benefits.

The movement knocked back the lion pelt just enough to show the tell-tale cracks in his face.  It was just enough for the intruder to recognize him, hence the precaution of covering his mouth.

“ EEENKKUU??!!” Taiju’s predictable yell was muffled.

“It’s good to see you too, ya Big Oaf, but you need to keep your voice down,” Senku smiled briefly.  “Hyoga believing I’m dead is the only thing keeping you and Yuzuriha safe right now.  Will you promise to not yell if I take my hand away?”

Taiju nodded emphatically, so Senku stepped back, lion pelt still covering his head.  He was immediately crushed in the strongest bear hug he ever got from his friend.  Senku was a good sport about it for exactly two seconds before he started squirming.  Taiju knew Senku well enough to know that meant he’d had more than enough and released him.

“You’re alive ?” Taiju whispered loudly, tears flowing down his face.  “ How ?”

“It’s a long story.  I’ll tell you when we can properly reunite and you can cry your eyes out.”

“Senku,” Suika tugged at his hem.  “You know him?”

“Yeah,” Senku assured, “This is my friend, Taiju.  He’s as loyal as they come, even if he is a blockhead.”

Everybody in the room relaxed at that.  If Senku said it was okay, then this guy really couldn’t be that bad.

“What were you here to warn us about?” Ruri asked softly, now that the intruder’s character had been vouched for.

“Right,” Taiju wiped his face and turned serious again.  “You’re not safe here.  Hyoga sent men around to invade the village and search for people hiding.  He wants hostages to force Tsukasa to come back to his empire.”

“We can’t exactly move anywhere,” Senku hissed.  “Hyoga has you and Yuzuriha as basically hostages!  Tsukasa can’t move against him without risking the two of you!”

“Oh no!” Suika cried, hanging from the window, “Tsukasa and Hyoga are fighting!”

Senku and Taiju ran over to the window.  Sure enough, it had gotten to the point where Hyoga’s patience seemed to have run out and the two were exchanging blows.  The other warriors were involved in their own fights against the other men Hyoga had brought with him.

It was clear that none of them were expecting to go up against steel weapons, much less well crafted katanas, so the warriors of Ishigami Village were able to hold their own.  Tsukasa particularly seemed to have the upperhand, even against Hyoga’s spear style.

“What’s in this building?” a new voice was heard outside.

“Dunno.  Wasn’t Taiju supposed to be checking stuff out?  Why Hyoga would trust a softly like him to find what we need, I’ll never know,” a second voice answered, closer than the first.”

“Hey!  Doesn’t this stuff kinda remind you of your high school science class?”

“Yeah!  Think Tsukasa made all this?”

“Who else?  Idiot.”

The voices were just on the other side of the door at this point.  Senku bristled as they heard the sound of clinking glass and rustling through the baskets that held a lot of their minerals.  Invaders to his laboratory always ticked him off.  People tended to touch things and move things without his permission, resulting in frantic and messy lab work.

“What do you think is behind here?”

They were right on the other side of the door.  Senku pulled the pelt further down his face and grabbed his blade with a shaking hand.  His mind raced for a way to keep Hyoga’s men out of this room and keep the children safe.  Suika seemed to be thinking the same thing and before anyone could stop her, she disappeared into her helmet and rolled out of the room.

“What was that ?”

“Who cares?  Get it!”  The two chased the rolling melon out of the lab.

“Don’t worry.  I’ll make sure she doesn’t get hurt!” Taiju shot them a thumbs up.  “Hyoga knows I’m a pacifist.  He won’t hold it against me.”

“Stay safe,” Senku replied.  “We’ll find a way to stop Hyoga.  Just hang in there until then.”

“Of course!  Now that I know you’re not dead, it’ll be easy to endure!”

“Taiju?” Tsukasa leapt back from his fight to make sure his eyes weren’t lying to him.

“Yo, Tsukasa,” Taiju greeted.  “It’s been a while.  Glad to see you’re doing well.”

“Same.  Why are you here?”

“I brought him,” Hyoga answered.  “I thought perhaps you two might like a moment to catch up.  It’s only proper, after all.”

“Tsukasa, I saw some of Hyoga’s guys chasing a watermelon up the mountain.  Is that one of your villagers?”

“Suika?!” Tsukasa gasped.

“Oh?  A child?” Hyoga asked mildly, but his sharp eyes caught Tsukasa’s worried expression.

Tsukasa swung at the spearman, who lazily blocked the strike.  “You stay away from her,” he threatened, “In fact, stay away from my village.”

“ Your village?  My, my, you form bonds rather quickly, don’t you?  How weak .  Thank you for exposing that weakness.  After that child!”

Hyoga’s men were quick to comply, racing after Suika.  Hyoga took advantage of Tsukasa's brief distraction and used the butt end of his spear to knock him back.  Tsukasa landed on the ground, cursing as the breath was knocked out of him.

“I will not,” Taiju refused.

“Of course you won’t,” Hyoga assured, “You will wait for us where we made camp last night.  If you are not there by the time we return, then I will consider you a deserter and Yuzuriha an accomplice.”

The two ground their teeth at the blatant threat, but Taiju nodded his understanding.  Once Hyoga disappeared, Taiju helped Tsukasa to his feet.  “Thank you for taking care of Senku,” he said quietly, much to Tsukasa’s surprise.  “Don’t worry, I’ll keep this secret until Senku says otherwise.  I’ve got to go, but take care of yourself.”  With those parting words, without even a proper conversation, Taiju left.

“Tsukasa, are you okay?” Kohaku ran over, “You knew that guy?”

“That was Taiju, our friend,” Tsukasa explained, a little distracted with trying to figure out if they needed to run after and rescue Suika.  She was a nimble child and could easily outmaneuver the muscleheads Hyoga brought with him, but if Hyoga caught up to her, it was unlikely she could escape.

“Tsukasa!” Senku ran from the lab.  “The wind is blowing the poison gas from the sulfuric acid pool down the mountain!  We have to get to Suika before she reaches it!”

Tsukasa immediately raced to get the gas masks, closely followed by Kohaku.  He threw one to the other warrior and strapped the second to his back.  Senku tried to follow suit, but was stopped.

“You need to stay here,” Tsukasa growled, “We haven’t worked this hard to keep you safe for you to blow it now.  We’ll get Suika back safely, don’t worry.”

They were almost too late.  Kohaku reached Suika just in time to clamp a mask over her mouth and leap into a nearby tree away from the poison gas.  It also tipped off Hyoga that something nefarious was happening, so he too found his own high ground.

“Control your breathing, Suika,” Tsukasa called up, “So long as you stay relaxed and breath nice and slow, the poison gas won’t affect you.”

“Poison gas?”

Hyoga’s men panicked and scaled the tree after their leader.  Some were unlucky enough to move slower than the others and were caught in the gas.  They dropped to the ground like flies.  Tsukasa winced, resolving to offer up a prayer later for their souls.  It wasn’t their fault they were revived into a world run by someone as heartless as Hyoga.

Hyoga jeered down at the sight of the gas masks.  “I thought you were against advancing civilization back to the point where the established powers reigned again.  Could it be that you were closer to Senku than I thought?  I regret killing him now, he would have made a wonderful addition to my empire.  I’ve revived several people who I thought could advance our society, but it turns out none of them were quite as ambitious or resourceful as Senku was.  They are completely lost as to how to accomplish anything in this age.”

Tsukasa ignored the taunting and turned his attention to Kohaku and Suika, who were back on the ground.  He nodded for them to head back to the village and he would make sure that Hyoga and his men didn’t follow.  Senku was still there and likely worried about Suika and fuming at Tsukasa for leaving him behind, even if it was for his own safety, and the safety of Taiju and Yuzuriha.

“Leave me and my village alone, Hyoga,” Tsukasa finally addressed the spearman, echoing his previous threat, “I simply want to live peacefully.  Is one village that much of a threat to you?  You know I can’t attack your Empire, even if I wanted to.  Not without risking the safety of my friends you have hostage.”

Hyoga looked down, contemplating Tsukasa’s statement.  “With what I have heard through reports and seen with my own eyes, I do not fully believe Senku did not somehow escape death, but I have found no signs of him except the scientific advancements that you seem to be able to explain away.  I will pull back for now, but I will be back, peacefully , periodically until I am satisfied.  Perhaps the science knowledge you have will turn these brain-dead primitives into proper humans.”

Tsukasa grit his teeth at Hyoga’s ignorant comments.  This village, these people, were far from brain-dead, and only as “primitive” as the new world allowed them to be.  More advancement had happened in the village in the last few months than any of them would have dared dream of and they were adapting to it as easy as breathing.  It was certainly better than people in the old world, who had become so complacent with their lives that they resisted any kind of change like stubborn mules.

“Good luck getting down from there,” Tsukasa called instead, starting to walk away.  “You’ll have to wait for the gas to clear out before it’s safe.  A hundred years or so should do it!”

The trek back to the village was spent at high alert.  He wanted to make sure Hyoga didn’t send any spies after him or have any already situated in the surrounding areas.  If that were the case, Tsukasa would either have to force Senku to stay hidden for the immediate future, or eliminate the threat altogether.  Fortunately, he didn’t come across anything suspicious and so reentered the clearing more relaxed.

“Tsukasa!” Suika cried in relief when she saw him.  A second later, the warrior had his arms full of a crying child.  “Thank you for saving me!  I didn’t know the gas was coming!  I just wanted them away from the village!  They almost found us all in the lab!”

“You were very brave, Suika,” Tsukasa said gently, setting her back on the ground, “Nobody realized the gas was being blown down the mountain until it was almost too late.”

“Where’s Hyoga?” Kohaku asked warily, eyeing the trees around them.

“He’s retreated.  Or rather will once the gas dissipates enough for him to leave the tree.  I managed to convince him we are not a threat to him and he seems to be under the impression that the scientific advancements around here are due to my knowledge after being friends with Senku.”

“So the village is safe?” Kokuyo verified.

“For now,” Tsukasa nodded, “He said he wasn’t entirely convinced Senku wasn’t dead, but would leave us alone for now.  I’m sure he’ll send someone every so often to spy and report back to him.”

“So Senku has to keep hiding?” Suika sounded sad at the idea.

“We could disguise him,” Kohaku offered, “Make him look more like a villager.”

“Don’t bother,” Senku finally approached the group.  The lion pelt pushed back from his face now that the danger had passed.  “Winter is approaching and we need to prepare.  Hyoga’s empire is no different and I doubt they have the manpower yet to spare someone for recon missions.”

“So you’re safe for the winter then, Senku- chan ,” Gen cocked his head to the side thoughtfully, “What about after?”

“It won’t matter,” Senku said confidently, “Hyoga will be back by spring, so we’ll make our move before then.”

“Our move?” Kinrou questioned.  “What do you mean?”

“We are on the verge of war,” Tsukasa understood.  “In war, the side that moves first has the advantage.

Concern rose up around the villagers.  It was understandable.  Up until recently, the only reason they trained fighters was for hunting and to protect the village from the occasional outcast.  Never before had they considered that they might have to fight another large group of people.

“Don’t worry, we’ll win,” Senku assured.  “We’re going to start crafting our advantage now.”

“Advantage?”

“Tsukasa, what was the one invention that gave countries the best advantage during wartimes?”

“...I want to say artillery power, but I know you better than that…”

“Communication!” Senku exclaimed, eyes alight with the challenge.  “With Taiju and Yuzuriha on the inside, we have a chance to strike and defeat Hyoga before he even knows what happened.  We’re making cell phones!”

Chapter Text

Cotton candy.

They were supposed to be prepping for war and creating a phone, and Senku had them making cotton candy .

Hyoga had left his lieutenant, Homera, behind to keep a distant eye on the village to make sure that Tsukasa didn’t plan some kind of uprising over the winter, and Senku, who shamelessly walked around in the open despite the danger, had them making cotton candy .

“This is amazing!” Ruri exclaimed with delight.  “It’s so light and fluffy!  It melts in my mouth!”

The rest of the villagers eagerly claimed their own serving of the sugary treat and fell in love with the flavor and texture just as surely as their priestess had.  Even Gen and Tsukasa indulged and let themselves, for just a moment, weep at the familiarity of it.

It made Tsukasa nostalgic for the old festivals that used to exist.  What he wouldn’t give for an actual yukata right now.  Unfortunately, the cotton modern yukatas were made from was nothing more than a distant dream.  Perhaps after Hyoga was no longer a threat, they could find some of the old cotton fields to make better clothes.  It would be nice to be able to give Mirai something somewhat familiar when they finally found her.  Maybe they would even be able to make appropriate dyes to make her feel like a mermaid.

Tsukasa glanced over at Senku, who was sampling his own serving, albeit more slowly and far more thoughtfully.  Any thought he had of proposing his thoughts to Senku went out the window.  They needed to focus on the immediate problems now.  Luxuries could come later.

Senku looked at the cotton candy as though it had personally disappointed him.  He didn’t even finish it before he started pacing, hand on his chin as his mind no doubt raced with thoughts.

“What’s wrong, Senku- chan ?” Gen prodded, “Disappointed it isn’t your favorite flavor?”

“No,” Senku said, still deep in thought.  “Tell me, what do you think of this cotton candy?  Pretend you’re one of those pretentious judges on a cooking show.  What is your honest feedback?”

Tsukasa frowned at the bizarre question, but took another bite of the fluffy concoction, turning it over in his mouth thoughtfully.  The flavor was good.  It was light and airy, though it felt a little rough in places.  Beside him, Gen was doing the same. 

Ever the performer, Gen was the first to give feedback.  “There is inconsistency in the fibers!” he declared dramatically, “It reveals disharmony with the flavor!”

“It is rather granular,” Tsukasa agreed, “But what can we expect for cotton candy made in the stone world?”

“Yeah, if cotton candy was the end game, then it wouldn’t be a problem,” Senku admitted.  “In order to actually create cell phones, we need gold wire, and this is the best way to do it.  Sugar is the best way to test this method, and the cotton candy just happened to be the byproduct of it.”

Tsukasa really should have known better than to question Senku’s methods when it came to science.  Everything he did had a purpose, even if he went out of his way to create comfort and wonder along the way.  Senku would deny any act of thoughtfulness as merely part of the scientific process, or a means to the end, but every single villager saw right through those terrible lies, though nobody called him out for it.

“Ah, I get it!” Gen exclaimed.  “If the sugar clumps up, then so will the gold!”

“Does it really matter?” Tsukasa asked, “The inconsistency is so small…”

“It was enough for you to notice,” Senku gave a strained smirk, “It will be enough to cause problems with the cell phone.”

“What are you guys so serious about over here?” Chrome wandered over, munching away on his second portion.

They would have to limit the villager’s exposure to straight sugar until they acclimated to it.  Never before had they been exposed to such an indulgence and their bodies wouldn’t know what to do with those levels of sugar.  No doubt the next hour or so would be very productive with everyone on a sugar high and then the evening would be spent with everyone crashing out.

“Good, you’re here,” Senku dragged him over to the machine.  “Something in this process is making the sugar strands lumpy.  We have to figure it out and fix it before we start doing this with gold.  I need your eyes to help me figure it out.”

“You got it!” Chrome exclaimed.  Immediately, he began examining the device.  It was hard to tell if his enthusiasm was due to sugar or just because it was science.

“While you figure this out, I’m going to take some of the people to start preparing for winter,” Tsukasa announced to Senku, who was only half listening.

Senku waved him off, already in deep conversation with Chrome.  From the sounds of things, they were planning on running the machine more, needing to see it in action to find the cause of the imperfections.  Tsukasa quickly gathered his team, not needing anybody sick to their stomach from excess sugar, and set off to collect the first harvest of the season.

By the time Tsukasa returned with their bounty, Senku had solved the problem with the cotton candy machine.  Now, instead of Kinrou and Ginrou running back and forth, all somebody had to do was spin a wheel that used to be Kohaku’s shield.  Apparently it worked so well that Senku had decided that it was time to use the gold.  The children and elderly of the village sat in a large circle, braiding the strands into a usable wire.

Tsukasa balked at the sheer size of the pile.  It was going to take forever for it all to get done, even with everyone working.  He looked around for the mastermind behind this new influx of work and found him, predictably, working in the lab.

“Exactly how much gold wire do you need?” Tsukasa set down his heavy basket for them to start sorting through.  They needed to decide what to eat immediately and what to preserve for the winter months.

“Lots,” Senku answered, checking a nearby basket of minerals.  “We’re going to need to collect more quartz sand.”

Tsukasa glanced over and saw the basket nearly half full of the stuff.  “We do?  The cell phones will need that much glass?  I don’t remember seeing that on your road map.”

“No.  We need it to make more glass jars so we can bottle meat and vegetables for the winter.  What all did you manage to find?”

“Mostly mushrooms today.  A few wild carrots and chestnuts.  The villagers assured me that there will be more to gather as we get deeper into fall.  I think I found some actual herbs too, but you might want to double check those.”

Senku shifted his attention to the food, closely examining everything to make sure it was actually edible and wouldn’t make them sick, or worse, kill them.

“I did find something else.  Something that may compromise the safety of the village.” Once Tsukasa was sure he had the scientist’s attention, he continued.  “We found a paw print…”

“That’s not unexpected,” Senku glanced over, confused as to why Tsukasa was making it sound like a terrible discovery.  “We know there are all sorts of animals, including lions.  What did it look like?”

“I thought it was just a big dog,” Tsukasa admitted, “All of the dogs from the old world probably returned to their pack mentality and went wild again.”

“Logical,” Senku shrugged, “Some of them probably even stay relatively docile.  Like Suika’s dog, Chalk.”

“Yeah, but what’s worrying is that the villager’s identified it as a fresh wolf print.”

“Wolves?” Senku now understood where Tsukasa’s concerns stemmed from. “I suppose if lions escaped the zoo, the wolves could have as well.  With how territorial wolves and lions are, they likely evolved to avoid each other, which would explain how we only ran into lions last year and never saw a sign of any other pack predator.  Do they usually come close to the village?”

“No, it actually concerned Jasper with how close the print was.  He said that they can usually hear them when they hunt, but they’ve never seen signs of one so close.”

“How far did you go out today?”

“No further than a kilometer.”

Senku frowned.  “That is rather close for a wolf pack.  Perhaps it was a young wolf looking for a new pack or something.  Did you see any signs of the full pack?”

Tsukasa shook his head.  “Just the one fresh print.”

“The current evidence does not suggest that we should be worried about an entire pack.  Advise the villagers to be cautious if they wander out, but our energy should stay focused on the impending battle.”

“Never thought I’d hear you say something like that,” Tsukasa chuckled.

“Priorities,” Senku smirked.  “Hand me that jar over there.  I’m going to start preserving some of this.  We need to perfect the procedure before resources become too scarce.”

With that, the two worked in tandem to try their hand at preservation, starting with small bottles so that they didn’t accidentally waste food.  It was funny, all children growing up were told to not waste food, but here, in the Stone World, that lesson stuck in a way it never did before.  Wasting food here could mean the difference between life and death.  Especially since they were now responsible for keeping an entire village alive and well.

By the time the sun set, they had made moderate progress on their bottling project, but that food would definitely have to be some of the first eaten.  Not one to be discouraged, Senku dove back into his plans to design a new jar that would seal better than what they had.

Three days later, during which most of the village's children and elders twisted gold thread into wire,  Chrome came crawling into camp, clearly exhausted but looking very excited about something.  It took minimal convincing to get Senku down to the river to see what he’d built.

“A waterwheel!” Senku gasped in awe of the sight.

“Of course you already have a name for it,” Chrome groaned with Kasaki, “We hoped to impress you with our invention!”

“Oh I’m impressed alright!” Senku assured, eyes alight with excitement.  “The fact that you managed to come up with this idea and then build it right here in the stone world!  You’ve just catapulted us into a new age!”

He started climbing all over the waterwheel, hooking up wires and adding attachments.

“I don’t get it,” Kohaku watched the wheel spin.  “I mean, I get that the water pushes the wheel around, and I see that it moves this piece here.  But what good does that do?”

“In our day, and even our history, people have used hydropower to do all sorts of stuff,” Tsukasa explained.  “As technology grew, so did the efficiency of that power and we went from simple water wheels like this that only powered one or two machines, to giant generators that could power entire cities.”

“So we can use this to power the cotton candy machine?”

“You’re thinking too small, Kohaku,” Senku swung down.  “We can use this for so much more .  With this generator, we’ve entered the age of energy, and the age of manpower is now behind us!”

A cheer went up amongst the villagers.  Who could blame them?  No longer would they have to crank the hand powered generator or do the grueling work of having to pump air into the iron furnace.  Of course that also meant that their labor would be distributed elsewhere, like preparing the village for winter, but Tsukasa would let them bask in this glory for now.

With the time saved by the water wheel, perfecting their bottling technique was more pressing than ever.  The villagers were bringing in more harvest every day and were starting to take an interest in the new way to store food, especially if it meant that they could have a solid variety of food throughout the winter.

The downside to the waterwheel was that now Senku was neck deep in projects.  Besides the bottling, he was working on a way to hook up the generator to a network of lightbulbs.  The lightbulbs themselves were presenting problems.  Though Kasaki was a master craftsman, he still needed direction and guidance when it came to recreating the old world technology.  

The next biggest challenge was how to run all the wires and switches.  Tsukasa tried to help Senku out, but just looking at his diagrams gave him a headache.  His high school level science barely held a candle to Senku’s vast scientific knowledge.

It didn’t seem to matter though.  Tsukasa found himself plenty busy actually being chief to the village and helping them with all of their day-to-day tasks alongside their new science ones.

Before they realized it, they were well into fall.  The weather was starting to get cooler and the trees started changing color.

Senku had already left by the time Tsukasa got up in the morning, though judging by the undisturbed bedroll, he wondered if Senku actually made it to bed at all last night.  With the amount of work he’d taken on, Tsukasa wouldn’t be surprised if Senku was asleep either in the lab or up in the warehouse.  That is, if Senku actually slept at all.  

More than once Tsukasa had found Senku awake at all hours of the night, creating and refining plans for his projects.  Occasionally he would be able to find the scientist passed out on top of his work.  The warrior had taken to forcing Senku to bed at a reasonable hour whenever he could, but it didn’t always work.

Stepping into the lab, he was surprised to see Gen waiting for him.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Gen assured, before adopting a mischievous grin.  “Do you know what today is?”

Tsukasa glanced at the rudimentary calendar Senku had carved out of a couple blocks of wood.  It had to be updated by rotating the blocks every morning, but it worked well enough to keep track of the date. With their deadline set for spring, it wasn’t something they could afford to lose track of.  Not that Senku could lose track, but it helped everyone else who didn’t have the world’s most accurate internal clock.

“October 10,” Tsukasa answered.

“Your birthday!” Gen corrected with a trill.  “The villagers are eager to celebrate with their new chief.”

“We have too much to do to be celebrating my birthday,” Tsukasa protested.  The most that they had done last year was a hasty “happy birthday”, a subtly lighter workload, and actually flavored meat thanks to the wild herbs Senku had managed to find.  

“You don’t have a choice,” Gen insisted, “Our plans are ‘Senku-approved’!  Nothing happening today will delay our plans.”

“And I guess my approval, you know, the chief , means nothing?”

“Correct!”

“We still have to prepare for winter!” Tsukasa tried again, “And keep working on the cell phones!  Plus whatever other projects Senku has started.  He’s been working with Chrome and Kasaki ever since they built that waterwheel.  I hardly think this is an appropriate time for birthday celebrations!”

Gen leveled him with a look.  “If it were Senku- chan ’s birthday, would you deny the villagers who want to celebrate as a means of appreciation for all he’s done?”

Tsukasa didn’t even know when Senku’s birthday was, but he would like to be able to repay the scientist in some way for everything he’d done so far.  As capable as Tsukasa was, he really didn’t think he’d survive the first year without his knowledge, and he definitely would never have stumbled across the formula for the revival fluid.

“Fine,” he said bitterly, “So long as it doesn’t become a distraction.”

“Sometimes we need a distraction, Tsukasa- chan ,” Gen trilled happily, pushing him out the door.  “Otherwise we run the risk of burnout and becoming even less productive as we would have been.”

The day actually didn’t turn out as bad as he feared.  His last few birthdays had always been loud and full of other celebrities and leeches.  Today though, he had been met right outside the lab by a group of children led by Suika.  They presented him with a crown made of autumn leaves and flowers before running off to either play or twist wire.  

Gen teased him about being crowned the ‘Birthday King’ or some other nonsense.  Tsukasa ignored him, but made no effort to remove the floral arrangement. 

He was rescued by Kokuyo who brought him to his house.  He was presented with his own rope and taught how to tie his own unique knot.  Something that only those in his family, or someone he considered family, could wear.  The fact that it was only Kokuyo and Ruri in the hut at the time made the significance of it seem that much more.

Kokuyo was also kind enough to explain that it was something of a tradition for the children to make some kind of flower crown for the chief and that each thing they put in it meant something.  Also that the crown was not his present from them and he should be expecting something else later in the day.  He spent the rest of the morning, up until lunch, pointing out all the meanings the kids had added.  There were many beautiful things there, but the main takeaway was that they really seemed to be grateful for his leadership and his friendship.  Tsukasa would have to ask Senku if there was a way to preserve the crown.

Throughout the afternoon, villagers would quietly approach him, give him their well wishes, and leave him with some small gift.  Many of them were practical, like the furs the hunters had gifted him or the jars of lamp oil the elders had presented.  A few of them were simply sentimental.  The kids present their real present of shell necklaces.

Dinner was also special.  The hunters had brought down a boar and had actually seasoned it with the herbs they had found on one of their harvesting expeditions.  For entertainment, Ruri graced them with one of the Hundred Tales.  Specifically Tale 1: Momotaro.

It seemed to be a crowd favorite, though Tsukasa had to choke back his laughter at the absolute absurd retelling of the old story.  The dog, monkey, and pheasant had been replaced by a lion, gorilla, and bear. 

When Tsukasa decided to call it a night, Senku was already there, scribbling whatever designs he was planning next.  The scientist barely glanced up as Tsukasa shuffled around the small room.  Well, at least Tsukasa wouldn’t have to go hunting for the man to make sure he slept tonight.

Tsukasa paused while laying out his bedroll.  There, on the small table next to the oil lamp, was something that was certainly not there this morning.

It was a small clay jar.  The same type of jar that Senku used to keep the revival fluid in.  Wrapped around the top of it was a set of pink seashells strung on a thin piece of leather.  Looking closer, the jar had small carvings engraved on it.  It wasn’t very detailed, but it clearly showed a mermaid sitting on a large rock next to the ocean.  The jar itself was embedded with even more shells, pressed into the clay before it had been fired.

Tears pricked at his eyes as he reverently picked it up and turned it over in his hands.  He could feel the liquid inside slosh around.  Senku must have used the last of their precious nitric acid in order to make it.

“Senku, what…?  How…?” Tsukasa’s voice trailed off.

“Suika helped gather the shells,” Senku explained, still not looking up.  “Old man Kasaki helped with the carvings.  Had to explain what a mermaid was, but that’s not really surprising.  The kids in the village seemed to really like the idea of a half-human half-fish being.  I’m sure they’ll be asking for more details in the near future.”

So not only had Senku set aside the last of the nitric acid to make a final dose of revival fluid of Mirai, he has also enthralled the children with Mirai’s favorite story so that when she was finally revived, she had a shared interest with kids her age.

“Thank you,” Tsukasa managed to whisper.  

He set the jar back down carefully, but found it hard to tear his eyes away from it.  That little jar, the promise that it represented, was the absolute perfect end to the day.

For the first time in a long time, he actually enjoyed his birthday, and he was certain that Senku was the mastermind behind it.  Now how could he possibly return the favor…

Chapter Text

As they moved deeper into fall, the dry season came.  The villagers passed along warnings about not letting embers from fires go unattended.  They shared stories of years past where a stray ember had caused a raging inferno to sweep through the forest and nearly wipe out the village.  The fires started by Homura a few months ago were nothing compared to those stories.

Senku was always careful with his flames.  He made sure that the surrounding areas were nothing but dirt and stone.  When possible, they were contained in the smelters, when not, there was plenty of water and sand nearby.  He and Tsukasa also took some volunteers and assigned them to the fire brigade.

Despite all of their precautions, however, there were some things outside their control.

“Fire!  Fire!”

The shout went up in the dead of night.  Senku and Tsukasa bolted out to find Gen already waiting for them.  It didn’t take long to figure out where the fire was.  The forest was backlit with an orange glow.

“The fire is coming straight towards the village,” Gen fretted, “The houses on the island should be safe, but what about our science encampment?”

Horror washed over Senku at the realization.  If this happened under any other circumstances, he might not be as concerned.  Afterall, much of what they’ve made could be rebuilt.  However, on their time crunch, it would be devastating.

“Grab buckets and make a line!” Senku ordered to the gathering villagers.  “We need to get the entire area around the clearing wet to stop the fire from tearing through!  Soak the bridge as well!  We don’t need a repeat of the last fire!”

The villagers hurried to follow their orders.  Kohaku nimbly climbed to the top of the science warehouse to try to get a better view of what was happening.

“Somebody is running this way!” she reported.  “Like they’re trying to outrun the fire!  There are too many trees in the way for me to get a good look.”

“Homura!” Tsukasa gasped.

“What about her?” Gen questioned.

“Homura was camping out in the direction the fire is coming from.  She’s probably trying to escape it!”

“Kohaku!  How far in front of the flames is she?” Senku asked urgently.

Kohaku squinted, trying to see through the distant, thickening smoke.  “I think…she might be nearly overtaken…”

“Oh, what a shame,” Ginrou sniffed indignantly, “The person responsible for burning our village is now trapped in a fire!”

“Fix your attitude,” Tsukasa reprimanded sharply.  “A life is still a life.  If Homura dies, then all Hyoga will do is replace her with somebody new, somebody that we know nothing about.”

“Tsukasa’s right,” Senku handed a bucket of water to Tsukasa.  “Better the wolf we know.  We save her.  Who knows, perhaps we can sway her to our side.”

Tsukasa dumped the bucked over his head, ignoring how cold the water was at this time of year.  If it would provide any modicum of protection from the inferno he was about to enter, then it was worth it.  With only giving a standing order to keep drenching the area around the clearing, Tsukasa grabbed another bucket and sprinted into the forest.  Kohaku quickly followed his lead, knowing he would need her eyesight to avoid spending excess time surrounded by smoke and flames.

Senku quickly directed the villagers where to dump each bucket that reached the end of the line.  Thanks to the gorilla-like strength of these people, they managed to sufficiently wet all of the buildings in the clearing and actually soaked the ground several dozen meters into the trees surrounding it.  They even managed to take it all the way to the river where the waterwheel was.  It only took Chrome and Kasaki three days to make it, but that was three days they couldn’t afford to lose.

The glow of the fire grew brighter as it drew nearer.  It was both a blessing and a curse.  They could see their surroundings better, but the air was starting to fill with smoke.  When the first flakes of ash fell, Senku ordered everyone to cover their faces with whatever cloth they had and sent the children to the far island with Ruri and Gen.  Ruri because she was at the greatest risk of relapse if the smoke irritated her lungs, and Gen because he would be able to keep the kids calm and mostly distracted.

Ginrou was panicking more than helping at this point.  It was a disruption to the water line every time he broke down to wail about the futility of it all.  Kinrou was quick to slap some sense into his brother, but Ginrou would pick it up again a few minutes later.  Senku tried not to be too annoyed with him, afterall, it was his fight or flight response kicking in, but it was frustrating all the same.

Perhaps it was just because he was in Ginrou’s proximity, but Senku was starting to get anxious as he helped pass the empty buckets back down the line.  Tsukasa and Kohaku hadn’t returned yet.  He regretted not adding the caveat of leaving Homura if it was too dangerous, but no, Tsukasa was smarter than that.  He wouldn’t risk his life recklessly, would he?

The heat of the fire was upon them and the flames were visible through the trees now.

“More water!” Senku demanded, coughing slightly in the thick smoke.  The gas masks would be better here, but there weren’t enough of them to go around.

The water line picked up the pace with urgency.  They were now throwing the water in the direction of the visible flames, hoping to quench it in its tracks until it simply got too close for Senku to comfortably keep the villagers working.

“Everyone out!” he commanded,  “We’ve done all we can!”

He worked in tandem with Kokuyo to direct the villagers over the bridge to the main island where they would be safest.  Just as the last villager passed them, Tsukasa and Kohaku came running out of the trees.  Both were covered in ash and soot, and probably some burns, but they were alive!

Just seeing that they were okay, Senku felt one of the knots in his stomach loosen.  In Tsukasa’s arms was Homura, who appeared to be unconscious.

“This way!” Kokuyo waved them over, “Hurry!”

Without breaking stride, the two warriors raced across the bridge, closely followed by Senku and Kokuyo.

In the safety of one of the huts, Tsukasa was finally able to lay Homura down and let out a series of hacking coughs.  Kohaku was right there with him, hands on her knees as she tried to draw a breath of clean air.

The elders of the tribe wasted no time in forcing them to sit down while they cleaned the dirt off their chief and one of their top warriors while they were busy trying to clear their lungs.  It was a testament to how exhausted they were that neither of them put up any fuss to being manhandled.

Senku quickly shoved a cup of water into each of their hands with a command to drink while some other elders started to catalogue and treat Homura’s injuries.  Most were just minor burns, but there were a few that would need close attention in the coming days to make sure they didn’t get infected.

Once Tsukasa and Kohaku had their fill of water and were breathing better, it was their turn for first aid.  Senku knelt down with what supplies he’d managed to grab earlier.  The best thing they could do right now was try to draw the heat out of the burns before they had a chance to become worse.

“Shirt off.” Senku commanded Tsukasa as Kohaku was seen to by her father.  Tsukasa might have been tempted to make a quip here, but he was too tired to care.  Instead, he just reached for the burn paste. 

Senku cleaned and applied burn paste to the worst of the burns that Tsukasa would have trouble reaching himself and carefully wrapped them.  For the lighter burns, he simply laid a wet rag over them to draw out the heat.

“Not bad,” Senku appraised, “Honestly, I expected worse.  Pretty amazing that you escaped a forest fire with only minor wounds.”

Tsukasa accepted the praise quietly.  He couldn’t tell just how genuine Senku was with it.  He didn’t doubt Senku meant what he said, but rather he wondered if he should take the words at face value, or if the scientist were merely using them to mask a deeper emotion.  Knowing Senku, it may very well have been both.

“How did it go with the water line?” Tsukasa asked quietly instead while Senku worked.

“As well as it could have.  We’ll have to see what the damage is in the morning.  Hopefully nothing more than some scorch marks and a layer of ash to worry about.”

“Hmm, good.  We can deal with all of that,” Tsukasa nodded, “What’s important is that we managed to get everyone to safety and the village won’t burn.  Speaking of…” he looked around, “Where did you send the children?”

“They’re on the far island, in Ruri’s hut with her and Gen.  If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll have distracted them with having them twist more gold threads.  Actually, if he knows what’s good for him, he’ll be doing some of that himself.” Senku’s joke fell flat, but Tsukasa still gave a small smile at the attempt.

Tsukasa glanced over at Homura, now sporting a few bandages wrapped around her arm and one of her face.  “What do you think started this?” he asked, dropping his voice to a whisper.  “Do you think this could have been Homura?  Or worse, Hyoga?”

“Anybody who deliberately starts a forest fire is an idiot, not a military strategist,” Senku scoffed.  “Hyoga is clever, and doing something like this , that would put his lieutenant in mortal danger?  I don’t see it.  Either he’s become more deranged over time, driven mad by power, or this was a complete accident.”

“Oh I fully believe Hyoga’s insane…but you have a point.”

“Look!” Ginrou suddenly pointed out the window, drawing everyone’s attention.  “The fire is dying out!”

Senku rushed out the door to get a better look at what Ginrou reported.  Tsukasa followed at a slightly slower pace.  Sure enough, the flames were much lower around the areas they had wet than they were on either side.  In fact, Senku was sure he saw a flame sizzle out just before it even reached the last tree into the clearing.

A cheer went up behind them.  They had managed to succeed  at quelling the fire before it caused too much damage.

“Yeah yeah,” Senku grinned and stuck a finger in his ear, “Celebrate now.  You’ve got your work cut out for you tomorrow.  We’ve got to appraise the damage done, make repairs, and keep working on the cell phones.”

His promise of grueling work didn’t seem to dampen their spirits in the slightest.  What did quiet their celebration was the elder calling that Homura seemed to be waking up.

“Stay out here,” Tsukasa ordered Senku quietly.  “If she chooses to run straight back to Hyoga, it’s better if she doesn’t know that you even exist.”

Homura seemed to not have a disloyal bone in her body.  At least when it came to Hyoga.  Tsukasa had carefully tried to persuade her to stay in the village, offering shelter and food as incentives, but she wasn’t having it.   

All she did was stiffly thank them for caring for her wounds and warned them that if Hyoga did not hear from her soon, he would send an army to wipe out the village. Tsukasa tried to implore her that Hyoga really didn’t care about her like she thought.  If Hyoga thought she was dead, then that was nothing more than an inconvenience for him.

Two days after the fire, she was gone.

The villagers had managed to mask Senku’s presence during that time, careful not to call him by his name or show any deference to him as they worked on repairs, so Homura couldn’t report anything new beyond that Tsukasa had rescued her from the forest fire and had her wounds treated.

The damage turned out to be not too bad.  There were some things that needed to be rebuilt or replaced, like the turning log attached to the waterwheel, but everything irreplaceable had survived.  Within a week, they were back on schedule.

Senku had also commissioned a holding cell to be built.  He seemed certain that Homura would return, and wanted to be sure they had a place to keep her from running back to Hyoga for the third time.  There was some unease at the idea that she could very well come back, but Senku held the same certainty for this prediction as he had when Gen first joined the Kingdom of Science.

As if proving that Senku had a knack for understanding human behavior, Homura did in fact return at the end of the week.

“Tsukasa!  Tsukasa!” Suika rolled into the lab.  “Homura is at the bridge!  Kinrou and Ginrou have her cornered!  They wanted me to tell you!”

“Thank you, Suika,” Tsukasa laid a gentle hand on her head before throwing his lion pelt around his shoulders.  “Stay here with Senku while I go figure out what she wants.”

“Fuck that.”  Senku laid his instruments down.  

“Language!” Tsukasa rebuked, making a show of covering Suika’s ears.

Suika was unbothered by the crude language, however.  “Suika has heard worse things from the fighters when they practice,” she informed them in what was probably supposed to be reassurance, but all it did was motivate Tsukasa to remind the adults that children repeat everything and should not be tainted with such words.

“At this point,” Senku continued, mildly off put by Suika’s nonchalant statement, “Homura’s either her to genuinely join our side, or she will become a prisoner until this is all over.  Either way, she’s not going back to Hyoga after this, so there’s no point in hiding away.”

“She’s still dangerous,” Tsukasa argued.

“So is everything I do,” Senku countered, “We gave Gen a chance.  It would be hypocritical to not at least give Homura something similar if she is here for the reason I think she is.”

Tsukasa let out a long breath through his nose.  Senku was right.  There was no way they were going to let Homura return to Hyoga at this point.  The danger lay in the possibility that, if she were taken prisoner, after learning of Senku’s existence, and then escaped, there would be nothing to protect Taiju and Yuzuriha anymore.  Not to mention Hyoga would have every reason to attack before winter was over.

“Fine,” he agreed, “But stay back until we’re sure of her motives.”

Senku scowled, but followed Tsukasa out of the lab.  Suika nervously glued herself to Senku’s side.

Outside, the villagers had already gathered, many brandishing weapons of their own.  Tsukasa quickly strode forward and stood between Homura  and the villagers.

“Kinrou, what happened?”

“She just showed up, Tsukasa,” Kinrou reported.  “Walked right out of the trees.”

“Has she said why she’s here?”

“Not a word.”

“Hm.  Has she resisted at all?”

“No.  She has not moved from the moment Ginrou and I surrounded her.”

Neither of those behaviors were typical for the gymnast based on past behaviors.  “I see.  Stand aside.  I will talk to her.”

Carefully, Kinrou and Ginrou lowered their guard and backed away.  Everybody tensed in case Homura was waiting for this moment to attack, but she remained just as still as she had been before.

“Homura.” He greeted cautiously.  “Is Hyoga behind you, or are you here for another reason?”

Homura looked like she might not respond for a moment, but then she sighed in defeat and looked away.  “You were right.  Hyoga-sama… Hyoga did not care if I perished in that fire or not.  When I arrived back to report that I was still alive and had gotten another, impromptu, look into the village, all he did was berate that I was foolish enough to be forced into enemy hands by escaping the fire.  According to him, it would have been right of me to find a way behind the flames before following them here to see if there was damage.  He gave me a second chance, most would not be so lucky after a failure, and told me to return to my post.  He doesn’t know I’m here.”

“Ha! A likely story!” Kohaku let out a derisive laugh, her hand gripping the handle of her sword.  “Tsukasa, it’s obvious she’s here to continue her spying.  She’s too dangerous to be allowed the chance to leave again.”

Homura, to her credit, looked horrified and appalled for a moment before her face fell in acceptance.  Slowly, she reached behind her and pulled out her rudimentary weapon.  It was only for defense, as she was far better skilled at reconnaissance.  The villagers tensed and Tsukasa’s gaze burned into her with a promise of pain if she tried anything.  She dropped it in front of her and lightly kicked it over.

“I understand your village will not be welcoming to me, after what I did and who I stood with.  I do not expect the same hospitality you showed me several days ago, but already you have shown yourselves to be far more honorable than Hyoga.  You can keep me as your prisoner until I can prove my loyalty the way Gen has.  I’ll tell you everything I know about Hyoga’s empire; everything that changed after Gen left.  Just…please don’t leave me to Hyoga’s mercies .”  She spat the word in disgust.  Hyoga may have a twisted definition of ‘honor’, but ‘mercy’ was certainly not in his vocabulary.

There was an uproar behind Tsukasa, all encouraging him to not believe her words.

“Enough!” The villagers fell silent at the command.  “Kinrou, tie her up and keep her in the holding cell until I make my decision.  You and Ginrou will guard her for now.  She is to remain unharmed .  In the meantime, Kokuyo, can I trust to lead a team to build a holding cell?  Even if we decide to trust Homura, if we catch any other potential spies, it would be best if we didn’t let them go running back to Hyoga if we can help it.  We’ve gotten lucky so far, but that’s all.  Everyone else, we need to get back to work.”

His orders were carried out swiftly.  Homura was restrained and led away by an ever stoic Kinrou.  She didn’t try resisting one bit, though perhaps that was due to the spears at her throat during the process.  The villagers hesitantly broke apart and went back to their tasks, though the whispers did not leave them.

Senku looked to be mulling something over as they cleared out.  He nodded to himself and looked up at Tsukasa.  “Well, I’m off!” he announced cheerfully, marching towards the bridge.

Tsukasa’ felt his eye twitch and grabbed the back of Senku’s clothes.  “The lab is the other way,” he said darkly.  “I’m going to assume that you had a temporary lapse in awareness and got disoriented because there was no way you were about to go talk to Homura.  Right? ”

“Eh? Let me go.”

“Sure,” Tsukasa agreed, “So long as you agree to stay away from the person who could literally sign your death warrant if she escaped until we decide whether she is a genuine threat or not.”

“Talking to her is the fastest way,” Senku argued, shrugging out of Tsukasa’s grip.  “War cannot be won without risks.  This is one we’ll have to take.  Especially if we want it to stay bloodless.  She’s our prisoner right now and doesn’t pose a threat.”

“Gen!” Tsukasa suddenly called.

The mentalist startled from where he was trying to creep away without anyone seeing him.  It was clear he had been caught trying to sneak away from his duties, but tried to play it cool as he approached.

“Ah, Tsukasa- chan ,” he laughed nervously, “I was just on my way to—”

“Goof off, yes,” Tsukasa cut him off.  “That’s not what I called you over for.  What do you think about Homura?”

“Homura- chan ?” Gen repeated thoughtfully.  “She was always Hyoga’s favorite, but living under Hyoga for as long as I did, I fully believe that Hyoga would turn on even those he found useful if they proved otherwise.”

“So you think she was telling the truth about Hyoga turning on her?  That she’s here to take refuge and join the Kingdom of Science?”

“I think it is entirely possible!” Gen declared, “I can’t be sure, obviously, but you gave me a chance, and I wasn’t even trying to escape anything.  You knew I was a spy from the beginning and still trusted me.”

“You are easier to bribe, Mentalist,” Senku pointed out.  “All it took was a promise of Cola and you were set.”

“Well, there was also the prospect of not being murdered if something went wrong,” Gen said coyly.  “That was quite an attractive incentive, you know.”

“No it’s not,” Tsukasa countered.  “It’s a bar so low on the ground that Hyoga had to limbo through hell to go under it.”

“Yes, but those are your only two options, it’s still enticing.”

“And how can we be sure that that alone was enough to entice Homura to change sides?”

Senku chuckled.  “The surest way of testing her story, is to reveal our biggest secret.”

“And if she tries to escape when we let our guard down?” Tsukasa challenged.  “That alone could bring Hyoga down on our heads before we are ready.”

“She’s under guard,” Senku pointed out, “None of the villagers trust her and will be watching her vigilantly.  If she tries to escape, we’ll know she was lying, otherwise, we keep a close eye on her until the battle is over.”

“Fine,” Tsukasa surrendered, “You go question her, but Gen and I will be outside the door keeping an eye on things.  Gen, I’m counting on your skills to spot any lies or manipulations she may use.”

Gen smiled and shook his sleeves out.  “Finally!  A job that requires my actual skills!”

“Yo, Homura,” Senku greeted, watching her carefully for any signs of recognition.  Gen and Tsukasa were outside, also keeping a close eye on what was happening.

“Who are you?” she asked from where she knelt.  “I don’t recall seeing you in the village before.  I thought I knew the names of everyone who lived here.”

“That was by design.  Before I answer your question though, how about you answer some of mine?”

“Sure.  What do you want to know?”

Senku sat on the ground outside her cell so they could be more at eye level.  He fixed her with a piercing stare, “How are Taiju and Yuzuriha?”

“Tsukasa’s friends?  They are probably the most protected two in Hyoga’s whole empire.  I asked Hyoga about it once, all he told me was that, on his honor, they were to remain alive and unharmed unless they actively move against him.  I personally believe that they aren’t harmed because they are the only insurance Tsukasa doesn’t attack.”

“So they are well?”

“Yes.  What is it to you?  I assumed Tsukasa would care more than some rando.”

Senku smirked at her characterization of him.  Either she was a fantastic actress, or really had no idea who he was.  “They are important to me,” he admitted.  “Does, or did, Hyoga plan on coming back to the village anytime before spring?”

“No.  His people are too busy trying to get ready for winter.  The only one who’s actually survived a winter in this new world is Taiju, so he’s been put in charge of resources.”

“How were you going to survive the winter?  I doubt Hyoga would let you abandon your post because you were cold if he was angry that you had to escape a literal fire.”

“I…I don’t know.  I guess that’s part of why I’m here.  Living here as a prisoner would be infinitely more merciful than a slow death thanks to hypothermia.  The people here have obviously survived for years, so they have to know a thing or two.”

“Did he send you here as a double agent, meant to lead us astray with false information?”

“Would I admit it if I was?”

“No,” Senku allowed, “I wouldn’t think so.  Still, it’s a possibility we have to consider.  If we decide to trust you, what do you expect you’ll be doing here?  Nobody is allowed to slack off, not in our Kingdom of Science.”

“My strengths lie in reconnaissance.  Why else would Hyoga assign me to keep an eye out?” Homura said, “Though I fully expect to work to pay my way.  Whatever you need.”

“Whatever I need, huh?” Senku repeated humorously.  “You obviously haven’t been paying too close attention to things happening here because the Kingdom of Science requires laborious work.”

“You keep calling this place that,” Homura pointed out.  “Isn’t this village called Ishigami Village?  Did Tsukasa rename it?  Seems kinda lame for someone like him.”

Senku chuckled.  Yeah, it was a kinda lame name, but it was accurate and that was what mattered.  “The village is called Ishigami, named after their founder.  Tsukasa is their chief.  Ishigami Village is part of the Kingdom of Science.  I am in charge of that .”

“Founder?  The only Ishigami I know of is that kid Hyoga said he killed.  The one who broke out of stone first and discovered the revival fluid formula.”

“Yeah, Ishigami Byakuya was the founder of this village.  He was my father.”

“Your…father?” Homura tilted her head to the side as she started connecting the dots.  “Wait!  Does that mean—?”

“Nice to meet you.  My name is Ishigami Senku .”

Chapter Text

“It’s been a month,” Chrome commented, carefully coating some copper wires in lacquer.  

Senku was being surprisingly tight-lipped about what he needed them for, but when Tsukasa saw Senku dragging out the lacquer, the chief had ordered Chrome that under no circumstance should Senku touch the stuff.  Remembering how swollen Senku got the first time they worked with it, Chrome didn’t put up an argument.  Senku, of course, pouted and muttered that his reaction wasn’t life threatening, but neither Tsukasa nor Chrome paid him any mind.

“Do you think Homura’s legit?”

“She’s definitely a spy,” Senku chuckled.  “Or at least, Hyoga intended for her to be one, but every day in the Kingdom of Science sways her just a little bit more to our side.  She’ll need to stay in custody until the battle is over though.  Can’t risk having her sneak back and ruin our chance at victory.”

“ HUH ?!” Chrome exclaimed.  He closed the distance between them and loudly whispered, “What on earth are you thinking?!”

“Exactly what I said,” Senku grinned and picked at his ear, “Either she fully defects to our side, or she doesn’t.  Either way, by the time she’s able to do anything against us, it will be too late for it to matter.”

Chrome crossed his arms and leaned away from him again. “What if she breaks free before then?” he challenged.  “If she has to stay here, wouldn’t it be safer just to keep her locked up?”

Chrome’s concern was one that had been echoed by many villagers, both to Tsukasa and himself.  It stemmed from the probation Senku had allowed her.

Homura was allowed out of her cell, tied to one of a select few people, in order to add her contribution to the Kingdom of Science.  Not once did she complain about the intensive labor, the cold shoulder from the villagers, or the fact she was always under constant guard.  The main concern was that she would use the opportunity to break free.

She was tethered to Gen today, so at the very least she had a sympathetic ear.  Only Gen truly understood what it was like to live under Hyoga’s rule and then leave.  It was because of this that Gen was able to reason out that Homura’s replacement, or rather partner, was likely someone named Ukyo.

Ukyo, according to Homura and backed up by Gen, was a sonar operator on a submarine in the old world.  He was lucky that he was off duty when the light hit, or his statue would have sunk to the bottom of the ocean, never to be retrieved.  His hearing was on the same level of Kohaku’s eyesight and was a prodigy with a bow.  He would be a formidable opponent when it came time for a confrontation.

“Sure,” Senku agreed, “But we don’t win her over by having her sit in a cell.  Tsukasa’s reputation precedes him from the old world, so she won’t even try to escape so long as he’s around.”

“I guess so,” Chrome frowned.  “I hope she doesn’t think that she’s fooling anybody anytime soon.  I for one won’t be letting my guard down.”

“Heh, I would hope not!” Senku grinned, letting Chrome know that was never a concern.  “Let’s get this set up.  I’d like to run this test tonight.”

“Yeah!” Chrome’s enthusiasm returned, “I can’t wait to see what you’ve got in store!”

“It’s snowing again,” Chrome looked up at the white flakes gently falling to the earth, only visible by the soft glow from the torches in the village.  A fire hazard that Senku hoped to put an end to after tonight. “Should we reschedule the test?”

“No,” Senku finished up with some wires, “I’d like to do this today.  The snow won’t interfere with it.”

Kohaku swung down from the tree, Homura right behind her.  The gymnast training Homura shared was clearly paying off if the way Kohaku moved through the trees now was any indication.

“Everything’s all set, Senku,” Kohaku reported, “When are you going to tell us what this is about?”

“Just as soon as everyone gets here.”

As if on cue, Tsukasa came into the clearing leading the entire village behind him.  Some of the children were rubbing their eyes from the late hour, but that was alright.  This was something he wanted everyone to see.

“Will this take long, Senku?” Tsukasa asked.  “I don’t want anyone getting sick from standing out in the cold.”

“Not a concern.  It’s a myth that simply standing in the cold will make you sick.  We won’t even be out here long enough to entertain the thought of hypothermia.”

With that, Senku flipped the switch in his hand and the clearing was bathed in warm, incandescent light.

The lightbulbs had been strung all throughout the tree.  Silence fell as the villagers marvelled at the sight while the, now four, revived basked in the familiarity.  It was a beautiful sight to behold, no matter the generation.

“It’s so pretty!” Suika gasped quietly, breaking the silence.  Her sentiment was echoed by the other children and many of the young adults.

“Ah,” Gen sighed, stepping up next to Senku, “It’s nowhere near as bright, but this reminds me of Tokyo at night time.  I can almost pretend we’re back home, just a short drive away.”

“I guess we’re entering a new age,” Tsukasa agreed, “It took a while to get from making light bulbs to here.  How far behind schedule are we?”

Senku grinned, “We’re right on time.”

There was something about the way Senku said it that niggled at his brain, but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out what it was.  Something about today and the sight before him… 

“It looks like a Christmas tree,” Homura said softly, misty eyes locked on the lights.

Tsukasa and Gen whipped back around to stare at the tree.  Homura was right.  The tree was even an evergreen.

“Today, could it be…?” Gen hesitated and turned to Senku accusingly.  “Is it actually Christmas ?!”

“Is it?” Senku feigned nonchalantness, hands on his hips and refusing to look over, “I guess it is.  I had no idea.  What a coincidence.”

It certainly was.  Now that Gen had said it, Tsukasa remembered the calendar being set to December 25 this morning.  With their busy schedule, the implication of the date hadn’t registered until Gen said something.

“‘Coincidence’ my foot,” Tsukasa muttered, “You planned this.”

“Prove it.”

“You changed the calendar,” Tsukasa reminded him, “You’re a living atomic clock.  You knew exactly what day it was.”

Senku just smirked.  All Tsukasa has was flimsy circumstantial evidence and suspicion.  Nobody could prove he had a heart.  If anybody pressed further later, well, he could make the excuse that the display was simply a means of swaying Homura further to their side.

“Oh man!  Those lights last night gave me the baddest inspiration!!  I was up all night putting it together!” Chrome burst into the lab the very next morning.

“Oh yeah?” Senku grinned, abandoning his breakfast.  He was always eager to hear out whatever thoughts Chrome had put together.  Formal education be damned, Chrome was brilliant when it came to science.  All Senku had to do was give him some background knowledge and occasionally nudge him in the right direction.  “What’s that?”

Chrome eagerly showed off his new invention.  “We take one of the light bulbs and attach it to a small battery.  Then we have portable light wherever we need!  I’ve always been limited when I go exploring because the caves get dark and I don’t want to waste the burning oil we have in the village, not that it would provide much light anyway.  With this new invention, I can go even deeper and collect more minerals!”

“Yeah, completely sound idea you got there Chrome!” Senku praised.  Chrome beamed until Senku followed up his statement, “You made a flashlight!  Handy for dark places, but you need a hand to hold it.  Attach it to your head, however—” Senku quickly disassembled the flashlight and attached it to the rope Chrome wore around his head “—and now you have a headlamp!”

“It already exists?!” Chrome wailed.

“It used to,” Senku corrected, as he did every time Chrome accidentally stumbled on an old invention, “You are the first to create it here in the stone world.”

“Heck yeah!  Oh man, I can’t sit still any longer!  What’s the next thing we need for the cell phones?  Anything we’re running low on?  I’ll go get it!”

“What we need?” Senku mused, taking on a thoughtful expression.

Chrome waited on pins and needles for his quest target, nearly vibrating with excitement.

“Nothing!” Senku chirped cheerfully, sending Chrome crashing to the ground as he tripped over his own feet.

“WHAT?!”

“We have everything we need to complete the cell phones,” Senku explained, “Though I suppose it couldn’t hurt to have more copper.  We’ll need plenty for the next devilishly tough step of the process.”

“Copper.  I’m on it!” Chrome jumped back up and ran off for his favorite copper cave.

“Just be back before New Year next week!” Senku called after him.

“Devilishly tough, you say?” Kasaki eyed Senku, ready for whatever challenge the scientist set for him.  “What are we doing?  I have half a mind to get it completed for Chrome to marvel at when he returns!”

“Vacuum tubes!”

Across the bridge in the village, Tsukasa had called Gen for a private meeting behind Kokuyo’s house.  Tsukasa was already waiting when Gen approached, his arms crossed.  He had a pensive look on his face as he stared out over the ocean.

Tsukasa didn’t turn to acknowledge him, but as soon as Gen was within earshot he didn’t waste any time launching into conversation.

“Do you know if Taiju and Yuzuriha made a grave for Senku?”

Gen nearly tripped over his own feet at the abruptly blunt question.  Really, he shouldn’t expect anything else from the fighter, but it still managed to catch him off guard.

Regaining his composure, he teased lightly, “That’s a rather sudden and morbid curiosity, Tsukasa- chan .”

Tsukasa didn’t rise to the taunt, merely turning his gaze to where Gen was standing.  He stared quietly until the mentalist caved and answered the question at hand.

“I believe they did, yes.  Afterall, what better way to convince Hyoga that Senku was dead and they were grieving?  People don’t make graves for the living.  Well, sane people don’t.”

“They may very well have believed Senku was truly dead.  Yuzuriha wasn’t sure the plan would work when she told me and there was no way to send any kind of message.”

“That would have made it all the more believable,” Gen reasoned.  “While I was in Hyoga’s Empire, they would go visit it once a week.  I have no idea if Hyoga has allowed them to stick to that schedule since I left.”

“Hyoga actually let them out of his sight?”

“They were assigned a guard that followed them from a distance.  I don’t even know if Taiju and Yuzuriha were aware of it.”

“Do you know if they managed to write any kind of date on his grave?”

Gen cocked his head. “I am not exactly ‘guard’ material, so I was never assigned to go with them.  The others would describe it as just a couple of sticks in the ground, but beyond that, I wouldn’t know.  You’re being unusually curious about such a morbid topic.  What is it you really want to know?”

“I don’t know when Senku’s birthday is,” Tsuaksa sighed, looking back over the water.  “I’ve been thinking of a way to figure it out, but Senku is the last person who would tell me.  The only other people who would know, besides his father, are Taiju and Yuzuriha, and I can’t exactly ask them about it.”

“Yeah, Senku is somebody who doesn’t like to talk about himself,” Gen mimicked Tsuaksa’s posture.  “Why do you want to know?  I would wager you know Senku better than I do, but even I know Senku isn’t the kind of guy to care about birthdays.”

“He cared enough about mine to arrange everything,” Tsukasa reminded him.  

“So he did,” Gen acknowledged.  “You want to return the favor?”

“He deserves the same level of recognition and celebration.”

The reply was stiff.  More of an excuse than anything else.  Gen tilted his head the other way, trying to read the large warrior.  Tsukasa stared at him impassively.

“No,” Gen said softly, “That’s not it.  Well, not all of it.  What’s the real reason?”

Tsukasa flushed and quickly looked away.  Gen hid his smile behind his sleeves as puzzle pieces began falling into place.  If Tsukasa didn’t want to admit the real reason, the one Gen was ninety-eight percent confident in, then he wouldn’t push.  Besides, it looked like Tsukasa was only just starting to understand his true reason himself.

“Sure, we’ll go with your excuse,” Gen backed off, “You’ll find no arguments from me on that statement.  What do you know?”

“Nothing, like I said.”

“Everybody has tells around important days.  Whether they want to draw attention to the day, or divert it, behavior changes.  Has there been a time when Senku acted out of the ordinary?”

Tsukasa raised an eyebrow at Gen, encouraging him to think about the question he just asked.

“Yes, yes,” Gen waved off, “Senku is truly out of the ordinary on a good day, but that is his default.  His baseline behavior.  Let’s apply a little psychology to you and approach this scientifically.  You have had weeks since your birthday to have been thinking of this.  Why did you bring it up now ??

That was a good question.  Tsukasa was quiet as he considered it.  The matter of making sure he didn’t miss Senku’s birthday had only started pressing on his mind recently.  He’d known him for nearly two years now, so logically it would make sense that Tsukasa was curious, but that still didn’t answer Gen’s question.

“During the first year,” he started slowly, memories starting to come back to him, “Taiju had revived by then, but not Yuzuriha.  Senku was meticulous about the date even then, but during the winter, he let it slide for days at a time.  I always assumed that it was because we were trying not to die to the elements.”

“But if Taiju was there,” Gen filled in the blanks, “he would know when Senku- chan ’s birthday was, and knowing his boisterous personality, would insist on making it a big deal, even in the Stone World when you believed you were the only three humans on earth.”

“So his birthday is sometime during the winter?”

“That’s what our evidence points to right now.”

“All that time you spend around Senku is showing.  Here you are talking about science and evidence,” Tsukasa commented lightly, “So we either just missed it, or it’s coming up soon.  You don’t suppose it was yesterday, do you?  He did set up that whole display for the villagers and refused to elaborate on why.”

Gen paused to consider the idea.  Senku was one to deny his soft heart, but clearly wanted to share the beauty that science had brought to the world in their time.  The Christmas tree would have been the perfect cover, but something about it didn’t feel right.

“No, I’m almost confident that wasn’t it.  It doesn’t fit his baseline.”

“Good.  Do you think you can actually get it out of him?”

Gen smirked deviously.  “Pitching my entire skill set against someone like Senku?  I relish the challenge.”

Tsukasa and Gen were up to something, Senku was sure of it.  More than once over the last couple of days, Senku had caught the two of them whispering about something.  Their conversations were never long, just a few words exchanged between them, but enough that it was unusual.

Senku didn’t pay it much mind, however; he had bigger problems to worry about. 

The vacuum tubes were presenting all kinds of technical problems.  He hadn’t expected the task to be easy, but the skill and intricacy required to make these presented its own challenges.  They were so delicate, that even the slightest unsteadiness with their hands could cause it to shatter.  Already Senku and Kasaki were surrounded by failed and broken attempts at vacuum tubes, and they hadn’t even gotten to test them yet!

Finally, Kasaki held up a successfully made tube.

“About time,” Gen said, “Not that I know exactly what’s going on.  I mean, I know the name , but other than that…”

“You can think of them kind of like the gears of electronics,” Senku answered Gen’s curiosity, happy to be back on track.  Every road bump they encountered threatened to derail their plans completely.  “At high temperatures they will emit electrons.  The tubes allow us to control the direction the current created.”

“It’s rather like the lightbulbs, isn’t it?” Kasaki asked, watching Senku attach the vacuum tube to the battery.

“Yeah, except we need to pull a strong vacuum on the inside.  To do that, I’ve placed a bit of phosphorus on the spot where the filament will heat up.  When it burns, it will use all of the surrounding oxyg—”

Senku was cut off at the sound of breaking glass.

“What happened?” Kasaki asked in alarm.

“Ah!  It broke from the bottom!” Suika exclaimed.

Science takes time.  One step at a time.

Senku had to remind himself of that fact.  It was hard to keep it at the forefront of his mind when this one project was already proving to be so difficult.  Their other projects took time, yes, but they had come together smoothly.

He looked at the base and narrowed his eyes when he saw the problem.

“The copper expanded,” he muttered mostly to himself, but was still heard by the small audience.

“Huh?  What does that have to do with anything?  How can copper grow?  It’s not alive,” Suika asked.

“Heat causes things to expand,” Senku explained.  “The scale we’re working on, the copper only had to expand a few microns for it to crack the glass…”

“ Microns! ” Gen exclaimed, “That small ?  I barely even know what a micron is beyond being tiny!”

“What can we do?”

“Start over,” Senku answered, “Science doesn’t quit and neither do we.  We’ll figure something out.”

It wasn’t until the next day that Senku had an answer.  Unfortunately, their copper supply was running dangerously low.  Fortunately, Chrome returned from his expedition just in time.

“Check it out!” Chrome exclaimed, covered in dirt but wearing a huge grin, “Copped some copper!”

“Perfect timing!” Senku snatched up the copper, “I know how to fix our problem!”

With his small audience, Senku carefully heated a thin copper sheet, and instead of pulling it into a wire, he pushed down with a glass rod, stretching the copper over it and created a capped straw.  With the inside of the copper tube hollow, the copper would have room to expand inwards without cracking the glass of the vacuum tube.

“Science is so cool,” Chrome said with reverence as Senku tried round two of pulling a vacuum.

The fix was a success!  The expanding copper didn’t even so much as threaten to crack the glass!

“At last!” Kasaki cheered, “This vacuum tube sure caused us a lot of problems!”

Kasaki spoke too soon…

Senku watched in horror as the filament inside the vacuum tube crumbled away under the immense heat from the burning phosphorus.  This couldn’t be happening.  They’d come so far in making the cell phones and if they couldn’t make the vacuum tubes work, then everything they’d done, all the work they’d put in, would be for nothing.

“Let’s try again?” Chrome suggested optimistically, though his expression matched Senku’s, “Maybe the bamboo was no good.”

“...Yeah...”

So they tried again.  And again.  And again.

Each time, the bamboo turned to ash almost the instant the phosphorus ignited.

“Is it this batch of bamboo?” Chrome frowned, looking at the stack of bamboo by the lab.  “It works just fine in the light bulbs.  Maybe it dried out too much?”

“No, that’s not it,” Senku tried to reign in his frustration.  “Bamboo filiments just aren’t strong enough to withstand the heat produced in this vacuum.  They’ll burn up instantly.”

“Well, let’s find something else to use then!  Do we need a stronger wood?  I can go get whatever we need!”

“There is nothing else.  At least, not in this world.”

“We can’t just give up!” Kohaku argued.  “We’ve come so far.  There’s gotta be something that we can use.”

“I’ll go get everything from the science shed!” Chrome ran off, “There might be something there!”

Soon the entire clearing was filled with the contents of Chrome’s collection.  Most of the village was combing through the rocks, searching for something that might work.  Everyone except Homura, who was back in her cell, and the villagers assigned to guard duty that night.  Even Tsukasa was on his hands and knees sorting through rocks that he couldn’t tell the difference between.

“This one is so pretty!”

“Beetle carcass.”

“What about this one?”

“Petrified racoon poop.”

“This one seems pretty solid.”

“Lead.”

“There’s got to be something here that will work!”

“No,” Senku admitted quietly, “I appreciate the effort, but we won’t find it here.  I’ll just have to think of something else.”

It was disheartening to hear.  Unease spread through the gathered villagers.  Senku had declared that cell phones were going to be the way they claimed victory over Hyoga, so if they couldn’t make them, would they have any kind of advantage that would let them win?

“Not to worry!” Gen trilled, stepping up with enthusiasm that did not match the atmosphere, “This is but a minor setback.  A detour on our road map and nothing more.  I’m sure our dear science leader will find a new way to succeed!”

“Yeah!” Chrome cheered next to him.  “We made a sulfa drug that cured Ruri out of rocks !  We can figure this out too!”

Their confidence seemed to quiet some of the unease and the reassurances were echoed to each other as the villagers slowly started to clear out and head to their own homes.  Chrome and Kohaku were hesitant to leave, but eventually retreated to their own beds at Tsukasa’s quiet assurance he would take care of the scientist.  

Never before had Senku experienced Imposter Syndrome, he was always so sure of his mind and his science, but it was the only explanation for how he felt right now.  Everyone was counting on him to make this work.  He had made such grand promises, and now their goal was slipping through their fingers

The problem at hand set them back to square one.  Without cell phones, they would not be able to have any kind of inside knowledge of Hyoga’s empire when the time for the battle came.  It was frustrating to say the least.

Absorbed in his thoughts, Senku didn’t notice the concerned look that happened between Gen and Tsukasa.  Nor the calculating look that came over the mentalist as he appraised the scientist.

After a fair amount of persuading, eventually Tsukasa convinced Senku to at least lay down and try to sleep rather than having the scientist stay up all night hitting his head against a metaphorical wall.

It was nearly sunrise and Senku had not slept a wink.  He spent the entire night staring up at the dark ceiling, resisting the urge to toss and turn and potentially wake up Tsukasa, racking his brain for any information that could help him around this.  An alternative material, a different strategy, something .

“Senku- chan ! Tsukasa- chan !” Gen trilled in their window.  “Wakey wakey!”

Senku let out a yelp and scrambled backwards at the sudden intrusion. 

“What’s wrong?” Tsukasa jolted awake, instantly casting a glance around the small room looking for an enemy.

“Nothing!” Senku denied.  His heart had slowed down enough to be annoyed at the wake-up call.  “Gen decided the best way to wake us up, at five thirty in the damn morning, was to just appear in the window.”

“Just because Senku’s an insomniac doesn’t mean you can just appear whenever you like,” Tsukasa glared. “What are you even doing here this early?”

“It’s New Years,” Gen answered evenly.  “We should all go watch the sunrise together.”

“Eh?  Why?” Senku grouched.

“Yeah, sounds good,” Tsukasa, the betrayer, said. He nudged Senku, rising to his feet, “It’s a nice tradition.  New years are for new beginnings after all.  The first sunrise of the year is the perfect opportunity for reflection. It’s not like you were sleeping anyway.”

Senku shot him an accusatory look.  Either Tsukasa knew him that well, or he’d been feigning sleep all night.

“Yes, like Tsukasa said, tradition ,” Gen grinned victoriously.

Completely outvoted, Senku reluctantly followed them out to the clearing where the villagers waited, rubbing the sleep from their eyes.  Suika was still crouching over the piles of rocks, determined to find something that would be helpful.

“Did you stay up all night?” Senku asked her quietly.  She was too young to be pulling all-nighters.

“Suika wants to be helpful,” she answered, clutching a particular rock in her hands.

“You’re always helpful,” Senku assured, hoisting her up and depositing her onto Tsukasa.  She was bound to be exhausted and Kokuyo was talking about a place that was a good distance away to watch the sunrise.

Tsukasa took her without argument and placed her on his shoulders.  Neither of them noticed that she never let go of the rock she was holding.

As they walked, Gen made idle chat.  Senku, still annoyed at the rude wake-up call, answered his questions curtly, without a lot of thought behind them.  He yawned, wishing he’d been able to sleep last night.  Today was going to be rough.  Maybe he’d focus on a side project today and reinvent energy drinks.  It might clear his head enough to come up with an answer to their problem.

Finally they reached their destination.  Senku had to admit, it was a good place to watch the first sunrise of the new year.  They were perched at the edge of a cliff overlooking the valley below.  Back in the old world, people would have staked out a spot like this for days.

“The sun is rising!” Kokuyo announced, jolting those who were dosing fully awake.

Just as the sky began to lighten, a soft blue light caught Senku’s attention from the corner of his eye.  The rock in Suika’s hand was glowing!  It wasn’t ridiculously bright, but enough that it was noticeable… and it gave him hope.

“Ah!” Suika gasped, “It’s so pretty!”

Tsukasa quickly set her on the ground to see for himself.  Suika held up the rock for everyone to see.  

“That’s scheelite!” Senku breathed, voice trembling with excitement.  This was a way past their roadblock.  They could finish the cell phones with this!  “It’s the ore for the toughest metal out there.  The metal vacuum tube filaments were made from back in our day.  Tungsten!”

Chapter Text

Hours later, Senku had put together a team to go spelunking for more of the rare mineral.  Tsukasa was not happy about his choice in companions.  Well, Chrome was fine, but…

“You’re taking Magma ?” he hissed.  “The man still believes you’re a cheating sorcerer.  With only you and Chrome alone with him in a cave, anything could happen.”

Senku chuckled.  “Tungsten is tough as hell.  We’ll need a powerhouse like Magma to retrieve it.  It’s not like I’m going to be alone with him.  Chrome is coming with me.  Besides, you need to be here to help keep an eye on Homura.  Who knows what she’d try to pull if we ‘re both gone.”

“Don’t worry, Tsukasa- chan ,” Gen interjected, eyes sparkling in amusement and looking rather smug, “Magma knows that he can’t do anything without implicating himself.  Plus, he still believes he’s under my curse.  I have great faith that our two scientists will be back safe and sound.”

Behind Senku’s back, Gen gave him a meaningful look.  Tsukasa was careful to not let realization show on his face.  It seemed they had some last minute planning to do while Senku was out cave exploring.

“Fine,” he relented, “Just be careful.  Cave exploring is dangerous on its own.  Watch your steps.”

“Obviously.”  If Senku thought it was strange how quickly Tsukasa backed down, he didn’t show it.

Off to the side, Gen had cornered Magma and was speaking to him quietly.  Magma’s eyes went wide with surprise at whatever the mentalist was telling him, but nodded his acknowledgement.  Gen had probably just reminded him of the “curse” he was under from the Grand Bout.  Though it should have been perfectly obvious by now that Gen wasn’t any kind of sorcerer, the logic that went on in Magma’s head was anyone’s guess.

Once the expedition team was out of sight, Tsukasa turned to Gen.  “What exactly did you tell Magma?”

“To be sure to bring Senku back in exactly three days,” Gen answered with a wicked grin, “It would be hard to celebrate our dear leader’s birthday without him here.”

“You…it’s in three days?”

“You doubt my abilities?” Gen raised an eyebrow.  Without waiting for a response, Gen addressed the villagers.  “Listen up everyone!  Senku’s birthday is in three days!  We are going to put together the best surprise for him!”

“The same day as Stone Day!” Kokuyo looked surprised, “What a coincidence!”

Coincidence nothing.  Byakuya had managed to create a whole holiday, one that stretched for thousands of years, on his son’s birthday.  Well, it had probably started as a small remembrance and then grown in importance over the years, its true origins being lost along the way.

“We don’t have a lot of time,” Ruri stated, “The children need to start working on the crown.  What are the rest of us doing?”

Suika took her cue and immediately gathered the other kids her age and they went as a group into the trees to start selecting their plants.  It would probably be mostly holly and berries with their time crunch, maybe some pine needles.  If they were lucky they might find some winter flowers, but Tsukasa hadn’t seen any variety around here yet.

“Not that I’m against it, but I thought you guys said that was a tradition for the chief?” Tsukasa asked.

“Senku is just as much our leader as you are,” Kohaku explained as though it were obvious.  “He leads the Kingdom of Science, and just because Ishigami Village are the only people in it, doesn’t make it any less true.”

“Of course!” Gen agreed, “Because we are also limited on time, we’ll just have to pool together and give him one grand gift.  Here’s what I’m thinking we do…”

The moment the blindfold had been tied over his eyes, Senku squashed down panic.  Chrome’s cries of indignation did not help as Magma picked him up and started jogging down the trail.

Senku was so sure that Magma was on their side.  Their close call in the cave cemented that.  He was certain he’d won Magma over with the wonders of science, but maybe he’d been wrong.  Maybe Magma was more enamored with Hyoga than anything else.  There wasn’t much for Magma to be able to do to him, especially with Tsukasa in the village, so perhaps Senku was to be used as a hostage to get Tsukasa to let Magma go?

Or perhaps he was to be used as a bargaining chip.  The village hands Senku, dead or alive, over to Hyoga and in return, Hyoga leaves the village alone...

That still didn’t quite make sense as Tsukasa would never allow that to happen.  Tsukasa had literally fought toe-to-toe with Hyoga already to keep the village safe, there was no way he would agree to such a bargain.

He had to get his facts straight.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Damn it!

Those were seconds !  He needed his thoughts organized!

Eight.

Nine.

Ten.

Try as he might, he couldn’t get his head clear enough to dampen the counting so he could focus.  He was just barely keeping from spiralling as it was by trying to listen to the surroundings as they moved, expecting the sound of weapons at any time.

Soon, he felt Magma climb a ladder.  The only ladder he knew of was the one leading to the science shed.  That was weird.  Why were they going there?  Also, was the climb always this tall?  Maybe his perception was off because he was blindfolded.  

Finally, he was set on his feet.  He stumbled slightly, but was quickly steadied by a set of hands that felt familiar but he couldn’t recognize.

“Welcome back, Senku-chan ,” Gen trilled dangerously.  

Of course Gen was behind this.  He really was foolish to put such trust in a man willing to betray the most terrifying man alive for something as simple as Cola.  He’d had plenty of opportunities to speak with Homura over the last few weeks.  Was this all just one big plan put together by Hyoga to lure them into a false sense of safety, or did Homura convince Gen somehow to stab them in the back?

The door he was manhandled through shut unexpectedly.  Shivers went down Senku’s spine at the sound, but he did his best not to show it.  If he was being betrayed, sentenced to die or worse, then he wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of seeing him scared.  

“Don’t bother calling for help,” Homura said quietly, deadly even, as if the idea had even passed through his head.  “Tsukasa’s busy at the moment and the entire village knows what we’re up to.”

“I see,” he said quietly, forcefully controlling his breathing.  There was nothing else to say to that.

They were going to take him to Hyoga, perhaps as a peace offering in exchange for their own lives.  It was disappointing, but Senku couldn’t quite find it in him to blame them.  It was human nature to survive, whichever way they could.

He worked on regulating his breathing and his emotions.  Like hell was he going to give them the satisfaction of seeing him broken.  If he was going down (again), he was going down strong.

The door slammed open, causing Senku to jump at the noise.  From the startled and stifled yelp from Homura, it had startled her badly too.

“What the actual hell are you guys doing?”

Tsukasa sounded uncharacteristically angry, but it brought some relief for Senku.  If Tsukasa was here, then there was a strong possibility that he had built his conclusion from incomplete, or rather, manipulated data and things weren’t nearly as bad as he thought.

Gen started to stammer out some excuses but was quickly cut off by Tsukasa.

“He’s on the verge of another panic attack!” Tsukasa snapped.

As soon as Tsukasa said it, Senku noticed his own poorly controlled breathing.  It was probably a good thing he had misjudged this situation, or he would be just as, if not more, fucked than he thought he was a moment ago.

“What the hell is wrong with you guys!?” Kohaku growled.  More tension bled from Senku.  “This was not the plan!”

“Idiots…” Tsukasa muttered, much closer to Senku now.

The familiar hand of the fighter pressed gently between his shoulder blades, guiding him forward a couple of steps.

“Breathe, Senku,” Tsukasa’s quiet voice was now right by his ear.  “We wanted to surprise you, that’s all.  These two went off script.”

Senku sucked in a slow, shuddering breath before releasing it slowly.  He still couldn’t help but stiffen as he felt hands at the back of his head, untying the blindfold.  When it cleared, and he was able to see again, his breath caught, but for an entirely different reason.

Saturn .

A little wavy due to atmospheric distortion and a bit grainy due to the quality of the telescope, but unmistakable and as beautiful as he remembered.

Tears threatened to well up in his eyes as he took a step back to observe his surroundings.

“You guys built a telescope,” his voice was barely louder than a whisper and didn’t quite hide a tremor that threatened to betray him.  Then he took a look around.  “No.  You built a whole observatory.”

The observatory was now full of villagers, the ones he was closest to and considered friends, all wearing gleeful smiles, waiting for his reaction to it all.  How could he have ever doubted them?  Wars weren’t won if you didn’t trust your own people.

“It’s Stone Day!” Kaseki announced happily, “January 4!”

“Happy Birthday, Senku,” Kohaku said brightly.  Senku didn't turn to look at her, but it was obvious she was smiling.

“We all got you a present!” Suika chimed in happily.  She was holding what looked like a winter wreath made of evergreen sprigs and holly.

He blinked at that.  It was his birthday, but they couldn’t have known that.  And yet, here they were.  The children had even made him his own birthday crown.  Why though was the question.  Tsukasa had told him that it was village tradition to make one for the chief , which Senku was certainly not.

“You’re our leader too!” Ruri accurately interpreted his expression.  Tsukasa picked Suika up so she could put the wreath on his head since Senku seemed frozen in surprise.  “The kids only had a couple days to put it together, so I’m afraid you’re stuck with this quality until next year.”

That was fine.  This was honestly too much, but Senku couldn’t deny the villager’s their traditions, even after he had the equivalent of an emotional rollercoaster ride.

“How did you even know it was today?” he managed to ask.

“Gen told us!” Kaseki explained, “He pulled all of us together and directed us what to do!”

All of us?

In a daze, he walked over to the open window to see the smiling faces of the rest of the villagers, the ones who couldn’t fit in the observatory, looking up at him.  He didn’t, couldn’t , say anything, but they seemed to understand just how much he appreciated the gesture.  It wasn’t often he was moved beyond words afterall.

He finally turned his attention back to the telescope, taking in its craftsmanship.  It was rudimentary, but far better quality than the one he first tried to make when he was a kid.  Perks of having a master craftsman around.

“How did you know?” he asked Gen quietly, “I’m not the kind of person to go around talking about my own birthday.”

Not many people actually knew his birthday.  Byakuya knew, obviously, and Taiju and Yuzuriha knew only because Byakuya told them.  It was unlikely that Gen had gotten that information from either of them, however.  That information was too casual, too irrelevant, to discuss in the depths of the enemy camp, especially about a supposed dead man.  

Apparently Tsukasa and Byakuya spoke quite often, but it had been nowhere near his birthday in the few months before the petrification, so he was certain that Tsukasa never learned it.  It had certainly never come up before now, so how did they know?

“You’re telling me,” Gen bemoaned.  “It took all of my skill to get it out of you. Remember during our hike New Years’ morning?”

Senku vaguely remembered something about mentioning how he knew how many days he’d been alive.  He’d been tired and cranky then, so didn’t give it much thought at the time.  “Ah, I guess I incriminated myself there, huh?  That bit of information still wouldn’t have been enough unless you knew how long I’d been petrified…”

“Don’t you remember?” Gen cocked his head, “You carved the date you woke up into a tree near the Miracle Cave.”

He did, didn’t he?  And Gen was smart enough to be able to work backwards, leap years and everything, to correctly calculate Senku’s birthday.

Senku gave a more heartfelt chuckle at the absurdity of it all.  He’d really thought they betrayed him, and here they were, giving him one of the most thoughtful gifts he’d ever been given.  Byakuya still had them beat by a mile, but what more could he ask for in this stone world?

“Oh?  Is Senku about to show actual human emotion?  It’s okay man.  You can cry!”  

Good ol’ Ginrou.  He’d cry later, when no one was around for him to keep up appearances for.  Now though…

“THIS IS GREAT! WE CAN USE THIS TOWER AGAINST HYOGA AND HIS ARMY!  THIS IS REALLY SOMETHING TO GET EXCITED ABOUT!”

“Well that was a complete shift,” Chrome muttered.

“...practical as always,” Kohaku said.

It wasn’t long before the crowd started to disperse, each of them wishing one last “Happy Birthday” to Senku on their way down the ladder.  Most of them were likely headed to bed given the late hour.  Senku resolved to let them sleep in a bit in the morning before they threw themselves back into their work.  There was still plenty to do before spring.

Soon only one other person remained.

“You here to make sure I actually get to bed tonight?” Senku stuck a finger in his ear.  Not that he wasn’t appreciative of Tsukasa’s small actions during the whole thing, but he really needed a moment to fully collect himself.  His adrenaline had gone down enough that a full panic attack wasn’t a concern any more, but that didn’t mean he was completely fine.

“And drag you away from all this?” Tsukasa glanced up at the observatory roof, “I think I’d have a better chance of convincing Hyoga to give up his ideals and start painting dolls.  I just wanted to make sure you were okay after… all that …”

“I’m fine,” Senku turned away to look at the sky, trying to make it seem like he was deciding which star to observe first.

“Really?” Tsukasa asked skeptically, taking a step forward, “Because you didn’t even look like you were going to put up a fight.  Had your hands behind your back and everything, just waiting for them to tie you up.  Do you just accept death that easily?  First Hyoga, then the sulfuric acid, and now this.”

“Of course not,” Senku scoffed quietly, “But it was logical.  Magma was the one who blindfolded and basically abducted me without saying so much as a “don’t worry”.  Then Gen decided the best way to welcome me back was to partner with Homura, a known agent for Hyoga, and make ominous and vaguely threatening statements.  Hyoga’s already attacked the village twice.  He nearly killed Kinrou the first time, and Suika the second.  The only reason he left was by chance.  With Homura here, the risk of Hyoga attacking has increased.  I wouldn’t blame them if they decided science wasn’t worth the risk.  These people survived 3700 years without it, after all.  Even with the little bit we’ve brought here, they’d be hundreds of times better off than they were before.”

“Senku, take a moment to breathe,” Tsukasa said quietly, carefully laying a hand on his shoulder.  It was then that Senku realized that he’d been rambling and his hands were shaking.  What was it about this man that made Senku want to spill his guts like that?  Usually the mere thought of talking about his feelings and doubts was enough to make him want to throw up.

It still did, but it was somehow more… bearable .

“Sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for.  I’m sorry that I wasn’t there to stop it before it got started.  I was looking for Suika so she could present you with your crown.  Those two are going to be on breakfast, lunch, and dinner duty for a week for this stunt.  They’ll wash so many dishes that their hands won’t unprune for a month.”

Senku chuckled at the threat.  That was certainly something Gen would absolutely hate.  It was harder to tell with Homura though.

“We gathered a bunch of minerals,” Senku said, “I think I’ve got a project for Gen far more tedious than cooking and cleaning. And I’m not sure I trust Homura not to poison us all if we put her in charge of food.”

“Then I’ll leave their punishments to you,” Tsukasa agreed easily.

The two stayed quiet for a while.  Senku eventually started fiddling with the telescope.  He wondered just how much he’d be able to tune and focus the thing.  Seeing any planets past Saturn was unlikely, but that was fine.  He was more interested in the moon anyway.

“I suppose I owe you thanks for this.  The others made it seem like it was all Gen’s idea, but somehow, I doubt it.”

“It was a group effort, but mostly Gen,” Tsukasa admitted, “I wanted to give you something that would match what you gifted me.  Gen took the idea and ran with it.”

“...You think this matches a small bottle of revival fluid?”

“No.  It doesn’t even come close, but it’s a start.  Senku, do you even realize just what your gift meant to me?”

“A promise to revive your sister, whether or not we can get any more nitric acid.”

“ Yes .  That revival fluid could have been used on any number of people that would help us in this new world, but you gave it to Mirai .”

Senku stayed quiet at that.  Anything he said would either have to be callously cruel, or admitting he had a heart.  He wasn’t going to do either of those things.

Tsukasa dropped a heavy fur on top of him.  “Stay warm tonight,” he smirked, “Just know you’re going to bed early tomorrow to make up for it.”

Senku let out an undignified squawk as his vision was obstructed, fighting to find his way out of the fur.  By the time he cleared his face, ready to give a scathing retort, Tsukasa had already left, leaving him to appreciate the observatory on his own terms.

Turning to the telescope, Senku focused it on the bright moon.  He quickly zeroed in on the Tycho Crater.  It had remained relatively unchanged over the millenia.  The familiarity of the crater washed over him.  Tycho had always been an interest to him, due to the relatively young age of the crater.  It may be small, but it was packed full of scientific knowledge.

“We’re going to win this war against Hyoga,” Senku whispered quietly to himself, “We’re going to solve the mystery of the petrification, and humanity will make it back to the moon!”

Chapter Text

With the newly acquired tungsten, they were able to finally make a filament for the vacuum tube that wouldn’t burn away or melt at the extreme temperatures.  The hardest hurdle to jump was creating a method of pinpoint heating the tungsten inside the tube without melting the materials around it.  Senku had put Chrome and Kasaki in charge of that project, and unsurprisingly, they rose to the challenge.  Their methods were… not what Senku would call ‘efficient’, but there was no arguing with the outcome.

“Now that we have all the pieces, we’re going to need an insane piece of glassware,” Senku said as he laid out the rest of the plan to make the cell phones. “I don’t even know if you’ll be able to make it, Kasaki.”

“Hoho!” Kasaki laughed, holding up the water dripping machine he’d made months ago, “You think you can scare me off after I made this impossible thing?  Let’s see what you’ve got!”

Senku handed over the blueprint.  “The last pump we made when we made the lightbulbs won’t be enough.  We need to pull every last molecule of air out of these vacuum tubes.  This is a Hickman Pump and will give us ten billion percent more power.”

Kasaki’s eyes bugged out when he saw the complex design Senku had drawn out.  It was huge!  And it looked like it was made out of one piece of glass!

“Where would I even start on something like this?” Kasaki wondered out loud, “Can something like this even be made by humans?”

Gen looked over Kasaki’s shoulder at the design and got a mischievous grin.  “You know, back in our day, only the most skilled craftsmen could even begin to dream of crafting one of these by hand.  Of course, that was then and this is now.  It’s got to be impossible in this age!”

Chrome crept closer to Senku.  “Is that true?” he whispered.

“Mostly,” Senku answered back, watching the exchange carefully.  He knew what Gen was doing, and while it would work on Kasaki, it wouldn’t work on him.  “How would he know that though?  He’s just trying to get Kasaki fired up… and try to get back in my good graces after the stunt he pulled the other night.”

“Yeah, that was not cool,” Chrome agreed.

A fire ignited behind Kasaki’s eyes.  “You think I need to be tricked into building this?  The more complicated the device, the more excited I get!  Just for that—” Kasaki grabbed the back of Gen’s coat and started dragging him behind, “—you get to assist me!”

Senku smirked victoriously.  As promised, there was a lot of labor that he intended to use Gen’s hands for, and if Kasaki wanted to use them first, then his project could wait a day or two.

“While they’re doing that,” Senku turned to Chrome, “We are going to start making the plastic for the case of our cell phone.”

Chrome followed along obediently, not feeling sorry for Gen in the slightest.  Most of the village was miffed about Gen and Homura nearly causing Senku to have another panic attack on his birthday .  Gen had agreed that their actions were too far, but that otherwise Senku would have caught on early and the full impact of their gift would be lessened.  Obviously, very few people agreed with that statement.  They had only wanted to surprise the scientist, not traumatize him.  

Tsukasa had taken over watching Homura most of the time.  Her penance seemed to be coming in three parts.  The first is being unable to escape Tsukasa’s sharp, disapproving gaze.  While under said gaze, she was assigned to clean the… undesirable parts of the village.  The villagers had no complaints about that; nobody wanted that job, necessary though it was.  The last was the indirect consequence that she lost all rapport she’d worked so hard to gain among the villagers.  And all of that was just until Senku decided to dish out whatever punishment he had cooking up.

“So what is ‘plastic’?” Chrome asked, “How do we make it?”

“Modern plastic is a little out of our wheelhouse,” Senku admitted, “That stuff was a product made from oil, which we don’t have access to in this world.  At least not yet.  We’re going to be making a rudimentary version of plastic using the materials we have here in the Stone World.  First thing we need to do is heat wood to get the sap.”

It was a long process of waiting for the sap to drip into their collection container.  While they waited, Chrome took the opportunity to address something that he, and several other villagers, had noticed but didn’t have the guts to say.

“Did you and Tsukasa have a fight or something?”

“What the hell ?” Senku nearly choked on the water he was drinking, “No, we haven’t had a fight.  Why would you think that?”

Chrome blinked in surprise.  Obviously that was not the answer he was expecting.  “That’s great!” he grinned, “I just noticed that ever since your birthday, you guys haven’t been around each other as much as you used to.”

Senku’s eyes flicked down to the docks where Tsukasa supervising Homura and the fishermen bringing in the meager winter haul.  Homura did not look particularly happy to be handling the cold, wet fish, but she followed the instructions given to her.  As if sensing the eyes on him, Tsukasa glanced up and met his gaze for a split second before Senku looked away.  Yeah, maybe Senku had found himself working on projects away from Tsukasa after their discussion in the observatory, but that was just a matter of circumstance.

“There’s a lot to do right now,” Senku answered, “We need to divide our power to conquer everything that needs to get done before spring.  Don’t go reading into things that aren’t there.”

“Right,” Chrome chuckled, holding up his hands in surrender.  “So is this sap ‘plastic’?”

“No, we have several more steps after this.  Once we have all of this, we’ll need to boil it to get rid of the invisible impurities and then add hot copper.”

“And that makes plastic?”

Senku laughed and gave a wicked grin.  “No.  That makes formalin.  It’s what we used to use to preserve dead bodies!”

A shudder ran up Chrome’s spine.  He knew Senku well enough to know he was only being that creepy to elicit a reaction, but still, it was hard not to when something so morbid was said with so much excitement.

It took a few hours to collect all the sap they needed.  Senku watched it carefully, quick to pull out any noticeable impurities that made it into the container.  Once they had what they needed, they took it into the lab, where it was slightly more protected from the cold.  

“It stinks!” Chrome exclaimed, holding his nose.  “How many things in science are used for corpses anyway?”

“Don’t breathe it too deeply,” Senku instructed, holding the flask away from him.  The flaps for the lab entrance were tied back to provide some ventilation, but it only helped so much. “Too much of the fumes can damage your respiratory system, and no antibiotics can fix that.”

“Noted.  What comes next?”

“We need charcoal.  As many used coals as we can get.”

“Should be pretty easy to get,” Chrome looked out the door.  “We just need to burn a bunch of wood, right?”

It really was that simple, but before Senku could confirm it, Tsukasa made an appearance  in the entrance to the lab.

“Senku,” he started seriously, only to back right back out, hand over his nose.  “Ugh, what the hell are you guys making?  It smells awful.”

“Just part of the process of making plastic,” Senku answered, “Did you need something?”

“It’s better not smell like this by tonight,” Tsukasa muttered the empty threat.  “I heard the elders talking,” he said louder, “They said that this winter was shaping up to be a tough one.  There was some concern about losing people to the cold.”

“Apparenlty there was a really cold winter before I was born and it knocked out a lot of villagers,” Chrome said, “I’ve been told that our numbers were bigger before that winter.”

“That explains how it’s been thousands of years yet there are so few humans,” Senku mused quietly.  “Give me a minute to think.”

Chrome and Tsukasa shared a look as Senku started pacing back and forth.  Every so often, he would glance up at the people working or towards the huts themselves.  It didn’t take much time for Senku to come up with a solution.

“Got it!” Senku exclaimed.  He turned to point at Chrome, “We need copper.  Lots of it.  Take Magma, Kohaku, and Homura with you.  Between the three of you, you should have no trouble keeping an eye on her.  Tsukasa, go let the kids twisting the wire know they can take a break.  After we get through with this, they’ll be able to work at twice the speed, so the time lost will be negligible.  It may take a couple days to get everything put together, so until then, we’ll put as many people as we can in a hut to conserve body heat.”

Chrome’s eyes lit up at the promise of another scientific breakthrough and hurried to gather his team.

“What exactly are you making?” Tsukasa raised an eyebrow.

Senku chuckled, eyes bright with excitement.  “Get excited, Tsukasa!  We’re making heaters!”

The heaters were received gratefully among the villagers.  They kept the huts nice and toasty and, as they were essentially wood burning stoves, provided a convenient place for people to prepare their own food.  Now they could work in comfort without the risk of frostbite.  

As Senku predicted, they got their work done twice as fast since they didn't have to battle stifle digits.  More than that, it served Senku’s purposes as well.  With everybody burning wood in their heaters, he could collect plenty of the used charcoal needed to complete the plastic.  All of the key components to the cell phone were coming along nicely.  There was just one last project that needed to be done, and Senku had the perfect candidate for it.

“ Geennn ~” Senku trilled with false innocence.  The mentalist was still out working next to the forge with Kasaki as the craftsman worked on getting the vacuum tubes made.

Gen flinched at the tone.  He knew his penance had come, but plastered a smile on his face and turned to meet his doom.  “Yes, Senku- chan ?”

“How would you like a job that lets you stay inside with a heater?”

“A less suspicious man would jump at the opportunity,” Gen said warily, “It’s not a trap, is it?”

“As if I could get such a basic trap past a mentalist of your caliber," Senku scoffed.  He held out a set of blueprints.  “Here.  I need you to make this.”

The blueprint was for the assembly of a manganese battery which would serve as the power source for the cell phones.  Thanks to the scarn deposit they found in the cave, they had plenty of the right metals to make it work.

“Does this mean you forgive me, Senku- chan ?” Gen summoned tears into large, doe eyes.

“Get this down and we’ll call it even,” Senku chuckled.  If Gen thought he’d only need to make a few of those things, he was in for a rude awakening.

“Never again will I pull such a mean prank on you, Senku- chan ,” Gen vowed, continuing his crocodile tears.

Senku already started walking away.  “Get to work, mentalist .  Those need to get done quickly so we can assemble the cell phone!”

Tsukasa watched the interaction with interest.  Ever since Senku had mentioned he had an idea of how to deal with Gen and Homura, he’d been curious.  He was fairly certain Senku didn’t have a vindictive bone in his body, but apparently if somebody did him wrong and they could be useful to him, he had no reservations.  Still, he had seen the plans for the batteries and it hardly seemed like the grueling work Senku usually handed out.

“Please tell me there’s more than just that,” Tsukasa said quietly once Senku was in earshot.

“We need 800 of those batteries,” Senku assured, “It won’t be light work.”

“Does Gen know he needs to make 800 batteries?”

“Not yet.”

“...Do you plan on telling him?”

“Sure.  After I get Chrome started on the last few steps of the plastic. We need to make some molds to pour the plastic into when we’re ready too.”

The cell phones came together beautifully.  Of course, Senku had kept quiet about needing two of them to make them work properly, but for now, they could run a preliminary test using them as a landline.

While Senku ran a long line from the observatory all the way to Ruri’s hut, Tsukasa stayed in the observatory with about half the village.  Chrome had been chosen to be the first in the Stone World to attempt telecommunication.  He had had the most direct involvement in assembling it, so it made sense.

It should be a basic test.  Just something to give proof of concept and rally the villagers into pumping out a second one so they could actually be functional in their upcoming battle.  Ginrou had other ideas.

“Hey, Chrome~” Ginrou said slyly, “Have you decided the most important thing here?  The first message across?  Afterall, Ruri is listening on the other end.  This is the perfect chance to tell her your true feelings, isn’t it?”

Chrome’s crush on Ruri was the worst kept secret in the entire village, even from Ruri herself, so Ginrou’s prodding sent a wave of excitement through the crowded room.  Tsukasa raised an eyebrow at the unsubtle attempt at meddling, however Chrome was looking thoughtful at Ginrou’s words.

“My true feelings?” Chrome repeated quietly, mulling the words over.

If this actually worked, they would never get Ginrou to shut up about it.  Nor would they be able to keep him out of any future relationships that emerged.  For reasons that Tsukasa couldn’t quite put his finger on, he really hoped that did not happen.  The most Tsukasa could recognize, it was the same reason that made him want to make Senku’s birthday memorable.

“Communication switch is on!” Suika announced.

The room fell silent as Chrome took the microphone bell into his hands and took a deep breath.

“Ruri,” he started quietly.  A few surprised gasps came over the speaker as the people on the other side of the village heard the message.  “THIS IS CRAZY RIGHT?! ISN’T SCIENCE AMAZING?!”

Well, those were certainly Chrome’s true feelings.  Tsukasa let out a quiet chuckle at the absurdity while nearly everyone else expressed their frustration at Chrome continuing to refuse to acknowledge his affections towards the priestess.

Either way, the test was successful.  They had a working phone!

On the other side, there was some talking, but they must have stepped away from the microphone as the conversation couldn’t be made out.  It would have been hard to hear anyway with so many people berating and clueless Chrome for being, well, clueless.

When it was clear that people were more interested in celebrating the success rather than continuing any conversation, Tsukasa stepped forward to hang up the forgotten call.  In a moment worthy of any soap opera, his hand was only inches from cutting the connection when Senku’s voice came through, clear and urgent.

“ My old man’s grave! ”

“Senku?” Tsukasa asked. “Senku, is everything alright?”

There was no answer.

“Gen, are you there?” he tried again with urgency.  All he knew was that some kind of revolution had happened and now Senku wasn’t answering him.  It did not paint a good picture. “What’s going on?  Is everyone alright?”

Again, there was no answer.  

“Shit!” he threw down the bell.  Senku had mentioned his father’s grave, that was likely where Tsukasa would find him.

“Tsukasa?” Homura spoke up quietly, “What’s wrong?”

Tsukasa spared a moment to look at her.  Her expression was open and honest; she was worried about the events that just transpired.  In the months she had been in the village, she had been nothing but helpful and hopeful that she would earn the trust of those she took refuge with.  In that moment, he made the decision to give her exactly that.

“Homura, go with Suika and Chrome to Ruri’s house to see what’s happened.  If there’s nobody there, come back to this clearing and wait for us to come back.  Kohaku, you’re with me.  Senku mentioned something about his father’s grave before the line went dead.  We’re heading there.”

Homura’s eyes widened at the blatant trust Tsukasa was putting in her.  In some regards, this was going to be her biggest test of loyalty.  He was trusting her, without a heavy guard to not take advantage of that fact and betray them.  She nodded firmly and gracefully flipped out the observatory window.

Tsukasa and Kohaku raced towards the graveyard.  He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw everybody there.  Senku was kneeling down next to the grave marker, examining it closely.

“Everything alright?” Tsukasa asked, making his and Kohkau’s presence known.

“Of course,” Gen answered, a little confused, “Why do you ask?”

“Because all I heard over the phone was Senku shout something about his father’s grave and then nobody answered me ,” Tsukasa stopped just short of a glower.  “You’ll understand why that might be concerning?”

“Ahaha,” Gen laughed nervously, “Sorry, Tsukasa- chan .  Ruri knew the word ‘speaker’ and it turned out there was a Tale that gave us a clue that Byakuya- san left something here for Senku.”

Tsukasa blinked in surprise.  Of all the possible explanations, that wasn’t even on his list.

“It’s a time capsule!” Senku suddenly declared victoriously.  “We just need to open this and find out what Byakuya left us!”

Magma was the first to volunteer.  If it involved smashing something, he was always eager to offer his services.

“Hold on,” Tsukasa stopped him, “We don’t know what’s in there.  You don’t want to accidentally destroy something left by the founders, do you?”

“I’ve got this,” Kohaku stepped up.

A few quick and accurate strikes later and the treasure inside started to be revealed.  It didn’t take long for the rest of it to be freed from the rock.  Was that rock?  Tsukasa bent down to pick up a piece that had been chipped off.  It looked familiar.

“It’s cement,” Senku answered the unanswered question.  He bent down to retrieve the silver disk that had been uncovered.  “And this , is the treasure we’re after!”

“What is it?” Tsukasa asked.  If he didn’t know any better, it looked like it was something wrapped in foil, but that was ridiculous.  Right?

“We have to go back to the lab to find out,” Senku smirked.  “Let’s go see what Byakuya left us!”

Chapter Text

Senku would never admit it, but he was nervous as hell to listen to this record.  His dad’s voice was on there, there was no question of that.  He had no idea what kind of message his dad left, though.  A million possibilities ran through his mind, each just as likely as the last.

He kept himself busy building the record player, if only to stop himself from wondering about the psychological ramifications of hearing his dead dad’s voice after all this time.  For the second time since waking in this world, Senku felt the harsh reality of the passage of time settle over him.  The first had been when Ruri shared the 100th Tale.

Creating something to play a record was stupidly easy.  The whole design came together in less than a day.

Tsukasa cornered Senku in the backroom where the scientist was retrieving the record as the villagers gathered at the door to the lab.  They were more disconnected from the whole thing than Senku was.  To them, it was something magical that was going to happen, to hear the voice of the village founder.  Even Gen and Homura got caught up in the thrill of it all, excited to be another step closer towards the world they knew.

“Are you sure about this?” Tsukasa asked quietly, “I think everyone would understand if you wanted to listen to this in private first.”

“It’ll be fine,” Senku assured around a tight smile, “There’s a ten billion percent chance the message he left is for the village to hear as well.”

Tsukasa wasn’t convinced, but let the matter drop and followed Senku back into the lab.  The entire Kingdom of Science knew just how stubborn Senku could be when it came to mushy emotions, as proved by his reaction to the observatory.

The villagers had crowded as close as they dared to the opening of the lab.  They respected that this carried more weight to the four revived humans in their numbers and left the spaces closest to the record player open.  The crowd hushed as Senku carefully laid the glass record on the turn table and placed the needle in the groove.

“Alright, Ginrou,” Senku looked up at the guard, “Go ahead.”

Ginrou nodded and started turning the repurposed shield.  He’d had plenty of practice with the cotton candy machine, and was the best choice for someone to spin the wheel at a constant speed.  The record spun beautifully and for a brief moment, all they heard was static from the needle.

Then…

“To whoever is listening to this:  I don’t know how many hundreds or thousands of years have passed, but I am the astronaut Ishigami Byakuya.”

Senku forgot how to breathe the moment he heard his father’s voice.  Tsukasa may have had a point.  It was a mistake to have the first hearing of the record be so public.  

He sounded so serious.  It was the tone that Byakuya only used when things were dire, or the conversation held no room for levity.  He could count on one hand the number of times he heard Byakuya sound like this.  Senku felt the weight of humanity weighing more on his shoulders than ever before.  It was one thing to set the goal for himself, it was entirely different 

Then Byakuya laughed.

“Ah, that’s enough of that!  I’m not really one for stuffy formalities anyway.”  

In the scratchy background, Senku could almost make out a muffled laugh, as if the other astronauts who were with him considered that an understatement.  Byakuya clearly did was he did best: bring joy and happiness to hopeless situations.

“Senku, you’re there, aren’t you?” Byakuya continued,  “I can tell, even though it’s probably hundreds, or even thousands of years in the future… I’m making my final call to you, even though I know you can’t answer it.”

Senku swore that if this turned into some mushy good-bye, he was going to bury this thing again so that nobody (namely himself) would ever have to suffer through it again.  On his right, Tsukasa shifted slightly.  The movement helped keep him grounded in the moment.  No weakness afforded here.

“I just want you to know that I - I always — Nah!  You don’t need all that mushy stuff!”

The change was so jarring, so very Byakuya, that Senku couldn’t help but bark out a laugh.  It was loud and forced, but it broke some of the tension.  Even 3700 years later, imparting important information, his dad still proved how well he knew his son.

“So dismissive of his own father…” Homura muttered quietly.

“That’s just how Senku is,” Kohaku responded, just as quiet.

“Anyway, onto business…”

Byakuya actually didn’t say too much else on the record.  A few words of encouragement directed at Senku, a few words to anyone else who could be listening, and then handed the reins over to his fellow astronaut; specifically Lillian.

By the time Lillian’s song faded out and the record ended, there was hardly a dry eye in the house. Even Tsukasa had a tear rolling down one cheek.  It was a miracle that Ginrou, who was sobbing uncontrollably, was still able to spin the record at a steady pace anymore.   Senku, on the other hand, was using what was quickly becoming his favorite strategy to avoid the same fate: repress and deflect. His hands were clenched tightly as he wrestled for control.

“Senku,” Chrome had fat tears running down his face.  “Was there even more awesome music like this back in your time?”

Oh good.  A distraction.

“Yeah,” Senku grinned tightly, “And more!  Television, video games, movies, manga.  There was so much in our world, and I am going to bring all of it back!”

That promise, echoed by Lillian’s song, rejuvenated the villagers Senku hadn’t seen since… well, ever.  They got excited about science and the projects Senku guided them through, but the level of excitement right now was unmatched.

For the rest of the day, everyone worked with vigor.  Plenty of work got done in making the second cell phone that they needed, and throughout the village, Lillian’s song could be heard hummed by various people as they worked.  It was impossible to go anywhere without hearing it.  The kids even insisted Ginrou spin the record over and over again so they could listen to it.

“It’s a shame that Hyoga can’t hear this,” Suika said wistfully, idly twisting wire next to Gen.  “I bet he’d give up his evil ways if he did!”

“That’s rather optimistic,” Gen smiled.  Even his hands were working today. “We had Lillian in our old lives, so her songs are far too well known.  I doubt she’d move as many hearts as you’d like, especially with this sound quality…”

Gen trailed off, a thoughtful expression coming over his face.  A dangerous plan was taking shape.  He quickly smoothed out his face and sought out Homura; she would have the insight he needed to know if his plan was viable before he bothered to bring it to Senku.

Later that night, Senku retreated to the observatory.  His focus tonight was noting changes in the positions of the stars so that when they eventually unlocked sea travel, they could map their position.  Tsukasa was also there, resting against the opposite wall, but what else was new? The man hadn’t been more than twenty paces from his side all day.  There were worse people who could be following him around.   In fact, if he had to have company, he’d prefer it to be Tsukasa.

Tsukasa was quiet and it was almost easy to ignore the fact he was there at all.  In fact, he seemed preoccupied by his own thoughts, which was just fine in Senku’s opinion.  Senku usually hated sharing lab space with someone, but that was because people usually got in his way or distracted him while he worked.  It was almost an easy cohabitation with Tsukasa, each absorbed in their own worlds.  

“Are you alright after today?” Tsukasa broke the silence quietly.  Chrome was asleep beneath them and neither of them were keen on waking him.

Senku should have expected this question eventually.  There was no use beating around the bush with Tsukasa.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Senku brushed off. 

“It can’t have been easy to hear that message.”

That was an understatement. Only the very beginning of that message had been Byakuya, the rest had been Lillian’s song. A genius move to be sure, but it was almost cruel with how little it was.

“…Yeah,” Senku agreed softly. 

He fiddled with the telescope.  That weird feeling was back.  The one that made him feel like he could spill his guts to Tsukasa, and he couldn’t stop it.  “It was…weird, I guess, to hear his voice.  Like a voice mail message that I can’t return.”

Before Tsukasa could offer a reply, there was a quiet knock at the door.  Gen and Homura carefully made their presence known and entered the observatory.

“Good, you’re both here,” Gen said, keeping his voice low.  Homura quietly closed the door behind them. “I have an idea.  One that will surely ensure we all go to hell, but one that may very well turn the tides of the coming war in our favor.”

Senku spun around in his seat, intrigued.  “I spent 3700 years in hell, Mentalist.  Let’s hear it.”

Everyone else in the observatory grimaced at the faint memory they had of being petrified before they lost consciousness. It was easy to forget how impressive it was, but staying conscious and sane for all that time was a herculean feat. Gen recovered quickly and went to outline his plan.

1. Deliver the phone to Taiju and Yuzuriha
2. Claim that America was already de-petrified and on their way to rescue Japan
3. Use the recording of Lilian’s singing along with Gen’s vocal mimicry skills to convince members of Hyoga’s kingdom of that fact
4. Profit

It was a good plan.  The risks it carried could be mitigated with simply applying a healthy amount of caution, and their biggest worry, Ukyo, was busy taking up Homura’s role of keeping an eye on them.

“What is this?  A business proposal?  I assume ‘profit’ is getting Hyoga’s people to betray him and join our side?” Senku asked, slightly amused.

Gen spread his arms innocently.  “But of course, Senku-chan!”

“Do you think this can really work?” Tsukasa checked, “It seems like a far-fetched idea.  Hyoga’s people aren’t stupid.”

“No, but they are lacking hope,” Gen pointed out.  “They’ve been trapped in this world for months now.  Hyoga promised a new world, one of elites chosen by him to build whatever his idea of a perfect world is, but once they get past that, they realize they’re living the primitive life Hyoga looks down on.  Seriously, just the fact that we have soap tipped the scales and turned Homura completely to our side.”

Homura nodded in agreement.  “There are plenty of people Hyoga’s revived that hold resentment towards him for not living up to the promises he made about the new world.”

“They’re so desperate for some actual salvation that they’ll believe even the most absurd story and latch onto it,” Senku grinned, “If we weren’t going to hell before, this will certainly send us there.”

“Psychological warfare it is, then?” Tsukasa raised an eyebrow.

“Better this lie to end this war bloodlessly, than to risk people dying,” Senku said seriously.

“I wasn’t objecting.  Just clarifying.”

“Excellent,” Gen clapped his hands, “We will work out the details later.  Only so much plotting should be put into a single night.”

“Sure,” Senku agreed, “We’ll hammer out the details in the morning, along with how we will get the cell phone to Taiju and Yuzuriha.”

Gen and Homura took their cue to leave.  Senku turned back to the telescope, but his mind was racing with the potential Gen’s plan had.  If it worked as well as they hoped, they would be able to take down Hyoga’s Empire from the inside, like a disease.  Hyoga wouldn’t know what hit him until it was too late.  Tsukasa was equally quiet, lost in his own thoughts.  What he could be contemplating was anyone’s guess.

It was after midnight when Senku finally decided to wrap it up for the night.  As he closed the observatory roof and covered the telescope, Tsukasa broke his silence.

“Senku…” Tsukasa hedged.  The hesitation alone was enough to get Senku’s full attention. “About this plan…”

Chapter Text

Senku, Tsukasa, Gen, Chrome, Homura, and Kohaku stood around the table in the lab.  It was the first official war council in preparation for the upcoming battle, and there were three things on today’s agenda.  The first was the new plan using the phone and record, the second was how they were going to get past Ukyo, and the third was their plan to deliver the phone.  

The first point of interest had been rather easily agreed upon.  Of course, the four modern day people did not share the psychological ramifications of their plan.  It was better for the villagers to believe they would use the record to inspire true hope, not manipulating  fragile human emotions to serve their own cause, even if it was to end things as peacefully as possible.  Gen had masterfully spoken in half-truths and woven a story that was easy for them to swallow without much thought.

The second point of interest was the bigger and more immediate problem right now and was the current topic of discussion around the table.  Well, almost everyone was discussing it.  Senku and Tsukasa were busy glaring at each other.  At the moment, it was going unnoticed by the others.

“Ukyo is a distance fighter,” Homura stressed.  Her voice was quiet, as it always was, but there was no mistaking the worry written on her face.  She seemed comfortable speaking more, now that they had decided to fully trust her, but still kept what she said short.  “He won’t let anyone get close to him and there’s no way anybody can sneak up on him.”

“So we can’t sneak past him with the cell phone,” Chrome concluded.  “How do we get the cell phone out then?”

“We need to capture him,” Kohaku said ruthlessly.

“All of the fighters in the village are close range fighters,” Gen noted, “It’s a poor match up.  If we can get close to him, it wouldn’t be an issue, but like Homura said, that’s the challenge.”

“...There is one weakness of Ukyo’s I believe,” Homura said thoughtfully.  “I can’t be sure about it though.” 

“Everyone around Hyoga has to be careful what they project or else they risk being deemed useless, or worse, a traitor,” Gen agreed.  Homura shuddered as she remembered the awful things Hyoga did to his own people. “I knew Ukyo for a short time.  Tell me your analysis of him and we’ll see if our profiles match.”

“He doesn’t like to kill,” Homura said plainly.  “He picked up archery so he could be detached from anything he had to attack.”

“An excellent character reading!  Yes, I agree,” Gen folded his arms in his sleeves.  “He was the reason that some of those people, though brainless or useless in Hyoga’s eyes, are still alive.”

“So there’s a chance to get close to him,” Kohaku concluded.

“I’m fairly certain he won’t kill anybody, but injure on the other hand…” Homura trailed off with a shrug.

“And even the most peaceful creature will lash out if they are cornered,” Kohaku sighed.  Anyone in the village knew that.  That was why hunting parties were always more than two people.

The conversation fell flat as nobody could add anything to the conversation without taking it in circles.  It was then that they noticed that two voices had been unusually quiet.

“Hey, are you guys alright?” Chrome finally addressed the weird behavior, glancing between Senku and Tsukasa with concern.  He couldn’t recall a single time the two glared at each other like that.  Even when they had fights in the past, it wasn’t like this.

“It’s nothing,” Tsukasa answered shortly, eyes not leaving Senku, “Just a disagreement.”

“Really?” Kohaku raised an eyebrow dubiously.  “I’ve seen you guys disagree on stuff before and it’s never looked like this.  Must be serious.”

“It’s fine,” Senku said.  He broke the staring contest first and looked around the room. “We’ll settle it soon enough anyway.  Let’s get back to the problem at hand.  Homura, you and Gen agree that Ukyo is something of a pacifist.  We will use that to our advantage.  If we can get close enough to talk to him, we can convince him that our goals align: ending the war without a single person lost.  Something like that should, at the very least, provide us the opportunity to hold him long enough to get the cell phone through.  In the best case scenario, we get him on our side as well.  Do either of you know how far Ukyo’s hearing stretches?  Take a baseline of the volume of a normal conversation.”

Everyone, except Tsukasa, was a little unsettled by how quickly Senku picked out the useful bits of information from the conversation and immediately started working on how to use it to their advantage.  Usually it wasn’t so jarring, however, with him being preoccupied by the staring contest he had been having with Tsukasa, it was just another reminder of how scarily smart and perceptive Senku could be.

“It’s hard to say,” Gen and Homura shared a look of bewilderment.  “Half a kilometer?  Maybe more?  It depends on how loud it is.”

“That’s pretty impressive,” Tsukasa acknowledged, “That plus his archery skills?  No wonder he was chosen to be one of Hyoga’s inner circle.”

“How do we actually get him to listen to us?” Kohaku asked.  “It’s not exactly like we can just walk up and talk to him.”

“We’ll have to enter into a truce with him,” Tsukasa said, “If we announce as we approach that we are peaceful, he might just listen.”

“Why don’t we bring him to us?” Gen proposed.  “We’d be better off on ground we’re familiar with rather than ground Ukyo is familiar with.”

“That would also give us the advantage of setting up an ambush if we needed it,” Kohaku agreed. “How do we get him here?”

“How else?” Senku chuckled.  “We just need to make a lot of noise!”

The war council was put on pause until Ukyo was dealt with.  Senku immediately set about creating the Stone World version of balloons out of deer bladders.  The bladders would be filled with hydrogen gas, extracted from the electrolysis of water, and then have an electric current run through them to ignite the gas.  The explosions would give off a noise similar to an actual detonation that was sure to bring Ukyo running to investigate.

It took only a day to get things ready.  Of course, with everything that needed to be done, Senku had managed to pull his first all-nighter in the Stone World since Tsukasa woke up.  Tsukasa seemed to recognize the urgency of this, and miraculously, didn’t bother him about it.  He only offered an energy packed breakfast in the morning and a warning look that said it would not happen two nights in a row.

They took the sound bombs and rigging device out to a small clearing a full twenty-four hours after the conception of the plan.  Senku and Ginrou carefully placed the sound bombs in strategic locations under heavily camouflaged blankets and wired them together to one ignition switch.  Around the clearing they had chosen for their confrontation, Kinrou and Kohaku had dug out hiding spots for their warriors to hide in so as to not spook Ukyo before they had a chance to talk to him.

Tsukasa himself stood unarmed, except for a shield in his hands.  He wanted to show he meant no harm to the archer, not that he was stupid enough to invite an enemy that could kill him from a distance with no preventative measures.  Gen and Homura stood alongside him.  The hope was that the familiar faces would be enough to give him pause.

Once Senku and Ginrou had buried themselves into their own foxhole, Tsukasa gave them a nod and Ginrou pushed the plunger on the switch.  After a second, there was a series of loud explosions as the deer bladders popped.

The explosions did their job.  Within moments, they had their first glimpse of the elusive Ukyo. He stayed high in the trees, though his weapon stayed away.  He was younger than Senku imagined, considering he’d been a sonar operator on a submarine.  Senku was imagining a man in his thirties or forties, not someone who was likely less than ten years older than him.  That just made his skills all the more terrifying.

The archer took a look at the unarmed trio and smiled.  “If you wanted to surrender, there were better ways to reach me,” he called down, “You didn’t need to set off false explosions to lure me in.  Though I can only say that Hyoga will be happy with one of you.  He’s not too fond of traitors.  You should have seen his temper after each of you left.”

“We haven’t come to surrender,” Tsukasa answered.  “We wish to talk peace.”

“Good,” Ukyo grinned.  He nimbly leapt down from the tree and approached the trio.  “You should know that with my hearing I know this area is surrounded with people.  You should also know I was able to hear a lot of what was happening in your village, including a rather interesting secret.”

Tsukasa’s eyes narrowed dangerously.  If Ukyo was implying what he thought, then that was very bad news.  Then again, if he hadn’t gone running to Hyoga with it, perhaps it was okay.

“And what is that?” he asked tersely.

Ukyo smiled.  “I know that Ishigami Senku is still alive.”

The clearing went still.  Nobody moved a millimeter from where they either stood or hid.  Not even the wind dared to blow after that announcement.  Ukyo continued to stand there with a serene smile on his face.

“Ukyo-chan,” Gen finally broke the silence and stepped forward, “You oppose Hyoga too, don’t you.”

“He is strong, I’ll give him that.  Under his management, we have been able to survive,” Ukyo started, “But no, I do not agree with his ideology.  It’s a dangerous thing to even think about in Hyoga's camp.  However, until now it has been my only option.”

“Until now?” Gen repeated.

“You intend to defect as Gen and Homura have?” Tsukasa asked.

Ukyo’s expression didn’t change.  It was really starting to creep them out.  “I’d like to say yes, but I need to know if it’s worth it first.  I won’t trade one dictator for another.”

“Never fear, Ukyo-chan!” Gen stepped forward, arms open with invitation.  “Remember that both Homura and I were also among Hyoga’s inner circle.”

“Yes, and I am well aware of your deceptive nature, Gen,” Ukyo pointed out.

Gen didn’t even bother to look shocked or appalled at the accusation.  He just chuckled lightly in agreement.  “Yeah, that’s fair.”

“What do you want, Ukyo?” Tsukasa asked.

“I want to talk to Senku,” Ukyo declared, “Face-to-face.”

With the promise of a bloodless siege and battle, Ukyo was now firmly on their side.  He had returned to his post so as to not raise suspicion, with the promise to join back up with them a couple of days before the battle.

The second cell phone was finished only two days after the negotiations with Ukyo.  It was finally time to actually finalize the plan to deliver the cell phone.  With that discussion, came to light the root of Tsukasa and Senku’s argument.

“You need to take someone with you,” Senku said firmly.  “The cell phone is too fragile to risk only one person.  What if you trip?  Or get into a fight?  The chances of it making it all the way to my grave is better if there is someone else with you.”

“They would just slow me down,” Tsukasa argued.  “I can make the trip alone, with the cell phone, in two days.  Adding people adds time to the trip.  We need as much time as possible,” Tsukasa argued.

“Wouldn’t you need someone to guide you?” Chrome asked, “Someone who knows the layout of Hyoga’s camp?”

“It was ours before it was ever Hyoga’s,” Tsukasa pointed out, “I can find my way around just fine.”

“Tsukasa brings up several good points,” Kohaku agreed reluctantly.  “Gen can’t go with him since we’ll need him here to get on the phone.  Homura, as much as we trust you now, I’m not sure I trust you near Hyoga with something like this.”  Homura nodded her acceptance of the statement, showing she didn’t hold it against Kohaku.  “Ukyo can’t be seen away from his post or anywhere near Tsukasa.  And it’s not like we need to send a body guard with him either.”

“There are too many risks for only one person to make the trip,” Senku argued.  “Yes, it might save a day or two of travel, but it’s safer if at least two people go.  One more day to get the cell phone there won’t affect our plans.  Getting the phone there in one piece is more important.”

“Besides wild animals and trip hazards, what else is there to worry about until he reaches Hyoga’s empire?” Chrome asked.  “Tsukasa could easily take down any animal that attacked him while protecting the cell phone and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him trip over something.”

“One man is far easier to conceal than a small group,” Tsukasa nodded.  “I can more easily go unnoticed than if there were even two of us.”

“What about setting up the cell phone?” Homura asked quietly.  “Two people will be able to get it done faster.”

“Thank you!” Senku exclaimed.

“No, I have a plan on how to hide it,” Tsukasa answered.  “Again, more people means more noise and that just increases the risk of us being found.  I can work quickly.”

“I think you’re going to have to accept defeat here, Senku,” Kohaku said.  “Tsukasa’s plan does sound like the best option.  He can get the phone there quickly.  He knows Taiju and Yuzuriha the best, besides you of course, and can hide it so that they can find it.”

“Senku,” Tsukasa addressed him seriously, “You are the leader of the Kingdom of Science, and so I will defer to you.  But crunch the numbers.  You know the odds of being caught go up with each additional member of the party.”

Senku bit his lip and used a hand to cover his eyes.  It wasn’t his usual thinking pose, rather one that said he was wrestling with an extremely tough decision.  Everyone present could only assume that Senku was so against the solo mission because he was so close to Tsukasa and didn’t want to run the risk of something happening to him.

“Fine,” he finally relented.  “Fine.  We’ll get you set and ready to leave before dawn.  You’ll need to pack wisely since you need to take survival gear and the cell phone.  Dried meat will probably be your only food for the next few days.  It’s light and won’t take up much space.  While you’re gone, we’ll continue to prepare for spring.”

Tsukasa carefully strapped the cell phone to his back.  They couldn’t afford for it to break during his two day travel back to Hyoga’s Empire.  He planned on pushing his endurance to the limit to get it there quickly.

“Yo.”  Tsukasa turned to see Senku standing at the door to the lab.  “You all set to go?”

It might have sounded callous to others, but Tsukasa knew Senku well enough by now to know that he was going to worry while Tsukasa was gone.  While Senku had grudgingly accepted the solo mission, he still did not like it.

“Just about,” Tsukasa answered, “Don’t worry.  I’ll get the cell phone there in one piece and soon you’ll be hearing Taiju and Yuzuriha on the other side.”

“Tch.  I’m not worried about that.”

“Of course not.”

“Just, be careful while you’re in Hyoga’s territory,” Senku crossed his arms in an attempt to stop fidgeting, “At this point, he might want to kill you as much as he wants to kill me.”

Tsukasa chuckled.  “I’ll take care of myself as much as you take care of yourself while I’m gone.  Deal?”

Senku scowled.  “I know you’ve already talked to Chrome, Kohaku, and Gen.  I can take care of myself just fine.  I don’t need a minder like I’m a child.”

“”How many times did I have to force you to eat or get some rest this week alone?  You tend to forget to do those things when you’re stressed.”  It was probably due to 3700 years of consciousness without having to eat and constantly fighting to stay awake that these particular habits of Senku’s were exaggerated.  Actually, a lot of things about Senku could be pinned on the petrification.  “It doesn’t hurt to have someone around to help remind you.”

“Tch.  I’ll be fine.”

Tsukasa just gave a light chuckle at the insistence.  Yes, Senku would probably be just fine, but a year and a half of making that his job, Tsukasa couldn’t help but worry slightly.

“Stay safe,” Senku said suddenly, offering out his hand.

Tsukasa stared at the offered hand for a moment before accepting it firmly.  It felt far too intimate for just a handshake.  Maybe he was just playing it up in his head due to stress?  Yes, that was definitely it.  

Senku’s gaze pierced right through him, searching for the slightest bit of doubt or dishonesty.  Finding nothing, he nodded his acceptance.  They both knew the plan, how necessary it was and the risks that came with it.  It didn’t mean they had to like it, even if it was Tsukasa’s idea.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Tsukasa vowed.

With that, Tsukasa strode out of the lab and within minutes was out of sight of the village.  Senku released a shaky breath.  He had a lot to accomplish before Tsukasa came back and there was no time to lose.

Tsukasa sat back, satisfied that the cell phone was sufficiently hidden.  He’d have to figure out how to let Yuzuriha and Taiju know about its existence without alerting Hyoga.  Maybe the next time they came here, they’d notice the dirt was disturbed.

Suddenly, there was a blade against the side of his neck.  Stone, not metal, but just as deadly.

“Well, well, well.  Hyoga will be very interested to know what you’re doing here.”

Tsukasa allowed his hands to be bound and guided towards the heart of Hyoga’s Empire at spear point.  His presence drew stares and whispers as he passed, but he ignored them, keeping his eyes straight and his head high.  In the distance, he saw Yuzuriha and Taiju had come to see what the commotion was about.  Yuzuriha covered his mouth in horror when she saw him.

It was awful, but Tsukasa knew she’d probably reached the conclusion that Senku was actually dead this time.  Afterall, what else would his appearance mean here?  Too bad he’d probably never get a chance to talk to them properly.

“Isn’t this a surprise,” Hyoga greeted curiously.  “I thought we had a standing truce to not invade or launch attacks on each other?  Did something change?”

“I found him at the graveyard,” his guard reported, “In front of his grave.”

Hyoga raised an eyebrow and looked down at Tsukasa.  “What an interesting development.  I believe we are due for a chat without all the posturing.”

“You’re the only one who bothered with that,” Tsukasa replied, “But yes, we need to talk.”