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“So does this mean Soyuz can never be with his papa again?” Suika asked with a frown, staring at the broken statue in front of them. “That's too sad.”
Her question was left unanswered—as Soyuz, Senku, and Kohaku opted to stay silent at that moment. That was in and of itself the unspoken confirmation, which Suika had quickly understood.
Kohaku, after hearing those words, had almost instinctively taken a small glance at Senku. He held a somber expression that went easily unnoticed. But she recognized the glint in those eyes. He had the same look before on the night of the village's celebration, when Ruri had taken him to the grave of the founders. She remembered.
The priestess returned early after escorting him so he could have some privacy, as he mourned for the loss of his father alone.
When he came back, Chrome noticed his figure approaching and called out, “Oh, Senku! How did it go?”
“Just had a small chat with the old man,” he chuckled. “Nothing really interesting, really.”
Suika ran over to hand him a plate of food, to which he thanked her with a smile and patted her head. The two scientists then started discussing the next best course of action to take. Now that he had the support of the whole village, they were ready to tackle Tsukasa's army.
He might have fooled Chrome and the others but her vision never failed her.
The glowing flickers of the flames around them revealed a small shadow near Senku's eyes—a slight change in appearance that was never there before. There was just a smidge of redness present and that was when she realized.
He had cried.
And her stomach dropped, knowing he had allowed himself to do so only when no one was nearby. She berated herself for not realizing sooner. He had always carried himself so confidently, with an undeniable amount of passion and diligence for science, that she had forgotten all about the boy who had abruptly lost his father due to an unknown phenomenon.
“Hm~? It seems nothing escapes our Kohaku-chan after all,” a cheerful, yet mischievous voice appeared next to her with a bottle of cola in hand. It didn’t take long for her to figure out what he was referring to.
“Spare those empty words,” she denied as she scooted over to make some space for Gen to sit, “It’s nighttime and the lighting is dim. If this happened before sunset, anyone could tell.”
“Humble as always~” Gen complimented, “But I don’t really know about that. Do you think someone like Chrome could tell?”
Kohaku's face wrinkled thinking about how oblivious her fellow friend was and could only utter in shame, “Well... let's just say Chrome’s an exception.”
“Ahaha…you have so little faith in him. Harsh,” he laughed sarcastically.
“Gen. You came here to say something, right? What is it?”
“Right to the point, huh?” Gen sighed. He looked down and gazed at the campfire as he spoke, “I'm not plotting anything, really. I just came by since you're the only other person that also noticed.”
They both sat in silence for a short while, hearing the festive cheers of the villagers in the back.
He hummed a small tune and asked, “Are you going to confront him about it?”
“No,” she denied, “I have no plans on doing that.”
“Oh? That's surprising of you.”
Kohaku was always a straightforward person. She never minced her words and got to the point. Despite her recklessness, she knew there were times where it was better to stay quiet.
“Senku… that guy doesn't really like showing his emotions. But even so, you could tell how much he treasured his father,” she spoke softly as she watched the flames dance before her, “Since he took the time to grieve by himself, I will respect that and not intrude. But… if there comes a time in the future where he wants to open up to others, I want to—no, I will be there for him. And even though you might not admit it, in your own way, I know you will too, Gen.”
“Speak for yourself, Kohaku-chan,” the mentalist replied. But the small smile on his face told another story. Kohaku huffed but didn't comment on it.
She let out a short sigh.
Ever since he had arrived, things were never the same. All of their lives improved thanks to the creations that they built together.
To them, it was as if the heavens had sent down their blessings and took form through Senku's appearance.
In fact, the truth couldn't be any further.
Senku wasn’t some god. He was never a sorcerer. He was human, through and through, just like them. But it was so easy to forget. He made it look effortless.
And for all the times he has saved them, over and over again, he still treated them all as equals and never asked for anything in return.
His goal in defeating Tsukasa and going forth to revive all seven billion people on earth remained the same. But he never thought much of himself.
“Heh, I talk big but it's frustrating after all. I wish he'd rely on us more. Maybe if I went over there and shook him a bit, he'd know how much people cared.”
“E-Eh? Knowing your strength, you might just kill—n-nothing, nevermind!!” He put his hands up in surrender after receiving a glare from her. “A-Anyway, it's not a celebration w-without some entertainment for our dear village, right? Sounds like a job for me, bye bie~♪”
The rest of the night was quickly overshadowed by Hyoga's invasion with his men and Homura burning down the entire village. Despite being plagued by fatigue from being on guard and not catching a wink of sleep, Kohaku had seared that image of Senku in the back of her head and promised herself she would never forget it.
Which brought her back to the present—as Soyuz smiled up at his father, and the rest of the three stood with him.
Without a doubt, the two members are thinking of their loved ones right now.
—
It was still dark outside when Kohaku found him along the edge of the island. Senku recognized her footsteps right away and asked what she was doing.
“Thousands of years ago, Byakuya and the others landed back on earth to rebuild civilization. Right here in this spot,” he looked up at the tree that contained the Soyuz capsule with a sad smile, “And now there’s nothing left of them. Except maybe a few pieces of rock here and there.”
The dead will not come back. No matter how hard they work to revive the rest of humanity. Neither his father, the rest of the space crew, nor the statues that have been weathered down can be saved. Kohaku knew that much.
But that didn't mean everything was lost. Byakuya passed on his hopes and dreams to Senku with the platinum he painstakingly collected all those years along with other minerals. All the children that were left behind by the crew, the ancestors of the people in Ishigami village, survived generations upon generations. Which eventually led Senku to gain powerful allies by his side that would support him along his journey.
And even if he had never recovered from the stone—there would always be people like Chrome, someone with an intense curiosity and desire to know more about the world.
Human lives are short. But their tenacity is strong. The progress left behind by past individuals each step of the way will survive. Just like how the Hundred Tales has been passed down across generations and reached Ruri, science will find its way to rebuild society one way or another.
Kohaku saw it herself, from the pulley system Senku made on the day they first met to the drone the science team was building to defeat Ibara at the last second during their time here on Treasure Island. Everything he learned was the accumulation of knowledge that someone else had discovered tens, hundreds and perhaps even thousands of years ago.
When the day comes where she and the rest of the Kingdom of Science have all taken their last breaths, she will not be worried. Someone else will be sure to pick up the torch from where they left off and march forward.
The crescent moon gradually faded in the skies as the sun began to rise. Seeing the rays of light reflecting the sea felt familiar, and yet so different compared to the view at Ishigami village. When she stole a peek at Senku, her body relaxed after seeing his usual confidence back. Knowing he would be alright, she turned back to the ocean to admire the view.
—
Earlier that day, Senku had spent the night thinking about all the events that had transpired on the island. His body was spent, and his shoulders still hurt after the alteration with Ibara. Not to mention the occasional aches on his hand from the nitric acid. He even returned to bed early to get a good night’s rest, turning down an invitation to celebrate their victory.
But despite his efforts, he had slept very little—thanks to his brain refusing to comply with his wishes. He could still feel the heaviness in his eyes when he woke up and wanted nothing more to go back to sleep. After trying for more than half an hour, he gave up and went out instead.
He had been wanting to stop by that place again anyway before they returned to Japan, he figured now would be a great time since everyone was still asleep.
3,700 years. Even though he counted the seconds, it was still difficult to truly fathom the amount of time that passed since the world was petrified. He had wondered what it was like for Byakuya when they landed in this area with nothing but themselves left. The amount of platinum he collected most likely took decades, which meant there was a good chance that he had survived long enough to be of old age.
But… that was also just wishful thinking. With no access to modern day medicine, a widespread disease could’ve easily taken them out. There was no proof that his father was the one that gathered all those minerals in the first place. It could have easily been someone else in the crew.
Not like any of that matters , he thought bitterly. The results in the end were the same. And yet, his heart had hoped that Byakuya was able to live a little longer.
He knew his wish did not come from a place of sound and logical reasoning. Each of the astronauts was more than capable of accomplishing the same thing.
His brief time alone came to an end when he heard rustling noises behind him. He knew them well enough to know who it was. In fact, the other person could have easily snuck up on him without a sound if she wanted to.
She had phrased it like it was a coincidence that they both ended up here. The walk from where they were staying to the capsule was a good distance away. Anyone could tell that was a lie.
Kohaku's gifted eyesight stemmed from her perceptiveness. Of course she would be the first to know if something was amiss.
What was supposed to be a minor complaint about his father unexpectedly turned into a heartfelt conversation on humanity—to which Kohaku proudly declared that he was the one that had taught her that.
He wasn't sure if he was the right person to be taking the credit for that but he knew that she was right.
The dreams of the crew that survived the light that day persevered and reached them now, three thousand years in the future.
Senku let out a small huff with his hands on his waist, “You're always running around so recklessly with those daggers of yours. Hearing you say those kinds of words is unlike you.”
“Well, I guess that just says I still have a bit of maturing to do,” he admitted to himself.
The sound of the crashing waves came between the two. Senku looked over the horizon and could see the sun beginning to rise.
Kohaku, who did not respond to his teasing remarks, remained unusually quiet as they watched the sun come up together. He was about to comment on her silence but stopped shortly.
For a moment, the blue in her eyes seemed to have softened and the air around her felt sentimental. It was not an expression he had seen her with in all the years that they had spent together.
“...Kohaku?”
Kohaku looked back at him and answered, “Yes?”
Just as he was about to ask, a part of him stopped himself. The words he wanted to say were held back.
His intuition told him that whatever it was, it was not the right time.
He stared back, unsure of what to say before deciding to drop the topic altogether. “...Nothing. Let's head back for now. I'm getting hungry.”
“Okay.” Kohaku smiled a little and began their walk back to the Perseus.
“I won't thank you, you know,” he mumbled a few minutes later, breaking the silence between them as they headed back to where everyone else was.
She replied with a laugh, “I know, I know.”