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– Does the counter reset on the number of human deaths with the start of a new Age?
Tsukasa glumly adjusted his prototype winter-coat as he watched Senku continuously try and fail to restart the engine of the Vehicle of Science that brought them to this snowed-over plateau. With the horizon obscured by a seemingly never ending blizzard and all of the surroundings being covered in a thick and solid sheet of snow, this was the only thing that his eyes could rest on for the last hour.
– Absolutely! All those irrelevant old-dead have nothing on us now! ;- replied Senku a bit too cheerily for the expression of frustration and nervousness that has been progressively shadowing his face with each passing minute -; If I fail to start this… ;- he frustratedly kicked the casing of the engine supporting machinery -; devil machine!
Senku paused for a moment, reassessing. Tsukasa could see his mind working, this time, on analyzing the scientist’s own reactions. Neither of them were the ones to give up easily and, sometimes, it showed in the moments like these.
– We would definitely end up in the textbooks. ;- he said finally, voice growing stronger, filled with a determination one only got when ignoring the odds -; The first men to die in the New Age. The first men of the New Age to die on a scientific mission. The first everything to do with human folly and poorly designed piping insulation. You know what though?
Senku’s eyes gleamed suddenly. It was as if in that moment he envisioned himself on a stage not only in front of Tsukasa, but the ephemeral notion of the writers of those endless textbooks and history papers.
– We are getting out of here. I, the Greatest Scientist of the New World, give it my personal ten billion percent guarantee!
/—————————/
Here, in the volcanic plateau of Hokkaido, the north-most island of the Japanese archipelago, the levels of snowfall could at times reach more than one meter per day in the time before Petrification. Paralyzed infrastructure, cancelled school and work, emergency services working at the point of exhaustion.
In the New Age, the burgeoning Age of Science, only the frantic effort of two young men over a frosted-over metal construction breaks the monotony of the landscape that day. The networks of support sprawling over kilometres, built by centuries of cooperation, building and rebuilding, now shrunken to their shared island of dwindling heat.
/—————————/
They were walking now, dragging what was left of their ride here behind them. According to the maps Senku brought out of the packs, there was supposed to be an outcropping of rocky hills just to the east of them. A direction completely unrelated to the supposed mercury deposits that they were searching for in the first place, but one that promised at least a partial reprieve from being battered by frozen water and, somehow, even more frozen wind.
At the second hour of this struggle, with his face numb and exhaustion seeping even through the years of rigorous training, Tsukasa was first visited by the thoughts. Wasn’t it right, his mind whispered, that you find yourself here? That you find your bitter end away from humanity that you so eagerly abandoned for your own selfish ambition?
Only the sight of Senku was holding him at that moment from plunging into the depths of self-loathing and melancholy that has become so familiar. If anyone would not deserve to meet a pointless death in this cold it would be him. And, therefore, no providence, no fate was pulling the strings. Afterall, -
— Phew! Finally! I thought my arms would be torn into ten billion pieces! ;- proclaimed Senku, excitement as brittle as ice in his voice -; Come on, we need to set up for the night.
— Better lay down for now, Greatest Scientist ;- replied Tsukasa, wilfully pumping cheerful mockery into his voice -; If you’re planning to be as useful as you’ve been the last half hour, it would be easier for me to manage alone
Senku glared at his companion with a grimace of pure offendedness, but let his legs collapse under him even so. The cave, entrance to which they have found just as the sun has started to set, was small. Not even a cave proper, a depression in rock just deep and narrow enough to allow for natural shelter.
Tsukasa repurposed most of the protective coverings of their vehicle and a large percentage of its outer shell to construct a barrier between them and the outside beyond the cave’s entrance. Usually, fully covering the opening would be a bad idea, since any smoke from the fire would have no escape and end up filling the inner space. This time, however, he knew not to bother with such things.
Their supplies, including any possible fuel for the fire, and there was not a lot of that to spare even under perfect conditions, was filled with half-melted snow. Too cold, too wet, too meager to make into a fire. There was, of course, the fuel. It would burn regardless of the snow and eat through pretty much everything it got fed. But that same fuel was their only ticket home and so it was out of the question.
They both felt it for a while. The bravado of too-loud voices. The determined words to cover the gaping abyss that was the uncertainty of their situation. Now, however, with their chances of survival rising steadily in this covered alcove, the adrenaline was subsiding from their blood and leaving in its wake only muscle pain and a fear that slithered in-between the ribs of both men, adding a coldness, wholly unrelated to weather conditions.
Senku couldn’t get the image out of his mind. His teammate, his friend, frozen and unmoving. Dead in all but name. Dead more so even than the unmoving statues of the Petrified. Lost, but for a desperate chance, but for a far-fetched hope. He couldn’t see the scene of Tsukasa being lowered into a makeshift stasis with the flowery tinge of heroism and triumph of science as it presented to the rest of his friends and especially to the New Age villagers. It was a gamble, a gambit so desperate that even Gen would be put to shame at the daring of it.
But he could not let Tsukasa die then. He can’t let him die period. This cannot be allowed. Senku didn’t question the intensity of that conviction. Of course he would not let his friends die. That is what friends do and feel. Oh, even thought of examining this sounded exhausting and felt like somehow covered in tacky slime. But here it was, threatening to happen again. This was all different in ten billion ways. But why then? Why did his unmoving flash-frozen face keep lingering in front of Senku’s vision? He had to do something, this could not be allowed to go on like this or he would simply lose his mind.
– And then where would Humanity get another mind ;- mumbled Senku forcing out a chuckle -; Would end up being led by Ryusui or something and spending all their days inventing new cocktail recipes.
– Huh?
Senku jerked from the suddenness of Tsukasa’s reaction. Even though Senku’s thoughts were preoccupied with him, the real deal managed to sneak up on the scientist, seemingly appearing from thin air sitting next to him.
– Ehm… Nothing. ;- replied Senku somewhat internally embarrassed that out of the lengthy whirlwind of his thoughts the one that managed to escape aloud was him praising himself as the Leader of the Science Kingdom. And then following that embarrassment with a sharp pang of discomfort at the idea of wanting to present his thoughts in an admirable manner before Tsukasa.
– Anyway! ;- he continued, brushing off the annoying emotions -; we need to keep our warmth. If the blizzard stops by the morning, I am pretty sure I can get us out of here, but for that we need to make it to the morning alive and with all our appendages operational. My hands especially, they are, after all, my primary Tools of Science. And if I lose a leg or two you can carry me.
Somehow the last remark managed to sound less weakly forced than the previous attempts at humour he managed. Maybe it was the thought of them not dying after all, maybe it was the feeling of Tsukasa sitting next to him, warm air pouring out of his mouth in large wispy clouds.
Tsukasa hesitated. Of course, Senku was right. And of course, he thought, both of them knew that the only sources of warmth in the vicinity were their bodies. Yet it felt wrong of him to suggest that first. As if the stain he felt on his soul has robbed him of the right to be warmed by the touch of his friend. Or at least, to ask to be warmed by that touch.
– So what do you propose, Mr. Scientist? ;- replied Tsukasa, voice trembling just a bit more than could be attributed to his exhaustion. And then, with sudden earnestness -; I think we both know that if anyone could figure out how to save our butts it would be you.
– Oh ;- stumbled Senku for a moment, caught off guard by the remark and caught between being flattered and not knowing whether he was now required to answer in kind -; I think it’s pretty obvious, really. All we have here is us, so we can use my outer coat to separate us from the floor and wrap both of us in yours. There would be enough insulation from that and our other clothes to keep eachother from freezing.
Senku was quite proud of himself, suggesting a plan that required them to be basically wrapped around each other for the night and his eye didn’t even twitch! Of course the problem was not in the action itself, after all, it was Tsukasa. Shouldering the proposition part was, however, perhaps more exhausting than the two or so hours of dragging a dead engine through a storm.
With the “official” part over, they have gotten to making something resembling a neolithic bed pretty quickly. Unbeknownst to themselves, they were finished right as the last rays of sun abandoned their failing attempts at warming the frigid landscape.
– Remember, if we have to lose limbs ;- half-whispered Senku, immediately realising that making a joke would not work to discharge the awkwardness of the situation when it required breathing out the words directly into Tsukasa’s face -; my arms get reserved seating on the last plane out.
– Of course ;- intoned Tsukasa, voice suddenly lower and imperceptibly more unguarded -; I am charging myself with the duties of your bodyguard, so you can sleep soundly.
************
It was warm. Almost too warm, if Senku was capable of grasping such a concept at that moment. He was pressed close to Tsukasa, almost pressed into him really. With his eyes closed he could feel the heat of his friend's body melding with his own, engrossing them in a cocoon of comfort and calm that consisted only of the two of them.
With every second, with every beat of their hearts working in consort, Senku could see the visage of dying Tsukasa, that terrible, horrifying stillness of him, melting and flowing off of his mind. It was as if the closeness and the perceptible, tactile realness of his friend was outshining the still-gray worry of a repeating past. Without thinking about it, he shifted a bit to press the side of his head harder against Tsukasa’s chest.
Tsukasa could not get comfortable. Well, that was maybe untrue. What was really happening was that he felt like any movement on his part could be interpreted wrongly to make Senku uncomfortable, so he resorted to not moving at all. That, of course, was not a good or sustainable decision. His muscles, already sore from the day's work and stress, could not take being kept in constant stiff stillness. He could not sleep like that, but also, and maybe more importantly, he would have to move at some point, which, if he waited for long, would risk waking Senku up.
– Are you… comfortable? ;- whispered Tsukasa, making by all counts a strange attempt at his voice taking less space
– Mhm. ;- replied Senku noncommittally, and then, with an internal effort for which statues would surely be erected in his honor, added -; You are warm. That is ten billion percent exactly what we need. My plan is working.
Tsukasa relaxed, by degrees, still as if afraid to spook his friend by an overactive motion. This felt to him like an answer to the unasked question he posed. An outside observer would maybe struggle to pick up the tone, underlying Senku’s reply. Tsukasa was, by several meanings, at that moment the furthest away from being an outside observer.
With the layers of caution and stiffness whittling away, the warmth of their makeshift bundle could finally properly enter Tsukasa’s body. At that moment he solemnly promised the universe to never let Senku know how every fiber of him opened up to drink in the comfort of his friends presence. His skin tingled and almost softened, breaking up the half-imagined barrier between them that Tsukasa maintained in his mind.
– Of course it is working, it is your plan after all ;- almost imperceptibly breathed out Tsukasa, feeling himself turning into something jelly-soft
Senku was smiling. No, that is not it. Not if he could help it!
Senku smirked , wrapped into the layer of coats and affection. Both of his plans were working perfectly and who would have doubted it? After all, he was The Most Brilliant Mind of Humanity. Yes, that would be the thought he would choose, a comfortable and stable one, even if just a little egomaniacal.
“I knew I’d be safe with you” – one of them thought. And which one it was the world will never find out. Some knowledge is better kept just in that space, between the tightly pressed layers of fabric and skin.