Chapter Text
After jotting down the final calculations in his paper, Senku sets his pen off to the side. He raised both of his hands and stretched his muscles along with a loud yawn. After working nonstop, he finally decided to give himself a short break.
Coming back to reality and in the middle of yawning, Senku blinked in surprise when he looked at the window. The sky was no longer blue but instead a bright orange and pink colour. Peering over to the classroom clock, he saw the time. It was getting late, and he was the last student left from the science club.
He went ahead and gathered all his notes and began to neatly organize them into his folder. In the middle of cleaning up his area, his red candy-apple eyes picked up an object near the window.
There sat a closed book. It stood out because everyone from the science club had gone home for the day and packed up all their belongings, leaving all surfaces clean and empty. Even from where he was standing, it was easy to tell that it was a book. What kind? He didn't know.
Just out of curiosity, Senku wanted to check it out, assuming it was just a regular book that someone left behind.
Approaching it, he scanned the front cover. No title. So he checked the back. No synopsis. It's gotta be some sort of diary then.
Senku then went ahead and opened the book to a random page. The date and writing were enough to tell him that this was someone's journal entry, answering his assumption.
The thought of closing the book and putting it back did occur to him, but it was immediately clouded when an entry captured his interest and curiosity.
Some days, I do feel bad that I haven't told Yuzuriha-chan. Today, she was talking about how if she ever had her own fashion line, she would want me to be the one to model for it. It hurts. Really. As usual, I just played along. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. Some days I'm scared that she'll find out that I'm sick. I can already see her not taking it well and ending up crying. I don't want that. I want to see her smiling until the end...
"It's rude to read other people's diaries, y'know."
At this, he stopped reading. But he didn't react as if he was caught doing something he wasn't supposed to. He turned around and was met with an unhappy expression on your face.
You had your arms crossed and were glaring at him because he was reading something that was considered private.
"To be fair, it looked like a book," Senku defended, unfazed by your tone. He snapped the book shut, tossed your diary at you to which you easily caught.
"Well, it's not." You sighed. Your eyes flickered to your diary, and your fingernails dug into it. You bit your lower lip "... Did you read it?"
"If you're talking about the entry discussing your illness, then yeah," Senku said bluntly, getting straight to the point, scratching the back of his neck, then yawned.
A wave of irritation went through you. You've been doing your best for so long to keep your illness a secret. Up until now, that is. You didn't mean to leave your diary here. You had biology last period. During the last few minutes, you were trying to find your phone, resulting in you taking everything out of your bag. It turned out, one of your friends stole it as a prank.
You had no time to get mad at her because the bell rang, and you had to meet up with a teacher. You hurriedly stuffed everything into your bag, not realizing that you had left your dairy behind.
"You're friends with Yuzuriha-chan, right? You can not tell her about this. Or anyone for that matter," you said strictly. "... Please, just don't." You almost had to beg.
"I wasn't, even if you didn't tell me." He informed you, casually walking past you to get his belongings and ignoring your imploring eyes.
You blinked, not expecting him to react this way.
Senku just continued to pack up his bag.
"What kind of disease do you have?" Senku asked on a whim.
Under these circumstances, you don't see yourself blurting out the answer to something so personal. Especially something as personal as your medical condition. But, for some reason, you felt like you could tell him.
"I have some kind of virus inside of me..." You replied, lightly scratching the surface of your book. "The doctors don't even know what it is." You shrugged, then peered over to the window.
You think back to what the doctor told you, and that night, you caught your mom crying with your dad trying to comfort her. You're very close to death's door. So close that there is no way you'll make it to college.
Something cast over Senku's eyes, but you missed it. He knows just how badly sick you are.
You smiled at him, the light of dusk hitting your face.
"I'm dying."
Senku passively nodded and kept quiet for a moment.
"So what's the plan?" He began, tone levelled. "You're not gonna tell anyone? People would find it weird if you just suddenly disappeared one day."
His lack of emotions was surprising but also refreshing.
"If I do tell anyone, they'll just spend the rest of my time pitying me." You sighed. "I just want the remainder of my life as normal as possible."
"I see," Senku murmured, understanding where you're coming from.
By this point, wouldn't anyone try to show their sympathy towards you after hearing from you that you're dying? Apparently not him, that's for sure.
"You know, you're the first person I've met who hasn't made my illness into a big deal," you broke out into a grin. "You're cool."
"Yeah? That means a lot coming from you, Miss Popular."
You weren't sure if he was being sarcastic or not.
Senku didn't wait for you to say anything back. He knows that it's human nature for someone to feel empathetic towards an ill person, but it would have been a waste of time to start worrying over your health when doctors themselves don't even understand your sickness.
Besides, you yourself just said you want your final days to be as normal as possible.
"If you don't want anyone finding out about your sickness, then may I suggest you don't leave your diary out in the open?" He advised you, with some hint of teasing in it.
"And may I suggest to not read other people's diaries." You countered, having the same level of teasing in your tone as his.
"My bad, my bad," he feigned an apologetic tone. He adjusted the strap on his shoulder. "Anyway, I gotta head out. See you around, (y/n)."
Your eyes gleamed with amusement.
Senku Ishigami is his name, right?
You felt a smile tugging in the corners of your lip.
"See you around, Senku," you said back, quietly.
-🌠-
"You should really stop waiting last minute to do your homework, (y/n)-chan," your good friend Yuzuriha gently nags you.
You didn't look up right away and just wrote down the answers underneath the bolded question.
"I work better under stress." You said, then tilted your head to smile at her.
She frowns worryingly. "That's not good. We've been given three days to finish, and you choose to finish when we have Social Studies right after lunch."
You smiled kindly at her, much to her confusion. "Look at you, always looking after me. I feel like you're my second mom," you chuckled, brushing off her chiding.
Yuzuriha sighed. "I just think you need to change that habit of yours. Remember last year? We were given mountains of assignments for our final project, and you spent the entire weekend getting it done when we were given three weeks."
"I swear, our teachers hate us," you said jokingly to yourself. "But hey, I got it done on time."
"You almost failed."
"But I didn't." You said, brimming with positivity.
"Goodness, (y/n)-chan," she huffed. "I want you to graduate with the rest of us."
Your heart panged at her words, and for a moment there, sadness swirled in your eyes. You caught yourself in time, however.
"I'll be fine."
Leaving her with that reassurance, you went back to finish up your homework. It seemed like Yuzuriha was going to say anything else. She went back to eating her home-cooked meal quietly so you can concentrate.
"Yuzuriha-chan." Said girl lowered her chopsticks and peered over to the door, only to find one of the sewing club members. "Did you order the new fabrics?"
"Yes. It came in this morning."
"Hm, that's what I thought, but I can't find them. I hope no one threw them out," panic began to cloud her eyes once a thought occurred. "I need the new silk for my dress."
"Alright, calm down." Yuzuriha smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure someone just moved them." Your friend then faced you, already packing up her lunch. "Sorry, (y/n)-chan. Looks like you're going to have to eat on your own."
"I can always eat with Senku." You chirped, coming to the realization that this is a good time to talk to him. "He's in the science laboratory, no?"
"Huh?" Your friend gave you a puzzled stare. Never once have you ever voluntarily offered to see Senku. Heck, the two of you barely talk, even despite having mutual friends.
Nevertheless, she replied.
"He should be. He's always there in his free time."
"Great." You smiled and waved at her. "Thanks."
"Yuzuriha-chan," the club member by the door whined impatiently.
Yuzuriha kept up her good-natured smile, not at all bothered by the childish whining.
"I'll see you in class, (y/n)-chan," Yuzuriha says to you. "If I'm a little late for class, can you come up with an excuse for me?"
You nodded, "I'll tell her you're skipping class with Taiju-kun."
"Eek!" she squeaked halfway through the classroom. "D-don't!"
You laughed and waved her off, silently reassuring her that you were only kidding. Relaxed, she left the classroom, and even with the door closed, you can still hear the club member venting her problem to Yuzuriha.
Without reviewing your homework, you stuffed everything into your bag and went on your way to see Senku.
-🌠-
As expected, Senku was in the lab. Even with the sound of the door being opened, he did not look up from whatever he was working on. You let yourself in and shut the door.
Even your footsteps were not enough to distract him, the closer you got. You walked up from behind him and peeked over his shoulder to see what he was working on.
Your eyes almost fell out of their sockets. Etched on the blueprint was a picture of a rocket ship.
"Holy shit, is that a rocket?!"
Senku flinched, and if his heart could, it would have leaped right out of his chest just like in those old cartoons.
"The hell--!?" He sharply swivelled around. "Don't sneak up on me like that, woman!" Senku exclaimed, animated.
You giggled innocently, finding his over-the-top reaction a bit hilarious.
"Sorry, sorry." After your half-assed apology-- which Senku did not accept-- you took a cold soda can out of your school bag."
"Here, I bought you a drink." You offered him the can.
Senku's face went from terrified, to an annoyance, to confusion in under ten seconds. He raised a brow at the orange soda, then at you.
He gave you one last look, then decided to accept the drink, but only 'cause his throat was getting parched.
"Thanks, I guess."
The sound of Senku pushing down the soda tab in order to break the tear line filled up the science room, while you took a seat across from Senku and made yourself comfortable.
"So," you began as you dug into your bag to obtain your bento box to continue eating your lunch. "Is this a class project or something?" Your chopstick vaguely pointed at the blue paper.
It can't be a life-size rocket, that's for sure. No high school student has the funds or materials for that.
Senku took a sip of his drink before deciding to answer you.
"Nah. It's my own personal project. I've been working on this since I was a kid."
You hummed amusingly.
Senku's candy red eyes gazed through the window and to the blue sky. There was almost a sense of longing in those orbs, a faint smile playing across his lips. "One of these days, it'll make it to space."
You chewed and swallowed your noodles.
"How far can you make the rocket go?"
"None have passed the Earth's atmosphere." He sighs. "I did manage to launch a few into the air over the years."
"Wow, that's impressive." You marvelled. "I knew that you were smart, but not crazy smart if you know what I mean. What can I do to pay you to do my science homework? And by 'pay' I don't mean in a dirty way if that's what you're thinking." You narrowed your eyes at him.
"Ah," Senku lazily smiled, picking his ear. "I hate to break it to you, but I'm a lot more innocent than you think."
"Seriously?"
"10 billion percent serious."
10 billion percent? Who talks like that?
"Hm. Whatever." You shrugged and went to eat your noodles.
"Any reason you're here?" Senku kept his eyes on the blueprint. You saw his ruby eyes light up for a second before adding something to the paper. "Before yesterday, we hardly ever spoke."
He's right. The only interaction you ever had with the guy was through Yuzuhira and maybe Taiju.
You slurped your noodles. "Actually, I did come here for something." You began, then smiled. "I've taken an interest in you."
Senku was quick to grimace at you. "I hope you're not saying what I think you're saying."
You laughed. "Not like that." You settled down your chopsticks and bento box. There is no one else here, so you're free to talk here. "As you already know, I'm sick."
"Yeah." He said plainly. "Go on."
"... I know I don't have long to live. Once I accepted the fact, I decided to make a list of things I want to accomplish before I say goodbye to this world."
"So like a bucket list?" Senku guesses.
"Hm," you hummed. "Well, I don't call it that, but yeah."
"What do you call it?"
"My secret mission." You did a peace sign.
Senku made a face. "That sounds super cringy."
"You think so?" You laughed. "I didn't spend that much time thinking of the name."
"I still don't see what this has to do with me?"
"Didn't you hear me? I'm letting you in on my secret mission."
"Me?"
"Yes, you."
"And why me exactly?" He raised a curious brow.
"Well, I can't tell anyone else. My secret mission-- or what you call it, a bucket list-- is tied to my illness. If I tell any of my other friends, they'll cry."
You sighed sadly.
"I don't want that. I want to remind everyone to smile and have a good time around me. But you. You hardly know me. You can help me without any of that emotional repercussions crap."
Senku passively stared at you.
"Do you really want to spend the rest of your days with a nerdy guy like me?"
"I wouldn't if I didn't ask." You countered, then grinned. When you felt Senku's hesitation, you kept persisting. "C'mon, I even bought you a drink."
At this, Senku deadpanned. "Did you really think you could bribe with a drink that's worth 200 yen?"
You tittered. "A little. So what do you want in return? Oh, I can help you with your rocket!"
"The only thing I need help with is having someone lugging around the heavy-ass materials, and I already have a meathead who's up for the job." He chuckles, thinking about Taiju's stamina that never ceases to amaze him.
Senku paused and thought about your offer. At first, he wasn't sure if he was the right person to go to help complete a bucket list. He ain't no charity service. But the idea of having an extra pair of hands to help him out with a few ongoing projects does pique his interest.
"But maybe I can use an extra guinea pig." Senku eventually pipes up and smirks at you. "Up for the job?"
Eagerly, you bobbed your head. "Then it's a deal," you extended your hand.
Senku glances at your hand, unaware of how memorable these next few months will be.
He shook your hand.
"It's a deal."