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All in all, it wasn't such a surprise that Ishigami villagers didn't keep track of time the way moderners did. To them, every day was the same, a routine of fishing and surviving in a harsh world where the concept of weekdays and office hours had long been forgotten. They lived by the seasons ant not by the date, unaware of the thousands of years long history behind them, glimpses of the past only scattered through the hundred tales - and yet, they had been quick to catch on.
Senku had explained it all ; the Earth and the Sun, planets and orbits, the way they drifted through the void held by the gravity of the brightest star which brought light and warmth and life on this soil. Not all of the primitives were able to understand the concept, to grasp the gargantuan expanse of space around them. However, they were quite quick on the uptake that a whole revolution of their planet around the sun, the end of a year and the start of a new one, was something worth celebrating.
Perhaps their enthusiasm stemmed from the novelty of it, or perhaps the last weeks and Hyoga's attack on the village had taken its toll on them all and they simply jumped on the first excuse presented to throw up a feast - it didn't matter in the end, and village children were now trying to copy Senku's teachings and write 5740 with sticks in the snow, the previous drawings of planets and circles and gravitational forces long stomped over and partly forgotten.
And although it was a waste of time, although everyone was carelessly spending energy shouting and running around and drinking until they could no more, even Senku knew when to step back and give his people enough space and time to breathe, if only to work them harder the next days.
The only problem being - he wasn't exactly allowed to step back.
He got dragged in the middle of it instead, yanked from his studious orbit and thrown straight into the campfire's sun - derailed, confused, and definitely not following a stable and efficient trajectory despite the gravitational force equations he had so thoroughly explained to Chrome earlier.
Of course, the scientist had seen it coming ; Kohaku was always so energetic, Chrome too enthusiast, Gen a little too cunning and always eager to ruffle his feathers a bit. Senku had tried to retreat to Chrome's storehouse once bonfires were lit and greetings exchanged and bottles uncorked, with the firm intention of working on the cellphone and those annoyingly dilating filaments, but...
Well, he could not exactly scamper up and disappear into the tiny hut if Gen had already roped Magma into taking the whole ladder down. The damn thing hadn't been anywhere in sight, probably buried under a very partial layer of snow who hated him in particular.
"For real, Gen ?!" Senku had groused, tiredness and utter betrayal weighing down the corners of his slanted eyes. "You're locking me out of my goddamn house ? Are you ten billion percent an ally or are you not very subtly trying to kill me by hypothermia ?"
The mentalist's laughter had ben as light and airy as the smooth snowflakes gracefully trailing down their hair. "Technically, this is a warehouse, Senku-chan, it is obviously closed on a holiday like today. Work-life balance, you know ? Besides, you won't be cold if you come to sit by the fire and have a drink with us."
Senku had complained, bargained, resorted to blackmail ('You know what else I can balance ? The proportion of cilantro paste and salt I might add to the next cola batch.') then to open threats, and Gen's heart had remained as cold as the snow which had cushioned his fall when Senku had tried to climb up the hut with an axe for the fourth time.
Then, well, yeah - reasonably, trying to pole vault with Kinro's spear to land into the hut or building a whole new ladder from scratch would be far more exhausting (and life-threatening) than an hour or two of social meddling. Thus, Senku had accepted his cruel fate of partying 'as long as you don't wake me up at the ass crack of dawn to watch the sun rise, mentalist !'
And this should have been it.
Senku should have been able to refuse a drink, should have been able to annoy Gen enough until he caved and returned him the precious ladder, and then to have a nice night of sleep. Except Chrome had still been buzzing from his earlier's learnings and had made up a drinking game about planets and orbits and shots you had to chug down if you didn't calculate their trajectory correctly, and of course Senku was the only person able to play against him - and annihilating him at his own game had been too satisfying to just stop. It only took one loss (orchestrated by Gen's distraction skills) and one drink for Senku to feel less annoyed about the whole village gathering, one more to give himself a bit of patience and courage when Suika had grabbed his coat and clumsily tried to dance with him around the bonfire, and by the third one (a toast to Kaseki's latest light bulbs that Senku could not turn down without looking like the biggest asshole on this planet, which wasn't that dramatic when the overall population was less than a hundred people) the scientist seemed to have forgotten that he was a lightweight, or at least he had stopped caring about it.
He had also lost count soon after that, unable to properly push away all the drinks random villagers shoved in their dear Chief's hands, and it was substantially more efficient to drink them rather than try to balance full glasses on top of the capricious snow or to waste precious sugar and calories in the middle of a harsh winter. And, even if it became harder and harder to dodge the arms thrown around his shoulders as if Senku hadn't already made it clear how much he hated the touches, the festive air had grown on him more than it should have.
Yes, they were preparing for a war and no, their odds weren't as good as he wished they would be. Yes, the world as he knew it had come to an end and he would never hear his father's laughter over the new year's countdown on TV again - but his descendants were here, raising their drinks under the moon with the same kind of aloof smile and just as many hopes for the future, and maybe for once Senku could join them and do that, too.
He'd solve the phone problem and protect them all tomorrow.
But first - nature had called, Senku had tried to answer, and this was in broad terms how he had landed himself in this... predicament.
He had barely noticed when someone had shoved a full flask of booze in his hand, too busy staggering toward the forest's edge, then... well, it was all a bit blurry, and honestly too embarrassing to dutifully recount. Finding a secluded bush far away from the party while navigating frosted layers of snow in primitive leather shoes had turned out to be more difficult and...erm, slippery than Senku had accounted for, and yeah, that was more or less it.
He had drunkenly, very pitifully slid down a slope or two, uttered curse words that definitely had to be censored here, then crawled and staggered some more. And of course, since the universe had seemed hell-bent on making his life miserable for the New Year, clouds had shifted and concealed the brightest stars and the forest was dark and the village's sounds too muffled by the snow still falling down for Senku to easily find his way back. He had been able to follow his foot prints (and the very sloppy trail of his whole body rolling down a small hill) for a short while, before those were engulfed by the weather too.
"Uuuugh, damned mentalist..." Senku had groaned because yes, blaming someone else for the consequences of his own actions had seemed the most sensible thing to do at the time.
But, hey, regrets wouldn't take him anywhere, and so Senku had walked and tripped on roots for an unreasonable amount of time, although time was a very relative thing when you were more alcohol than blood. Still, it had felt like he had circled the forest at least thrice and still there had been no village, and Senku hadn't really been able to summon enough strength to get up after the eighty-something-th fall.
This had led him here now, sprawled on his back on a mean snow monticule, glaring at the heavy clouds which stole all of the starlight he may have used.
Next time (no, there would be no next time), Senku would definitely pocket a compass before going away from the forest trails to relieve his stupid bladder - not that it would be of much use to him right now, considering the fact that his vision had doubled and he wouldn't be able to distinguish the genuine compass needle from the fake one. At this point, Senku wasn't able to tell if the redness he could feel creeping up his cheeks was because of the alcohol, the cold, or the realization that getting lost in the woods because he was too drunk to find his way back was a very embarrassing way to die.
In a very short-lived moment of clarity, Senku brushed the terrifying thought that if he had refined the wine and tested it before Taiju had woken up, he would most definitely have died alone and helpless in the wilderness, since his alcohol tolerance seemed to be as small and pathetic as Ginro's courage.
He had apparently gotten a raincheck, since this was now his plan for tonight.
This is ridiculous. Terrible writing for our epic tale of reviving humanity, Senku thought with a noncommittal grunt as he tried to uncork the flask given to him earlier, because he had no reason to not make it worse anymore. At least make it cool. Maybe a wild animal will find my corpse and maul it, and the others will think I went down fighting it. Dying because of a bear is a bit more theatrical than dying because of too much beer, right ?! Ah... bears are hibernating anyway. I'm fucked. Oh shit that's embarrassing.
No but, really, Senku had no plans to die here. He was just going to sleep it off and find his way home thanks to the sun in the morning, while absolutely not dying from hypothermia because he still had a flask of booze to keep him warm, right ? Of course, a sober Senku would bitch-slap this drunk Senku while arguing that 'drinking to keep yourself warm defeats the whole point of sleeping it off, you stupid puddle of ethanol !', but sober Senku sadly wasn't around.
He was very, very far away, significantly farther than the invisible threat lurking in the shadows, and it was kind of a miracle that Senku was even able to hear twigs snap and notice something else's presence in the first place.
"Eh... maybe stone age bears don' hibernate all that much, or maybe it's an angry boar..." Senku mused aloud as a chunk of snow fell down a wobbling branch, internally debating whether he should get up and run or play dead and hope for the best.
If he was lucky, his zig-zag run would confuse the wild animal and discourage the chase. Hope was a very humane thing, after all, and Senku had never been more human than now, stripped off his wits and self made up walls.
He was still trying to decide how to play this, dramatically inactive and losing precious seconds trying to wrangle the useless inebriated sponge that his brain had become, when the other living being stepped into the clearing where Senku was busy waiting for soberness (or death) to claim him.
And, despite his vision going on strike and serving him blurry images of everything, stars and trees included, Senku was pretty positive that this was not a bear. Sure, the height was similar, and the colours were close enough in the dark, and so was the aura of strength surrounding the new silhouette - but the wide eyes and agape mouth were definitely a man's, and comically expressive considering who they belonged to.
Because, standing a few feet away and watching him with a startled expression and barely a hint of hostility, stood none other than Tsukasa Shishio, shrouded in all his mesmerizing-force-of-nature aura despite the snow having piled up on his shoulders.
Aww, fuck.
Well, Senku couldn't blame him for the little 'taciturn and unimpressed' mask slip. Stumbling upon the guy you killed, randomly taking a nap in the snow in the middle of the forest at an ungodly hour, must indeed be surprising. If Senku wasn't so sure that he was now ten billion percent going to die, no matter at which rate his body could eliminate the alcohol, he could have laughed.
Ah - maybe the awkward and rough laughter that rose in-between them then was his, since it definitely didn't seem to be Tsukasa's. The warlord still stood frozen near a tree, for once looking more like a deer in the headlights than a predator.
Ironic, considering the fact that he was undoubtedly the biggest threat here.
"Eheheh... A hungry wild animal woul'have ten billion percent been a better option...." Senku chortled as he pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes, sounding equal parts amused and appalled by the very unfortunate situation he found himself in.
It was not every night that being dragged out for a drink ended in an awkward face-to-face with your archenemy in the middle of nowhere. And just how far had Senku drunkenly drifted for him to meet the Emperor of Might ?! Ah, the universe really didn't want him to live to see a new year. Maybe this was his penance for obliterating someone as innocent and pure-hearted as Chrome earlier.
As out of place as it was, the hysterical laughter seemed to drag Tsukasa out of his stupor.
"... Senku ?" The warrior called, slowly recovering not from finding out that the scientist was alive (this, Hyoga had probably already told him) but from the fact that he was here in front of him, lying in the snow far from home as if it was the new world's normal way of spending New Year's Eve.
The brunette didn't step forth, not yet, but his hand swiftly jumped on the spear in his back, and some tiny functioning part of Senku's mind told him that he should flinch, fear, and either start panicking or bargaining again. However, that genius brain was now apparently some kind of democracy, and the drunk majority who thought the whole impromptu meeting with his killer was a pleasant and funny coincidence won.
He undeniably should not feel a bit excited to cross paths with the man again. He also knew enough about the effects of alcohol on his brain chemistry to decide not to blame himself for it, and to just roll with it.
"We're back on firs'name basis even after the murder ? Cool." Senku shrugged, snow folding around his shoulders as if he were a child making snow angels instead of the King of a scientific kingdom lying defenseless at the feet of the enemy Emperor.
The blond's aloofness seemed to set off alarm bells in the fighter's head, for the latter's grasp tightened around his spear.
Brown eyes narrowed, scanning their surroundings, searching for traps or an unknown presence or any semblance of explanation as to why Ishigami frigging Senku, the smartest man alive then dead then alive again, looked up at him with droopy eyes and a crooked smile and not an ounce of fear. This was not a chance encounter between two old friends, but Senku's relaxed body language and glistening eyes seemed to say otherwise.
Of course, this uncharacteristic demeanor would make the newcomer suspicious - the scientist wasn't the type of person to get caught unaware and without a plan. In this moment, everything about him felt plain wrong.
Silence seemed to dilate around them like those annoying copper filaments, cold and heavy and denying Senku the privilege of winning a war that hadn't even openly started yet, but just might end here tonight with a lone slash of that spear.
Still, Tsukasa hadn't made a move yet, and the scientist most definitely wasn't going to analyze why when he couldn't even remember how to walk properly. Which was... unfortunate, because his only chance at surviving this encounter was flight.
The clouds eventually shifted and allowed rays of moonlight to pierce through the loaded atmosphere, much too late for Senku to make anything of it and find his way back. His reddened eyes did however provide him with the information that Tsukasa's face looked soft and delicate under the moonlight, and that it was perhaps both an honour and a shame to be killed by someone looking like that.
Not that the exact same thought hadn't already crossed sober Senku's mind a few months ago in Hakone - that bastard had just been very good at dismissing it and focusing on the most pressing matter at hand, namely to survive.
Drunk Senku, on the other hand ? Not so much. His train of thought and sense of priority seemed to flow frigging backwards, unlike Tsukasa who eventually took a step forth.
Nevertheless, the diminished scientist had a fair idea of what Tsukasa closing in meant for him.
Well. Being executed by one's perfectly repressed crush again is still less embarrassing than dying from getting lost while drunk.
Still... Damn.
I need to think of a plan, but my two operational braincells are focused elsewhere...dude really needs to start wearing a hood and hide that fucking gorgeous face, that's emotional warfare.
With a deep, resigned sigh, Senku clumsily raised a hand (and the simple gesture made Tsukasa tense and brace himself for possible bombs, one could never be cautious enough with a fire hazard like Senku), and waved.
"Y'know, Ts'kasa, if ya kill me now that would save me from a massive hangover, so you'd actually do me a favor and we don't do that between en'mies, right ?" He drawled whereas the brunette cautiously circled him, seemingly distraught by the noticeable slurring in Senku's words. The snow crunched under the heavy frame of the Emperor of Might, the latter's stance still uncharacteristically indecisive, muscles drawn tight and ready to pounce but unsure if they should. "Or you coul'be a new year's miracle and help me find my way home or fetch me some water, I dunno."
Their last encounter may have ended with one of them's death, yet Senku didn't seem to grasp the gravity of the situation this time around. Gone was the calculating gaze making sharp decisions months ago - there was only misplaced amusement in crinkled eyes, and perhaps he was laughing at his own demise, or...
Ah.
'You'd save me from a massive hangover', he had said.
Tsukasa looked even more troubled now that the pieces of the puzzle started to slot together in his head. His shoulders hunched ever so slightly, as if burdened by the snow covering them when really, it was all about deciding whether to kill the vulnerable scientist here or not.
They were enemies, but it was not easy to move accordingly when Senku was acting like anything but that. For a brief moment, Tsukasa only saw Senku lazily sprawled by the fire in their small camp, nodding absentmindedly at Taiju's neverending blabbering as the latter scaled fishes and the former drew schematics in the dirt. Alas, the warmth of these moments was gone, and Senku should know better than to expect a 'new year's miracle' in the name of the almost-friendship they had once shared.
No, Tsukasa's hesitation wasn't about that - it was about how utterly defenseless the other man was, already half lost to the cold and still able to laugh in the face of destiny as if the situation was too incongruous to be anything but a prank. Mystifying Senku was hard when he was wearing the face of an innocent young man rather than his usual air of cunning intelligence. Attacking him now would be no better than launching a surprise attack on the fisher's village in the middle of the night, no better than sending Homura to sneak into Senku's quarters and slit his throat while he was asleep and blissfully unaware - something they could have done, something Hyoga had suggested, and something that Tsukasa had always found positively repugnant and refused to do.
But - this might be Tsukasa's best chance to end this confrontation and the one spilling the lesser amount of blood, assuming that the village wouldn't come knocking seeking revenge. Still, something in this didn't sit right with the brunette, and maybe he was growing weak or maybe it was all because of the date, his long lost sister's birthday where no blood should be shed and taint the snow she adored. Maybe it was the tiredness, maybe it was simply Senku's wide grin while joking about his own death and still managing to ask for mercy in between the lines, in a way that could only be read if you knew the man's sarcasm well enough.
Whatever the reason, the spear felt disturbingly cold and heavy against Tsukasa's palm.
The warrior's dilemma flew straight past Senku's still lying form, snow slowly piling up on top of him like an immaculate coffin with a dark sense of humor.
Then, something seemed to irk the smaller man, and his face crumpled comically.
"Senku, we -"
"Talking about miracles." The blond interrupted him without any kind of reverence, shuffling around in the snow to try and sit up only to fall back rather dramatically. He groaned, wiped some snow off his scrunched up face, then rolled to his side to point an accusing finger at the other man. "Don't you ever wear a coat, or at least a goddamned shirt ?"
Tsukasa cocked an eyebrow, visibly caught off guards by the topic of clothes of all things when he had been about to discuss wars and ideals and Senku's very plausible and imminent second death.
"I'm... not cold ?" He answered cautiously, hesitating, as if one wrong answer would provoke whatever Senku might have planned.
It turned out that Senku did not have any plan, at least not tonight - he had complaints, and he intended to make them heard.
"Do you have any idea how distracting that six pack is ?!" The blond blurted out, a genuine shade of annoyance and offense very visible in his suddenly high pitched voice, and Tsukasa wondered for a few seconds if the whole thing was indeed a prank. "I swear, I had second thoughts about buildin' the crossbow just because the idea of putting an arrow in that sounded like sacrilege, and I'm not even fuckin' religious !"
Senku's finger wasn't pointing exactly at the incriminated muscles but rather somewhere close to their left, and he was squinting whereas Tsukasa's eyes widened in disbelief with each slurred word, and oh.
Oh, damn.
"Senku... just how drunk are you ?" The warrior asked suspiciously and with a foreign sense of urgency, not without clasping his pelt shut in front of him (but only because it was indeed a little cold, and not because of Senku's searing gaze.)
"Incredi'ly so, duh." The scientist somehow managed to sound condescending in spite of the slurring. "Otherwise I'd have already run away, 'm'not stupid. Unsure I can take three proper steps now, so..."
Tsukasa didn't point out that the 'not stupid' part was for once very debatable, considering how the young man was almost black out drunk and frozen to the bone in front of his enemy and quite visibly unbothered by it, only because he was too stunned to do so. And he had reasons to be - seeing Senku for the first time after killing him was disturbing enough, but seeing him in that sorry (self-inflicted !) state plus the strange unbidden reproach made the whole thing much more awkward, and... significantly less dramatic.
Tsukasa didn't want to attack the man anymore, he wanted to pick up his spear and turn away and forget the whole interaction altogether. To clear his mind of the image of the joyful laughing young man he'd have to kill eventually.
But if he did leave now...
Yeah, there was a non negligible risk that that young man would die here on his own. Had he really trumped death at Tsukasa's hands just to end like this ?
The brunette gritted his teeth whereas the scientist shrugged again.
"So. Not going to kil'me ? 'cause am obviously not going anywhere."
Yeah, well, that was the whole problem. The Emperor of Might wouldn't be second guessing himself like this if Senku was his usual sharp witted and peace-threatening self.
"There would be no honor in killing a defenseless inebriated man." Tsukasa declared, his deep and level voice not betraying an ounce of the turmoil within him. He had already made a decision, and there was no point in thinking about it any longer - he would not kill that man tonight. Would struggle to on any other day, anyway. "Besides, it looks like you can accomplish that very well on your own."
At that, Senku had the audacity to laugh again - loud, bright, endlessly amused by the whole ordeal, as if his life hanging on by a thread was only a daily background noise he had already grown used to.
It probably was.
"Ruuuude, I'm tryin' my best, y'know ?" Senku's unwarranted hilarity rapidly died down, the drunken glimmer in his eyes making space for something darker, sharper, as his voice dipped lower. "There was also no honor in threatening Yuzuriha, yet you did."
Ah, there it was ; a glimpse of the man Tsukasa knew, a second of clarity and cold logic that almost made the warrior grab for his spear again. Maybe if he aimed correctly, fast enough, he could pierce only this - the dangerous analytical mind, the embers which would spark the fire of human evolution and progress until the world burned itself down.
But then Senku wasn't even looking at him anymore, electing to focus on the flask on his hip rather than on the armed man towering next to him. He disregarded the threat like he had disregarded Tsukasa's fears of a new corrupt world - with blatant disinterest and a smidge of arrogance in his lopsided smile.
"Want some wine ?" The scientist offered light-heartedly, as if he hadn't just mentioned how Tsukasa had taken one of his best friends hostage just to kill him after that. "That's like, local artisanal good stuff, zero pestu...pesta...pesticide. Bit strong, but nothin' your almost hundred kilos of pure muscle can't handle, right ?"
The blond's frozen fingers struggled around the flask, and Tsukasa most certainly did not move to help him. Dealing with Senku while he was making sense had been arduous enough, but this volatile one was even more slippery.
If he wasn't careful...
Ah, Tsukasa wasn't quite sure what to do with him now.
"What are you even doing here ?" He inquired, trying to search for a little sense in whatever messed up situation he had inadvertently walked into. He may have sounded more angrier and reproachful than he really was ; it wasn't so much anger at his enemy than confusion and doubt, and anger towards himself for feeling those emotions and hesitating when he could so easily put an end to their conflict now.
"Aaaah. Nature jumanji'ed me and I may have gotten a bit lost..." Senku reckoned with a dismissive gesture of his hand that usually meant he had things under control, except it was painfully obvious that he did not.
How on earth had Senku managed to land himself here, in that forested no man's land somewhere at the limits of their respective territories, by accident ? Surely, if he had been missing long enough to cover such a distance, his people must be looking for him - but would they look that far ?
"Isn't your village... hours away from here ?" Tsukasa wondered and it was stupid, really, to feel even the barest sliver of worry for that man he had sworn to destroy. But - but, Senku was lying there alone, skin and lips as white as the snow coating his heavy eyelids, and he couldn't even uncork a simple flask nor stand up and the chances of one of his allies finding him in time were too slim to rely on. The man was so pale and looked so brittle and breakable that Tsukasa feared the porcelain might shatter if he breathed his way - and, if Tsukasa had often wondered if and how he'd have to kill him again, just standing there and watching the flame of life dim out had never been an option. "How long have you been outside in the cold?"
Senku lazily dragged his gaze upwards again, his scarlet irises a startling contrast to the white snow in his eyelashes, and when he blinked and scoffed, delicate flakes rained down his cheeks.
"Keh, I know I'm normally a walkin' human clock, but I'm kinda... derailed and mostly trying not to throw up, so..." The blond waved his hand again, smearing white powder around him, and he undoubtedly knew that not feeling his fingers anymore was a worrying sign - he was simply not in a state to care at the moment, and, once again, he'd like to point out that Tsukasa's overwhelming presence next to him was somewhat distracting. "Uh, when I left, Jupiter was around here. Now it's... around here. Can't be precise, I see three of 'em." He added as he tried to crook his pointer finger in the aforementioned direction, and failed.
The honed warrior noticed the numbness and registered the words and oh, it was worse than he had first thought, and it only made the situation more complicated and uncomfortable. Tsukasa was fighting for a world cleansed of men without moral, not aiming to become one of them.
"Hm. So hours indeed." He confirmed somberly, still standing at a fair distance, still assessing, still doubtful.
"Yeah. I'll find my way back tomorrow." Before Tsukasa could argue that no, he wouldn't, the disheveled scientist jumped topics again. "Enough 'bout me, what're you doing here ?"
And, well, perhaps Tsukasa shouldn't linger for too long, perhaps he shouldn't indulge in small talk with his incapacitated enemy by subzero temperatures. But if he wasn't going to kill him, then maybe Senku found some comfort in someone else's being here with him, no matter who. Maybe he was trying to keep him around by talking, or maybe he had no frigging clue what he was doing because his brain had drowned in the alcohol and all that was left was the honesty and humane urge to socialize. Tsukasa didn't need to know the reason to consider that staying a bit longer wouldn't hurt, that he could provide at least a bit of warmth or a fake sense of safety while his former comrade waited to be found, or died hoping.
Yeah. Maybe he could do that. Or help, just a little bit. Not too much.
"You really can't stand, hm." Tsukasa sighed, and it was more a defeated observation than a question.
The brunette stepped closer, his senses still on high alert in case this was all Senku's plan and he was going to be stabbed the very second he came near - but nothing happened when the warrior knelt in the snow and swiftly helped the scientist sit up.
Nothing, except for a very heedless chuckle followed by an ungraceful squeaking sound when the world spun around Senku and he immediately tilted sidewards and almost collapsed again.
"Whoops !" The blond shrieked, then when the tree line settled around him, he beamed with pride. "That's called gravity, Ts'kasa, and I just beat it !"
No, the concept wasn't as groundbreaking as Senku seemed to believe it was, thus Tsukasa merely nodded before sitting cross legged next to him - far enough to maintain the emotional distance between them, but close enough to catch him... just in case.
"To answer your question, Senku, I am here because the Empire is celebrating too, and I find that they can't unwind properly when I am around." Tsukasa explained as he let snow flow through his fingers like sand, unsure why he was telling Senku that in the first place but somewhat aware that the blond might probably not remember that come morning.
When the latter provided a very insightful 'duh, that's because of the six pack', Tsukasa realized that throughout his teenage years, he had become very skilled at controlling his emotions (especially annoyance and bafflement) and not acting out on impulse. If he didn't despise himself that much, he might have patted himself on the back for that.
"Furthermore, I longed for some time alone and away from the noise." He enunciated instead, wondering if Senku would understand what he truly meant - that he was disturbing the quiet with his antics, not that he was grieving someone from another era.
The insinuation didn't seem to land anyway, for the next time Tsukasa craned his head to check on the enemy-he-now-had-to-supervise instead of glaring broodingly into the woods, he was met with the sight of the young man shoving a fistful of snow in his goddamned mouth.
Tsukasa's brows twitched, but his fists did not.
No.
"What are you doing, Senku ?" He griped, feeling his patience stretch thin and vaguely wondering if he should do them both a favor and put the man out of his misery, after all.
"Hydrating." The offensive scientist offered, and, well, there was some logic in that that Tsukasa couldn't argue with. "Because - alcohol."
Tsukasa frowned at the scientist's fingertips, slowly turning a worrying shade of blue. "That doesn't seem like your most urgent problem. You will freeze to death if you stay here."
And, while Tsukasa might have a point, Senku couldn't resist countering it, as nonsensical as he may sound. The drunkenness made him feel smart - hilarious, even, and playing around with the strongest man on Earth's patience didn't sound as dangerous as it should have. "Naaaa. Ethanol's freezing point is -114°. I'm good."
"You are not made of ethanol." Tsukasa narrowed his eyes, surprised by the urge to just throw the man over his shoulder and carry him back home if only to spare himself the drunken company and prevent his resolve to one day kill him from dwindling any further.
"Y'know what, I kinda think I am now." Senku mused, sticking up the reddened tip of his nose whereas Tsukasa's stance deflated because it was unfair, really, how easy it was to fall back into their earlier and simpler exchanges, how tempting Senku always made it to shoot back only to be proved wrong a few seconds later. This was almost familiar in a twisted, cruel kind of way, and for a brief second Tsukasa considered actually reaching out for the flask and calling it a day. "Afte'all, I'm sitting here with you, and I'm trying real hard not to ogle too much, so there must definitely be something wrong with me and ethanol instead of blood sounds like a plausible expla'tion."
Ah, what had Tsukasa said about being proved wrong by Senku ? There was nothing familiar about that kind of declaration coming from him. Yet, it was nothing short of the truth - the scientist had long been aware of the warrior's looks and the effect they had on him, of all the little somersaults his heart had done when the man gave him a high-five or how his own gaze had sometimes strayed from his little experiments to the muscles working and glistening in the sun on the other side of the camp. He had only been able to control it, to rank 'sort out that weird attraction I have for the guy I suspect might turn on us later' very low on his priority list. And as stated earlier, his train of thoughts and priority chart were flowing backwards tonight.
Oh, this was going to be disastrous.
So, Senku did what any sensible person would do in his place ; he tore his gaze away from the too serious man and tried to uncork the flask again, because sometimes the antidote to poison was simply more poison and if it wasn't then at least he'd maybe pass out, and failed.
His hand slid, he lost what little balance he had, staggered sideways and when Tsukasa moved to steady him his godforsaken pelt flew around and Senku's gaze zeroed in on it and he very, very eloquently whined : "Fuck me, that's a twelve pack now."
Tsukasa swallowed down a groan as he was run over by the dreadful realization that Senku was an insufferable drunk and that still, still, snapping his neck now didn't seem like the right thing to do.
Not now.
Maybe not ever.
"... Do you know how to go home ?" He inquired, and his voice came out annoyingly beseeching because all the warrior needed now was for the man to just be gone. Yes, Senku needed to go home, he needed to leave before Tsukasa made a nonsensical decision like wrapping the scientist's hands in his own before his fingers fell off from the cold.
"Hm, maybe. I'm fine here though. Nice little chit chat with my murderer and all."
Tsukasa's features tensed a little at the mention of murderer, as accurate as that word may be. "As I expressed earlier, I am not going to kill you now. Not in that state."
"How nice." Senku crooned, giving up on his previous battle with the flask in favour of shoving it Tsukasa's way - which made him wobble on his rear and the warrior's arm shot up to steady him again by pure instinct (not fondness, not pity. Those feelings had no place in the middle of a war.) "Well then, if you're being all polite and chivalrous, care to open that fo'me ?"
Senku forced the flask into the fighter's other fist, his own arm stretched at its limit, thankful for the hand still resting against his shoulder to prevent him from tumbling forwards (which would land him face first in Tsukasa's lap, and all in all, Senku wasn't that hostile to the idea but knew this may warrant a third death and that would be too much trouble to avoid.) He smirked and reached for the tensed bicep instead, and he clumsily tried to circle it with both hands and when his fingers wouldn't touch - because Tsukasa's muscles were just that impressive and well maintained - he let out a low whistle that caused more snow to fall down branches... and something in Tsukasa's head to snap.
"I think you may have had enough." The latter seethed, or tried to, but he sounded more tired and flustered than downright outraged by the unbidden fondling. He did try to move his arm, to shake the scientist off, but when Senku threatened to fall again Tsukasa seemed to accept his fate and let the scientist hang there for support. Just for a minute.
Ah, Senku was not only an annoying drunk, he was a clingy one at that. Which was... more than surprising, considering how Tsukasa had seen Senku dodge and gag at each one of Taiju's bear hug attempt - and that had been the main reason why Tsukasa had stuck to high fives and (denied) handshakes then, although the urge to ruffle the young scientist's hair in praise had sometimes been strong.
With two frail arms now curled around his left one, Tsukasa still managed to uncork the flask with his thumb and, in a dramatic moment of despair, took one long sip.
The night was going to be very, very long.
"Tastes good, right ?" Senku gushed, and the words came out wrong because his whole goddamn cheek was now squished against Tsukasa's arm (for support, obviously) and gosh, he was so cold and yet his cheeks were bright red and his eyes glistened and Tsukasa felt something in him die at that very moment because why the hell was Senku looking up at him that way.
Whatever that part of him was, it left his body with a pitiful agonizing sound that Tsukasa would never admit came from him, then he cleared his throat and argued that "No, it does not."
Senku only hummed in response, then he closed his eyes and the weight of his head settled some more against Tsukasa's skin and the latter feared that the scientist, drunk out of his mind as he was, was going to take a nap here. Which wouldn't be good, because Tsukasa had only a general idea of the village's location and he could not navigate the sky the way Senku did, but the more this ridiculous situation lasted, the more it seemed like Tsukasa carrying his enemy back was the only possible outcome.
It was not like the brunette could find them both a cave to spend the night and light up a fire, because then they'd wake up facing each other and Senku would be the sober, dangerous king of the enemy kingdom once again... and Tsukasa would have no more reason to turn a blind eye to his presence. No excuse to not snap the man in half and win this war.
Which.... ah, the bitter taste on his tongue must definitely be the wine.
"Were you planning on getting that drunk, or did you miscalculate ?" The emperor scolded, because Senku was not only ruining his own night but Tsukasa's too, and the latter hadn't asked for any of this. He most certainly hadn't wished for all his certainties to be shaken like this, crumbling with each wave of Senku's chuckles against him.
His breath was soft, warm like these first days after waking up in the stone world, like these first evenings spent around the campfire and filled with shared reflexions and roasted meat that he had hunted for them - and oh, thinking about those days was something Tsukasa always carefully avoided.
"Hey, gi'me a break." Senku bemoaned, and it was a good thing, it meant that he was awake. "Wagin' a war against you is a bit stressful, you fuckin' beast. If we face each other in spring and you take that pelt off, it's game over for me."
Well, at least Senku's eyes were sill closed while spouting such nonsense, so maybe he wasn't even aware of what he had just said - or so Tsukasa dared to hope.
But then, because the universe not only hated Senku but it despised Tsukasa too, the scientist straightened up and looked at him - wide awake, eye to eye, ready to cause more havoc.
It felt less like sitting in the snow with the person he had killed than sitting in a bar, sharing a table with that annoying drunk friend you had to take home or else they were going to fall in a gutter and die - Tsukasa had been forced into enough social functions to know that.
Except this was the stone age, and the guy in front of him had apparently absorbed the whole planet's worth of existing alcohol.
"Plus the village loves to party, and I didn' really get a say in that." Senku had the audacity to complain as he retrieved the flask and downed half of it in one go, as if some imaginary villager was standing next to him and forcing the beverage down his throat when really, this was all Senku's doing. He swallowed, licked the few spilled droplets from his lips, then talked again. "They're a nice little fisher village you know ? Although, no one there spears fishes naked like you did, which is a shame..."
The blond suddenly froze, then scrunched up his brows and mouth, visibly lost in whatever deep thoughts may exist in such an inebriated mind - then his face split into a downright mischievous grin. He leaned forward again, his face too close to Tsukasa's for comfort, ready to share what he manifestly deemed a genius idea in hushed whispers. "Hey, Tsukasa, wanna be a naked fisher in the Kingdom of Science?! I'll mak'it worth your while ! I'm inexperienced but I'm a quick learner and I coul' prob'ly ask Gen a thing or two about bl-"
Tsukasa did not slap Senku - he only very vigorously clasped his palm onto the lewd mouth before he could say something the brunette would never forget and may get him signed up into an asylum or on some kind of list, if those still existed.
"Senku, shut. up." Tsukasa groaned, and never yet had he wished a positively awful hangover to anyone, but there was a first time for everything.
He should have never taken that lone walk - but if he hadn't, then Senku would have probably frozen here, and that prospect was even more awful than the blond suggesting obscene things.
The brunette felt Senku's grin stretch beneath his palm, then that absolute menace of a man did something that Tsukasa could not have foreshadowed and avoided - he parted his lips, and licked.
One long wet stripe of Senku's tongue on Tsukasa's fingertips, followed by the most wholehearted laugh he had ever heard coming from him as his hand shot back like it had just been burned.
The brunette stared, agape, then he groaned and almost - almost - covered his face with that soiled hand because Senku's playful eyes on him and the way his lips quirked with each laugh made something in his guts twitch and tear - thus, he moved it to steal the flask from Senku instead.
Indirect kisses be damned, Tsukasa's throat felt too parched to ignore now. He brought the drink to his mouth under Senku's amused (and somewhat dulled) scrutiny, and when the latter tried to play him by slapping the bottom of the flask to either get the brunette drunk or wet, there was no telling, he easily caught his wrist in mid-air.
"Hmf !" Senku snorted, but he did not make a move to retrieve his hand either. He rather coiled his fingers around Tsukasa's forearm, seeking warmth or human touch or both - and his enemy indulged him. Wrapped his hand around his and rubbed it, because Senku's fingers were much colder than Tsukasa's heart could ever be. There would also be no honor in winning against a crippled scientist, right ?
"Buuuuut there is no guy quite like you in the village." Senku then pressed, his lips a half-smile, half-pout, as if the fact that his village lacked a Tsukasa was the biggest tragedy of this stone world. "I mean, we do have strong muscl'heads, but the strongest one we have is a bit... uh... well, stupid, and... You know how your face and body look like it's carved out of marble by some insan'ly good antic sculptor? Well, that one guy looks like he was shaped by a herd of deers running over a fossili'ed Basilosaurus, so..."
If not for Tsukasa's quick reflexes, he may have either choked on his drink or spat-spilled half of it, because what rights did Senku have to blend compliments and insults in the same sentence with such an intense, immersed gaze, as if each one of his word was an absolute truth that no one could argue with ?
Tsukasa jerked away from the flask's neck, and, for the first time in months at least, he laughed.
Not loud and wide and bright the way Senku had earlier, of course not, but it still was something - lips quavering around a few chuckles, releasing only fractions of his inner tension and, unexpectedly, making Senku blush harder.
"Hey." The scientist quipped, his grip around Tsukasa's hand tightening ever so slightly. "I'm drunk, okay. Which means alcohol is fuckin' up my brain filter and I'll say shit like 'you're carved out of marble' and 'I kinda wish I had gone fishin' with ya and faked not being able to swim so you'd have pulled me out of the water while naked because now we're enemies and I won't get another chance.' So yeah, suck it up."
Tsukasa's jaw didn't fall to the ground, but it assuredly went slack with bewilderment and a hint of self-consciousness because what the hell, Senku ?!
Out of all the things Tsukasa had planned to discuss when he'd cross paths with the scientist again, the latter's now blatant crush on him had never come to mind. It was a baffling revelation, a surprise, but it wasn't... as unpleasant as it should be. Not at all. If anything, it made Tsukasa's cheeks and heart feel warmer, but this wasn't something the warrior could indulge in relishing, or even try to understand.
If he allowed himself the luxury of gazing into Senku's eyes for a bit longer, if he took the time to look at him for real - at the mischief smeared over intelligence in his half lidded eyes, the white specks of snow in his long lashes and the intoxicated blush on his ever defiant face - then he would have to reflect on things of his own.
He'd have to face it eventually - the way he, too, had felt pulled in by Senku's gravity and staggering smarts, by the delicacy of his features even when he explained frightening and gruesome things.
And if Tsukasa did that, if he allowed himself to wonder, allowed himself to feel, allowed himself to hope - then it would be the end of the world he had decided to fight for.
Still... Here, at an hour where no one should be awake and the moment could either be reality or a dream, where the only witnesses to their little back-and-forth were the bare trees and the stars and the snow, it wouldn't hurt to tease back a little. Perhaps Senku deserved a little torment too, if only for making Tsukasa feel like the worst person in the world for having once killed the man who looked at him with that kind of covetous gaze - the man he himself could have looked at in a peculiar fond way, too, if ideals hadn't torn them so wide apart.
"If it is only the filter to your thoughts that is broken, then you still have to think them genuinely in the first place. Am I wrong, Senku ?" Tsukasa husked in a low rumble, and Senku's face wavered with something half startled realization and half misery, as if he hadn't thought that far ahead for once.
Tsukasa was ten billion percent right.
None of the words that had left Senku's mouth tonight were a lie. They had only been stupendously honest, stripped of the layers of thought engineering that defined who the scientist aimed to be so well. Regardless, they weren't thoughts that a sober Senku would have ever planned to share.
Well, at least I haven't mentioned anything about that weird wet dream from last month...
"Ugh, bastard, why do you have to be smart ?" The blond whined as he covered his face with his free hand in an attempt to muffle a very frustrated groan. "I can live with fighting against a work of art, but hot and smart too ?! You've got that whole... evil but hot anime villain vibe, for fuck's sake. I'm sure your fan base would totally overlook all your crimes just because of your looks. You're making this hard for me, asshole."
Senku punctuated his rant with wide, uncoordinated gestures of his fingers aimed at Tsukasa's unfair face, that stupid gorgeous combination of sharps angles and plump lips that had shamelessly kept Senku awake more than once - which only proved the brunette's point.
And the latter shouldn't be relieved that all Senku's embarrassing words tonight were not just the product of his intoxicated mind, but something rooted deeper, something earnest in his flesh and heart, something which mirrored what Tsukasa had refused to acknowledge until now, would still choose to ignore for the greater good. But... the warmth was there nonetheless, its intensity picking up with each one of Senku's stutters to the point he almost doubted the snow around them.
Yeah. Tsukasa needed to either leave or bring that man home far, far away. Now.
"Fuck." Senku cursed, frowning, and Tsukasa only then realized that he must have been making a weird face, something too puzzled and too expressive for his usual reserved veneer. "Don't you fuckin' laugh, I'll cringe soooo hard tomorrow if I ever remember that."
The key-word being if.
Maybe Senku would be lucky enough to forget it all, meanwhile Tsukasa would be the only one to shiver and doubt the next time they'd meet on a possible battlefield. Maybe this would be his cross to bear - the knowledge of that man's affection for him that would echo with his own and make the blade of his spear blunt. That would deviate all of his strikes.
However, now wasn't the time to fret over this ; Tsukasa would have all winter to roam the forest and his empire to wallow in self-pity and badly repressed feelings. For now, it was time to bring the drunken menace home, and for once Tsukasa decided that he didn't need a reason to justify his actions.
He stopped trying to delude himself into thinking that this was only to have a more loyal face-off later on. He simply wanted to know that Senku would make it home unscathed.
"... Hm. Then let's get you back to camp- hm, to your village, so you live to see tomorrow and do that." Tsukasa declared as he stood and pulled Senku up with him. If the blond noticed his little slip about their camp, about the one hut they once shared, he was either too drunk or too merciful to comment on it. Maybe it was Senku's way of showing appreciation for sparing him tonight.
"Damn, I dunno if it's nice or sadistic. Still, helping the guy you kill'd ? Are you maybe weak to praise, Mr. Strongest Primate?" Senku jested as he elbowed the taller man, which sent him flying, not Tsukasa.
"No, I am not." The brunette retorted as he easily caught the young man before he could fall face first in the snow again. He adjusted the winter coat and hoodie around the insane mess he called hair, and, when the scientist failed to take a step forth without staggering, let him lean against him for support.
Indeed, Tsukasa was pretty immune to praise, had heard too many of insincere ones over his career. Nevertheless, he just might be weak to drunk unhinged genius who worked to revive the kind of world he loathed - and that was a problem for the next spring, not one he could solve tonight.
They walked in silence for a while, Senku's arms around his, his nose up in the air to read the stars and give the warrior vague directions that the blond was by no means able to follow by himself. After so much nonsense spouted, after better-left-uncovered-truths said, the quiet eased Tsukasa's mind.
There was only the sound of their steps on the frozen snow, the distant howl of a night bird, Senku's small frame leaning against his own, a grounding presence bigger than it should be.
It was absurd. It was irrational. It was nice.
"U-uh, T'kasa, I'm gettin' frostbites on my toes..."
Okay, could have been nice.
"What happened to ethanol's freezing point ?" Tsukasa sighed, but he already knew that he wasn't going to argue. He had surrendered something bigger than he had first thought the very moment he had decided to spare Senku tonight.
"Don' be a dick." The scientist scoffed as he dragged his feet on purpose, and was it Tsukasa's imagination and the shadow cast by his hooded winter coat, or was Senku's petty pout as cute as it was unexpected on him ? "I know you can carry me easily."
This statement didn't deserve a confirmation, nor even a please or a thank you. Tsukasa simply swooped the lighter man up and into his arms, making a point of tucking his head and snow-coated shoes under his pelt and oh, that is good, he doesn't seem to have lost weight and his village must take good care of him.
There was a time where Tsukasa was the one to ensure that Senku would be protected and fed, and, although he had reneged on his promise, it was somewhat reassuring to know that someone else had picked up where he left.
Someone who wouldn't turn on him.
Someone better than him.
"Fuck." Whatever guilt-trip Tsukasa was about to engage into, Senku decided to curse in the middle of it. "Okay, damn, you've won the war. My face in your pecs has rerouted my brain."
Tsukasa's legs fumbled then, much like his lips as he cast the man below him an incredulous, bewildered look without being able to utter a single smart comeback. Still, he didn't fall, nor did he drop the bundle of emotional damage nestled against him and oh, yeah, the blond had shamelessly pressed his whole face into his chest.
And Tsukasa wasn't mad, only embarrassed, because what if Senku were to hear how strong and fast his heart was beating now ? Maybe he should have let Senku drink the rest of the bottle, if only to maximize the chance of total black out and memory loss.
"I'm joking, shithead. I wouldn't give up science even for that glorious... everything." Senku twisted the knife as he wrapped both his arms around the warrior's chest in what could only be described as a very tight, intimate hug. "But fuck, I'd be happy to have both..."
Senku's voice shook with denied yearning and oh, how Tsukasa understood, felt it with a pang under his ribs right where Senku's breath burned his skin. He could tell himself that his grip around the scientist's legs and waist tightened only to keep him warm, to make sure he wouldn't drop him in a minute moment of weakness, but this would only be a lie.
He didn't want to let go of him. Not back then, not now, nor the next time where everything would come crashing down and killing Senku would amount to stabbing himself in the heart. Alas, they were too stubborn for any other outcome. The two of them wanted both.
Could any of them really... ?
"SENKUUUUUUUUU !!"
Distant shouts rose to shatter the moment of doubts and vulnerability between them, and Senku didn't even perk up at the call of his name. They were close to the village by now, and his friends were looking for him, yet he only closed his eyes and pressed his face further into Tsukasa's neck. He inhaled longly, deeply, as if it was his only chance at tasting the warrior's warmth and soul. The only glimpse of what-ifs he could ever get, a memory to savor and cherish.
Tsukasa had half the mind to turn heels and run then, to steal the small scientist here and now and pray that they could talk and reach an agreement that wouldn't leave them both with an hollowed-out chest cavity.
He didn't.
"Ah, just drop me here." Senku eventually muttered, and never before had he sounded that indecisive and not convincing at all. "I know you know where the village is, but I can't let you see too much or the ph- the super secret weapon we're building."
The scientist shuffled in his grasp, and Tsukasa did as he was told. Both his feet went down with a soft thump, much like the corners of his mouth caved inwards as the warrior had the audacity to comply. Perhaps the scientist had expected something else, and perhaps Tsukasa was just as desirous to offer it.
Senku wobbled, then straightened up to tuck a few loose strands of white hair under his hood with an apologetic smile.
"Hey, Tsukasa." The scientist whispered, voice and eyes much clearer now than they had been minutes before. "You know I'm drunk out of my mind, right ?"
Tsukasa nodded and hummed, his breath drawing clouds in the cold between them. "Obviously."
"So don't hold it against me."
And, without so much as asking and barely a warning, Senku boldly rose on tiptoes, leaned in, and kissed him.
Not on the mouth, and not on the cheek either. He kissed him somewhere in between, where he could feel the corners of Tsukasa's lips gasp and part under his. It was soft, shy, and it lasted nowhere near as long as both of them would have wanted it to - still, it was enough to leave an everlasting mark. Not on their skin, not in their flesh, but somewhere deeper in their soul.
Then, as suddenly as he had risen up, Senku tumbled backwards. He barely caught himself before breaking into a fit of incongruous and flustered laughter.
"Damn, that face...!"
And before Tsukasa could say anything, before he could ask 'what was that' or 'please do this again', Senku was already showing his back to him.
"Well, see you in spring, handsome bastard. Please wear a shirt !" He joked with a lazy wave of his hand, but his voice was too raw, too full of things they'd have to discuss one day or another. "Or, y'know, before that. If you're up for another little meeting in the woods, send a pigeon."
Senku craned his head back to flash him one last dazzling smile, then he was gone. And if Tsukasa was itching to take him on his offer, he didn't run after him to say so just yet.
He merely brushed the corner of his mouth with his fingertips, feeling Senku's warmth that lingered here, and idly wondered what it would cost to experience it again.
Hm, maybe 5740 was the year the Empire of Might would learn how to domesticate pigeons... and the year Tsukasa would politely ask Yuzuriha for a shirt before spring came in.
With that ludicrous thought in mind and a weight lifted off his chest, Tsukasa turned back and marched into the new year.