Chapter Text
Ukyo was a rather simple person. He thought so, anyway. He was calm more often than not, he was kind, he liked bread, and he liked having peace and quiet from time to time—but in the Kingdom of Science, that could be difficult to come by. Ukyo’s gotten more or less used to it, though it didn’t change the fact that he’d like to get a full night’s sleep for once. It was tough trying to rest with hearing like his. It was both a blessing and a curse.
Whenever Ukyo felt that the sounds around him became overwhelming, he would sneak off to a nearby beach. Hearing the tide lazily wash against the shore and feeling the sand under his feet were nice sensations. He enjoyed the sound of the waves, too. There was something so tranquil about it that he couldn’t help but feel at peace. It helped him think.
The ocean is beautiful. It is home to many wonderful creatures, it’s calm, it’s harsh when it storms, and it has a way of swallowing you whole if you aren’t careful. The quiet, shallow waters are what reel you in. They make you feel safe, they are familiar, and they seem harmless. But what truly lies beyond them, in the vast, deep darkness that is the ocean’s very bottom? Is anyone out there brave or persistent enough to dive that deep and find out?
Ukyo shook himself out of those thoughts before too long. Dwelling on things like that won’t do him any good. As he gazed at the waves one last time before leaving, he couldn’t help but wonder, what was it that drew him to them so much? How come he was at peace, even when the waves crashed harshly and mercilessly against the quiet shore, and it hurt his sensitive ears?
By the time he got back to camp, the sun was already up. He was good at being sneaky; his hearing allowed him to know if anyone was coming. Truly, a blessing and a curse. So, it didn’t surprise him when he heard a voice. He recognized the footsteps that approached. It was Gen, their resident mentalist, whom Ukyo had gotten quite close to.
“There you are, dear Ukyo! Where have you been? I was getting horribly lonely here,” he complained, exaggerating like the showman he is. Gen has always been somewhat dramatic, after all.
“I just went on a morning stroll. It’s not easy trying to remain sane with you lot around,” Ukyo responded, offering nothing more than a practiced polite smile to Gen. He was being only half serious. It could be difficult trying not to go crazy at times. The members of the Kingdom of Science were a bunch of loud, and sometimes obnoxious idiots. But they were Ukyo’s idiots, so it was okay.
“My, how so very cruel of you! You wound us, you truly do!” Gen feigned being hurt by Ukyo’s words, though to anyone who knew the mentalist at all, it was clear that he didn’t mean it. And before Ukyo could even think to respond, Gen spoke again, with that usual scheming smile of his that indicated he was up to no good. “Anyway, dear Senku was being a weirdo again. But, then again, when is he not? He went off with dear Minami and the others to find us a captain, and I was getting wicked bored around here!”
Ukyo almost couldn’t help but chuckle at Gen’s words. Wicked bored, huh? Yeah, sounds just about right. “If you were so bored, why didn’t you start on any work? I’m sure there is plenty to do around here,” he said. He was just teasing Gen; the man absolutely hated manual labor, but it’s unfortunately a part of daily life in the Kingdom of Science.
“Low blow, dear Ukyo, low blow! How uncalled for,” Gen protested and retorted, earning an amused scoff from the white-haired man next to him. After a rare moment of rather pleasant silence, Gen opened his mouth to speak again. “I do wonder who they will bring back as our captain. Does anyone out there have the skillset we need?”
“Valid concerns. I do wonder as well… But, if anyone can find exactly who we need, it’s our star reporter, Minami.” Ukyo hummed in response as he snuck in a glance in the direction of the beach where he’d been just moments earlier. The conversation faded out to him after that point; he was more focused on his thoughts.
It wasn’t long before Ukyo was drawn to the beach again. Senku and the others had brought their captain, and just from first impressions, he was a very loud man. Ukyo needed a break from that—desperately so. The beach seemed like the perfect place to go; it was nearby, it helped him calm down, and it helped him clear his head and think. The perfect place to disappear off to. He found himself somewhat pulled in by the clear, shallow waters. They felt safe. Known. But they felt cold. There was no need to go any deeper; the shallow seawater that reached his ankles was okay, he thought. It was tranquil and free of the endless clashing of words and voices, which were instead replaced by the slow and quiet sound of the seawater washing up on the shore at his feet. If it were possible, maybe Ukyo would stay in the safety of those shallow waters forever. But it’s not. He knows that. And maybe, just maybe, that thought is scary. Anyone wanting to dive in on their own is a fool.
He was ripped out of those musings as he heard a voice. A loud one that unmistakably belonged to their new captain, Nanami Ryusui. Ukyo had no strong opinion on the man—not yet. He recalled seeing some colorful article titles about him from modern times, but he’s never been one to read gossip tabloids.
“HA HA! It would seem someone else has already discovered this beautiful place! What a shame, I was hoping to be the first,” Ryusui proclaimed casually, as if he’d known Ukyo for years.
“How unfortunate, then. I like to come here whenever the camp becomes too noisy.” Ukyo smiled dryly. His hopes of a quiet retreat had gone out the window with Ryusui’s presence. Even the man’s speaking volume was loud. Not so loud it hurt Ukyo’s ears, but loud enough that it was slightly annoying.
“I see. Well, what a lovely place to retreat to, indeed! Although you should be careful; high tide is coming soon.”
“Ah, is it? I had no idea,” Ukyo admitted, gazing out towards the horizon. He never knew when the tide was coming; it always simply came crashing in. And when it did, it could be devastating. Whenever it came, and he found himself alone, it was terrifying. The ocean, for as beautiful as it was, was also a horrifying place. Yet, Ukyo felt strangely at ease with Ryusui there. He was unsure whether it was because of Ryusui himself or merely because someone else was with him, and it would have been the same regardless of who stood there.
“It is! Never doubt a sailor’s instincts, my friend,” Ryusui responded with a very boisterous and attention-demanding aura that one would expect from someone like him. Clearly, the man was confident in his skills as well as in himself; Ukyo could discern that much. Normally, the white-haired man would have left by now, but even though Ryusui was quite loud, there was something that made him want to keep entertaining this fleeting conversation—as if some invisible force were pulling him in, making him want to stay, like the very gravity that was keeping everything on planet Earth grounded.
“Sailor’s instincts, huh? Is that what this is?” Ukyo quirked up an eyebrow, though Ryusui couldn’t see it. Ukyo wasn’t looking his way, after all. Despite the noise, the beach was still rather pleasant. The breeze brushing against his face, the sand beneath his feet, and even the slight salty tinge the seawater left in the air were quite calming. Ryusui’s presence was also adding something Ukyo couldn’t quite describe to those feelings. He wasn’t quite sure if he wanted to name that feeling, though.
“That is so! So, let’s make our way back to camp. It’d be a shame if the tide swallowed us up!” The blond man said, holding his hand out for Ukyo to take. It wasn’t taken. He could walk out of the shallow waters on his own. But still, as he walked back to the sand and got his shoes on, he at least offered Ryusui a smile. A practiced, polite smile he’d spent years perfecting.
Ukyo truly wasn’t all too surprised when Ryusui was the one leading the conversation on their way back. Actually, conversation might be a strong word. It was more so Ryusui’s monologue and Ukyo’s occasional hum or nod in response. This man cannot shut his mouth, can he?
“I’d like to believe I caught up on what everyone’s deal is! Except yours. You’re oddly evasive,” Ryusui commented without as much as a shred of awkwardness. Has he no shame?
“Well, I suppose you’ll just have to try harder, won’t you?”
“HA HA! I do love me a challenge!!” The blond laughed. Ukyo wasn't giving the man any answers, yet he seemed intrigued. Excited, almost. And Ukyo wasn’t entirely sure if that was a good thing or not. Ryusui seemed exactly like the type of person who would dive right to the ocean’s very bottom if he were given the chance; the man was confident, annoyingly so, and he would go without a second thought. That was the impression he gave Ukyo anyway…
Honestly, Ukyo was almost glad he was one of the three people picked to look for the Sagara oil fields. Maybe being away from the endless noise will help him. As he, Kohaku, and Chrome follow the map Senku had drawn for them, Ukyo was torn out of thought as he heard something in the distance: a waterfall. Kohaku immediately took the initiative and climbed up a tree, all but confirming that there was a waterfall in the distance. The three of them rushed over, and Ukyo almost couldn't believe his eyes. He was pretty sure this waterfall wasn’t there before the world got petrified. It almost looked like a Japanese Niagara Falls. It seems that they’ve greatly underestimated how long 3700 years really is.
It didn’t come as a surprise to Ukyo when Chrome rushed out and headed back to camp the second he heard they were making a hot air balloon. Or, a ‘flying machine’, as he’d called it. Ukyo’s grown quite fond of the boy; his curiosity about the world, wanting to know and learn everything about it, was quite adorable to him. He wondered if Chrome is the exact type of person to go into the ocean’s depths if given the opportunity, just like Ryusui. He knew the boy wanted to learn everything about their world—that much was clear to anyone who met him and spent any more than 5 minutes in his presence. Chrome was someone who could be bold. He was brave. The polar opposite of Ukyo, who was nothing but a coward. The biggest coward there is. And he knew that about himself; it was one of the things he told Senku way back when they were negotiating cooperation. Ukyo was a coward. And he couldn’t escape that undeniable fact like he escaped the noise.
They truly did it. The hot air balloon arrived to Ishigami village mostly okay. The cloth got torn, and they were caught in a storm, but Chrome, Senku and Ryusui were all unharmed. That’s good, Ukyo thought. Though he wasn’t very thrilled with Ryusui’s presence. He wasn’t annoyed either. He was simply not sure how to feel at this point. The man was loud, greedy, and even somewhat obnoxious. But Ukyo could admit that the man was surprisingly genuine and earnest with what he said. He hadn’t expected that from someone like Ryusui. Well, Ukyo could give credit where credit was due, and Ryusui did deserve some.
Ukyo had found a new place to vanish whenever the noise (read: Ryusui) became too much: the forest. Ukyo had found climbing up on a branch and sitting on it while he did his work to be quite relaxing. Especially when he was working on organizing his notes. Before meeting up with Senku to work on the new map, he liked to organize the notes he took on the ground with Chrome. Since the other boy couldn’t write yet—though he was learning and making fast progress—the bookkeeping and note taking fell to Ukyo. The reorganizing was just a personal touch. Another component of his rather simple personality. He was ripped out of his peaceful state when he heard a loud, booming voice beneath him, which caused him to stiffen slightly. It was Ryusui.
“HA HA!” Ryusui laughed confidently. At this point, it was like his signature laugh. “Just what are you doing up there? Not skipping out on your duties, I hope,” the man said with an air of self-assuredness. Ukyo just let out an amused scoff in response. Well, there go his hopes of organizing the day’s notes in peace… He glared down at Ryusui, who was looking up at him from below.
“Do I look like Gen to you? I’m almost offended,” Ukyo responded, raising a brow. Gen wasn’t even there, but he simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity to poke fun at his best friend. As he was looking down, he noticed the intense look on the other man’s face. The fire in those eyes could burn the forest…
“You do not! That being said, what are you doing?”
“Organizing today’s notes,” Ukyo replied simply, turning his attention back to the paper notebook he had with him. He was almost done, so without thinking, he asked. “And what are you doing all the way out here? I doubt it’s just a stroll.”
“HA HA! Right you are! Senku was looking for you,” Ryusui stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. The air of confidence didn’t waver one bit. It seemed to have gotten even stronger, actually. Ukyo nodded. He should’ve expected something like that. The sun was beginning to set, and they needed to work on their map of the New World, and the notes Ukyo took were crucial for that.
“Arlight,” he said, “you can tell him I’ll be there soon. I just need to finish up here.”
“You got it! Don’t take too long!” Ryusui laughed before he was on his merry way. As the man’s footsteps faded away into quiet nothingness, Ukyo relaxed again. What an intense man Ryusui was… Ukyo simply sighed lightly as he finished up with organizing the notes he took throughout the day while they were looking for the Sagara oil fields. He climbed down from the tree, landing on the ground so silently that it looked effortless. Ukyo dusted himself off before heading for Ishigami village.
The sun was already halfway behind the horizon by the time he got back. He’d spent a little longer than he would’ve guessed in the forest. Whoops? Senku was working away on a side project while he waited for Ukyo. Chrome was assisting him, asking a million questions as he always did.
“There you are. I was starting to think you got eaten by a bear or something,” Senku said, hiding his words behind the mask of indifference he always wore. It didn’t fool Ukyo, though. He knew the boy liked to pretend that he didn’t care, even when he dod. So Ukyo didn’t take it to heart.
“Yes, I took a little longer than expected with organizing my notes today. Sorry about that. Let’s get started,” Ukyo said, laying the notebook in his hands on the table. As they worked on the map together, chatter faded out for him.
The moon was fully up, and it seemed to be pulling Ukyo outside. Beckoning him to itself, calling out to him, and dragging him out there as if he were the ocean’s tide. He felt at peace. Everyone was asleep, it was quiet outside, and amidst that peace, the moon shone brightly and beautifully in the night sky, illuminating everything below. Stars and constellations twinkled all around the moon, only adding to the already charming atmosphere. It was a breathtaking sight. He truly had no idea that this was what the night sky looked like, untainted, pure, with no light pollution to speak of. Ukyo didn’t even notice that someone was standing right next to him, gazing at the night sky with the same amount of appreciation as he did, until they spoke. It was Ryusui, but he seemed different—calmer, quieter than usual.
“Can’t sleep?”