Chapter Text
“January 4, 5756
Greetings Asagiri Gen,
The Kingdom of Science has yet to reach another milestone as we are currently working on a large-scale project. To attain this, we find that your skills are a necessity. Project WHY-MAN, once completed will guarantee meaningful progress and development to our new world.
As we know, your global talks, seminars, and performances are in a halt for the time being as stated in the “Stone 5755 magazine”-sourced from your latest interview by Minami Hokutozai. Therefore, we heavily implore you to visit on January 10, 5756. All expenses will be paid.
Note: Do not disclose the contents of this letter to anyone, this topic is classified confidential.
Hope to see you back in Japan, General. Safe travels!
Highest Regards,
Dr. Xeno Houston Wingfield”
Gen spat cola all over his rather flamboyant outfit, having received the letter from an anonymous sender in Brazil right after one of his biggest performances was shocking. Even more so that it was sent by the ‘Sinister’ Xeno Houston Wingfield, or so he thought. In the last few months, the busy man hadn’t had any time to read over any letters from Japan given his eccentric routine: Wake up and get ready at 6AM, Consult with his manager at 7:30, then go on to do shows and bring the nations together for the rest of the day. Okay! It may sound like an exaggeration, but it’s true. He could babble on and on about the times where the tension in those rooms itself could bring about World War III, where every word that slipped through that snake mouth of his was equivalent to a sword, a parry, slash, and dodge. Fortunately, Asagiri Gen had the sharpest sword in the book, none could match the aura and epitome of said man.
If his dear scientist friend of his were here, he’d incessantly taunt him about how the latter would constantly complain and whine about Stone world labor.
The man had to be honest though, when he thought about that white-haired man with pointy green tips, he was rather disappointed than elated soon as a thought ran about their adventures. Out of everyone from his old peers, Senku was the only one who’d never dared to send him a letter. Other than the Nanami Conglomerate constantly insisting job offers, sponsorships, and donations, or the rest of the team congratulating and checking up on him with every milestone, in those 5 years Ishigami Senku was now a distant memory, something that he once thought would never reach again. Something to only be forgotten in the passage of time.
That humiliating debacle 5 years ago is also a distant memory now, something gen wished he could push away to the back of his mind, yet pestering him as if it were some crippling sin.
Japan was Gen’s home. Heck -it still is. But cruel as fate could be, he had no choice but to leave. Set out to piece the world back together as if it was one of his riddles. The letter he held in his hand was already creasing at the sides the more he succumbed to his thoughts. Anger, sadness, and a flurry of emotions awashed the man as he crumpled the piece of paper. He felt his own statements from back then grab onto him from behind, “Senku-chan, Let’s go to hell together.”
Asagiri Gen did go to hell, but he was alone.
The fiery flames of the past burnt marks onto the man, once so painted with joy is now tainted by bitter sadness and regret.
“Woosh!” his hand sliced through the air, the piece of paper hitting the ground with a thud. Yet, as foolish as the man was, his “stubborness” overcome him. Stubborness? The tinge of regret in his eyes? Stubborness? When he picked the letter from the ground?
Maybe he was stubborn. The way he dejectedly placed it inside his right pocket. Or the way he exited the dressing room to go home. Yet, throughout all this, it was also the same kind of stubborn that by chance got him to meet the Stone World’s Albert Einstein.
It’s the same kind of stubborn you could see in the man’s eyes the second he chose to deliberately betray an empire full of witty, challenging, warriors over a little “ragtag band of merry youths playing with science”, yet because of this, it was the sole reason why he’s alive and breathing, and also why his heart is tied up in conflict.
—
The familiar scent of gasoline, cornstarch, and wine wafted in the air. Others would call it unpleasant, but gen would consider it as something that brought solace.
“Thank you, Mr. Joestar! Keep the tip~” Gen held out a stack of dragos to the shockingly built yet handsome taxi driver that also helped him take his luggage out of the trunk, “Good grief.”, he said, grumbling to the man next to him.
“Sorry Mr, I think I’ll be staying in Japan for a pretty long ime-tay so I brought a lot~” he pleaded, flashing one of his iconic performer smiles at the man before saying his goodbyes.
The car left abruptly, and gen just paused, dumbfounded to take the sights in after placing his suitcase down. He saw, the Harbor-Bosch plant placed in front of the old building, one of the few inventions that scared Gen out of his wits. On his right were a number of parked aircraft, the familiar 2-seat airplane that he and Senku once rode in. Looking to his left, was the cornfield the kingdom of Science once fought so hard for. Gen smiled so gently, a smile full of mirth and genuity after shows and shows of magic, acting, and death-defying negotiations. The feel of pollen against his skin and the sound of crinkling cigarette butts then caught his attention.
Cigarettes?
“Asagiri Gen.”
A familiar voice different from his broke the silence, snapping Gen from his trance. His head whipped around, to see a man with neatly slicked back hair with the usual arched eyebrows and relaxed-looking facial features.
“Stanley-san! It’s you.” Gen flicked a smile full of mirth the second he recognized the man, new scars were formed around the sides of his face, mirroring his victories. Even time was not forgiving to the Stone World's greatest marksman, as wrinkles were starting to form around his eyes and forehead. Still, Stanley Snyder just seemed to grow more handsome as time grew. Understandable on Xeno’s part.
“Xeno sent me to fetch you.”, he said, pulling another cigarette stick out of the box Xeno made for him.
“…Oh. Didn’t you guys revive recruits? Any other pilot would be ine-fay!”
“…Xeno sent me. Besides, I’m most familiar with this route.” Stanley rolled his eyes, and flashed a half-assed sardonic smile at him. “After all, who else could be trusted to drive the plane of one of the oh-so-amazing stone world pillars then.”
“You literally tried to kill Senku and kept me on a polygraph for days. Not to mention the others pointing a gun to my head, how ruel-cay~”
“You understand. We were enemies, it’s basic logic and human intuition to not trust one another, besides. You guys got one of our planes too, which –ironically is the same one we scrapped to make the plane we are using today..” Stanley was right, and gen had no other point to articulate towards the man, so he just let out a pout. In his usual arms-under-sleeves stance, Stanley gestured gen to follow him as they both headed for the area opposite the corn fields.
Stanley led the man onto the 2-seater airplane as gen marvelled at the interior. So many things have changed over the past 5 years as his fingers travelled through the leather seats and digital control panel, it looks almost the same if not better than the planes in the old world. While inside, the other man filled in the clipboard that read “Preflight Checklist for pilots” placed in the cabin, presumably from Xeno given how careless Stanley is about safety.
He sluggishly looked at the clipboard, checking the boxes one by one: “Hmm, Brakes set, check. Cabin doors latched, check. Flight controls ready and working, check. Fuel, 100%, Auxiliary Fuel pump - off, Radios - checked and set. Landing gear position lights - checked and set, Altimeter - set. Directional Gyro - set. Fuel gauges - set. Trim - set.”
“We are set for takeoff. Ready?” he said nonchalantly, turning his head towards Gen, who was visibly jittery. “Relax. The chances of this plane crashing is one in 1.2 million, and I one hundred percent guarantee that we won’t.”
“Thank you Stanley-san, but I’m not worried about crashing.” Gen hesitated. “It’s nothing. I’m ready.”
“The total flight duration to Japan will be around…” Stanley paused, and let out a tsk. “An estimate of 21 hours and 30 minutes. With the weather being pretty decent today, we can cut it to around 20 hours or less ,but we’ll never know the approximate given its unpredictable nature. We’ll be taking the normal route, and yada yada yada just sit down nicely and behave.”
“Hahahahahaaaaaaah…okay.” Gen replied in a faint tone. In minutes, the familiar sensation of takeoff coursed through the man’s body as the plane soar through the skies, rather than the usual turbulence there were barely any problems so far. Gen gleefully watched out the window, admiring the contrasting pink and orange hues transfixed with the golden rays of the sun. As he patiently watched out the window, the sun set and the stars from the horizon shone so brightly. This is one of the times where the man just wished he could stop time, he vaguely remembers being unable to see the skies so clearly in the old world, yet –after he woke up from the petrification, the most lucid memories he had of the stars were when he’d share the view with the scientist.
As the familiar sense of coziness and comfort enveloped his body, the temperature dropped and so did his eyelids, falling into a haze of the world of dreams.
In this dreamscape, he found himself reliving another memory, sitting in a familiar environment as he gazed at the stars, once unappreciated but now something he held dear. His eyes twinkled at the sight with the sides of his mouth beaming from ear-to-ear. The room succumbed to silence as gen carefully listened to the sounds of water droplets falling, faint snoring, and cats purring.
Not for long though, as the sound of a door latch from behind startled the man.
“Mentalist, called for me?” Sharp red eyes with white hair that faded to green peeked curiously from the door as he let out a smile of relief seeing the silhouette in the room. “You’re here.”
Oh. This memory again? Gen scoffed, involuntarily replying to the man.
“I’m here, Senku-chan.” He said in reassurance, patting the spot next to him as he gave him a smile, one that does not reach his eyes, “Sit, please. We…need to talk.” Gen slurred as he drawled out another hesitant phrase.
“Oh please.” he let out a huff, “Don’t give me that bullshit. Save that for our milestones. I’m pretty sure there’s more to come, plus I’m up for challenges.” Senku rolled his eyes as he pat his clothes, sitting on the spot Gen saved for him.
“Trying to shake it off by being ragmatic-pay? Sounds corny for you darling.” Gen internally groaned.
“ ‘Kay. I’m just saying.”
“Anyways,” Gen huffed and straightened his posture before continuing.
“Have you ever heard of the Color wheel model of love?”
“Maybe. I’ve skimmed through one article on the internet, but that was about it. The one proposed by John Alan Lee? I vaguely remember him advocating for the rights to die before he croaked.”
“Cha-ching! Correct as always, dear Senku. But, I guess it’s my ime-tay to shine.” Gen teasingly leaned onto Senku, glaring at the man with a devious smile.
“Alright, spill.” Senku flashed a lopsided smile.
“In the psychology of love, there are three colors to mix with to create various fascinating shades of love.” Gen paused, met with a look of curiosity from the other.
“Go on.”
“For the fundamentals —Ludus ,blue: refers to love as a game, Eros ,red: means to love the ideal person, and lastly, Storge ,yellow: love as friendship.
First, there was Eros, It’s intense love formed by chemistry, instinct, and lust. Then, there was Ludus.”
“--If I remember correctly, ludus falls under the subcategories of game or sport when translated into English, am I right?”
“Cha-Ching! Correct again Senku-chan. Having a ludic relationship with someone means childish fun, it’s temporary and doesn’t include any serious attachment. People who relate to this category view love as a game, meaning they’re reluctant to be part of long-term relationships, people like Mozu-chan.”
“And then?”
“And then there was Storge.” Gen paused as his fingers nervously fidgeted under his sleeves, “Storge, is natural love. Quite familiar to the kind of love between you and Byakuya-san.”, he chuckled, to which the other man kept quiet.
“In other words, it’s referred to as ‘cherishing one’s kindred’, a mutual love between parents and children; wives and husbands, you know?”
“Mhm.”
“Storge needs trust and loyalty, it’s the basic foundation for that kind of love to develop. It happens when people become friends or partners for years, days, hours, heck– even in minutes given how interesting the human mind is.”
“Noted. What are you getting on?”
“That’s for you to think about, Senku-chan.” Gen poked the wrinkles forming between Senku’s furrowed eyebrows. “Now, when we mix these ‘colors’, it forms secondary traits and creates a whole new shade, similar to how angles make various shapes in geometry, it does too with varying colors.”
“Pragma is similar to how you view your relationship with Luna-chan. It’s primary traits are Ludus and Storge. This is a relationship style seen as a business arrangement, or what you referred to as a “political marriage”, haha. It lies entirely on calculations and logic, much like you dear Senku.”
“Funny. Continue.”
“Mania, which stems from the word Manic is self-explanatory. It’s a codependent relationship, need and obsession are viewed as passion and intense love. It can jump from extremes to really distance whereas sexual intimacy is minimally enjoyed.
I believe that the last one would be a mix between…” Gen counted three of his fingers, “Ah! Eros and Storge.”
“Agape. It means goodwill and benevolence, these relationships are where both partners mutually respect and devote themselves to one another. Out of all forms of love, I believe it to be the purest. An agape lover gives unconditional love and is all-giving.
Partners will sacrifice their needs without being upset. It’s a love full of nobility and selflessness, isn’t that adorable Senku-chan? Though you’d probably say that it’s cringe.”
Senku let out a sigh as he looked towards the sky, “ It is, that’s the second time today. Aren’t you getting sentimental?” He said teasingly.
Gen pulled out a box, carefully wrapped in purple fabric. As his hands retreated from his left pocket, he smiled at Senku, though it was obvious of his hesitancy as his eyebrows furrowed a bit before speaking. “Well, this is my parting gift Senku-chan.”
Unwrapping the box, he held an orange gemstone in his hand, a padparadascha. It is said to be one of the rarest, most precious gemstones in the world. The sapphire’s luminosity shone in the moonlight as it reflected the moonglow from its surface, the blend of orange -with bits of pink and yellow caught Senku’s eyes. It has impurities in terms of shape, but nevertheless, it’s beautiful.
Senku reevaluated Gen’s words before realizing -similar to a green light infiltrating Earth’s crust on a perfect day turning humanity into stone, Senku’s expression twisted from a face of leisure to one of bewilderment. It was as if the world just ended, it was as if all balance in the world was eradicated, or how Earth was finally thrown off of its axis.
“Parting gift?”