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From the moment that you chose to go with Senku to find the village instead of with Taiju and Yuzuriha, you knew that you were signing up for long nights of hard labor. You had already gotten used to being worked to the bone from the moment that you were revived - and honestly, you didn’t really mind it. Working endlessly alongside Senku helped distract your mind from fully sinking into the reality of the world now.
It was really only at night now that your mind had time to soak in exactly what had happened. That you’d awoken from a world-ending, cataclysmic event that - by all means - should’ve been the end of humanity. It was a miracle that you were awake and alive right now, sleeping under the same stars that you did thousands of years ago. If it weren’t for Senku…
… you didn’t really want to think about it. There was no use dwelling on that, anyway - that’s what Senku had told you when you brought it up before. Why waste time thinking about what would’ve happened in other realities when there was still so much to be done in this one?
As much as you wanted to follow through with that fully, it was hard to sometimes. Especially when you had excess time to think at night.
That’s when something else caught your attention - the smell of something burning.
You sat up with a jolt from where you’d been sleeping in Chrome’s hut - and when you looked over to check on Senku, your stomach dropped when you realized he wasn’t there.
When did he get up? You thought, running back through your mind to try and remember if you heard him leave. I’ve been awake for the past hour just laying here, and I never noticed. I didn’t think he could be that quiet.
You pushed the blanket you’d been using aside, standing up and heading toward the ladder. As soon as you could see outside, sure enough, Senku was sitting there by a fire. His attention was entirely on the flames, his ruby eyes not straying from them. You descended the ladder, approaching him slowly before taking a seat next to him on the log. “You know, if you keep staring, you’re going to damage your eyes,” you teased.
“Actually, campfires don’t put out a noteworthy amount of UV radiation, and that’s the main factor to consider when it comes to long-term eye damage,” Senku responded immediately, glancing away from the fire momentarily to look at you. “The most dangerous part would really be the smoke and ash, which has a higher chance of really screwing anything up. Lucky for us, there’s almost no wind right now, so we’re not at any risk of getting it blown into our faces. Even if there was a breeze, we’re sitting up-wind.”
“I really should’ve expected an answer like that coming from you,” you sighed playfully. His attention was now almost entirely on you, his jewel toned eyes locked onto your own. “You can’t sleep either, then? Is there something keeping you awake?”
Senku hesitated for a moment, the fire illuminating his features as a brief flash of uncertainty passed his face. “I keep making mistakes,” he admitted softly after a moment. “Things that would be obvious to real scientists, but I miss. Even when they’re insignificant, I can’t help but get this sinking feeling afterward that I’m forgetting something huge.”
You hummed as you listened. Your chest hurt for him as he spoke. It wasn’t often that Senku opened up to anyone, really, so you didn’t want to say the wrong thing or say something that made him never want to open up again, so you chose her words carefully. “Why do you say it like that? ‘Real scientist’, I mean. You are a real scientist.”
He laughed softly, the laughter truly directed at himself. “I wasn’t, really. Just a kid who was soaking up information like a sponge. I hadn’t had a chance to really make a real scientist out of myself yet.”
“Oh, and I suppose all real scientists have never made an oversight or a mistake in their life?” You teased, bumping his shoulder with yours. “You’re a real scientist, Senku. You’ve also been put in a situation that real scientists likely would’ve never thought was possible. You put the world on your shoulders when you expect yourself to remember everything at once and single-handedly bring back scientific civilization. It’s okay to rely on others, you know? When you trust them, they’re able to point out things you missed without making you feel like you just make mistake after mistake… because you don’t.”
You’ve done a lot of things right, you wanted to say. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you.
However, you knew Senku. He wasn’t the type to get emotional and really soak in those feelings and words of comfort. He responded much better to emotions and logic dealt out equally.
So, for now, you kept that thought to yourself. You could tell him another day just how grateful you were that he revived you, that he brought you back from the darkness.
It seemed as if you made the right choice too, because after a moment, Senku cracked a smile and bumped you back on the shoulder. “I hope you’re ready for me to rely on you, then. Because if you think the work we’ve already done is hard… we’re just getting started.”
You smiled back at him. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”