Chapter Text
'Finally! I'll have Yuzu back in a world where there are just two dumbasses!'
At this moment, you're headed to bring your other best friend back to life.
Senku — noticing behind Taiju's brave face, he felt the desire to save his unofficial other half — offered Taiju the choice of deciding who to revive first.
Knowing that he doesn't freely reveal his soft side — yet nevertheless manages to do so with his incredibly sharp words — is admirable of him.
"This moment has finally come," Muttering under his breath, Taiju looked at the love of his life with pure admiration.
She is just as gorgeous as he has always recalled, even in her petrified state.
"If we pour this fluid on her, it will de-petrify her and she will be revived, right?" Even though Taiju already knew the answer, he inquired with excitement.
"Yeah, that's what should happen." Senku's lips curled into a truly nasty grin, "I've tried it on a piece of broken stone and it turned into a hunk of dead flesh."
You gave him a strange look and then let out a big sigh.
You really can't hold it against him since in order to learn something, you have to do anything.
But, to be honest, your experiment is more simple and useful than his.
It even has the potential to save the lives of those who are petrified, even if they are shattered.
Taiju shouted at Senku, stunned by the information, "Try to have a little respect for the dead, would you?!"
"That's disgusting." You commented which made Senku gave you a pretty offended expression.
Compared to the others, he definitely pays more attention to your words.
"I did make the effort to put them back together first, obviously. But it seems that when someone has died, reviving them is not an option." Senku went on, "I value their sacrifice. Perhaps you should pray for them."
Of course, he meant it in a sarcastic manner.
But, Taiju did so because he was simply a huge, naive guy.
"Oi, Taiju, don't waste any more time. We have to quickly bring your future girlfriend back to life. After then, you can pray for as long as you like." You laughed a little, taking the cup of revival fluid from Senku.
Taking in what you said, Taiju quickly pulled out several tangled roots around Yuzuriha.
It was impossible not to get a little excited about this.
After all, she's your best friend. You four have a close friendship - perhaps the greatest one.
Not to mention, she's also the only other girl in the group, so you're always talking and gossiping with her.
You and she both valued each other.
Before you could even pour the revival fluid on Yuzuriha, Taiju's eyes widened, instantly poking his two fingers into Senku's eyeballs.
"Wait, Senku! Yuzuriha is NAKED!"
That caused Senku to fall harshly to the ground, to which you react by laughing loudly, like a hyena.
"BUAHAHAHAHAH!! You should've seen your face, lettuce head!!" You howled as you held your stomach because laughing way too hard while Senku gave you a sharp glare.
Taiju let out a loud shout, "We got to wait! We can't de-petrify her like that!"
"I know it's tough but would it kill you to try to use some logic for once? We are in Stone world, idiot. There's absolutely nobody around to give a damn if your butt showing or even if your dick's hanging out." Senku stared at his friend with the most exhausted expression on his face yet.
But as soon as he looked into your eyes, he knew that what he just said was terribly improper.
He basically happened to look directly into your disgusted stare.
Like, truly disgusted.
How could he have said that in front of you? It may be a stone age, but being publicly nude is certainly not an ideal manner in society.
"Pervert."
"NO, I'M NOT!"
Senku yelled out, yet there was nothing but fear on his face.
If you judge someone, your words will always stab deep into their heart, including Senku.
"Yuzuriha does not have a dick!" Taiju shouted loudly, causing you to stop looking strangely at Senku and instead focus on Taiju.
"How the hell can you say that so casually?" You gave Taiju a confused, disgusted frown, "You're missing the point, Taiju."
These two teens are just that; Boys.
You need Yuzuriha as soon as possible.
They were acting like kids, therefore you sighed and pressed your palm to your face dissapointedly.
With that, you effortlessly grip Yuzuriha's petrified body, leaving the two boys in awe of your power but also frightened.
They're finally shutting up, knowing that your hidden strength allows you to crush them like nothing if you want.
"We can bring Yuzuriha back to base, dress her, and then revive her. As easy as that, idiots." Rolling your eyes, you returned the fluid to Senku.
Senku asked casually, merely shrugging his shoulders, "Okay. But, how heavy is that statue anyway?"
"You better not be calling her fat!" Taiju shouted once more into your ears, causing you to deadpan towards him.
Is your best friend really that stupid?
"Again, you're missing the point." You sighed before handing Yuzuriha's petrified body to Taiju so he could be the one carrying it.
With gratitude, he took her into his arms and held her delicately, turning into a true gentleman.
"Isn't it faster to de-petrify Yuzuriha here and have her walk there with us?" With a bored expression, you crossed your arms, "We could simply give her a few bushes and vines to use as her clothing for now, y'know?"
Just as Senku opened his mouth to speak, there was a deep animal growl and trees cracking and shattering, which suddenly shook the three of you.
Your two closest friends were standing behind you, waiting to see what was going on. With that, you put out your sharpened bamboo and spun it with one hand professionally before pointing it to the unidentified sound.
In the shadows, the three of you started to notice many pairs of eyes emerge from the darkness.
You could say that this is a lot like the first time you met Arthur, your first animal companion.
"Lettuce head... Taiju.... I want you to run now." You ordered in a low voice, leading Senku and Taiju to stare at each other with concern.
"W-What?" With sweat already trickling down his brow, Taiju inquired again, obviously concerned about your terrified look.
He could not move.
Senku, too, was locked in place.
"RUN. NOW!"
You shouted, surprising the two boys with your abruptly raised voice.
You rapidly pushed both of the boys' backs, leading them to immediately move their bodies.
Thus, they did.
In a split second, other lions appeared and sprang out, chasing the three of you at a steady pace.
Some of them even accelerated to get closer to you.
Not to add, since they are all female lions, they are all out hunting and prepared to provide their freshly obtained food to their leader.
"Why are there lions walking around Japan?!" Looking back to make sure that the lions were still following, Taiju let out a cry.
Senku was also panicking out, his face looking like someone about to wet their own pants out of fear, "What do you think?! They came out of the zoo, obviously! The staff must've been petrified while the door was open or something!"
"Without humans to contain them, all the herbivores were likely on the menu." You added with a nervous but thrilled grin, despite the fact that sweat was dripping heavily down your chin.
"Once they got out into the city, I'm sure it was a pet buffet." You grumbled, 'How come I never considered this possibility? I met Arthur; of course there must be more lions out there!'
"They finally live out their names as the king of beasts. The Stone World is brutal and we can't let ourselves forget that humans aren't at the top of the food chain anymore!" Senku let out a yell just before the three of you leaped off a cliff and landed on a very rough surface.
Taiju falls first, followed by your graceful landing on top of him.
Senku, on the other hand, landed in your arms. He quickly pushed you away as soon as he felt that his heart was beating more quickly — clearly not due to the adrenaline surge he was experiencing from being chased by many lions.
"(Name), can't you just tame them?!" Taiju complained, sprinting forward before catching up with Senku, who was already panting crazily.
"You think I'm Snow White?! I'm not an animals' specialist or a tamer! Yes, I learnt about them and adored them, but there is no way in hell I can tame them in a snap!" You scoffed.
"Then why haven't the lions actually attacked us yet?!" TTaiju asked, which made Senku laughed quietly in response, "They probably never seen two-legged creatures like us. We looked creepy as hell to them."
"We are the only humans in this world." Taiju proceeded, beginning to understand.
"We definitely spook them. But, it's just a matter of time." Senku continued to explain, causing him to lose his breath easily, "Even if we get super lucky and make it back to the base in time, we can only fight them using spears."
"This is game over from the very beginning," You muttered as you concentrated on sprinting faster, which is exactly what you did - you were already several steps ahead of Senku and Taiju.
The thought caused Taiju's eyes to widen, stopping suddenly and threw Yuzuriha's petrified body towards you, who thankfully catched it skillfully.
Then, as if he would take the lions on himself, Taiju whirled around and faced them.
That undoubtedly made your eyes widened. You were aware of his stupidity, but up until this point, was he really this stupid!?
"Both of you dying now is not an option! Senku, you have incredible scientific knowledge while (Name), you possess every skill imaginable!" Taiju explained, but it was obvious he was trembling and afraid, "You two are the last fortress of mankind! If something happens, I'll be your shield-"
Senku rejected right away, shouting more louder than Taiju, "No way! Use some logic for once, Taiju. I'm the brains, goldfish is our balancer, and you are our brawn, obviously. If humanity is gonna live on, the three of us need to as well!"
More than the lions, you kept talking firmly and with a stern attitude that manage to make Taiju shrink in nervousness, "If we're gonna make a run for it, we have do it together! Your physical ability is your selling point, yet you're no fighter. You've never even hit someone since we were little!"
"Alright. I got it." Taiju replied firmly.
Before long, Taiju seemed to think about something as the three of you were running again.
Taiju leads the way, so Senku and you follow suit to get where he wants.
"If we can't outrun them, I thought of something we can do instead!" Taiju stated, pointing towards a particular statue that you were all familiar with.
"Not long ago, I found the 'Strongest Primate High Schooler', Shishio Tsukasa!"
You examined him more closely and saw that he was quite muscular. His statue was sitting in the open among some trees as his body covered in moss.
"Enough with the talking!" You ordered, closing everyone's lips. Afterwards, you gave Senku a firm nod, stating, "Senku, pour the fluid now."
Following your order, Senku hurriedly poured the liquid over Tsukasa's head to wake him up.
As the lions got closer, the three of you were surrounded by them.
Senku was holding a little axe while you were standing in front of them both with a sharpened bamboo in your hand, preparing yourself for the worst.
However, all of you heard the stone start to crack.
A signal that Shishio Tsukasa has at last succeeded to get away from the sense of nothingness.
"Sorry! I know this isn't what you want to wake up to after sleeping for a few thousand years!" Taiju frantically apologized to Tsukasa, who only sent him a very stern glance.
With that, that's when you heard the new person reply in a low but loud voice, "What's our situation?"
Senku and you were both staring at each other in disbelief before becoming calm.
Smirking towards Tsukasa, you gave him a fast, calm explanation, "Your body is covered in stone fragments. Lions are now surrounding us from nine to two o'clock."
"Okay." Tsukasa hardly had time to respond before getting up from his position easily.
He easily and swiftly defeated the lions before tossing some of his broken stone fragments in their direction, hitting Taiju by mistake.
All of a sudden, Arthur, your lion, stepped from behind the bushes and attacked the male lion - the pack's leader.
That definitely caught you and Senku off guard.
Since he hasn't been seen in a few months, you may have assumed that Arthur has either passed away or is no longer in Japan.
"Arthur!" You grinned enthusiastically, causing Senku to smile as well, unaware that he was doing so.
Tsukasa and Arthur defeat every lion with ease; Tsukasa killed one of the females while Arthur took down the leader.
Upon realizing that their king had been defeated, the rest began to flee into the unknown.
Arthur, on the other hand, acknowledged your presence and stepped closer to you before bowing once again.
You just smirked at the sight and chuckled, "You did great, good boy."
You then patted Arthur's head, which he received graciously with a purr.
Afterwards, he walked away like he always does, knowing that you two will cross paths again eventually.
Then you looked up at Tsukasa, who was vowing in all of his gorgeous and nude glory, "You can fill me in on all the details later but I owe you. So, I'll make you this promise. From now on, the three of you will not be in danger again. Because after this, I'll take care of all the fighting."
You were simply staring at him, possible that your adoration for his attractive physique was obvious as well - you rarely see someone with such abs and such natural magnificence.
Senku, on the other hand, was unimpressed with the way you acted toward the new guy. He abruptly covered your eyes with his palm in an aggressive way, causing you to grimace in response to his harshness.
With a broad smile on his face, Taiju was clearly thrilled about this, "You hear that, Senku!? We had brains, brawn, and balancer, but now we also have brute force on the team!"
"I have a nagging feeling that Shishio may be a little bit too strong. What if it turns out that he's actually some evil homicidal sex-crazed wannabe tyrant? He's so overpowered, he just killed a lion with his bare hands." Senku clarified while continuing to shield your eyes with his palm, despite your best efforts to remove it.
"In a world without guns, he's ten billion percent unstoppable."
Somehow, you proceed to add Senku explanation, grinning tauntingly, "Imagine if Yuzuriha is interested in such person. She will be the first woman to join his harem."
While Taiju let out a loud shriek, wiping several dramatic tears, Senku only gazed at you strangely, "How come Yuzuriha is going to be the first, not you?"
Even as you attempted to respond, Taiju was already complaining and becoming anxious, "No! I don't want to let that happen! Senku, I'm sure you too don't want it to happen to (Name)!"
"Hey, guys?"
Suddenly, Tsukasa spoke out of nowhere, drawing your attention away from the previous conversation, "Do you have anything I could use to butcher this with? A knife or at least something sharp if that's all we've got."
"Are you thinking about eating that thing? Are lions even edible?" Taiju questioned in shock. Simply, Senku replied, "They're not poisonous but it's super tough and reeks of ammonia."
"Not to mention, it tastes bad." Nonchalantly shrugging your shoulders, you told Taiju.
"Where the hell did you eat lion?!"
"When we were in Africa." Senku answered easily, "I was doing research on Ebola while this goldfish right here was researching the marine biota to determine whether the drastic climatic changes in Africa have affected the creatures' everyday routines."
"What kind of high school kids are you two?!"
Then, Tsukasa interrupted them again, speaking in a really soothing tone, "Although it was attacking us, I took this noble creature's life. So, I want to give back to the circle of life by putting all of it to use. That's all."
After hearing such remarks, Taiju undoubtedly changed his mind right away. He was certain that Tsukasa was anything but a villain.
Still closing your eyes, Senku dragged you along with him so he could hand Tsukasa a knife to slice the lion.
Even if you and Senku didn't converse to each other, you both shared one brain cell, thus you each knew what the other was thinking.
This Shishio Tsukasa is undoubtedly kind, yet if you approach him carelessly, you could be in danger.
Not to mention, a real smooth talker too.
But that didn't matter - at least not right now.
The three of you then comfortably stroll back to the base, encountering no more challenges.
At first, Tsukasa was rather impressed with the base; it was fully functional and had enough supplies to last a week.
"Let me introduce myself again. I'm Shishio Tsukasa. Just call me Tsukasa." He held out his hand with a soft smile.
Senku didn't even bat an eye; Too busy repairing recently discovered items on his disorganized workstation. Though, he answered, "I suppose family names don't really mean much in this world. I'm Senku, the brainy one behind our scientific advancements. The other guy is Taiju, the simple one handles all of heavy lifting work."
Senku swiftly raised his head to look at your focused expression as you continued to study Tsukasa's gestures.
'She's analyzing him too, huh?'
"Next up is (Name); The skilled one, as well as the balancer of our team - merging brains and brawn together in one body."
Then, Taiju grabbed Tsukasa's hand, giving it a fim grip with a cheerful grin, "I'm Taiju, the simple one! It's true, (Name) and Senku do most of the thinking around here."
"(Name), huh?" Tsukasa hummed, 'Sounds familiar.'
Then, he went on, "What have you guys been surviving on?"
Senku shrugged his shoulders, "Mostly wild greens and mushrooms. Once in a while, we'll bag a rabbit for meat. But, there used to be plenty of fish and boars for us to eat."
"Oh, man! Lately, I've been dreaming about eating so much meat my belly explodes!" Taiju cracked a joke, which made you immediately pinch his ear strongly.
"Ouch! (Naammeee)!!"
"Oi, Taiju!" You stated, receving several whines from Taiju about how his ear hurt, "I stopped hunting for meat because you kept consuming all of our meat stockpile secretly! Even worse, throughout the past two weeks, you haven't let me handle the hunting because you want to strengthen your body! I told you that my hunting job is better than yours!"
Looking at it, Tsukasa chuckled a bit, "Well... The three of you won't have to survive on just that anymore. Now that I've joined you, you'll never be short of food again."
For the entire three days, Tsukasa truly reigned dominant among the creatures in this jungle.
He was able to hunt a great deal of animals; Starting from boars, ducks, fish, and so much more.
As of right now, Senku took all of you to the beach to go fishing.
Tsukasa prepared to throw his spear into the sea as Senku and Taiju built a fire.
Of course - being the lover of the ocean that you are - you chose to collect many samples from the sea.
Perhaps the particle in the water or sand has altered, or maybe some of the molecules have transformed into even more pure forms since it's a fresh start for nature to heal itself.
Although you didn't have any tools to analyze the sample right now, it wouldn't hurt to hold onto it for a little while.
Soon, at dusk, you returned to where you had previously smelt the delicacy of smoking fish that had been tied over the fire to clearly exploit the aldehydes in the smoke to kill the microorganisms on the fish.
"Smells nice."
You commented, while Tsukasa and Taiju nodded their heads as a hello.
"Welcome back, (Name)." Senku stated bluntly, not even giving you a brief glance.
He's merely overly preoccupied with the task infront of him.
But since he was always like this and you were too, you didn't mind.
"With me, (Name), and Senku working together, we should have plenty of preserved food," Tsukasa placed both of his hands on his hips, speaking boldly.
Senku then began to relieve his neck by cracking it before he let out a sigh of relief, "Yeah. We can take the first step towards civilization now."
"So, we're still on step zero?!" Taiju complained, shrieking it loudly.
Simply letting out a grumble, you knew you would rather not answer his questions any longer.
"Let's just eat. I'm starving." You told.
However, before you could touch any of the fish, Senku gently grasped your hand and moved it away.
"Not just yet, goldfish." Senku smirked, "4 more minutes."
You could only murmur in return, plopping yourself down on the soft sand, "I'm far too hungry to wait, lettuce head."
"You didn't even do anything." He looked at you with disbelief.
Despite the fact that you participated in activities like hunting, he is aware that you were not tired by them.
Though... Your stamina is far too complicated for him to determine what your limit is.
"Oh?! Do you have any idea how much energy I waste on convincing myself that I shouldn't immediately travel the entire world or dig far into the earth in order to build a microscope?!" You glared at him before covering your face with your fists.
"I need to know whether or not the water's molecules changed!"
Senku laughed a bit, placing his palm gently over your head, "You ocean-obsessed maniac."
"You space-obsessed maniac." You fired back, to which he grinned widely again in response.
Afterwards, he shifted to face the two people in front of him, starting to talk, "It's time to take a fun little pop quiz. In a scientific civilization, what's the most important component to have? Right answer will get you ten billion points."
Taiju and Tsukasa visibly begin to contemplate, whereas you already know the solution, having pointed it out to Senku.
Nonetheless, you want to make the rest think.
Taiju appeared to be thinking more deeply than necessary; He was always the person who had average scores in several subjects but was very terrible at pop quizzes.
Then, with a gasp, Taiju pointed enthusiastically towards Senku, "Smartphones!"
"Oh, sure! Yeahh! Smartphones will be great, wouldn't they?" Senku gave Taiju a fake, broad smile before his expression changed to one of annoyance, "We're not jumping ten billion years to the future, you big oaf!"
"Maybe iron?" Tsukasa spoke bluntly, although he seemed interested in the topic.
Senku hummed as he considered his response, still softly stroking your head. He then spoke once more, "Iron's pretty important but not at this stage. There's something far more crucial."
Because no one replied correctly, you sat up and responded easily, "It's calcium carbonate."
The words caused Taiju's eyes to widen, striking his fist with his palm, "I see! Once again, I have no idea what you're saying!"
"You mean lime?" Tsukasa inquired, and Senku nodded in response, "Correct. To put it simply for simple-minded Taiju, it's the stuff that was used to paint the white lines on sports fields."
Then, with another gasp, Taiju pointed enthusiastically towards you, "So that means we're gonna have to find a gym storage locker and grab some whatever-that-was carbonate?!"
"Oh, sure! Yeahh! Let's just head to the gym!" It's your turn now to force a huge smile before your entire demeanor turns genuinely evil; even Tsukasa and Senku backed off a little.
"Taiju, I adore you deeply as a friend, but don't be such an IDIOT! You THINK we'll find one after 3.700 years?!" You exploded, leading Taiju to scurry back as he smiled nervously.
You even seemed to be much larger than him when your shadow hovered darkly over him.
'Scary... Very scary.'
For once, Tsukasa, Taiju, and Senku are all thinking the same thing at the same time.
After noticing their expressions, you then let out an exaggerated sigh, releasing all that fury, "You know the shells you've been using to shave, Taiju?"
"Y-Yeah..." Taiju responded nervously, still frightened by your abrupt outburst.
With a little smile, you gently place a light green seashell in his palm, "If we pulverise them into a powder, we'll have plenty of calcium carbonate in no time."
The boy then quickly appeared fired up right away and proceeded to run around the shoreline, picking up every shell he found on the sand.
He even smashed and collected them enthusiastically a few times, leaving you with far more calcium carbonate than you required.
However, since you were able to use those items for more experiments, you kept it just in case.
Afterwards, Senku then gave Taiju and Tsukasa an explanation about the four uses for calcium carbonate.
First, it was used in agriculture to remove hydrogen ions from the soil.
Second, it was used for construction. It can be heated up and combined with sand to form mortar, which is similar to cement.
Third, for hygienic reasons. Seaweed is a good source of calcium carbonate, which when combined with oil produces soap.
You previously produced soap on a regular basis, usually by picking the seaweed by yourself. However, because you already have Taiju, you do not have to gather it anymore.
You wanted to, of course, but Senku would not stop asking you to join his experiments, which made you want to do it more than just harvest seaweed.
"Getting sick means game over in this world. This small stuff that keeps germs off of us is our stone of life in a world with no doctor." You explained, grinning broadly at the outcome.
When you were seven years old, you produced your own soap from honey and flowers from your garden; Becoming a very useful and aesthetically pleasing soap with a honey scent.
And just like that, your handmade soap is being created by one of your grandfather's business branches.
'Damn, I wonder if that old man is still alive...'
However, you pushed it aside, worried that if you think about him for too long, it would make you concerned and distracted.
There's not a moment to worry about that old man right now.
He'll always fine.
He has to be.
Tsukasa, who had been listening to you and Senku the entire time, was staring at you both in wonder.
With your incredible chemistry and intriguing interaction, he occasionally wonders whether the two of you are dating this whole time.
"I gotta hand it to you two, you guys are pretty amazing. I mean you two freed me during an attack but you stayed calm and spoke clearly. I never met anyone like you two before." Tsukasa acknowledged, but you could see there was a strange undertone to his compliments.
There's always a prawn behind the rock after all.
"The both of you truly have my respect." Tsukasa smiled faintly, finishing what he had said.
Senku eventually turned to face Tsukasa after a few seconds.
He may appear calm on the surface, but within, his gears are turning like crazy, guessing that Tsukasa is surely after something.
You, on the other hand, certainly observed the drastic change in Tsukasa's expression, even if he changed it really quick.
"For at least the last ten billion years or so, almost without exception a man who praises another is either flirting or scheming. So, what exactly are you trying to say?" Senku raised an eyebrow, asking directly.
Tsukasa get an A for doing an excellent job of putting on a fake, oblivious look.
He laughed a bit, "It's not like that. I'm really not doing either one of those. I was just thinking if there's anybody who could rebuild modern civilization from scratch, it's the two of you... Yeah, that's all I was trying to say."
Liar.
A horrible liar, in fact.
His body language have shifted.
His tone is no longer the same.
Everything - even his quiet manner - has changed into something more dangerous.
Your observation was never incorrect.
At this point, he began slowly constructing a wall between himself and your friend group.
You now know that Tsukasa is no longer your ally.
He is now a threat.
Fortunately, Taiju's loud groan had broken the thick tension between the three of you.
"Senku!" Taiju returned with a bundle of wood happily, "So this is the kind of stuff you gotta do to build a civilization, huh?"
Quickly, your dark expression changed to a more joyful one as you stood up and slung your arm around Taiju's neck, "Exactly! One step at a time, Taiju. The journey is a slow one, that's for sure. But, we keep on getting closer."
That made Taiju smile, happy that all of his effort had paid off, "What about the fourth thing? You said there were four uses for the seashells but you only told us about three."
You hummed and seemed to be contemplating, looking up.
But after a few seconds, you gave him a silly smile and gently tapped your head, sticking out your tongue childishly, "Oops! Damnnn... I said four, huh? I must have been confusing things in my brain! Thankfully, there are just three. We can finally relax now!"
"Are you for real?!"
"Mhm!"
After sharing dinner and getting ready for the next day, Tsukasa and Taiju headed to bed early, obviously exhausted.
Senku and you, however, have agreed to double-check everything to ensure that tomorrow can go according to plan.
Naturally, it was obvious it was a lie.
Just the two of you, talking beneath the brilliant star like you do every day before the petrification, was all that was needed right now.
"I'm sure you know what I'm thinking." You glanced over at Senku, observing his features becoming calmer than when he's around Taiju and Tsukasa.
"Yeah." He spoke, concentrating on the crossbow he planned to construct, "He's no longer on our team. His look says it all. That was his choice to make."
"He's definitely bad news," You softly sighed, fixing your gaze on the radiant moon, "Agh! Damn it. To think that he would always remain an ally is becoming an unrealistic dream... Now, we definitely lack brute force in our team."
"We have you as our brute. You're our balancer, after all." Senku smirked, giving you a lighthearted nudge that caused you to smile once more, "If we don't have brute force, you'll fill the gap. If we lack brawn, you will fill that need. You also know what to do if the team loses its brains, yeah? I'm ten billion percent you will accept that position as well."
Senku then simply replied with a shrug, "He will undoubtedly always be an ally of ours in the future. However, it's time for him to express his point of view openly on something. If he wants to fight us, so be it."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm 'ten billion percent' confident that we will win in the end." Playfully joking, you made fun of his usual phrase.
He didn't mind, though.
He only looked at you, eyes softening.
All it would take for him to consider himself fortunate is for you to be his best friend.
"You're way more annoying than before, you know that?" Senku murmured under his breath, but his tone had no hint of any sense of irritation.
He despise how you can get his emotions out of control like this.
He felt an emotion that he couldn't escape nor ignore.
He wanted to, but he also did not!
It bothers him.
"Awww... Thanks, Sen."
"It's not even a compliment-"
The four of you were back at the beach the next day; Taiju was in charge of looking for more shells while Tsukasa was in charge of catching fish. Meanwhile, you and Senku will be the ones thinking about what should you all do next.
Tsukasa, who was looking beyond the water - turning his back on you and Senku - began to talk, causing a certain thick tension to grow again.
"The Stone World is free. Nobody is around to claim the shells as their personal property; Not the ocean or the land."
'Huh...' You put on a curious expression, giving him a skeptical look.
If he lacks physical power, you may almost view him as a motivator, given that he constantly speaks in 'main character' words.
Tsukasa then began to tell a tale about a poor kid who wished to make his younger sister - who was undergoing surgery - a necklace out of seashells. He wanted to create it since she adored mermaids and it would cheer her up.
When the young boy went to the shore to get some, an old guy who smelled strongly of alcohol approached him. In a fit of rage, he beat the poor boy until he was nearly unrecognizable. Why? The young child believed he was only collecting the shells, but the man accused him of stealing them.
Tsukasa, enraged, smashed the seashell he had been carrying and demolished a statue near him, sending its head flying towards you and Senku.
You were shocked - no, more than furious.
Oh, how you wish you could express any feeling that would lead to show your weakness.
However, you remained composed, gazing at the statue quietly.
"You do know what you just did, don't you?" With a smirk, Senku questioned Tsukasa, "That may have looked like a statue but we both know you just killed a man."
"Of course, I know. Tell me something... Are the two of you planning to bring back all the greedy, black-hearted adults who ruined the world we came from?" Tsukasa questioned, walking intimidatingly in you and Senku's direction.
"Sure, they'll be overly grateful to you right after you helped them out. But, as soon as civilization returns, the rich and powerful will say things like 'This used to be my property so you better start paying me rent'. Next, they'll try to collect taxes. They'll rob the young people — like us — of our future, all over again. We can't simply bring that kind of world back."
True.
Those selfish jerks robbed young people of their futures, including yours.
They took those who meant so much to you.
They took away the very reason you are here today.
They destroyed your family's life.
Did you have an unspoken hatred towards them? Absolutely.
You loathed them so much.
However, you always prevented yourself from acting based on emotions.
Even if you know that such kinds of individuals just do things like that for fun, you still need to use common sense.
"This is Stone World — a paradise that hasn't been tainted. We'll revive only the pure-hearted youth to live in this world that belongs to no one." Once again, Tsukasa prepare to pound another head with his bare fists, "This is a good opportunity to purify humanity. Don't you two think so?"
In the blink of an eye, you firmly touched Tsukasa's shoulder, pinning the right muscle in his arm so he can't move his arm.
"No, we don't." You spoke softly, "We don't think like that at all."
Senku cracked his neck before letting out a sigh, "I'm that kind of guy who absolutely loves technology. I get excited by space, and mechs, and doraemon, and stuff like that."
"We're going to use the awesome power of science to rescue every last person. Exciting, isn't it?" With a look of determination and fire in your eyes, you cracked a smirk.
'Why am I even saying this?!'
Inside, you're definitely panicking loudly right now.
It's difficult to know what to say to yourself, even.
'Alright, (Name). Calm down. Before he knows the formulations of the revival fluid, he definitely wouldn't act rashly! We can never let him find out about that in the cave-'
Oh, no.
You jinxed it.
Just in time, Taiju could be heard exclaiming from a distance, beaming with joy over something.
Upon closer examination, you could see without a doubt that it was the bottle of revival fluid.
'Damn that lettuce head and his bad luck!'
You glared daggers at Senku, who glanced away awkwardly with a nervous look.
You usually find this entertaining and unpleasant at the same time - he seemed to attract bad luck in practically every difficult situation.
"Heyyy!!" Taiju gave a loud yell, "Awesome news, you guys! Check this out! (Name)! Senku! Tsukasa! I got a whole pot full of revival fluid from the cave! That means, we could use this stuff to finally bring back Yuzuriha!"
With that, your spirit had entirely fled your body, leaving you pale.
It's all over for you.