"Do you have everything?" Your friend Nikki asked as you put your self-made backpack around your shoulders. "Yes, I'm ready." You answered and Ukyo chuckled a little. "Wouldn't it be better if you sleep a little and start your journey at day?" He suggested and you shook your head. "I barely sleep and I grew used to that. Also, if I walk around with a torch in my hand, no animal will attack me. Daytime is more dangerous. If something tries to attack me, I'll simply kill it with the fire or my knife and arrows." Ukyo nervously scratched his neck. "You sound like you're ready to enter a warzone..."
You looked at the communication plane that you've hidden in the forest and surrounded by traps. "Please don't move around during these three days. This grass field is full of traps that I built. If you trigger these you'll get hurt or even killed and I can build them again from the beginning. If it's snowing, stay inside. It's even harder to avoid the traps when the ground is covered in snow." You warned them and both nervously laughed. "Now that we grew to know your real self a little, that sounds like you..." Both noted and you giggled. "Take care, alright?" They waved you goodbye and watched you walk off, waving back at them. "Bye, you two!!"
You carefully watched your steps as left your self-made minefield and soon started to run your way to Chrome's village. These months of working like a madlad benefited your physical health, since you now had stamina that went a little above average. The opposite could have been said about your social battery, you were damn relieved to have some alone time again and to gather up some mental energy for all the people in the village, Senku included.
Despite that, you would never beat that cotton candy girl that daily lifted 10 gallons of water for her sick sister, but you were in a healthier shape now. Well, physically... If your parents only knew how scrambled up your psyche is, they would feel guilty for months.
There were a thousand thoughts about possible outcomes regarding Tsukasa and Hyoga that never left your mind, but you tried to not focus on these thoughts right now. These days now are special. You wanted to meet Senku. You could hold on a few months longer of neglecting your mental stability.
The cold air and snow that started falling midway couldn't stop you from your goal to meet him again, he was like a tiny holiday for your mind. You were excited to meet him again. Your heart didn't stop beating because of that and helped you in keeping yourself warm aside from your never stopping moving. What even is sleep? What even are rests?
After a long walk all on your own in the cold forests of Japan and your excited smile never leaving your face, you finally spotted a familiar flag that was tied on a wooden pole. It was Chrome's storage. You were early for half an hour, 23:31, 3rd January of 5379.
"It's next year already too, right..." You mumbled to yourself as soon as you realized that January is the beginning of the year. You smiled at that realization. You might have called other people illogical for thinking this way, but you liked the symbolics of the new year right now. This year was the most stressful one you've ever gotten to experience, but you knew that you'd entered a new chapter in your life. This change in year reinforced that fact.
"Are my eyes fooling me?? Y/n!!" You heard from behind you and turned around, instinctively grabbing a weapon to defend yourself. But as soon as you saw the big blue hues of the cotton candy girl Kohaku, your eyes widened. You also were impressed by how she immediately recognized you from that distance. How good was that girl's vision?! "It's me, I won't fight you!" She laughed as she approached you and you remained silent. "I don't know if it's a coincidence since I can perfectly imagine that you already know, but it's Senku's birthday soon. Gen decided to surprise him, so do you want to help us?" She asked and Gen stepped closer to you two too.
"Y/n-channnn~ what a oincidence-cay!" He greeted you but stopped for a second. His eyes narrowed a little. 'Hmm. I can clearly see that something happened to her. She's feeling an intense emotion of negativity that she's trying to overplay with her apathetic attitude. The fact that I can see it despite her indestructible façade is telling me a lot. Her eye bags are even worse than what I'm used to seeing on her... But she also seems excited, huh? My lovely Y/n-chan knows about Senku-chan's birthday~~~~' Gen thought to himself. If you would have heard his thoughts and his image of you being in love, you would have ripped his brain out of his skull for even daring to think of you this way.
Gen smiled and met your eyes. His special knowledge regarded psychology and reading people, so of course he would be the first one to notice what went on deep inside of you. "Do you want to check the telescope that we built for Senku-chan? I'm sure you visited us so that you can spend his birthday with him." He asked you, very well knowing that he would wrap you around his finger with the telescope. He figured that it would be best to not touch on the topic that tortured your mind and that you need to distract yourself.
Gen, the mastermind manipulator that he is, mischievously grinned as soon as he saw you approach Chrome's hideout. "I assume that you built it in Chrome's mineral storage, since that's the best view for using a telescope." You spoke and both Gen and Kohaku smiled at each other, proud to have been successful in including you. "Didn't actually expect your prediction about her visiting us to turn out true." Kohaku complimented her bi-color-haired comrade and he cockily grinned. "Love is stronger than people think, so the chance of her visiting us tonight was high."
"You know that I can hear you. I'm literally five foot steps ahead of you." You spoke in a strict and annoyed voice and Gen pursed his lips, cheeping a high-pitched "Sorry" your way. Kohaku laughed at his action. "You really have him under your control, huh?" You turned around. "Of course. If I wouldn't, he would spread false information about me and I know from experience that rumors are very stressful and draining." You climbed up the ladder and looked at the telescope, slightly smiling. "Wow, that looks like a solid telescope... I'll check it out real quick."
Your eyes dazzled in amazement that despite living in the stone world now, you indeed stood in front of a telescope. The village put a lot of effort into building that and you were impressed by Gen instructing them to build it, despite him not being as deep inside the matters of science as you and Senku were. You crouched down a little and finally took a glimpse into it.
The image of Saturn fell into your observing eye and you couldn't help but smile like a child. "Wow, we've caught the perfect hour for observing Saturn!" You stood up and looked at Gen, proudly smiling at him. "On January you can usually see Uranus and Jupiter all night, but you can also observe Saturn for around two hours." You told him. "Alright, so all we have to do is wait for Prince Charming to arrive." "Ew. Since he's not here to tell you, I will. Don't call him that." Gen intimidatedly smiled. "Sorry sorry..."
"Oh, really?" Kohaku spoke and both you and Gen turned around. "Thank you. We'll be right there." She answered a villager and turned around. "Seems like 'prince charming' is back." Gen mischievously smirked. "I see, I see. Bring the blindfold and the ropes to tie him up." Kohaku nodded and hopped down to fetch them, while you confusedly watched her do so. "Uh...Blindfolds do sound like a normal choice for surprising someone but...why the hell do you want to tie him up?"
After a while, they then brought Senku here and you suppressed your giggle when you saw him tied up with a blindfold. But you immediately stopped smiling when you noticed the negative emotions in his expression. "So you did notice what the best move is." He spoke. "By handing me out, your village is safe and he won't-" Kohaku eyed him in confusion. "What are you talking about? We brought you here for this." She interrupted him and lifted his blindfold, only for him to see the telescope. His eyes widened.
Huh, so he thought that they would betray him and bring him to Tsukasa in order to keep the village safe... That was a reasonable assumption, but it seemed like that village really cared for him. If not, they would have done that much earlier.
"They built that all on their own, lettuce boy." You told him and he flinched as he heard your nickname for him. "Annoying cow?? You're here too??" You gave him a sarcastic smirk. "Of course I am. It's your special day." He chuckled and shook his head. "So you came all the way to our village on your own, only for my birthday?" His eyes were gentle as he gave you a warm smile. "You're crazy."
He then approached the telescope and took a look inside of it, so that he would also take a look at Saturn. "Kind of reminds me of the times when you visited my place back in modern age, Y/n. I remember how I set my telescope for observing this very planet. Was that on purpose?" You patted his back. "No, it was a coincidence. As I said, they did that on their own. I only checked out if it properly works." He grinned. "I see."
He then lowered the telescope and grinned even wider. "This is perfect!! Now we can look out for Tsukasa's men from far away!! This is exhilarating!" Gen gave him a weirded-out smile. "Of course he would use it for something else." You smiled. "That's the annoying lettuce boy for you."
"Anyway, it's very late by now. We should all rest up and gather up energy for the next day." Kohaku pulled Gen with her and kicked everyone out of there. Ginro gasped. "Why did you not kick Y/n out if we should all rest??" Kohaku rose her brow at that. "No sane person would visit us all on their own in the midst of winter when having to go such a long route. She either wants to spend some special time with him or has to deliver some important messages." Gen nodded. "Or it's both." Kohaku chuckled at Gen's words and nodded. "Most likely."
While the others left by time, you and Senku now were on your own in Chrome's mineral storage. Senku sat down on his bed and patted beside him so that you'd join him. As you did that, he wrapped his arm around you and pulled you closer, causing your face to warm up. "Uhh-" "So you came all this way for me, hm? You're insane." He smiled. "Did you feel cold? Are you tired? How are you, Y/n?" He asked and you couldn't get yourself to speak since you were not expecting him to immediately pull you that close to him and being so affectionate.
He chuckled. "Too nervous to speak? Don't act all cute and shy if you aren't like that." You gulped your nervousness down and rested your head on his shoulder while hitting him playfully. "Maybe I am, but I always hid that side from you." You answered and he rested his head on yours too. "I know that, dumbass. I'm teasing you."
He then laid down on his bed and pulled you down to his level so that you'd lie down beside him. "Thank you for being here. As a thank you, I'll warm you up again. You feel like you're minus ten billion degrees Celsius cold ." He said and you felt your cheeks heat up again, but you decided to just accept your fate. "I can't get colder than -273,15°C." You mumbled and he chuckled. "Of course you would correct me. That was an exaggeration, fool." You also giggled. "I know, lettuce boy."
You smiled as you snuggled up in his arms. You felt...safe in his arms. "I missed you..." He mumbled as he slowly closed his eyes. You smiled and decided to stroke his hair a little. He must be exhausted from all the work in the village. "I missed you too, Senku..."
After a few minutes, he ended up falling asleep and you felt warm and comfortable inside his arms. Both of you enjoyed the warmth of the other and reassured each other that you were ok. Of course, after his birthday, you would have to go back and let Nikki and Ukyo capture you, but you already thought about how you could take advantage of that.
Your insomnia issue still kept you up at night and you couldn't help but burden yourself with the thought of what move would be the best in order to win this war without any more losses, but at least you were safe. No person who could do you, Senku, or the village harm, and no Hyoga that could fuck with your mind.
...No Hyoga that could fuck with your mind. No Hyoga that could kill any more people dear to you. No more deaths...
You closed your eyes and tried to force yourself into sleeping. Sadly it did not work, but you did feel a little relaxed knowing that you were with Senku, the guy that you grew to love. And the guy that loved you just as much. A smile crept up your lips as you calmed down a little. Oh, how you adored this person... And you finally allowed yourself to be upfront with it. Your past self would cry with shame if you would see yourself actually allowing yourself to love.
"I love you, Senku..." You smiled. "I love you so much..." You inaudibly whispered and finally let the poor guy rest a well-deserved sleep.
.
.
.
The time passed by and you noticed how the sun slowly rose. You again had a sleepless night, nothing too surprising to you, but you felt refreshed because you could finally rest a little. Even if your brain didn't stop keeping your thoughts busy...
After some time you saw Senku open his eyes and how they immediately met yours. "Goddamn, you look tired..." He sat up and stretched his upper body while letting out a big yawn. You got up and smiled down at him. "I'm perfectly fine." He didn't look impressed by your confident demeanor and picked his ear with his pinky. "Your eyebags say otherwise." He sighed and also got up.
"Why didn't you wake me up? Usually, you would not hesitate to annoy me, so why did you stay with me when you couldn't sleep?" He noticed an eyelash on your cheek and put it away. It was right on one of your cracks. "I don't want to see you in such a bad condition, Y/n. At this point, I feel like you want me to take care of you like a baby. Is that what you want? Don't neglect your needs like that." His eyes held a lot of worry in him, but his expression was the same as always. Only people who knew him for ages would read such emotions in him. And you loved that you were one of these people.
You smiled as you shyly avoided his eyes. "Of course not. I'm fine." You answered and met his eyes that were focused solely on you. "How are you feeling? Did the spearman visit you once again these past weeks?" You shook your head. "He didn't." You answered and Senku scoffed at that. "Oh, so we are the only ones who are being stalked? Lucky you." You rose your brow at that. "What do you mean?"
Senku walked over to the telescope and adjusted something for you to see. "See for yourself." He then stepped aside and you quizzically watched him as you hesitantly approached the telescope and took a glance into it. ...Only to be paralyzed in shock. What you saw caused your body to be covered in goosebumps.
Homura.
You suddenly felt nauseous and Senku immediately noticed that and sat you down. This man won't stop tormenting you... "Your psyche really is broken, huh..." You held your head and closed your eyes. "This psycho won't let me rest, damn it..." You sighed and tried to come to your senses.
"Let's... Let's just focus on different things today." You spoke and stood up while taking a deep breath. "I came here to see you. It's your birthday." You said, as if you were talking to yourself rather than to Senku. "So happy birthday, lettuce boy." You smiled at him and he huffed with a grin. "If it makes you feel better, sure. I'm not gonna complain." "Alr-" "So come here then!!" He threw his arms around you and you gasped as you lost balance and fell back into his bed, with him grinning like a villain. "Senku, you annoying bitch!!!" You barked and kicked him. "Ow!!"
Throughout the day you helped Senku and the villagers with all sorts of stuff and administrated some of the science projects while Senku did the same for other tasks. You two often times discussed some things with each other and corrected the other if you noticed a small mistake or a detail that went unnoticed and you felt like you were having a full-fledged vacation doing so. You never noticed just how much you missed the times in the science club, just burying yourself with work and info-dumping without feeling like it was out of place or odd doing so, while fighting your precious and annoying rival.
You never needed anything special or anything too fastidious, you simply wanted to surround yourself with the two things you love. Your rival and (you never would have imagined to ever call him that) ...boyfriend (you would never call him that again, that sounded too weird), and of course science.
In no time you noticed how the sun started to set and you felt how you ironically regained your energy after working on things you liked, together with some people who share that motivation. Senku also seemed to be very pleased to have you around again and working in parallel with you. You didn't have to be physically together to feel like you were working together. You just were.
Was that what love should feel like? Would adult couples feel that kind of connection to their partner while working in two different places? Was that the case with your parents? You gently looked up to the sky. These two always seemed to be a heart and a soul. Wow, you never would have imagined to ever understand what love feels like... It felt so refreshing. You felt like nothing could ever stop you. You felt like a superheroine almost.
"Sit down, Y/n, you should eat something." You heard and turned around. It was Kohaku. "I'm fi-" She rose her brow at that and crossed her arms. "Did I ask you? That was a clear demand if I recall my words correctly." She playfully threatened and you chuckled. "Alright, alright. You're probably right." She smiled in satisfaction and pulled you along.
Senku was already sitting near the fire and spotted you from afar when Kohaku walked you to the fire. You met his eyes and smiled warmly. He rolled his eyes but returned your smile. "I hope you did not forget to eat while you were on your own, annoying cow." He scolded you and you nervously rubbed your neck as you sat down next to him. "I would be lying if I'd say I didn't..." He shook his head and punched your shoulder. "Of course you did. You're tempting me to build you an automatic reminder system that will help you to still keep track of your routine."
Kohaku then joined you and nudged you. "Senku told me about your singing voice!" She excitedly stated and you tilted your head to the side in interest. "And I also heard that in modern age people would sing a birthday song for the birthday person!" She beamed and Senku's jaw dropped. "I- Who told you about the birthday song??" Her eyes then eyed a certain bi-colored mentalist and said person innocently whistled while not meeting any of your eyes and Senku groaned. "Why am I even asking..."
He sighed and dropped his shoulders. "Alright then, if you guys really wanna hear it..." He then looked up again and met your eyes. "But I want to hear it in your parent's language too, Y/n. I rarely get to hear you speak in (your native language/mother tongue), so I want to know how it would sound like in your language." He demanded and smirked as you gasped. "What??"
"You once sang a song in your language and I found it nice. If someone would have to sing me a cringe-ass birthday song, I want you to do it." He spoke in a lower voice to only you and felt your heart jump. This bastard really had the audacity to use your mutual feelings against you, huh? 'Oh you will get this one back in the future, annoying lettuce boy.' You thought and stood up.
You threw him one last glare, causing him to teasingly grin at you and you then looked up to the sky, recalling the times when your parents would sing you a birthday song in your language. They also tried to sing it in Japanese a few times and you remember always having a good laugh because of their thick accent while doing so. You shook your head and rolled your eyes as you smiled. He better cherishes this song with every fiber of his heart.
As you started to sing, Senku proudly watched you do so and Gen enjoyed the sound of your voice, while the others gasped at the unexpected melodic voice of yours and the unfamiliar sound of a language unknown to them.
Singing that song indeed felt cringe, just like Senku already said, but it also felt nostalgic. You felt a little connected to your family at this moment and it comforted you. You couldn't help but smile while singing it and simply let your voice carry the song out.
After you were done everyone applauded. "That was beautiful!" "She reminded me of the record lady!" The children complimented you and you couldn't help but blush at that. You would have loved to teach them how to sing.
The sky eventually was dyed in black and stars covered it, causing it to have several beautiful constellations that you admired while the others were talking to each other. You humans were so insignificant in this universe, yet here you were, in a small village, only for the sake of your rival that you loved.
Except for you and Tsukasa's people, this planet was so empty... There could be some other people who broke free on their own of course, but Japan is very secluded geographically, compared to the other continents. It was Senku's mission to make this world less lonely by rescuing the petrified people from modern age and to bring the modern life back.
But people like Tsukasa and Hyoga held you back to do that.
And that needed to change.
"It has gotten late, guys." You spoke and everyone stopped talking as soon as you did. That's the advantage of being an introvert who doesn't talk much, hm? Since it's not usual that people like you talk, everyone listens if you do.
You stood up and Senku skeptically eyed you. You gazed down at him and nodded, as in 'It's fine', melting away all of Senku's doubts and worries. "Unfortunately I'll have to leave. There's something important that I have to finish." You explained and Senku stood up. "Alright then, I'll help her pack up. Excuse us." He put his hand on your shoulder, approaching your ear. "And you will tell me what you have to do before going." He whispered as he walked off, pulling you with him.
You two were in Chrome's mineral storage again, packing stuff inside your bag, and Senku even gave you some useful chemicals that you could use to defend yourself. His eyes appeared to be...concerned. He did not look at you and focused on your bag, occasionally giving you instructions that you didn't need, on how to use said chemicals. Still, you decided to listen instead of messing with him like you usually would.
"Y/n..." He still looked down as he kneeled in front of your bag and tied it up for you. "You can always change your mind, if you'd like to. You can always stay with us. Help us with daily tasks and avoid any stress that you might go through."
He then finally looked up to you and by looking into his eyes you took a short glimpse into his inner feelings that he really likes to hide. He looked lonely. And it broke your heart seeing him like that, since you wanted to stay. You really wanted to. Just him and you peacefully doing the stuff you both enjoyed, together with those kind villagers, while not having to worry about Tsukasa wanting to start the war and causing your precious (newfound) friends to die. You couldn't believe what world you were living in, back in your modern days something like fearing for your life would be unimaginable.
"Y/n, you can always stay with me. You might have your annoying characteristics, but I would never get tired of you." He chuckled at his own words. "God it's awkward to just say that so casually. Usually, I would suppress such thoughts and cover them up by insulting you." You smiled and nodded. "It's ok, I'm the same after all. Hopefully, this will stop being weird in the future."
You sat down next to him and looked at your bag too. "I would love to stay here with you and the others. But I can't back down on my words now, I still have my own responsibilities to take care of. I need to go, Senku..." You admitted and felt kind of bitter for not telling him about the promise that you gave to Nikki and Ukyo. "I see... I won't be able to stop your stubborn ass on this one, huh?" You chuckled and nodded. "Ten billion points for you, lettuce boy." He also joined your laughter and punched your shoulder. "Hey, that's my line." "Well, I'm my own protagonist. Don't act like the story's all about you."
He smiled and stood up while pulling you up to your feet too. "I'll let you go, Y/n. But let me ask you this..." His arms then held you close to him and he rested his chin on your shoulder, embracing you endearingly. "Will you come back to me? I don't feel like you're simply gonna go back and work on your project. There's something else." He spoke. "I don't know how you will do if you go back, but let me tell you this."
He then let go of you and put his hands on your shoulder, meeting your eyes with a serious expression. "Don't you even think of not coming back, I trust you on this one. We two will solve the Tsukasa issue. We two will also find out what L/n M/n wanted to tell us.
We two will save the future."
You were completely overtaken by all of your emotions right now. You just wanted to say something, but Senku stopped you. "Believe in yourself, you idiot. I want you to watch me as I visit space after all. Have I ever told you that?" He chuckled and you hit him. "Stop being like this! First, you are serious and say something motivating and now you're all lovely dovely?? Seriously, you're unpredictable..."
You then smiled after your outburst. "I will keep that in mind then, annoying lettuce boy. No way in hell I will stop to torment you like I always do." Senku then shook his head and grinned. "So that's all it took for you to say that? What even was that scene just a minute ago?" You playfully nudged him with your elbow and grinned. "That's you being a good partner, I guess. Got yourself another ten billion points!" "You're so cringe." You sarcastically smiled as you crossed your arms. " 'Will you come back to me?~ Aww I can't live without you, sweetheart~' So you wanna tell me I'm cringe?" You imitated him and laughed. "Wha- I never said that, annoying cow!!"
You then put your hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. "I will be fine, Senku." His eyes met yours as he returned your smile with a grin. "If you die, it means I'm the better one of us."
You dramatically gasped. "No way in hell I'll just let you win like that, you asshole!!" He smirked and nudged you. "You better not."
.
.
.
After several hours and returning to your basement, you skillfully avoided the traps you memorized in your mind and then opened the entrance. "I'm back, just as promised." You announced and Ukyo approached the steps leading to the exit, looking up to you. "Welcome back. We can go then." You bit your inner cheek in discomfort. "Yeah... we can go."
To be continued...
Why the hell does the pacing feel so weird on this one? 🥲 that always happens when I disappear for some time...
Also, please look at this! This is so sweet of her/him/them! 🥹💕 Big thank you to Muichiro_Benimaru for translating my fanfic in her/his/their language!
Also I made a new cover, matching the one from my parallel story to this one :)