Before you got to know him, you always believed Ishigami Senku's hair was like lettuce.
'Huh? Who is that strange-looking kid? Did the entire gravity refuse to acknowledge that his hair exists? How does it defy gravity?!'
He also stated that he wanted to travel to space at such a young age.
You could almost call him a crazy weirdo.
'Ew. He's not a crazy scientist at all. He's totally crazy! A crazy weirdo!'
Well, you really couldn't hold it against him for having that dream.
You once stated that you want to be sunk in the Bermuda Triangle so that you can know what it feels like.
Anyway, you didn't care much about this particular green-haired boy or the fact that he is your mother's friend's son, not that you remember.
Nonetheless, you frequently recall that the two of you used to meet at the school library.
You have your stack of books, and he has his.
You two always scowl at one another like you're locked in a secret race to see who can get through their book stacks the fastest.
The winner is going to get a silent surprise — an energy drink — on their desk.
However, following that night in that small park, you two started talking to one another.
More like, make fun of and irritate one another.
'Lettuce head!'
'Goldfish!'
It was just casual conversation, and you would constantly irritate him to no end with your intelligent responses that he was unaware of.
Just as he used to say: 'You damn goldfish, stop being one step ahead of me!'
He believed you were a snob and you always thought he was a brat.
Honestly, you were both correct.
Even if you made fun of one other at times, you could go to such great lengths together.
One time, you helped Senku's father in purchasing a science-related equipments for Senku by helping him in locating an authorized dealer. There, he could sell his vehicle at an acceptable price.
Meanwhile, every year Senku will give you a checklist that you have to fill in with the items you want. He would make those items himself very rapidly and you better believe that the next day, everything on that checklist was waiting for you outside your front door.
You hoped that your friendship with him would last forever.
Senku is the reason you work day and night with full motivation after you wake up from petrification.
Senku is the reason you dare to battle wild animals every day.
Senku is the reason you are willing to damage your fingers until your skin peels off from digging because you don't have any more tools.
Just so you can survive and hear his voice again.
And yet here you are, witnessing Senku's injured dead body on the ground while two of your friends surround him in tears.
You could tell he was dead based on their faces.
Your heart instantly fell to your stomach as you cautiously approached them and ducked down so Tsukasa wouldn't notice you at all.
You were dead, for all Tsukasa knew.
It tightened your heart to hear your friends cry from a distance.
You failed to defend your loved ones once more; First, it was your family, then your old man, and now Senku?
'I can't take this anymore.' You bite your lips, trying to keep them from trembling till they bleed.
You've had enough.
You felt lightheaded; the want to vomit was overwhelming you.
Unexpectedly, you were startled out of your thoughts by something.
In that moment, you witnessed an explosion.
'What-?'
Quickly scanned your surroundings, you noticed that Yuzuriha and Taiju had begun to flee, Senku in Taiju's arms.
'They are using the last of our gunpowder to divert Tsukasa's attention!' Your eyes widened at their idea.
Even though they're under pressure, it appears like they've finally come up with a strategy.
After all of this is over, they deserve some comfort.
At that point, you started to rush after them as quickly as you could to prevent Tsukasa from seeing you.
"Come on, (Name). You can catch up to them." You silently encouraged yourself.
Your feet move twice as rapidly as you ordered it to do.
While you ran, the sky, too, was mourning the pass of your best friend.
As you peeked out from behind a tree, Taiju was trying to give Senku chest compressions.
"Come on, Senku. You're not dying on me... I know you're alive." A sob or two slipped out of Taiju's mouth as he spoke in a trembling tone, "We've only just started to bring back civilization and you're not the kind of guy to leave a job half done!"
'Damn you lettuce head. You cause everyone to worry about you.' With a loud sigh, you began to repeatedly tap your forehead.
Your eyes are still on the verge of tears, but you know deep down that crying right now is pointless.
Right now, all you have to do is think.
'Come on, you damn ass! You've always declared that you want everyone to survive, regardless of the decision you have to make about who will live or die! There's no way you'll sacrifice your life like this!' You groaned to yourself.
It seemed like everything you thought about would only make you think about him cracking his neck a few times.
'You never answer my question about why you keep cracking your neck! You still have a secret to spill, how dare you die on m-!? Hold on a second...'
You suddenly gasped in surprise, opening your mouth wide as your eyes glistened with excitement.
'Holy crap. Lettuce Head — you're smart as hell!'
You gave a short, clearly exhausted laugh before you calmly stepped out of the tree you had been hiding behind.
Just then, Taiju and Yuzuriha lifted their heads to see who had approach.
In an instant, they started weeping again, but this time it was like a falling river.
"(N-NAME)?!" Yuzuriha cried out.
"Did we also just pass away?! I-Is that a ghost?! THAT GHOST LOOKS UGLY AS HELL!" Taiju sobbed, trying in vain to dry his tears as they continued to flow uncontrollably.
All you do is look at them both in disbelief.
'Did Taiju just call me ugly-'
Yeah, they truly are your best frieds.
Even if they behave like this, you still love them with all your heart.
"No, you guys." You approached them with a tired chuckle.
Soon, they realized they were speaking the incorrect thing when they heard your voice again.
It was really you, the (Name) they all know and love.
"Y-You didn't die?!"
Taiju's sobs immediately began to flow again, and his snot is now uncomfortably clinging to his nose.
You just fixed a blank gaze on him, "Wipe your nose first before speaking, Taiju."
"But how..." Yuzuriha asked in a whispered tone while staring at you through her sorrowful eyes.
Still, she managed to look beautiful as usual.
Before you said anything, you just knelt in front of them and smiled gently, somehow comforting two of your friends with only just that. "I'll respond to your question later. But now, let's not waste our tears on this attention whore, shall we?"
"A-Attention whore?"
With innocent tilts of their heads, Taiju and Yuzuriha wondered why someone would say such a thing to their childhood best friend.
"Yeah, you'll see why. Taiju, could you please check his neck?" You gave the order in which Taiju delivered it right away.
There it was.
Something was on his neck, something you knew from the beginning.
"Bingo." You sneered wickedly, realizing how clever you were.
A little portion of the petrified stone remained stuck to Senku's neck.
When Yuzuriha saw that, she immediately sought for a little vial containing what you wanted inside.
Then, she handed it to Taiju in a hurry, "Taiju-kun, the revival fluid!"
In a hurry, Taiju removed the tiny jar of the revival fluid and poured it over Senku's neck. In a matter of seconds, the stone crumbled away.
However, Senku didn't instantly wake up.
Like a dead animal, he remained motionless and dead.
"You lettuce head," With a sad smile, you placed both of your hands gently on top of his shoulders and painfully chuckle, "You better remember your promise to me back then."
"You promised I'd always have you by my side, making the impossible happen." Your hold tightened as he still hadn't woken up, accompanied by your friends' persistent sob from your side, "Don't go break promises when you hate doing so, you anti-gravity haired imbecile!"
Then, you gently press your head against his chest and begged him softly, "Sen, I... I couldn't survive without you. I know you're in there."
You have placed all your faith in his revival.
It felt like hours passed in the freezing rain.
The rain had finally stopped slowly, but Taiju and Yuzuhira remained silent.
It was then that Senku's once dead eyes come back to life.
Yet you continued to bury your face in his chest.
That is, until you felt a gentle pat from a hand on your back.
Feeling that, you immediately pulled away, only to be met with Senku's softened gaze, which he always gave you.
'What...'
You didn't know what to say as you stared at him for a long time with your lips shut.
You knew he'd survive, so why show him any sadness?
"I knew you'd live."
What you didn't realize was that you both said it at the same moment, causing the two of you to snicker.
He gently stroked your hand, and this time you didn't push it away. You let his warmth to envelop your chilly hair.
"Welcome to the land of living, lettuce head." You gave him a playful wink, to which he responded with an amusing eye roll, "Wow. What a warm greeting."
"S-SENKUUU!!"
Quickly after, Yuzuriha and Taiju shouted out and gave you both a powerful bear hug.
The squeeze made you feel as if you were being choked again by Taiju's overpowering grip.
That caused Senku became enraged and kicked Taiju away, "Never mind my cervical nerve! You just crushed my entire body! I'll kill you!"
Still, Taiju took no offense at that little beating. Senku's revival and yours were reason enough for him to be grateful.
"I'm impressed you noticed my neck. I hardly gave you a speck of hint. All of you receive ten billion points!" Senku then snickered, massaging the back of his neck to ease the relief he's at last experiencing, "You know I'm not the type of guy who does the whole emotional teary-eyed gratitude kind of thing. So, don't you dare expect that."
You only sent him a blank stare, while the others appeared pleased with what he had said, "How about giving me an iPhone 15 Pro Max? I don't need those ten billion pointless points."
Everyone looked at you blankly after that.
Of course, it will be you who doesn't think Senku's revival is serious.
Afterwards, Yuzuriha gave you a poke in the stomach that made you let out an exaggerated sigh, "Okay, fine! Thanks, I guess."
"No problem." Senku teasingly curved his lips into a grin.
"You know damn well that's not a compliment-"
Nevertheless, a short while later, Yuzuriha started tearing the bag you were carrying, transforming it into a flag; The pattern on it resembled a rocket and stars as a 'Science Flag'.
She then attached it to a large stick and strapped it to Senku's back to serve as a splint.
"Ten billion percent sure I don't need this." Senku gazed at Yuzuriha in a deadpan before softly smiling, "I'm perfectly fine, okay? Professor Senku volunteered his body in the experiment was a great success. The regenerative ability of de-petrification is far more potent than I imagined."
Taiju exclaimed happily, "The petrification that has given us so much grief is what cured you, Senku!" He then began to laugh, "The de-petrification is a life saviour in a time without doctors. It's Dr. Stone!"
Everyone stared at Taiju with wonder.
He wasn't mistaken.
Petrification was, in fact, both a blessing and a curse — two sides of the same coin.
Everything else was restored when one was, giving the impression that this was not an attack and that everyone becoming petrified was a scientific phenomenon.
'Now this is interesting.' You seemed amused, 'One step closer to discovering who on earth turned us all into stone!'
While everyone hastily cleared the area in order to prevent Tsukasa from discovering your whereabouts, Yuzuriha discovered a broken statue and attempted to repair it.
"Seeing as it was able to fix Senku's neck, maybe if we piece these statues back together and pour the revival fluid on them... They'll come back whole again." She muttered, filled with hope.
Senku, however, responded nonchalantly, in a monotonous voice, "I've tried it before. They ended up turning into dismembered corpses."
However, you gave him a little tug on his shoulder, which made him slightly bend to meet your height level.
That's when you whispered something into his ears, causing his eyes widen with shock.
"Despite the fact that it'll endanger their lives, it's worth the risk." You're back to speaking in a regular voice.
Senku, on the other hand, remains silent and appears to be thinking deeply before turning to face Yuzuriha and whispering the plan you gave him to her.
'I have no doubt that Yuzu can accomplish this given her expertise in craftsmanship; Better than me, Sen, and certainly more than Taiju.' You thought seriously.
It requires patience and focus; something you reminded yourself to do all the time.
Seen from a distance, Yuzuriha appeared to be sweating profusely and her eyes were wide with bewilderment.
"That really sounds like an extremely grueling mission, b-but I'll do it!" She said, nodding her head uncertainly.
Following that, you confidently approached them and gave Yuzuriha a thumbs up, which made her grin even more.
Unfortunately, Taiju cut the exchange short with his loud, ridiculous shout, "Heyy, are you telling secrets?! No faaiirr!! Don't keep it from me!"
At that, Yuzuriha spun around and gave Taiju a hesitant smile, "Well... I was saying that maybe you and I s-should go meet up with Tsukasa."
"Well, there's an idea! Go see Tsukasa- Wait. WHAT!?" When Taiju finally absorbed what she had said, he grabbed her by the waist and gave her a frantic shake back and forth.
"Are you crazy?! You mean the same homicidal maniac that killed (Name) and Senku?! Well, both of them are still alive... B-But still! He's dangerous! He thought he'd killed both of our friends!"
Senku snickered, cutting off Taiju's rambling, "And that's exactly the advantage we gain in that little fight."
Taiju surely stopped at that, staring at Senku curiously and puzzled.
"Listen. Tsukasa thinks me and lettuce head are rotting in hell right now," You elaborated, "Meanwhile, we can always know where Tsukasa is. We'll have a major advantage in this battle."
Senku nodded, "If the two of you can infiltrate the Tsukasa Empire and act as our spies. I've already told Yuzuriha the plan in detail. Taiju, you're in charge of protecting her. For a blockhead like you, the less you know, the better."
Afterwards, Taiju gave a firm nod as a response, "I got it. You can count on me."
Senku went on, softly grabbing your wrist as he did so, making you gaze up at him in unexpectedness.
"Tsukasa knows you're alive if you leave with them, therefore you — (Name) — will stay with me and rebuild civilization."
The fact that Senku even stated that stunned you.
Furthermore, you responded with a teasing eye roll, "I know, I know. In order to bring down the Tsukasa Empire and stop the mass destruction of humanity, we have to create our own rebel army that fight with science!"
"Good to know we're on the same page," Senku chuckled, releasing your wrist, "In order to do so, we'll have to find the mysterious folks behind the smoke signal and team up with them."
You hummed understandingly, knowing that if Tsukasa got to them first, you would all be dead. All you can do is place a wager on the possibility that they haven't met.
Taiju questioned again, tilting his head innocently, "What you mean is that you want us both to spy on Tsukasa Empire while you guys seek allies for your scientific revolutionary army?"
Giving him a wink, you raised your thumbs up, "Correct! Interesting, isn't it? We'll each be fighting our own battles."
After that, you gently patted them on the shoulders, "Guys, be careful out there. Yuzu, please stay safe."
Yuzuriha simply giggled, "I will!"
Senku frowned, gazing up at the clear sky, "Ah, I'm getting all teary-eyed thinking about our sad goodbye."
Still, he intended it with a sarcastic tone. But it appears like he truly meant it from the bottom of his heart.
With that, you bid your friends a brief farewells.
Together with Senku, you pack what was important while they pack theirs.
As you watched them leave, you turned your back on them until you heard Taiju's cry from distance.
That undoubtedly caused you and Senku to exchange glances before turning around in confusion.
Only to discover Taiju raising his fist in the air.
"That big oaf." Senku grinned proudly. He then used the cloth that was around his neck to tie a flag onto the stick.
With that, he lifted it as you mimicked Taiju while not facing him.
'No matter how long it takes, we will build our Kingdom of Science.' As you and Senku started to move forward once more, you thought with confidence.
During the walk, there was silence, which indicates neither of you is feeling very social.
That's how it's always been between the two of you; you know when he needs to stop talking, and he knows when you do too.
"How's your neck?" Out of the blue, Senku asked, laced with a slight concern.
"It's fine, Sen." Casually, shrugging your shoulders, "It doesn't really hur-"
Unexpectedly, you could already feel Senku's icy fingertips carefully wrapping your neck to examine it.
His face was a little too near for comfort, so it made you shudder a little.
He looked very serious, and his ruby eyes were filled with worry.
For no apparent reason, your heart began to race, turning both of your ears red as you glanced away.
He then pushed your throat slightly with his thumb, humming in curiosity while your face was growing hotter.
"Guess what you said is true." He snickered, carefully removing his hand from your neck, "Just how strong are you, goldfish?"
You snorted at the question, trying to keep your heart from racing, "Stronger than you, obviously."
Instantly, Senku wanted to counter your words. But before he could speak, the two of you heard a large tree fall and wood shatter in the distance.
"You see what I see?!"
"Yeah. Let's go, goldfish!"
Senku dashed for the fallen tree as fast as he could, with you slightly ahead of him.
It took some distance, but you both discovered it.
It appears there was a blonde girl caught beneath the intentional chopped-off tree.
Noticing your presence, her brilliant blue eyes fixed on you as she spoke up, "It's you two! You two are the sorcerers who were protecting that girl! You're alive!"
You two just hurried over to see how she was doing, not caring about her words yet.
"You need to stop talking. We'll introduce ourselves later all you want later. Now save your strength!" Senku responded, attempting to push the wood off of her with his stick as a sort of wedge but finding it too heavy to lift.
"Oi, lettuce head. In this situation, we have to create a pulley." You muttered under your breath as you gave the girl a troubled look.
She appeared really beautiful, like though the sun had caressed her.
Senku nodded before going to question the new girl, "Do you think you can make it until nightfall? If you can't bear it much longer, I'll just try and blow it up with the rest of the gunpowder. But if you can, I'm ten billion percent sure I can save you no matter how long it takes."
She didn't even respond, though.
That's it, you're done waiting.
Kneeling over her head, you gazed down at her with determined eyes, "You're the only one who can make the decision! What's it going to be?!"
She looked shockedly right away before giving a firm response, "Yeah! My bones and organs are fine. I can hold on."
Senku smirked at such response before touching your shoulder, "Okay. Let's get to work. You know what to do, goldfish."
You nodded back, standing up swiftly, "Of course."
Senku then offered you a spare axe as the two of you began cautiously chopping the wood into circles.
"The fallen tree weighs roughly 1 ton. To move it to the side should take half of that, which is 500 kilograms." You mumbled.
And with that, he shook his head, "You and your amazingly talented counting abilities... Assuming my weight is over 60 kilograms, multiplied by two to the third power should get to 500."
"Yep, three of these would do the trick." After that, you use a little amount of gunpowder to hollow out the inside of the logs so that some bamboo can be placed inside and covered with dirt.
Meanwhile, Senku created some rope and apply it with soap and water.
"Done?" You inquired, remaining focused on your task and tying the rope to a firm branch above.
"Done!" Smirking in response, Senku tied the other end of the rope to the tree's trunk.
"What in the world are you doing?" Wondering, the blonde girl asked.
Senku did nothing more then stand by her side and observed you while you confidently climbed a tree.
"This is called science," He responded, "This particular device was invented by old man Archimedes a few hundred years BC. It can make a skinny highschool nerd like me as strong as Hercules."
"In short..." You grinned. You gleefully jumped to the ground just on time, "It's called a pulley!"
Senku chuckled at what he saw, then felt the tree he was leaning on begin to rise.
The new girl had an amazed gaze. Despite her obvious lack of understanding, you could see she thought it was spectacular.
"Amazing..." She whispered to herself.
Nevertheless, you and Senku could hear her clearly as you turned around.
"Um, I'm not talking about that Archi-or-whatever's wisdom... What I mean is how you two kept going through every single step until you solved the problem."
'Huh. Thanks?' You thought uneasily.
"Both of your perseverance are amazing." She then offered you two a warm smile, "My name is Kohaku. And honestly, I believe I've taken quite a liking to you both."
'Woahhh!' You're sweating like crazy in an instant, instinctively back away from the female a few meters, 'Okay, wow! Very unexpected! She's pretty and all, but hearing a confession all of a sudden is a big no for me!'
You then noticed Senku was looking very obviously uninterested and disgusted.
"Why did you suddenly say a troublesome thing? We just met and you're already confessing your love? In this state of emergency?" Senku talked in a very monotonous voice.
He went closer to you, both of you observing the new girl called Kohaku with the same deadpan look.
"That's not what I meant!" Kohaku exclaimed, "I mean, I admire your character so I've decided to help you!"
"Ah... Thank you for clearing it up then." You breathed heavily in relief in an instant, before your lips stretched into a cat-like smile, "Being crazy in love is the most troublesome thing anyway! Right, Sen?"
Senku gave a nod of approval, "Correct."
Before long, darkness had arrived, and the three of you made camp.
You sat on your own sleeping bag, prepared for a few hours of discreetly remaining awake.
You've never had the most appropriate sleep schedule. Even if you wanted to; habits are difficult to change.
The part that truly disturbed you, though, was the silence.
Thankfully, something distracted your mind. You saw Kohaku with her knives in her hands, drift off to sleep.
You were intrigued by that and wanted Senku to join in as well.
You gave him a little touch on the shoulder and pointed to Kohaku.
When he felt your touch, he swiftly turned around to look and sneered.
"What are you? A new species of hominid that sleeps with a weapon or something?" Senku peered at the scene, expresionless.
"To make it obvious that I don't have love on the brain." Kohaku closed her eyes, stating simply, "Look. I may be curious about your ways but I'm not sure how much I can trust you two yet. Besides, it's a force of habit because I watch out for myself. So, don't take it personally."
Senku just turned back to face you, losing curiosity already, "I'm not enough of a hero to attack a lioness like you. So, quit wasting time and get some rest."
"Lioness?!"
There it is, the cold demeanor around her is crumbling down.
Kohaku exclaimed right away, "I am a person with feelings! You might've seemed like a gentleman at first but you're actually kinda rude, you know that?! I can't believe your woman can stand you!"
"My woman?" Senku raised an eyebrow before looking at your beautiful face, "Oh, you mean this goldfish?"
"G-Goldfish?!" Kohaku let out another shout.
She feels insulted for you! Why does Senku think you're a goldfish?! You don't resemble anything like that.
"Yeaaaa... Umm..." Senku strike a thinking pose, thinking about something before deadpanning at Kohaku, "No. (Name)'s not my woman. And what's with the claim? 'Your woman'? That sounds like you are objectifying a woman. Woman is not an object."
You simply laugh awkwardly at their conversation, "Please. Stop, both of you. I'm sure we're all exhausted right now, so quit yapping and start sleeping."
Giving them a very scary glare, Kohaku and Senku stared at you nervously, quickly pulled their blankets over their bodies.
"Y-Yes, ma'am."
At the same time, Kohaku has made up her mind; She will fight against Tsukasa and help you both achieve victory.
In order to do so, she will gladly provide you two an army.
[ LIONESS- I MEAN, KOHAKU ACQUIRED !! ]