You mentally slapped yourself to get that thought out of your head. You thought really hard about what to do. You could stay hiden until he walked away. You could do that. But just in case he found you...
You blushed, ashamed and embarrassed, but you knew it was the only way for you to be safe. Determined, you took off your clothes. You shivered when the wind blew and sat down in a ball, putting dirt on your feet. You tossed your dress behind a bush but your heart stopped beating when the trumpet hit a rock, making a single loud noise.
A moment of pure silence passed, you held your breath. You could feel droplets of cold sweat on you forehead.
"Who's there?" a low, menacing voice rang in your ears.
You felt your heart sink. He was close.
You quickly brought your knees closer to your chest, holding your arms for a bit of warmth. You closer your eyes and hung your head down.
'Please don't come closer don't come closer don't come closer go away go away go away!' you thought as you heard him walking closer.
And your breath was once again cut short when the footsteps stopped.
You heard a gasp.
"Are you okay?"
You frowned and looked up. The young man was tall, like, super tall, imposing tall, casting a shadow over you.
But...was it the same guy who spoke with such a scary voice only a few moments ago? He was looking down at you with furrowed eyebrows, and his voice was full of concern.
"I..." you gulped. "Wha-what happened? The statues..."
It was easy to act confused, because you legit were. Just not for the reason you were claiming.
The guy smiled softly, surprising you once again.
"You must be confused, I was too." he said. "You were turned into stone for a really long time. It's now the year 5,750, and the world has been brought back to its pure natural state. A stone world." he paused, noticing the dirt on your feet. "How long did you walk?"
"Uh...Hours? I think."
You shivered from the cold. He gasped again and knelt down in front of you, blushing.
"I'm sorry! You must be freezing! Here!"
He removed his lion coat and wrapped it around your body, covering it entirely.
'This guy killed a lion!'
"Can you walk?"
"Huh?"
You thought for a second. If you were gonna go with him, it would be better to slow this guy as much as possible. You shook your head.
"I walked too much-." you gasped.
He picked you up bridal style with absolutely no effort as if you were light as a feather. At that moment, your reasoning was thrown out the window as your face became bright red. Without is lion coat, his upper body was revealed. Very broad...muscular...
You were in trouble.
"I hope you're not still cold."
"I-I'm good." you looked away.
"Are you sure? You can tell me. You're still stuttering."
"No no, I'm fine." you pulled the fur closer. "It's...actually pretty warm."
'Or maybe it's just you who's too hot!!!'
He smiled.
'Oh my god that smile!'
But, as he began to walk, you began to get nervous. As handsome as he looked, he was still a complete stranger. And where exactly was he taking you?! You didn't dare to ask.
'If he tries anything, at least I'd have the element of surprise. Surely such a muscly guy can't be that fast.'
He stopped in front of a little stream and carefully set you down on a rock.
"You can wash your feet here." he said.
'Who is this guy?!?! So nice!'
"Oh, do you maybe need my help with that?" he asked, seeing that you didn't say anything.
"Nonono, woh!" you raised your hand. "Don't get ahead of yourself boy, I can do that myself."
He blinked twice at you sudden confidence.
'Shit!' you thought, suddenly tense. 'Did that make him mad?!'
But nope! He smiled.
"Of course, I apologize."
Then, a grumbling sound resonated. You blushed.
"Are you hungry?"
You looked down.
"Yes." you said with a little voice.
He chuckled.
'Oh my god that chuckle!'
"Me too honestly. Stay here, I'll go get us something."
He walked away, and you could now see a spear attached to his back.
"Oh my god he really did kill a lion." you whispered.
You dipped your feet in the cold water and thought about this whole situation. At first the plan was to get back to the others, but now you could turn this into another double-agent plan. After all, three is better than two. And it seemed to be going well so far, you don't think you got of this guy's bad side. And you hoped you won't, you didn't want to think about what he'd do if you piss him off.
But yeah, this was a way better plan. More double agent, you'll get to see Taiju and Yuzuriha, and you'll get more time with this fuckin hot hunk over there!
You splashed cold water of your face.
'I am so ready to hate him if he turns out to be an asshole!' you thought. 'Why am I so conflicted?!' you looked up at the sky. 'What are you doing to me you sexy piece of meat?!'
He walked back with a dead boar on his shoulder.
'Oh shit he's fast.'
"I'm sorry, it took longer than I expected." he said as he set it down.
'Oh shit he's actually faster!'
"I'm sorry, but I have to skin this animal in order to cook it."
"Oh." you turned around, not wanting to see that. "You don't have to apologize for that. Do what you gotta do."
You heard the sound of spilled blood and slashed meat. You were used to it, but you acted like the first time you heard it. You kept shifting your position as if you were uncomfortable. What caught your attention was the fact that before that, you heard him apologize to the dead animal and even thanking it for its meat.
'This guy is god damn Tarzan I swear to god!'
A while passed and it sounded like he was done.
"Can I turn around now?"
"Not yet." he said. "I don't want you to see blood everywhere, I'll try to wash it with water."
'Oh my god he's considerate!!!' you placed a hand on your face.
When he told you he was done, you noticed the boar's skin has been neatly folded in a corner.
"We can use it to make you clothes once we get back." he smiled.
'Remember, you just got out and you're confused as hell.' you looked up at him. "Get back where?"
"We're not the only ones who got free from the stone. There are others." he pointed to a direct. "Two day of march from here is my land, where we rebuilt humanity while living by nature's grace and without strife."
'That sounds so hippy-ish!'
You smiled.
"I see. I'm glad we're not alone."
Though you weren't as starved as you made it out to be, you were happy to eat meat. You rarely had any back in the village. Guess it's one of the perks of being strong. Seeing you this joyful made him smile.
"Mmh." you looked at him. "You're not eating?"
"I'm fine. I'm not that hungry."
"But you said..."
"You seem to need this meal more than I do." he waved his hand. "It's oka-."
A grumbly sound resonated. He blushed. You puffed a chuckle.
"Just take something, I wouldn't be able to finish a whole boar by myself anyway."
"Th-thank you..." he shyly took some ribs.
'He's just a big teddy bear!' you felt your chest getting warmer. 'Ah~ so pure!'
As you ate together in silence, you thought about what someone who just got de-petrified would ask.
"What time of year is it?" you pulled on the lion coat. "It's sunny, but still cold."
"Oh right, the winter is ending. It should get warmer in no time." he smiled. "You're lucky to have gotten out of the stone at this time. If it was any earlier, you would've frozen to death."
You gulped. Then, a question came to mind. And you were getting curious about it.
"Say...What was it like for you to be in there?"
"What do you mean?"
"In the stone, for more than 3,700 years. What did you do to not go crazy?"
He stared at you in silence for long enough to make you nervous. Was it a touchy subject? Was that too soon to ask?
"You...I mean." he said. "I didn't stay conscious, after a while I fell into a deep slumber until I got revived." he leaned closer. "And you... You didn't?"
"I-I guess yeah."
'Wait! I didn't know that!'
His eyes slightly widen, he smiled.
"You must have a very strong willpower, I admire that."
Your heart skipped a beat, actually maybe a few.
"O-Oh. Thank you."
He let out an 'ah', as if he realized something.
"I apologize, we haven't even got a proper introduction."
"Right!" you slightly bowed your head. "My name is (L/n) (Y/n). It's nice to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine." he returned the gesture. "My name is Shishio Tsukasa."
You froze, your heart sunk, your mind went blank, the colors drained from your face. Only now do you remember the description Senku gave you, it did match.
'He's Tsukasa?'
He looked up and saw the look on your face.
"Are you okay?!" he asked, his voice full of concern and a slight panic. "You're suddenly paler."
He brought his hands closer, your shoulders flinched but thanks to the large coat, it was unnoticed.
"I-I think the...feet bath gave me a cold." you sniffed.
He immediately stood up.
"I'll go get more wood for the fire then."
He walked away. Your smile fell.
'He kills people?' you thought. 'He...killed Senku?'
Alone again, you joined your hands together and placed them on your mouth, thinking deeply.
There was such a dissociation between the two images you got. You got Tsukasa, the head of the Empire of Might who's ready to destroy the village and any technological progress for the sake of 'the greater good'. And you got this big, tall, hot and sweet teddy bear who was so considerate to a stranger in need, and you could tell that he was being genuine! (Spending time with Gen really came in handy.) But you knew you had to come around the fact that these two were the same person. Which made you wonder: how?! Why?!
And more importantly: would he have treated you differently if you were an adult?
You felt a shiver when you recalled that low menacing voice you first heard from him.
He came back, you put your facade of innocence back up. He was just as sweet. He made sure you were comfortable and he told you that if you needed anything, you shouldn't hesitate go to him.
"In this stone world, we have to have each-other's back." he said.
You smiled.
'You're a murderer.' / 'You're so sweet.'
These were the two thoughts that were bumping each-other in your mind the whole time. Guess you weren't ready to hate him after all...
The two of you were walking back to Tsukasa's-well, his Empire. You glanced up at him from time to time, still thinking. Senku never talked about him, you remembered he just mentioned that they spent months together before he started going on a murder spree. Were they close before that? Do they really consider themselves enemies now? Or is it complicated? And is it really complicated or just facebook-complicated?
You figured you could get answer from Senku later. For now, the need to slow him down was more important than ever. The Kingdom of Science could get a head-start if you hold him for long enough. You thought for a moment, getting him to pick you up wouldn't really be a lot, but at least it'd be cumbersome for him. Better than nothing.
"Wah!" you purposely tripped over a rock.
"Are you okay?!" he knelt down.
"No..." you said between your teeth, holding your leg. "I think I sprained my ankle."
With the most careful and gentle of touch, he pushed your hands away and held your feet. His hands were so big he could probably get a hold of your entire neck with just one hand. A moment passed.
"I know a sprained ankle when I see one."
He looked up, his serious expression making you anxious.
"Why are you lying to me?"