He nodded his head once in satisfaction and got rid of whatever was on his finger in one flick before shifting his attention over to you, lifting a brow in question when he saw your expression.
"What? Why are you staring at me like that?" Senku asked. "Do I have something on my face?"
"N-Nothing!" You stammered and snapped out of it with a shake of your head before turning around stiffly with your back facing Senku so he couldn't see your facial expression as you marched off in the direction of the camp.
"Let's go! I haven't eaten anything since I broke out and now I'm hungry!"
Senku's face was blank as he pointed in the opposite direction of where you were heading to. "You're going in the wrong direction. Camp's the other way, idiot."
You paused in your track and both of you stood there, neither saying a word with the rustling of leaves being the only sound present. A minute or so, which felt like an eternity, passed before you broke the silence.
"I know that." You commented, turning around once again and confidently walked past Senku in the right direction this time around. "I was merely just testing to see if you were paying attention."
"Sure you are." Senku sarcastically replied with an eye roll and shook his head at your idiocy before dropping his arm to his side and following after you.
With that being said, you started your new life in the stone world.
***
A few weeks had passed since your un-petrification and both you and Senku had more or less settled into a routine.
While Senku was in-charge of doing all the smart thinking, you were his assistant as well as taking care of the cooking since your green-haired friend couldn't cook to save his life. He would just end up poisoning both himself and you if he was left to it.
Together, both of you were managing quite well since Senku had already acquired the basics for human living such as shelter, food, tools and weapons during the three months when you were still stuck in that darkness.
It wasn't easy, being the only human but with patience and perseverance, Senku did it and because of that, your admiration and love for the scientist only grew stronger. This only made you determined to help out in whatever way you could.
From now onwards, Senku wouldn't be alone on this journey anymore because he had you to walk the path with him - by his side.
Currently, you were out scourging for mushrooms and wild greens to restock on food supply while Senku was at a bat cave not far from where you were, collecting more nitric acid which he hypothesized was what played a factor in how both of you were able to break out from the petrification.
He discovered that cave when he was studying the stone fragments from which both of you broke out from and trying to figure out what was the cause behind it.
When he did, Senku had come running back to where you were cooking dinner with a look of excitement written all over his face which frightened you and began explaining his discovery and hypotheses of which you didn't understand – not one bit at all.
However, it didn't matter when you saw the way those eyes lit up like they always did whenever he was going on and on about a topic related to all things science. You didn't have the heart to stop him because you had missed this side of him.
Ever since then, he had been trying to undo the petrification but there was still no success. However, knowing Senku, he wouldn't give up so easily and would keep going at it until he achieved the result he desired.
'Man, if only I have the proper cooking tools to prepare an actual meal. This way, we can have more varieties instead of just eating roasted meat seasoned only with salt.' You sighed wistfully, daydreaming about all the delicious food you itched to cook. 'I guess beggars can't be choosers, but it'll be nice to cook Senku's favourite food again.'
Suddenly, a smile broke out on your face as a memory from long ago surfaced to mind.
"Senku!" You called out the scientist's name, a big smile on your face as you entered the science lab where the said person had been holed up in ever since school ended hours ago.
The green-haired male let out a wince as the door slammed shut after you. He removed the safety goggles which hung around his neck and turned to glare at you, irk marks appearing on his forehead.
"How many times have I told you to not slam the door open?" Senku scowled as his eyes followed your figure which came to a stop next to him, placing your school bag on the table. "I don't need another person starting to behave like that big oaf."
"Senku, stop calling Taiju that." You scolded your friend as you rummaged through your bag, looking for something. "You know he can't help it. That's just how he is."
The scientist let out a defeated sigh, knowing that he could never win in an illogical fight against you. He simply returned to whatever he was doing before, only to be interrupted by your loudness once more.
"Eureka!" You exclaimed triumphantly; your lips curved into a wide smirk as you proudly held up a lunch box coloured in green in the air. "I found it!"
Senku fixed you a deadpan look. "Should I award you for finding a bento?"
Bottom lips stuck out in a pout as you held the lunch box in front of the male. "Don't be mean, Senku. Is this how you thank me for bringing you dinner?"
Your friend stared at the object in your hand with narrowed eyes as though it was something dangerous like a bomb. "What are you, my mother? How many times have I told you that I don't need your help?"
"Just take it, Senku. It's not like you won't die if you do!" You complained and shoved the lunch box into said person's chest. "Besides, I cook your favourite food – ramen!"
"Oho, did you now?" Senku lifted an eyebrow and accepted the box, placing it on the table so he could investigate the contents inside it.
(E/C) eyes sparkled with anticipation, peeking out from over the taller male's shoulder to see his reaction. Senku rolled his eyes at your expression before focusing on the lunch box that sat innocently in front of him.
The moment he lifted one side of the lid off the container, he was hit with a strong waft of something familiar. Red eyes widened slightly in surprise as he completely removed the lid and sure enough, it was none other than ramen just as you said.
"You..." Senku began and turned around, only to trail off when he came face to face with a beaming smile as you held out a pair of chopsticks in one hand, waiting for him to take it.
His gaze was fixated at the way how those (e/c) orbs became a shade lighter in the late afternoon sun, sparkling with eagerness. With such an expression, how could he say no?
Letting out a defeated sigh, Senku accepted the chopsticks and gave thanks for the food before digging in.
You would never forget the way how red eyes widened in surprise as flavours burst onto his tongue, the flavours dancing in sync. The scientist might have denied the deliciousness of the ramen after finishing it, but you knew better when you saw not a single drop of broth was even left in the lunch box afterwards.
"(Name)!"
You were jostled out of your walk down memory lane when Senku called your name, his voice sounded a bit far from where you were at the moment.
'He's probably still by the cave.' You pondered and answered in a loud voice so your friend could hear you. "Yea?"
"It's almost sundown. We need to head back to camp before it gets too dark!" came the reply.
"Coming!" You shouted and proceeded to place the last few mushrooms you had picked into the basket before slinging it over your back and headed in the direction of where the cave was.
In your haste to get there, you didn't notice a corner of what looked like a petrified human hand sticking out from the ground.
"Eek!" You let out a startled squeal as you tripped over the said hand and fell face-first onto the ground, toppling the basket you were carrying which sent mushrooms flying everywhere.
From nearby, Senku's head jerked up from where he was observing a stone fragment when he heard a loud crash coming from your direction, resounding throughout the dense forest, and then followed by your shriek.
"Did that clumsy idiot trip over something again?" The green-haired scientist muttered, shaking his head in exasperation as he exited the cave and went over to you.
Sure enough, he found you in your current position – lying on the ground in spread-eagle style, your limbs sprawled in all directions with the basket covering your head, spilt mushrooms everywhere.
Instead of showing concern for your well-being, Senku couldn't help bursting out in laughter at the comical sight. Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes as he clutched his stomach, nearly falling over from laughing too hard.
"HAHAHA! You look like a turtle!" Your friend cried out, not caring that he was scaring any nearby animals away with how loud his laughter was.
"Senku!" You whined and attempted to push yourself upright, only for one of your hands to slip on a stray mushroom, face planting back into the earth. "Stop laughing and come help me!"
"G-Give me a minute," Senku managed to breathe out as he struggled to get his laughter under control which once he did, he helped you out of your predicament.
"What happened to you?" He questioned as he removed the basket and pulled you onto your feet, plucking a stray grass out of your (h/c) locks. "Did your clumsy ass tripped over something again?"
After sweeping away the few pieces of grass stuck to your dress, you knelt down and righted the basket before picking up the runaway mushrooms back into it. The entire time there was a pout on your lips.
"S-Shut up." You mumbled; your cheeks pinked in embarrassment at Senku's accurate guessing. "You were the one who rushed me by asking me to hurry up."
The scientist rolled his eyes at your excuse and knelt down next to you, helping to pick up the mushrooms as well. "Don't push the blame onto me. It's not my fault you're the clumsy one."
"Whatever!" You huffed like a petulant child, ignoring the chuckles coming from the green-haired male.
Once all the mushrooms were back in the basket, you picked it up and was about to haul it over your back when Senku stepped in and carried it himself. Without waiting for you, he began the walk back to camp.
(E/C) eyes blinked rapidly in disbelief at what just happened. It was so sudden and out of nowhere that it took a few seconds before the thought of Senku helping you sank into your brain.
Upon realizing, you exclaimed in an incredulous tone. "S-Senku?!"
The male paused in his tracks at his name, a beat of silence or so passed before he threw a smirk over his shoulder, his red eyes glinting with confidence in the setting sun. "I need my lab assistant alive if I'm to rebuild civilisation."
Without waiting for your reply, he resumed his journey again. As the sky turned a beautiful gradient of pink, purple and orange, you were wearing a soft smile and watching Senku's retreating back with fondness.
"It looks like you feel more than you let on, don't you Senku?" You whispered to no one but Mother Nature as your witness. "In this stone world, I'm gonna be the one thing that never changes in your life – no matter what."
Your heart warmed at that thought, a silent promise to the one you loved.
As the sun sank lower over the horizon and making way for nightfall, you glanced over to the stone hand you tripped over earlier on and made a decision to dig up the rest of its body so that there wouldn't be a repeat of what happened.
Since it was located near the cave, you didn't want the same thing happening to Senku considering he would be coming back for quite an amount of time for his research. This way with the petrified human visible, it lessened the risk.
Kneeling down, you got to work. After digging endlessly, you finally managed to free the person from being buried underground. You then fell onto your ass, panting for breath as a hand reached up to wipe away the sweat that had gathered on your brows.
"This should be a hundred times easier as compared to all the other manual labour Senku and I've done so far," You grumbled tiredly with a frown.
Your head tilted up towards the sky and you could begin to see the first few stars coming out in the waning light. A thoughtful sigh left your lips, remembering while you were filled in wonderment at the sight of millions of stars stretched out across the wide expanse of space which was a rare sight in a Japanese city, there was melancholy written all over Senku's face.
You had a feeling that he was thinking about his father, whom neither of you knew if he was alive or not because when the Petrification happened, Byakuya was in space which meant he probably escaped from being turned into stone along with those who were with him.
You also knew Senku missed seeing the Milky Way with its planets and stars off all shapes and sizes. In this stone world where humankind was back to square one, the chances of being able to build a telescope were slim to none as the materials required to make one no longer existed.
However, all hope wasn't lost because there were Senku and his vast knowledge of science. You believed that one day when human civilisation was revived again, Senku would have the chance to witness the glory of space once more.
You're going to make that plausible happen no matter what.
Deciding it was time to make your way back before Senku came after your ass, you pushed yourself off the ground and was about to leave when you saw something from the corner of your eyes.
A sense of familiarity washed over you and it was coming from the same petrified human who was no longer buried thanks to you.
Curiosity got the better of you, wondering if it was maybe someone you knew who also got turned into stone. You squat down to take a better look and sure enough, it was someone whom you recognised.
In fact, it was a close friend of both yours and Senku's.
Lying on the ground with his arms stretched out towards the air as though he was protecting someone was a familiar face frozen into a soundless shout.
As (e/c) eyes widened in shock, you let out a startled yell.
"T-Taiju?!"
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