Chapter Text
If someone had told Senku that, in a few hours, he would be stranded in some unknown world parallel to Earth, he would’ve laughed and promptly dismissed such a statement. He would rather not get caught up in whatever roleplay scenario his classmates were into at the moment. Or get involved with them at all, in fact. He had no interest in the juvenile things they’d say about their female peers. No thanks.
His day had been off to a nice start, to be honest. He’d woken up feeling refreshed and in optimal condition, physical education had been canceled, and none of his experiments had decided to blow up on him. The air seemed to be laced with something as well, since his two childhood friends had finally decided to reveal their feelings for each other after five whole years. Well, they hadn’t done so quite yet, but he was ten billion percent sure the confession would go smoothly.
“Senkuuuuuu!!! I’m gonna do it! I’m finally gonna confess to Yuzuriha!”
“Really?! You’ll cheer me on? Thanks, buddy! Huh? Make up your mind!”
“A love potion? Sorry, Senku, but I can’t cheat my way into her heart! But I appreciate it!”
Crack crick snap…
“AHHHHH! Senku, I’m sorry!”
The albino grimaced at the memory. He could still feel a slight ache in his lower back from how hard Taiju had hugged him. His friend reeked too. What was he doing before he barged into the science lab—running a marathon? He didn’t doubt it. Luckily, he managed to convince his friend to freshen up in the locker room before he met up with Yuzuriha, not that she would mind the smell much, but he knew this moment would be a milestone in their life. Senku was trying to help out by…what was it…“setting the mood…?”
He didn’t really have a good grasp on understanding social behavior. He was more of an antisocial hermit, Byakuya’s words, not his.
Sipping the energy drink he’d purchased from the vending machine, he gazed out of the school window. He could see the small figure of Yuzuriha under the camphor tree, the place Taiju had chosen for his confession. In the distance, he noticed said boy lumbering towards her. It was obvious he was nervous out of his mind.
Go for it, you big oaf.
Next to him, he could hear some of his classmates bet that Taiju would get rejected. That made him slightly miffed. Just slightly.
“Ten thousand yen he succeeds, against all odds.”
Senku smirked at their surprised shouts. That might’ve been a tad immature of him, to involve money in his friends’ confession, but whatever. He noticed that Taiju had already reached Yuzuriha during his little gambling stunt. They were shifting around, waving their arms and such.
He couldn’t suppress the wave of nostalgia that hit him. It felt like it was just yesterday that the three of them were only middle schoolers, hiking to a tall hill to launch a small rocket. He smiled softly at the memory. Now the two were finally moving to the next step.
A traitorous part of him whispered that he would just get in the way of their relationship, because, who was he kidding? Things wouldn’t stay the same way after this. Nobody wanted a third wheel constantly lurking around. The two would slowly drift away from him, leaving him alone. He had no place in their relationship, as an extra.
Senku quickly shot down that thought by affirming that his friends were not like that, that they were the kindest, but dumbest, people he knew. They would never see him as a burden. Besides, he cared more about their happiness together, so he wouldn’t mind sitting in the sidelines supporting them if he had to.
As he gazed down at the two lovebirds, Senku quietly thought to himself.
Will I ever find someone for me—
A flash of light caught his attention, a ball of light to be exact. It looked unnatural, as if it were edited in place. It was a few feet away from Taiju and Yuzuriha, but they didn’t seem to have noticed it. A glance at his classmates’ expressions proved that they also weren’t aware of it. The light was small and hovered lazily for a few seconds, much like a firefly if it weren’t for the fact that it was daytime , before it suddenly accelerated and shot towards his two friends—no, towards Yuzuriha.
Senku gripped the windowsill in alarm and yelled out, “Yuzuriha! Watch out—” his voice died when he saw Taiju jump without hesitation to shield the girl, to no avail though, as the light passed right through him and reached Yuzuriha. In that instant, the light seemed to take on a physical form (but that wasn’t possible ) since it left the two hanging limply, as if they were skewered. It fizzled out of existence soon after, apparently done with its job, leaving the two to flop to the ground. They weren’t moving.
This all happened in the span of a few seconds. Senku could hear students screaming in panic, but all he could focus on was the unmoving bodies of his friends. His knuckles were white from how hard he was gripping the window. He felt cold and empty, but his mind was running faster than ever.
What’s going on? What happened?
…are they dead?
The teen grit his teeth and shook his head, desperately dispelling the thought. What would be their cause of death in the first place? That light…it appeared from nothing and disappeared without a trace. Everything—from its movement to its appearance—broke the rules of reality. He had nothing to base it off of. He could only go by his own memory, but that wasn’t enough. He needed more information. What was that thing? Why did it go after Yuzuriha of all people?
He barely managed to notice a similar ball of light appear to his side. His body didn’t react fast enough, but his mind did. Now that he could see up close, he noted that it emitted heat, as if it were a small star. Just as it had done before, it began to accelerate, faster and faster until it resembled a fiery bullet.
Senku felt a sharp pinprick of heat in his chest, and he succumbed to the darkness.
__________
Tch. So we have an uninvited guest, huh?
No matter, leave him stranded. I have what I want anyway.
__________
The sound of muffled chirping roused Senku from his sleep. His whole body ached, almost as if he’d just done all the activities Taiju would usually carry out in a day. He slowly opened his eyes and squinted when brightness greeted him.
Where… am I? This isn’t the school—
Memories of what had happened before he passed out came rushing to him. What had happened to him? He briefly touched his chest, feeling up where the light had penetrated him. There was no sign of a wound. In fact, other than his fatigue, he was perfectly fine.
I’m alive? Then what was that thing?
He blinked the drowsiness out of his eyes and was greeted with the sight of tall, ancient trees and the clear violet sky—wait, violet? Senku quickly scrambled to his knees and looked around wildly. To say that his surroundings looked weird was an understatement. Everything around him seemed like it was ripped straight out of a fantasy novel. As far as he could see, gigantic trees loomed imposingly above him, almost touching the clouds. Every breath he took felt electrifying, as if he’d swallowed a handful of mints.
But what stunned him most of all was the strange tint everything seemed to possess. It was unnatural and off putting. It only affirmed the fact that he was in an unknown place. Where was he exactly, anyway? He came into contact with that ball of light, he passed out, and now he was alone in what seemed to be a painter’s fever dream.
The teen swallowed the lump in his throat and slapped his cheeks. He wasn’t dreaming, and this all felt too real to be a hallucination.
His school was nowhere to be found, that was clear with a quick glance around. Was he transported here? Now, he wouldn’t go as far as to say teleport , not yet, but it was safe to assume that he wasn’t on Earth right now. Sure, his home planet had some sites that looked extraterrestrial, but it certainly didn’t have any place that looked like this . Senku didn’t like the conclusion he came to, as it was basically on the fantastical side of explanations (seriously, teleporting to an unknown planet?), but what other reason could there be to rationalize his current situation? Especially after the spectacle of light that he saw under the camphor tree.
His friends bodies hitting the ground limply, Taiju had ended up protecting her til the end—
The albino stewed in his thoughts for a while before a thought struck him.
Wait. If I’m still alive after that light had pierced me, it wouldn’t be illogical to assume that Taiju and Yuzuriha are in the same position as I am. There’s a possibility they aren’t dead, but have just been transported to this realm…
He wanted to hope. It was a fifty-fifty chance that his assumption would be correct, since he only had his own experience to go off of, but if it meant that his friends were alive, then… he’d cling on to that hope, no matter how illogical.
Shakily, Senku pushed himself up. Well, if his friends were hypothetically stranded in a forest like he is, he’s sure they can fend for themselves. They both had basic survival skills, and one of them had the physical prowess to endure hard labor. He didn’t know if their knowledge of the wilderness would help them in this unknown land, but he trusted their instincts to know whether something was dangerous or poisonous at least. That is, he trusted Yuzuriha’s instincts.
Senku outlined the spot he’d woken up in with stones, lost in thought. He noticed his hands were shaking.
Just keep thinking.
Hm. He hoped they woke up close to each other. Since they were hit with the same ray of light, he would assume that they would be transported together. He could count on Taiju to keep himself and Yuzuriha safe, while also handling grunt work, but he wouldn’t trust the big oaf to distinguish poisonous plants. Truly, the two needed each other. Or maybe they’d been transported close to civilization, if there was any in this world, then they would be safe.
He brushed off the dirt on his hands. This was all based on the possibility that they were in a situation similar to his—that they were alive.
No. I know they are alive.
There was no use worrying about them, so Senku clenched his hands and immediately got to work. Judging by the position of the sun, he barely had enough time to secure shelter and food, knowing his terrible physique. That is, if this sun behaved the same way as the one in his world. He should focus on lasting the night for now, before trying to signal for help. He still didn’t know much about this place, so he was hoping to at least find someone that would provide him the much needed information.
As he followed the slope in the ground, hoping to find running water, he quickly took notice of an important detail.
Heh. I can’t believe I didn’t notice this before. I should be ten billion percent ashamed of my inadequacy.
Apart from the strange coloring, the terrain of this land was basically identical to that of his homeland. He didn’t know if that was a blessing or a plot that was intended to lower his guard with familiarity, but he’d very much prefer the first option. Even if this world seemed to be a mocking impostor of his home, he’d gladly accept it, if it meant having an advantage in geographical knowledge. Distracted by his discovery, he barely registered the large figure that strode out of the foliage to show itself in front of him. He yelped in surprise, but quickly composed himself.
From the animal’s appearance, he could tell it was a fawn, or rather, something that looked like it. The only difference was of course its hue, but also its abnormally protruding forehead. The teen wasn’t too worried, frankly. If it was anything like the wild deer he knew, it was most likely just curious of his presence. Besides, it was a young one. It meant no harm to him, so there was no need to worry.
Senku let out a sigh of relief and took a step to his side, but not without the animal tensing up. To the boy’s surprise, it abruptly adopted a hostile posture, as if it was ready to charge at him. He felt a bead of sweat run across his face. His mind was already coming up with different outcomes if the animal did attack him. A few seconds ticked by, with neither making any large movements.
The fawn remained silent as Senku slowly backed away. He hoped that it would leave him alone, as he wasn’t sure if he could outrun it. As usual, luck wasn’t on his side. It suddenly lunged at him, charging head first without hesitation.
Not wanting to get rammed with what looked to be a reinforced skull, Senku spun around and fled, sprinting faster than ever.
Honestly, things never really go my way, do they?! Forget Taiju and Yuzuriha, I should be worrying for my safety!
__________
Frankly, Senku had overestimated his physical capabilities. He knew that surviving in a forest by himself would be tough, but he didn’t expect that doing the literal bare minimum, securing shelter, would leave him exhausted. He knew that he wouldn’t last long if things remained like this, since his workload would just increase with every day that passed.
As the teen struck rocks together, he couldn’t help but recall the fawn that chased him. As it turns out, the animal just stopped galloping after him at some point, perhaps it had lost interest? He wasn’t too sure, but there was one good thing he achieved from the little debacle—it led him to a natural spring (which opened a whole realm of quality resources for him, he’s pretty sure he found a wasabi plant there), and most importantly, he located the ocean not too far away. Interestingly enough, the ocean was also indigo. Hm.
That was another thing he discovered. Although things might’ve looked different in this world, the same science principles still applied. It was as if the colors were simply put on a randomizer, and it was his job to assign them to their right place. This world truly seemed like a parallel version of Earth.
Refocusing his attention to the stones on his hands, he finally managed to craft some amatuer tools. It’d taken him longer than he’d expected to get a grasp on the technique, but he’d say he did a decent job on sharpening them. Now he could start a fire. He didn’t have Taiju’s endurance and strength, or Yuzuriha’s expertise in handicrafts, so he needed to use something else to start a fire—science. Unfortunately for him, that required lots of crafting and labor, which he was currently rushing through. The sun was on the brink of setting.
After twisting some plant fibers into a rope, he looped it around one of his handmade blades and a branch. Using its rotational speed and friction, he was able to get some embers going. The rest was easy, simply feed the embers slowly until it becomes sustainable fire. Senku let out a sigh of relief. This was cutting it too close, what would he do if he hadn’t completed his tools on time? He wasn’t too sure if he’d be able to survive the night without a heat source.
As he continued adding kindle to his steadily growing fire, the flames suddenly expanded and spread out, much like an oil splatter. For a second, his vision was filled with reds and oranges. Senku only had a second to react and cover himself.
BOOM!
There was fire all over him.
He frantically patted down the flames that were eating away his clothes and extinguished anything else that might’ve been set ablaze. He stomped out the last of the stray flames. There were now scorch marks on the ground. He took a deep breath.
“What just happened?” he whispered to no one in particular. He felt his heart pounding in his ears. The fire had basically exploded, but what was the cause of it? He was feeding it the moment the explosion occurred, did it have to do something with the kindle? He looked at his pile of leaves and branches warily. The flames danced contentedly, as if it hadn’t just taken an attempt at his life.
Sighing, Senku looked around at the damage. Luckily, he was mostly unharmed, and his materials were safe. Un -luckily, his clothes were now decorated with multiple holes. That’s another thing to add to his chore list—making leather. He should’ve been frustrated that he had another thing to craft, but strangely, he didn’t feel too sullen. In fact, he still felt excited from the fire’s spontaneous outburst.
“So this place isn’t as similar to Earth as I thought, huh?”
Senku was ready to start another fire to toss in different plants from his kindle pile. Could it be that certain properties of the flora were different? Or was it the flammability? Or perhaps it wasn’t the kindle, but another factor entirely. Either way, he was going to find out the cause of the flame’s violent reaction. This was completely unknown territory to him, but he wasn’t hesitant to step into something new.
“My first experiment in this world? This is exhilarating!” he cackled.
__________
It’s been six months, fifteen days, and eleven hours since he’d woken up under a violet sky. He hated to admit it, but he’s grown used to the odd sight of this world’s environment. He would dare to say he’d acclimated to this realm quite smoothly, and that there was nothing in it that would catch him off guard again.
“Fire! Finally!”
“Ack, the materials! So its blast range is approximately a meter and a half, huh?”
“Let’s see, the cause of this explosion is…a wasabi leaf?”
He’d discovered that certain plants and stones, like burdock, mint, and limestone, had alarming and extreme reactions to a source of stimulus. Spontaneous combustion wasn’t the only reaction, though.
So far, the effects he’d witnessed were the following: emission of heat (in varying degrees), slight emission of cold, emission of light, minor rejuvenation effects, and combustion. Despite their different outcomes, the reactions had one thing in common—they all stopped abruptly after one or two seconds. So as useful as they would’ve been to his survival, they were much too volatile or unsustainable for him to put to use.
The teen was a bit disappointed at this. Actually having an instant fire starter, or a natural flashlight would’ve helped him immensely. There was still something amiss, however. Senku still didn’t understand why these reactions occurred. From what he observed, there was nothing special about these plants and stones as far as his senses could tell. Was the reason rooted in their cellular structure? As much as he would like to find out, he didn’t have the necessary equipment to do so.
However, it wasn’t as if he’d only been messing around with science experiments during those six months. Those experiments were actually what he did during the rare occasions he stayed up at night. Most of his time was occupied with trying to keep himself alive, so things like scientific discovery, finding a way back home, and his friends had to become a side thought.
He’d managed to construct his own shelter and acquire more modern resources such as clay pots, leather, soap, among other things since then. Although he was proud of his achievements, he knew his body couldn’t handle hard labor anymore. He’d been ignoring his muscle’s screams of protest for a while now, but even that had its limits. His body would give out sooner or later. He couldn’t survive alone.
He desperately needed to find other people, to contact civilization. He could only assume that help wasn’t arriving anytime soon, since it's already been half a year. During that time, the teen hadn't once spotted any sign of aircrafts flying by, so his signal for help was completely useless.
He’d also tried to go find people on his own accord, but his expeditions always ended in failure. No matter how far he walked, he only encountered more wilderness, not that he was able to travel much, anyway. He only had the strength to carry a meager amount of provisions, so he always had to return to his home base earlier than he’d like.
So now he was stuck. Senku needed help, but he couldn’t get any. He wasn’t even certain if there were other people apart from him anywhere nearby. What was there to do next? Well, he couldn’t just give up, could he? Of course not.
Although he did affirm that help most likely wouldn’t arrive, he still wanted to give them one last signal—his biggest yet. Everybody, whether they were on land or air, would immediately know of his location. Essentially he was going to make a ridiculously big bonfire.
It’d be the perfect occasion to throw in a bunch of those wasabi leaves he’d been stocking up on. The explosion would be huge, and the thought of it made him chuckle. As he made his daily round of foraging, something made him stop. There was something…off about his surroundings. It wasn’t the environment’s appearance that was bothering him per say, but rather his instincts were telling him to be wary.
A quick scan around, and Senku knew what was wrong. The forest was devoid of the usual animals it was usually filled with. There were no deer, no monkeys, and no rabbits. The teen stooped down and grimaced, observing the faint tracks on the ground. It was likely that some predator had taken residence in the area. He’d have to be more careful during his trips now.
“There’s not one millimeter of chance that I’d survive a straight forward attack from a predator,” he muttered. Although weapons were one of the first things he’d crafted, he barely used them, since he mostly used traps to hunt animals. He had no experience with wielding a weapon. All the more reason to find civilization as soon as possible.
With a determined glint in his eyes, Senku set off for his shelter.
__________
“Well, what do we have here?”
It seemed as if Senku’s wishes for more manpower had been answered, albeit in a weird way, since there was currently an unconscious body at his feet.
The albino had been finishing preparations for his smoke signal, when he heard a loud sound. Normally, he would’ve simply tuned it out, since the forest was a noisy place, but this specific sound was unnatural. It was as if a land mine had been set off. It clearly wasn’t something that was produced by the wildlife.
After a moment of hesitation, he grabbed whatever supplies he could bring with him and rushed to the direction of the sound. It took him nearly ten minutes of sprinting before he caught a glimpse of the scene.
It was terrible. It looked like the aftermath of an arson attack, which was his first hint that something was amiss here. If there were scorch marks on the ground, there was fire, but how was it put out so quickly? Not even an hour had passed since he’d heard the sound. Senku squinted. He couldn’t see much because the sky was quickly darkening, but he took in what he could observe and filed it for later.
I’ve already memorized the location, so I can revisit this place later. For now…
At the center of the blast lay a large figure, his body splayed out in an unnatural position. He was deathly still, but a closer look revealed that he was still breathing. His clothes were in tatters, nearly burnt off. However, his body didn’t possess a single major burn. Strange, given how violent the explosion seemed.
“Signs of dehydration, blade wounds in his arms, and raw wrists and ankles…” Senku murmured.
By this point, the sun had already set, so he couldn’t rely on his vision as much. It didn’t bother him though, as he’d already determined that the unconscious man could withstand a bit of manhandling.
That is, he could survive Senku dragging him around on a poor excuse of a sled that he put together at the moment.
It took him more than twice as long to arrive back to his base than it took him to get to the scene of the explosion. He hadn’t expected the stranger to be so heavy, with that slim figure of his. Throughout the entire trip, the teen muttered curses and hoped saving this man would be worth the trouble.
Senku quietly let out desperate wheezes of exhaustion as he laid out his patient on his own bed. Under the flickering light of the torch, the teen finally got a good look at the man he saved.
He looked young. He definitely wasn’t a man, but more so a teenager. His long brown hair and beautiful features almost made Senku believe he was female for a hot second, but the male’s body spoke a different story.
“Ten billion percent, absolutely jacked. This is unbelievable, what did this guy’s parents feed him?...” he laughed incredulously. He’s never seen another person as toned as this guy, it was ridiculous how muscular he was. But in all honesty, it was a bit frightening to see that he’d brought home a stranger that could definitely kill him easily.
…Senku sighed.
No matter, what’s done is done. He decided to help his guy, so he was following through on his intentions. Besides, this was the first human contact he’d experienced in six months, and he wasn’t letting go of this rare moment.
A look over at the stranger’s clothes showed that there was definitely a well-developed civilization out there. Although the fabric was in tatters, he could tell that it was made of linen and animal fur. Maybe when the man woke up, he could ask him to guide him to where he came from.
The thought made him excited all over again. Finally, things were progressing! But for now, he should probably prioritize his patient’s comfort so he could rest properly. Senku started by removing the stranger’s top, since most of his wounds were in his torso. He then wiped his body down and treated his wounds, not that there were many.
Once he was done, the teen wiped the sweat off his face and sighed. He was nearly ready to just pass out on the wooden floor, but stopped when something on the male’s head caught his attention.
It was a strange accessory that appeared to be made out of animal fur. He’d nearly overlooked it due to it being the same color as the stranger’s hair. It reminded him a bit of Yuzuriha’s headphones, only that this accessory curved upwards in an imitation of horns. It was a bit weird, but Senku wouldn’t be surprised if the people of this world had different fashion customs from his world.
Intending to remove the head gear, he reached out his hand and placed his palm on one of the tufts of fur. It twitched, and he instantly recoiled. The accessory felt warm and responsive, and definitely not made out of fabric. The stranger let out a muffled hum at his previous touch.
Senku stared .
He furiously rubbed his eyes and looked at his patient once more, this time with more intensity. The accessory twitched once more, as if it could feel his unblinking stare.
That’s not a head piece.
With an exasperated sigh, Senku briefly wondered if he did pass out and if he was currently dreaming. He closed his eyes for a minute before opening them again. The male was still on his bed, and the tuft twitched again .
Senku couldn’t suppress his maniacal chuckle at this situation. He had honestly believed that he’d seen everything this world had to show him, and that nothing would surprise him anymore. But this?
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Beast men exist in this world?”