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You woke up to something poking into your back. Thinking it was the snout of a predator, adrenaline burst through you, shooting you awake and to grab your spear, aiming it behind you. When your vision had cleared from its sleepy haze, you were pleasantly surprised to find something small. Just a small boar. It had jumped and backed up at your abrupt movement, but still snorted softly. The patterns of brown, white and black on its back reminded you of the pelt you had taken from the dead boar.
Oh shit. This must have been one of the boar’s piglets. It sniffed in your direction, oinking slightly. You lowered your spear and watched the little guy waddle up to you. He didn’t seem perturbed by you wearing his mother’s skin, but he did seem to understand that you weren’t his mother. You slowly kneeled and reached out to him, palm up. The little guy snorted, his dark snout tickling your fingers. You admired his tiny tusks until he suddenly squeaked and ran from you.
A thundering growl erupted into a loud roar. Your body leapt, narrowly missing the lioness whose shadow covered you entirely for one millisecond. The lioness slid to face you again, finding you a better meal than the baby pig. You grabbed your spear and jabbed it in the direction of the beast. She pulled her lips back and snarled, her fur bunching at her back. You slammed your foot down and gripped the wood harshly. The lioness stepped back, keeping her eyes on you, rolling her shoulders. You prayed that you would be fast enough to make it out alive.
Your daring quest against this beast was interrupted by the soft sound of a squeak. The lioness’s ears perked at the noise as she flicked her head in its direction. You chanced a glance at the lioness’s possible new target, your heart beating guilt into the pit of your gut. Of course it was the piglet, but it was only now that you realized that his front right leg was bent at an unnatural angle. He had tripped over a rock and was trying to squirm away. Sensing an easier meal, the lioness trained her eyes on the helpless little boar.
For a moment, you were free to run. You might make it to safety, but your freedom would cost that baby boar’s life. He had already lost his mother. The lioness took one step with a large paw in the direction of the boar. Your gut wrenched into a tight knot as you clenched the spear in your hands. There was no guarantee that the little guy would even make it far if you tried to help him. There was no guarantee that you could help him.
Your mind continued to race as the predator took no heed of you or your weapon. Her smooth movements were made with confidence as she took her time to stride towards the baby boar. She knew she could kill you and the little guy. And she wanted to eat soon.
Something in your chest snapped as you charged at the lioness and took a stab at her. You missed but gained her full attention again. You wouldn’t let that little boar die. As much as your head urged you to run, you wouldn’t be able to sit with yourself knowing you willingly sacrificed another’s life for yours. Even if it was a wild animal.
The lioness lurched at you, swatting the spear in your hands. You maneuvered it swiftly, barely missing her powerful swing. She growled and pounced. Your feet scrambled to carry you out of harm’s way but you were tackled down. She snapped her teeth at you. Panicked, you forced the length of your staff between her teeth and pushed with all your might. She pushed back with a simple dip of her head. You reangled her power from shoving you down to making you slide on your back, scraping your skin in the rough dirt, freeing you from her pin. You rushed back to your feet and guarded yourself.
You were outclassed in every facet imaginable, but you wouldn’t lie down now. You and the lioness danced in a terrible routine that wore on your muscles. Your life hung in the balance but you couldn’t bear to hear the little boar’s whimpers anymore. The piglet had gotten away. As much as you wanted to join the little guy, you were somehow content with him surviving, even if it meant that you didn’t. Or maybe the excess adrenaline was making you loopy.
The lioness pounced once more, your muscles and bones begged for relief as you failed to move out of the way in time. The lioness had her paws on your shoulders, her claws bent your skin unwillingly. Beads of blood sprang from under her claws. Making direct eye-contact with this beast gave you a strange sense of serenity. This was the end. It was better to accept your fate in peace than to continue struggling. Even so, you wanted to close your eyes, but the panic in your heart kept them open, aware. Then, the lioness was abruptly shoved at the hip. She flicked her attention to whatever disturbed her, swishing her tail and snarling. It was the baby boar, scuffing the ground with his good front leg. He squealed and charged at the predator as though he was the king of this forest, proudly defending you with another mighty headbutt. The lioness accepted his challenge and batted her paw at him, leaping off you.
Your lungs inflated with sudden vigor as you allowed yourself to breathe again. You snatched your spear as the little boar tenaciously ran about, daring the lioness to keep up with him. Awkward with the quick movements of the piglet, the lioness focused all her energy into catching him. With her turned from you, you unwittingly leapt onto her back and tried to stab the point of your spear through her skull. She cried out, bucking about as you broke skin but not bone. You clung to her neck as she tried to whip around to yank you off. The baby boar gave a fearsome squeal as he ran at the lioness’s side and headbutted her shoulder, keeping her distracted. You ignored the wilting strength left in your muscles as you hung onto her neck, squeezing as hard as you could, trying to choke her. She fought against both of you, growling angrily.
Then she stopped to breathe. Sensing your chance, you pulled the tip of your spear to her throat, slitting it open. Blood spewed out as she fought to stay alive, but to no avail. Her muscles gave in to the blood loss and she laid down to rest. Her hunt had ended.
Panting hard enough to wheeze, you rolled off her back and splayed yourself out on the dirt and grass of the forest. Your body greedily drank in the silence to recuperate. Your head rushed as you struggled to take in your victory. Your body found the energy to force out a small laugh from your gut, happy and light, as you relished in keeping your life. The little boar snorted a small greeting as he trotted up to your head, sniffing you.
“Thanks,” you said, your voice like gravel. You cleared your throat before speaking again. “Without you, I’d be a goner.”
He snorted in a light way. You sat up and watched him continue to inspect you. After some light sniffs, he came to sit at your hip. You offered your wrist to help him get accustomed to your scent. He nuzzled into your skin with happy squeals. You made slow, assured movements as you stroked his bristly fur, finding his undercoat much more pleasurable to sink your fingers into. He remained calm at your side but continued to inspect your hand as it glided across his little body.
“You’re a little tenacious guy, huh?” you said with a chuckle as he leaned into your scratches.
You watched as he didn’t put his weight on his front right leg, letting it dangle in front of him. The angle it had bent at increased from his assault on the lioness. “You didn’t give up even with that bent leg,” you said, impressed.
You stood to find a splint for him. The piglet followed you from bush to bush, limping and oinking the whole way. You distracted him with a bundle of berries to nosh on, then carefully straightened his little leg between two sturdy sticks, tying them with a weaved rope of thin vines. He didn’t seem too happy about it, but seemed content enough to not leave you.
“I wish I could eat random crap like you,” you said. “You probably have a steel stomach. I’m a little too nervous to try.”
The little boar squeaked as he tried to use his injured leg. The homemade splint took the pressure off his injury so he could still use his leg but it did give him a slight wobble. He continued to test it by waddling about.
“You need a name,” you said, leaning back onto a tree, waving him over.
He softly put his forehead onto your hip again, nipping at the flora you used to keep you clothed. You laughed softly and pushed him off.
“Little pig head,” you said with pure affection. “Oh, that’s it! How about Ganko?”
He sat his little butt onto the ground and nuzzled his snout into your side. That had to mean yes.
“Ok, Ganko,” you said, then introduced yourself. “I’m glad I’m not gonna be alone for a while. So, what do you think I should eat?”
Ganko turned to the lioness’s body and sniffed it, nudging it with his snout. You cringed but were willing to concede. “Ok, but how am I supposed to cook it? I can’t build a fire. Tsukasa might see.”
Ganko snorted again. You looked around. The sunlight filtered through the treetops and onto the grassy plains below. You took a handful of debris that piled beneath a tree nearby and crunched it in your palm. This was dry enough to make a fire and your fire might be less noticeable in the day. You looked back at Ganko, projecting your thought process onto his blank stare.
“Ok, but if I throw up, I’m blaming you.”
Ganko trotted around you as you set up a small fire pit. You sparked up a flame with two rocks, with a lot of trial and error. You scanned through your memories to help you through this ordeal. Memories with Senku helped you find the proper rocks to make a spark. Memories with your father helped you smoke the entirety of the lioness’s meat. Memories with Yuzuriha reminded you of how to make clothes from the lioness’s hide. It was like they were all there with you. Like you were out camping with them again.
You imagined Taiju helped you collect branches and leaves to make a proper tent to smoke the meat properly. You imagined your mom telling you to remember to get cleaned up and to always exercise caution around an open fire. You could almost hear your dad cry proudly, seeing how much you remembered from his countless hours of explaining the delicate artform of smoking meats. You could almost feel Yuzuriha’s hands guiding yours as you fashioned clothes and a bag from the lioness’s hide. You could picture Senku sitting down next to you, admiring your lion-jerky. Maybe he’d steal a piece early to test it. You laughed to yourself as you imagined his disgusted face as you tried it, noting the weird taste. Something between chicken and beef. Thinking about them made you feel less alone. Ganko tried to dig into your bag at his leisure, but was thwarted by you. You gave him a few pieces to nosh on and kept the rest for later. At least you had him around.
After you smothered the fire, Ganko crawled onto your leg and nested in your lap, tired from the day. You stroked his fur, even rubbing his belly as you watched the sun retire. Fatigue tugged your eyelids down, but your heart refused to relax. Falling unconscious scared you. Although you won your last battle, you were certain that was only luck. You gently scooped up Ganko and let him rest by a tree. You were going to scout the landscape.
Branch after branch, you climbed high and looked out from the forest’s treetops. Your breath was stolen by the inherent beauty of the new world. You had never seen such a luscious and lively landscape. Green blanketed the world in such a gorgeous way. It was almost nice not to see any buildings. Then you noticed something—two things.
Out in the distance, stretching over the sea of swaying trees were two long ropes of smoke. One was inland and the other was coastal. There were two civilizations growing within your reach. From the little information you had on Tsukasa, you deduced that he would be inland with a fortress strong enough to hold down an army — if he had one. You didn’t think he knew well enough to utilize the overwhelming power of water to help keep his people alive. From what you had gathered from Senku’s ramblings, civilizations typically flocked to rivers, lakes and oceans. Would Tsukasa know this too?
You wondered about the other rope of smoke as you climbed back down. The coastal civilization must have been someone else. Who? Who knows? They were your best chance at living a free life, away from fear of a man playing god with the lives of people who couldn’t even protest. And if you were wrong in choosing the coast, then you’d work it out. Baring children wasn’t part of your future plans until you reached twenty-eight — at least — but if it meant the survival of yourself and humanity, then you could find solace in it. Ganko snorted awake as you landed back on the ground. He trotted to you, nuzzling your ankle angrily.
“What?” you said, suddenly worried about another attack.
Ganko skipped about and nudged your ankle again with his forehead, barely scraping one of his tusks against you.
“What?” you urged again. “What’s wrong?”
He snorted and charged at your leg again, diving into the fat of your calf. You yelped reflexively, but noted that he seemed to be holding back. Little Ganko just wanted to play.
“Oh, you little brat!” you laughed and dodged one of his attacks. “Ok, c’mon. Here! Here! I’ll get you!”
You danced with him as he snorted gleefully. The day turned to night as your game continued, the stars and moon keeping you both lit. With one last little poke of his snout, you bent the knee and flopped on the floor, admitting defeat. Ganko celebrated, still awkward with his injured leg, and ran into your stomach, nuzzling into your embrace. You curled around him and stroked his fur, giving him congratulatory scratches for his victory.
“We’re gonna be ok,” you said as sleep swept you into its arms. “Yeah… Yeah, we’re gonna be ok.”
* * *
When Senku closed his eyes, he could see yours clearly in his head, peering straight back into his. He missed the depth of them. It had been so long since he last saw you but he could never forget you. His mind held onto his image of you. You haunted him in his dreams, talking lively and even embracing him wholly, sometimes clothed, sometimes naked.
I’ll see you then. Those were your last words to him. He took it as a promise from you, even if neither of you could anticipate what would happen to separate you both. That day, over three thousand years ago, he was excited to see you after school. He was planning on pulling you aside to talk more earnestly. You had something on your mind and you never said it. Senku wanted to give you a chance to speak. He wanted to listen. He had a hunch about what it was that you wanted to say, but he didn’t want to jump to conclusions.
“Hey, there’s some smoke coming from the forest,” Chrome said, as he climbed down from his little hut. Senku flicked his eyes open. “That isn’t one of Tsukasa’s men, is it?”
“No, it’s not,” Gen said. “That I can assure you, but… I think I might know who it is. Huh, I was wondering if she would make it.”
“Who’re you talking about?” Senku said.
“Oh, this is a fun tid-bit,” Gen said excitedly. “When I was awoken by Tsukasa, there was another who was freshly broken out of stone. I’m not sure how she managed it, though. Anyhow, she was terrified of Tsukasa and went so far as to hide in a orpse-cay of an ig-pay. I figured I’d keep her as an ace up my sleeve for a special occasion. It is odd, though. She must be good at hiding her tracks. This is the only time I’ve seen some evidence of her since I met her. It certainly has been a while.”
Senku hummed. Another person for the Kingdom of Science, that could be useful. “You better go collect her before someone else does. She doesn’t seem that far.”
Gen nodded and turned on his heel and made his way over casually. Senku watched him galavant off. Who could it be? It had to be someone knowledgeable enough to know how to start a fire with minimal materials. His head immediately jumped to you. Hell, he wanted it to be you. But it was illogical to hope so dearly for that. There was a ten billion percent chance that this was just a random girl who also liked camping. But Gen didn’t offer a description of her, so it could be you. Who knows? Hope for the best and expect the worst, he supposed.
Remembering you became a silent hobby of his. Late at night, he’d lie awake and wonder where your body was, excited to bring you back. Senku was thankful to have found Taiju and Yuzuriha but it felt wrong to not have you in the group. Without you, everything felt off. And no matter how hard he worked, no matter how tired he was, his mind would never let go of you.
One memory he found himself replaying the most was when you had invited the group to go camping. You had helped Senku set up a telescope for all of you to see different planets after putting up the tent with Yuzuriha. You had wiped sweat off your brow and tied your hair up. Senku’s memory of your face was still vivid.
“Ok, time to build a fire,” you muttered to yourself.
“I think I have some matches in my bag,” Taiju offered.
“Nah, I’m gonna do it the old fashioned way.”
“Are you sure about that?” Yuzuriha said. “Isn’t it a lot harder than they make it out to be in movies?”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got a backup plan but I wanna practice this. My dad’s been showing me up and I’m not gonna let him beat me again.”
Senku snorted. Of course you were practicing something out of spite. It was the only way he could get you to study. “So what method are you gonna use?”
“The rock one. What? Are there—never mind, don’t answer that.”
“I am so glad you—”
“I said don’t answer that!”
Taiju and Yuzuriha laughed as you tried to keep Senku’s big mouth shut as he tried to explain another method you could use. You tried to cover his mouth, but he threatened to bite you. You tried to tackle him but he managed to dodge you effectively. The four of you were devoured by your own laughter as the night continued, right after you sparked up a fire. He always enjoyed how easy it was to get under your skin. He knew you liked it too.
Senku held onto hope that Gen would come back with you as the smoke distantly fluttered in the wind. It would be great to have all of his friends back, but he couldn’t bet on it. His luck of the draw was never the best but it never hurt to be optimistic.
As the day closed into the dark curtains of night, Senku found himself looking up. You had drawn a constellation of his face in the stars when you all were still young. The impressive part was that you had mapped it in the sky at a young age. No matter the angle or position, you could find it when the season was right. You’d always point it out if you saw it. Look! There’s your big head in the sky! He’d always look to appease you, but paid little attention to it. Now Senku was desperately looking for that stupid image, despite the misalignment. Maybe you’d be able to find it or make a new one.
He really did miss you. Now he was counting on Gen. You or not, this newbie had to be turned over to his kingdom.