"Out of difficulties grow miracles." — Jean de La Bruyère
The sound was unmistakable—one that carved its way into the instincts of any human who had ever set foot in a zoo, or, more importantly, read anything about large predators in their natural habitats.
A deep, resonant growl rolled through the air, vibrating through your ribs like a struck drum.
Senku's voice cut through the gathering tension, sharp and a little way too calm considering the situation. "Wait."
Taiju, still cradling Yuzuriha's stone form in his arms, glanced over his shoulder. "Huh?"
The second growl came, deeper this time, layered with harmonics that sent a familiar, primal dread down your spine. You had heard that sound before—years ago, filtered through reinforced glass, the safe, sterile barrier of civilization ensuring that you were nothing more than an observer.
But there were no barriers now. Just trees. And something breathing between them.
Your mind worked fast, cataloging the acoustic profile. Low frequency. Sustained duration. Vocal fry creating an infrasound effect designed to travel for miles.
Panthera leo.
Or classified more simply as...
"That's a lion," you said, pulse spiking as the last word left your lips.
There was no room for error. A lion's larynx could produce vocalizations in the range of 40–200 Hz, allowing their roars to be heard over five miles away.
This one was close.
Taiju blinked.
Senku barely spared you a glance, but the flicker of acknowledgment was there. "Bingo."
Taiju's gaze ping-ponged between the two of you, shock rising like steam. "O-okay, but like—are we sure?"
"You think I'd just guess?" you deadpanned, already several steps back from the trees.
Senku exhaled through his nose, arms settling on his hips as he turned to face the two of you, expression sharp—unimpressed. "Fantastic."
Taiju swallowed. "...That's not the good kind of 'fantastic,' is it?"
Senku gave him a dry look. "No, it's the 'we're going to die in about five minutes' kind."
The growling grew louder. Closer.
Taiju let out a small laugh. "Right. Cool. Sooo... uh. What's the plan?"
Senku's gaze flicked toward the darkened treeline, mind already calculating, mapping variables, cross-referencing every disastrous possibility.
Senku exhaled. "Simple."
Then, a single syllable slipped out as if it were the most logical conclusion in the world.
"Run."
You didn't need to be told twice.
Taiju was already sprinting ahead, somehow managing to keep pace while carrying a solid stone human being in his arms. It was an objectively impossible feat, but apparently, sheer panic and a will of steel were enough to defy physics.
Still, even as he ran for his life, he had questions. "Why is there a lion walking around Japan??!" he shouted, his voice strained but incredulous.
Senku, despite his vocal disdain for all things athletic, was keeping a respectable pace, dodging roots and weaving through trees with an ease you would not have attributed to someone who actively avoided exercise. "Why do you think?!" he shot back over his shoulder.
You were, quite frankly, a little more preoccupied with not becoming lion chow, but the words formed instinctively anyway.
"It's obviously a descendant of a zoo animal," You state, your breath coming in sharp, controlled exhales. "When humanity was petrified, the enclosures weren't maintained. Without human intervention, they got out and just... kept going."
And really, the implications were staggering. How many other species had been left unchecked? What had Japan's ecosystem become without human interference? How many apex predators are prowling the ruins of civilization right now?
Questions you had previously shoved to the back burner—when the priority had simply been not freezing to death—now roared to the forefront with startling clarity.
Senku let out a sharp huff, very much dying from the exertion. "Without humans keeping them locked up, all the herbivores were on the menu. And once they got out into the cities, it must've been a pet buffet."
Taiju let out a horrified noise. "That's horrible!"
You winced, sidestepping a gnarled root. "Not inaccurate, though."
Senku coughed out a sharp, breathless laugh—the kind only he could manage in a scenario this dire. "Exactly. What I'm saying is—humans aren't at the top of the food chain anymore!"
The weight of those words settled uncomfortably in your chest, but there wasn't time to dwell on it. Your lungs burned, your legs screamed in protest, and every pounding footstep sent a fresh jolt of exhaustion through your body. The humid air stuck to your skin, sweat dripping down your face as your brain worked double-time, scrambling for a way out of this life-ending situation.
Think.
Dirt and dust kicked up beneath your feet. The air was thick with the scent of damp bark from last night's rain, mingling with the sharp tang of crushed leaves.
You forced three fingers up to your face—thumb, index, and pinky—an old childhood habit, as if the motion alone could will an answer into existence.
Something. Anything. There had to be a way out.
Your eyes darted over the terrain—roughly patterned trees, jagged rocks worn by improper erosion, vines snaking low from the canopy, serrated leaves evolved over centuries to cut through flesh.
And then it hit you.
Your eyes widened. "If we keep running—we're gonna hit a cliff soon!"
Taiju audibly choked. "What?!"
Senku barely faltered in his stride, but his expression turned sharp. "Tsk. That makes sense."
Taiju did not seem to agree. "No, it doesn't make sense! What part of 'running off a cliff' is a good thing?!"
You sucked in a breath, pulse hammering. "Because—if we time it right, we can use it to get away! The lion won't risk the jump, but if there's water or an outcrop below—"
Senku smirked despite himself, eyes gleaming with something dangerously close to amusement. "Ready to go sky diving?"
Taiju wheezed. "Alright—I trust you guys!"
The next growl was closer, the vibration curling around your ribs like a warning.
You ran faster.
The trees thinned.
The pounding of your feet against the earth felt deafening, but even louder was the deep, bone-shaking growl closing in behind you. The air was thick with adrenaline, your pulse hammering in your ears as the incline ahead sharpened.
And then, the world opened up.
For a brief, breathtaking moment, nothing but endless blue stretched before you, sky and horizon melting together like an invitation. A whole world waiting to be explored.
Then, just as you predicted—the ground vanished beneath your feet.
The wind roared past your ears as the world tilted violently, the pit of your stomach dropping out from under you. You braced for impact—water, jagged rocks, the worst-case scenarios firing off in your head like a chain reaction—
Instead, a force yanked at your wrist, jerking you to a sudden, stomach-twisting halt.
Vines.
A thick tangle of vines had caught you mid-fall, snapping taut under your weight and holding you suspended above the forest below. The impact rattled through your bones, but you were alive.
You barely had time to process this before—
"SENKUUUUU—!!"
A blur of gray and brown shot past you, followed immediately by a loud, undignified grunt.
Senku followed. More vines snapped around him, twisting and catching, leaving him hanging beside you upside down like some kind of disgruntled bat.
For a second, there was nothing but silence.
Then, flatly, he muttered, "Well. That could've gone worse."
You let out a breathless laugh, gripping the vine that held you in place. "Glad you're seeing the bright side."
Senku groaned, shifting against the tangled mess. "Yeah, yeah. You still in one piece over there?"
A weak, "I think so?" from Taiju answered from somewhere below, who was somehow dangling upside down while still holding Yuzuriha's statue.
You exhaled, letting your head drop back against the vines. We're alive.
And then—from above—a deep, familiar growl rumbled through the trees.
Senku sighed. "I really hate today."
All three of you promptly dropped—not gracefully, not strategically, just straight to the ground with varying degrees of comfort.
Senku hit first with an oof, followed immediately by you landing hard on your back, and Taiju—somehow still clutching Yuzuriha's stone form—crashing down with an earth-shaking thud.
For a fleeting second, there was stillness. Just panting breaths, aching limbs, and the sheer miracle that none of you had broken anything.
And then—another roar. Closer this time.
All three of you turned toward the sound, eyes wide.
You sighed.
This was definitely going to be a long day.
Bracing yourself, you pushed off the ground, only to be yanked back down—a sharp tug at your leg around the ankle. You twisted around, pulse spiking—the vines.
Of course.
The roars were growing closer, the heavy footfalls of predators closing in the dense foliage. Taiju was already ahead, crashing through the underbrush in a full sprint. Senku was right behind him, moving with urgency but not panic.
"Shit," you muttered under your breath, fingers working frantically to untangle yourself. You had seconds, maybe less. Time was truly a luxury you never seem to have. Biting the inside of your cheek, you yanked hard, snapping the vines as the cost of a sharp sting lancing up your leg.
You barely managed to stumble upright before another force seized your wrist.
'Huh-?'
Your head jerked up—Senku.
His grip was firm, his expression a mix of exasperation and urgency as he yanked you forward without a second's hesitation.
"Intend on becoming lion lunch so soon, huh?" he quipped, barely sparing you a glance as he dragged you along.
His tone was light, teasing—but you didn't miss the way his fingers tightened around your wrist, the unspoken insistence that you keep running.
"Oh, absolutely," you shot back, stumbling over the uneven ground. "Thought I'd conduct a firsthand experiment on what being eaten alive feels like."
Senku let out a sharp exhale, something between a scoff and a laugh, but he didn't slow down.
Ahead, Taiju glanced over his shoulder, his voice breathless as he shouted, "Okay, but why haven't they actually attacked us yet?!"
You barely had time to glance up before Senku tugged you sharply forward again, propelling you through the dense underbrush. Your legs burned, and your lungs ached, but your brain was already firing at full speed, trying to piece together the answer between pounding footsteps.
"They're still stalking us!" you shot back, ducking under a low-hanging branch. "It's what big cats do—they observe, test their prey, wait for the right moment to strike!"
Senku actually had the audacity to chuckle, despite very obviously running on fumes. "They've probably never seen bipeds before. I bet we look creepy as hell to them, running around on two legs."
You shot him a flat look, still gasping for breath. "Oh, great. Maybe we can traumatize them into leaving us alone."
His lips twitched. "Not a bad hypothesis. Want to test it out?"
Taiju let out a strained laugh, barely dodging another branch. "Yeah, because we're definitely the weird ones here."
You followed close behind Senku, vaulting over a particularly large stump, your legs screaming in protest. You had never run this much in your life before. Then again, you had also never had to run for your life from a lion before, so there was a first time for everything.
The sting in your left leg was becoming impossible to ignore, each stride aggravating the shape, wet heat trailing down your skin. You didn't have to look to know you were bleeding.
"Yeah, well, we might look weird to them now," you said in between ragged breaths, "but they're gonna stop being creeped out real fast when it's time to go in for the kill."
Senku huffed out a breath, and the sound was so pained that it was almost funny. "Even if we get super lucky and make it back to camp in time, all we've got to fight them with are spears."
Fantastic. Wonderful. Because a couple of sharpened sticks would totally stand up against a pack of apex predators.
"Right," you snapped, "and who here has ever effectively wielded a spear before? And against a pack of lions, no less?!"
Senku nodded, completely unbothered. "Unfortunately, this was 'game over' from the very beginning."
Game over.
The words rang in your head like a death knell.
You were running—fighting against the burn in your legs, the fire in your lungs, the sheer terror clawing at your ribs. You had a head start, barely, but the lions were faster. Stronger. Predators that had perfected the art of killing long before humans even dreamed of civilization.
And soon—so soon—they would close the distance. They would pounce.
Three minutes. Two minutes and fifty seconds. Two minutes and thirty—
The air was thick, humidity clinging to your sweat-drenched skin, the atmosphere pressing down like an oppressive weight.
Your breath hitched, your vision blurred, dark spots creeping at the edges. The pain in your skull intensified, a vice grip that tightened with every desperate stride. The rhythmic pounding of your feet against the earth was deafening, merging with the cacophony of your own ragged breath, the hammering of your pulse in your ears. Every sensation fought for dominance—overwhelming, suffocating, chaotic—
And then, Taiju stopped.
You barely had time to register the motion before he hurled Yuzuriha's petrified form toward you and Senku with the force of a human catapult.
Your heart seized. "What the hell—"
There was no time to think—only react.
Instinct took over as you lunged forward alongside Senku, hands outstretched, muscles straining, the sheer momentum of the statue threatening to flatten you both. The impact rattled through your bones, nearly knocking the breath from your lungs. Somehow—through sheer luck, physics, or some divine cosmic fluke—you caught her without shattering her into a thousand irreparable shards.
But holy hell, you almost buckled under the weight.
Senku exhaled sharply, readjusting his grip with his left hand, his right still locked around yours in a vise-like grip. "Oh, now you decide to let us share the load?" His voice dripped with irritation, but beneath it—beneath the sharp veneer of sarcasm—there was something else. Something heavier.
You gasped for breath, your left arm screaming in protest. "Are you serious?! You've been carrying this the whole time—while running?!"
Taiju ignored the both of you. He stepped forward, feet planting firmly into the dirt, arms spread wide like an unshakable wall—unyielding, resolute.
"Go."
Your brain stuttered over the command.
What.
Taiju's jaw was set, his eyes burning with conviction. He didn't look back, didn't hesitate.
His stance was unwavering, broad shoulders squared as if to shield the two of you. As if he were reassuring you. As if he were saying something like goodb—
"You guys dying now is not an option!"
Your breath caught.
"Taiju, what the hell are you—" You took a step forward, but his voice thundered over yours.
"You two—your science-filled brains are humanity's last hope! Even if I have to be lion food, I'll—"
The words hang in the air, raw with conviction. For a split second, everything stills—the wind, the world, the pain, even the breath in your lungs. The weight of what he's saying crashes down, a truth too heavy to ignore.
Then—
"No."
Senku's voice cut through the chaos like a blade. Sharp. Loud. Absolute.
Like a scientist who was unwilling to compromise with such results.
Your lungs contracted, pulse slamming against your ribs.
Think. Think.
There had to be another solution.
After surviving a year in this stone world—after enduring starvation, frostbitten nights, suffocating summer heat, over-salted mushrooms, and the relentless ache of sleeping on solid wood—
No.
You refused this ending.
And yet, Taiju remained, unwavering.
Probability wasn't necessary. If he stayed behind, he would die. No variables. No margin for error.
That, you were certain.
And yet, through your swimming vision, all you could see was a boy.
A boy no older than the age of eight or seven.
The same boy who couldn't hurt a fly. The same boy who threw himself into fights just to protect the weak. The same boy who had once stood, bruised and bandaged, shielding you and Senku from the bullies who tried to destroy your experiments.
A boy who had always, always taken the hits so others didn't have to.
A boy who stood there now, prepared to do the same.
"Use some logic for once, Taiju!" Senku snapped, shifting his grip to keep Yuzuriha steady as your mind scrambled for an answer. "You're the brawn, and obviously, if humanity's going to survive, we need that too!"
Something. Something.
Your breath came fast and shallow. Your heartbeat pounded erratically, discordant and desperate.
It wasn't enough.
This was bad.
Worse than bad.
The worst possible scenario.
Sweat dripped onto Yuzuriha's frozen face as you struggled to steady yourself, every ragged breath scraping against your throat like sandpaper.
Something.
Run.
Stay.
Two choices. Only two? That wasn't right. There had to be another—a third, a fourth, something else—
Your fingers twitched. No, they were shaking. Trembling, even if you refused to acknowledge it. Even if admitting it felt like surrender.
Senku's gaze flicked toward you—calculating, dissecting. Unreadable.
You didn't register the tension knotting his shoulders, the sharp hitch in his breath. You didn't see how his fingers clenched, white-knuckled, against the stone weight of Yuzuriha. You didn't notice that he wasn't just looking at you.
He was waiting.
Waiting for you to see it.
A slight tug at your wrist.
The smallest movement—deliberate, imperceptible to anyone else.
Then, a sharp inhale—
Sweat streaked down Senku's face as he turned back to Taiju, who stood rigid, refusing to look back.
Time was running out.
And the idiot.
The absolute idiot.
Your meatheaded, slow-thinking, impossibly stubborn friend.
Your reckless, self-sacrificing, frustratingly loyal friend.
Your—
Senku's grip on Yuzuriha tightened, his bangs plastered to the side of his face. His voice cut through the air with the certainty of a theorem proven beyond refute.
"If we're gonna make a run for it, it's imperative we do it together."
Together.
Like always.
Since then.
Since always.
Taiju paused, hesitation flickering in his eyes. "But I—"
"Taiju."
One word. Steady. Calculated.
A scientist's precision, a friend's unyielding trust.
Taiju's breath hitched. His entire frame locked as if he wanted to argue, wanted to plant his feet and refuse.
And if he did—if he made that choice—what could you do?
What could Senku do?
Would you stop him?
Would you even try?
You didn't know. You didn't want to know.
Taiju's jaw tightened. His hands curled into fists at his sides, knuckles going white.
But then, his shoulders squared. Resolve crashed down like a final decision in an equation with only one answer.
His fists tightened. His stance shifted.
A breath.
A beat.
Then—
"Yeah," he exhaled. "I got it."
Always.
And that was your answer.
He turned back, lifting Yuzuriha's statue from the two of you. The three of you took off running. But the time lost—you couldn't get it back.
Senku didn't care. He let out a breathy chuckle, shaking his head. "Besides, I know you've never actually hit anyone. That's been true ever since we were little."
Your brain kept running.
Faster than your legs, faster than your heart.
Where were you?
Your approximate location—terrain, structures, the natural environment markers—
The variables—your supplies, your allies, the revival fluid—
Your mind burned through calculations, factoring in topography, probability, and the rapidly shrinking window before the lions closed the gap.
Senku exhaled sharply, pushing forward despite the exhaustion clinging to him. His voice came low and steady, cutting through the chaos. "Your biggest selling point is your strength, but let's face it, Taiju—you're no fighter."
Think.
Taiju's voice rang out, desperate but determined. "If only we had a fighter!"
There.
.✦
"Did you run into any trouble when you woke up?" you asked, walking alongside Taiju as the two of you gathered firewood. The dead leaves crunched beneath your feet, the crisp autumn air laced with the scent of damp earth and bark. You idly twirled a small stick between your fingers, stripping away its brittle bark.
Senku, in true Senku fashion, had already declared that his brain had been "abused enough for one day" and promptly exempted himself from all physical labor.
You had half a mind to argue that the same logic should apply to you, but you let it slide. After all, you hadn't seen Taiju in three months—or, technically, 3,700 years.
Taiju hefted another thick log onto the growing pile strapped to his back. "Oh yeah! After I saw all those statues, I ran into one I actually recognized from before the whole world turned to stone!"
You arched a brow. "Really?"
Taiju nodded, the wind rustling through the trees as he continued. "Yeah! He was this famous high school wrestler, I think. I saw him in those magazines your clubmates used to bring to the lab sometimes."
Ah. Those magazines.
"Seriously...?"
Taiju turned to you on the narrow forest path, blinking. "What?"
You shook your head, a small smile tugging at your lips. "Nothing. Just... of course, that's what you'd remember. Some guy who was 'crazy strong' and showed up in a random magazine."
Taiju let out a booming laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, yeah! That's the important part, right? I mean, the dude was built like a tank! If anyone could survive this stone world, it'd be him!"
You exhaled sharply through your nose, shaking your head. Same old Taiju.
Before you could respond, a familiar voice cut through the air as the two of you stepped into the clearing, leaving the dense forest behind.
"Oi, are you two just gonna stand there gossiping, or are we actually getting firewood before sundown?"
Senku sat cross-legged by the fire pit, watching with an expression caught somewhere between exasperation and mild amusement. His usual unimpressed glare was softened by the way he lazily propped his chin in his palm, the other hand massaging the back of his neck.
"Relax, Senku, we're on it!" Taiju called back, adjusting the weight of the logs before glancing at you. "Come on, we should hurry."
You nodded, but your thoughts lingered on the wrestler Taiju had mentioned. If he really was as strong as Taiju claimed, then...
You shook your head.
No point dwelling on it now.
.✦
Your lungs seized as your eyes snapped wide.
"Taiju," you called, ducking beneath a low-hanging branch as the growls behind you intensified, each breath tightening the noose of danger. "That famous guy you said you saw on your first day—where exactly was he?"
"Huh!?" Taiju faltered, barely missing a root underfoot before the memory clicked. "Oh yeah! Uh—you want his name or something?"
Right, because an autograph would be really useful while being hunted down.
"His location, Taiju!"
"Uhm... on my way to Yuzuriha!"
Your brain fired on all cylinders, reconstructing the terrain from Taiju's emergence in the cave to Yuzuriha's location. Somewhere between. Somewhere in the direction you were already running. From the tree to the cave.
The probability was there—he had to be close.
"Twenty meters to the left," you blurted, words tumbling out as your brain raced ahead. "Given the environmental degradation rate, sediment deposition over the past 3700 years, and if I last recall, the likelihood of his intact, unweathered statue in that position is approximately seventy-two percent in this type of terrain. And if we assume preservation bias toward larger, more structurally reinforced forms—"
Your pulse thundered as your lungs burned against your chest, "We can revive him using the fluid the moment we find him. If he's as strong as Taiju claims, then we actually have a shot."
A beat of silence. Then—
"Whoa! I never get tired of that! Haha!" Taiju's voice rang out, bright, unwavering. He turned to you with an awed grin, eyes practically sparkling. "Nice one!"
You tried to return the gesture, but considering the lions still on your ass, smiling wasn't exactly a priority.
"Not bad. Guess you still got it."
Senku's voice cut through the chaos—dry, utterly unfazed. Even in the face of imminent death by lion mauling, he still managed to sound maddeningly composed.
He attempted something vaguely resembling a smirk, but given that he was running on sheer fumes at this point, it barely landed.
"Yeah, yeah, celebrate later," you shot back, breathless. "We need to break him out—now."
.✦
The three of you pivot sharply around an overgrown tree, nearly losing your footing as its gnarled roots threaten to trip you. Yet, the moment your eyes lock onto the statue—sitting perfectly preserved at the base of the tree, exactly where you had predicted—it reignites your resolve.
Your eyes widen when you near the overgrown vines and moss covering the person who looked way too old to be considered a high schooler.
Taiju, ever careful, sets Yuzuriha down gently before turning back to the task at hand. "I'm really sorry about this, Yuzuriha, but right now—"
"Right now, we're about to become premium-grade lion chow," you gasp, bracing against the tree trunk. Your lungs burn, your legs threaten to give out—it's like reliving the last stretch of a field day relay, only this time, the stakes are survival.
Senku, equally breathless but far too stubborn to acknowledge it, manages a strained response. "Save your oxygen. Just—hurry the hell up and—"
The ceramic bottle tilts, and the revival fluid cascades down, seeping into the cracks of stone. The three of you watch in breathless anticipation—not literally, since your lungs are waging a desperate war for every molecule of oxygen, but regardless.
A growl.
Your head snaps around.
Crap.
Lions. The game was finally up.
And not just one or two. The whole damn pride is here, materializing from the shadows like something out of a nightmare.
"Lovely. Nothing like a surprise reunion dinner—where we're the main course," you sigh.
Senku steps forward, gripping his makeshift weapon—a stone bound to a wooden shaft. His exhaustion is undeniable, yet he still manages a breathless, almost dissonant laugh. His expression is twisted in that sharp, calculating way of his, though it clashes with the unsteady rise and fall of his chest.
"This is it."
You feel a shift against your wrist.
Only now do you realize—Senku is still holding onto you.
His grip is firm, but this time, his arm is trembling.
And yet, his face betrays nothing.
You part your lips to say something when—
Crack.
All three of you whip around as the sound deepens, splitting through the air. The statue fractures, clean lines forming across its surface, the stone shedding itself piece by piece.
Crack.
A fragment falls forward from the face, revealing rich brown eyes framed by long lashes.
It was only a small portion of his face. But that was all you needed.
It's only then that you truly recognize him—not just as the "Strongest Primate High Schooler," as Taiju always called him.
He was—
Taiju launches into explanation, "Sorry! I know this isn't what you wanna wake up to after sleeping a few thousand years—"
You almost laugh despite the circumstance.
What a quick and dirty summary.
The boy's voice is deep, smooth—unchanged despite the millennia.
"What's the situation?"
Senku exhales sharply, turning back. He pauses for just a second—pupils contracting, breath hitching—but then he blinks, recalibrating in an instant.
"Your whole body's still covered in stone. There are lions from your nine o'clock to your two."
The response comes a little too calmly, as if waking up thousands of years in the future and immediately facing very real, very deadly lions is just another Tuesday.
"Yeah, okay."
The words barely settle before his entire body surges forward—stone shattering off him in sharp, clean fractures. The remnants of his petrification fall away so seamlessly, it's almost as if he's simply shedding a second skin.
The lions charge.
You instinctively step back—
And then he moves.
Faster than you can process, faster than your brain can even register, he's already in action. A blur of raw strength and speed.
Fragments of stone, still clinging to his skin, are sent flying as he twists into motion. He doesn't waste a second. With effortless force, he hurls the chunks toward the pride. The impact alone is enough to send several of them crumpling to the ground, incapacitated by sheer velocity.
But the head lion keeps coming.
Jaws wide. Eyes locked.
It lunges—
Only to be met with a single, devastating punch.
The force is so absolute that the lion is sent hurtling backward, slamming into a tree with a sickening crack. The impact reverberates through the ground, shaking the very foundation of the forest.
You feel the tremor beneath your feet.
Taiju and Senku stand frozen, their jaws slack.
They look less like someone witnessing a miracle of physics and more like two cavemen who just saw someone pull a fully-formed smartphone out of thin air.
The man standing before them casts a cold, assessing glance back at the rest of the pride. And—yes, you think—you've just seen lions cower before a human.
(Was he even human at this point?)
Lions are intelligent creatures, always have been. They understand strength when they see it. Without a sound, the surviving members of the pride slink back into the underbrush, no longer considering this their domain. Not when something stronger now claims it.
The man stands tall, silent, the wind pulling through his long hair like a force of nature itself. A few stray leaves drift down, landing on the lifeless body of the lead lion.
"Shishio Tsukasa. Former MIA fighter champion—" your mind races, drawing from memories long ago, "—appearances on magazines, podcasts, tv shows, and known by the moniker 'The Strongest High School Primate.'"
The words slip from your lips on an exhale, the adrenaline still ebbing from your system after your near escape.
Tsukasa's gaze shifts, his brows lifting slightly. "You know that much about me?"
You shake your head. "Only from those magazines you were in sometimes," you reply, tone even, offering nothing more than the truth.
Tsukasa's gaze drops back to the fallen lion.
There was a small pause, a breath of silence.
And then he speaks again.
"You can fill me in on the details later, but it seems I owe you."
His voice is gentle—almost too gentle for someone who had just taken down an apex predator with his bare hands. "So, I'll make you this promise."
He turns back to face you both, expression steady.
"As long as we're together, you won't be in danger again. I'll handle all the fighting."
A slow, confident smile tugs at his lips.
The wind shifts, slipping through the canopy, filtering golden light through the leaves. The wind brushes past, the feeling settling in stark contrast to the sweat clinging to your skin.
It was cold.
"YEAH!"
Taiju's voice rings out, elated, his arms thrown wide. "You hear that, guys? We've got brains and brawn, and now we've got brute force on our team too!"
He grins, throwing a dramatic fist into the air. "We're just like the Four Musketeers!"
...Okay. Maybe that's a stretch.
Senku lets out a short chuckle—perhaps too exhausted to counter with anything sharp. "I suppose we are."
Then, quieter, just under his breath, "But I have a nagging feeling our new guy might be a little too strong."
He shifts his gaze toward you just as Taiju pipes up in the background, "How could that be a bad thing? Don't we need that kind of help?"
Senku sighs, looking at you expectantly before answering, "What if it turns out he's actually some evil, homicidal, wannabe tyrant? He just killed a lion with his bare hands, must I remind you."
You shrug, deadpan. "Great. At least we'd die knowing we made history as the first people to get suplexed into extinction."
Senku scoffs, narrowing his eyes. "Wow. Bold words for someone currently bleeding down their leg."
You blink, glancing down—oh. Yeah. Your leg was bleeding.
You had been so overwhelmed that the stinging had momentarily left your mind, but now as he mentions it you felt it again in full force.
"Tch. Well, it was either this or becoming lion food," you retort, crossing your arms. "Pick your poison."
Senku sighs, finally releasing his grip on your arm as he crouches down, already assessing the damage with a scrutinizing eye.
His fingers brush against your calf, just briefly, before he tugs at the tear in your clothing to get a better look.
"Not deep enough to cripple you, but definitely bad enough to be a pain in the ass," he mutters, tilting his head. "You'll need it cleaned before bacteria sets in."
You roll your eyes, forcing a smirk. "What, no anesthetic? No advanced medical-grade stitches in that big brain of yours?"
Senku snorts. "Yeah, let me just conjure up some antiseptic and surgical thread from thin air."
The teasing lilt in his voice makes you huff, but the way he pauses for brief moment—betrays his usual nonchalance. He's already pulling at bandages he has wrapped up his arms, preparing to rip them off for a temporary solution.
Before he can, though, Taiju kneels beside you, frowning. "Whoa, that looks bad! We should find clean water or something, right? Maybe—oh! What about those plants Senku was talking about before? The ones with antibacterial properties?"
Senku clicks his tongue. "Yarrow, yeah. Good thinking, Taiju." He shoots you a glance. "Stay put. We'll get this sorted before you end up needing an amputation."
You arch a brow. "Oh, so now you're concerned about my well-being?"
His gaze flickers to yours—fleeting—before he huffs, pushing himself to his feet. "Don't be stupid. If you lose a leg, that just means more work for me."
You scoff, but there's something in the way his eyes had lingered on your injury for a second longer than necessary. Not that he'd ever admit to being worried.
Before you can call him out on it, Tsukasa's voice cuts through the quiet.
"Hey, guys."
You glance over to see him crouched beside the lion's body, running a hand over its thick fur. He glances up.
"You have anything I could use to butcher this? A knife—or at least something sharp if that's all we've got."
Taiju blinks, recoiling slightly. "Wait... are you actually thinking about eating that thing?"
You elbow his side. "Yeah, brace yourself. Get ready to put 'lion steak connoisseur' on your résumé."
Senku huffs, placing a hand on his hip, a knowing smirk tugging at his lips. "Well, technically, it's not poisonous. But it's tough as hell, reeks of ammonia, and tastes so bad you'd probably rather drop dead than finish a bite."
"I think I did," you mumble under your breath.
Taiju gapes. "When the hell did you guys eat lion!?"
You exchange a glance with Senku before turning back to Taiju, your grin teasing. "Remember that summer when Senku and I went to Africa to do research on Ebola?"
Taiju throws his hands up. "Right. Normal high school behavior. Not!"
"Missed out, I must say," you laugh, stretching your legs out with a wince. "Senku even considered bringing some back as a souvenir. Though, I doubt airport security would've been thrilled about that."
Taiju gives you both a long, incredulous look before shaking his head. "Yeah... I think I'll pass on this one. Thanks."
He turns back to Tsukasa, rubbing the back of his head. "So, uh... why do you need something sharp again?"
Tsukasa's voice is measured, steady. "Although it attacked us, I took this noble creature's life. The least I can do is give back to the circle of life by ensuring none of it goes to waste."
Taiju practically vibrates with admiration. "That's so cool! How about that, Senku? We just woke up a legendary warrior, and he's a solid guy too!"
Senku, unimpressed, wordlessly pulls off one of his bandages and tosses it in your direction before striding toward Tsukasa. He digs into one of the many pouches strapped to his waist, fishing out a knife, and hands it over.
He exhales, arms crossing as he watches Tsukasa take it. "Well, the whole 'circle of life' thing doesn't move me even a millimeter," he says flatly. Then, after a pause, "But I do agree about not wasting resources."
A quiet settles over the group as the wind shifts, rustling through the trees, carrying the scent of blood and earth with it.
.✦
The river runs cold, biting at the open wound as you rinse it, the sting sharp but necessary. Your leg is submerged knee-deep, the current carrying away any lingering dirt or bacteria that could turn into a much bigger problem later.
The forest around you is still, save for the occasional rustling of leaves. A few birds flit overhead, their wings cutting through the quiet, while a lone deer stands in the distance, watching with quiet curiosity.
You're just about to lift your leg from the water when you hear footsteps crunch against the damp earth behind you.
You don't need to turn around to know who it is.
A smirk tugs at your lips as you prop your leg onto the smooth rock beside you, water dripping down your skin. "Finally here to admit you're worried, hm?" you muse, glancing over your shoulder.
Senku exhales, the sound dry and unimpressed. "Yeah, sure. Let's go with that," he deadpans, stepping closer.
You glance up at him, noting the way his arms are crossed, the ever-present look of calculation in his eyes as he studies your injury.
You wonder if he was going to say anything, maybe nothing at all. Maybe he was just here to make sure the lions hadn't circled back—though you find that unlikely. You open your mouth, ready to break the silence, when he speaks first.
"Your method's not entirely wrong," he says, crouching beside you, "but you're not being thorough enough. Just rinsing it in the river won't cut it."
You roll your eyes. "What, you gonna lecture me on proper wound care now?"
He snorts. "Obviously. Because if I leave it to you, you'll probably end up with gangrene." Without waiting for permission, he pulls something from his pouch—a small bundle of leaves, crushed slightly, their scent sharp and medicinal.
You watch as he dips them in the water, rubbing them between his fingers before pressing the paste-like mixture gently over the cut. The sting flares again, sharper this time, and you flinch.
Senku huffs a quiet laugh. "Oh? Remembering the concept of pain again?"
You shoot him a glare. "Tch—I just wasn't expecting it to burn."
"That's how you know it's working." His tone is smug, but his hands are careful, precise as he finishes spreading the mixture and sits back on his heels. "There. That'll keep bacteria from setting in until we get something better."
For a moment, the only sound is the river, the whisper of wind through the trees. You flex your leg slightly, testing the dull ache.
"...Thanks," you murmur, quieter than before.
Senku stretches his arms behind his head, smirking. "Don't mention it. It'd be a real pain dragging you around if you lost a leg."
You huff a laugh, shaking your head. "Right, of course. Purely for practical reasons."
You tug the makeshift bandage he'd handed you earlier and begin wrapping it around your leg, methodically securing it over the wound. Even without looking up, you can feel his gaze lingering—sharp, analytical, like he's mentally running quality control on your bandaging technique.
You pull the knot tight, testing the fit before exhaling in satisfaction. "There. Almost good as new."
Senku makes a small, approving noise in the back of his throat. "Not bad. Maybe I won't have to redo it myself."
You glance up at him, raising a brow. "Oh? You were going to fix it for me?"
He scoffs, shifting his weight back onto his heels. "Only if you screwed it up. Which, statistically speaking, was pretty likely."
You roll your eyes. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
Senku smirks but doesn't say anything, his gaze flicking briefly to your leg before settling back on your face. His expression is unreadable for a moment—like he's about to say something else but decides against it. Instead, he pushes himself to his feet, stretching.
"Come on," he says, jerking his head toward the treeline. "We're wasting daylight, and leaving Taiju alone with the new guy without supervision is probably out there making some disastrous survival choices as we speak."
You sigh, but a small smile tugs at your lips as you push yourself up. Your leg protests slightly, but the bandage holds firm.
"Alright, alright. Lead the way, oh great scientist."
Senku snorts but waits half a second longer than necessary before walking ahead.