Chapter Text
"So you're finally awake."
Groaning, Senku opened his eyes, his blurry vision adjusting to the bright light. He was in a forest, lying on the cold ground, dirt clinging to the cold sweat on his face. His shoulders hurt from his position, lying on his side, with his hands bound together in front of him. The rope was cutting into his wrists, making sure that there would be no way he could escape. Panting slightly, he struggled to sit cross-legged, leaning against the tree behind him.
Hyoga was looking at him, not seeming to blink with his squinting eyes. His expression was amused behind his dark mask, a few specks of blood still visible on his brow as if he wanted Senku to see it, as if he had waited for him to wake up before he washed it off. The blood of Senku's allies, of his friends, now flaky dirt on the face of their enemy. He wondered if the blank indifference on his own face fooled Hyoga. Then again, it only seemed to amuse him further.
Around them, Hyoga's henchmen had set up a camp in a small clearing; several tents made from leather, a campfire in the middle and guards who were looking out for attackers. All around them were destroyed stone statues, too clean to have been caused by nature. Tsukasa really took his work seriously. Senku looked around, not bothering to look inconspicuous. Hyoga would notice him trying to assess the scene, even if he tried not to let it show, so there was no reason to waste his time and energy.
"What a cowardly attack," he drawled with a smirk, leaning his head on the trunk behind him and looking at Hyoga through his eyelashes. "Didn't take you for that kinda guy."
The attack had been fast, surprising. For so many burly men and women, they had made unexpectedly little sound. Senku couldn't remember much, didn't even know how much time had passed. It could have been just a few hours but he could have also been unconscious for a whole day. Kohaku's screams still echoed through his mind, the sound of a spear piercing the flesh of her leg. Gen had gone into hiding, still acting as a double agent but the last time Senku had seen him, he had been lying unconscious on the ground.
(She could lose her leg, he could be in a coma and die if not tended to correctly, he knew the chances of survival in this world, he should be there-)
They wouldn't be able to save Senku without Kohaku’s power, he thought, keeping the raging panic out of his mind and focusing only on being rational. He'd have to escape on his own.
(A surprised scream, the sound of a body falling on the ground, blood-)
"Does it matter if our attack is brave or not as long as we accomplish our goal?" Hyoga was sitting opposite to him on the petrified, halved torso of a man. The other half was lying in pieces on the floor, a murder solely caused because Hyoga wanted a place to sit. His body was relaxed but Senku knew that didn't mean he wasn't alert. Even with the mask, he could see Hyogas satisfied grin, eyes formed to slits solely focused on him.
(He was standing over her body, not even looking at her as blood was seeping into her hair, so much blood-)
Senku laughed and fidgeted into a more comfortable position, meanwhile testing out how much wiggle room he had with the rope. The only thing that got him was more pain. Sighing, he looked at Hyoga.
"So why didn't you kill me?" The only reason the village had been attacked was because of Tsukasas orders. So why hadn't Hyoga immediately killed him to make sure there was absolutely no way for him to escape? With a mocking grin he leaned forward, hands between his crossed legs. "Could it be that you want something from me?"
(She wasn't moving, why wasn't she moving, no no no-)
Hyoga looked at him, his dark eyes boring into him, a puff of laughter escaping him. "You are as intelligent as Tsukasa claimed," he said, for some reason seeming content by that observation. "I'm not interested in whatever world he believes he can create. You and I however, we could build a much better world! With you on my side, there would be no one stopping us. Humanity needs science and compared to Tsukasa, I could give you all the resources you need." He stepped towards him, hands outstretched to loom over him, probably hoping to intimidate him into working for him.
(Hyogas big shadow hid her from his view but he could see she wasn't moving, why wasn't she moving-)
Senku snorted. "That the thing you spout to others so that they come to your side? Please."
Hyoga looked at him with raised eyebrows. "So you say no?"
"Well, I was going to say something more along the lines of 'Go fuck yourself', but yeah, basically."
He expected the kick in the face, however that didn't make it hurt less when he rolled through the dirt and collided against the bark of a tree, before sitting up with a painful groan. The hench people had stopped for a moment to look at them but immediately proceeded with their work when Hyoga inclined his head slightly towards them.
Huh, so they followed him out of fear, not out of loyalty like Homura. Good to know.
"You're making a mistake."
"Gee, haven't heard that villain monologue line before."
Hyoga crouched down in front of him, tipping up his chin with a forceful grip, and he forced himself not to tense up, not to let the hate he felt towards him show on his face. "I'd have used your intelligence greatly, little scientist. Tsukasa will certainly kill you, wouldn't it make more sense to work with me so that you can build your world of science?"
Senku leaned back out of Hyogas grip and looked at him unimpressed. "You want the revival fluid, right? So you wouldn't have to act like a loyal dog in front of Tsukasa." At least Tsukasa hadn't told everyone the formula, a pat on the shoulder for you, Tsukasa, well done. "Well tough luck."
Hyoga grabbed his arm and pulled him back to the tree where he had woken up. He stumbled after him, gritting his teeth when he was pushed roughly against it. Hyoga pulled him up by his wrists, tying up his hands on a high branch so that he had to stand on his tiptoes to reach the ground, stretching him in a way that no human body should be stretched for too long. Some of the brutes laughed at him, mockery clear in their faces. A few however averted their eyes.
There was still blood on their clothes, their skin. They may have washed it off but Senku could see it clear as day, dripping from them, the blood of his village, her blood and she was innocent, she wasn't even fighting, they just had healed her, it wasn't fair-
A hand grabbed his hair roughly and he was forced to look into Hyogas eyes, gentle and soft, juxtaposed by his hungry expression.
"Believe me, little scientist, there are many ways to make someone talk. Don't think there is any path for you which doesn't lead to pain."
And he couldn't hold back his smile, bitter and hateful, didn't stop smiling even when Hyoga let him go and walked away.
The fucking audacity, asking for his cooperation after everything he had done.
Not after he had attacked the village.
Not after he had potentially crippled Kohaku.
Not after he may be the reason Gen might never open his eyes again.
Not after he had broken his friends' bodies.
Not after he had taken the innocence out of Suikas eyes, now forever dampened by bloodshed and death.
Not after he had killed Ruri.
They won't come for me.
Their best fighters are out of commission, it will probably take weeks to heal until they are well enough to even think about defeating Hyoga.
I'm not even sure if they will want to save me after their priestess died because of me.
I'm all alone.
---
He didn’t want to murder anybody but if he could reach Hyoga unsuspected-
---
He wasn't a murderer but there were exceptions.
---
His position started to make him shift and groan very soon. His shoulders were popping with every move he made and the rope was biting into his wrists, rubbing against his skin, leaving it bloody and raw. He leaned his head against the trunk of the tree, half lidded eyes looking dully around.
The sun was dipping under the horizon, spreading its last rays onto the forest. The hench people had started a fire and were grilling fish over it, talking in hushed tones, tiptoeing around Hyoga as if he would plunge his spear into them at any moment if they made any loud noise. Some of the more burly men seemed displeased not to be the strongest but they still averted their eyes grudgingly, making a big circle around him. They didn’t acknowledge Senku except for a few pitying or annoyed glances. He almost snorted.
He hadn’t seen Homura but he was sure that she was somewhere in the trees, keeping watch for attackers.
He knew they wouldn’t give him any food even before they started preparing for the night and kept smirking even when one of the henchmen threw a fish in front of his feet with a taunting laugh. He had gone longer without food.
Whenever he had started a new project when he had been younger, he had tended to forget the whole world around him and it had exasperated Byakuya every time when he had missed dinner, so much that he had started to set an obnoxious clock in his room that would go off whenever it was time to eat, that would startle him so hard, it sometimes caused unwanted reactions when he spilled chemicals that really shouldn’t be spilled.
When he had woken up in the stone world, getting enough food had been the number one priority for survival but he had gotten used to only eating scraps when his stocks were coming to an end and his traps had ended up empty.
If Hyoga believed he could threaten him with starvation, he would have to try something harder.
The sun rays disappeared and plunged the forest in darkness. The blackness and the stillness of the trees, the occasional rustling of nocturnal woodland creatures and the whistling of the wind in thin branches would unsettle everyone who hadn’t already spent several months falling asleep with them as a background lullaby.
Hyoga settled down cross legged leaning against a tree at a distance from the other tents. The spear laid on his lap and even though his slowly rising chest and closed eyes made him look like a sleeping man, he looked like he was ready for an attack at any moment.
A guard was assigned to watch Senku, a muscular woman with long fingers who looked like she wanted to be anywhere else than here. She had a wrinkled face, from stress or age he couldn’t determine, and the rings under her eyes gave her an eerie look that spoke of many sleepless nights. Three cracks ran over one eye as if a lion had scratched her. His head lolled to the side, driving scraping nails into his aching shoulders. He watched her and gave her a dark smile.
She looked away and fingered her knife uncomfortably.
He couldn’t remember her from the attack, so she either wasn’t there to fight or- backup.
Bodies of Hyogas people had fallen around them in their attack, reluctant kills, and yet here were more people than had started the battle. Hyoga had had the place surrounded in case he had tried to escape, in case they had defeated the first unit.
Cold hands clasped around his throat and he let out an involuntary breath. They had never had a chance to win.
(If he had given up when he had realized what had been happening, if he had known-)
He had killed Ruri, and Senku had never wished for anybody's death before but it wasn’t fair-
“You’re the scientist Hyoga talked about, right?”
His head snapped up and he held in a gasp when his shoulders protested. The guard had whispered and was now looking around fearfully in case anyone had heard them.
He gave a barely visible nod. “What about it?”
She fidgeted before straightening and looking him in the eyes. “My name is Fumiko Akiyoshi and I was a pianist before- before the light.” She gulped, a certain kind of scared awe in her face as if she still thought this was all just a bad dream.
His breath caught and he fought not to let a hopeful smile crawl on his face. Of course. They were all modern people who suddenly found themselves in a new and scary world and the only choice they had was to follow Tsukasa- and no matter how big and muscular you were, not many average modern people tended to be okay with murdering every old person.
Senku was another chance, not just of living with someone who wasn’t a mass murderer but also someone who could restore the old world.
For Senku thousands of years had passed, plus the almost two years he had spent in the stone world, while these people had probably only spent a few hours encased in stone and then suddenly had found themselves in a completely different and scary world, away from their family, friends and the luxuries of the modern world.
He leaned forward until his arms screamed and tried to put the most reassuring grin onto his face. “What do you want?”
Fumiko tapped her fingers against her knives. “A piano," she whispered with a melancholic look at her hands, now full of little wounds and scratches. “Can you do that?”
He snorted. “Of course. I know the construction of how to build one but a craftsman” - Kaseki, hiding behind a wall, a club in a hand, ready to strike, not seeing the man creeping up behind him - “has to actually make it. A piano has over twelve thousand parts, so it could take some time. And we would have to wake someone up with perfect pitch to tune it," he added as an afterthought. He wanted her on his side but he wanted her to be aware she would have to wait until Tsukasa was defeated and the miracle cave under their control.
Simply squaring her shoulders, she nodded, determination shining bright in her eyes. “I’m a musician," she said, “and music is a part of my soul. If I could, I would cut you free but I think Homura is somewhere in the trees and she- she’s a monster.” A slight hysterical tone entered her low voice. “They all are- they all are crazy! Tsukasa punched a tree and it just fell! Who does that?!”
He had to snort. “Can you give me one of your knives?”
She shook her head apologetically. “Hyoga would know if you got free when I am on guard duty and one of my knives is missing. I’m ready to do almost everything to get a piano but…” A haunted look crossed her face. “Hyoga tends to dispose of disloyalty.”
Ah.
That explained the scared behavior towards Hyoga.
He had known that Tsukasa was a murderer but he hadn’t known he would execute his own allies or at least agree to that. So either Senku had severely misjudged him or Hyoga was going behind his back. And from the way Hyoga had spoken about Tsukasa, Senku was willing to bet on the latter.
He nodded. “If you give me some flint stones, I can escape and cause a distraction while somebody else is my guard. The next time we meet, I will have at least the base of your piano ready.”
If Hyoga hadn’t taken away his bags, then he was still in possession of some gunpowder. That should be a big enough distraction to cause an explosion and flee.
A bright and genuine smile slowly spread on her face. “Yeah," she whispered, and the excitement of co-conspiring against a tyrant, of finally having something tangible of the old world in her hands, seemed to strip the stress lines off her face and made her look much younger.
They settled into silence when they heard a loud snore coming from the other henchpeople. Fumiko bit her lip but then seemed to decide on something. She stepped towards him, fingers working quickly with the knots, and Senku had to bite down a loud curse when the rope dug into his already abused wrists. “Sorry, sorry," she murmured, looking around in paranoia in case Homura was watching them or anyone woke up.
She stepped back when she was done and he slumped, still tied to the tree but now being able to reach the ground with his heels and holy fuck it felt fantastic. He let out a sigh of relief and slowly rotated his shoulders, throwing her a thankful glance.
She nodded with a smile and leaned against a tree as if the last minutes hadn’t happened.
And he tried to settle into a more comfortable position, suddenly overcome with exhaustion.
Tomorrow he could free himself and if everything went well, he could run to the village, gather all his people, and hide somewhere where nobody could find them.
A counter attack could take months and he wanted to come up with a plan that would lead to as little bloodshed as possible.
But if Hyoga was one of the unfortunate victims, he wouldn’t even feel bad for being happy.
--
He woke up lying on the ground to the noise of Hyoga sharpening his knife and Fumiko’s dead face in front of him.