Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Senku never knew them personally. They were just two scientists in the lab he could get along with. A couple, married for several years now. He slightly regretted that he never really remembered their names, only that the husband was an epitome of curiosity, a bright mind eager to search for more, and his wife, more closed off (and held a weird resemblance to Senku), was just as eager in their pursuit of science.

He remembered when they announced they were having a child, joyous looks on their face as a little girl was brought into the world. Senku never really paid attention as the time went on, simple conversations passing over his thick head as he never realized he was important to the couple, especially the husband. He never realized how distraught the wife seemed, never fully realized just how much the husband would talk to him, never realized that he was somehow meant a lot to them until the day that the husband died.

A construction accident down at the newly built street, crushed alive before anyone could push him out the way.

He realized way too late that the man considered Senku a close friend, I mean how could he realize any sooner, only insane people would want to consider him a ‘close friend’. Yet he watched how the wife started to fade away in work, her eyes slowly losing their once energetic life as she started to distance from the rest of the team. It was only a matter of time until she disappeared, unable to continue work with the grief of losing the love of her life, and forced to look after her first child alone.

But of course, she just couldn’t handle the child either, how could she? She was most definitely not in the right mindset to. So, in this new world, she only did what she thought was best for her child.

Leave her in the hands of one of her closest friends.

This was how Senku found himself in the predicament of finding a one-year-old child in front of the doorstep to his apartment, crying her heart out while strapped in a stroller with a note:

‘Dear Senku. I find myself unable to focus on anything anymore. Life has been too painful without him by my side. I need time to properly heal from all this pain. I trust my Akari to you, as I know my husband would have also done the same in this situation. Please look after my little girl.’

He crumpled up the note, tossing it to the side as his eyes narrowed onto the baby, hand scratching the back of his head while he said aloud, “Yeah… I’m not keeping you around.”

Chapter Text

“A CHILD?! YOU NEVER TOLD US YOU HAVE A CHILD NOW SENKUU!!”

Taiju screeched out, running forward for a bear hug that was quickly dodged by the sceientist, who let out a loud “SHH!” as he hand-chopped the top of Taiju’s head.

When the two were called over by Senku that morning, they knew something was wrong when Senku directly told them ‘I need your help, immediately’. The two had no clue what to expect, but a tiny toddler sleeping on Senku’s couch was definitely out of pocket.

“Pipe it down you oaf. I just got the thing to sleep an hour ago after it cried all night,” Senku scolded, rubbing his eyes and looking back at the sleeping child, surrounded by pillows, her head barely peeking out from under the quilt he so graciously let her use.

“I don’t think you should be calling a child a ‘thing’ or an ‘it’, Senku,” Yuzuriha calmly corrected, quietly closing the front door of the apartment before walking closer and having a closer look of the child. “Oh! This is little Akari, isn’t it? I’ve seen her around with her parents. What happened to her mother?”

“She bailed because she was depressed and decided I was the best person to look after her kid while she ran off to who knows where.” Senku groaned and softly flopped down onto the empty space of the couch beside Akari, a hand dragging down his face. The couple looked at him dumbfounded. Somehow, him saying he stole the child would have made more sense than someone willingly giving him one.

The scientist looked tired, the dark bags under his eyes a shade only present when he spent several nights at the lab with no sleep.

The fact that it only took a night with a toddler for him to look this exhausted meant he had quite the struggle to get the kid to sleep.

“Look, I don’t have the time to look after a kid. Since you both are married, I’m ten billion percent sure you’d also be trying for kids some time in the future. Would it be that bad if ‘some time’ was now?”

The couple flushed, awkwardly looking the other way after Senku’s suggestion. “That’s… sweet of you to think that, Senku, but…” Taiju spoke first, walking over to the couch and kneeling down in front of the child, a hand lightly brushing over her head, “Me and Yuzuriha have only been married for a year, and we both have agreed we aren’t ready for kid’s just yet.”

Senku’s face tightened slightly, eyebrows furrowing as he leaned forward. “Isn’t there adoption centers? Or orphanages? Just somewhere I can keep her so she isn’t my responsibility?”

Taiju and Yuzuriha looked at each other, a look being shared between them that Senku could never read. It drove him a little crazy sometimes, people being able to have almost full conversations just by the tilt of their eyebrows, a look in their eyes. There were no rules to it, no logic, just a feeling that’s most of the time right.

Slowly, Taiju stood up, walking in front of Senku and looking down with crossed arms. Yuzuriha moved next to Senku, taking a seat on the armrest of the couch. It felt like they were going to lecture him, scold him for being so incredulous about a child’s life. Instead, Yuzuriha reached out and picked up Senku’s hand, playing with the fingers in a familiar pattern she always does, somehow always able to weirdly soothe the scientist.

“There are a few, small ones, housing several children who were revived with no family, their parent’s statue parts being too eroded to return them back to human. It’s completely your choice Senku, but do you think its right to just dump her like that, especially when someone entrusted her to you?”

Yuzuriha’s words were soft, and he knew she had a point. Strange or not, someone was trusting him to look after this kid. In truth he was… nervous about this. He knew almost nothing about how to care for a child and he barely ever interacted with kids below the age of ten. Of course, he’d learn and master childcare if he could, he was sure of it, but with all he’s working on was he really able to take on such a challenge of raising a child?

He looked down to Akari, watching the rise and fall of the quilt as she slept, and an unexpected thought flashed through his brain:

Did Byakuya think of all of this when adopting me?

From what he recalled his father wasted no time adopting him after the accident with his birth parents, and for once he wondered how the man truly felt when he was tasked with raising the little scientist. Was he stressed out? Was he fully ready for this? Was he just doing whatever hoping for the best? Senku was just around two when he was adopted after all. It’s not like he was a hard child to handle, but he himself knew that he wasn’t the most ‘normal’ either.

Even so, Byakuya raised him the best he could, and he was always there to support Senku, even when apart, thousands of years apart…

Senku sighed. He knew he already made up his mind, chuckling softly in disbelief as he pinched his brow.

He looked up between the couple, their eyes wide and hopeful. He knew that they’d be there to help him out, they always would.

“Fine, fine. You two can stop looking at me like that. I’ll look after her… for now. If I find someone who can look after her, I will not hesitate to hand her over...”

“I’M AN UNCLE!” Taiju yelled out before the other two could stop him, jumping back and with his fists raised high into the air. Yuzuriha laughed, her smile wide as she tried to quickly calm down Taiju.

Unfortunately, it was too late to stop the inevitable, as the room was immediately filled with the sounds of crying, the sleeping toddler having finally woken up to the loud noise.

All three of them immediately rushed to the child, trying to calm her down before the neighbors really started complaining.

Challenge accepted, Senku thought. Whatever you have to offer me, bring it on.

Chapter Text

Senku took a week out of the lab, not by choice of course. Taiju and Yuzuriha would’ve chewed his ear off had he not, much to his dismay. He resorted to making Chrome call him each time they needed any help in the lab or if they made a discovery, big or not. Its time travel, there’s bound to be something new they discover with each small step of the roadmap they cover. Being able to answer those calls, however, was easier said than done.

Taiju and Yuzuriha helped out with getting basic necessities, like diapers, baby food, a crib, which he constructed without much effort before shoving it to the side of the living room, still unsure where to keep it. Akari’s mother was nice enough to leave a small duffel bag of her clothes, some toys and a semi-worn bunny plush with a half-faded smile. With everything set, all that was left was to watch the child.

Which was an absolute nightmare.

Senku almost found it better when she was crying, the toddler now crawling around everywhere and trying to climb up everything. He was quick to babyproof the house, of course, but was relying on some advice Yuzuriha gave him from when she babysat her baby cousins in the past along with his own logic, which wasn’t helping much.

It had been a few days with Akari in Senku’s care, Senku trying to get used to not working as much while he did his best to watch over the crawling hazard, chasing her around the house and tolerating the mess she made when he tried to feed her baby food, which was a struggle with how much she kept trying to fling the spoon in his hand.

‘Sit next to her, play with her, interact with her,’ Yuzuriha had told him, but he didn’t really understand just what to do other than just sitting by her and observing her. The most he could do was muster up a confused smile when the kid handed him some toy, covered in drool as she would normally like to bite down on them. He let himself go over his own research while house-locked, scribbling down any ideas he had through his head on a notepad while making sure the kid didn’t get herself hurt. It became a small routine, Senku going over formulas or reaction results on the couch with Akari occasionally ditching her toys and pushing herself up the couch to him, babbling gibberish like any normal one-year-old.

Sometimes he would think aloud, finding that the toddler found the sounds of chemicals funny enough to giggle and occasionally try to repeat them in her babble-speak. Made sense she found some enjoyment in science, no matter how she digested it. Her parents were scientists after all.

It made Senku smirk, the idea of somehow getting this kid’s first words to be scientific. It was unlikely, but what’s the fun of keeping this kid around if he can’t enjoy himself in some way?

---

“Chrome what did you- no that’s not how the calculation goes,” Senku walked out of his bedroom, a brick-like mobile phone in hand as he checked on the toddler, sitting in the middle of the living room and playing with a bunch of blocks.

It was a hectic day at the lab, several experiments going on that could go dangerously wrong if not handled correctly. It normally would be calmer if not for the fact that both Senku and Xeno were out of the lab, Senku stuck looking after a kid and Xeno suddenly taking the day off to spend time with Stanely and ‘relax’, per his words. This left the team the next best thing.

Chrome.

It was not that Chrome wasn’t a good scientist, and it was not like Senku didn’t trust him enough to lead, it was just obvious that the inventor would be a little nervous about leading the whole team. Plus, Chrome was also terrible at math, which immediately got him to call Senku when he was faced with a whiteboard of complex equations and calculations that was making his head spin.

Senku talked to him casually, making Chrome read out the board as he fixed up any errors verbally, the calculations running through his head while he walked into small the kitchenette in the living room, pulling out a small container of powdered formula, which he had quickly gotten from one of his neighbors earlier that day after remembering that babies need milk. She had told him a specific way on how to make the formula, after giving him a surprised look, and he made it the exact way she described. He handed it to Akari and started to walk away, only for the kid to immediately throw away the baby bottle and yell after five seconds.

“S-Senku?? What was that?” Chrome sounded confused, hearing the yelling over the phone. Senku turned around, eyes narrowing onto the toddler. “Give me a bit Chrome, I have to deal with something.” Senku immediately cut the line, placing the phone down on the small table next to the kitchenette. He hadn’t told anyone in the lab about Akari yet. He had no reason to, or maybe he was telling himself that.

“What is up with you?” The scientist huffed out, picking up the bottle and handing it back to her, only for her to toss it away again, the screaming intensifying. “Picky much? You’re a baby, why do you have preferences over milk? Milk is milk.”

All he got back was more baby screams, which was what he figured was a sign for ‘Feed me.’ He knew he had no choice but to experiment, which he wasn’t too bummed out about.

He would never admit it, but he found it amusing as he started to experiment with the formula, trying to figure out why the child wouldn’t drink it. He messed with the variables, each trial making him even more determined. First trial? Add less water. Second Trial? Add more powder. It eventually went on until finally, the sixth trial, which he decided to mess around with the temperature and learnt that the kid preferred her milk cold of all things, with just a little more water in the mix.

Senku sighed, a smile growing on his face as he sat by the feeding child on the couch, the girl finally satisfied. She didn’t get why her mother would give her cold milk, but at least she now fed on the bottle, calm, and with Senku’s weight on the couch she slightly leaned against his side. Slowly, hesitantly, he allowed his hand to rest on top of her head, thumb brushing over her soft hair. Strange, he thought, I almost found that kind of nice.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn’t let himself care too much about the kid, especially not when she’s possibly going to be given to someone else anyways, someone better. Even so, he couldn’t help but feel satisfied.

Suddenly, buzzing broke the calm silence of the room. Senku looked at the time. An hour had passed since he talked to Chrome. “Shit,” he swore softly, quickly sitting up and grabbing the phone, not explaining at all why he left so abruptly after he answered the call.

He turned back around to see Akari off the couch, rushing over to her as he noticed the toddler try to crawl into his own small lab, which he had forgotten to close the door to.

Just how hectic is this going to get? He wondered.
 

Chapter Text

“Where were you the past week?”

Senku didn’t turn his head, just smirking as his eyes stayed locked onto the giant, trefoil knot in front of him. The progress on the time machine was going smoothly, a meeting with a large group of science heads happening in a few weeks to propose the construction of moon cities in order to harvest helium-3.

He didn’t need to look to recognize to man who would lead that meeting, the fellow scientist standing by and crossing his arms like Senku was, his own dark eyes looking up to the machine.

 “Home. Taiju and Yuzuriha forced me to stay in because I was sick.”

“Knowing you, unless they were by your side watching you the whole time, you would’ve found a way to sneak back to the lab either way, Senku,” the other man rebutted, eyes turning to the spiky haired man beside him.

It made Senku snort, his smirk only growing.

“How observant of my mentor,” he commented, uncrossing his arms and running a hand through his hair. “It was really just a bad illness, Xeno. If I did show up, I would be a liability to the rest of the team if I got them sick too.”

Dr. Xeno shook his head, a smile forming on his face. “Of course, yes, how silly of me to assume otherwise,” he properly looked over to Senku, dark eyes examining him, “You do look quite tired, Senku, are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Just had trouble sleeping s’all,” Senku huffed out, hand moving out from his hair and moving down to pick his ear nonchalantly.

Xeno just hummed. He knew Senku well enough to know that Senku’s sleep schedule was an absolute nightmare at times, and it took a lot more than that to get him to look this tired. He had a feeling there was something Senku wasn’t telling him, and he wanted to know what it was.

“This machine we’re creating, it truly is elegant, isn’t it?” Xeno broke the silence, face turning back to the metal giant ahead of them. “It really is Xeno, and it will be more elegant once we complete it and finally save humanity from being petrified.” Xeno watched Senku beam at the idea, his smile wide as he looked at the time machine with hope, determination.

The idea of time travel almost sounded impossible, but with that look in Senku’s eyes and the will he gave the rest of the team, it felt  as if they could beat the odds in record time, no matter what anyone would say against it. Senku Ishigami was not one to back away from a challenge after all, and neither was his kingdom of science.

Senku chuckled and looked down, shaking his head slightly. “Gen is going to fly back in after a few days to help with the negotiations. Remember to brief him on the proposal, his mentalism can be useful,” Senku said, before turning to walk away.

 “Wait.” Xeno grabbed him by the shoulder, the metal claws on his fingertips digging into the skin over his coat gently. Senku turned his head, a confused brow raised up. “If there’s anything going on with you, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Theres people here who are willing to help you like you helped them, like you helped all of us, and I hope you understand that.”

Senku’s eyes widened slightly, a flicker of something flashing in them before he chuckled some more and brushed Xeno’s hand off, his weight shifting to his left leg. “That sounded like something Byakuya would say. Don’t tell me you’re turning that old, Xeno. Do I have to start calling you old man now?”

Xeno smiled and shook his head, hands resting on his hips. “I just thought I should remind you; it is important for you to know after all.”

Senku didn’t respond back, the smirk on his face growing ever so slightly softer before he walked away with a wave, heading over to Suika.

He knew that Senku could handle himself, but he always worried slightly about just how much he could handle before it became too much.

---

“I think you should base your next fashion line on nebulae,”

 “Nebulae?”

“Yes Nebulae. Once we have the proper imaging for it, I’ll show you what I mean.”

 “I know what nebulae are Senku, you’ve shown us in the past,”

“Good, then you should understand what I mean,”

Taiju and Yuzuriha were spending time with Senku and Akari, Yuzuriha babysitting the toddler while Senku and Taiju were working at the lab.

They were discussing what Yuzuriha’s next line of designs should be. Yuzuriha sat by the table next to the kitchenette, looking through some people she had interviewed to take in Akari (per Senku’s request), Senku sitting on the couch and going through some reports, while Taiju played with Akari on the floor.

“I say you should make it about flowers; flowers are really pretty!” Taiju voiced, stacking some blocks up with the toddler. Yuzuriha hummed, placing a finger on her chin. “Flowers sound good, especially with the many new types that were recently discovered, but I feel like it’s also basic. By now there has to be several other designers that’s already done it,”

 “You wouldn’t know unless you tried. Besides, themes can repeat, but your style is uniquely your own,” Senku counterargued, squinting down slightly at the papers in hand. “Either way I still think Nebulae would be better. There's so many to pick from, like M8, or M2-9, or even NGC 6888. I’m not saying that there isn’t a lot to pick from with flowers, but if you want something unique It would be a good choice. Plus, you’re also spreading some space knowledge. Bound to impress some space nerds,”

 “Oh, like you Senku?”

“I’m no space nerd Taiju, I’m a space enthusiast.”

Yuzuriha started to giggle and lean back in her chair, head turning to Senku. “That’s the exact same thing!”

“I doubt so,” Senku argued back, eyes facing Yuzuriha for a few seconds before a smile broke out on his face, the scientist leaning back more on the couch while chuckling slightly.

Everyone started to smile, the warm atmosphere of the room bringing a sense of comfort.

As they continued to talk, Akari crawled over to the couch, reaching up and shakily pulling herself up, locking her eyes onto Senku. Even though she had a pacifier in her mouth, she bounced on her heels and called out with a whining sound, asking Senku to pick her up.

Senku turned to her and smirked, proceeding to pull her up onto his lap before looking back down at the papers. “She’s always so interested in what I’m reading. It’s not like she can read whatsoever but she always wants to have a look.”

Yuzuriha smiled. “She just wants to spend time with you Senku. I think she likes you a lot.”

Senku’s smile wavered slightly. Don’t get attached, he had told himself, but yet here he was feeling something almost warm in his chest to Yuzuriha’s words. Was it happiness? Was it discomfort? He really couldn’t tell, his thoughts dispersing as the child’s head leaned back on his chest, her eyes closing slightly.

He looked to the other two, unsure what to do. Yuzuriha softly whispering, “Turn her around.”

Senku nodded, picking Akari up and turning her 180°, the toddler’s head resting properly on his chest as she slowly drifted to sleep.

Senku’s head tilted, examining her breathing slow to a steady pace, a hand slightly gripping onto his lab coat. He just sighed, his smirk changing to a more gentle smile before patting her back softly and looking back down to his reports.

The other two felt their hearts melt, such tenderness from Senku being so rare, especially with how sweet of a scene they witnessed. Yuzuriha looked down at the papers in front of her, sighing for different reasons.

They all continued their conversations in more hushed tones, the sun slowly setting into the horizon and their conversations reminiscent of back when they were teenagers, building rockets and playing with science. Times had changed, years had passed, but in the end, they were all the same people, and they all still shared a deep bond

Eventually, the couple noticed Senku had stopped talking, and Taiju had to cover his mouth from gasping too loudly after noticing just why.

Senku had fallen asleep.

Unintentionally.

The two looked between each other and Senku with their mouths opened wide, trying not to freak out with smiles growing wide on their face to the sight of his head tilted back and his mouth slightly opened as he slept.

It was so unlike Senku to doze off like that, but they both knew he was genuinely exhausted, and in the secure atmosphere it seemed his body and mind finally relaxed enough to shut down for a bit. With Akari sleeping on him, the scene was too precious to even try and disturb.

The two nodded at each other, agreeing to make sure that they keep them like this for as long as possible, only to be startled by knocking at the door.

“Senku, are you home?” It was Dr. Xeno’s voice, the knocking repeating after a few seconds

Outside the door, Xeno stood there with Chrome, the latter carrying a large box of equipment. It was some items Senku wanted to use in his lab to conduct some independent research, which he oddly had forgotten after leaving the lab. Xeno noticed and had decided to personally deliver it to him, just to see Senku and hopefully catch a glimpse of anything that could be bothering him.

He had dragged Chrome along as Stanley was busy, the inventor also curious to actually see Senku’s home.

The couple silently rushed to the door, looking at each other with panic and unsure what to do.

“I know you are home Senku, I can hear movement behind the door,” Xeno called out, the two panicking even more as Taiju quickly opened the door, the two standing in front of the doorway to block the view inside.

“Dr. Xeno, so nice to see you!” Yuzuriha chirped, eyes almost widening at the sight of Chrome.

“Ah, Yuzuriha, Taiju, lovely to see you. May I know where Senku is? I need to hand this to him,” Xeno’s eyes narrowed on them, noticing how tense they seemed.

“Ah is that so? Well, he’s very busy right now so we’ll just hand this to him ourselves. We’ll let him know you visited!” Taiju explained, smiling widely and quickly taking the box from Chrome’s hands, the two waving at them and quickly trying to close the door.

They were stopped as Xeno wedged his foot between the door, his hands slowly gripping onto the door, faint tapping of metal echoing as he pushed it open slightly.

“Is he conducting an experiment? I’d like to help out,” he said sweetly, a sickly smile on his face.

Yuzuriha chuckled weakly, Taiju gulping nervously. “H-he doesn’t want to be disturbed doctor, but we will let him know though…”

“Taiju, Yuzuriha. Open the door right now.”

The couple looked at each other nervously and gulped, slowly opening the door again.

Yuzuriha raised up her hands in a placating manner. “Look, before you go in- “

Xeno ignored her and stepped forward, walking past the entrance and stopping at the sight of Senku, eyes widening.

Chrome walked in right after, jaw dropping as he saw Senku asleep with a toddler sleeping on him. Chrome opened his mouth to yell something, but was quickly stopped by Taiju’s hand slapping over his lips, effectively shutting him up.

Xeno turned to the couple, brows furrowed and voice low. “You two. Explain this now.”

Chapter Text

Taiju and Yuzuriha pulled everyone outside, gently shutting the front door so they can talk more openly.

The couple start to explain the situation up to the point of the first week to Chrome and Xeno, Chrome’s jaw dropping lower and lower while the latter just listened with a stern face, arms crossed with a metal claw tapping down on his arm in a steady rhythm.

Once done, a silence fell over them, the information quite strange to take in. Chrome scratched the back of his neck, gazing down to the floor. “Man… no wonder he’s been getting out of the lab more often than usual. I found it really weird when he took that one week off.”

 “I suspected something was off as well. Senku hasn’t been acting himself.” Xeno huffed, looking to the door, his stern expression hinting at worry. “I even told him that if he needed help all he needed to do was ask…”

 
 “Senku isn’t really one to drag people in to his own personal issues,” Taiju explained, staring at the door along with Xeno, “If he knows he can handle it himself, then he normally never depends on anyone like that, not even us. This is one of the few times he actually needed that help, and even then, he kept it to a minimal, only keeping it between me and Yuzuriha.”

Chrome groaned and dug his hand through his hair. “Man, Senku with a kid sounds insane. It’s hard to believe that lady actually left that poor baby in his care…”

Taiju and Yuzuriha chuckled, almost sheepishly. “It isn’t as bad as you think it is Chrome. From what we’ve seen he’s doing fairly well, though he’s mainly treating this as more of a science project than actually looking after a toddler,” Yuzuriha clarified.

The two scientists deadpanned to the statement, not surprised at all to Senku’s approach of this.

“Even so, if he’s going to be looking after the kid I don’t get why he’d hide it from us at all,” Chrome grumbled out, a hand resting on his chin. “I mean, he wouldn’t be able to hide it forever… right?”

 “Well…”

Yuzuriha was interrupted by the front door opening, everyone except Xeno jumping in surprise as Senku walked out, yawning wide before closing the door behind him. “Are you guys done talking about me?” He casually asked, a hand wiping sleepy tears from his eyes.

“S-senku!? You heard our entire conversation?!” Taiju yelled out, pointing to the spiky haired man. “I’ve been awake ever since you first opened the front door you oaf,” Senku plainly answered. “Then… why did you only show up now?”

 “I just left you guys the hassle of explaining the whole situation.”

“And Akari?”

 “In her crib, still asleep, so keep it down would you?”

Senku turned away from the couple and to the other two scientist, one hand resting on his waist, directing his attention to Chrome.

“To answer your question, I didn’t tell anyone because I’m planning on giving her off to someone anyways, so why bother with it?”

Chrome, in surprise, yelled out “HUH?! BUT WHY?!”, Xeno remaining neutral and leaning on the railing, his eyes boring onto Senku.

 “You said so yourself Chrome, me raising a kid is ten billion percent insane. I can’t risk cutting off any more time with our work, I ‘treat this like a science project’ per Yuzuriha’s words, and it’s not like I have any emotional attachment to the kid.”

Senku started to pick his ear, looking at Chrome with a smile. “Once I find someone who can look after her properly, I’m immediately handing her over and returning back to my schedule.”

 “That’s so wrong Senku!” Chrome yelled out, jabbing a finger to the other’s chest. “Have you no heart? That lady entrusted her daughter to you! can’t you at least try for her sake?!”

 Senku groaned, replicating the same motion as he looked at Chrome with a plain expression, something almost like annoyance in his eyes. “What are you getting all emotional for, huh? I quite literally just explained why I can’t look after her. It’s not like I agreed to do this and I’m backing out, her mother just ditched her at my doorstep with a note and disappeared without a word.”

 Chrome was not satisfied with that answer, the annoyance visible on his face. “If I were you, I’d at least try to put in more effort to see if I could instead of just checking out all of the negative factors and going ‘yep, I can’t do this’!”

 The other man chuckled in disbelief, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. “If that’s so then why don’t you go ahead and take her yourself, since you can so clearly be a good parent to her.”

Before Chrome could argue back, Xeno’s voice cut through the two of them like a knife through a paper.

 “Senku, do you really want to give her away, or are you just afraid?”

The question made Senku pause, his red eyes locking onto the older scientist. “Why would I be afraid, Xeno?”

 “Well, you clearly believe that you won’t be a good parent for this child,”

“Because I won’t-”

 “You will never know unless you try, Senku, that’s how that works.”

Senku scoffed, brows raising at the older man. He didn’t get what he was trying to prove. “And what experience with kids do you have? All I know is your love is science and St-”

“I have no experience myself,” he quickly cut off, arms resting back on the railing, “But I knew Byakuya enough to get an idea of what it was like for him.”

Senku’s face stiffened, hands balling up at his sides. Why was he bringing Byakuya into this. “This is not the same situation.”

 “Isn’t it though?” Xeno smiled slowly, head tilting to the left. “He looked after you when your birth parents were gone. He had his own life and his own challenges, and of course he was afraid, afraid that he would mess this up, but he still raised you and cared for you the best he could,”

 “He was obligated to,”

“He had the choice to give you away if he really couldn’t, but he still chose the sacrifice to keep you,”

 “I am NOT like Byakuya,”

“You don’t have to be.”

 Senku’s lips pressed shut. He didn’t get why they were even arguing about this, dragging this longer than it should’ve. He’d stated the facts, shown reasoning to why he couldn’t, understood himself he wasn’t cut out for this… yet, everyone around him kept saying this was the wrong choice. Was he missing something? Some variable to the problem that everyone else except him seemed to notice? Or was it something deeper than that, something he was still yet to understand.

“What are you trying to say?” Senku finally asked, rubbing a hand over his face. “This isn’t some weird, confusing scheme to actively sabotage my life, is it?”

 Xeno chuckled and pushed himself forward, a clawed hand reaching out and patting Senku’s shoulder. “I’m saying to see this less as a curse and more of a gift, or in better terms a learning experience. I’m fairly certain Byakuya would’ve said something similar, or would’ve encouraged you to give it a chance.”

He didn’t want to think about if that would be true or not. He didn’t want to think about any of this. He wasn’t afraid, he didn’t feel afraid, but there was this clawing at the back of his mind that made him question what he was really feeling.

The scientist sighed and shrugged the hand off, walking back over to his front door. “I’m annoyingly too tired for any more of this emotional bullshit, so why don’t you all head back home instead of crowding my doorway, yeah?” he yawned and pulled open his door, a barely audible ‘night...’ heard from him before he walked in and locked the door behind him.

Xeno didn’t wait before walking away from the door, the other three processing that whole conversation before eventually walking away together, in silence. Whatever happened now was purely Senku’s choice

 

Inside the apartment, Senku pulled a chair over and sat next to Akari’s crib. It was still awkwardly placed into a side of the living room, its bright yellow a contrast to the simple and monochromatic theme of the house. He had no other room in the house, and he was hesitant to move it into his bedroom.

The living room was currently only lit by small battery powered night light, star-shaped and setting a warm glow across the walls. Senku left it by the floor of the crib, the light spreading enough to see the features of the sleeping toddler.

His arms rested on the crib as he looked down at Akari, watching, thinking. His calculations were truly never wrong, unless he missed a value or a variable that he had not known of before. He was sure that Akari would be better elsewhere, but when pushing his logical thinking aside there was a part of him that liked Akari’s presence, that liked the strange challenge of looking after a growing child. He found it strange, the desire to keep her around, it didn’t make sense to him.

He then remembered the feeling of sea salt in cool night air, the view of a full moon high in the sky while in a moving car.

---

Senku was 13, summer break having started and Byakuya deciding it was the best time to go on a road trip together. They travelled to the beach, a few hours in his adoptive dad’s newly bought car and a few more hours under the boiling hot sun. He remembered walking across the sand, examining rocks and shells out of slight boredom before Byakuya eventually dragged him into the water, which was freezing cold in comparison to the heat.

 The two returned sunburnt, but satisfied about the day.

They left later in the night, eating some nice ramen in a small shop before driving off back home, windows rolled down and Senku staring out to the sea view. He was lost in thought about what he’d do when they were back, fiddling with a clear crystal he found in the sand which he wanted to confirm was actually authentic. The thoughts were swept away when Byakuya’s voice cut through the silence.

“Senku, I hope you know you’re the best thing to ever happen to me.”

Senku snorted. “Where’s all this sappiness coming from old man?”

 “I’m being serious! Had I not taken you in all those years ago my life would be a lot sadder. I wouldn’t be training to become an astronaut if it weren’t for you!”

The teenager looked to his father, head leaning on his hand with a smirk on his lips. “You’re welcome, then, for making your life ten billion percent better.”
Byakuya chuckled back, his head turning over to Senku. “Thank you, Senku, for everything. I’m proud of you for what you’ve accomplished, and for everything I know you will accomplish, and I’m proud to call you my son.”

The drive continued on in silence, a peaceful hush with only the sound of the wind between them. They were happy though; they wouldn’t have had wanted it any other way.

---

In reality, Senku wondered how Byakuya would truly feel about Akari. Knowing the man, he’d be ecstatic, but also concerned. He knew well enough that Byakuya would probably expect him to keep her, but not out of obligation, but because he would fully believe Senku would look after her well.

Senku himself knew he had the capability in the end. If he really wanted to, he could put in the effort to raise a little human. In the end, it just didn’t make sense logically to him. Why should he of all people take up the role of a parent to this girl, when there are so many out there who could be a better candidate.

There was a whole list of those candidates on his table, yet he still hadn’t gotten the urge to look at them yet. Instead, he was glued to watching the toddler sleep, calculating the time between each breath, monitoring every slight twitch or movement, even reaching down and brushing away a few strands of her hair, small and white in color like her mother’s.

Senku placed a hand over his face. He couldn’t get why he was feeling so conflicted about this. It was a decision that was obvious, yet not at the same time.

Would I really be able to do this? He thought, reaching down and turning off the night light. Eventually, he stood up and walked back to his room. deciding it was better to think about this when he wasn't half asleep.

Chapter Text

Senku was awoken at six in the morning to a phone call, the ringing of the large mobile phone waking him up an hour earlier than he usually did. The sound echoed across the room and hammered into his eardrums, making him groggily reach for the phone to turn it down, smacking the bedside drawer several times before grasping onto the white brick.

“Hello…?” he grumbled out, voice raspy and eyes still shut in the hopes he can fall back asleep for another five minutes.

“Uh... Senku? Its Chrome…”

The tone in the brunet’s voice made Senku’s eyes open slightly, brows furrowing in confusion. He sounded concerned, really concerned. “Did something happen Chrome?” He decided to ask, rubbing the gunk out of his eyes and yawning wide. “Experiment gone wrong and you need help or something?”

“Dr. Xeno has banned you from the lab until you sort out your baby problem.”

“What.”

Senku sat up, eyes blown open and his brain starting to boot back up again.

“He said that there’s no point in keeping you around if you aren’t going to be working efficiently, and to make sure you stay out of the lab until you have everything sorted!” Chrome quickly muttered out, anxiety clear in his voice.

Senku ran a hand through his hair. He should’ve predicted Xeno would’ve done this. It was frustrating he didn’t see it coming, but yet again the fact he didn’t see it was definitely a sign of… something.

He spoke firmly into the phone, tossing his feet over the side of the bed and heading over to the bathroom, “That balding man has got some nerve…Put Xeno on the phone. Now. I need to talk to him.”

 “No can do. He’s talking to Gen right now in another room.”

“Just walk in anyway? Its Gen he’s talking to, not the damn president,”

“I can’t Senku,”

 “And why is that?”

 “Dr. Xeno told me to keep out no matter what, even if you wanted to talk. I don’t want to be on his bad side man… he creeps me out a little …” He whispered the last part like he was telling Senku government secrets, Senku in return responding with silence to let Chrome settle into his own shame.

 He clicked his tongue after a minute and left the bathroom, pulling out his usual clothes and quickly starting to get dressed. “Look. I’m not waiting around and house-locking myself again, alright? I’ll be there in a few-”

“NO!” Senku’s eyes narrowed, pausing in the middle of putting on his lab coat. The fear was loud enough to know exactly why Chrome was so nervous.

It made Senku groan loud enough to hear over the phone.

“Someone’s guarding the entrance, I’m guessing Kohaku?” Chrome nodded, quickly stuttering to speak in realization the air won’t respond back to him. “Y-yeah, Kohaku is guarding the lab’s entrance, strictly with orders to keep you out. If you try, you’re going to get your ass handed back to you. It’s so bad…”

Senku sat back down on his bed, and swore softly under his breath.

“Alright. I’ll talk to you later Chrome.”

He cut the phone before Chrome could respond and tossed it to a side, leaning down and resting his head in his hands. The lab was highly secure, the only entrance being the main entrance. Even if he were to get in somehow, he knew he'd probably be kicked out anyways as soon as someone saw him.

It made Senku wonder whether Xeno told everyone the truth, or whether he left Senku the grace of explaining when he’s back, if he ever can go back at this rate.

He was pulled out of his thoughts to the sound of a yelling toddler, almost forgetting the very reason why he was banned from the lab in the first place. His memory started to flash back to the previous night, Xeno’s words still fresh in his mind.

‘…or are you just afraid?’

 It was such a strange conversation, and it just made his head hurt when trying to dissect it.  

With no other good choice left, Senku picked up the phone again, dialing Yuzuriha to tell her she wouldn’t need to babysit today.

Switching back to a t-shirt and pajama pants, he left his room a few minutes later and locked eyes onto two emerald green irises that stared directly at his soul. Akari watched Senku with her wide eyes, the early morning light coming in from one of the few windows in the house and shining over her in a way she almost looked intimidating.

Senku felt his lips curl up slightly, quickly pushing it down and walking over to the crib, releasing the toddler from her wooden prison. “What am I going to do with you…” He thought aloud, a hand quickly slapping over his nose as a certain smell filled the air.

Thirty minutes later, the two were sat at the table, Senku feeding her while she sat restlessly on his lap. He hadn’t bothered getting a high chair for the kid yet. The thought was nagging at him, but he ultimately refused to get one since she wasn’t going to be here permanently anyway.

While feeding her, the young scientist multitasked by going through some of the potential adopters for the child. Yuzuriha made a pretty solid list, circling over a few names which she thought would be a best fit. His eye caught over one name however:

Yuuho Nishimura. A single mother in her thirties revived three years ago, mourning the loss of her child from the petrification and willing to ‘be a mother again’.

Perfect, he thought. A lonely mother and an abandoned child. How much more of a fitting narrative could it be?

Senku reached for his phone, planning on calling the number that was listed down, only to notice a crucial detail in red.

‘Out of the country. Will be back by the end of the month.’

Guess she likes to travel.

He was brought out of his thoughts by quick knocking on his door, guessing it was most probably Yuzuriha, who had mentioned in call she’d come over with some things Senku asked her to retrieve from Chrome.

Akari in hand, he walked over and opened the door, words already escaping his mouth before even looking outside. “Hey, did you get the stuff? I’ve been meaning to get this project done and…”

His face dropped, eyes locking in on the familiar man that stood at his door.

“Senku…chan?”

Gen’s eyes were wide in surprise, shifting between Senku and the child he was carrying in one of his arms, said child looking at him with utter fascination. “I’ve just been gone for a few months… don’t tell me you somehow found a way to artificially grow humans… or did you steal her from somewhere… are you experimenting on her?!”

 “Of course not! Stop thinking so weirdly?!” Senku groaned out, leaning on his doorframe while noting the bag that Gen held in one hand. “What are you doing here mentalist? I thought you’d be at the lab.”

 “I was, but then I noticed you weren’t. So, I asked, and was told you were out of the lab because you were unwell. I wanted to see you anyways, so I got some warm food for you and came over.” The truth was he was suspicious, since it wasn’t like Senku to just drop out of the lab so easily. He wanted to know what was truly happening, and he certainly expected anything but this.

“Ah, really? How generous of you.” Senku reached down and grabbed the bag quickly, trying to close the door in Gen’s face.

“Now hold on!” Gen stuck his arm through the door, Senku stopping before he could break any bones. Slowly, Gen pushed the door back open -not a hard feat in comparison to Senku’s negative strength level- and he let himself inside the house, looking down at the spiky-haired man. “We’re going to eat this food together, and you’re going to explain why you suddenly decided to have a child. Okay-way? ~”

Sighing in defeat, Senku stepped back and let the taller man enter.

---

“So… you’ve been trying to give her away to someone so you can return back to your normal life?”

 “Correct.”

“How uel-cray Senku-chan! Why would you want to get rid of this adorable face from your life?”

He rolled his eyes in response. “Everyone who knows has asked almost the exact same thing.”

They talked over warm ramen which Gen had bought, Senku letting Gen hold and interact with the child in return. The mentalist was currently on the couch, Akari sitting on his lap while he played with her hands, Senku washing the dishes in the kitchenette sink.

“You can make her your little buddy! Your science assistant. With her parents’ common interest, I’m sure she’d have some passion in science like you Senku-chan.”

 “She does, actually. She keeps looking through my reports with me and has been trying to repeat chemical names every time I say them.”

He could hear Gen giggle in delight, the toddler giggling back as he raised her into the air. “She’s just perfect for you then! Is there no chance you can reconsider at least a little?”

“No.”

Gen huffed back in response, resting the toddler back on his lap and pinching her cheek softly. “What an ame-shay. If I could I might just take her myself.”

 “What’s stopping you?” Senku tilted his head to a side, seeing an almost somber look in Gen’s eyes. On his face was a smile, wide and happy as he played with Akari, but his gaze was that of a longing that Senku never expected out of Gen. A dream for something different.

“Oh, I just can’t… I’m always travelling everywhere, and my reputation across the global centers could change drastically if I have custody of a child and… I’m just not cut out for it.”

Senku responded back with silence, finishing the last of the dishes as knocking was heard from the door once again.

“Senkuuu, are you hommee?” Yuzuriha’s voice called out, the knocking continuing.

Gen stood up and opened the door this time, greeting her with his usual charming smile. The woman was surprised, but greeted Gen back warmly as she entered the house, walking over to the table and placing down a box filled with some metal devices and glass equipment. Senku turned back and smiled at the sight, wiping down his hands with the sides of his shirt and walking over to immediately rummage through the box.

“Well done Yuzuriha! Ten billion points to you for getting these out of the lab without getting caught,” Senku praised, hands digging deep into the box to examine its contents. The woman laughed behind a hand, taking a seat on one of the chairs. “It was surprisingly easy. I originally tried to bribe Kohaku with some new designs by me, specifically a certain type of dress I noticed her eyeing, but she agreed to help without it in the end. I guess she knew something was up and decided it was better to help you out.”

 “Hah, clever girl she is.”

Gen sat down on the carpet in front of the couch with Akari, watching the other two as the scientist pulled out a few small jars of tiny metal parts and circuitry. “Senku-chan… what are those?”

 “Medusa parts.”

“E-EH?!” Gen instinctively shifted away with Akari, the toddler’s eyes locked onto Senku like he was the most fascinating thing in the world.

“I’ve been trying to recreate a medusa with just its parts. A small pet project really, mainly to understand its structure to try and apply to the time machine. Other scientists in the lab have been trying as well, but I wanted to give it a go myself just to see if I can find anything new.”

 “Uh-huh…” Gen chuckled nervously, adjusting his clothes slightly as Senku continued to ramble, the scientist still rummaging through the box. The mentalist’s attention then switched back to Akari, who was lifting herself up to her feet using the couch.

Yuzuriha hummed in concern and looked to Senku. “How do you plan on experimenting while looking after Akari?”

 “I’ll work when she’s asleep, of course. I can keep the crib in my bedroom so she wouldn’t be disturbed by noises and in turn disturb me,”

 “But what is she wakes up and you can’t hear her?”

“That won’t happen.”

The two continued on with their conversation, Gen still watching Akari’s movements and getting increasingly more surprised by them.

 “S-Senku-chan,”

“I’m quite positive nothing is going to happen to her Yuzuriha-”

 ‘Senku-chan you should really-”

“It’s not like I’m going to somehow petrify her. Even if I do, she’d be perfectly fine.”

 “SENKU-CHAN!”

The scientist’s head snapped to the side, only to see a barely contained smile on Gen’s face. He immediately felt something grab at his pants, looking down to see the toddler gripping tightly onto the fabric of his pants, looking up at Senku with a wide, toothy smile.

Senku looked down at the bright-eyed child and smirked, a hand covering his face as he shook his head. “Really? You decided to do that now?” he mumbled out, putting down the glass jars and picking her up instead.

He was then surprised to the sound of clapping and excited cheering, the other two in the room standing up and walking over to coo over the toddler. “Senku-chan! You should be reacting more to this! Your child quite literally took her first steps!”

 “Not my child Gen.”

“But you should show a positive reaction to enforce her to do it again!”

 “I am, actually.”

 The two looked at him confused, before noticing how Akari’s focus was locked onto the box, a hand reaching out as if to grab something. The realization then dawned onto them.

She wanted to see the rest of the box.

Senku reached back and grabbed onto one of the jars, handing it to Akari who looked at it and shook it around under her grip. The other’s, in panic, tried to take the jar away, but was stopped by Senku simply raising his hand.

“This was all she walked here for, just to see something her tiny, baby brain could not possibly comprehend at the moment. Even so, her curiosity was enough to get her to take her first steps. Should award her right and let her see yeah?”

Gen deflated slightly at the words, Yuzuriha giggling and brushing a hand over the child’s head. “She’d grow up to be a smart little scientist, just like you Senku.” It made the man scoff, looking down at the toddler with a look reminiscent of pride. “Nah, she better be worse than me. When the future rolls around we need more scientific minds who can think far beyond the box, and help speed up the progress of the time machine to save humanity.”

It made Senku start to ponder, really, just where this kid would go when she grows up. Realistically he knew there was no way the production of the time machine would be done any time soon. At this point, all they were missing was helium-13, which in the current state of the world would take quite some time to build a proper colony on the moon to even start the extraction. It was up to the new generation of scientists born in this new world to help finish what the original team had started.

It was better if these kids had the right environment, the right materials to pursue science and to grow an interest on the idea of this project. With Akari, if surrounded by the right people she could definitely grow a large passion in the idea, have her dreams set to finish one of the most controversial machines to be built…

Yet again, wherever she was raised, her passion for science and tech would still be present. It was in her blood after all.

“Okay you two stop crowding us it’s getting claustrophobic.”

The two laughed sheepishly and stepped back. “Well, I should leave. I’m meeting Taiiju for lunch in a bit,” Yuzuriha mentioned, stepping back to pick up the handbag she brought. “I should as well,” Gen mentioned, patting down his clothes slightly, “I have another meeting to attend to secure more supplies for the lab.”

“Gen.” The mentalist froze, looking to Senku in confusion.

 “Y-yeah?”

“You’re free to visit when you like, just don’t bug me the whole time, alright?”

Gen tilted his head slightly. He anyways showed up when he wanted to in the end, he didn’t get why Senku was giving him permission this time. He was then reminded of the child in the other’s arms, her babbling and shaking of the small metal jar making him realize Senku saw right through him.

It made him smile.

“Of course, Senku-chan. How could I not visit at this point.”

Yuzuriha didn’t question the conversation, the two saying their goodbyes and leaving the apartment shortly after.

Senku stood in the kitchenette, looking down at the baby, her own eyes entranced by the shiny metal in the jar. “I really got to get rid of you,” he mumbled under his breath, pulling the jar away from her grip. “The longer you’re here the harder it is to make the right decision…”

It was true. In his head, he was slowly starting to doubt what was the right decision anymore. He hated being unsure. He hated the idea of this child being more than just a forced responsibility.

He couldn’t let himself actually care for her more than the basic necessity.

He couldn't get attached. Couldn't let her change his life so much. 

She then yawned, her eyes slowly drooping while she slowly nodded off in his arms. Gently, he walked over to the crib and laid her down, the kid slowly falling asleep as soon as her head rested against the pillow. She was mainly quiet for a toddler, not as fussy as one would expect. It was satisfying, really, watching her fall asleep while pulling the light quilt over her, her breaths entering a steady rhythm as she dreamed of whatever a child would dream about.

He stood there, watching her sleep, getting sucked into his conflicting thoughts once again.

“Just a week more…” he thought aloud, running a hand through his hair. “Just one more week and I don’t have to think about you ever again.”

That was what he hoped.
 

Chapter Text

The pain was in the form of hydrochloric acid.

Clear… and burning through him as it flowed along his blood stream.

He wanted to scream.

Several entry points, each cutting from one end to the other like a knife through butter.

He tried to figure out where they pierced. Was it the heart or the lungs? He couldn’t think when each shard was making his nervous system scream into his brain, just to tell him that it hurt.

“SENKU!”

The screaming, it was so close yet so far, like his head was submerged in the river. The movement around him was almost a blur, colors swirled together to form an abstract painting worthy of being framed.

“…OUR CHANCE TO STRIKE BACK…”

At least they were being smart about it and not completely panicking over this. Him being shot was the last thing they should worry about right now…

“…SAVE HIM!!”

Or maybe not. They should know better...

         ‘47…’

   ‘12…’

            ‘42…’

Ku – Ro – Mu

‘The scientist now… is you.’

Chrome was a smart kid, would probably be a prodigy back in the twenty-first century. If someone were to carry out his scientific legacy, he was ten billion percent sure it would be Chrome...

He could barely process Luna wrapping him up, the fabric of the bandages cold against his buzzing skin.

Funnily enough, he had already accepted he might just die anyway. It was just bound to happen in the end.

 To escape death once was a feat, but twice?

    The grim reaper probably wouldn’t like that.

He wondered if maybe he’d meet that old man up in heaven, see that bright ass smile of his again. Well, probably not. He wasn’t bound for heaven, and he knew that himself.

In the end, it was not like heaven existed anyway.

Or the grim reaper.

In the end, it was all just spiritual bullshit.

In the end, it was all just hope for something nice when he was gone.

But the afterlife was nothing but the rapid fire of signals to his brain slowing down to a stop.

   Like pulling the cable from the television.

Or maybe the tall red curtains closing, marking the end of the show, the crowd disappearing behind the blinds.

 He couldn’t deny though, being able to eventually close his eyes and drift off to unconsciousness was nice.

He knew
                    in the end…

                                           Everyone would be fine without him.

…

Senku flinched awake, a hand moving over his chest instinctively to grip at his shirt. Instead of flat chest, his hand grasped onto soft white hair and the small skull of a one-year-old girl sleeping on his chest. He realized then he wasn’t lying half-dead in the Perseus, but rather was lying half-asleep in the couch of his living room, the toddler he was forced to look after also fast asleep on top of him.

He was surprised he fell asleep again, but then realized ‘Right… toddler… chased her around all day… unneeded workout…’, before looking back down at the child.

She slept peacefully on top of him, curled up around the small bunny plush she had arrived with. Senku remembered struggling to get her to sleep in her crib the first night, screams mixed with almost violent crying unending for a solid hour. He tried everything to calm her down, and felt almost stupid when he realized that her hand reaching through the bars of the crib wasn’t a sign to get out, but was her reaching out to the bunny that sat atop the couch.

Smiling slightly to the memory, the hand on her head started to hesitantly stroke her soft hair while he took a deep breath, trying to relax his nerves. In just a blink it felt as if his body was being torn into again.

He winced, not out of pain, but of the memory of it, still burning through his chest like he was just shot yesterday. It wasn’t any normal type of pain, nothing that could physically hurt him. Any physical wound from that shot should have already healed completely, especially with the several times he’d been petrified by now.

Meaning this pain was purely psychological, somehow. He guessed PTSD, which was the only thing that made some sort of sense in this case. Of course he’d be left with some trauma from that accident, he wouldn’t deny that, yet he couldn’t believe that it would still affect him to the point where he still had dreams about it, along with flashes of burning pain across his body that he knew were all in his head.

His pulse was unnaturally fast and a few beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. Senku realized he was completely stressed out over this and he did not like that.

“I need a breather..” He muttered to himself, apparently a little too loud as the child on his chest started to stir, her large eyes opening to slowly look up and meet Senku’s gaze.

Senku paused, looking down at the child for a few seconds. There was no way she was falling asleep again now.

“You’re coming along I guess.”

Fifteen minutes later, he was walking out of his apartment complex with Akari in hand, having put her in some thicker clothes to keep her warm from the chilly night breeze.

He took in the crisp air of the night, finding peace in the quiet atmosphere of the late/early hour. Only a few lights were on in most buildings, the only sound being the slight gusts of wind and blew from east to west.

A car then pulled up in front of them, hoodless and a sleek black. His eyes locked onto the driver, the familiar X sign on his forehead, and then locked onto the person in the passenger seat, an unlit cigarette resting between his painted lips.

How ironic, he thought to himself, entering the car and slamming the door shut without a word.

The car immediately started moving afterwards, driving away from the apartment complex silently. Senku picked at his ear while also holding down Akari, the girl trying to lean over the side of the car to look at the road below. His gaze switched between the driver and the person driving shotgun, his brows raising slightly.

“What’s your soldier boy doing here Xeno?”

“What’s your not-child doing here Senku?”

“Woke her up on accident, she won’t go back to sleep easily,”

“Same here. I decided to bring Stanley along with me instead of doing what we normally do, since you called so suddenly,”

“What do you both normally do??”

“Science experiments.”

Senku didn’t want to know more. The bluntness of the words and the fact they were roommates at all was all he needed to know.

“Can one of you explain the child?” Stanley finally asked, turning back to get a proper look at Akari. Senku chuckled and looked up to the soldier. “Sure. A mentally unwell scientist decided to hand me her child and run away since apparently I’m capable of looking after children. So, I’m stuck with a child until I can find someone who actually has the time to take care of her. Here, hold her.”

Senku reached out and handed Stanley the toddler, the soldier quickly taking her in surprise and turning back in his seat, placing the child on his lap. He struggled to keep her still; the toddler trying to move around and grab onto everything on the dashboard.
“Woah. Girl’s got some energy. Wouldn’t be too surprised if she was really yours ya’know,”

 “Ha. Very funny Snyder.” Senku leaned back in the seat, the rest of the drive continuing in silence as they moved away from the industrial buildings, following a road out into open nature

Soon they reached a field next to a lake, the light of the full moon reflecting on the surface of the calm water. Senku got out of the car as soon as it stopped, walking slowly over to the shore of the lake, hands stuffed into the pockets of his pants. Xeno gave a nod to Stanley and followed him, alone, the soldier walking off to another direction with Akari to let the scientists speak.

“You seem to be looking better, Senku,” Xeno commented as he stood next to Senku, who had sat down on the rocky sand by the shore, looking up to the embroidered canopy of the stars above.  

“I guess you can thank the kid. She’s been making me sleep more often than I normally would in the expense of making me haul my ass more than when I first de-petrified.”

 That got a snort out of Xeno, who sat down next to Senku, adjusting his black coat.

“That’s how children are… tell me though, how are you feeling?”

Well, the effects of his dream had mainly faded off, his pulse back to a normal rate and the pains in his body now barely just a pinch. Seeing Stanley did make him feel slightly off, but that unease quickly washed off in the end, it’s not like he feared the soldier. He was still feeling stressed however, and he just couldn’t tell why. It was bothersome.

“I just want to get back to work. Being stuck in the house is like hell. At least I’ll be able to talk to a potential guardian in a few days, then this kid will be out of my hair and you don’t have to keep me banned from the lab anymore.”

“Ah. You’re giving her away I see.” Senku couldn’t tell why, but Xeno sounded almost disappointed at the fact. He tried to read the other’s face, but saw nothing in his expression as the older man looked up to the sky, eyeing the constellations present.

“Hows prep for the meeting going,”

 “Ah yes, we have everything prepared for the negotiations. The meeting in fourteen days should hopefully go as planned.”

“Perfect… Well, since you’ve said yourself I look better, do you think-“

 “I’m not unbanning you from the lab Senku,”

“C’mon Xeno, you can’t keep me out forever…”

 “It’s not forever, its until you solve your issue with the child,”

“I’m not having any issues with Akari, I can work and look after her just fine until I find her a new guardian. I don’t see what’s-”

 “Senku… you look happier with her around.”

It made him freeze, a frown of disbelief spreading on his face. “I don’t know what you mean… I literally just told you about how much I have to haul my ass around for her-”

 “And you seem happy.”

The younger scientist burst into soft laughter, his hand pinching the bridge of his nose. “Whose team are you on, hah?”

The older scientist laughed back, resting his head on his hand. “I’m on the team which ensures the best for you, Senku.”

Before anything else could be said, the two heard a yell, along with the splash of water. To their left, Stanley sat half drenched in the lake, raising a laughing Akari up and away from the water like she was a hazardous object.

“Why does she run so damn fast?!” Stanley yelled out, slowly standing up and stepping away from the water, shivering slightly. The two deadpanned at the scene, Senku running a hand over his face.

“It was a good thing I brought him along,” Xeno sighed out, brushing his hair back and standing up. Senku followed along, the two walking back to the car in silence once again.

---

They pulled up in front of the apartment complex again, Senku stepping out with Akari and walking over to the driver’s side.

“Apologies for cutting this outing short Senku, I’d rather not let Stanley freeze and get him sick,”

 “I don’t mind, just needed a little time to get my head straight anyways. Night then,” Senku patted the side of the car and walked away, watching as the car drove off.

Once out of sight, he sighed and placed Akari down on the ground. “Ever since you decided to walk, it’s only gotten harder to watch over your antics,” he grumbled out, watching as the child started to walk around, immediately exploring her surroundings. She had way too much energy for a one-year-old, especially when it was around three in the morning.

He decided to let her tire herself out, watching as she followed what seemed to be a frog out of the apartment. She tried to grab at it occasionally, the brown frog only hopping away as she got close. He trailed behind her slowly, wondering about his talk with Xeno.

He knew what the other man was encouraging, but it wasn’t like he had any experience with this. Why would Xeno imply that he should keep her? It was obvious things would be better if she wasn’t around him, and knew himself he wasn’t as efficient with this constant distraction.

Senku froze, stretching slightly while letting out a wide yawn.

He knew he wouldn’t be too emotional if the child was out of his life. There was only so much he could miss about the green-eyed gremlin that ran around his house. It wouldn’t make that much of a difference to lose her...

The sound of a car and cheering in the distance then caught his attention. He turned his head, watching a car with several people inside speeding down the road, a lot faster than they should’ve. They were most definitely drunk, and definitely not in the right mind to drive.

His focus then snapped back to Akari, who was somehow already seven feet away from him, still running after the frog. It had somehow hopped its way down to the dark road, Akari following right behind it.

Sleepy eyes looked at the car, and then back to Akari, and his legs carried him forward before he could even process the thought of ‘run’.

The scientist realized he was running at a speed he never thought he’d ever achieve, eyes shot open as he raced against time.

The world started to slow around him, but she somehow kept running further and further away, her feet touching the asphalt of the road and the car’s headlights shining on her face, illuminating the green of her eyes which looked at the car with absolute fear.

Everything became a blur, his surroundings too quick as he lunged forward, desperately, eyes shutting as he reached out.

...

He heard the sound of a crunch and the car flying by. Heard the drunk passengers cussing him out as he fell flat on his back. Heard the start of loud wailing by the child which he held tightly in his arms, holding her tighter as he finally let out a long, shaky breath.

The stars were above him as he opened his eyes, Senku sitting up to see the crushed frog on the road, its body split right in the middle.

Anger and frustration filled his mind, but somehow immediately fizzled up as he looked down at Akari, only filled with relief she was alive.

He knew was right to have immediately moved. If he was a second too late, just a second…

The thought was shaken off. He didn’t want to process the idea of her dying, not when he knew he’d feel more than just the guilt of getting a child killed.

Slowly standing up, the child was brought close to his chest, her tears now soaking his shoulder. “You’re fine…” he slowly said, his voice croakier than he expected. “You’re okay…”

He questioned just who he was reassuring, patting her back softly as her crying softened to slight hiccups. He walked back to the complex, legs shaking slightly beneath him.

“No more bringing you out at night… and no more letting you walk around alone. I need to get you a leash or something,” he mumbled to himself, sighing as she started to quiet down completely. “You’re going to be the death of me if you stay here any longer.”

He wanted count this as a negative, but his hold on her was still tight as he walked up to the elevator, dying to get her to bed and then to pass out himself.

Chapter Text

Yuuho Nishimura was a simple woman. Straight black hair, soft colored clothes and a warmth in her honey brown eyes that seemed to scream ‘kindness’.

Senku wasted no time to rush over to  home once she returned, donning the perfect disguise of black shades and a green bucket hat that totally hid his identity. He was no longer Senku Ishigami, leading scientist of one of the most well-known labs in this new world. He was instead Minoru Tanaka, a father struggling to provide and wanting to hand his only child to someone who can actually look after her.

He was surprised to see just how perfect the woman seemed.

A calm voice, kind manners, that energy that was, strangely, utterly tranquil.

Her home seemed just like her, a small apartment with two rooms, neat and tidy and the scent of lavender filling his nostrils, mixed with the aroma of warm tea from the two cups that lay on the coffee table in front of him.

The two sat side by side on the large, mocha brown couch, the woman sitting closer to Senku than really necessary.

“She is quite the energetic kid, isn’t she Mr. Tanaka?” Yuuho analyzed aloud, watching as Akari roamed her home, abandoning her toys and eyeing all the soft colors and the interesting decorations that sat on surfaces, too high up for her reach.

“Since she realized walking’s more useful than running, I’ve never been able to put her down without having to constantly make sure she isn’t trying to burn the house down,” Senku responded, smirking slightly while leaning back on the couch casually, crimson eyes still diligently following the child.

Yuuho giggled, reaching down to grab her cup, white ceramic with blue and pink flowers painted on. “Please, have a sip, it’s something I’ve made myself,” The woman insisted, lifting up Senku’s cup and handing it to him.

Senku raised up and hesitantly took the offer, raising the white ceramic to his lips for a slight sip.

The tea was bitter, but not sour, the flavor almost washed out and muffled by the unnatural amount of sugar present in just a singular sip. He had to hold back a gag, his tongue recoiling while he placed the cup of syrupy poison back down on the table.

“Green tea?”

 “Black!”

“Lemon… or cardamom?”

 “Snapdragon.”

Senku’s lip’s tightened to a thin line.

Snapdragon was an exotic flower, decorative, and bitter to the taste. Why one would make it a tea was truly a mystery, especially if they were going to douse its bitter profile with almost toxic levels of sugar.

“I presume you got some when you were abroad?” He leaned back again, arms crossing over his chest as he examined the house once more, watching more closely.

“That’s correct. I went over to America in search of some family.”

 “You’re part American?”

“Not at all. I just have some family who were studying or working over there before the petrification. I was able to find some older relatives who were recently revived. They gave me some exotic flowers and herbs as a gift, since I really love experimenting with teas!”

She lifted her cup back to her lips and made a show of taking a long sip from her cup that ended with an exhilarated sigh as she placed the ceramic back down.

“I really love new flavors, especially unique ones like this.”

No, she didn’t.

Her actions weren’t enough to hide the twitch of her eye, the slight cringe of her lip, or the way her knuckles tensed around the cup as she drank.

It made Senku wonder: why lie about something so trivial?

Akari hobbled back to the two, looking down at the coffee table (which was miraculously low enough for reach), and grabbing at Senku’s cup, the man immediately snatching the hot cup away from her.

“Oh, let her have a sip. It’s completely safe,” Yuuho chuckled aloud, waving her hand at Senku. A huff left his lips, struggling to form a smile that wasn’t completely dry. “No offence, but this tea’s sugar content is higher than any candy or soda made back in the twenty-first century… I’d rather not give the kid a sugar high and have to deal with her doubled hyperactivity …”

She chortled, loud, the sound almost forced at this point.

 “Well, let me handle it then.”

Senku’s eyes narrowed onto her.

She was starting to seem off, her insistence setting off an alarm in Senku’s brain. “I have experience with hyperactive kids. My own son used to be a bolt of energy, always running around and trying to explore everything around him, much like little Akari here. She reminds me of him a lot, you know?”

“That’s… nice to know.”

She gazed at Akari, who was trying to climb up Senku’s  pants. There was a flash of something in her eye as she gazed at the child, the honey in them turning into something harder, darker.

Senku lifted up the toddler and placed her on his lap, arm wrapped around her waist as she wobbled around, already trying to break free. “So, I’m guessing you have a room ready? Do I just need to bring in her stuff?” Senku went back to business, wanting to end this interaction quick.

“Ah yes. The rooms not fully ready. Just need to add some final touches. Could you give me just another week at most?”

Another… week?

Senku ran through the probabilities in his head.

It didn’t seem too bad.

He already survived around a few weeks now. His mental state was mainly fine, and his physical state was starting to adjust. It wouldn’t be too problematic to keep the child around for just one more week…

Besides, he had a bad feeling about this woman. Another week would be enough to figure out what’s wrong and decide whether she’s the right fit or not.

“Alright. I can do a week,” Senku responded, standing up and placing Akari in her stroller, buckling her up as he prepared to leave. He felt the grip of a hand one of his shoulders, looking to his left to see Yuuho’s face, smiling and radiant.

“You’re leaving so soon, Mr. Tanaka? You just got here!”

 “I have things to do. We’ve already discussed what we needed to.”

“Well then let me look after Akari until you’re done with work. I want to get to know her more and I know you’re a busy man!”

He didn’t hesitate to shrug the hand off as stepped away from Yuuho, walking to the door.. “I’d rather not leave a- my toddler in the care of someone I barely even know yet. It would be pretty irresponsible of me, yeah? I’ll visit every now and then though, to get the ‘bonding time’ in.”

There was a twitch in her eye, something on her face starting to crack, and before she could say anything else he left the house, speed walking down the street and turning a corner faster than she could blink.

Senku kept walking till he was sure he was out of that block, not wanting to find out whether she was just really pushy or just mentally ill. It was probably best to look for better candidates, but Senku didn’t exactly sense any bad intentions from her. The only strange things about her were the tea and her insistence to get closer to Akari.

She’s probably still grieving, Senku predicted, groaning as he pushed the stroller down empty roads, the golden hour sun shining bright down onto his skin. She probably isn’t ready just yet, but I don’t want to give her hope like that then shatter it. She might go batshit crazy and try to hurt herself or something, or even worse she’ll go after me …

His thoughts were pushed down as they entered a busy part of the town, an open area next to the river with the perfect view of the lowering sun, the ground covered with grey bricks and his surroundings filled with shops that were complete tourist traps.

His eyes scanned over the groups of people, crowds merging together and making it impossible to really distinguish most faces.

He adjusted his hat and walked forward, hoping to just look like ‘random bystander A’ instead of anyone else. It had worked on the way over, so there was a low probability it wouldn’t work on the way back.

He then immediately bumped into by a young woman, catching him off balance and knocking his shades off. He looked to the side to see wavy blonde hair and wide brown eyes, a familiar watermelon head piece resting on her shoulder, the lenses reflecting the retreating sunlight.

“S-Senku?!” Suika exclaimed, looking at Senku and then to the stroller in confusion. “What are you… Is that a…?”

He quickly reached down and slapped the shades back onto his face, trying to walk away. “No clue who ‘Senku’ is. My name is Minoru Tanaka and I’m in a rush. I have no time for chit-chat!”

“Senku wait!”

Suika grabbed onto his arm and easily spun him around, removing his shades and looking at him with a pout. “Where have you been?! Xeno mentioned you’re banned from the lab for ‘personal issues’ and never explained more than that! What’s with the baby in the stroller!?”

She then gasped, as if having a terrible realization, a hand slapping over her mouth as she walked over to the front of the stroller, eyeing the toddler. “Is she yours? Have you been secretly seeing someone?” She softly whispered, absolute awe in her eyes.

Senku just scoffed.

“Hell no. She doesn’t even look anything like me.”

 “I mean… she has your hair?”

Senku was interrupted before he could argue back, the familiar yelling of Chrome raising over the crowd as he rushed over, two cones of ice cream in hand. “Suika! I told you not to wander off! It’s too crowded here man!”

He then processed the presence of Senku and the stroller, the color slowly draining from his face. “Oh…”

---

The three retreated to a more secluded area, a small park nearby recently made with a tiny playground, a few kids with their parents roaming around. Senku and Chrome sat on one of the many wooden benches, Suika down on the ground interacting with Akari.

“That’s bad! That lady sounds creepy! Are you really still considering her?” Chrome grimaced at the thought, chomping down into the last bits of his strawberry ice cream (which proceeded to make Senku grimace). “I say you should find someone else Senku.”

“I’m considering it, but I’m pretty sure she wasn’t trying to mean any harm to me or the kid.” Senku ignored Chrome’s inhumane eating and shifted forward, his hands tightly gripping onto each other. His focus switched to Suika, who was playing with the toddler and giggling.

“It’s a bummer you’re handing her away Senku,” Suika whined, reaching her hand forward to let the toddler try some of her vanilla ice cream. Akari reached out for more after the first taste, Suika laughing as she moved the treat away.

 “It would’ve been so fun if she stayed around! I could be, like, her big sister, you know! I always wanted to be a big sister, like Kohaku and Ruri were to me…”

Senku smiled slightly at the idea, knowing fully well Suika would make an amazing big sister.

He didn’t voice the thought, resorting to scoffing and pointing a thumb at Chrome. “Wait till Ruri and this dunce finally decide to have a kid. You can be a big sister all you want to that child.”

 “Hey! Who are you calling a… wait WHAT??”

Suika burst into loud laughter, Akari watching and starting to laugh along with her, which made the young woman laugh even more.

“Oh Senku, she’s just adorable. Are you really giving her away? I’m sure you’ll make a great dad!”

Senku rolled his eyes, leaning back on the bench and picking at his ear. “Why does everyone keep saying that… I ten billion percent would not. Trust me, I’ve run the calculations, the chance of me raising her right is low.”
 

 “Well, I’m certain your probabilities are wrong,”

“And how is that, ‘Miss Genius’?”

 “Because there is no right way to raise a child! As long as you care for them and their wellbeing then any way is a right way!”

“That’s… debatable, but sure, you can say that…”

“I mean, I’d say you and the rest of the team raised me right. Without you I wouldn’t be the great scientist I am right now! Of course, it wasn’t just you… but you do have a lot of credit for it.”

“Quit saying nonsense, Suika. You raised yourself to be who you are.  All external factors just helped to just push your mindset into the field of science.”

 “No, really Senku,” Her eyes moved away from Akari, using her free hand to raise the watermelon piece from her shoulders, the lenses focusing over her eyes. “Without you, I wouldn’t be able to see, I wouldn’t have had so many amazing adventures with you and the others… I wouldn’t have learnt so much just to help you…”

Suika stood up, grabbing onto Senku’s hand tightly.

“Even with all the manual labor and crazy science experiments, I’m happy about who I am today, and your influence is what helped me… helped a lot of us, grow to who we are today, Senku.”

The sincerity in her words caught Senku off guard for once, the smile on his face growing wider and warmer. He shook his head, expression turning proud and a hand patting Suika’s.

“You’ve grown into a fine woman, and a fine scientist, Suika. You better become great, for science’s sake.”

She smiled back slowly, nodding quickly and squeezing Senku’s hand. “I will, I can promise that!”

Both their heads snapped to loud sniffling beside them, Chrome wiping snot from his face and tears welling in his eyes. “That was- SNIFF- So SWeet of yOu to say- SNIFF- SuiKa!!”

He lunged forward for a group hug, Senku shifting away only to be pulled back in by Suika, struggling to pull himself away from the claustrophobic proximity he was forced into, the woman also getting emotional and crying along with Chrome.

The hug ended five minutes later, Chrome and Suika waving goodbye to Senku as they walked back to the lab, leaving the man alone on the park bench with Akari.

He noticed her trying to get out of the stroller, the kid still as hyperactive as ever. “Time for a walk, huh?”

Pulling her out and placing her on her feet, the toddler started to roam across the grass, wobbly walking around with Senku, who made sure to always stay less than five feet away from her out of memory from that one night.

He still remembered how he felt, the fear still somehow fresh in his mind to just the thought of it. The thought was thrown out again, switching it over to Suika.

He was happy about Suika, proud of her really, but he didn’t understand how he ‘raised’ her. He just made sure she was alright, that she was safe. It wasn’t anything like fully looking after a child, like Akari. It wasn’t like he looked after Suika as a young toddler. Senku acknowledged she tried her best to make valid points.

But he just couldn’t do it.

He decided he’d go meet Yuuho again, without Akari, to get a better understanding of her before he made the final choice. He needed to confirm just what was wrong with her, what was making her have to pretend, to have to seem happy.

The sound of a twig made his head turn, looking around only to feel holes drill into the back of his neck. He held Akari’s arm, eyes scanning the open area just to see…

Nothing.

People were walking, the branches of the green trees above swayed with the slow rhythm of the wind, the sun was stooping lower.  

But he knew the feeling all too well, the unmistakable feeling of being watched. No one was physically close to them, no one noticeable. He knew, however, he wouldn’t have had felt it unless he saw who was watching him in the first place.

Scanning the area once more, his eyes still detected nobody. He swallowed down any feelings of panic and picked up Akari, deciding it was best time to leave.

Senku moved out the park quick, gaze frantically darting over his surroundings.

The feeling was present, but dull, Senku not denying the idea of just being paranoid now.

He pushed the stroller over to Taiju and Yuzuriha’s house, the feeling fading more as he was greeted warmly by the couple, then completely fading as he left after an hour, the two deciding to go along with him.

Even with the feeling gone, he couldn’t let himself relax, eyes still watching his surroundings diligently as they walked, the final portion of the sun starting to dip below the horizon, all their shadows now dark and long, reaching out into the growing night, which he turned around to look at.

He was positive about it, that he was being watched even at this moment, and he was going to find out who and why.

Chapter Text

After knocking on Yuuho’s door for the third time and trying her mobile number for the second, Senku confirmed that the woman was not home. He wanted to learn more about her without the lady going child-crazy over Akari, said child being babysat by her favorite ‘aunt’ at the moment.

He tried the door handle, the door obviously not budging, looking down at the lock mechanism. It wouldn’t be hard to crack it, he thought. It was a thought from earlier, when he first arrived to the home, and he considered it inconvenient to have a door anyone could open with something like a plastic card.

 The thought was pushed away at that moment, slowly creeping back to him as he looked at the locked door.

He couldn’t just break into her house.

Not without reasoning.

She wasn’t answering his calls, nor was she answering the door. He had no idea where she was or what she was doing. For all Senku knew, she could be inside the house half dead on the floor, begging to god in her mind for someone to bust down the door and save her. It would be wrong of him to leave without trying to check when he could.

The thought was now brought back, the scientist bending down and immediately picking at the lock with just his laminated work ID card, which he coincidentally decided to bring along today.

It took him no time before the door swung open with a loud creak, coming back to a close as Senku casually stepped in like he wasn’t committing a crime, because he wasn’t.

He looked around the living room, the place looking pretty much the same as when he last visited. Floral scents hung in the air and the cat statues stared at him from cupboards and shelves with ominous wide eyes of varying color. Bably blue curtains were drawn over the windows, the thin sheets casting a cold light onto the room that made shadows look deeper than they were, the blue hue bringing a sleepy energy to the home. He walked into the kitchen, hand tracing over the small table and immediately pulling away as he realized his fingertips were now coated with a light film of dust.

He traced the finger over the counter as well, getting the exact same result, intriguing him more. The sink was oddly dry as well, the dishes placed on the drying rack also in the same order he saw the last time he was here. His questions were answered as he saw the mountain of takeout bags overfilling the trash can, the smell hitting him like a car as he moved closer.

The scientist stepped out of the kitchen, immediately heading over to the rooms to find her bedroom. He was met with three doors, which he opened to find: a bathroom, used as he took note of the mess of makeup products and water everywhere; a small bedroom, painted an obnoxiously bright yellow, Just a singular white crib standing in the middle; and finally, the master bedroom, with a soft shade of beige on the walls and a large white bed made neatly, looking almost untouched. The smell of lavender bled into his brain as he took in a deep breath, stepping into the room.

He wasted no time going through drawers and cabinets, finding nothing more than packeted teas and stacks of bills and payments due months ago, along with job applications and their matching letters which denied her the job. She was severely in debt, it seemed. She was in no state to raise a child, yet she still took the offer. He was going to conclude it to just grief of losing her child once again, until he stumbled upon a different set of letters, stacked neatly on top of each other and held together by a rubber band

The first letter on top was dated to a few months back, not addressed to any name, written in neat cursive and the first line reading: ‘I need your help to destroy Senku Ishigami’.

That certainly catches someone’s attention, He thought, head perking to the creak of the front door and the concerned voice of Yuuho Nishimura, wondering why the front door was unlocked. He now knew the woman was in no danger and decided it was best time to leave, shoving the. Letters under his arm and bolting to the window in the room, the visual of a large tree outside catching his attention.

He was on the third floor. The tree was a jumpable distance away, if he were to put enough force to his movement to accelerate fast enough in his jump.

The heavy sound of footsteps was enough for him to scramble up the windowsill, pushing the window open and quickly making his leap forward, his legs pushing him up. Of course, his luck was simply the best, his foot slipping under him and causing him to lose balance and move down vertically instead of horizontally.

Instead of jumping up to the nearest branch, he tumbled down to the ground, body slamming onto one of the lower branches of the tree before flopping down into a bush. The branch he landed on snapped, landing on his chest and sucking the air out of Senku’s lungs.

The foliage of the bush and branch encased him, his vision slightly impaired due to the leaves and to the spinning of his head.

He watched as Yuuho walked to the window, looking around the area and miraculously not noticing him. He also noticed another figure look out, their face blurred by the leaves and his own blurring vision as he struggled to remain conscious.

“Someone was here!” Yuuho panicked, rushing back in and leaving the stranger behind. Senku could faintly see the person’s head tilt to his general direction, eyes hiding behind dark shades, before they turned away and shut the window behind them.

Senku took this as the chance to jump out the bush and make a run for it. He was hurt all over, but as he limped away he looked back down to the stack of letters in his hand and found interest in the specific way the letters were written.

---

“So… you fell out of a tree?”

 “Yes.”

“Why were you on the tree in the first place?”

 “Confidential.”

“What’s so confidential about why you’d climb a tree?”

 “Wouldn’t you like to know weather boy?”

“…What? What does that mean?”

Chrome looked over to Gen for answers, who only held back a smirk while avoiding his gaze.

It was the first proper conversation they had since Senku wobbled  all the way back to his friend’s house, Yuzuriha opening the door to only stare at Senku with utter shock as she saw the cuts where the wood scraped his face and the deep gash that ran down his arm, which was starting to drip to the floor with his blood. Gen was also present, helping Yuzuriha with Akari. They ran into Chrome after they left the hospital, Senku lucky enough to leave with nothing major to him, just a slight concussion, a cut arm and a sprained ankle.

Senku walked with one crutch, the sprain alright enough to and the scientist refusing to allow his hands to be fully occupied at all times. The four walked back to Senku’s home, Chrome carrying Akari on his shoulders while he tried to figure out what Senku’s words meant, the little girl examining the world with her wide, green eyes, silent.

“That aside, will you still be joining dinner tomorrow night, Senku-chan?” Senku processed Gen’s words, and then groaned internally. He had almost forgotten about the dinner.

Ryusui had opened up yet another restaurant, a fancy place by the river which served gourmet dishes and glittery drinks, meant to attract more than to feed. As what Sneku had heard, Ryusui wanted to invite almost everyone he knew, the guestlist originally going to have more than 50+ people, but with differences in plans (and slight urging from Francois and Gen) the list was reduced to around 25-30, still a hefty number but better than the original list.

Since both Yuzuriha and Taiju was to be present there, Senku was left with an issue.

Who would look after Akari?

It was clear now he couldn’t just leave her with Yuuho, knowing that the she was now plotting something against him. Anyone else in mind who were more suitable were also leaving to the dinner.

He was left with one option.

“I’m not going.”

That got a groan from Chrome. “C’mon Senkuuu, it’s been ages since we all attended one of Ryusui’s events together.”

 “I’m injured and I have a child to babysit, I physically don’t think it’s possible.”

“Which is exactly why you should come! You won’t have to look after her alone. You can bring her and-”

 “No.”

“You won’t be able to easily look after a toddler with a sprained ankle. Just bring her along and we all can help.”

 “I’m not going to expose her to everyone there; it’s going to bring the wrong idea”

“The idea that you’re her dad?”

Senku’s face tensed slightly, eyes darting to the floor. “I’m not her father, Chrome, and she’s not my daughter. I’m simply looking after her until I find someone who can be her parent.”

 “What bullcrap Senku.”

“Excuse me?”

 “We all know that you can do it. You’re just too scared to.”

“I’m not scared… She’s merely just better off with someone else.“

Senku’s head turned away, but he still glanced at Chrome from the corner of his eye. There was a frown on his face, and his eyes looked sad, almost disappointed.

No. Its pity, isn’t it?

When he looked away, he felt his mouth dry as his gaze caught onto the figure of a person in the crowd of the busy streets, dark mask and dark glasses, yet he could feel their piercing gaze on him. He blinked, and they were out of his sight, washed away with the crowd of people. Yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling those eyes were still on him, trying to burn holes into his already hurt body.

He looked around, trying to find them, but to no avail.

Every dark glimpse was starting to catch his eye.

And he was worried.

Akari started to pull Chrome’s hair, dragging Senku back to the moment. The feeling of a hand on his shoulder caught him off guard, head snapping back to see Yuzuriha, looking at him worried. “Are you alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Not a ghost. A phantom.

Senku shook the thought away.

“Yeah, I’m alright. No need to worry about me,” he responded, rubbing his eyes with his fingers. He needed some sleep, or maybe a good coffee and some time to sit down. He felt like he was hallucinating, still wary about the passing crowd and the eyes that seemed to follow him as they walked away.

---

Some toddlers were close to fascinating as they were bothersome to Senku, especially the one under his care at the moment. Senku watched more attentively that he should’ve as the one-year-old played with building blocks on top of the dining table, standing on her chair as she stacked them up with the most precision a child her age could muster up. It was convenient for Senku though, as she was too invested in the strange tower she built to mind the spoons full of mushy baby food flying into her mouth.

The mind of a child was learning and developing rapidly, grasping at concepts and ideas from around them with sticky hands. They adapt and learn to what is around them, and they accept it as the norm.

The longer the child was with him the stranger she seemed. She was oddly comfortable being left alone if she didn’t require anything. Her language skills were underdeveloped to what a child her age should know by now. Even when she was taken outside, her curiosity to the world made it seem like she barely ever went out, though he felt that was a far-fetched thought. All children are curious of their surroundings, but with the conditions she was brought to him in he wondered whether there was more to what her mother did than he thought.

Senku remembered when Akari first arrived. It wasn’t too noticeable, but she was thin, and looked a lot paler than she did now. He watched for the past few months as she grew, as she learnt, and he couldn’t really hate it. There was nothing he could really hate about this, other than the mess and the stress and the constant fear that she might get hurt.

Even now, he didn’t feel right. His eyes kept darting to the front door, the small window in the kitchen area, just any entrance to the house didn’t feel safe. He would’ve been fine alone and healthy, but in his condition and with a child, he was starting to feel skittish, and it wasn’t a feeling he liked on his skin.

Akari started to disassemble the tower, placing the blocks down on the table in a specific order. He watched as she stacked down the blocks color-wise, making different little piles as she finished off the last of her dinner. Senku just watched with narrowed eyes, shrugging it off as a ‘weird kid thing’ as he stood up to wash the empty plate.

His crimson eyes glanced up at the clock as he wiped the plate down with a sponge. There were a few hours left before Nanami’s dinner. He ultimately decided not to go, clearly too busy with a foot injury and an unpredictable force present in his home.

He was for once going to bed early, depending on if he could get Akari to sleep first. She had grown a habit of being fussy when going into her crib, always trying to climb out of it. She’d only relax if Senku was next to her and he played with her for a little, the scientist often going on rambles about things she couldn’t understand.

A lot of times, he talked about the past. The old world. The era of the 21^st century and its wonders. Smartphones, skyscrapers, flat screens, he’d ramble about it like a good memory as if society wasn’t already building back to that at a rapid pace. Sometimes it would drag on to Byakuya, the silly things the man would do and would make Senku do, eating hot ramen in a small corner shop and making things with the young scientist that he could never make now.

Memories.

Senku was interrupted by an incoming call as he was putting Akari in her crib, lowering the child and answering the phone to have his left ear deafened by Taiju’s loud, “SENKUUUU!!! ARE YOU OKAY??!?!?”

He answered with a groan and a, “Yes, I’m fine you big oaf. There’s no need to destroy my eardrum.”

Groaning to the pain in his foot, Senku took a seat down on the couch, hearing Taiju go on about how he should’ve been there to help Senku out in a teary voice, before the phone was yanked away by Yuzuriha, who explained that they were getting ready for the dinner.

“Are you sure you won’t come Senku? I know rest is important but will you really be alright?”

Senku eventually told Yuzuriha about what happened once Chrome and Gen had decided to leave to get ready, only worrying the woman and making her start to side with Chrome. “What if they knew it was you? What if you’re left in a situation where you need to defend yourself?”

He reassured her he would be fine, but as the minutes ticked by he was starting to wonder it himself.

If in the case someone were to break in, how could he defend himself? He’s not one for physical strength, and with his foot he couldn’t easily run over to the lab to grab a chemical of some sort. Plus, he also had a one-year-old to worry about.

He felt like he was overthinking. Surely if someone were actually watching him and intended to hurt him, they would’ve in the state he was in right now. All it would take is to break his door down and get it over with.

Akari started to move around in her crib. She grabbed onto the bars and started jumping about, looking outside at something in the kitchenette window. Senku’s gaze shifted over to it, seeing nothing but the tree’s moving from the wind under the nighttime light.

He swore he saw a glint of something, something metal, but it was gone as soon as it came, Senku blinking and still seeing nothing. He really needed some sleep, he thought.

“I’ll be fine,” he finally said into the phone, grabbing his crutch to stand up and calm Akari down.

“Ten billion percent?”

He paused, a smile growing. “Yeah, ten billion percent.”

He then cut the phone, dropping the brick down to the couch and starting to settle Akari down. She seemed agitated about something, looking to the window as she squirmed under his hands trying to tuck her in. Finally, she yelled out tears welling in her eyes in frustration as she tried to sit up again.

“What’s wrong with you?” Senku mumbled, turning around to the window to see the silhouette of something dark and jagged growing closer.

CRASH

The sound of the window breaking made Senku flinch, the man immediately covering Akari from the glass shards that flew across the room. He looked up a few seconds later, to see a dark rock had slid across the room to him, a piece of folded paper tied to it with a white string.

He dropped down to the floor, ignoring the glass shards digging into his knees as he pulled off the paper, unfolding it to read just a small sentence:

‘I know it was you. Meet me tonight with Akari before I make things hurt. I will be watching.’

Senku quickly stood up, wincing to the pain in his foot as he limped over to the window. The only thing he was a car driving off, and the trees still blowing in the wind. He looked closer at the trees. He lived on the fifth floor, no rock could’ve been thrown so easily from the ground, unless it wasn’t from the ground.

He spotted it a few seconds later, a small white rope, much like the one on the rock, tied to a branch at the level of the window, the rope leading down to the ground.

Akari had seen it, he had seen it, but he thought he was being paranoid.

I’m being watched.

He quickly hobbled back, the sound of Akari’s crying finally processing in his ears as he picked her up, pressing her close to his chest as he sat on the couch and called Yuzuriha. “Hey, I’ve changed my mind. I’m going to the dinner. Can you get over here as quick as you can? Thanks.”

He cut the call before he could hear a response, getting up and grabbing the note, looking down at the writing again.

The handwriting was too familiar. He’d seen it before, in the letters, yet outside of them as well. The longer he looked at it the more he started to realize the truth.

He knew who this was.