Partners in Crime

Prologue

"SENKU!" I heard Taiju yell from somewhere behind me. I didn't bother to turn around from my chemistry pet project, ten billion percent certain I knew what he was going to say.

"Today is the day I confess to my soulmate!! We both agreed to meet up at the tree in front of school at five today to finally meet!" he exclaimed. I sighed, absentmindedly running my fingers over my own soul-mark. I haven't really thought about my soul-mate, I've been way to focused on my science to really think about it. Besides, I don't really want a soulmate, for all I know they could be a massive idiot. Or hate science! So yeah, not too keen on meeting them. My fingers trace over the intricate 'C' carved into my wrist.

"Cool." was all I replied with, finally turning around to face my longest friend. To be honest, I'm not really sure why Taiju decided to stick around. We've known each other for over ten years though, and even if Taiju isn't the smartest, he gets me. Not that I would ever tell him that. The point was, we needed each other, and the two of us knew without having to say anything. I took a proper look at him: he was bouncing around, brown eyes bright and wide with excitement. I drop my hand from my wrist, sticking the pinky in my ear, a habit that I've had since I was a child.

"Are you sure that the person you contacted is actually your soulmate?" I ask, though I already knew the answer. Whenever you contact your soulmate, your soul-mark grows warm. And when you meet your soulmate face-to-face for the first time, your mark gets darker. Of course, I couldn't say this with certainty, seeing as I have had no contact whatsoever with my soulmate, but I've read and seen enough encounters like this to hesitantly confirm it. Soul science isn't exact, there have been reports of people only realizing their soul-mate after forming a significant bond, or when they touched for the first time. It's different for everyone. But the soul-mark always gets warmer, always gets darker. I guess it's different because of the preferences of people.

"Yep! The mark felt warmer and everything!! And it's someone in our class too!" Blockhead. There's only one person with the initials 'OY'. I shook my head, tempted to tell him that his soulmate is the person he had been crushing on for years from afar. Taiju hasn't even had a conversation with the girl, and he's liked her for years. It's getting very annoying.

"Well, good luck or whatever. You'd better get going, it's almost five." I stated. Taiju's eyes widened, and he raced out of the classroom. I walked over to the window, where I got a perfect view of the meeting spot. A girl was already there, tying some cloth over a tree branch. My fingers found my soul-mark again. According to the research of others, the soul-bond only makes itself known once both people are ready. And once the bond is formed, there's no undoing it. You would do anything for your soulmate, you would even die for them in a heartbeat. You get a tug, signaling that your soulmate is in danger, physically, or mentally. That's how deep the bond went. It's a big commitment, one that the soul-mark only let's itself known once you and your partner are ready.

Taiju came running from the other side of the school, stopping about five feet from the girl. They both stared at each other, and I knew that they both realized who they were to each other. I allowed a small smile to grow on my face, pleased for my friend. A green hue cast over everything, and I looked towards the horizon. The green light spread towards me, and I felt myself being frozen in place, unable to move even a millimeter. 

                                                            ________________________

When I finally woke up over 3,000 years later, I was nude and alone. I smirked, now that I was free, it was time to get to work. Knowing that I had time before winter struck, I went about gathering supplies. Though I didn't exactly enjoy solitude, it felt nice to get some work done without being interrupted.

Four months after I was revived, I came across a petrified Taiju. I sighed, looking at him for a minute before perking up and dragging him to a cave. Lately, I've been experimenting, trying to reverse the petrification. I collected swallows, using nitric acid from guano and pouring it on the birds. I watched as one by one, the birds broke free and flew off as if they were never petrified in the first place. I smirked; this is exhilarating. But when I tried it on Taiju, I was disappointed. It didn't work on him. Hence the cave. Then I went back to my hut, it wasn't big enough to be called anything but that, to wait.

The days passed slowly, and as I was collecting firewood, I heard a shout ring through the forest. Taiju, I thought, as I perched on a branch. Thanks to the little note I left him, he should find me pretty quickly.

"Senku!!" he screamed as he looked up at me. I smirked.

"Finally awake, blockhead? Good. Let's go." I replied, scaling the tree and landing on the ground. I led him back to the hut, where Taiju gaped in awe.

"What?" I demanded.

"You built this yourself? That is awesome!" he praised. I rolled my eyes.

"Of course, I built it." I snapped, tired and ready to eat and work.

"Now that I'm here, you won't have to lift everything by yourself." Taiju told me. Thank God, I hate lifting. Anything.

As the months passed, Taiju and I worked to perfect the de-petrification fluid. Finally, we were able to de-petrify birds and people.

"Come on Senku, we need to save Yuzuriha!" Taiju exclaimed. I sighed; I'm surprised he didn't ask to save her as soon as I showed him the fluid. I nodded and lead the way to Taiju's soulmate.

Grrrrrr.

My breathing hitched, my eyes widening. I slowly turned around to see a pack of lions prowling towards us, teeth bared and crouching low to the ground.