Survival Challenge Gone Wrong

Chapter 6 - Day 3

Gen woke up and breathed in a salty, slightly musty smell clinging to the air. It was always stronger within the first few minutes of waking up, which later he got used to. He burrowed his face deeper into the warm- wait warm?

Gen pushed himself back, alarmed, at the realisation that he had cuddled against Senku in his sleep. Even if it was comfortable, it was still creepy of him to do that. They had not discussed any boundaries, not while they had to literally sleep next to each other out of necessity. But Gen felt that it was still a bridge not to be crossed yet. Speaking of, the scientist still lay sleeping, but slightly leaning in his direction as if subconsciously seeking out warmth. They had no blankets to speak of, only sharing the stuffed backpack as a makeshift pillow. Gen watched with his own breath halted, as Senku's brows furrowed, then finally blinked his eyes open.

"Good morning Senku-chan," Gen whispered, not wanting to startle the younger. He needed to start talking first to feel in control of the conversation, setting the tone for the day to come. At least in theory. He knew he was lying to himself, and just wanted to mask the uncomfortable feeling from earlier.

"One more minute," Senku breathed, his dark eyelashes fluttering shut. Gen huffed a laugh but didn't push, content to observe the other for a moment longer. Senku's eyelashes were long, like his hair, with a few lighter wisps among the brown lashes. Actually, his hair was weird. It obviously had to be dyed, with him looking and speaking Japanese, but weirdly he didn't notice any dark roots or patchiness commonly present when bleaching thick, coarse hair. Gen doubted Senku could afford a great stylist as he could. That white half needed constant maintenance. The green ends HAD to be coloured though. Ain't no way was that natural. The longer he studied the stiff strands, poking out from under his head, the more the question begged to be voiced.

"Senku-chan, can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot. About the raft?" Senku croaked, rubbing his eye.

"No, well, sure, but I'll ask that later. What is up with your hair?"

Senku finally began pushing himself up, ready to start the day. "I'm half. Don't know who my birth parents are though." He looked completely nonchalant sharing this piece of information.

Oh. Well, this turned out to be way darker than intended from a question about his weird blonde-green hair. He remembered Senku talking about his astronaut father and guessed that he was adopted. As curious as Gen was, he decided to drop the topic unless Senku brought it up first.

"Right, then raft? How soon do you think we will inish-fay?" He asked with added volume in his tone for extra cheeriness.

"Depends on how fast we work. Also on whether we manage to acquire food. We have two cans left," Senku said, reaching into the backpack to choose from their abundant options, "We can eat this one now but perhaps save the other for way later, in case we really can't find any food today." He extended the smaller one containing fish in some sauce. Gen sighed and nodded.

"You're right. Shall I go check on the trap while you set up?" He offered, climbing out of their sleeping hut.

"Go ahead. Do you want to eat before you go?"

"No, I'll wait a bit. You can eat your share though. If I see some rabbit or squirrel lay bloodied in the trap, I'm scared the food might come back out." Gen chuckled morbidly.

Senku snickered in turn, "True, that would be a waste. I'll leave your half then."

Gen stretched when he crawled out, arms reaching into the air. He wiggled his toes in the warmed sand from the morning sun and glanced over the horizon. They adopted a habit of searching the sealine often, to search for ships or helicopters in the distance. He shivered slightly when a breeze tickled his neck and face, noting the forming grey clouds with a contemplative frown. It better not rain.