Survival Challenge Gone Wrong

Chapter 10 - day 5

The soft rays of dusk danced across Gen's face, softly urging him out of his sleep. He woke easily, with the extra nap last night feeding into his energy. He felt less like death, and guessed that the fever clouding his mind had subsided. He almost wanted to snuggle into the sand where his sleeping dent was still warm. Instead, Gen stretched lazily and glanced at the serene sunrise. The swaying of the tree branches painted gold, the sparkly sand, the azure waves... and Senku still sleeping next to the fire ashes.

All the memories of Gen's breakdown suddenly rushed into his head and he groaned, shutting his eyes in intense shame and embarrassment. 'Oh god. Why did today have to come, I can't face him.' He raised his fist and smashed it into the sand, in the urge to hit something to cover up the cringe. Couldn't he just... smooth it over and pretend like it never happened?

Senku's betrayed and confused face pulled up fresh in Gen's mind, and he knew he couldn't weasel out of it. He was the older one, for god's sake! He can't be avoiding this forever and should own up to his mistakes instead. Like a mature adult. 'What clownery', he thought. The catch? It would all be solved with proper communication, like most things in the world could. And THIS WAS GEN'S STRONG SUIT, HOW COULD HE FUCK UP HIS ONLY–

Deep breaths. Senku may not sympathise, but at least understand why he lashed out as he did, and they could hopefully return to normal. Gen curled in on himself, making himself small, rehearsing a few sentences in his head he could lead with. He moved his glance to his sleeping companion, deciding that the wait was too daunting and he could do something instead. Like hunt, maybe. Be useful for all the times he wasn't. They hadn't eaten anything since the bird yesterday, which was not enough for two grown adults for a whole day.

Gen quietly rose up from the sand, careful not to disturb Senku's sleep. He untied the bow from the raft and was about to make his way into the new forest, when he remembered how unpleasant it was to wake up alone last night. He used an arrow to scrape a quick 'hunting' in the sand where he slept, making the letters big and clear, and finally left.

Since they haven't had the chance to make noise at camp yet, Gen could sense birds and other life forms around him much closer to shore. He settled into his Kyūdō mode, erasing his presence and sharpening his mind. The first arrow did not hit. It never did. The second one did not either. Gen lightly prodded along the grassy floor, keeping his eyes out for movements in the trees and the ground.

The third arrow finally hit a bird, and it fell on the ground, fluttering wildly. Gen activated godspeed to reach the prey, noting how the arrow pierced through the wing but not the body and leapt down on the bird before he could think of anything better. It squirmed under his chest, and Gen blanked. Relying on some instincts he was not aware of, he swiftly snapped the bird's neck to put it out of its misery, then stared. This was never going to get easier, was it? He looked up, calming his nerves and guilt, and carried on. He managed to snipe another two before his arms could no longer hold the bow without shaking.

Gen took longer to reach camp, lost from wandering in loops in the forest. There were no trails stomped out as the terrain was, again, uninhabited, but also unfamiliar. He made it in the end, and saw Senku awake and busying himself with something like usual. He breathed out, and approached him, forcing a calm expression.

"Good morning. I caught us breakfast," he said, studying Senku's reaction. He watched his face relax, nodding in response.

"Great job. Let's prepare them and I'll show you something afterwards." He did not acknowledge their fight and Gen didn't know what to think of that. Was Senku intentionally letting him off or did he genuinely forget? No, that can't be.

"Sounds good," Gen replied, the knot in his stomach slowly untying itself. Senku did not look angry, or accusatory. He could have probably gone along with Gen should he have decided to drop the topic of their fight. But that wasn't right, and the hard part was still ahead. "Hey, Senku-chan, I'm sorry for yesterday. I shouldn't have lashed out no matter how tired and frustrated I was."