Sweeter than Cola [Dr. Stone]

|Nine|

" Sounds like you're just throwing a tantrum, Tsukasa," Senku smirked as he turned and faced the primate who currently held Hanako and Yuzuriha hostage, having a blade to the brunette's neck and the emeraldette in a chokehold.

"Sure, if that's what you want to think," Tsukasa replied with a serene smile. "If you succeed in making your weapons, you'll bring us back to dark times. People will start to fight out of self-interest, dragging us right back to the sordid world of the past.  If it means preventing that, I'm not above ruling with an iron fist."

"Which would mean killing Senku the great Scientist huh?" Senku countered. "I'm sure the world would be moved to tears by your kind death sentence."

"Right, but before that," the brunette tightened his grip on Hanako's neck and drew his blade closer to Yuzuriha's neck. "How about you tell me the recipe."

"Sorry to say," the leek-blonde chuckled. "But I'm not as caring a person as you'd think. The only way I know how to think is logically. I couldn't care even one millimeter about that girl. And Hanako? Yeah, I can do math pretty well on my own, thanks. Plus, there's plenty other women out there..."

Next thing they knew, there was a slashing sound in the air and several locks of long brown hair fell to the ground. A choking sound left Hanako's mouth as black dots threatened to blur her vision, signifying the the grip around her neck had tightened even further. "Your tactics are useless, Senku," the Primate said. 

"How do I know? Because you didn't bury Yuzuriha. The most logical course of action would be to bury the petrified Yuzuriha so I couldn't take her hostage. But you didn't, for both hers and Taiju's sake. And Hanako? You depend on her just as much as she depends on you. You wouldn't have progressed nearly as fast as you did if not for her. You wouldn't be able to replace her so easily, neither as an assistant or as a best friend. Which is why, Senku, this is my win."

Before even she knew what she was doing, Yuzuriha grabbed the blade and pointed it to her neck herself. "Don't do it, Senku!" she exclaimed. "As long as he doesn't know the recipe, Tsukasa can't kill you!"

"Right," Hanako choked out. Tsukasa loosened his grip just a tiny bit, interested in what she had to say. The girl gasped for breath as tears fell from her eye. "You're right, you can do math on your own just fine!" she panted. "You don't need me, I don't matter! But you, Senku... If there's to be any hope for humanity, you're the one who can't die."

The leek-blonde was conflicted. Hanako knew how to make the revival fluid on her own just fine, she was almost just as much of a genius as he was! But, if he were to die, she'd lose her way. Would she recover and somehow find a way to revive all of humanity on her own, without him? He couldn't risk it. On the other hand, if Tsukasa actually did kill the two girls... If he killed Hanako...

"The revival fluid is a solution of nitric acid and alcohol. After filtering the miracle liquid from the cave, mix  it with nearly 96% pure alcohol which you can get from fermenting grape juice. Three parts miracle fluid to seven parts alcohol," the scientist explained. "If you're even a little off, the reaction won't take place. You can adjust the proportions while testing on a petrified swallow feather. Is that about right, Hana?"

The emeraldette hesitated. What was he doing!? If she confirmed it- and corrected it- then Senku would die for sure! She didn't want that at all. She was going to stay dead silent but he urged. "Is that about right, Hanako?" he asked, seriously.

She let out a small exhale, "It's 95.8% alcohol. Rounding it off will lessen the chances of it working," she said, lowly. "Three parts miracle fluid to seven parts alcohol... Yeah. That's right."

"Thank you, Senku," Tsukasa threw Yuzuriha forward but was hesitant to release the assistant. He'd seen the way they worked together. They seemed to be matched in intelligence and either would be just as powerful on their own as if they were teamed. Should he kill her as well. It would be the safest course of action as he couldn't risk another science user trying to bring back the times of dark.