Together - A Senku Ishigami Love Story (Dr.Stone)

Chapter 2

Tachi side glanced to Senku as they trudged the forest pathway she had cleared between her camp and the river. The silence was pastoral, neither having uttered anything since they left the riverside, but she couldn't help but deplore it. The only voice she had heard in months was her own, was it outlandish that she wanted him to simply make noise? It didn't have to be a real conversation full of depth or meaning, it didn't have to witty or intelligent, it didn't even have to be words.

"How long ago do you think it happened?"

One of the many questions which had plagued her mind since she awoke fell past her lips, a stone statue which she had eyed sadly on her daily escapades to the river drawing her attention. It reminded her of someone back home, her mail man she thought, and each time she viewed his fearful expression she couldn't help think of him. Senku's expression didn't falter at her question, his mind preoccupied as he walked this unknown pathway.

"3,700 years. I kept count."

Tachi turned her head towards him, her eyebrow raising up in curious dubiety.

"You...kept count? For 3,700 years?"

He smirked, revelling in the inquisitive and somewhat disbelief of her question

"I kept count of the seconds. 116,427,065,520 seconds, 3,689 years and 158 days I was petrified for. I awoke on April 1st, making today April 2nd 5738."

The information rolled off of his tongue so casually, an air of certainty surrounding him as it did. It was hard to disbelieve what he was saying, regardless of how ludicrous it sounded when voiced out loud. The 'modern world' had crumbled into nothing, almost completely erased. From her explorations of the land between her awakening and the present day she hadn't seen anything which could have been tied to her own era, with the exception of the statues of course. It would have taken thousands of years for things to become as they had... for the concrete jungles of the world to crumble and fall, being swallowed up by mother nature reclaiming what was rightfully hers. More than a few seconds ticked by while she processed his statement, her thoughts being washed over by a heavy wave of realisation mixed with sorrow. She paused, her head hanging momentarily as she remembered the world they had left behind, their lives, their homes, their family and friends, their everything.

Tachi sucked in a deep breath, her chest puffing out as she pushed her dismal thoughts to the back of her mind. They were to be dealt with at another time, and in another place. They rounded a large zenkova tree, the young woman used it as a landmark, her fingers reaching out and running across it's thick trunk tentatively. She glanced to Senku once more, his blank expression left her wondering what he was thinking about, and for a brief moment she considered the possibility that he was scheming, she shook the thoughts free though. If he were to try to harm her in anyway, he certainly wouldn't take much effort to put down. His frame was thin for a man, and judging by the lack of colour on his skin she could only surmise that he hadn't seen much sunlight before he became petrified. These observations coupled with the knowledge that he had kept count of the last 3,700 years without losing his place pointed to one very obvious fact. Senku was a nerd.

"So you're smart huh? How smart are we talking?"

He chuckled darkly, a smug smirk tugging at his long thin lips.

"I'm a man of science, and with my knowledge I'll catapult this stone world into the future!"

The smirk widened into a grin, his determination clear.

"It's exhilarating!"

Tachi chuckled at both his wide grin and infectious enthusiasm. He spoke of the concept of returning the world to what it had been without a hint of uncertainty.