DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)
To my awesome reviewers (11/01/20): Hello, Anonymous, Elcall, The Green Seer, Evelyn (9001668), Lu-chan 16Love, Ruby890, and maguimezaglz! ^_^ Thank you so much for reviewing the fifteenth chapter of No Stone Unturned! I love writing slow burn, so you're very welcome! :D Aww! Byakuya and Senku have a really special father-son relationship, don't they? The characters may act tough or standoffish sometimes, but all of them... uh, MOST of them, have really wholesome feelings! His father means a lot to him :( I wonder if I'll ever get to try that kind of ramen to see how it tastes? Thank you! I have to be honest... those details were actually from the manga, or the anime, or both, but I'm happy you noticed them! ^_^ I like to incorporate things like that into my chapters because I think Dr. Stone's canon is awesome! :D He thinks about Byakuya even though he hasn't seen his father in over three thousand years :( Senku's not too touchy-feely, even in his own mind, but he still really loves his father! Thank you for giving my fanfic a chance! Dr. Stone is an incredible anime series, isn't it? I hope all you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^
Chapter Sixteen: Gen
Asagiri Gen was smiling he walked down to where somebody, no doubt the person he had been told to look for, was surrounded by the members of the small village.
It took a few days of traveling… but now I can find out what kind of person this Senku-chan is who has Tsukasa-chan all worked up~
When he arrived at the base of the mountain, Gen hid behind some large rocks to watch how Senku-chan interacted with the villagers. He was standing behind the ramen cart, wearing a coat of some sort, a belt with several small pouches, and shoes made from the same material as his coat. Close to the cart, a man with a short piece of rope tied around his forehead and a little girl wearing a watermelon hat distributed food to the rest. An attractive blonde-haired woman stood nearby, not speaking to anybody like the others, but clearly on her guard.
"Three bowls of green foxtail ramen, coming up!"
Soup, sauce, noodles, bamboo shoots, meat, spring onions.
So this is Senku-chan, the one Tsukasa-chan fears… he looks intense… methodical… thought Gen as he watched the man systematically create the same type of ramen bowl for each customer. Then again, I already knew that from his carving. If he can count nonstop for three thousand seven hundred years, he can remember the proper order of ingredients fo a good bowl of ramen.
As several people nearby slurped his noodles in enjoyment, Gen noticed Senku-chan look in his customers' direction for a moment. While he didn't smile outright, Gen noticed a small, satisfied smirk on Senku-chan's face for a moment as he glanced at the people around him.
And, just as quickly, the man's expression melted back into neutrality and he continued his current task.
He doesn't want to show it too openly, but Senku-chan likes that he's giving these villagers something new and delicious to eat. From their surprise, it looks like they've never had ramen before. The fact that they like it, that they're happy eating it, means something to him.
Soon, Senku-chan finished putting together his three ramen bowls. Since his two helpers were now distributing bowls in the crowd, he set them on the surface in front of him, and three different people took them excitedly and thanked him. While they were polite, they also didn't linger, choosing to go to their friends instead.
They're not afraid of him or what he offers, but they don't know him very well, either. If he had been more familiar with them, they would have stayed a while longer to chat with him at the ramen cart.
Another thought crossed Gen's mind as he eyed the cart.
Intelligent types like Senku-chan… and myself… usually aren't very strong. Cutting down this wood and making it into a cart… gathering all these ramen ingredients and creating these bowls and tools and baskets… he must have had help putting all this together.
Most of them are treating him like a stranger who's handing out delicious food. But, the ramen cart aside, Senku-chan isn't like Tsukasa-chan, who has no real friends. Senku-chan has Taiju-chan and Yuzuriha-chan. He's methodical, but not misanthropic. Among these people… those three, the ones who were with him earlier… are they Senku-chan's confidantes?
"Senku? Ganen just asked for more ramen. He really thinks ramen is delicious!"
"Ah, Suika. I'll make more, then. Just keep handing out bowls to everybody, alright?"
"Alright! Suika will do her best!"
After Senku-chan put together several ramen bowls, the little girl carried two in each arm and somehow even balanced one on her watermelon hat as she bounced and served the still-hungry people around her. When the bowl on her head almost toppled, Gen barely had time to blink before the blonde-haired woman moved quickly to steady it, earning the little girl's thanks.
That little watermelon girl… her name is Suika-chan? A very fitting name. She seems eager to help Senku-chan gain the villagers' esteem…
After distributing all her filled ramen bowls, Gen watched as Suika-chan efficiently cleaned up the area by taking the empty bowls and discarded chopsticks and placed them to the side.
Not only that… Suika-chan is also very eager to be helpful. With that watermelon hat, she must be hiding something about herself, and people tend to keep a distance from those who are so blatantly closed off to others. They're more familiar with her than with Senku-chan, but she isn't chatting long with anybody, either. She must not have a lot of friends.
After a few minutes, Suika-chan returned to the cart and enthusiastically started to take the new ramen bowls Senku-chan had prepared, ready to look for new customers.
They're working in sync. As a methodical, scientific person, Senku-chan wants useful people around him, and Suika-chan is at that young age where she wants to be appreciated; to be useful. Their goals match up, making them a good team.
After Suika-chan left to deliver ramen bowls to more waiting customers, a cute woman in pigtails who was already holding a bowl of ramen started walking towards the cart. Blondie-chan noticed immediately, but after determining that Pigtail-chan was no threat to Senku-chan, she stayed where she was, quiet, but observing.
"So, you're the one who made this food… it's the most delicious thing I've ever eaten…" said Pigtail-chan, her smile bright as she leaned towards Senku-chan, clearly wanting his attention. "Your name is Senku, right?"
Looks like she's interested in Senku-chan~ Although it doesn't look like he sees that…
Senku-chan, who was busy putting together yet another bowl of ramen, didn't look at the girl, but Gen thought he noticed the man give a small nod in response to the girl's question.
Ah~ what a shame; a cute girl like that and he's totally oblivious…
However, Pigtail-chan didn't give up. Smiling even wider, she continued, "So, Senku… what kind of girl is your type?"
That girl's cute enough to be an idol… I wonder what Senku-chan will say?
And Gen proceeded to listen to a short, but amusing, conversation.
He sighed in contentment after chewing and swallowing a few more ramen noodles.
Don't get me wrong, this is definitely the most bitter ramen I've ever eaten… but it's nice to use chopsticks again and eat something from the modern civilization…
"Come on, Kinro, Ginro!" Gen heard somebody exclaim. Turning in the direction of the speaker, he saw one of Senku-chan's likely allies, the man with the rope headband, offering two bowls of ramen to a stern-looking man and a more easygoing-looking younger man.
This one is more confident than Suika-chan, thought Gen. Suika-chan handed out food to people who already wanted it, but this man is trying to convince people who, apparently, don't trust Senku-chan and what he has to offer, if they have to be persuaded like this.
The man continued, tilting the bowls at a slight angle so that the two others, Kinro-chan and Ginro-chan, could see the soup, noodles, and other ingredients inside.
"You guys should taste this! Ramen is insanely good!"
"Really?" asked the shorter of the two men, who gave an excited grin as he eyed the bowls with interest.
Blonde hair… is this one Kinro-chan, the gold wolf?
"Uh-huh! You want a bowl, Ginro?"
Ah, he's Ginro-chan, then~
"Yeah! I wanna try that!"
He reached out for a bowl, only to be pulled back by Kinro-chan, who must have been his brother due to the similarity in their names. Gold wolf, silver wolf.
"Take those away, Chrome!" growled Kinro-chan as he struggled to keep a firm hold on his struggling - probably younger - brother.
And this one's Chrome-chan, another one of Senku-chan's allies.
"We're not going to eat food made with sorcery!"
Sorcery… of course, anything from the modern era would be seen as sorcery in this world. A wonderful time or a magician like myself to be here~ But did Chrome-chan become interested in sorcery after he met Senku-chan, or before? Wait, what are those?
As Chrome-chan angled his body to attempt to hand Ginro-chan a bowl, Gen spotted two medium-sized bags hanging from Chrome-chan's rope belt.
He has no reason to be carrying anything today because they clearly intend to stay here for their ramen operations. Those bags on his belt are like Senku-chan's pouches that he also has on his belt.
That means that like Senku-chan, Chrome chan also feels the need to have his tools or materials within arm's reach… specific items that aren't intended for combat, like Blondie-chan's shield and weapons. The stone world emphasizes combat… but if Chrome-chan's strengths lie elsewhere, he needs different items.
Maybe he's similar to Senku-chan… a thinker and not a fighter.
"And besides the danger of sorcery food," continued the untrusting man, who at last managed to drag his protesting younger brother closer to him, "it is dishonorable for guards to accept food from suspicious people! Rules are rules!"
So Kinro-chan and Ginro-chan are both guards… and it looks like Kinro-chan is a stickler when it comes to rules. It explains why his eyes have been narrowed all this time. He dislikes it when people act differently from how he thinks they should… like how Ginro-chan really wants to eat ramen.
"Oh? Rules are rules?" said a sly female voice.
Upon hearing that, Chrome-chan, Kinro-chan, and Ginro-chan all turned to look at the newest participant in their conversation. Gen watched, intrigued, as Blondie-chan took the couple of steps needed to join the three men.
"Then what about that gold spear, Kinro?" continued Blondie-chan, gesturing to what Kinro-chan held in his right hand. Gen took in the long, sturdy spear. Its handle was made of some type of dark wood, and the tip…
Is that gold?!
Gen, who was quite fond of money, gold, and anything else related to luxury three thousand seven hundred years ago, was honestly surprised that he hadn't noticed the shining gold spearhead sooner.
"So food is a no-no, but you'll take gifts?" finished Blondie-chan, giving the discomfited Kinro-chan a knowing grin.
Gifts?
After a quick look around, Gen realized that except for Kinro-chan, everybody who had weapons, had stone weapons. Kinro-chan was the only one who had a weapon with any type of metal.
And not just any metal… gold. A village this primitive may not have money yet, so gold itself might not have any transactional value. Whoever gave Kinro-chan the gold spear was somebody who both knew the meaning of Kinro-chan's name and had enough scientific knowledge to know how to make a gold spear in this stone world.
Somebody like Senku-chan.
After an awkward pause, the embarrassed man growled, "Getting a new spear would have been wasteful, Kohaku," before hauling his brother to the side to berate him for wanting to try sorcery food.
So Blondie-chan is called Kohaku-chan…
She was the woman who had been watching over Senku-chan all morning – the same woman whose quick reflexes had saved the ramen bowl on Suika-chan's watermelon head from crashing to the ground.
The most obvious reason a woman would hover over a man so closely would be that she was in love with him.
But Kohaku-chan didn't show the slightest hint of jealousy when Pigtail-chan tried flirting with Senku-chan earlier. And they're not already in a relationship, either – she's interacted with Suika-chan and the others, but Senku-chan has completely ignored her despite her being the ally who has been standing in the same place the entire time, the one closest to the cart. If they were in a relationship, they would talk to each other more, or at least looked at each other, but they haven't. In fact, Senku-chan has been completely focused on ramen-related tasks and conversations this entire time.
After flashing a smile to Chrome-chan, who gave her a thumb's up before going back to trying to tempt Ginro-chan to eat ramen, Kohaku-chan returned to her previous place a few steps away from the ramen cart.
Still, Senku-chan, who was now slicing meat for the ramen, didn't even so much as glance at her to acknowledge her return.
Yes, the two of them must not be very close… what are the others doing?
Gen turned to survey the area.
Suika-chan was on the roof of the ramen cart, asking a large man, who was probably Ganen-chan, how many bowls he had eaten, when Chrome-chan was warning Ginro-chan that the ramen noodles would get too soggy if he delayed any longer.
Ginro-chan, who had still not given up on tasting the ramen, but who also looked as if he didn't want to incur his older brother's displeasure, had his arms up and his hands balled into fists as he whined to Kinro-chan, who was just as unyielding as he was earlier, shaking his head as he admonished the younger man.
Time to meet Senku-chan and the rest of them face-to-face, Gen thought in amusement.
"This seriously makes me wish I had something to drink~" he sighed longingly, pitching his voice to carry over to where his targets were situated. "Like a cola…"
The die is cast… how will they react?
Since Gen was now leaning on a rock and looking in the other direction, he couldn't see what the others were doing, but he could hear them.
"Is that one of your friends, Senku?" he heard Kohaku-chan ask the man cheerfully.
Silence.
Is Senku-chan analyzing the situation?
More silence.
Is he thinking of an escape route?
Still more silence.
What is he planning to-
And in a matter of seconds, Gen was completely surrounded.
He smiled.
Things were going according to plan.
"Answer truthfully. Don't even think about lying or I'll cut your throat open right here and now. Are you one of that long-haired man's people?"
As Kohaku-chan's hard blue eyes stared daggers at him, her weapon only inches away from his vulnerable neck, Gen knew at once from the way she took charge that his being surrounded was likely Kohaku-chan's idea… and Gen realized that he had made a mistake in his earlier observations.
I was wrong, he thought, intrigued.
Senku-chan wasn't ignoring her because they weren't close friends. On the contrary, he was able to completely focus on his tasks because he had faith that nothing bad would happen while Kohaku-chan was there with him.
She isn't a neglected accomplice – she's a trusted lieutenant.
That's why Chrome-chan and Suika-chan were handing out ramen and Kohaku-chan wasn't. Even though another set of hands would have been useful, considering how popular their ramen had turned out to be, they were perfectly fine with where she was and with what she was doing – watching, observing – because she has different skills from Suika-chan, who wants to be useful, and Chrome-chan, who wants everybody to accept Senku-chan's ramen creation.
What she contributes to their little group isn't helping or talking or convincing – it's the ability to act as quickly as humanly possible to identify and neutralize enemies. Senku-chan's enemies.
This is a problem, but… she's a woman, I'm a man… and a very attractive man, if I do say so myself~ Maybe my charm will work on her…
"Ah, being so close to a cute girl like you really is wonderful~"
At her immediate frown, Gen quickly decided to shift tactics. Flirtation clearly wasn't going to get him out of this predicament… but lying might.
"Unfortunately, I think you're mistaking me for somebody else. What long-haired man?"
Kohaku-chan's eyes narrowed.
Even mentioning Tsukasa-chan already makes her furious. I doubt she's ever even met him, so it must be because she's very protective of Senku-chan… but why?
Why is she determined to make his enemies also her enemies?
Hmm… the first reason could be that she's protective of him because she's her friend. Based on what Tsukasa-chan has told me, Senku-chan has been 'dead' for several weeks. They could have built up a friendship during that time.
A second reason could be that she's acting this way because she owes Senku-chan some sort of debt. Maybe he helped her when she was in trouble, or gave her a gift of some sort, and defending him is her way of paying him back for what he's done for her, or what he's given her.
A third reason could be that Senku-chan hasn't given her anything yet, but she wants him to. If there's something Senku-chan is capable of giving Kohaku-chan, something that will make her life better or make her happy, but she hasn't received it yet, she may just be keeping him alive until she gets whatever it is that she wants from him.
And a fourth reason…
If he didn't have three deadly weapons pointed at him, Gen would have laughed, because sometimes things really were just that simple.
A fourth reason could be love. Is Kohaku-chan in love with Senku-chan?
But he quickly dropped the idea.
I doubt it. She wasn't jealous when Pigtail-chan tried to flirt with Senku-chan. As for him, he didn't speak to her at all… and he doesn't seem to be interested in romance. When Pigtail-chan asked him what kind of girl he likes, Senku-chan's reply was, "The kind of girl that can bring me tons of materials for ironmaking." What kind of girl gathers ironmaking materials?
Gen continued lazily, as if he weren't in danger of being immediately stabbed by three different people, "Ever since I broke free from the stone… I've been all on my own…"
In the future, Gen would find out that three of his four theories were already true.
He would come to know that Kohaku-chan was good friends with Senku-chan. They really couldn't be otherwise after weeks and weeks of working together with Chrome-chan and Suika-chan. He would also learn about the sulfa drug roadmap, the painstaking labor the roadmap entailed, and that all of their effort was to heal Kohaku-chan's beloved older sister. And, much later, Gen would find out that Senku-chan saved Kohaku-chan's life the day they met… after Kohaku-chan had attacked Tsukasa-chan for killing "the gentleman sorcerer."
As for Gen's fourth theory about Kohaku-chan, it took quite a while, but it also ended up being true.
With a lot of behind-the-scenes help from himself, Ruri-chan, Yuzuriha-chan, and several other like-minded individuals from the kingdom of science, the two oblivious morons eventually fell in love…
…a long, long time after Senku-chan called Kohaku-chan an "amazing" lioness due to her diligence in collecting iron sand the very first day the four of them gathered sand together near the bottom of the waterfall.
Although when Senku-chan and Kohaku-chan finally officially announced their relationship, Gen's initial reaction was one of dismay. If they had just waited two more weeks, Gen would have won the betting pool…
(End of Chapter Sixteen.) (11/01/20.)
I. My personal comments: Ahhh, Gen's chapter! Finally, ONE CHAPTER where I could actually describe interactions and facial expressions and motivations and possible relationships! I can't really do those things from Senku's point-of-view... XD In the manga, Senku tells Ruby that he likes the kind of girl who gathers a ton of ironmaking materials... and there's only one girl his age who helped him during those (incredibly long XD) weeks of collecting iron sand! Also, in the anime, Chrome talked to Kinro about his gold spear, but in the manga, it was actually Kohaku who pointed it out :D What did you think of Gen's perspective and his analytical skills? :D
II. A tiny request: Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Sixteen ("Gen")? I would love to hear your thoughts, especially the parts or specific lines that you liked or disliked in this chapter! :D Also, all kinds of constructive criticism are very welcome! See you next chapter! (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)