DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)
To my awesome reviewers (14/07/22): Hello, everybody! ^_^ Thank you so much for reviewing the forty-first chapter of No Stone Unturned! [190. sunshineisdelicious] Aww, your heart! :) Senku really loves his father! :D [191. sunshineisdelicious] Thanks a lot! :) [192. taiwoeretan1] I love the two of them together! :D [193. NotCold361] Thank you very much! :D As you've observed, I've been expanding more on certain parts - like the (sort of) month before the Grand Bout, which was around six chapters in the manga, but fourteen chapters (so far!) in No Stone Unturned XD I hope all of you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^
Chapter Forty-Two: (S01 E12d) Willing Colleague (Day 28e)
"So," Chrome said slowly, "I'm staying home in case you die, Senku?"
Nodding, Senku replied, "Yeah, after getting all the scientific knowledge I have."
He looked up, trying to recall his earlier train of thought.
Everything I know about sulfuric acid, first, since that's what I'll be collecting tomorrow. Then antibiotics, electricity, iron weapons, gunpowder… After they're able to defend themselves, it's a question of if the Tsukasa Empire will come after them or not. If they're threatened, they'll need concrete to make walls and fortresses, and explosive weapons to defend themselves. But, if they're able to live in peace, agriculture and animal husbandry would really help-
"Keep your scientific knowledge to yourself - I'm not interested! It's not gonna be like this!"
His last sentence echoed in Senku's mind.
It's not gonna be like this!
Startled, Senku turned to Chrome.
"…What?"
He then made fun of Chrome in an attempt to make him see how ridiculous he was being, but the other scientist only shook his head.
"A plan that makes it okay if you die, because you have a replacement in me?" summarized Chrome, disdain dripping from his voice. "I'll never go along with that!"
He's refusing all the scientific knowledge in the world because he doesn't want me to die.
But Senku didn't have time to think more than that, because before he knew it, Chrome was furiously running up to him…
"And since I refuse to inherit all that scientific knowledge from you, your death is also the death of science!"
…and he forcefully punched the tree trunk next to Senku's head, to make his point.
"So you have to come back alive, ten billion percent! You have to!"
After telling Senku how illogical it was to send their top scientist to his death, an angry Chrome continued to speak.
"Telling me to stay at home to protect me, like I'm your kid? Don't you…" and Chrome's voice, which had been loud and energetic as he voiced his complaints, suddenly turned low and menacing as he stared Senku down coldly, "…don't you dare patronize me, you jerk."
Senku's eyes widened.
Chrome...
Trying to defuse the hostile situation, he pointed out that his superior knowledge of sulfuric made him the ideal person to go collect it…
…but Chrome resolutely shook his head again.
"If you want to improve our chances, that's not the way to do it! Instead, imagine a tag team of two scientists, working together and looking out for each other… that's the best plan! Am I wrong!?"
In the silence the followed after Chrome's declaration, Senku couldn't help but think back on specific experiences he had gone though in the past five months.
Senku had wanted to save Chrome for logical reasons, true - but he couldn't deny that he also wanted to save him because Chrome was his friend. he had challenged Senku to a "sorcery" battle the day they met, but after he lost, he seemed fine when he realized he would be learning much more about "sorcery" with Senku than he ever would without him, and so treated Senku as an ally by the end of that first day. For months, the two of them had talked excitedly about science; worked on several projects together; and shared food and shelter and campfire stories.
To put it very simply, Chrome had treated Senku with kindness, and he didn't want to repay that kindness with a life-threatening mission… especially when they could get the same results if Senku were to go collect the sulfuric acid by himself.
However, Senku had failed to realized until this moment that it went both ways.
From accidental slips of the tongue and some scattered stories over the past few months, Senku knew that Chrome had led a fairly isolated life since he started collecting scientific materials. More stories from Kohaku had informed Senku that some villagers had been more hostile than Chrome had mentioned, and that had led to his building his shed of materials outside the village's protection.
From that data, it wasn't hard to infer that a man as loyal as Chrome - so loyal that he spent years trying to cure the illness of a dear friend he was almost never allowed to speak to - would be very happy and grateful to have a friend who shared his interests. Who, instead of mocking his efforts in gathering rocks, instead complimented them and even showed him a scientific roadmap that would use the materials from all those years of hard work to make his greatest dream come true.
Chrome had treated Senku with kindness, so Senku didn't want him to die.
Likewise, Senku had treated Chrome with kindness, so Chrome didn't want him to die.
It was all frustratingly sappy and sentimental…
…and logical, thought Senku in wry amusement. I tried to keep Chrome out of this for logical reasons, but he was the more logical of the two of us in the end. He shouldn't be left behind as a successor. He has every right to go with me to the sulfuric acid lake as a colleague.
After they spoke for a couple more minutes, Senku told him seriously, "You're putting your life in my hands."
Just as seriously, Chrome replied, "That's right! We're in the same boat, Senku!"
Then Senku walked away, trying to fill his head with numbers as he calculated precisely how much bamboo, potassium carbonate, and charcoal lye they would need to complete the gas masks tomorrow.
Numbers were easier to think about right now.
(End of Chapter Forty-Two.) (July 14, 2022, Thursday.)
I. My personal comments: In the manga, there's a set of two panels of Senku's eyes during this scene (after Chrome talks about the tag team, but before Senku jokes about the poison gas killing both of them). In the first panel, Senku's eyes are wide, like he's realizing something, and in the second panel, his eyes are much softer, and it looks like they're shining and filled with affection :D In contrast, in the anime, we see his eyes during the surprised part, and they're shining there and he's clearly touched, but the anime doesn't show us the soft look that was in the manga :)
II. Question of the day: What do you think of Senku's epiphany about how Chrome probably sees him? :)
III. 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 Forty-Two ("Willing Colleague")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)
