More than 3700 years after the world ended, Senku woke up.
Being able to see after so long was…a bit blinding, honestly. As soon as his eyes adjusted, he realized he was looking up through the leaves of a Pisonia umbellifera, a tropical tree, which was a bit strange. As far as he remembered, he'd been in Tokyo. That green light had overtaken everything—and then nothing, nothing but his own thoughts.
He looked around. There were other plants, all consistent with a subtropical biome. And then he saw Metrosideros boninensis, a flowering plant endemic to Chichijima, and his eyes nearly popped out of his skull. How in the world had he ended up in the Ogasawara volcanic archipelago?!
The possible scenarios he'd imagined and thought through how he'd survive in had been varied and, he'd thought, comprehensive: nuclear winter, natural ice age or thermal maximum, alien takeover (when he'd been bored), partial population loss (that the strange light had only affected some people and the rest had gone on living, Thanos-snap style), massive continental restructuring, flooding that took him nearer to the ocean. But not being on the wrong island entirely.
Well, it was what he had, so he'd work with it. It might be that the islands had become connected over time, or a giant hurricane had blew him here, or some other phenomenon. He couldn't assume. He hadn't even been free a whole minute and his expectations were being shot down—he had to approach this all with an open mind, like it was an experiment.
It was an experiment.
There were things to consider. He left the strange stone shell that had cracked off of him in place as well as he could, outlining the spot he'd been laying with some twigs. Time was of the essence here—he could come back and investigate later.
Although he did pause and then carve into a tree trunk nearby the date: April 1st, 5738. Three thousand seven hundred eighteen years and three hundred and two days. The first day of this new world.
Now, back to work. Islands might not have freshwater sources, so that was priority one—finding, collecting, or making freshwater. Next was food, but he could already see there were ripe fruits, some root plants, and birds flitting through the trees. Seawater around the island meant fish, crabs, and even snails. And it was a comfortable temperature—he didn't need clothes for warmth, just modesty, and he didn't give a damn about that. Although he might want to invest in some kind of covering before sitting anywhere…
He started walking inland, toward and around the nearby cliff face, keeping an eye out for streams or plants that grew near water. He eventually spotted a small stream that veered away from where he'd woken up, and he followed it to its source, hoping for a spring or waterfall.
Pushing through the foliage, he arrived at an absolutely gorgeous waterfall, almost picturesque. Luscious green plants bordered smallish falls and a deep pool. It had a more shallow section perfect for wading into, which he did. The water was balmy and he gratefully scooped some up to drink—he was already winded after that little hike. Man, he'd need to build up some stamina if he wanted to survive.
At least he had clean, running water. Next was food. He remembered seeing a cluster of trees with ripe fruit not too far away and turned to walk back to them.
And came face-to-blade with a spear.
He froze. He couldn't help it. Were other people waking up, too? Had they woken up before him? Why was this person leading with a spear?!
"Who are you?" asked the person holding the spear, and he looked up from the rough stone blade to see a girl his age.
"Speak!" she ordered. "Or I'll make you disappear! Who are you?!"
He scoffed. "Threatening to kill someone isn't exactly a polite way to introduce yourself." Inside, he was wondering how he might overcome this girl as an opponent—and having no idea, because she looked strong as hell and he had literally nothing but island detritus at his disposal. Maybe a rock, if he threw it in the right place, or a quick tripwire (from what, though?). An avalanche? Using her momentum to flip her into the water?
She growled and jabbed the spear towards him and he stumbled back, catching his heel and falling into the pool in the process. At least he had easy access to the rocks now.
But a sharp sting alerted him to the fact that he'd scratched his hand and he pulled it out of the water with a hiss. Right across his palm a line of blood was welling up—damn, what an inconvenient place. Way too many nerve endings.
The girl gasped. "You—you're bleeding!"
All he had to apply pressure with was his own hand, which he did—he was bleeding more than he would've liked. "You're the one shoving spears in people's faces! What did you think was going to happen?!" Damn, it really hurt.
She looked shaken, though. "I thought you were a spirit. But—but don't worry, I'll help you!" And started forward, reaching towards him.
He tried protesting—she was as naked as he was, and he did not need to add 'being manhandled by a nude girl while I bleed out' to his list of activities for the day—but she either didn't hear or didn't care, hoisting him up out of the water and carrying him princess-style off to somewhere. The position left his upper arm pressed against her breast and he tried to somehow not have that be the case, but she merely adjusted her hold to be tighter and kept walking.
"I don't have much," she said as she walked, "but I can make bandages from seaweed, and I found a moss that's really absorbent. We'll have to stop at my camp first."
Senku watched the forest slide past them. This girl was moving much quicker than he had, and she was carrying him and had her spear tied to a rope looped around her.
She stopped at a clearing where it looked like she lived. She set him down on a log and dug around in her supplies while he surveyed the site. It was rough, that was for sure, and there didn't seem to be signs of anyone else using the camp. Just this one girl. How long had she been unpetrified? What made the difference in petrifying times?
"Aha!" she finally called, and brought over a handful of moss that she thrust into his bleeding palm. First off, ow. Second, while he appreciated her ingenuity, he was definitely missing antibiotic ointment and sterile wound dressings.
She then picked him back up and ran to the shoreline, where she quickly dove in and away.
A strange girl. First impression: strong. There were well-defined muscles all over her body. Next impression: practical. Everything human-made he had seen so far was purely functional, or at least lacked excessive ornamentation. Third impression: kind. Sort of. Or maybe it was honorable. She had threatened him, which had led to him getting injured, and when she realized she'd been mistaken, she'd done her best to fix it.
Speaking of that, after she came back out of the water with handfuls of seaweed, Senku asked, "You thought I was a spirit?"
She shrugged and started wrapping his hand tightly. "You look like the statue of the boy on this island. It was startling."
"You depetrified, too," he reminded her. "Or has it been so long that you've gone crazy?" Actually, saying that out loud, it was more likely than not. If it had been a while…people went kind of nuts without social interaction. It wasn't their fault; it was the way humans worked. He'd do the same if he was left alone, eventually.
She frowned and pulled the bandage tighter, making him wince. "You're a human, all right, and an incredibly rude one. And what do you mean by depetrified?"
"I'm pretty sure that green light from three thousand seven hundred years ago turned everyone to stone," he said. "Although maybe you didn't see it. It was passing through buildings and cars like they weren't even there. If you were inside, if your eyes were closed…you just didn't open them again, I guess."
"…three thousand…? How do you know that?"
He chuckled. "I counted the whole time, and I'm very good at keeping time. I guess there's not much here to convince you, but once we get off this island and get back to mainland Japan, it'll be obvious for sure. There's absolutely no way any cities or infrastructure is still standing. We're starting from zero." She looked suitably impressed by this, her eyes wide and mouth hanging open. "And we'll have to figure out how to revive everyone eventually. Have you seen any other statues of people on this island? Or even sparrows. I think whatever turned them to stone must be the exact same thing, so what works to depetrify them might work for people, too."
"…no. No, there was only one statue on this island."
He scowled. "Weird. Very weird. Why am I here in the first place? I was in Tokyo before, and nowhere near the ocean. Where were you? Did you go to Hirosue High, too? Maybe everyone else in the area got washed into the ocean." That worried him. Stone eroded in water, although he didn't know what kind of stone had encased him. What state would Taiju and Yuzuriha be in? How would he find them in the first place?
"No, I…" She stood up and walked away for a second, looking a bit overcome. "Three thousand seven hundred…"
Ah. She was feeling overwhelmed by the time frame. That was understandable. He waited mostly patiently, tapping his foot in the sand, planning how to make some fish traps. Good thing this girl had tools made already—ten billion times easier for him.
Taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, she turned to look at him. "First off. I was not around three thousand years ago."
He frowned. What, did she invent a new backstory for herself after going crazy, too?
"I was born fourteen years ago in a village on a different island. As far as I know, our village is the only group of humans in the world." She let out a sigh. "And that home island is full of statues."
Senku's eyes widened. "Wait, what?" Not someone from the twenty-first century at all? "Then how are you speaking Japanese?" Well, Japanese with some English. She looked half-foreign, so he'd thought maybe one of her parents wasn't native Japanese and so she just used more English naturally—but he recognized each language as itself. Wouldn't the languages have changed more over time?
She tilted her head. "What's Japanese?"
Okay. This was crazy. "Then why are you here?"
She clenched her fists and scowled fiercely. "My father banished me from my home island. He sent me out with a crappy boat and told me never to return. I bet he thought I would die at sea."
Yikes. "Why were you banished?" If it was for murder, he'd like to know ahead of time.
"I…I killed someone."
Yup. Okay, he was getting off this island as soon as possible. And he wouldn't tease her anymore. He had no way to protect himself.
"Someone who was planning to marry and then murder my sister," she went on, eyes brimming with tears. "My sister, who I haven't seen in…in so long…" She sniffed and rubbed her eyes. "She was sick. I hope she's still alive…"
Oh. A bit of nuance. Still, murder.
She gestured widely, angrily. "He said it in broad daylight like he was bragging about it. My father didn't do anything when I told him. And…Magma was…he was describing how he would…on their wedding night…" She was trembling now. "I couldn't let him! I couldn't let him hurt my sister like that!" Then she buried her head in her hands. "I didn't mean to kill him. I just wanted to threaten him, scare him into leaving Ruri alone. Then he tried to jump off the cliff we were on, but he landed wrong in the water, and…and my father banished me immediately." A little sob. "I didn't even get to tell her goodbye…"
His shoulders relaxed. Alright. Not actually murder. A young woman trying to defend her sister when authority figures failed her and some idiot who jumped without looking when confronted about it. "Pretty sure that doesn't count as murder," he said. "You didn't push the guy."
"But…but if I hadn't confronted him, he wouldn't have jumped."
"And if he hadn't threatened your sister, you wouldn't have confronted him." He shrugged. "Not murder. Not great, but it sounds like a pretty shit situation overall."
A tremulous smile danced across her lips. "Yes, I suppose so." Then she cleared her throat and wiped her eyes quickly. "But I haven't even introduced myself. My name is Kohaku."
"Senku," he said, not including his family name since it seems like it wasn't common practice anymore. "Thanks for bandaging my hand."
She nodded. "It's the least I can do."
Yes, honorable was the right word to describe her after all. A warrior, a knight—strong and fierce and protective, but fair as well. Not someone who used their strength to bully those weaker than her, but to protect them. "Want to help me get off this island?"
She tilted her head like a curious cat. "Sure, but how? Didn't you just wake up?"
He rose to his feet. "Waking up in some isekai stone future is no excuse for being lazy," he said. "Show me around so I can see what we're working with."
She laughed but waved for him to follow her. "Ha! So pushy. I like your attitude, though, so I'll help you."
Senku kept planning as he walked. He was glad there was someone so well suited to help him ready to help him…but why was he here at all? What had turned them to stone? And what would it take to bring the world back?
One step at a time. This was a problem to be solved by many people working together. And it all started with this island and this girl, Kohaku.
