"SENKUUU…! Your dear, old dad is finally home!" Byakuya burst through his son's bedroom door with a huge grin plastered on his face. He held his arms outstretched, expectantly awaiting a hug that would never come.
"Ever heard of knocking, old man?" Senku asked without even bothering to turn away from his computer monitors.
"C'mon, son. Is that any way to greet your father after six months in space? Didn't you miss me even a little bit?" Byakuya whined with tearful eyes, dropping his arms dejectedly.
"Yeah, sure. In fact, I missed you so much I could practically bawl my eyes out. Give me a minute and I'll roll out the red carpet." His tone was completely devoid of emotion.
"Very funny… But would it kill you to at least say 'hello'?" Byakuya scowled at his son, who still had his back turned to him. He would never grow accustomed to his son's cold indifference toward him.
"Welcome back," he replied in the driest tone possible. "Now could you keep it down? And close the door on your way out, would ya?"
"Not so fast, son."
Suppressing his disappointment, he regained his jovial demeanor and approached his son, placing a hand on his shoulder. Then, in one swift motion, he forced Senku to swivel in his chair so they were face to face.
"Listen up. Forget about your research for a minute. There's someone I'd like you to meet. They came all the way from America to see you." His eyes shone with anticipation.
Senku was more confused than curious. He looked at his father with an eyebrow raised in suspicion.
"Who would come all this way just to meet me? What… did you get a girlfriend or something?" he accused with a sly smile while picking his ear with his pinky finger in his typical fashion.
Byakuya was so caught off guard by that question that he practically choked on his saliva. He quickly regained his composure and cleared his throat.
"D-don't be ridiculous. Now, come out and say 'hello'." He pulled Senku out of his desk chair and dragged him toward the living room.
"What? You mean right now?"
"That's right!"
"Senku… say hello to the one and only, pop diva, Lillian Weinberg!" he announced in English, extending his arms toward the aforementioned woman in a showy fashion.
"SURPRISE!" Lillian shouted with excitement, throwing her hands in the air.
Senku was stunned. It was all he could do to keep from gawking like an idiot with his jaw on the floor. To say he was surprised would be an understatement. He was downright baffled.
He knew that Lillian had traveled to the International Space Station alongside Byakuya as a space tourist, but the thought of her standing in their apartment at that very moment was something that would've never crossed his mind in ten billion years. After a solid ten seconds of silence, Byakuya finally broke the ice.
"What's the matter, Senku? Cat got your tongue?" he mocked, snickering at his son's speechlessness.
"She's too young for you, geezer," he blurted out in annoyance, defaulting to Japanese.
"That's not funny, Senku! Now, behave yourself."
"Fine, fine," he agreed, chuckling at his father's distress.
"Uhh…I'm sorry. I'm still learnin' Japanese. Yer father said you were fluent in English. All I got from that were the words 'young' and 'you'," Lillian explained.
"He… he said that, uh, you look so much younger in person," Byakuya lied, trying to spare her from embarrassment.
"Oh…. Why, thank you. Ain't that sweet?" She eyed Byakuya suspiciously, not believing him for even a second, but chose to drop the issue.
"Well, it's a real pleasure to meet ya, Senku. Your father told me all about you. In fact, he wouldn't shut up about you. He nearly talked my dang ear off," she admitted, giggling to herself.
"Yeah, the old man has a true talent for getting on people's nerves," he agreed, smoothly transitioning to English.
"Don't I know it." The two made an instant connection over their mutual distaste for Byakuya's antics.
"Nice to meet you too," he said with a smirk, offering his hand for her to shake.
"Oh, there's no need for all that. C'mere." She gave him a warm smile, dismissed his hand and pulled him into a tight embrace, causing him to tense up instantly. Byakuya couldn't help but get a kick out of Senku's discomfort.
"After everythin' Byakuya's told me about you, I feel like I've known ya my whole life."
"Oh, yeah… then you should know… I'm not really… the touchy, feely type… No offense," he barely managed to say between gasps.
"Oopsie!" Realizing her mistake, she quickly let him go.
"Sorry 'bout that. Somethin' you oughta know 'bout me is, I'm a hugger."
"Huh? I don't buy that for a second. You didn't even hug me when we had our reunion at the airport." Byakuya complained, looking rather insulted.
"Well, maybe if ya weren't such a stinker, you'd get a hug," she retorted, furrowing her brow in a forced frown.
"Hear that, ya geezer? I'm not the only one who finds you unbearable."
"Oh, really? And here I thought I'd treat us all to some ramen for dinner tonight."
"Ramen?!" They asked in unison.
"That's right. But if I'm such bad company, I guess I'll just go by myself." Byakuya crossed his arms in contempt.
"What are we waiting for?" Senku was already at the front door, putting on his shoes, with Lillian following close behind—both of them, completely ignoring Byakuya.
"Y'know, I've been dyin' to have some real Japanese ramen, again. The kind I had in space was really somethin' else, but the ramen cups back home just ain't the same."
"Hey, are you two even listening to me?"
"Tch, heh, heh," Senku chuckled, as they both put on their coats. "That stuff was a joke compared to the real deal."
"Really? I can't wait."
"And you'll keep waiting until I start getting some respect around here," Byakuya warned, dangled his offer of a delectable meal in the air, waiting for an apology.
"You're in for a real treat. Get excited!" Senku declared, drowning out his father's voice.
Before he knew it, those two were out the door, leaving poor Byakuya abandoned in the apartment, utterly forgotten, with no one to complain to.
"Hey, what about me? I'm hungry too…Wait up!" he shouted after them, rushing out the door with shoes and coat in hand.
…
Later, at their go-to spot, both father and son watched as Lillian took her first taste of freshly prepared ramen.
"Soooo…?" Byakuya asked with bated breath. "What do you think?"
"Mmm…, you weren't kiddin', Senku. This is loads better than what we had up in space."
"Yeah, ten billion times better," he asserted, just before slurping up a hefty helping of noodles.
"Mm-hmm" she agreed, following suit.
Their dinner proceeded with some idle chit-chat. It was mostly Byakuya and Lillian sharing their experiences in space, and Senku talking about his past experiments and accomplishments.
"Ah, ha, ha, hah!" Lillian's boisterous laugh rang throughout the tiny shop. "So, ya just kicked him into the pool and the suit went haywire?"
"Heh, heh. Yeah. You should've seen the old man's face. It was priceless."
"Hey, it's not funny. I seriously could've died back then."
"Don'tcha mean, 'ya almost slept with the fishes'?"
"Pfft… ah, ha, ha," Senku cracked up instantly.
Although the joke was pretty corny, Byakuya's mortified expression was hilarious. No one could've expected Lillian to make a joke like that.
"You two are the worst!" he cried.
"Ha, ha. I'm sorry. I'll stop."
Once the laughter died down, Senku took the opportunity to change the subject.
"So, Lillian. What really brings you to Japan? 'Cause I know you didn't come all this way just to meet a nerdy high school student, like me." Unable to shake his suspicions, he gave his father another sly smile, who just pulled at the collar of his shirt and cleared his throat.
"Hey now, don't say that," she chided gently, while unconsciously handing Byakuya a glass of water. "Meetin' ya's been a real treat."
"But yer right. I'm also here to enjoy a little vacation time before goin' back on tour. But first... I gotta keep a promise I made."
"What promise?"
"Senku…" Lillian began to say, beaming from ear to ear. She turned to Byakuya, expectantly, before looking back at Senku.
Given the way she paused for dramatic effect, he half expected her to obliterate his earlier suspicions by confessing that she and Byakuya weren't just dating, but getting married.
"How'd ya like me to sing for you?"
Now, his father was also grinning widely at him. Meanwhile, Senku was so utterly dumbfounded, all he could do was stare at them with his mouth agape. He had ten billion percent jumped to the wrong conclusion. Although, never in ten billion years had he expected to receive a private concert from one of the world's most beloved pop idols.
"Ah, ha, hah. Look at him, Lillian. He's speechless again. You know, it'll be Senku's birthday in a couple weeks."
"That's perfect! Consider it a gift from me to you. So? What do ya say?" she asked with hopeful eyes, grabbing his arm with both hands and shaking him slightly.
"Tch, heh, heh. How can I refuse?"
"Ya can't!" she declared proudly, releasing his arm and turning her attention back to her bowl.
"Just don't start singing in public. We don't need to draw any more unwanted attention." It hadn't escaped him that many of the patrons and even the cooks at the ramen shop had stopped to gaze in awe at the pop diva.
"Deal!"
Soon after, they finished eating and began making their way towards Lillian's hotel on foot. The path brought them through a square that was littered with twinkling lights and ornate decorations, given how it was currently the Christmas season.
"Wow! Would ya just look at this place? It's gorgeous." Lillian was utterly captivated.
"Say, why don't we end this night with a group photo?" Byakuya proposed.
"That's a great idea!"
After some convincing, Senku took out his phone and used the forward facing camera on his cell phone to take a group shot with a Christmas tree as their backdrop. Lillian made a peace sign over her left eye. Senku gave a half-hearted smirk. And Byakuya being his typical, goofy self, gave an exaggerated, toothy grin while making peace signs on either side of his face.
"Hey, since we're asking favors, could I get you to autograph a CD, later?" Senku asked suddenly. "Pretty sure Yuzuriha would throw a fit if I didn't ask."
"'Course ya can. I'm always happy to please a fan."
"But, who's Yuzuriha? Friend of yers? Or… you don't have a girlfriend, do ya Senku?" Lillian asked more out of surprise than curiosity, considering all she'd heard about him.
"BAH, HAH, HAH!" Byakuya burst into hysterical laughter.
"Senku? Getting a girlfriend? Yeah right. Not in ten billion years!"
Lillian's expression, which had been nothing but smiles all evening, suddenly turned furious.
"Ah, hah, hah. Phew. That's a good one, Lillian."
The moment he saw her face, he grew deathly silent.
"Ishigami Byakuya, you got some nerve. I'm all for some light-hearted ribbin', but there's a limit, y'know? I mean, what kind of father laughs at his own son like that?"
"L-listen Lillian, you've got it all wrong," he desperately tried to defend himself.
"No, you listen here," she demanded, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "I happen to think Senku is a very handsome young man. I'm sure he could get a girlfriend in a heartbeat if he wanted. Now you apologize to yer son this instant. And, I mean it."
"It's fine, Lillian. Let the geezer have his fun. He can bust a lung for all I care." He simply shrugged it off as something insignificant, while picking his ear again. "Although, I do appreciate you making the old man squirm. But the fact is, dating doesn't interest me one millimeter."
"That's right! I know Senku all too well. And the thought of him suddenly getting a girlfriend while I was away is just so ridiculous that I couldn't help but laugh."
Lillian was silent for a few seconds, giving Byakuya a narrowed, sidelong glance with a stern pout on her face, taking in everything they said. In the end, she decided to let it slide.
"Well, okay. But, ya didn't have to go and be so mean about it either." She crossed her arms in protest, still bothered by his behavior.
"You're right. I'm sorry, son," he apologized, softening her expression.
"Now then, tell me about this Yuzuriha," Lillian insisted, directing her attention back toward Senku, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Not much to say, except that she's a friend of mine who's good with crafts. Actually, she's my friend Taiju's girlfriend now."
"Are you serious?" Byakuya stopped dead in his tracks.
"That's big news! Why didn't you say anything sooner? When did it happen? What did he say? What did she say..." he shot off question after question, frantically waving his arms in the air while his two companions simply continued on their stroll without him.
"Hey... don't leave me behind again."
"Can you believe it took that big oaf five whole years to work up the guts to confess his feelings?" Senku carried on the conversation, completely ignoring his father's barrage of questions and subsequent whining.
"Five years? That sure is a long time to keep such a big secret. Poor guy. Must'a been real tough to work up the courage to confess like that."
"It's totally illogical if you ask me. What's the point in hesitating when there can only be two outcomes? Either she reciprocates and they start dating, or she doesn't and things stay exactly the same."
He stated the words so plainly, that Lillian could hear the utmost certainty he held in them. Could it really be that easy, she wondered. She was nearly inclined to believe him, but then decided to offer a counter argument.
"Well, maybe he was just scared that if she didn't feel the same way, then she might not wanna be friends anymore. Y'know?"
"No. Yuzuriha isn't the kind of person who would turn her back on a friend, especially if it's a pea-brained simpleton like Taiju. Besides, it was ten billion percent obvious that she was into him too."
"Oh? And since when are you such an expert in love? It's perfectly normal to have doubts," Byakuya chimed in after catching up and eavesdropping on the conversation.
"It doesn't take a genius to see the obvious, geezer. But I guess a dusty old fossil like you wouldn't be keen enough to notice."
"Big talk coming from a bratty kid who couldn't recognize love if it bit him in the behind."
"Would you two cut it out?" she scolded, crossing her arms in disapproval. "I swear! You act more like a couple of kids than father and son."
"He's the one always putting me down and calling me things like geezer and old man." He pointed an accusatory finger at Senku.
"Don't like being called old? Then how about crybaby?"
"See what I mean?"
"Oh hush! You are a big ol' crybaby. And a real pain in the butt, to boot."
"Tch, heh, heh." Senku was already snickering triumphantly, but was cut short as Lillian continued.
"But even so... he's still yer father, Senku. He raised ya all on his own. That's somethin' you should never take for granted... no matter how much of a pain he's bein'."
"Was that last bit really necessary?" Byakuya whined. "Just when I thought I was finally getting a little recognition, you had to go and tear me down again. Talk about a back-handed compliment."
"You make a fair point, Lillian. Sorry, Byakuya."
Senku's sudden apology was a complete and utter shock to Byakuya. He couldn't recall such a thing ever happening before. His eyes began to well up with tears.
"See now, was that so hard? And look how happy ya made him." Lillian's smile returned at full force.
"I take it all back," he cried. "I forgive you son. Now, c'mere and give your old man a hug." Byakuya ran over to Senku to wrap his arms around him, but he was too quick and dodged the embrace.
"Nope! Keep dreaming old man."
Lillian laughed at their antics, before referring back to their prior conversation.
"Anyway Senku... Tell me somethin'. Why do ya feel so strongly about yer friend hesitatin'? Were ya sayin' that you would confess right away if you were in his shoes?" she asked with intrigue.
"Tch, heh, heh, that's ten billion percent besides the point. What I meant is that it's highly illogical to spend all your time worrying about things like rejection and failure, and then use that as an excuse to avoid taking action for the things you want." he clarified.
"Take Taiju for example. He's a brawny meathead with a one track mind. Once he decides to do something, he'll see it through to the end no matter what. But... when it came to confessing, he kept his mouth shut for fear of rejection. If he'd had enough sense to come clean from the beginning, he could've saved himself years of wallowing in self-doubt."
"Then, look at someone like Byakuya, who for all his flaws, is by no means a defeatist."
"Hey, I don't appreciate that "all his flaws" crack!" Byakuya interrupted.
"Anyway…" he continued, "...when it came to the astronaut selection trials, he didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell. But that didn't stop him from going after his lifelong ambition. Even when all the odds were stacked against him, he persevered and eventually came out on top."
"It's like a certain old geezer once said, 'You gotta take action to achieve something. Can't know what'll happen until you try,' That's one of the core ideals I choose to live by," he affirmed proudly, recalling the moment in his past when Byakuya first spoke those words to him.
"Whether or not things work out in the end all depends on the amount of effort you put in."
Lillian just stared at him with her mouth agape, both shocked and impressed, before another smile bloomed on her face.
"Y'know, even though we only met a few hours ago, I can see why yer father raves about you. I'm positive ya got a bright future ahead of you. It'd be a real shame if ya couldn't find someone to share it with."
"Heh, I know what you're implying, but my priorities are set, with a trip to space sitting at the very top. That means there's no room for distractions. Especially one as troublesome as a romantic relationship."
"Oh, I don't know about that..." Lillian said in a singsongy voice.
"Think about it, Senku... You might be singin' a different tune when there's only one other person to share in your accomplishments," she warned, giving him a cheeky smirk before directing a sidelong glance at Byakuya.
"Don't you worry son. I'll be behind one hundred percent of way, cheering you on at every obstacle. You'll never have to fight for your dreams alone. " Byakuya reassured enthusiastically, only fueling Lillian's argument.
Senku shuddered at though of having his father as his eternal cheerleader.
"On second thought, I'll take it under consideration."
Both Byakuya and Lillian laughed at his sudden change in attitude.
"There may still be some hope for him yet." Byakuya mused aloud.
Luckily for Senku, they had finally arrived at Lillian's hotel and the topic of conversation changed once again.
"So, Lillian. Given any thought to where you'd like to start your tour of Japan?" Byakuya asked.
"Good question. Lemme think," she said, turning away to give it some thought.
Senku took the opportunity to pull his father aside to talk him out of whatever he was scheming. He knew full well that if given the chance, Byakuya would pry much more than was necessary.
"Hey, old man..." he began in a sharp tone, switching over to Japanese. "You better not be thinking of butting into her plans. Just let her enjoy her vacation however she wants."
"Huh? What are you saying? Who do you think is showing her around?"
Senku paused to process the insinuation behind those words. Almost instantly, he furrowed his brows in an intense frown.
"Not happening, geezer. Just because we're natives, doesn't make us tour guides. The best we could do is show her around Tokyo," he whispered venomously.
"Hah! Who needs a tour guide when we speak the language and have GPS at our fingertips?" he bragged, totally dismissing Senku's argument.
"Not to mention, we'd be bad hosts to let her roam around a foreign country unattended."
"She's a multi-millionaire! She can hire an entire team of tour guides and interpreters. Besides, what makes you think I wanna traipse around Japan as your third wheel? Just the thought of playing wing-man to an old fart like you is beyond disgusting," he countered with a grimace.
"That's not… I mean, I'm not…" he fumbled with his words. "No one's asking you to do anything like that."
"C'mon, Senku. I already offered to show her around, and she seemed really excited about it, too. Do you really wanna let her down?"
Byakuya spared her a glance before turning back to his son.
"That's your own fault. You should've known my answer from the beginning."
"Don't be like that, son. You've got a break from school coming up, and you yourself said earlier tonight that you're in between projects."
Senku couldn't deny that what he said was true, but while the thought of leaving Lillian to fend for herself in a foreign country seemed cruel, even by his standards, it still wasn't enough to convince him to go along with his father's hairbrained scheme. He would rather dedicate his vacation time to furthering his research.
"Nice try, geezer, but I'm still not going."
At that point, Senku was sure his father would fold and drop the issue, until his expression turned cocky, making him shudder.
"Alright then. I didn't wanna resort to this, but you've left me no choice."
"Remember the souvenirs I promised you during the live broadcast of the launch?" he asked with an incredibly smug expression. "Don't pretend you weren't watching."
"Well…," he said, pulling a flash drive from this pocket and brandishing it in Senku's face.
"Here in my hand, I hold all the raw data from my six months on the International Space Station... And I think you know what I'm about to say next."
Senku knew right then and there that he had lost the argument. All he could do was frown in resignation.
"Fine," he finally relented, regretting it instantly.
"That's the spirit! And who knows, you might even have some fun for once."
"I got it!" Lillian declared, after much contemplation, drawing their attention.
"I know exactly where I'd like to go first," she said confidently with both hands on her hips and a huge smile plastered on her face.
For some odd reason, her look of pure conviction gave Senku a bad feeling. Something about it told him he wasn't going to like what she said next, as illogical as that was. Perhaps it was instinctual, considering his sudden urge to flee.
"Have y'all ever heard of Cat Island?"
Yep, he certainly had the shittiest luck, in his opinion.
To be continued...
A/N: Hey there, I'm a long time reader, first time publisher.
So, this is my first publication ever, and I'm really excited to be sharing an original story. First off, I know this chapter is incredibly long, so thank you if you made it to the end, and sorry there was no mention of Kohaku yet, but she'll be in the next chapter, I promise.
Secondly, I'd like to say that Dr. Stone is one of my all-time favorite series, and I've got a bunch of other things in the works right now, so if you're a fellow SenHaku fan, and you've enjoyed this chapter, then be on the lookout for more, coming soon.
I also wanna give a shout out to writer Celeste Kaomy-chan. I've been reading their fanfics for a while now. They've written some really amazing SenHaku content in Spanish and it's thanks to them that I got inspired to write my own stories.
And just as an added note, the premise for this fanfic came from the SenHaku Week Prompt: Japanese Folklore.
Anyway, that's all for now. Thanks again for reading and I hope to hear from you in the comments. I'm open to any feedback. :)