(A/N: I hope everyone's ready for this because we're now in chapter two. Senku will be featured a lot in this chapter, along with quite a bit of Chrome too, which I'm really looking forward to.
A lot of things will be going on, but it won't be overwhelming. I just hope that I'll be able to put everything I want to in this, it'd be a shame to have to cut it short. That being said, I don't know how long this is going to be, but I guess it doesn't matter.
That's all I needed to say, so enjoy your time with this chapter. I just know I'm going to have a good time with this and I hope all of you do too.)
O-0-O~I-Y-x-Y-I~O-0-O
Kaseki was utterly amazed by Senku and his "science", especially in the creation and uses of "glass". So much so that he had forgotten that he was upset with him for taking wood out of the bridge.
He heard him talking to Chrome and Kohaku inside his "laboratory" about the ingredients he needed to make something he referred to as the "sulfa-drug". He overheard them talk about how it would Ruri with the illness that had been plaguing her for over a decade.
He wondered, if this "science" could really cure Ruri, then would it be possible for it to give Seido the ability to walk and live on his own? Though easy to hide with his strength, he knew that he was not long for the world, even if he managed to live for several more years. He always wondered what would happen if he were to pass to the beyond with no one to help his adoptive son, but now he may not need to anymore.
Walking up to the open entrance, he asked, "Um, Senku? Could I talk to you when you have a minute?"
"Huh? What do you need?" he inquired, momentarily turning away from the blonde girl and brown-haired boy across from him.
"Well… it's… kind of a science question," he answered, the word sounding foreign on his tongue. "I was wondering if it was possible to help someone walk, even if they don't have legs?"
"Eh? You know I'm not actually a sorcerer, right?" He scratched the back of his head, smiling. "I could give 'em a fake leg, but I can't regrow flesh and bone limps once they've been lost."
"Lost? Oh, no, no, no!" he waved his hands. "I'm talking about someone who never had legs, or even arms."
"No arms or legs?" he questioned, now completely interested. "And they've been like this since birth?"
"Looks like we have something that even Senku can't wrap his mind around," Chrome laughed smugly.
Kohaku gave him a blank look before she asked, "Is it rare in the old world?"
"What, are you kidding? It's ten billion percent rare in any era," he replied, picking his ear with his pinky. "It'd practically be a death sentence in this stone world."
"Really?" Kaseki held his chin with his fingers. "But he's almost nineteen."
His eyes widened and he chuckled, "Sounds like yet another OP monster in the stone world."
He was surprised to suddenly receive a punch to the abdomen by the elderly man's fist, causing him to arch forward and fall to his knees. "Don't call him a monster! That's my boy you're talking about!"
The punch was much stronger than he could have expected, even if he was taken by surprise. He grunted as he slowly lifted himself up, his hand on his stomach, "I guess those muscles really aren't just for show."
"Sorry for that, I just get a little mad whenever someone talks about my son that way." He gave him a pat on his back and he nearly fell forward from the force that he was certain was inadvertent.
"A little mad is an understatement," Chrome remarked. He came up behind Senku and lowered his voice so that the older man did not hear him, "Sometimes he outright refuses to do anything that's asked of him until you apologize."
"He's very protective of his son, even though they're not related by blood," Kohaku added, also speaking in a low voice.
He chuckled, "Heh. Is that so? Kaseki!"
"Hm? What is it?" he asked.
"Bring your son here, I'd like to meet him for myself and see what I can do for him," he stated.
He smiled, he could feel tears of joy making their way to the corners of his eyes. Finally, there was someone else in the world who wanted to help his adoptive son.
"And so, that's the end of it," Kaseki finished recounting the events in his brief time with the "Kingdom of Science". "So tomorrow, we'll go across the bridge, meet up with Senku, and-"
"No," he cut him off, curtly and sharply.
His jaw was agape as he stared shocked at him, "W- What?! But- but why?! You could finally walk, and eat, and do everything by yourself!"
"I don't care," he responded, his tone never changing.
He stuttered, still in shock, "But- but- but don't you want to walk and-"
"Of course, I do, but what makes you think it's going to happen in one day?" he questioned harshly. "How long would I have to wait? You already said they were working on something for Ruri. She has priority, I don't." He grit his teeth, becoming angry, "And what if they fail and she dies anyway?! Then all this will be for nothing! I'll never walk! I'll be the monster of Ishigami Village forever!"
The young man's one visible eye stared intensely at his adoptive father, bordering on a glare. The normally warm color of his eyes resembled a raging fire at that moment.
"I think…" he uttered after a prolonged pause, "I think you're thinking too much, Seido."
"Huh?" he inquired, perplexed.
"I mean, you're talking about things that haven't even happened yet," he told him, choosing his words carefully, so as to not turn the fire into an inferno. "After all, you don't know that they'll fail or succeed."
It was true, there was no way for him to know, he could not see into the future. Still, the fire in his eyes burned strongly as he bluntly stated, "You and them are too simple-minded. How do you expect to get whatever that stuff is to Ruri in the first place? You really think the chief will let you anywhere near her? He won't even let Kohaku be alone with her for two minutes, and she's his daughter and she's the one keeping her alive."
"You'll have to ask them about that," he answered honestly. "Listen, all I'm asking is for you to think about it. I'll admit I probably sounded a little too excited earlier," he chuckled, "but I won't make you do this if you don't want to. So think about it, and if you want to go tomorrow, I'll take you there. If you don't, I'll tell Senku you didn't want to come."
He pondered this for a moment before letting out a sigh, "Alright, I'll… think about it."
He smiled at his response, "That's great, I'm happy you said that."
"And I'm happy you're home safe," he returned his smile. He raised one of his walking sticks as high as he could before bringing it down to the woven straw and pelt-covered floor, "I would've clobbered Chrome if something happened to you."
He chuckled again, "I'm sure you would have."
Kaseki woke up at the break of dawn the next day, he was hardly able to sleep with how excited he was. Seido had barely slept as well, but not because he was excited, he was kept awake by his adoptive father's over-eagerness and his own anxiety.
Most days he laid on the floor while he was fed, but that day he was leaning back in a stool. The morning meal was a little more than usual with apples, chestnuts, grapes, and water.
"Gotta keep up our energy for today," Kaseki claimed cheerfully.
'I don't remember agreeing to go yet,' he mentally retorted with a mouth full of chestnuts.
They finished eating after a while and the scraps were cleaned up from the floor. Seido drank the last of his water with his adoptive father holding the cup.
His walking sticks were tied to him and he climbed into his chair. Kaseki did not even try to help him, he always refused and insisted on doing it himself, occasionally becoming angry if even offered.
Properly seated, he uttered after a light sigh, "Alright."
"Alright, what?" the short old man questioned obliviously. When he saw the annoyance on his adoptive child's face, his face lit up with realization, "Oh! Right. So, Seido, do you want to come and meet with Senku and see what he can do for you?"
Truth be told, he had long-since come to his decision, especially with all the time he had to think about it with the minimal sleep he got, but wanted to wait until he was asked again, "Yes. Even if the chance is small, I want to walk like a normal person."
They left the house together, making their way to the bridge. Kaseki had to hold himself back from moving too fast in order for him to be able to roll in his chair beside him.
Upon reaching the bridge, he immediately set foot on the suspended walkway. He was quite a few wooden planks across when he realized that his adoptive son was not following him.
Thinking he changed his mind, he turned around and saw him struggling to move forward. He rushed to him when he accidentally used too much force and the momentum caused him to fall.
He caught him before he fell to the hard and weathered wood, "Whoa, there!" Setting him back in his chair, he asked, "What happened? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. I can't get across the bridge, I'm stuck," he answered.
He put his hand on his chin, stroking his beard slightly in thought, "Hmm… Wait right here, I know just who to get."
He watched as he ran to the other side and slumped his shoulders, "It's not like I can go anywhere."
A little while later, he returned with Kinro and Ginro behind him. For a moment, he wondered why they were there, but he very quickly understood what their presence was needed for.
"S- so when you s- said you n- needed help, you meant…?" Ginro stuttered, hiding behind his older brother.
It was not fear, he quickly noted, as much of a coward the dainty male was. It was something else that he knew all too well; disgust.
This was only visibly present on the younger of the two, though the sternness of Kinro made it difficult to read his emotions. Regardless, he decided to keep his tongue guarded for the time being.
Whether Kaseki chose to hear him or not, he did not answer the question and instead started to untie the walking sticks. He gave them to Ginro, who's back arched slightly at the sudden added weight in his arms.
"Why are these things so heavy?!" he whined, struggling to hold them.
"They're not, though," Seido remarked as he was lifted up from his chair.
Carrying his adoptive son with one arm under him and the other across his back for support, the elder craftsman instructed the brothers, "Ginro, you take those sticks, and Kinro, you take the chair."
"Oh! Why are we the ones who get stuck with the heavy lifting?" the younger brother complained.
"Stop whining, Ginro, and move," Kinro scolded, lifting the chair by its wheels, slightly surprised that it was a bit lighter than he expected.
"Don't break those," the limbless young man told them, his chin on Kaseki's shoulder as he watched them carry his stuff.
It was difficult to tell if he was being serious or if it was a nonchalant taunt. Both could have been true, and the likelihood of that was certainly not null.
As Senku waited outside of Chrome's shed for them to arrive, his mind was already spinning with anticipation and possibilities. If what he heard about him was true, he was a genuine scientific marvel, and a potentially valuable asset.
Of course, he remembered how aggressive and protective Kaseki became the other day, so it was not a challenge to conclude that they had a close bond, which meant they had to get him to their side. The chances were very high that the old craftsman would listen to his child if he said he did not want him to work with them, which would cripple them. Put simply, with him came Kaseki's full cooperation.
"We have to get him to side with us," he muttered out loud.
He knew that was easier said than done, he had no idea what condition he was in and if he had been ostracized from the village as he suspected, then he was headed for a great challenge. He could not make any definitive plans until he saw what he was dealing with, but he was certain he would find a way to figure it out; after all, science never gives up.
His line of thought was interrupted by a familiar voice calling out to him, "Senku! I brought him!"
"Don't put it like that," a voice he was unfamiliar with grumbled.
He looked up and saw Kaseki walking towards him with what he initially thought was a green lump in his arms. It was only when he got closer that he noticed the young man's head and his long dark hair.
"Set it down there," the old man instructed Kinro, pointing at the ground.
He set the item he was tasked with carrying down on the spot he pointed at, "Is this good?"
"Perfect!" He gave him a thumbs up.
"Well… great!" Ginro huffed as he let the long sticks in his arms roll to the ground, next to the chair.
Chrome came out of his shed and started to climb down, "Hey, Kaseki! Morning!"
He waved up at the teen, "Good morning to you too, Chrome!" Kohaku came out of the lab when she heard their voices and he greeted her as well, "Hello there, Kohaku."
"Hi, Kaseki," she replied. "Might be a little early for all of this, don't you think?"
"Hey, the earlier we start, the quicker it gets done. Right, Senku?" Chrome asked as he set foot on the ground and went up to everyone. When he got no response, he looked at the older teen, "Senku?"
He followed his eyes and realized he was staring at the special wooden chair Kaseki made Kinro carry. He was so stunned by the sight of it that he was unable to look away or say anything.
"Ooh! Do we finally have something that the great scientist Senku doesn't know about?" he teased, his voice full of pride.
'Scientist?' Seido mentally repeated the unfamiliar term.
"A wheelchair," he finally uttered, impressed.
"Argh! Of course you already know!" he shouted, falling backwards.
"Wheelchair?" Kaseki echoed the word from Senku's mouth. He put his hand on it and rolled it back and forth, "I've always called this a "rolling chair"."
Senku chuckled and picked his ear with his pinky, "Close enough, I guess. But it is actually called a wheelchair. Don't think I'm not impressed though, I really am. Something this hard to make would've taken a lot of trial and error."
"You don't know the half of it!" he laughed.
Seido squirmed in his hold, letting him know that he wanted to be down to climb into his chair. He complied and gently set him down, only noticing then that his adoptive son had been much quieter than usual.
Taking a step back, Senku observed how he was able to make his way into the seat, despite the rolling of the wheels, and turn his body around to sit comfortably. Needlessly to say, he was greatly impressed by this feat that he managed to do without any help at all. The other four teens, on the other hand, were quite shocked, having heard rumors about it but never witnessing it for themselves.
Now that he had a frontal view of him, he could see what the "monster" of Ishigami Village truly looked like. He was quite pale, as though he did not go outside too often, his hair was very long and covered one side of his face entirely, and his one visible eye was a warm, brownish dark orange color that reminded him of bronze. He wore nothing more than a slightly tattered greyish green tunic, a color that resembled the state of bronze after oxidation.
'That's an eye color I haven't seen yet,' he thought. 'The closest would be Suika's, but his are very different.'
While Senku was making his observations, Seido made his own, now that he could see this "outsider" for himself. He could tell he was younger than he was by at least a couple of years and he had green hair of varying shades that reminded him of a vegetable. He wore a crude outfit made from deerskin with odd symbols on his left pectoral, sack-like shoes that were likely crafted from the same material, and numerous pouches tied to his waist.
'Well, he doesn't look too bad, I guess,' he thought.
Senku watched Kaseki tie the sticks Ginro had carried to either side of him. He could see that they were attached to fleshy stubs that were also wrapped.
For a moment, he thought the old man had lied to him about the circumstances of the older teen's lack of limbs, that they were not missing naturally. Until he realized how unlikely that was; he was yet to encounter a liar within Ishigami Village, even if he had not met most of them. Even if it was a lie, it did not change the fact that this was still someone who needed his help.
"Just from what I've seen here, I can definitely see a lot of potential, but I would like to see a little bit more," he stated.
"More? Well, show him what you can do, Seido," Kaseki told him.
'Bronze, huh?' he thought with a slight smirk. 'Can't say it doesn't suit him.'
Fortunately, the ground around Chrome's shed and the lab was fairly clear of grass and rocks, which made the task easier. He used his sticks to move forward the span of several steps, then set them firmly on the ground to move the entire chair in a different direction before he went forward again.
This was a rare sight for the four teenage villagers, they rarely saw him move in his chair. For Senku, it was the first time, and he was very pleased with what he saw.
"I gotta say, I'm really impressed." He held his chin between his thumb and index finger, "Yeah, I think we can make this work."
"Really?!" Excited and hopeful tears bursted out of Kaseki's eyes like geysers.
"Well, I can't make any promises, unfortunately," he informed him, picking his ear again. "But, having seen what he's capable of for myself, I can ten billion percent tell you that the chances aren't remote."
"Woohoo! Did you hear that, Seido?!" the old man exclaimed.
"Yes, I heard," he replied, sighing exasperatedly.
"Eh? I think that's the first time I've heard you talk since you got here," Senku remarked. "For a minute, I thought you were mute."
Although it was a joke, he looked up at the younger teen in confusion, "What? I'm just tired, I was kept up all night." He pointed one of his sticks at his adoptive father.
"Eek!" a voice squeaked as a thud was heard.
He looked down and saw Suika, a little girl who wore a watermelon rind for a helmet, on the ground. A short wave of guilt came to him, he felt a slight sense of camaraderie with her as she was also often ostracized by the village, though not nearly to the same extent as him.
"I'm sorry, Suika," he smiled, gently and apologetic. "I didn't see you there." He lowered one of the sticks to her level, "Here, let me help you up."
She grasped it and he lifted it slightly, enough to raise her to her feet. She beamed up at him, "Thanks a lot!"
"Be careful next time and I'll do the same," he told her.
"Right!" she chirped.
"Anyway," Senku uttered, returning Seido's attention to him, "I have a pretty good idea of what I can do for you."
"Really? What is it?" he asked.
He smirked, "One of mankind's greatest innovations that gave people back what they lost or never had to begin with, we're making prosthetics. Oh, yeah, get excited!"
O-0-O~I-Y-x-Y-I~O-0-O
(A/N: Didn't end up being as long as I thought it would turn out and if I'm being honest here I could've continued, but I thought this was a good place to stop. Trust me when I say this though, if I went further with this, this chapter would've been twice as long.
Senku wasn't as involved as I wanted him to be, but I think I utilized him pretty well here. Don't worry though, he'll be in the next chapter a lot, which I'm really looking forward to.
Well, I've done just about everything I can for this chapter. This is my first update in 2025 and I can only hope that this will be a fruitful year for me.)