#the psychoanalysis of Asagiri Gen

[ameftowriter]

Belief and Faith (Dr. Stone Fanfic)

I finally finished this fic after working on it for so long. It’s supposed to be the sequel of my 5738 A.D. 4,1 fic that I did a while back. 

Either way this is essentially Episode 9 in Gen's POV. I really wanted to explore his mindset during this episode, after knowing about the observatory scene and all that. I finally got to work on it and here I am posting it now! YAY!

I hope you all like it!

Summary:  Asagiri Gen never truly believed in anyone. But after seeing that date carved into a tree, he had to find out if this Senku person really was the one who did it. Would Senku be able to convince Gen using the power of science? or will the Mentalist continue to doubt the Scientist till the end?

Ao3 | ffnet

Part 1 | Part 2 (This!) | Part 3 | Part 4 ???

Asagiri Gen never truly believed in anyone. Not even to his own parents. Like they ever gave a crap about him in the first place. The only thing he learned from them was to be paranoid of everyone around him. So he grew up never having any belief in anyone around him. Not even his teachers, the police, even little old grannies that would find him adorable.

Even when he became a famous celebrity, he never fully trusted his manager, assistants, and even the cameraman.

There really were just no one he could put his faith in. There was no point for him to put any kind of faith in anyone other than himself. 

Belief? Only to himself. 

Faith? Definitely only to himself.

And thus why the Great Magician/Mentalist, Asagiri Gen never really trusted anyone other than himself.

"I thought I've seen you somewhere before…" Senku finally spoke, “You’re Asagiri Gen right?”

Gen knew how to deduce someone's personality from just their dialogue. His mentalism training had earned him that skill. He realized that Senku spoke with no hint of hesitation nor fear. Instead this man spoke with confidence and pride, it was odd to the mentalist, but he of course didn’t show any of that.

When Senku called him a “trashy magician” though...

“Read my work, have you? How wonderful!” Gen finally spoke to him with relief on his tone, this was a mix of truth and lies. “But that “trashy magician” barb was cruel…”

“Please, call me a mentalist.”

He honestly preferred to be called a mentalist. It looked and sounded more professional to him.

“Look, I apologize for taking the ramen without asking. So please, will you be so kind as to lower your weapons?” Gen went to work on his “stage” as he observed the three still have their weapons pointed at him. Not like he had anything to fear from the two spearmen. He knew that the blonde warrior girl was a bigger threat. She was the only one who could fight with Tsukasa after all.

“My arms and legs are trembling in fear.” He spoke ever so sweetly as he moved the bowl of ramen towards shorter blonde spearman, Ginro was his name as he heard earlier. He also heard earlier about him wanting some. “And I’m worried I may spill this heavenly bowl…”

The spearman quickly dropped his spear and reached out to the bowl of ramen, incredibly eager to hold it for him.

Gen then began telling his wonderful story, and it was all filled with lies, of course. He didn't want these fierce villagers to think he's a threat. He wove the tale with a relaxed composure and filled his words with sounds of relief and joy. It was easy as breathing for him. Though, he did notice that the blonde warrior girl didn't seem a tiny bit convinced. He would commend her for her keen senses if it wasn't for the fact that he needed to keep his persona on all the time.

The fact that everyone else except for her and seemingly Senku as well, had bought his tale, that was already enough for the Mentalist.

"Yeah sure… whatever you say, man…" Senku responded. It was obvious now that he didn't buy any word of what Gen had just said. "But still… there's no such thing as a free lunch…"

His words got everyone's attention.

"Everyone else who ate the ramen… has got some work to do…"

Asagiri Gen was impressed by Senku's wit and cunning. So now he knew who he was dealing with. He would like to delve into more, but the mention of work has got him feeling that he was going to regret everything he's done today.

And he was right.

His arms felt like they're about to fall off.

He along with three others were pushed into, what he guessed is a furnace made for melting iron, (yet another thing added to the list of what Gen was impressed about Senku) and was told to blow air into it using an odd contraption that he needed to simultaneously move up and down repeatedly until Senku tells them to stop.

That was about three hours ago….

And he hasn't told them to stop at all.

One of the girls had already given up and fainted and was quickly replaced by the blonde warrior girl from earlier.

Gen was practically dead at this point.

He knew that making iron manually was hard work, but he didn't know it was this hard…

"Question for ya Gen…" Senku approached the mentalist, "How are Taiju and Yuzuriha doing these days?"

It seems Gen had underestimated Senku way more than he thought.

"Oh… so that's your game, yeah?" If Gen could chuckle right now he would, "Work me into a state of exhaustion, and fool me into feeding up?"

It was an effective, yet laughable technique to Gen. How many fools have pulled this on him, he'd already lost count. And he was still only nineteen after all. Though, he really should have seen that coming a mile away.

"You've got guts…" Gen told the truth this time. He was indeed impressed by Senku. He could tell that this man was, if not, the bravest man he's met over the years he's lived. "Trying to pull a trick like that on a renowned Mentalist…."

Gen then decides to start his plan. If this Senku really is all what Tsukasa talked about then…

"Don't worry though… Taiju-chan's strength is seemingly without end…. But you know that.. Right? Senku-chan?"

Gen turned to face the Scientist with his trademarked heinous crafty smile.

'Prove it, Senku-chan… prove to me that you are the one who did that carving…'

"He's definitely with that long haired man!" The warrior girl, Kohaku, he remembered her name, "Should I kill him?"

'Ah… Kohaku-chan is so naive… so, so naive…'

"Wait. You fool." Senku stopped Kohaku from doing anything drastic to Gen, it was to be expected, but still a big relief to him, "All right, Gen. You ten billion percent knew, I was trying to make you talk. So why'd you suddenly slip that you're working for Tsukasa?"

'Ten billion percent? Your catchphrase I presume? Though, it does tell me that you're not the one to rely on luck. That, you're the kind of person that would make sure everything was in "ten billion percent" certainty. How interesting…'

"Well, because once I saw all of this…." Gen turned his expression to the most realistic fake smile he could produce, “The tides’ turned as they say…”

Senku didn’t say anymore, and he left the mentalist to continue his job. 

Gen was still incredibly skeptical of Senku. Why? Because, anyone could eventually reinvent iron making. It wouldn’t take a genius to do that. Even the biggest dolts he’s ever met could do it. He looked at Senku, who would spend most of his free time just staring up at the stars. He quickly saw the desire and admiration at his trained eyes. Gen knew that Senku was an idealistic dreamer, just from that expression alone. So much for being a logical bastard.

It’s not like Gen would admit that he was kind of like that, despite knowing way too much on psychology.

He suddenly felt thirsty for a cola. He quickly tried to shake that feeling off. As there was no way to make any kind of cola in this world.

There was absolutely no way for Senku to beat Tsukasa…. Not even, as Senku himself said, a single millimeter of a chance. None of the villagers he has seen could even come close in strength to even the goons that Tsukasa has awakened. Let alone, Shishio Tsukasa, The Strongest Primate Highschooler. It would have been a simple landslide victory, to take over this village, honestly. But to see them making Iron….

“I have a simple task, and that is to confirm your death beyond any doubt.” Gen and Senku talked just outside the vicinity of the “Kingdom of Science” as Senku puts it. Senku had a complete stoic expression as he faced the Mentalist.

“Tsukasa-chan! Senku is still alive!” Gen spoke in his convincing distressed tone, then magically turned back to this smug tone, “One little phrase, and your fate will be sealed. That was my initial plan…”

Gen was honestly surprised to see that Senku didn’t even once flinch at his words.

“But if you are able to finish forging weapons made of iron. There’s no telling who’d come out on top.”

The villagers celebrated their victory as the full fledged iron bar was finally made. Gen was… surprised so to speak. 

“All I found, was a tiny primitive village! It seems Senku is no more” Gen then spoke in his convincing lamenting tone, “One fraudulent report would spare your life. Does that sound good to you?”

The Mentalist has never met Senku before. He’s only heard of him from Tsukasa and everyone else. Taiju and Yuzuriha, who were the supposed best friends of this Senku only spoke of grief for him. All he heard else was science and that he’s the most intelligent man alive. They were right. He had little to no stamina. They were right. He only wants to revive everyone no matter what. They were right…

His mind went to that date on the tree.

Considering everyone he had talked to at the Empire of Might, it seemed he was the only one who’ve even seen it. Let alone be aware of it.

Gen thought to himself, if that was the sole reason why he’s even bothered to offer Senku this proposition. This chance, for him to lie in front of the Emperor of Might, Shishio Tsukasa to save the King of Science, Senku…

He wondered to himself, why did he ever bother to even consider that option.

“Actually, its music to my ears, and I’d really appreciate you doing that.” Senku chuckled. He was happy to hear that from the mentalist.

Quite frankly, Gen felt insulted by those words.

“Now, don’t go thinking I’ve got some moral compass!” Gen doesn’t. No, not even close. He learned way before, once he got to feel his way into show business that having morals was the biggest taboo of all. “I’m unbelievably shallow! Give me a life surrounded by hot girls, and I’m as happy as a clam!”

Asagiri Gen convinced himself that he was shallowest man alive. The most superficial man on earth! He only wanted anything just because he wanted to. No more, no less. Any kind of idealistic thoughts or dramatic bull that he’s heard was nothing more than light feathery fluff of words. Words that he used as a weapon to tossle even the most fearsome of human beings. 

“I couldn’t care less if you and that primate Tsukasa-chan, live or die…” He really doesn’t. Like he gave any kind of care in general to anyone but himself. He was taught in the old world that it was a survival of the fittest after all. 

At least… that's what he kept telling himself.

“I’ll be on the winning side. No matter what I have to do."

Gen thought he would say this naturally. But somehow he felt himself forcing those words and that tone out of his mouth. So to brush it off, he continued to speak as he described the pros and cons of the two kingdoms. The science, the food, the labour, the chance of reviving pretty ladies…. Well honestly, he just said that to keep up the shallow facade, harems were a lot of work after all. And with a man like Gen who doesn't even trust his own flesh and blood family, what more could he do with a group of ogling women?

He had to make sure the cute little melon girl, Suika that Gen admits has taken a liking to, wouldn't know what a harem really is. He can't hurt the poor thing now. 

Of course she brought up about ramen still being better.

On a balmy day like this, he would honestly prefer an ice cold cola.

And there goes the warrior girl ready to slit his throat open…. Gen respected her and her spirit and all, but damn she was scary as all hell.

"No. If he doesn't go back and give his report, Tsukasa will come looking for him and we'll all be screwed." Gen was once again impressed by Senku's deductions. He was right. The mentalist had become an important piece in the board whether anyone liked it or not. 

Asagiri Gen lived without seeing those blades for another day.

He raised an eyebrow at Senku's confidence. It seems if he saw what the Kingdom of Science was going to make with the iron that there was a "ten billion percent" chance that he'll join him. 

"Oh? What's that?" Gen spoke mockingly at the young scientist. As if he could impress the Mentalist, "Think you can sway me with a sword?"

Shishio Tsukasa could break any kind of iron weapons easily. What could Senku even bring to the table of negotiations that could even slightly convince Gen to join his side?

"How 'bout a Generator?"

Asagiri Gen thinks he has actually overestimated Senku.

"A GENERATOR??!!" Gen let his facade break just for a bit. He could not even comprehend that… that… what the hell was Senku doing??!! "Are you freaking kidding me?! No way you can pull that off!!"

And he was completely ignored. 

Gen was left behind, as he trembled in place. He just could not understand why Senku said that. He couldn't get it. How in the holy hell did Senku jumped from iron making to making a Generator?! A Generator! Somehow Senku was just going to make electricity out of thin air! Gen was supposed to be the magician here!

He's tried to comprehend Senku's train of thought when he heard about copper and lightning. 

It looks like the Gods have spoken because it was suddenly storming.

Everyone else except Senku thought it was a lucky break, but it seemed the scientist quickly put everyone to work. 

"The Generator will run on lightning?" He threw the question as a joke.

"No. That's ridiculous…" Senku shot it down quickly.

"Of course it is…" Gen chuckled to himself knowing he'd get that answer. 

Then Senku started mumbling something about magnets. And needing some to make the generator.

Everything else just went as a blur, Gen couldn't keep up with that and the labour he was forced to do again, and the many other things that Senku and the other three did on their own. So he just stood by and watched closely as he tried to understand they were doing. Gen was both impressed by what Senku, and he was still just as confused. He didn't understand it at first. But he felt himself get invested at this generator project. He wanted to see what the outcome would be. After all, he put in a ton of hard work on this himself. 

"This is bad! It's Magma!" The young man who Gen assumed as Senku's young apprentice, Chrome exclaimed out loud.

The mentalist turned to the bridge and saw a large burly blond haired man and behind him were two other villagers. They all bore the look of deviousness and eagerness to fight. It was obvious to him who Magma was and who were his henchmen. He immediately deduced Magma's power as well, as even Kohaku was already prepared to fight them. While everyone else shook in fear of the incoming bully. Even Senku felt nervous at the possible confrontation.

As he observed the Kingdom's reactions to his arrival, he realized they were an honest bunch. Gen could only sigh. He immediately knew what kind of person this Magma was. When he saw Senku panic, that's when he knew what to do. 

"Well this won't do. I simply can't let myself get killed because of you lot." He turned to Suika and asked her nicely, "Fetch me some flowers, Suika-chan."

"Instead of war. Flowers."

He can't have this bully and his little goons mess up his work after all. There was already too much effort and manpower poured into this. After he observed them, their posture, expressions, walking patterns, and even the expressions of others. 

This… was gonna be a piece of cake.

After he received a bunch of daisies from the little melon girl, Gen made his way into the bridge to meet up with Magma and his goons. He put on his special "light hearted, happy-go-lucky" expression. A simple bright eyed, relaxed face and a big smile… He then presented to them the flowers as if he were holding a bouquet.

"What the hell is that guy holding flowers for?!" The taller henchmen yelled in disgust, "Doesn't he know we're looking for a fight?!"

One check on Gen's list of deductions.

"Yeah!" The little midget henchmen agreed with them.

"Were you the one who made the Gods so angry?" Magma asked him jokingly, already ready to kill Gen on the spot, "Stepping up to me, takes more balls than brains…"

And another check for Magma's obvious egotistical pride.

"Oh I'm sorry…" Gen replied in his pseudo apologetic tone, as he discreetly moved the flowers in between his fingers. "But were trying to use our sorcery to stop this wretched terror from above!"

"Quit talking out of your ass!" Magma accused him. Gen didn't think the meathead had it in him. But of course he needed to do what he needed to do.

"Allow me to show you." With swift talented fingers, Gen made the flowers seemingly disappear in front of the bullies. In truth it was just tucked in behind his hands and into his sleeves. 

"They disappeared! Did you see that?!" Magma was total disbelief, and so were his goons. They shook in fear as Gen waved his arms to show that there really was nothing. To them it really looked like Gen made the flowers disappear from his hands. When in reality it was just a simple backpalm technique, that even the most amateur magicians knew how to do it.

It truly was child's play for the magician. 

Further lightning strikes had scared the goons away and Magma followed suit. 

It seemed Magma, while strong, doesn't feel as confident without his buddies following him around.

After they had finished preparing the iron rods, they dashed up to a place called Bald Mountain. Quite an unfortunate name for a mountain. 

Senku mentioned about a scientist in NASA whose name Gen can't pronounce, that managed to make powerful magnets using lightning. And that's why they're climbing up to the mountain to do the exact same thing as he did...

Gen had no idea what possessed him to climb the mountain with them but it seems his deepening curiosity needed to be sated. Now he's bare handed with no ropes climbing up the little mountain. He stopped for a bit to breathe and realized that Senku was still far behind and was already exhausted.

'Is this really the guy that Tsukasa-chan is afraid of?!' Gen just can't believe at the sight of this Senku… 'He's not even in a quarter of the way up and he's panting like a dog. He has less stamina than me!'

Kohaku noticed it as well and just unceremoniously picked him up which also shocked Gen. Then she continued hopping along the mountain side while carrying Senku like a ragdoll.

'This girl is too strong to be human!'

He had to admit, Kohaku had a better chance of even hurting Tsukasa in a fight. 

'Senku-chan's only strength is his scientific prowess. It's useful and can be powerful to even against the world's strongest… but.. would that be enough?'

Gen wasn't referring to the weapons. He just saw Senku as nothing more than a child eager to play with anything he could get his hands on. That bold statement that he was going to make a generator with an iron rod, by turning it into a magnet using lightning. Using the power of science…

There was no way. There was absolutely no way a regular teenager, even if the said teenager was a genius, could even come close to making something as absurd as that.

There was just no way.

And even if he can do it… how can a generator even beat the Strongest Primate Highschooler and his empire of muscular people? This Kohaku woman and this Magma and the strong looking villagers that he could see wouldn't even be able to come close to achieving that.

'What could a generator do?'

'Why even make a generator?!'

As they reached the top, everyone quickly went to work in setting up a lightning rod. It was difficult considering the rocky surface. 

Gen stood by and watched them along with Suika. 

Senku went to work along with Chrome and Kohaku. The Mentalist had noticed that the young scientist was still visibly exhausted from their climb, and yet, he was still trying to set up the lightning rod. Even with the risk of lightning hitting them...

Gen just can't understand it. He can't comprehend the situation in front of him right now.

'This is impossible… how can you… How can you even make one Senku-chan? There's nothing here… this lightning is gonna kill us all! How can you be so stubborn??!!'

His thoughts were quickly interrupted when he saw Kohaku dashed towards the guards who were right behind him, kicked the golden spear off their hands, and in one swift motion..

'No… there's no way… it can't work…'

Tied it with the iron rod with her hair tie, and pierced the ground.

Just in time for the lightning to go through it.

'No… no way ..'

The rod took in the intense power of the heavens and created a natural light show in front of them. Senku's face filled with delight as he witnessed the creation of his high powered magnets.

'He actually did it…' Gen felt like his mind was blown, 'The bastard actually did it…'

"Hahah… This is crazy Senku-chan…" He let out a weak flabbergasted laugh, "Starting with nothing in this barren Stone World…"

"You actually pulled it off…."

'It really is him…' Gen came to that conclusion as he saw the skies clear and the sunlight shone through the dark clouds, as if the heavens themselves were shining upon Senku. 

That's when Asagiri Gen had realized. This Senku is the mystery counter he'd been looking for. This Senku, was the one who wrote the date on the tree.

Gen finally believed in him.

"Electricity is in play. Get excited people!"

And honestly, he was pretty excited too.

"I'm curious Senku-chan…" Gen eventually managed to keep his emotions together and tried not to reveal them to everyone, "Are you making a Thermal Generator, or a Wind Turbine? I don't suppose you're going nuclear yet are we?"

Senku then turned to face Gen, gave him the most "are you serious" look and replied as he picked on his ear.

"It'll be muscle powered…"

"I figured as much…"

Gen was pretty sure that he died somewhere along the way… again.

After the intense labour at the furnace, Gen was allowed to observe the willing members of the Kingdom of Science to finish the rest of the parts. Senku gave them all directions on what to do and how to use the materials. Though, there was something that was bothering the Mentalist. Something that he had noticed from the beginning but held his tongue, and he thought of what to say. When Senku persisted on this, he needed to bring it up.

"Maybe I should just ask…" Gen spoke grabbing Senku's attention.

The Scientist's face was puffed up. His eyes were nearly closed shut, his cheeks and lips were swollen, and his voice sounded strained.

"Why do you look like Anpanman?" Gen bluntly asked without any underlying reason. Just plain curiosity.

"Lacquer poisoning…"

Later that day, the Generator was finally complete. It contained two huge flat copper wheels in which it's engraved with Senku's little icon and his name, held by two cranks made out of bamboo as well. In between contained the two high powered magnets and it stood on a large bamboo table complete with the flag of Science in the middle.

Now the conversation switched on how to operate it. It needed to be synchronized spinning otherwise it would fall apart.

So now they needed a pair of people who can work together and were energetic…

A certain pair came to everyone's mind.

But of course Kinro immediately declined. He was still obviously angry about the loss of his precious golden spear. Ginro would just follow his brother even when it was obvious he wanted to help.

So Gen stepped forward. He knew the group’s honest personalities would not do any favours for him and everyone else for that matter. It was way better for the mentalist to do what he does best.

The Mentalist kept repeating to himself that it's gone far to the point, he couldn't afford to see his precious efforts go to waste. He kept on repeating it to himself.

Asagiri Gen was only a superficial man for superficial reasons…

He wasn't doing this for Senku's sake. Not at all.

He kept telling himself that.

So he can believe that he was doing all of these… for how own gain. Not for Senku nor the Kingdom of Science…

"Wow! Electricity sure is amazing! Thanks sorcery!" Gen placed his metaphorical mask of preppiness and giddiness. He made it bombastic enough to make it infectious. "In our technological civilization… electricity lets us have all sorts of nice things!"

Gen waved his arms around and spun around and made it look like he was dancing in excitement

Kinro turned around in annoyance.

"With our new Generator…" Gen began his carefully constructed (something he made up on the fly) lie, "When can even make and repair gold and silver tipped spears! Isn't that right Senku-chan?!"

“Electrocoating is pretty damn difficult…” Senku leaned over and annoyingly whispered that fact to him. Gen was relieved that there really was something like that. He truly had no idea. “Do you even know the recipe?”

‘Do you think I’m the kind of guy who would know anything about that Senku-chan?’

"I don’t have the faintest idea!" Gen whispered back with a shrug and a lopsided smile.

"I was right about you…" Kohaku commented, as she was obviously annoyed with Gen's antics, "Every word out of your mouth really is just feathery fluff…"

‘You know it girl!’

It was only a simple persuasion trick using the one sole thing the two brothers wanted so badly. He wasn’t told about it, but it was painfully obvious since he first met them. The eager looks on Kinro's and Ginro's faces were confirmation enough that Gen's words had a powerful effect on the brothers. The mentalist didn't say anything else, and let Senku do the rest for him. 

The battle cry of the two brothers echoed throughout the dimming day as they spinned the generator with such furious intensity as if it were the last thing they had to do. Senku mentioned that it had to be this way otherwise it would never generate enough electricity.

“Kinro and Ginro are mine now…” Senku grinned in victory, “The Kingdom of Science is building up a solid workforce.”

Gen watched the brothers do their new jobs and pondered why it had it required such intense manual labour.

He did still doubted the thing, with that kind of intense work. He just had to ask…

“But are they actually generating electricity?” Gen still couldn’t believe it.

That is until Senku showed him something, it rested on a big leaf. “It’s a steam roasted bamboo fiber.”

The fiber was almost hard to see at first, but when he got a good look at it. It formed a familiar zig zag pattern.

It was almost too familiar…

But he couldn’t quite place it…

“Does it need to be that high up?” Kohaku asked as she brought the wires to Senku and he climbed onto the roof of the science shed. He joined Chrome as they placed the leaf with the fiber on the top.

“Not really…” Senku chuckled, “But I figured we might as well…”

Gen finally remembered why the fiber’s shape was so familiar to him. His eyes widened in shock as he gasped.

“I see now…” He managed to say, as he couldn’t even try to hide his surprise anymore, “He’s using that bamboo fiber to create an Edison light bulb…”

“I’ve never heard of a bulb of light…” Suika wondered but her question fell on deaf ears as Gen just gaped at Senku…

Memories of many, many, many, many lights flashed before his eyes. The stage, the audience, the props, the curtains, even the stage hands, his manager, the volunteers, the tricks, the… everything…

“Chrome…” Senku began, “Does the night scare you?”

Gen remembered when the stage went dark to prepare himself and the audience for what’s to come. He remembered to always take a deep breath and put on his best smile and stage presence to everyone on the show. So that even the cameraman, even the cleaning crew… would get excited for his performance…

“Well yeah… because everything gets dark…” Chrome replied the obvious answer, “Why’d you ask?”

“Back in my day, there was no darkness…”

Much later after his amazingly successful performance on stage, he became a guest on a popular nighttime TV show. His presence alone gave him a standing ovation. The studio lights shone upon him, while it was blazing hot, he accepted the lights of his popularity happily as if it were his best friend. The host was happy to have him and praised his success in his young age. He humbly accepted those kind words and thanked the host back. He was even offered a bottle of cola as they chatted happily about his budding career. Of course Gen had his whole speech prepared, for this occasion. But nonetheless, he can't help but admire the shine of the lights on the cola bottle in front of him. He drank it happily.

“With old man Edison’s incandescent light bulb, humanity beat back the night. Conquering all 24 hours of the day.”

The spotlights moved to the center of the stage and shone on the young budding magician in the center. The host would enthusiastically introduce Asagiri Gen for everyone and the audience live or even at their homes watching him on the television cheered for him. Those lights were the signal for him. For him to finally do what he does best. To dazzle the audience with his mentalist abilities combined with amazing magical tricks.The hot yet dazzling lights followed the magician as he, with a flick of a wrist and the proper tone of voice, made the audience be awed by his carefully crafted and practiced tricks. He then waved his arm and spoke to the audience asking for an eager volunteer to come on stage. He then lets the spotlight move to a young woman he had picked and let her come and meet him personally. She was thrilled. But he did not know her at all. And yet, with his mentalist training that he painstakingly gained throughout his life, he managed to wow her even more. And with her, the whole audience was amazed.

“Through the power of science, mankind defeated the darkness…”

Asagiri Gen knew where the swords were inserted and easily let them slip around his body. He had carefully practiced this along with his fellow assistants. Everything was going according to plan. Everyone loved him and his tricks. He was not only an amazing magician but he was also a highly skilled mentalist. He worked hard day and night to master his craft. He always let out a humble speech for it, but in truth he was proud and happy for everything he had gained for himself. The audience’s reactions were a wonderful confirmation of his skills. 

“And now we’re gonna do it again…”

As Gen came out of the box, obviously unschated by the trick, he basked in the lights of the stage and the cheers of the audience.

Then everything went dark. He became immobile, and eventually, like everyone else who were petrified that fateful day, he went into a long deep sleep.

“For the first time in 3700 years… The Flame of Science will burn!”

It was brief, a second, a single moment… But it was there. It was indeed there. The light. The light that became Asagiri Gen’s best friend for most of his life and career. The light that shone on him. The light that showed his successes and his failures. The light that shone on him, his props, the curtains, his assistants, the volunteers, the guests… The light that shone on the bottle of cola. The light that was the last thing he saw before the seemingly eternal darkness...

One of the greatest byproducts of electricity. 

The “Flame of Science”. 

The Light of Science. 

The light of civilization… 

Artificial Lighting…

And it only lasted for a brief moment in time.

But to Gen and everyone else who witnessed that moment. It felt like it was an eternity…

He could only stare in awe. Just like how the natural light shone upon Senku as he grabbed the magnet he crafted earlier.

The artificial light that shone upon this young scientist, was far stronger and brighter than what the heavens did for him. 

Gen felt like… like… like he was an audience from his shows. He gazed at the man in front of him as if he was the performer on stage.

But instead of a skillfully carefully crafted trick that was practiced for years. 

It was a culmination of two million years of scientific knowledge. Displayed in front of him and to the entire world by a young man two years younger than he was.

‘He can do it…’ 

‘He really can do it.’

‘Oh my god… He will do it…’

For the first time in three thousand seven hundred and thirty eight years of his life…

Asagiri Gen had faith in Senku.

[ameftowriter]

Trust in the Shallow Alliance (Dr. Stone fanfic)

Part 3 is up and raring to go YAY! This is basically episode 10 in Gen’s POV. RIP Gen XD

Summary: The whole time, ever since he was awakened, he kept dreaming of it, wanting it. He knew it was bad for him. He knew it was nothing but badly packaged sugar water. He knew it was… it was the thing he desired for himself the most. He could live without it, definitely. But he knew even the most stoic of people need even the little pleasures in life in order to actually keep on going.

Gen only mentioned it once. It was supposed to be a lie, but in reality it was the whole truth.

Ao3 | ffnet

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 (This!) | Part 4 ???

Asagiri Gen leaned against the tree as he let the exhaustion of the day hit him. He then slid downwards and sat on the soft ground.

He had just witnessed, what possibly was the most incredible thing he has ever seen in his life. The only thing comparable to it, was when he first saw that date carved onto a tree.

It's there… He got it. He got the confirmation he needed.

Senku… this Senku, because of his superhuman grasp on all kinds of sciences, that brought intense fear and paranoia to the Strongest Primate Highschooler, Shishio Tsukasa. He finally truly understood why he was feared so much.

And yet… he could not help but feel… relieved.

Was it because he finally found the man that carved that date?

Was it because he finally believed in Senku?

Or was it because… he finally had faith in Senku…

Faith… in Senku...

“Man.. electricity in the stone age… Hard to believe…” He spoke out loud as he tried to settle these conflicting feelings in him “Right? Tsukasa-chan?”

Did Asagri Gen actually had faith in someone else besides him? Did he actually believe that Senku could actually do what he set out to do? Did he really feel like he could trust Senku…

He put on a marvelous facade to everyone in the Empire of Might that he was an avid supporter of Tsukasa’s ideals.

But even from day one, he knew.

He knew Tsukasa had to be taken down, before he unknowingly brings humanity to ruin. To a point where the petrification would have been a better death sentence. He knew and understood Tsukasa's reasoning but at the same time he realized that it was the craziest thing ever! Culling the adults?! Everyone will turn into an adult one day! Getting rid of the corrupt? Anyone, no matter who they are, young or old, everyone was capable of corruption. If he himself wasn't a good example of that, he'd want to meet them!

But there was no one. No one powerful enough to even stand against Tsukasa. He heard that only Taiju could even take his hits and not pass out due to the force. But that was no comparison.

Senku had little to no stamina. Even Suika, the melon girl had more stamina and strength than him.

And yet… the moment he saw that light. That Flame of Science…

Lack of stamina or not…

Senku is…

Senku...

He gulped down as he felt his cravings for an ice cold cola resurface again.

‘Do you think… he could…’

Gen raised his head as he heard the members of the Kingdom of Science climb up to the Science shed, possibly to retire for the night.

He stood up and followed them to the shed.

But mid way he stopped himself.

It just hit him.

He just unconsciously followed Senku and his friends. He just let himself fall prey to Senku's commands. He just let himself become part of that little group. He just let himself already side with the Kingdom of Science.

Without thinking, he just let himself betray Shishio Tsukasa and the Empire of Might right then and there…

Asagiri Gen could not believe what he just did.

He froze where he stood and let the reality of the situation sink in.

He hasn't even had time to comprehend what happened earlier.

That blinding light…

Senku...

"That means Gen is a bad guy too!" Suika's terrified voice echoed, which got the mentalist's attention.

"Ah… so they're talking about me… and my allegiance" Gen spoke softly to himself. There was something about the little innocent melon girl calling him a bad guy that really stung something within Gen.

"But isn’t Gen the one who saved us from Magma! Then he’s a good guy!" Suika argued. She obviously sounded conflicted.

"Suika-chan. You are so cute and so naive…" Gen lamented to himself, "Oh, how I wish I could…"

"He’s honestly not a good guy or a bad guy." He then heard Senku spoke those words. He felt… touched.

“He’s nothing but a rat, who’s only in it for himself.” Kohaku added bitterly. Gen sighed, as he turned away from the shed and walked around the “Kingdom” and found himself staring at the furnace.

“It actually doesn't matter to me if he's good or bad…" Gen smiled to himself as he heard Senku say that, "At the end of the day, we need him to be an ally of the Kingdom of Science. We’ll have him give a bogus report to Tsukasa, saying that “Senku is definitely dead.” That's the only possible hope we have of winning this."

Gen wondered why he felt so heartbroken when he heard that from him.

'So he only saw me as an opportunity?' Gen bit his lip. But quickly shook his head, 'No… that's understandable… I mean… I… I really don't care if he or Tsukasa lived or died…. Right?'

'Right… I did say that…'

"Listen up Gen!” His attention was instantly grabbed by Chrome who yelled out to him from the shed, “I know you saw the electricity! The light! That’s what badass science at work looks like!”

‘Is Chrome-chan trying to convince me to join their side?’

“So why care about who wins? Why even give a crap whether Senku or Tsukasa has the edge?” Chrome continued his empassioned speech, “‘Cause the Kingdom of Science is obviously the side that’s more fun!”

If Gen could laugh right now he could. Hearing those words from Chrome made him remember something. Something in his past, that he thought he had let go many years ago.  But… he can't just…

“Oh? Is that so? You are the passionate type.” Gen turned around and gave Chrome his realistic fake smile at him and even shrugged his shoulders, “Too bad for you, I don’t really care about that."

‘That's right… I really don't…’

"I'm probably the most superficial man on earth!"

'That's the truth… I really am only in it for myself. Yes… definitely… I am a shallow man…'

"All I care about is what's beneficial to me!"

Gen turned back and walked away. He could hear Kohaku growling at him.  At least in some consolation that he finally managed to make Kohaku believe in his lies.

The lies that he made himself believe in it…

They say that if you tell yourself something many times that you eventually believe in it. A person can tell themselves that they are happy and eventually, for no reason they are happy. A person can convince themselves they're the worst of the worst and they become the worst.

After all there's a grain of truth within every lie in order to make it believable.

That's how Gen managed to fit in the world of showbiz. A little compliment there, a dash of praise, and combined with some sweet words was enough for him to get anyone dancing at the palm of his hand. He was so good at it. He knew how most people think. Mentalism was almost like mind reading except without the actual psychic powers part.

Gen walked to the brand new generator that was made with everyone's effort. He had a role in it too. He was proud of it.

He was proud of the electricity it produced….

His thoughts went back to the light again.

That light that shone brighter than the sun…

The light... that shone upon Senku.

He then remembered why he was here in the first place. What he was sent to do. What side he was already supposed to be on. What he had to do. When he saw that date…

That date that he believed in.

That date that he put faith in.

That date that he trusted…

Trust…

He let his hand touch the copper disc and spun it around mindlessly… he wondered to himself, for tomorrow… if he could---

The next thing he knew was someone threw a powerful punch at his cheek.

The punch was powerful enough to send him off his feet. He tried to gain back footing but the attacker was relentless. Another punch at his face, then at his gut, then an uppercut, then another one to push him down to the ground. It was too dark, but he could see the silhouette of a familiar burly man and with him a midget and another skinny man. Then he saw the burly man raise up a spear with an obvious full intent to impale him with.

"Who….." He already knew who they were… it made sense…

"Why…?" He hopes that he hits the right spot. He came prepared after all. His past experiences have taught him to be prepared for a scenario like this.

But that doesn't mean it still hurts like hell.

Gen swore internally as he felt the spear pierce his fake blood bag. He then let his arm slump on the side as he pretended to be fatally impaled. He contorted his face to a horrified expression. He's already practiced it many times. If his memory serves, he has only done it once before...

"What was that noise?" If Gen could sigh in relief he could, but for now he needed to stay still and remain completely immobile. But was he so glad to hear Kohaku's voice.

Her voice had prompted his attackers to quickly bail out leaving Gen still frozen in his place. He needed to make them believe he was dead. That also meant making Kohaku and the others believe he was. Just for a few more minutes…

He then heard the collective gasps of the Science gang as he dubbed it.

He was so glad to know they’re here…

He wondered why he was…

“Holy crap, what happened here?!” Chrome asked worriedly as he leaned forward to take a look closer.

‘I don’t know Chrome-chan… What can you guess with a long ass spear poking out of my stomach!’

“Dammit…” Kohaku swore as she figured out what had happened, “Looks like he died instantly…”

“This is horrible!” Suika was in tears.

‘Good… that should be enough to make it convincing. Now, if they could all just walk away so I can---’

“Hang on a second!” Senku finally caught up to the two and held on to the spear.

‘Senku-chan! Wait! No!’

He pulled the spear out slowly revealing that it did not pierce Gen at all, rather it was one of his fake blood bags that he placed underneath his clothes to protect himself before he came to the village beforehand.

“He protected himself with fake blood bags…” Senku concluded as he untied the makeshift belt Gen had and even his undershirt. It revealed all the hard work he did to put on himself before he arrived in the village.

Gen just hoped his attacker didn't hear them, he really wanted to make sure they thought that they did kill him. So he could escape in peace.

No one believed in him anyway. Gen was first and foremost a shallow man who was only in it for himself. He kept that image as much as he could as a celebrity. He wanted to make sure that no one would try to exploit him. He was definitely not a naive, bright eyed brat. For as long as he knew everyone he has ever met in his life had selfish reasons for doing things. Hell, even the science gang had their own personal reasons for being here. Why else would they take advantage of his hard work and everyone in the village for that matter.

“He’s got these things all over his body!” Suika felt relieved and impressed by Gen’s ingenuity.

“This is really freakin’ bad!” Chrome was very impressed as well, “I bet he did this before he even came to the village, just in case.”

‘Why are they… impressed by this… don’t they realize… what that meant….?’

“Tch, that’s pretty impressive Gen!” Even Senku was amazed, “You really are a magician to your core. Not to mention a showman.”

‘Senku-chan… everyone…’

If Gen could laugh right now, he could. Unfortunately the injuries he sustained would make it too difficult for him to do so. But in a rare moment, so rare that he doesn’t remember when he has ever done it.

He loudly breathed out a sigh of relief, which surprised everyone.

“Gen!” Suika was close to tears as she approached the magician closer, “You’re awake! Suika is so glad you’re okay!”

“Thank goodness those bad bags you made saved you!” Chrome beamed at Gen, “It would have been really bad if you died, you know!”

‘They’re… relieved that I’m alive…?’

“That was truly an insane thing you did… Mentalist. And that's a compliment.” Senku smugly said as he mentioned the very title that Gen just offhandedly suggested before. It earned him a weak smile from the mentalist himself.

Gen was lifted up by Kohaku, albeit she wasn't the most gentle of people out there, but he did need to get treated, and she was the only one strong enough to carry him. She carried him to the Science shed and proposed to throw him there. Senku quickly stopped her on that idea and had him and Chrome gently carry him up with a rope. It was still painful for him, especially since he kept being bumped into the ladder. But Gen thought it was way better than being thrown up like a sack by Kohaku.

If Gen could protest to Senku and the rest of the team he could. Especially since they had to strip him of all of his clothes, minus his underwear, just to treat his injuries. It was a bit humiliating for him to be exposed like this but the pain of nearly getting killed took over most of this feeling and most of his energy to even try to speak.

Senku then started cleaning his wounds and placed some leaves with some ground up…. Whatever the hell it was on his wounds. It stung like hell. Gen, of course vocalized them but it was mostly ignored. Also Kohaku had to hold him down when it became so unbearable that his body shook and contort from the pain. Everything in him hurts so much that he couldn't focus on anything.

From what it felt like forever, it was finally done. They placed a blanket over him and let Gen rest.

Gen was still grunting and hissing from the pain of his injuries, but was so relieved that they were done.

He could hear them talking. Then he heard Suika jump off from the shed declaring that she was going to investigate.

Gen never wanted to stop someone in his life until now. He didn't want poor little Suika to put herself in danger. Especially with what the brute did to him. But with everything in him literally hurting it was way too much for him to even move his body.

“Su--Suika-chan…” Gen managed to let the words out of his mouth. “No---”

“Let her be Gen.” Senku scolded him, “Just rest, Suika can take care of herself.”

Gen was just dumbfounded. How can he, or anyone with common sense for that matter, could just say that. Suika was like… what he could estimate was like 8 years old or something. How could Senku let a little girl go like that to investigate his attempted murder. If he could strangle Senku right now, he could.

But then, pain took over Gen's senses and he passed out.

Gen woke up the next day to the sound of everyone moving around him. He felt his injuries hurt less, which was good, but it wasn't good enough for him to move much without still screaming in pain. He slightly tilted his head to the side to see Senku rummaging through his bag and pulled out from what he can tell is a toothbrush. He wondered at first how Senku could do that, then he realized that Senku was a scientist and making even the bare basic toothpaste shouldn't be too hard for him.

Senku heard him stir and turned to see Gen looking at him.

"Ah, good morning Mentalist." There goes Senku using that title again, "Nice to see you're alive and well."

Gen weakly rolled his eyes.

"Feeling better, Gen?" He heard Chrome approach him with concern still etched in the young boy's face. It's… made Gen actually well happy… as strange of a feeling as it is. "You got socked in real bad last night. Senku managed to whip up something to treat those bad injuries of yours. I hope you feel better soon okay?"

'Chrome-chan cares about me? Even after what I said to him….?'

"Chrome, I'm heading out to brush my teeth." Senku plainly announced as he walked out of the Science shed, "Change some of Gen’s bandages for me will you?

“Sure…”

This time Gen didn't protest when Chrome carefully peeled off the bandages and cleaned them and replaced them with fresh ones. He was way more gentle than Senku ever was, and he was incredibly thankful for it. Gen didn’t say anything else to Chrome though, he was still taken aback by his words.

By the time Chrome was done they could hear Suika running back announcing that she has big news.

Gen sighed in relief to know that Suika was okay. He closed his eyes as if he was asleep so he could hear the news.

“I figured out who attacked Gen last night!!” Suika proclaimed out loud, “I know who killed him!!”

“Uh, You know he’s not dead…” Kohaku commented which made Gen giggle silently.

“Well, so who was it?” Senku asked her.

“It was Magma!” Suika cried out, “Magma was the one who did it!”

Gen already knew it was Magma. The brute who scampered off when he saw him perform his little novice level sleight of hand magic trick. Suika continued to tell everyone what she overheard. He found out that his overall goal was to kill Kohaku, because apparently she was so strong that it must be sorcery, and not real physical strength. He was even willing to let her and her sister, Ruri, become his women if she begged for mercy.

“I see…”Kohaku concluded, “When Magma came over here, Gen made those flowers vanish right before his eyes. I imagine from his perspective, Gen has to be the mysterious foreign sorcerer that I tried to bring into the village.”

He knew that this village of primitives was incredibly averse to any kind of  unexplainable scientific advancement. He remembered some of the villagers calling ramen a delicious sorcery.

He cursed internally for forgetting that there are people who are adverse to the unexplainable.

“So Magma tried to murder Gen, because he mistook him for Senku?” After hearing those words from Chrome, Gen snapped his eyes open.

“What?! That ape, Magma mistook me for Senku-chan, and that’s why he attacked me?! For the love of…” Gen winced in pain when he tried to sit up, so he gave up on that and just remained lying down. “Shit… it still hurts… I can’t move around like this…”

Gen just couldn’t believe it. Inadvertently, he saved Senku’s ass. he wasn’t even planning on it. He was just only contemplating his options when he was suddenly attacked! It was a huge case of mistaken identity. He was nearly killed because Magma mistook him for Senku! He was still considering joining Senku’s side. But now, he saved Senku, which indirectly makes him a traitor to the Empire of Might and an ally to the Kingdom of Science!

This was frustrating him!

And yet, he couldn’t understand why he felt so relieved…

‘I saved him…. I saved Senku-chan…’

“Got a question for ya, Kohaku…” Hearing Senku’s voice got his attention, “Why would Magma be looking for an opportunity to kill you?”

“It’s probably because--- no It’s definitely because of the Grand Bout.”

Kohaku went on to explain their tradition of having the next village chief, which turned out to be a fighting tournament called the Grand Bout. Gen thought that it was a little unfair that only those who are physically strong could be the next village chief. the thought of Magma being a leader of something or anyone for that matter, bothered the hell out of him.  But when Kohaku continued her story, it made much more sense. Especially her, the Chief’s daughter, was living and and working with sorcerers and outsiders like him and Senku. And how Magma wanted her dead.

Kohaku only wanted to save her sister who was dying of a mysterious illness...

‘Heh… a bunch of misfits…’

Gen shook away an old memory of him being outcasted by society.

He did listen to the rest of the conversation to gain more material for him to use for later. He heard them planning what to do on the Grand Bout and to bring in additional fighters. Even though he knew Kinro and Ginro were prime candidates, and he knew they were already brought in to the Kingdom of Science because of him.

Gen chuckled as he let himself sleep.

The next time he woke up, he heard grunting and shouting noises from outside, he recognized them to be Kinro, Ginro, and Kohaku. He figured out she was training them in order to compete for the Grand Bout which was happening in a month. He saw Chrome sitting by the entrance of the shed. He then heard Kohaku apologize to him, and said how she preferred to train Chrome to defeat Magma but the time limit was too short for them.

Then came Senku joining in throwing a hard sarcastic remark about Chrome having a crush on Ruri.

‘Ah, so Chrome-chan has a crush on this Ruri. That would make sense, considering the situation.’  

“If we can create something with science, that lets her live a long, happy life, that sounds good to me.” Chrome spoke with deep determination. Gen couldn’t help but smile. “Because above all else, I’m a genius scientist, aren't I?”

‘Haha…. Chrome-chan is so passionate. It's almost infectious.’

Gen couldn’t remember the last time he felt that much passion in anyone. Even to him. No, he was wrong. He does remember being passionate about magic and in extension, mentalism… Just hearing Chrome’s words was so refreshing to him…

“So you’re finally changing job titles from sorcerer to scientist, huh?” Senku chuckled. He sounded like he was proud of him too.

“Yup! I’m not a sorcerer anymore!”

“Then let's leave the Grand Bout stuff to the battle team, and while you and I, on the science team, get to work on a sulfa drug.”

“Hell yeah!

‘Sulfa drugs?’ Gen thought to himself, ‘Senku-chan and the others are making a sulfa drug?’

The mentalist doesn’t know much about medicine in general, but even he knew that a lot of drugs are manufactured in a factory and it takes a lot of complicated materials and chemistry. He kinda doubted that they could make one that was comparable to the modern era…

But then again… this was Senku…

His mind wandered to that blinding light again...

Gen gulped his own saliva, he was thinking of that bottle of cola again…

Later that night, the gang sans Kinro and Ginro huddled up together at the science shed as they finished changing Gen’s leaves and bandages again. Suika had a warm damp towel on his head to have him cool off.

“I’m planning on participating in the Grand Bout '' Kohaku declared, “The two brothers and I will be the Kingdom of Science team. We’ll do whatever it takes to keep Magma from winning…”

“Sounds good.” Chrome nodded but when he looked at Gen who was now panting from the pain he grew more worried, “Is he all right? He looks way worse….”

It was because whatever medicine that was placed on Gen’s injuries actually stung a lot. He actually felt much better. Better enough to at least stand….

“I think he’ll be fine.” Kohaku reassured him, “But his recovery’s gonna take longer than we thought…”

“Then that means…”

“Yeah…” Senku finished the conversation, but from his voice, he didn’t sound scared, rather he sounded ready for what’s to come. “It won’t be long before Tsukasa comes around lookin’ for me, and kills me for real."

Gen… was not gonna have any of that. No… he can't let that vicious primate go and kill Senku and the rest of the village like that.

He knew they did nothing wrong. They only wanted to cure a girl with an unknown illness and stop a power hungry madman from ruining their home.

He knew Senku…. Senku was… was…

Gen wants to do something about it…

Much later as everyone retired from the night, Gen was lying sideways, pretending to be asleep, and he kept quiet just long enough to hear Chrome snore. It was his indication that he and Senku were the only ones left awake.

If it wasn’t for the pain of his injuries, Gen would have been shaking from his own nerves.

There was one thing. One thing left he needed to assure that Senku was one to be trusted. Or rather, it was more, it was something he wanted to know.

The whole time, ever since he was awakened, he kept dreaming of it, wanting it. He knew it was bad for him. He knew it was nothing but badly packaged sugar water. He knew it was… it was the thing he desired for himself the most. He could live without it, definitely. But he knew even the most stoic of people need even the little pleasures in life in order to actually keep on going.

Gen only mentioned it once. It was supposed to be a lie, but in reality it was the whole truth.

“Senku… Senku-chan…” He weakly said, as he hoped to get the scientist’s attention. “Senku-chan… can you do it….”

He then felt Senku move and let his body lean closer to the injured man to hear what he had to say…

“Even in this stone world…Could you make one for me?" Gen vocalized his strong desire for one, “Just… One… Cola…”

A bottle of cola… it was one of the few things he indulged himself with when he was still a celebrity back in the modern time. After a show, it was the first thing he requested. His manager knew to leave one in his dressing room. He always has a case of it at his apartment. He would always request it at bars, making them think he was drinking, when in reality he hated alcohol. Even before he became a celebrity, it was something he desired as a child. He celebrated every small victory with a bottle. His parents banned him from drinking it saying its unhealthy and bad for a budding trophy like him. It made him want it more.

An ice cold bottle of cola….

“Yeah. For sure… nobody else can…” Senku responded so casually as he pulled back and sat to where he was before.

It was hard for Gen to believe, but at the same time. He did believe. He had faith in him. He trusted Senku to do this for him.

Gen chuckled as he accepted the truth in front of him.

“Why…” he asked Senku, while he still remained on his side, not looking at Senku “Why would you agree to do this?”

The mentalist panted a bit, “Why agree to set aside some time to actually make some cola for me… You have that… sulfa drug to do…”

“So you heard that huh..” Senku chuckled but he didn’t seem shocked or wavered, “Well why not? I've always wanted to try it.”

Gen actually laughed heartily as much as his injuries let him. He then winced in pain again.

“Senku-chan…” He began again as the pain subsided, “Why… Why do you trust me?”

He was an outsider, even amongst the Kingdom of Science. They didn’t even know each other until just recently. The only reason Senku even knew of his name was through one of his “trashy” books as he said before. Gen was a nobody to Senku. And yet, he was pulled to do manual labour, and was forced…. No… he stayed and watched what they did to the result of that labour. He made it clear what his intentions were, and that in general he was still a danger to Senku. He could still disappear and run back to Tsukasa and tell him that he’s alive. He could still do that…

Asagiri Gen doesn’t want to do that.

But even so, he was a shallow man. He was not to be trusted. He said he could do it. He could still do it.

“Because…” Senku began, “For a dumbass like you, who lies through the skin of his teeth. Why bother helping me?”

“Huh?” Gen doesn’t understand what the scientist is saying.

“If you really were intent on reporting my existence to Tsukasa, you didn’t need to come here and introduce yourself to me or anyone in the village.” Senku concluded, “Which means, superficial reasons or not, you wanted something. Even if it is a silly bottle of cola, you still went here and made yourself known.”

Gen was speechless. Not because of the pain, but because… Senku found out…

“You were that amazed huh?” He could almost just see Senku’s trademark smirk as he said this, “When I made that electricity…”

Gen trembled ever so slightly, as a magician he was trained to always be calm. To be steady… but this…

“You said it yourself, you wanted to be on the winning side.” Senku kept on adding evidence, “Am I wrong?”

Gen laughed again, as much as his injured body could take.

“Senku-chan….” Gen kept on laughing and wincing at the same time, “You’re azy-cray!!”

It only earned him an approving grunt from the scientist.

And with that, Gen went to sleep. This was the most peaceful sleep he’s ever had since breaking out of the stone…

The next day, he was shaken awake by Senku. It was still dawn, according to the scientist at least. He didn’t doubt it, after all he figured out that Senku was the mystery counter.

Senku had taken his bandages and leaves off his body and cleaned it to make sure there was no evidence of him getting treated. Gen felt much better and could move better now without screaming in pain. But even so putting on his multi layered outfit took a while and Senku had to help him. They quietly moved out of the shed as they didn’t want to disturb, sleeping beauty Chrome. He was impressed by the young boy’s ability to just sleep through almost anything.

Senku then climbed down the ladder all the way down. And while it still hurt, Gen followed suit.

This was it.

This was definitely it.

The two quickly understood what needs to be done. They both knew doing it this way, will cover up Gen’s actions making him look superficial to the villagers. To the Empire, as if the villagers were just muscle headed brutes, who attacked him for investigating.

Gen had to go back to the Empire of Might to give his report to Tsukasa that… Senku is dead.

Senku is dead.

Yes, he had to lie to him and his people, that Senku, the biggest threat to the Empire, the King of Science, was dead.

But… Gen then started to doubt, ‘What if they don’t believe me… What if---’

Senku gave Gen a shove. It wasn’t hard, but it still hurt…

“Go on mentalist.” Senku chuckled as he picked his ear, “We don’t have all day. Go!”

Gen laughed once again. It looks like Senku did trust him after all. And in turn, he trusted Senku.

“Asshole…” He turned back and gave Senku a devious smile.

Asagiri Gen then moved one foot, and quickly moved forward to another, and another, until his effort to move turned a full blown run.

He was laughing. He kept on laughing as he kept running through the forest. His trip from the Empire to the Kingdom lasted more than two days, by foot. But now, he’s running. He’s running full speed ahead back to the Empire. He had to do this. He needed to keep running, even when every bit of his body ached like hell, even when he was out of breath. He kept on running, and running, and running…

Gen had never laughed so much in his entire life.

He then tripped over a big root that he didn’t notice. He welcomed it, he welcomed the unfortunate faceplant on the dirt. This would help him. This would help him sell his disguise.

“What the hell am I doing?!” Gen screamed to himself as he quickly picked himself up and continued running.

He didn’t need an answer to that. He damn well knew why he was doing this. He knew….

The faceplant helped in making sure his face was not a face of laughter and acceptance. Instead his face needed to be etched with anger and fear. It was the perfect expression to sell his lie.

After what seemed like forever, Gen had finally arrived at the Empire of Might. He bolted straight to Tsukasa’s lair, only to be greeted by their resident scout and bowman.

An arrow landed next to him, narrowly missing his foot.

“Wait! Tsukasa-chan! It’s me!!” Gen screamed in desperation. His exhausted state helped in this act.

When he realized it was indeed Gen, he let him inside, so he could finally talk to Tsukasa.

“I found a village.” Gen panted heavily as he delivered his report, “Full of primitives…”

“They attacked me!” He coughed a little as he tried to catch his breath, “And I ended up getting a little banged up in the process.”

That was a complete lie. Anyone with eyes could see that he wasn’t just a "little" banged up. But that wasn’t the point Gen was making. He said that in order to make people think less of his injuries, that it wasn’t relevant to the report.

He then raised his head to meet the eyes of the man that could kill him with his bare hands.

“But, I did manage to find out about Senku-chan!” And that's where he got everyone’s attention. Especially Tsukasa.

Gen remembered what Senku promised to him. That bottle of cola…

Senku didn't need to make it for him. He really didn't need to. But no one needed to know that. That light, that date, those were enough to convince him. Nothing else mattered.

Senku… won him over already.

Even if the Scientist didn't fully realize what had happened, he had already claimed a Mentalist in his Kingdom of Science.

The Empire of Might lost Asagiri Gen.

Gen finally ceased panting as he continued.

“Senku… was gone. No trace of him anywhere!” The magician mentalist spoke those words as the tension within the lair had ceased, “There’s no doubt! He’s definitely not alive!”

The rest of the Empire cheered as they were greatly relieved to hear that from him. They were happy that the biggest threat to Tsukasa and his empire was definitely gone, there was no hide nor hair of him anywhere. They approached Gen and some gave him a pat on the back.

His injuries still hurt.

Gen managed to shake them off, saying that he needed to recover from that incredibly long run through the forest. And they let him, as Tsukasa summoned the ones who could give him some treatment.

When he was finally alone, Gen sat on a flat rock, and looked up to the sky. He could see the sunlight coming through the trees and let its warmth envelop his body.

But even then, this light was still nothing compared to the light that Senku made.

The Flame of Science.

And the man who created it.

The man he now trusted, to make that bottle of cola…

“Man, this isn’t worth all the trouble…” Gen sighed happily as he recalled those memories, “For just one bottle of cola?”

“I hope it’s ice cold. That’s the very least he could do…”

Asagiri Gen, wouldn’t want to miss his bottle of cola.

And he's now looking forward to drinking one, pretty soon.

[ameftowriter]

5738 A.D. 4,1 (UPDATED) (Dr. Stone fanfic)

From here: https://ameftowriter.tumblr.com/post/188742703889/5738-ad-41-dr-stone-fanfic

This is the updated version of the fic above. After watching Episode 22 I had to change this a bit and edited it better to make sure it flowed smoothly. Also I may plan on putting more chapters but I’ll have to see to that later.

Anyway, I love Episode 22 so much and it touched my heart so! I have two more fics incoming that I posted along with this, so that will be incoming soon.

Ao3 | ffnet

Part 1 (This!) | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 ???

Gen still has a hard time taking everything in. Was it really the year 5739? The mentalist just couldn’t wrap his head around it. On top of it all, those statues. So many statues.

They were people, turned to stone.

He realized that something terrible has happened and it affected every human being on earth.

He was affected too, considering the position he woke up from. The last thing he remembered was that he had just finished his act. Hearing the cheers and applause from a delighted audience, that's when everything went dark.

And the next thing he knew was a bright light, and faced an open ocean.

He wondered if this was a prank, he’s seen a lot of celebrity prank shows, to be a victim of that disgusted him. He was a mentalist, being subjected to a prank like this defies his very image. He grumbled at the thought of it as he stood up from his position.

That is until he heard a deep commanding voice from the background.

“Welcome to the year 5739 AD”

He felt cold sweat drip off his currently naked body. He turned to recognize the man who broke him out of the dark stone prison. It was Shishio Tsukasa… the strongest primate high schooler.

He heard him say something about making a choice. That him and those statues behind him were selectively chosen for his new world…

Gen looked up and just could not believe what he saw...

He was then given some clothes to wear, made by their resident tailor named Yuzuriha. He didn’t know who she was, but was grateful for her.

It was… clothes he supposes. It was a tunic of sorts that reached up to his knees. Made of animal skin. He wanted to ask for a T-Shirt and Jeans. Then again… if it really was year 5739, and everyone was petrified…

He nearly stumbled on a statue lying around. He gained back his footing and turned to see what tripped him. His eyes widened to see that it was his manager.

Memories of the man flooded his head. When he first started, he would try to use him, booking his shows back to back, expecting him to nearly give up his own education, family life, and his private life for his acts.  He tried to milk so much money from him, Gen was sure it was borderline illegal. But eventually, he found a weakness to the man and he became an easy target for Gen’s manipulation. Sometimes he used him as a guinea pig for any new acts he had thought of. He nearly had him prance around the streets naked once as a form of revenge.

But if it wasn’t for him, he wouldn’t have become this popular and famous…

He wouldn’t have had the money to…

Tsukasa shattered the manager’s head beneath his feet.

Gen nearly jumped back at the sudden destruction in front of him.

“I apologize for startling you.” Tsukasa spoke up, “I remember this man once, he was your manager yes?”

Gen could only nod.

“He tried to charm me to having you and I do more shows together, he treated us as if were freaks in a carnival. I simply cannot stand adults like that…”

It didn’t take a mentalist to know that every word he spoke dripped of hatred and loathing. Gen looked at the remains of the destroyed statue, and felt his stomach churn.

He hated his manager yes, but…

For someone to just mercilessly destroy that…

They had arrived at the Empire of Might as Tsukasa had called it. Gen could only look at it with awe as he saw various forms of treehouses and caves formed from the mountain. But most of all, he saw that almost every man and even women around him were muscular and looked like they would be able to carry him like he was a feather.

Then Gen met the said tailor, Yuzuriha, and the big oaf that he was pretty sure was her boyfriend, Taiju.

They were friendly and chipper. Gen was surprised to see this. After all it's been about 4000 years and everything around them is gone. For them to act this way.

Well… he wouldn't verbalize it without any sort of evidence. But to him it seemed to be just an act.

He wondered why.

Gen thanked her for the clothes. But wonders if he could ask her for something more… sophisticated. Something that suits his style.

Tsukasa agreed, he saw Gen as a valuable member of the Empire, but he also needed him for a mission.

Yuzuriha agreed to do it without any questions asked.

Gen missed paper and pencil or any kind of writing instruments. But it seemed that the girl understood his directions nonetheless.

Now, he’s curious as to why they're acting this way.

While they waited for his new outfit, Tsukasa then began explaining to him his goals. Goals of creating a new and better world without the adults who tainted it. Gen listened to him intently, and felt himself get pulled into Tsukasa’s ideals. He knew what he meant and fully understood his words and reasonings. After all, he made a living using and exploiting the naivete and idiocy of the adults that ruled the earth. He knew and understood the pain and suffering Tsukasa has mentioned. He had experienced it himself as young as he was. And yet the scene of his manager being crushed underneath Tsukasa’s feet kept playing over and over his head….

Sometimes Gen wondered if that's what kept him from being swayed by Tsukasa's words…

But at this moment he was afraid. Very afraid for his life. He was reborn into this "Stone World" and was spared from a fate worse than death. To even show any resistance to Tsukasa or any of his people would equal his untimely demise.

So he as it was many years ago, put on his mask and showed his agreement to the man's ideals and goals. Even showed support and gave suggestions on who to pick and revive. The mentalist was a master of weaving words into the most believable of sentences, right down to the inflection of his syllables.

Tsukasa was pleased. And that was good enough for him.

That night, Gen just could not sleep. He tossed and turned endlessly as he made the effort to close his eyes and forced his body to sleep. He thought of everything he could remember on how to go to sleep, but that failed him too.

It was strange to him. He remembered during his performance that he was so exhausted that he could collapse the moment he let his body relax. Yet when Tsukasa broke him out of the stone prison that he felt so energized that he could run a marathon and not feel winded. And he certainly still feels that way. He wonders if being asleep for so long had made him catch up to his lost sleep. All nineteen years worth of it.

Well, he did the math and technically he is now 3739 years old…

If there was any kind of sleepiness in him at that moment, Gen had completely lost it.

3720 years…  is a really, really long time…

Yuzuriha finished his new outfit the next day, he was very grateful for her. Especially after hearing the fact that she spent all night with it. Gen felt a bit bad for her, until he heard her voice crack just a little…

Gen did not have supersonic hearing, but as a mentalist, he taught himself to pay attention to people’s subtle noises. He wondered if Yuzuriha was lying to him.

He tried the new outfit on, and it fits him just right. He was definitely impressed with her.

Later, Tsukasa began explaining to him about a certain “miracle fluid” that had broken him out of the petrified state. And that it was located in a special cave. Which was also dubbed, Cave of Miracles.

A miracle fluid that undid the petrification? He couldn't believe that it was even possible. That peaked his interest, not that he would show it.

As Tsukasa brought him to a cave and along a few other muscular men with him. It seemed that he wanted to show respect to nature's bounty and sorts. It was something that lost his interest, and it fell into deaf ears. Thanks to that distraction though, Gen had tripped over a giant root, but he quickly gained footing and held himself against a tree near the cave. He brushed his fingers against a tree without realizing it.

He felt something odd.

He knew tree bark was rough and could hurt depending on the tree, but even so, this sensation felt weird to him. To him it was like… like… Something was engraved into the tree.

He moved his hand away and saw a carving into the tree he held on.

A.D. 5738 4, 1

“Fifty-seven, thirty-eight… Four, One…” Gen read the engraving. “5738, 4, 1…”

It was like everything he had known right now had changed.

His thoughts came back to when Tsukasa told him the current year. He wondered so many things that day, that even today he was still trying to take it all in. He wondered how… how would Tsukasa be able to determine the current year. From what he saw of the strongest primate high schooler, he was more than just a muscleheaded idiot. He had strength, he had skill, he had smarts.

But even so that did not give him a proper answer as to how and why he knew the current date.

Does Tsukasa even know this engraving?!

Was it even really the year 5739?

But this engraving shows it. 5738… It’s been a year since the engraving was written in the tree. April 1st… How did the writer knew of the exact date even…

“5738… April 1st…” Gen repeated himself, “H-How…. How did… How could someone…?”

“No…” Gen gathered his thoughts, “Someone… someone must have carved this after breaking out… They had to. But… How would… would they know the exact date…”

“Is it even possible…?!”

He read again the crude kanji and the numbers written on the tree. It was clearly there. It wasn't some sort of hallucination… It was actually written there…

The mentalist's heart swelled with hope.

“This… this is…” Gen shuddered in excitement at the realization of someone like that ever existed, and broke out first, and to do this, “This is too antastic-fay! Whoever did this… Must be…”

Then his thoughts were interrupted by Tsukasa calling him to the cave.

Gen quickly dashed inside. To see Tsukasa standing in front of a pile of… bat guano. Gen’s nose scrunched up at the awful smell and saw yellow liquid dripping down from the cave’s ceiling, to a clay bowl.

He quickly deduced it as a so called “miracle fluid” that Tsukasa had mentioned. But when he read Tsukasa’s expression and listened to his voice, he felt there was more… than just that fluid…

That night, he couldn’t stop thinking about that engraving.

5738 A.D. April 1.

He wondered who could even do that. In that darkness. For almost 4000 years, calculated the year, month and date. The exact date?! He wondered why would the person even bother to calculate. When normally you'd think of surviving first.

He thought of possibilities. He knew you can tell how old a tree is by cutting it and counting the number of rings… But that would have been a gigantic tree. He considered the number of natural disasters that could have destroyed it way before the next millenia… So he scratched out that idea. He thought maybe some sort of machine that could tell the time had survived, but he hasn’t seen a sign of any kind of civilization, let alone a machine that could tell the time. His thoughts wandered of any kind of sci-fi theory he’s seen. But just like before, he saw nothing…

Nothing from the year 2019.

Gen curled up onto his sheets. It has hit him again, the realization that there was nothing left from the year he knew. No buildings, no cars… no cola even…

He felt the sudden urge for a bottle.

As he realized he couldn’t sleep once again, he stepped outside of his living quarters and saw the stars in the sky. It was numerous, more than he could ever count.

Count…

That's when he thought of something… a completely ar-fetched-fay possibility...

Yes, there was no machine or anything that could tell the time, but the fact remained that time still moved forward, no matter what…

It was something insane. Something that no human being should be able to do, but it was possible…

He had heard rumours of a kid who counted the exact seconds within a month, and he had counted it exactly.

“To count the passing seconds…” Gen thought to himself, “To do that during all that time in the darkness…”

Many feelings he suddenly felt for this mystery counter. Excitement, pity, delight, fear... In order to do that, he would have had to remain conscious all that time… Gen eventually felt nothing and his mind went completely blank after a while. When Tsukasa revived him, he thought everything before was just a dream… a long 3720 year dream…

Gen gritted his teeth, he was nervous, he was scared, he was so lost in this new world, but to even think that there was a person like that, a human being that could do such a thing...

He had to find them… he had to find the person who could have done this feat… He had to know. He had to know this person. He had to pick him apart and understand his own way of thinking. He had to analyze everything about him. He had to know how and why would he do such a ridiculous yet logical thing.

He hadn't felt this eager in knowing a person he hasn't even met.

The rest of that night spent thinking about this person. He smiled at the thought of someone else being this unique.

It was like… to him it was like getting excited over a book he had heard only good reviews about.

Yes, he was skeptical, but the thought of someone like this.

It got him excited.

The next day, the third day, Tsukasa called for him after his meal.

He was called to be given a mission…

“Those dusty old fossils who used to be in power…” Tsukasa began as he led Gen to a path in the forest, it was a bit further from the Empire, “Are even less necessary in this natural world of stone…”

Gen didn’t hear a hint of hesitation from those words. In fact to him Tsukasa spoke of his ideals in such great confidence and conviction, that the mentalist felt a bit swayed by those. Especially when he said…

“But I see a massive amount of potential in you… Gen.”

Gen felt himself snap out of that trance. He knew Tsukasa had a lot of natural charisma, but even he as a master of minds, felt like he was grabbed instantly and quickly, as if he got there by himself. He cursed himself mentally, as he remembered how Tsukasa crushed the statue of his manager, again. And all of the other pieces of statues he has seen scattered everywhere, crushed with his bare hands or by his men.

“There’s something I need you for…” Gen’s attention was grabbed again as Tsukasa cleared some branches to reveal a treehouse, made by… concrete? He wondered. “And your skills as a mentalist will be invaluable…”

Gen saw on the side a few empty jars, crude makeshift spears… he was surprised that even the ladder that leads up to the treehouse was still sturdy. To him it looked like it was all abandoned.

But that wasn't where they went, rather, Tsukasa led him to a hut near the tree house. It had a worn out sign that said, “Laboratory”.

Tsukasa led him inside and the mentalist saw broken clay pots everywhere. He watched his step, as he moved in closer to see more and more broken pieces scattered everywhere. To him it was an obvious sign that whoever lived here scrambled to take everything and left. To the untrained eye that is.

Gen saw this was too intentional. It was too much of a mess for him. He thought maybe a scuffle, but that would have caused those shelves to fall apart. To him, it is as if the previous occupants just intentionally took those jars and smashed them.

“Follow them for me.” Tsukasa gave him his mission, as it also confirms Gen's deductions. “And get inside of their minds… Perhaps I'm being overly cautious, but I want you to track down this man Senku and tell me if he’s dead or hiding out somewhere…”

Senku…

That is the name of the person he was tasked to look for.

‘Senku…’ Gen thought to himself. He tried to think of anyone he knew by that name, none came to mind.

So he asked, “Who is Senku?”

“He, was the first of us to revive…” Tsukasa replied.

‘First? Don’t tell me…’

“He used his knowledge of science to create a formula to undo the petrification.” he continued as Gen took in this invaluable information, “That’s how he revived me…”

Gen couldn’t hide his surprise anymore.

‘This Senku person… revived Tsukasa? He created a formula to undo the petrification?’ The pieces started to fall into place...

“This man…” Tsukasa continued as Gen felt the man’s voice grew bitter, “His only desire is to revive everyone, no matter who they were…”

‘What? He… what? He wants to revive… everyone…?!'

“He’ll bring back the same people who ruined our world.... And they’ll make weapons…” Gen felt every word laced with pure hatred, as he still tried to take in everything.

“He was the most intelligent man alive, and that’s why I killed him myself…”

He saw Tsukasa’s eyes narrowed as he finished his sentence.

'He killed him…' Gen held back even his own expressions, 'He killed this Senku…'

When he first met Tsukasa in this new world, he was kind, considerate, gentle to everyone in the Empire and even to the animals. He would ensure that every part of every animal killed was put to use, even the organs. For Gen to hear him say that. For Tsukasa to kill another human being… he got even more scared of him.

Gen started to doubt himself. He wondered if there really was someone who could take down the Strongest Primate High Schooler. To kill the "smartest" man alive, as he called this Senku.

But even so, the fact that Tsukasa had to send him, a mentalist… to make sure that Senku is alive.

There was no doubt. Senku is alive.

He finally understood what he had to do.

Gen enjoyed it. He enjoyed experimenting and toying with the human mind and the limitless possibilities of the human psyche. He mostly used it for his own benefit and gain, but that's what the world, the previous world, taught him. To him adults were easy picking, even more so than teenagers and children. He knew as one grows older, the ideals and beliefs, and biases a person has learned will stick longer and thus harder to change or remove. Gen knew of this and exploited it to his heart's content. So it was child's play for him to figure out what had occured in this laboratory.

He asked Tsukasa if he could stay a bit more to inspect the area. The man let him, and asked if he knew the way back.

Gen knew the way back.

When he realized that he was finally alone, he quickly observed the area. He looked at the pieces of the broken jars, the stains on the floor and at the walls, he saw the various broken tools nearby. He then rushed into the tree house and saw the same mess as the lab. Gen saw this as a laughable way to make it look like they got scared and escaped.

Smartest man alive? More like the world's worst crook if he had ever seen one.

He remembered Tsukasa’s expressions, the hatred in his words and the shakiness of it. That was also obvious. Tsukasa was scared. Very scared. He only knew of Tsukasa as a fearless man who would stare down other fighters bigger and stronger than he was, and took them down easily. For someone to induce such paranoia and fear in him...

He has to know. He has to know who this Senku person is.

He just has to!

After gathering what he can from the area, he went back to the Empire. He gave Tsukasa what he could deduce from it, and said that he and his companions that he too figured this out from the tracks, that they probably dashed at around southeast to where the Empire was.

Tsukasa was impressed by him. He mentioned that the two companions were Taiju and Yuzuriha.

Gen faked a shock, well to everyone it looked like a real shock. He knew some of the bigger and heavier footsteps belonged to a heavyweight like Taiju, and smaller, lighter footsteps belonged to a woman, Yuzuriha fits that description.

Tsukasa explained to him that they returned after he had subsequently killed Senku and buried him in that direction. Gen was right it was southeast to where they were, Hakone (or it would have used to be considering the lack of any buildings).

He also mentioned that they were Senku's best friends.

That's what stood out the most.

Gen wondered to himself as to why they were kept under surveillance. Now it made sense, Tsukasa was worried that they might turn on him eventually. Even with the power difference, there was an instilled fear that Senku would come back for them and have a scientific weapon that could be used to defeat him.

That's what the mentalist deduced at least.

So Taiju and Yuzuriha were… no are Senku's friends. He filed that important tidbit for later.

Tsukasa had given him information that was more valuable than even he thought.

He was also told of a blond haired, blue eyed girl that seemed to have no knowledge of science and had a very primitive way of thinking. He was (truly this time) shocked to hear that there is a possibility of a village of primitives in that area, and that Senku might have made contact with them if that was the case. So now he had a destination in mind.

Hakone. Around a two day walk from where they were now. Gen didn't particularly like the idea of walking so far and so long, but his desire to meet this Senku was what pushed him further.

Before he left, he asked Yuzuriha for some extra materials and a cutting tool. Part of him wanted to tell them that he was going to see Senku, just to gauge their reactions. He knew if they didn't react to what he expected it, then it was truly confirmed that Senku is alive.

But he held his tongue on that. He didn't want to risk then getting caught on this mess.

Gen himself haven't really decided on if this Senku really is the person he was looking for. If he was the mystery counter. All he knew was that, he was a threat to Tsukasa's ideal world.

The smartest man alive vs the strongest man alive.

A typical brain vs brawn...

His journey was long and painful, especially since he didn’t wear any shoes. Along the way he picked up many nightshade flowers and stored them into various hidden sacks underneath his clothes. He even found many berries and even some small animals he could use to make fake blood bags for his own protection, just in case everything went downhill for him. He knew when to expect the worst. After all, he made a living from expecting the worst in people and exploiting it.

His journey took way longer than two days. He was exhausted, yes, but every step further was one step closer to meeting this Senku. He thought it was worth it.

From what he knew about the positions of his shadows, he had deduced it was around noon. He walked further and further through the forest, and that's when he heard something, music. He heard music playing nearby, he walked closer to the source, and saw it, clear as day. A village, built on two small peninsulas connected by a bridge.

It was the primitive village that Tsukasa told him about. There were primitives living in this area.

And in front of it was…

Well to his surprise. It was a ramen stand.

Gen approached the stand closer then was quickly given a bowl of said ramen by a child wearing a melon mask over her head. He thought it was kind of cute.

He felt a pang of hunger as he took a whiff of the bowl on his hands. It was a crude version of ramen that he knew, but well, he supposed it was still ramen. So he took a bite.

Gen nearly gagged from the taste.

He remained very quiet despite the complete awfulness the dish had. He couldn’t even call this ramen. He heard this was foxtail millet ramen.

Once again he nearly gagged at the thought of foxtail. Foxtail, was what the noodles were made out of. He could feel the grainy texture and the bitter aftertaste of the ramen.

It was ositive-pay awful!

But he heard nothing but praises for this dish. Gen peered to see other people wearing similar clothes like the one the melon girl wore. It looked like they were almost inhaling the ramen. It was a complete consensus that it was the best thing they've ever had.

That's one other thing that hits Gen.

He sighs and misses something way more than ramen right now.

One of them quickly asked for seconds and Gen sighed and realized with the stereotypical glutton man. He supposed that in any kind of era there's always a glutton.

Then his attention quickly changed when he saw the man at the stand itself, putting the ramen together.

His hair stood out the most, literally. Even at the year 2019, he would have easily stood out. He wondered if it's dyed or if he used any hair products. Almost every bit of his hair stood upwards defying gravity. To Gen he looked like a walking giant leek or bok choy. Then when he turned sideways, that's when Gen finally saw his face. He looked sweaty and tired, but his face is full of eagerness and pride, that admittingly seemed contagious. The most noticeable features were the two jagged scars that lined and bent up from his forehead down to this eye line and just below the eyelid. The Mentalist instinctively touched his own scar.

He remembered the explanation Tsukasa gave him. That these scars are just a side effect of the depetrification process.

Gen remembered the day when he saw his reflection at the river and saw the scar running underneath his left eyelid, where it turned to shape his mouth then went straight down his chain and his neck. To him this was a reminder that he was petrified and awakened. Which meant, this man was…

“Are you the man who made this incredible food?” He heard a young girl approach the man with such eagerness and obvious intent of flirting, “the one called, Senku?”

Senku…

This green haired, prideful, obviously exhausted guy...

Is Senku?

Gen tried hard to cover his laughter. This was the man that Tsukasa, the strongest primate high school, was scared about? He looked physically weak. Everything about him was so lanky and skinny. It completed the giant walking vegetable set. Big green leaves and a nimble easily breakable stem.

He was….

'This was the man who wrote that date on the tree isn't it?'

He saw a familiar equation written on Senku’s outfit.

E=mc2

'Yeah… definitely the science nerd around here.' Gen chuckled internally, 'Who the hell writes that on their own clothes?!'

When the girl asked Senku what kind of girls he liked Senku simply answered this:

"A kind that would pump a ton of oxygen into my furnace"

Gen groaned internally at that answer

'And he's uninterested at romance. Like he's some sort of a Shonen protagonist…'

Gen managed to breathe and calmed himself in order to prevent getting noticed by the villagers. Senku had made the ramen for them. It was errible-tay. He could barely call this food.

'So this is what Tsukasa was talking about.' Gen just placed everything together in his head, 'This Senku is a scientist, through and through. He made the depetrification formula, he made this ramen, he has that silly equation on his clothes, he even has a furnace! I see why Tsukasa-chan fears him… but…'

Gen had to make sure. He wasn't going to just mingle with him and the primitives.

The blond villager girl whom Gen deduced as quite strong, and possibly the girl that Tsukasa ran into before, even expressed her displeasure at that answer. He wondered if she had some feelings for this Senku person.

The Mentalist admits that Senku is quite handsome. It was a shame to him that he isn't interested in romance. He would have loved to have gotten closer to him. But he supposed that he still has a job to do.

Well to everyone in the Empire of Might it was his job.

To Gen….

It was some assurance.

If this Senku is what he thought he was, that this Senku is the man that striked fear into Tsukasa's heart.

This handsome, nerdy, passionate man…

Might be the counter he was looking for.

Better strike while the iron's hot….

"Ah… this ramen is making me wickedly thirsty…" Gen admitted to himself, out loud for everyone else to hear. "A cola, would be great…"

And with that, Gen had Senku's undivided attention.

The Mentalist then went to work, fully analyzing this Senku to his heart's content.

Little that he knew what would happen later that within the past 3700+ years of his life, would change for the better.

'This is worth it…'