Chapter Text
May 31st, 2019, 4:24 Post Merīdiem, Senku’s room
The lab was cold, a necessary precaution to preserve any chemicals one might use for an experiment. Today, however, Senku wasn't working with chemicals; they were all safely tucked away in storage. Instead, papers upon papers of mathematical formulas were strewn upon his desk. Anyone else might think him weird for doing math in his free time, but math is important to science, engineering, architecture, and many other valuable fields of society.
Senku huffed out a breath that almost sounded like a growl. He took a swig of the Monster energy drink, Ultra Sunrise flavor, that he had imported from America (of course, thanks to Byakuya’s credit card). He couldn’t think, which was frustrating to most people; it was even worse to Senku, whose entire lifestyle (and pre-career) revolved around thinking. He was working on a biomathematical model of the social behavior of Acilius duvergeri, which he had researched on an internship trip to an entomological research and conservation center in Africa; it was an extra science grade, but he was interested in learning everything anyway, including information about the social behavior of the vulnerable Acilius. It was actually an enlightening experience; being around so many passionate entomologists who cared about the livelihood of something most people would regard as a “random bug” showed Senku how valuable different species are in the grand scheme of science and the world.
He was functioning on only a couple hours of sleep, several cans of energy drinks, and a bowl of miso soup from that morning, which—partnered with several hours of intense mathematical equations—ended up engendering fatigue and brain fog. Senku was acutely aware of how many calories he burned while thinking, about 3,010 kilojoules of energy, give or take a few minutes, and a meal would probably be the best idea to help perk him up, healthier than the approximate amount of 72 monsters he would have to drink to make up the same amount of calories. But he really needed to finish this formula before he lost his train of thought again. Maybe he just needed some ‘background’ noise to help him ‘focus.’
Rubbing his eyes and leaning back in his chair, Senku picked up his phone and checked the few notifications he got during the almost 8-hour stretch of it being on silent. Taiju had texted him earlier that day, around 10 Ante Merīdiem, to ask about their shared math class’s homework before backtracking a few minutes later after remembering that Senku had warned him earlier that he was going to be busy working; it took a total of 3 messages. What ultimately caught Senku's attention was the notification of a video premiere. Senku wasn't active on social media. He followed a few scientific accounts, and one other; with its marketing aimed more toward teenage and young adult girls, it was something Senku knew people would consider "unusual" for someone like him to enjoy, which is one of the reasons why he didn't talk about it, not even to Taiju or the science club.
Mentalist Asagiri Gen's so-called reality show—so-called because, while it did incorporate real-world science and its effects on real people (who weren't actors), it mainly consisted of cheap magic tricks and game show segments. Now, of course, Senku didn't believe a lick of any of the ‘magic;’ everything performed on stage was carefully fabricated by combining practical effects, subliminal communication, and psychology. In short, it was a show packed with various behavioral sciences. But that wasn’t why he was interested in it.
He clicked on the episode, listening to the tacky intro jingle that was specifically designed with repeating lyrics, a distinct melody, and an unusual rhythm to stimulate the auditory cortex and cause a nasty case of repetunitis. Senku had definitely fallen victim to it several times, especially after long days of studying anything and everything, when he could barely keep his eyes open. Propping his phone up on his pencil holder and taking another gulp of his energy drink, Senku grabbed another piece of graphing paper and clicked the eraser of his mechanical pencil, causing a string of graphite to show its face.
The scratching of graphite on paper filled the room once more, and the sound of Asagiri Gen's voice joined alongside it.
"Tch, heh, there's no way people believe that he's actually reading their minds, not one millimeter!"
Asagiri Gen: one of the most famous magicians in the world. With a cult following worldwide, his cheap psychology progressed from local magazine articles to mainstream covers. Eventually, he published his own sensationalized psychology books that every teenager and their friends had read. It was all stupidly simple science wrapped in shiny ribbons and bows to grab the attention of anyone without a basic understanding of marketing. A couple of years ago (Gen had been around 16 when it happened), he ended up getting his own TV show, a major upgrade from the smaller, more local stage shows he had been doing prior.
And Senku had been there since day one.
They had met young, in the first or second grade, before Senku had even met Taiju. Senku was curious even at that young age, so when he saw a boy with bicolored hair—he had never seen another person with white hair (that was his age, anyway), other than himself, and Senku knew that his own hair was a product of his condition—he had to go ask questions. The boy, as most young children are, was mostly unaware of his condition—he knew he had one, of course, but he wasn't informed enough to answer the questions Senku wanted answered; he was a bit insecure about it, Senku noticed, pulling on the hem of his shirt as it rested over his shorts and looking at the ground instead of at Senku. But Senku could take a hint, at least, most of the time, so he ended up changing the subject to his favorite cartoon that he was watching, which the boy, luckily, also enjoyed! Once Byakuya caught wind of the conversation, he all but hunted down the boy's parents, who were just as eager for their son to have a friend similar to him.
Poliosis, Senku discovered the condition was called. It was more similar to vitiligo than his own albinism; vitiligo affects the melanocytes in skin, while poliosis is a condition that causes the loss of melanocytes in hair follicles, resulting in a lighter appearance than the surrounding hair.
Senku nodded along eagerly as Byakuya and the boy's parents explained it to him, getting excited to learn about something new.
“I’m sorry if this is a bit blunt, but would you be willing to exchange contact information so our boys can hang out more often?” The boy, Gen’s, mother asked Byakuya, voice lowered to almost, but not quite, a whisper, “He doesn’t really… have friends, and he’s homeschooled, so I’m a bit worried he won't get as much socialization as a boy his age needs, if you know what I mean.”
“Of course, it’s no problem!” Byakuya eagerly responded to the woman, and Senku rolled his eyes. “I’m Ishigami Byakuya; and you?”
“Asagiri Reika—”
Senku didn’t listen to the conversation further.
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
June 1st, 2019, 5:12 Post Merīdiem, Science Club Room
Senku had already settled into the science lab before anyone else; as club president, it was his responsibility to ensure all their tools and materials were squeaky clean; any leftover compound, even just water, could significantly impact any future reactions. He was already halfway through thoroughly inspecting the test tubes when other students started arriving. Taiju and Yuzuriha (despite Yuzuriha not being in the club) walked in right alongside the other club members. Out of the corner of his eye, Senku noticed one of them—Akito, his name was—holding a book with a familiar face on the cover. Senku returned to his test tube with a smirk. If he had learned anything from Gen, which he ten billion percent had, the next topic of conversation would likely be one of the many BuzzFeed-esque quizzes present on those pages. Would it be the "How Emotionally Intelligent Are You Really?" questionnaire on page 17, the "What Kind Of Psychic Are You Deep Down?" (psychic in air quotes, of course) quiz on page 21, or maybe one of the "Relationship" themed quizzes on pages 30-40 that this young-adult demographic seemed oh so fond of? Senku would place his bet on the last choice.
"Check out this psychology quiz!" The words caught the attention of the other people in the room. "There's been a tragic accident, and between your friend, your lover, and yourself, only one of you can be saved. Who would you choose?"
"Uhh. I think I'd get stuck picking between my friend and my lover," Yuzuriha was the first to answer.
"Might pick yourself in the heat of the moment~!" Akito said.
"How could anyone make that choice?!" Taiju, the oaf, rebutted, "This quiz of yours seems kinda nasty."
"I choose everyone." Senku's voice cut through the racket of the club members arguing, causing a hush to fall around the room. Senku swirled the liquid around the test tube he was holding. "I'd look for a fundamental rule that'd let me save all of us."
Of course, that would be the ideal choice; everyone and their mothers would hope for no losses in any tragedy. The only difference was that Senku wasn't an idealist; he was a scientist. There is always a way to save everyone. Taiju quickly hopped onto Senku's statement, agreeing; he was one of those people, agreeable, a follower. Senku appreciated it sometimes; he was eager to help with his experiments, even if he didn't understand quite what was happening most of the time, not that Taiju was stupid—he was perfectly average; it just so happened that Senku surpassed ‘average’ so far that, in comparison, there was a noticeable difference in intellect. Regardless, Taiju wasn't in the science club for no reason.
"I think the point of the question is more to reveal who's most important to you..." Akito stated, voice trailing off.
"That's ten billion percent obvious." Senku rolled his eyes. “None of that stuff is legit anyway; it's all a quick cash grab."
"Huh, really?" Taiju asked, a confused expression on his face.
"You bet. I bet that Asagiri guy didn't even lay a finger on it." Which was the truth; Senku knew it as fact. Gen had called him a few days before its release, complaining about how they hadn't taken any of his suggestions into it. He worried it would sully his reputation as a ‘respectable mentalist,’ but no one knew what a mentalist was, so it didn't.
"You can tell it was his book without even seeing it?" Taiju questioned.
"Nope, I have no idea what you're talking about." Damn, Senku really needed to stop letting stuff like this slip. It was one thing being childhood friends with what was basically a global celebrity, but letting his classmates know was something neither of the pair was especially jumping for joy about.
"What, are you secretly an Asagiri Gen superfan?"
"You know damn well I don't believe one millimeter of that crap." Senku rolled his eyes as if he was trying to roll the suggestion out of his brain.
"Are you sure you're not a fan of his dazzling personality and charisma~?" Akito teased, causing Senku to look at him with a deadpan expression that took an overwhelming amount of control to keep on his face.
"You all know how Senku is; his mind is a mystery to even me!" Yuzuriha, bless her heart, intervened. Reluctantly, the speculation of Senku's television habits was discarded, and the day ended.
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
June 3rd, 2019, 5:20 Post Merīdiem, Science Club room
Gen had a show today, in Tokyo, near enough that Senku would have been able to go if he weren't in school. That being said, he wasn't in the best mood that day.
To keep his mind off it, he was making gasoline out of bottle caps; he had no reason in particular; truthfully, he just wanted to, and knew that he could.
"Listen up, Senku!" Taiju threw open the doors of the science room with a yell, "I've made up my mind. I'm going to confess my feelings to Yuzuriha!"
"Yeah?" Senku genuinely could not care less; maybe if he were in a slightly better mood, he might have at least pretended to be a bit more excited, but he was too caught up in his own illogical feelings to care about someone else's right now. "Well, that sure does sound interesting. I'll be cheering for you so hard that my vocal cords snap... From right here... in the lab."
"Really?" And Senku had once again forgotten that Taiju was, to put it bluntly, an idiot. "Thanks, Senku!"
"Shut up. I'm not cheering one millimeter for you!" Senku rolled his eyes before continuing his lecture about Taiju's illogicality while cleaning up after his procedure, “You’ve had feelings for her for five years and haven't done a thing about it. Why would I cheer for that?!”
When Taiju sprinted towards the camphor tree, Senku leisurely walked towards the lab's open window (which wasn't at all safe if they had been working with anything more volatile than polyethylene), cracking open an energy drink before taking a sip and resting his free hand on his hip.
"A hundred yen says he gets rejected," Kaito remarked, a smirk on his face.
Kenji and Riku jumped on the betting, both increasing the numerical value of Taiju's potential heartbreak from one hundred to five.
"Ten thousand yen says she likes him back." It was obvious they both liked each other; even Senku could see it. Hell, even Gen knew from what little stories he had shared with him.
With an interest that Senku didn't particularly have, he watched as Taiju got halfway into his confession until the sky...? The sky was painted with a toxic green hue, unnaturally bright green that rarely occurred in nature, almost like uranium glass under ultraviolet light.
Then everything went black.
Except, Senku was still awake, still conscious. He couldn't feel anything, or hear, or see, or breathe, but he was still thinking—still conscious, still alive.