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Don't get him wrong, Senku had been hurt plenty of times since waking up in the new stone world.
For instance, that time he cut his hand wide open on a rock shard when he was working towards his first tools; he had underestimated the amount of force the rock could withstand and on a particularly crazed thrust down- even with the string beans he called arms- he managed to completely shatter the stone, fragmenting it into several jagged pieces. One particularly sharp one effectively slicing into the meat of his palm, leaving a long but shallow red line.
It had stung, sure, but it was more of an inconvenience than anything. Patching himself up had eaten up precious time and until it started healing he wasn't able to do much in the way of dexterity, fearful of reopening it.
And though he'd unofficially been deemed “The Counting God”, he had almost lost track of all the burns received while working in the lab. His attempts at blowing glass had resulted in the worst of them- thank god for old man Katsuke swooping in, preventing Senku from gaining any more shiny, red welts.
Hell, even trekking through the forest usually left him with a new set of scrapes. If it was a particularly bad day, a twisted ankle perhaps.
Such was the way of life in this new world. Senku had accepted it, moved on. Every second he spent nursing his wounds was a second wasted on not reviving humanity.
But this? Senku had yet to experience this type of pain.
Ibara’s talons had plunged deep into the flesh of his upper arm; sinking into muscle, slicing veins and nerves; just barely stopping as they scraped against his humerus.
By the time Senku had registered the sudden assault, Ibara was already ripping his fingers out of his bicep, bringing a flood of crimson that immediately started running down his forearm to his fingertips.
Senku truly didn't mean to- didn't want to give the older man the win- yet couldn't help it when between his surprise and the fresh pain blossoming from the wound, he let out a strangled yelp. Yet once again, he was cut off.
It all happened so fast, one moment he was upright and reaching to apply pressure to his newest inconvenience. The next he was sent sprawling, colliding with the packed earth. All breath was knocked from his lungs and a fresh wave of agony bloomed as his arm was jostled on impact.
A silent scream tore from Senku’s throat and all he could do was take in wheezing breaths as the bastard in front of him monologued. Seriously, who does that??
While the old man was distracted, Senkuu took the opportunity to finally force in a deep breath and stagger to his feet. There is no time to sit and wait. With the way Ibara had “killed” Ginro, and the way he was rambling, there's no doubt he'll kill Senkuu the first chance he's given.
With that, the scientist takes off running into the treeline. He is still heaving for breath and he can feel bruises blossoming where his body collided with the stone addled ground—
Damn it! He needs to put that to the back burner! Priorize. While wounds can be treated later, if Ibara catches him? He won't be so lucky when escaping death this time.
Senkuu can hear footfalls start up behind him and he desperately wracks his brain for the next course of action. A glimpse of a paper hat catches the corner of his eye, and immediately, he knows what to do.
—
It's over, they won. With Ryuusui’s quick thinking and sacrificial display, they'd done it.
The sound of the waves crashing below and the wind coming over the bluffs filled the air. Senkuu stood over the two statues before him, Medusa in hand, and was finally able to heave a sigh of relief.
A smile of genuine elation spread over the boy's face, excitement bubbling up from within; he couldn't help but shout at the sea and show off his prize, pumping it- and subsequently, his fist- into the air without thinking.
Immediately he regretted it as white hot pain flared back in full force. He sucked in a sharp breath between his teeth and looked down. His bicep was still bleeding, had been this entire time. As if his body had suddenly remembered this fact, the adrenaline in his system finally gave way and made him sway on his feet.
They had done it. Everyone was safe. Surely now he could spare a few moments tending to his own needs? His body urged him to rest but he managed to hobble back over to the treeline before collapsing down against a trunk.
Gingerly, Senkuu tried rolling up the sleeve of his tunic before coming to the conclusion that the leather was simply too stiff to do so. Instead he loosened his belt and shrugged off the left half, exposing his shoulder and bicep entirely. His body ached at the action, back now screaming at him where rocks had dug in but not broken his flesh.
Taking stock of himself, he noted his pains while checking for other, potentially missed injuries. Much to his relief, the holes in his arm seemed to be the worst of it.
While resting, the bleeding had slowed down to an ooze- thanks to a steadying heart rate and inactivity of the appendage- yet still hadn't stopped. He looked around and found a bush with large smooth leaves and plucked a few before putting them in his lap. He didn't have much on him in ways of first aid so he was going to have to make do.
First he needs to do his best to disinfect the wound, alcohol would be preferred but that's all the way back at the mobile lab so the small bottle of water on his waist will have to do. Hopefully the amount he had bled also had helped to flush the wound. He cringed at the thought of where that man's hands had been and how real the risk of infection was.
With the half assed flush taken care of, he undid his left arm bandages. They were bloody and wet from where the water had trickled down, but they would work. Senkuu bit down on the loose collar of his shirt before firmly pressing the leaves to his bicep. While washing the wound had hurt, this was damn close to agony– ‘No time to stop, keep going.’
The boy continued to dress the wound, wrapping the bandage round and round, tight enough to stay in place but not enough to entirely stop blood flow to his hand.
After the bandages were tied off Senkuu allowed himself to slump back. He was panting from pain and aching all over and all he wanted to do was lay down right there and close his eyes; exhausted after the day's events. Meeting his body halfway, he simply sat and breathed.
Closer to the forest, the sound of waves was muffled and replaced by the gentle rustling of leaves overhead. He tipped his head back against the bark of the tree and while it wasn't particularly comfortable, it was grounding and allowed him to think.
Think about the day's events. About having everyone around him turn to stone, trusting him entirely to bring them back. About how close they were to defeat if not for Chrome's quick thinking. About having to be right with his estimations to stay non-petrified. About how lucky he was that Ryuusui had caught on so quickly after being revived. About how close he was to dying, again. And the reality hit him. If that bottle of revile fluid had missed, if Ryuusui hadn't been so quick, Ibara was fully intending of killing him, petrified or not. About how—
The boy was brought out of his thoughts when a particularly strong gust brushed over his bare skin and he shivered. The sweat covering him had cooled and he felt sticky and gross. He shivered again before rising, bracing himself on the tree. His world tilted slightly. Taking another breath, he opened his eyes he hadn't realized he'd closed. While not lethal, he had still lost a significant amount of blood.
He had to make it back to the lab. Then he could rest.
—
The lab was right where he'd left it though some containers had fallen off the shelves and shattered due to the abrupt start and stop earlier. Senkuu had sighed and observed what had been lost, nothing crucial thankfully, but still annoying.
For a while now the lab had become a homebase for the kingdom of science. Always lively and filled with noise. Now it was still and silent. Another reminder of just how alone Senkuu was– ‘Breathe, there is still work to be done.’
Now that he had the proper supplies, he got to work redressing his wound. Though the blood had started to clot he prioritized sanitation over reopening the punctures. He paused after popping the cork on the ethanol. He grabbed a bottle of water and a flask. While he had distilled this alcohol to be about 70%- perfect for treating wounds like this- he could totally dilute it down to 40%.
With the new mixture in front of him, he had a quick fight with his morality and logic saying that this could slow down the clotting process, and tipped back the shot with a grimace. He let the burning sensation in his throat spread outwards all the way to the tips of his toes before continuing. With the pain numbed it was much easier to go on autopilot. Flush, disinfect, pressure, wrap. He was done in a matter of minutes.
Without anything else to do he let himself continue on autopilot, cleaning himself up a bit. His hazy brain drifted back to the silence. The total lack of life around him. He was alone. Again– ‘Stop it, keep working.’
The scientist glanced back to the bottles around him. There was no one around to see his face flush or to see him make a fool out of himself. Why not? He might as well have some sort of company while the revival fluid processes.
And just like that he stumbled out of the lab, exhaustion forgotten as he was spurred on by his thoughts.
It was completely illogical. Some part of him knew that. But maybe, just maybe, there was someone still awake. Someone who could break the solitude he found himself in. Bottle in hand he made his rounds. Yet not a single soul was left untouched by the Medusa’s power.
He stilled. Though logically he knew it, and the thought had been slowly consuming him playing over and over, it finally hit home.
He was utterly alone.
The boy crumpled then. Hot tears spilling from his eyes and running down flushed cheeks. He cried out, great wracking sobs that broke in his throat and came out cracked. He hugged himself close as he fell to his knees, the image of all his friends' stony faces burned in his mind. He tried to be stoic around them, he really did. Constantly shouldering the burdens that came with reviving all of humanity, but now, with no one around, it all came spilling out.
He was alone.
His breathing picked up.
All alone.
Again.
His hands went from his shoulders to his scalp, tugging at the roots of his hair.
Alone.
By himself.
Alone.
It was only him.
Alone—
The telephone on his back rang out suddenly and his breathing stopped entirely.
He froze.
It rang again. His brain was fumbling, trying to grasp back on to reality.
The third ring sounded out in the air and he frantically grasped for the speaker.
The ringing stopped and he waited with bated breath.
“Senkuu, can you hear me? How are things on your side of the world? Are you doing well?” Ruri’s voice hit him like a punch to the gut.
He coughed out a teary laugh, “I’m great.”
Because the same stony images plaguing his mind seemed to melt away, replaced by his friends' smiling faces. His own relieved smile creeping across his lips.
‘Because this time, I'm not alone.’