#dcst x reader

"Come on," Chrome whined, tugging on the edge of Senku's dress persistently. "You never tell us anything about life before the stone!"

"I've already told you about the inventions before," Senku retorted, swatting Chrome's hand away. "All of the ones you asked for, by the way."

"Okay, that's true, but you never told us about your life before the stone," Chrome clarified.

Kohaku nodded in agreement. "All we know is that your father is the founder of our village. Were you as unpleasant then as you are now?"

"I feel like he was always like this, ever since he was born," Gen chimed in, biting off a piece of his meat on the stick he held over the fire. "I wonder if anyone even liked him."

"Anyone who did would have to have been incredibly stupid," Ginro mumbled.

Senku didn't really know what made him cave in. Maybe it was the way that this wasn't the first time that they had asked him to talk about his life before the petrification. Maybe it was the way they were so quick to assume things about his life without concrete proof.

"For the love of —" he sighed exasperatedly, heavily planting himself onto the ground out of irritation. "Fine!"

Chrome, Kohaku, Gen, and Kinro collectively blinked at the same time. They didn't actually expect that to work, not when it hasn't been working for the past two weeks.

"I'll tell you about my life before the petrification," Senku said, "but you have to keep your mouths shut and don't interrupt me with any stupid questions. Understood?"

Chrome and Ginro nodded eagerly. Even Kohaku and Gen fell silent out of curiosity. This would be the first time the stoic, logical scientist actually shared things about his life, and they weren't going to let that chance go away.

"I'll only talk about one thing," Senku clarified. "And it will only be about this one thing, since I'm planning on reviving them sooner or later, and you might as well learn about them now."

"Them?!" Ginro gasped, and immediately yelped when Kohaku knocked their elbow deep into his gut in order to shut him up.

Gen politely raised his hand, making Senku sigh again for what would seem to be the first of many that night. "What, mentalist?"

"Are 'they' a friend of yours?" He asked.

The question made the scientist fall silent. Were they friends? He barely even considered Taiju a friend, and he's known him for much longer than he's known you.

And there's no way what he feels for you is that of a friend. He may be more knowledgeable with science and facts, but he wasn't ignorant about how his biology reacts different around you.

"I guess you could say that," Senku said. The rest of those surrounding the campfire exchanged odd glances when they all noticed the softness that his tone took.

Which meant that his story was just beginning.

—————

The first time you met Senku was a memory that Senku could never forget, because he was the only one of the two of you that actually remembered it.

You were both in your first year of middle school, and Senku had once again stayed behind in his school's science laboratory to make some things that Byakuya would definitely scold him for trying to make at home. At least the lab was left basically unsupervised, leaving him to do whatever he wanted as long as he cleaned up after.

After another failed simulation of his rocket engine, he packed up and went home, his head deep into calculations and possible solutions for his trial today.

He didn't expect to hear manic giggling from the small patch of trees beside the exit of his school.

Senku was curious. Of course he was; it was part of the basic structure of his ingenuity as a scientist. He would not have become the person he is now without curiosity, as it was his biggest strength. (And weakness.)

He approached the source of the sound cautiously. For all he knew, it could be some escaped convict that's currently hiding out in the greenery of his school.

He pushed the branches away, revealing a kid.

Their back was turned towards him. Their white uniform was dirtied with lines of soil, hair decorated with the random stick or stray leaf.

They were hunched over something, muttering to themself and laughing. Based on appearance, they were definitely not an escaped convict, but with how they were acting, they might as well be one.

(As if he isn't the same way when he was passionate about something.)

The kid was stuck in their own world, giving not a single sign that they were aware of Senku's presence behind them. He slowly approached them, peering over their shoulder to see what they were so focused on.

Now that he was closer to them, he could make out a bit of their unceasing mumbling, catching a few worlds like "rare… effects… test it out…"

Once he got a better view of what they were holding, he could no longer stay silent. "You do know that's poisonous, right?"

That was enough to snap the kid out of their trance. They yelped and spun around, the momentum causing them to fall ungracefully onto the dirt. Their eyes, wide with shock, stared up at Senku, as his seemingly uninterested red ones stared back at them.

That was the first time you had seen this boy. You were a kid that was always in their own separate plane of existence, never talking to someone long enough to remember their names or faces. Despite his unnatural hair and eye color, you don't remember seeing anyone like him in your school, but you were wearing the same uniform.

"You know about poisonous mushrooms?" You said incredulously. Not even your parents, who have been putting up with your antics since you could read books about poison, ever understood your interests. They only understood enough to keep you out of harm's way — not that it always worked.

The boy shrugged. "It's not hard to tell. The colorful ones are normally poisonous, sometimes even by touch alone."

You shook your head, holding your bundle of mushrooms towards him. He instinctively recoiled, but that didn't deter you. "These ones are only poisonous through ingestion! I read somewhere that these make your head feel fuzzy and affects the way your brain perceives color. I can't wait to try them out later."

The boy blinked. Once, then twice.

"You're crazy," he muttered, his eyebrows creasing. He couldn't believe there was someone as stupid as you.

You waved his insults away. "These aren't poisonous enough to kill. I mean, whoever eats these would most probably sleep for almost two days, but it doesn't kill if you just eat small amounts of it. I'll be fine!"

"How do you know so much about mushrooms?" The boy asked.

You grinned, standing up and dusting your uniform off with your free hand. Your parents were sure to murder you once you arrive home wearing yet another dirtied set of uniform, but to you, it was worth it if you were able to keep these mushrooms.

"I'm an apothecary!" You proclaimed, tilting your head up high.

The boy offered you a blank look. "Apothecaries don't wander around school campuses hunting for poisonous mushrooms."

"There's no better way to develop an antidote than testing it on yourself!" You didn't let the boy's pessimistic view on your practices dampen your spirits. "There's nothing like the threat of your own life being ended to find the most effective antidote out there!"

His expression morphed into something discreetly concerned. "You're insane."

"I prefer the word 'eccentric,'" you countered, weaving around him to leave. "Only geniuses would appreciate my dedication to my work."

Your last words were said as a murmur, obviously to yourself and not to him, but he froze nonetheless. Did you just assume that Senku was… stupid?

Despite being closed off and not having that many friends, there was no doubt that Senku had pride. Pride as a scientist, a soldier of technology, and a genius. The fact that you had indirectly demoted him to the status of an average person because he had said nothing but insults about how you do your craft hit a spot Senku refused to acknowledge existed.

"Some poisons have long-lasting side effects," he said snarkily. "Your own perception of color could be permanently altered depending on the strength of the mushroom's poison. Even worse, you could partially paralyzed."

You stared at him, eyes blank and unreadable.

Then you turned away without saying a single word.

Senku sputtered, slightly tripping over an overgrown root as he tried to catch up with you. "Wha — hey!"

You had gone back to your mumbling, your pace unnaturally fast for a small kid. You left Senku in the dust made from his own ego and audacity as he keeled over and started wheezing. For someone with a strong brain, he sure sucks at any kind of physical activity.

"Wait!" He called out, weakly reaching a hand out in a pathetic attempt of stopping you from leaving.

You finally turned, tilting your head at his distraught state. You had just stepped out of the gate, and he was already winded? What a weak kid, you noted.

"I'm a scientist," he said, finally gaining enough of his composure to straighten his back and lift his chin up high. "I can help you with your mushrooms."

You frowned. You couldn't really recall if there was ever a time where someone willingly offered to help you with your "weird" interest. "How do you plan on helping me?" You asked.

"I can help you develop antidotes," he offered. "I'm knowledgeable in chemistry and biology, so it would be easier for you to make an antidote, thus giving you more opportunities to test out poisons."

Putting a hand beneath your chin, you gave a moment of thought. It would be helpful to have another person of science working with you.

Maybe I can even try out stronger poisons now that I don't have to be completely mobile to administer a cure! You thought gleefully.

"Deal!" You chirped, holding out your hand. Your palms and fingers were stained with clumps of dirt, and Senku physically recoiled at the sight.

You looked down at your hand, suddenly aware of how dirty it was. "We'll shake on it tomorrow when my hand's clean! I have to head home. See you around, scientist!"

You gave him a single wave, before you launched into a sprint, obviously looking forward to working on the mushrooms in your house.

Senku slapped his hand on his forehead, shaking his head back and forth indignantly. What the hell did he just get himself into?!

He resumed his more relaxed trek home, his mind going back to his rocket model and more improvements, but now, his thoughts occasionally circled back to you — you and your messy uniform and beaming smile.

Then, he realized.

I don't even know their name.

Senku, at the time, didn't really understand why he was so hellbent on getting on your good side. You were just some random kid that he's known for less than an hour, but he was willing to put his dignity as a proud scientist on the line just for you to not card him off as another average person.

Whenever Taiju or Byakuya asked why he tried so hard to get close to you as he grew older, he had simply said that he didn't want you insulting his intelligence, since he was smarter than people who were even as old as his dad. But now, three thousand years later in a new world, he knew exactly why he sought for your companionship so much. It was the same motivation that drove him to look for your statue, somewhere out there, separated from his over the centuries that you've both been in stone.

From then, when you were kids, even until now, you had been the only one who didn't make him feel like an anomaly in society. Of course, he wasn't ashamed of how much smarter he was compared to the average adult, but he knew that his ingenuity also put up invisible walls between him and kids his age.

Though he may be the most logical child — or person in general — that you would ever meet, he was still inherently a human. Humans thrived on connection with others, because they were social beings. All humans, no matter how young or old, no matter how normal or twisted, will always seek human connection, whether consciously or otherwise.

Now that he had the chance to forge an alliance (because Senku would rather die than call it a friendship) with someone who was as passionate and knowledgeable in an aspect of science as he was with the entire subject, he subconsciously grabbed onto the chance and didn't want to let it go.

When young Senku arrived at his home, his father immediately noticed something was different about him. Byakuya could tell that his son seemed… hopeful.

"Did anything interesting happen today?" Byakuya asked lightly, peering at him over an old newspaper.

"I met an apothecary," he announced. "They're very odd."

"Like 'Taiju' odd?" Byakuya said teasingly, but Senku shook his head, ever the serious child.

"They're another plane of odd, but… they're like me."

The last part of the statement was so soft that Byakuya barely caught it.

"What do you mean, Senku?"

The kid shrugged, any ounce of childlike softness that had surfaced just a few moments ago already gone, as quick as it had arrived. "They're passionate about poisoning themselves."

Without any further elaboration, Senku retreated to his room, ready to work on his rocket during the time he had left before Byakuya would force him out to eat dinner.

"'Like you,' huh?" The older man mused, staring outside the window. The sun had began to set, which meant that he should get started on dinner soon. "I hope you find a friend in them, Senku," he muttered to himself, smiling slightly as he stood up and rolled up his sleeves, ready to get to work on food.

—————

Over the course of the next few months in your first year of middle school, you found yourself spending a lot of your free time with Senku. Through him, you met Taiju, the brawn. You thought that him and Senku complimented each other perfectly; that is, Taiju was nothing short of an airhead.

"Why would you try to eat that?!" Taiju cried, slapping another kind of brightly-colored mushroom out of your hands just as you were about to pop it in your mouth.

A scowl immediately replaced the once blissful expression on your face at the idea of digesting a new kind of fungus. "Taiju, we've been over this! I'll be fine! I just want to see how strong the effects of the poison are before our dear scientist administers an antidote!"

Senku rolled his eyes from behind his monocle (of course he had a monocle), examining the piece of the suit he was developing for Byakuya in order to help him with swimming to pass the astronaut qualification exam. "As if I would give you the antidote, apothecary."

"You always do," you sang, snatching the mushroom from off the ground again and putting it in your mouth before Taiju could stop you. Unlike either of them, you were a perfect balance of physical and mental strength; your reflexes outmatched both of Senku's and Taiju's combined. "Don't worry! I swear to you that I'll always come back alive!" You shouted through a mouth full of mushroom.

"No!" Taiju lunged forward, albeit quite dramatically, tackling you and making you both fall to the floor of Senku's bedroom slash lab. He wrapped his arms around your stomach, trying to squeeze it to make you cough out the mushroom.

But it was too late. You had already swallowed.

You swiftly elbowed Taiju in the stomach, trying to get him to let go, but he didn't even wince. Stupid meat shield.

"How are you feeling, apothecary?" Senku asked monotonously, not even bothering to turn around to make sure that you were okay. However, his hand was already reaching for the antidote that you made before you decided to eat the mushroom.

"Vision is getting blurry," you noted, grinning. "There's also a ringing in my ears, and I'm losing feeling in my fingertips." After a pause, flexing your numbing fingers, you made your conclusion. "I'm about to lose consciousness in less than twenty seconds. Please administer the antidote."

With that, you grew limp in Taiju's hold, and Taiju immediately let you go to make you lay down flat on the floor, brow creased in worry. You had done this a dozen times in front of the boy, leaving him trained in handling it, but he never really stopped worrying for you. It was stupidly sweet, you couldn't lie.

"Senku, you heard them! Give the cure!"

"Shut up, you big oaf, I'm doing it," Senku sighed, standing up and walking over to your body, kneeling over you and forcing the liquid into your mouth. He put down the bottle to massage your throat, trying to make you swallow. His other hand was on your wrist, his pointer and middle finger pressed on your pulse point to track your heartbeat.

He felt your throat move reflexively beneath his hand. He couldn't help the small feeling of relief that let made his shoulders sag almost imperceptibly.

"Are they okay?!" Taiju asked, looking over Senku's shoulder.

"Pulse is stabilizing," Senku muttered, more to himself than to the boy hovering behind him. "Breathing is evening out as well. They'll be fine; they'll wake up in a few hours or so."

Taiju let out a big sigh of relief as he leaned backward, sitting down heavily on the ground as if he was the one who had administered the cure. "Thank the gods they're gonna be okay! I should put them on the bed so they'll be comfortable when they wake up!"

He immediately reached forward, aiming to do just as he suggested, but Senku stopped him. "Just leave them there, you big oaf. If they wanted to be on the bed, they would have sat on the bed before they drank the poison in the first place."

Taiju hesitated, tilting his head in conflict as he battled between his thoughts and the suggestions of the smartest person he knows — well, now one of the smartest people he knows. "Are you sure that's fine?"

Senku sat back down on his desk chair, clicking through various websites displaying graphs that made Taiju's head hurt just thinking about looking at them. "They'll be fine there. Just go back to molding the plating for the suit. I still have to work out new simulations."

"Alright, if you say so!" The strong boy spared you one last glance before grabbing the aluminum sheet that he had before you had passed out, deciding to just work near you in case you wanted company when you woke up.

Senku mentally scoffed. Stupid oaf.

He let you stay unconscious on the floor of his bedroom, knowing that you preferred the feeling of the cool wood beneath your body whenever you were passed out because of a new poison.

Not that he left you there for that reason. Totally not.

—————

High school arrived faster than anyone had anticipated — except for Senku, obviously. The demon probably counted down the seconds from the end of their middle school to their first day in high school.

Luckily, the three of you had gone to the same high school, which was the sister school of your middle school. During your first year, you had met Yuzuriha, a sweet girl who was insanely good at arts and crafts. Taiju had been the one to introduce her to the group, and she quickly became part of your odd little circle of individuals. Along the way, you had noticed that Taiju had developed feelings for her, and Yuzuriha felt the same.

Now, it was only a matter of when either of them would cross the line.

Other than that, you were still close friends with Taiju, Senku, and now Yuzuriha. Growing up into a taller, smarter version of yourself did nothing to pacify your obsession with poison. All it did was make you bolder, and Senku's hair would have turned white a long time ago because of you if it weren't for the fact that his hair was… you know… genetically white already.

Due to your insanity and Senku's aloofness, most people kept their distance from your group. Although it made you seem like a bunch of nerds and weirdos (which, let's be honest, you were), at least you weren't tortured with being approached every day by new people hoping to be friends with you.

You already had your circle of friends, and that's enough. It took you a long time to even warm up to Yuzuriha, and you were still in the process of doing so. The thought of adding someone else to your group sent shivers down your spine.

You were with Senku in the lab, as usual. Although it was technically club time, Senku simply worked on his own thing despite being the head of the science club, leaving the rest of the members with basically free time on their hands.

He was muttering to himself about something as he peered into the microscope, while you were doing the same on another table, but you were currently making an ointment for the rash that appeared on your back a few days ago as a side effect from another mushroom you decided to eat. Your antidote had done well in keeping your heart from stopping, but it left the non-lethal side effects for you to deal with separately. So fun.

Taiju barged in, slamming the door open as he announced, "Senku! I will confess to Yuzuriha today!"

You looked up from your work and grinned at him. "Finally. Don't mess it up."

Senku, on the other hand, look at him as he replied, "Great, do you want this potion I made? It makes you irresistible, and it boosts your confidence level by two billion percent." He grabbed a beaker filled with a strange fluid and held it out for the boy to take.

You watched Taiju consider it for a moment, before he cemented his resolve and shook his head with a determined frown creasing his eyebrows. "Thank you for the offer, Senku, but I won't need it today! It's either she likes me back or she doesn't — whatever comes next should be up to her and how she truly feels!"

"Bravo," you nodded in approval, giving him a small round of applause for his awareness. "Good luck, Taiju."

He smiled at you. "Thank you!"

With that, he left the lab.

"Yo, Senku, does that potion actually work?" One of the club members asked.

An evil grin spread on Senku's face as he poured the liquid out into the drain. "No, this is petroleum."

You perked up. "Do you still —"

"No, I'm not giving you any of that," Senku interrupted you, giving you a scolding glare. "One of these days, your organs will stop from the amount of stress you put them under."

Huffing, you deflated into your chair and rolled your eyes. "Boo. No fun."

You soon engrossed yourself in your work, while Senku decided to take a little break by the window, sipping on his drink while he watched his friend confess to his crush.

Then the flash of green light came from the distance.

He turned to you to warn you, to make sure you would be safe.

You looking back at him in confusion was the last thing he saw before the stone swallowed him whole.

—————

The people surrounding the bonfire were silent. The only sound heard was the crickets and the crackle of the burning wood.

"So that's what happened to you when the petrification happened," Gen hummed softly. For once, there was no tint of mischief or manipulation on his face; his expression was simply neutral, neutral in a way that only a person who knew how it felt to turn to stone could have.

Senku scoffed out a laugh, but it wasn't humorous. It did nothing to alleviate the tension that lingered in his frame ever since he started his storytelling. He couldn't believe that he actually let himself be convinced to tell your story, like you were some kind of legend that could only live through memory.

"Senku," Kohaku started. Her voice was unnaturally soft, with a feeling akin to pity. Senku didn't like it. "If you were able to develop the revival fluid, then why haven't you revived them yet?"

"You think I wouldn't have done that already if I could, lioness?" Senku said, voice void of emotion as he stared at the flame in front of him. "I haven't been able to find their statue. The change in terrain during the past thousands of years seemed to separate us far enough for them to go to a place that I can't reach yet, not with our current tools and situation."

"It would be good to have someone good at medicine with us," Chrome muttered, adjusting his headband. "Maybe they can make the all-cure drug faster than we did!"

Senku let out a chuckle. "Nah, they don't really dabble in pharmacy. They'd probably make some other kind of remedy, purely out of the plants that they could find."

The thought made Chrome's eyes sparkle. "So they're a scavenger too?! That's so cool!"

"I wish they were here so we could meet them," Suika said sadly, sniffling a little bit as she slowly recovered from the tears that she shed from Senku's stories. "They seemed like a good person."

"Yeah, they are."

Chrome stood up, grinning with a determination that only he could have. "Senku, I swear to you that we will do everything we can find them and revive them!"

Senku stared at him. His words sparked a memory.

"I swear that I'll always come back alive!"

The scientist couldn't help but throw his head back in laughter. "If you want that to happen, Chrome, then you better work two billion percent harder tomorrow so we can make the phone!"

Ginro groaned dramatically, flopping on the ground. "Look what you did, Chrome! Now we're subjected to more labor because of you!"

"We have to do whatever Senku wants either way, since he's the village chief," Kinro reminded his brother. "Rules are rules."

While the rest of the circle conversed with each other, Senku slipped away from the gathering as he made his way to the observatory. The turmoil of the entire exchange made the exhaustion sit heavier on his bones, and he needed an ample amount of sleep for his brain to function to its highest potential tomorrow as they continue the reinvention of the phone.

As he laid back with the blanket pulled over his chest, he stared out at the open sky, watching the stars glint in the black night.

He was participating in this war against Tsukasa for multiple reasons; ownership over the Cave of Miracles, diplomacy, resources, manpower… the list goes on. The whole village knew this, which is why they were all willing to help him.

However, there was one more reason that he decided to keep to himself. After endless calculation and prediction based on how much the land has developed during the petrification, where he was originally, where he found Taiju and Yuzuriha, and where their school once was, Senku was over eighty percent certain that your statue was hidden somewhere deep in Tsukasa's territory. If he wanted to find you, scanning that whole area would be the best place to start.

"I swear that I will find you," Senku whispered to the stars, as if they could somehow convey his message to wherever you were hidden. "No matter what it takes. So hold on for a little bit longer for me, apothecary."

He closed his eyes and let himself sleep. That night, he dreamed of your eyes, and how much he yearned to see them open once more, free of stone.