Chapter 28: Chapter Twenty Seven: Suffering in Sickness

27. Suffering in Sickness

Jun. 23, 2023

A/N: I really really wanted to show you guys this chapter, so I decided to post it a day early!!!

I've had this chapter waiting in my drafts for over half a year now. I'm just using the extra time I have to finish and polish upcoming chapters.

Q: How do you feel about Dr. STONE cur one being over? We gotta wait until October for it to continue (/´△'＼).

-----

Good. They're asleep.

You looked at the two boys, who were completely still in their peaceful slumber. You quietly stood up and grabbed your sword, then tip-toed out of the warehouse. As you climbed down the ladder, you noticed that the sky was darker than usual. You looked up at it, and saw big, puffy clouds that were nearly blocking out the moonlight.

"Homura shouldn't be able to see me under this darkness," you muttered to yourself.

You grabbed a bunch of extra large bamboo poles in one arm and carried it towards the river, as well as a small torch in the other. When you made it to your destination, you cut the ends of the poles to create a stake, and drove them into the dirt in a circle. You tied your torch to an extra pole, then kneeled in the middle of the circle.

"Relax your muscles and clear your mind," you said out loud.

You took a deep breath, and listened to your surroundings. You heard the sounds of rushing water, and the flickers of the flame that had given you light. Crickets chirp a resounding melody around you, letting you know that you are alone. All the rest of the animals lay sleeping, and the creatures of the night shuffle within the leaves of the trees. The air was slightly humid and tranquil.

You couldn't clear it. At least a week after telling your story to your friends, your head was filled with thoughts of the scientist. Thoughts of how he's treated you, thoughts of how he looked at you, and thoughts of how you felt. You were hopelessly falling apart just at the sight of him. You desperately needed to let go of the feelings that were distracting you.

You then stood up and placed your hand hand on the handle of the katana. You immediately drew your sword and cut one of the poles in half. You looked closely to see that it wasn't a perfectly straight line. You started cutting all the rest of them in different directions, ranging from diagonal to horizontal to vertical. Very few of them were not straight as you studied each of the cuts you made.

"Damn it..." You clenched your fists together and grit your teeth. You've been lacking the precision you needed for the last couple nights that you had lost hours of sleep to perfect it. All this practice just to distract yourself from Senku.

As you got into anothet position to start doing certain moves, you felt something hit your nose. You took your hand to touch it, and felt that it was water. You felt a couple more drops hit you, and you cleared your ears to hear that the crickets around you had suddenly gone silent. Through the cracks of the clouds, the moon's light had reveal saw heavy rain coming down, starting from the mountains and heading to your direction.

Your eyes widened as you realized how fast it was coming. "Shit!"

You placed the katana back into its sheath and dashed back to shelter. Unfortunately, no matter how fast you ran, Mother Nature always caught up to you. You were instantly drenched by the frigid rainwater before you could take cover under the warehouse. You cursed at yourself and Mother Nature, then took off your wet cloak and placed it on top of the box next to the ladder. Luckily, you had an untouched cloth within your cloak pocket and used it to dry yourself, as well as your sword. You can't fight with a rusty weapon, after all.

You then let out a sigh, as you had to do so many unnecessary tasks just to get back inside and sleep.

"Damn you, Mother Nature," you mumbled as you climbed into your sleeping bag and laid your head on a towel to prevent your pillow from getting wet.

~~~

"Damn you..."

You woke up to see that Senku and Chrome were already gone. They had probably left to continue working on the light bulbs. As for you, you woke up only to find yourself extremely exhausted. You had a headache, and your nose was congested. You felt a slight burn when you put the back of your palm against your sweaty forehead. You slowed your breathing down to focus, but ended up in a slight coughing fit.

"I absolutely can't be sick...not in this world..."

You remember what you had said a couple weeks back. "As if I'm gonna get sick from some rainwater"--karma really said "HAHA, YOU THOUGHT!"

You slowly got up to try to put on your light sweater. Your arm muscles were too weak to put through the sleeves, so you wrapped it around your shoulders and secured it with your hand. You slowly stood up and walked out to climb down the ladder of the warehouse. Everything you did was a struggle, as you felt fatigued.

"My, my, (Y/N)-chan, you don't look so good."

You were leaning against the ladder and looked at Gen, seeing that he had a worried expression on his face. You gave him a thumbs up and tried to put up a smile. "Hah... I'm fine. Don't worry about it..."

"Hmm, I wonder what Senku-chan would say if he saw you like this..." he wondered. The mentalist then placed a palm against your head, only for him to pull it back immediately. He put his sleeve over his mouth. "You're getting a fever."

Your mind was spinning, but you did your best to stay awake. You ended up coughing a bit before talking, "Don't tell Senku."

"I won't promise you on that...and it's not like he's not gonna notice. You already know that sickness will delay the work you need to do, so you have to relax. If anything, I can take care of you until Senku-chan gets back," he stated with a sly chuckle.

"You don't need to take care of me..." you said with a low tone. You then saw Senku, Chrome, Kohaku, and Suika coming back from wherever they had left to. "Ah... Senku...came back... He needs help..."

They noticed you from afar and waved with smiles on their faces. You tried waving back. You started walking towards them, but your vision was gradually darkening. Then your legs started to give way as you leaned forward to walk.

"(Y-Y/N)-chan!" The mentalist was lucky enough to catch you before you face-planted into the dirt. He made sure to adjust your body so that your face would look up to the sky. "I told you to relax!"

The sounds of footsteps and yelling hurriedly approached the both of you. Your hearing was starting to go away as you were slowly drifting into sleep.

"What happened?!" You heard Kohaku demand.

"(Y/N)-chan is sick!"

Senku started interrogating Gen, "What symptoms did you notice on her?"

"Uh, she had a cough and nasal-y voice...and she looked fatigued, considering that she couldn't even stand properly!" He replied frantically.

"Lower her down a bit and keep her slightly elevated," he said, and Gen did just that.

The scientist gently placed a hand on his head, only to feel a burn. He saw that you didn't react to how cold his hand felt on your head. He then put two fingers above your mouth and felt air come out of your mouth for every respiration. You were knocked out cold, and extremely pale.

"I think she got caught in that bad rain last night..." Chrome muttered. Unfortunately for him, the scientist caught what he had said.

"What are you talking about?" The green-haired boy pressed him, causing the brunette to flinch.

He hesitantly replied, "Uh... I kinda noticed her leaving in the middle of the night with her sword...and then I saw her come back with a crappy look on her face and her all wet...she didn't know I was awake though..."

"Why didn't you say anything?! And how long has she been leaving?!" Kohaku questioned him.

"A couple of weeks now...she was probably out practicing with her katana..."

Senku then let out a groan as Kohaku smacked the hell out of the brunette. "This damn slowpoke. She caught a viral infection while she was out training. Her weakened immune system made her susceptible to sickness."

"Will she be okay?" Suika asked.

"She'll be fine. I know she will. She just needs to rest for a few days, and it'll go away on its own," replied the scientist. "Let's move her into the warehouse. I need some warm water, a few towels, and some ramen broth to feed her. We also need cloth to make masks. Chrome, get some of the left over acetanilide."

Gen and Senku helped bring you up the warehouse and the others left to get the stuff the scientist asked for. They aided in taking off your sweater and laid you on the mat where you were supposed to sleep. Senku brought a blanket up below your shoulders to keep your head a little cool.

"I've never seen (Y/N)-chan so weak before," said Gen, breaking the silence in the warehouse.

"She's gotten sick like this a few times from pushing herself so hard," Senku told him, not breaking eye contact with your sleeping self.

The mentalist then questioned, "Her parents did nothing about it?"

"They were hardly around. They did everything they could to provide her a comfortable life, but weren't physically in the picture often. They'd only come for holidays or her birthday," he said.

Gen nodded, remembering how you mentioned that you barely got to see your parents in your story. He noticed that Senku's red eyes had a sadness to it when he looked at you. He asked, "So, who took care of her when she was sick?"

The boy sighed. "I kinda did, with some help of course."

"How sweet of you, Senku-chan~" Gen let out a small laugh. "You'd made a great husband."

"The hell are you on about?" Senku raised an eyebrow with a look of disdain. "If she died from any sickness, we're partially responsible."

"Senku, Gen, we got the stuff!"

The boy's looked outside to see that Chrome, Suika, and Kohaku were holding the items needed for you. They had also brought Ruri along with them. The four or them came up and sat around you as Senku placed a cool, wet towel on your head to reduce your temperature.

"Kohaku, raise her up and take her clothes off," said Senku as he grabbed another towel. Everybody in the warehouse widened their eyes in shock.

"Excuse me?! You want her naked?" Kohaku scoffed.

"We need to wipe her down to cool off. If not, she won't return to homeostasis," he stated.

"Senku-chan, I know you said you took care of her, but...you didn't do this, did you?" Gen awkwardly questioned him.

"Not exactly, but how else are we supposed to get rid of her fever? It's not like I haven't seen her naked before anyways," he blankly explained.

Gen covered his face and muttered, "Taiju-chan said you were a pervert but I didn't think it was possible..."

"I am not a pervert!" Senku argued.

"Then, how did you help take care of her before?" Ruri hesitantly asked.

"Her parents would send a licensed travel nurse to help look after her. She doesn't remember anything despite being conscious, but she becomes--"

Kohaku was seething with rage. "GET OUT! RURI-NEE AND I WILL DO THIS!"

"Don't yell! She needs to sleep!" Chrome told the blonde.

The lioness snapped back, "You're yelling too! Besides, why would I let you strip her naked without her consent! All of you are untrustworthy men!"

Senku then noticed that you were beginning to stir. The voices all around you were waking you up. You then slowly sat yourself up, your eyes still closed as your head swayed. Everybody had stopped talking as they saw you sit up.

"Senkuuuu..." you drawled out. "It's hooooot..."

He spoke gently, "Yeah, I know. Don't worry, we'll cool you off. Just relax for a bit--"

You immediately took your hands and grabbed the hem of your shirt. You tried to pull it over your head, much to everybody's surprise. This caused Kohaku to slam her hands over Senku and Gen's eyes, causing them to wince in pain, while Ruri covered Chrome's. Suika was doing her best to keep you from taking your shirt off.

"Suika stopped (Y/N)!" cried the melon girl.

"(Y/N), stop it! You're in a room full of people!" Kohaku frantically told you.

You mumbled back, "But I'm hooooot... I wanna take a bath...ngh...I want ice cream..."

"I guess we should leave then, huh?" Gen mentioned uncomfortably.

"Get your hand off!" Senku angrily told Kohaku. He ripped her hand off of his eyes and went over to your side. He started lightly slapping your face, and all you could do was make small noises. "When this slowpoke gets sick, her brain stops functioning like an alert and oriented person. She may look like she's awake, but she's just in the middle of a fever dream."

"In other words... she's become a simpleton?" Gen wondered.

"Ten billion percent correct! A fully-fledged slowpoke!" Senku smirked.

"So, she's stupid?" Chrome blurted out, which caused Kohaku to glare at him.

Ruri spoke up, "Then, what happens now?"

"Just try to make sure she doesn't hurt herself. All we need to do is monitor her status and spoon-feed her when she's hungry," Senku replied. "Since we don't have any over-the-counter meds, and we can't have her constantly taking the acetanilide, she's gonna be a little miserable. So, everyone's gotta do their best to make her comfortable."

You groaned, "It's too noisy...too many people..."

"I know, slowpoke. We'll leave, but somebody's gotta watch you," the scientist told you. He then looked at Gen. "You will watch her for the time being. We still need to finish making the phone. After the girls wash her, you will just keep an eye on her."

"If it means not having to work, then I'm in!" Gen cheered.

~~~

When Kohaku and Ruri were finished cleaning you up, Senku and the rest of the gang had finished making masks for each of them if they were to stay with you for long periods of time. Each of them put one on, including putting one on you.

"Okay, she's all done and she has new clothes! We also fed her some broth and small amounts of that medicine to keep her distracted!" Kohaku declared. She then stared at Gen. "You better not take advantage of her."

The mentalist put his hands up in defense once he put his mask on. "I'm not! What kind of person do you think I am?"

"Well, that's that. We will be getting our work done but I will come by every hour or so to check up on her," said Senku.

The group waved goodbye as they left you with Gen. Before Senku headed out, you spoke up, "Senku... tell Yuzuriha and Taiju that I'll be okay... and tell Byakuya-san not to worry about me..."

He widened his eyes slightly, but gave you a small grin. "Yeah, I will. Get some rest now. Gen over here will help you if you need it, okay?"

"Okay..."

You watched as Senku left the warehouse, and then whipped your head over to Gen when he was out of sight. The mentalist looked at you and began to sweat profusely as you said absolutely nothing to him. All you did was stare at him.

"So, (Y/N)-chan...do you remember who I am?" The man asked you to break the silence.

You replied, "You're the...garbage magician Senku kept talking about... on TV."

"Again with the garbage...I'm not garbage, I'm your best friend!" He whined.

"You're lying... Senku is my best friend."

"It's true!"

"Do some magic for me then! ...Make fireworks come outta your sleeves!"

Gen's eyebrows began to twitch with how you were acting. You were the complete opposite of what he expected from you. You were reduced back to an immature child.

"I don't have fireworks--" he waved his hands in the air, similar to what happened during Chrome and Magma's fight during the Grand Bout, and had flowers emerge from inside his sleeves, "--but I do have some pretty flowers for a pretty girl."

"Wha-- that was cool!" You clapped your hands together and laughed softly. "Do more for me please!"

As the mentalist had used a majority of his magic tricks for you, he felt a bit glad that you were appreciating his honed skills.

You breathed out, "Wow, how amusing...I wish Senku was here to see it...I like seeing cool stuff with him all the time."

Gen had an idea. One that was so mischievous that it caused his lips to curl into a devilish smile. With you sick, it was the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the situation at hand. Because of course, you and Senku would never ever talk about this to anybody. This was also a good way to keep you oriented to person.

"Say, (Y/N)-chan, what do you think of Senku-chan? Do you like him?" He questioned you.

Confused, you tilted your head. "Senku? Yeah, I like him... Senku is my best friend."

Not the answer I wanted, but no matter. Gen thought, then asked, "What does he do for you that you like?"

"I like it when he helps me with school work...or when he helps me train for my kentjutsu matches...and when he cheers for me with Taiju and Yuzuriha," you explained to him with a small smile.

"Wow~ sounds like he could be a great boyfriend, huh?" The mentalist teased.

"Senku...? As a boyfriend?" You wondered, then coughed out, "He wouldn't be a bad one...though I don't know if he'd be a good one either... I mean, there were people that thought he was handsome and liked that he was smart...but they didn't like that he was a 'mad scientist'..."

"Yeah, I can...totally see that..." The man sighed.

"They just don't understand that he's passionate about science... But I do... I understand how deep his love for it is," you mumbled. "He will never love another... as long as science is in his heart..."

The mentalist was able to pick up on your disheartened tone and remembered that you have said the same thing in the past. He tried cheering you up, "Don't be so down, (Y/N)-chan. I'm sure Senku-chan has somebody that he cares about deeply."

"Oh yeah? Like who?" You grumbled.

"You!" Gen happily pointed at you. He knows he's said it before, but he wanted to see if your answer would be different.

You just stared at him with confusion, then began laughing, causing Gen to sweat nervously. "Haha! You're a comedian too! I like you, Gen... You're an amusing man... You should come with us to watch the fireworks at the summer festival that's coming up...especially with what Senku does..."

"What does he do during the festival? Make his own food? Come up with some crazy science experiments?" He questioned you. He didn't expect you to reply with the same answer as last time, so he tried changing topics.

You smiled warmly and spoke softly, "He makes fireworks for us...I asked him if he could do it just once, and he did it every year after I had requested it...each one was so beautiful and unique, summer after summer..."

"Sounds very romantic when you think about it..." Gen stated, not surprised at what the green-haired boy was capable of doing for you. He thought Senku set the bar high for romantic things you could do for your partner.

"Uh-huh...when I think about him and all he's done for me...I get this fuzzy feeling in my chest..." you admitted to him with a yawn and started lying down on the mat.

"'Fuzzy feeling' you say?" He raised an eyebrow, getting closer to his goal. "You want to tell me what those fuzzy feelings are?"

"I don't know how to describe it...all I know is that people in Japan describe it as...doki-doki... yeah... he makes my heart go doki-doki," you quietly giggled.

The man then sighed with a smile as he watched you fall asleep with a happy heart. He could definitely sense there was something going on between the both of you. He thought that maybe you haven't realized it yet, nor have acknowledged it before. But now he knew you were just straight-up denying it! Now it was his turn to confront Senku when he has the opportunity to do so.

~~~

An hour had passed, and you were still asleep. Senku climbed up the ladder to check up on you, as he had promised beforehand. He noticed that you were lying on your side as you had slept.

"Welcome back, Senku-chan~! Your dear (Y/N)-chan is asleep," Gen greeted him with a sly smile.

He rolled his eyes. "How long has she been asleep?"

"A little over an hour now...she's like a little baby when she's sick," the mentalist chuckled.

"Damn right, she is," he said as he sat down next to the man.

"She told me some pretty interesting stuff while you were gone," Gen told him.

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Like what?"

He waved his hands around happily as he answered his question, "Like how sweet you are when you made a bunch of fireworks for her, or how you helped train her before her kenjutsu matches! You really are like a boyfriend, Senku-chan~!"

Senku just stared at him with a deadpan expression on his face. He didn't want to know what you had told the mentalist, for it might be a bunch of illogical nonsense that you spouted out of your mouth.

"Okay, get out. Old man Kaseki needs your help since he's so feeble," Senku said as he pointed his finger at the exit.

"What?! But I thought it was my job to watch (Y/N)-chan!" Gen whined. "Don't you have things to do?!"

"Yeah, but with this slowpoke sick, the amount of work done is reduced. I need to have my assistant to help me. The work will be slower if she doesn't get better right away," he explained to the mentalist.

Gen let out a disappointed sound, slowly starting to leave as he hoped that he would get information out of the boy. He looked back at Senku before climbing down, who was staring at you with furrowed eyebrows. The man then had a hidden smirk curled on his visage, knowing exactly what the scientist was feeling at the moment: uncertainty.

When he was gone, Senku let out a slight groan. "What am I gonna do with you, slowpoke?"

You slowly started to stir, hearing the boy's voice in your sleep. With a soft and light tone, you called out, "Senku..."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here. You talk in your sleep now, huh?" The scientist chuckled.

So many thoughts had filled his head. Why did you push yourself too hard this time? He felt as though it was his own fault for letting it get this far, let alone leaving you with the desire to continue training in secret. Why would you keep it from him? What was in your head that made you train so hard?

Senku sighed and was carefully keeping an eye on you. He saw how puppy-like you appeared to be as you lay sleeping, and took a finger to gently caress your cheek. Oh, how adorable you looked in those ruby-colored eyes of his. Calm and relaxed, like how you should be. A small smile appeared on his face as he wished that this moment between you could last as long as a lifetime.

You gradually took your hand and lightly grabbed his finger, as if you were a newborn baby.

"Oi, you don't need to hold me. I promise I'm not gonna go anywhere," Senku told you as he tried pulling away.

Suddenly, in a dainty whisper, you said, "Thank you, Senku...I love you..."

The boy immediately froze, dead in his tracks. His crimson eyes stared straight at you, processing the words you had said to him. It's as though the world was fixed in place, time turned to stone. But without any hesitation, he slowly leaned over to check if you were still sleeping. Your chest slowly rising and falling with each even breath had proven to him that you were still dreaming.

"You slowpoke...how can you say that so casually in your sleep? So illogical..." Senku let out a dissatisfied sigh as his cheeks were slightly tinted with pink. Then, he brought his mouth to your ear. In a hushed tone, he spoke,

"I love you too, (Y/N). Ten billion percent."

-To be Continued-

A/N: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

I STARTED UPLOADING THIS FIC TO ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN (AO3)! Some people on there found the fic and are enjoying it, it makes me so so happy!! Tears of joy guys ｡ﾟ(ﾟ'Д｀ﾟ)ﾟ｡