𝙊𝙓𝙔𝙏𝙊𝘾𝙄𝙉 ↬ senku i. x reader

Chapter 5

Second Person POV

Exhaustedly taking out a batch full of mushrooms, Senku placed it down in front of his makeshift shelter, wiping off any of the sweat that might have accumulated on his burning forehead. 

"Heh, it's finally starting to look like a place fit for an actual human... Okay, to be honest, I don't think I can keep hitting ignore on my exhaustion for too much longer," he breathed out. 

Falling back, Senku finally hit his point. Damn, I had no idea it would prove to be this hard trying to keep one person alive, there's no time for scientific progress. What I wouldn't give for someone with brute strength and stamina to handle the grunt work. 

When Senku gathered enough energy he got up and took one of his makeshift shovels. "I've got a hunch about this one, it's close to where I broke free so it's highly probable that we drifted from approximately the same location. His crazy stronger hands are just what I need."

As Senku began digging, he finally uncovered what he was looking for. "Hah, although I do get a little sick from looking at his stupid face, I think 3, 700 years may have been enough of a break. Hey, big oaf." 

Setting his shovel down Senku got down and began to poke Taiju's petrified iris'. "Alright, time to get on Senku's lab's first project. So tell me, meathead, what will it take for you to wake up like I did?"

Leaning back, his expression turned from a sarcastic good smirk to a serious grimace. 

The even bigger question is what exactly was it that turned humanity to stone 3, 700 years ago. 

HYPOTHESIS NO.1 

Imagining a group of aliens, Senku began a voice over.

"Dude, earthlings are so lame, so let's turn them into stone, it did work on those pesky swallows, preterate! Get excited."

HYPOTHESIS NO.2 

Now imagining himself as a military general Senku began another voice over.

"Haha, the petrification doom ray is finally complete! What in tarnation? It got us as well!

HYPOTHESIS NO.3

Now imagine a bunch of microorganisms Senku began his final voice over.

"Hehe, we are the petriculcus virus, only humans and swallows are vulnerable to our power. Get excited."

...

Shaking his head at the idea, he bit the bottom of his lip, still trying to understand what was going on.

The only thing I'm sure of is whatever caused this targeted humans and swallows specifically. It seems like a fantasy, but in reality, there's an underlying role which means I can solve it. Discovering these hidden roles is what science is all about. 

Right now I'm staring down a new path, an uncharted branch of science. Get excited, Senku. 

Poking his forehead with both his index and middle finger, he began to wonder what could have caused such a vile phenomenon. 

What did it? What caused me to break out of my petrified state? Was it simply deterioration?

If that were the case? The outside surface exposed to the elements would be the first to break down, but petrified people are like statues, stone all the way through, for me, it was like a shell. The outside was stone but the inside was living sells.

Frozen, Senku's eyes widened finding new information by rethinking everything that happened from before. Getting up and picking up some of the stone fragments that had fallen off of him, he once again began to reflect. No, it's the other way around, the surface was deteriorated and couldn't revert to the living cells, it became a stone husk!

Piecing the stone back together Senku realized what he had been missing.

The parts of the surface that were less petrified turned back to cells, that's why the reconstituted shell had holes in it. So I wasn't revived by deterioration or erosion, there's some outside x-factor in play. The fragments ended up in a pile with the ones closest to my head on the bottom which means the revival started at the top!

Looking up Senku was greeted by a bat. Following the line to where it could have possibly come from, Senku found a cave. Gingerly waking in, Senku was able to detect a potent scent.

"Smells like nitric acid... That's it!"

The back of my neck is still petrified, time for a quick experiment.

Taking part in his hair that still had stone residue, he placed it under the nitric acid. Watching the stone break away from the hair a smile made its way upon Senku's face. Going back to his little makeshift shelter Senku took one of many small vases he made and went to go collect some of what he called "miracle fluid."

When the vase was filled, Senku took it and went to Taiju, hoping and praying it would work. Carefully emptying the content of the vase onto Taiju's petrified form, to his dismay, nothing happened.

Now trying it on a petrified swallow, Senku wondered why the nitric acid only worked on him. He thought maybe it was just Taiju, maybe there was something he ate the day the mysterious light shown down that made the petrification more stable on him.

On the topic of food Senku went up to your statue, you and him ate the same thing that day. He knew this for a fact because you were the one who made lunch for him. Though it may have been hard to see you like this, there was nothing that could have been done to prevent any of it. Thinking back on it, you were the only one who truly understood him. You were able to accept Senku for who he was, science, and all.

Pouring the fluid on your head he waited. But alas, still nothing.

Why was it only me who was able to get out? What makes me different? I just need a working hypothesis, come on, Senku, think!

As he played multiple scenarios throughout his head, he understood that he began to overthink it. 

That's it! I was thinking! For the entire 3, 700 years I was petrified for I remained conscious. The human brain burns through 400 calories per day, over 700 years, that works up to two terajoules of energy but where did all that energy come from?

E=mc², energy and mass have an equivalent exchange. Old man Einstein expressed a basic scientific truth with that equation, it tells us that we can't create energy from anything, there's something in the stone itself that I was consuming, that's how I had the energy to use my brain. Finding out what that was is the key to undoing the petrifaction. 

I gotta try everything, every experiment I can think of. Taking an assemblage of petrified swallows, Senku began to experiment with them. Putting them in fire, and trying to uncover it by breaking the stone on top.

I'd love to get my hands on some kind of industrial-strength etching agent like nytol, but I need alcohol to make that. I've gotta believe and try, and try, and try to keep trying everything I can possibly think of and then try some more.

Bitting his finger Senku drew blood and wrote the equation E=mc²on the fabric of his clothing. 

"Never forget, petrification seems like a fantasy but the foundations of science are rock solid."