Constant Variable (Senku x Reader)

8: Stone Road

"Tell me, Senku. How do we make the cure-all medicine?" Chrome exclaimed both hands clenched into fists. "We're going to defeat Ruri's sickness!"

"I'll help in any way I can if it means Ruri-nee will get better!" Kohaku added, just as determined as her fellow brown-haired villager.

It warmed your heart to see how your newfound friends were so adamant on saving someone that they cared for. Although the same couldn't be said for a certain green-haired scientist who had a different thought in mind, judging by the creepy grin on his face.

"I see what he's thinking." Chrome peered through the hole formed with his thumb and index finger, acting as he could physically see what was going on in said person's head. "He's planning to save Ruri as part of some sleazy scheme."

Kohaku nodded her head, her arms folded across her chest in disapproval. "I can't decide if he's a gentleman or a slimeball. I guess he's just logical, but..."

"Well, you aren't exactly wrong." You mumbled in agreement and started to sweatdrop when Senku began cackling and rubbing his hands in glee, living up to the rumours of being an actual evil scientist.

"The kingdom of science is going to be making an antibiotic," Senku explained as he grabbed a stick and began to draw an image of a medicine pill on the ground. "It's the scientific wonder drug that kills bacteria infecting a person."

"It's saved hundreds of millions of lives ever since it was discovered in the early twentieth century." You added helpfully, a lightbulb going off in your head when you remembered having read about this before, probably from one of Senku's medical books lying around in his bedroom.

"(Name) got it right," Senku confirmed and raised a hand to ruffle your hair fondly, the corners of his lips tugged slightly into a small smile, causing two pink spots to appear on your cheeks at the scientist's rare showcase of affection. "We can't do blood tests. We have no idea what her disease even is. But it's worth trying it anyway."

"All right, let's get on it right away!" Chrome declared enthusiastically with Kohaku just as eager as she asked, "What do we need?"

Seeing how pumped the duo got about working with Senku to find a cure for Ruri, you were determined to help said person as well even though you weren't familiar with her. Ready to help in whatever ways you could, you turned to your green-haired friend, exclaiming, "Senku, if there's anything you need, tell me! I'll do my best to assist you!"

"We're missing all kinds of stuff." Senku sweatdropped at the three pair of expectant gazes directed at him. "Pay attention when I talk."

An exasperated sigh left his lips as he drew two arrows branching out from the pill before drawing two more images in the dirt. "There are two routes to making antibiotics. We can take the biological route and make penicillin from living things, or we can take the stone route and make sulfa drugs from rocks."

"Hang on, Senku." A confused Kohaku stopped the scientist. "Living things? Rocks? How would you make medicine from those?"

Senku met the blonde's gaze as he began to explain. "Penicillin, made from green mold, is the more famous one. But making penicillin in this stone world would be a crazy game of chance, where we'd be going, 'Hey, we managed to stumble upon this super green mold that's ten billion times more powerful, woo!'. We'll just have to pray, 'Please, Lord, give us some of that nice green mold, thanks!'. Meanwhile, the stone route, making sulfa drugs, will take insane amounts of diligence and manpower, but even in this stone world, we'll land on the drug, ten billion percent."

"Then the answer is obvious!" Chrome responded with a firm nod.

"You get it, don't you?" Senku asked as he turned around to face the trio, the corners of his lips slowly lifting into his trademark smirk that was full of confidence. "We're neither gods nor geniuses. We crawl around on the ground, making everything step by step."