Chapter Text
Senku firmly believed in rationality — that everything followed certain laws, and science could always prove the logic behind those laws.
Indeed, he hoped there was at least *some* logical explanation for why, while he was in class a moment ago, he was now standing in a large hall — one that could easily fit hundreds of people, with a massive screen and rows of seats like a theater.
“Senku!”
That familiar voice made him turn, only to see his childhood friend and the girl his friend loved (who also loved him back, though he was oblivious), a.k.a. Taiju and Yuzuriha.
Seeing them brought a small sense of relief to Senku. At least there were people he knew.
“Senku-kun, were we kidnapped?” Yuzuriha asked, panicking.
“We just teleported out of nowhere! I was in class and then woosh! I ended up here!”
“I can hear you perfectly fine—” Senku grimaced, “No need to yell. Your voice is piercing my eardrums.”
Taiju stepped back and smiled sheepishly. “Oh, sorry.”
“You don’t sound sorry at all,” Senku muttered, glancing around. There were several familiar faces — classmates, the nosy neighbor from across the street, celebrities he’d only seen on TV, and—
“Oyy! Senku!”
Of course, his father was there too.
“Byakuya-san?!” Yuzuriha and Taiju shouted in unison, startled.
“Byakuya,” Senku called out as well, but in a much flatter tone. “Weren’t you supposed to be in space? What are you doing here?”
“Oh, I’d love to know that too,” Byakuya replied cheerfully, even though he looked just as confused.
“Why are you so upbeat about this? We could very well be in the afterlife,” Senku said dryly, ignoring Yuzuriha and Taiju’s horrified gasps.
“We’re dead?!”
Byakuya laughed heartily. “Well, who cares! I get to see you again! Oh, Taiju, Yuzuriha — you’re here too!”
“Hello, Senku’s dad!”
“It’s been a while, Byakuya-san.”
“You old fool,” Senku sighed.
Now he understood why he always had faith that things would work out — he was surrounded by hopeless optimists like Taiju and his father.
“Whoa, Byakuya, is this the famous Senku you kept talking about?”
Speaking in English with her distinct American accent, none other than the world-famous singer Lillian Weinberg appeared behind Byakuya.
“Oh! Lillian! Meet my son, Senku, and his friends Taiju and Yuzuriha,” Byakuya said proudly. “And Senku, this is Lillian — though I’m sure you already know her.”
“Hard not to know you when your face is practically everywhere. I’m Ishigami Senku.”
Lillian’s eyes widened in surprise. “His English is incredible! He really is as amazing as you said he was.”
Senku raised an eyebrow.
“See? Byakuya never stops talking about you — it’s always stories about Senku this, Senku that. Nothing else.”
Senku shot his father a judgmental glare.
“Aww, Senku, no need to be shy. You know how much I love you.”
Taiju, who didn’t understand a word of English, turned to Yuzuriha for help.
“I don’t get it completely either,” Yuzuriha whispered, “but I think Byakuya-san is close friends with Lillian and always tells her stories about Senku.”
“Oh! Wow! Senku’s dad is amazing, being friends with a global superstar!” Taiju exclaimed.
Senku made a disgusted face, which only encouraged Byakuya to tease him more. Lillian laughed at the father-son dynamic.
“Even with your own kid, you’re shameless as always, old man,” said a blond man — the one Senku recognized from his father’s selfies — as he walked over.
“Shamil, you’re dead too?!”
“Maybe. We were all in space — it’d be weird if only you two died and we didn’t.”
“Unless you killed me first!”
“I wouldn’t hurt Lillian, but I might kill you.”
“How cruel.”
“We’re in a crisis, and none of you are panicking?” another voice spoke.
Byakuya turned and saw Connie, Darya, and Yakov walking behind Shamil.
“Oh no! You’re all dead too!”
“Why are you surprised?” Connie asked, sweatdropping.
[Ahem, everyone!]
The sound of a girl’s voice, amplified through a microphone, made everyone look toward the giant screen. There, a strange, eccentric-looking girl was smiling brightly.
“An alien?!” Taiju yelled.
“[Alien? Hmm, maybe something like that,]” she said playfully.
“Are we all dead?!” shouted a spiky-haired man with a fierce expression.
[‘Dead’ sounds a bit too dramatic — this isn’t the afterlife] she replied.
A white-haired man with emerald eyes spoke up. “Then what kind of place is this?”
“[It’s the realm between life and death.]”
“How is that any different?!” everyone shouted in different languages.
“[Relax, I just kidnapped you all.]”
“That sounds way worse,” groaned a brown-haired man.
“Hahah! Simple enough,” said a blond man, snapping his fingers. “That means you want something from us — humanity itself.”
At that, a few people glanced his way. Those from Japan instinctively stepped back, while others nodded in agreement. The foreigners, however, looked confused.
“Wait, why can I understand him?”
“Yeah, I’ve never spoken Japanese in my life.”
“[To answer your question, Ryusui — yes, I do want something from you. And as for the language issue, I just added subtitles.]”
“How?!”
“Ohh, isn’t that knowledge beyond human comprehension? How elegant!”
Senku immediately knew who said that but chose to keep quiet. He was well aware that his so-called mentor — who often preached about ruling the world through science — wasn’t exactly sane.
“Please, Xeno, just shut up,” someone groaned.
“What do you want from us?!” demanded several politicians.
“Yes, if you want money, we’ll pay whatever you ask,” pleaded a government official.
“I’ll even give you my children, just spare me!” shouted a conglomerate head — the patriarch of the Nanami family.
Ryusui looked deeply offended, and his butler only shook his head in disappointment.
A masked man frowned in disgust, while the “strongest high school primate” could barely hold back a snarl.
[Tempting offers] the alien mused. “[I do like your two children over there, though.]”
Everyone followed her gaze toward the Nanami brothers — Ryusui and Sai.
Sai panicked instantly, while Ryusui’s sharp eyes glared back. Their butler stepped forward protectively.
“My apologies, but whatever you want from them, I won’t allow it.”
“[Relax, I said I like them, not that I want them. I’m not interested in your wealth or possessions either.]”
“What, then? You want us to watch your fan-edits or something?” Senku said sarcastically.
“Hey, Senku,” Byakuya tugged him back nervously, worried the alien might take offense at his son’s sharp tongue.
“[You get ten billion points! Yes, I want you all to watch my edits.]”
“He’s right?!" everyone shouted in disbelief.
What shocked Senku’s close friends even more was—
“Senku, was that just a coincidence, or does it actually know your habit of saying ‘ten billion percent’?” Yuzuriha asked worriedly.
“I’d like to think it’s just coincidence.”
“Your luck’s never been good, Senku,” Byakuya added.
“Hey, don’t be mean to your son,” Darya scolded.
“Oh come on, no one stops him when he’s being mean to me!”
“Sorry, but you are kinda bully-able.”
“I hate you, Shamil.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
The tension among them faded again. Yuzuriha looked relieved, Taiju laughed loudly, and Senku only scowled.
The astronauts, despite knowing these kids for less than an hour, were already showing protective instincts — something Lillian found rather sweet.
Hearing that the alien didn't–
[Oh, and by the way, my name’s Rawzra. Don’t call me ‘alien.’]
Hearing that Rawzra didn’t kidnap them for experiments, everyone relaxed a little.
“So, what kind of video are we watching?” a small child asked innocently.
“[Good question! We’ll be watching Earth — *thousands of years into the future!*]”
“…What?”
“Huh?”
“Are you some kind of time traveler?”
Realizing this was going far beyond human logic, Senku decided to just sit down.
“Tired already, Senku?”
“This conversation’s giving me an aneurysm. I’ll just play dumb for once.”
“Good idea. At least we’re not dead— Wait, what’s happening to the real world?!” Byakuya asked suddenly.
“[Another good question—why do I feel like a teacher?— Anyway, time isn’t moving in the real world, so relax.]”
Someone sighed in relief. “That’s good. I was teaching my baby to swim; I was worried she might drown.”
“[…Oh. Uh, sorry about that.]”