Chapter Text
The first to notice Ukyo’s caring nature was Tsukasa. Naturally, as the leader of their group he kept a close eye on his people and their dynamics to ensure harmony. Minami had urged him to revive Ukyo for his superb hearing and Tsukasa agreed thinking he would be perfect for border patrols. On first impression, Tsukasa had a hard time believing Ukyo was once in the military due to his young looks, but his calm demeanour and strategic intelligence proved otherwise. Soon after Ukyo proved to be extremely handy with a bow, almost professional with his speed and accuracy. In fact, he was their only true long-range fighter, partnered with his super hearing and clam tactical mind this significantly increased his worth and status and was unanimously raised into the top 3 with himself. Yes, the law of the land was now determined by battle strength, and while Ukyo didn’t have raw power like many others, no one came close to his technique and unique skillsets.
However, Tsukasa took another thing into account. Ukyo’s caring nature and charismatic personality. While not the same level of charisma as his own or Senku’s, Ukyo’s keen hearing and desire for harmony usually had him breaking up and mediating petty fights. He would swiftly interject arguments and proceed to kindly but firmly deescalate the situation. Soon after, all involved parties were back on friendly terms and cooperating smoothly. While he wasn’t close to being the leader, his selfless acts earned the respect and positive relations of others in their community. Just like Tsukasa, if Ukyo walked by, people waved and smiled at him and Ukyo would return the gestures and greet everyone by name. With enough time, Tsukasa could see Ukyo leading a rebellion easily making him a long-term threat. However, Tsukasa had no such worries. Ukyo was an obvious pacifist, never wanting to shed a single drop of blood. When he had given Ukyo his ideology speech and broke a few statues he noticed the way Ukyo pulled away. How he clenched his fists and jaw. Could feel the anger simmering under his skin. But despite the obvious clash in opinions, Ukyo stayed, took orders and cared for those already revived. The fact that Ukyo wouldn’t endanger anyone in the community certified that he would never initiate a rebellion and therefor was not a threat to Tsukasa.
This didn’t stop others from praising their archer though. Tsukasa was taking his usual stroll around the grounds when he overheard conversation from below him.
“Man, you’re crazy!”
“No think about it! All of us are quite young and no one that’s been revived so far has parental experience. Tsukasa is our leader that makes him the closest thing to a dad among us”
Never out loud would he admit it, but Tsukasa stumbled after hearing that. He’d known others looked at him as a role model, a leader, but a father figure? Surely, he was too young for that.
“Alright alright, but if Tsukasa is a dad, who’s gonna be our mum?”
The two fell silent in contemplation. Tsukasa didn’t know why exactly he stopped to listen, why he hadn’t continued to walk past. Maybe, just maybe a small part of him was curious as well. Maybe Nikki, despite her gruff first impressions she was a caring and sweet young lady. Or Minami, she was leading the charge on who to revive and was one of the first faces everyone saw once awakened. He was brought out of his thoughts as the conversation continued.
“Come on, who are we kidding? The answer is obvious”
“Yeah, only one name comes to mind really”
Tsukasa leaned over ever so slightly in curiosity.
“It’s gotta be Ukyo!” they both chimed, effectively stunning Tsukasa.
“I mean, you saw him the other day when those two guys were about to duke it out!”
Oh? Tsukasa hadn’t heard of any fights lately.
“I didn’t just see, I had a front row seat!”
--Flashback—
Being revived from a supposed 3,700-year slumber, finding out all the modern luxuries you were used to were now gone and humanity is starting from scratch in the stone age was the biggest shock. The next shock was that there were no adults, the world was now governed by strength and everyone had to work together to survive. Ideally everyone would be able to find common ground and bond to form a cohesive network, prioritising survival in the harsh reality of the stone world. Ideally… In reality, it’s inevitable for tensions to rise and relationships to sour in such a small community of modern people adapting to survivalist mentalities. Such was happening between to members of that day’s hunting team, each blaming the other as the reason their prey managed to get away only for the conversation to escalate into a full-blown argument.
“YOU’RE THE ONE WHO STEPPED ON THE BRANCH AND SCARED THE DEER OFF!”
“YOU ATTACKED TOO EARLY AND RAN INTO ME”
“THAT’S IT! YOU AND ME! LET’S GO! WE ALL KNOW THAT STRENGTH IS THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS IN THIS WORLD AND YOU’RE NOTHING BUT A WEAK DIPSHIT WHO CAN’T EVEN TAKE DOWN A DEER!”
“HUH?! LOOKS WHO’S TALKING! I COULD BEAT THE SHIT OUTTA YOU WITH MY EYES CLOSED! SQUARE UP FUCKER!”
A crowd had formed around the two, becoming the prime source of entertainment for whoever was nearby. The two muscle heads started to circle each other, steam practically coming out of their ears. Just as they were about to pounce at each other, an arrow landed neatly in between them both and everyone knew what that meant.
“What do you think you’re doing?” a soft but stern voice called from the trees. Everybody looked towards the branches and there he was “UKYO!”. Just as the arched jumped down from the tree into the middle of the clearing the two perpetrators snapped out of their shock.
“Stay outta this Ukyo! It’s got nothing to do with you!”
“Yeah! We need to fight this out like men! Step aside!”
Ukyo held up his arms to keep the two a part. “You’re both fighting unnecessarily, it doesn’t matter who scared the dear off. You should be putting this energy to better use. There’s no benefit of fighting each other. You both know how Tsukasa wil-” one of them cut Ukyo off, now glaring at the shorter male.
“I SAID STAY OUTTA THIS! TELLING TSUKASA IS THE ONLY THING YOU CAN DO PIPSQUEK! FUCK OFF!”
“USE YOUR DUMB EARS AND LISTEN FUCKER! GO BACK AND SUCK TSUKASA’S DICK BASTARD!”
the clearing fell silent, all you could here was the wind rustling the trees. Everyone warily looked towards their resident archer whose hat shadowed his face from view.
“Shut up” the words came out cold and firm. Everyone swallowed nervously, Ukyo usually spoke with a calm and friendly tone, this was the first time anyone had heard the archer like this and suddenly the rumours that Ukyo was in the military started sounding more believable.
Even the two meatheads hesitated at that “w-what are you gonna do about it-”
“Sit down and shut up, the pair of you”
Being in the stone world for a while has been reawakening the primal instincts that had been dulled due to the comforts of modern life. At that moment it was clear, it they didn’t do what Ukyo said they’d die. Both men immediately kneeled seiza style in front of Ukyo, keeping their eyes down in fear. It was unclear what exactly Ukyo was thinking but after what they both said no one would be surprised if Ukyo shot them both right then and there. Instead, he took a deep breath and crossed his arms while looking down at the two.
“I understand there are times where frustration can lead to outbursts. You were both probably hunting that deer all day just for it to run off. It’s natural you’d both want to blow off some steam. However, this is a time where we can’t afford to waste energy like this until we have a more stable food source. Every unnecessary move could cost a meal or more. In the time it took you both to argue and squabble you both could have caught another deer. Next time, I expect you both to redirect that energy to something beneficial. Am I clear?”
Both hesitated, ashamed at being logically called out and shocked by the soft scolding and not the beatdown they were expecting, no, the beatdown they’d deserved after what they did and said. Ukyo cleared his throat, snapping them back to attention. “Ye-Yes! Sorry Ukyo” they both apologised and bowed their heads for forgiveness. Ukyo let out a small breath of amusement. “I’m glad you understand now” he smiled at them kindly, and both couldn’t help but tear up ever so slightly at the kindness. That changed however after Ukyo picked up his arrow and retuned it to his quiver. “That being said, I am incredibly disappointed at how things turned out, I will have to punish you both and I hope you can remember this moment in the future when you feel like fighting someone else for petty reasons” Somehow hearing that Ukyo was disappointed made everyone’s chest clench in disgrace, some even preferred Ukyo was mad rather than disappointed. “Your punishment” Ukyo paused, thinking for a suitable action and causing the two offenders to gulp nervously “you must both hold hands until dinner time” silence field the area before everyone burst out laughing and the two men kneeling blushed in humiliation. The punishment was ridiculous, ludicrous even, but they knew Ukyo was serious so hesitatingly they held each other’s hands much to Ukyo’s satisfaction.
“Everyone quite down please” everyone’s laughter immediately simmered down to chuckles and Ukyo continued. “You may only let go for bathroom breaks, I want you both to spend the rest of the day working together to clean up the base. Understood?” Both nodded and weekly replied affirmatively. “Good, I’ll check on you both at dinner.” And with that Ukyo walked away back to patrolling the boarders.
Throughout the day the duo received many strange looks, but they carried on, cleaning the base as Ukyo instructed and unwilling to risk the consequences despite the embarrassment. By sunset, dinner was almost ready. Just as they were settling down for food Ukyo approached them both. “Oh, you’re both still holding hands, good job! You can let go now” he smiled at them, and both immediately pulled their hands away from each other breathing in relief. “Here” Ukyo pulled their attention back to him. Ukyo slung a large mass from his shoulders and laid it out, their eye widened in shock, Ukyo had hunted a deer and brought it to them. “This is your reward for tonight, I hope you both learned from this experience and promise to redirect your frustrations on more productive tasks and not at each other.” Ukyo smiled gently and both nodded, overwhelmed by the (strangely familiar) kindness displayed before them.
“I promise to not do anything like this again Ukyo-sama!”
“I also promise Ukyo-sama!”
Both downed deeply (dogeza style) in appreciation before the yellow clad man.
“sama?” Ukyo questioned uncomfortably.
--Present Time—
“Honestly, when Ukyo said he was disappointed I felt my heart clench, like my mum was scolding me!”
“I know what you mean! He just gives off the vibes, right? Like, he’s usually super kind but can be stern if your causing trouble and will lecture you about making better decisions just like a mum!”
“Yeah, it’s definitely Ukyo! …wait can you hear something?”
Both paused and looked around but saw no one and heard nothing unusual.
“Must have been your imagination”
“Yeah, I guess so! Ah, look they’re calling for us down there, let’s go.”
As the pair left, above them Tsukasa struggled to keep his chuckles suppressed from the mental images that story gave him. While he’s sure he would have punished to two, especially after what they said, having them hold hands was a punishment he never would have thought of in another 3,000-years. Certainly, scolding and humiliation seemed to work wonders and involved nothing physically torturous while letting those punished reflect on themselves. Yes, it was truly genius and absolutely a mother’s style. Or rather, Ukyo’s style.
Tsukasa continued his walk smiling just a tad more widely and when he happened to run into Ukyo on the other side of base, he couldn’t help but pat the shorter man’s shoulder wordlessly and resumed walking leaving a completely baffled Ukyo behind.