Archive of Our Own ^beta

Senku doesn't entirely despise feelings, as unbelievable and insane as it may sound. It's the feeling of curiosity that helps build his knowledge as he grows up. Whenever he's close to figuring out an error in his experiments, the excitement he feels is what ultimately drives him to find solutions. They're useful in certain situations and play a big part in furthering the understanding of science.

Of course, he still finds them flimsy and illogical and unpredictable and the opposite of everything science stands for, but unlike data and numbers as true as any scientific law, he can stash feelings away and pretend they don't exist.

And that's better than the alternative.

After he gets encased in stone for 3700 years, his opinion doesn't change. Not when he lays awake at night for the six months after he wakes up, his mind pushing past the emotional barriers he's put up and wondering if Taiju will ever break free and join him. It doesn't change when Tsukasa is revived and Senku immediately senses the danger he imposes upon the world's survival. And his opinion stays the same when Yuzuriha is seconds away from death and Senku's only option is a sacrifice he's NOT ten billion percent sure will work.

But he lives and says goodbye to the only friends he has in this world, able to hide the pang of pain in his chest with ease from both of them.

The villagers are no modern scientists, but they're resourceful and eager and perfect for the manual labor Senku needs. A blossom of hope blooms in his chest. They have a chance against the raw power that is Tsukasa's kingdom. He welcomes the feeling and puts it to use in the detailed maps he comes up with, takes advantage of it by staying up late dividing people into teams, recalling every part of everything they need from memory.

Even when he finds out about his father, and his head swarms, and his chest burns, and he wonders for the first time if staying awake for 3700 years was worth it, he doesn't let it show. He allows the tears to flow once, and he moves on (though he decides feelings are even dumber than he first thought).

And then Gen Asagiri comes into play. He's a spy, there is no doubt, and Senku's heart twists in his chest because they are not ready to face Tsukasa, and part of science is willing to admit when something may not work out the way he plans it to. But Gen's loyalty is finicky or else he would've exposed Senku when he first saw him, and the scientist takes advantage of this. Fortunately, he keeps Senku's existence a secret, and the scientist allows himself to indulge in the presence of someone else who understands what humanity lost.

And then he thinks his fears have come true.

"All you need to do is hand my head and science over to Tsukasa," Senku scoffs, a twisted smile on his face, the blindfold wrapped around his eyes itchy and rough on his skin. There's a bitter feeling in his chest, "...it's logical."

"I don't know what you're talking about, but..."

And maybe it's the grief of finding out about his father's death, or the fact that they made a whole observatory for him, or even the relief of his ever racing, ever counting mind finally going silent, but he lets himself enjoy the gifted observatory and appreciate the support of all the villagers around him, feeling more accepted than he did even before the petrification.

He can't believe that it's a stupid sly smile and strong graceful fingers that ultimately become his downfall.

Senku isn't stupid. He knows the effort put into figuring out his birthday isn't a thoughtless endeavor. The villagers build the observatory, but it's Gen's idea. He remembers the number Senku wrote on that tree all those months ago; he tricks Senku - who usually sees past the mentalist's schemes - to find how long he's been alive and goes through the trouble of figuring out the math to find the exact day he is born on. It isn't complicated math by any means, but it IS a tedious process, especially for someone like Gen, who takes every chance he can to escape work.

After this, it makes sense Gen takes a permanent spot in Senku's mind.

Most of the time, the mentalist sits in the back of his thoughts. He has a kingdom to run and a war to win, after all. Yet that doesn't stop him from wondering where the mentalist is, what he's working on, and looking for a head of familiar two-toned hair among the other science kingdom members.

He's all tricks and devilish smiles. He's talented and versatile, and he knows it. He's the perfect amount of scumbag. His ridiculous hair always falls perfectly around his pale face, and his eyes look ethereal in the moonlight. He makes Senku laugh and forget about the war, if just for a moment.

His presence becomes a comfort Senku can't afford after the petrification.

But it doesn't matter, because that's exactly the sort of situation emotions have no business being in, and Senku can hide it just like everything else he feels.

So he does.

Until he can't.

---

Senku's opinion on feelings changes the night after their win. The past few weeks, there's been an itch in his chest that refuses to go away. Every time before he talks, he has to surreptitiously clear his throat, or his voice sounds like rubbing sandpaper.

He keeps an eye on it, thinking it may be seasonal allergies - despite his lack of them before, it's 3700 years later, after all, maybe something changed - and compares his symptoms to many respiratory diseases. But there are no connections. It's just like something is stuck in his chest and won't get out, no matter how many times he coughs or how much water he drinks. It doesn't worsen or get better, so he places it on the backburner in his mind in the weeks leading up to the battle. There are more important things to worry about.

Once Tsukasa has been frozen and everyone's gone to sleep buzzed with the feeling of victory and alcohol coursing through their systems, Senku can't fall asleep. It makes no logical sense. After all he's done the past couple of days, he should be tired, and he is, yet his mind keeps running as if the war is still going on and Tsukasa is on his way to demolish everything and not in a freezer that Senku put him in.

He doesn't attempt to sleep after leaving the celebrations early, opting instead to make his way towards the trees surrounding the beach. As the rustles and mating calls of life resound around him, he limps through the forest, silently counting the steps as he goes, not bothering to find a scientific explanation for such a useless waste of energy. It just seems like the right thing to do at the moment.

Earlier, the feeling of victory is so palpable in the smiles around him and the rush of energy in his veins, but that's worn off, and all that's left are the dull aches in his body from the fight against Hyouga, and the exhausting expectation to begin forming the next plan. Building a ship isn't as simple as an equation; it involves trial and error only a professional will be able to correct.

For the time being, he can have Kohaku, Ginrou, and Kinrou gather wood...though now they have all the muscle of the residents of the defeated Tsukasa Empire to join in. Senku can explain some of the science behind the processes they'll be going through to Chrome. And he'll have to further discuss with Gen what the new members of the science kingdom are going to mean for the population and potential social disasters. The mentalist already mentioned a plan to deal with it at the gathering they had earlier that day. Surprising, considering the man's work ethic, but Senku supposes it's different when it comes to that topic specifically. A smile unconsciously slips onto his face. He's the Kingdom of Science's resident mentalist for a reason.

And that's when he screws up.

At around 2451 steps in, the itch in his chest flares up like he's swallowed something too quickly, and he falls forward onto his knees, clutching at his chest as his body is wracked by a series of coughs not like anything he's ever felt.

He's desperately trying - and failing - to catch his breath when something crawls up his throat and is quickly expelled by his now weakening coughs, along with a thick warm liquid. After what feels like a minute, though must only be a few seconds, he's gasping, finally able to get air into his lungs and attempt to figure out what the hell just happened.

He doesn't have to be a scientist to know this is not seasonal allergies.

He sits back on his hands, vaguely noticing the sound around him has quieted and all he can hear is the heaving of his ragged breathing. There's the bitter metallic taste of iron in his mouth, and he spits somewhere to the side, raising a shaking hand to wipe his face. He barely spares the dark smear across the back of his hand a second glance. He knows what it is.

But what he doesn't expect is the sight of something only a few feet away looking decidedly misplaced among the dark green of spring grass. It makes something awful curl in his stomach, and the pain in his chest increases tenfold.

Highlighted by the moonlight filtering through the trees, laying innocently on the ground, is a single purple petal.

---

Hanahaki disease. A disease in which a floral plant roots itself into the victim's lungs and grows as time progresses.

There was a lot of mystery surrounding it, due to the rare amount of cases in the modern world pre-petrification, and was often mistaken as a fictional illness because of it. Irritatingly enough, Senku never had much interest in the subject at school, opting instead to make a presentation over the possibilities of future space travel rather than some silly disease that defies all laws of science.

But a girl in class always chose it as a topic when applicable, and that is all Senku needs now to recall information about it.

Symptoms include chest pain, sore throat, coughing, and if left untreated, death.

Cause of contraction? One-sided love.

Senku thinks of this while he clumps back to the beach. It was late when he left the party, and now it's pitch dark, save for the glow of the moon and stars ever so bright in the sky. It's a beautiful night, but he barely notices as he sets up a cot on a somewhat soft spot of sand. He falls asleep listening to the waves crash against the rocks, mind ever racing

---

Nothing visible changes the next morning, except maybe the depth of Senku's eye bags. He wakes up a little later than usual, and people are already moving about doing...actually, he doesn't really know.

He is rolling up his cot when he sees Kohaku a few yards away, tying her hair up in its usual ponytail.

"Oi, lionness." He calls out as he makes his way over to her. She seems to be in a good mood as she looks over at Senku and doesn't say something about his snarky comment.

"Hey, Senku. What do you need?" She finishes her ponytail and places her hands on her hips.

"I'm going to have a meeting with everyone today. Can you and the rest of the muscle team make a small stage for me to stand on?" He asks, pointedly ignoring the slight weight on his chest. She snorts,

"I don't even need them. Leave it to me." And she's off.

By noon, there's a small sturdy stage erected from the sand, and everyone from both the Kingdom of Science and Tsukasa's empire is gathered in front of it.

"I assume this is your doing, Senku-chan?"

Senku's heart begins to beat a little faster as it does in the mentalist's presence. He takes a deep breath and places his usual smirk on his face.

"It is." He turns to look at Gen, who looks as composed as usual. He has a yellow overcoat on today, and Senku can't help but notice how it brings out the blue undertones in his gray eyes. "The yellow is vibrant."

"Yuzuriha used limonite and yellow saffron, though I wore it for the color of nasturtium."

"A flower; What's the meaning?" Senku asks. Gen smiles something wide and genuine.

"Victory."

Senku swallows the cough that threatens to erupt from his throat.

---

He goes about life as usual, leading the building of the boat during the day and searching for solutions to his disease at night.

He's taken to a large rock a five-minute walk down the beach, as the snores and rustling of other people are hard to concentrate with, and he's trying to hide his condition from anyone else, anyway. He scribbles on a piece of paper with charcoal. Writing things down on roadmaps isn't just for the villagers' sakes but Senku's as well. It helps him collect his thoughts and gives him a clear path to follow. Currently, he has two things scratched on the parchment.

Before the petrification, the are two known cures to the disease. The first and most obvious one: confessing and having your affections reciprocated. Which... Senku doesn't waste any time in scribbling that one out. It has nothing to do with insecurity or cowardice, but rather a few things Gen does. The flirting he does with only the girls in the kingdom of science (NOT Senku) and the multiple times he's mentioned wanting a harem. He hasn't recently, but that doesn't change the fact he is most definitely straight, and even if that isn't the case, Senku doubts skinny scientists are his type, anyway.

The second cure is an experimental surgery to remove the plant from the lungs. Even before the petrification, it is risky. While the victim doesn't suffer from physical defects, all of them lose any sort of feelings for the person they fell in love with.

Post petrification... the person most qualified to perform the surgery is Senku, but even he can't perform surgery on himself, and it's not like he can revive a doctor with their low supply of revival fluid. Or at least...he thinks of sly blue eyes and a pink smirk, he'd rather not. That's not even considering the fact Senku plans to keep everyone out of this. They have more important things to worry about, and knowing those idiots, they'll worry like crazy over him.

He scratches it out and yawns. He won't get any closer to figuring it out half asleep. Folding the piece of paper and tucking it into his pocket, Senku stands up and makes his way back to the sleeping area.

---

A week later finds Senku stuck. Building the boat is still going strong, but he knows he'll need a captain who knows the seas like the back of his hands. While Minami's on the task, they begin building huts for everyone to sleep in (they can only deal with so many sand complaints).

No, what Senku's stuck on is...much more personal.

He's staring at the two hanahaki solutions he scribbled out in a small cave he's claimed as his lab when he hears footsteps stop at the entrance.

"What do you need?" He asks, calmly folding up the paper and slipping it back into his pocket before looking up.

It's a man from Tsukasa's kingdom, as big and burly as the rest of them. He's sweating and his eyes are stuck firmly to the ground. He looks almost...scared in Senku's presence.

He scoffs. What an ironic scene.

"Y-you're Senku, right?" The man murmurs, his low voice reverberating in the cave.

"I am," He says, watching as the man teeters from foot to foot. Honestly. "Relax, I'm not going to throw thallium or something at you." Finally, the man looks up, though his eyebrows are scrunched in confusion.

"What?"

"Don't worry about it." Senku sighs and sits on a rock, upright as to allow for easier breathing. The disease has yet to do much more than make it harder to breathe and give him a cough.

The man seems much more at ease, though he keeps a distance of about three yards between them.

"I wanted to ask you about the petrification... one of the men Tsukasa revived used to have stage four lung cancer, with only a couple months to live, but he seemed to be cur-"

"Who is it?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Who is it you're trying to save?" Senku repeats. The man gulps.

"My girlfriend. She had a very rare disease. She was hospitalized when the world was petrified."

"Was the disease something she was born with?"

"No, she developed it later."

"Then she will probably be okay." Senku stands up and studies the boat blueprint he made. It makes him restless if he doesn't do something while he talks. "We can't revive her yet, and I'm not guaranteeing her safety, but you saw what happened to that man."

"Her disease is rare, though, practically unheard of."

Senku's heart stops.

"Rare, huh..." He trails off as his mind begins racing.

"That's why I'm worried."

"Right now, she's the safest she can be in stone. Until we revive her, there's not much we can do but speculate." Senku smiles at the man, "But I'm sure she'll be happy to know someone is looking after her."

The man nods, thanks him, and leaves. The smile instantly slips off Senku's face. He doesn't know how Gen does it.

He suddenly breaks into a coughing fit.

Oh, right, that.

Senku pulls the paper out of his pocket and spreads it against the floor of the cave, immediately writing down his new idea.

If the petrification beam can cure cancer, a severed cervical nerve (still makes him shudder to think about), and even save Tsukasa's sister, then who's to say it can't cure something like Hanahaki?

Isn't that why he froze Tsukasa? To find the cause of the petrification and save him?

And the hope lasts for approximately 0.62 seconds until Senku's brain reminds him that they won't have it for over a year, and at the rate he's going...he looks down at the blood splattered across the back of his hand; he doesn't have that long.

He falls onto his back, opting to stare at the stalactites on the ceiling of the cave. He can't be frozen, either. He's conceited enough to know they're going to need him for whatever they find. But does it matter if he's dead by then, anyway?

There's always that last bottle of revival fluid. It will be so easy to ask Minami to find a doctor that specializes in Hanahaki surgery. He can disappear for a few days with some bullshit excuse about finding a doctor for the kingdom of science, come back with a scar on his chest and a lack of feelings towards a certain two-toned mentalist...but the very idea hurts to think about. Even more than the pressure that's been building in his chest.

Think. Think. There has to be a solution. There's always a solution. That's what science is about. He wracks his brain for something, anything when...

"Eureka." He whispers into the empty cave.

---

There's a third, less romantic, and rarer cure to Hanahaki disease. It's first recorded in 1942 when a man in the last stage of the disease checked into the doctor's office a month after he was told he would die. He claimed to be cured, and when the doctor pressed a stethoscope to his chest, he heard not the rattled gurgle of a lung wrapped in thorns taking its last breath, but the breath of a healthy, perfectly fine lung. The x-ray came back with none of the vines or thorns seen in previous ones. He was really cured.

They brought multiple doctors in, but they were unable to figure out the reason for his miraculous recovery until one doctor asked,

"If the girl didn't reciprocate your love, then what happened to her?"

The man explained that a month before the check-in, the girl he loved was convicted for the murder of three children. He said he lost any sort of love he felt for her before.

There were a few more cases where similar things happened. Those who refused the surgery or did not have their feelings reciprocated were cured because they fell out of love, and thus the reason for the disease was no longer there.

Senku recognizes this as his only option. He needs to fall out of love with Gen Asagiri.

---

For all of his confidence before, it's hard to suddenly start disliking someone.

At first, he attempts to distance himself. With Ryusui revived, Senku thinks having his hand full with the capitalist captain will help, but Gen always seems to be right by his side, smelling like lavender and- does he always stand this close?

"Geez mentalist," Senku steps away, holding his nose dramatically, "Lay off on the perfume, will you?"

"The flowers are important for my tricks, Senku-chan!" Gen argues, grumbling, "Since when has your nose been so sensitive?"

It isn't, but the smell tickles something in Senku's throat, and he figures he can't fall out of love with someone if they stand so damned close.

"Since you decided flowers were a suitable replacement for actual showers."

Gen lets out an indignant squeak, "That's not true! I probably take more showers than you." Senku's about to reply, but he doesn't get the chance to, "And even then, I'd rather smell like flowers than the chemical disaster of whatever experiment you screwed up that day."

And Senku is offended. At least, he tells himself he is. Gen just implied he fails his science experiments often. But all he can think about is the red flush high in his cheeks and how Gen isn't wearing his overcoat, and his yukata is a little tight-fitting... Senku coughs into his sleeve, and he's quick to grab the purple petal and slip it into his pocket along with the rest of them.

"Kohaku, you don't think I smell bad, do you?"

Kohaku doesn't answer, opting instead to stare at the arm Senku just coughed in. He can almost see the cogs turning in her head.

"I have a map to draw," Senku turns and begins to walk away, "I'll be in the cave."

"I'll come with," Ryusui calls out, no doubt with some ulterior motive, but Senku doesn't care to argue right now.

"Me, too." Gen plants himself firmly by Senku's side.

"Don't you guys have more important things to do?"

"Nope." Both reply in unison. Senku rolls his eyes, going to scratch the back of his neck when he notices his arm bandage stained with dark red drops. He almost groans.

What a pain.

---

When separating himself from Gen doesn't work, Senku falls back on Plan B. He'll just focus on all of his bad traits. He has plenty of them, after all.

Kohaku is off with Chrome and Ukyo, so he doesn't have to worry about what she might have seen, and he can stick most of his attention to his current plan.

Bad traits, huh? Senku's good at finding those.

Like how Gen manipulates everyone to keep the dragos legitimate (even though Senku starts it).

Or how he's always asking questions about what Senku's doing (he's genuinely interested).

Or how he's always trying to get out of work (though, he always steps in to resolve issues with his mentalist tricks without Senku asking).

Or how he has the amazing idea to sell the fabric that's unusable for the balloon as clothes and ultimately gains them thousands in dragos with nothing but a few words, and shoot, these aren't even bad traits anymore, are they?

Senku mostly leaves the whole thing alone as the disease hasn't progressed past coughing up petals. He pushes away any thoughts he has about Gen, occasionally attempting some half-hearted insult about his weird two-toned hair. Like he can speak...

The balloon is finally finished, and they need to choose the other two passengers. Senku sighs in relief when Gen immediately expresses his desire to stay on the ground. He doesn't need to be a genius to know being in close quarters with Gen for two hours is a terrible idea.

The mentalist does some trick that ends up with them almost doubling their cash, and Senku can't help but notice just how sure he is.

It's just so noticeable in the way he shuffles his cards with the practiced air of a pro. How he winks and smiles in a way that sends shivers down Senku's spine. He leads everyone on with the belief that they're in control, but in reality, he's the one pulling the strings.

This man can topple whole empires with just a few words, but he stays by Senku's side, content to lead alongside him, and he doesn't understand why. So what, he makes a light bulb and some coke, and he gets someone like Gen Asagiri on his side? It's a good trade, and he should just accept it, but he can't wrap his head around it.

And then Chrome shows up, sweating head to toe for the sake of getting the chance to ride the hot air balloon. They decide to leave the last seat to fate, once Senku and Ryusui are guaranteed spots, but...

There's a look on Gen's face he can't read, something soft and deep, and then Chrome's whooping as he pulls a joker from the cards in Gen's hand.

And god, Senku really thought he could fall out of love with his man?

At that moment, something thrusts itself up Senku's throat, and he's slipping away, finding refuge away and behind some trees as he coughs and coughs and coughs.

It's hell, feeling the slimy fucking thing crawl its way up his throat and out of his mouth, almost floating in the air for a moment before it falls into Senku's open palms.

It's crinkled and splattered with blood, but it's easy to see what it is. It's not a single petal but a collection of them.

It's a whole flower, and Senku can feel his throat clog up, though this time it's not from the disease.

If they make him, a man of science, weak...What are feelings if not cursed?

---

Okay, so maybe the thought is a little dramatic, and Senku cringes as he thinks back on it later, back on the flower that sits under some papers in his lab cave. He can't throw it away for some reason. It seems the disease has made him soft, but a disease that guarantees death can change anyone's perspective.

That night ends up being perfect for the trip back to Ishigami village, and although it's sudden, he's thankful for the distraction. Especially with recent developments, he needs to get away and figure out what he's doing.

He's packing for the trip in his cave, grabbing whatever he thinks may be useful. It can last anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of years. It's possible on this trip he will...Senku shakes his head. No, he'll figure something out.

When he spies the papers, elevated with the flower underneath it, he pulls them aside. He almost tricks himself into thinking it won't be there. Like after all these weeks, it's still some dream. But the moonlight bounces off of the flower, and though the petals look more blue and surreal in the light, it's still there. Of course, it is.

During his free time, He'd dunked the flower in the ocean to rinse the blood off and did his best to straighten out the petals. While it won't ever look like he picked it from the wild, it's pretty enough, whatever flower it is; Senku's never seen it before.

"Senku-chan?" A familiar voice calls out.

"Gen." Senku moves the pieces of paper back over the flower.

"It's pretty somber in here without candles or anything." He can hear Gen's footsteps echo through the cave as he takes his spot by Senku's side. A floral smell wafts through the air, but it's not nearly as strong as it was before.

"The moonlight works fine...I see you toned it down on the flowers." Senku smirks, checking through his pockets to make sure he has everything.

"Nothing to do with you, dear Senku," Gen sniffles, "Just don't want to scare the ladies off, of course."

"Right." Senku ignores the pang in his chest. Silence fills the air. Gen takes to touching random things on the table without asking. Senku rolls his eyes. Fidgety mentalist.

"I've heard the trip might take some time." Gen's voice is soft, and Senku can't help but look up at him. His hair is damp. He must have taken a shower. "Up to years."

"Don't be getting sentimental on me, mentalist. We will only be a two days walk away. And it's not like we won't come back multiple times. If you miss me so much, you can walk there yourself."

"Two days of walking?" Gen shudders, and when he looks at Senku, his face is so close, Senku can see the outside ridges of his scar, "I'll pass."

"Predictable."

"So rude, Senku-chan." Senku's busy looking at Gen's face when his hand moves aside some papers.

"Wait, don't-"

"This is a beautiful flower," Gen interrupts, and he picks the flower up, holding it up to his face to study. Senku gulps, helpless as the mentalist trains his gray gaze on him. "It's a gladiolus. They're not native to Japan, especially not in this area. Where did you get it?"

Senku shrugs and places a pinky in his ear, "I don't know. One of the kids gave it to me. Could be something to do with species migrating when we were petrified."

"Huh." Gen places the flower back on the table, taking special care not to crush the petals anymore than they already are. It warms something in Senku.

"Do you know their meaning?" Senku rushes out. He doesn't place much value in them, but some people claim that the flowers in Hanahaki are specific to someone's love.

"Strength and persistence." He doesn't hesitate. Senku's sure he can ask about any flower, and he will get the same reaction. "Infatuation."

"Really?" Senku picks the flower up and holds it up like Gen did only a minute before.

"Yes, do you see how the petals are pointed?" He can feel the warmth from Gen's hand as he traces the petals of the flower.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"If you gift this to someone, it can send the message 'you pierce my heart.'"

He looks up at Gen, then, to find him already staring. Placing the flower back down, Senku steps back, unable to handle the proximity. He really doesn't need to be puking flower petals over him right now. "Kinda morbid but okay."

"Such is the way of symbolism." Gen laughs, and steps back as well, though he continues until he's at the entrance of the cave. "The others are waiting, they need their third member, you know."

"Yeah, yeah." Before he joins Gen, Senku sees a bottle he's been trying to ignore all of this time. The last bottle of revival fluid. He clenches his teeth before reaching out a hand to grab the bottle and slide it into the belt around his waist. Maybe he'll find a doctor in the time they're looking for oil.

"Senku, are you coming?"

"Yeah, I just forgot something." Senku takes one more glance at the flower then turns to look at Gen. His outline is highlighted by the moon shining through the entrance of the cave, and his eyes are focused solely on Senku.

Infatuation, huh?

Senku laughs.

---

The balloon trip goes fine for the most part. Chrome is giddy about everything he sees, and Senku finds himself extra glad Gen let him pick the joker card. Ryusui and he get into it during the ride, and Senku can barely breathe with all of the testosterone in the air.

And then the storm happens, and Senku has no choice but to use the last of the revival fluid to get them through. By the time they can make any more, it will be too late for him, he knows, but if they don't use it now, there will be no future for any of them.

They get through safely, and Senku adds a tally to the number of near-death experiences he's been through. He hasn't had one in a while, and his hands shake with the last dregs of adrenaline as he gets off.

The villagers welcome them back with open arms, and he puts everything he's been dealing with behind him for the time being. He plots the new map with everyone else, and he is lying if he says the five of them don't make a great team.

His hanahaki stays the same, acting up only in weak moments when he wishes Gen could see the world below from the hot balloon with him or when he passes by the land by the bridge, where he first met the mentalist. Whenever Gen is on the phone, he makes some excuse to slip away. Not that he's trying to fall out of love - he gives up on that - but because even the man's voice tickles something in Senku's throat, and the prolonged absence without him only serves to make its effect stronger.

"Are you okay, Senku?" Kohaku asks one day when all five of them are gathered around the map, plotting the most recent thing they discovered.

"Huh?" Senku asks, not looking up from where he sketches a valley of hills.

"You've been coughing a lot, lately."

"Seasonal allergies." He replies. He has been waiting for this question to come up, so he has the excuse ready.

"We have people in the village who have the same," Chrome speaks up, and Senku's thankful for his blind belief in Senku, "Though usually, they have other symptoms..." And there it goes.

"Seasonal allergies can show up in many different ways," Ryusui shrugs, "I'm just surprised you haven't made some medication for it yet, Senku."

"There are more pressing matters at hand."

"But you've been coughing for months, now." Kohaku fires, "And you didn't have them around this time last year."

"Nature changes," Senku puts on his best dumb face, "I don't know. Don't ask me, I'm not a scientist."

He gets a few laughs out of that, mainly out of Ryusui and Chrome, and Senku continues his work, ignoring the twin stares from both Kohaku and Ukyo.

Damned supersense humans.

---

"Tell us one of the tales, please!" One of the kids yells into the phone. Ruri laughs,

"Can I, Senku?"

"Yeah, go ahead." They're currently eating some form of fried fish with the rest of the villagers. They haven't found the oil field yet, but they found wheat, and Kohaku brought it back to the Kingdom of Science, so they'll have bread in no time. The thought makes the fish even less appetizing, but it's not like he can go grab something from the nearest superstore. So despite the lack of progress with the oil, at least they'll soon have another food source for both the ship ride and the villagers.

He muffles a cough in his arm, acting like he doesn't see Kohaku's head instantly veer towards him.

Since Kohaku asks about Senku's cough, she fixes him with a look between concern and - this is the best way he can describe it - aggressive curiosity any time he so much as breathes funny. The same happens with Ukyo, though his stare happens whenever Senku's breathing fine, as if he's hearing something different from the rest of them. Because of this, Senku takes more care in hiding what are becoming longer and more painful coughing fits.

"Alright, any requests?" Ruri's voice crackles over the phone, and before anyone can say anything, Kohaku has the 'mic' in her hand.

"The Hana one, please."

"Oh, we haven't heard that one in some time!" The elders exclaim with bright smiles on their faces. Hana...Senku's eyebrows furrow. What about flowers did Byakuya include in the 100 tales?

"Once upon a time, there's a boy who finds a flower field during one of his hunts one day. Allured by the beauty of all of the different colors, he goes there multiple times a week just to watch the flowers sway in the breeze. On one of his visits to the field, he finds another person in the meadow. It's a girl as pretty as the flowers themselves, and in an attempt to be friendly, he begins to talk to her. They get along immediately, and soon, the boy goes to the field every day, just to talk to her. Before long, he falls madly in love with her. Around the same time, he develops a cough that refuses to go away."

At this moment, Senku realizes that, despite his most valiant attempts to keep his disease hidden from everyone else, Kohaku knows. How was he supposed to know Byakuya decided it is important enough to put in the tales?

"Anytime he thinks about the girl, he breaks into a coughing fit, and as a result, he decides to stay away from her, for he knows the coughing is because of his love for her."

Understanding suddenly flashes across Ukyo's face, and Senku figures he can add him to the pile, too. He directs his gaze to the dirt below him.

"One day, the girl goes to the boy's house, and the sight of her is enough to throw him into his longest episode yet. Except for this time, he coughs up a lily as beautiful as the flowers in the field. He apologizes to the girl for never coming back but tells her he's developed a fatal, contagious disease. The contagious part is a lie, but he cannot bear to see her sadness. The girl forgives him, and from that point forward, she comes to his house every day with a bouquet from the field that she places on the windowsill. She sits under that window, talking to him from outside the house. Every time he breaks out in a coughing fit, she whispers comforting words to him, promising that once he recovers, they'll go to the flower field once more."

Senku glances up to see tears forming in the elder's eyes.

"One day, she's sitting under the window, talking about all of the things that they'll do together when she asks the boy a question. When he doesn't respond, she abandons any care and rushes inside the house to see the boy slumped against the window, surrounded by all of the flowers she gifted him and ones she hadn't."

Chrome's crying by this point, and even Ryusui's eyes are teary.

"There's a letter in his hand, where he wrote all of the things he wanted to say to her but never could. He explains how his love for her took the shape of vines and thorns in his chest, but he decided he could never burden her with the responsibility of loving him back. The girl cries as she reads this, knowing all he had to do was confess, and she would have accepted it. She buries him in the flower field before leaving and never returning."

Senku doesn't know Byakuya had it in him to make such a sad story.

"Hanahaki..." One of the elders whisper as the story ends, "We've only had a few cases of it in the village, but it's a terrible affliction, to die for feelings you can't help."

"Thank you, Ruri," Kohaku whispers into the phone before hanging up.

Nobody follows after Senku when he announces he's going to bed, and he's thankful.

He'll deal with it in the morning.

---

It happens after lunch. The bread Senku makes is awful, and he doesn't think twice about reaching for the fried fish instead. Kohaku is preoccupied eating the burnt crisp, and Ukyo is talking with one of the villagers about his life pre-petrification. It's a perfect time for Senku to sneak away.

He stands up, only to be met with two pairs of eyes that shoot his way. He might as well get this over with.

"Kohaku, Ukyo, It's our turn for the balloon today." He says, "I'll get it ready, just come over when you're done."

Less than an hour later, the trio is high in the air, searching for any spots of oil. Unfortunately, it's not a very attention demanding task, and it's only been ten minutes when Ukyo speaks.

"Your breathing sounds different, more garbled, like something is constricting it. How long have you had the disease?"

"A few months now." Senku shrugs, adding more fuel to the furnace.

"You coughed up a petal a few weeks ago." Kohaku mutters, "Has it progressed from then?"

"Of course, your eyes caught that." Senku laughs, "I coughed up a whole flower right before we left, but it's just been petals since."

"Because you're not around Gen, anymore?" Senku coughs then, mostly in surprise at the sudden mention, but a petal comes out anyway and floats down toward the trees until he can't see it anymore. "Sorry, didn't think about it." Ukyo grimaces.

"Is that just common knowledge or something?"

"You'd be surprised," Kohaku hoists herself up and onto the edge of the basket. "A lot of the Kingdom of Science members are too dense to notice."

Senku makes a sound of affirmation in response, eyes locked on the ground below them.

"What have you been doing these past few months?" Kohaku whispers, and Senku has to strain his ears to hear her, "Dying and not telling any of us?"

"Figuring it out. I wasn't going to get anywhere shouting my condition to everyone around me."

"So you decided to take it all on your own?" Even Ukyo's characteristically calm voice trembles with something hurt, "Though I guess there's nothing we can do about that."

"Exactly, and I'll continue to handle it. We can focus on finding the oil right now, and I'll figure something out."

"Are you kidding me?" The genuine anger in Kohaku's voice shocks Senku, "You expect us to sit by and watch you die...without helping?"

"It is a pretty illogical assumption, especially for you, Senku." Ukyo agrees.

"I've gone through it all these past few months."

"All the more reason to get new perspectives on it."

"Let us hear it, Senku," As if it never faltered, Kohaku's voice rings clear, "How you're going to tackle this disease with science."

---

"I can't." Senku divulges to them later, in the safety of the observatory. He's the one that suggests the place. It's a stupid idea, considering the several purple petals that now litter the entrance. But he can't help it. Not when he thinks of the several nights he and Gen stayed up planning for the war against Tsukasa's empire in the same observatory Gen and the villagers made for him. It's a comfort thing if anything.

"What do you mean?" Kohaku shakes her head, "Can you not use the cure-all that helped Ruri?"

"That's an antibiotic to treat bacteria," Senku reminds her, "Hanahaki is something scientists haven't been able to link to any microorganism. If anything, it's closer to cancer. The cells begin to code for the same genes as flowers."

"Does gene therapy affect it?" Ukyo suggests.

"Due to the lack of funding and test subjects - not to mention the regulations in injecting something untested in a human being, anyway - there hasn't been much progress on it. The few attempts that have been made end in the cells continuing the growth of the plant, anyway."

"Then what have you been doing to stop it?"

Senku sighs before pulling out a piece of paper from his pocket and flattening it out on the observatory floor. It's been folded for so long, the parchment has distinguished lines that make the words harder to read, words that have been scratched out and rewritten and scratched out again.

Even Kohaku has to squint her eyes to read it. Ukyo gives up and sits back on his hands, waiting for Senku to explain.

He points to each scratched out blob, explaining how and why each thing won't work, due to lack of time, supplies, or both.

He's so lost in his words and all of the nights he's read the same piece of paper these past few months that he doesn't notice when Ukyo perks up, or when Kohaku's eye zero in on the window behind him.

But he does notice when there's a loud crash behind him, and he instantly turns to see the fallen forms of one Chrome and Ryusui Nanami.

"Hi." Chrome smiles weakly.

---

"Look, we wouldn't have done this if you guys didn't decide to get all secretive and sneak off to this tower thing." Ryusui crosses his arms and turns his nose up to the ceiling. Senku doesn't get paid enough for this.

"Yeah! We're a part of this team, too!" Chrome adds, and he pouts before dropping onto the ground besides Senku. The latter doesn't do anything but sigh loudly, sitting back on one hand while cracking his neck with the other.

"Well, it doesn't matter much, now, what did you all hear?"

Ryusui and Chrome look at each other, and any sort of sheepishness or justified look drops off their faces.

"Is it true, Senku?" Chrome asks, his eyebrows furrowed, "Do you have the flower disease?"

"Yes, I do."

"Does Gen know?" Ryusui asks, "That you're in love with somebody else?"

"What?" All four of them say in unison.

"Does Gen, your boyfriend, know that you love someone else?" He repeats.

Senku immediately breaks into another coughing fit, and he vaguely registers a hand on his back. When he's done, someone hands him a cup of water - from where he has no clue. He drinks it, happy to find it helps relieve the soreness in his throat, and looks up at Ryusui, who looks like he's out of some secret everyone else is in on.

"He isn't my boyfriend."

"Huh, could've fooled me."

"He's the cause of my hanahaki."

"Oh, that makes sense."

"Now that we're all on the same page," Kohaku rolls her eyes, "I assume you both want to join in on figuring this out?"

"Of course!" "Duh."

"We don't need five people working on this. I already told you I have it-"

"Aren't you the one always saying everyone has a place in the Kingdom of Science?" Chrome interrupts, and there's a familiar passion in his eyes. It's the same look he gets whenever Senku proposes a science plan ever more daring than the last "It's the same bullshit you said with the sulfuric acid when you tried to go off on your own, then, too."

"I don't need my captain's instincts to tell me that the Kingdom of Science has gotten this far because of all of the different skills and talents everyone has that have been brought together by you, Senku."

"It's true," Ukyo adds, "What looks at first like a ragtag team of kids is actually a formidable force. Diversity is something Tsukasa's army never had."

"That's why you should let us help you, Senku." Kohaku finishes, and Senku's almost impressed by how well their words meld together. "You don't have to do this alone." Senku looks at each one of them and the crazy determination that burns bright in their eyes.

"Fine," He concedes, ignoring the whoops that come with his words, "But we only work on this at night. We don't let it affect our main goal to get oil."

They all nod, and weirdly enough, the continuous weight on Senku's chest seems to become light.

---

The next night, their first idea comes in the revival fluid Ryusui claims Minami has.

"You can use it on a doctor!" Chrome exclaims. When Senku tells him and Kohaku about the surgery developed for Hanahaki, they're ecstatic. There's a solution right there and yet...Senku finds himself at the same issue he had before with what he thought was the last of the revival fluid.

He thinks of gleaming, outlined blue eyes and smooth, practiced movements. Giggles and lavender.

"We can't." Senku ignores the twin complaints from Kohaku and Chrome, "We need this chef to make us long-lasting bread, or we won't survive on the ship ride. Game over."

"Hey, Ryusui, does this butler of yours happen to be educated in the art of hanahaki surgery?" Chrome asks.

"No."

---

"What?! Really?!! You're seriously going to make that, Senku?" Gen all but yells into the speaker. Four sets of eyes instantly go to the scientist, and he waves them off, swallowing the petal that tries to make its way up to his throat.

"Did you even say anything?" Chrome says. Senku gives a small smile,

"Leave the con jobs to the mentalist." He's never led him astray before.

"Dude, you are so whipped." Ryusui states. Ukyo, the only other modern person, makes a sound that sounds suspiciously like a laugh.

"I wouldn't be in a certain situation if I wasn't, smartass." That shuts him up.

"Hey, you never told us, how long do you have left, Senku?" Ukyo asks.

"Less than two months."

They all go quiet, and the only thing that penetrates the silence is Gen's voice, still going on and on.

---

It happens the next night, once Francois has been revived, and the five of them are told to be expecting them in two days.

"Hey, Senku," Chrome's pointing at a certain part on the paper the scientist originally wrote down all of the options to cure his hanahaki on, "What's this supposed to be?"

"Huh?" Senku looks at the scratched out words for one second before going back to his current task: updating the map. "I don't remember."

"Bullshit." Ryusui doesn't hesitate. Everyone nods.

"That's the one you didn't explain, Senku," Kohaku says, "No matter how impossible it seems, let us hear it."

Senku lied. He can remember what he wrote down clearly. It's an option he doesn't want to hope for, much less consider. But...he looks at the four gremlins who he knows won't leave this alone.

"The only known cure for Hanahaki where you keep the feelings," Senku mutters, "To confess and have your feelings reciprocated." At that moment, all hell breaks loose.

Chrome is screaming something unintelligible. Ryusui is laughing loudly. Ukyo is smiling softly, and he has something contemplative coloring his face. Kohaku's jaw is dropped to the floor. She's the first one to speak.

"Of course, how could we forget?" She shakes her head.

"It's obvious, right?" Ukyo says.

"This is amazing, Senku!" Chrome grabs his hands. Senku pulls his hands away.

"What the hell are all of you getting so excited about?"

"We're all lovely people but also idiots." Ryusui stands up and places his hands on his hips. "I think we know what we need to do."

In some sort of gesture that can only be accomplished through the very specific situation of four idiots sharing the same singular brain cell, they all exclaim,

"We need to seduce Gen Asagiri!"

"No way." Senku stands up and makes his way to the ladder of the observatory, "You are all clearly out of your mind, and I think it's time to go to be-"

"You're not going anywhere, Senku." Kohaku is in front of him in a flash, "This is our last option, and the Senku I know would never throw away any life if there is a way to save it."

"It's not an option, I don't know if you've heard, but he quite enjoys his harems." He rolls his eyes and attempts to sidestep Kohaku...to no avail, of course.

"Please, if that man is straight, I'll give up my title as captain." Ryusui scoffs.

"The only time I ever saw him blatantly check out women was when Tsukasa or Hyouga was around," Ukyo divulges, his blue eyes meeting Senku's, "I think it was more of an act as 'the most shallow man.'"

Senku doesn't argue this time, but he feels the pink flush of...what? rise in his face as he sits back down. "Don't expect anything great out of me. I don't have a single flirtatious bone in my body."

"Then we'll teach you." Ryusui smiles wide, "It's my time as the stone world's most eligible bachelor to shine."

Maybe death is better.

---

Senku spends the next day and a half shooting down ideas.

Chrome suggests he take Gen on a science adventure. "Spend quality time with him!"

Ryusui tells him to treat him like he's the only person in the world. "With lots of gifts and compliments, of course."

Kohaku tells him to be himself but also not. This one confuses Senku the most.

Ukyo is the only one who gives decent advice, but even it's a little too cringy for Senku. "Let him know how much you appreciate him, in whatever way works best for you." Senku has never 'showed' appreciation, so the concept is a little foreign to him.

All he can think of is those stupid romance movies he'd see Byakuya watching whenever Senku would pull him away to NASA training. Where they buy flowers and know exactly what to say. In those movies, they're destined to get together. It's a romance for a reason. Meanwhile, the world they live in is more shonen anime if anything, and Senku has watched enough to know romance doesn't happen until the very end, and at this rate, they won't make it to that 'end'.

They're standing around waiting for Francois' arrival when there's suddenly dust in the distance and two figures appear. As they get closer, Senku makes the first person out to be someone he doesn't know. Francois, then. The second person - his chest constricts as if it already knows - is the Kingdom of Science's resident mentalist and the cause of his current affliction.

Gen Asagiri is huffing and puffing by the time the two reach their group. He's complaining about walking for two days straight and doesn't notice the four people staring between him and Senku, making constipated faces at the scientist as if they expect him to woo him on the spot.

Well, he supposes he has to try.

By the time Gen catches his breath, Senku is by his side, laughing. "You let someone who hasn't had exercise in 3700 years beat you, mentalist?"

Gen glares up at Senku, and any other words die in his throat as he's caught in steel gray eyes. He missed him in those few weeks they were gone. "Like you have any room to talk, Senku-chan. If only those muscles were as big as that brain of yours."

"Glad to see you, too, mentalist." He says. Is that too obvious? "Now, let's get to work."

Gen groans along with the four other Kingdom of Science members.

---

Gen's presence doesn't activate the Hanahaki as much as Senku expects it to. It might have something to do with the fact that Senku spends a lot of his time working with Francois to prepare the best bread for their journey, much to the disappointment of the 'Gen Seduction Team'.

"Do you even want to live?" Kohaku asks one night, chomping on a piece of bread Francois made earlier that day.

"What do you mean?"

"You instantly put him to work!" Chrome exclaims.

"I think I speak for everyone when I say it's no secret Gen hates working." Ukyo speaks softly, "I think we're just a bit confused by your approach."

"And go soft on him?" Senku snorts, "Then he'll definitely know something is up."

"The goal is to keep your hanahaki from him," Ryusui clarifies, "But you guys are close enough to start letting him know you're interested in something more."

"Ugh, fine."

---

"Yo, mentalist." Senku finds Gen by the river the next day. He's knelt by a tub of water - full of flowers, he notes - washing a familiar yukata on a washboard, and his overcoat is drying on a nearby tree branch. He's just wearing his undershirt, and Senku has to look at the river to control the flower that attempts to erupt from his lungs. He forgets how slim Gen is when he's always drowning in three layers of clothing.

"Hey, Senku-chan," When Senku thinks he can handle it, he slides his gaze back to the man. He sits back, breathing heavily in the summer heat, "After two days of walking, my clothes needed a wash." He explains, gesturing towards the clothes. Senku sits down beside him,

"You never explained why you came with them." He starts.

"To show them the way, of course." Gen's fingers pick at the grass beneath him.

"I know that," Senku rolls his eyes, "I mean, why did you volunteer? What happened to 'passing' on the two days walk?"

"I wanted bread, of course. The most real food I've had since the petrification happened was your ramen, and - I mean this in the best way - it wasn't the greatest."

"Be glad you didn't taste my bread," Senku laughs, "It looked like coal. Tasted like it, too."

"Not much of a cook, dear Senku?"

"Not really." He shrugs, "Neither was Byakuya; I practically grew up on instant ramen."

"Impressive," Gen giggles, "While I'm sure you don't mind small talk, may I ask why you're here? It's not to give me more work, is it?"

"Actually," Senku scratches absentmindedly at the back of his neck, "It's the opposite. I'm telling you to take a break today." Gen's hand stops where it's picking at the grass,

"What's the catch?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"What's the catch?" Gen repeats, and his eyes are narrowed, "The Senku I know would never pass up free labor."

"And that Senku hasn't changed," The scientist scoffs, "But you walked for two days straight, and Francois really doesn't need all that much help. Go pick flowers or whatever you usually do in your free time."

Gen looks at him suspiciously for a few more seconds before letting out a sigh and staring back at the river, "Free time, huh? Haven't had some of that in a while."

"Oh, can it, mentalist."

---

"Now he's thinking about you!"

It's later that night, and the five of them are gathered once again in the observatory, discussing Senku's progress that day.

"Probably in fear," Kohaku supplies. Everyone turns to glare at her, "What? Senku giving someone a day off is unheard of."

"Told you it's weird." Senku shrugs, punching his chest slightly. His coughs are becoming more infrequent, but in return, his chest feels like there's a big rock on it, and when he does have his coughing fits, they're longer and more painful, "He asked me if there was a catch."

"Well, he'll realize there isn't," Chrome continues, "And think 'wow, how nice of him to give me that break.'"

Ukyo giggles.

"Next is a gift," Ryusui snaps his fingers. "Something thoughtful and tailored to Gen's preferences."

"So give him something...?" Senku asks, "Me? Just give him a gift without expecting anything back?"

"Exactly."

Senku groans and covers his face with his hands, "He's going to think I've gone crazy."

---

He gets up early the next morning to get the 'gift' ready for Gen. It doesn't take that long, and Senku feels absolutely ridiculous making it, but he has no other choice in regards to 'wooing' the mentalist. There are so many things that can go wrong, and it's not like what he's doing is some science experiment he can afford to conduct over and over.

He knows the thoughts are not logical nor productive, but they creep in so easily, and sometimes he doesn't realize he's thinking them until his hands start shaking and he messes up whatever he's working on.

It's alarming in a way he's never felt before, to put all of this effort into something and not be able to see the visible effects of it or whether it's working at all.

He sighs, slides the gift in his belt, and stands up from the riverbank before making his way back to the village.

Gen's already up and carrying a large pail in his hands when Senku spots him. It's almost surprising, seeing the mentalist up and working already.

"Senku-chan!" Gen calls, placing the pail down and wiping sweat off his brow. Senku's chest suddenly tightens, and he attempts to surreptitiously clear his throat before he gets over there. It helps a little, but the tightness in his throat just moves down to his chest. He thinks he may have actually swallowed a flower back down, and if that isn't the weirdest feeling...

"Come help me carry this pail." Gen gestures towards the metal pail, filled to the top with:

"Goat milk?" Senku snorts, "Francois put you on goat duty?"

"It's nothing compared to the labor you put me through." Gen huffs, "And the goats don't make snarky comments."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, the goats are better than me."

Senku reaches down to place one arm under the pail, and Gen follows suit. Once they have it lifted, Senku notes how close Gen is in the position, and he immediately swallows as something threatens to come up. Nobody wants bloody flowers in their goat milk.

As they're walking to the baking station, Gen's nose crinkles, "For all the trouble you gave me about it, did you bathe with flowers or something?"

"No, wh- why do you ask?" The pail's weight, though shared between the two, is pretty heavy, and given Senku's already weaker disposition and now his disease, it's a little harder to speak.

"You smell like them," Gen says. Senku doesn't reply.

They finish the trip in silence, and Senku's relieved to drop the pail on the counter where Kohaku will shake it into goat butter later. He looks at his arms, small and weak no matter what he does, and scoffs. Surely, at this point, he'd have something.

Gen laughs, effectively breaking the scientist out of his reverie. "Thank you, Senku. With our combined strength, we have the power of your average teenager."

"Even that's generous." Senku moves to place his hands on his hips when something cold presses against his left hand. Oh, yeah, the whole reason he's here. "Here, take this."

Senku throws the glass bottle to Gen as soon as he turns, smirking softly as he sees the mentalist struggle to catch it. "I haven't made you any since you first asked, figured you might want some more."

"It's a cola." Gen states, staring down at the bottle in his hands, "Cold, too."

"Yup, I iced it in the river."

"Why?" Gen asks, and in a rare moment of unconsciousness, Gen's face falls from its usual calm expression to one of confusion, "I don't understand."

"Usually people say thank you." Senku shifts his weight to his other leg.

"I- you're right I'm just- thank you, Senku." Gen's lips twist up into a small smile, and Senku's fingers ache to trace it. He swallows.

"Yeah, no problem."

After that, he excuses himself and coughs up not one, but two purple gladioli into the river.

---

The next couple of weeks pass by with not much progress on Senku's end. He gets busy making the camera for Minami, but he welcomes the work. It distracts him from the window of time that keeps getting shorter and shorter. It's been a month now since he makes his estimate of two months before the Hanahaki grows too much, and his body can't take the added stress anymore.

The nightly meetings between the usual five don't last long as Senku gives a short relay of his interactions with Gen and a downplayed explanation of his symptoms.

Yes, he's still coughing. No, the coughing hasn't gotten worse. Yes, he's still coughing petals (though he doesn't let them know they're in clusters and often whole flowers).

And he knows it's stupid. They're trying to help him, but Senku can't help but look into their eyes and see how much they trust him. As if getting someone to fall in love with him is as easy to him as is conducting a baking soda volcano science experiment. Like at the end of the day, he'll somehow develop these smooth-talking skills and get someone as untouchable as Gen Asagiri to fall for him.

How can he tell them he feels like he hasn't made any progress? That he's in the same spot he was almost a month ago when all of this started? The answer? He can't. So what can he do? He can make them believe he has more time. He has to.

"There are only two more steps," Ryusui announces at the beginning of the next meeting, "Compliments and a confession."

"Senku? Complimenting Gen...not to mention confessing," Senku already has a good idea where Kohaku's going with this, "I know the other ones were unlikely, but this is just completely unbelievable."

"That's where you're wrong! The other steps were used as a way to 'butter' Gen up, you can say, for the more obvious and suggestive last two steps."

"But how does that change the fact that Senku's not verbally affectionate, at all." Ukyo deadpans.

"That's what will shock him." Ryusui continues, "The words give Gen the incentive to see him in a possible new romantic light."

"And when they're alone together, Senku will confess, and bam! Everyone's happy." Chrome finishes.

"Okay, so let's say I go with this," Senku takes a deep breath in, conscious of the ache in his lungs, "What do I even compliment him on?"

"You're in love with him, right?" Ryusui asks.

"Well duh, I wouldn't have thi-"

"Then it should come to you."

"What?"

"Just say whatever thoughts you have about him out loud. I think we can assume neither of you is the poetic type, so the best course of option is to say something that will just get him to see you as a possible love interest."

"You can practice!" Chrome jumps up, "Say what you like about him right now."

"Uh..." Senku looks around at everyone else to find they're all staring at him, expectant. Well, he's possibly going to die in the next week, anyway. He takes a deep breath and pictures Gen in his mind. It's not hard to do.

In his head, he sees deadly smirks and quick hands, loaded words, and sly eyes. Everything about Gen that sends shivers down Senku's spine. But he also sees sparkling smiles and determination, loud unconscious laughs, and, and...

Then Senku is doubled over and everything drops out of his mind other than the aching, burning pain in his chest that won't leave, so he coughs coughs coughs coughs. His vision swarms with black, and he can hear shouting around him and something hitting his back. Wet splatters on his hands, and through the tears gathering in his eyes, he sees the splatters are dark red, and...is that iron in his mouth?

He doesn't know how long it goes on. All he knows is that for some time, he blacks out, and when he gains consciousness, he's waking up with his body slumped against his wall and something cool running down his throat. It's relaxing and as he comes to, he realizes it's water and there are people around him, four pairs of eyes filled with worry and concern.

"Give him space," One of them says, and they back off. Senku takes a deep breath, and then another one, and another one. He doesn't ever get as much air as he wants, but it's enough for now. He coughs one more time as he sits up and addresses the people in front of him.

"I'm okay." He croaks, "Or at least, I'm alive. So wipe those expressions off your face."

They all breathe a sigh of relief and watch quietly as Senku continues to catch his breath. There are petals everywhere, he notices, each one coated in varying amounts of blood. It's gross, he thinks, that all of those came from him.

"Tomorrow, you're confessing," Ryusui says, and Senku nods, not having the strength to argue.

---
The next morning, Senku can't help but notice the somber looks on the faces of the four Kingdom of Science members. They don't even try to hide it as every time Senku breathes or moves, someone is instantly by his side, making sure he's okay. It's noon when he's finally had enough.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to confess when you all are breathing down my neck 24/7."

"Sorry, Senku," Chrome apologizes, his hands fiddling with a piece of rope. "We're just worried about you."

"You look like shit." Kohaku deadpans.

"I know, I'll be okay. We need more pictures from the hot air balloons today, so go already." Senku decidedly ignores Kohaku's comment, but he knows it's true. When he wakes up that morning, he can barely breathe. He can only imagine how he looks.

"We'll be cheering you on from the sky." Ukyo smiles at Senku as the three leave. Chrome and Kohaku also show their support in a thumbs up and a flick on the forehead, respectively.

"Gen's lucky to have you," Kohaku says as she passes by, "Even if he doesn't know it yet. I'll see you later."

"Yeah, yeah, find the oil and then we can talk."

And then all that's left is Senku and Ryusui. He doesn't offer any inspirational words as they walk to the baking station, just gives him a pat on the back - that nearly sends him flying - and asks Francois what they're doing that day.

Gen is already there, kneading dough and humming quietly to himself.

"Master Ryusui, Master Senku, it's nice of you to join us." Francois says, "I'll only be needing Master Ryusui in the kitchen today."

"Master Senku, Master Gen, do you mind collecting more wheat from the fields?"

Ahh, so they're in on it, too. Gen's eyebrows furrow, but he steps away from the dough, anyway

"Sure. You can continue the dough, Ryusui, but be careful! I put a lot of love into it."

The walk to the field is quiet, neither of the two attempting to make conversation. It's unnerving, and Senku wonders if it's always been like this between the two of them.

"Are you getting enough sleep, Senku-chan?" Gen asks, "You've been looking sort of rough, lately."

"There's that charming mentalist."

"I'm serious." Gen stops, and Senku has no choice but to do the same, "You've been acting weird these past few weeks. Honestly, these past few months. Trying to avoid me and then sneaking away after any time we talk, and then everyone else, too. Did you think I wouldn't notice?"

"You're reading too much into things..." Senku tries, but his voice cracks.

"Am I?" Gen's voice trembles with anger, "I may not be able to create half of the things you do, Senku, but you forget reading people is my entire identity, and that includes you."

"Well, if you're so good at it, then why are you asking me?" And he doesn't know what it is that causes him to lose his temper and snap. Maybe it's the building pressure of everything. Of the whole Kingdom of Science counting on him to rebuild the entire world. Of the four people waiting, trusting him to come through this as easily as everything else he does. Or maybe it's the frustration of doing so well to push everything he feels away only to be defeated by some stupid feeling that's killing him. And then Gen is asking him why, as if he isn't by association the very cause of Senku's current predicament, and he's just so tired of it all.

"You're right." Gen whispers, "I don't know why I'm asking. If you haven't told me anything these past few months, why would you tell me now? Let's just get the wheat, and you can go back to hiding whatever it is." And Senku snaps out of it as Gen begins to walk again. This isn't what's supposed to happen.

"Gen, wait-"

"We have a job to do, Senku. Remember?"

And he can't do anything but follow.

---

It's a stupid idea to send the weakest members out to gather wheat. He knows it's probably because of whatever Ryusui told Francois that gets them sent out here, anyway, but thirty minutes haven't even passed when Senku's arms start getting heavy, and he just wants to rest. And then there was the hour walk to the field in the first place, which makes Senku's already fragile lungs work overtime just to breathe.

At least it's pretty, he thinks as he looks over the wheat field. There are all types of wildflowers growing, sticking out as colorful splashes among the gold. It reminds him of the Hanahaki story his father stuck into the tales. For all of his confidence in Senku, he bets the old man didn't anticipate this.

Gen's on the other side of the field, and while Senku can't see his expression clearly, he notes the dejected slump of his shoulders and the way he works quietly and steadily without any complaint.

He shakes his head and continues his work.

It isn't until a few hours later when he drops the wheat he’s gathered and slumps to the ground, too tired to continue, that Senku realizes he had hope. No matter how many times he told himself that Gen didn’t like him, some small part of him hoped he was wrong. That there was something he was missing.

The sky's turned a lovely orange-red as Senku barely finds the strength to turn over and hack out what's left of the flowers in his lungs. There are so many, and Senku can't help but count one, two, three, four...

"Senku! Senku. where did you go?" five, six...

There is the sound of frantic footsteps and there's a shadow hanging over Senku, blocking the setting sun from his view. Seven, eight...

"I- are these...?" Gen suddenly gasps, "Gladioli aren't native to Japan… Senku, you have hanahaki disease."

"T-ten billion points for you, mental-" Senku continues to cough. He's never hated the smell of flowers as much as he does now as they clog every bit of his senses.

"Don't try to talk, you stupid overworking..." He's vaguely aware of Gen lifting his upper body from the ground and leaning him against his chest.

"I understand, I get it now. I- listen to me, I love you, Senku. I always have."

"Don't start l-lying to me now." Senku croaks, and he can barely breathe-

"I'm not, I wouldn't. If you listen to at least one thing I say, believe me..."

"It doesn't matter what I believe," Senku mutters, attempting something akin to an eye roll, "You have to convince the Hanahaki, not me."

"Well, then, tell it to listen up," Senku doesn't do much as he's laid down on Gen's lap, staring up into blue eyes he's thought about countless times. Tears are welling up in them, and he hates that he's causing it, "For the first time in my life, I'm not here because of me, Senku-chan, I'm here for you. Even before I met you, when my main goal was surviving in Tsukasa's kingdom, when I saw the date you carved into the tree, some nameless man named Senku Ishigami who counted for 3,700 years in the darkness that I fell asleep in after a few seconds... you already had my heart."

"Gen, you don't have to-" The words are painful to get out, but there's nothing else Senku can do.

"I know," Gen sniffles, and Senku feels something warm and wet fall on his cheek, "But then I met you, and god, Tsukasa wasn't even an option. I already told you that day in the observatory. It didn't matter what I stood to gain from anyone, anymore. I was prepared to stand by your side no matter the outcome of the war, and my opinion hasn't changed."

"I wanted to be here for you in whatever way you'd have me. I convinced myself I was okay with that. If I'd known, I would've, I would've tried harder, strived for what I really wanted." Gen's hands cup Senku's face and he leans down to press his forehead against his.

"You greedy s-scumbag." Senku coughs, and he's trying to make sense of Gen's words through the hazy film of semi-consciousness, "I'm s-supposed to be the one con-confessing."

"You can confess all you want, later." Gen smiles, and the last thing Senku remembers is seeing lovely, bright blue eyes staring into his, "For now, I'm here for you."

---

"Are you sure he's breathing?"

"I can hear it-"

"But what if it's like a dead person thing, where they still breathe after they're gone?"

"That's not with breathing, Chrome. Senku would smack you if he heard that gibberish-"

"He can't smack me if he's dead-"

"He's not dead; Senku won't let some stupid love disease kill him."

"It's not like he has much of a choice."

"I did not count for over 3700 years just to listen to you idiots bicker like children." Senku's not sure how much of that is heard, but at least some of it gets through as voices turn to gasps.

"Senku-chan?"

Senku opens his eyes to see five [idiots] staring down at him, all with the biggest smiles on their faces.

"You're alive!" Chrome exclaims, and the others join in with their own yells of excitement.

"Of course I am." Senku moves to sit up in the bed he's in, shooing away the several hands that reach to help him. "Stop hovering, I'm fine." But he has a smile of his own. For the first time in months, it feels like a weight has been lifted off his chest. If so, that means...and everything suddenly comes back in a flash.

His eyes zero in on the mentalist to the left of him, and his heart skips a beat.

"We'll be outside if you need us," Kohaku says, and then she's pushing everybody else out of the hut until the door closes behind them, and it's just Senku and Gen. It's supposed to be romantic. This is the scene after the climax in romance movies where the two people look at each other and either hug or start passionately making out, but instead...

"I can't believe you didn't tell me!" Gen pouts, and then he's waving his hands wildly in the air, "For almost half a year, you were dying because you were too stubborn to consider I might've liked your dumb ass. But no, you have to go and be dramatic and almost die on me! What happened to being logical, I can't believe I'm actually in love with you-"

Senku stares at him, not quite sure what to do but let him finish. He actually makes a few good points, but he doesn't really care to argue.

"Yeah, yeah, I was dumb and should've just told you I loved you." Senku says during one of the few seconds Gen's taking a breath, "But I have to say, I'm impressed." The man immediately stops and cocks his head,

"What do you mean?"

"You even convinced a disease you were telling the truth."

"I- did you not listen to a single thing I said!?"

---

Outside the hut, four people press their ears to the door, all wearing mixed expressions.

"They're just yelling at each other." Chrome says.

"Such is the way of love." Ryusui laughs.

"Or idiots." Kohaku mutters.

"Yup."

"Yeah."

"Seems accurate."

That night, Senku doesn't hesitate to pull a certain two-toned mentalist into the bed with him.

And when Senku wakes up the next morning feeling the warm weight of another human being pressed against him and the tickle of black and white hair on his neck, he thinks that maybe feelings aren't that bad after all, hidden or not.

He'll have to talk to Gen about that awful flower scent he has, though.