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Gen strolled around, watching, as the children of Ishigami Village made little crafts with flowers with the help of the older people. Some made bracelets, others did crowns, but most of them just bundled up their findings into a bouquet.
Even little Suika joined in on the fun, getting Kohaku to teach her how to make a simple bracelet. Chrome, meanwhile, was stuck trying to make a crown for Ruri..
It was an endearing sight, seeing everyone work together on their own things.. something else that wasn't the next big technological advancement that Senku needed.
Strangely enough, he saw Senku the moment he thought of him. The boy was in front of the lab, his eyes fixated on the bouquet he was carefully holding.
...A bouquet?
Gen walked up to Senku, his hands clasped together.
"My, Senku-chan.. what's with the bouquet? Who went ahead and gave you that?" He asked, his gaze now focused on the flowers. A few of them were pink, and the rest were red. The type of flower they were was familiar, the round petals being very striking, but he couldn't quite place what they were called..
"Mariko gave these to me."
Gen's eyes widened at the name drop. He wasn't very surprised at how casually Senku did it, because that was just the type of person he was.. but Mariko? The girl didn't seem like someone who could easily do a straightforward move like that.
"Mariko? I had no idea you two were such lovebirds," Gen tried to pry. Maybe he could learn more about their relationship. Not that it was any of his business, but.. he was a bit nosy, okay?
"Lovebirds?" Senku's face immediately turned to a face of disgust. "You don't understand, do you? She used to do this a lot pre-petrification too.. She'd give me flowers as a joke of what she'd give to me on my funeral," he sighed.
"Ah, my mistake," Gen said, rolling his eyes. He was a bit dejected at how lackluster in actual meaning that the bouquet had.. Was he losing his touch? It really seemed like there was something more to it than just Mariko having a weird sense of humor..
"I have no idea why she always uses these red and pink camellias though...."
Now Gen's eyes widened. How had he missed that they were Camellias? Those have been known to symbolize love for.. well, forever, he supposed.
It seems that Senku had zero idea what the flowers actually meant.. And with that newfound knowledge, he quickly changed the topic.
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"Riko-chan~"
Mariko let out an aggressive sigh as she heard Gen's call. It's not that she hated Gen, no, but when he called her Riko-chan.. it definitely was something where he was up to no good.
"What is it now, Gen?" She asked, turning her head to face him, her right brow now raised.
"Do you have experience making bouquets?"
The girl looked away. The mentalist must've figured it out, hasn't he? Mariko wasn't very used to having someone around that could so obviously see her pining for Senku.
"..I guess not, huh?"
"Don't ruin this for me." She rolled her eyes, despite the fact that he wouldn't see it anyways.
"No worries, I'm not the devil,” Gen said, snickering at her reaction.
Mariko stayed silent, her face turning red by the second. She really needed to pay more attention next time to her new circumstances, didn't she?