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Senku hates not knowing something. It’s always irritated him ever since he was little. Of course, he’d always solved this problem by learning what he didn’t know, and that would be that.
This was one of the many reasons he hated the times when Gen would come over.
Ever since they were kids, Gen has always been a complete enigma to Senku. He’s never been able to understand what he was really thinking.
Of all the people he could’ve been arranged to marry, he was truly the worst possible option. Once again, his luck proves itself to be the worst.
Senku hated Gen.
He always tried to he on everyone’s good side even if that meant doing so with deceit. His feelings would always be hidden behind this mask that would never falter.
After asking so many times to cancel the arrangement when he was younger, Senku had eventually given up since it was obvious Byakuya wouldn’t be doing so.
Perhaps if Senku were to ask now, Byakuya would accept. The last time Senku asked, he was around twelve. Now that he’s older, his father would probably be more inclined to listen to him.
But that wasn’t at all what Senku wanted anymore, no.
He always loved challenges. Especially if it was a challenge involving that mentalist. Seeing behind his mask was going to be difficult, but Senku’s never failed a challenge before. He doesn’t plan to start now.
Every time Gen came over, he’d always stay for weeks at a time, meaning whenever Senku saw Gen, he’d always have to deal with him for far too long.
As a nobleman, he lived in a large house, so there were plenty of places to hide away from Gen.
But somehow, Gen always managed to find him. Not only that, but he’d go out of his way to annoy him.
Not to mention the clothes he’d have to wear when Gen was here. They were uncomfortable to wear, and it made it harder to conduct his experiments. And he wasn’t used to wearing his hair down whatsoever, no, not at all.
“Senku, Gen’s here! Come welcome him in!” Byakuya’s voice came from down the hall.
After fixing up his all too uncomfortable clothes, Senku let out a sigh and walked in the direction of the voice.
The carriage was still pulling up when Senku walked outside. The first ones to come out were Gen’s fathers, Xeno and Stanley. Stanley walked around to what Senku could only assume was the door Gen would come from. Then, the door opened which revealed his betrothed, Gen who took his father’s hand, helping him out of the carriage.
Senku didn’t understand why though, it was just a carriage. It was easy to get out, who cares if you look graceful or not? Of course, these were thoughts Senku always kept to himself.
“Hello there, Senku~! I see you’ve been growing your hair out,” Gen gave Senku a small bow, wearing his usual fake smile.
“Yeah, I guess…”
To that, Byakuya gave him a look. Senku had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. “Why don’t you three come inside? A large dinner has already been prepared.”
“Thank you very much.” Xeno nodded politely.
Usually during these dinners, Senku tuned out all the boring small talk to think about his next project instead. This time was no different.
It was the same as any other dinner. Just like how Gen constantly bringing Senku back into the conversation just when he’s on the verge of another idea was no different.
Honestly, it was incredibly irritating.
“Senku, what have you been working on since we last saw you?” Gen asked, taking a sip. He had to be doing that on purpose, there was no way he wasn’t.
“Just some new science projects.” Senku replied.
Byakuya looked at him. “What kind of science projects?”
Senku shrugged. “Just the usual experimenting and things like that…”
“You shouldn’t force the boy to talk if he doesn’t want to,” Xeno spoke as if Senku wasn’t right there… “Though I am curious, it’s not our business.”
“You’ll have to show me later, Senku.” Gen set his glass down. “By the way, my fathers have business they need to attend to, so they’ll be leaving after dinner.”
This wasn’t surprising. Sometimes Xeno and Stanley stayed here with Gen, but more often than not, they left within the first twelve hours due to work of some kind. This left Senku to deal with Gen all alone. It was absolutely merciless.
“Ah, what a shame. Still, it was great having you two over.” Byakuya offered the two fathers a kind smile.
“Yeah, likewise.” Stanley replied in a matter of fact tone. Senku could tell speaking politely wasn’t Stanley’s thing either, he wished he’d speak his mind how he wanted, even if just to change things up. It’d be more entertaining than these everything and nothing conversations, that’s for sure.
After an all too boring dinner, Byakuya sent Senku out with Gen to give goodbyes to his fathers.
“Have fun, kid.” Stanley reached into his pocket, pulling out a cigar. As soon as it came from his pocket, Xeno calmly took it out of Stanley’s hand which earned an annoyed look from him.
“Don’t cause too much trouble.” Xeno said.
Gen waved as he watched them get back into the carriage. “I won’t, bye!”
After it was gone, Gen turned to Senku who had been standing there awkwardly like some sort of petrified statue.
“So, Senku…”
Senku raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, what is it?”
“How about showing me some of those science projects?” Senku stared at him for a moment as if the answer was obvious. “What? You seemed so secretive about it, I can’t help but be curious.”
Senku took a deep breath before he answered. “Yeah, sorry, but I’m feeling a bit tired. I’m probably just going to head to my room for the night.”
To that Gen, nodded in understanding. Though his disappointment was apparent. “I see, what a shame. You’ll have to show me tomorrow then.”
Oh, that damned mentalist. How does he always manage to get what he wants?!
It’s no issue… If he just agrees to show him tomorrow, Gen will be off his back tonight and Senku will have a chance to go somewhere else on the property to hide. Yes, that sounded like a good plan. Gen wasn’t a morning person, so it was guaranteed to work.
“Fine. Tomorrow.”
Gen’s lips curved upward as he gave Senku a small wave, heading inside. “I look forward to it then.”
Senku truly thought his plan worked. He got up early that morning, got ready, and headed to his door. However, the moment he opened the door, he was greeted by Gen who had been standing just outside of it.
Honestly, it kind of scared Senku for a moment as he was definitely not expecting it.
“Good morning, Senku-Chan!”
Senku’s hand twitched. No one. No one has ever made him as irritated as he was around Gen… “What the heck are you doing outside my door?! And what’s with the ‘Chan’?”
Gen cocked his head to the side, feigning innocence that Senku wasn’t buying in the least. “Oh? I was just looking forward to seeing your projects, so I woke up early! But I didn’t want to wake you…”
Senku couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “And again, what’s with the Chan?”
“What? Am I not allowed to give you a nickname? You’re so uel-cray, Senku-Chan!”
“I didn’t say that, Mentalist. Whatever… So, you wanted to see what I was working on?” Senku cracked his neck, not bothering to look Gen in the eye.
“Yeah! We are to marry, after all. It wouldn’t hurt to learn more about each other and hang out, now would it? Are you working on anything interesting? Something evil? Perhaps a love potion or something explosive?” Gen went on as he followed behind Senku.
“Nothing at all like that, that stuff doesn’t interest me. Especially something as stupid as a love potion.”
He heard Gen chuckle from behind him. “Or maybe that’s what you want me to think! Are you planning to use a love potion on me, Senku-Chan?”
Senku stopped to shoot Gen a glare. “No, why would I?”
“My, you’re getting worked up! Don’t orry-way. I’m just messing with you. Plus, it’s not like you’d even need a love potion for me.”
Was that another joke? Senku went still for a moment. What did that even mean?! ‘…it’s not like you’d even need a love potion for me’ was there supposed to be some kind of deeper meaning behind that? Senku does not understand this guy at all, but for some reason those words stuck with him.
Senku opened the door to his lab, allowing the mentalist inside.
“Ah, so this is your lab. You have lots of strange things in here…”
“They’re not strange, it’s just equipment and supplies. You just don’t know how to use them.” Senku says, pulling out some equipment.
Gen let out an exaggerated gasp. “How ude-ray! I’ll have you know that I know how to use a lot of the things here!”
Senku raised an eyebrow, a smirk growing on his face. Somehow, Senku highly doubts that. “Yeah, sure… If you’re so good at it, why don’t you try to make something?”
Gen stared at the table for a moment before, scratching the back of his neck. “You know, I’m much more of a magic guy… Science isn’t really my forte. Well, other than psychology at least.”
“Oh? I thought you knew how to use these.”
Gen seemed to be growing a little flustered now. Now there was something Senku didn’t see every day… “I mean… I know what they’re for! I’ve experimented around with some things before…”
That didn’t sound like Gen at all, naturally Senku didn’t believe him. “Somehow, I doubt that.”
“No, it’s true! But alas, I fear I’m just not very good with it.”
“You don’t strike me as the kind of guy to be into that kind of thing. What were you trying to do anyway?” Senku questioned him.
Strangely, Gen grew quiet. Which was rare since that guy never stopped talking. Could Gen really have been trying something so out there that warranted this kind of reaction.
“I’ll tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. Especially my dads!”
Okay, now Senku was incredibly curious. What the hell was Gen doing in his free time?! “Okay, I promise. I don’t have any interest in sharing other people’s secrets anyway.”
Gen walked over to the door, locking it. Senku was really hoping he wasn’t about to get murdered right now. Though he doubted Gen would be interested in that.
Gen walked back over to Senku and whispered. “I’ve been practicing magic.”
Senku grew quiet, tilting his head. “Magic? Like…”
“Not just card tricks or anything like that. Real magic.” When Senku didn’t reply, Gen sighed. “Just watch!” And without another word, Gen shut off the light and came closer to Senku.
Senku couldn’t see Gen, but he could tell how close he was because of the feeling of his warm breath on his face.
Gen put his hands together and a moment later, a bright light formed in his hands, lighting up the room.
Senku’s eyes widened, the light was so bright, he had to avert his eyes after a few moments of staring. It’s not like people using magic was rare, it was just that a lot of noble families didn’t allow their children to learn it. Gen’s family was one of those families.
Many people looked down upon people who used magic, but just as many people also liked it and even thought it was cool.
Magic wasn’t something that Senku particularly wanted to learn about, but he had always found it to be interesting and sometimes even cool. Not as cool as science, of course, but still…
Senku had no idea Gen had been learning about it. Though it shouldn’t be a surprise, Gen had always been into that sort of thing even if it was just tricks at the time.
He should’ve known this would happen even if his parents didn’t allow it.
After all, Gen always found a way to get what he wanted.
“How did you learn it?” It was one of the many questions on Senku’s mind, but it was the only one Senku managed to get out of his state of awe.
“I taught myself.”
Senku snapped his head up to look Gen in the eye. “Woah, seriously? You taught it to yourself?! How?!”
Gen looked surprised to be met with such an awestruck response. “Oh, um! I read a lot of books!”
“There’s no way you were able to learn from just reading books!” Senku replied. Gen laughed lightly, turning the light back on.
“It’s true! Isn’t that how you learned most of your science?”
Senku supposed Gen was right on that… He can’t argue. “I guess you’re right… Still, that’s really impressive.”
Gen didn’t know how to respond to that. He had never seen Senku so… amazed before. It made him feel really proud that he was able to get that kind of reaction out of him. Gen couldn’t help but smile because of it.
“So that’s what it looks like…” Senku said. Gen furrowed his eyebrows.
“That’s what what looks like?”
Senku looked hesitant for a moment before answering with a confident expression. “Your smile. You’re always using those fake smiles, this is the first time I’ve seen you genuinely smile.”
If Senku was being honest, it was kind of cute… It was like seeing a whole other side to him. One that wasn’t constantly being hidden.
When Gen wasn’t hiding behind a facade, he looked really pretty… Or maybe he’s always been pretty, this was just the first time Senku’s acknowledged it.
Damn, what’s this mentalist doing to him?!
“Oh… thank you.”
Senku turned his head away, trying to hide the sudden nervousness he felt. “Yeah… what were you trying to do with science anyway if you’re trying to learn about magic?”
Gen’s slightly embarrassed look immediately washed away as a look of mischief rose instead. “Oh, I’m so glad you asked, Senku-Chan!”
Back to this, it was good while it lasted…
“I was actually seeing if I could combine the two to make something cool. I figured if I could, maybe Xeno would be more inclined to let me learn magic.” Gen explained.
“Somehow I doubt that…”
Gen sadly nodded. “Yeah, I feel the same. But it still sounded like an interesting idea, but unfortunately I’m not very gifted with science. Ah, if only I knew someone who was.”
“So that’s why you wanted to come to my lab so bad!” Senku should’ve known. That mentalist always has something up his sleeve.
“Hm? No! Well, maybe that was one of the reasons… But I was genuinely curious about what you’ve been working on!”
Senku looked down at the table, a feeling of disappointment in his chest. He hasn’t really been able to think of anything lately that he’s really been interested in making. His mind had been a bit occupied by a certain annoying mentalist… “Honestly, not anything really.”
Gen came closer to Senku and put his hand on the table, resting his weight onto it, giving Senku a challenging look. “Is that so?” Gen paused. “Then what do you say? Up for a little alchemy?”
If it was anyone else asking, Senku might’ve turned them down. But with the look Gen with him along with the endless possibilities of what they could create… How could he possibly refuse?
A smirk rose to Senku’s face. “Yeah, sure. Let’s do it.”
Gen seemed satisfied with Senku’s answer before he spoke up again. “Alright! Get excited, Senku-Chan!”
“Hey, that’s my thing.”
Gen just laughed at him.
In the end, they didn’t end up making anything too impressive. Their library didn’t have hardly anything about alchemy.
Lots of science books, a few books about magic, but very few about the combination.
They’d definitely have to look for some. Though they could probably just combine their knowledge on the subjects to create something if they really wanted. It’d just take a lot of trial and error.
It’s not like their creation was groundbreaking in any way, just a potion that could make things glow. It was cool, sure, but not much use for it.
At least not for Senku. Gen seemed happy to take it though.
Still, it had been fun to create something new; even if that something was created with Gen. Hanging out with Gen was probably the last thing Senku thought he would ever do.
They had spent so long in the lab, Senku hadn’t even realized it was nearly the evening already. Had they really been in there for so long already?
“Senku? Senku, are you in there? Why is the door locked?” He heard Byakuya’s voice from behind the door. Despite the fact that the door was obviously locked, Byakuya still seemed to be trying to open the door.
Annoyed Senku cracked open the door. “What is it, old man?”
“Have you been in there all day?” He asked.
“Yeah, why?”
Byakuya sigh and crossed his arms. “You know it’s rude to lock yourself away with work when he have a guest over. Speaking of which, have you seen Gen anywhere?”
This was when Gen decided to peek his head out over Senku’s shoulder. “Hey, Mr. Ishigami! Were you looking for me?”
Byakuya didn’t even bother trying to hide his surprise. “Oh! Have you been in here with Senku this whole time?”
Gen happily nodded. “Yes, Senku-Chan was just showing me some of his experiments! I suppose we lost track of ime-tay!”
Byakuya seemed to ponder his thoughts for a moment. “I guess it’s just a little surprising… I never really see you two hang out, plus you only ever let people you like into the l—“
Senku immediately closed the door right in his face. “That’s enough.” Senku muttered.
“Oh? What was he about to say, Senku-Chan?” Gen was staring at Senku with an irritating smug expression.
“Nothing important.”
Gen put his arm around Senku, painting a sweet smile onto his face. “Aw, you don’t have to be so embarrassed! Do you like me, Senku-Chan?”
“Shut up…” Senku muttered, keeping his head down.
He could hear Gen laugh to himself.
But Byakuya was right… It was odd for Senku to let Gen of all people into his lab. He didn’t even put much thought into it either. All he knew was that Gen wanted to see his lab, so he showed him the lab without any consideration.
Maybe Senku just wanted to win the challenge by any means necessary…
“For what it’s worth, Senku-Chan. I like you too.”
Oh.
He had been so caught up in his time with Gen he hadn’t realized how much he had been smiling.
Fine, maybe Gen wasn’t all bad…
Actually, maybe he didn’t hate Gen at all.
In fact, he might even enjoy Gen’s company, just a little.
Not like he’d ever admit to that though. Nope, not in ten billion years.