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The sun beamed down onto the earth, filtering through the trees and dotting the forest floor with light. Kohaku instinctively looked upwards, sensing something off in the atmosphere. She didn’t get a chance to dwell on it though as the person she was escorting sped ahead.
She upped her pace, finding Senku crouched over some rock on the ground. She sighed, placing her hands on her hips in boredom. Boys and their obsession with rocks...
Senku had asked her to accompany him to find some specific material. It was supposedly close by which is why only she was necessary. She couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed, Senku had just dragged her along like she was his guard dog.
Though, despite being so smart it was true Senku was abysmal in the physical strength department. Kohaku wasn’t about to just let him wander off into the forests alone. Plus something about the fact Senku had asked her personally made her chest feel funny. That meant he trusted her right? The thought made her happy.
“Not here.” Senku mumbled, getting back to his feet. He brushed the dirt from his knees and glanced to Kohaku before continuing on.
The deeper they got into the forest the more concerned Kohaku became of what she’d sensed earlier. With furrowed brows, she peered up at the sky again, noticing the cloud cover had increased drastically. Crap, she should’ve realised it sooner than this. It was going to rain.
“Hey Senku, we should probably turn around, it feels like there’s a storm brewing.” She called out to him just as he’d run off towards another rock.
“Just a moment, this one looks promising.” Senku said back, Kohaku wasn’t even sure he’d registered what she said.
“Ok but make it quick.” She shrugged in defeat.
Senku pulled out some tools he’d brought along and started hammering into the rock. Kohaku decided to take a seat on a nearby log. How there was a gemstone or whatever out there that Chrome hadn’t collected yet was beyond her.
Bored, her eyes absentmindedly fell to Senku. She watched him work, his brain probably going a million miles an hour in his head. She didn’t understand half the things he spoke about but she still respected him deeply. It was all thanks to Senku’s knowledge and those same things she didn’t understand that Ruri was healthy and enjoying her life right now.
A smile found its way to Kohaku’s face as she remembered her first encounter with the scientist. How he’d helped her without a second thought and how she’d admitted to falling for him that same day. The memory made her scoff. She hadn’t even meant it that way yet Senku had swiftly rejected her. What if she’d been serious? Would he really break someones heart without remorse like that?
She watched as Senku’s expression changed from one of concentration to joy as his face suddenly lit up.
“This is it!” He grinned, holding up the small crystal and presenting it to Kohaku.
Kohaku flinched when the happy expression was directed her way. The crystal was probably impressive but she wouldn’t have known it since her eyes stayed glued on Senku. He rarely ever smiled so genuinely.
It was gone in mere moments though as Senku got back to business, collecting what was needed and packing up his tools. He’d just finished refastening his belt when the first drop of rain fell atop Kohaku’s nose.
She rubbed at it reflexively, glancing up to the sky in horror. She’d gotten so distracted by Senku that she hadn’t even noticed that the clouds above them were now a threatening grey.
“We have to go, now!” She said quickly, running over to drag Senku away before he found anything else he was interested in.
Her urgency seemed to bring Senku to reality as he finally peered up to the sky.
“Oh, those are cumulonimbus clouds.” He mused, still being dragged along by his arm.
“I don’t need to know what they are to know they’re bad news!” Kohaku complained. “Look for somewhere to shelter, there’s no way we’ll make it back before the storm starts.”
The droplets of rain falling around them steadily began to grow in frequency as the two of them continued to run through the trees. It hadn’t even been that long and Kohaku could already hear Senku’s breathing growing heavier behind her. A blinding flash suddenly blanketed the sky, the accompanying thunder booming shortly after.
Kohaku’s sharp eyes immediately trained onto a stone overhang off to the side. It was still a decent distance away, the rain getting closer and closer to bucketing down. Gritting her teeth, Kohaku made a snap decision. She stopped and scooped Senku up into her arms before he could say otherwise.
He blinked in surprise but otherwise just let it happen as Kohaku made her way over to the shelter. Not having Senku slowing her down anymore, she made quick work of the terrain, skilfully vaulting from fallen logs. As soon as she stepped foot under the large stone covering the clouds let loose, the loud sound of rain hitting the ground filling the area.
Distracted by the weather, Kohaku completely forgot about the passenger still in her arms.
Senku cleared his throat, bringing her attention back to him. She glanced down, not having noticed how close his face was to hers. It took a moment to process before she quickly fumbled to put him down.
“Sorry, you were too slow.” She explained, crossing her arms to try compose herself again. Her heart felt uncomfortable in her chest. She had barely exerted any energy and yet it was it beating so fast.
“It’s fine.” Senku gave a short laugh. “That’s why I brought you with me after all.”
He moved to sit further under the overhang. The rock above them was large in size, leaving enough space for about four people underneath. Kohaku watched the rain for a bit longer before deciding to sit with him. Not like there was much else to do.
Thunder rumbled loudly around them as Kohaku took a seat. She lazed back against the cool stone behind them, raising a knee to rest her arm on. Uncaring to whether or not her underwear was exposed. Senku sat cross legged beside her, blankly watching the rain fall.
They were lucky it was summer as getting trapped out in the rain like this in the colder months would’ve been bad. With Senku there though maybe he would have a cure for that kind of sickness as well. Kohaku peered at him, noticing his hair had deflated a little after getting wet. It resembled that cotton candy stuff they’d created. She stifled a laugh at the thought, quickly looking back to the rain when the sound caught Senku’s attention.
“What?” He questioned.
“Your hair looks funny.” Kohaku replied honestly. Senku pouted slightly before using both hands to fluff it back up again.
They fell into silence, the rain still falling loudly around them. The lightning became more frequent as the eye of the storm began to pass over. A particularly loud clap of thunder caused Kohaku to jump which she immediately regretted.
“Oh? Is the lioness scared of a little thunder?” Senku teased.
“No. It was just my body reacting.” Kohaku deflected, crossing her arms in a huff. Truthfully she had been scared of storms when she was younger, but she’d grown out of it. She’d even faced the lightning head on when they’d made the super magnet. This storm was nothing compared to that.
“You know, the sooner you hear thunder after lightning, the closer the strike was to you.” Senku suddenly began explaining. “That one was 4 seconds.”
“You’re counting even now?”
Senku just pointed back outside, Kohaku followed his finger, watching as the lightning flashed through the forest.
“1.. 2.. 3.. 4.. 5.. 6...”
The thunder crackled threateningly, rumbling before fading away.
“Why was that one longer?” Kohaku looked to Senku.
“Lighting doesn’t strike the same place twice, it varies. It travels a long way through the air and what you hear is—”
Senku’s explanation was cut short when a bright flash filled their vision. Kohaku’s mind barely even counted to 2 before the deafening thunder sounded. Kohaku couldn’t suppress a yelp as she cowered away from the noise. Even Senku looked rattled, having lost what he was saying.
Realising what she’d done, Kohaku quickly recomposed herself, feeling a blush flare to her cheeks. She’d just said she wasn’t scared of the storm.
“That one was pretty close to us then huh?” She mumbled with a pout, moving to hug her knees against her chest.
“Very.” Senku mused back.
The rain didn’t seem to be letting up whatsoever as Kohaku watched little streams of water form outside the overhang. She didn’t think much of it until Senku suddenly spoke up again.
“Kohaku, what was above this stone?” He asked, tone weirdly serious. Kohaku met his gaze and answered casually.
“Just more rocks and dirt.”
It took a moment before realisation set in, Kohaku turned back to look at the streams outside, noticing the way water was rapidly travelling down from above. Her head whipped back to Senku, his tense expression mirrored her own. They had to move.
“Should we look for another place to shelter or just run back to the village?” Kohaku questioned, body already in a stance that was ready to dash.
“Judging by the glimpse of the clouds I got before, there were more storms coming along.” Senku thought aloud, tapping at his chin in thought. He muttered to himself a bit more before his eyes trained onto Kohaku, a faint grin on his lips.
“I’ll be in your care.”
Kohaku grinned back at him, picking up on what he meant. Just as Senku had come to a decision, the amount of water and debris falling from above increased, the beginnings of a mudslide. Kohaku took that as her cue to bolt.
She swiftly picked Senku up into her arms, pushing off a stone on the floor to get a boost in speed. Having expected it this time, Senku wrapped his arms around Kohaku’s shoulders so that he wouldn’t slip. Not that Kohaku was planning on dropping him anyway. He was precious cargo.
The rain was uncomfortable against her face as Kohaku made her way back through the forest. There was still the occasional flash and crack of thunder but it seemed the brunt of the storm was over for now.
Kohaku was making good progress when a familiar sound caught her attention. She recognised it in an instant, her body instinctively swerving to the side. The branch that she’d heard snap crashing to the forest floor moments later. Senku jumped at the suddenness of it all, looking back to the fallen branch with wide eyes.
“Sharp senses as always, lioness.”
“I’m not a lioness!” Kohaku snapped back. The timing was bad however, as Senku had distracted her right before she’d stepped onto a loose log. It rolled under the added weight, propelling Kohaku forwards. She yelped as she tried to keep her footing, slipping again on the muddy forest floor. She held Senku tight against herself and dodged an upcoming tree.
Senku learnt his lesson and kept his mouth shut, holding on for dear life as Kohaku continued to stumble through the forest’s obstacles. After a few more wobbles she eventually regained her balance, silently thankful that she’d managed to not fall over. That would’ve been embarrassing and not to mention dangerous.
Despite having gotten back to her normal pace, Senku’s grip stayed tight around her, Kohaku smiled inwardly at how cute it was. The terrain slowly began to look more and more familiar as they neared Ishigami Village.
The rain was still heavy, having fully soaked through both of their clothing by now. Kohaku’s bangs stuck annoyingly to her face. She stole a glance at Senku, his hair now laying straight to his shoulders. The sight was so unexpected that she almost tripped again.
“Pay attention!” Senku said but it only made Kohaku laugh.
“Did I scare you before?” She questioned smugly.
“I’d rather not have to treat any injuries from this.” Senku responded flatly.
“Don’t worry, there won’t be any.” A dangerous grin crossed Kohaku’s face as she said it. She kicked off her next step with more force, running at an even faster pace than before. Senku’s arms around her got even tighter at the sudden speed boost.
She watched his face turn to one of mild concern, which made her laugh again.
“I’m not gonna drop you, it’s ok.”
However as the words left her mouth, the brightest flash Kohaku had ever seen blanketed her vision. It was only for a split second, the lighting bolt cracking into a tree directly in front of them. Kohaku skidded to a halt, the muddy ground making it difficult to stop.
“Don’t stop, run!” Senku suddenly shouted beside her ear. She didn’t need to be told twice and quickly noticed why Senku was so frantic about it. The spot of lightings impact produced flames. Creaking, the huge trunk of the tree began to fall towards them, the booming thunder feeling like it was directly shaking their brains.
Disoriented, Kohaku misplaced her foot, slipping on a leaf.
“Kohaku!?”
Senku’s unusually concerned voice snapped her back to her senses as Kohaku made another snap decision. The tree was closing in and she was about to fall anyway. Time seemed to slow for her as she shifted her hold on Senku, releasing his legs and hugging him to her body instead as she dived to the side.
It happened in mere seconds, the tree crashing to the forest floor and Kohaku barely avoiding it with her quick thinking. The two of them rolled and slipped down a ledge. Kohaku placing a hand on the back of Senku’s head to shield him from as much of the impact as possible, taking the brunt of the tumble herself.
They rolled a couple more times before landing softly in a dense patch of ferns. The world was spinning but Kohaku shook her head to snap out of it.
“Are you ok Senku!?” She questioned, more hastily than intended.
He groaned and blinked heavily, probably having a similar spinning sensation. He pushed up off the floor, eyes widening ever so slightly when he saw that Kohaku was pinned beneath him.
“Sorry, I wasn’t sure how else to avoid the tree without injuring us both.” Kohaku explained, unbothered by their positions. She’d been the one to break their fall as intended.
“I’m fine, but what about you?” Senku asked, shifting so that Kohaku could sit up. She did so and glanced over herself, she’d had worse falls before, this was nothing.
“I’m good.”
“You really are something, lioness.”
“Huh!? You called me by name just a second ago but now you’re back to lioness?” She complained with a frustrated pout. The reaction only made Senku laugh. Kohaku continued to glare at him, the rain still steadily falling onto them from above.
Maybe brute forcing their way through the storm hadn’t been the best idea.
“There’s a cave entrance over there, we should take shelter.” Senku pointed out, standing and brushing what mud he could from himself. Kohaku watched him, his stance being oddly stiff and his feet shifting like he was debating something.
A moment later a hand was thrust in her direction, Senku kept his eyes on the cave, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. Somewhat taken aback by the gesture, it took Kohaku a few seconds before actually taking the hand. Senku helped pull her to her feet, Kohaku couldn’t help but notice how warm his hand felt around hers.
“Let’s go.” Senku said the moment she was up, still not looking her way. Could he be... embarrassed? Kohaku wasn’t sure what to make of the idea.
Distant thunder cracked overhead as they reached the cave. It’s entrance was large but the cave itself didn’t seem to go very deep into the mountain. Kohaku pushed her bangs out of her face. She was well and truely drenched. Her dress stuck to her skin uncomfortably, the added mud and grime from the fall not making things better.
“A fire would be good...” Kohaku mumbled to herself, looking out to the soaked forest. None of the wood would burn.
“Way ahead of you.” Senku said with that excited tone in his voice. He dumped a handful of various sizes of fallen branches down.
“It’s all wet though.”
“Then, you just need to cut the wet parts away.” Senku explained, producing a small knife from his tool belt. “The water doesn’t actually penetrate that far into the wood.”
Kohaku watched intently as Senku began to carve away at the smaller branches. He managed just fine until he got to the larger log. Strain showed on his face as he struggled to cut away at it, the knife barely denting the thick surface.
“Want me to handle that one?” Kohaku asked with a faintly smug grin.
Senku pouted, wordlessly handing her the log and knife.
Kohaku made quick work of the woods outer layer as Senku began arranging the thinner kindling he’d prepared. He held his palm out to Kohaku and she handed him the knife without prompting. He pulled out a small chunk of rock and began scraping at it, the stone producing large amounts of sparks.
Kohaku watched in awe as he nursed the small flames into bigger ones. The damp wood gave off more smoke than normal and it didn’t look like the fire would stay alive. However Senku didn’t give up, he continued to blow at the flames, slowly adding even more kindling to the pile.
Some further attention and care later and the fire was going steadily, the larger logs Kohaku had carved being added to fuel it.
“Impressive.” She concluded, the dancing flames illuminating the small cave’s walls. The rain still showed no signs of letting up, they probably wouldn’t be able to head back till nightfall at this rate. Sighing, Kohaku moved to take a seat close by the fire.
She absentmindedly tugged at the rope that was holding her hair up. The rain and tumble had already loosened it, so the tie came apart with little force. Her hair flopped down against her back, weighed down by how wet it was.
She glanced over to Senku, his hair was still in a similar state. It really was amazing how different he looked when it was flat. He glanced back at her, eyes dropping to the length of her hair before returning to her eyes.
“You kinda look like Ruri now.” He quietly commented.
“N-no I don’t.” Kohaku pouted, crossing her arms defensively but feeling her face warm. “When do you think the storms will let up?” She asked, quickly changing the subject.
“3 hours or so.” Senku responded. “It’s best we wait it out instead of running through again.” He added, flashing Kohaku a teasing smirk.
“Hey, I didn’t drop you! I kept my word!”
“Just about gave me a heart attack though.” Senku joked, grin suddenly dropping when he looked over to Kohaku. Her brows furrowed and she followed his gaze to her legs. Oh.
There was a red gash across her right calf, it must not have been very deep as Kohaku hadn’t even felt it. She was about to tell Senku that, but flinched when the scientist was suddenly right beside her.
“Can I look at it?”
“Huh? Uh, yeah sure.” Kohaku fumbled, extending her leg out so that Senku could get a better look. He pulled a small roll of cloth from his ever useful belt, wiping away the outer layer of blood with a patch of it.
Kohaku peered at the concentrated expression Senku wore. It was merely an oversized scratch and yet he was treating it so delicately. His calloused fingers brushed against Kohaku’s skin as he crudely tied the bandage around her leg.
“This is the best I can do for now, we can clean it properly back at the village.”
“Y-yeah, thanks.” She mumbled, continuing to stare down at where Senku had touched her leg. She had expected him to return to the opposite side of the fire, except instead she heard him sit down beside her.
Her gaze shifted to him, now sitting within arms reach. Kohaku wasn’t sure why the sight made her chest tighten. He glanced to her nonchalantly as if he was expecting her to say something.
“You know... I’ve had uh, way worse injuries than this right?” Kohaku fumbled out, putting the sentence together as it came out of her mouth. Senku chuckled.
“Of course, still doesn’t mean you should just leave that one all dirty.”
Kohaku could’ve sworn she saw the faintest of smiles on Senku’s face. She turned back to the rain, watching the way it splattered against the rocky entrance of the cave. A sudden wave of sentimentality washing over her as her next words came out softly.
“That modern medicine of yours really is amazing...” Her gaze stayed on the rain as she moved to cradle her knees to her chest. “I’m really glad I met you, Senku.”
Senku took a moment to respond, Kohaku heard him exhale as if he were amused.
“Getting all sappy now are we?” He grinned when Kohaku whipped her head around to scowl at him. “I’m glad I met you too, there’s no way I could’ve dealt with Tsukasa and such without all you guys.” Senku added.
Kohaku couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that he’d included the whole village in that statement.
“You’re just saying that cause you needed people to do your physical labour.” She pouted.
“Heh, you know me well.” Senku replied smugly but his expression unexpectedly softened. “I mean it though, I couldn’t have done anything if I hadn’t met you first. No one in the village would’ve trusted me.” He said, reaching up to gently poke Kohaku’s forehead. She flinched.
“Huh? U-uh, yeah...” She mumbled, suddenly feeling bashful. Her reaction made Senku pause, his finger still lightly resting against her bangs. She peered at him from under her long lashes, the mood having become oddly intimate.
Ever so slowly, Senku shifted his finger so that it brushed her damp bangs to the side. His hand ghosted her cheek and just when she thought he was about to cup it, he spoke.
“You got cut up here as well...” He said quietly. As he immediately moved to pull the cloth back out. Kohaku felt her cheeks flare red, just what had she been expecting!? Of course Senku had only done that because he noticed another injury. There’s no way it was for other reasons.
Despite telling herself that, her face still felt warm as Senku’s hand returned. He wiped the small wound carefully, his thumb brushing just above her eyebrow. Kohaku bit her lip awkwardly, unknowingly leaning closer to Senku.
Neither of them seemed to notice until Senku had finished the job. His hand froze, eyes widening slightly when he met Kohaku’s gaze. She mirrored his expression, the two of them blinking at each other, faces being closer than they ever had been before.
Senku’s hair still lay over his face, framing his bright red eyes. Kohaku wasn’t able to look away even if she tried.
“Is there something on my face too?” Senku mumbled, breaking them from their trance.
Kohaku used the question as an excise to glance down to Senku’s lips. She’d never thought about kissing someone before until that moment. Her heart thumped in her chest, this was dangerous. If she stared at him like this any longer she was going to be convinced she really was in love with Senku.
Forcing herself to look back up, she met his eyes again before reluctantly shifting back.
“No, your face is fine.” She murmured, seating herself again. “Your hair just looks funny.” She added with a cheeky smile.
“Heh, how kind, and here I was thinking we just had a moment.” Senku chuckled, though Kohaku couldn’t tell if he had actually been joking.
“Oh, what kind of moment?” She pressed, unconsciously leaning forwards again.
“Hm I wonder, didn’t you say you were in love with me once?”
Senku’s grin caused Kohaku to puff her cheeks out in a pout.
“I told you I didn’t mean it like that!” She said, hands balling into fists in an attempt to keep her composure. Why was he bringing that up now?*
“I know.” Senku held back a laugh. “I just remembered it now is all.”
“Huh!?” Annoyance crept into Kohaku’s voice when she suspected she was being made fun of. However Senku looked back at her with a soft smile. It was so genuine that Kohaku almost had to do a double take.
He reached his hand forwards once more, rough fingers lightly brushed against Kohaku’s jaw. She stayed quiet, ignoring her erratic heartbeat as Senku’s gaze stayed fixed on her. Those usually calculating eyes studying her with fondness.
“A brain in love is the most illogical variety of trouble, isn’t it?”
It took Kohaku a moment to register the meaning of his words as he shifted closer. Her eyes squeezed shut when his face was mere centimetres away from hers. She pursed her lips and waited for contact but hesitantly opened her eyes again when nothing happened.
Senku was still watching her quietly, his hand shifted to brush beside her ear and into her messy hair. An amused smirk breaking out on his face.
“Didn’t mean it that way, huh?” He mumbled teasingly, fingers feathering through Kohaku’s damp hair.
“I-I really didn’t!” Kohaku quickly denied, backing away ever so slightly. “Except now you’re someone I really respect and... c-care about...” She added, getting progressively more embarrassed.
“Oh?” The smug look stayed on Senku’s face but the slight redness that crept into his cheeks gave him away. Kohaku found herself staring, curious as to how he actually felt about her.
She edged closer, wanting to see how the ever coolheaded scientist reacted. Only when their noses bumped together did he shift away, properly blushing now. Kohaku was the one wearing the smug grin now.
“Seems you care about me too.” Kohaku murmured, pulling away. Senku’s only response was a flustered pout as he let his hand drop from her face. “It’s fine, I’ll wait for you to admit it.” She added before moving to sit back beside him.
She let her body fall to the side so that her shoulder bumped against Senku’s. He flinched but otherwise didn’t shift away from the contact. The calming sound of rain hitting the ground filled the cave as the two of them gazed out at the storm together. The fire beside them emitting a comforting heat.
Kohaku sunk further into his shoulder until her cheek came to rest upon it. Senku’s tunic was still damp from the prior drenching but Kohaku didn’t mind. She found it surprising just how natural their current positions felt.
Senku glanced down at her with a warm smile that was hidden from Kohaku’s line of sight. They sat in silence for a while, simply watching the rain and occasional lighting blanket the sky as the next storm rolled over. The two of them simply enjoying each others company.
“Just remember it’s back to work once we’re out of here. There’s no time for lovey-dovey stuff right now—”
“Yeah I know, don’t ruin the nice mood.” Kohaku complained which made Senku laugh.
She smiled against his shoulder at the sound.
***