Part Two: Dancing

The day was rather pleasant. Not too hot, not too cold. Things were normal otherwise: everyone doing their assigned work. Kohaku, Ginro, and Kinro were engaging in mock battles for training, Kaseki was working on something within the furnace, Senku and Chrome working upon creating something or another with large chunks of wood, while Gen and Suika stayed far away from the more dangerous tasks, keeping their hands full with busy work. Overall, a typical day for the rag-tag crew of the Kingdom of Science.

Of course, Gen was not thrilled with having to participate in the laborious process, but at least he was being forced into some sort of hard labor. It must truly be grueling to be near all of those hot processes, and he was grateful that he was able to sit in the shade with little Suika, conversing about this and that. It was a bit boring – after all, there was only so much he could really talk about with the child, given his desire not to corrupt the poor girl any further than what Senku had done with all of the scary science terms – but sometimes boring was okay. Still, it would be nice for something more fun to happen, just a little something to make this busy work go a little faster...

His eyes landed upon Kohaku, watching as she walked away from the guardian brothers and towards Senku and Chrome, rubbing her brow clean of sweat from her sparring. She kept enough of a distance, making sure not to get in the way of their work in case something flew off in her direction, but was close enough to strike up some sort of conversation with them. It was a few nights ago that he and Senku had their little spat over the huntress, and while things had seemingly been laid to rest, Gen knew that the scientist was watching him warily, trying to make sure he didn't try to pull any more stunts. However, Senku's threat did little to scare him; Gen had faced scarier before, and besides, he wasn't doing anything harmful. Just a little bit of fun, a little bit of flirting, a little bit of playing around with Lady Science's basic principles.

Of course, he did have to modify things a little bit in terms of how to proceed with his experiment. He definitely couldn't try to do something similar to his fake dizzy fit, given how wary she was going to be of a second round. No, he had to do something that didn't involve some sort of illness, something that didn't seem as though he was attempting to get out of work. The latter was going to be difficult to pull off as it was, as he knew that, to some, it'd appear that way regardless, but if he could frame it as being related to some sort of break, it'd garner far less suspicion that way...

He let out a loud sigh, leaning back to stare up through the trees. Suika turned towards him, curious, "Is everything okay? You're not feeling sick again, are you?"

"Oh, not at all!" he replied, trying to reassure his companion, "Just been drifting in thoughts today, feeling that tinge of nostalgia."

"What does nostalgia mean?"

"It's a term when you think about the past. Things that usually make you feel happy."

"Oh, like the harem thing?"

"Er... yes, like that," he replied, feeling a bit sheepish – he did greatly regret bringing up such a term in front of her; she still pressed every once in awhile to learn what, exactly, that word meant and he certainly wasn't going to let her know, no matter how much she pressed.

"So what kind of things make you happy, Gen?" Suika pressed on, dropping her work for a bit to intensely listen; she did enjoy hearing stories about things from Gen and Senku's world, even if she didn't fully understand all of it.

"Hmm... let's see..." he pondered, crossing his arms over his chest, one finger extended to tap upon his chin, "Senku's cola was fairly delicious, but back in my day, we had large varieties of cola available, in all sorts of different flavors. I missed having such wonderful selection to quench my thirst."

"Maybe Senku can try and make some of them for you!"

"Maybe. Perhaps one day I'll ask. Let's see, what else... Well, there was the stage, and all of the bright lights and fame that came with my work. It was nice to have an audience hanging on my every act, although I suppose that's not much different than what I've been able to do now. Hmm..."

He tried to think of something else to add, something that would be more interactive, something that he knew how to do or could easily fake it until he made it, something that would entice curious eyes to look over and curious bodies to walk over... something that would entertain his current audience... Ah, an idea came to his head! "Dancing," he muttered, the melon girl perking up at the foreign word.

"Dancing? What's that?" she asked, her voice squeaking in curious delight.

"It's an activity where you spin and twirl and move to the beat of music," he explained, the pointed finger now in the air as he continued, "It's something that people could do by themselves, but I personally enjoyed it with the company of others. There were hundreds and thousands of different dances you could do. All sorts, from all around the world. Every country and all types of people had their own signature dances. They were a wonderful sport to watch, but even more fun to participate in."

"Whoa, so many!" Suika exclaimed, shocked by the numbers he used, Gen laughing at her surprise, enjoying her childhood innocence.

"Yes, so many. Of course, I don't know all of them, but there were a few I enjoyed. I learned some moves to accent my acts, and occasionally it was enjoyable to do outside of work," he replied, then sighing heavily, "It's too bad that, along with music, such things had been lost to the past."

"Can you still show me, though? I want to see what dancing is!" she asked, her body quivering with untamed excitement, and Gen smiled at her eagerness.

"Hmm... it may be a bit odd without music, but I'm sure we can do something. Would you like to try and dance with me?"

"Yes, yes please!"

"Alright. But first, could you please remove your sandals? In case you go and step on my toes, it would hurt far less if you stepped with bare feet."

The two stood up, with Suika making quick work to remove her footwear and setting them aside to where they wouldn't be in the way. What Gen had told her wasn't entirely untrue; he did have some skills in dancing, namely as a way to add a bit of flourish to his routines, but it wasn't as though he actively partook in the sport. Still, he knew he could run her through a few basic steps, and that would be more than enough to satisfy the eager young lady. Well, at least he hoped; he didn't account for how bouncy she was acting, practically dancing on her own as she jumped up and down from the balls of her feet.

"First, we start off with a little bow from me to you," Gen commented, going into his teachings with showing the physical bow, one arm across his torso with a bend at the waist, "Then a curtsy from you. Just hold the ends of your poncho out and bend at your knees a little bit."

Suika nodded, grasping the ends as requested and bending her knees, buckling slightly at the bit of unbalance that came with it. "That's it, good job!" Gen complimented, "Now, take my hands."

She did as told, their arms outstretching towards one another, Gen having to bend a bit to try and compensate for their differences in size. His long fingers wrapped around her small palms. "Alright. I'm going to count as we step. Just try and follow along; if you need to look down at your feet, go ahead," he instructed before he began to move, counting each step as he did, "One, two, three~ One, two, three~"

Suika squealed as they began to move, watching as they took small strides, side to side, moving around in a circle, the blades of the grass tickling her bare feet. They were dancing, she was dancing! She giggled loudly as Gen released one hand, speaking as he spun her around three times, one of her legs raising up slightly from the ground as she twirled, before grabbing the released hand, going back to the count of their steps, all the while complimenting how well she was doing. Occasionally, she did get ahead of herself, stepping on his toes and apologizing profusely, but he waved it off with understanding, going back to the counts right after. The mentalist was strangely enjoying himself, finding her laughter to be infectious to his own spirit. Ah, to be young and innocent once again!

After several turns and twists, finally Gen went into the last move of the dance, once again twirling her around, but this time bending her back in a short dip, Suika making a "uwah!" noise as one leg went in the air in an odd way to keep balance, her free arm waving at her side, shaking slightly as Gen brought her back up.

"Ta-da~ Excellent, Suika!" he exclaimed, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow, "You did magnificent!"

"That was SO much fun, Gen! So, so much!" the melon-hatted girl yelled, "Can you teach me another dance? Pretty please?"

Gen laughed sheepishly; he really didn't know another dance to really do with the young girl, and while he did have fun with this dance, it was a bit difficult to dance with her due to the differences in their sizes. Thankfully, he didn't have to stall for long as he attempted to come up with an answer before they were joined by a curious – and, for Gen, the correct – audience.

"Hello Kohaku, Ginro, Kinro!" Suika greeted all three of them with enthusiasm.

"What are you two up to? We saw you spinning around," Kinro asked, usually not as curious as his brother but what the two were doing enticed his gaze.

"Gen was teaching me about dancing!" the child replied, "He said it was one of the things he missed from his old world, and I asked him to show me what it is, and he danced with me! It's a lot of fun! I'm a little dizzy though, but that's okay! Gen said there's hundreds and thousands of dances out there, and I want to learn more!"

"Dancing, huh? That does sound like it could be fun," Kohaku remarked, patting Suika's excited head before turning her attention towards the mentalist, "Since we're on a break for a bit, could you teach us too, Gen?"

"Of course~ I'd be more than honored!" he replied, secretly doing a small victory dance in his head.

He was hoping this would happen. He knew that Senku would soon be looking upon the congregation of people standing around and not doing the work they needed to do and would be wanting to investigate. He knew that he would be able to easily hook the scientist's gaze and ire if he were to interact with Kohaku, given the "warning" hanging over his head. What's more, his little thought of dancing was the perfect method to allow him to get close to the young woman, enabling a chance to further prove his hypothesis by observing what Senku might do, whether in relation or in retaliation.

The trio removed their shoes, just as Suika had done, setting them all to the side. Gen motioned for the men and Suika to fan out a bit, allowing for extra room, before extending out a hand to Kohaku. "Will you dance with me, Kohaku-chan?" he asked her, and she was not sure about that mischievous smirk upon his face.

She nodded her head regardless, taking his hand. "Alright. I'm going to hold your hand like this," he remarked, holding their clasped hands in the air, "Place your other hand upon my shoulder."

She did as she was told, her free hand resting cautiously upon his shoulder, making a small growl when his free hand rested upon her lower back, their bodies coming within inches of touching one another. Ocean eyes narrowed, but Gen did not allow it to disturb him. "No need for such a look! This is the basic starting position for what is known as a waltz. It's similar to what I performed with Suika-chan, albeit I had to modify it slightly for her height," he explained, hoping that it would help to make sure he didn't get something thrown at his head, "Now, I'll be counting our steps as we go, so just try and follow along. You can look down at your feet as you need to."

As he had done with Suika, he began his count, moving from side to side, step by step, going around in a circle. This time, however, Gen was able to keep a better pace, finding Kohaku to be the better partner of the two, although that thought didn't surprise him. And as Suika had done, Kohaku had kept a strong eye on her feet, occasionally stepping on Gen's toes when she faltered in a step, apologizing for the accidental injury but ultimately the dance continued. The mentalist took great enjoyment in the methods he was able to do for the twirls, turning and twisting her out before bringing her back in with minor clashing of their frames, taking a bit of delight in the little squeaks she'd make as he did.

Occasionally, he would attempt to look upon the audience around them. By no surprise, Suika and Ginro were the most enthralled by the sight before them, their eyes as wide as saucers with the biggest, goofiest grins he ever did see. Kinro was also rather intrigued, although his expression was far more tame in comparison. However, it wasn't their looks that he was trying to find.

On another glance, he finally noticed it, those crimson eyes watching the scene, walking towards the crowd along with an equally curious Chrome. Gen inwardly smirked; perfect, just what he wanted. Satisfied with knowing that Senku was now watching what was unfolding, Gen put a bit of an extra flourish into the dance, taking a few extra strides. Kohaku was beside herself, trying to keep up with his steps, making little yells as he brought her into a quick dip, bringing her back up with a twirl before continuing their one-two-three steps. "Wonderfully done, Kohaku-chan~ You are a perfect partner for this!" he complimented loudly, "Although, I suppose given your athletic ability, dancing is an easy thing to pick up."

"T-thank you," Kohaku accepted the compliment, her cheeks a little tinge of pink from the work out, trying to make sure she doesn't accidentally step on Gen's toes once again, trying to keep her gaze on Gen over her feet, "I can see why Suika really enjoyed this, though."

"And you?"

"Hmm... I suppose it's a bit fun."

Gen chuckled, liking that smug smirk across her lips, once again forcing her into a twirl, bracing himself back into their starting position as she crashed back into his body, this time with less force as she was aware of what was about to happen. "I'm glad to hear, but I suppose it's time to bring this one to an end," he remarked, "And one, two, three~"

With the final countdown, he twirled her twice around in place, going in for the final dip, Kohaku's hands instinctively gripping at Gen's jacket in order to keep a bit of balance, nearly causing the master to falter as well, their heads a few inches away from knocking into one another. The sound of enthusiastic clapping echoed through the air as they smiled at one another, laughing for a moment before Gen graciously leaned her back properly on her feet, still keeping a hold on her hand for a moment as he gave a thankful bow before turning back towards the onlookers.

"Wow, that was so pretty to watch!" Suika exclaimed, "Super, duper pretty!"

"Huh. That is an interesting technique," Kinro remarked, a hand on his chin in thought, "I'm admittedly curious on what other sort of dances there could be. They likely aren't all this simplistic, are they?"

"Oh man, I want to try that! Kohaku, dance with me next!" Ginro exclaimed, reaching out grab Kohaku's hand and instantly receiving a pounding on the head in return for his indiscretion.

While the four of them gathered and talked about what had transpired, Gen turned his attention towards Chrome and Senku. Chrome was mildly amused by the dance, but Senku was less so, the mentalist could tell. Now, whether it was due to everyone gathering and wasting time or because it was related to the intimacy that he just shared with Kohaku, he wasn't quite sure yet, but a few provoking questions would certainly gain the answer he was seeking.

"Ah, I see you two decided to join the festivities after all!" he exclaimed, acting as though it was the first time he had seen the two.

"Well, yeah. Everyone was pretty loud, and you two were making quite a scene," Senku dryly commented, "Never took you for much of a dancer."

"You wound me, dear Senku~ Part of a magician's show is to act in a way that distracts and misdirects; nothing quite does that like a bit of dancing," he responded, moving with a litany of nonsense steps as he spoke, "In a way, some of the things we do can also be connected to dancing."

"What do you mean?" Chrome asked, genuinely curious about the comment.

Gen laughed, one finger pointed in the air, "Well, think about it... look at the way that Kohaku, Kinro, and Ginro move as they spar. How they leap and lunge and parry. Each move is fluid, precise, making attempts to hit or deflect your target. Now, remove the weapons and fists from the equation; can you see how such movements can appear like a dance?"

The brunette crossed his arms, tilting his head with a thoughtful pout as he envisioned the trio's usual sparring routine. "Hmm..." he hummed, "Yeah, I guess so, when you put it like that."

"I would also argue that Senku dances around with Lady Science every day, but it's more in terms of the process than the actual experiments. Many dances require precision in terms of the moves and counts used, much like what is necessary for the different scientific processes we've come to use so far."

"Feh, that's a flimsy way to try and connect the two," Senku scoffed, almost acting offended by the effort.

"That's why I said that I would argue, not saying that I was actually doing so."

"Uh-huh."

"It's so much fun to dance, though! I'd love to know more!" Suika chimed in, "Especially if there's hundreds and thousands! It'd be neat to see them all!"

"Unfortunately, I don't know all that many dances, I'm afraid, so seeing them all will have to wait a bit," Gen answered with a little bit of feigned regret, "However, I'm so glad to see you enjoying yourself, Suika-chan~"

"Yeah, well, you'd be able to see them faster if we all focused on our work," the scientist added with a bit of irritation.

Kohaku rolled her eyes, overhearing his comment, "I think everyone realizes that, Senku, but it's okay to take a bit of a break here and there, right?"

Crimson eyes narrowed, but sea-green eyes didn't become perturbed, glimmering with a bit of playfulness. Just as Gen enjoyed teasing Senku, she also found such enjoyment, although she didn't act on it as often as the mentalist would, preferring to use such tricks on occasion when it suited the mood. She also preferred the subtle act of teasing, versus being more blunt, highlighting her level of intelligence to try and stay on his level, at least somewhat. Although, in this case, it was slightly less of a tease and more of a stated fact: she really didn't find anything wrong with the occasional break, and honestly felt as though Senku needed to let himself go a bit often. Yes, she knew that it was because he was steadfast on his goals – something she admired the most about him – but one of these days, she was afraid he was going to break because he had wound himself up so tight in his work. Of course, she knew Senku would waive her concerns off with a disgruntled "thanks for worrying, but I'm fine" and not do anything in relation to them, hence why she never brought up the idea, but this was an unique opportunity for it to come up naturally.

Senku scoffed, turning away with arms crossed as Suika stepped up to Chrome, asking her to be her dance partner, to which the brunette was a bit unsure but ultimately fell for the melon girl's adorable charm. Kohaku smiled at the two interacting, before turning her attention back towards Senku. "Hey, why don't you come and dance with me?" she asked, approaching his side, leaning over with a tilt to her head as she tried to make him meet her gaze, hands behind her back as part of her cute, enticing act.

Senku was aghast by her invitation while Gen was trying to hide his entertained smirk, his attention turning from Ginro's disappointment in rejection back towards the odd couple. This was a turn he didn't expect to happen, but once again, welcomed. If anything, the mentalist was pleased that Kohaku was doing much of the work for his experiment for him, using his prompts as the springboard. Of course, no one but him knew what he was doing, appearing as just a natural progression of events, just as he wanted, but still, every turn in this game was opening new doors and new paths and he was definitely enjoying the ride.

"I think you'd have a lot of fun," she implied, reaching for one of his folded arms, gently grasping at one of his arms and pulling it back from its folded position, "Come on, Senku, let me show you-"

Her words were cut off by a loud slap, Kohaku's hand flying back, and all parties were stunned into silence by the act. They never saw Senku act in such a way before, at least not with Kohaku. She brought her wounded hand into her other, rubbing away the sting to her skin, her heart racing as her gaze met those dark eyes. There was a glimmer of anger, but also surprise, as if he was also stunned by what he had done. And he was; he didn't mean to react in such a way, and definitely didn't mean to harm her, but he had done both, judging by that expressive flicker that went across her face. He brushed the back of his head, turning his head away, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

Kohaku didn't say a word, turning away herself. "Kinro, Ginro, let's go back to training. Break's over," she muttered, walking past Senku with her gaze towards the ground, still holding onto the aching hand until she got towards the open part of the field where they would do their battles.

The brothers glanced at one another, unsure of what to really say or do in this situation, but ultimately knew that they should listen to Kohaku. They grabbed their sandals, Kinro also grabbing Kohaku's abandoned footwear, running quickly to join her. Chrome, Suika, and Gen remained, looking at one another, also unsure of what to do next. Senku was trying not to shake, his eyes lingering on Kohaku as she dove right into battle. He truly didn't mean to do that to her. Everyone knew that he was not a person that handled physical affection well, but that didn't justify what he had done. She wasn't Taiju, who Senku had to push off many times when he would pounce upon him in the efforts to squeeze the life out him, nor did she mean any sort of harm by trying to grab at him. He should've just pulled away or yelled at her, but slapping her shouldn't have been his option. He regretted it the moment he did it, the moment he saw that pain etched on her face.

"Hey man, I'm sure she's okay. I think she's probably more stunned that it happened," Chrome tried to reassure his friend, "I mean, you didn't mean to do that, right?"

"Of course not," Senku replied through gritted teeth.

"Then tell her that. Well, later, when she's not trying not to pummel Ginro. So glad I'm not one of them right now," he remarked, Suika and Gen nodding in agreement to the last comment.

Senku didn't respond to that, finding the comment asinine; he knew that much already, but would she listen was a completely different story. Frustrated at the dead end he was facing at the moment, Senku turned away, going back towards where he was working. Putting his mind through the paces would be the best for now, he told himself. He stepped past Gen, their gazes meeting for a moment, but neither man saying a word. Chrome passed a glance to Suika, apologizing to her for leaving without dancing with her as she wanted, following closely behind Senku after he took large steps to catch up to him.

Suika frowned, "I hope everything will be okay."

"They will be," Gen replied confidently, although he knew that she wasn't exactly meaning just the two of them with her hope, "Come on, Suika-chan, let's go back to work ourselves."

Kohaku didn't join the crew that night, by no one's real surprise. Kaseki, while he didn't observe what had happened, had heard the tale and reiterated what Chrome had said before. Senku was rather annoyed by how much they were hounding that into him, acting as though he was stupid, eventually commenting on that fact, glaring heavily at Gen when he made a condescending comment in relation to his lack of social grace. Eventually, Senku left everyone behind to try and find the huntress, although he hadn't a clue where she had gone. He knew that she hadn't returned to the village, hearing that Ruri was wondering where she had gone as well, but otherwise he hadn't a clue. Without being asked, Suika had gone into her "detective" mode, also trying to help him find her, eventually giving him the clue he needed.

She had made her way towards an open field with a few trees around. It was this area where she had sat with Chrome and Senku, talking about the stars and learning for the first time about magnets and magnetic forces. Honestly, the blonde wasn't sure why she came out this way, settling herself in one of the trees, back against the broad trunk with one leg stretched over the branch with the other swinging next to her. The view of the stars and half-moon were nice, but namely she just wanted to stay away from everyone. She was embarrassed by the situation that happened earlier, but more than that, she was ashamed. Ashamed that she had done something so bad to Senku that caused him to lash out.

It was not Kohaku's intention to make him upset. All she wanted was for him to dance with her, to take a break, to unwind a bit, to relax. But she was too pushy in that pursuit, and she was told in no uncertain terms that she had done wrong. That look in his eyes, the pain in her hand, it all told her that she had gone too far. And while he apologized, she knew he didn't really have to. He wouldn't have done that if it weren't for her, but she couldn't get the words to escape her lips. That's why she put her head down and went back to training; she couldn't say anything to him. The physical pain hurt, but nowhere as much as the mental pain in the aftermath.

She was the one that needed to apologize, but how? She sighed, closing her eyes as she absentmindedly twirled a wisp of her hair in her fingers. This was beyond frustrating, and she knew keeping her distance wasn't going to help anything, but-

"Hey."

Her ears perked up on that voice, turning her head enough to see who it belonged to, and she instantly felt a pit of dread in her stomach. "Senku."

Their gazes met for a moment before turning away. "How did you figure that I was here?" she asked, looking back up towards the sky.

"Suika saw you making your way over here."

"Ah."

Silence overtook them both as Senku made his way over towards the tree, leaning against the trunk with arms crossed over his chest. Kohaku glanced down at him for a moment before closing her eyes, sighing as she leaned her head back against the tree. Her heart was racing in her chest, and that dreadful feeling in her stomach grew. She knew what she had to do, but like before, it was sticking in her throat. How hard was it to just apologize? She couldn't believe how difficult of a time she was having with two simple words. She gritted her teeth, hiding a balled-up fist to one side of her that she knew Senku couldn't see if he had tried to look up. Another sigh, taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth to speak-

"I'm sorry," they both said at the same time, much to their united surprise.

Gazes fell upon one another. "No, I'm the one that's sorry!" they said again in unison, once again surprising one another for the same wavelength of conversation.

They blinked, then finally laughed, the awkwardness of the moment drowning out for a bit in the sound, before resurfacing and taking back over, their gazes turning away from one another again.

"I shouldn't have done that, at all," Senku reiterated from before, "I'm sorry that I hurt you."

"No, I shouldn't have done what I did," Kohaku replied, "I didn't mean to make you so mad that you had to lash out."

"I wasn't mad, just surprised."

"Still..."

Kohaku jumped down from her perch, landing on her feet with her hands acting as extra bracing and a push-off as she stood up, the two figures turning towards each other now that they could stand face-to-face. Once again, their gazes met – scarlet swimming in an ocean pool – their lips in straight lines, the distance between them only a few inches but feeling like miles. A lump formed in Kohaku's throat and she swallowed hard.

"I just... I worry about you, Senku. And before you try and dismiss me like I know you would, just listen. Please," she said, holding up a hand to try and stop him from saying something, which she could tell he was about to based on the slight parting of his lips, feeling a little bit of relief in the pit as he settled down, allowing her to continue to speak.

Lowering her hand, she straightened herself out, shoulders becoming square with arms resting at her sides. "I like your commitment to science. I like that you care so deeply for it, even though I don't fully understand all of it, and I like that you're so focused on your ultimate plan. But..." she continued, hesitating a bit, "I'm afraid that one of these days, because you're so tightly wound in your goals, that one day you'll hit a road block and it'll hit you so hard that you'll break down."

Senku raised a brow at her insinuation, but didn't make the motion to verbally rebuttal her claims. "I worry about how you handle things. You're so focused on everything that I'm sure you've skipped meals and stayed up all night. You're so focused that you rarely take a break, and that's what I think will lead to your downfall," she added, a small crack to her voice that she hoped he wasn't picking up on, "You've placed all of this pressure on yourself, and I know we all appreciate your hard work and you know how supportive we are in pursuing this goal with you, but I'm worried about you. Sometimes you need to take a break, unwind, just not think about your work for a bit, let your mind relax. I get scared that one day you're just going to hit the wall, and... and I don't want to see that happen to you."

There. She finally said it, finally approached the subject with him. Not that she expected him to react in any way other than what she predicted, but still, she said it. It was out in the open, and that was that. For the longest time, they just stared at one another, the words hanging over their heads, before finally Kohaku couldn't handle the gaze any longer. She moved to the side of the tree, sitting down against the trunk. "You don't have to say anything, if you're trying to come up with something, I mean," she replied, "I just wanted you to know what I thought."

She folded in her legs, resting her arms around them, her hands clasped together. Senku didn't say a word, just as he was, watching as she closed herself off, the courage she had before now diminished. Her eyes stayed on the sky, as if she was hoping the stars and moon would drown out the oddity that was this situation, and he groaned, leaning back against the tree with arms crossed as he did before.

"Thank you for your concern, Kohaku."

She braced for that eventual "but", surprised when it never came. A quick glance upward towards him before back towards the sky. "Of course."

"I do take breaks, however."

"Not in the way I'm talking about. Ever since I brought you here, it's been non-stop building."

"Yeah, because there's a lot to rebuild. Two million years of science and discoveries."

"I get that. You got a lot on your shoulders. But ever thought of just letting that go for a bit? Even if it's just for a few minutes."

"I do."

"No, you don't. I'm not ignorant, Senku. Even when you're not actively working on something, you're still thinking about your next step, what's next on that road map."

He didn't have a retort for that, and Kohaku's fingers gripped harder around her hands.

"When I say to take a break, I mean do something that has nothing to do with science. No talking of it, no thinking of it, no nothing with it. Just... being in the moment."

"... I see."

Senku joined her in sitting down, one leg bent inward with the other stretched out, one arm in his lap while the other hung over the bent knee.

"... I admit, that's not something I'm so easily able to do."

"I realize that. But I think you can, and you should."

He scoffs, and she smiles, just as they usually would. Things were settling down, and the dreaded feeling in her stomach subsides. Same for his, although he chose to ignore it. Her gaze remains on the stars, although she allowed her arms to fall from their position, resting haphazardly on the grass. He dropped his arm from his knee, resting now on the ground. Their fingers were close enough to grasp one another's hands, but they didn't make the move to do such a thing, their eyes upon the sky. The warm breeze of the evening rustling the leaves of the tree was the only sound breaking the silence between them, and Kohaku reveled in its gentle caress, closing her eyes as her head tilted slightly towards Senku's direction. Crimson eyes turned to watch her for a moment, before he joined her in closing his eyes, trying to take the advice she had given him to heart.

A break, huh... of course, he wasn't so infallible that he was above taking breaks when he needed to. However, her observations were correct that the breaks he takes were namely that in name only; he was constantly at work, constantly having the gears of his mind turn and grind, and while he didn't think that it mattered or that it bothered him, he was obviously sending out signs to others that perhaps his overworking was a detriment to the overall cause. To take a break to do something that wasn't at all related to science, to not think of his work... he laughed to himself. She was implying that he should act like an average, everyday young man every once in awhile, and the idea of that was both comical and a bit sad. It wasn't as though he, purposefully, thought he was above such trivial things that people like Taiju and Yuzuriha would do back before the petrification, or things such as the dancing that Gen had decided to introduce to this new world; he just didn't see much use in it personally. But, perhaps... perhaps every once in awhile, it wouldn't hurt...

"... Alright."

"Hmm?" Kohaku opened her eyes, turning her head a bit more to gain a better look at his face, curious as to what Senku was trying to say.

"I'll try to take a break every now and again. No science, no road maps, no inventions, nothing. Just a complete and total break," he responded, turning his head towards her, ignoring the short amount of distance between their faces, "Okay?"

Kohaku smiled, nodding her head, glad that he was seeing her reasons and seriously applying them, "Okay. Good to hear it. Thank you, Senku."

She turned back around, back towards looking up at the sky, unconsciously raising a hand to her chest, relief filling a huge place in her heart. The motion didn't escape the scientist's watchful eyes, hinting how heavy this was on her mind and now that he had given her reassurance, the weight was lifting off. And he couldn't deny, he also felt a sense of relief. That feeling of regret bothered him a lot more than he would ever let on. He was not such a man that would, with intent and purpose, hurt someone, especially a woman, and the fact that he did – and to Kohaku, no less – weighed hard on him. He was thankful for her forgiving heart. He knew of the old adage about the woman scorned, and someone like Kohaku would clearly fall into such a category, but luckily, she was not holding this momentary digression of his character against him. She had no reason to; even after it happened, the moment he apologized, she had already forgiven him, even if she didn't say it due to her own shame cloaking over the moment.

With the matter settled, another thought began to creep through Senku's mind, and he nearly flinched as it made its way through. That bat bastard... what made him think of doing such a thing as dancing? Granted, him knowing any sort of things like that wasn't outside of the realm of possibility, and hearing that it came up casually in discussion about nostalgic things wasn't implausible either, nor was Suika's curiosity about such things either. Those things aren't what bothered him, given the logical aspects of it. No, what bothered him more was the dance with Kohaku. It was innocent, he was sure of it – she asked to learn, and he obliged to answer – but like before, that disturbing feeling came to his head. That feeling that caused him to lash out at Gen in the first place, warning him to cease his flirtatious acting in relation to the woman. Despite him knowing, almost certainly, of the nature of the event, watching the two of them – the flustered look in her eyes, the tinge of pink on her face, the smirk he had as she would crash into him after each twirl – dredged up that odd feeling during the act, and now again as it crept back in. Damn that mentalist... seems as though he needed to put him through a lot of extra work to keep his mind and hands busy to keep him from doing more of these stupid things...

Then came the vision of her eager face, asking him to dance with her, that coy smile of hers as she tried to entice him to join in the fun. Such a nonsense activity, yet she seemed as though it was one of the most delightful things she's ever participated in. Perhaps for her it was, as someone that had such physical prowess and flexibility already, but all he saw was tiring physical activity and WAY too much physical contact than he was comfortable with. Still, despite that, she insisted, and he could understand why now... a means to take a honest-to-good break, to do something completely out of character and out of any reasonable means of the scientific process...

He scoffed, brushing a hand through his green-ombred locks, and Kohaku turned her gaze back towards him as he let out an unprompted laugh. A blonde brow quirked as he stood up, brushing out his lab coat before stretching out an arm to her, palm and fingers outstretched as to ask her to take it.

"Senku?" she asked, lifting a hand to push back her bangs as a breezy gust rushed past, ruffling the golden locks to get in her face.

He leaned towards her a little closer, his fingers wrapping around that lifted hand, pulling it and her up and off the ground, the entire time the lioness remaining confused as to whatever he was doing, his expression unreadable, unable to determine what exactly that troublesome mind of his was plotting.

"Look, uh... I can't say I'm going to be as good as Gen, because this sort of crap isn't my thing, but..." he stammered, turning away as he felt sheepish with her staring at him, not releasing her hand either, "I owe you a dance, I think."

Blink. Blink. Followed by a short laugh, muffled a bit by a hand covering her lips. "You don't have to do that, Senku," she responded, her voice filled with joy over just the mere offer, "It's fine if you don't want to dance. The only thing I really wanted to do was get you to have a bit of fun, that's all."

"I want to."

Now that surprised her, and the laughter died with it, eyes widen and lips parted, his fingers twitching around her hand, blue eyes following as he took it and her other hand and brought them to rest on his shoulders, a small "eep!" leaving her throat as he pulled her a bit closer to him, hands firmly resting on her hips. Both of them were fighting back the urge to blush, whispering "one, two, three" as they began to move in tandem, in slow and steady steps, around in a circle, their feet and bodies aligned, following the same tempo with neither attempting to get in the lead over the other.

This dance was not like the ones from earlier, that was obvious, but it wasn't just in the way they danced either. Yes, the dance didn't have the wide range of motion as what she had done with Gen – Senku's aversion to heavy physical labor whenever possible was a valid reason as to why, as well as an obvious lack of knowledge about the subject in comparison to the mentalist's skills – but there was a bigger feeling of emotion as they moved, as their eyes tried to look away but always came back to gaze and drink in the reflection of the other's orbs, as her arms slowly lifted upward, hands folding over one another around his neck, as his arms moves to wrap themselves more around her waist. Their faces met, noses and forehead touching one another, and while there was obvious heat in their cheeks, they smiled at one another, eventually not counting at all, the rhythm established without a need to keep a tally.

Senku couldn't believe he was willingly doing this. Being this physically close to someone was beyond his character, yet the longer they danced, the less uncomfortable he felt. How odd... perhaps it was because it was Kohaku. He was comfortable around her, not minding when she would get close to him as they ate or when she would hover over him as he discussed a building plan. Even as they sat before, they were very close to one another physically, and that didn't bother him. Yes, perhaps, because of that, he didn't feel any need to continue to feel awkward around her during this one-time event... of course, that didn't explain the extra thumping in his chest as he became lost in admiration of her soft and beautiful features, but he wrote it off as being related to the dance itself. Yes, his heart was beating faster because of the activity, that was all.

From beyond the field, hiding himself cleverly behind some trees, Gen watched the scene before him, his lips curled into a smirk. He shouldn't have followed Senku out to here, but he couldn't resist wanting to see what would happened. Obviously, they had made up – which he was happy for that! - but to see them dance, and such a romantic and simple dance at that, was a delightful sight. Oh, if that wasn't fuel for his hypothesis...! It was hard to keep back his excitement over having more evidence of the budding romance between the scientist and the lioness, but he kept himself compose. Arms folded into his coat, he turned away, walking back towards the Kingdom base and towards the others who were still left wondering if they were okay, leaving them to their privacy, not wanting to risk being discovered for spying and knowing what punishment could come if he were caught.

After all, that would be a terrible way to end such a beautiful moment.