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XXX

It was an early winter morning much like any other. A clear blue sky, wispy clouds and cold as hell. It was the kind of morning Senku would have preferred enjoying alone in his lab while tinkering with his favorite toys, hot beverage in hand. Instead, he was on the receiving end of an earful of Chrome, who was exceptionally broody on that particular occasion. It was times such as this where he had to remind himself, he did in fact like Chrome as well as the rest of the villagers who have evidently chosen to join in on the fledgling scientist's plight.

"Seeenkuuuu! I feel like you're not listening to me! It's not safe and I really don't think you should go!" Chrome was directly in Senku's face, shouting hysterically about what the scientist should and shouldn't be doing, though Senku was 10 billion percent sure Chrome was simply sulking because he couldn't go with a sprained ankle.

Wincing, Senku irately dug into his ear while trying not to roll his eyes and further agitate his assistant. "Here's the issue," he began curtly, eyeing Chrome and the rest of the villagers, "These minerals will only help further our goals and the season has been mild thus far. Therefore, I'm going."

"But you don't have anyone to go with you!" Ginro chimed in, katana in hand as he practiced his swordplay, swinging the pointed weapon to and fro as he shuffled forward and backward.

"Hmm, well maybe Chrome could go with him if he brings those crutch thingies that Senku and Kaseki made!" Suika added as she playfully poked her foot at one of Chrome's handmade, wooden crutches.

Her comment brought an amused smile to Senku's lips as he looked over to Chrome to see what he would have to say about that suggestion.

Chrome's eyes darted from Suika to his crutches to Senku and back to his crutches, his whole body shifting uncomfortably as his teammates, some entertained, some genuinely curious, awaited his response. "Eh, well… I mean obviously I'd love to go. You guys know I'm always up for some good old spelunking, but I really do think we're in for some bad weather so it just wouldn't be safe for any of us to go really, but especially if he's on his own." Chrome punctuated his remark with a sharp nod of his head, meanwhile Senku was no longer able to hold back the eye roll.

"Speaking of that ankle… I was never told the story of why you were in that tree in the first place. Care to share? Hmmm?" Gen teased as he stuck his tongue out at the bristling younger scientist.

"I too would like to know what could have been so important, you felt the need to disregard any and all safety measures" Kinro added seriously with his arms crossed in his usual no nonsense manner.

It was difficult to say for certain, but it almost appeared that Chrome had managed to break out into a sweat despite the chilled air surrounding him, his discomfort with the topic more than apparent to everyone but sweet little Suika who was still just curious to know what was going on.

"This- This isn't about me! It's about him!" Chrome bellowed much louder than necessary while frantically pointing to Senku. Meanwhile the scientist just pointed to himself with an eyebrow raised, mocking expression evident on his face. "He's the one who wants to go and do something dangerous. What if he dies?! Then who would lead the kingdom of science?"

With both hands on his hips, Senku shook his head in amusement- or maybe it was irritation, about to put his foot down when he noticed Kohaku walking over to join their little discussion. She appeared cozy in her blue, fur lined parka and matching boots, hands nestled in poufy mittens. Senku definitely didn't notice the way those aqua blue eyes shone brightly against the sun's rays or the cute rosy hue to her cheeks and nose from the biting cold. Had he not known she held the pride and bite of a lioness, he'd have described her as snuggly and affable, much like a puppy.

Chrome also noticed her presence and immediately turned to her for backup. "Ah, the gorilla is here! Kohaku, tell Senku his idea of heading off on a multiday journey just for minerals which will likely still be there come spring, is completely crazy. Tell him! He wants to go by himself too you know!"

Kohaku's eyebrow began to twitch, face darkening into a truly menacing scowl. Chrome took a step back, realizing too late his mistake. "N-now Kohaku… you know I meant gorilla in a nice way…."

Clicking her tongue, Kohaku stared him down for a moment longer, really stretching out his suffering before finally striking out as quick as a viper, leaving him with two sizable bumps over his head. Everyone else watched with exasperation, wondering when Chrome would learn his lesson. Senku was pretty sure if he hadn't learned it by then he wasn't going to ever.

"Now then" Kohaku began as she cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders, "What's all this about Senku going out alone? If no one else wants to go with, I'd be happy to help him out."

Seafoam blue eyes glanced over to Senku's direction who smiled smugly in return. "An extra set of hands would be helpful, especially given it will increase our overall weight carrying capacity significantly. I would not be able to carry nearly enough on my own."

"Wait, what?! You can't be serious!" Chrome yelled, dismayed. "Besides, gor- er uh, Kohaku, I thought you liked to stay close to the village in case of an attack or something!"

The blond offered a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. "I do like to stay close, but Magma will still be here and Ginro and Kinro too. I think the three of them could look after everyone for a few days. Besides, I would love the chance to get out and do something a little different for once."

"So it's settled then" Senku began as Suika patted a defeated Chrome reassuringly on the back. "The lioness,"

"I am not a lioness!" Kohaku countered, glaring at the scientist for using another one of her hated pet names.

"…. So the lioness and I will head north tomorrow morning, collect as many minerals as we can carry, and return within a week or two." Senku continued with excitement, dismissing Kohaku's outburst. It was plausible that he was just as bad as Chrome, never learning to quit poking the bear, but he kind of liked it when she got mad and bothered.

"Yeah, because the two of you are quite obviously the best pair to go off into the mountains together, alone. What could possibly go wrong?" Gen added dryly, but with a certain glint in his eye that neither Senku nor Kohaku noticed.

XXX

Early rays of sunshine filtered through a small, makeshift window, waking the scientist from a surprisingly deep sleep. The first thing Senku noticed was the heavy weight bearing down on top of him and the wispy strands of something or other tickling his chin and just beneath his nose. At first the confusion and unknown elements were alarming until the memories of the past few days fell into place and suddenly it all made sense.

Very specific, and frankly problematic memories and images from the previous night filtered through him- slick skin, labored breaths, the indescribably delicious feeling of sinking into the lioness for the first time and the way every kiss and every touch would drag out the most captivating sounds from her.

And shit. This was not helping in the slightest. He needed to regroup, refocus and determine the most logical course of action. Clearly that would be shutting the whole thing down immediately and setting strict boundaries for the two of them. Senku wasn't sure he could do that. Hell, he wasn't sure he even wanted to do that.

Internally groaning, the scientist closed his eyes with a heavy sigh. Hormones should burn in the deepest, darkest pits of hell- where they belong, or at the very least they need to leave him out of it. He'd made it this far in life without ever paying them any attention, far too concerned with his work. So why he suddenly couldn't ignore them now was not only bewildering but fucking maddening.

How could something like this even work? Not that he should even be considering such illogical ideas but for the sake of humoring it anyway… The fact remained he was the chief and Kohaku was his, no not his, the village's huntress and warrior. She was essentially his subordinate in those black and white terms.

Then again, levels of authority in relation to fraternization was an old construct. Should it even matter? After all, the village did bestow the honor of marriage to their priestess and chiefhood to any bumbling idiot who could fight his way to the top.

Suddenly, the heavy, warm body resting on top of him began to shift and move, the soft snore all but gone, chased away by a lazy yawn and light stretching of legs. The way her soft skin rubbed pleasantly over his own was surprisingly soothing but also piquing the interest of undesirable parties.

Great. Just fucking great.

Vaguely, Senku wondered how long it would take for Kohaku to recall what had happened, spring off him and smother him with that pillow as previously promised. He didn't have to wait long though.

"Senku?" Kohaku sounded as tired and out of it as the scientist felt. She wiggled those voluptuous hips for just a second, evidently attempting to place a few puzzle pieces together before gasping and freezing in place. Senku didn't even bother trying to ignore the stimulation this time. He'd greatly underestimated hormones previously but now knows they are a force to be reckoned with and could not be stopped once on a roll.

Lifting herself up slightly, wide seafoam eyes met with narrowed carmine, Senku warily waiting for her to hit him. She blinked once, twice… "Gods, did that really happen? I… I really thought it was a dream."

While the answer was obvious, she seemed to be awaiting his reply. Senku's lips curved into a little smirk, somewhat humored despite their current situation. "Really? So, do I regularly make guest appearances in your dreams?" He knew he was playing with fire, but really, he couldn't resist.

SMACK!

The otherwise silent hut resonated with the sound of Kohaku's hand sharply connecting with Senku's cheek, resulting in a scarlet handprint stinging his flesh. Now she was the one with sharply narrowed eyes, staring the scientist down aggressively. "What the hell is wrong with you? You know damn well that isn't true."

With his hand now gingerly rubbing his stinging face, Senku shrugged lightly. "Sorry, I probably shouldn't have said that."

"Ya think?" the blond scoffed, looking as though she wanted to do it again. Instead, she took a deep breath and released it slowly as she lowered her head back to Senku's chest. "I… don't know if that was a mistake or not" she whispered so quietly Senku could barely hear her.

There was a lot of vulnerability in that statement, leading Senku to choose his words carefully before responding. "I have never tried to hide or misguide anyone regarding how I feel about this kind of thing" Senku began slowly. "But the way I feel about you and about what happened… it goes against everything I thought I knew. However, I can't allow those feelings to impede what I've aspired to accomplish."

"I get it. And I would never expect anything different. That's why I tried to ignore those weird feelings I'd get whenever I was around you. What you're doing is too important."

That seemed to surprise Senku, eyes widening at Kohaku's admission. "You've been ignoring your feelings?" he asked with interest.

The blond propped her chin on top of her folded hands, glancing up at the scientist. "Yeah, but its fine, its okay." Kohaku's eyes shimmered, restrained tears welling at the surface.

Seeing her like that made Senku's chest ache in an unprecedented way. Why was this so hard? "I have as well" he offered, wiping a stray tear from the corner of her eye with his thumb.

Blond brows pinched together, a frown forming over those lovely lips. Senku wished he could kiss it away but held back. "You don't have to say things like that to make me feel better" Kohaku said bitterly.

"I meant it with ten billion percent sincerity, lioness. I would never lie, even if it were to spare your feelings."

As what Senku said sunk it, Kohaku bit into her bottom lip, worrying it between her teeth. "So, what does this mean? What do we do?" She finally asked.

"Don't know" the scientist answered honestly. He could not jeopardize his mission, that much was obvious. However, with all these feelings and admissions on the table, he wasn't sure he could truly walk away and forget about everything without it affecting his work either. "Damned if we do, damned if we don't" he whispered absently, hating himself more and more for opening them both up to their current predicament. It would have been easier to simply wonder without ever truly knowing what they were missing.

Cynical laughter bubbled form Kohaku's lips as she wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. "That sounds like another weird saying from your time. I think I understand what you're trying to say but I do believe every problem has an answer which will bring more good than the other."

Looking directly into those watery seafoam irises, Senku asked, "And which answer do feel is right for us?"

"I don't know. Well, no that's not exactly true. The right answer is for us to return as friends and allies because the other answer, the one I want to say is selfish and the selfish answer is never the right one. But I don't know… maybe it wouldn't be terrible if we were to just… entertain this for a little while. It doesn't have to get in the way of progress if we don't let it, right?"

Gently, Senku brushed a few loose strands behind Kohaku's ear, not missing the way the touch alone felt like an electric shock to his system. "Hmm, and what of the villagers? You don't think our relationship could be a distraction to them and therefore to the progress of our mission?"

"What we do is none of their business. Besides, they don't have to know."

"Ah, so you want to keep a secret from them, from your sister Ruri?"

Kohaku didn't answer immediately, instead ruminating over the tangled web they were weaving, and for what? A clandestine romance which may never amount to anything? Or worse, which may actually seriously hinder their plans to save humanity? "I… I don't-"

"It wouldn't be logical in any way" Senku cut in. "But its proving to be more difficult than I anticipated to walk away, as ridiculous as that is. Maybe we'll just have to apply scientific principle to our problem and treat it like an experiment."

"An experiment? How?"

"We'll try it and observe what happens. If we conclude it is doing too much harm than it will end, and we will have to find some way of returning to our previous status." Senku didn't particularly like those terms and could tell by the nervous look coming from Kohaku that she didn't either but if they were really going to do this completely illogical thing, they had to set expectations. "Agreed?"

The blond snorted, shaking her head. "You would find some way to involve science in this, Senku. But yes, I agree." She punctuated her sentence by leaning forward just enough to kiss him, sighing happily the moment he kissed her back.

On some level they were both aware their decision would inevitably lead to serious consequences, but for the moment they were content to enjoy and explore a world that was never supposed to occur in the first place. Logic be damned.