2: Target

XX

Dawn came entirely too early.

Senkuu was not a late sleeper by any means, but after a long work day, being assaulted, staying up late to get his injuries triaged, then needing to shower after it all meant he had not gotten to bed until quite late.

As much as he wanted to sleep more, he had work to do. With some measure of reluctance, he sat up, pausing to cradle his head as his vision swam momentarily. The sensation passed, and he took a moment to assess how he felt. His back was sore and his head hurt, but neither were so bad they could stop him from working. The fatigue was expected, given yesterday's events. He was certain he looked as rough as he felt.

Noting something out of the corner of his eye, he made a soft, curious noise and looked up to find Kohaku staring out the window at the foot of his bed. The morning light painted her in a pale wash of color, and in his barely-awake and drained state Senkuu found himself staring.

After a moment, the warrior looked over at him, meeting his gaze. Her eyes drifted over him, and he saw the hint of a frown mar her otherwise neutral expression. "You are pale. You should sleep more."

He snapped out of his daze, grimacing. "Nah. Got too much to do."

Kohaku frowned, turning her attention back out the window. "Fine, but if you pass out, I will carry you like a maiden back to your room, and I will make sure Gen sees it and tells Taiju. That's a promise."

Senkuu sighed, burying his face in his hands. "Duly noted, Lioness."

XX

He barely noticed she was there. She was, of course, but she stayed out of the way, surveying their surroundings, monitoring those who came in and out of the rooms he occupied, and haunting his work area just enough to be ready, but not enough to impact him.

Well, not directly. More than once he had felt her gaze on him, and occasionally he would chance a glance in her direction to confirm his suspicions. Each time, she would look away right before they made eye contact, but not out of shame. The casual shift of her attention elsewhere implied she was ignoring his scrutiny and unbothered that he caught her watching him.

It was unusually distracting for him, and he assumed it was due to a combination of the exhaustion he felt and her intensity in monitoring him.

He forcefully shifted his attention back to other things, like his work, as well as half listening to the conversation Xeno was having nearby. The older scientist had spoken to him and Kohaku when they arrived this morning, and details of the night before were filled in. It showed on the man's face how displeased he was to hear Senkuu was attacked, but he channeled that negativity into brainstorming for quicker implementations in securing the compound.

Senkuu watched as his former mentor approached him, flipping through some outputs on a clipboard. "You've been asked to come down to the medical room so Dr. Osborne can examine you. He wishes to rule out a concussion."

The younger scientist sighed, standing up straight and rubbing his neck. "I'm pretty sure I would know if I was concussed." Still, he did not protest further. "I trust you will ensure this continues to run smoothly until I return?" He gestured widely to his work area, of various tests, devices, and notes.

Xeno arched a brow at him. "Of course. Hurry on, and take your pet lioness with you."

Senkuu cut his eyes over to the older man, who regarded him with very mild amusement. "Don't act like this was my doing, old man."

Stanley watched as the young scientist stalked off, his guard in tow, before turning to Xeno. "You're enjoying this."

Xeno shrugged slightly, a faint smile on his lips as he turned another page on his clipboard, eyes skimming the results. "I consider it payback for losing in South America."

The soldier said nothing, but a hint of a smile was on his lips as he stepped outside to light a cigarette.

XX

Dr. Osborne dropped the needle and remaining thread back into a tray, sitting back. "I want to see you back in a week, and we can remove these at the same time. Without sutures it would have granulated and healed just fine, but this way it will leave less of a scar."

Senkuu glanced at himself in the mirror and at the two small stitches above his eyebrow. The area was still purple and angry looking, but it at least looked a little cleaner. "Thanks."

The doctor nodded, walking to a shelf of vials and bottles, plucking a small container from the selection. "I don't think you have a concussion, but there's still a very small chance you do, based on the events and a couple of lingering symptoms. I'd like your bodyguard to continue to monitor you. I'll speak to her about what to look out for. I also want you to take acetaminophen and increase your water intake for the next few days." He held the container out for the younger man to take.

Senkuu gave the doctor a pained look, but took the medication out of his hand. "I'm ten billion percent certain I don't have a concussion."

"And I'm 'ten billion percent' sure I'm the medical doctor here, Dr. Senkuu," Dr. Osborne replied wryly. The younger scientist leaned back a little, shutting up. The doctor continued, "You mentioned fatigue, head swimming, and head pain. It's worth monitoring as a precaution."

Senkuu sighed, pulling his lab coat back on. Why was everything and everyone conspiring against him? He just wanted to work!

XX

Venison was for dinner. He watched as Kohaku eyed the utensils, waiting to see if she had picked up how to use anything besides chopsticks. Of course, she could stop and watch him if she wanted, as he sat there, knife and fork hovering over his steak.

After a moment of staring down at her plate, the warrior shrugged, picked up the knife and stabbed it into the slab of meat. Senkuu almost choked as he watched her use the knife to lift the steak and bite into it, ripping off a chunk with her teeth. "Lioness," One could clearly hear the exasperation in his voice. "The knife is for cutting."

"Stabs just fine," Kohaku replied without a care, swallowing.

The scientist gave her a weary look before turning his attention to his own food. He ate slowly, and definitely with more dignity, thinking over the days' events, eyes staring off into the distance. Kohaku watched him, but said nothing.

After a few minutes of silence, Senkuu turned his attention to her, his expression unreadable. "How did you get here so fast?"

The warrior blinked, canting her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

Senkuu took a moment to swallow a bite of food.

"The cartography expedition was on the other side of the continent. Even if you had left immediately when Xeno called you, it would have taken you days to get here, but you showed up last night, less than two days later." He lifted a brow at her, "Did you suddenly become a scientist and build a teleporter?"

"A te...le…por…" Kohaku slowly mouthed the foreign word, before she shook her head. "I don't know what that is."

"It was a joke," Senkuu replied, waving his fork. "But really, how did you get here so fast?"

He watched with curiosity as the warrior went silent, not meeting his gaze. Was it just him, or was there a slight flush to her face? After a moment, Kohaku squared her shoulders and looked back up at him. "I was… already on my way here when Xeno called."

Senkuu blinked twice. "...What? Why?"

"Well…" Kohaku dropped her attention back to her mostly-eaten steak. "Gen sent me a message right after people started breaking stuff in protest. Told me what was going on. I… was worried. I mean, I knew he was probably playing up the severity of the situation, but he made a point of calling me to tell me, so…" She trailed off, frowning. "I wasn't wrong, you know."

The scientist snorted softly, though the notion lacked his normal derisiveness. "I suppose I owe Gen one, then."

"Don't let him hear you," Kohaku warned, smiling a little before returning her attention back to her meal.

Senkuu said nothing, expression thoughtful.

XX

The sun had long since set when Senkuu finally stopped his work to retire to his quarters. It had taken Kohaku's looming presence over his shoulder before he gave in, knowing that if he ignored her too much she would drag him away by force. Door shutting behind him, he watched as she removed her shoes, placing them beside her bed.

He moved past her, turning on a lamp to cast the room in soft warm light. Approaching his desk, he slipped his lab coat off his shoulders and hung it on the chair, before taking a seat and unrolling a schematic.

Kohaku watched him, eyes narrowing. "Work is done for today, Senkuu."

"Science never sleeps, Lioness," he replied without looking at her, lips curling up into a smile.

Sighing, she walked up to him and looked over his shoulder. "You have until I'm done bathing, then you rest. I will sit on you, if I must."

"Yes, Lioness," Senkuu replied nasally, purposely letting his annoyance show. The response he got was fabric being dropped over his head. He scowled, pulling off the offending material just as the door closed to the bathroom. Looking down, he stared at the familiar color of Kohaku's dress in his hands, before he tossed it on her bed, eyebrow twitching.

He paused. 'Wait… does she even know how to operate the shower?' He was ten billion percent sure the showers and hot water were installed after she had left for the expedition.

Sure enough, after a few minutes, the door opened and the warrior poked her head out, sheepish confusion on her face. "...How does this thing work?"

Senkuu lifted a brow and looked over at her. "The water pressure system uses a–"

"No, stop," Kohaku interrupted, annoyed. "Don't give me a long science explanation, just come in here and show me how to make it work."

"Fine," The scientist replied, rolling his eyes. He started walking to the bathroom, then paused, taking note of her bare shoulder peeking out from behind the bathroom door. "Wait, are you naked?"

Kohaku gave him a blank stare. "...Yep."

"Can you… not be naked?"

"Hm… the fabric in here for drying off is small, but I can make it cover enough, hold on…"

Senkuu made a noise that was somewhat comical, grabbing his lab coat off the back of the chair and thrusting it through the partially opened doorway, being careful to keep his gaze averted. "Just put this on, you damn lioness."

"I'm not a lioness!" Despite her protest, she snatched the article of clothing out of his hand, and after a few seconds, she nudged the door open with her foot. Senkuu slowly looked over at her, as if concerned he might get an eyeful, before his gaze settled fully on her, brow arched.

She stood there, wrapped in his lab coat that was a bit oversized for her much smaller form, the sleeves too long, and the front held closed with her hands. She gave him a disgruntled look, but it was hard to take her seriously, all considering.

Senkuu blinked several times at her, as if unsure of how to take her appearance. On one hand, it was really comical. On another it made him feel weird. It was just a piece of clothing, but seeing her wear it seemed strangely… intimate.

Swallowing down the sensation, he squeezed around her, doing his best to not touch her as he gestured to the shower's plumbing. "This lever turns on cold water. This one turns on hot water. It's a rudimentary implementation, but you can adjust each lever until you get a temperature you like. The hot water has to travel through the pipes so it takes time before you feel it, and there will be air in the lines, so it will make weird noises."

He looked back at her to make sure she was paying attention. "Got it?"

She nodded, clutching his coat tightly to her chest. "Yup. It's loud and slow. Opposite of me. Got it."

"More or less," He agreed dryly. Stepping away from the shower, he turned and glanced down at her thoughtfully. After a few seconds, he broke out into a cheeky grin. "You know, you kind of look like a child playing dress-up. Do you want to be a scientist when you grow up, Kohaku?"

The kick to his shin was almost worth it.

XX

Kohaku exited the bathroom some time later, toweling off her hair. Senkuu did not acknowledge her reentry, brow furrowed as he focused on the formulas in front of him.

The warrior turned to regard him, pulling the cloth from her head. She had put his lab coat back on after remembering she had thrown her dress at him earlier, and so she stood there, one hand holding it closed and the other holding the small towel.

Walking up to him, she took one of the damp ends of the towel and poked his cheek. "Wrap it up, scientist."

Senkuu scowled, tilting his head away from the offending fabric. "Three minutes and sixteen seconds."

"I am counting," She replied, moving past him to her bed and where her things were.

He looked over to snap something at her, but whatever he had planned to say died on his lips as he noted she was back in his lab coat. "Are you stealing my lab coat?"

The warrior hummed in thought, lifting the lapel to her nose. "Hm… I mean, I do like that it smells like you…" After a moment, she turned to him and smiled. "But it's far too big and would be hard to fight in. So… I guess it should stick with you. Besides, I like seeing you in it."

The scientist lifted a brow, slightly skeptical. "Oh yeah? Because it's a visual we succeeded in overcoming the stone world?"

Kohaku glanced up, as if considering that thought. "Hm, yeah. Sure. That, too. But all I meant is you look good in it. What's the word that Yuzuriha used…sharp?"

Senkuu blinked rapidly before his expression melted back into his normal slight smirk. "Science is sharp, so that's fair."

In return, the woman rolled her eyes, picking up her dress. "Sure, yeah. You've proven that. But it isn't just science I'm attracted to."

She gave him a pointed look before walking past him back into the bathroom to change, leaving him staring where she had been standing, lips slightly parted and clearly caught off guard at her admission, and the implications that came with it.

Vaguely, he remembered her making a couple of idle comments about him being attractive when they were much younger, but she had said it so casually. It had been like she was commenting on the weather, so of course he had dismissed it. Not only that, they had already established between themselves that there was nothing there besides camaraderie.

A camaraderie that, admittedly, had evolved into a very deep level of trust and loyalty. He knew their relationship was far different than what it had been years ago. He did not do frequent deep retrospection into his connections with people, generally speaking, but he still did occasionally. After all, people were important, and it was important that he understood the people he relied on in life.

And in his reflections of the people he was closest to, he knew that the bond he had developed with Kohaku was different than anything he had built with others. It had the same level of depth as it did with childhood friends, like Taiju and Yuzuriha, but it held something else that those lacked. He had not ever been able to find a word that properly conveyed it, but he understood it was there.

After all, when he objectively tried to sort and label the interactions, the differences were loud and clear to him. For starters, Kohaku had the highest number of violations of his boundaries around physical touch. Fist bumps, hand slaps, taps on the shoulder were all within his preferences, but anything beyond that was rare and generally unwelcome. However, he had welcomed it with her. Maybe not directly reciprocated, but he allowed it and in a few cases had expected it.

So really, it was unfair to call it a violation of his boundaries, because he bent those boundaries with her. In fact, the only other person he had allowed to hug him was Suika, and that was different.

He also knew part of their strong connection was due to how she regarded him. Her approach to their relationship was to enable him and support him, without hindering his progress. Everything she did moved them forward, and he knew that mentality had been huge in allowing her to wedge a place in his heart. And yet…

He thought back to her declaration. If she was actually attracted to him, she had never pushed it on him. Clearly, since he had no clue until this moment it was actually a thing. She had always put the integrity of their relationship first, and in a way that implied she was not doing so out of fear of rejection or losing what she had. In fact, she had always oozed confidence in how she interacted with him. Even in this moment, she had not waited to see his reaction, nor had she cared. She freely and openly admitted it because to her, it did not mean something had to change. She could have her feelings, and still approach her day to day life in the same steadfast way.

And that made him really pause. His exposure to relationships through media and second-hand observation were full of emotional floundering, missteps, and growing pains. When you became attracted to someone, your entire world was supposed to fall apart until that attraction was addressed. He called love illogical because most people approached it all in illogical ways, letting hormones, social pressure, or emotions rule what they did and said. It was disgusting. His stance on that had never changed.

And yet, here was Kohaku, not doing any of that.

Fingers stroking his chin, he stared at the floor in wonder, as if he had just made the most amazing scientific achievement of the century. Of course, it was nothing of the sort, but the revelation had definitely given him a lot to think about.

…Later.

Turning back to his schematics, he picked up his pencil, just as Kohaku came back out of the bathroom, his coat slung over her shoulder. "You still not done yet?"

"You keep talking to me," Senkuu replied loudly, wrinkling his nose. "Three minutes of silence, and I'll be done."

Kohaku opened her mouth to reply when a loud boom startled them both out of their banter. The warrior was already moving, tossing his coat on her bed and replacing it with her knives and shield. Senkuu was quick behind her, pushing out of his chair and getting to the door.

A plume of smoke could be seen across the compound, highlighted by the security lights. Around them others were looking out of their doors as well, a low murmur of shock and confusion rippling through the scientists and their guards.

As Senkuu started towards the smoke, Kohaku slid beside him like a shadow, shield and weapons drawn. He appreciated that she did not try to stop him from investigating, though idly he noted she had not put on her shoes, and her hair was still down from showering. Not like it would stop her, but that probably did not help her efficacy as a guard.

The scene of the event happened to be where machinery and vehicles were kept. A crude bomb had been detonated, causing damage to a couple of vehicles and small engine machines used to move resources through the compound. They were easy targets as far as equipment went, since they were not behind any walls in the compound. However, something about it felt… off.

Senkuu frowned, eyes skimming over the damage as more and more people showed up to investigate the noise and smoke. Certainly, this was a problematic attack, but it seemed… lackluster? A single explosion of this caliber was a nuisance, but not crippling.

His eyes narrowed. 'It's a diversion!'

He looked around, trying to assess what their main target might be when Kohaku moved. He watched in what felt like slow motion as she dove in front of him, one hand grabbing him and pulling him further behind her, the other raising her shield as gunfire pierced through the night. The sound of bullets hitting metal rang in his ears, drowning out the screams and shouts of the other scientists.

Despite being at a sincere disadvantage, Senkuu surveyed the area to see what he could do. His eyes fell to a nearby jeep, and he began to do mental math on the distance of the trees, the most likely position of the snipers, and the specs of the flood lamps he knew were in the vehicle. Satisfied, he turned and leaned forward, shouting in Kohaku's ear, "Follow me!"

She spared him only a fraction of a glance as he sprinted towards the jeep, before falling back to keep herself positioned between the trees and her ward.

Senkuu climbed into the back of the vehicle, fumbling through the pile of exploration equipment inside. Finding his target, he positioned the lamp on the roof and flipped the switch. Bright light spread out towards the tree line, and he grinned when he saw movement in the trees and the glint of light on metal.

There was another gunshot, but this time, it came from behind. He whirled around to see Stanley, peering through his scope, rifle aimed. From behind him, shielded by a nearby building, Xeno nodded in approval. "Cunning as usual, Senkuu."

The soldier lowered his weapon. "The other is fleeing. I need to pursue them to get a clear shot."

Xeno made a split-second decision. "Go. I will be fine."

There was a brief moment of hesitation as Stanley looked back to his ward, and Xeno smiled faintly. The exchange was over in an instant, and yet it had spoken an entire story between them. In a whoosh of gunpowder and cigarette smoke, the soldier took off towards the trees.

XX

It was again entirely too late when Senkuu finally got back to his quarters. Stanley was back, unharmed, but with both snipers dead it left little option for investigation. A crew was inspecting the equipment damage, and amazingly, no one seemed to be hurt. Physically. Xeno mentioned something about finding a crisis counselor or psychologist to revive in the morning.

But it was that last part that bothered him. It was good no one was hurt, but...how? Were the guns poorly made? Were the snipers terrible at their job? There was enough gunfire and a large enough crowd that the chances of no one being hit were low. Not impossible, but low.

Kohaku had walked behind him quietly, not contributing to the conversation, and he assumed it was because she was still on high alert. It was only after they were inside his cabin and the door closed that he turned to her. Her shield arm hung limply at her side, her other hand holding her knife tightly in a white-knuckled grip.

"You're probably fine to put your weapons away, Lioness," He teased gently, albeit wearily.

The warrior was quiet for a long moment, before she looked up at him with a troubled expression. It was an unusual thing to see on her face, and it gave Senkuu pause. He canted his head slightly, inviting her to speak.

"Senkuu…" She hesitated, as if uncertain. Finally, she lifted her shield, turning it so that he could see the damage done. The metal was dented several times, proof it had caught many of the gunshots earlier. Senkuu's brows lifted in realization, the pieces falling into place.

"...I think you're their target."