Kohaku stared at the night sky and just felt kind of stupid.

Why? She'd fallen in love. A beautiful thing, some would say.

But, you see, she had fallen in love with Senku, and that was just asking for pain.

The moon glowed in its gentle way and she cursed under her breath. Stupid heart. Stupid Senku. Why did her ideal partner have to be someone who wasn't interested in romance? Over and over, she'd seen him flatly reject the advances of people even just joking about falling in love with him. Right when they'd first met, more than ten years ago at this point, he'd misunderstood her appreciation for his work ethic as a confession of love and shut it down immediately. He didn't want romance in his life—she knew that. She respected that.

So, as she stood in the light of the moon she'd walked on with her own two feet, she resolved to never tell him about her true feelings. She couldn't bear his rejection; what if he pushed her away? No, being his friend would be enough.

It had to be enough, because that's all she was going to get.

Tears clouded her vision and she blinked them away angrily, turning away from the sky and stomping off to her hut. Well, she didn't care anyways!

She slammed her door behind her and scowled at her bed. So what if she fell in love? It didn't mean anything. It was nothing but nonsense. It would…it would go away. Eventually.

With a sigh, she took off her shoes and sat on her new 'memory foam' mattress, a recent gift, and flopped onto her back. Love wasn't for people like her. Love was for people like Ruri and Chrome, like Taiju and Yuzuriha. Good, sweet people who deserved to be happy.

For her, for a warrior, romantic love was surely nothing but weakness. She clenched her fists. She'd lost the initial battle and feelings had taken over, but she would win the war! She'd obliterate any trace of anything but friendship with Senku. With a decisive nod, she finally let herself lie down and fall asleep.

Her resolve lasted until the next day, when she saw Senku's cocky smirk, his eyes glittering as he explained something to Suika that Kohaku had no hope of understanding.

And she knew then that she'd never be able to stop loving Senku, because he would never stop being Senku. He'd never stop relentlessly pursuing his goals with his weird mix of practicality and optimism, his pride keeping him from acknowledging that so much of what he did was just to make his friends happy. (The memory foam mattress was just the most recent example—Kaseki had mentioned something about his old bones making sleep uncomfortable and almost immediately, Senku made a solution, then gave one to all his friends, saying he "made too many prototypes" and that he didn't care what happened to them, since they weren't good enough to sell, so they might as well take them.)

Senku would never stop inventing, never stop learning or teaching, never stop growing or reaching higher, and never stop making impossible dreams a reality.

Well, most impossible dreams. Not hers. Not this time.

Oh, but what a dream it was. The two of them going home together, sharing a meal, talking late into the night about nothing and everything. A sweet smile that only she got to see, the brush of his hand over her cheek as he leaned in for a kiss. Quiet laughter and warmth.

Impossible. Impossible.

At that thought, she felt an unbearable ache in her chest, like something was stabbing into her heart. It was so strong that she actually started coughing, and then she was coughing up something—and then she spat out a yellow flower petal.

She stared at it, baffled. What on earth…?

She…she must have…inhaled it. Earlier. Somehow.

She dropped it onto the ground and went about her day, convincing herself that it was just a weird happenstance—maybe she'd even imagined it. She just needed some rest. Nothing to worry about.

But it happened again.

The next day, she was dropping off some boxes at the lab. She saw Senku scribbling away furiously at something at his desk and she smiled at his determination, leaning against the boxes for a moment just to watch him work. Then she started coughing again. She quickly left the lab, not wanting to distract the scientists gathered there.

And she coughed up two flower petals. They were red this time, which for one moment frightened her into thinking she had coughed up blood. But no, just ordinary flower petals.

She tucked them into a pouch on her belt. Was this just a thing that was going to happen to her now? Was she eating flowers without realizing it or something? Was she going crazy?

For a week, this kept happening, coughing up petals at random times of the day.

Then, a bit after listening to Senku explain a new project over lunch, she coughed up a whole yellow flower.

"Kohaku-chan?" Gen called, walking over to where she had taken a seat outside the dining hall. "Are you…?" He stopped when he saw her sitting there, a wet little flower in her hand and tears in her eyes. "Uh, are you alright?"

She sniffed and choked out, "I'm going insane. I keep thinking I'm coughing up flowers."

His eyes widened and he slowly walked over to sit beside her. "Coughing up flowers? That's…have you, perhaps, heard of Hanahaki?"

She shook her head.

"I'm not surprised. Byakuya-chan crafted your Hundred Tales, and if he's anything like Senku-chan, he didn't believe in this kind of thing." He sighed and took a closer look at the flower she held. "Ah, yellow tsubaki. Strong desire and longing." So he could see it, too. She wasn't hallucinating.

She pulled out the wilted red petals still in her belt pouch. "Red, too."

"Romance and deep appreciation. Or a noble death, depending on the situation."

Well, that was a bit ominous. At least he didn't seem too concerned. "So you know what's wrong with me? Is it like what Ruri had?"

He sighed. "No. Ruri-chan's sickness was from bacteria, and we were able to make medicine to fight it. This…this is, I'm afraid, something much stranger."

"Stranger than little metal devices on the moon turning us all to stone?" she said with a little scoff.

He laughed. "Well, maybe not. Maybe there is some science to it after all. Senku-chan would say so." He stood back up and held out a hand to her. "Shall we go ask him? If anyone can fix this with science, it's our very own Dr Stone!"

They found him in the lab, of course. He wasn't one to linger after meals. Everyone else did, though, so he was alone. Perfect.

Senku was extremely skeptical of their initial explanation—that is, until Kohaku coughed up a red flower and a few yellow petals. She had to brace herself against a table and catch her breath, Gen patting her back reassuringly, and when she looked up, Senku was staring with wide eyes at the evidence of their claims. Kohaku tried to say something but all that came out was a croak. She cleared her throat and took the water Senku quickly handed her.

"Okay," he said, focusing on the two of them again. "Let's say I believe you. I still don't understand what's happening here."

Gen cocked his head. "You don't even know what Hanahaki is?" When Senku gave him a look that said, 'well, duh,' Gen raised his hands in defense. "Sorry, sorry. It's…a legend. Not a particularly happy one. Kohaku-chan…well, we're hoping that you find a way to cure her. She'll keep coughing up flowers until you do."

And Kohaku realized that if Senku agreed to help, he would be watching her closely, maybe staying near her for a long time, asking her questions. She wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or cry. Senku would be focused on her, be around her, for who knew how long. Could her heart bear it?

And she coughed up another yellow blossom, small and cheerful. It landed with a 'plop' on the table and she grimaced at it.

Gen was glancing between her and Senku now, a worried frown on his face, then he grabbed Kohaku's shoulders. "Actually, Senku-chan, maybe we should look for someone else to help us. There's a lot of people waking up these days, after all. I'm sure this isn't your style. Sorry we bothered you." And then he was quickly ushering Kohaku out of the lab.

"Gen?" Kohaku rasped.

"It's him, isn't it, Kohaku-chan?" was his quiet response. "I understand, I do, but…oh, Kohaku-chan." When she still looked confused, he added, "Hanahaki is the disease of unrequited love. You fell in love with someone who's not going to love you back."

Kohaku's first response was to blush furiously. "I—I don't know what you're talking about."

Gen chuckled without humor. "And of course someone as passionate as you loves with their whole heart. Of course you fell for an equally determined aro/ace."

"Aro…ace?" She didn't know those words.

"Not interested in romance or sex."

She didn't realize there were words just for that. And that was Senku, wasn't it? Was there really any point in denying how she felt? "You…said it wasn't a happy legend. Why?"

Gen didn't say anything, but his grip on her tightened a little.

She was going to die, wasn't she? "Is there anything to do about it?"

"Some versions of the legend say there's a potion to drink that solves the problem by making it impossible to love anything ever again, or surgery to remove the root of the flowers for the same effect."

She shook her head immediately. "No. I don't want that."

He stopped walking and she turned to look at him. He looked genuinely worried, which hardly ever happened. "Kohaku-chan…that's the only way you're going to get better."

She shook her head. "Stop loving my sister? My father? Suika? All my friends? Never." She wouldn't be 'Kohaku' without all that love, romantic or not, towards Senku or not. And then she coughed up some more petals. Was that the trigger for the flowers and petals? Love?

Gen steered her towards her hut. "You've had a rough day, I'm sure. Why don't you try to rest? I'll see if I can find you anyone who can help."

And she did feel tired and sore, every breath rasping and painful, so she shuffled inside, locked the door behind her like Ruri always told her to, and flopped onto her bed. She'd just rest her eyes for a minute…

She woke up to banging on the door. "Kohaku! Kohaku!"

She blearily blinked, then coughed. Why did her throat hurt so much…? Then her eyes focused on the abundance of flowers surrounding her on her mattress. The one closest to her face was a beautiful white…

…and blood dripped from the petals.

The wooden door burst open, shattering, and Taiju was falling inside, Suika close behind him, crying out, "You didn't come for breakfast and I was knocking for a while, and then I heard you coughing—you didn't respond—Kohaku, what are these?"

Kohaku just focused on breathing steadily, closing her eyes and pressing her forehead against the mattress. It felt like her chest was being wrapped in briars, tiny thorns piercing her lungs and heart…

When she was able to focus on her surroundings again, it sounded like there were a lot of people in her hut, all of them worried, rushing around. She could hear Ruri's gentle voice near her head, and she felt her sister's soft hands slowly stroking her hair back from her face. It felt so nice that she decided to sleep some more. Surely a bit more rest wouldn't hurt.

"Wake up, lioness."

She groaned. "Not…a…"

"Oh, of course you wake up for him! Kohaku, please open your eyes." Ruri's voice sounded choked with tears, and Kohaku hated it when Ruri cried—it meant Kohaku had failed to take care of her.

"Don't…cry," she managed to whisper, cracking her eyes open a bit.

Then Ruri was dragging her into a sitting position, pulling her into a hug, and she was able to see that nearly everyone she had come to love was there, gathered around her bed, scattered around her hut, or trying to help Francois prepare something on the stove.

Good. She could feel it—her lungs hurt far too much. She didn't have much time left. She was glad she got to see them all again.

And there was Senku sitting on the other side of her mattress from Ruri, some tools she didn't recognize in his hands. He held one up. "This is a stethoscope. It lets me listen to your lungs. You remember when I used something like it for Ruri?"

She nodded shallowly. That had been so long ago.

"Good. So, take slow, deep breaths, okay?"

And then his hand was brushing over her back, moving her hair out of the way. He'd…never touched her like that before. She couldn't help it—she imagined having him wake her up like that, rubbing her shoulder to get her to open her eyes, or maybe to get her attention, or to comfort her, or just because he wanted to.

And she started coughing again, curling into a little ball as her whole body shook, sharp, stabbing pains shooting from her chest to even the tips of her fingers.

She started crying as she hacked out more blossoms and petals. She remembered what Gen had implied—that she'd die—and she remembered being at peace with it then, with her choice to not seek out the thing that would cure her, but…she really didn't want to die…

She finally stopped coughing, blood dripping from her lips. Ruri gently dabbed her face and mouth with a damp cloth and a trembling hand.

"Senku, what's happening?!" Chrome was shouting.

"Calm down," Senku told him. "You'll stress her out." Then, under his breath, he hissed, "Why did Gen leave her alone?"

"I was looking for help, Senku-chan," said Gen from where he was standing near Francois.

Then Suika was holding her cheek. "Kohaku, Francois made this. Drink it, please." Suika looked so worried as she held a little cup of something. Kohaku opened her mouth but didn't want to talk in case it triggered another round of coughing. The cup was placed against her lips and a sweet, thick drink soothed her ragged throat. Had Gen and Francois somehow found the potion? Didn't she even get a choice?

"Honey," Francois said, already working on something else. "Just honey and warm water. Quite good for coughs, no matter the cause." And Gen met her gaze and Kohaku would have sworn he looked on the verge of tears. He must not have been able to find anything on such short notice. She wasn't mad at him—he'd tried to help her solve an impossible problem.

Senku's hand was resting completely on her back now, rubbing back and forth in a way that would have been soothing if it had been anyone else.

Well…if she was about to die, this wasn't a bad way to go. "Love you," she managed to say. "All of…you. Love you…so…much." More tears escaped her eyes, and her words seemed to just rile everyone up.

"Why-Man!" Ryusui shouted over the crowd with a snap. "Where is it? Maybe it can do something."

"It went with Xeno for the year, remember?"

"I'll call him!" Minami called, and Kohaku could hear her running for the door (or, rather, the sheet that was now hanging in Kohaku's doorway since the door had been broken down by Taiju). "They'll be on the next plane to Japan!" Following close behind her was Ryusui, no doubt to fly himself over the ocean if no other pilot was available, and Sai.

A big hand rested on top of Kohaku's head. "Hang in there, Kohaku," Tsukasa's warm voice told her. "We'll…we'll heal you. Everything will…be…"

He couldn't even bring himself to say it would all be okay. It was pretty obvious it wouldn't be. No fighting skill would help her here.

Her dad took Ruri's place, big arms cradling her in a warm hug. "It will be alright, little warrior," he said. "We're all here, and you're going to be fine." She remembered her dad holding her mom like this when her mom was dying. Ruri and Kohaku had been young teens, not quite able to both fit on his lap anymore, but he'd gathered them all close to him in his strong arms, and Kohaku had never felt safer.

Wasn't this enough for her silly heart? So what if Senku never loved her the way she loved him? Her friends and family were all here, desperate to keep her alive. Wasn't that enough?

She snuggled against her father's chest, feeling like a tiny kid again. Warm and safe…

She heard some voices getting louder, Senku telling her to stay awake, calling her lioness again…but she was so tired. She coughed up one last flower and willed herself to open her eyes at least one more time, maybe to see Ruri or Suika or anyone, really. (She wanted to see Senku.) All she could see was a flower on the mattress, vibrant red and dripping with blood.

She closed her eyes and the voices faded away. She hoped her mom would be waiting for her…

—

A light breeze tickled her cheek, the smell of the forest in summer wafting in.

She took a deep breath, then remembered she'd had trouble breathing lately and that taking such a deep breath without pain was a bit of a novelty.

"Are you awake?" Mirai asked from somewhere beside her bed. "Oh, please be awake. Everyone is so worried."

Kohaku slowly opened her eyes, looking around the familiar space of her hut and landing on Mirai sitting on a chair by her bedside.

Mirai burst into tears and latched onto her. Kohaku was still blinking the sleep from her eyes and couldn't manage to return the desperate hug. "You're awake, you're awake!" Mirai cheered. Then the younger woman was dashing out of the hut, calling out that Kohaku was finally awake.

The stampede of friends and family that came crashing through her (repaired) door was impressive, and she couldn't help laughing at the sight of so many of the people she cared about shoving each other so they could hug her. She hugged everyone who wanted a hug, just happy to be alive.

After an hour of being regaled with the tales of the past few weeks (she'd been asleep until Why-man returned, her body supported by various medical advancements, and then petrified and revived, but she hadn't woken up), of getting fed tiny morsels of Francois' finest meats and snuggling with Ruri and Suika, Senku walked in.

"All right, everyone out," he said, scratching his ear disinterestedly. "I've got to make sure our lioness is healthy."

She was so happy to see him that she didn't protest him using her nickname.

There was a bit of a fuss, but eventually everyone left and it was just the two of them.

He sighed and carried a bag over to her bed, then sat down on the chair next to it. "Okay. Do you want me to explain all this stuff or to just do the tests?"

"Explain, please," she said, curious.

He nodded and she was put through a few different tests for reflexes, lung health, and focus, with Senku going through the whys and hows of each one. "Well," he said, putting away the last tool, "you look ten billion percent healthy to me."

He didn't get up from the chair like she expected, though, didn't head right back to work, but rather just sat and stared at his hands in silence.

"Senku," she asked quietly, "are you okay?"

He took a deep breath, then leaned back on his chair and folded his arms. "So how much did Gen end up telling you about Hanahaki?"

Thinking back, she hummed. "Well…that it was a disease of unreturned love or something. I was going to die. There was a…a potion? Or surgery. It would make it so I couldn't love anything anymore."

He was looking at her intently. "That's…all?"

She nodded. "He said that not loving anything anymore was the only way I'd get better. I didn't want that, though." She was glad she hadn't sought it out with the limited time she'd ended up having. Her throat was hurting a bit, though, and she swallowed.

"You were willing to die just because you liked someone?" He looked extremely skeptical.

She scowled at him. "That's not it at all! I can't imagine not loving anything anymore! I wouldn't even be me! I would have died either way!" His mouth twisted and she felt a pang in her heart. Why was she even trying to explain to him? "Go away," she hissed, balling her blankets up in her hands. "Get out of here, you—you heartless bastard!" Then she coughed.

"Wait, lioness—"

"I'm not a lioness!" she cried, gasping and shaking. "Stop calling me that! Leave me alone!" She threw her pillow at him, which he dodged easily by leaning a bit. She must not have all her strength back. Her throat hurt—her chest hurt.

He, frustratingly, wouldn't budge from his seat. "I didn't mean—"

She growled and threw back her bedding, determined to throw the man out. The movement caused her to start coughing again, choking on the now-familiar feeling of something in her throat.

He kept her from standing with outstretched arms. "Kohaku, stop! I'm sorry!"

She froze and the feeling in her throat faded. That was just about the wildest thing she'd ever heard from him. Her name and an apology? Had he somehow been replaced by a body double?

He was grimacing. "I didn't mean that how it sounded."

Tears were actually forming in her eyes, her chest in so much pain. She didn't feel like coughing anymore, though.

"Oh, don't start crying," he muttered, grabbing a clean cloth from one of his bags and wiping her tears away. "You'll make me feel like even more of a jerk."

"Good," she said with a sniffle. "You are a jerk."

He smiled, then, a real smile, and she hated that that was all it took to soothe her. "Don't act like you don't love it," he said.

Kohaku flinched back a bit from his touch. "W-what…?" Senku wasn't someone who teased about that kind of thing.

His smile faded and he dropped his hand to the bed near her leg. "It's me, isn't it? The person you love."

She cast her eyes around, looking for some route of escape. Maybe the window? Because he knew and she didn't want to be there for what came next. She couldn't bear it. She didn't want his rejection, didn't want him to stop being her friend because she couldn't control her stupid feelings. "Of—of course not, why would you even think that?" she said in a desperate rush.

A hand landed on her wrist, as if to keep her from running away. "You're a terrible liar, Kohaku."

She was trembling now. "No, I'm not," she whispered, wishing she could launch herself back into space but distracted by the warmth of his hand.

He sighed. "Gen didn't tell you everything about Hanahaki. He told me, though. To cure it, either you stop loving completely…" His hand slid down from her wrist and he intertwined his fingers with hers. "…or you find out the person you love loves you back."

She stared at their hands, then at him, her eyes wide. Of course Gen hadn't brought that up, because it was Senku she'd been stupid enough to love. Gen was a liar (sort of), but he wasn't cruel. And Kohaku had already known that Senku returning her feelings was even more far-fetched than a potion that could make you stop loving anything—she hadn't needed Gen to tell her that.

But Senku was holding her hand. And then she saw the faintest hint of a blush on the tips of his ears—the only indication of embarrassment. "But…but you're, uh, aro-something, aren't you?"

His eyebrows raised a bit. "Aro? Aromantic? I mean, in general, yeah. But I've known you for years, and I already know we're great friends, and…imagining a future with you is exciting. All the stuff that comes with dating…I want it. Never had that happen before."

She was still confused, but was starting to feel hopeful. Senku…liked her? Loved her, even? Had she died after all and was in some weird afterlife?

"So," he continued, "I guess all that's left is for us to make a road map."

That sounded more like the man she knew, the man she loved. "For what?"

He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles (she nearly fell over in shock but didn't dare pull her hand away) and then he said with a smirk, "Our very own happily ever after. I think we ten-billion-percent deserve it, don't you?"

Her chest felt light again, breathing easy and pain-free. Maybe Senku could make all her impossible dreams come true after all. "Yes," she said, "I'd like nothing more."