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The sun sat lazily atop the horizon, casting an orange glow on the hillside. There, resided Senku, who was busying himself by pacing in fervent circles around a whorled oak tree, careful not to trip on the winding roots beneath his feet.
He tensed up at the sound of footsteps coming his way.
"Hey," A familiar voiced called, unmistakably that of the lioness. Senku braced himself for the inevitable smalltalk he so despised, biting back the anxiety that clouded his thoughts and rattled the air out of his lungs. He turned around at her call, donning his usual straight face.
"You ran off. Is something the matter?"
"Nah," he shrugged. "Just wanted some fresh air, is all."
"You're shaking, Senku."
Damn, she's observant.
"What are you really doing out here?"
"Just- thinking."
Her eyebrows furrowed. "You look like you're panicking."
"I'm not panicking," he said, albeit far too quickly to not contradict his statement. "I'm just a little.."
"..Overwhelmed?"
Senku sighed, bowing his head as his tensed shoulders gradually slumped.
"I- ..I guess so, yeah."
The touch of a hand on his shoulder was feather light as it was grounding, and with the soothing circular motion of her thumb on his arm, he found himself grateful for the comfort.
"Thank you," he mumbled. A nod was given in response.
"Anytime. We need our number one scientist on his A-game, right?"
Senku simply scoffed at that.
Their bond ran thick, come to think of it, but not quite in the means of blood - sure, they certainly bickered like siblings, but Kohaku missed a certain nurturing factor that would make him see her as a sister, the way she and Ruri were. Something similar, in the way she offered comfort sparingly when needed - she knew him enough to see when he needed it, and never thought twice before offering an ear to listen when she caught on to him bottling up his grievances.
He appreciated how she reserved herself around him, despite being quite generous with the physical contact around her friends. She quickly learned that Senku wasn't the touchy type and respected that, keeping a distance to avoid force of habit.
She learned that after he damn near flinched from being lightly punched in the arm. It was funny, at least.
Something sibling adjacent, perhaps - a bond of blood's consistency, but not quite the same thing.
A bond that runs thick like.. Mercury, for example - one of the silliest things he'd thought of in a good while, and it ten billion percent made no sense - but he grinned despite himself.
"If you think about it, you're like my step cousin twice removed, or something along that line."
"..What does that even mean?"
Shifting the weight on his feet, he scratched the back of his head in thought. "Well, you know how cousins are-"
"Senku," the blonde interrupted. "What the hell is a cousin?"
He sighed.
"Oh, god."
"I'm kidding!" She laughed. "Do you really think I'm stupid enough to not know what a cousin is?"
He paused. Looked at her, lips pursed into a thin line. A grimace, almost.
"Wh.. Hey! Asshole." She spat, half laughing - hit him playfully on the arm as payback. It caused Senku to burst into a fit of giggles, at least, which she considered an improvement to his original mood.
"..Hey."
He looked up, meeting a more sincere gaze from the lioness.
"Are you.. feeling better, at least? I know you're not one to talk about your emotions, but ." she trailed off.
"I'm- yeah. I'm feeling better. Thank you, Kohaku."
The blonde grinned.
"Anytime, asshole."
"There it is."
Kohaku laughed again - her giggles, accented with an unflattering snort causing Senku to snicker in response echoed in the the air as they began walking back to the village.
He'll be alright this time.