Sun from the Moon

02. First contact

- Gen -

« You have cola in this stone world? »

As the child ran his fingers over the fresh bottle of "Senku's Cola", following the letters, his purple eyes sparkling with admiration, Gen chuckled, raising his voice.

« Of course! Our wonderful leader Senku-chan made it for me, to keep me by his side forever!∼»

Knowing the scientist was watching them furtively at the hut entrance, he gave him a teasing wink, enjoying seeing him turn away with this typical exasperation wince on his face, but ears red from having been caught this way.

« If he want me to eat faster, it won't be possible. » The child observed after a long sip. « The dish is truly delicious. I don't want to rush it. »

His cute but firm tone made Gen laugh.

Earlier, doubting the pup had been able to eat properly since he was in this stone world, the mentalist had suggested to offer him some food and drink before any interrogation, to put him at ease and give him time to digest his new situation, as well as the strong emotions he must have felt since his 'encounter' with Ukyo and Magma. After all, whatever the ins and outs of his presence here, he was still a kid separated from his parents and bearings. A very good reason to feel lost and defensive, as proved by his chat with Senku a few moments ago.

—

« I can't tell you my real name. »

« Why ? »

« Better to keep it a secret. »

« I said, why ? »

« Hm. Keeping some mysteries, I suppose. »

« No need. »

Straightforward, sarcastic and quite authoritarian, hands on hips, deep red eyes locked on the child, Senku was in his "don't try to fool me" mode, which generally had to make his audience capitulate and rally to his cause. The only one who still enjoyed testing his limits in such cases was Gen himself. But against all odds, the child feigned indignation in a way that reminded the magician of his own tricks, when he wanted to beat around the bush.

« Do you think? I'm in another world in another time, in a sort of prehistoric village with a lot of unknowns. Sorry for not being some open book, but I'm just being prudent. »

Senku rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue.

« What a pain in the ass! Did you argue like that with your parents? »

As the child shrugged his shoulders, mouth hidden behind his sleeve, Gen let out a chuckle.

Watching them argue was quite a captivating distraction. Despite his angelic face, the boy had a sharp tongue and the mentalist would be lying not admitting this added to his charm, while already giving Senku an headache, red eyes flashing a « do your job, mentalist » which wasn't going to be easy, and not because Gen lacked objectivity.

With years of practice, he could easily feel when someone's reading key was mainly an intuition matter than based on their words or behavior's analysis and it was precisely the case, so particular the child seemed to be, for some obscure reason.

Nevertheless, he chose to reshuffle the deck.

Clapping his hands to end their fruitless conversation, he'd turned to Senku, whispering one « Give him some break, Senku-chan∼ » in the hollow of his ear in a sweet mermaid-style tone, making him look away with a false disgusted expression but without refusing, so that, minutes later, François had served the child the creamy fish and mushroom soup he'd made for lunch as Gen was enjoying seeing him eat, almost purring with joy.