Sun from the Moon

05. Signals

- Secret -

« Gen's cute when he's asleep, right? »

« Easier to bear, for sure. »

Helping Senku at night, making final adjustments to the 2nd radar made for the village, Secret was looking at the mentalist, fast asleep on his futon behind them, when he turned back to the scientist by rolling his eyes, restraining himself from pointing out what a bad liar he was, since interfere in his parents' love affair could disturb the course of time.

At this late hour, Senku's eyes were wrinkled with fatigue, but his moves were still steady and precise. So, Secret felt he could pursue the discussion for a few more minutes, before making sure his father goes to bed. This was usually Gen's role, but he'd fallen asleep about an hour earlier, while talking about the Perseus departure, scheduled for the day after tomorrow.

« He looked tired today... » He said, while Senku was taking notes on a paper already black with annotations and calculations.

« Hn. He always looks tired when he wants to avoid manual labor. »

This time, the child sighed.

Thinking that in the future, Senku was kissing Gen in public, announcing him to everyone as his husband... the road to that result seemed particularly long seeing him so stubborn, even unable to acknowledge his affection for the magician.

Secret cleared his throat, not really satisfied.

« I think tomorrow party will do him good. Its mental fatigue, something's bothering him... »

« Hn. Are you a mentalist too? »

« I'm a good observer, and we spend a lot of time together. »

« Maybe that's what's bothering him. »

At these words, Senku was the quickest to react. Abruptly lifting his head from his notes, he turned towards the child, his face betraying his embarrassment and guilt. Secret could tell how much the scientist was worried his words would be misinterpreted and seeing him so upset took away any desire to pout or complain, even for laugh.

« I meant... »

« It's okay. » Secret smiled. « You're not the kind of person who says things on purpose to hurt people's feelings. » He took a deep breath, settling back in his seat. « Besides, I think you're even too nice for your own good... »

Senku frowned as the boy bit his lips, hesitating to broach this sensitive subject before trying to appear only curious, as detached as possible.

« If you had to face someone who wants to destroy everything you'd built, what will you do? »

« What do you mean? » Having Ishigami Senku's full attention was like being under the lens of a microscope and although the exam was less awesome than Gen's expertise, it was unsettling, especially when he scrutinized you like that, red eyes slightly squinted, as if he was extracting answers directly from your brain. « If you have something to say, go ahead. »

The child straightened a little, searching for the right words.

« It's just that... I know you're the Kingdom of Science's and Ishigami Village's leader, but you're clearly a very nice person, so I was wondering what you'd do if you were confronted with someone really evil, who wanted to take what was most precious to you... »

Forcing himself not to turn to Gen, Secret held Senku' sharp gaze, before the scientist sighed, returning to his work. Nevertheless, after a strange silence, he broke the silence with a firm tone, addressing himself as well as the child.