Archive of Our Own ^beta

“If I remember right, in Momotaro,” Chrome starts, hauling some supplies to the mobile lab. “There’s a lion and a tiger. And it says something about lions being social animals, like people, but tigers are solitary. Right?”

“I mean, yeah…” Senku follows behind. He’s struggling to carry half of the weight Chrome is carrying. “But there aren’t tigers or lions in Momotaro.”

“Come on, Senku. You know what I meant.”

“Yeah. Lions…” Tossing a bag into the mobile lab with all the strength he has left, Senku grunts. “...live in prides. Groups of ten to fifteen on average. Tigers live and hunt alone.”

“But if they’re both big cats like you said, what makes that difference? Don’t they basically do all the same stuff in any other situation?” Chrome starts to organize the supplies. He flashes Senku a mildly disapproving look when Senku sits on the lab’s floor, heaving from his treacherous journey of fifty feet from the science shed to the lab. “You could help out.”

“It’s about resource partitioning. Tigers and lions live in totally different parts of the world. Which means different habitats.” Senku ignores Chrome’s request in favor of catching his breath. “So, with separate living conditions, each species developed their own behaviors that would be optimal for those conditions. Lions are social because sharing resources helps keep them alive in their habitat. Tigers are solitary because not having to share is better for them in their habitat.”

“That makes sense. Come on, Senku, we only have a couple bags left.” Chrome hops out of the lab. “You’re the one that keeps saying it!! The faster we pack the rest of our shit, the faster we get to America.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Senku groans. Before he can try to lift himself up, Tsukasa approaches, dropping the last few bags beside Senku. Senku uses this as an excuse to give up and flop over like a wet ragdoll. “Hey. Thanks, Tsukasa.”

“No problem.” Tsukasa offers a soft smile. “Get some rest, Senku.”

“Hey!! You forgot one!!” 

Kohaku bounces down the ladder to the science shed, a bag half her size slung over her shoulder. Within seconds, she’s standing next to Tsukasa, and the bag is in its proper place. Senku isn’t even sure how she knew where to put it. He doesn’t ask questions. He just lets his soul leave his body.

“You guys pamper him.” Chrome folds his arms. “But I guess that’s not hard to do when he’s a twig and you’re a gorilla.”

Chrome escapes promptly before Kohaku can leave the usual four or five goose eggs on his head.

Once Senku is back up on his feet, Tsukasa and Kohaku return to their training in the clearing. Like Kohaku says often enough, they have no idea what they’ll encounter in America, so they need to stay sharp. 

“We’re almost done for today.” Kohaku wipes the sweat from her brow and tightens her ponytail. “I think Ginro already ditched us, and Kinro seems like he’s almost down for the count. So we can let them off a little early. As for you and me… Let’s spar a couple more times, yeah?”

“I can continue for as long as you need me to,” Tsukasa replies with a short nod. He withdraws his cloak from his shoulders and tosses it aside. “Hand to hand?”

Kohaku nods. Without warning, she comes at him. Full speed. A swift roundhouse kick is delivered right to his abdomen, which he blocks with his forearm. Tsukasa is on defense. He protects his face, his arms shielding from the rain of relentless kicks and unpredictable turns Kohaku pelts him with. It’s not much trouble. But he’s focused. Feet planted. Arms up. Stance firm. He has to be focused. One small slip and he’ll be reeling. There’s no underestimating Kohaku. She makes sure you know exactly how dangerous she is. She isn’t afraid to show it. Not one bit. 

Tsukasa doesn’t show fear of any kind, either. He blocks intentionally. Kohaku has seen him fight other opponents before, and with the other members of the Kingdom of Science, he’s typically defensive. Defensive in the ‘I don’t want to hurt you’ kind of way. But with her, it’s different. She has just enough time in between kicks to see it with her keen eyes. It’s the way he struggles for even a millisecond to find the perfect blocking angle each time. The way sweat forms on his face, even in this cool spring breeze. Nobody else gets to see that sweat.

Earlier, Kohaku asked to spar a ‘couple more times,’ but they both decide upon a draw once they see the sun starting to set. Another draw. Kohaku doesn’t think they’ve ever actually ended with either fighter completely immobile.

Tsukasa sits in the shade of a tree, picking up their waterskins off the ground and handing one to Kohaku, who takes a seat beside him. 

It's silent for a moment while they catch their breath and hydrate. Not awkward. Just silent. 

Tsukasa brings his waterskin to his lips. He pauses. He lowers it.

“Is there a special reason Chrome calls you a gorilla? Besides your strength, I mean.”

Kohaku swallows her water quickly before she can choke on it. That's an unexpected question.

“He just likes to make fun of me.” She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. “He wishes he could harness brute force like we do. But to be honest, I'm embracing it.” A playful grin tugs at her lips.

“I think you're more of a lion.”

At that comment, Kohaku snaps her head to look at Tsukasa. She's amused, but just a little.

“That's what Senku says!! You guys are all the same.”

“Sorry, sorry. That's not what I mean.”

Kohaku examines Tsukasa's expression for a minute. He freezes.

“Ohh. You're thinking about that conversation Chrome and Senku were having earlier, right?”

Tsukasa nods. “I didn't realize you heard it, too.”

“Of course I did. They were right there.” She tilts her head. “So I'm a lion, huh? You think I’m social? Hah. I'd say that's an accurate assumption.”

“Yes. I mean, as opposed to a tiger…” Tsukasa sets down his water. He clasps his hands on his lap, shifting to face Kohaku more comfortably.

“All the same, I have my solitary moments.” Kohaku leans back against the tree trunk. “Everyone does. Some more than others. You’ve seemed pretty solitary since you woke up, but I guess that makes sense.”

“So what does that make me? A tiger?”

“No. You’re definitely a lion.” She smiles. “You just have stripes painted on.”

When he feels a soft touch on his cheek, Tsukasa flinches just a bit. Swift and unexpected… which should be expected. It’s Kohaku, after all. He didn’t realize they were close enough for her to just… do that.

She pulls her hand away to show him her thumb. It has black paint smeared on it. That’s right… The fake petrification marks. He almost forgot.

“Ah.” Tsukasa chuckles. “I didn’t think you meant that literally.”

Kohaku just shrugs. She hops up and grabs her waterskin. “We should head over to the ship and see if anyone needs some assistance before it gets too dark.”

“Right.”