Archive of Our Own

Ishigami Senku hypothesizes that Asagiri Gen is performing yet another one of his magic tricks.

It has to be; otherwise, why would Senku feel anything for him? Senku has never even felt a spark of a feeling for anybody, whether as a kid or as a teenager. While everyone was already having their first crushes on classmates in grade school, Senku was more interested in building a rocket to land him on the moon.

Sure, he was the very first witness to a beautiful love between his two fellow astronauts sent in that rocket with him, but he was just happy for them. He guesses. One feels happy for their best friend when they fall in love and that it's reciprocated, probably. Senku doesn't know. He doesn't have much interest into romance. He knows it makes people happy, but that's about it. It's just a damn reaction of the chemicals in a brain, he'd say as he'd go on explaining which chemicals exactly, cleaning his ear, earning groans from people listening to him.

To Senku, love is just science.

Science, science, always science.

Then why is a boy strumming the heartstrings in his chest now?

Senku had never felt anything particular for Gen before. When they first met, Senku was just busy trying to assess if Gen could be recruited on his side. Too formidable of an asset to be left in Tsukasa's hands, Senku did his best to convince him, and like he'd guessed, science was enough. Science is always enough. Who wouldn't be convinced by the beauty of it?

And then, after they became companions, it was just nice to have him as someone he could always count on. Gen might be a trickster, but as an ally, he was a very useful one. Senku couldn't be more grateful to have him with him.

But then, they landed on the treasure island, and one of them had to infiltrate the harem along with Amaryllis and Kohaku. Senku put his pride aside to try dressing up as a girl even if he was ten billion percent sure it would not work because he looked too much like a guy, and he was right: Senku did look kind of ridiculous with his low ponytails, too sturdy to pass as a girl the Master would want in his harem.

But Gen?

Gen was a different story.

Gen looked… cute.

The red lipstick on his thin lips, the mascara enhancing his slanted eyes, the purple top perfectly hugging his thin waist… it should be wrong, like it seemed wrong on Senku, but it did not.

Senku knew Gen was a boy, and yet, he felt something in his chest.

Weird.

Very weird.

Obviously, as the scientist Senku is, he immediately thought of two hypotheses: either he's suddenly attracted to boys (very unlikely, given his record in love), either Gen is up to something.

The probability of the latter being higher, Senku opted for that one.

Since then, as they're finally crossing the Pacific ocean to go to America, Senku has been trying to guess what Gen is up to. It's weird, the effect of his magic hasn't dissipated and Senku feels a weird pang in his chest whenever they stand too close, their shoulders brushing or Gen's warmth hovering just behind him. And because it can't be scientifically explained, Senku has grown more and more frustrated about that matter. He should get rid of that before they make it to America, it could distract him and Senku doesn't like to be distracted.

He already thought of confronting Gen directly on that matter, of course, but he figured Gen would probably feign innocence as the trickster he is, like he did during Ryusui and Senku's poker match, not admitting when he cheated until Kohaku brought forward the proof. Besides, a hypothesis without proof to back it is not worth anything scientifically speaking. Multiple hypotheses can always be formed, but for one to be validated, it had to be confirmed. And for it to be confirmed, Senku has to find the proof that Gen has been deceiving him.

For that, Ishigami Senku needs to reproduce that experience first. He trusts his instincts, sure, but instincts mean nothing in the name of science: he needs to ensure that what he experimented is actually reproducible. As he had already explained it before, it doesn't matter if someone actually sees the ghosts they claim to see; what matters is if the effects they experience every time they think they see ghosts are real or not. Starting from there, hypotheses can be made based on facts, as science is nothing without facts.

He needs the fact that Gen is deceiving him.

In that perfectly logical perspective, making Gen crossdressing again is the most natural conclusion.

It would kill two birds with one stone: he'd find out if he does feel the same way again about Gen's appearance as a girl, checking the reproducibility of that experience, and at the same time, he'd also gather more evidence and be able to check thoroughly what Gen is doing to him.

Perfect, isn't it?

"What are you up to?"

Senku blinks. He had been lost in his thoughts, which is quite unusual as he's usually busy with his hands, up to another crazy scientific project.

Kohaku is the one standing next to him, eyeing him curiously.

"You've been staring at Gen for a while, now."

Huh.

Has he?

He blinks again and indeed, his gaze was on Gen who was busy playing with Suika, showing her his magic tricks to entertain her. As always, that mentalist has a wicked smile on his lips, tricking Suika who looks so innocent, confident she can win the game. But she does not, and Gen reveals his trick in bliss, laughing joyfully at Suika's expression.

He looks nice, Senku thinks, and he pulls a face. Oh god, not the effect of Gen's trick on him again.

"I was just thinking," Senku drawls, tired of this situation.

"Thinking? Hah! You can't trick my eyes, Senku. You were thinking while staring at him. So, what's on your mind?"

He sighs. It's not like he can tell Kohaku he actually needs to convince Gen to crossdress again so he can verify his hypothesis, Kohaku would be horrified and think he's a pervert, something like that (which, in Senku's defense, he really isn't. He's just confused as to why Gen is making him want to see him in a dress, really).

He trusts Kohaku, but for this one, she'll need to sit it out. Actually, no one can know about what's been going on in his head. It's a hypothesis and until it's confirmed, he won't voice it out. But since he can't directly ask for Gen to crossdress again, he'll need to do it in a roundabout way… how? It will be hard to convince the damn mentalist to do something like that.

"Nothing much," he says instead. "I was just thinking… things are damn peaceful, these days."

Kohaku huffs. "Yeah, not like how the trip started, with you and Ryusui's fight."

Right… Them playing how long the trip will be with poker. Now that Senku thinks about it, Gen also looked nice in his purple suit. His waist was- no, he's getting sidetracked. He knows he's been thinking weirdly about Gen only because the latter did something to him. It's been infuriating, catching himself having these inexplicable thoughts.

"That did help boost up our team's morale, though, everyone was convinced of the result after all," Kohaku goes on, nodding to herself. "The bar François built and the drinks… Yup, it was good."

Senku blinks.

Wait, that's it.

That's it!

Finally, he'll be able to catch the mentalist red-handed, with that brilliant idea that just formed in his head.

Senku grins, his red eyes lighting up in excitement.

"Thanks, Kohaku… Now, things are going to get exciting…" he mumbles to himself which scares the poor Kohaku away, as she'd rather not get caught in one of the team scientist's weird projects.

That weird project starts with Nanami Ryusui, standing on the bow of the boat, looking ahead of him, attentive to the changes in weather.

"Ryusui," Senku calls, cleaning his ear while walking towards him.

Ryusui turns his head and a smile spreads across his face, his eyes shining like he always has something new to look forward to.

"Ah, Senku! What's up? Need something?"

As always, Ryusui is full of energy. Senku smiles.

"Actually… You think you could organize an event like, you know, the modeling show we did before to promote clothes?"

Ryusui's eyes twinkle, just by thinking about how many Dragos he'll be making with the endeavor of Senku's new project. The modeling show was actually Gen's idea to make money for the hot air balloon back then, and Senku kind of hates it, because yet again, Asagiri Gen is invading his thoughts.

Ryusui snaps his fingers, already excited when he knows nothing of the project. "Haha! Sure we can! You want to make more clothes for our crew? Let François take care of that! Fran-"

"Yeah, but… only make girls' clothes."

There, he said it. It shouldn't be anything embarrassing, it's for his research which is triggered by the mentalist anyway (not his fault he has to prove that Gen did something to him). But, still. Senku feels a bit self-conscious about that ridiculous demand, rubbing his neck.

Ryusui looks mildly confused, fingers still snapped in the air. "Girls? Why? You want only girls to walk? Oh, that makes sense. It'd lift up our guys' morale, wouldn't it?"

Senku looks away, pulling a face. Okay, it's going to be a bit hard to convince Ryusui of doing it, actually. Senku isn't Gen, able to convince anyone to do anything thanks to his dirty little tricks. Can't he just say he wants to make Gen wear a dress and be done with it? Well, he knows he can't because then, he'd have to explain to Ryusui his hypothesis and he can't do that, not before he has a proof of what he's claiming.

That's annoying, and Senku doesn't like to be bothered. He sighs, looking away.

"No… Not only girls, but guys too. Uh… It could be fun?"

Okay, he's definitely not Asagiri Gen.

Fun, his ass.

Who would find it fun to dress up as a girl?

Ryusui stares at him, eyes still. Senku can see the wheels working in his brain, and that's when Senku realizes he underestimated Ryusui.

"I want that," Ryusui says.

A smirk drags its way on Senku's lips, his red eyes lighting up.

Of course the greediest man alive would want anything.

Including seeing guys in dresses, although that's ridiculous.

He shouldn't have doubted Ryusui.

"But Dragos won't be enough to convince everyone to be on board…" Ryusui thinks out loud, scratching his chin.

He's right: it could convince the stupid Yo or Magma to do it, throwing their pride away, but not the oh-so-clever Asagiri Gen. How to convince Gen?

"We should ask for Gen's help for this," Ryusui starts. "He'd know what to do to convince-"

"No," Senku cuts him off. "Not… Gen."

Ryusui's brown eyes shine with curiosity, observing him. "Why not?"

God. How to explain to Ryusui that he needs Gen to dress up as a girl and therefore, Gen can't be aware of that ridiculous project beforehand?

His mouth twists, unable to find a proper explanation. Ack, why doesn't he have Gen's wits? And actually, why has he been thinking so much about him? The spell Gen put him under is a bit too strong, he fears.

He sighs, rolling his eyes.

"If he knows that plan, he won't be convinced himself to crossdress," he simply states.

Well, Senku is bad at lying, anyway.

Too unbothered to do so.

Ryusui's eyebrows shoot up, staring at Senku, the gears in his head working before his eyes light up. "I see… Haha!" He smiles, snapping his fingers. "You can be greedy too, Senku! That's wonderful! I like that!"

Senku ignores that comment, scratching his ear.

"But then, who should we ask…"

Senku thinks. Who's emotionally intelligent among them apart from Gen?

Oh.

"We should ask Ukyo-"

"No, definitely not," Ryusui strongly denies.

It's Senku's turn to be surprised. Why would Ryusui not want Ukyo to be involved? Unless… Ryusui wants to see Ukyo in a dress too? Why? Is he under a spell like his, too? Another victim? But Ukyo isn't a trickster, he's an honest man. Has Gen performed his little trick on Ryusui and Ukyo, so that Ryusui feels the same way Senku feels for Gen, but for Ukyo? How weird. Why would Gen do that? Well, the "why" isn't important for now.

"You're also under a spell?" Senku asks.

It's always useful to gather more information, after all.

Ryusui blinks. "What spell?"

Maybe Ryusui didn't notice yet. Senku smiles, oddly satisfied that he'll finally be able to talk about the problem that's been troubling him for so long.

"Whenever you see Ukyo, you feel weird, don't you? You think he looks nice. Well, it's that damn mentalist's fault."

Ryusui stares at him. A few beats of silence pass before he speaks up. "How?"

Senku cleans his ear with his pinky, looking sideways. "I don't know how he did it, but he put us under a spell, that's my hypothesis. I've been feeling this way ever since… a particular day, and it's weird. I'm sure he did something to me — and to you too, apparently, with how you've been feeling about Ukyo."

Ryusui continues to stare at him, but this time, he's biting his lips, one second away from bursting into laughter, shaking with all his might to keep that laughter in. But Senku is too bothered to notice it, deep into his thoughts, supplying his hypothesis with more information. Actually, he should give a name to that damn hypothesis, now that he confirmed it didn't only happen to him.

The love hypothesis, perhaps?

Statement one: people affected by Gen's magic will feel weird about the target chosen, thinking they look nice.

Statement two (new!): multiple people can be affected at one time for multiple targets.

Yes, that's good.

Ryusui exhales a deep breath, and seems to have collected himself again.

"So that's why you want to see Gen dressing as a girl? As part as your research?"

Senku nods, annoyed. "Yeah, but it's been annoying me as hell. I want to be done with it quick, I don't like feeling that way, it's too damn distracting."

Ryusui smiles, as though he's aware of something Senku isn't.

"Okay well, let's call for François, shall we? I'm sure they will find a solution for us. François!"

Ryusui snaps his fingers and the next second, François appears, as elegant and polite as always.

"Yes, you have called for me, Ryusui-sama?"

"Well, yes. I have a special task for you, François!"

Even if François is surprised by the demand, they don't judge. Of course they don't, François never does so, only executes what's asked of them.

But to meet that ridiculous demand, François alone isn't enough, and they call for Yuzuriha.

Yes, Senku had guessed so: that ridiculous project of him continues with her, Ogawa Yuzuriha, the hand fairy.

"You called for me…?" Yuzuriha asks, slightly confused.

"Yes!" Ryusui exclaims, snapping his fingers. "We need you to make clothes for everyone."

Yuzuriha seems satisfied, dropping her fist on her palm, a quirky smile on her lips. "Oh! You want to be prepared when we sail to America, right! I can do it! Just tell me what kinds of clothes you want!"

"Well…"

Ryusui and Senku exchange a glance. Senku thinks that his old friend would be down to make anything as long as it's clothes, but he can't be ten billion percent sure about that. To be sure to convince her, he'd need to be persuasive and unfortunately, he's not Gen- and why is he thinking of Gen again?

He sighs. "Girls clothes."

Yuzuriha blinks. "Eh?"

"Make girls clothes for everyone. Including guys," he insists, to make sure Yuzuriha has totally understood his ridiculous request.

Yuzuriha stays silent, bewildered, and that's when Senku is struck with a flash of illumination.

Of course!

He grins, his face distorted into evil, eyes the shape of two bows, laughing. Ryusui and François take a step backwards, making a face. If Gen had been here, he'd surely say something along the lines of ugh, Senku-chan is at it again. "Oh, Yuzuriha, don't you want to see Taiju wearing beautiful clothes, like a dress or a skirt? His legs would look pretty, don't you think so?"

Yuzuriha stares at him. Senku can see the thought process behind her eyes, surely imagining Taiju in various outfits that Senku himself would rather not know about (he'd throw up, for real- but if it were Gen… Oh, not again).

And then, the work is done.

She pulls her fists upwards, gusts of breaths exhaled from her nose, fired up with excitement.

"I do!"

Senku smirks.

Great, they've reached an agreement.

Ryusui to promote that modeling show, François to coordinate that event, Yuzuriha to make clothes.

Senku smiles.

This is getting exciting!

This isn't actually exciting, as Senku is now nervous about that whole situation.

He might be dumb concerning love affairs, but he's not dumb in other areas of life. And what he knows, is that Gen is usually the one making announcements to the crew. This time, since it's not Gen who's taking care of it, everyone will probably feel confused and wonder why he isn't introducing this new concept. That wouldn't be a problem, if not for Gen's wits. Senku can't underestimate him, and Gen will probably try to guess why Senku hasn't talked to him about his new project- wait, since when Senku has always told Gen what was up in his mind? He doesn't even tell Taiju all the time what's going on in his mind, only tells him when he needs him. Well, it might be because he needs Gen all the time for his stupid mentalist tricks, right.

Sure.

In any case, Senku knows that convincing Gen will be the hardest goal to achieve, but he has to. Otherwise, that whole plan will be for naught.

"Ah, ah, can everyone hear me?" Ryusui says in the mic.

Everyone's heads spin towards Ryusui who's standing in the middle of the room, attracting everyone's attention. Senku stays in the background, meddling with the crowd, quiet, his arms crossed. He should not make it too obvious that he really wants that project to work, should make it like Ryusui had the idea first and Senku agreed because it would've been too much of a pain in the ass to argue with Ryusui (and besides, they got nothing better to do on a boat sailing to America, right?). Yes, that makes much more sense, would also seem logical to Gen's eyes.

Hopefully.

But a flash of purple in the crowd catches his eye, and Senku knows who it is before he even lands his eyes on his face.

Gen.

"Okay everyone, I know we're all bored to death on our lovely Perseus!" Ryusui starts.

Gen moves forward, not to be on the first row but on the second row, close enough to listen carefully to what's being said while also keeping a low profile, collecting information. Unconsciously, Asagiri Gen is still performing his psychology tricks, too used not to do it even in circumstances where he doesn't need to be so alert and Senku finds it- finds it nothing, actually, why would he find that endearing?

"So, I, Nanami Ryusui, have a wonderful idea to keep you all on your toes!"

The crowd murmurs in anticipation, wondering what kind of event Ryusui has up his sleeve.

Gen doesn't, though.

His eyes slowly slide from Ryusui to the crowd, locking onto his target without a hint of hesitation. That someone of his is always too easy to find, with his hair sticking up.

Gen's blue-gray eyes meet with Senku's red ones, and a spark of electricity sizzles in the air.

As if Gen already knew that what would be coming from Ryusui's mouth wasn't his idea at all, but Senku's.

Senku pretends he isn't unsettled, and frowns at Gen.

"Fashion is always fun, so why don't we play with it? Let's have our girls dress as boys… and our boys as girls!"

The crowd erupts in astonishment. Some people are so surprised their jaws are hanging wide open (Kohaku), others are intrigued by the idea (Suika), and some don't even show a reaction (Tsukasa).

But Gen smirks, still staring at Senku.

Senku doesn't know why but he feels unraveled by it, his heart panicking, brain malfunctioning.

"Aren't you curious what you would look like dressed as the opposite gender? What if we need to do another stealth mission like the one some of us had to do in the treasure island? We all need to be prepared to all eventualities, and having fun while getting ready for future battles sounds like a good deal, doesn't it?"

Ryusui snaps his fingers, looking proud. That's right, that's what they decided to go with after an extensive discussion, thinking it would be more acceptable if everyone crossdressed, including girls.

"Of course, if you do participate, we will reward you with 1000 Dragos, and even better! The audience will vote for the one they think looked the best, and the winner will win an additional amount of 5000 Dragos!"

Yo and Magma immediately agree, nodding vigorously, already trying to sign up for this scam.

"Our talented Yuzuriha has already prepared clothes that would fit everyone, so just sign up and we'll be able to provide you with beautiful clothes that will make you be prettier or more handsome! And that's free, naturally!"

The scam starts there: why in the world would the greediest man alive, Nanami Ryusui, offer clothes at the price of nothing?

Because to him, seeing boys and girls dressed as the opposite gender will satisfy him plenty.

To do this ridiculous event, what one needs to throw away is their pride, and Nanami Ryusui will gladly feed on that.

There's already a line that has formed in front of François who's taking the names of the people who will participate in this event, and Ryusui is navigating through the crowd, trying to convince people who aren't convinced yet: and by the looks of it, Saionji Ukyo isn't yet, still standing there, an awkward smile on his lips.

But Senku doesn't have the time to be worried about other people, Asagiri Gen walking to him.

His shoes tap on the floor, his hands hidden in his purple large sleeves, walking like he's got all the time in the world, Senku his prey. Senku grows wary, heart drumming a bit too loudly (surely an effect of Gen's weird magic on him).

He can't even register what's going on around him anymore: only sees Gen who stops in front of him, not too close, but not too far either. Close enough so that Gen can draw the both of them in a sphere where there's only the two of them, immune to anything that's happening outside of it, but far enough so that Gen isn't in his comfort zone yet. Senku can't hear anything too far, only hears his breath, sees Gen's dark eyes on him.

"Senku-chan."

His voice resonates ten billion times stronger than it usually does, his ears drilling, throwing him off. No, that's exactly what has been happening ever since Gen has dressed up as a girl, but ten billion times worse, because adding to the usual Gen's magic is now Senku's nervousness of Gen signing up to the event. He needs him to sign up to confirm his experience.

"What?" Senku answers as unbothered as possible.

"Will you participate?"

Is that another one of his mental attacks? What is he trying to assess with this question? But Senku isn't good at guessing, and he just narrows his eyes.

"No? Why would I?"

"Then I won't either."

Senku is dumbfounded. What? How does that even make sense? What is Gen trying to achieve?

"Why would you participate if I participated, you idiot?"

"I don't think it's fun to do that alone."

"There's other people participating, you know."

"But they aren't you."

Senku freezes.

He blinks, and looks at Gen. Gen, as always, has that fake innocent look on his face, his eyes more watery than usual, bigger and more pure. But that's all pretend, as Senku knows the real Gen. The manipulating Gen, the trickster Gen, the one that made him feel everything he's been feeling until now.

And then, Gen's lips curve into a smile, a calculating one as he brings one sleeve to his chin, lowering his head. Senku is sure this is all part of an act, a trap in which Senku has already deeply fallen without even knowing how or when; he just fell. There's that sense of strangeness, like he's in an alternate universe that looks exactly like his original one but he knows it's wrong, doesn't know when it even started.

"Do you want to see me dressed up as a girl, Senku-chan?"

The question is dropped like a bomb, and it burns Senku. His heart drums in panic but he pretends the contrary, huffing as his arms are still crossed.

"No?" he says, making his mouth twist in disgust.

"I kind of want to see you dressed up as a girl, though," Gen giggles.

Senku doesn't know why, but he feels embarrassed and he looks away. "You already did."

"Yeah, but more nicely! I think you could look good as a girl too."

Senku's brain freezes.

Good as a girl too?

Huh?

Does that mean… Gen thinks he looks good?

He doesn't know how to react to this information. Doesn't know why his heart is warming up so much, it feels like a fire has started inside of his body, burning him alive, like a lover's embrace.

What is this?

"So, will you participate?" Gen asks, looking at Senku from downwards, bending to glance at him.

Senku startles, and rubs his neck. If he wants to get Gen to dress up as a girl, he guesses he's got no other choice, does he?

"Fine," he mumbles, and Gen smiles.

Somehow, it feels like Gen won instead of Senku, although Senku got what he wanted in the first place. They line up to sign up, Gen talking about mundane things, Senku too busy trying to put the fire in his chest out to listen to what he's saying, disturbed.

Statement three (new!): Asagiri Gen might be a horrific magician who can set up fires inside of people's bodies.

The first ones to participate in that stupid event are Yo and Magma, without much surprise. Senku is observing the scene where the event will take place, the catwalk stretched out, spectators on the sides, whispering to themselves to guess how the participants will look like. Senku has it all planned out, really: he's got a subtle stethoscope around his neck, patched where his heart should be on his chest, two earrings dangling on his ears like the one they used as a talke-walkie on the Treasure island. He's made sure it won't look too suspicious, wearing a headset like he's coordinating what happens on the scene.

How will that help him, you may ask? Well, with that on his body, he can listen to his own heartbeat and therefore, can measure his heart rate. Again, how? For this one, you might need to remember that Ishigami Senku is the man who has accurately counted the seconds for 3,700 years: the human clock, capable of always counting in the back of his mind, too aware of the passing of time. Therefore, just by hearing his own heartbeats, he'll be able to count them and remember how many he counted in a decided span of time, and calculate by head his heartbeat. Crazy, isn't it? Well, that's Ishigami Senku for you.

The genius that will go to the moon.

In any case, they've got several participants who will all walk on the runway before Senku, their identities not mattering to Senku as he only has one goal in mind: comparing the patterns of his heartbeat when he sees someone dressed in the opposite gender versus when he sees Gen as a girl. By measuring his own heartbeat, he will have accurate data to rely on and to certify whether or not Gen has truly played with his heart, in a manner Senku is still trying to decipher.

"Senku!" Taiju calls him, slipping an arm around his shoulders.

Senku scowls at him. He heard his heartbeat accelerate by surprise, but it slowed down when it realized it was simply Taiju. Taiju is too loud, he swears.

"You're participating, isn't that right! I'm looking forward to your outfit! Let the best win!"

Taiju gives a thumbs-up, eyes glistening in excitement, and Senku shakes his head.

"I'm not looking to win," he says, exhausted, removing Taiju's arm of his shoulders. "Are you?"

"I think Yuzuriha would be happy if I won with the outfit she made for me, so yes, I am looking to win!"

This simple-minded man, Senku swears. At least, it's thanks to him that Yuzuriha said yes to that ridiculous plan.

"Well, best of luck then," Senku says, although he really couldn't care less. His focus is on his stupid experiment and he's been steadily listening to his heartbeat, taking it as his reference pulse rate to check whether his pulse has accelerated or not.

The lights on the stage flash, announcing the start of the event. Ryusui is the host, not participating himself as he's organizing the event, holding a mic, giving an introduction to the show. On the side of the runway, there's a changing room where the participants can change into the clothes given by Yuzuriha, who's busy arranging the clothes to make sure the outfits are all ready for when one given participant will need their outfit on the spot. Not everyone is participating, but Senku hasn't paid attention to the list of participants. He only signed with Gen, and that was it. Too disturbed to look at that list, his entire focus on Gen.

Gen who's nowhere to be seen, actually. He doesn't know what that damn mentalist is doing, but that's not his problem for now. He only needs to see him when it's his turn, and since they signed up at the same time, they should be walking on the runway around the same time. Senku is the eighth participant, so Gen is probably the seventh. The first one is Yo who's in the changing room, Magma waiting with his outfit in his hands, throwing a tantrum because he thinks it looks too ridiculous but François is right there to solve that kind of problem, and Magma calms down.

"Senku, you're participating too?"

Chrome appears next to him, smiling.

"Uh… Yeah."

"That's baaad," Chrome says. "The whole science team is here!"

"Huhu! I'll be dressing up as a girl too!" Kaseki says, showing his biceps.

Senku blinks several times, baffled by their participation as his mouth twists, pulling a face.

"Why are you two even participating?"

"Well, I was thinking I must be pretty as a girl too!" Chrome says, looking proud with his finger under his nose, and Senku can't entertain him.

That vision of Chrome dressing up as a girl that just appeared in his head is cursed, and he can't believe he'll have to see it in real life. The same goes for Kaseki, because an old geezer, dressed as an old lady? Oh, God.

"Hah! You guys got no chance, I'll win this tournament."

No way… Not Kohaku too?

Senku turns his head and finds Kohaku there, hands on her hips.

"Why are you participating?" Chrome asks, pointing at her.

"There's a chance I will have to disguise myself as a man for our next stealth mission, and I want to be prepared!"

Chrome smirks. "But… you know… a male or female gorilla can't be really differentiated by looks alone…"

Kohaku knocks him out but he looked for it, really.

In any case, Senku guesses that it's good. It'll allow him to have more data to compare with Gen's.

"Now, let's welcome our first participant! Here is Yo, aka, Yo-chan!"

Senku finds out that his pulse rate can actually remain pretty steady when he sees someone he doesn't care about, aka Yo. Yo looks awkward and stiff as he walks under everyone's blank stares, everyone having the same thoughts: yeah, that dress doesn't fit him at all. Not that it's Yuzuriha's expert hands fault, not at all, Yo is just… Yo.

Magma is the same. He's so not convincing as a girl despite trying very hard, people burst out laughing and Magma threatens to kill everyone on sight, François having to remind him that if he does that, he'll be forfeited from the tournament and so, Magma ends up exiting under a defeating silence.

The next one is Kinro, to Senku's surprise. But it does make sense: the "rules are rules" guy, following the rules of having to dress up as a girl to prepare for future stealth missions makes sense. However, he's poorly convincing and looks too much like a guy, his walk ending in silence. Like Senku expected, he didn't feel anything towards Kinro either.

Then, Suika enters. She's cute and could pass as both a boy and a girl, since children her age don't look too different according to their gender. Senku swears he can hear Kohaku swooning over her little baby, dressed in pants, and Senku feels a flicker of affection in his chest too. But no spike of his pulse rate (which is reassuring, because Senku isn't attracted to children, god no).

Kohaku follows suit, and Senku expects some kind of reaction from his side. It should be, since he expects to be attracted to girls (normally). Kohaku looks great, as she always does. Senku doesn't know how, but Yuzuriha has actually managed to tuck her hair under a cap to make it look like she has short hair, and her chest has also been reduced, surely by binding it. Must be quite painful, but Senku doesn't think of it. Just pays attention to his heartbeat.

Bathump.

Bathump.

Bathump.

It's perfectly normal.

Well, what was he expecting? He has never felt anything for anybody, it couldn't start from today.

But someone taps on his shoulder, and Senku recognizes that scent.

"Senku-chan."

His pulse rate spikes.

It's ridiculous, how is he reaching a pulse that fast? He has been around eighty-five, and now, it's way too fast. If Senku had to make an approximation before reaching the fifteen seconds mark to calculate his pulse rate… more than a hundred? What?

Gen is right besides him, smiling. Senku immediately notices the strange color on Gen's lips, his eyes look bigger, the mark on his right cheek with softer edges than usual… huh… is he… wearing makeup, already?

"We have to change into our clothes, don't we?"

"Uh, yeah," he stutters, which is very unlike him.

He can't help staring at Gen.

Weird.

Very weird.

What has Asagiri Gen done to him?

The sixth contestant walks on the catwalk, but Senku barely registers them (it was Chrome, Senku thinks in retrospection, and it's a good thing he didn't have to see that cursed view). Gen walks towards the changing room, Yuzuriha hands him his clothes and he disappears inside of the room, Senku left outside.

His pulse rate hasn't decreased at all.

He's been at one hundred ten for a while, now. What the hell. He can even hear his heartbeat in his ears, which isn't a good sign. Is he having the symptoms of a panic attack? Is that normal? He wishes he could ask Ryusui if Ryusui feels the same when he's too close to Ukyo, but the latter is too busy for that.

"You don't look too good," Ukyo comments.

Senku starts and sees Ukyo standing right next to him. His arms are crossed, and he doesn't look too well himself, his eyes fixed on Ryusui.

"Well, yeah, I have to participate in this damn contest," Senku drawls, rubbing a hand on his neck. He doesn't explain why on purpose and hopes Ukyo won't insist. "You?"

Ukyo's mouth twists, looking a bit embarrassed. "Me too… Ryusui has practically begged me, so…"

Senku snorts. Oh, the poor man, having to beg Ukyo to do it. Not that he's any better himself, as he got roped in participating himself for Gen.

"But you agreed, in the end?" Senku catches. "Why?"

Ukyo is a good man, sure, but he's also a man with very strong principles. If he doesn't want to crossdress, Senku can't imagine him actually crossdressing. So, if he gave in, that means he's weak for Ryusui, isn't he?

Ukyo looks even more embarrassed, biting his lips. "Well… he said he'd be very happy to see me dressed prettily, and that he'd take good care of me if I do it so…"

Senku grows confused. Is that enough to convince someone like Ukyo? He's pretty sure that if he came to Ukyo with the same arguments, Ukyo wouldn't have agreed.

But what did Ryusui even mean, by good care?

"Good care?" Senku replies, perplexed.

Ukyo breathes out, the tip of his ears turning bright red. "Well, Ryusui and I… we're dating, so…"

Senku chokes.

What?

"You're dating?" Senku croaks out, beyond shocked.

Ukyo nods. "Mh mh."

It's not a problem that they're dating, no. Senku is open-minded. He doesn't care about other people's sexual orientations, they can love whoever they want. Sure.

But Ryusui and Ukyo?

Together?

But… Isn't Ryusui affected by the same effects as him because of Gen?

Huh?

Is his hypothesis wrong?

Ryusui has been feeling the same things as him though, he's sure of that…

Oh.

That was because Ryusui was actually in love with Ukyo, unlike him who's not in love with Gen.

That makes sense, since Gen has tricked him into experiencing the same symptoms of someone who would have feelings for him because, for a fact, he's pretty sure he has none. Of course Senku would feel the same things as someone who's in love, of course. Silly him.

"Oh, I see," Senku says, rethinking his love hypothesis.

Statement two (new!): multiple people can be affected at one time towards multiple targets. Ryusui is dating Ukyo. Not affected by Gen's spell. However, it could still be true. Need to find another occurrence to check on that.

"And now, let's welcome Asagiri Gen-chan!"

Everyone coos, now well used to seeing people crossdressing, taking the fun in that. Senku gulps, suddenly nervous. His pulse rate has returned back to his rest rate since Gen has disappeared from his view, but now, why is it accelerating again when Gen hasn't even stepped on stage yet?

Gen enters, and Senku's world stops.

That's it.

That's exactly how he felt back then.

Gen is wearing a loose red scarf draped over his arms, revealing his bare shoulders. He wears a tight light purple dress, hugging his forms perfectly including his fake chest, but that waist of his is real, his hips too, and the dress stops much above his knees. It's so short, Senku's throat grows completely dry. To end that look, he's wearing high heels boots that tap the ground with a precise sound whenever he walks, like he's used to that, walking like a pro.

Senku stares, in a daze, as if he were drunk.

And then, Gen's eyes lock into his.

Senku's heart stops. A continuous bip rings in his ears, his mind blank.

Gen smiles.

Just like that, he winks, before walking away.

Senku's mouth parts, his eyes helplessly following Gen's silhouette, taking in his body, his wink, his smirk, his eyes, his lips, his everything, him, him, him.

Fuck.

His chest feels tight, it feels like he'll explode, he can't even count his pulse rate anymore, it's going too fast and he can't focus. What has Asagiri Gen done? Why? How?

Senku feels frustrated, clutching his chest.

"Senku?" Yuzuriha calls.

Senku turns to her, his breath short.

"You can change now."

Right.

Right, he still has to do that.

Annoyed, he takes the clothes from Yuzuriha and hides in the room. He doesn't even register the clothes, he gets dressed up, his feeling a mess, his thoughts mixing, the only clear thought being Gen. That's not normal at all, and Senku thinks it's worse than love, because he's pretty sure people don't get that obsessed with someone when they love someone, do they? Why would he feel like that only for Gen's feminine appearance? It's absurd.

"And now, our lovely scientist's turn, Ishigami Senku-chan!"

Senku's turn passes in a blur. He frowns for the entire length of the walk, his red eyes glaring at everyone in the crowd. In the span of a second, Senku is back in the backstage but he doesn't think of changing out of his clothes.

He needs to find Asagiri Gen.

Right now.

He catches a glimpse of purple from afar and rushes towards it, not listening to Yuzuriha asking him how it went. He sees the door of a room closing, and by instinct, he just knows he will find Gen there: everyone is busy watching the show, whether they're participating or not.

He slams the door open and stumbles onto Gen who has just entered the empty room, his private room, decorated to fit the mentalist's tastes with purple everywhere.

Gen looks surprised, but Senku thinks he's only faking that.

"Senku-chan?"

He's still wearing his girl clothes, and Senku can't take it.

He takes him by the shoulders and pins him against the wall, the objects shaking in response.

"Gen, I need you to stop right now."

Gen blinks, and Senku thinks he's got awfully long eyelashes for a boy- fuck, he can't be having these kinds of thoughts anymore!

"Stop what?"

"This! This… This entire thing! I've got the proof you've been tricking me!"

Gen looks more confused than ever.

"Um… I didn't trick you?"

"Yes! Yes you did! Why the fuck would my heart beat faster whenever you're dressed like that, then?"

Gen stares at him. Senku runs out of patience because his eyes look too beautiful and oh, his lips look so good, he wishes he could just-

"Listen, I set up that ridiculous runaway show just so I could see you dressing up as a girl again, just to confirm my hypothesis and I was right!"

"Wait wait wait Senku-chan, let's, um… sum up what's happening, okay?" Gen tries to mediate, raising his hands.

Senku stays silent, but his red eyes are burning in fury and Gen gulps.

"So… you're the one who set up all of that, just to see me as a girl, because… because your heart beats faster when I'm dressed as a girl?"

"Yes. Now undo that, it's damn annoying."

Gen remains silent for a few seconds, and Senku grows impatient. His hands are on Gen's bare shoulders, and they burn, they burn so bad, he doesn't even know why, there's no scientific explanation for that, is there?

"What do you feel when I'm not dressed like that, then?" Gen asks.

Stupid question, Senku thinks, but he's too frustrated to argue on that and answers:

"Since I saw you as a girl on the treasure island, I… I feel weird whenever I see you. I catch myself thinking you… you look nice, or some embarrassing thoughts like that, and I hold my breath whenever you stand too close, because I can feel my heart rate accelerating. What have you done to me seriously, Gen? This isn't funny anymore!"

Gen spends a few seconds in a daze, staring at Senku.

And then, he has the nerve to laugh. Snort. Giggle.

It grows into a full laugh and Senku is left staring at him, unable to say anything, weirdly enchanted by that view.

His laugh.

His laugh, why is it tugging his heartstrings?

"Senku-chan. You like me, and you like me better as a girl. Probably because I'm dressed up and you find me pretty like that."

A heavy weight falls onto Senku's head.

Him?

Liking Gen?

No way.

He's never liked anyone, why would he suddenly start liking Gen?

But then, things start to make sense.

If he's been feeling the same things Ryusui has been feeling towards Ukyo, and Ryusui is dating Ukyo, meaning he loves him…

Then Senku loves Gen.

Huh.

His love hypothesis was actually wrong.

Gen didn't put him under any spell. At least, not intentionally.

Senku is simply entranced by Gen, because he loves him.

Oh.

Oh.

"I love you," Senku says as a natural conclusion to his experiment.

Gen blushes.

Senku realizes what he has just said out loud, and grows embarrassed too.

He looks away, cheeks growing hot.

"I mean-"

Gen cups his face and kisses him.

Senku is taken aback by the feeling. He's never kissed anyone before, he didn't know what was the feeling of having lips against his. He never really understood the appeal of it: it's just skin against skin, isn't it? Moreover, it's just some exchange of bacteria, so of course, before kissing anyone, it's preferable to check if that person has a good dental health, because cavities can easily be transmitted like that…

But Senku thinks none of that when he kisses Gen.

Fireworks explode in his chest, butterflies spreading in his stomach, and that doesn't make sense, because that's not how fireworks are made, and butterflies can't be alive in his stomach. But that's exactly what he's feeling, on cloud nine, as Gen's lips move against his, slowly, deliberately. Gen's slender fingers slide on his jaw, then on his neck, and on his collarbones.

Before Senku has even gotten enough of that kiss, Gen steps away first, and there's a glint of mischief in his eyes.

"You know, Senku-chan, you look really pretty as a girl too, like I'd guessed."

Right, Senku had forgotten he's also dressed as a girl because he didn't take the time to change out, also wearing a dress.

"You-"

Gen kisses him again to shut him up, but it's a quick kiss this time. Gen smiles at him again, joy settling in his eyes, and Senku's throat grows dry.

"I love you too, Senku-chan. I've been in love with you for a while now, so I'm glad you're returning these feelings."

Senku blinks, utterly shocked.

"What? How did you know?"

"Well, because I had been feeling the same feelings you described to me earlier, but contrary to you, my first assumption isn't to assume that I have been tricked or am a victim of some sorcery," Gen lightly accuses him, pushing on his chest with his index.

True.

Senku thinks he's been quite dumb, because everyone else but him would've made this conclusion were they in his place.

But what can he do? He's too much of a scientist to think like that.

"But I'll forgive you, since you agreed to dress up as a girl. I was kinda curious to see why you wanted me to dress up as a girl so bad, but now I know."

Gen smiles, putting both of his arms on Gen's shoulders.

"Now, my dear Senku-chan, would you help a poor girl out? She can't unzip her dress on her own, it's in the back and she can't reach it."

Senku snorts, leaning in. "You're damn good at lying, aren't you?"

Gen smiles innocently. "Me? You think so?"

Senku lets out a little laugh, before sealing their lips together, one hand going on the back of Gen's dress, fiddling with the zipper.

Senku doesn't know anything about love, that's true.

But he can learn, can't he?

He'll take love as one big experiment he'll have to do for his entire life, discovering more about romantic love and attraction through Gen.

His love theory.

Statement one: people affected by Gen's magic will feel weird about the target chosen, thinking they look nice.

Statement three: Asagiri Gen might be a horrific magician who can set up fires inside of people's bodies.

Final statement: Ishigami Senku is in love with Asagiri Gen.

The final winner of the contest was Gen, who used the money to trick simple-minded people into doing the things Senku wanted them to do. Nothing changes much between them, apart from the fact that they stand much closer to each other than before, sometimes holding hands, and suspiciously often entering the same bedroom. If everyone noticed what's been going on with these two lovebirds, no one says anything.

"Did you know?" Senku says one night, Gen almost asleep in his arms.

"What?" he mumbles.

Senku puts two fingers on Gen's neck, listening to his pulse rate.

"They say that when two people are in love, their pulse rates synchronize with each other."

Gen's eyes open wide, surprised.

"What? Really?"

Senku snickers. "Yeah."

"I hope that ours are the same, then."

"They are."

A beat of silence passes.

"Actually, not exactly. Your heart is beating at eighty-three beats per minute, and mine is eighty-four-"

"God, Senku-chan!"