Chapter Text
Senku had always been obsessed with knowledge. Obsessed with this world. He wanted to understand everything. How it worked and why it worked. So from an early age, he devoted himself entirely to that pursuit.
He was deeply grateful to his father, Byakuya Ishigami, who had been willing to spend every last yen just to see little Senku happy, surrounded by books, strange gadgets, humming generators, and all sorts of bizarre scientific contraptions that no ordinary child would ever ask for.
Yeah…
But he wasn’t little anymore. Not even close.
At twenty-seven, Senku had long since brushed aside ordinary human distractions and earned his doctorate. Well, if we’re being honest, that was probably the bare minimum considering the sheer number of projects and discoveries he had already contributed to.
He had practically become one of the professors at the best university in Japan. (Not officially)
The thing was, he had once studied there himself. He had built strong connections, especially as the student of Professor Xeno. That relationship alone opened doors most people could only dream of.
The laboratory was always available to him. The observatory, the chemicals, the equipment—everything at his disposal. Could he possibly have wanted anything more?
Students often dropped by for help, and Ishigami took his role as a mentor seriously. That’s how he met a first-year named Chrome, who soon began working with him regularly.
The kid had real potential. Unlike Taiju, for example…
Senku sighed quietly.
He did miss his friends sometimes. Taiju was now engaged to Yuzuriha, and the two of them had impulsively decided to travel the world while they were still young. Occasionally, they video-called him, but Senku was always swamped with work.
And his old man… He was in America, preparing for his next flight. Judging by his five-volume monologue about Lillian Weinberg, Senku had concluded that his father was hopelessly in love.
In love… Hah.
What an absurd term. Weren’t the mysteries of the universe already more than enough? Why did humans insist on digging around inside themselves, inventing names for emotions and situations instead of studying something worthwhile?
“Senku!”
He would recognize that gorilla’s voice anywhere. And he already knew what she was about to say next.
“Please, just write one paper for me. Just one tiny term paper on a very interesting topic…” Kohaku fluttered her eyelashes dramatically at the man in the lab coat.
“No. I would love to, but Professor Wingfield forbade it. And he’d know it was me anyway,” Senku replied calmly, not even looking up from his microscope. There was an entire civilization developing under that lens, after all.
“Oh, come on! Why did I even end up in his class?” Kohaku groaned.
Probably for the billionth time this semester. And the semester had only started two weeks ago.
Ah… students.
How wonderful it was to have already graduated.
Kohaku continued complaining about the “terrible and cruel punishment” of having Xeno as her professor. Then about how her parents never seemed to accept her. Then about how Ruri had been secretive lately and refused to tell her anything about her dates with Chrome—
Wait. What?
“Chrome?” Senku cut her off sharply.
“Huh?” The girl clearly hadn’t expected him to actually be listening. “Yeah! Chrome and Ruri! They’re, like, going on dates and acting all cute. It’s so annoying. And can you imagine? My own sister won’t tell me what they’re even doing! I need material to tease Chrome—and her too,” Kohaku went on dramatically.
At some point, she pulled a can of cola from her bag and started drinking it while Senku stared thoughtfully into the distance.
So Chrome had followed Byakuya’s path too?
Was it possible that a guy with the potential to become a brilliant scientist, his future assistant, even, wasn’t who Senku thought he was?
And why was everyone so fascinated with this whole concept of love? Senku genuinely didn’t understand.
“Ugh… it’s basically liquid sugar. How does he even drink this stuff?” Kohaku muttered, slipping into a monologue of her own.
“Chrome drinks cola?” Senku hadn’t noticed that habit in his partner.
“No! Asagiri Gen,” she said the name as if Senku absolutely had to know it.
But he didn’t.
The thing was, Ruri often told her sister about their psychology lectures, especially about how Professor Asagiri always brought a can of cola with him and, right in the middle of class, would inevitably start describing its “magnificent taste”.
So Kohaku had decided to try the miracle drink herself.
Who knows? Maybe that was the secret. Maybe cola was the reason people suddenly developed brains.
After all, Asagiri didn’t work here as a professor for nothing… right?
Senku looked at her with a clear “and who exactly is that” expression, and Kohaku froze.
“You know. Asagiri Gen—from the psychology department. He’s, like, a professor here,” she explained, clearly not expecting that Senku, who practically spent twenty-four hours a day at the university, had never heard of Professor Asagiri.
That couldn’t be possible.
Gen was impossible to miss. Like a smudge on your glasses. Like a crack across your phone screen. Like snow in March.
“Never heard of him,” Ishigami replied flatly, already turning back to his research.
The blonde could only sigh heavily.
“Fine,” she sighed, glanced at the clock, and suddenly jolted upright. “I have to go!” she said, and hurried out.
On top of everything, she had also signed up for combat classes. And their instructor, Tsukasa, absolutely hated students who were late. She had no desire whatsoever to witness his wrath.
As if she didn’t already have enough trouble dealing with Mozu and Hyoga, whom she constantly had to spar against. Kohaku still couldn’t defeat those second-years, no matter how hard she tried.
But that was fine.
Time would show who was really in charge here.
Senku didn’t even notice when evening fell. He was too busy searching for a reagent he couldn’t seem to find—until he spotted the forgotten can of cola on the table.
He didn’t hesitate before tossing it into the trash.
He would have gladly spent the night right there in the lab to continue working at dawn. But Professor Xeno had specifically instructed the security guards to escort him out after closing hours. To avoid the embarrassment of being dragged out, Senku now left voluntarily.
Wingfield should understand that wasting time was irrational. What was so wrong with spending the night at the university if it saved valuable hours?
Then again, Xeno was different from him.
Just like Chrome. Like Taiju. Like Byakuya.
How could a scientist so obsessed with research have a habit of going to bars?
And not alone.
Stanley. Right. Xeno became noticeably different whenever that military man was around.
Senku wouldn’t have cared about their relationship if Xeno didn’t occasionally abandon their work just to spend time with that blond.
Ishigami was offended.
A little.
But whatever.
Apparently, Senku was the only one who truly understood how to use time efficiently.
Of course, he went out with his friends too—when they practically dragged him out of the house by force.
But that was completely different.
Group Chat: Psychos
User FutureManiac: Photo attached
“Professor Asagiri, look! Someone hates your precious cola! Do you think you could apply Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication with people like this?”
A psychology student who had spotted an almost full can of cola in a laboratory trash bin simply couldn’t resist sending the evidence to his professor.
After all, that professor demonstratively took a sip of cola every single lecture. His love for the drink was common knowledge.
The chat exploded instantly. Messages flooded in as students tagged their professor, demanding a reaction.
User Asagiri Gen:
“Where is the crime scene? Quickly! I must witness this with my own eyes. And no—communication with such people is already futile. Students, take notes: nothing will help here. Conflict is inevitable. That’s just how it is.”
User Rumi:
“You said any conflict can be avoided…”
The chat erupted into witty jokes and dramatic speculation. Everyone wanted to know who had dared to throw away the cola, and what their professor intended to do about it.
Rumi wouldn’t have cared that much… if her sister from the science faculty hadn’t noticed her quietly giggling at her classmates’ jokes.
Because, technically, the cola had ended up there thanks to her.
When Kohaku read the messages on Ruri’s phone, she immediately started panicking, dramatically whining that this was the end for her.
Rumi had to listen to it for a whole hour.
And honestly…who wouldn’t be nervous if Professor Gen himself had practically painted a red target on your back?
Her sister tried to calm her down, speaking softly and patiently, but at some point the twin suddenly fell silent, staring ahead as if she wasn’t even in the room anymore.
Ruri began to worry.
And then Kohaku abruptly shouted.
“Wait, wait, wait! I didn’t throw it away! That’s right! I just left it on Senku’s desk!”
Hope flashed in her eyes; hope that her name could still be cleared.
But that last sentence only made things worse.
Because if she hadn’t thrown it away…
Then that could only mean one thing.
The culprit was none other than one of the world’s young geniuses—completely unaware of the mistake he had made.
Even if that student hadn’t somehow wandered into the lab early in the morning and taken the photo, Asagiri would have sensed such cruelty toward his beloved beverage eventually.
In short, the situation led to this:
Early the next morning, Ishigami Senku had kicked all the students out of the laboratory for their classes and was sitting alone, fully immersed in plotting the decay graph of radium.
When suddenly—
A loud knock thundered against the door, and a black-and-white–haired young man burst inside without waiting for permission.
Without hesitation, he strode straight to the trash bin and nearly stuck his entire head inside it.
Senku watched the idiocy in complete silence.
“So it’s true! Oh God, my heart might stop at any second! Doctor, quickly!” the stranger cried dramatically before collapsing to the floor.
“I’m a Doctor of Science, not a medical one,” Senku replied calmly, examining the man with mild curiosity.
He looked around Senku’s age. Tall. And his eyes—
They were watching him very closely.
Far too closely.
And that hair… Had he accidentally spilled some chemical on himself to achieve that blinding white streak contrasting so perfectly with the dark crown?
Though Senku was hardly in a position to comment; his own hair looked far more absurd than that of his uninvited guest.
“By any chance, wouldn’t you happen to know who’s responsible for this atrocity?” the stranger asked, speaking as if they were already old friends.
Senku didn’t even know his name.
“Atrocity? You mean you barging into my lab while I’m in the middle of something important? That sounds like a crime to me.”
They held each other’s gaze. The air between them tightened.
Senku didn’t know why he was being sharp. There was just something about this guy that pulled the sarcasm right off his tongue.
“Oh? My apologies. You wouldn’t happen to be Ishigami Senku, would you?” the stranger smiled.
“Yes. That’s me. Do you need something?” Senku had no idea who he was, or how he knew him.
Then again, plenty of people at this university knew Senku, even if he didn’t officially work here.
Better to live in the lab than waste time lecturing unfamiliar students. (Sorry, Xeno, but on this point we also differ.)
“What an honor. Though I had no idea Doctor Ishigami despised cola so much that you’d throw it away unfinished.” Something shifted in his eyes.
For a second, Senku felt as if he were being threatened.
Cola?
Pausing for a moment, mentally retracing the conversation and piecing everything together, he finally understood what this had all been about.
“I wasn’t the one drinking it. Kohaku was. I merely cleared my workspace. Nothing more,” he replied coolly.
Gen switched tones instantly.
“I see! So it was Rumi’s little sister doing. I’ll keep that in mind… Thank you for clarifying, Professor,” Gen said, casually leaning against Senku’s desk.
Senku hadn’t even noticed when that happened. When had they gotten so close?
He was still seated, forced to tilt his head up to meet his visitor’s gaze.
“Not professor. I don’t work here.”
“Oh? Then Stanley must have been mistaken,” Asagiri muttered.
Stanley?
Don’t tell me—
“You mean the man because of whom Professor Xeno has been dedicating less time to science?” Senku said, turning back to his work as if the topic were trivial.
He didn’t see how carefully he was being observed.
“What an interesting way to phrase that. You could have said it much shorter. Yes, I mean Mr. Wingfield’s beloved.”
Senku didn’t respond.
What a small world.
So Stanley know him? And he was going around saying Senku was a professor here?
“How should I address you, Mr. Ishigami?” the stranger continued.
“Just Senku.”
“I see. My name is Asagiri Gen. You may call me Gen.”
At that, Senku finally looked up again—really looked at him.
So this was the Asagiri Gen Kohaku had mentioned.
Psychology, huh.
No wonder they had never crossed paths.
Apparently, Ishigami had stayed silent for too long, because Gen smoothly took the initiative again.
“It was a pleasure talking to you, Senku. I do hope we’ll meet again,” he said sweetly before leaving the laboratory.
Senku didn’t even get the chance to respond.
What a strange first meeting.
Deciding it was a waste of time to dwell on it, he returned to plotting his graph.
How on earth had this happened?
Who would have thought that the person Stanley had described as a complete, socially inept nerd would turn out to be that attractive?
Had Xeno been hiding him on purpose so no one would steal that face away?
Or perhaps… hiding him specifically from Asagiri?
Gen had never really been interested in Ishigami before—well, not personally. He had heard about him from other professors, of course, but he had never actually seen him in real life. Besides, the psychology department was located quite far from the main natural sciences building.
But back to the important part.
Ishigami Senku was ridiculously hot.
And his voice… pure bliss.
Those cautious eyes that had studied him so carefully—Gen had nearly lost his balance on the spot.
It had taken an absurd amount of self-control not to reach out and touch him.
Asagiri would very much like to see Ishigami’s face flushed red.
From what he had heard, Senku wasn’t particularly skilled at understanding emotions, or people in general.
Gen hadn’t encountered someone like that in a long time.
The mere thought of being able to slip inside the scientist’s mind, to explore it, analyze it, unravel it, sent a thrill through him.
Thanks to this unexpected gift fate had dropped at his feet, he had completely forgotten about the cola incident.
And Kohaku.
Fine. She is forgiven.
He now had a far more interesting matter to focus on.
Ishigami disliked sudden changes.
He returned home. Ate instant noodles. Slept for three hours. Went back to the university.
Nothing unusual.
And yet, after yesterday’s encounter with Gen, his life quietly began to tilt off its axis.
His morning started with—
“Dear Senku! I decided to drop by before my lectures begin. How are you?”
The psychology professor stood in the laboratory in all his dramatic glory, facing Ishigami, who was in his lab coat, chemicals still in hand.
All the students who were in the lab at the time turned their attention to the pair.
And how was he supposed to take that?
“Everything’s fine,” Senku replied, moving the more hazardous substances safely out of the way of the young man who had planted himself against his desk once again.
“You’ve got quite an interesting start to your day—so many little bottles and jars everywhere. Isn’t it dangerous?” Gen began, casually starting a conversation.
Senku wasn’t sure what this guy was aiming for.
“Unfortunately, the really dangerous stuff—” Senku made air quotes with his fingers, “—I’m not allowed to touch. So there’s nothing to worry about here. You can thank Professor Xeno for that,” he said without lifting his eyes from his work.
Gen chuckled softly.
“I see. Well, I brought you some coffee. Since I interrupted you, I figured I should at least treat you, right?”
Senku met his gaze.
Those deep, dark blue eyes reminded him of a mineral…
Yes. Azurite.
In all its brilliance.
Gen stepped closer and handed him the cup of coffee.
Without thinking, Senku grabbed it.
“Thanks, but it wasn’t necessary,” he said, glancing between the coffee and the young man before him.
By the way—
Weren’t they standing too close?
Senku took a step back.
Gen mirrored him almost immediately.
“It’s just a gift,” Gen said softly, and on the word gift, his voice dropped a shade lower.
A subtle shift. Barely noticeable.
And yet Senku felt a faint chill run down his spine.
They remained like that for a few seconds longer, saying nothing, simply holding each other’s gaze as if it were some silent duel, neither willing to look away first.
Finally, Gen’s lips curved into a small smile.
“I have an important meeting waiting for me. I should go,” he added lightly. “See you, Senku.”
This time, he stepped back on his own and left the laboratory.
Even though Asagiri was the one who looked away first, Senku didn’t feel like the winner.
The students, who had been watching, finally returned to their own work.
And Doctor Ishigami…
He simply sipped his coffee and continued working.
As if everything that had just happened was utterly normal.
In truth, Senku chose to believe it was nothing more than a one-time occurrence, and that a free cup of coffee wouldn’t disrupt his day—perhaps it would even improve it.
He forgot about the young man entirely… until the next day, when the situation repeated itself.
Again.
Senku didn’t like sudden changes.
“Good morning, Senku! Are you free this evening?” was the first thing he heard as Gen appeared in the lab.
There were more students around today.
And for some reason, Ishigami felt that the crowd was there because of Asagiri.
“No, I’m not free,” he replied.
“I see. That’s a shame,” Gen said, placing a fresh cup of coffee on Senku’s desk.
But he didn’t leave immediately.
Instead, Asagiri lingered for a while, quietly observing Ishigami at work; watching as he moved from one end of the laboratory to the other, adjusting equipment, jotting down notes, and eventually sitting down to calculate the margins of error in his experiments with intense focus.
Senku couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched.
Yet it didn’t feel threatening.
If anything, it felt… curious.
Like someone studying him out of genuine interest.
From time to time, he caught students exchanging glances and whispering among themselves. The quiet murmuring irritated him. This was a laboratory, not a café for idle chatter. So he had every right to throw them out.
And yet—
He didn’t want to do it in front of Gen.
Strange.
Senku normally couldn’t care less about what others thought of him.
If only he had known what was happening at that very moment in the Science Faculty group chat…
Group Chat: Children of Xeno
User Kohaku:
“Guys, did you hear? Our Professor Asagiri is trying to flirt with Senku! We have to protect our sensei’s… virginity!”
User Kinro:
“Kohaku, please watch your words.”
User Ginro:
“We’ll protect him!”
User Wizard:
“WHAT?! WHO’S FLIRTING WITH SENKU?”
User Xeno Wingfield:
“How many times have I told you to use your real names?”
User Wizard changed name to Chrome
User Chrome:
“Sorry, Professor, but isn’t this a little… concerning?”
User Xeno:
“It was quite concerning when Professor Asagiri came yesterday asking for Ishigami’s hand in marriage.”
User Kohaku:
“WHAT THE HECK”
Xeno turned off notifications and started laughing across the apartment.
Stanley immediately understood why—though Wingfield could barely even form a coherent sentence.
Stanley himself was surprised when that idiot Asagiri showed up at their apartment with such a request.
The funniest part? Ishigami had no idea.
Stanley could only wish the young man luck. Dealing with Gen was… basically the end of the world.
The blond sat next to his beloved on the couch, listening to him laugh for another half hour before they finally started the movie Byakuya had recommended.
“Of course, this is some kind of romance…” Xeno whispered as the characters on screen were barely a centimeter apart.
Stanley saw his chance and cautiously lifted the white-haired man’s chin.
Xeno tilted his head, giving him a commanding look.
Stanley was willing to do anything for him.
In their relationship, Stanley was the one who sought Xeno’s attention, and for a long time, he hadn’t been able to spend quality time with him because the scientist was constantly buried in reports, working day and night.
The tension in the room thickened as the blond leaned in and kissed Wingfield.
He didn’t notice when they fell back onto the couch, or how he was practically pressing the scientist against him.
The movie continued playing in the background, but no one was paying any attention to it anymore.
Pulling away from the kiss, he admired the view beneath him.
Tonight was going to be a good night.