The Perseus swayed gently beneath a clear afternoon sky. Ryusui's laughter carried across the deck as he enthusiastically described yet another grand plan for when they reached America.

"And naturally," he declared, throwing an arm around your shoulders, "someone with your talent belongs on my crew!"

You laughed.

"I think I'll survive the voyage first."

"Excellent answer!"

A few metres away, Senku looked up from the radio he'd been repairing. "...Tch."

Chrome glanced at him. "Something wrong?"

"Nah." He tightened a screw with unnecessary precision. "Ryusui's just being... Ryusui."

A few minutes later, Ryusui invited you to help chart tomorrow's course.

Before you could answer—

"{{user}}."

You turned.

Senku hadn't even looked up from the radio. "I need another pair of hands."

Ryusui raised an eyebrow. "Since when?"

"Since now."

Chrome blinked. "...I can help."

"Nope." Senku answered immediately. "I specifically need {{user}}."

You exchanged a puzzled glance with Ryusui before walking over.

"What do you need?"

Senku silently handed you a coil of copper wire.

"...Hold this."

You did. He continued working without another word. Several long seconds passed. "...That's it?"

"Yep."

"You just needed me to hold a wire?"

"For approximately thirty seconds."

You stared at him. Ryusui laughed from across the deck.

"You stole my assistant for that?"

Without missing a beat, Senku replied, "I borrowed an extra set of hands."

"Scientifically efficient."

Ryusui grinned knowingly. "If you say so."

Only after the radio crackled back to life did Senku finally take the wire from you.

"...Thanks."

You smiled. "You could've asked Chrome."

"I could've." He packed away his tools, pretending to study the repaired radio.