Everyone stood in awe as they stared up at Chrome's and Kaseki's waterwheel. It was an amazing feat indeed.
"With gears and a waterwheel, the age of human power is over." Senku said with a determined look in his eyes. "Whith an infinite contraption that requires no fuel, we're finally harnessing the power of nature!" Sparks flew as Senku brought the two ends together.
While the others remained totally fascinated and maybe unsure of this new technology, Yae was excited by ten billion percent and couldn't wait to continue to build their kingdom of science!
"We're overcoming manpower and entering the age of energy!" Senku continued to tell everyone.
A hydroelectric power plant was officially Acquired.
"W-What is this?" Kohaku asked.
"A hydroelectric power plant."
"Hydroelectric?" Kinro said in question. No doubt he would have called it sorcery, but he knew better now. Everyone did. It was the power of science, not cheap magic tricks.
Asagiri Gen nearly rolled his eyes. "This is insane, Senku."
Senku only chuckled at this. "Save your praise for Chrome and Grandpa Kaseki here. They're the ones who built this huge-ass waterwheel." He crossed his arms. "It's not done yet though. All of our precious electricity is leaking away." He tested the two ends again. The spark was smaller.
"What does that mean?" Suika asked. She looked at both Senku and Yae for an answer.
"We'll have to build some kind of box in order to store the electricity." Said Yae.
Ginro looked impressed. "We can store all that spinning power?" His mouth dropped.
"Yeah," said Senku. "But it'll be a pain in the ass to build." He looked back at Chrome and Kaseki. "Hey, you two. Get up off your asses. We have a shit-ton of high-level crafting to do before we can make our cell-phones."
Yae sighed. She knew there was going to be more. With senku, there was always work to be done, but it was all worth it. However, everyone else was hoping to hear some better news and all they're mouths dropped.
"Damn..." Chrome looked as though he didn't have much fight left in him.
This mattered not to Senku. He seemed rather excited over the whole thing—as he should be. "This is the start of our Spartan crafts club! Damn, this is so exhilarating!"

Later that day, Senku got to work with Chrome and Kaseki. It was time to make the box that would be strong enough to hold the electricity. Meanwhile, Yae had made her daily run to the weeping woman to pay her respects. But more importantly, she was worried about the hawk. The poor animal was still laying there and this time it seemed more friendly toward Yae and her goat.
"C'mon lil guy. I won't hurt you." She reached forward very slowly. The hawk stuck its beak at her, warning her to stay away. "Hey now, I'm trying to save your life." She was surprised the hawk was still alive. Finally the hawk calmed, letting Yae sit next to it. She offered it some dry food and while it was busy eating, she wrapped it in a soft blanket and bundled it in her arms.

When Yae returned she saw Senku and the others over by the containers they had created. It would seem they had completed their project rather quickly.
"Is the electricity really being stored in these containers?" Ginro asked. "All the spinning power from those disks—" Ginro pokes his finger on the device and immediately regretted it. His hair stuck straight up and goosebumps covered his body. He helped in pain before falling to the ground.
"Uh...it's definitely in there." Kohaku said. She then noticed Yae making her way over and waved at her. "Nice if you to join us. We're watching Ginro embarrass himself again." She noticed the hawk. "New friend?"
Yae smiled and nodded. "I see that." Yae held back a giggle in regard to Ginro.
Ginro suddenly shot up, no longer in pain from the shock. "Does that mean I don't have to do all that painful turning with Kinro anymore?"
"Yep, never again." Senku told him. "I told you, it's the age of energy now."
"Hooray for energy!" Ginro and Kinro clapped hands.
"Even Kinro is excited." Kokuyo said.
"Turning the thing must have been really hard." Said Suika.
"That just means we're going to use their manpower elsewhere." Senku said.
Yae grinned. "Of course you would say that."
"Good!" A light glimmered in Kohaku's eyes. "That means we fighters can train some more."
She glances over at Yae. "That means you too."
Yae looked over at Senku apologetically. "Sorry, Senku. I can't help you with your creations this time. Duty calls."
"It's okay. I know how Kohaku can get." He smiled to let her know that it was fine.
Yae turned to Kohaku and said. "Let me put these two away and I'll come right back." She ran off to put her pet goat back in its pin and placed the injured hawk inside Kohaku's tent. "Now stay put. I'll be back later tonight and feed you again." Yae gently set the hawk down where her bed was made up and ran out to meet up with Kohaku and the others.

Kohaku was not one to let up while training. She wanted everyone to be the best that they could be and going easy wasn't something she ever did.
"Put your backs into it!" She yelled at Ginro.
Kinro came up from behind her, but Kohaku easily blocked his attack the moment she pushed Ginro out of her way.
"We only have a few months before the big battle. You three need to be in shape if you want to defeat Tsukasa and Hyoga."
Yae jumped, a technique she had picked up from watching Kohaku. She wasn't afraid to slam her katana down upon the lioness's head because she knew she would block it.
"Nice move coming from above!" Kohaku clashed weapons with Yae. "But you will have to do better than that. The two fought over dominance but Kohaku eventually pushed Yae back. "The three of you can do better than this, I know it!"
Today, Yae wished she was making gears with Senku and the others. Instead, sweet little Suika was in her place to keep an eye on the boys. Thinking of Senku put Yae somewhat off guard and Kohaku tripped her. She fell hard on her rump but she wasn't about to give up now as she raised her katana and blocked Kohaku's blow.
Kinro came up fast and forced the lioness to back off, and soon Ginro ganged up on her as well.

Kohako jumped into the air and kicked the brothers in the chin with the tip of her sandals, sending them flying. She took a breath and then sheathed her weapon. "That's it for right now. Why not take a break and think about your moves."
The brothers bowed to Kohaku and ran off before she could change her mind. Yae, however, continued to sit there, eyes staring straight ahead.
"Hey, are you okay?" Kohaku noticed the unease hidden behind her friend's eyes. "Yae...?"
It only lasted a second, but to Yae it was much longer. The strain of training and being knocked on her bottom and nearly cut down, sent Yae on a trip down memory lane. It was dark and cold, and men were surrounding her. She remembered falling and hitting her head, and then, the coolness of the air on her naked skin.
"Yae!" Kohaku said louder.
"Oh!" Yae snapped back before the dark, hazy memory could finish. "I just...remembered something...sort of."
Kohaku looked surprised. "Really? What did you remember?"
Yae stood up and sheathed her katana and scratched her head. "I fell and hurt my head. People were laughing at me, too...I think." She didn't want to say that it was men who laughing. It might bring up a conversation she didn't want to have.
Kohaku crossed her arms. "Weird. Perhaps it's nothing to worry about. C'mon, let's see how the others are doing."

When the brothers and Kohaku and Yae returned, they were surprised by the huge machine that Senku, Chrome, Kaseki and even some of the villagers had built.
"It's the air-blowing machine for building fires!" Chrome said excitedly.
"This is the hardest work we had to do in exchange for ramen." Said Ganen, the chubbiest one in the village.
"The hellish iron-making it finally mechanized!" Even Asagiri was excited to boast about it.
"Hooray for energy!" Everyone cheered.
Senku heard the commotion and picked his ear. "This doesn't mean you can slack off." He told them.
And now that the hard part was over, Kokuyo came over. "And now the non-fighters can focus on preparing for the winter." It would seem he was more excited about it than the others. With the help of Senku's creation of making jars, it was easy enough to store food like fruit, vegetables and even meat for long periods of time.
"Alright, back to work everyone!" Senku yelled and the villagers dispersed. He looked over at Yae and said. "Yae, all I want for you to do is keep working on your cheese. I have an idea as to what she should make the villagers next once you master the skill." He paused. "And that hawk you found, I think we can put it to good use in terms of sending secret messages."
Yae smiled. She was more than happy to work on something entirely different from the others. "Right! But before that, can I watch you put the finishing pieces together?"
Senku grinned. "Of course you can."

With steady hands, Old man Kaseki placed the thin wires inside the glass and molded them together.
"What's the Spartan crafts club making this time?" Asagiri joined them but then suddenly stopped when he saw what it was.
"Careful." Said Senku. "This can get up to 2,000 degrees once it's lit. That makes the metal connections melt apart. We're going to use glass as a tiny adhesive."
Kaseki wiped his forehead from all the hard work. "This is so intricate, it's tough even for me." The glass suddenly broke the moment the wired melted together.
"Damn it! This is so hard!" Chrome groaned.
Senku chuckled. "What's the matter? Giving up already?"
"It's okay, Chrome. I'm sure you'll get it eventually." Yae said in hopes to brighten his mood.
Kaseki snorted. "I'm not giving up! Although my body did a long time ago."
"I always know I can count on a craftsman." Senku said and then looked over at Yae. "Why not head back? I'll call for you if anything big happens."
Yae nodded. "You better. I don't want to miss out on anything, got that?"
Senku grinned and picked his ear. "Yeah, yeah. I know. Don't worry."

The village was busier than ever. It was the time to harvest and preserve, craft and build. Even Magma and Mantel had stopped with their tom-foolery for the moment and focused their attention on the benefit of the village. And once Yae had finished milking her pet and churning it, she set it to the side to take shape for the next twenty-four hours.
The hawk squirmed, which grabbed Yae's attention and she fed it more food. It would appear the beautiful winged creature was finally warming up to her, at least enough for her to bandage its injured wing.
"Senku is right." Yae mumbled to herself. "Once you get better, you can be our spy on Tsukasa and his stupid empire." She giggled and patted the hawk on the head. "If our cell-phones happen to stop working, we can rely on you."
"Yae!" Ruri came rushing in. "Hurry! Kohaku and I are making wine. Join us!"
The idea of making wine sounded fun and Yae was quick to join. She laughed when she saw Ruri and Kohaku stomping on grapes and almost falling over.
"Yae, get in here before there's nothing left to smash!" Kohaku called to her.
"Okay, okay!" Yae hopped her way over, almost tripping as she tried to take off her sandals. And before getting in, she cleaned her feet, almost missing a spot as she was so excited to get in.

Soon, another month had gone by and while everyone around them stayed busy, whether it was twisting gold wire, handing out ramen, or carrying around heavy logs, the days mixed together and went by quickly. The trees were changing color and the temperature was slowly dropping each day. And then the leaves began to fall, but even that didn't stop Kohaku from training Ginro, Kinro and Yae.

After their training, Kohaku stopped Yae and let the brothers go on ahead.
"Can I talk to you for a second, Yae?"
"Sure. What about?" She sheathed her katana.
"A while back during one of our training sessions, you looked kind of scared. What was that all about?"
Yae thought for a moment, trying to remember. "Oh," she said slowly. "That day..."
Kohaku crossed her arms. "Yeah, that day."
Yae's face went from serious, to silly and she rubbed her chin. "Yeah, I don't really remember." She lied. This was still something she didn't want to talk about and the look on Kohaku's face told her that she didn't quite believe her.
"Have you spoke with Senku about it? He is the one helping you get your memories back. Maybe he knows something?"
Yae shrugged. "I haven't yet."
"Promise me that you will." Kohaku looked at her seriously.
"Y-yeah, of course!"
This time the young lioness smiled. "Good. Now, let's go see what progress the others have made."

"Whoa! The last time we made a light it burnt out instantly! This is so damn cool!" Chrome exclaimed as he held up the light bulb.
"Hey, you guys finally did it!" Yae said as she and Kohaku walked up.
"Hey, ladies!" Chrome quickly went back to examining the bulb.
"Hey, Chrome. What do you do to make things burn fast?" Senku suddenly asked.
"Huh?" Chrome was confused. Surely Senku knew this. "You give it a ton of air with a blowing machine. Just like we did with the waterwheel, right?"
"Right. So then what do you do to keep things from burning?" Senku was testing him.
Chrome had to think about that one but soon came up with the best answer he could think of. "You get rid of the air?"
"Right. Now, helpe me set this up." He looked over at Yae and Kohaku. "You two are more than welcome to watch."
"Maybe later." Said Kohaku. "I just wanted to see what you two were up to. Nothing I still don't understand, I see." She looked at Yae suspiciously. "I'll be going, but Yae can keep you two company." She was about to walk off but before she did, she mouthed "Tell him" to Yae, meaning she wanted Yae to tell Senku about the little memory that had sent her into a daze just weeks before.

Yae suppressed a sigh as she watched Senku and Chrome set up their contraption. Senku had told her to stay clear away because he didn't want her to accidentally get slashed with mercury in case he dropped it.
"We use the hefty weight of the mercury to catch the air as it falls, creating a vacuum."
Eventually, Suika and Kaseki came back to help out with the rest. Although, Suika watched more than helped, just like Yae. The boys were hard at the work and the girls were too fascinated to bother them, so they stayed back and watched the magic of science unfold.

When they finished, Senku flipped a switch and the light bulb turned on.
"No matter how hot it gets, if there's no air, it won't burn." Senku explained.
"And that's how it can last so long before it burns out." Finished Yae.
Senku nodded. "Exactly!" He crossed his arms, grinning from ear to ear. "Now, we wait until nightfall, that's when the real magic begins!"
Yae raised a brow, wondering what it was he had planned. But before she could ask him, Suika's tummy growled. "Let's get something to eat." Yae took her hand. "It's close to supper time."
"Okay!" Suika was happy to head back, holding on to her hand feeling safe.
When they were out of view, Senku turned to Chrome and Kaseki. "Alright, you guys. We've got one last thing to do before we can rest for the evening. You ready?"

When nightfall came, Kohaku gathered the villagers together and met up with Senku in the forest. It was close enough to the village that they didn't have to worry about venturing too far out in case someone from Tsukasa's empire of might would strike.
"Senku, I've brought everyone here." The lioness called out.
"Okay, hang on. It's almost time."
At that moment, it began to snow. Everyone looked up and watched as the little white flurries fell upon their heads.
"Damn, it's snowing." Said Chrome. "Are we calling off the test?" He seemed worried.
"No, I'd like to do it today." Senku said.
"We're all set." Kaseki gave him the okay and Senku walked up to the tree.
"Alright, here we go." Senku flipped a switched and with the seconds that followed, the darkness disappeared instantly. The night sky was illuminated by the wondrous white lights hanging in the giant tree. It was absolutely breathtaking.
Suika sucked in a breath. "This is amazing. They're like twinkling stars!"
"Decorative lighting." Said Asagiri. "I feel like I'm back in the modern world."
"It took two months to get here." Said kaseki.
Two months, thought Yae. Two months ago we didn't have any of this. I cant imagine what we'll have in the next two months. This is was all possible because of Senku. Yae could barely contain her joy and a single tear fell down her cheek. It was coming back to her all of a sudden, not all of it, of course, but enough to give her a sense what life was like before the second stone age. She could suddenly smell all the different kinds of holiday treats wafting through the air, people rushing by as decorative lights lit up the busy streets; the sound of cars and people talking filled her brain. And then it was gone, snuffed out like a flame on a candle. The memories stopped and her mind went blank again. She was back in the stone age and the life she had lived before was long gone.
"We're right on schedule." Said Senku
Yae brought her attention back to Senku.
Asagiri gasped. "Hang on, is today Christmas?"
"Oh yeah, now that you mention it...What a coincidence."
"You planned this, didn't you, Senku?" Yae asked.
"Heh, sure." He grinned.
A suddenly, a small tune started playing on repeat in Yae's head and she started to hum.
"That...sounds familiar." Said Asagiri.
Yae looked surprised. "Does it? It just popped into my head." She crossed her arms and rubbed her chin. "I think I remember how the lyrics go."
"I think the song is called Takeda no Komoriuta."
Suika tugged on Yae's sleeve. "Will you sing it for us?"
Yae's face flushed pink, feeling embarrassed. "Right now?"
Senku smiled. "Come one, Yae, let's here you sing."
Yae's chest went tight. She had never sung in front of anyone. Soon, all those gathered around begged Yae to sing the lullaby. She cleared her throat. "Alright, here I go."

Mori mo iyagaru, Bon kara saki-nya
Yuki mo chiratsuku-shi, Ko mo naku-shi

Bon ga kita-tote, Nani ureshi-karo
Katabira wa nashi, Obi wa nashi

Kono ko you naku, Mori wo ba ijiru
Mori mo ichi-nichi, Yaseru-yara

Hayo-mo yuki-taya, Kono zaisho koete
Mukou ni mieru wa, Oya no uchi
Mukou ni mieru wa, Oya no uchi

(English lyrics)
I would hate babysitting beyond the Bon festival.
The snow begins to fall, and the baby cries.

How can I be happy, even when Bon festival is here?
I don't have nice clothes, I don't have an obi sash to wear.

This child continues to cry, and is mean to me.
Everyday, I grow thinner.

I would quickly quit here and go back.
To the other side (of the mountain) I can see, my parent's house.
To the other side (of the mountain) I can see, my parent's house.

Suika and the others stared at her with a somber look in their eyes. "Wow...That was pretty and sad." She said.
Kohaku smiled softly. "I like it though." The villagers nodded in agreement.
"You should sing more often." Suika told her.
Yae chuckled, the nervousness washing away. "Okay, I'll try."
However, the villagers could not stay up all night, no matter how badly they wanted to keep staring at the pretty lights. It was all eventually turned off to conserve the energy and everyone returned to their homes.
"Hang on a second, Yae." Senku called out to her while he pull a few things away and covered them up to keep away from the snow.
"Yeah, what is it?" By now, everyone had gone back to the village, even Chrome and Kaseki returned to their beds. Yae and Senku were the last to finish picking up.
"It's Christmas and I have a present for you. When you have time, stop by my place."
Yae scanned his face closely but could get nothing out of her poker face. "Hmm. Okay. I actually have something I need to talk to you about, so this is perfect."
Senku raised a brow. "Oh? Well, I look forward to discussing whatever it with you later. See you then."

Once the village quieted down, and Kohaku had settled in bed, Yae took in a deep breath and said, "I'm going over to Senku's to talk to him."
Kohaku laid on her side, her head propped up on her hand. "That's good to hear. Don't stay up too late though. We have a ton of work ahead of us still."
"I won't." Yae slipped on her coat and walked out.

The winter season made everything seem later that what it was. It got darker out sooner, making the days short. No wonder Senku was working them so hard. There was little time to spare throughout the days.
"Senku?" Yae called out to him before entering. "Oh good, you're still awake." It was nice and warm inside so Yae took off her coat and set it down next to his.
"Why would I be asleep? I told you I had a present for you, didn't I?"
Yae shrugged and sat down in front of him where they both enjoyed the comfort of the fire. "You work so hard that maybe you passed out without helping it."
Senku didn't anything in response to what she said. All he did was reach for a folded piece of cloth. "Turn around." He told her.
Yae gave him a questioning look but obeyed nonetheless and flopped over on her butt. Senku spread his legs, scooting closer to her so that Yae now sat with his legs on each side of her.
"Raise your arms."
"Okay?" Yae wasn't sure what he had planned but she went along with it anyway. She gave out a small gasp when Senku put his hands on her breasts, feeling her up. He massaged her for a good minute before Yae finally said something about it. Sure, it felt nice, but what was he doing? He wasn't making any other kind of move and if he was going to he would have done it by now. "S-Senku, what are you doing?"
"I'm checking."
"For what?"
"Hard lumps."
"Why?"
"Cancer."
"Is that my present?"
Senku snorted. "What? No." He immediately stopped and reached for the folded piece of cloth. "THIS is your present." He dropped it in Yae's lap.

Curious, Yae unfolded the cloth carefully and slowly and nearly lost her breath when she saw what was inside. "Senku is this..." She was at a loss for words.
"A condom? Yes."
Yae held it up pinched between her fingers to get a better look at it. "What is made out of?" She had a pretty good idea what it was but she wanted Senku to tell her.
"Animal intestine. Don't worry, I cleaned it about ten billion times."
Yae's eyes grew wide and twisted her body to look back at him. "Are you saying..."
"Only if you want to."
"I do." She answered him right away, in which case, senku didn't think she would be up for having sex so fast. "BUT..." She said. "I have to tell you something first. Kohaku has been bugging me about for the last month."
Senku leaned back, supporting his weight with his arms. "It must be pretty serious then. What is it?"
Yae took in a deep breath. "It happened while we were training. I was knocked down and shook me up a bit. A memory triggered, but I don't think it was a very good one."
Senku continued to giver his undivided attention. "Go on."
She stared him for a long minute as she mentally fought with herself to tell him the truth. "With it being Christmas and all, I remembered being surrounded by a bunch of people walking around the city. The lights were so bright and beautiful. I didn't recognize anyone, but I remember somewhat of what Christmas was like during the modern world."
When Senku was certain she was finished speaking, he said, "That doesn't sound bad."
"Like I said, not a good memory to really trigger anything important."
"I think it's important." He leaned forward now, putting his arms around Yae and resting his chin on her shoulder. "All those tiny memories are building up to something big, I'm sure."
"You think so?" Yae felt bad for not telling him the complete truth. She wasn't ready yet, and nor did she want to think about it. To think that maybe someone had taken advantage of her...She didn't want to finish that thought.
"I know so." Senku told her and kissed her cheek.

Senku wasn't the type at all to show affection, but when he was alone with Yae, it was different. He was able to let his guard down in front of her and show a more vulnerable side of himself.
"Senku, do you think we could have been this close in the modern world if it was still around?"
Senku didn't answer her right away, he continued to kiss her neck and behind her ear. He start feeling her up again, but not to check for lumps—for pleasure. "I think so." He finally answered her.
Yae let herself fall back into him, his whole body hot and return, keep her warm too. The young scientist trailed one hand down her stomach, lifted her dress and pressed her fingers against her private, rubbing gently. Yae relaxed a bit more, slowly getting into the moment and Senku worked on arousing her more.
"Lay down." Senku told her. He had made out his bed to be extra comfy and even had an extra layer of fur than he did the last time.

The fire was just dim enough to keep the lighting perfect and the place warm enough. Senku slipped off Yae's tights, her underwear coming off along with it. She felt a cool air brush past her but Senku was there to send a different kind of shiver down her spine. He massaged her exposed womanhood, enjoying the fact that she was already so wet. He could feel himself hardening, and her open legs had never look so inviting such as this moment. He stopped to take a glance at the condom. He knew that going in raw would feel so much better, but he also knew that risking pregnancy was out of the question. Perhaps some day, when the war with Tsukasa ended, they'd be able to enjoy each other in the same way as Senku knew they both wanted.
"Are you scared?" He asked her.
Yae shook her head. "No, I trust you."
Senku wasn't really scared as much as he was nervous. He was worried about hurting her, or the condom breaking and not pulling out soon enough. It all rested on his shoulders whether or not Yae would end up hurt the most after this night. He had to be extremely careful.
"Let me know if it hurts." Yae nodded to him and clenched the sides of the fur bed as Senku inserted his finger inside her. He closed his eyes, already imagining being inside her, his dick rubbing up against the walls of her vagina. The pure pleasure it would give excited him by ten billion percent! He then slipped in two fingers, feeling the skin of her vagina stretch some. When she winced in pain, Senku stopped immediately.
"Was that too much?"
Yae shook her head. "No, keep going."

Senku worked at her now with both hands. With two fingers still inside her, he took his free hand and continued to massage her clitoris. Yae gasped, her body shuddering in ecstasy as she cam, her juices spilling out into a sticky mess on Senku's fingers. He stopped for a moment and sniffed his hands. He could smell her and for a moment he was tempted to lick her cum off his fingers, but he had a better idea and he got down on his belly to give her head a second time.
Yae moaned, giving in. It felt too good. Senku's tongue was playing all kinds of tricks on her as she struggled to keep her wits about.
"Senku..." she said his name as if begging for more.
Senku wiped his mouth and took off his clothes. He had never been naked in front of another person before, but right now he didn't care. There was no time to be acting shy now. He soon slipped off the rest of Yae's clothes, tossing them to the side.
"Are you ready?" He asked one last time. Yae nodded. Senku took a breath, he was about to lose his virginity, but he was more worried about Yae than himself. He rubbed his manhood on the lips of her vagina, almost succumbing to his sexual desires. Slowly, but surely, Senku placed the condom on. He tied it at the edge with a thin string to keep it up and then entered Yae, the two of them becoming one. She was tight and he struggled to keep himself from cumming. He wanted to last for Yae's sake, and for him too. He didn't want it to be over so soon.

A few tears shone at the corners of Yae's eyes as the pain of Senku slipping inside hurt her. She knew it would and she was prepared for it, but it still hurt.
Very slowly Senku moved his hips, thrusting in and out at a pace he thought Yae could keep up. His brain was yelling at him, telling him to go faster—to rip the condom off and go in raw; feel her insides and cum inside her. But he wouldn't do that. Yae was counting on him to be the safe one. He wasn't going to be selfish.

Yae moaned, her knuckles turning white the tighter she gripped the fur. Senku noticed this and grabbed her hands. He placed them above her head and pressed his body against hers. Soon, Yae wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing him harder against her. They're breaths were hot and Senku leaned in to close the gap. He sucked on her lower lip before licking, asking for entrance. Yae gladly gave it to him, letting him massage her tongue with his. Only when they needed to take a breath did Senku pull back. He was concentrating so hard on keeping his movements slow and steady.
"Please, go faster." Yae whispered.
This surprised Senku, but he was happy nonetheless to comply with Yae'a wishes. He held himself up with his arms for but a second before moving his hands to her hips. Now that he had a good hold on her he was able to give her what she wanted. He fucked her a little faster now, his eyes fixated on her breasts as they bounced. Beads of sweat trailed down his face, neck, chest and even his back. He could see sweat forming on Yae's tummy as well, her face flushed pink while she bit her lower lips, no doubt focusing on the moment.

She's so tight, thought Senku. How do I keep going? When do I know when it's a good time to stop? Am I hurting her? She isn't saying anything. Am I doing this right? Is she enjoying me as much I'm enjoying her? Senku pushed the negative thoughts out of his head and allowed himself to fully take In the enjoyment of the moment.

Yae shuddered again and Senku could feel the walls of her womanhood tightening as she was no doubt cumming a second time. Know this, Senku could no longer keeping himself at bay. He gave Yae a few more thrusts, her juices spilling out again, and Senku let himself go. He pulled out just barely in time as his cum filled the condom. A mix of Yae's fluids and also blood covered the outside of the condom. When Senku looked down, the fur was wet and stained with Yae's blood. Of course, Senku knew that women bled their first time having sex, but it didn't help that he still felt bad about it.

With shaky legs, Senku stood and slipped the condom off. He placed it in a bowl with water and washed it off. His hands were shaking too much from cumming and he would clean it more thoroughly tomorrow. Next he took a wet wash cloth and cleaned up Yae. He let her clean her private area herself though. Lastly, he cleaned himself and went back to lay with Yae. It was quiet for a long while and Senku wondered if the sex was terrible for her, so he asked, "How was it for you?"
Yae turned over on her side and placed a hand on Senku's chest. "It was nice. It was what I was hoping for."
Senku thought for a moment before blurting something stupid out. "It was what I was hoping for too." He held her close. "Are you going to stay here for the night, or go back to Kohaku's?"
Yae thought about this. She was still in pain somewhat and her whole body felt weak, but in a good way. "Can I stay here?"
"Of course you can." Senku was shocked that she even had to ask that.
"Good." She snuggled closer.
Senku took the covers and pulled it up over them, and before succumbing to sleep, Senku asked. "Yae, will you sing for me?"
With heavy eyes, Yae smiled and began humming the same song she had hung earlier that night. Senku held her close and as tight as he could, listening to her sing. She was only half way through by the time Senku drifted off to sleep, but that was okay, because even in his sleep he heard her song in his dreams.

Early in the morning, Chrome came crashing through Senku's tent.
"Senku! I've got..." But he stopped himself short, his eyes growing wide and his face burning bright red. "Oh, damn! I'm so sorry!" He bolted, leaving behind a very confused and sleepy Senku.
Senku rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked down at his side. Yae was still there and she stirred in her sleep. Chrome's outburst hadn't fully awaken her. Now Senku understood why Chrome had run away. He was still naked underneath the covers and Yae was too. He sighed as he knew he would have to do some explaining.

The young scientist quickly dressed, ran his fingers through his hair and then washed out his mouth and splashed his face with some fresh, cool water. By now Yae had opened her eyes and sat up, holding the fur covers close to her chest.
"Morning." Senku said.
Yae yawned. "Good morning..." She mumbled, still trying to wake up.
"Uh, Chrome just walked in." He informed her. It was better to tell her right away rather than wait.
Yae blinked a few times, trying to find her bearings. She rubbed her tired face. "Oh..."
"I think he has something really important to tell me. I'll see you out there." Senku left to let Yae change in peace and to explain himself to Chrome.

Chrome was standing right outside with a few others in the area. His friend had his hands stuffed in his coat pockets and aimlessly looking up at the sky rather than making eye-contact with Senku.
"Hey," said Senku. "Can we talk?"
"Chrome cleared his throat and tried to look surprised when he looked at Senku, as if he hadn't noticed him standing there. "Yeah, sure."
Senku lowered his voice an octave. "What you saw this morning, its fine. I don't want you to feel weird about it."
Chrome laughed nervously. "Yeah, why would that be weird to me. I mean, everyone knows that you're with Yae...the two of you just aren't married." He paused. "Wait, did you marry her in secret?"
"Uh, no. But you understand what I'm saying, right?" Chrome nodded. "Good. Now, what was it you wanted to tell me? You have a plan for something, right?"
The light bulb went off in Chrome's head. "Yeah, that's right! With our newly acquired light, we can go deeper into the caves than we ever could with torches!"
Senku nodded. "Right, with batteries and light-bulbs, we can ten billion times deeper." The others started to gather, and Yae was making her way over too."
"I bet there are tons of cool rocks deep in the caves!" Chrome said excitedly. "Let's go! We're going to find some awesome mineral resources!" The hyper rocker collector kept going at it. "You may be way ahead of me in science, but when it comes to exploring, I'm ten billion times better than you."
Yae stuffed her hands in her pockets. "Whoa. What's going on?" Senku quickly filled her in and Yae smiled with the idea of going exploring. "That sounds like fun." She said.
Chrome jumped in front of Senku. "What do you want? Captain Chrome will get it for you! There's gotta be stuff on the cellphone map that we don't have yet."
"Oh, you mean the materials we're missing?" He paused. "There's nothing."
Chrome's mouth dropped. "Nothing?"
"We have everything we need, I suspect." Said Yae.
Senku nodded at her. "That's correct. Thanks to our hard work with the past missions."
Kohaku crossed her arms. "Then is there really a reason to go exploring, when we're so short on people?"
Yae's shoulder's slumped. She was just as excited as Chrome was about exploring and finding new things. "We don't have to go far..." She pitched the idea.
"Chrome," said Ginro. "You just want to go exploring because of your new gear, huh?"
Chrome gulped because that was exactly the reason.
Senku laughed. "It would be nice to have more copper. We have no idea how much we're going to use during our next crafting session."
"That's right!" Said Chrome and he soon took of running. "I got this!"
Yae looked over at Senku, hoping he would say something to Chrome in order to get him to stop acting so hyper and crazy.
Senku sighed, resting his hands on his hips. "Come home soon. At least by New Year's next week."
Yae's mouth hung open. "You sure having him run off like that is a good idea."
Before Senku could answer, Old Man Kaseki spoke up. "So what's this brutal crafting? I'd like to have it done by the time Chrome's back and surprise him."
"The next-level light bulb." Senku answered.
Kaseki looked unsure, but he was up for the challenge. "The light bulb was already brutal. This sounds exciting."

The time for crafting again was about to start. Senku went on to explain that they were going to be making computer eggs. They were the gears of electrons, vacuum tubes. And while Kaseki and Asagiri Gen went off with Senku, Kohaku pulled Yae over to the side.
"I noticed you didn't come back last night. Did you tell Senku?"
Yae nodded. "I did." She lied again.
Kohaku breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Because if you didn't, I was going to."
Yae suppressed the urge to laugh and held her breath for a few seconds to help calm her nerves. "I don't doubt you would have."
"Look," said Kohaku as she crossed her arms. "You're my friend and I care about you. I want you to regain your memories just as much as Senku. Telling us everything is the right thing to do."
Yae nodded weakly. She felt bad enough for not telling the whole truth, and now Kohaku was just making it worse.
Kohaku patted Yae on the shoulder. "I'm glad we both agree. Now, I need to go check on Ginro and Kinro. I'll catch up with you later."
"Okay." Yae waved her friend goodbye and went back to the tent they shared and checked on the hawk and the cheese. The hawk was nicely nestled in fur blankets and stirred when Yae set more food next to it. She then checked on her cheese, glad that it was ready to be tested. The smell salty and somewhat bitter, but hopefully the taste of it turned out right. Yae was nervous to take a bite, as the last time she did she nearly threw up all over herself.
"Here goes nothing!" She took a nibble and squeezed her eyes shut, chewing slowly. "Oh..." She opened her eyes and looked down at the cheese in surprise. It was good! She picked up the small box where the remainder of the cheese sat and rushed over to Senku. He was curious to know how it all turned out, saying he had an idea for a new recipe.

When Yae made it over to Senku, he was in the middle of explaining how light bulbs worked.
"So we put phosphorus on the filament, where it gets hot. It'll burn with heat, suck up all the air around it, and..." The glass broke before he could even finish.
Kaseki gasped. "I didn't do anything."
"It cracked at the base." Said little Suika.
"Looks like the wires are expanding." Said Yae as she finally made her appearance known.
Senku looked really disappointed but eyed the box of cheese suspiciously. "Is that the cheese?" He asked hopeful.
Yae nodded. "Indeed! Here, have some."
Senku picked on a square of cheese and popped it in his mouth. "Wow, it's good."
The others tried some too. "This is cheese?" asked Suika.
"I've never tasted anything like it!" Kaseki was certainly impressed.
"At least something is turning out right today." Senku grumbled.
"Is your experiment not turning out how you want it to?" Yae asked.
Senku shook his head. "The metal lines going through the glass expands just a little from the heat of the burning phosphorus. That size difference of just a few microns broke the glass."
Asagiri's eyes went wide. "That's the level of intricacy we're dealing with? What do we do, then?" The situation they were stuck had left them stumped.

For now, all they could until Chrome returned, was keep trying. By night fall, Senku was still going at it.
"Nothing ever works on the first try, does it?" Said Kaseki.
"It's nothing but trial and error. When is it ever anything else?" He looked back at Yae. "This is going to take a while, and I don't want you to get frost bite. Why not head inside for the evening. We can always continue tomorrow."
"But what about you?" She asked.
"Don't worry. I won't stay out too much later. There are a few ideas I want to draw out and try those too."
Yae nodded, heading back to her and Kohaku's tent.

When she returned, the lioness was there feeding the hawk a strip of meat.
"Nice friend you picked up here."
Yae knelt down beside her. "Thanks. I found him in the woods a few days ago. He's been sleeping."
"I noticed." Said Kohaku. "I also went through the trouble of putting clean bandages on him. Looks like the first set was coming undone." The hawk flapped its wings and both girls scooted back as quickly as possible.
"I guess he's feeling better." Said Yae. "Senku wants to use him as a spy to send letters, or something like that. You know, in case the cellphones don't work, or Tsukasa finds out."
Kohaku nodded. "That's a good idea. Although, I'm not sure how loyal hawks are. I've never known anyone to have one as a pet." An idea then occurred to her. "Yae! What if, in your past, you worked with animals, and that's why you're so good with them. You seem to have a natural talent of it."
Yae blushed from embarrassment. "Oh wow! Thank you! But, I don't know. Maybe." She said.
Kohaku yawned and slipped under her covers. "Let's get some rest. I have a feeling Chrome will come back, and the boys will crazy again with their ideas."
Yae chuckled. "Yeah, you're probably right." Yae gave her hawk one last strip of meat before heading to be herself. She had wanted to spend the night again with Senku, but he was probably still busy trying to come up with a plan, and she didn't want to disturb him. She sighed, closing her eyes and telling herself that there would be more opportunities spend nights together. Besides that, they didn't really get a chance to talk about what happened that. Yae wanted to know exactly everything that was going through Senku's head when they having sex, and she wanted to tell him what she was thinking too.
I may not be a virgin anymore, but I don't feel any different. She thought. I'm happy about what happened and I'm glad it was with Senku. What we did feels right...

That following morning, Chrome did indeed return.
Yae had just finished eating breakfast and decided to take her hawk out and let it get some fresh air. She wrapped cloth around the sleeve of her coat to keep the claws of the hawk from tearing it, and walked over to Senku and Kaseki.
"I'm back!" Said Chrome. "And I copped some copper!" He held a giant piece of copper in one hand, looking mighty proud of himself.
"Oh wow..." Yae was impressed. "Good job, Chrome."
Chrome eyed the giant hawk up and down. "Whoa..." The hawk flapped its wings, spooking the others. "Is it dangerous?"
Yae giggled. "No, he's not dangerous."
"Have you named it yet?" asked Senku.
"Mmm...nope!"
"How about Taichi?" Said Kaseki. "It means large one."
Yae thought about it. "Nah. I'll think of something. I need to make sure he has the right name. Something that really fits him." She looked to Chrome. "So, Chrome. What all did you bring back?"
Before Chrome had a chance to answer, Senku said, "This is just the right time for that copper." And he snatched it, testing it out on a new device he had made over night.
"A copper tube?" Asagiri picked it up to look at it.
"A tube will just expand inward without cracking the glass around it."
"Finally!" Exclaimed Kaseki. "Making that vacuum tube was really hard work." By now, Kohaku and Suika had shown up to see what all the fuss was about.
Unfortunately, the wires turned to ash the moment they tested it out.
"Damn...the bamboo filament burnt out instantly."
"Not good..." Yae grumbled. "What do we do now? We need something stronger."
"Let's try a few more times. Maybe that one was just a dud."

After a few tries the same results transpired and soon there was a pile of broken light bulbs on the ground.
"Damn it!" Said Senku."Bamboo filaments are just fundamentally too weak for vacuum tubes."
"I don't get the science," started Kohaku, " but bamboo is too weak, is that right?"
"What do we need?" asked Chrome. "Like Yae said, we need something stronger. I'll go get it, just tell me what it is."
"No..." Senku said. "There's nothing better in this age..." His voiced trailed off. "Everyone, check Chrome's basket and see if you can find anything useful."
"These are all the minerals I found laying around the crave." Chrome pulled them all out by the handful. "There must be something in here strong enough to hold up to heat."
Even Yae was going through the pile, but none looked promising, and it left Senku looking utterly defeated in terms of what to do next.

With one last try for luck, Suika started going to the bottom of the basket and picking out the left-overs. "I'm not a rock doctor like Senku, but I've seen a lot of rocks while playing around the forest and mountains." While she did that, the others decided to take a break. It was a good time to catch on some much needed rest and sleep on the idea of what to do next. Senku couldn't sleep though. This whole thing was frustrating to him.

The young and hopeless feeling scientist stood outside near his tent, thinking, when all of a sudden, Asagiri showed up unannounced.
"Senku-Senku! Wakey-wakey!" He thought it was amusing. "It's the New year. We should all watch the sunrise together."
"Sure, what the hell." He went to wake Yae and Kohaku and soon, more of the villagers began to wak up.
"It's important to have a change of pace and a fresh mindset." Said the mentalist. "That's my line of work, right?" They started making their way out.
"Wait for me!" Said Suika. The little girl was so tired from staying up most of the night that she was almost left behind.
"Don't worry." Said Yae. "I would have stopped for you." She took her hand and together they walked.
"Wait," Said Chrome. "Suika, were you going through the rocks all night?"
"That's right!"
"New Year's, huh? Our internal clocks are messed up from the petrification, though." Asagiri said. "I don't even know how old I am anymore."
Senku yawned. "Think about how many days you've been alive."
"Why would we remember that?" Kohaku said.
"What about you, Senku. Do you remember?" Asagiri Gen asked him.
"6,268 days." He answered right away.
Yae gaped at him. "You counted?" Not even she had the patience to do that.
"We're almost there!" Said Rurir, grabbing everyone's attention as they nears the cliff.
"The sun's rising!" Kokuyo said. They had made it just in time.

At that exact moment, the stone Suika was holding in her hand started to glow.
"It's glowing blue." Kohaku said, fascinated. "A gemstone."
"It's so pretty." Said Ruri.
"Why is it glowing?" asked Chrome.
"It's called Sheelite." Senku told everyone as he walked up to Suika to get a better look at it. "It glows blue when exposed to ultraviolet light."
Yae yawned and then said, "Reactions to ultraviolet light are especially visible right before the sun rise...right Senku?"
Senku nodded. "Correct. Ten billion points for you! So in other words, only right now will it glow blue. Talk about perfect timing."
"I've never seen anything like it!" Said Chrome.
"Me neither." Senku was equally excited. "It's an ultra-rare gem. Chrome, Suika, you guys did an incredibly good job. This stuff is used in modern filaments. Tungsten! Heats got nothing on it. It's the strongest metal in the universe!"

That small chunk was not going to be enough, though. They would need to go deeper into the cave and find more. They only had one set of lights, so the team who would venture into the cave would have to be a small group. Senku was definitely going, but not Kohaku, she would have to stay behind and help train the fighters, which also meant that Yae would not be able to go with Senku. So aside from Senku and Chrome, they needed at least one other able body, someone strong.
Senku pointed. "Magma. Tungsten's tough as hell. We're going to need brute force to collect it. Let's go cave diving!"
Yae held her tongue. Was bringing Magma along for the trip a good idea? She was trusting Senku to make the right choice, and if Magma was it...she hoped he wasn't miscalculating the man's trust.

Author's note: Thank you for waiting and not dipping out on me. I have been very very sick for the last two weeks. I'm on medication but even that is taking its sweet time to make me feel better. I can finally stay awake long enough without feeling like I'm going to die. I know I'm behind, but I'm not going to hurry and end up having it potentially suck. This chapter took me three days to write and I'm still not happy with it. It feels rushed to me, but I don't know. What did you all think? Please let me know.
Take care and stay healthy!