Chapter 7: Crazy Black Sand
Night fell, and Senku, Chrome, Kohaku, and I decided to spend some time stargazing. Actually, Senku was trying to get to sleep, but Chrome was keeping him awake with all kinds of questions. So, lying on the ground with a somewhat dazed look on his face, Senku began telling Chrome about how the earth was moving. I sat down on some rocks, while Kohaku sat on a tree branch above me.
"Seriously?! Bad!" Chrome yelled. "You actually telling me that its the planet that's moving?!"
"Yeah…" Senku groaned. "It's not a lie…"
"That doesn't make any sense." said Kohaku. "I mean, if that's really the case, then why am I not flying off this branch?"
"It's because of gravity." I replied. "It's a force that keeps us on the ground. That's the reason we can jump in the air, and just come back down to earth. It's nice and all, but it can be a real pain when you trip over something."
"You know, I always thought it was weird." Chrome spoke up. "How only just one star stays in the same place."
"That's the North Star." said Senku, pointing to a bright star in the sky. "It's ridiculously useful for navigating, because its ten billion percent true north. So, try to remember that…"
"Oh, I didn't know…" Chrome replied, his tone thoughtful.
"If you want my opinion, that looks just slightly off from true north." Kohaku spoke.
"No, impossible." Senku replied, getting up and scratching his ear. "The margin of error is-"
Suddenly, Senku froze, a shocked look on his face like he had made a huge mistake!
"Senku, what's wrong?" I asked, somewhat worried.
"The Earth's axis is shifting!" Senku replied, his tone shocked. "The whole planet has been tilting little-by-little over the past three thousand and seven hundred years! And now, in the year fifty-seven thirty-nine, the north star isn't north!"
"Dang!" I said in amazement, as I looked up at the sky. "That's amazing!"
Senku then let out a chuckle and said, "A more experienced scientist would've laughed at me; kind of a major oversight on my part. Chrome and Kohaku are more observant because they don't have any preconceived notions like you or me, David. I'm such a loser…"
Kohaku let out a little laugh and replied, "Just sounds like a little mistake, Senku; there's no need to be so hard on yourself, you know."
"Yeah, I agree." I added. "Okay, so the earth moved and we didn't know it. No reason to get all upset with yourself."
"I'm not trying to put myself down." Senku replied, a small on his face. "I think of myself as being quite rational, but I still get lost in the sheer scale of everything. It's just hitting me how long three thousand and seven hundred years really is…"
"I know what you mean." I said, a small smile on my own face, as I looked at the world around me. "Our whole world fast-forwarded thousands of years, and all seems like a breath of air that lasts for thirty seconds."
Suddenly, a rather confused look came over Senku's face, and he said, "Wait, how did she know the former north star, wasn't exactly north anymore?"
"No way!" Chrome spoke, his tone both prideful and excited. "You mean to tell me that even the great Senku doesn't know about this rock?! I just so happened to find this bad boy on top of that bald mountain one day!"
Chrome then picked up a bowl full of water to show us. In the middle of the water in the bowl, there was a small rock on a leaf, and it was pointing north. Wait a minute… was it some kind of makeshift compass?
"If you dangle it on any floating water, it always points true north!" Chrome continued. "Pretty nuts, isn't it?"
A surprised look came over Senku's face, and he replied, "A magnet."
Chrome let out a yell of defeat and fell back, saying, "Man, of course you know!"
"I thought that looked like a compass of some sort." I spoke up. "How about that, huh? A magnetic rock."
Senku picked up the magnet rock and let out another chuckle. He then said, "You've done an excellent job, Chrome; now we've got magnets."
"So, what's the plan now, Senku?" I asked.
"Tomorrow, the four of us are going to collect black sand." Senku replied. "That'll help us make iron."
The next day, Senku, Chrome, Kohaku, and I all went down to the river. There, all three stripped down to their underclothes to go in. However, I was feeling a little self-conscious, due to wearing nothing but a vine and leaf loincloth for some time, so I just took off my tunic, and left my pants and my rope belt on.
I then noticed something kind of funny; I had lost a lot of weight. I was no longer stout, but I was to become thinner and less thick. I guess that's what happens when you only eating nothing but berries for the past few days.
We then slung on some bags around our shoulders, to store the black sand with, and went into the river. Senku and Chrome jumped off a cliff and dove into the deep end, while I followed Kohaku and just waded in. The part of the river we were in wasn't that deep; it just went up to our shins.
Kohaku then bent down, put a magnet rock near the river bed, and then pulled it back up; it was covered with black sand!
"Check it out!" Kohaku announced, her tone excited. "Mine picked up a bunch of that stuff! Look at this crazy black sand!"
"We're taking small steps, but we're finally on the road to the Kingdom of Science." said Senku, a proud smile on his face, as he and Chrome waded out of the deep end. "The curtain is rising on the iron age; now that gets me excited."
A few minutes into the collecting, I noticed that Senku and Chrome weren't helping; they were lounging on the rocks! Kohaku and I were doing all the work, and those two were just sitting around!
"Is everyone in your village like the lioness?" asked Senku. "Or is she in a class all on her own?"
"We seem to have our fair share of brute-strength apes." Chrome replied. "But I say she's more like a nimble gorilla."
"And you know what type of animal you two would be?" I asked, my tone sarcastic. "You two would be a pair of weasels! Now how about getting off your butts and helping us out here?"
"Not going to happen, David." Senku replied, his tone somewhat comical. "You, the elephant, and Kohaku, the lioness, are the muscles of 'The Kingdom of Science'. We're the brains, so its our job to conserve our energy and think."
"Besides, I think you two are doing just fine." Chrome added.
"Oh, so that's how it's going to be?" I asked, my tone now comical. I then turned to Kohaku and said, "Hey, Kohaku! These two say they won't work!"
After about fifteen seconds of getting chewed out by Kohaku, Senku and Chrome were now helping collect black sand. Not only that, but they both were now sporting gigantic welts on their heads from where Kohaku had hit them.
"Thanks for the help." I chuckled.
"No problem." Kohaku replied, a smile on her face.
I continued collecting black sand, and considering I was six foot five, I was able to have an impressive reach. And the water was warm and cool at the same time; it felt good, to be honest. I used the magnet rock to collect some black sand, and then shook it off into my bag. That was the same process, over and over. Unfortunately, we were low on numbers for this task…
"It's going to take all day, with just the four of us working." Senku spoke, his tone dark.
"Should I get someone from the village to help out?" asked Chrome.
"As far as those people are concerned, you guys are just a couple of suspicious sorcerers." Kohaku replied, her tone serious. "So, I don't think anyone is dying to lend us a hand with this."
"Fantastic." I added, my tone somewhat sarcastic.
Senku let out a sigh to that, and we continued on collecting black sand. Then, I saw something strange coming to us, floating down the river. It was a large, green, pre-historic fruit of some kind.
"Hey, Senku, look at this." I said, as the fruit came closer.
"Is that a watermelon?" Senku asked, his tone confused.
"Looks like it. Hey, how about a snack? I think we can split it four ways."
The watermelon then stopped in front of us and, much our surprise, it stood up! It wasn't a watermelon; it was a kid wearing a watermelon, with eye-holes cut in it!
This kid was a little girl, about nine years of age. She was wearing the watermelon on her head, and it had holes cut in it so she could see out of it. It also had a crack over the right eye, which was fixed with tape. The little girl's clothing consisted of a rope around her neck, a blue poncho, a light green shirt with no sleeves, dark green shorts, and stone sandals.
"Oh, it's Suika." said Kohaku. "What are you doing in the water?"
The little melon-head girl, Suika, then held up one of the magnet rocks. It was covered with black sand; apparently, she was trying to help.
"Did you just follow us down here or something?" Kohaku asked, coming over to see her.
Suika nodded as a reply. Kohaku then leaned down and, with a kind smile on her face, rubbed the little girl on the head affectionately. It was cute, to be honest, seeing Kohaku acting like an older sister towards this little girl.
"Doesn't her name mean watermelon?" Senku asked.
"I'm pretty sure its just a nickname." Chrome replied. "Since she's always wearing that watermelon rind."
Chrome then let out a yell of shock, zipped over to Kohaku and Suika, and said in a somewhat angered tone, "What the heck?! I can't believe you would just steal my magnet like this!"
He then proceeded to snatch the magnetic rock away from the little girl, which caused Kohaku and I to look at him with disdain.
"Chrome, don't be immature." I said, my tone somewhat annoyed, as I watched this spectacle unfold.
"I'm sorry." Suika spoke, her voice sounding small, as she tried to collect some iron sand without a magnet. "I just wanna help you guys; it's kind of hard being useful to anyone, because I got this thing on my head. Too bad, I'll wear it my whole life."
Chrome looked a little guilty, and then looked at the magnetic rock he took from Suika. I felt a little sorry as well; she probably had a good reason to wear this watermelon mask, and couldn't do anything about it.
Suika then stood up and said, "But if you need some help, I'll do whatever I can-"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it, Suika." Senku replied, his tone somewhat blunt.
Suika gasped a little, and then put her head down dejectedly. However, Senku then let out a kind-hearted chuckle, and she looked back up at him.
"I appreciate the assistance." said Senku, his tone kind. "The Kingdom of Science needs all the help we can get; we won't turn anyone away. Besides, a chirpy little thing like you would be ten billion times better at gathering sand."
He then let out another kind-hearted chuckle as he came over, and placed a magnet rock in her small hands.
"We're counting on you." Senku added.
I smiled formed over my lips upon seeing that; he certainly knew what to say in order to build someone up. And, he was being really kind to this little girl, even if his motive was just to get her to help us out. He then began walking over to another part of the river, and I followed him over as well.
"I must say, you have definitely earned my respect, Senku." I said, as we both bent down to collect more sand. "Gotta give you credit; you know what to say in order to build people up."
"As do you, Chronicler." Senku replied, bending down to collect more black sand.
I looked back at Suika, and I couldn't help but laugh, as she was now swimming through the water at a fast speed. She was definitely working hard to collect the black sand, since Senku had given her confidence.
"You're not Momotaro!" Chrome yelled out. "Just try not to drown!"
A look of surprise came over Senku's face, and he stood back up and said, "You've never heard of Dragon Quest or Monster Hunter, but you know Momotaro? Who taught you that?"
"Oh, you know Momotaro?" Chrome asked. "That's weird."
"Ruri told us a whole bunch of stories like his." Suika added.
"If you don't mind me asking, but who is he?" I asked, interjecting into the conversation.
"You don't know about Momotaro?" asked Kohaku.
"Yeah." I replied. "Since I'm from another land, I wasn't told the stories that you all were told. So, I virtually have no idea who this 'Momotaro' guy is."
"He used millet dumplings to make new friends." Chrome spoke up. "A bear, a lion, a gorilla, and an alligator."
"Sounds like an impressive guy." I said.
"Momotaro wasn't some kind of savage hero!" Senku yelled out, causing me to jump a little bit. His tone then quieted, and I heard him say to himself, "I wonder if that story was just an easy way to teach kids about dangerous animals…"
"My sister told me hundreds of stories when we were growing up." said Kohaku, her tone thoughtful. "And she loves big words; I guess I learned all of my big words from Ruri."
"Interesting." I said. "So, we have another storyteller."
Senku chuckled and said, "I gotta admit, I'm getting low-key interested in this Ruri chick. And now, I'm more determined to make the medicine and find out what's going on with her."
"What the heck do you mean by that?" Chrome asked, sounding worried and offended. "Interested, like how?"
"Psst, Senku…" Kohaku whispered, before leaning in Senku's ear and saying, "He thinks nobody knows, but Chrome has a major crush on Ruri."
"Ah, so that's what it was." Senku replied, his tone comical. "Here we go."
"And Chrome's like a little kid about it." Kohaku continued. "It's actually kind of cute."
"What are you guys talking about?!" Chrome yelled, his tone somewhat annoyed. "Are you calling me a child?!"
"They're saying you're 'like' a little kid, not 'a' little kid." I replied.
"Are you a giant?" Suika asked, her tone curious.
I looked down at the little melon girl, who was now standing up and looking at me, and a small smile crossed my face.
"I guess you could say I'm a giant." I replied, my tone kind as I got on one knee, so we were on the same eye level. "But, I'm a friendly giant, so there's no need to be afraid. Your name is Suika, right?"
"Yeah. What's your name?"
"David."
"Day-vid?" Suika asked, sounding out my name.
"Yes, David." I replied. "Nice to meet you."
Looks like I made a new friend, and the Kingdom of Science had gained a new member.
After we had collected enough black sand, I asked to borrow Senku's soap. I then went to the deep end of the river, and bathed for a little bit. Afterwards, we all got out of the river, put our clothes back on, and headed back for the Shed of Science. When the five of us got there, we put the black sand into a pot, and planned our next move.
"So, I guess we've gotta heat all this black sand up to make iron, huh?" I asked.
"Yeah." Senku replied. "We mix four parts iron sand to one part coal, and then bake it."
"That sounds pretty easy to make." Chrome spoke up.
"The bad news is that its harder then it sounds." Senku continued. "It's not like baking little clay pots; that'll be our next problem to solve. Wood can burn up to seven hundred degrees, but ironmaking requires up to over one thousand and five hundred degrees."
I let out a low whistle and said, "That's really hot."
"So how are we going to get it that hot?" Kohaku asked. "Is that even possible?"
Then, making his voice sound really macho, Senku replied, "We've gotta blow like heck!"
Blow like heck? Oh dear…
Chronicler Log #2
Kingdom of Science - Members
Senku - Leader, Professor
Chrome - Scientist, Resource Gatherer
Kohaku - Muscle, Protector
David (Me) - Muscle, Chronicler
Suika - JOB NOT YET DECIDED
Taiju - Muscle, Resource Gatherer
Yuzuriha - Tailor, Craftswoman
Kingdom of Science - Allies and Enemies
Village - Hopeful Allies
Tsukasa - Enemy
Kingdom of Science - Progress
First Project - Make an Antibiotic to help Ruri recover from sickness.
Notes
We have added a new member to the Kingdom of Science, a little girl wearing a melon named 'Suika'. What job she will have will be decided by Senku.
Speaking of Senku, he has made me add his two friends, who's names are 'Taiju' and 'Yuzuriha', to the list of members for the Kingdom of Science. From what he has told me about them, Taiju is a 'big oaf' and Yuzuriha is skilled at crafting.
We have acquired black sand in order to make iron. But in order to make iron, we need to heat it up in the furnace. And in order to heat it up, we need to, in Senku's words, 'BLOW LIKE HECK!' According to Senku, us five isn't going to be enough, but it's worth a try.