A tune was heard as someone was walking through the forest. It was faint, but he could hear it. His hand touched a tree and then he gave a small chuckle. Back at the village, Sumi and Senku were making more ramen together. The villagers looked towards the two in shock, Sumi stirring the broth. The group of people even started drooling from the scent. This savory bowl of gourmet science...Senku thought while putting a bowl down. Is gonna buy the two of us enough manpower to make steel. He had his usual smirk on his face. "Time to get us the labor we need, Sumi. You ready?" He turned to the woman.
She looked up at him with a grin, holding up a fist. "Hell yeah I am!" She answered without any hesitation or doubt. "Start serving them up, Sen!"
He stood in front of the cart, holding out a bowl. "Foxtail millet ramen. Coming up!"
Ganen slurped up some noodles and then continued eating happily. "I've never had anything so chewy and amazingly yummy!" He cried out, encouraging the others to have some as well. Sumi glanced up at them with a smile, working hard to chop up more noodles. Senku glanced at her with a rare smile of his own. Sumi really was an invaluable science partner anyone could have. If she hadn't followed him around out of curiosity, he wouldn't have her help now. On the surface, people would ask why she would hang around someone who was only interested in science, when anyone else would just be confused staying with Senku. But he couldn't ask for anyone better, even when they lightly disagreed on things.
"We all know Ganen has some experience with eating, so..." A woman spoke up while holding a bowl.
"Man, that's tasty!" Shovel exclaimed with a happy smile. "A steaming stew of slippery deliciousness!"
"Are you the man who made all this incredible food for us?" The woman with pigtails asked Senku as he was stirring a pot. "The one called Senku? So what kind of girls do you like?"
Sumi looked at her with white eyes, her hair standing on end as she let out a horrified yelp. Her hands were shaking while looking at them. "The kind that can pump a ton of oxygen into my furnace," Senku answered without so much as looking at her. Sumi then silently let out a sigh of relief.
"What kind of answer is that?" Kohaku asked him in disbelief while staring at him. "Really! I mean, did the concept of polite small talk not exist during your time?" She then stared at Sumi making more ramen, wondering how Senku would react if she questioned if Sumi counted. After all, she could pump oxygen into it, although still not enough to make iron on her own. The black-haired scientist was just glad that she didn't have to constantly worry about stuff like this...though his response was still something she had to take into consideration in the future.
"But I'm not gonna act like this was all me. Sumi here's the one who came up with the recipe," Senku gestured to his science partner, who smiled at him.
"Thank you, Sumi!" The woman with pigtails exclaimed happily and walked off. Sumi turned to the villagers behind the cart, a pleased look on her face.
"It's not exactly ideal in taste still, but at least the villagers are happy eating it," She stated softly, and Senku smirked at her.
"Don't forget about refining the recipe so I can taste them. I know you can do it."
"I'll work myself to the bone until I get it right!" She pumped a fist, a star gleaming from her eye.
"Hey Kinro, Ginro!" Chrome called out, holding out a bowl of ramen each to the brothers. "Don't pretend like you don't wanna try it," He teased with a big grin. "This ramen stuff is insanely good!"
Ginro held out his arms, drooling, but Kinro held him back. "We will not eat food made with your sorcery!" He denied with a glare. "Besides, a guard accepting a gift would clearly be in violation, you know that!" He released his brother, crossing his arms. "Rules are rules!"
"Really?" Chrome gave a knowing smile towards his golden spear that he was still carrying. "Then what have you got in your hand? I guess there's a special exception for a golden spear?"
"Yeah, what gives, Kinro?!" Ginro exclaimed in protest, his eye white. Kinro turned away with a growl, deciding to not respond to that. Sumi looked up at the trio, glancing back at Senku. She jerked her head to the cart and he nodded knowingly. He stopped serving and went back to the cart to take over for her. She then moved out of the way from the villagers to approach the three.
"What seems to be the problem?" She asked while approaching them.
"Ah, Kinro and Ginro aren't budging with the ramen," Chrome complained a bit at her. "Like Kinro reminds us all so kindly, the rules are the rules."
"Well, if it's the rules, then I can't really argue with them, and neither can you, right?" She responded and he flinched, looking away with a pout. "Although, I guess a golden spear would be an exception if it helps them guard the bridge," She rubbed her chin, Kinro freezing at her statement. "But then again, I'm just an outsider who doesn't know the rules, so it's really up to you, Kinro. Chrome, why don't you go serve these two other villagers that are coming in?"
"Alright," He sighed in defeat and walked off. Sumi was about to leave when Kinro stopped her.
"Is this part of your sorcery?" Kinro called out and she looked over her shoulder. "This...kindness of yours?"
She blinked and then gave a smile. "It's not sorcery. It's just being myself. Is that so wrong?" She responded simply and went off towards the cart. The two brothers stared after her, as this woman was...an enigma to say the least.
Kokuyo, Jasper, Ruri, and Turquoise were one of the few people who had not been swayed to the ramen. "Chief, it's about your daughter," Jasper spoke up first. "Kohaku is handing out strange food to the villagers."
"Say what?" He asked slowly, trying to figure out what she was doing.
"Shall we go?" Jasper wondered to the chief.
"Why would we?"
"...To try it," Jasper murmured quietly; there was no way of telling whether or not to trust it unless they eat it, after all. Kokuyo then stared at him with intense eyes.
"You believe I would do that?" He replied, getting no response in return. He knew that this was what the outsiders wanted him to do. Turquoise then elbowed Jasper a little for just even asking the chief in the first place. Ruri turned towards the exit in worry.
Kohaku, what are you and those outsiders really up to?
"Here you go!" Suika was running around, serving ramen to villagers from the cart. "I've totally lost track of who I've served already!" Sumi gave her a smile, as she had tasked Suika with helping serve so that she could feel like she was helping.
Kohaku smiled at all the villagers. "They're really eating it up, everyone's coming to get some."
"Heh," Senku gave a shrug while holding a bowl. "They can have all they want," Then he had a dark look on his face as he did have...questionable intentions. "But they'll find out very soon that the more ramen they eat, the harder we're gonna work them!"
"You really do make the creepiest faces sometimes..." Kohaku stared at him, horrified.
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on everything to make sure he's not pushing them too hard," Sumi waved it off, not fazed at all. She had known Senku for a long time after all...she caught a whiff of something and gasped sharply, her eyes widening. Senku turned to her, wondering what the problem was.
"Ahh," A new and unfamiliar voice spoke up. "This ramen is making me wickedly thirsty. A Cola would be great."
Senku and Sumi stopped what they were doing as they heard him. "Cola...?" He murmured, Sumi slowly putting down her bowl. That couldn't have been a villager; they wouldn't know what it was. The scientists hadn't told them much about food, only the ramen. Plus, to Sumi, he smelled of jasmine which no one else shared, so that was another confirmation that he wasn't from the village.
"Cola...is from our time..." Sumi gasped in realization as they saw a man hiding behind a rock. Or at least, attempting to hide since Kohaku could easily see him.
"Senku, Sumi," She started off as the two hadn't turned around yet. "You happen to know that guy?"
"No, we don't..." Senku said quietly while putting down chopsticks.
"He must've either smelled the ramen or heard the music…" Sumi murmured while gripping the table a little.
"Ramen!" Ginro started throwing a tantrum at his brother, who growled at him. Chrome came back around to them.
"Hey, if you're still up for it, just ask Sumi to make you some."
"Kinro, Ginro," Kohaku called out to the brothers. "I need you to stop squabbling."
"How come?" Kinro turned around to her. "Is there a-?" The two stopped as they noticed the new person. Kohaku started shaking, her body hunched over.
"I'll get right to the point," She looked up towards them with a dark look. "There's trouble..." She, Ginro, and Kinro all pointed their weapons at the stranger still holding ramen. They prepared themselves to attack if necessary. "Better answer truthfully, or I'll slit your throat before you know what hit you," Kohaku threatened the man. "Are you one of the long-haired man's underlings?"
Despite having three people surrounding him with weapons, the stranger didn't give off a reaction for a few seconds. In fact, he seemed rather complicit and then he slowly gave a smirk. "Well, while I admittedly don't mind the attention of a cute little thing like you, I believe you must've mistaken me for somebody else." Senku had his arms crossed in front of the cart while Sumi stared at him, her hands on her apron. He looked very familiar to the both of them... "I've not yet met any long-haired man," He stood up to face the duo of scientists. "I've been wandering all on my lonesome since breaking out of the stone."
Sumi raised a skeptical brow, as only three people had been known to break out of it on their own: Herself, Taiju, and Senku. The only way to do it was to be in proximity of nitric acid. Suppose he was telling the truth; it didn't change the fact that they didn't see his statue anywhere near the cave. And Tsukasa had the miracle fluid recipe, so he wouldn't bother bringing him to the origins of it. Then again, she didn't know herself yet how she broke out without it near her since she wasn't in the same radius as the cave. Everyone was silent until Senku spoke up.
"We thought that you looked strangely familiar somehow," Senku spoke up, his arms still crossed. "You're Asagiri Gen, right?"
"The magician?" Sumi asked him next. Kohaku then turned around to the two.
"So you guys do know him!"
"No. Never met him in my life," Senku explained, Sumi nodding in agreement that she never met him either. "He's a trashy magician who wrote psychology books." He wrote the same one from the quiz that he, Sumi, Taiju, and Yuzuriha took once in science club.
"I wouldn't go as far to say it's trashy," Sumi sweated a little from his statement.
"Read my work, have you?" Gen turned to them with a raised brow and casual smile. "How wonderful! But that trashy magician barb was cruel. Please, call me a mentalist." He then looked towards the bowl of ramen. "Look, I apologize for taking the ramen without asking. So please, will you be kind and lower your weapons? My arms and legs are trembling in fear," Ginro gasped while hearing this. "And I'm worried I might spill this heavenly bowl!"
"I got it!" Ginro exclaimed while tossing away his spear and reaching for the ramen. He let out a little drool as he thought could finally taste some. "I don't mind holding it for you!"
Kohaku stared at Gen, pondering him in thought. His voice screamed scared, but his body language told her different. He's full of crap.
"I was all by myself and searching for something to eat, then my nose was filled with nostalgia. The scent of ramen!" He smiled while continuing on.
I've seen scared guys before, and he's not one. And every word outta his mouth is like feathery fluff.
"Nostalgia?" Sumi chuckled from her spot, looking back to the pot. "Now that's a word I haven't heard to describe my cooking! I'm a novice at best."
Gen grinned widely at her, as he had this in the bag with the woman...or so he thought. "Ah! So you're the one who created this delicious ramen!" He slid over to her. "I must say, just like how I remember it. It's like you have a gift." He then grinned evilly to himself.
"Uh?" She turned to him and blinked. She then started giggling, confusing everyone except Senku. "I'm sorry..." She placed a hand in front of her mouth. "It's just that..." She turned back to him with a big smirk. "You really think that's gonna work on me."
Gen flinched from her response, blinking at her. Senku just smirked to himself while watching it play out. He then sweated a little, as he thought he could sway her, but she just turned the tables on him all of a sudden. And no one had ever managed to catch him off guard before. "I-I beg your pardon? I'm afraid you misunderstood me," Gen cleared his throat to try and save face. "What I mean is-"
"I get it," Sumi interrupted him, leaning in a bit with her hands underneath her chin. "But here's what I mean. I'm not as sunshine and rainbows as you think. Not to mention I already know that ramen is nowhere near as delicious as you've told me just now. So..." She gave him a knowing smirk that his mental tricks didn't work. "Still nostalgic now?"
His right eye twitched while looking at her, not knowing what to say. It was like he couldn't come up with anything back. W-what the hell...? How did she gain the upper hand like this? Who is this girl?
Sumi then smiled, hands on her hips as if nothing had happened just now. "Enjoy the ramen, Asagiri Gen. Cause that's the last time I'll hear nostalgic! What a shame," She waved a casual hand. "If I made it taste even better, I could've gotten a delicious." She hummed while sashaying back to the cart, her skirt swaying back and forth. Everyone except one was left stunned at her.
"Ha ha ha!" Senku laughed out loud at Gen's face. "Sumi's not as gullible as you think she is. Oh wow, I can't believe you did that," He turned back to his science partner, honestly proud of her reaction. The way she used his words against him was something he would've thought as well. Sumi just hummed again while closing the pot of ramen. "But yeah sure, we'll take your word for it, man. But still, there's no such thing as a free lunch," He gave Gen a small evil smile. "You and everybody else who ate the ramen...have got some work to do."
And just like Senku said, they were put to work pumping heat into the furnace. Gen himself screamed while doing so, everyone working hard so the Kingdom of Science could get iron sand. But instead of the blowing contraptions, they were doing it by hand with pumps of sorts. "We've upgraded the blowing capacity! Iron furnace, level 2!" Chrome exclaimed and a villager fell down in exhaustion. Kohaku immediately replaced her.
"We're gonna have to take turns, but I think it'll work!" She smiled while moving her arms. The furnace got even hotter as Sumi stared at them, feeling a little bad. She knew what it was like, so she could imagine what they were feeling. But at least they had more help now, so hopefully the villagers wouldn't take it too personally.
"Question for ya, Gen," Senku spoke up while standing behind the mentalist. Sumi turned to him curiously, her arms crossed. "...How are Taiju and Yuzuriha doing these days?"
She blinked while glancing at Gen, waiting for his response. She could see what Senku was getting at here. "Uhhh...oh, so that's your game, yeah?" Gen questioned tiredly, letting out an exhausted breath. "Work me into a state of exhaustion and fool me into fessing up? You've got guts. Trying to pull a trick like that on a renowned mentalist? Although your pretty little science partner got me good earlier, I'll admit."
He slowly stopped working, his back turned to them still. The two stared at him with frowns, neither of them confident or cocky. Sumi glanced between Senku and Gen, wondering what exactly was going to happen.
"There's no need for either of you to worry. Taiju's strength is seemingly without end. But you two know that, right, Senku and Sumi?" He turned around to them with a smile that could strike fear into anyone. Sumi gritted her teeth with an arm in front of her, standing closer to Senku should Gen attack them. It almost felt like she was talking with Tsukasa, with the way he wanted to take her for his own gain. And it worried her, since she knew that there was nothing stopping Gen from telling Tsukasa that Senku wasn't dead. Senku noticed her expression, as her body was a bit tense. He placed a hand on her shoulder, silently telling her to calm down, and that nothing was going to happen to him. Sumi tensed up from his touch, but loosened her grip on her fist to show that she understood what Senku was trying to tell her.
"He's definitely with that long-haired man!" Kohaku shouted with her blades ready. "Should I kill him?"
"Wait, you fool," Senku told her, staring at Sumi. She slowly relaxed a little as she didn't need to look to know that she could trust his actions. "Okay, Gen. You ten billion percent knew we were trying to make you talk...so why'd you suddenly let it slip that you're working with Tsukasa?"
Gen paused for a few seconds and then turned around, a smile on his face. "Well, because once I saw all of this, the tides turned, as they say. And I must confess, I was impressed by dear Sumi's ability to see right through me."
Sumi frowned a little as some part of her still was wary of him. She then narrowed her eyes a bit. "Even if I could smell your game, which I can't, just because I'm literally the opposite of Senku doesn't mean I'm that stupid either."
"Clearly a misjudgment on my part..." Gen murmured as the others continued pumping oxygen.
Later, after working non-stop, night fell. Senku and Sumi looked towards all the stars while sitting on the roof. Sumi still had a hesitant look on her face regarding Gen. She glanced down at him looking right at them. She flinched from his stare and turned back to the sky.
"If you make it less obvious, it'll keep his gears turning. So don't worry about him," Senku spoke up to her knowingly.
"Sen, if we're not careful, he's one trip away from giving you up," She stated in a serious tone, remembering his death. She closed her eyes at the memory with a small sigh. "And I'm not ready to have all this be for nothing again."
"It won't come to that," Senku told her while staring at the stars still. "Just wait. Don't you trust me?" He gave a small chuckle and she turned to him.
"Of course I do."
"Then you and I will sway him. As long as we work together," He responded calmly and she nodded silently. Still, she couldn't help but wonder what Gen's strategy was by being here...
The next morning, Senku and Sumi were wearing aprons while handling the furnace. The iron sand was finally melted, everyone staring at the two. Sumi held a wooden mold with gloves on as Senku poured in the hot liquid to set.
Gen looked surprised as he let out a small sharp gasp at what he was seeing.
"I have a simple task," Gen informed the two scientists in the forest that morning. "That is to confirm your death beyond any doubt. And that Sumi isn't still grieving hard enough for Tsukasa to marry her. 'Tsukasa, Senku is still alive, and Sumi is still his ally.' One little phrase, and your fates would be sealed." Sumi kept her eyes on Gen, frowning deeply. If he were to go and tell Tsukasa...he'd never stop pursuing her. "That was my initial plan. But if you're both able to finish forging weapons made of iron, there's no telling who'll come out on top."
"Yeah...you're exactly right," Sumi eyed him, since if they had weapons, the Kingdom of Science would win without a doubt.
Gen slowly gasped again as Chrome held up an iron bar. "Whoa!" Suika and Kohaku were amazed by it as well.
Acquired iron!
Sumi smiled at this while watching them, Gen a bit farther away. "All I found was a tiny primitive village," Gen spoke up, getting the attention of the two scientists. The mentalist's bangs were covering his eyes. "Seems Senku is no more, and Sumi is still in shock. Not emotionally well enough for marriage at all. One fraudulent report would spare your life. Does that sound good to you?"
Senku chuckled in response to him. "Actually, it's music to our ears, and we'd really appreciate you doing that," He placed his hand on Sumi's waist and she let out a deep breath so that she wouldn't blush.
"Don't go thinking I've got some moral compass," Gen waved a hand to them. "I'm unbelievably shallow. Give me a life surrounded by hot girls, and I'm happy as a clam." Sumi gave him a blank look at that last part. "I couldn't care less if you, Sumi, or that primate Tsukasa live or die," He then gave them an evil grin. "I'll be on the winning side no matter what I have to do. What benefits me most? Is it aligning with your fledgling Kingdom of Science, or perhaps Tsukasa's empire of strength? That is truly the extent of my concern..." Suika had joined the three at this point. Gen smiled, outstretching his arms as if he was on a stage. "On one hand, there's the scientific creations and ramen and all that. But hellish back-breaking work is just not my style. On the other hand, Tsukasa's settlement lacks science and the food is rather plain. But my work is easy. And if I revive a few hot celebs, I could have the harem of my dreams!"
"Ugggh, seriously?" Sumi groaned a bit from his sleaziness. Was a harem really what he needed to be swayed?
"A harem?" Suika asked while approaching him. "What's that?"
"I'm sorry," He gave her a smile. "All I can say is that it's not for children."
"Trust me, you're better off not knowing, Suika," Sumi dragged a hand down her face, being at least thankful he wasn't stupid enough to explain it to a little girl.
"Well, whatever it is, ramen is probably way better!" She told Gen enthusiastically, and he looked away in thought.
"Yeah. Ramen's nice, but on a balmy day like this, I think I'd rather side with Tsukasa and what he can provide," He scratched the side of his face.
"Asagiri Gen, was it?" Kohaku approached him, walking past Chrome and Ganen. She then took out her blades, ready to attack him. "I think the only two options for a snake in the grass like you are either locked up or put in the ground!"
"Scary!" Gen cried out in fear, holding up his hands.
"No," Senku started off, causing everyone to look at him. "If he doesn't go back and give his report, Tsukasa will come looking for him and we'll all be screwed," He and Sumi then removed their aprons, and Senku chuckled.
"And considering that we've seen what Tsukasa's capable of, Kohaku, he'll do much worse to the village. Especially if he's not alone. We don't want any of the villagers to get hurt," Sumi placed a knowing hand on her hip, referring to when he knocked a tree over the blonde.
"So relax, would you? We've got a plan for this iron," Senku continued with a smirk. "And once you feast your eyes on what we're gonna make with it, there's a ten billion percent chance you'll choose to join our Kingdom of Science." He started climbing up to Chrome's shed. Sumi stood at the ladder while watching him.
"Oh?" Gen crossed his arms at them. "What's that? Think you can sway me with a sword?"
"Nah," Sumi giggled a little, looking over her shoulder. "I can tell that you don't seem inclined to be using a weapon. Don't really smell anything on you that suggests you're a fighter." Gen raised a brow from that last statement as he didn't know she had a great sense of smell. Senku looked over his shoulder next with a playful grin.
"How 'bout a generator?"
Gen stared at the two in surprise, his entire body frozen. He then started shaking as Sumi climbed up to the shed. "A generator?! Are you freakin' idding-kay? No way you two could pull that off! And you, you're not even fazed by it!" He pointed up at Sumi, who looked down at him from inside the shed. "How are you guys even science partners when your personalities are so opposed to each other?!"
"Ehh, this is nothing," Sumi shrugged a bit. "I've known him for thousands of years, although when we weren't stone, it was for much shorter," She glanced away with a bit of a blank look. She didn't know if it really counted since they didn't interact for 3700 years and 3 months. "And besides, I'm sure you've heard the term opposites attract?" She gave a sly grin as Chrome climbed up, baffling Gen.
"Nice, you have native copper," Senku commented and she turned back to him.
"Hey, that stuff's way too pretty to destroy," Chrome told him and Senku rubbed his chin.
"We'll melt it to make wire."
"Damn it, you're not even listening," Chrome sighed at this and Sumi chuckled.
"Don't take it too personally from Sen. And I'm sure you can find more native copper if you look hard enough," She smiled at her friend. "They're in small quantities around the Earth, but there are richer areas where you can find them."
"Now then, if only we could get some lightning," Senku murmured, not responding to either of them. As soon as he said that, thunder struck from outside a couple of times. The sky was grey and full of clouds. Jasper waved villagers to their huts and they ran off in a panic.
"It's lightning—the rage of the heavens!" He continued guiding them to safety.
"If it hits you, you're dead!"
"Make sure the women and children are safe!"
"Move! Quickly!"
Suika looked up at the sky. "Looks like we're getting our lightning!" Meanwhile, Senku was shaking and sputtering that lightning just happened to appear after he said it.
"Ha! It is the rainy season, after all," Kohaku stated with a smile.
"Can you believe how lucky we are?" Chrome grinned, though Senku wasn't as glad.
"This isn't luck, it's the worst-case scenario!" He shouted at the others. "We are no way prepared to utilize this right now!"
"Well, you do tend to have ill timing on things," Sumi sweated a little, scratching her cheek. Senku's luck was never the greatest to begin with...
"The generator will run on lightning?" Gen asked the two skeptically, as to him it seemed like he would be going back to Tsukasa at this rate.
"That's ridiculous," Senku stated while rubbing his chin.
"Yes, of course," Gen looked away in agreement.
"Look, so we're not prepared for this. But standing around thinking about it isn't the answer here," Sumi held up a finger. "So we'll need to use this to our advantage, or else we won't have a chance like this again. Think about what we can use here."
"Magnets," Senku murmured in realization at her. "We can make a generator if we have magnets!" He then grinned at the woman for helping him come up with it.
"But we have the ones we used to collect the sand," Suika walked up to them, holding up the magnet with sand on it still.
"The natural ones are way too weak for what we need," He told the little girl, taking the magnet from her. "We'll catch lightning with an iron rod. And make a crazy-strong magnet using the power of science!"
"It'll take a lot of those rods, which we don't have time to do anymore. We'll need to utilize the one we have," Sumi sighed, hands on her hips.
"Exactly, we were gonna put up a bunch of them, as many as possible," He grinned at the magnet in his hand. "But we can't pass up this opportunity. We'll just have to run with what we've got!" Lightning struck over their heads. "Heh. Pardon the pun, but we gotta move fast as lightning!"
"As in, we gotta be the fastest things alive," Sumi grinned, letting out a small chuckle. "Ahh, we'll have time for puns later."
Everyone got to work as they raced to get everything done. Chrome broke off some of the furnace. "Melt the copper!" Senku removed it, Sumi helping him. "There's lacquer coating Kohaku's shield; we could really use some of that!" Senku stated urgently and Suika rolled herself towards the village. She came back seconds later while holding a jar.
"I got a whole jar of it right here!"
"Alright, Suika!" Sumi cheered for her, taking the jar. "Without this, it'd never work."
"Lacquer is a ridiculously effective insulator! Use it to coat the iron rod!" Senku grinned and Sumi poured the lacquer over the rod. Both of them then coated the iron with it, Gen staring at the two working together.
"I'm confused..." Gen murmured, and the two took a plank from the bridge.
"Uh, I don't think you should be doing that!" Ginro exclaimed at them, Shovel watching from the other side of the bridge. Sumi looked up at Ginro as the girl left.
"We're sorry, but we need this! We'll replace it," She said as they then ran off.
Kohaku used her dagger to carve one single line into the plank going up and down. She glanced back at everyone. "I've carved a channel in it!"
Senku and Sumi poured melted copper into the channel together. "Pour the melted copper into the channel. And after it solidifies, wrap it up real tight around the iron bar." He wrapped it up, and struggled to tighten it. Sumi held out her hand and he gave her the iron bar. She took the coil and pulled tight, Senku grinning at her result.
"Hey, everybody!" Shovel shouted while running into the village. "Listen up! The foreigners and their friends have started destroying the bridge!" She bumped into someone, looking up to see the tall muscled blond man Suika spied on before, the shorter brunet friend, and a slightly shorter blond. The tallest man just laughed in response.
"Heh. So they're finally showing us their true, evil colors, huh?"
"That's probably why the gods are so angry with us," The shorter blond looked up towards the sky, thinking that Senku and Sumi were responsible for the weather. "They don't like that sorcery."
"Ah, yeah!" The shortest man exclaimed in agreement.
"Alright. Time for them to die," The stronger man grinned as lightning struck.
Kohaku gasped as she saw the three men heading their way. "This is bad! It's Magma!" Chrome exclaimed as the men made their way over.
"He's not the kind of guy who talks things over," Kohaku told the others. "We're gonna have to fight!"
"Damn it," Sumi grunted; she could fight them off, but considering they were TRYING to win favor with the village, fighting them wouldn't help matters. Senku looked frustrated as he was thinking the same thing as her. And he wouldn't want Sumi to fight them, anyway. Not because he didn't think she could handle it, but because he didn't want anything to happen to her.
"If we go to war with the village right now, it's game over!" He shouted, Sumi placing an arm in front of the shaking Suika. "We need to think fast!"
Sumi rubbed her temple in thought as she was trying to come with anything. They couldn't really do offense or defense, both were immediate ways to lose potential allies. And they couldn't just go off and hide, that wasn't how they did things. But they also had no time to deal with them because they had to get the lightning. She gasped and turned to Gen, grinning as she remembered him trying to get into her psyche. A skill like that would come in handy for dealing with them...
"Hey Gen," She leaned in towards his ear to whisper. Senku glanced up at the two, raising a brow. "It would be so sad if we end up killed by these guys before we can even accomplish our scientific endeavors. But I'm sure all the village women would be pretty grateful to you if you help us out, pretty please~?" She sung a little. He glanced at her, knowing that she was trying to trick him like he attempted to do to her. He then gave a small sigh.
"Oh, now that wouldn't do. I simply can't let myself get killed because of you lot." They all turned to them, wondering what just happened. Senku gave Sumi a blank look and she smiled, hands behind her back as she tilted her head a little. "Fetch me some flowers, Suika."
"Huh?" She looked up in confusion as lightning struck once more.
"Instead of war, flowers."
"Any flowers will do, okay? Now hurry," Sumi told the little girl gently.
The three men stopped as Gen stepped across the bridge, meeting them halfway. He then held up some flowers with a big smile. "What in the hell is this guy holding flowers for?" The blond villager asked while holding a spear. "Doesn't he know we're looking for a fight?"
"Yeah!" The shorter one agreed with him.
"Were you the one that made the gods so angry? Heh heh," Magma chuckled, hands on his hips. "Stepping up to me like this takes more balls than brains."
"Oh, no," Gen replied innocently to them. "I'm sorry. I'm afraid you're mistaken. We're trying to use our sorcery to stop this onslaught of terror from above."
"Quit talkin' outta your ass. I don't wanna hear-"
"Allow me to show you," Gen interrupted him and then waved his hands, making the flowers appear and disappear a few times. The three men looked at him in utter shock.
"They disappeared! Did you see that?" Magma exclaimed while the others watched from behind Gen.
"Wait a second. So they really can't see the flowers?" Kohaku wondered as Gen was holding them underneath his hands.
"It's a trick that I believe is called the back palm," Senku explained to her. "Magicians do it all the time with cards and stuff. Hmph. Not too shabby for a complete fraud," The lightning went off again. He then turned to Sumi, a hand on his hip. "How'd you convince him to help us out, Sumi?"
"Eh, I just used his so-called shallowness against him," She held up her hands while shrugging. She then let out a small giggle. "If he's in this to side with whoever is gonna win, that's on him. But letting us die before he gets to see what we can do with that generator? Nah...I don't think he could've handled that," She crossed her arms with a sweet smile. "Besides, he can consider us even for trying to trick me earlier. We've leveled the playing field a little bit for now."
Senku gave her a big smirk, impressed by her way of thinking as she wasn't usually like this. "Where the hell was this Sumi all those years ago? You really are turning into me, aren't you?"
"No," She scoffed at him playfully, blushing while looking away from his compliment. "Come on, you know I'm not that brutal. I just...did what I had to do for the Kingdom of Science. Kindness can be used at an advantage too," She murmured, his smirk unfaltering.
"Yeah...don't use that trick too much, though." She blinked while glancing at him. "No one's gonna turn off that amiable personality of yours. Not on my watch," He had on a hand on his hip with his eyes closed and she smiled at him silently.
The thunder and lightning scared off the shortest man. Magma looked at Gen suspiciously, scoffing. He and the other blond turned around to leave them alone. Gen then let out a sigh of relief, grinning as he knew what he had done. Senku and Sumi stared at him knowingly, pleased that they still had favor with the village. And it was thanks to Gen.
It may sound nuts, but it's doable. There was a guy at NASA called Wasilewski, who ran successful experiments using lightning to make powerful magnets.
He tested these experiments at the New Mexica Institute of Technology in the Langmuir laboratory. That lab was a center for lightning studies, and the area was perfect because it constantly got lightning strikes.
A chibi Wasilewski jumped up happily from his successful experiment. "Wasilewski!"
Senku panted as he and Sumi were climbing up the mountain. And this mountain wasn't just a regular old mountain either. "I just so happened to find this bad boy on top of that bald mountain one day!" Chrome exclaimed while showing them his magnet.
Sumi reached the mountain first, turning around and offering her hand to Senku. He took it and she helped him up. He smirked as the two caught their breath. "Well, Chrome," Senku spoke up as Chrome joined them. "I'd say that your ten years of exploration are really paying off now."
Chrome joined the two of them with a smirk of his own. "Oh, yeah. Pretty bad, right? We're at the top of the bald mountain!"
"One of the highest mountains around," Sumi stated with a small smile.
"Perfect spot to catch lightning," Senku told everyone confidently. "We couldn't ask for a better place!"
"Alright, guys," The black-haired scientist turned around to them, her bangs flying to the side while looking at them. "Time to make that generator!" She told them with a big grin on her face, clenching a determined fist.
Chrome put down a stick into the rocks. "Set up the lightning rod, quickly!" Senku ordered and everyone rushed to get it ready. Kinro and Ginro watched from below the mountain.
"You see that?" Ginro smiled optimistically, Kinro gritting his teeth. "I think they wanna make a tower, should we-?"
"No way!" His brother interrupted him sharply. "You're just after a silver spear, aren't you? We came here to keep an eye on them. Rules are rules, okay?"
Lightning struck again, Senku, Chrome, and Sumi flinching as it was nearby them. Senku then looked up to the sky. "The lightning's close now!"
"Crap!" Chrome exclaimed in dismay. "There isn't enough time to build real scaffolding. Even so, we have to get as high as we can."
"If only there was something long that we could stick into the ground," Kohaku said as she and Sumi looked around.
"Like a stick or a spear-" Sumi faltered as she and Kohaku had innocent looks on their faces. The both of them were looking at Kinro's golden spear. Ginro noticed what they were looking at, and immediately Kinro got defensive.
"No! Not happening! This is my spear!" He shouted immediately with his teeth clenched.
"Guess you like it more than you let on..." Ginro stated knowingly from behind.
"Sorry, we'll make another one!" Sumi slid down the mountain to kick it into the air. Kinro let out a cry at this. "Kohaku!" She spun around to kick into the sky and it spun around. Kohaku looked up and then leaped into the air, grabbing the spear. Once she had it, she undid the rope that was holding her hair. She descended towards the mountain, slamming down the spear hard into the ground. Sumi ran back up to join the others. Lightning struck again and Kohaku jumped out of the way as the lightning rod was tied to the spear. Lightning struck it and Kinro watched with tears flowing down his eyes.
"My speaaaaaar!" He shouted in agony as Sumi joined Senku's side. The two of them watched as lightning crackled into it. Smoke came from the spear once the lightning had stopped, and Senku chuckled breathlessly.
"Well, take a look at that! The lightning god descends!"
"Now we've got lightning for our generator," Sumi smiled while looking on.
The clouds started to part and Gen chuckled in amazement. "This is crazy, Sumi, Senku! Starting with nothing in this barren, stone world. You guys actually pulled it off!" He watched as the duo approached the spear, as it was burnt now. The clouds continued parting as they both took hold of it, sunlight shining down on them. Sumi looked up with a smile as the skies cleared up. Senku held up the iron bar.
"Electricity is in play," Senku gave a smirk. "Get excited, people."
"Wahoo!" Chrome cheered, jumping up a little. "We scored a magnet for our generator!"
"We did it!" Sumi jumped up happily as well, twirling a bit once she landed. She then pumped her fists with a big smile. "This is amazing!" Senku stared at her, giving a small chuckle as a tiny blush was on her face. In this moment, she looked...adorable. Gen glanced at the green-haired scientist, noticing his look towards Sumi and gave a sly smirk. He could tell exactly what the subtext was between the two.
Kinro picked up a burnt part of his spear, his eyes in black as he was horrified. "Oh, no," Ginro started to tease him. "Was your golden spear destroyed?"
"I hope you can forgive me and Sumi, Kinro," Kohaku spoke up a bit awkwardly, her hair tied back up. "But it was kind of an emergency."
"I'm sure Senku and Sumi will make you another one if you ask them," Suika piped up gently. Ginro placed a hand in front of his forehead.
"Hey Kinro! Where did that special spear of yours go? Gone forever, huh? And you were so protective of it, too," He continued mocking his brother. "I mean, you never even let me borrow it once, and yet here we are; it's a real shame." Kinro hit his brother on the head repeatedly, storming off. Ginro was on the ground in pain, a few punch bruises at the back of his head. Suika sweated nervously while looking at the blond, feeling a bit awkward. Sumi walked over to Ginro to check on him, bending down to the guard.
"We'll make him another golden spear when the time comes for it..." Sumi murmured as she had a big sweat drop on the side of her head.
"Senku, Sumi," Kohaku called out while holding two magnets. "I think we may have failed to create magnets."
The two of them gasped in unison, Sumi turning around to look at her in a panic. They had failed in their experiments before, but this one was too important to fail at. Especially when they didn't know when another storm would be coming. Kohaku struggled to push them together.
"They won't get anywhere near each other. Some force is driving them apart!"
Sumi got a closer look and then slowly sighed in relief. She then stood up, going over to Kohaku. "No, they'll work. Everything's fine, Kohaku."
"Just switch one of their poles," Senku deadpanned, Sumi giggling from his response. He took one of the bars and flipped it, being lifted up in the air thanks to the strength of the magnets. Everyone gasped in shock, Sumi beaming happily.
Acquired powerful magnets!
"Wow! They're so strong!" Suika shouted while in awe.
"We can make it now, can't we?" Chrome questioned curiously, getting excited. "That crazy-bad thing you call electricity?" He then recalled the road map from before.
"I'm curious, Senku, Sumi," Gen spoke up to the duo. "Are you creating a thermal generator? Or a wind turbine? I don't suppose you're going nuclear yet."
Senku turned around to him, digging his pinky into his ear. "It'll be muscle-powered," He stated bluntly and Sumi giggled.
"Sorry, but we don't have the resources to do all this automatically yet. But one of these days, we'll accomplish that," Sumi held up a finger with a grin. "After all, manual labor with this stuff isn't gonna be forever."
"I should've expected as much..." Gen murmured with white eyes and a shadow over them. He could just imagine the kind of work they were gonna put him and everyone else through...
Later, the villagers were lying down on the floor, looking dead. The melted copper was getting put into a new mold by Chrome. Sumi walked over to check on the villagers and Gen. She had a sheepish look on her face while shaking them awake. Meanwhile, Senku's face...was for some reason swollen. "We'll hammer the copper to stretch it, cut it into a disk, and grind it down."
Once the metal was cooled, Chrome hammered down the copper with Sumi until it was completely flat. Once it was, Senku and Sumi used a large compass from bamboo shorts. One piece was in the center connected to two other pieces, one for Sumi and one for Senku. Both of them were making a circle outline, with Sumi on the opposite side of Senku.
"Yo!" Chrome called out while holding up a white colored rock. "Let's try and grind this disk down with some corundum! It's one of the baddest rocks I've got!"
"The second strongest mineral after diamond," Senku approved, his face still swollen. "I admire your collection, Chrome."
"And corundum's been known for being made into grinding wheels!" Sumi beamed up at him. "That's just what we need!" She then turned to Senku's face and her hair stood up on end looking at her science partner.
Kohaku was spinning around a large wheel, Suika holding onto a rock tied in front of a tree. She was standing behind the tree, holding the bamboo tied to the rock. Senku was coating the copper wire in lacquer. "I thought we'd coat the copper wire with phosphoric acid, but this lacquer oughta work just fine." For some reason, Sumi was nowhere to be seen.
"I've been racking my brain..." Gen started off while looking at him. "Trying to come up with the perfect quip...But I think I should just ask."
"What?" Senku asked, looking up at the mentalist.
"Why do you look like a human marshmallow?"
"Lacquer poisoning," Senku simply answered, looking up. Gen turned around as Sumi had her basket full of herbs at her waist. She was also carrying a jug of water. The scientist sighed slowly at her science partner and bent down to him.
"Did you forget that you're allergic to lacquer?" She stated while laying him on her lap.
"I've gotta finish coating the copper w-" He faltered as she glared at him, meaning that she wasn't taking a no for an answer.
"Gen, finish up coating the copper wire for him, please. I've gotta continue treating this dummy," Sumi remarked while scooping up water with a leaf.
"You know how to treat lacquer poisoning?" Gen raised an eyebrow while bending down to the bowl.
"The one other time I saw his face like this, I took him to my grandmother to get him treated. He's severely allergic, so I make it a note to always carry items to treat it," She explained while looking at his neck to make sure his airway was protected.
"I'm fine!" Senku tried to insist to her.
"No, you're not, if you just stay still, you'll be actually fine," She replied back, placing her ear to his mouth to make sure he was breathing. Gen blinked as she started to wash his face, looking concentrated as she did so. She then had him drink water after thoroughly washing his face. Sumi pulled out a small tube she made from rocks. "Thankfully, the air is fresh enough," She pressed her ear to his chest and he flinched before she sat back up. "Mm, his throat isn't swelled and his breathing seems fine," She held out the tube to his mouth so he could breathe through it.
"What are you doing?" Gen wondered and she looked up.
"I'm having him breathe through the tube so that the lacquer can escape through his stomach in case it reached there. Then I'm gonna wash his face with soap and water because with the friction, it can adhere to the skin. Therefore it'll reduce the amount of swelling."
The sun was starting to set past the horizon. "Ah, yeah!" Chrome grinned while pumping a fist. Senku chuckled as his face was back to normal.
"The Kingdom of Science advances!" They were looking at two copper disks from the generator. One was marked Senku with a little drawing of him, and the other was marked Sumi with a drawing of her head. "Our dual-wield hand crank generator is now complete!"
Acquired power generator!
"Yay!" Sumi clapped her hands together with a smile.
"So do we need to spin them both in unison?" Kohaku wondered to the scientists. "That seems pretty challenging."
"Not if two of us work together!" Suika exclaimed while holding up her arms.
"If they get out of sync, it'll break down. The timing has to be perfect," Chrome informed everyone, Sumi rubbing her chin in thought.
"Ugh. This has to be done right. If only we knew a pair who were perfectly coordinated and energetic," Senku remarked, his hands on his hips.
"Well, what about the two of you?" Gen pointed at Senku and Sumi, getting their attention. "You two are usually on the same page, aren't you? You've known each other for a long time and balance each other out," He then gave a sly grin as he knew that there was something going on between the two, or at least, they chose to not acknowledge it. So he wanted to give them...a little push.
"That's both flattering and suspicious," Sumi commented but then smiled. "But no, not us. I'm more energetic than he is, and coordination...isn't really Sen's strong suit, if you know what I mean." She could imagine that he'd fall over in exhaustion after about 10 minutes due to his low stamina. He did try to catch a deer and fail the first time because of his energy, after all...and Sumi's sleeping habits were better, but she definitely didn't have as much stamina as their friend Taiju.
"Yeah, we'd be in sync only for a few minutes and then break the generator," Senku agreed with her, and they took a few moments to think. Then they all gasped as they had the answer.
"So you came back again?" Kinro asked the group, looking unhappy as they were at the bridge. "What do you want this time?"
"Come on! I'll let you guys check out our badass science machine!" Chrome tried to sway them.
"Not interested!" Kinro denied immediately and Chrome fell to the ground in shame. Sumi stood behind him, smiling nervously and patting his back.
"You've always been a pretty stubborn guy..." Kohaku stated with her arms crossed. "But now it feels like you're holding a grudge."
"Heh he heh," Senku put his pinky into his ear again. "He must still be upset that we ruined the golden spear Sumi and I made for him."
"If you help us, we can remedy that!" Sumi offered with a small smile.
"I will not be swayed by your sorcery this time!" Kinro pointed at her and she blinked in confusion. Gen stepped past them, alarming both Senku and Sumi.
"What now?" Kinro murmured as Gen stood in front of them.
"Wow, electricity sure is amazing! Thanks, sorcery! In our technological civilization, electricity lets us have all sorts of nice things!" He threw flowers around. Kinro turned away with a huff, wanting to ignore him. "With our new generator, we might even be able to create and repair gold-and-silver-tipped spears," Gen grinned at the two brothers. "Isn't that right, Senku, Sumi?"
Senku slid over to him. "Electrocoating is pretty damn difficult," He whispered to the mentalist. "Do you actually know how to do it?"
"I don't have the faintest idea," Gen shrugged innocently, Senku crossing his arms.
"Woooow," Sumi murmured while pinching her nose. "Yeah, that pretty much sums it up."
"You offered to do it," Senku reminded her and she held up a finger.
"Yeah, when we have the actual time. With a process like electrocoating, it'll take just as much time as making the antibiotics. So I was gonna promise them to take it up after we cure Ruri," She whispered to him.
"I was right about you," Kohaku gave Gen a suspicious look. "Every word out of your mouth really is just feathery fluff."
Kinro and Ginro were amazed however at the thought. And so, they relented and helped out. It was night time as they spun the copper disks in sync. The two huffed and puffed from exhaustion as they had been doing it for a while.
"They're a great team!" Kohaku smiled at the two. "Perfectly in sync."
Senku gave a small chuckle, his arms crossed. "Kinro and Ginro are ours now. The Kingdom of Science is building up a solid workforce."
"Well, gold and silver tipped spears or not, at least we have more people on our side. It'll help a lot when making the antibiotics," Sumi smiled happily towards the two.
"But are they really generating electricity?" Gen wondered in doubt. Senku and Sumi glanced up to each other with knowing smirks. Senku then held up a leaf in front of Gen. He opened his eyes to see a small zigzag stick.
"It's a steam-roasted bamboo fiber," He revealed, Gen's eyes widening.
"See what happens when people work together in the name of science?" Sumi crossed her arms with a proud look on her face.
After the two brothers were done with the generator, Kohaku and the others watched Sumi, Senku, and Chrome standing on the roof of the science shed. "Does it need to be that high up?" Kohaku called out to the trio.
"Heh heh heh, not really. But we figured we might as well," Senku climbed up to the two, Sumi and Chrome waiting for him. The black-haired scientist turned to Senku.
"You already had lacquer poisoning, so watch your step, okay? I don't need you or Chrome for that matter falling off a roof," She gave him a slight warning while holding the leaf with the fiber carefully in her right hand.
"We'll be fine, Sumi," Chrome assured her with a big smile. "And Senku can handle anything."
"Eh, so I got lacquer poisoning, but I have my trusty doctor to help out around here," Senku then patted her on the head. "Don't worry about me, Sumi. If it makes you feel better, I'll have you touch the lacquer from now on. Heh, such a mom to me."
She gave a small pout at him. "I am not like a mom! I just care about my friends."
"Relax, I didn't say it to get you riled up again like earlier." She blinked while staring at him as he had his back turned to her. He had a small smirk on his face, a light blush on his cheeks as well for how much she dedicated just to help him. And for how she knew what to do in case he was ever poisoned again. "I'm not gonna argue with you, so just keep being the medical professional for the Kingdom of Science, and I'll continue to stay alive."
She smiled softly at what he said. She could tell he was saying in his own way that he wouldn't let anything drastic happen to him. Chrome glanced over to Senku, who rubbed at his face so that he could hide his red cheeks.
Gen's eyes widened in realization of what they were doing. "I see now..." He murmured quietly as Suika was standing next to him. "He and Sumi are using that bamboo fiber to create an Edison light bulb."
"I've never heard of a bulb of light," Suika looked up at the mentalist.
"Chrome..." Senku started off. "Does the night scare you?"
"Well...yeah...because everything gets dark," Chrome admitted, staring at him. "Why do you ask?"
"Back in our day," Senku gestured to himself and Sumi. She was sitting on the opposite side of him, the bamboo fiber between them. "There was no darkness. With old man Edison's incandescent light bulb, humanity beat back the night, conquering all 24 hours of the day. Through the power of science, mankind defeated the darkness."
"For 3700 years...there was no light to speak of. No sparkles from the buildings to admire during the night time in the city. No heat source if your hands get cold," Sumi closed her eyes and then looked up to the stars. "Nothing to guide you if you were inside and alone...and science changed all of that back in the 19th century."
"And now, we're gonna do it again," Senku smiled at the bamboo fiber. "For the first time in 3700 years, the flame of science will burn," He looked up at Sumi, who turned back to him. Both of them nodded at the same time, and reached out in unison. They held one wire each and then brought the wires to one side each of the fiber. It then glowed brightly, enough that someone could see it from space. Chrome looked at it in awe, the others staring as well. The light was the only thing that could be seen for miles, monkeys and deer looking from the forest. The light even engulfed some of the statues, Gen stepping up slowly. Tears were in his eyes from the sight. For the first time in thousands of years...light was finally back in the world. And had stopped the darkness once again.
Sumi and Senku both looked up at each other at the same time, flinching at how they both looked in the light. Sumi's eyes glistened, but in a good way as his eyes shook. In this moment...the light didn't really matter to them anymore. Only what it heightened to each other. Sumi's heart raced from his bangs being brighter, and his red eyes glimmering. Senku tried not to blush from Sumi's hair looking brighter and her face glowing.
What...what is this feeling? Both of them thought at the same time as they couldn't look away from each other. It was as if the light was helping them keep staring, and everything continued to be silent around them. Like they were the only two people in this stone world...as it was when Taiju hadn't awakened yet. The light they had created together continued to be the only light against the night sky.